The Moral Philosophy of Automobiles

The ethics of technology use has tended to arise from the theory of the role of technology in human life and society and thus introduces a bias into moral assessment of such use. I propose a dialectical method of morally assessing a technology use without such a preset notion. Instead the assumption is that the moral agent is as responsible for use of a technology as for any other moral action of the agent, that is, the individual’s use of a technology is a moral action that can be morally assessed. I apply this outlook to automobile use, weighing its moral pros and cons, such as in terms of autonomy, environmental degradation, land use, health hazards, and other moral drawbacks arising from the technology’s use or non-use. Although the conclusion leaves the final moral assessment undecided, the method points to a way fairly to assess morally the use of technologies in terms of human betterment and environmental and health concerns, minimizing biases from assumptions of the role or nature of technologies.     

Diflubenzuron residue and persistence on an oak forest after aerial application

Abstract

A twenty hectare forest block in central Pennsylvania was aerially sprayed with diflubenzuron (Dimilin 25W®) at the dose of 33.23g A.I./ha in 9.4 litres/ha. Leaf samples were collected from the upper and lower canopies of 27 oaks and understory within this block on the day of spray, May 29, 1991. Canopy leaves were also collected on May 31, June 10, July 29 and September 26, 1991.

Recovery of diflubenzuron residues on fortified canopy‐leaf and litter‐leaf samples using analytical techniques employed in this study averaged 87.4% (SE = 7.5%) and 66.2% (SE = 8.2%), respectively.

On the day of spray, diflubenzuron residues on the upper canopy, lower canopy and understory averaged 81.18, 39.65 and 8.35 ng/cm², respectively. Diflubenzuron residues on canopy‐leaf samples collected 2, 12, 61 and 120 days post‐spray averaged 14.83 (SE = 10.19), 16.75 (SE = 9.95), 12.84 (SE = 8.25) and 11.20 (SE = 7.52) ng/cm², respectively. Diflubenzuron residues on litter‐leaf samples collected after leaf senescence ‐ 169 and 323 days post spray contained measurable amounts of diflubenzuron in 51 and 59% of the samples, respectively. Of the samples with measurable amounts of diflubenzuron, residues averaged 1.36 (SE = 2.44) and 0.65 ng/cm² (SE = 0.73) respectively.     

A Note on Comparison of Statistical and Analytical Results for Calculating Oxides of Nitrogen Concentrations

A question often asked about analytical diffusion models is “How do the analytical results for calculating pollution concentrations compare with those obtained by statistical techniques?” Miller and Holzworth (1967) have developed a simple analytical diffusion model that yields relative pollution concentrations, x/Q, as a function of afternoon mixing depth, mean transport wind speed, and city size. This analytical model may also be used in reverse to determine apparent afternoon source strengths from observed afternoon pollution concentrations. The apparent source strengths may then be used with the model on independent data to estimate pollution concentrations. It is the purpose of this note to compare results of calculating average afternoon concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) by use of the Miller-Holzworth model with those obtained from statistical regression equations.     

An Atmospheric Diffusion Model for Metropolitan Areas

An urban diffusion model, which does not require the use of an electronic computer, is presented. The main simplifying assumptions are that continuous pollutant sources are uniformly distributed over the urban area and vertical diffusion occurs until the effluent from each line source reaches the top of the mixing layer, after which the effluent is uniformly distributed through the mixing layer. After the appropriate vertical diffusion coefficient is specified, the calculated concentration is a function of source strength, linear dimension of the metropolis, mixing depth, and wind speed. The calculated concentration is interpreted either as a representative maximum concentration or, through integration, as the average concentration over the metropolitan area. When a representative pollutant concentration is known, the model may be used to determine the apparent “uniform” source strength.     

Ozone Dosage Response of Ponderosa Pine Seedlings

Photochemical oxidant injury to ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws) is a severe problem in the southern California mountains. Three-year-old ponderosa pines fumigated in controlled environment chambers with ozone at 0.15, 0.30, or 0.45 ppm had apparent photosynthesis rates reduced by 10, 70, and 85%, respectively, after 30 days exposure. A fumigation with 0.30 ppm ozone for 33 days depressed the cold perchloric acid extracted polysaccharides of both current and one-year-old needles by 40%. The 80% ethanol soluble sugar concentration of current year, ozone-injured needles increased 16% and that of the one-year-old needles decreased slightly. Both carbohydrate fractions of control trees in carbon-filtered air increased moderately. Higher, endogenous concentrations of ascorbic acid in needles did not protect the tissue from ozone injury. Apparent photosynthesis rate was a sensitive index for ozone dosage response. Needle carbohydrate depletion probably induces premature abscission.     

The Removal of Particulate Matter from Fluid Bed Catalytic Cracking Unit Stack Gases

The application of a high-efficiency centrifugal type of separator to fluid bed catalytic cracking units is described in which most of the catalyst particles often lost to the atmosphere are concentrated into a small part of the stack gas (2%). A further separation can then be made on this small stream by an auxiliary separator which further concentrates the catalyst particle into 0.1% of the initia stream. Performance of the main and auxiliary separators are such as to reduce the loss of catalyst particles in the stack gas from 800 ppm to less than 60 ppm in a typical unit. Large amounts of power can be recovered by application of expander turbines to catalytic cracking plants employing this system of separation.     

