Life‐cycle assessment of in situ thermal remediation

A detailed cradle‐to‐grave life‐cycle assessment (LCA) of an in situ thermal treatment remedy for a chlorinated‐solvent‐contaminated site was performed using process LCA. The major materials and activities necessary to install, operate, monitor, and deconstruct the remedy were included in the analysis. The analysis was based on an actual site remedy design and implementation to determine the potential environmental impacts, pinpoint major contributors to impacts, and identify opportunities for improvements during future implementation. The Electro‐Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process (ET‐DSP?) in situ thermal technology coupled with a dual‐phase extraction and treatment system was evaluated for the remediation of 4,400 yd³ of tetrachloroethene‐ and trichloroethene‐impacted soil, groundwater, and bedrock. The analysis was based on an actual site with an estimated source mass of 2,200 lbs of chlorinated solvents. The remedy was separated into four stages: remedy installation, remedy operation, monitoring, and remedy deconstruction. Environmental impacts were assessed using Sima Pro software, the ecoinvent database, and the ReCiPe midpoint and endpoint methods. The operation stage of the remedy dominated the environmental impacts across all categories due to the large amount of electricity required by the thermal treatment technology. Alternate sources of electricity could significantly reduce the environmental impacts of the remedy across all impact categories. Other large impacts were observed in the installation stage resulting from the large amount of diesel fuel, steel, activated carbon, and asphalt materials required to implement the technology. These impacts suggest where opportunities for footprint reductions can be found through best management practices such as increased materials reuse, increased recycled‐content materials use, and clean fuels and emission control technologies. Smaller impacts were observed in the monitoring and deconstruction stages. Normalized results show the largest environmental burdens to fossil depletion, human toxicity, particulate matter formation, and climate‐change categories resulting from activities associated with mining of fossil fuels for use in electricity production. In situ thermal treatment can reliably remediate contaminated source areas with contaminants located in low‐permeability zones, providing complete destruction of contaminants in a short amount of time, quick return of the site to productive use, and minimized quantities of hazardous materials stored in landfills for future generations to remediate. However, this remediation strategy can also result in significant emissions over a short period of time. It is difficult to quantify the overall value of short‐term cleanups with intense treatment emissions against longer‐term cleanups with lower treatment emissions because of the environmental, social, and economic trade‐offs that need to be considered and understood. LCA is a robust, quantitative tool to help inform stakeholder discussions related to the remedy selection process, trade‐off considerations, and environmental footprint‐reduction opportunities, and to complement a broader toolbox for the evaluation of sustainable remediation strategies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Relationships between hope,optimism, and conservation engagement

The loss and degradation of nature can lead to hopelessness and despair, which may undermine engagement in conservation actions. Emerging movements, such as that behind the organization Conservation Optimism, aim to avert potential despair of those involved in conservation. Some argue that fostering positive states, such as hope or optimism, can motivate engagement and action; however, others question whether fostering hope or optimism may inadvertently undermine perceived gravity of conservation challenges. We examined this issue by quantifying dispositional hope and optimism with a representative sample of Australians (n = 4285) and assessing their relationship with indicators of conservation engagement. We used the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia as a case study. We asked participants what they could do to help the GBR, then classified their responses into 2 outcome variables: identifying climate actions (i.e., actions that tackle the main threat to the reef) and identifying plastic actions (i.e., actions that are popular among community members). We also quantified likelihood of performing these actions and appraisals of both threats and actions. One dimension of hope, hope pathways (defined by Snyder's hope theory as knowing different ways to act), was associated with greater capacity to identify climate-related behaviors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44) and plastic reduction behaviors (OR = 1.22) and greater likelihood of adopting climate-related actions (β = 0.20). Optimism was associated with recognition of plastic reduction behaviors only (OR = 1.22). Neither hope nor optimism undermined appraisal of conservation threats. The effects of optimism were mediated by reduced action futility, and effects of hope pathways were mediated by stronger perceptions of threats to the reef (threat appraisal) and confidence in performing useful actions (coping appraisal). Our findings suggest that dispositional hope can strengthen, rather than undermine, appraisal of conservation challenges and solutions and thereby increase conservation engagement.     

