Forgivingness, Pessimism, and Environmental Citizenship

Our attitudes toward human culpability for environmental problems have moral and emotional import, influencing our basic capacities for believing cooperative action and environmental repair are even possible. In this paper, I suggest that having the virtue of forgivingness as a response to environmental harm is generally good for moral character, preserving us from morally risky varieties of pessimism and despair. I define forgivingness as a forward-looking disposition based on Robin Dillon’s conception of preservative forgiveness, a preparation to be deeply and abidingly accepting yet expecting human error. As with other virtues, however, preservative forgiveness is available to some of us more than others; in the second half of this paper, I consider the deep challenge posed by rational pessimism, especially on the part of those who have been given many reasons not to hope for the very moral improvements for which they strive. I conclude that for those of us with the power roles and personal resources especially conducive to environmental activism, preservative forgiveness inclines us to remain engaged in environmental activism with fellow flawed human beings, recognizing our own mutual depredations while committing us to cooperatively respond.     

The Pb pollution fingerprint at Lochnagar: the historical record and current status of Pb isotopes

Ratios of 206Pb/207Pb in a Lochnagar sediment core slowly decline from c. 1.32 at 140 cm to c. 1.23 at 9 cm, and then rapidly decline to c. 1.15 at the surface. Ninety percent of the Pb in the surface sediments can be attributed to anthropogenic sources. The 206Pb/207Pb ratio data imply that catchment peat surface contains a higher fraction of anthropogenic Pb than the sediment surface. The 206Pb/207Pb ratios in the surface of the sediment core are consistent with ratios in trapped sediments collected annually between 1998 and 2003. However, there is no significant decline in these recent samples suggesting that the reduction in atmospheric Pb emissions has not yet been recorded by the sediments due to Pb inputs from the catchment. As catchment peats store about 840 kg previously deposited anthropogenic Pb since 1860, it is likely that catchment inputs will continue to affect future 206Pb/207Pb ratios.     

Rainy River water quality in the vicinity of bleached kraft mills

Water and suspended solids samples were collected at four river stations and from two pulp and paper mill final effluents and analysed for a variety of organic contaminants. Juvenile fish were collected upstream and downstream of the mill discharges. Results showed significant mill inputs of PCBs, PAHs, chlorophenols, dioxins and furans which impacted downstream stations. Juvenile fish analysed downstream of the effluents indicated uptake of PCBs and chlorinated phenols.     

Designing tqem into new facilities: A ten-step procedure from dupont

This article details a ten-step procedure for the early stages of new facility design to reduce waste not by waste treatment but rather by source reduction and reuse. This procedure was recently applied to a major grass-roots chemical facility and resulted in a return on investment greater than the cost of capital.     

The contemporary Asian silver cycle: 1-year stocks and flows

The stocks and flows of silver throughout the Asian economy for 1997 have been quantified, with major flows examined over their entire life cycle, including mining, production, fabrication, and manufacture, product use, and waste management. By compiling the findings of 11 country-level material flow analyses, a regional analysis was created. The reliability and availability of the data varied, with the most confidence given to the earlier life stages and the most uncertainty existing later. Overall, Asia is a net importer of silver, requiring nearly 7000 Mg of silver in 1997. Approximately 2200 Mg Ag are mined, and production waste totals about 640 Mg Ag. The flow of silver into use equals 9900 Mg Ag, with a considerable build-up of 7100 Mg Ag entering in-use stock. Silver waste sent directly to the environment, in addition to landfilled waste, totals 1600 Mg Ag. Much variation exists when examining country-level silver flows on a per capita basis. India and Thailand’s fondness for silver jewelry greatly increases their silver flows into use and in-use stock. Japan’s high overall consumption reflects its high GDP per capita. Regionally, a significant potential exists to tap the silver contained in the in-use stocks and to enhance the recycling rates.     

Preventing impaired driving using alcohol policy

Considerable progress has been made in the reduction of impaired driving crashes during the last two decades. Much of this progress is attributable to strengthening laws against impaired driving along with vigorous enforcement efforts aimed at deterring impaired driving. In addition, many useful strategies can also be applied that focus on the control of alcohol availability, use, and promotion. Alcohol policies include controls on the price of alcohol, the location, density, and opening hours of sales outlets, controls on the social availability of alcohol, and on the promotion and advertising of alcohol. Enforcement of these policies is an important aspect of their effectiveness. These strategies have been shown to be effective or promising in reducing impaired driving as well as other consequences related to alcohol use and misuse.     

