Vitalizing effects of being outdoors and in nature

Five studies utilizing survey, experimental, and diary methods assessed the effects of being outdoors on subjective vitality. In Study 1, we used a vignette method to examine whether being outdoors was associated with vitality, above and beyond the influences of physical activity and social interactions. Study 2 explored the effects of being outdoors on vitality through an experimental design contrasting indoor and outdoor walks. In Study 3, participants were exposed to photographic scenes of either nature or buildings. Results showed that only the nature scenes enhanced subjective vitality. Studies 4 and 5 used a diary methodology to examine within-person variations in subjective energy as a function of being outdoors, again controlling for physical and social activity. Being outdoors was associated with greater vitality, a relation that was mediated by the presence of natural elements. Limitations of these studies are discussed, as well as their implications for research on energy and vitalization.     

Ecologically Functional Floodplains: Connectivity,Flow Regime,and Scale1

Opperman, Jeffrey J., Ryan Luster, Bruce A. McKenney, Michael Roberts, and Amanda Wrona Meadows, 2010. Ecologically Functional Floodplains: Connectivity, Flow Regime, and Scale. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):211-226. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00426.x Abstract: This paper proposes a conceptual model that captures key attributes of ecologically functional floodplains, encompassing three basic elements: (1) hydrologic connectivity between the river and the floodplain, (2) a variable hydrograph that reflects seasonal precipitation patterns and retains a range of both high and low flow events, and (3) sufficient spatial scale to encompass dynamic processes and for floodplain benefits to accrue to a meaningful level. Although floodplains support high levels of biodiversity and some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, they are also among the most converted and threatened ecosystems and therefore have recently become the focus of conservation and restoration programs across the United States and globally. These efforts seek to conserve or restore complex, highly variable ecosystems and often must simultaneously address both land and water management. Thus, such efforts must overcome considerable scientific, technical, and socioeconomic challenges. In addition to proposing a scientific conceptual model, this paper also includes three case studies that illustrate methods for addressing these technical and socioeconomic challenges within projects that seek to promote ecologically functional floodplains through river-floodplain reconnection and/or restoration of key components of hydrological variability.     

Characterizing shipboard bilgewater effluent before and after treatment

Operational discharges from oceangoing vessels, including discharges of bilgewater, release oil into marine ecosystems that can potentially damage marine life, terrestrial life, human health, and the environment. Bilgewater is a mix of oily fluids and other pollutants from a variety of sources onboard a vessel. If bilgewater cannot be retained onboard, it must be treated by an oily water separator before discharge for larger ocean-going vessels. We evaluated the effectiveness of bilgewater treatment systems by analyzing land-based type approval data, collecting and analyzing shipboard bilgewater effluent data, assessing bilgewater effluent concentrations compared to regulatory standards, evaluating the accuracy of shipboard oil content monitors relative to analytical results, and assessing additional pollution reduction benefits of treatment systems. Land-based type approval data were gathered for 20 treatment systems. Additionally, multiple samples of influent and effluent from operational bilgewater treatment systems onboard three vessels were collected and analyzed, and compared to the land-based type approval data. Based on type approval data, 15 treatment systems were performing below 5 ppm oil. Shipboard performance measurements verified land-based type approval data for the three systems that were sampled. However, oil content monitor readings were more variable than actual oil concentration measurements from effluent samples, resulting in false negatives and positives. The treatment systems sampled onboard for this study generally reduced the majority of other potentially harmful pollutants, which are not currently regulated, with the exception of some heavy metal analytes.     

Health and environmental costs of pesticide use in vegetable farming in Nepal

There is a growing concern of pesticide risks to human health, natural environment and ecosystems. Many previous economic valuations have accounted health aspects or environmental components, but rarely combined; thus, overall risk assessment is partially distorted. The study, conducted close to the capital of Nepal, addressed the health effects of pesticides on small-scale farmers and evaluated the monetary risks of pesticide use on human health and environmental resources. We also aim to establish the relationships among valuation methods. The paper adopts cost of illness, defensive expenditure and contingent valuation willingness to pay approach. The study concluded that the methods used for valuing pesticide risks to human and environmental health are theoretically consistent. The exposed individuals are likely to bear significant economic costs of exposures depending on geographical location, pesticide use magnitudes and frequency. Individuals are willing to pay between 53 and 79% more than the existing pesticide price to protect their health and environment. The integrated pest management training is less likely to reduce health costs of pesticide exposure, although it leads to higher investment in safety measures.     

Is the degrowth debate relevant to China?

In industrialized countries, the idea of degrowth has emerged as a response to environmental, social, and economic crises. Realizing environmental limits to and failures of more than half a century of continual economic growth in terms of social progress and environmental sustainability, the degrowth paradigm calls for a downscaling of consumption and production for social equity and ecological sustainability. The call for economic degrowth is generally considered to be delimited to rich countries, where reduced consumption can save “ecological space” enabling people in poor countries to enjoy the benefits of economic growth. China, as one of the economically most expanding countries in the world, has dramatically improved its living standards, particularly along the Eastern coast, over the latest 30 years. However, China is absent from the international debates on growth. This article discusses the implications of the Western degrowth debates for China. Given the distinctive features of China’s development, the paper aims to enrich the degrowth debates, which have hitherto been dominated by Western perspectives. Based upon reflections on social, environmental, and moral dimensions of economic growth, the paper argues that limited natural resources may not continuously support universal affluence at the current level of the rich countries, a level that China is likely to reach within a few decades. Priority for growth in China should therefore be given to the poor regions of the country, and future growth should be beneficial to social and environmental development.     

