A proposal for design-based auto industry environmental regulation

As the U.S. auto industry tries to remain competitive in the face of evolving environmental rules, the new administration is presented with the opportunity to achieve environmental and economic goals through an industry-government partnership. The authors suggest a policy of total environmental quality as a starting point.     

A Land Cover Change Monitoring Program: Strategy for an International Effort

An international system for monitoring land cover change is needed to support a range of scientific and policy objectives. Although much of the technology and methods are readily available, such a program has yet to be implemented. This paper outlines the rationale, requirements, and strategy for implementing a land cover-monitoring program using satellite remote sensing, field and ground measurements, and models and assessments. The proposed program builds on existing activities throughout the world and is designed to simultaneously meet the needs of the international policy, global change research, and national resource management. Outputs from this program would provide support to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, lead to the development of consistent country-level emission inventories, and address important scientific problems in global change research such as closing the global carbon budget.     

Soil Respiration and Carbon Storage of an Acrisol Under Forest and different Cultivations in rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Soil respiration rates of a clay-loam textured Acrisol under different uses (Atlantic forest, manioc, horticulture and pasture) from Rio de Janeiro State were measured. The relationship between carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and soil physico-chemical properties were investigated. Rates of CO₂ emission of two sites (Atlantic forest and horticulture) were also evaluated in different seasons in 1997 and 1998. In the forest site, monthly means of measured respiration rates showed good correlation with soil temperature in the range 19.6–24.1°C (r² = 0.89). In the horticulture site, no change was observed with soil moisture alone, in the range 3.0–13.2 wt%. In the horticulture soil, even when the surface soil was very dry, respiration rates increased in the hot, wetter summer but remained higher than the mean flux from forest soil. The CO₂ emission flux of the Acrisol under different use showed good correlation with soil temperature (r² = 0.72) and moisture (r² = 0.61).     

Statistical distributions of uncertainty and variability in activated sludge model parameters.

All models used in activated sludge design and analysis use parameters to characterize process performance. The values of these parameters are often assumed based on default values recommended in the literature, but to date, no quantitative estimates of the parameter uncertainties have been published. Similarly, little attention has been given to quantifying site-specific parameter variability, even though its occurrence has been observed several times in the literature. In this paper, universal uncertainty distributions of the model parameters from Activated Sludge Model No. 1 are developed from a database of parameter values reported in the literature using Bayesian statistics. Site-specific distributions of parameter variability were developed using the same techniques. All parameter distributions developed demonstrated that significant uncertainty and variability exist, which could lead to overdesign or plant failure if not considered during the design process.     

Trace zinc and copper concentration in roadside surface soils and vegetation—measurement of local atmospheric pollution in Alice, South Africa

Surface soil and grass samples were collected from ten locations perpendicular to a major road in Alice and were analyzed for zinc and copper. The results revealed an association between zinc concentration and distance from road traffic. An association was also revealed between soil zinc and grass zinc which suggests same source for the metal in samples. The results for copper did not show any correlation between sample concentration and distance from road traffic. Neither did it show any correlation between soil zinc and soil copper or between grass zinc and grass copper which suggests different sources for the elements.     

Occurrence of carcinogenic amino-alpha-carbolines in some environmental samples

The carcinogenic amino-alpha-carbolines, 2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole and AalphaC, have been measured in airborne particles, rain water, soil and cigarette-smoke-polluted indoor air by high-performance liquid chromatography. These carcinogens were found in all kinds of environmental samples examined, although MeAalphaC was not detected in soil. Considering the present results, together with the previous findings that these carcinogens were present in foodstuffs, cigarette smoke and diesel-exhaust particles, amino-alpha-carbolines are likely to be ubiquitous environmental pollutants. Our data also support the hypothesis that amino-alpha-carbolines are formed through combustion of various materials such as food, grass and petroleum.     

Ethical issues concerning potential global climate change on food production

Burning fossil fuel in the North American continent contributes more to the CO₂ global warming problem than in any other continent. The resulting climate changes are expected to alter food production. The overall changes in temperature, moisture, carbon dioxide, insect pests, plant pathogens, and weeds associated with global warming are projected to reduce food production in North America. However, in Africa, the projected slight rise in rainfall is encouraging, especially since Africa already suffers from severe shortages of rainfall. For all regions, a reduction in fossil fuel burning is vital. Adoption of sound ecological resource management, especially soil and water conservation and the prevention of deforestation, is important. Together, these steps will benefit agriculture, the environment, farmers, and society as a whole.     

Two methods to define and compute visual buffer strips in a forested environment

Several approaches can be used to define and construct visual buffer strips around proposed new facility sites in a forested environment. A visual buffer strip of a given value, defines a region around an object within which the probability of an unblocked view of all or portions of it by an observer are less than the buffer strip probability value. Two primary approaches are used to define visual buffer strips that take into account the size of the vegetative elements and their individual effects on visibility. Several variations and combinations of the approaches are possible. One approach defines a visual buffer strip based on the average probability of a clear view of points along the object by an observer; the other approach is based on the visibility of the feature as a whole. The computation and construction of visual buffer strips based on these two concepts are presented. Comparisons of the two approaches for specific feature shapes are also described.