Big society,little justice? Community renewable energy and the politics of localism

This paper challenges “Big Society (BS) Localism”, seeing it as an example of impoverished localist thinking which neglects social justice considerations. We do this through a critical examination of recent turns in the localist discourse in the UK which emphasise self-reliant communities and envisage a diminished role for the state. We establish a heuristic distinction between positive and negative approaches to localism. We argue that the Coalition Government's BS programme fits with a negative localist frame as it starts from an ideological assumption that the state acts as a barrier to community-level associational activity and that it should play a minimal role. “BS localism” (as we call it) has been influential over the making of social policy, but it also has implications for the achievement of environmental goals. We argue that this latest incarnation of localism is largely ineffective in solving problems requiring collective action because it neglects the important role that inequalities play in inhibiting the development of associational society. Drawing upon preliminary research being undertaken at the community scale, we argue that staking environmental policy success on the ability of local civil society to fill the gap left after state retrenchment runs the risk of no activity at all.     

Tsunami generation by submarine landslides: comparison of physical and numerical models

An idealised two-dimensional laboratory model of tsunamis generated by submarine landslides is described. The experimental configuration corresponds to the benchmark configuration suggested by other researchers in the international tsunami community. It comprises a semi-elliptical rigid landslide with a height to length ratio of 0.052 sliding down a 15° slope. The initial landslide submergence and specific gravity are varied, the second of which primarily determines the initial landslide acceleration. In these experiments the landslide motion is generally well approximated as consisting of two periods of constant acceleration. The first phase of positive acceleration finishes as the landslide reaches the base of the slope, while the second period of a slower deceleration continues until the landslide comes to rest along the horizontal base of the tank. A novel experimental technique, which utilises laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), is employed to measure the free surface displacement over the entire space and time domains. This enables the wave potential energy field to be computed directly and provides a vivid picture of the wave generation and development process. Particle tracking velocimetry provides detailed information on the landslide motion and also some data on the sub-surface velocity field. Experimental runs require multiple repeats (typically 35–50) of the same setup in order to capture the entire wave field with the desired resolution. Thus high level experimental repeatability is required, and this is demonstrated. A range of parameters relevant to hazard management are presented and discussed. Maximum crest and trough amplitudes of the offshore propagating waves are shown to be approximately proportional to the initial landslide acceleration and somewhat less strongly dependent on the initial landslide submergence. The maximum wave run-up experienced at the shoreline is shown to depend almost linearly on the magnitude of a high deceleration that occurs for a short period when the landslide nears the toe of the slope. The initial submergence and initial acceleration do not directly determine the maximum wave run-up, although for these experiments they impact indirectly on the magnitude of the deceleration. The efficiency of the energy transfer from the landslide potential energy to the wave field potential energy reaches values of up to 6% and is found to be strongly dependent on the initial submergence. However because of the link between the landslide mass and its acceleration, this efficiency is almost completely independent of the initial acceleration. The results from a numerical model based on linear, inviscid and irrotational wave theory, and solved with the boundary element method, are compared with the data from the experimental program. The numerical model accurately produces the generated sequence of wave crests and troughs, but slightly overpredicts their phase speed by between 2 and 4%. For all other parameters the numerical model predictions are within 25% of the experimental values, although this includes both under- and overprediction for the range of independent parameters covered.     

Effects of Dram Shop,Responsible Beverage Service Training,and State Alcohol Control Laws on Underage Drinking Driver Fatal Crash Ratios

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine whether three minimum legal drinking age 21 (MLDA-21) laws—dram shop liability, responsible beverage service (RBS) training, and state control of alcohol sales—have had an impact on underage drinking and driving fatal crashes using annual state-level data, and compared states with strong laws to those with weak laws to examine their effect on beer consumption and fatal crash ratios.

Methods: Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we calculated the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes as our key outcome measure. We used structural equation modeling to evaluate the three MLDA-21 laws. We controlled for covariates known to impact fatal crashes including: 17 additional MLDA-21 laws; administrative license revocation; blood alcohol concentration limits of.08 and.10 for driving; seat belt laws; sobriety checkpoint frequency; unemployment rates; and vehicle miles traveled. Outcome variables, in addition to the fatal crash ratios of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 included state per capita beer consumption.

