New federalism and state implementation of the Clean Water Act

An important goal of the Reagan administration has been to shift responsibility for many public programs from the US federal government to the states. This New Federalism seeks to restore a proper balance to the federal system and to ensure an effective working partnership between the states and the federal government. Such a partnership is especially important for many environmental laws because these laws often give states primary responsibility for the control and abatement of pollution.This research examines the extent to which the Reagan administration has succeeded in improving intergovernmental environmental relations in terms of state implementation of the Clean Water Act. Data from a 1985 survey of directors of state water quality control programs are compared with responses to a similar survey that the US General Accounting Office conducted in 1979. The latter survey found considerable dissatisfaction on the part of state directors with the quality of their relations with the US Environmental Protection Agency. Although some improvement can be noted between 1979 and 1985, the Reagan administration's efforts to improve intergovernmental relations appear to have been of limited consequence, to the possible detriment of effective implementation of the Clean Water Act.     

Regulatory context for cumulative impact research

Wetlands protection has become a topic of increased public attention and support, and regulation of wetlands loss under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act has received high priority within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Despite this, the nation is continuing to experience serious wetlands losses. This situation reflects the contentious nature of wetlands protection; it involves fundamental conflicts between environmental and development interests. Better information is needed to support regulatory decision making, including information on cumulative impacts. Currently, consideration of cumulative impacts, although required by various federal regulations, is limited. One reason is that most regulatory decisions are made on a permit-specific, site-specific basis, whereas cumulative impacts must be assessed on a broader, regional scale. In addition, scientific information and methods necessary to support cumulative impact assessment have been lacking. An anticipatory, planning-oriented framework to complement the existing site-specific permit review program is needed to support more effective consideration of cumulative impacts; such an effort is beginning to emerge. In addition, EPA is supporting research to provide better information on cumulative effects. It is recommended that the EPA program place initial emphasis on synthesis and analysis of existing information, on maximizing its use in decision making, and on information transfer. Recommended approaches include correlation of historic wetlands losses with loss of wetlands function and values, regional case studies, and development of indices of cumulative impact for use in permit review.Formerly Director, Office of Federal Activities, US Environmental Protection Agency     

Evaluating the effectiveness of air quality management within the class I area of great smoky mountains national park

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 designated national parks and wilderness areas larger than 1894 ha to be class I areas for air quality management, setting more restrictive criteria than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Class I areas are afforded the greatest degree of air quality protection under the Clear Air Act of 1970. In recent years, several studies have documented air pollution effects in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), the second-largest class I area in the eastern United States. Air pollution problems of greatest concern in the GSMNP are effects of acid deposition, visibility impairment, and tropospheric ozone. Several recent events have increased concerns about air quality management in the class I area of the GSMNP. A forum, sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Cooperative (SAMAB), was held in March 1992, which involved representative. parties-at-interest and began to address strategies for better management of air resources in the Southern Appalachians. This paper summarizes those discussions and recommendations and reports actions occurring as a result of the forum. Another objective of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for more effective management of the class I area of the GSMNP.     

Determining residential firewood consumption

Household firewood use has become increasingly popular in the United States over the past few years. Significant problems remain in estimating firewood consumption. Methods of determining the amount of wood consumed vary from state to state. Units used for measuring firewood vary, but the cord remains the researcher's favorite. Factors used for converting other units, such as pickup truck loads to cords also vary. People who do not use firewood are less likely to respond to mailed surveys, resulting in potential overestimates of statewide consumption. This paper identifies some problems associated with estimating household firewood consumption and recommends methods of dealing with them.     

Trip-Based Explanatory Variables For Estimating Vehicle Fuel Consumption and Emission Rates

The current state-of-practice in the US for estimatingvehicle emissions is based on a single traffic-relatedexplanatory variable, namely average speed. Research,however, has demonstrated that the use of average speed asa single traffic-related variable is insufficient for theestimation of vehicle emissions. For example, although theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) MOBILE5 model wouldindicate that a slowing of traffic typically increasesemissions, empirical research indicates the opposite inmany cases.The objective of this paper is to identify criticalaggregate trip variables as potential explanatory variablesfor the estimation of a vehicle's fuel consumption andemissions. Subsequently, statistical models for estimatingfuel consumption and emissions of hydrocarbon (HC), carbonmonoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) aredeveloped using these critical variables that include theaverage speed, speed variability, the level ofdeceleration, and the level of acceleration. The proposedmodels are demonstrated to be consistent with microscopicenergy and emission model estimates that are based on thevehicle's instantaneous speed and acceleration levels(coefficient of determination ranges from 0.88 to 0.96).     