Evaluation of the Use of Solar Irradiation for the Decontamination of Soils Containing Wood Treating Wastes

Laboratory evaluation of the efficacy of soil phase photodegradation of recalcitrant hazardous organic components of wood treating wastes is described. The photodecomposition of anthracene, biphenyl, 9H-carbazole, m-cresol, dibenzofuran, fluorene, pentachlorophenol, phenanthrene, pyrene and quinoline under UV and visible light was monitored over a 50-day reaction period in three test soils. Methylene blue, riboflavin, hydrogen peroxide, peat moss and diethylamine soil amendments were evaluated as to their effect on the enhancement of compound photoreaction rates in the test soil systems. Dark control samples monitored over the entire study period were utilized to quantify non-photo mediated reaction losses. Compounds losses in both the dark control and irradiated samples were found to follow first order kinetics, allowing the calculation of first order photodegradation reaction rate constants for each test soil/compound combination. Degradation due to photochemical activity was observed for all test compounds, with compound photolytic half-lives ranging from 7 to approximately 180 days. None of the soil amendments were found to improve soil phase photodegradation, although photosensitization by anthracene was shown to significantly enhance the rate of photodegradation of the other test compounds. Soil type, and its characteristic of internal reflectance, proved to be the most significant factor affecting compound degradation rates suggesting the necessity for site specific assessments of soil phase photodegradation potential.     

Indoor/Outdoor Measurements of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia

The Kanawha Valley region of West Virginia which is comprised of Charleston and surrounding communities Is the center of a heavily industrialized area known for its chemical manufacturing. As part of a larger study designed to investigate the Impact of the chemical industry on human exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOC), a study of the relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations was conducted. Thirty-five homes were selected for monitoring from among volunteers; approximately ten in each of three distinct population-industry centers and four outside the Valley to act as controls. Monitoring was performed using passive, badge samplers with a three-week monitoring period. Two separate questionnaires were administered: one for characterization of the residence; and one to characterize source use during monitoring. Participants were also asked to keep a record of their activities with respect to in-home, outdoors and other Indoor environments. Analysis of the samplers was performed by solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography using a flame-ionization detector. Results suggest that indoor VOC concentrations are higher than outdoor concentrations. Additionally, certain ventilation-related parameters were identified that afforded some predictive power for indoor concentrations. No statistically significant differences between regions were identified.     

Analysis of a Summertime PM2.5 and Haze Episode in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Abstract

Observations of the mass and chemical composition of particles less than 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM_2.5), light extinction, and meteorology in the urban Baltimore-Washington corridor during July 1999 and July 2000 are presented and analyzed to study summertime haze formation in the mid-Atlantic region. The mass fraction of ammoniated sulfate (SO₄ ^2-) and carbonaceous material in PM_2.5 were each ～50% for cleaner air (PM_2.5 < 10 μg/m³) but changed to ～60% and ～20%, respectively, for more polluted air (PM_2.5 > 30 μg/m³). This signifies the role of SO₄ ^2- in haze formation. Comparisons of data from this study with the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments network suggest that SO₄ ^2? is more regional than carbonaceous material and originates in part from upwind source regions. The light extinction coefficient is well correlated to PM_2.5 mass plus water associated with inorganic salt, leading to a mass extinction efficiency of 7.6 ± 1.7 m²/g for hydrated aerosol. The most serious haze episode occurring between July 15 and 19, 1999, was characterized by westerly transport and recirculation slowing removal of pollutants. At the peak of this episode, 1-hr PM_2.5 concentration reached ～45 μg/m³, visual range dropped to ～5 km, and aerosol water likely contributed to ～40% of the light extinction coefficient.     

A Cost-Effective Weighing Chamber for Particulate Matter Filters

ABSTRACT

Particulate matter (PM) is a ubiquitous air pollutant that has been receiving increasing attention in recent years due in part to the association between PM and a number of adverse health outcomes, including mortality and increases in emergency room visits and respiratory symptoms, as well as exacerbation of asthma and decrements in lung function.^1-5 As a result, the ability to accurately sample ambient PM has become important, both to researchers and to regulatory agencies. The federal reference method for the determination of fine PM as PM_2.5 in the atmosphere recommends that particle-sampling filters be conditioned and weighed in an environment with constant temperature and relative humidity (RH).⁶ It is also recommended that vibration, electrostatic charges, and contamination of the filters from laboratory air be minimized to reduce variability in filter weight measurements. These controls have typically been maintained in small, environmentally controlled “cleanrooms.” As an alternative to constructing an elaborate cleanroom, we have designed, and presented in this paper, an inexpensive weighing chamber to maintain the necessary level of humidity control.