A disaggregated emissions inventory for Taiwan with uses in hybrid input‐output life cycle analysis (IO‐LCA)

This paper reports on a life‐cycle analysis (LCA) of Taiwan's “agriculture and forestry”, “crude petroleum, coal and natural gas extraction” and “electricity generation” sectors, revealing for the first time Taiwan's CO₂ and CH₄ emissions inventories and matching Taiwan's input‐output sectors. Integrated hybrid input‐output life cycle analysis is used to disaggregate the electricity generation sector into nuclear, hydro, gas, oil and coal, and cogeneration. Results show that the fossil‐fuel‐related electricity sub‐sectors have higher CO₂ emissions intensity than the remaining sectors in the economy and that the “paddy rice” sector is Taiwan's most CH₄‐intensive sector, making rice cultivation an important source of CH₄ emissions. This work is vital to sound policy decisions concerning power generation, coal, and agriculture and forestry at the national level.     

A bayesian network for comparing dissolved nitrogen exports from high rainfall cropping in southeastern Australia

Best management practices are often used to mitigate nutrient exports from agricultural systems. The effectiveness of these measures can vary depending on the natural attributes of the land in question (e.g., soil type, slope, and drainage class). In this paper we use a Bayesian Network to combine experiential data (expert opinion) and experimental data to compare farm-scale management for different high-rainfall cropping farms in the Hamilton region of southern Australia. In the absence of appropriate data for calibration, the network was tested against various scenarios in a predictive and in a diagnostic way. In general, the network suggests that transport factors related to total surface water (i.e., surface and near surface interflow) runoff, which are largely unrelated to Site Variables, have the biggest effect on N exports. Source factors, especially those related to fertilizer applications at planting, also appear to be important. However, the effects of fertilizer depend on when runoff occurs, and, of the major factors under management control, only the Fertilizer Rate at Sowing had a notable effect. When used in a predictive capacity, the network suggests that, compared with other scenarios, high N loads are likely when fertilizer applications at sowing and runoff coincide. In this paper we have used a Bayesian Network to describe many of the dependencies between some of the major factors affecting N exports from high rainfall cropping. This relatively simple approach has been shown to be a useful tool for comparing management practices in data-poor environments.     

Real-world vehicle emissions: a summary of the Seventeenth Coordinating Research Council On-Road Vehicle Emissions Workshop

The Coordinating Research Council, Inc. (CRC) held its 17th On-Road Vehicle Emissions Workshop in March 2007, where results of the most recent on-road vehicle emissions research were presented. We summarize ongoing work from researchers who are engaged in improving our understanding of the role and contribution of mobile sources to ambient air quality and emission inventories. Participants in the Workshop discussed efforts to improve mobile source emission models, light- and heavy-duty vehicle emissions measurements, on- and off-road emissions measurements, effects of fuels and lubricating oils on emissions, as well as emerging issues and topics for future research.     

Real-world vehicle emissions: a summary of the Sixteenth Coordinating Research Council On-Road Vehicle Emissions Workshop

The Coordinating Research Council held its 16th workshop in March 2006, with 83 presentations describing the most recent mobile source-related emissions research. In this paper, we summarize the presentations from researchers who are engaged in improving our understanding of the contribution of mobile sources to air quality. Participants in the workshop discussed evaluation of in-use emissions control programs, effects of fuels on emissions, emission models and emission inventories, results from gas- and particle-phase emissions studies from spark-ignition and diesel-powered vehicles, and efforts to improve our capabilities in performing on-board emissions measurements, as well as topics for future research.     

Carbon values,reforestation, and `perverse' incentives under the Kyoto protocol: An empirical analysis

Economic incentives for sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) in forests may be an effective way to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (KP). But concerns have been raised that the KP may create unintended incentives to excessively harvest existing forests if regenerated forests qualify for carbon (C) credits under the reforestation provision of Article 3.3. This paper combines an analytical model of the optimal forest rotation with both timber and C as priced outputs with data on timber and C growth and yield to different forest settings in the U.S. C prices of $50 per megagram (Mg) – the highest price evaluated– can considerably lengthen forest rotations (40 years or more), raise forest land values (as much as $1,900 per hectare), and sequester more C in the long run (up to 60 percent per acre), relative to the base case of no C compensation. However, if C payments are made for the regenerated stand only, in some situations, it is optimal to immediately harvest an otherwise premature stand at C prices as low as $20/Mg. The strength of perverse incentives to accelerate harvesting of existing forest varies by forest type, region, C price level, and institutional factors relevant to the compensation system. If C compensation were extended to existing stands, as may be possible under Article 3.4 of the KP, the perverse incentives for prematurely harvesting existing stands would not exist.     

Use of tandem circulation wells to measure hydraulic conductivity without groundwater extraction

Conventional methods to measure the hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer on a relatively large scale (10-100 m) require extraction of significant quantities of groundwater. This can be expensive, and otherwise problematic, when investigating a contaminated aquifer. In this study, innovative approaches that make use of tandem circulation wells to measure hydraulic conductivity are proposed. These approaches measure conductivity on a relatively large scale, but do not require extraction of groundwater. Two basic approaches for using circulation wells to measure hydraulic conductivity are presented; one approach is based upon the dipole-flow test method, while the other approach relies on a tracer test to measure the flow of water between two recirculating wells. The approaches are tested in a relatively homogeneous and isotropic artificial aquifer, where the conductivities measured by both approaches are compared to each other and to the previously measured hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. It was shown that both approaches have the potential to accurately measure horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity for a relatively large subsurface volume without the need to pump groundwater to the surface. Future work is recommended to evaluate the ability of these tandem circulation wells to accurately measure hydraulic conductivity when anisotropy and heterogeneity are greater than in the artificial aquifer used for these studies.     