提高交通安全——实现智能汽车的研究

主要介绍了通过智能汽车的研究 ,提高城市交通安全的必要性 ;综述了发达国家关于智能汽车研究的现状与趋势 ,并通过国外智能汽车发展的趋势 ;进一步论证智能汽车的研究是汽车工业发展的方向 ,也是提高交通安全的重要手段之一。此外 ,论文提出利用模式识别技术的智能汽车的结构框架 ;指出神经网络方法应用与模式识别技术结合的优势。最后 ,论文在阐述我国需要发展智能汽车的同时 ,提出应结合中国国情相应研究相关理论 ,为今后的实施奠定基础的近期目标 ,并提出展望     

地下油料储存库火灾初期模式与安全性研究

使用模拟的地下油料储存库装置,对地下油料储存库火灾初期模式进行了实验研究.结合油料地下储存库火灾防治和安全性要求对实验结果进行了分析.结果表明,模拟油料地下储存库起火后,火灾初期模式与实验初始条件、边界条件和装置结构直接相关.在一定条件下,模拟油料地下储存库内出现爆燃向爆轰的转变;不同的环境条件下,火灾的模式不同;油料地下储存库内火灾的发展,油料的持续燃烧及发生燃烧的部位受通气条件和洞内复杂的烟气流向等条件控制.     

城市汽车空气污染控制基准研究

本文论述了城市汽车空气污染研究的目标、基本方法及城市汽车污染控制区的划分原则和方法.汽车类型流动源采用整个控制区平均浓度作为分析对比的基础不合适,应该专门研究确定基准控制点.为了合理选择确定控制计算点,提出3种方法:峰值法、核心区和重点控制区法、9点平均法.9点平均法可以有效增加各类污染源的敏感点,同时又可避免增加该点位影响过大的缺陷.这种方法在其他类型大气污染源控制中也能发挥作用.     

Integrated energy management strategy of powertrain and cooling system for PHEV

ABSTRACT

Energy management strategy (EMS) is crucial in improving the fuel economy of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Existing studies on EMS mostly manage powertrain and cooling system separately which cannot get the minimum total energy consumption. This paper aims to propose a novel EMS for a new type of dual-motor planetary-coupled PHEV, which considers cooling power demand and effect of temperature on fuel economy. Temperature-modified engine model, lithium-ion battery model, two motors, and cooling system models are established. Firstly, the separated EMS (S-EMS) is designed which manages powertrain and cooling system separately. Sequentially, after the analysis of thermal characteristics of the powertrain and cooling system, the thermal-based EMS (T-EMS) is then proposed to manage two systems coordinately. In T-EMS, cooling power demand and the charging/discharging energy of motors are calculated as equivalent fuel consumption and integrated into the object function. Besides, a fuzzy controller is also established to deicide the fuel-electricity equivalent factor with consideration of the effect of temperature and state of charge on powertrain efficiency. Finally, the hardware-in-loop experiment is carried out to validate the real-time effect of EMS under the New European Driving Cycle. The result shows that cooling power demand and temperature can significantly affect the fuel economy of the vehicle. T-EMS shows better performance in fuel economy than S-EMS. The equivalent fuel consumption of the cooling system of T-EMS decreases by 27% compared with that of S-EMS. The total equivalent fuel consumption over the entire trip of PHEV using T-EMS is reduced by 9.7%.     

Forest Protection and Reforestation in Costa Rica: Evaluation of a Clean Development Mechanism Prototype

/ Costa Rica has recently established a program that provides funds for reforestation and forest protection on private lands, partly through the sale of carbon certificates to industrialized countries. Countries purchasing these carbon offsets hope one day to receive credit against their own commitments to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. Costa Rica has used the proceeds of the sale of carbon offsets to Norway to help finance this forest incentive program, called the Private Forestry Project, which pays thousands of participants to reforest or protect forest on their lands. The Private Forestry Project is accompanied by a monitoring program conducted by Costa Rican forest engineers that seeks to determine net carbon storage accomplished on these lands each year. The Private Forestry Project, which is officially registered as an Activity Implemented Jointly, is a possible model for bundled projects funded by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) established by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also serves as an interesting example for the CDM because it was designed by a developing country host-not by an industrialized country investor. Accordingly, it reflects the particular "sustainable development" objectives of the host country or at least the host planners. Early experience in implementing the Private Forestry Project is evaluated in light of the main objectives of the CDM and its precursor-Activities Implemented Jointly. It is concluded that the project appears to meet the criteria of global cost-effectiveness and financing from non-ODA sources. The sustainable development implications of the project are specific to the region and would not necessarily match the ideals of all investing and developing countries. The project may be seen to achieve additional greenhouse gas abatement when compared against some (although not all) baselines.