Policy Utopias for Nutrient Credit Trading Programs with Nonpoint Sources

A promising program to address water contamination from nutrients is water quality trading (WQT), whereby entities with high abatement costs purchase credits from entities with lower abatement costs. The concept has found some success with point source water pollution, but very few trades have occurred in over 50 programs in the United States (U.S.) that have focused on nonpoint sources (NPSs). To understand why success has been slow, we identified three environments needed for programs to succeed: physical, economic, and institutional. We estimate that only 5% of watersheds in the U.S. currently listed as nutrient impaired provide a viable physical environment for trading nitrogen; 13% are suitable for phosphorus. Economic and institutional challenges would shrink that domain even further. Therefore, we find places with the ideal physical, economic, and institutional environments necessary for feasible WQT programs are virtual policy utopias — rare places with ideal environments. Fortunately, a growing literature provides the tools necessary to identify where these policy utopias are and to expand that domain through a better understanding about how to manage WQT programs more effectively.     

Economic growth and energy consumption in Iran: an ARDL approach including renewable and non-renewable energies

Iran experiences a high level of energy consumption which is threatening not only economically but also politically and environmentally. This study aims to estimate the relationship between the economic growth with the various kinds of energies, non-hydroelectric, renewable, non-renewable, and total energies in Iran during 1967–2012, using an autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) model. The results show the ineffective relationship between the economic growth and energy consumption in Iran, considering non-hydroelectric energy, renewable energy, non-renewable energy, and total energy, one by one as the energy proxy. It implies the ineffectiveness of both the quantitative and qualitative deflationary policies over the energy sector. In another word, neither decreasing energy consumption nor changing energy portfolio affects the economic growth. Therefore, the policy makers are advised to formulate those policies which reduce the quantity of energy consumption or increase the segment of renewable energies in the portfolio of energy consumption because they do not lead to the considerable negative consequence on the economic growth, while they increase both the environmental quality and energy security.     

Use of Maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.) for phytomanagement of Cd-contaminated soils: a critical review

Maize (Zea mays L.) has been widely adopted for phytomanagement of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soils due to its high biomass production and Cd accumulation capacity. This paper reviewed the toxic effects of Cd and its management by maize plants. Maize could tolerate a certain level of Cd in soil while higher Cd stress can decrease seed germination, mineral nutrition, photosynthesis and growth/yields. Toxicity response of maize to Cd varies with cultivar/varieties, growth medium and stress duration/extent. Exogenous application of organic and inorganic amendments has been used for enhancing Cd tolerance of maize. The selection of Cd-tolerant maize cultivar, crop rotation, soil type, and exogenous application of microbes is a representative agronomic practice to enhance Cd tolerance in maize. Proper selection of cultivar and agronomic practices combined with amendments might be successful for the remediation of Cd-contaminated soils with maize. However, there might be the risk of food chain contamination by maize grains obtained from the Cd-contaminated soils. Thus, maize cultivation could be an option for the management of low- and medium-grade Cd-contaminated soils if grain yield is required. On the other hand, maize can be grown on Cd-polluted soils only if biomass is required for energy production purposes. Long-term field trials are required, including risks and benefit analysis for various management strategies aiming Cd phytomanagement with maize.     

Biochemical and histopathological changes of Biomphalaria alexandrina snails exposed to bisphenol A

The effects of sub-lethal concentrations of bisphenol A on some biochemical parameters in Biomphalaria alexandrina snail's hemolymph and tissues as well as on histological changes of the hermaphrodite gland were evaluated. Adult snails were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations for four weeks and samples of snails were investigated after two and four weeks. Total protein and albumin levels in hemolymph, as well as lipid peroxidation and glutathione contents of snails’ tissues, were measured. After two weeks of exposure, total protein content and albumin levels decreased in all groups. Elevation of lipid peroxidation levels was correlated with decreasing glutathione content in the treated snails. Histological examination of the hermaphrodite gland revealed deformations in eggs and affected sperm production.     

