Agrarian Ideals and Practices: Comments on Paul B. Thompson’s The Agrarian Vision

In The Agrarian Vision, Thompson argues that a better appreciation of agrarian ideals could lead to a more virtuous, more sustainable way of life. While I agree with Thompson in many respects, there are some aspects of the book that I question and others that I would like to hear Thompson explicate in greater detail. In this paper, I question Thompson’s claim that agrarian farmers and farming communities serve as ideal models of virtuous habits and good character. I challenge Thompson’s use of virtue theory, particularly the notion that farming virtues can be acquired without participating in farming practices. In the end, I make the point that Thompson seems to vacillate between being realistic and being idealistic, which may seriously complicate our notions of responsibility and obligation in practice.     

Exposure to heavy metals in blood and risk perception of the population living in the vicinity of municipal waste incinerators in Korea

Background, aim, and scope

The purpose of this study was to monitor and present the heavy metal concentrations in the blood of residents of areas near municipal waste incinerators (MWIs), who are more prone to environmental pollution. We also sought to compare and analyze the residents?? perception of environmental pollution as one of the factors affecting heavy metal concentrations in the blood using a survey about the perceived damage caused by the facilities. Since heavy metal levels in the blood can be affected not only by local environmental pollution but also by personal and occupational factors, heavy metal levels in the blood need to be verified and consistently monitored.

Methods

Residents who live within 300?m of MWIs in Seoul are acknowledged to be under indirect influence according to the Waste Disposal Act. A survey was given to 841 residents living within 300?m of a MWI from 2006 to 2009. The concentrations of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and mercury) in the blood were measured in the 841 surveyed residents and in 105 residents in reference areas. Additionally, the perception of the damage caused by municipal waste incinerators was investigated using scores from 1 to 5 on a Likert scale.

Results

The measurements of the heavy metal concentrations in the blood showed that the mean concentrations of lead, cadmium, and mercury were 43.1, 1.7, and 1.3?ug/L, respectively. The blood levels of lead and cadmium were slightly higher in the group of the subjects who had resided the longest near the municipal waste incinerators. When compared with the domestic investigation by the Ministry of Environment, the concentrations of lead and cadmium were a little higher, while that of mercury was a little lower. Overall, there was no significant difference in the distribution of heavy metal levels in the blood among age groups. Additionally, the investigation of the perceived damage from municipal waste incinerators showed that the subjects     

Assessment of waters and sediments impacted by drainage at the Young Dong coal mine site, South Korea

Introduction  

This study focused on the assessment of the geochemistry and hydrology of the Imgok Creek–Young Dong tributary for the design of a field coal mine drainage treatment system.     

Carbonyl emissions from vehicular exhausts sources in Hong Kong

Vehicular emission (VE) is one of the important anthropogenic sources for airborne carbonyls in urban area. Six types of VE-dominated samples were collected at representative locations in Hong Kong where polluted by a particular fueled type of vehicles, including (i) a gas refilling taxis station (liquefied petroleum gas [LPG] emission); (ii) a light-duty passenger car park (gasoline emission); (iii) a minibus station (diesel emission); (iv) a single-deck-bus depot (diesel emission); (v) a double-deck-bus depot (diesel emission); and (vi) a whole-food market entrance for light- and heavy-duty vehicles (diesel emission). A total of 15 carbonyls in the samples were quantified. Formaldehyde was the most abundant carbonyl among the VE-dominated samples, and its contribution to the total quantified amount on a molar basis ranged from 54.8% to 60.8%. Acetaldehyde and acetone were the next two abundant carbonyls. The carbonyls were quantified at three roadside locations in Hong Kong. The highest concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, 22.7 +/- 8.4 and 6.0 +/- 2.8 microg/m3, respectively, were determined in the samples collected at a main transportation gate for goods between Hong Kong and Mainland China. The total quantified carbonyl concentration, 37.9 +/- 9.3 microg/m3, was the highest at an entrance of a cross-harbor tunnel in downtown area. The theoretical carbonyls compositions of the three roadside locations were estimated according to the VE-dominated sample profiles and the statistics on vehicle numbers and types during the sampling period. The measured compositions of formaldehyde were much higher than the theoretical compositions in summer, demonstrating that photochemical reactions significantly contributed to the formaldehyde production in the roadsides.     

