Peat bog harvesting is an important industry in many countries, including Canada. To harvest peat, bogs are drained and drainage
water is evacuated towards neighboring rivers, estuaries or coastal waters. High suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) were
found in the drainage water at one particular site during the 2001–2002 spring seasons in New Brunswick (Canada). The main
objective of this study was to verify this observation at other sites, compare SSC levels leaving harvested peat bogs with
those leaving an unharvested bog, and to determine if high SSC events happen only in Spring or all year round. Suspended sediment
concentrations were monitored downstream of three harvested peat bogs and an unharvested reference bog located in New Brunswick
during the ice free seasons of 2003–2004. On average, SSC at the harvested sites exceeded 25 mg/l, which is the recommended
daily maximum concentration, 72% of the time, while the same concentration was exceeded 30% of the time at the unharvested
sites. SSC were found to be significantly higher at harvested sites than at the reference sites for all seasons. The highest
SSC medians were recorded in the Fall but SSC was elevated in all seasons. High SSC levels in receiving waters may be caused
by field ditching activities and insufficient sediment controls. Findings suggest the NB Peat Harvesting 25 mg/l SSC guideline
should be reviewed. 相似文献
Groundwater overdraft is a resource management issue that poses a threat for the security of communities. Impacts of groundwater overdraft are influenced by the biophysical and social contexts of water management. This paper presents a method for assessing vulnerability to water scarcity in spatial terms using biophysical and social indicators. A geographic information system was used to establish areas of vulnerability based upon hydrologic variability in water resource availability within a groundwater basin, three types of water management systems, and 10 sociodemographic characteristics. Our study area is in the rapidly urbanizing Arizona Central Highlands, located 150 km north of the Phoenix metropolitan region, USA. Results indicate that the most biophysically vulnerable places do not necessarily intersect with the most vulnerable populations and that local differences in vulnerability are interrelated, rather than independent, outcomes in a process of socioenvironmental transformation. Vulnerability is influenced by laws that deny access to local surface waters and lead to dependence on fossil groundwater, and by economic reliance on urbanization. Localities attempt to reduce vulnerability through the development of community water systems and the expansion of water frontiers. While such strategies may reduce local vulnerability, they are not sustainable solutions because they transfer risks to other places, and thus contribute to vulnerability elsewhere. 相似文献
Geological CO2 capture and storage (CCS) is among the main near-term contenders for addressing the problem of global climate change. Even
in a baseline scenario, with no comprehensive international climate policy, a moderate level of CCS technology is expected
to be deployed, given the economic benefits associated with enhanced oil and gas recovery. With stringent climate change control,
CCS technologies will probably be installed on an industrial scale. Geologically stored CO2, however, may leak back to the atmosphere, which could render CCS ineffective as climate change reduction option. This article
presents a long-term energy scenario study for Europe, in which we assess the significance for climate policy making of leakage
of CO2 artificially stored in underground geological formations. A detailed sensitivity analysis is performed for the CO2 leakage rate with the bottom-up energy systems model MARKAL, enriched for this purpose with a large set of CO2 capture technologies (in the power sector, industry, and for the production of hydrogen) and storage options (among which
enhanced oil and gas recovery, enhanced coal bed methane recovery, depleted fossil fuel fields, and aquifers). Through a series
of model runs, we confirm that a leakage rate of 0.1%/year seems acceptable for CCS to constitute a meaningful climate change
mitigation option, whereas one of 1%/year is not. CCS is essentially no option to achieve CO2 emission reductions when the leakage rate is as high as 1%/year, so more reductions need to be achieved through the use of
renewables or nuclear power, or in sectors like industry and transport. We calculate that under strict climate control policy,
the cumulative captured and geologically stored CO2 by 2100 in the electricity sector, when the leakage rate is 0.1%/year, amounts to about 45,000 MtCO2. Only a little over 10,000 MtCO2 cumulative power-generation-related emissions are captured and stored underground by the end of the century when the leakage
rate is 1%/year. Overall marginal CO2 abatement costs increase from a few €/tCO2 today to well over 150 €/tCO2 in 2100, under an atmospheric CO2 concentration constraint of 550 ppmv. Carbon costs in 2100 turn out to be about 40 €/tCO2 higher when the annual leakage rate is 1%/year in comparison to when there is no CO2 leakage. Irrespective of whether CCS deployment is affected by gradual CO2 seepage, the annual welfare loss in Europe induced by the implementation of policies preventing “dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system” (under our assumption, implying a climate stabilisation target of 550 ppmv CO2 concentration) remains below 0.5% of GDP during the entire century.
