Community-based Organizations and Neighbourhood Environmental Problem Solving: A Framework for Adoption of Information Technologies

Community-based organizations (CBOs) today seek improved capacity to address environmental problems in urban neighbourhoods. Many seek access to information technologies such as the Internet and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to expand information about their neighbourhood's environmental quality to support their planning and service efforts. Experience with the Internet has been bolstered somewhat by programmesto create community networks. This experience and experience with GIS in planning at the municipal and state levels reveals a set of technical, organizational and personal prerequisites that bolster successful and effective adoption of information technologies. This paper reviews these prerequisites as they pertain to CBOs and makes recommendations for transactions that could enhance CBO adoption of the Internet and GIS to address environmental problems in urban neighbourhoods. The paper concludes that a constellation of prerequisite conditions, most predominantly data availability problems, staff skill acquisition and staff retention problems, offer the greatest challenges for CBOs seeking to adopt information technologies to manage environmental problems more effectively.     

Space-time estimation of grid-cell hourly ozone levels for assessment of a deterministic model

We present an approach to estimate hourly grid-cell surface ozone concentrations based on observations from point monitoring sites in space, for comparison with grid-based results from the SARMAP photochemical air-quality model for a region of northern California. Statistical estimation is carried out on a transformed (square root) scale, followed by back-transforming to the original scale of ozone in parts per billion, adjusting for bias and variance. We estimate a spatially-varying diurnal mean structure and a non-separable space-time correlation structure on the transformed scale. Temporal pre-whitening is followed by modelling of a spatially non-stationary, diurnally-varying spatial correlation structure using a spatial deformation approach. Comparisons of SARMAP model results with the estimated grid-cell ozone levels are presented.     

The impacts of reactive terpene emissions from plants on air quality in Las Vegas,Nevada

A three-part study was conducted to quantify the impact of landscaped vegetation on air quality in a rapidly expanding urban area in the arid southeastern United States. The study combines in situ, plant-level measurements, a spatial emissions inventory, and a photochemical box model. Maximum plant-level basal emission rates were moderate: 18.1 μgC gdw^?1 h^?1 (Washingtonia spp., palms) for isoprene and 9.56 μgC gdw^?1 h^?1 (Fraxinus velutina, Arizona ash) for monoterpenes. Sesquiterpene emission rates were low for plant species selected in this study, with no measurement exceeding 0.1 μgC gdw^?1 h^?1. The high ambient temperatures combined with moderate plant-level emission factors resulted in landscape emission factors that were low (250–640 μgC m^?2 h^?1) compared to more mesic environments (e.g., the southeastern United States). The Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) was modified to include a new reaction pathway for ocimene. Using measured concentrations of anthropogenic hydrocarbons and other reactive air pollutants (NO_x, ozone), the box model employing the RACM mechanism revealed that these modest emissions could have a significant impact on air quality. For a suburban location that was downwind of the urban core (high NO_x; low anthropogenic hydrocarbons), biogenic terpenes increased time-dependent ozone production rates by a factor of 50. Our study demonstrates that low-biomass density landscapes emit sufficient biogenic terpenes to have a significant impact on regional air quality.     

Ohio's Balanced Growth Program: a case study of collaboration for planning and policy design

This paper describes the collaborative planning process for a new landscape planning programme in Ohio that seeks to influence land urbanisation patterns through joint local land use decision making on a watershed basis. The programme was developed through a collaborative process by a state agency-appointed task force that included agency staff and a wide range of stakeholders. The paper describes the process in terms of the collaborative mechanisms, the participants, the programmatic outputs, and the social and organisational outcomes that set the foundation for enhanced watershed quality through better land use decision-making practices. Key collaborations formed during the process were inter-agency collaborations, a non-profit organisation that partnered with the agencies, and that of state agencies with local governments to develop watershed-based land use plans. A most critical outcome was creation of a learning community, through an exploratory research process that used multiple methods of data gathering and consensus-building deliberation. The paper is based on a review of published documents and plans, meeting minutes, participant observation of committee and workgroup meetings and interactive research.     

Modelling livelihoods and household resilience to droughts using Bayesian networks

Over the last four decades, the Indian government has been investing heavily in watershed development (WSD) programmes that are intended to improve the livelihoods of rural agrarian communities and maintain or improve natural resource condition. Given the massive investment in WSD in India, and the recent shift from micro-scale programmes (<500 ha) to meso-scale (~5000 ha) clusters, robust methodological frameworks are needed to measure and analyse impacts of interventions across landscapes as well as between and within communities. In this paper, the sustainable livelihoods framework is implemented using Bayesian networks (BNs) to develop models of drought resilience and household livelihoods. Analysis of the natural capital component model provides little evidence that watershed development has influenced household resilience to drought and indicators of natural capital, beyond an increased area of irrigation due to greater access to groundwater. BNs have proved a valuable tool for implementing the sustainable livelihoods framework in a retrospective evaluation of implemented WSD programmes. Many of the challenges of evaluating watershed interventions using BNs are the same as for other analytical approaches. These are reliance on retrospective studies, identification and measurement of relevant indicators and isolating intervention impacts from contemporaneous events. The establishment of core biophysical and socio-economic indicators measured through longitudinal household surveys and monitoring programmes will be critical to the success of BNs as an evaluation tool for meso-scale WSD.     

