The value content of agricultural technologies and their effect on rural regions and farmers

The premise of this article is that technologies are not neutral in terms of their design objectives, their scale, and the fact that they reflect the physical and social environments in which they have developed. Specific agricultural technologies, the midwestern plow, the California tomato harvester, and various biotechnologies, are evaluated in these terms and shown to have generally predictable impacts upon rural regions and farmers. Finally, the article examines a series of major threats such as climate change that require the rethinking and restructuring of agriculture along more sustainable lines, something the can be accomplished only with a conscious recognition of the non-neutrality of technologies.This article was prepared for the conference Ethical Choice in an Age of Pervasive Technology, University of Guelph, October 25–29, 1989.     

LOS ALAMOS FOREST FIRE IMPACT MODELING1

ABSTRACT: A controlled burn at Bandelier National Monument got out of control and burned about 43,000 acres (17,400 hectares) near Los Alamos, New Mexico, in May 2000. The wildfire caused dramatic changes in infiltration capacity and wettability of soils in many of the watersheds above Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and destroyed the duff layer, dramatically reducing the interception and infiltration capacity of the formerly forested watersheds. These sudden changes in basin hydrology necessitated a rapid assessment of hydrology and hydraulics for the canyons running through LANL property to evaluate flood risk, plan emergency flood protection measures, and assess potential sediment and actinide transport. This paper presents the results of hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of Los Alamos Canyon following the wildfire. The large scale modeling effort, with over 13,000 cross sections for the hydraulic model (5,000 for Los Alamos Canyon, 8,000 for Guaje Canyon), relied heavily on a geographic information system (GIS) for model input and floodplain delineation. The HEC‐geoRAS model provided good integration between the hydraulic model (HEC‐RAS, Version 3.0.1) and the GIS (ArcView, v. 3.3). These modeling results are being used in drainage master planning efforts at LANL and in the development of sediment transport models using HEC‐6T. Sediment transport modeling results will be used to develop actinide transport models for the canyons at LANL.     

Cost estimating of the closure/post-closure phase

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is beginning major environmental restoration projects of both active and inactive sites throughout the United States. The problems at the sites include contaminated soils, groundwater and surface waters, structures, and old waste disposal areas. IT Corporation, under the direction of the Office of Independent Cost Estimating (OICE) for DOE, developed a list of environmental problems at the sites and probable cleanup technologies and techniques that could be used. Estimated unit costs were then developed for these cleanup technologies, using available data and references. Some procedures developed were common to many or all cleanup projects. These included site characterization, remedial investigation (RI), feasibility studies (FS), and the closure/post-closure phase. The article will focus on cost estimating of the closure/post-closure phase of a cleanup project. The cost data provided are for budget level or check estimates. Site-specific conditions as well as items peculiar to the environmental industry, such as governmental regulations and community relations, can influence both the cost and duration of a cleanup project.     

Importance of scientific uncertainty in decision making

Uncertainty in environmental decision making should not be thought of as a problem that is best ignored. In fact, as is illustrated in a simple example, we often informally make use of awareness of uncertainty by hedging decisions away from large losses. This hedging can be made explicit and formalized using the methods of decision analysis. While scientific uncertainty is undesirable, it can still be useful in environmental management as it provides a basis for the need to fund additional monitoring, experimentation, or information acquisition to improve the scientific basis for decisions.     

可持续消费与生产

引言 可持续发展处,如你们当中很多人所知,是联合国可持续发展委员会的秘书处.它也是1998年1月联合国3个司合并组建的新的"经济与社会事务司"(DESA)内9个处和计划之一.这个新的司不仅支持像可持续发展委员会(CSD)的政府间机构中共识政策制订和加强.它也进行数据收集和分析,而且在发展中国家请求时,它提供咨询服务和实施技术合作领域项目.     

EFFECT OF THE PAPER INDUSTRY ON WATER QUALITY OF THE LOWER FOX RIVER1

ABSTRACT: The Lower Fox River, Wisconsin, hosts the densest concentration of paper mills in the US., with 18 located along a 4Gde stretch between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay, Lake Michigan. Some of these companies use only primary, others also secondary, waste treatment techniques. Comparison of the quantities of wastes discharged with the legal limits indicates that all plants discharge only 40-50 percent or less of the allowable suspended solids; most discharge < 50 percent of the allowable BOD. This is equal or better than the performance of paper companies elsewhere in the state. Reductions in pollutant discharges have corresponded to improved water quality, though too much BOD is still discharged to be adequately assimilated by the Fox River. The relatively low current level of discharges means permit levels would have to be drastically cut to make any significant impact on water quality. Only a few companies might be seriously affected by such changes. Flow and temperature related permits would likely be more effective, but more difficult to comply with for the industry. Toxic substances are also a potential problem, particularly chlororganic compounds that can form in situ from the chlorine frequently used for pulp bleaching.     

LAKE QUALITY DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: Despite the fact that lake phosphorus loading criteria have proven to be valuable tools in lake management, they are generally subjective in nature or incomplete in form. In order to address these shortcomings, the oxic-anoxic transition point was selected as an objective quality criterion and discriminant analysis was used to construct a lake classification function. This function is dependent upon lake phosphorus loading, mean depth, and overflow rate. The value of the function may be expressed as a probability of classification (as either oxic or anoxic). When used in prediction, inclusion of the input error permits the estimation of the change in classification probability as input uncertainty is reduced. Further, the form of the discriminant function suggests that the annual volumetric loading is a more informative term for the expression of phosphorus loading than is the annual areal loading.