Carlisle in northwest England suffered its worse floods for more than 180 years in 2005. A study, reported here, was undertaken to assess the health and social impacts of these floods via in‐depth, taped individual and focus‐group interviews with people whose homes had been flooded and with agency workers who helped them. Respondents spoke of physical health ailments, psychological stress, water health‐and‐safety issues related to the floods, and disputes with insurance and construction companies, which they felt had caused and exacerbated psychological health problems. Support workers also suffered from psychological stress. Furthermore, it was found that people had low expectations of a flood and were not prepared. The findings are presented in five sections covering flood risk awareness, water contamination issues, physical health, mental health, and impact on frontline support workers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for policy and practice vis‐à‐vis psychological health provision, contamination issues, training and support for frontline support workers, matters relating to restoration, and preparation for flooding. 相似文献
The Big Clean Up (BCU) started in 2001 as Auckland Regional Council's (ARC) sustainability social marketing project and arose from catalysts for change that occurred within ARC in the late 1990s—leadership, training, partnerships and values. The BCU features strong marketing images and messages that have increased awareness and participation in the region according to extensive stakeholder surveys. It is intended to engage individuals and households in sustainable living—especially among the public middle ground—not those already committed to a green lifestyle. Membership of BCU after one year is about 44,000—almost one in ten households. Although ARC has considered the BCU successful, questions arise about the level of resilience of the campaigns without ongoing investment in expensive multimedia advertising and other initiatives. The paper concludes with a discussion on the impact of the underlying pedagogy in the light of social marketing and behaviour change theory. 相似文献
Low-impact development (LID) technologies, such as bioretention areas, rooftop rainwater harvesting, and xeriscaping can control stormwater runoff, supply non-potable water, and landscape open space. This study examines a hybrid system (HS) that combines LID technologies with a centralized water system to lessen the burden on a conventional system (CS). CS is defined as the stormwater collection and water supply infrastructure, and the conventional landscaping choices in the City of Atlanta. The study scope is limited to five single-family residential zones (SFZs), classified R-1 through R-5, and four multi-family residential zones (MFZs), classified RG-2 through RG-5. Population density increases from 0.4 (R-1) to 62.2 (RG-5) persons per 1,000 m2. We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparison of CS and HS using TRACI 2.1 to simulate impacts on the ecosystem, human health, and natural resources.We quantified the impact of freshwater consumption using the freshwater ecosystem impact (FEI) indicator. Test results indicate that HS has a higher LCA single score than CS in zones with a low population density; however, the difference becomes negligible as population density increases. Incorporating LID in SFZs and MFZs can reduce potable water use by an average of 50% and 25%, respectively; however, water savings are negligible in zones with high population density (i.e., RG-5) due to the diminished surface area per capita available for LID technologies. The results demonstrate that LID technologies effectively reduce outdoor water demand and therefore would be a good choice to decrease the water consumption impact in the City of Atlanta.
Males often use elaborate courtship displays to attract females for mating. Much attention, in this regard, has been focused
on trying to understand the causes and consequences of signal variation among males. Far less, by contrast, is known about
within-individual variation in signal expression and, in particular, the extent to which males may be able to strategically
adjust their signalling output to try to maximise their reproductive returns. Here, we experimentally investigated male courtship
effort in a fish, the Australian desert goby, Chlamydogobius eremius. When offered a simultaneous choice between a large and a small female, male gobies spent significantly more time associating
with, and courting, the former, probably because larger females are also more fecund. Male signalling patterns were also investigated
under a sequential choice scenario, with females presented one at a time. When first offered a female, male courtship was
not affected by female size. However, males adjusted their courtship effort towards a second female depending on the size
of the female encountered previously. In particular, males that were first offered a large female significantly reduced their
courtship effort when presented with a subsequent, smaller, female. Our findings suggest that males may be able to respond
adaptively to differences in female quality, and strategically adjust their signalling effort accordingly. 相似文献