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The complexity of ecosystems urges that the evaluation process should avoid an aggregation of information. The reason is that although mathematical modelling has made enormous progress (object oriented programming) there is still no ecologically reasonable function of quality. The technique to compare chemicals for example, even if they are characterized by many properties, is based on the generalization of the concept of order and the method of visualization by the using Hasse diagrams. By the example of six chemicals the procedure will be explained and it will be shown that a high hazard potential of chemicals is related to different properties, which cause different ecotoxicological consequences.     

Effects of a major municipal effluent on the St. Lawrence River: A case study

The St. Lawrence River (SLR) is the second largest waterway in North America. The discharge of the City of Montreal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represents the largest volume of treated wastewaters being released into the river. It also ranks as the largest sewage treatment plant of its kind in North America. Over the last decade, intensive multidisciplinary research has focused on assessing the impacts of Montreal wastewater effluents on the SLR. We describe the major findings of these investigations, including the determination of the fate of contaminants, bioaccumulation in fish and invertebrates, ecotoxicological measurements of aquatic animal health, evaluation of endocrine disruption, parasitism in fish, and combined effects of multiple stressors on the SLR. Impacts of the effluents from the WWTP on aquatic organisms from the SLR are both toxicological and ecological, demonstrating the need for an integrated view of the impacts of municipal effluents on aquatic ecosystems.     

Arctic marine mammal population status,sea ice habitat loss,and conservation recommendations for the 21st century

Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are icons of climate change, largely because of their close association with sea ice. However, neither a circumpolar assessment of AMM status nor a standardized metric of sea ice habitat change is available. We summarized available data on abundance and trend for each AMM species and recognized subpopulation. We also examined species diversity, the extent of human use, and temporal trends in sea ice habitat for 12 regions of the Arctic by calculating the dates of spring sea ice retreat and fall sea ice advance from satellite data (1979–2013). Estimates of AMM abundance varied greatly in quality, and few studies were long enough for trend analysis. Of the AMM subpopulations, 78% (61 of 78) are legally harvested for subsistence purposes. Changes in sea ice phenology have been profound. In all regions except the Bering Sea, the duration of the summer (i.e., reduced ice) period increased by 5–10 weeks and by >20 weeks in the Barents Sea between 1979 and 2013. In light of generally poor data, the importance of human use, and forecasted environmental changes in the 21st century, we recommend the following for effective AMM conservation: maintain and improve comanagement by local, federal, and international partners; recognize spatial and temporal variability in AMM subpopulation response to climate change; implement monitoring programs with clear goals; mitigate cumulative impacts of increased human activity; and recognize the limits of current protected species legislation.     

US energy policy in historical perspective

Energy ‘policy’ is not a recent invention. What is new is that instead of a variety of policies rooted for the most part in notions other than adequacy of reasonably priced and readily available energy supplies, the past fifteen years or so have witnessed the emergence of a set of policies that are more pointedly directed at energy targets as such. These include, above all, such cross cutting issues as efficiency in use, security against supply disruptions, incentives to oil and gas producers, opportunities for the development of alternative energy sources and concern for the equitable sharing of costs associated with any of these policies. If there is one overriding issue that permeates the policy fabric it is the delineation of the governmental role versus market forces. Debate and controversy on that topic is bound to continue.     

Die Entwicklung der Erdatmosphäre und ihre Wechselbeziehung zur Entwicklung der Sedimente und des Lebens

The formation of the atmosphere-together with that of the oceans and sediments-was determined by three important processes: the loss of noble gases and volatiles in the solar nebula, the enrichment of these substances at the Earth's surface by exhalation from the Earth's mantle, and finally the formation of the hydrosphere, enabled by-in contrast to our neighboring planets-a suitable distance from the sun. In this way the development of the atmospheric gases N₂, H₂O and CO₂ was largely fixed. Oxygen, on the other hand, appeared late in the atmosphere. It originated from biological photosynthesis which apparently developed rather early in the Earth's history but lead at first only to oxidation of iron and sulfur. The subsequently occurring accumulation of free oxygen in the atmosphere resulted in interesting interrelations with the development of life.     

Persistent organic chemicals in sewage effluents: I. Identifications of nonylphenols and nonylphenolethoxylates by glass capillary gas chromatography / mass spectrometry

Nonylphenols and nonylphenolethoxylates with one, two, and three oxyethylene groups were identified in effluents from activated sludge sewage treatment plants. The complex mixtures of isomers are considered to be refractory metabolites of nonionic detergents.