The Effect of Fuel Composition on Atmospheric Aerosol Due to Auto Exhaust

Aerosols attributable to automobile exhaust can be classified as two types—primary aerosol (initially present in the exhaust) and secondary aerosol (generated photochemically from hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in the exhaust). In this study, investigation was made of possible effects of motor-fuel composition on the formation of these aerosols. Secondary aerosol, of principal interest in this work, was produced by irradiating auto exhaust in Battelle-Columbus’ 610 ft³ environmental chamber. A limited number of determinations of primary aerosol in diluted auto exhaust was made at the exit of a 36 ft dilution runnel. Determination of both primary and secondary aerosol was based on light-scattering measurements.

Exhaust was generated with seven full-boiling motor gasolines, both leaded and nonleaded, in a 1967 Chevrolet which was not equipped with exhaust-emission control devices. Changes in fuel composition produced a maximum factor of three difference in light scattering due to primary aerosol. Aerosol yields, for consecutive driving cycles on the same fuel, vary considerably; as a result, ranking the fuels on the basis of average primary aerosol yield was not very meaningful. In addition to fuel composition, the more important independent variables are initial SO₂ concentration, relative humidity and initial hydrocarbon concentration. Statistical analysis of the data indicates that the seven test fuels can be divided into two arbitrary groups with regard to secondary aerosol-forming potential. The fuels in the lower light-scattering group had aromatic contents of 15 and 21%, while those in the higher light-scattering group had aromatic contents of 25, 48, and 55%. Although the fuels can be grouped on the basis of a compositional factor, the grouping of fuels with aromatic content ranging from 25 to 55% indicates that this compositional factor cannot be equated simply with aromatic content. In an associated study of the aerosol-forming potential of individual hydrocarbons prominent in auto exhaust, it was observed that aromatics produce substantially more photochemical aerosol than olefins and paraffins. However, experiments with binar/hydrocarbon mixtures containing aromatjcs, as well as in these exhaust experiments, a strong dependence of aerosol yield on the aromatic components is is not observed. Thus, the data indicate that the dependence of secondary aerosol formation on fuel factors is a complex one and cannot be predicted solely on the basis of a sirigle hydrocarbon component reactivity scale.

The two types of automobile aerosol did not have the same dependence on fuel, composition. The variation in total light scattering attributable to primary plus secondary aerosol was less than that due to either component alone. It therefore was concluded that the light scattering due to automobile exhaust emissions in these experiments was not significantly affected by changing fuel composition.     

Conceptualising climate change in rural Australia: community perceptions, attitudes and (in)actions

Public engagement and support is essential for ensuring adaptation to climate change. The first step in achieving engagement is documenting how the general public currently perceive and understand climate change issues, specifically the importance they place on this global problem and identifying any unique challenges for individual communities. For rural communities, which rely heavily on local agriculture industries, climate change brings both potential impacts and opportunities. Yet, to date, our knowledge about how rural residents conceptualise climate change is limited. Thus, this research explores how the broader rural community—not only farmers—conceptualises climate change and responsive activities, focussing on documenting the understandings and risk perceptions of local residents from two small Australian rural communities. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted in communities in the Eden/Gippsland region on the border of New South Wales and Victoria and the north-east of Tasmania. There are conflicting views on how climate change is conceptualised, the degree of concern and need for action, the role of local industry, who will ‘win’ and ‘lose’, and the willingness of rural communities to adapt. In particular, residents who believed in anthropogenic or human-induced factors described the changing climate as evidence of ‘climate change’, whereas those who were more sceptical termed it ‘weather variability’, suggesting that there is a divide in rural Australia that, unless urgently addressed, will hinder local and national policy responses to this global issue. Engaging these communities in the twenty-first-century climate change debate will require a significant change in terminology and communication strategies.     

Considerations for preserve design based on the distribution of rare plants in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,USA

Park design principles are proposed on the basis of consideration and analysis of rare plant species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Rare species richness can be used as a simple measure of preservation success. A semilogartihmic species-area model for the Smokies was used in this analysis. Species richness would increase logarathmically with expansion of the national park area. An analysis of the relationship between species richness and the distribution of geologic and topographic features in the national park was also reported. An asymptotic relation was documented for the accumulation of newly recorded rare and endangered vascular plant species in the Smokies region up to 1978. Several multiple regression linear models predicted rare vascular plant species richness in Great Smoky Mountains National Park from area and topographic variates.Preserve design criteria can be based upon species-area, environmental gradient, and natural features distribution patterns for the specific taxa and biogeographic region under consideration. In addition, natural history characteristics for particular vulnerable species must be assessed. Rather than concentrating on the preservation of undocumented immigration and extinction processes, preserve design should be directed towards protecting geographic components and gradient patterns characteristic of a region.