Bayes methods for combining disease and exposure data in assessing environmental justice

Environmental justice reflects the equitable distribution of the burden of environmental hazards across various sociodemographic groups. The issue is important in environmental regulation, siting of hazardous waste repositories and prioritizing remediation of existing sources of exposure. We propose a statistical framework for assessing environmental justice. The framework includes a quantitative assessment of environmental equity based on the cumulative distribution of exposure within population subgroups linked to disease incidence through a dose-response function. This approach avoids arbitrary binary classifications of individuals solely as 'exposed' or 'unexposed'. We present a Bayesian inferential approach, implemented using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, that accounts for uncertainty in both exposure and response. We illustrate our method using data on leukaemia deaths and exposure to toxic chemical releases in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.     

Stochastic pollution, costly sanctions, and optimality of emission permit banking

This paper identifies a new economic motive for pollution regulations that allow polluting firms to bank and borrow emission permits over time. When aggregate pollution is stochastic, an intertemporal permit trading regime can provide firms with efficient incentives for pollution abatement without the need for costly government enforcement actions that would otherwise be required.     

Pollution incidence and political jurisdiction: evidence from the TRI

Few issues are more contentious for local communities than industrial pollution. When local industries pollute, lawmakers and regulators must balance two primary concerns: economic prosperity and the environment. The role of political pressure is well documented in environmental policy. What is less clear is the role jurisdictional or boundary considerations play in determining the implementation of environmental laws. Anecdotal evidence suggests that local regulators are more lenient in their treatment of polluters when the incidence of pollution falls partially on those outside the state. One explanation for such behavior is that regulators take actions to maximize political support. This paper tests this jurisdictional model using toxics release inventory (TRI) data from 1987 to 1996. We find that facilities’ emissions into the air and water are systematically higher in counties that border other states. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that jurisdictional considerations are an important determinant of pollution incidence.     

Cd2+、Cu2+ 和Zn2+ 对5种单细胞藻酯酶基因表达调控的影响

在Cu^2 ,Cd^2 和Zn^2 的作用下，三角褐指藻（Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin)，湛江叉鞭藻（Dicrateria Zhanjiangensis Hu)，绿色巴夫藻（Pavlova viridis Tseng,Chen et Zhang sp.nov.)青岛大扁藻（Platymonas helgolandica var.Tsingtaoensis Tseng et T.J.Chang) ,小球藻（Chlorella sp.) 等单细胞藻酯酶安生明显的变化，受高浓度的Cu^2 胁迫时三角褐指藻的Est-3座位的a基因，受中等浓度Cd^2 胁迫时的湛江叉鞭藻的Est-3座位的b基因，受低等浓度Cd^2 胁迫时的绿色巴夫藻的Est-1座位的a,b,两个,高浓度Zn^2 胁迫时绿色巴夫藻Est-1座位的b基因，受高浓度Cd^2 胁迫时青岛大扁藻的Est-2座位的c基因，受Cu^2 胁迫时小球藻的Est-1座位的b基因，受中低浓度的Cd^2 ,Zn^2 和低浓度的Cu^2 胁迫时小球藻的Est-2座位的b基因等基因的表达明显增强，而绝大部分位点的基因表达受3种离子的抑制。图5表5参9     

Coercive versus cooperative pollution control: Comparative study of state programs to reduce erosion and sedimentation pollution in urban areas

This article examines coercive and cooperative approaches to implementing state urban erosion and sedimentation pollution control programs. State administrators report serious shortfalls in their ability to control sources of pollution, but comparison of more and less successful programs provides evidence of what states can do to make programs more effective. Key ingredients for a successful state effort include the use of coercion with both the private sector and local government, adequate staffing, application of severe sanctions when violations of state standards are detected, and provision of technical assistance. Many state programs lack one or more of those elements, which explains their inability to adequately control urban erosion and sedimentation pollution.     

PERSISTENT CONFLICTS OVER TIMBER PRODUCTION AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENP: A PROBLEM ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: Most forest lands are managed for multiple purposes, among them timber production and water supply. Conflicts often arise in such cases because logging is perceived as a threat to water quality. These conflicts can result from uncertain factual information, from differences in underlying social values, or from imbalances in the incidence of costs and benefits. Resulting conificts may go unresolved because existing institutional structures fail to address the real roots of the dispute. When such conificts go unresolved, benefits are often lost, and social, political, and managerial costs are high. This study found that the roots of conifict may lie in value differences or in interest impacts, but attention may be focused inappropriately and unproductively on factual issues. It suggests that at least some long-standing disputes in the management of forested watersheds may be resolved by identifying the root causes of these disputes and choosing those actions, whether they be changes in management guidelines or altered institutional structures, which are appropriate to those causes.     

Bison and elk in the American Southwest: In search of the pristine

Ecosystem managers often use the early historic condition of the fauna in an area as the model for restoration or management. West of the Pecos River in the American Southwest, present-day abundances and distributional ranges of bison and American elk exceed those reported in early historic times. I evaluate several potential causes for the historic scarcity of these animals—inadequate forage, insufficient water, nonhuman predation, disease, and hunting by late-prehistoric humans. Archaeological and ecological evidence suggest that restricted availability of water coupled with hunting by late-prehistoric peoples probably were the most important causes. Perennial water is more widely distributed now than previously, mainly because of water well and water catchment construction. Proliferation of agriculture-based human economies in the region from AD 0–1500 led to rapid population growth of aboriginal peoples, with resulting increased harvests of resources. The likelihood that late-prehistoric humans severely depleted the abundances of large mammals indicates a need to reevaluate the exclusive use of early-historic conditions as the basis for setting goals for ecosystem management. Implications of reintroducing large herbivores to ecosystems are discussed.     

USING VALUES IN PLANNING WASTEWATER FACILITIES FOR METROPOLITAN SEATTLE1

ABSTRACT: This paper uses the fundamental values of decision makers to guide a long-term wastewater planning process at Seattle Metro, a major utility district. Multiattribute value assessment is used to elicit the objectives of several elected officials and other key decision makers. The results are structured into a fundamental objectives hierarchy and a means-ends objectives network. A set of measures to indicate the performance of planning alternatives in terms of the fundamental objectives is developed. Preliminary value tradeoffs between objectives are elicited from several elected officials. The results of these steps are useful for many aspects of long-term planning: facilitating communication about values and priorities; designing attractive alternatives that are more likely to serve stakeholder interests; identifying information needed to evaluate alternatives; clarifying the relative importance of information about different impacts; providing a basis for quantitative evaluation of the alternatives with multiple objective analysis; and focusing attention on key tradeoffs that will affect the choice of alternatives.     

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' WATER KNOWLEDGE1

ABSTRACT: This study examines the social construction of county commissioners' knowledge about water. Factors that influence what commissioners know about water include each commissioner's personal characteristics, education, experience in natural resources management, involvement in policy making, and use and evaluation of various sources of information. This study focused on county commissioners representing rural, mixed, and urban counties in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah and collected data through mail surveys and interviews. County commissioners in the survey were well educated; however, few had taken college courses directly addressing technical, management, or legal aspects of water issues. Approximately one-third had direct experience in farming and ranching; nearly two-thirds indicated that farming and ranching played a major role in their communities. Respondents had experience with a broad range of water policy issues. In evaluating thirteen information sources in terms of their frequency of use, relevancy, and reliability, respondents assessed fellow commissioners and local government staff and managers most positively and nonprofit organizations most negatively. The media was also broadly rated as less relevant and reliable than other sources of information. The commissioners in the study expressed a high level of general concern about water issues and a strung preference for local sources of information.