Increasing seat belt use through PI&E and enforcement: The Thumbs Up campaign

Campaigns to increase seat belt use have been effective in controlled environments, in small geographic areas, in primary enforcement states, and when conducted in conjunction with the enactment of seat belt legislation. The Thumbs Up project was undertaken to determine if belt use could be facilitated in less advantageous conditions. A 3-month campaign to increase seat belt use was conducted in two sites, each consisting of two Florida counties. At its conclusion, the Thumbs Up project did not yield an overall increase in seat belt use across the two sites. However, observed seat belt use and the number of seat belt citations issued increased significantly in one site. The results are discussed in terms of the two components necessary for a successful campaign: public information and education, and enforcement. Further, recommendations for conducting successful community-based seat belt interventions are offered.     

Determining residential firewood consumption

Household firewood use has become increasingly popular in the United States over the past few years. Significant problems remain in estimating firewood consumption. Methods of determining the amount of wood consumed vary from state to state. Units used for measuring firewood vary, but the cord remains the researcher's favorite. Factors used for converting other units, such as pickup truck loads to cords also vary. People who do not use firewood are less likely to respond to mailed surveys, resulting in potential overestimates of statewide consumption. This paper identifies some problems associated with estimating household firewood consumption and recommends methods of dealing with them.     

In situ agrobiodiversity conservation: Examples from Nepal,Turkey and Switzerland in the first decade of the convention on Biological Diversity

Applications of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation practices within agricultural production systems have the potential to reduce the risks of agricultural modernisation and enhance sustainable development. The aims and approaches for in situ conservation differ according to the requirements of communities and nations. Approaches to in situ conservation in the decade after the Convention of Biological Diversity are reviewed within the contexts of marginal agricultural systems in Nepal, Turkey and Switzerland. Numerous approaches are currently utilised, including: the informal de facto retention of agrobiodiversity; the provision of state assistance; the marketing of agrobiodiversity products; the use of technological innovations to develop local diversity; the establishment of conservation reserves; community assistance programmes and the raising of awareness of the issue amongst all sectors of societies. Emerging complementary in situ approaches applicable in the rural margins suggest a framework for effectively conserving agrobiodiversity by working with local people.     

ASSESSMENT OF POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN AN URBAN CATCHMENT1

ABSTRACT: Stationarity of rainfall statistical parameters is a fundamental assumption in hydraulic infrastructure design that may not be valid in an era of changing climate. This study develops a framework for examining the potential impacts of future increases in short duration rainfall intensity on urban infrastructure and natural ecosystems of small watersheds and demonstrates this approach for the Mission/Wagg Creek watershed in British Columbia, Canada. Nonstationarities in rainfall records are first analyzed with linear regression analysis, and the detected trends are extrapolated to build potential future rainfall scenarios. The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is used to analyze the effects of increased rainfall intensity on design peak flows and to assess future drainage infrastructure capacity according to the derived scenarios. While the framework provided herein may be modified for cases in which more complex distributions for rainfall intensity are needed and more sophisticated stormwater management models are available, linear regressions and SWMM are commonly used in practice and are applicable for the Mission/Wagg Creek watershed. Potential future impacts on stream health are assessed using methods based on equivalent total impervious area. In terms of impacts on the drainage infrastructure, the results of this study indicate that increases in short duration rainfall intensity may be expected in the future but that they would not create severe impacts in the Mission/Wagg Creek system. The equivalent levels of imperviousness, however, suggest that the impacts on stream health could be far more damaging.     

Potential and Shortcomings of Numerical Weather Prediction Models in Providing Meteorological Data for Urban Air Pollution Forecasting

The last decade progress in numericalweather prediction (NWP) modelling and studies of urbanatmospheric processes for providing meteorological data forurban air pollution forecasting is analysed on examples ofseveral European meteorological centres. Modern nested NWP models are utilising land-use databasesdown to 1 km resolution or finer, and are approaching thenecessary horizontal and vertical resolution suitable forcity scale. The recent scientific developments in the fieldof urban atmospheric physics and the growing availabilityof high-resolution urban surface characteristics datapromise further improvements of the capability of NWPmodels for this aim. A strategy to improve NWP data forthe urban air pollution forecasting is suggested.     

