A framework for evaluating and designing citizen science programs for natural resources monitoring

We present a framework of resource characteristics critical to the design and assessment of citizen science programs that monitor natural resources. To develop the framework we reviewed 52 citizen science programs that monitored a wide range of resources and provided insights into what resource characteristics are most conducive to developing citizen science programs and how resource characteristics may constrain the use or growth of these programs. We focused on 4 types of resource characteristics: biophysical and geographical, management and monitoring, public awareness and knowledge, and social and cultural characteristics. We applied the framework to 2 programs, the Tucson (U.S.A.) Bird Count and the Maui (U.S.A.) Great Whale Count. We found that resource characteristics such as accessibility, diverse institutional involvement in resource management, and social or cultural importance of the resource affected program endurance and success. However, the relative influence of each characteristic was in turn affected by goals of the citizen science programs. Although the goals of public engagement and education sometimes complimented the goal of collecting reliable data, in many cases trade‐offs must be made between these 2 goals. Program goals and priorities ultimately dictate the design of citizen science programs, but for a program to endure and successfully meet its goals, program managers must consider the diverse ways that the nature of the resource being monitored influences public participation in monitoring.     

Physicochemical and thermal characterization of nonedible oilseed residual waste as sustainable solid biofuel

The present study aims to investigate the potential of nonedible oilseed Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) and Karanja (Pongamia pinnata) defatted residual biomasses (whole seed, kernel, and hull), as solid biofuel. These biomasses showed good carbon contents (39.8–44.5%), whereas, fewer amounts were observed for sulfur (0.15–0.90%), chlorine (0.64–1.76%), nitrogen (0.9–7.2%) and ash contents (4.0–8.7%). Their volatile matter (60.23–81.6%) and calorific values (17.68–19.98 MJ/kg) were found to be comparable to coal. FT-IR and chemical analyses supported the presence of good amount of cellulose, hemicellulose and lower lignin. The pellets prepared without any additional binder, showed better compaction ratio, bulk density and compressive strength. XRF analysis carried out for determination of slagging–fouling indices, suggested their ash deposition tendencies in boilers, which can be overcome significantly with the optimization of the blower operations and control of ash depositions. Thus, overall various chemical, physical properties, thermal decomposition, surface morphological studies and their high biofuel reactivity indicated that residual biomasses of Jatropha and Karanja seeds have high potential to be utilized as a solid biofuel.     

Effluents from MBT plants: Plasma techniques for the treatment of VOCs

Mechanical–biological treatments (MBTs) of urban waste are growing in popularity in many European countries. Recent studies pointed out that their contribution in terms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other air pollutants is not negligible. Compared to classical removal technologies, non-thermal plasmas (NTP) showed better performances and low energy consumption when applied to treat lowly concentrated streams. Therefore, to study the feasibility of the application of NTP to MBTs, a Dielectric Barrier Discharge reactor was applied to treat a mixture of air and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), to simulate emissions from MBTs. The removal efficiency of MEK was linearly dependent upon time, power and specific input energy. Only 2–4% of MEK was converted to carbon dioxide (CO₂), the remaining carbon being involved in the formation of byproducts (methyl nitrate and 2,3-butanedione, especially). For future development of pilot-scale reactors, acting on residence time, power, convective flow and catalysts will help finding a compromise between energy consumption, desired abatement and selectivity to CO₂.     

Costs of Arsenic Treatment for Potable Water in California and Comparison to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Affordability Metrics1

Hilkert Colby, Elizabeth J., Thomas M. Young, Peter G. Green, and Jeannie L. Darby, 2010. Costs of Arsenic Treatment for Potable Water in California and Comparison to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Affordability Metrics. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(6):1238–1254. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00488.x Abstract: The United States (U.S.) federal standard for arsenic in potable water systems is only the second water quality standard in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) administrator used “discretionary authority to establish a less stringent standard” based on the results of cost-benefit analyses. Based on the findings that a “standard of 3 μg/l would be feasible but not justified,” the revised maximum contaminant level (MCL) lowered the allowable arsenic concentration from 50 to 10 μg/l in 2002. In 2009, approximately 145 systems in California were out of compliance. The objectives were to gather performance and cost data from arsenic treatment systems in California to compare with data from the USEPA demonstration sites as well as with the USEPA affordability metrics for drinking water. The median cost of compliance with the revised arsenic MCL for the 36 surveyed systems was $1.95/1,000 gallons (2008 dollars), which is 69% of the average cost of delivered tap water in the U.S. in 2008 ($2.81/1,000 gallons). Additionally, 22% of the surveyed systems in California paid more than the maximum predicted cost of compliance with the revised arsenic MCL ($5.05/1,000 gallons). The largest variation in cost was seen in the systems that treated <500 gpm. For the systems utilizing adsorption, systems obtained between 20 and 80% of the expected bed volumes prior to breakthrough, indicating the need for better prediction of performance.     

