Adaptation of a Canadian culpability scoring tool to Alberta police traffic collision report data

Objective: The objective of this study was to adapt a previously validated Canadian Culpability Scoring Tool (CCST) to Alberta police report data.

Methods: Police traffic collision reports from motor vehicle (MV) collisions in Calgary and Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) from 2010 to 2014 were used. Adaptation of the CCST was completed with input from personnel within Alberta Transportation, contributing to face and content validity. Two research assistants, given only the information necessary for scoring, evaluated 175 randomly selected MV–MV collisions. Interrater agreement was estimated using kappa (k) and reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Discussion of disagreements between the research assistants and consultation from Alberta Transportation informed the algorithm used in the Alberta Motor Vehicle Collision Culpability Tool (AMVCCT). The AMVCCT was automated and applied to all motorists involved in collisions. Binary logistic regression was used to examine characteristics of the culpable and nonculpable drivers and their effects were reported using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs.

Results: Interrater agreement for the random sample was excellent (k = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92–0.99). Of those drivers hospitalized, 1,130 (37.54%) were rated not culpable and 1,880 (62.46%) were rated culpable. The odds of being culpable were higher for males than for females (OR = 1.43; 95% CI, 1.23–1.66). The odds of being culpable were higher in those impaired by alcohol than those considered “apparently normal” (OR = 61.10; 95% CI, 22.66–164.75). The odds of being deemed culpable, when compared with drivers >54 years old, were higher for those <25 years old (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.35–2.20) and lower for those in the 40- to 54-year-old age group (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.63–0.96). Driving between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. resulted in higher odds of being culpable compare with all other 6-h time blocks. Direction and statistical significance remained consistent when applying the tool to all MV collisions. Sensitivity analysis including the removal of single vehicle collisions did not affect the direction or statistical significance of the main results.

Conclusions: The AMVCCT identified a culpable group that exhibited characteristics expected in drivers who are at fault in collisions. The age groups 25–39 and 40–54 demonstrated different results than the CCST. However, this is the only difference that exists in the findings of the AMVCCT compared to the CCST and could exist due to differences between the driving populations in Alberta and British Columbia. It is possible to adapt the CCST to provinces outside British Columbia and, in doing so, we can identify risk factors for collision contribution and not-at-fault drivers who represent the driving population.     

Assessing species reintroduction sites based on future climate suitability for food resources

The reintroduction of a species that is extinct in the wild demands caution because reintroduction locations may be associated with threats, such as hunting, poor-quality habitat, and climate change. This is the case for Cyanopsitta spixii (Spix's Macaw), which has been extinct in the wild since 2000. The few living individuals were created in captivity and will be used in a reintroduction project within the species’ original distribution area, the Caatinga domain (Brazil). Because the occurrence records for this bird are old and inaccurate, we investigated the current and future environmental suitability of the 14 plant species used by C. spixii as resource. These plants are key elements for the long-term reestablishment of the species in the wild, so the use of models helps in the assessment of the effects of climate change on the availability of these resources for the species and informs selection of the best places for reintroduction. We based our models of environmental suitability on 19 bioclimatic variables and nine physical soil and topography variables. Climate projections were created for the present and for the year 2070 with an optimistic (SSP2-4.5) and a pessimistic (SSP5-8.5) climate scenario. Both future climate scenarios lead to a reduction in area of environmental suitability that overlapped for all the plant species: 33% reduction for SSP2-4.5 and 63% reduction for SSP5-8.5. If our projections materialize, climate change could thus affect the distribution of key resources, and the maintenance of C. spixii would depend on restoration of degraded areas, especially riparian forests, and the preservation of already existing natural areas. The Caatinga domain is very threatened by habitat loss and, for the success of this reintroduction project, the parties involved must act to protect the species and the resources it uses.     

Implementing nanoparticles for competitive drinking water purification

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The implementation of nanotechnology in drinking water treatment is a very promising field for applied research. A major part of this effort focuses on the...     

