Eleven major companies take quality environmental management initiatives within president's commission

The President'S Commission on Environmental Quality (PCEQ) is translating TQEM theory into action at industrial facilities around the United States. Eleven major corporations are undertaking voluntary demonstration projects at twelve facilities throughout the country to actively test TQEM. Corporate participants will share their conclusions about incentives, barriers, management processes, and metrics to produce a “blueprint” for successful TQEM programs elsewhere.     

The effects of a joint range-of-motion physical fitness training program on the automobile driving skills of older adults

Previous attempts to sustain the automobile driving skills of older adults have centered on modifying the driving environment, improving the design of the vehicle, or introducing comprehensive educational programs. This research represents the first experimental investigation of the effects of a physical fitness training program on the automobile driving performance of older adults. Thirty-two older adults were assigned randomly, stratified by gender, to either an experimental group who participated in an 8 week range-of-motion exercise training program or a control group. A 2 (Experimental group/Control group) × 3 (Testing Session) repeated measures experimental design was used to examine the effects of the 8 week range-of-motion exercise training program on subject range of motion and a field-based assessment of automobile driving skill. The results indicated that the program was successful in improving subject shoulder flexibility and trunk rotation, as well as improving scores on the driving skill measure of observing.     

How integrated is river basin management?

Land and water management is increasingly focused upon the drainage basin. Thirty-six terms recently used for schemes of “integrated basin management” include reference to the subject or area and to the aims of integrated river basin management, often without allusion to the multiobjective nature. Diversity in usage of terms has occurred because of the involvement of different disciplines, of the increasing coherence of the drainage basin approach, and the problems posed in particular parts of the world. The components included in 21 different approaches are analyzed, and, in addition to showing that components related broadly to water supply, river channel, land, and leisure aspects, it is concluded that there are essentially five interrelated facets of integrated basin management that involved water, channel, land, ecology, and human activity. Two aspects not fully included in many previous schemes concern river channel changes and the dynamic integrity of the fluvial system. To clarify the terminology used, it is suggested that the termcomprehensive river basin management should be used where a wide range of components is involved, whereasintegrated basin management can signify the interactions of components and the dominance of certain components in the particular area.Holistic river basin management is advocated as a term representing an approach that is both fully comprehensive and integrated but also embraces the energetics of the river system and consideration of changes of river channels and of human impacts throughout the river system. The paradigm of working with the river can be extended to one of working with the river in the holistic basin context.     

Establishing backcountry use quotas: An example from Mineral King,California

Increasing levels of visitor use and consequent resource damage have necessitated that backcountry use restrictions be established in the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park, California. In this paper we review the steps taken in developing a trailhead quota system. The availability of acceptable campsites, based on a detailed inventory of site distribution and impact, was used to quantitatively derive use capacities for each camp area. Wilderness permit data on visitor dispersal patterns from the major trailheads, including length of stay at each camp area, were then used to translate the area capacities into daily trailhead quotas that would assure that these capacities were not surpassed. The general approach is applicable to any backcountry area, although large complex areas may require the use of available computer simulation models.     

APPLICATION OF A SINGLE RESERVOIR OPERATION POLICY TO A RAIN WATER CISTERN SYSTEM1

The operation policy for a single reservoir is applied to a rain water cistern system because the functions of a cistern are similar to a simple single reservoir. Since the cistern is a closed system, water loss is negligible. In this study, a dynamic programming analysis has been made to study the effects of the probable weekly rainfall and the water storage in the cistern towards the water consumption policy. The result of this study indicates that the water consumption rate should be adjusted into a lower rate when the water storage in the cistern is low and/or when the expected probable weekly rainfall is low if the owner of the cistern does not want to risk the chance of an empty cistern. The demand for a reliable method for forecasting weekly rainfall is evident in this study.     

What Is Source Reduction? A Critique and Comparative Analysis of Polish and American Students

/ Source reduction is recognized as the preferred form of waste management, but its definition is ambiguous. This study proposes four underlying dimensions of the source reduction concept. Source reduction is foremost a preventive activity that reduces the number or extent of environmental impacts. Second, source reduction can prevent both resource consumption and pollution generation impacts. Third, source reduction may be viewed as both a producer and consumer activity. Lastly, it may include frugal and more efficient activities. In surveys exploring these fourdimensions, Polish and American university students evaluated whether 20 activities were examples of source reduction. The American students gave higher ratings to preventive activities over adaptive activities. The Polish students most prominently rated efficient over frugal activities. Factor analysis indicated that both samples identified a group of consumer-based resource conservation activities, with the American students recognizing a cluster of recycling activities. In a separate ranking of environmental protection priorities, the Polish students endorsed pollution prevention, whereas the American students favored both efficient and frugal resource conservation. These findings suggest that the conceptualization of source reduction varies according to contextual factors and that prevention is still an obscure environmental management theme. KEY WORDS: Source reduction; Pollution prevention; Resource conservation; Frugality; Poland     

An assessment of energy recovery methods applicable to domestic refuse disposal

Any recycled material for re-use must be competitive in both quality and cost when compared with virgin raw materials. In the case of domestic refuse these two constraints mean that direct recycling for materials re-use is very restricted and indirect uses are sought instead. One major area of indirect recycling is energy recovery. This paper presents economic analyses performed on a net energy output basis for incineration for both heat and electrical energy production and also for gas production by pyrolysis. Acid hydrolysis of refuse for the production of ethyl alcohol or protein is also presented and analysed in detail since by this means finite oil reserves are conserved. An economic case is made for further work in this area as it is shown to be the only refuse recycling process with the potential to accomplish both refuse disposal and energy recovery at costs substantially less than straight incineration.