环境公民诉讼的程序规制

赋予公民和环境NGO环境公益诉权,目前已成为我国法学界的一个共识。但是,环境公民诉讼制度不能仅仅赋予人们一项权利了事,还应该有完善的程序规则来规制和保障权利的行使。具体来说,应当建立以下程序规则:一是合理界定"诉的利益";二是合理设置起诉的前置程序;三是建立公益诉讼和私益诉讼双轨制;四是建立有效的诉讼成本控制机制;五是建立诉讼时效保障机制。     

Colonies of Cliff Swallows on Highway Bridges: A Source of Escherichia coli in Surface Waters1

Sejkora, Patrick, Mary Jo Kirisits, and Michael Barrett, 2011. Colonies of Cliff Swallows on Highway Bridges: A Source of Escherichia coli in Surface Waters. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1275–1284. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00566.x Abstract: Animals, such as birds, are a source of fecal indicator bacteria and pathogens in the environment. Our objective was to determine whether a colony of cliff swallows nesting underneath a bridge would yield a measurable increase in fecal indicator bacteria (specifically Escherichia coli) in the underlying creek. When the swallows were absent, dry‐weather concentrations of E. coli upstream and downstream of the bridge (in Austin, Texas) were below the Texas contact recreation criteria. When the swallows were present, dry‐weather geometric‐mean E. coli concentrations increased significantly from upstream (43 most probable number [MPN]/100 ml) to downstream (106 MPN/100 ml) of the bridge. One exceedance and one near‐exceedance of the Texas single‐sample contact recreation criterion were observed during the swallows’ nesting phase. When the swallows were present, the downstream E. coli geometric‐mean concentration in storm events (875 MPN/100 ml) was significantly higher than the upstream concentration (356 MPN/100 ml), suggesting that runoff flushes swallow feces from the ground into the creek. Although the loading of E. coli from cliff swallows nesting under bridges can be significant (e.g., dry‐weather loading of 3.1 × 10⁸ MPN/day/nest), the zoonotic potential of the cliff swallow must be examined to determine the risk to human health from contact recreation in waters contaminated with cliff swallow feces.     

大学城公共安全评价体系初探

随着大学城建设的蓬勃开展,大学城公共安全已成为一项关乎国计民生又亟待深入研究的重要课题。阐述了公共安全评价的研究现状,同时,参照当前国际上成熟的公共安全评价框架,基于脆弱性(风险)与(减灾)能力两个维度,初步建立了大学城公共安全评价指标的内容体系。并以广州大学城为例,对公共安全评价流程和结果进行了初步的分析论证。结合具体的评价结果,针对大学城脆弱性风险防范和减灾能力建设提出了一些有效的建议,以供大学城公共安全规划建设和发展决策参考。     

环境影响评价公众参与制度比较法研究

当前,环境影响评价的公众参与程序因其独特作用在世界各国日益受到重视.中国于二十世纪九十年代把环评引入了公众参与程序,但时至今日,该程序并未完全发挥预期作用.通过对比以美国为代表的主要发达国家与中国关于环境影响评价制度公众参与程序的立法现状,从公众参与的主体、阶段、对象、方式以及信息公开、司法救济等方面总结当前中国在该程序立法中存在的缺陷,并提出相应的完善建议,以期从法律层面完善中国公众参与环境影响评价机制,最终实现环境正义.     

Numerical modelling of electrohydraulic free-forming and die-forming of DP590 steel

Electrohydraulic forming (EHF) is a high energy rate forming process in which the strain rate in the sheet metal can vary from 5 × 10² to 10⁵ s⁻¹ depending on various factors. Several mechanisms have been reported to cause an improvement in formability in EHF such as material deformation mechanisms, inertial effects and the dynamic impact of the sheet against the die. EHF is a complex high speed forming process and experimental work alone is not sufficient to properly understand this process. To understand the variation of some influential variables in EHF, electrohydraulic die-forming (EHDF) and free-forming (EHFF) of DP590 dual phase steel were simulated in ABAQUS/Explicit by considering the fluid/structure interactions. Three-dimensional finite element simulations were conducted by modelling the water with Eulerian elements with a view to investigating the effect of released energy on the sheet deformation profile history, strain distribution, loading path and damage accumulation type. The Johnson–Cook constitutive material model was used to predict the sheet behaviour and the parameters in this model were calibrated based on experimental test results available for DP590 at various strain rates. The Johnson–Cook phenomenological damage model was also used to predict the ductile failure (damage accumulation) in both EHDF and EHFF. Predicted final strain values and damage accumulation type showed good agreement with the experimental observations.     

环境影响评价中公众参与方案设计研究

针对环境影响评价中公众参与方案设计问题,文中探讨了环境影响评价中的公众参与,是一项社会学的研究内容,它的指导思想也是以社会学为理论基础的,总体设计了参与机制主要考虑有效性、针对性、可行性的特点,它的具体设计包括信息交流与参与方式、参与时间和对象、参与的内容、反馈和监督,通过分析环境影响评价中公众参与的机制,进行了环境影响评价中公众参与的方案设计,为如何提高公众参与的有效性进行了有益的探讨。