Biofuels: Efficiency,Ethics, and Limits to Human Appropriation of Ecosystem Services

Biofuels have lately been indicated as a promising source of cheap and sustainable energy. In this paper we argue that some important ethical and environmental issues have also to be addressed: (1) the conflict between biofuels production and global food security, particularly in developing countries, and (2) the limits of the Human Appropriation of ecosystem services and Net Primary Productivity. We warn that large scale conversion of crops, grasslands, natural and semi-natural ecosystem, (such as the conversion of grasslands to cellulosic ethanol production, or plantation of sugar cane and palm oil), may have detrimental social and ecological consequences. Social effects may concern: (1) food security, especially in developing countries, leading to an increase of the price of staple food, (2) transnational corporations and big landowners establishing larger and larger landholdings in conflict with indigenous areas and the subsistence of small farmers. Ecological effects may concern: (1) competition with grazing wild and domesticated animals (e.g., millions of grazing livestock in USA prairies), (2) an excessive appropriation of Net Primary Production from ecosystems, (3) threatening biodiversity preservation and soil fertility. We claim that is it well known how ecological and social issues are strictly interwoven and that large scale biofuels production, by putting high pressure on both fronts, may trigger dangerous feedbacks, also considering the critical fact that 9 billion people are expected to inhabit the planet by 2050. There is a need to conduct serious and deep analysis on the environmental and social impact of large scale biofuels production before important energy policies are launched at global level. Biofuels will not represent an energetic panacea and their role in the overall energy consumption will remain marginal in our present highly energivorous society, while their effect on food security and environment preservation may have detrimental results. We should also have the courage to face two key issues: (1) we cannot keep increasing resources consumption at present pace, and have to change our life style accordingly, and (2) we have to deal with population growth; we cannot expect to have 9–10 billions people inhabiting the earth by 2050, without this representing a major impact on its support system.     

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the atmospheric particulate: focused microwaves for a faster extraction method

In this paper, improvements obtained by using focused microwaves for extraction, in the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed on particulate matter, are discussed. The method was tested on the following PAHs, which are considered to be among the most harmful with regard to carcinogenicity: benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene. The extraction of PAHs and concentration of the sample can be performed in 3 h with a recovery of at least 70% and a maximum standard deviation of 4%. These steps are followed by clean-up on a SPE (solid-phase extraction) cartridge and analysis by GC-MS. Real samples collected in the urban area of Bari were analysed according to the proposed procedure.     

The effects of anthropogenic particulate emissions on roadway dust and Nerium oleander leaves in Messina (Sicily, Italy)

Complementary studies on the inorganic chemical composition of Nerium oleander leaves collected in the town of Messina (Sicily, Italy) and seven grain-size fractions of local roadway dust have been carried out. Data and maps are presented to show that the particulate matter present in the air of Messina contains trace elements significantly in excess with respect to the average continental earth crust. The anomalies follow the outline of the urban area, the highest concentrations of trace elements being observed where traffic density is highest. Chemical and isotopic analyses of both road dust and Nerium oleander leaves indicate that Pb contamination still characterizes roads with heavy traffic. In addition to Pb, other metals such as Pt, Pd, Sb, Au, Br, Zn, Cu, Mo, and Cd are significantly enriched in roadway dust, indicating their common anthropogenic origin, especially from traffic. SEM/EDS study of some roadway dust particles has shown the presence of gypsum probably of secondary origin, mixed particles formed by coagulation or gas-to-particle conversion, and porous spherical particles apparently emanating from combustion processes.     

The European Council,the Council and the Member States: changing environmental leadership dynamics in the European Union

ABSTRACT

The leadership dynamics between the European Council, the Council and the Member States in European Union (EU) environmental policy since the 1970s are analysed. The puzzle is that, although the EU was set up as a ‘leaderless Europe’, it is widely seen as an environmental leader, albeit sometimes as a one-eyed leader amongst the blind. While differentiating between leadership types, it is argued that the European Council has the largest structural, the Council the most significant entrepreneurial, and the Member States the most important cognitive and exemplary leadership capacities. Most day-to-day environmental policy measures are negotiated by the Environment Council (in collaboration with the European Parliament). The European Council’s increased interest in high politics climate change issues is largely due to the EU’s global leadership ambitions. Member States have traditionally formed environmental leadership alliances on an ad hoc basis although this may be changing.     

Relevance of wound-activated compounds produced by diatoms as toxins and infochemicals for benthic invertebrates

Plants evolve the production of wound-activated compounds (WACs) to reduce grazing pressure. In addition, several plant-produced WACs are recognized by various invertebrates, playing the role of infochemicals. Due to co-evolutionary processes, some invertebrates recognize plant infochemicals and use them to identify possible prey, detect the presence of predators or identify algae containing various classes of toxic metabolites. Different metabolites present in the same algae can play the role of toxins, infochemicals or both simultaneously. We investigated the infochemical activity of compounds extracted from three diatoms epiphytes of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, by conducting choice experiments on invertebrates living in the same community or in close proximity. Furthermore, the specific toxicity of the extracts obtained from the same algae was tested on sea urchin embryos using a standard bioassay procedure, to detect the presence of toxins. The comparison of the two effects demonstrated that invertebrates are subjected to diatom wound-activated toxicants when these algae are not associated with their own habitat, but they are able to recognize volatile infochemicals derived from diatoms associated with their habitats. The specific toxicity of WACs was shown to be inversely correlated to the perceptive ability of invertebrates towards volatile compounds liberated by the same algae. Hence, when the recognition of specific algae by a given invertebrate species evolves, their detrimental effects on the receiving organism may be lost.     

Abatement of NO3-N concentration in agricultural waters by narrow buffer strips

The performance of narrow buffer strips in abating the NO3-N concentrations in the water coming from cropland was tested in an experiment carried out on the low plains of the Veneto Region (northeast Italy). The buffer was composed of a 5-m wide grass strip and a 1-m wide row of trees. Maize and wheat were cultivated in the neighbouring field during the monitoring period (December 1997-June 1999). Four experimental conditions were monitored, deriving from a combination of two levels of crop N fertilisation and two sizes of buffer trees. The narrow buffer was very effective in abating NO3-N concentrations, allowing water to be discharged with a concentration always below 2 ppm. Its zone of influence might be bigger than its simple width. The abatement was also efficient during winter. Tree size showed no evident effect on the reduction of the concentration.