The need to implement an efficient biomass fractionation and full utilization based on the concept of “biorefinery” for a viable economic utilization of microalgae

In the present work, microalgae strains, such as Scenedesmus obliquus and Phaeodactylum tricornutum grown in indoor/outdoor photobioreactors (PBRs) and in open ponds (this is the first study on such strains cultivated in the local Southern Italy climatic conditions), were fully analyzed for their protein content, carbohydrates, lipids, and fatty acid profile in order to assess their potential use for the production of biofuels, chemicals, and omega-3, and as animal feed and human food. They are compared with Nannochloropsis sp. (commercial sample) which was fully analyzed in our laboratory and Chlorella (literature data). An economic evaluation was carried out, demonstrating that the cultivation of microalgae for the production of only biofuels will not match the economic standards. Conversely, if chemicals are also produced applying the biorefinery concept and using wastewater as a source of nutrients, it will be possible to have a good positive return from microalgae.     

Belligerent broadcasting,male anti-authoritarianism and anti-environmentalism: the case of Top Gear (BBC, 2002–2015)

ABSTRACT

This article considers the format and cultural politics of the hugely successful UK television program Top Gear (BBC 2002–2015). It analyzes how—through its presenting team—it constructed an informal address predicated around anti-authoritarian or contrarian banter and protest masculinity. Regular targets for Top Gear presenter’s protest—curtailed by broadcast guidelines in terms of gender and ethnicity—are deflected onto the “soft” targets of government legislation on environmental issues or various forms of regulation “red tape. Repeated references to speed cameras, central London congestion charges and “excessive” signage are all anti-authoritarian, libertarian discourses delivered through a comedic form of performance address. Thus, the BBC’s primary response to complaints made about this program was to defend the program’s political views as being part of the humor. The article draws on critical discourse analysis and conversation analysis to consider how the program licensed a particular form of engagement that helped it to deflect criticisms, and considers the limits to such discursive positioning. We conclude by examining the controversies that finally led, in 2015, to the removal of the main presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, and the ending of this version of the program through the departure of the team to an on-demand online television service.     

Environmental drivers of decadal change of a mangrove forest in the North coast of the Yucatan peninsula,Mexico

Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem services, but are under constant pressure from natural, anthropogenic, and climate change related disturbances. Environmental drivers on mangrove change at large spatial scales, other than sea level rise, are not well understood. In here, we use spatially explicit methods to identify the main environmental drivers of mangrove coverage change over a decade in the landscape of the North coast of the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. A post-supervised classification approach on seven SPOT 5 multispectral satellite images was used to construct thematic maps of mangrove coverage between 2004 and 2014. A linear regression model between the thematic maps was performed to estimate the mangrove coverage change rate per pixel. Climate surfaces for annual maximum, minimum and mean temperature, and annual mean and cumulative precipitation for the region were calculated for the period 1980–2009 using data obtained from the National Meteorological Service. The effect of environmental variables on mangrove coverage change rates was assessed with a boosted generalized additive model (boosted GAM). The lowest and highest overall accuracy obtained for the time series thematic maps were 87.14% (Kappa?=?0.78), and 97.5% (Kappa?=?0.95), respectively. The most influential environmental variables on mangrove coverage change were annual cumulative precipitation (21%), and annual maximum temperature (9%). Current climate change scenarios for the region predict an increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation, intensifying environmental stress on this ecosystem. Therefore, adequate management strategies are fundamental to help maintain the mangrove forest under changing environmental conditions.     

Increasing interannual and altitudinal ozone mixing ratios in the Catalan Pyrenees

Interannual, seasonal, daily and altitudinal patterns of tropospheric ozone mixing ratios, as well as ozone phytotoxicity and the relationship with NO_x precursors and meteorological variables were monitored in the Central Catalan Pyrenees (Meranges valley and Forest of Guils) over a period of 5 years (2004–2008). Biweekly measurements using Radiello passive samplers were taken along two altitudinal transects comprised of thirteen stations ranging from 1040 to 2300 m a.s.l. Visual symptoms of ozone damage in Bel-W3 tobacco cultivars were evaluated biweekly for the first three years (2004–2006). High ozone mixing ratios, always above forest and vegetation protection AOT40 thresholds, were monitored every year. In the last 14 years, the AOT40 (Apr–Sept.) has increased significantly by 1047 μg m^?3 h per year. Annual means of ozone mixing ratios ranged between 38 and 67 ppb_v (38 and 74 ppb_v during the warm period) at the highest site (2300 m) and increased at a rate of 5.1 ppb_v year^?1. The ozone mixing ratios were also on average 35–38% greater during the warm period and had a characteristic daily pattern with minimum values in the early morning, a rise during the morning and a decline overnight, that was less marked the higher the altitude. Whereas ozone mixing ratios increased significantly with altitude from 35 ppb_v at 1040 m–56 ppb_v at 2300 m (on average for 2004–2007 period), NO₂ mixing ratios decreased with altitude from 5.5 ppb_v at 1040 m–1 ppb_v at 2300 m. The analysis of meteorological variables and NO_x values suggests that the ozone mainly originated from urban areas and was transported to high-mountain sites, remaining aloft in absence of NO. Ozone damage rates increased with altitude in response to increasing O₃ mixing ratios and a possible increase in O₃ uptake due to more favorable microclimatic conditions found at higher altitude, which confirms Bel-W3 as a suitable biomonitor for ozone concentrations during summer time. Compared to the valley-bottom site the annual means of ozone mixing ratios are 37% larger in the higher sites. Thus the AOT40 for the forest and vegetation protection threshold is greatly exceeded at higher sites. This could have substantial effects on plant life at high altitudes in the Pyrenees.     