Impacts of environmental issues on health and well-being: a global pollution challenge

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Every 2&nbsp;years, the environmental, chemical, and health research communities meet in Costa de Caparica, Portugal to showcase the latest...     

Development of intensified flat-plate packed-bed solar reactors for heterogeneous photocatalysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Solar-driven photocatalysis is a promising water-cleaning and energy-producing technology that addresses some of the most urgent engineering problems...     

Governing intensification: the influence of state institutions on smallholder farming strategies in Calakmul,Mexico

ABSTRACT

In forest frontiers, smallholder agrarian livelihoods remain uneasily juxtaposed with conservation interests. Agricultural intensification is often considered a viable means of reconciling competing environmental and livelihood objectives given its potential to concentrate production on less land. However, intensification may have unintended consequences, including loss of resilient agricultural systems. The risks of smallholder agricultural intensification warrant a better understanding of its drivers. This study uses the case of Calakmul, Mexico, to examine the critical role of the state in intensification processes. Drawing on household surveys and key-informant interviews, it traces the linkages between state institutions and local farming practices. Statistical and qualitative analyses reveal how intensification is both incentivized and imposed by prevailing policies, the former via subsidies and the latter via regulations against field rotations. The outcome – increased external inputs and longer cultivation periods between fallows – may undermine the sustainability of smallholders’ agroecosystems, an undesirable consequence amid limited livelihood alternatives.     

The potential future contribution of shipping to acidification of the Baltic Sea

International regulation of the emission of acidic sulphur and nitrogen oxides from commercial shipping has focused on the risks to human health, with little attention paid to the consequences for the marine environment. The introduction of stricter regulations in northern Europe has led to substantial investment in scrubbers that absorb the sulphur oxides in a counterflow of seawater. This paper examines the consequences of smokestack and scrubber release of acidic oxides in the Baltic Sea according to a range of scenarios for the coming decades. While shipping is projected to become a major source of strong acid deposition to the Baltic Sea by 2050, the long-term effect on the pH and alkalinity is projected to be significantly smaller than estimated from previous scoping studies. A significant contribution to this difference is the efficient export of surface water acidification to the North Sea on a timescale of 15–20 years.     

Correlating pH and Swelling Degree Parameters to Understand the Sorption and Desorption Process of Diquat Herbicide from Nanocomposites Based on Polysaccharide and Clinoptilolite

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Zeolite-based nanocomposites have become an efficient option for application in herbicide removal and controlled release systems. Our group previously...     

Comparison of modeling with empirical calculation of diffuse and fugitive methane emissions in a Spanish landfill

One of the most significant environmental problems arising from landfills is the emission of methane into the atmosphere. In this study, methane emissions from a currently in-use Spanish landfill were modeled as well as being experimentally measured using a two-step method. The first step involved a qualitative walkover survey to detect where gases were being emitted on the surface of the landfill. The second stage comprised a quantitative analysis of these surface methane emissions at a selected number of points on the landfill surface using a specially designed flux chamber. The statistical analysis of the data obtained was based on the Sichel function and resulted in an average emission rate of 74.9 g·m^?2·day^?1, with 27.8 and 202.1 g·m^?2·day^?1 as the lower and upper limits of the 95% confidence interval, respectively. The total emission for the landfill, with an emitting surface of 335,000 m², is 9.16 × 10³ ton/yr. These values have been compared with those from three different models, with the model results being above the calculated mean emissions measured at the landfill, but below the upper confidence limit at 95%.

Implications: One of the main environmental problems arising from the presence of landfills is the emission of biogas (which mainly contains methane and carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere. Several experimental methods as well as models have been developed to quantify these emissions. In this work, the authors have compared the results obtained using experimental measurements with those provided by some local and international models using the default parameters proposed. The results obtained from the experimental method are in accordance with those provided by the models, although the models could be slightly overestimating these emissions.