Arsenic remobilization in a shallow lake: the role of sediment resuspension

Oxic resuspension occurs regularly in shallow lakes, yet its role as a mechanism for contaminant remobilization remains ill defined. This study investigated contaminant remobilization during sediment resuspension and determined whether changes in contaminant sediment partitioning reflected the mechanisms controlling remobilization. Arsenic-contaminated sediment from a shallow wetland was subjected to simulated resuspension under a range of differing initial pH conditions. The effect of resuspension on As partitioning was evaluated using a fractionation scheme targeting the dissolved, ion exchangeable, carbonate, organic, amorphous iron oxide, crystalline iron oxide, and apatite fractions. Rate investigations demonstrated that arsenic remobilization occurred on timescales similar to resuspension events, with concentrations reaching steady state within 24 h. The sediment also buffered slurry pH to 8.3 in experiments where the initial pH was between 4 and 10. This pH regulation was attributed to carbonate dissolution or acid-base equilibria of surface base functional groups, although iron oxide and organic matter dissolution did occur in experiments with an initial pH outside this range. Remobilization caused losses in arsenic associated with the ion exchangeable, organic, and amorphous iron fractions but changes in initial pH have a negligible effect on arsenic remobilization or partitioning within the well-buffered region. Resuspension released approximately 20% of the total sediment arsenic, although calculations indicated that a single resuspension event would not significantly change water column arsenic concentrations. While not conclusively proving the mechanisms of remobilization, fractionation gave valuable insight into the effect of sediment resuspension on contaminant remobilization.     

Land-use dynamics in a southern Illinois (USA) watershed

The Cache River of southernmost Illinois is used as a case study for developing and demonstrating an approach to quantitatively link (1) national agricultural policy and global agricultural markets, (2) landowner's decisions on land use, (3) spatial patterns of land use at a watershed scale, and (4) hydrologic impacts, thus providing a basis to predict, under a certain set of circumstances, the environmental consequences of economic and political decisions made at larger spatial scales. The heart of the analysis is an estimation, using logistic regression, of the affect of crop prices and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental rates on farmland owner's decisions whether to reenroll in the CRP or return to crop production. This analysis shows that reasonable ranges for crop prices (80%–150% of 1985–1995 values) and CRP rental rates (0–125% of 1985–1995 rates) result in a range of 3%–92% of CRP lands being returned to crop production, with crop prices having a slightly greater effect than CRP rental rates. Four crop price/CRP rental rate scenarios are used to display resulting land-use patterns, and their effect on sediment loads, a critical environmental quality parameter in this case, using the agricultural non point source (AGNPS) model. These scenarios demonstrate the importance of spatial pattern of land uses on hydrological and ecological processes within watersheds. The approach developed can be adapted for use by local governments and watershed associations whose goals are to improve watershed resources and environmental quality.     

Microbial productivity in variable resource environments

The rate, timing, and quality of resource supply exert strong controls on a wide range of ecological processes. In particular, resource-mediated changes in microbial activity have the potential to alter ecosystem processes, including the production and respiration of organic matter. In this study, we used field experiments and simulation modeling to explore how aquatic heterotrophic bacteria respond to variation in resource quality (low vs. high) and resource schedule (pulse vs. press). Field experiments revealed that one-time pulse additions of resources in the form of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) caused short-lived (< or =48 h) peaks in bacterial productivity (BP), which translated into large differences across treatments: cumulative BP was twice as high in the pulse vs. press treatment under low resource quality, and five times as high under high resource quality. To gain a more mechanistic understanding of microbial productivity in variable resource environments, we constructed a mathematical model to explore the attributes of bacterial physiology and DOC supply that might explain the patterns observed in our field experiments. Model results suggest that the mobilization rate of refractory to labile carbon, an index of resource quality, was critical in determining cumulative differences in BP between pulse and press resource environments (BPPu:Pr ratios). Moreover, BPPu:Pr ratios were substantially larger when our model allowed for realistic changes in bacterial growth efficiency as a function of bacterial carbon consumption. Together, our field and modeling results imply that resource schedule is important in determining the flow of material and energy from microbes to higher trophic levels in aquatic food webs, and that the effects of resource quality are conditional upon resource schedule. An improved understanding of the effects of resource variability on microorganisms is therefore critical for predicting potential changes in ecosystem functioning in response to environmental change, such as altered DOC fluxes from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems.     

A longevity cost of re-mating but no benefits of polyandry in the almond moth, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cadra cautella</Emphasis>

Species where most but not all females mate monandrously can provide insight into the potential factors both promoting and restricting polyandry. Polyandry is typically explained by direct and/or indirect benefits models; however, polyandry may also confer costs via sexually antagonistic processes. The fitness of polyandrous and monandrous females may also vary with environmental conditions, such as availability of water. For some lepidopterans, water is a vital resource that increases fecundity and may be a direct benefit of multiple mating. Male lepidopterans transfer large spermatophores that may be an important water source for females, particularly for species living in water-depauperate environments. In such species, multiple-mating females may increase their reproductive output. We examined the fitness consequences of multiple mating in the almond moth, Cadra cautella. Males transfer substantial spermatophores; these have a large chitinous process attached, which decrease female longevity. To assess the impact of female mating treatment and water availability on female fitness, females mated once or twice, either with the same or different males, with half the females in each treatment receiving water. Water-fed females had dramatically increased fecundity, but we found no fitness benefits of multiple mating. Male longevity decreased with increased mating frequency and potentially his level of reproductive investment. Water-deprived females that mated twice died sooner than once-mated females, while multiple-mating females that received water lived longer than their water-deprived counterparts. It is interesting to note that the male’s spermatophore process did not affect female fitness or longevity. Why polyandry is maintained in this species is discussed.