Garnering input for recycling communication strategies at a Big Ten University

With increasing environmental challenges confronting our planet, colleges and universities are trying different approaches for minimizing their adverse environmental impacts. Among the approaches being used to revitalize campus sustainability efforts, new waste management strategies have included attempts to improve campus-recycling programs. This paper presents select findings from a comprehensive study at a large, Tier I university aimed at, among other things, informing university administration and decision makers working on the planning and implementation of a new campus-wide recycling facility and program. The researchers used a mixed-method approach to help them develop an understanding of the campus community's (1) perceived barriers to recycling, (2) recycling knowledge, (3) program preferences, and (4) environmental attitudes. The results from a web-based survey (n = 3896, RR1 = 24.9%) suggest, communication efforts for recycling programming should focus more on messages concerning what, how, and where to recycle rather than messages on why to recycle. Furthermore, the results suggest recycling-related publicity approaches should differentiate their mode and content for different segments of the community.     

Mathematical Modeling of Column and Field Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquid Tracer Tests

Mathematical models for the simulation of dense nonaqueous phase liquid tracer tests (DTTs) in laboratory columns and in the field are developed and examined. The DTT technique is a means of estimating the quantity of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) in a domain of interest in an aquifer. The two-dimensional field DTT model uses the Method of Principal Directions and an asymmetrical upwind algorithm for describing advective transport. Both models include diffusion transport of tracer into and from low-permeability porous structures such as clay lenses, as well as the mass transport kinetics of partitioning tracer to and from the DNAPL droplets. The dependence of the effluent tracer concentration curves on the parameters of the models is explored, and conclusions are drawn regarding the applicability of, and several possible problems with, the DTT technique. Model results indicate that the DTT performs well at locating distributed droplets of DNAPL, but is unlikely to be useful in the assessment of pooled DNAPL.     

Serum profiles of PCDDs and PCDFs, in individuals near the Escambia Wood Treating Company Superfund site in Pensacola, FL

The Escambia Wood Treating Company (ETC) Superfund site, Pensacola, FL, is contaminated with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F), benzo(a)pyrene, lead and arsenic from pentachlorophenol (PCP), creosote, and other compounds used to treat utility poles and foundation pilings. Although ETC's operations ceased in 1982, soils in the areas surrounding the facility continue to exhibit elevated levels of contaminants attributable to ETC operations. In July 2000, individuals who may have been affected by contamination from the ETC site, including current and former residents and former workers and their household members were invited to participate in a study, which included a health and exposure history and routine blood analysis. We also conducted a toxicological health evaluation of a subset of these eligible workers/residents by analyzing serum levels of 17 PCDD/F congeners. Members of the ETC cohort exhibited elevated serum PCDD/F relative to the general population, and congener profiles in members of the cohort reflected patterns commonly observed in persons exposed to PCP. Hypertension prevalence in the cohort was found to correlate with PCDD/F levels, although no other significant relationships were identified with monitored health indices.     

Chromosomal and nuclear characteristics of deep-sea hydrothermal-vent organisms: correlates of increased growth rate

A range of tissue and cell types from adult and juvenile stages of vent- and non-vent-dwelling deep-sea and shallow-water organisms were compared for signs of cell division, in preparation for a cytogenetic study of the different groups. Virtually all the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) vent species (bresiliid shrimp, bathymodiolid mussel, branchipolynoid polychaete, and a range of small gastropods) showed an abundance of metaphase chromosome spreads, indicating a generally high intrinsic rate of cell division, irrespective of their phylogenetic group. In comparison, similar tissues and life-history stages (i.e. gonad, developing eggs and gill) from two deep-sea bathypelagic crustaceans, Hymenodora and Gnathophausia, failed to yield any convincing evidence of cell division. This indicated that rates of growth and reproduction in the rest of the deep sea are extremely low. While much has been written about the contrasting growth rates of vent versus non-vent organisms, this is the first direct evidence of differences in cell-division rate between vent and non-vent species, which undoubtedly reflects contrasting conditions relating to food availability and temporal stability in these two deep-sea environments. The cells of shallow-water marine invertebrates (Mytilus, Nucella, Littorina, Pomatoceros and Crangon), based on the results of previous cytogenetic investigations, occupy an intermediate position with respect to their cell-division kinetics. When chromosome numbers, DNA content and nuclear diameters were compared between vent and non-vent species, this showed that no change had occurred in these characters since the time of vent colonisation. Representative chromosome spreads from hydrothermal-vent organisms are shown here for the first time.     

Using variance components to estimate power in a hierarchically nested sampling design

We used variance components to assess allocation of sampling effort in a hierarchically nested sampling design for ongoing monitoring of early life history stages of the federally endangered Devils Hole pupfish (DHP) (Cyprinodon diabolis). Sampling design for larval DHP included surveys (5 days each spring 2007–2009), events, and plots. Each survey was comprised of three counting events, where DHP larvae on nine plots were counted plot by plot. Statistical analysis of larval abundance included three components: (1) evaluation of power from various sample size combinations, (2) comparison of power in fixed and random plot designs, and (3) assessment of yearly differences in the power of the survey. Results indicated that increasing the sample size at the lowest level of sampling represented the most realistic option to increase the survey’s power, fixed plot designs had greater power than random plot designs, and the power of the larval survey varied by year. This study provides an example of how monitoring efforts may benefit from coupling variance components estimation with power analysis to assess sampling design.     

Rate of occurrence of failures based on a nonhomogeneous Poisson process: an ozone analyzer case study

Atmospheric pollutant monitoring constitutes a primordial activity in public policies concerning air quality. In São Paulo State, Brazil, the São Paulo State Environment Company (CETESB) maintains an automatic network which continuously monitors CO, SO₂, NO _x , O₃, and particulate matter concentrations in the air. The monitoring process accuracy is a fundamental condition for the actions to be taken by CETESB. As one of the support systems, a preventive maintenance program for the different analyzers used is part of the data quality strategy. Knowledge of the behavior of analyzer failure times could help optimize the program. To achieve this goal, the failure times of an ozone analyzer—considered a repairable system—were modeled by means of the nonhomogeneous Poisson process. The rate of occurrence of failures (ROCOF) was estimated for the intervals 0–70,800 h and 0–88,320 h, in which six and seven failures were observed, respectively. The results showed that the ROCOF estimate is influenced by the choice of the observation period, t ₀?=?70,800 h and t ₇?=?88,320 h in the cases analyzed. Identification of preventive maintenance actions, mainly when parts replacement occurs in the last interval of observation, is highlighted, justifying the alteration in the behavior of the inter-arrival times. The performance of a follow-up on each analyzer is recommended in order to record the impact of the performed preventive maintenance program on the enhancement of its useful life.     

Pond bank access as an approach for managing toxic cyanobacteria in beef cattle pasture drinking water ponds

Forty-one livestock drinking water ponds in Alabama beef cattle pastures during were surveyed during the late summer to generally understand water quality patterns in these important water resources. Since livestock drinking water ponds are prone to excess nutrients that typically lead to eutrophication, which can promote blooms of toxigenic phytoplankton such as cyanobacteria, we also assessed the threat of exposure to the hepatotoxin, microcystin. Eighty percent of the ponds studied contained measurable microcystin, while three of these ponds had concentrations above human drinking water thresholds set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (i.e., 0.3 μg/L). Water quality patterns in the livestock drinking water ponds contrasted sharply with patterns typically observed for temperate freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Namely, we found several non-linear relationships between phytoplankton abundance (measured as chlorophyll) and nutrients or total suspended solids. Livestock had direct access to all the study ponds. Consequently, the proportion of inorganic suspended solids (e.g., sediment) increased with higher concentrations of total suspended solids, which underlies these patterns. Unimodal relationships were also observed between microcystin and phytoplankton abundance or nutrients. Euglenoids were abundant in the four ponds with chlorophyll concentrations >?250 μg/L (and dominated three of these ponds), which could explain why ponds with high chlorophyll concentrations would have low microcystin concentrations. Based on observations made during sampling events and available water quality data, livestock-mediated bioturbation is causing elevated total suspended solids that lead to reduced phytoplankton abundance and microcystin despite high concentrations of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen. Thus, livestock could be used to manage algal blooms, including toxic secondary metabolites, in their drinking water ponds by allowing them to walk in the ponds to increase turbidity.     

Social-ecological system resonance: a theoretical framework for brokering sustainable solutions

Sustainability science is a solution-oriented discipline. Yet, there are few theory-rich discussions about how this orientation structures the efforts of sustainability science. We argue that Niklas Luhmann’s social system theory, which explains how societies communicate problems, conceptualize solutions, and identify pathways towards implementation of solutions, is valuable in explaining the general structure of sustainability science. From Luhmann, we focus on two key concepts. First, his notion of resonance offers us a way to account for how sustainability science has attended and responded to environmental risks. As a product of resonance, we reveal solution-oriented research as the strategic coordination of capacities, resources, and information. Second, Luhmann’s interests in self-organizing processes explain how sustainability science can simultaneously advance multiple innovations. The value logic that supports this multiplicity of self-organizing activities as a recognition that human and natural systems are complex coupled and mutually influencing. To give form to this theoretical framework, we offer case evidence of renewable energy policy formation in Texas. Although the state’s wealth is rooted in a fossil-fuel heritage, Texas generates more electricity from wind than any US state. It is politically antagonistic towards climate-change policy, yet the state’s reception of wind energy technology illustrates how social and environmental systems can be strategically aligned to generate solutions that address diverse needs simultaneously. This case demonstrates that isolating climate change—as politicians do as a separate and discrete problem—is incapable of achieving sustainable solutions, and resonance offers researchers a framework for conceptualizing, designing, and communicating meaningfully integrated actions.     

Elemental concentrations and in vitro bioaccessibility in Canadian background soils

Elemental concentrations and bioaccessibility were determined in background soils collected in Canada as part of the North American Geochemical Landscapes Project. The concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Co, Ni and Zn were higher in the C-horizon (parent material) compared to 0–5 cm (surface soil), and this observation along with the regional distribution suggested that most of the variability in concentrations of these elements were governed by the bedrock characteristics. Unlike the above-stated elements, Pb and Cd concentrations were higher in the surface layer reflecting the potential effects of anthropogenic deposition. Elemental bioaccessibility was variable decreasing in the order Cd > Pb > Cu > Zn > Ni > Co > As > Cr for the surface soils. With the exception of As, bioaccessibility was generally higher in the C-horizon soils compared to the 0–5 cm soils. The differences in metal bioaccessibility between the 0–5 cm and the C-horizon and among the provinces may reflect geological processes and speciation. The mean, median or 95th percentile bioaccessibility for As, Cr, Cu, Co, Ni and Pb were all below 100 %, suggesting that the use of site-specific bioaccessibility results for these elements will yield more accurate estimation of the risk associated with oral bioavailability for sites where soil ingestion is the major contributor of human health risk.