Ambient measurements of 2,2,4-trimethyl, 1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate in Southern California

2,2,4-trimethyl, 1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate (TPM) is a widely used solvent found in water-based coatings. Ambient measurements of TPM are reported here for the first time. Although this compound has been previously measured in indoor air, this study illustrates successful detection and quantification of TPM in ambient air at three locations in Southern California: Pico Rivera, Azusa, and Riverside. TPM was detected in every sample collected, with concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 49.5 parts per trillion (ppt). Collections took place during summer 2009, fall 2009, winter 2009/2010, and spring 2010, for 5-7 days during each season. The highest mean concentrations were observed during the summer months for each city, when coating activities are typically at their highest.     

Establishing standards and assessment criteria for ecological instream flow needs in agricultural regions of Canada

Agricultural land use can place heavy demands on regional water resources, strongly influencing the quantity and timing of water flows needed to sustain natural ecosystems. The effects of agricultural practices on streamflow conditions are multifaceted, as they also contribute to the severity of impacts arising from other stressors within the river ecosystem. Thus, river scientists need to determine the quantity of water required to sustain important aquatic ecosystem components and ecological services, to support wise apportionment of water for agricultural use. It is now apparent that arbitrarily defined minimum flows are inadequate for this task because the complex habitat requirements of the biota, which underpin the structure and function of a river ecosystem, are strongly influenced by predictable temporal variations in flow. We present an alternative framework for establishing a first-level, regional ecological instream flow needs standard based on adoption of the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration/Range of Variability Approach as a broadly applicable hydrological assessment tool, coupling this to the Canadian Ecological Flow Index which assesses ecological responses to hydrological alteration. By explicitly incorporating a new field-based ecological assessment tool for small agricultural streams, we provide a necessary verification of altered hydrology that is broadly applicable within Canada and essential to ensure the continuous feedback between the application of flow management criteria and ecological condition.     

An 'artificial mussel' for monitoring heavy metals in marine environments

A new chemical sampling device, artificial mussel (AM), has been developed for monitoring metals in marine environments. This device consists of a polymer ligand suspended in artificial seawater within a Perspex tubing, and enclosed with semi-permeable gel at both ends. Laboratory and field experiments were carried out to examine the uptake of five metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn) by the AM. Uptake of metals by AM was proportional to the exposure metal concentrations, and the AM was able to accumulate the ASV labile fractions of metals. Uptake and release of the metals of AM are similar to those of the mussel Perna viridis, but less affected by salinity and temperature. Field studies demonstrated that the AM can not only provide a time-integrated estimate of metals concentrations, but also allows comparisons of metal levels in different environments and geographical areas beyond the natural distribution limits of biomonitors.     

Characterisation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in a terrestrial ecosystem near a fluorochemical plant in Flanders,Belgium

Bioaccumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in a restricted terrestrial food chain was investigated with the omnivorous wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) on top of the studied food chain. The levels detected are very high compared with literature as a result of the presence of fluorochemical plant in the immediate vicinity of the study area. Soil, surface water, fruits of European elder and common blackberry, invertebrates, bank vole and wood mouse were collected at two sites, e.g. Blokkersdijk, adjacent to the fluorochemical plant, and Galgenweel, a reference site 2 km further away. In wood mouse, the highest PFOS concentrations were found in the liver followed by the pancreas, lungs and kidneys, with the spleen having the lowest levels. In the liver, the concentrations ranged from 787 to 22,355 ng/g ww at Blokkersdijk and these were significantly correlated with those detected in the kidneys (13.7–4,226 ng/g ww). If current results are compared to the findings of a previous study conducted in 2002 at the same sites, a significant decrease of PFOS in livers of wood mouse is observed. To the best of our knowledge, so far no studies reported levels of PFOS in terrestrial invertebrates under field conditions. At Blokkersdijk, PFOS was detected in all invertebrate species ranging from 28 to 9,000 ng/g. Soil and water were also contaminated with levels of respectively 68 ng/g and 22 ng/L. Biota-to-soil accumulation factors ranged from 0.11 to 68 for earthworms. Biomagnification factors (BMFs) of liver wood mouse/berries were as high as 302. BMFs for invertebrates were remarkably lower (up to 2).