Results: Dram shop liability laws were associated with a 2.4% total effect decrease (direct effects: β =.019, p =.018). Similarly, RBS training laws were associated with a 3.6% total effect decrease (direct effect: β =.048, p =.001) in the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes. There was a significant relationship between dram shop liability law strength and per capita beer consumption, F (4, 1528) = 24.32, p <.001, partial η² =.016, showing states with strong dram shop liability laws (Mean (M) = 1.276) averaging significantly lower per capita beer consumption than states with weak laws (M = 1.340).

Conclusions: Dram shop liability laws and RBS laws were both associated with significantly reduced per capita beer consumption and fatal crash ratios. In practical terms, this means that dram shop liability laws are currently associated with saving an estimated 64 lives in the 45 jurisdictions that currently have the law. If the remaining 6 states adopted the dram shop law, an additional 9 lives could potentially be saved annually. Similarly, RBS training laws are associated with saving an estimated 83 lives in the 37 jurisdictions that currently have the laws. If the remaining 14 states adopted these RBS training laws, we estimate that an additional 28 lives could potentially be saved.     

Applied tracer tests in fractured rock: Can we predict natural gradient solute transport more accurately than fracture and matrix parameters?

Applied tracer tests provide a means to estimate aquifer parameters in fractured rock. The traditional approach to analysing these tests has been using a single fracture model to find the parameter values that generate the best fit to the measured breakthrough curve. In many cases, the ultimate aim is to predict solute transport under the natural gradient. Usually, no confidence limits are placed on parameter values and the impact of parameter errors on predictions of solute transport is not discussed. The assumption inherent in this approach is that the parameters determined under forced conditions will enable prediction of solute transport under the natural gradient. This paper considers the parameter and prediction uncertainty that might arise from analysis of breakthrough curves obtained from forced gradient applied tracer tests. By adding noise to an exact solution for transport in a single fracture in a porous matrix we create multiple realisations of an initial breakthrough curve. A least squares fitting routine is used to obtain a fit to each realisation, yielding a range of parameter values rather than a single set of absolute values. The suite of parameters is then used to make predictions of solute transport under lower hydraulic gradients and the uncertainty of estimated parameters and subsequent predictions of solute transport is compared. The results of this study show that predictions of breakthrough curve characteristics (first inflection point time, peak arrival time and peak concentration) for groundwater flow speeds with orders of magnitude smaller than that at which a test is conducted can sometimes be determined even more accurately than the fracture and matrix parameters.     

Urban Rivers as Pollutant Sinks and Sources: a Public Health Concern for Recreational River Users?

Although the area of urban river sediment quality has received increasing attention over the last 10 years, the presence of contaminated sediments in urban rivers and the potential risk to public health it poses has yet to be rigorously addressed within the urban river restoration context. This is an issue of particular concern at the current time, as the opening-up of urban rivers is being strongly promoted by many legislative and non-legislative bodies as a multi-benefit approach to tackling a range of urban challenges; from decreasing the risk of flooding to increasing the quality-of-life in urbanised areas. This paper brings together these two contrasting concepts; urban rivers as pollutant sinks and sources (presentation of data on urban river sediment quality) and urban rivers as sites of flood alleviation, amenity, recreation and wildlife value (review of the drivers and initiatives behind the increasing implementation of urban river rehabilitation schemes). In light of this combined assessment, the urgent need for a risk assessment of restored urban river sites to establish whether the presence of contaminated sediments poses a risk to public health is strongly recommended. Should such a risk be demonstrated, a tiered approach to supporting the identification and pro-active management of these risks is proposed as a way to inform and enable, rather than to prevent, the safe and appropriate use of the increasing number of urban river restoration schemes being implemented.     

Life cycle assessment of DRAM in Taiwan's semiconductor industry

The semiconductor industry plays a leading role in supporting economic stabilization and social progress in Taiwan. In this paper, Eco-indicator 95 and Impact 2002+ are utilized to evaluate the potential environmental impacts from five production processes of the double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM). The comparisons between these two impact methods and their scopes are also discussed.From our results, global warming potential and non-renewable energy consumption were identified as the major environmental impacts. Applications of Eco-indicator 95 and IMPACT 2002+ also suggest that summer smog and respiratory inorganics are significant impact categories. The comparison of the scopes of these two methods identifies that low GWP potential PFCs substitution and electricity saving are effective ways to decrease environmental impacts of DRAM manufacturing. In addition, IMPACT 2002+ is a more applicable LCA method for the semiconductor industry in Taiwan due to the structure and reference area of this method and the characteristics of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan.