Environmental reporting for global higher education institutions using the World Wide Web

Voluntary environmental reporting on the progress achieved against policy objectives is an emerging trend in industry and business and is recognized as a valuable aid in implementing policy and improving environmental management systems. Environmental reporting in the UK, has a whole range of formats including PERI, GEMI, WICE and EMAS, with the last, in particular, aiming to improve the level of environmental stewardship and to increase the flow of environmental information to audiences both internally and externally. Higher education institutions globally have been slow to respond in this respect and there is much that they can learn from corporate environmental reporting. An environmental policy is not sufficient proof of commitment for those institutions who have signed the global Talloires Declaration or the European COPERNICUS Charter: demonstrable progress in policy implementation is essential. The environmental management systems that higher education institutions adopt or create and the ways in which their environmental information is collated are of great significance, but the medium selected for the report is perhaps one of the most important aspects to consider. Those institutions such as the University of Sunderland, UK who are using the World Wide Web have been able to produce a flexible, hypertext-linked service on request with inbuilt feedback mechanisms containing varied, up-to-date, comprehensive and well-structured environmental information signposted to external pro-active institutions and agencies. These reports have unique educational angles and reveal links and networks that are naturally more pervasive and far-reaching in their scope and impact and could well provide a key way forward to practical and sustainable environmental reporting into the millennium.     

Reflections on the meaning of sustainable development in the water sector

Economic interpretations of sustainable development have concentrated on the need to maintain the aggregate capital stock intact, so as to ensure a constant stream of welfare through time. A sectoral approach to sustainability, in terms of this model, will be justified if substitution possibilities between that sector and the rest of the economy are limited. This assumption is examined in relation to the water sector, and it is found that further assumptions about substitution possibilities need to be made within the sector itself. Suggestions are offered as to how such substitutions might be made to advantage, which is contrasted to recent water management practices in England and Wales. It is argued that assumptions about substitution possibilities are in general overly restrictive, with the result that sustainability objectives fall short of optimum levels that could be achieved.     

NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENTS,SOUTH PLATTE RWER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: Accurate data about nutrient concentrations in wastewater treatment plant effluents are needed for river basin water-quality studies. As part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program in the South Platte River Basin, nutrient data were requested from 31 wastewater-treatment plants located in the basin. This article describes the types of nutrient data available from the plants, examines the variability of effluent nutrient concentrations, and discusses methods for estimation of nutrient concentrations where data are lacking. Ammonia was monitored at 88 percent of the plants, nitrite plus nitrate was monitored at 40 percent of the plants, and organic nitrogen and phosphorus were monitored at less than 25 percent of the plants. Median total nitrogen concentrations and median total phosphorus concentrations were small compared to typical literature estimates for wastewater-treatment plants with secondary treatment. Nutrient concentrations in effluent from wastewater-treatment plants varied widely between and within plants. For example, ammonia concentrations varied as much as 5 mg/L during a day, as much as 10 mg/L from day to day, and as much as 30 mg/L from summer to winter within a plant. In the South Platte River Basin, estimates of median annual ammonia and nitrite plus nitrate concentrations can be improved based on plant processes; and nitrite plus nitrate and organic nitrogen concentrations can be estimated based on ammonia concentrations. However, to avoid large estimation errors, more complete nutrient data from wastewater-treatment plants are needed for integration into river basin water quality studies. The paucity of data hinders attempts to evaluate the relative importance of point source and nonpoint source nutrient loadings to rivers.     

IMPACT OF COAL SURFACE MINING ON THREE OHIO WATERSHEDS - SURFACE-WATER HYDROLOGY1

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to determine the effects of mining and reclaiming originally undisturbed watersheds on surface-water hydrology in three small experimental watersheds in Ohio. Approximately six years of data were collected at each site, with differing lengths of premining (Phase 1), mining and reclamation (Phase 2), and post-reclamation (Phase 3) periods. Mining and reclamation activities showed no consistent pattern iii base-flow, and caused slightly more frequent higher daily flow volumes. Phase 2 activities can cause reductions in seasonal variation in double mass curves compared with Phase 1. Restoration of seasonal variations was noticeably apparent at one site during Phase 3. The responses of the watersheds to rainfall intensities causing larger peak flow rates generally decreased due to mining and reclamation, but tended to exceed responses observed in Phase 1 during Phase 3. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) curve numbers increased due to mining and reclamation (Phase 2), ranging from 83 to 91. During Phase 3, curve numbers remained approximately constant from Phase 2, ranging from 87 to 91.     

ISO 14000: A return to command and control?

Over the last few years, commentators on all sides of the environmental debate have (with a few exceptions) joined hands to pillory the traditional model of environmental regulation in this country. The catch phrase “command and control” has become emblematic of everything that was seen as being wrong with the old system. The current push for “reinvention” of environmental regulation reinforces the concept that although traditional methods have produced progress, they have outlived their usefulness. At the same time, ISO 14000 has emerged as one of the hottest topics in the environmental field—a form of reinvention of environmental management that has been embraced by many as the solution to an array of problems. While it is still early in the game, initial results indicate that when used effectively, ISO 14000 can be a powerful tool for the environmental manager. However, misuse of ISO 14000 could represent a throwback to command and control rather than a management tool for the new millennium. This article examines how this new tool fits into the evolving picture of environmental regulation and management.     

The influence of degree of substitution on blend miscibility and biodegradation of cellulose acetate blends

In this account, we report our findings on blends of cellulose acetate having a degree of substitution (DS) of 2.49 (CA2.5) with a cellulose acetate having a DS of 2.06 (CA2.0). This blend system was examined over the composition range of 0–100% CA2.0 employing both solvent casting of films (no plasticizer) and thermal processing (melt-compressed films and injection molding) using poly(ethylene glycol) as a common plasticizer. All thermally processed blends were optically clear and showed no loss in optical quality after storage for several months. Thermal analysis and measurement of physical properties indicate that blends in the middle composition range are partially miscible, while those at the ends of the composition range are miscible. We suggest that the miscibility of these cellulose acetate blends is influenced primarily by the monomer composition of the copolymers. Bench-scale simulated municipal composting confirmed the biodestructability of these blends and indicated that incorporation of a plasticizer accelerated the composting rates of the blends.In vitro aerobic biodegradation testing involving radiochemical labeling conclusively demonstrated that both the lower DS CA2.0 and the plasticizer significantly enhanced the biodegradation of the more highly substituted CA2.5.While this work was in progress, Robert Gardner was struck with cancer and died on June 6, 1995. This paper is dedicated to his memory and to his contributions as a friend and colleague.     

In-situ sparging: Mass transfer mechanisms

In-situ sparging has been accepted as a method to rapidly remediate groundwater at considerably lower costs compared to remedies based on groundwater recovery alone. The success of in-situ sparging depends on effective mass transfer between air and contaminated media in the subsurface. Factors affecting mass transfer include advective airflow, diffusive transport, interphase chemical partitioning, and chemical and biological reaction rates between sparged gases and subsurface contaminants, minerals, and naturally occurring organic compounds. Understanding these factors can increase the design efficiency of in-situ sparging and assist in developing sparging systems that use gases other than air (i.e., oxygen, ozone, and methane).     

Using digital image projections to visualize forest landscape changes due to management activities and forest growth

A pedagogic problem in forestry and landscape management is to visualize future landscape effects of forest growth and current management activities in the forest. This paper presents a method for forecasting digital image projections of forest landscape dynamics. Static nonlinear regression functions estimate the digital numbers in a Landsat Thematic Mapper image. Regressors used are forest stand variables. By estimating the future forest stand data, based on intermediate treatment and growth, future satellite digital images are created. In a case study example, the future landscape of a forest block in the province of Västernorrland, Sweden, is projected to demonstrate the application of this visualization technique.     

Review of information on pesticide residues in the Canadian environment

Summary Pesticide residues in soil, water, food, wildlife and other media have been analysed in several monitoring studies. The purpose was to establish the distribution of these residues across a defined area, ascertain their trend over a specific period and use the results to assess environmental compliance and safety. In the present review the availability of information on pesticide residues in various Canadian environmental components was sought. With the possible exception of localized pesticide contamination of some private water supply wells, ground and surface water, most analyses revealed concentrations below guideline limits. Only a few cases were reported of mishandling, misuse and poisoning from pesticides. Continuing surveillance programmes and in-depth and well-organized monitoring studies, with special focus on areas that are vulnerable to contamination, by both provincial and federal governments, are largely responsible for the encouraging results. This experience in the control of pesticide use and monitoring of residues in the environment should be of particular interest in developing countries.Dr A.Y. Sangodoyin is a senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Ibadan. He was recently involved in a study visit to the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G7, where his co-author Dr D.W. Smith is a member of staff in the Department of Civil-Engineering.     

Sludge-grown algae for culturing aquatic organisms: Part II. Sludge-grown algae as feeds for aquatic organisms

This project investigated the feasibility of using sewage sludge to culture microalgae (Chlorella-HKBU) and their subsequent usage as feeds for rearing different organisms. Part II of the project evaluated the results of applying the sludge-grown algae to feedOreochromis mossambicus (fish),Macrobrachium hainenese (shrimp), andMoina macrocopa (cladocera). In general, the yields of the cultivated organisms were unsatisfactory when they were fed the sludge-grown algae directly. The body weights ofO. mossambicus andM. macrocopa dropped 21% and 37%, respectively, although there was a slight increase (4.4%) inM. hainenese. However, when feeding the algal-fed cladocerans to fish and shrimp, the body weights of the fish and shrimp were increased 7% and 11% accordingly. Protein contents of the cultivated organisms were comparable to the control diet, although they contained a rather high amount of heavy metals. When comparing absolute heavy metal contents in the cultivated organisms, the following order was observed: alga > cladocera > shrimp, fish > sludge extracts. Bioelimination of heavy metals may account for the decreasing heavy metal concentrations in higher trophic organisms.