Debating ecological justice:implications for critical environmental education

This article will briefly discuss the implications of recognition of ecological justice in relation to environmental education(EE) and education for sustainable development(ESD).It is argued that the present conception of environment taught through EE and ESD negates the subjectivity of non-human species and ignores the ethical imperatives of ecological justice.Evocating environmental ethics,major directions integrating ecological justice into EE and ESD are proposed.     

Consumption,waste and (un)sustainable development: reflections on the Dutch holiday of Queen’s day

This article aims to interrogate manifold features, uses and manifestations of the term sustainability through critical reflection on paradoxes of “sustainable development.” This article will discuss the implication of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, postmaterialist values theory, and ecological modernization theory all of which expresses a certain relationship between the wealth of a nation and their environment impact. According to these theories, during early industrialization and development, economies use materially intensive resources, until a threshold is reached after which the economic and technological changes allow for more sustainable material use. Simultaneously, it is believed that concerns about environment are secondary to economic concerns and that satisfaction of material needs will lead to higher environmental awareness. The aim of this article is to reflect upon a gap in the literature of empirical case studies to support or refute these theories. While there is a wealth of publications detailing various unsustainable practices in different countries, studies addressing the implication of the accuracy of the triple theories for the global enterprise of development are rare. To compensate for this oversight, this article will address the case of Dutch Queen’s day celebrations in April 2013, based on the document analysis. In generalizing the case of Dutch Queen’s day celebrations to global consumption patterns, this article considers consequences of Western consumption model for the enterprise of global development. It is argued that the Dutch case supports evidence of the (un)sustainability of a consumptive economy operating within a global market. Alternative framework based on cradle-to-cradle and circular economy approaches is proposed.     

Aluminium in UK rivers: a need for integrated research related to kinetic factors, colloidal transport, carbon and habitat

Dissolved aluminium concentrations ([Al]) in the <0.45 μm filtered fraction are described for 54 UK river sites covering rural, acidic/acid sensitive, agricultural and urban typologies, and wide pH range (4 to 11). High [Al] occurred under acidic conditions and for acid runoff neutralised by bicarbonate rich groundwater. Thermodynamic analysis indicates Al hydroxide/hydroxy-silicate oversaturation at circumneutral pH across the rivers, but undersaturation at lower/higher pH. The oversaturation reflects in part the presence of Al bearing colloids as indicated by (1) [Al] being correlated with components associated with both lithogenic (Fe, Ti and lanthanides) colloids and organic carbon, (2) baseflow studies using cross-flow ultrafiltration and (3) comparison of our data with Acid Waters Monitoring Network (AWMN) information on labile and non-labile Al. Tree harvesting and emission reductions of SO(x) in acidic and acid sensitive catchments in mid-Wales led to acidification reversal, lower [Al] and changing [H(+)] - [Al] relationships. The [Al] decline was confined to acidic conditions while [Al] increased during the later part of the monitoring period with a peak around 2002 for moorland and forested systems. Colloidal production across the flow range was indicated late in the record by comparison of our data with information collected by the AWMN for a site in mid-Wales. This production seems interlinked with organic carbon and with dissolved CO(2) changes. In order for further understanding of Al hydrogeochemistry in river systems there is a need to integrate research that moves from equilibrium to kinetic and colloidal consideration including the critical issues of organic and inorganic controls within the context of bioavailability and aquatic stress. The colloidal Al may well be of low environmental concern to fish and other factors such as habitat may well be critical.     

The diagnostic performance of cytogenetic investigation in amniotic fluid cells and chorionic villi