Physicochemical properties of chars at different treatment temperatures

In this study, the physicochemical properties of the char of Indonesian SM coal following heat treatment at various temperatures were evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and morphological and specific surface area analysis. Based on these analyses, heat treatment of coal was determined to be the most effective in increasing the coal rank. In the XPS analysis, the C-O and C-O-C groups and quaternary-N species were found to be of a lower grade coal when the pretreatment temperature decreased, meanwhile the C-C group and pyridinic species increased. In the FT-IR analysis, the collapse of the C-O and C-O-C group was observed due to the collapse of the ether group. In SEM and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, a decrease in the ether group was shown to be accompanied with the formation of micropores.     

蚯蚓生态滤池中蚯蚓与植物对污水净化的作用评估

构建具有不同蚯蚓和植物配置的4个单级蚯蚓生态滤池,依次编号为A(无蚯蚓无植物)、B(有蚯蚓无植物)、C(有蚯蚓栽种芦苇)和D(有蚯蚓栽种水生鸢尾)。通过比较4个滤池在6个月实验期间对化学需氧量(COD)和总氮(TN)的去除效率,系统分析蚯蚓和植物对滤池去除污染物的影响。实验分2个阶段进行:5月上旬至9月上旬,滤池进水碳氮比恒定为6;9月中旬至11月中旬,滤池每周进水碳氮比交替为3、6、9。研究结果表明,蚯蚓对滤池去除COD有一定的促进作用,且作用强度显著受到进水碳氮比的影响。植物的存在与种类对滤池去除COD效率没有显著影响。蚯蚓和植物对滤池的TN去除效率都没有显著影响。滤池进水的碳氮比是显著影响滤池去除TN效率的主要因素。     

基于数据包络分析的水污染物排放指标初始分配方法与案例研究

基于数据包络分析(DEA)的点源水污染物排放指标初始分配方法,是将基于DEA的线性规划评价方法进行改进,从而使其适用于评价企业的水环境绩效,并依此进行排污指标初始分配。将非期望产出作为投入指标处理,构造了5输入1输出的规模可变DEA模型,并以南京市280家企业的COD排放指标初始分配为例进行了分析。结果表明,方法的模拟分配结果在公平的基础上,反映了企业的环境效率,效率越高,可得到的COD排放指标也越高,这将对企业治污起到激励作用,分配方法具有一定的可操作性;对案例企业进行分组并实行组内参评,基本可以避免部分极值原始数据对评价结果的影响,得到的COD排放指标分配结果也更为合理。     

Bioaccumulation and the soil factors affecting the uptake of arsenic in earthworm, Eisenia fetida

To better understand arsenic (As) bioaccumulation, a soil invertebrate species was exposed to 17 field soils contaminated with arsenic due to mining activity. Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were kept in the soils for 70 days under laboratory conditions, as body burden increased and failed to reach equilibrium in all soils. After 70 days of exposure, XANES spectra determined that As was biotransformed to a highly reduced form. Uptake kinetics for As was calculated using one compartment model. Stepwise multiple regression suggested that sorbed As in soils are bioaccessible, and uptake is governed by soil properties (iron oxide, sulfate, and dissolved organic carbon) that control As mobility in soils. As in soil solution are highly related to uptake rate except four soils which had relatively high chloride or phosphate. The results imply that uptake of As is through As interaction with soil characteristics as well as direct from the soil solution. Internal validation showed that empirically derived regression equations can be used for predicting As uptake as a function of soil properties within the range of soil properties in the data set.     

脱硫石膏粒径分布与脱水性能实验研究

脱硫石膏粒径分布是影响脱硫石膏浆液脱水性能的重要因素之一,以干法、湿法筛分和研磨破碎获得不同粒径分布的脱硫石膏,在相同的过滤条件下,对不同粒径分布脱硫石膏浆液脱水性能进行了研究,实验结果表明,当脱硫石膏粒径d50大于50μm且（d90-d10）小于100μm,真空过滤最大真空度不低于0．098MPa,过滤时间不少于2．5min,滤饼厚度不超过20mm时,石膏滤饼含水率可以降低到12％以下（最低可达10％）;d50在17μm为脱硫石膏在相同的过滤条件下能够实现真空脱水干燥的转折点;d50和（d90-d10）共同影响石膏脱水性能,d50小于20μm时,仅表现为d50的影响。