Climate change,marine policy and the valuation of Mediterranean intertidal ecosystems

This commentary describes a gap in the qualitative and quantitative knowledge of the provision of benefits to humans from the intertidal ecosystems of the Mediterranean and offers a framework for quantification of the benefits provided by these systems. The identification of such benefits, understanding their spatial distribution and their subsequent quantification will be critical to the design of policy responses to future climate change, sea level rise and seawater acidification. A baseline understanding of the current state of ecosystem functions, as well as of the provision of related ecosystem services, is therefore needed. Further, researchers must strive to generate forecasts of the changes in these functions and services conditional on policy responses and the range of expectations for climate change.     

A modified toxicity testing method using tropical marine microalgae

Toxicity testing of four heavy metals(Cd, Cu, Mn and As) using four species of tropicalmarine phytoplankton, Chaetoceros calcitrans, Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis tetrahele and Tetraselmis sp., was carried out in multiwellplates with test volumes of 2 mL and the resultscompared to those of standard, large volume,shake-flasks. IC₅₀ values (concentrations of metalsestimated to inhibit 50% growth relative to thecontrol) were determined after 96 hours based onautomated O.D. readings measured in Elisa microplatesby a Multiskan spectrophotometer. Good agreement wasachieved between O.D. readings and cell countsindicating that this new method is a simple,economical, practical and rapid technique for toxicitytesting, and provides good reproducibility of IC₅₀ values. Results of the toxicity testsindicate that Cu was the most toxic metal (averageIC₅₀ values ranging from 0.04 to 0.37 mg L^-1), followed by Cd (0.06–5.7 mg L^-1), Mn (7.2–21.4 mg L^-1) and As (33.9–319.3 mg L^-1).Test species had different degrees of sensitivity tothe metals tested, with I.galbana and C. calcitrans the mostsensitive to Cu, Cd and Mn. Based on these findingsit is recommended that the existing Malaysian InterimStandards for Marine Water Quality for Cd and Cu be reviewed.     

Prioritizing research for trace pollutants and emerging contaminants in the freshwater environment

Organic chemicals have been detected at trace concentrations in the freshwater environment for decades. Though the term trace pollutant indicates low concentrations normally in the nanogram or microgram per liter range, many of these pollutants can exceed an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans. Trace pollutants referred to as emerging contaminants (ECs) have recently been detected in the freshwater environment and may have adverse human health effects. Analytical techniques continue to improve; therefore, the number and frequency of detections of ECs are increasing. It is difficult for regulators to restrict use of pollutants that are a human health hazard; scientists to improve treatment techniques for higher priority pollutants; and the public to modify consumption patterns due to the vast number of ECs and the breadth of literature on the occurrence, use, and toxicity. Hence, this paper examines literature containing occurrence and toxicity data for three broad classes of trace pollutants and ECs (industrials, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)), and assesses the relevance of 71 individual compounds. The evaluation indicates that widely used industrials (BPF) and PPCPs (AHTN, HHCB, ibuprofen, and estriol) occur frequently in samples from the freshwater environment but toxicity data were not available; thus, it is important to establish their ADI. Other widely used industrials (BDE-47, BDE-99) and pesticides (benomyl, carbendazim, aldrin, endrin, ethion, malathion, biphenthrin, and cypermethrin) have established ADI values but occurrence in the freshwater environment was not well documented. The highest priority pollutants for regulation and treatment should include industrials (PFOA, PFOS and DEHP), pesticides (diazinon, methoxychlor, and dieldrin), and PPCPs (EE2, carbamazepine, βE2, DEET, triclosan, acetaminophen, and E1) because they occur frequently in the freshwater environment and pose a human health hazard at environmental concentrations.     

Element Levels in Snakes in South Carolina: Differences Between a Control Site and Exposed Site on the Savannah River Site

Levels of 18 elements, including lead, mercury, selenium, and uranium, were examined in three species of snakes from an exposed and reference site on the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. We tested the hypotheses that there were no differences as a function of species, and there were no difference between the exposed and control site for blood and muscle (tail) samples for banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata), brown water snake (N. taxispilota) and cottonmouth (Akistrodon piscivorous). The banded water snakes collected were significantly smaller than the other two species. For blood, there were significant species differences only for barium, copper, selenium, uranium and zinc, while for muscle tissue there were significant interspecific differences in aluminum, arsenic, barium, cobalt, cesium, copper, iron, lead, mercury, manganese, strontium, vanadium and zinc, suggesting that muscle tissue in the tail is a better indicator of potential interspecific differences. It is also easier logistically to collect tail tissue than blood. Where one species had significantly higher levels than the other species in muscle tissue levels, cottonmouth had higherlevels of five elements (aluminum, cobalt, lead, mercury, vanadium), brown water snake had two (lead, strontium), and banded water snake had only barium. There were few significant differences between the control and reference site for levels of blood, but several for muscle tissue. All three species had significantly higher levels of arsenic and manganese at Tim's Branch than the reference site, and nickel and uranium were significantly higher for banded watersnake and cottonmouth, the larger species. Individuals with high exposure of one element were exposed to high levels of other elements.