Free market ideology and deregulation in Colorado’s oil fields: Evidence for triple movement activism?

Unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOGE) has spurred an unprecedented boom in onshore production in the US. Despite a surge in related research, a void exists regarding inquiries into policy outcomes and perceptions. To address this, support for federal regulatory exemptions for UOGE is examined using survey data collected in 2015 from two Northern Colorado communities. Current regulatory exemptions for UOGE can be understood as components of broader societal processes of neoliberalization. Free market ideology increases public support for federal regulatory exemptions for UOGE. Perceived negative impacts do not necessarily drive people to support increased federal regulation. Utilizing neo-Polanyian theory, interaction between free market ideology and perceived negative impacts is explored. Free market ideology appears to moderate people’s views of regulation: increasing the effect of perceived negative impacts while simultaneously increasing support for deregulation. To conclude, the ways in which free market ideology might normalize the impacts of UOGE activity are discussed.     

Do global climate summits influence public awareness and policy preferences concerning climate change?

A survey-embedded experiment implemented around the time of the 2014 annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (N ≈ 1200) examined whether such summits are able to increase citizens’ awareness of climate problems. This study finds that exposure to positive or negative cues about the COP increases climate change awareness, particularly among participants who start out with a low level of awareness. Neither positive nor negative cues about the COP significantly affect people’s policy preferences. Our finding resonates with Bernard Cohen’s observation that the mass media may not often be successful in telling people what to think, but they are successful in telling readers what to think about.     

Forecasting volatility of carbon under EU ETS: a multi-phase study

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - Carbon management is a strategic priority and organizations need to forecast carbon for that. We aim to find out the best ARIMA-GARCH model for...     

Why social values cannot be changed for the sake of conservation

The hope for creating widespread change in social values has endured among conservation professionals since early calls by Aldo Leopold for a “land ethic.” However, there has been little serious attention in conservation to the fields of investigation that address values, how they are formed, and how they change. We introduce a social–ecological systems conceptual approach in which values are seen not only as motivational goals people hold but also as ideas that are deeply embedded in society's material culture, collective behaviors, traditions, and institutions. Values define and bind groups, organizations, and societies; serve an adaptive role; and are typically stable across generations. When abrupt value changes occur, they are in response to substantial alterations in the social–ecological context. Such changes build on prior value structures and do not result in complete replacement. Given this understanding of values, we conclude that deliberate efforts to orchestrate value shifts for conservation are unlikely to be effective. Instead, there is an urgent need for research on values with a multilevel and dynamic view that can inform innovative conservation strategies for working within existing value structures. New directions facilitated by a systems approach will enhance understanding of the role values play in shaping conservation challenges and improve management of the human component of conservation.     

Trace metals distribution and their dependence on some physico-chemical parameters in creek sediment

The concentrations of the trace metals Mn, Zn, Cr, V, Co, Ni, Ba, Pb, Cu, Cd, As and Hg, their spatial distribution, and their correlation as a function of physico-chemical parameters were investigated for grab sediment samples collected from different locations across the Thane Creek, Mumbai, India. Hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry were adopted for chemical analyses. Various geochemical indices were evaluated. The studied metal/metalloids were compared with sediment quality guideline values. Besides, the role of different physico-chemical parameters of the sediments such as pH, CaCO₃, cation exchange capacity, total carbon, and of the relative composition in respect to very coarse, coarse and medium sand, fine sand and very fine sand, silt and clay fraction were also critically investigated. Positive one-to-one correlations between fine sand and very fine sand, silt and clay, and total carbon with sediment metal concentrations have been noticed. Multiple regression analysis reveals strong positive correlations between sediment metal concentrations and total carbon content only.     

Patterns,correlates, and paternity consequences of extraterritorial foray behavior in the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla): an automated telemetry approach

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - ᅟMales of fiddler crabs (genus: Uca) construct courtship structures using mud or sand to attract mate-searching females for underground mating. A sensory...     

Evidence of new particle formation during post monsoon season over a high-altitude site of the Western Ghats,India

The formation of ultrafine particles, their growth, and associated characteristic features has been studied during new particle formation events over a high-altitude station of the Western Ghats during the 2014 post-monsoon season. Most of the events were observed during noon time where particle bursts in the nucleation-mode size range from 5 to 25 nm followed by sustained growth in size. This phenomenon persists for ～4–8 h with a growth rate of 1–2 nm h^–1. Peak concentrations of nucleation-mode particles during the event generally vary from 2300 to 5000 cm^–3. The mean growth rate is 1.4 ± 0.42 nm h^–1, particle formation rate is 1.14 ± 0.22 cm^–3 s^–1, coagulation sink is 0.35 ± 0.22 cm^–3 s^–1, and condensational sink is 15.4 ± 2.6?×?10^–3 s^–1. All these values are comparable with earlier results from Indian region. Comparison of size-segregated particle number concentration during days of new particle formation events and those without new particle formation were carried out showing a distinct variation in nucleation and Aitken mode with least variability associated with the accumulation mode.     

A study on the arsenic concentration in groundwater of a coastal aquifer in south-east India: an integrated approach

The occurrence of arsenic in drinking water and its detrimental effects have drawn much attention in recent years. Several studies have been conducted in the deltaic plains of River Ganga, NE part of the India, and in other countries, but no systematic study was conducted in South India on occurrence of arsenic in groundwater. The main aim of this study is to determine the level of arsenic in groundwater and to understand the relation with other geochemical parameters of groundwater in the south-eastern coastal aquifer at Kalpakkam region, India. This region is represented by three different lithologies, viz. charnockites, flood plain alluvium and marine alluvium. Twenty-nine representative samples of groundwater were collected and analysed for major ions, metals and isotopes such as ²H and ¹⁸O. In addition, geophysical method was also attempted to understand the subsurface condition. The spatial variation in arsenic (As) indicates that higher concentration was observed around the landfill sites and irrigated regions, which was supported by geochemical, statistical and isotopic inferences. The variation in the As with depth, lithology and sources has been clearly brought out. Though the values of As does not exceed the drinking water permissible limit (10 mg/l), it has reached a near permissible level of 8.7 ppb. Hence, it is essential to understand the geochemical behaviour of As for a proper future management of the water resource in the study area.     

Siberian musk deer in the diets of tiger and bears in the Sikhote-Alin

The role of the Siberian musk deer in the diets of the Amur tiger, brown bear, and Asian black bear has been studied in the Sikhote-Alin State Biosphere Reserve in 1992 to 2016. Information has been collected from 763 tiger feeding sites, and the contents of tiger feces have been analyzed. Radiotelemetry has been used to evaluate tiger–musk deer relationships. The musk deer accounted for 0.26% of all animal species found to be eaten by the tiger. Musk deer remains in feces of the tiger, brown bear, and Asian black bear occurred with frequencies of 1.3, 0.2, and 0.3%, respectively. A case of musk deer avoiding the presence of brown bear is described.     

Assessment of the ecological risk of technogenic soil pollution on the basis of the statistical distribution of the occurrence of micromycete species

A methodology of substantiating the ecological risk of technogenic soil pollution has been described according to the results of bioindication using microfungal communities. At the first state, the values of the factors under which the frequency of each species is maximal were estimated using ordination methods. The statistical distribution of the species sensitivity was simulated according to these data. The methodology was illustrated using the results of analysis of the toxicity of soil samples from uranium mine dumps (the village of Kadzhi-Sai, Kyrgyzstan). The preliminary estimates of the critical values of six soil pollution indices that provide the defined allowable probability of the ecological risk have been given.