Changing Human Landscapes Under a Changing Climate: Considerations for Climate Assessments

Climate change is a fundamental aspect of the Anthropocene. Climate assessments are frequently undertaken to evaluate climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity. Assessments are complex endeavors with numerous challenges. Five aspects of a climate assessment that can be particularly challenging are highlighted: choice of assessment strategy, incorporation of spatial linkages and interactions, the constraints of climate observations, interpretation of a climate projection ensemble, uncertainty associated with weather/climate dependency models, and consideration of landscape–climate influences. In addition, a climate assessment strategy that incorporates both traditional “top-down” and “bottom-up” methods is proposed for assessments of adaptation options at the local/regional scale. Uncertainties associated with climate observations and projections and with weather/climate dependency (i.e., response) models are incorporated into the assessment through the “top-down” component, and stakeholder knowledge and experience are included through the “bottom-up” component. Considerable further research is required to improve assessment strategies and the usefulness and usability of assessment findings. In particular, new methods are needed which better incorporate spatial linkages and interactions, yet maintain the fine grain detail needed for decision making at the local and regional scales. Also, new methods are needed which go beyond sensitivity analyses of the relative contribution of land use and land cover changes on local/regional climate to more explicitly consider landscape–climate interactions in the context of uncertain future climates. Assessment teams must clearly communicate the choices made when designing an assessment and recognize the implications of these choices on the interpretation and application of the assessment findings.     

Unintentional injuries among infants age 0-12 months

Each year an estimated 328,500 infants age 0-12 months are treated for unintentional injuries in emergency departments (EDs): one infant every minute and a half. The leading cause, overall and by month of age, was fall-related injury. The second leading cause was 'struck by or against.' The majority of patients were injured at home. Younger infants were more likely to be hospitalized than older ones and more males than females were injured. Gender differences suggest that parenting practices may play a role, but ecological approaches should be considered in an effort to understand the connection between injuries and an infant's developmental stage.     

Developing Life‐Cycle Environmental Response Costs for Leaking Underground Storage Systems at Service Station Sites

Leaking underground storage tank systems at service stations have resulted in tens of thousands of petroleum releases and associated groundwater chemical plumes often extending hundreds of feet off‐site. Technical and engineering approaches to assess and clean up releases from underground tanks, product lines, and dispensers using technologies such as soil vapor extraction, air sparging, biostimulation, and monitored natural attenuation are well understood and widely published throughout the literature. This article summarizes life‐cycle environmental response costs typically encountered using site‐specific cost estimation or metric‐based cost categories considering the overall complexity of site conditions: (1) simple sites where response actions require smaller scale assessments and/or remediation and have limited or no off‐site impacts; (2) average sites where response actions require larger scale assessments and/or remediation typical of petroleum releases; (3) complex sites where response actions require greater on‐site and/or off‐site remediation efforts; and (4) mega sites where petroleum plumes have impacted public or private water supplies or where petroleum vapors have migrated into occupied buildings. Associated cleanup cost estimates rely upon appropriate combinations of individual work elements and the duration of operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities. These cost estimates can be offset by state reimbursement funds, coverage in purchase agreements, and insurance policies. A case study involving a large service station site portfolio illustrates the range of site complexity and life‐cycle environmental response costs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Remediation of Persistent Organic Pollutants Using a Novel Two-Phase Soil Washing Biosorption Process

A two-phase soil washing biosorption process was developed for the remediation of p,p-DDT-contaminated soil. The process involved desorption of contaminants from soil using dilute primary alcohols (40% 1-propanol) followed by contaminant removal from cosolvent solutions using fungal biosorption. Bench scale remediation studies were preformed to simulate ex situ (recycling experiment) or in situ (soil column study) treatment strategies. Both systems were effective at cleaning the soil to below Australian regulatory p,p-DDT levels. After 50–80 hours of soil washing, over 93% of p,p-DDT was removed from the soil(990 mg kg^-1 to <65 mg kg^-1) using either of these methods.p,p-DDT was removed from the cosolvent phase by sorption onto the fungal biomass. This resulted in only low levels of p,p-DDT remaining in the cosolvent solution(<1.5 mg l^-1). The application of both treatment strategies resulted in the rapid clean up of p,p-DDT-contaminated soil and the potential to recycle cosolvent solutions. The ability to recycle cosolvent solutions provides a mechanism for cost reductions of the remediation strategy.     

Subhumid pasture plant communities entrained by management

Many annual cropping lands are being converted to perennial pasture in humid and subhumid areas of the USA as the economic, social, and environmental benefits of managed grazing become evident. Recent evidence about the positive effects of plant diversity on productivity is driving farmers towards management for more complex species mixes than were promoted historically for grazed pastures, but this emphasis has highlighted a lack of understanding about plant community management in pastures. To better understand this system we examined sources of variability in the plant community of a subhumid grassland that was subjected to combinations of disturbance (graze or burn), and amendment (nitrogen, carbon, or ambient), and native grass seeding treatments over 3 years (2004 to 2006). We estimated species cover five times during the study period and ordinated these data with nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS). The ordination explained 80% of the variation in the plant community data set. Variance in ordination site scores was ascribed to management (disturbance, soil amendment, and native grass seeding time), the environment (year, season within year, and block), or unexplained (residual) realms with a linear mixed-effects model. The overwhelming source of variability in the plant community (62–99%) was attributed to management. Ordination results illustrated that plant groups sorted out along management gradients: burned plots were shifted towards grasses while forbs and clovers were associated with grazed plots. We demonstrate how a community-level approach can be used to evaluate management regimes in agroecosystems. Our results indicate that disturbance and soil amendments can be used to shape plant communities in subhumid grasslands for specific agronomic and conservation goals.     

Injuries from ingesting wire bristles dislodged from grill-cleaning brushes — Providence,Rhode Island, 2009–2012

Foreign object ingestion is a common reason for visiting an emergency department; however, wire grill-cleaning brush bristles are an uncommon foreign object. This report describes a series of twelve cases identified in a single hospital system from July 2009 through June 2012. Patients included six males and six females; ages ranged from 11 to 75 (mean: 47 years). The patients all reported recent outdoor residential food grilling and use of commercially available wire grill-cleaning brushes. The severity of injury ranged from puncture of the soft tissues of the neck, causing severe pain on swallowing, to perforation of the gastrointestinal tract requiring emergent surgery. Before cooking, persons should examine the grill surface carefully for the presence of wire bristles that might have dislodged from the grill brush and could embed in cooked food. Alternative residential grill-cleaning methods or products might be considered.