Delineating protected wildlife corridors with multi‐objective programming

Protected wildlife corridors can help counteract habitat fragmentation and link isolated reserve “islands” into connected reserve systems. The need for wildlife corridors will grow as expanding human populations place increasing pressure on remaining undeveloped land. A two‐objective zero–one programming model is formulated for the problem of selecting land for a system of wildlife corridors that must connect a known set of existing reserves or critical habitat areas. This problem is modeled as a network Steiner tree problem, under the objectives of minimizing corridor land costs and minimizing the amount of unsuitable land within the corridor system. Linear programming is used to find exact solutions with little or no branching and bounding, and the multi‐objective weighting method is used to generate non‐inferior alternatives. Two hypothetical examples demonstrate the model and solution procedure. Results can help inform planning and decision making for protected area land acquisition and habitat restoration.     

Pyrolysis of latex gloves in the presence of Y-zeolite

In this study we have investigated the possibility of processing waste rubber gloves using pyrolysis. Y-zeolite catalyst was employed to upgrade the pyrolysis products to give higher yields of valuable aromatic compounds such as toluene and xylenes. The composition of the pyrolysis products was determined using gas chromatography with linked mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID), gas chromatograph fitted with dual thermal conductivity detectors (GC-TCD), and Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectrometry (FT-IR). It was found that when rubber gloves were pyrolysed in the absence of a catalyst, the pyrolysis oil consisted mainly of limonene and oligomers of polyisoprene. When Y-zeolite was added to the reaction system, the yields of toluene, xylene, methylbenzenes, ethylbenzenes, and naphthalenes increased dramatically. The Y-zeolite also catalysed the decomposition of limonene, which was absent from the catalytic pyrolysis products. The presence of the Y-zeolite catalyst also increased the yield of hydrocarbon gases. The tests were carried out at both 380 degrees C and 480 degrees C and it was found that the higher reaction temperature led to increased yields of all the major compounds, both in the presence and absence of the Y-zeolite catalyst.     

What difference might sewage treatment performance make to endocrine disruption in rivers?

An assessment of the steroid estrogen removing performance of 23 different sewage treatment plants (STPs) was performed. The assessment relied on a model to estimate influent concentrations, and completed questionnaires on the STP treatment details from the relevant water companies. This information was compared with observed effluent 17beta-estradiol (E2) and estrone (E1) concentrations. The 10 biological filter plants (BFP) in the study performed poorly with only 30% (SD 31) removal on average for E1. This reduced E1 removal performance of the BFPs compared to all the other STP types in the survey was statistically significant (p<0.001). Scenarios of all the STPs as activated sludge types, and one as all BFP types were modelled using the GREAT-ER model set up for the Aire/Calder catchment in the UK. This difference was shown to have an important effect on predicted river E1 concentrations and consequent risk classifications.     

Influence of temperature on PCDD/PCDF desorption from waste incineration flyash under nitrogen

A municipal solid waste incinerator flyash was heated to between 200 and 400 degrees C under nitrogen in a bench-scale, static bed reactor for 4 days soak time. The influence of temperature on the levels of PCDD and PCDF remaining in and desorbed from the ash were investigated using GC-MS/MS. PCDD and especially PCDF formation was seen on the flyash between 225 and 300 degrees C. Large increases in the I-TEQ of the treated ash relative to the increase in its overall PCDD/PCDF content indicated that the formation of 2378-substituted congeners was favoured over that of other substitution patterns. In the absence of a source of gaseous oxygen, formation was mainly attributed to de novo reactions involving solid phase oxygen. Dechlorination of the PCDD/PCDF in flyash became increasingly important above 275 degrees C. Maximum desorption was seen at 325 degrees C, with the equivalent of 35 wt% of the PCDD/F in the original flyash being recovered from the exhaust traps at this temperature. The desorbed species were mainly M(1)CDD/CDDF-T(3)CDD/CDDF resulting from dechlorination of higher chlorinated PCDD/PCDF, with consequently low I-TEQ values.     

Political transition and emergent forest‐conservation issues in Myanmar

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long‐running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon‐scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land‐tenure insecurity, large‐scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure‐ and energy‐project planning, and reforming land‐tenure and environmental‐protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions.     

A proposed System of Hierarchical Scorecards to assess the implementation of maritime regulations

The successful implementation of a regulation in the modern complicated world is a major issue for states. A newly introduced regulation may cause conflicts of interest among various parties that are affected. A common conflict is that from one hand, the public demands the introduction of regulations that will increase safety, environmental and security standards while on the other hand industries are concerned about potential costs caused by new regulations. In this paper, the shipping industry, which is a typical example of an international industry, is chosen to carry out a cost and benefit analysis generated from the implementation of a newly introduced regulation. Consequently, a methodology is proposed capable of evaluating the implementation performance of a regulation in the shipping industry with respect to the costs and benefits that can be generated. For a simple and effective computation, a System of Hierarchical Scorecards (SHS) is developed to assist regulators in evaluating any proposed and/or existing regulations.     

Green tenants: practicing a sustainability ethics for the rental housing sector

The shift towards social, government and corporate ethics which value environmental sustainability has also embraced householders in a plethora of educational guides, policies, regulations and consumer information about green home improvements, purchasing choices and household practices. In this paper, we make the claim that the rental housing sector, and in particular the private rental sector, has yet to participate, structurally, culturally and materially, in this shift to an ethics of sustainability. We argue, however, that even on such otherwise arid ground, an alternative ethic is developing, a sustainability ethic practiced by green tenants whose activities inside and outside their homes go beyond the considerable material constraints of their dwellings and incomes, and beyond the purely transactional utility of the rental contract. These activities, relational, interconnected and resilient, offer both glimpses of a greening rental housing sector, and a clearer picture of the areas where work remains to be done. Based on a research study, we conducted of the rental sector in regional Australia, and in particular of the everyday sustainability practices of tenants, we suggest that these activities are a practice-based form of care for the world, in many ways similar to Maria Puig de la Bellacasa's practice-based, human-decentred ethics which she suggests is exemplified in the permaculture movement. The stories of the tenants we interviewed for our study also point the way to other changes which are needed to enable a practice-based sustainability ethic to flourish across the rental housing sector as a whole.