The cost of stratospheric climate engineering revisited

Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) has been receiving increasing attention as a possible option for climate engineering. Its direct cost is perceived to be low, which has implications for international governance of this emerging technology. Here, we critically synthesize previous estimates of the underlying parameters and examine the total costs of SAI. It is evident that there have been inconsistencies in some assumptions and the application of overly optimistic parameter values in previous studies, which have led to an overall underestimation of the cost of aircraft-based SAI with sulfate aerosols. The annual cost of SAI to achieve cooling of 2 W/m² could reach US$10 billion with newly designed aircraft, which contrasts with the oft-quoted estimate of “a few billion dollars.” If existing aircraft were used, the cost would be expected to increase further. An SAI operation would be a large-scale engineering undertaking, possibly requiring a fleet of approximately 1,000 aircraft, because of the required high altitude of the injection. Therefore, because of its significance, a more thorough investigation of the engineering aspects of SAI and the associated uncertainties is warranted.     

Lead poisoning in swans in Japan

We investigated the occurrence, source and exposure time of lead poisoning in whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus cygnus) and Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) in Japan during the winters of 1984-1987. Concentrations of lead in various tissues and physiological evidence of lead shot in some birds indicated that lead shotgun pellets were the source of lead, and exposure occurred after the birds arrived in Japan. Mortality probably occurred within 30 days after exposure to, and retention of, lead shot in the gizzard.     

Utilization of regenerated iron oxide for treatment of organotin compounds in seawater

We examined the removal and degradation efficiencies of regenerated amorphous iron oxide on tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) in seawater. It was confirmed that following contact with iron oxide at 20 and 60?°C, the half-lives of TBT and TPT were shortened. These half-lives were from one-thousandth to one-tenth for natural environment conditions. Dibutyltin and benzene were identified as the reaction products from TBT and TPT, respectively, indicating that the degradation pathways were mainly dealkylation and dephenylation. These results indicate that the treatment method by natural energy will enable the economical and rapid reduction of organotin compounds (OTCs). For OTCs in seawater will be adsorbed on the iron oxide by the ebb and flow of the tide and solar energy will be heat source for degradation when iron oxide is prepared in coastal locations.     

我国安全生产法制对策研究

分析了国内外安全生产法制现状，总结提出了我国存在的职业安全与健康分离、没有系统和规划、适用和衔接性差等特点和问题。阐述了安全生产法规体系建设的指导思想、基本原则以及基本框架，并提出了定期制定安全生产法规规划、梳理与评估法规体系实施效果、制定统一的劳动安全与健康法、编制安全生产计划、健全职业健康配套规定、保险与安全生产互动、以明确综合监管和专项监管以及安全生产规划、完善隐患治理、安全使用机械、健全企业自主管理体制等为重点对《安全生产法》进行修订的对策。     

A study on experts' judgement on the future perspective of a country: a case study for China

The future of the environment in China until the year 2050 has been forecasted through a heuristic approach. A questionnaire survey was given to a group of Japanese experts concerning 47 selected indices, including past data and reference data about other countries. The indices were related to aspects of the economy, population, food, energy, transportation, and the environment. The experts were requested to plot a graph for each index up to 2050 based on their intuition. The lines drawn by 60 experts were compiled along with their comments, and the characteristics of each index were analyzed. Different values for the indices regarding transportation and per capita GDP were forecasted by the experts, while rather similar values were obtained for those referencing population and food consumption. The respective fields of the experts were found to affect their perspectives on the future. Economists tended to show rather optimistic views, expressing a business-as-usual scenario, while engineers predicted limited growth but technological innovation.     

Risk evaluation with waste scenario: lead emissions in solder waste treatment

In this work, an estimate of the elevation of airborne lead concentrations via the lead solder contained in domestic electricity installations and an investigation into the effects of human exposure were conducted using a simulation method. The elevation of airborne lead concentrations due to incineration was calculated to be 0.001 µg/m³ maximum. The simulation results of the calculations indicated that blood lead concentrations could reach as high as 10⁻⁵ µg/dl. These concentrations could primarily be attributed to the inhalation of airborne lead particles. In addition, we discuss the influences of lead solder disposal on the ecosystem via soil and water.     