Channelization and levee construction in Illinois: Review and implications for management

The environmental impact of loss of natural stream and riparian habitat is of concern throughout the United States and Europe. Environmental impacts related to such activities as channelization of and levee construction along streams and rivers are particularly apparent in the Midwestern United States. The objective of the research presented here was to delineate the extent, relative degree of impact, and implications for management of channelization and levee construction along watercourses located in the state of Illinois. According to records maintained through the Illinois Streams Information System data base (Illinois Department of Conservation), nearly 25% of surface water resources in the state have been modified directly by channelization and/or levee construction. Reviews of agency records, elaboration of case histories, interviews with agency personnel, and inspections of impacted sites indicated that these alterations have occurred without the benefit of effective mitigation. Although permit records may provide suggestions for mitigation to be incorporated in the design of a particular project, permits issued generally do not require even minimal instream habitat and bank stabilization efforts in conjunction with channel alteration. Information derived from policy and case study analyses suggests that institutional constraints, rather than lack of particular understanding about mitigation, provide major barriers to protecting the state's surface water resources in terms of regulatory review, policy interpretation and implementation, and project evaluation. Recommendations for environmental management efforts regarding these and similar channel alterations are elaborated from these findings.     

Industrial relations,worksite stress reduction,and employee well-being: A participatory action research investigation

The workplace has become the locus of many stress management and stress reduction interventions. However, little attention has focused on how worksite factors affect the implementation and impact of such interventions. In this paper, we investigate the effect of new versus traditional industrial relations practices on the impact of a worksite stress reduction program in a manufacturing setting. More specifically, a participatory action research (PAR) stress project is described and evaluated in two different labor–management relations contexts. One organization is characterized by the emerging ’new‘ industrial relations system where labor–management relations incorporate elements of joint problem-solving. The other organization has a more traditional approach where labor–management relations are formally adversarial. Results indicate that the labor–management relations context did influence the impact of the stress project. Involvement in the PAR stress project enhanced employee participation in decision-making in both contexts. However, involvement in the stress project enhanced employees' perceptions of the climate for participation only in the organization with more cooperative industrial relations. Increases in coworker support and decreases in depressive symptoms were associated with involvement in the PAR stress project in the organization with more adversarial industrial relations.     

THE DYNAMICS OF WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT1

The traditional approach to water resources management for urban areas has been based on the examination of needs and the design of separate facilities for water supply, drainage, and waste water collection and treatment. The complexity and interaction among the separate systems required by a metropolitan area has complicated their management and promoted research interest in developing a methodology for better coordination. However, a more thorough evaluation of the problem reveals the real research need to be both more complicated and different in character than the problem in systems analysis suggested by the first superficial glance. Water management relates to the much broader problem of community design; when, where, and in what manner should new urban development take place. Furthermore, the character and needs of areas within the metropolis are constantly changing. The key distinctiveness of urban water management is the imperative for design and operation flexibility. The key research need is to develop new designs, operation procedures, and institutional arrangements to make the flexibility demanded by a dynamic urban community possible.     

In-situ bioremediation of amine- and glycol-contaminated soils using low-intervention methods

Biological plugs are an innovative, low-intervention, in-situ bioremediation methodology for both saturated and unsaturated contaminated soils. They are modular in-ground immobilized microbe bioreactors designed to rapidly increase the oxidation of organic contaminants by placing an adapted consortia of microorganisms in close proximity to the contaminants of concern. The approach is versatile, in that contaminants can be remediated in-situ without the removal of existing structures as well as being able to efficiently and economically treat contaminants over a large area. Amine- and glycol-contaminated soils at gas sweetening plants, represent a significant problem in magnitude, prevalence, and risk along pipelines stretching through Canada's western provinces. A field pilot study was conducted at an isolated former gas sweetening plant in northwestern Alberta. Monoethyamine (MEA) and several glycols were successfully remediated in situ in a 138-day time frame. Soil toxicity was significantly reduced. The engineering challenges and associated economics of remediating such isolated sites are also presented.