First-trimester chorionic villus sampling has not reached the popularity of second-trimester amniocentesis in prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis, in contrast to initial expectations. We investigated whether a difference inthe diagnostic performances of cytogenetic investigation in amniotic fluid (AF) cells and chorionic villi in favour of AF-cells might justify this. Diagnostic performance was measured as laboratory failure rate, karyotype quality (G-band score, rate of follow-up samples, rate of wrong diagnoses), and karyotype representativity (rate of follow-up samples, rate of wrong diagnoses). From 1993–1999, 11 883 AF-samples were investigated (AF-cells). In chorionic villi, short term culture preparations solely were karyotyped from 1993–1996 (n=3499) (STC-villi), short and long-term culture preparations simultaneously provided a sufficient amount of tissue being available from 1997 onwards (n=1829) ((STC+LTC)-villi). Laboratory failure rates were the same after amniocentesis (0.40%) and chorionic villus sampling (0.50%). G-band scores (mean±SD) were equal in AF-cells (373±38.1) and LTC-villi (364±32.6) but significantly lower in STC-villi (311±34.6) (p=0.001). Follow-up sampling rates because of quality reasons were the same in AF-cells (0.14%), STC- villi (0.13%) and (STC+LTC)-villi (0.11%). Two wrong diagnoses turned up among AF-cells. Follow-up sampling rates because of representativity reasons differed significantly between AF-cells (0.10%), (STC+LTC)-villi (1.31%), and STC-villi (1.99%) (p<0.001). However, the ratios of the total numbers of follow-up samples and uncertain or abnormal cytogenetic results in STC, and (STC+LTC)-villi at cytogenetic risks ⩾3% (0.132 and 0.160, respectively) were equal to that in AF-cells at risks <3% (0.155). Two wrong diagnoses were made in STC-villi. Diagnostic performance improved in the rank order of STC-villi, (STC+LTC)-villi and AF-cells. At cytogenetic risks ⩾3%, (STC+LTC)-villi showed a diagnostic performance equal to that in AF-cells. This might justify a selective use of chorionic villus sampling. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Road Developments in the UK: An Analysis of Ecological Assessment in Environmental Impact Statements Produced between 1993 and 1997

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been required for certain proposed road developmentsin the UK since EC Directive (85/337) was implemented in 1988. The extent to which the requirements of the EIA Directive are met with respect to ecological issues has been explored in earlier reviews of road statements (Treweek et al., 1993) and of UK environmental impact statements (EISs) in general (Thompson et al., 1997). This paper describes the results of a further review of 40 EISs produced between 1993 and 1997 and also examines recent changes in the political context for EIA of proposed road developments,including developments in UK transport policy and the UK biodiversity process. The results of the review suggest that the ecological assessment of proposed road developments has improved in some respects, but also highlights the persistence of many shortcomings identified in earlier reviews. The reasons for ongoing failure to address these issues are explored. Key findings include a marked improvement in the extent of reference to consultation with statutory consultees and an increase in the proportion of EISs reporting the results of new ecological surveys. However, while potential ecological impacts were discussed in all the EISs reviewed, many still failed to predict the full range of potential ecological impacts.     

The clinical implementation of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis for single-gene disorders: challenges and progress made

Recently, we have witnessed the rapid translation into clinical practice of non-invasive prenatal testing for the common aneuploidies, most notably within the United States and China. This represents a lucrative market with testing being driven by companies developing and offering their services. These tests are currently aimed at women with high/medium-risk pregnancies identified by serum screening and/or ultrasound scanning. Uptake has been impressive, albeit limited to the commercial sector. However, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for single-gene disorders has attracted less interest, no doubt because this represents a much smaller market opportunity and in the majority of cases has to be provided on a bespoke, patient or disease-specific basis. The methods and workflows are labour-intensive and not readily scalable. Nonetheless, there exists a significant need for NIPD of single-gene disorders, and the continuing advances in technology and data analysis should facilitate the expansion of the NIPD test repertoire. Here, we review the progress that has been made to date, the different methods and platform technologies, the technical challenges, and assess how new developments may be applied to extend testing to a wider range of genetic disorders. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of domestic energy efficiency retrofit schemes on householder attitudes and behaviours

Retrofitting existing housing stock to improve energy efficiency is often required to meet climate mitigation, public health and fuel poverty targets. Increasing uptake and effectiveness of retrofit schemes requires understanding of their impacts on householder attitudes and behaviours. This paper reports results of a survey of 500 Kirklees householders in the UK, where the Kirklees Warm Zone scheme took place. This was a local government led city scale domestic retrofit programme that installed energy efficiency measures at no charge in over 50,000 houses. The results highlight key design features of the scheme, socio-economic and attitudinal factors that affected take-up of energy efficiency measures and impacts on behaviour and energy use after adoption. The results emphasise the role that positive feedback plays in reinforcing pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours of participants and in addressing concerns of non-participants. Our findings have implications for the design and operation of future domestic energy efficiency retrofit schemes.