Seasonal and diurnal presence of finless porpoises at a corridor to the ocean from their habitat

A number of local populations of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) are widely distributed throughout the warm coastal waters of Asia. The Omura Bay population, consisting of approximately 300 individuals, is the smallest of five populations inhabiting Japanese waters. It is a relatively new population that established after the global warming that took place approximately 9000 years ago. To observe whether these porpoises appear in the major corridor to the ocean from Omura Bay, we used acoustic monitoring to record occurrences of finless porpoises from November 2007 to May 2009. A stereo acoustic event recorder recorded the intensity and the sound source direction of biosonar signals, providing independent traces of sound sources corresponding to each detected animal. A total of 226 individuals were detected over the 1.5-year monitoring period, of which 76% occurred at night and 73% occurred during March and April. We compared the presence of porpoises to the Japanese anchovy catch in Omura Bay and the Hario Strait over the same period. Results suggested that possible reductions in anchovy resources in the bay could attract porpoises to the outside of their normal habitat. In total, 70% of the porpoise recordings took place when the tidal current was moving out of Omura Bay. Porpoises might follow the prey that are transported out of the bay due to the strong outbound current. The finless porpoises confined to the bay might extend their swimming area if prey is available.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in human adipose tissues of Japan

Thirteen samples of human adipose tissue from cancer patients in Japan were analyzed for tetra- to octa- chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). These compounds were identified in all the samples analyzed. All isomers identified have a pattern of chlorine substitution in 2, 3, 7 and 8 positions with the only exception of 1,2,3,4,6,7,9-hepta-CDD. In the case of PCDFs, the relatively higher persistency was found in the isomers with chlorine atoms at 4- (or 6-) position as compared with 1- (or 9-) position. Total PCDD concentrations were in the range of 160 to 1400 pg/g on wet weight basis, in which increasing levels were found from tetra- to octa-CDD. Total PCDF concentrations were in the range of 7 to 120 pg/g and the levels of individual congeners are rather uniform.     

The flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol-A and its metabolite found in river and marine sediments in Japan

Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBP), used as a flame retardant, was detected in river sediments collected in Osaka, Japan, at a concentration range from 22 to 140 μg/kg (ppb), as determined on a dry weight basis. TBBP was also found in marine sediments collected at Osaka Bay, though the TBBP levels of these samples were much lower than those from river sediments. Dimethyl ether derivative of TBBP (TBBP-DM), thought to be a decomposition product from microbial methylation, was found in the river sediments but in none of the marine sediments. TBBP-DM residues were about one-hundredth of the TBBP levels.     

Ultrasonic courtship song in the Asian corn borer moth, Ostrinia furnacalis

Although sex pheromone communication in the genus Ostrinia (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) has been studied intensively, acoustic communication in this genus has not been explored. In this study, we report that male-produced ultrasound serves as a courtship song in the Asian corn borer moth, O. furnacalis. Upon landing close to a pheromone-releasing female, a male showed a series of courtship behaviors involving emission of ultrasound. The sounds were produced when the wings were vibrated quickly in an upright position. The male song was composed of chirps, i.e., groups of pulses (duration of a chirp = 58.9 ms, 8.8 pulses/chirp), with a broadband frequency of 25–100 kHz. In flight tunnel experiments, deaf and hearing females showed a significant difference in the incidence of three behavioral responses to courting males, i.e., immediate acceptance, acceptance after walking, and rejection. Deaf females showed more ‘rejection’ and less ‘acceptance after walking’ than hearing females, indicating that the detection of male-produced ultrasound plays an important role in the acceptance of a male. The findings are discussed in the context of exploitation of receiver bias and mate choice.