Temporal pessimism and spatial optimism in environmental assessments: An 18-nation study

The personal assessments of the current and expected future state of the environment by 3232 community respondents in 18 nations were investigated at the local, national, and global spatial levels. These assessments were compared to a ranking of each country's environmental quality by an expert panel. Temporal pessimism (“things will get worse”) was found in the assessments at all three spatial levels. Spatial optimism bias (“things are better here than there”) was found in the assessments of current environmental conditions in 15 of 18 countries, but not in the assessments of the future. All countries except one exhibited temporal pessimism, but significant differences between them were common. Evaluations of current environmental conditions also differed by country. Citizens' assessments of current conditions, and the degree of comparative optimism, were strongly correlated with the expert panel's assessments of national environmental quality. Aside from the value of understanding global trends in environmental assessments, the results have important implications for environmental policy and risk management strategies.     

Resource frontiers and agglomeration economies: The varied logics of transnational land-based investing in Southern and Eastern Africa

Actor-level data on large-scale commercial agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. The peculiar choice of transnational investing in African land has, therefore, been subject to conjecture. Addressing this gap, we reconstructed the underlying logics of investment location choices in a Bayesian network, using firm- and actor-level interview and spatial data from 37 transnational agriculture and forestry investments across 121 sites in Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. We distinguish four investment locations across gradients of resource frontiers and agglomeration economies to derive the preferred locations of different investors with varied skillsets and market reach (i.e., track record). In contrast to newcomers, investors with extensive track records are more likely to expand the land use frontier, but they are also likely to survive the high transaction costs of the pre-commercial frontier. We highlight key comparative advantages of Southern and Eastern African frontiers and map the most probable categories of investment locations.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01682-z.     

Pharmaceutical contamination in residential, industrial, and agricultural waste streams: risk to aqueous environments in Taiwan

This is a comprehensive study of the occurrence of antibiotics, hormones and other pharmaceuticals in water sites that have major potential for downstream environmental contamination. These include residential (hospitals, sewage treatment plants, and regional discharges), industrial (pharmaceutical production facilities), and agricultural (animal husbandries and aquacultures) waste streams. We assayed 23 Taiwanese water sites for 97 targeted compounds, of which a significant number were detected and quantified. The most frequently detected compounds were sulfamethoxazole, caffeine, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen, followed closely by cephalexin, ofloxacin, and diclofenac, which were detected in >91% of samples and found to have median (maximum) concentrations of 0.2 (5.8), 0.39 (24.0), 0.02 (100.4), 0.41 (14.5), 0.15 (31.4), 0.14 (13.6) and 0.083 (29.8) microg/L, respectively. Lincomycin and acetaminophen had high measured concentrations (>100 microg/L), and 35 other pharmaceuticals occurred at the microg/L level. These incidence and concentration results correlate well with published data for other worldwide locations, as well as with Taiwanese medication usage data, suggesting a human contamination source. Many pharmaceuticals also occurred at levels exceeding predicted no-effect concentrations (PNEC), warranting further investigation of their occurrence and fate in receiving waters, as well as the overall risks they pose for local ecosystems and human residents. The information provided here will also be useful for development of strategies for regulation and remediation.     

Response patterns in adult forest trees to chronic ozone stress: identification of variations and consistencies

The responsiveness of adult beech and spruce trees to chronic O(3) stress was studied at a free-air O(3) exposure experiment in Freising/Germany. Over three growing seasons, gas exchange characteristics, biochemical parameters, macroscopic O(3) injury and the phenology of leaf organs were investigated, along with assessments of branch and stem growth as indications of tree performance. To assess response pattern to chronic O(3) stress in adult forest trees, we introduce a new evaluation approach, which provides a comprehensive, readily accomplishable overview across several tree-internal scaling levels, different canopy regions and growing seasons. This new approach, based on a three-grade colour coding, combines statistical analysis and the proficient ability of the "human eye" in pattern recognition.