Reactivity of sulfate radicals with natural organic matters

Advanced oxidation processes based on sulfate radicals (SO ₄ ^·? ) are capable of efficiently degrade organic pollutants from ground, surface and wastewaters. However, this degradation may be limited by aqueous natural organic matter (NOM). Here we measured the absolute rate constants of reaction of SO ₄ ^·? with four types of organic matter: two fulvic acids and two lake organic matter. We used laser flash photolysis technique to monitor the SO ₄ ^·? decay and the formation of the transients from organic matters. Reaction rate constants comprised between 1530 and 3500 s^?1 mgC^?1 L were obtained by numerical analysis of differential equations and the weighted average of the extinction coefficient of the generated organic matters radicals between 400 and 800 M^?1 cm^?1.     

Resource recovery potential from source-separated organic municipal solid waste: opportunities for organic fertilizer production and creating sustainable urban agriculture in Ethiopia

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Increasing waste production and its disposal into the environment without treatment and resource recovery is considered as a threat to the...     

Portlandite wet-synthesis process from phosphogypsum waste using hydroxide medium: application in both CO2 capture and brine water salinity reduction

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Portlandite (Ca(OH)2) preparation from phosphogypsum waste (PGW) was evaluated in numerous works; however, the use of this compound is not applied...     

Composition and distribution of surfactants around Lake Chini,Malaysia

This study aims to determine the composition of surfactants in the lake surface microlayer, rainwater, and atmospheric aerosols in the area surrounding Lake Chini, Pahang. Surfactants in the lake surface microlayer were taken from seven different stations around the lake, while samples of rainwater were taken from five different sampling stations. The samples of atmospheric aerosols were collected from the Lake Chini Research Centre which is in close proximity to the lake. The colorimetric analysis method was used to determine the composition and concentration of anionic surfactants as methylene blue active substances (MBAS) and cationic surfactants as disulphine blue active substances (DBAS). The concentration of anionic surfactants, as MBAS, in the surface microlayer ranged between 0.08 to 0.23 μmol L^− 1, while the range of concentration of cationic surfactants as DBAS ranged from 0.09 to 0.11 μmol L^− 1. The concentration of MBAS was higher in rainwater when compared to surfactants in the lake surface microlayer. The high concentration of surfactants in the fine mode of atmospheric aerosols suggests that natural and anthropogenic sources of surfactants contribute to the atmospheric surfactants.     

Land suitability assessment for wind power plant site selection using ANP-DEMATEL in a GIS environment: case study of Ardabil province,Iran

Wind energy is a renewable energy resource that has increased in usage in most countries. Site selection for the establishment of large wind turbines, called wind farms, like any other engineering project, requires basic information and careful planning. This study assessed the possibility of establishing wind farms in Ardabil province in northwestern Iran by using a combination of analytic network process (ANP) and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methods in a geographical information system (GIS) environment. DEMATEL was used to determine the criteria relationships. The weights of the criteria were determined using ANP and the overlaying process was done on GIS. Using 13 information layers in three main criteria including environmental, technical and economical, the land suitability map was produced and reclassified into 5 equally scored divisions from least suitable to most suitable areas. The results showed that about 6.68 % of the area of Ardabil province is most suitable for establishment of wind turbines. Sensitivity analysis shows that significant portions of these most suitable zones coincide with suitable divisions of the input layers. The efficiency and accuracy of the hybrid model (ANP-DEMATEL) was evaluated and the results were compared to the ANP model. The sensitivity analysis, map classification, and factor weights for the two methods showed satisfactory results for the ANP-DEMATEL model in wind power plant site selection.     

Source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment samples from the northern part of the Persian Gulf,Iran

Samples of surface sediments from the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf were examined to determine the levels and sources of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Samples were collected from 30 sampling sites and analyzed for PAHs by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Total concentrations of PAHs ranged from 93 to 4,077 ng g^?1 dry weight. The PAH composition from 30 sampling sites was dominated by four-ring PAH compounds. Molecular indices based on the ratios of PAH concentrations were used to differentiate PAHs from pyrolitic to petrogenic and mixed origins. The results suggested that the main sources of PAHs in sediments from the studied region were mixed pyrolitic and petrogenic. Furthermore, benthic organisms in most of the investigated areas were not at ecotoxicological risk, according to the results from the effects range low (ERL)/effects range median (ERM) techniques suggested by the US Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs).