Divestment discourse: war,justice, morality and money

The fossil fuel divestment movement has been a vibrant novel development in climate change politics in recent years, particularly in North America. Here, the character of the discourse used to promote divestment as a strategy is explored. The divestment discourse is shown to rest on four overlapping narratives, those of war and enemies, morality, economics and justice. All four are clearly discernible in statements from movement activists, in coverage of divestment campaigns by major news sources and in the movement’s aims, objectives and strategies covered in alternative media. The war narrative, with the formulation of fossil fuel companies as enemies to be overcome to ensure survival, is the dominant narrative. By polarising climate action and identifying an antagonist against which to mobilise, divestment discourse has articulated climate change as an explicitly political phenomenon, in contrast to the primarily consensus and collaboration-based approaches that have predominated in climate politics.     

Assessing the impact of weather events at mid-latitudes on the atmospheric transport of chemical pollutants using a 2-dimensional multimedia meteorological model

We investigate the long-range transport potential (LRTP) of five different classes of hypothetical chemical pollutants (volatile, multimedia, semivolatile, particle-associated and hydrophilic) during a low pressure weather event using a novel 2 (x- and z-axis)-Dimensional Multi-Media Meteorological Model (2D4M). The atmosphere (z-axis) is described by three atmospheric layers, where two layers constitute the boundary layer and the third layer the free troposphere. The 2D4M can describe distinct weather events on a regional scale and calculate the LRTP of chemicals as a function of time during these events. Four weather factors are used to model weather events and their influence on the atmospheric transport of chemicals: (1) temperature, (2) wind speed and mixing dynamics of the troposphere, (3) hydroxyl radical concentrations and (4) precipitation. We have modeled the impact of variability in each of these factors on LRTP of pollutants during a front event associated with a low pressure period that interrupts a dominant high pressure system. The physico-chemical properties of the pollutant determine which specific weather factors contribute most to variability in transport potential during the event. Volatile and multimedia chemicals are mainly affected by changing atmospheric mixing conditions, wind speeds and OH radical concentrations, while semivolatile substances are also affected by temperature. Low-vapor-pressure pollutants that are particle-associated, and water-soluble pollutants are most strongly affected by precipitation. Some chemical pollutants are efficiently transported from the boundary layer into the upper troposphere during the modeled low pressure event and are transported by much higher wind speeds than in the boundary layer. Our model experiments show that the transport potential of volatile, multimedia and semivolatile compounds is significantly increased during a front event as a result of efficient tropospheric mixing and fast wind speeds in the upper troposphere, whereas low-volatility and hydrophilic chemicals are largely scavenged from the atmosphere. In future LRTP assessment of chemical contaminants as required by the Stockholm Convention and the convention on long-range transboundary air pollution, it is therefore advised to prioritize volatile, multimedia and semivolatile chemicals that are identified in initial screening.     

Perceptions of climate change,multiple stressors and livelihoods on marginal African coasts

Studies of multiple stressors in Africa often focus on vulnerable inland communities. Rising concentrations of the world’s poor live in coastal rural–urban areas with direct dependencies on marine as well as terrestrial ecosystem goods and services. Using participatory methods we elicited perceptions of stressors and their sources, impacts and consequences held by coastal communities in eastern Africa (Mtwara in Tanzania and Maputo in Mozambique). Respondent-informed timelines suggest wars, economic policies and natural increase have led to natural resource-dependent populations in marginal, previously little-inhabited lowland coastal areas. Respondents (n = 91) in interviews and focus groups rank climate stressors (temperature rise/erratic rain) highest amongst human/natural stressors having negative impacts on livelihoods and wellbeing (e.g., cross-scale cost of living increases including food and fuel prices). Sources of stress and impacts were mixed in time and space, complicating objective identification of causal chains. Some appeared to be specific to coastal areas. Respondents reported farms failing and rising dependence on stressed marine resources, food and fuel prices and related dependence on traders and credit shrunk by negative global market trends. Development in the guise of tourism and conservation projects limited access to land–sea livelihoods and resources in rural–urban areas (coastal squeeze). Mental modelling clarified resource user perceptions of complex linkages from local to international levels. We underline risks of the poor in marginal coastal areas facing double or multiple exposures to multiple stressors, with climate variability suggesting the risks of climate change.     

An Event-Based Approach for Examining the Effects of Wildland Fire Decisions on Communities

Public concern over the consequences of forest fire to wildland interface communities has led to increased resources devoted to fire suppression, fuel treatment, and management of fire events. The social consequences of the decisions involved in these and other fire-related actions are largely unknown, except in an anecdotal sense, but do occur at a variety of temporal and social organizational scales. These consequences are not limited to the fire event itself. Preparation for the possibility of a fire, actions that suppression agencies take during a fire, and postfire decisions all have consequences, if unknown currently. This article presents an "event-based" approach that can be useful for constructing and systematic discussion about the consequences of wildland fire to human communities. For each of the three major periods within this approach, agencies, communities, and individuals make decisions and take actions that have consequences. The article presents an integrated, temporally based process for examining these consequences, which is similar to others developed in the natural hazards and disaster management literature.     

Environmental controls on denitrifying communities and denitrification rates: insights from molecular methods.

The advent of molecular techniques has improved our understanding of the microbial communities responsible for denitrification and is beginning to address their role in controlling denitrification processes. There is a large diversity of bacteria, archaea, and fungi capable of denitrification, and their community composition is structured by long-term environmental drivers. The range of temperature and moisture conditions, substrate availability, competition, and disturbances have long-lasting legacies on denitrifier community structure. These communities may differ in physiology, environmental tolerances to pH and O2, growth rate, and enzyme kinetics. Although factors such as O2, pH, C availability, and NO3- pools affect instantaneous rates, these drivers act through the biotic community. This review summarizes the results of molecular investigations of denitrifier communities in natural environments and provides a framework for developing future research for addressing connections between denitrifier community structure and function.     

The Ecotoxicological Recovery of Ely Creek and Tributaries (Lee County, Va) After Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage

The Ely Creek watershed (Lee County, VA) was determined in 1995 to be the most negatively affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) within the Virginia coalfield. This determination led the US Army Corps of Engineers to design and build passive wetland remediation systems at two major AMD seeps affecting Ely Creek. This study was undertaken to determine if ecological recovery had occurred in Ely Creek. The results indicate that remediation had a positive effect on all monitoring sites downstream of the remediated AMD seeps. At the site most impacted by AMD, mean pH was 2.93 prior to remediation and improved to 7.14 in 2004. Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys revealed that one AMD influenced site had increased taxa richness from zero taxa in 1997 to 24 in 2004. While in situ testing of Asian clams resulted in zero survival at five of seven AMD influenced sites prior to remediation, some clams survived at all sites after. Clam survival was found to be significantly less than upstream references at only two sites, both downstream of un-mitigated AMD seeps in 2004. An ecotoxicological rating (ETR) system that combined ten biotic and abiotic parameters was developed as an indicator of the ecological status for each study site. A comparison of ETRs from before and after remediation demonstrated that all sites downstream of the remediation had experienced some level of recovery. Although the remediation has improved the ecological health of Ely Creek, un-mitigated AMD discharges are still negatively impacting the watershed.     

Pricing Policy for Tourism in Protected Areas: Lessons from Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Abstract: Protected areas are under increasing pressure to provide economic justification for their existence, particularly in developing countries where demand for land and natural resources is high. Nature-based tourism offers a mechanism to generate substantial benefits from protected areas for both governments and local communities, and ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a sustainable use of protected areas. The extent to which ecotourism offsets the costs of a protected area has rarely been examined. We used financial data from Komodo National Park, Indonesia, and a willingness-to-pay questionnaire of independent visitors to (1) examine the financial contribution of tourism in offsetting the costs of tourism and wider management and (2) assess the effect of hypothetical fee increases on park revenues, visitation patterns, and local economies. Although only 6.9% of park management costs were recovered, visitors were willing to pay over 10 times the current entrance fee, indicating a substantial potential for increased revenue. The potential negative effect of large fee increases on visitor numbers and the resultant effect on local economic benefits from tourism may limit the extent to which greater financial benefits from Komodo National Park (KNP) can be realized. Our results suggest that a moderate, tiered increase in entrance fees is most appropriate, and that partial revenue retention by KNP would help demonstrate the conservation value of tourism to both visitors and managers and has the potential to increase visitors' willingness to pay.     

Electrolytic trichloroethene degradation using mixed metal oxide coated titanium mesh electrodes

Electrochemical systems provide a low cost, versatile, and controllable platform to potentially treat contaminants in water, including chlorinated solvents. Relative to bare metal or noble metal amended materials, dimensionally stable electrode materials such as mixed metal oxide coated titanium (Ti/MMO) have advantages in terms of stability and cost, important factors for sustainable remediation solutions. Here, we report the use of Ti/MMO as an effective cathode substrate for treatment of trichloroethene (TCE). TCE degradation in a batch reactor was measured as the decrease of TCE concentration over time and the corresponding evolution of chloride; notably, this occurred without the formation of commonly encountered chlorinated intermediates. The reaction was initiated when Ti/MMO cathode potentials were less than -0.8 V vs. the standard hydrogen electrode, and the rate of TCE degradation increased linearly with progressively more negative potentials. The maximum pseudo-first-order heterogeneous rate constant was approximately 0.05 cm min(-1), which is comparable to more commonly used cathode materials such as nickel. In laboratory-scale flow-though column reactors designed to simulate permeable reactive barriers (PRBs), TCE concentrations were reduced by 80-90%. The extent of TCE flux reduction increased with the applied potential difference across the electrodes and was largely insensitive to the spacing distance between the electrodes. This is the first report of the electrochemical reduction of a chlorinated organic contaminant at a Ti/MMO cathode, and these results support the use of this material in PRBs as a possible approach to manage TCE plume migration.