Land Degradation: A Challenge to Ethiopia

Land degradation is a great threat for the future and it requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. The major causes of land degradation in Ethiopia are the rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Inappropriate land-use systems and land-tenure policies enhance desertification and loss of agrobiodiversity. Utilization of dung and crop residues for fuel and other uses disturbs the sustainability of land resources. The supply of inputs such as fertilizer, farm machinery and credits are very low. The balance between crop, livestock, and forest production is disturbed, and the farmer is forced to put more land into crop production. For environmentally and socially sustainable development, there is an urgent need to promote awareness and understanding of the interdependence of natural, socioeconomic, and political systems at local and national levels. Understanding the current status and causes of land degradation is very important. This paper reveals the important elements of land degradation in Ethiopia and suggests possible solutions that may help to ameliorate the situation.     

Development of Indicators to Assess Economic Vulnerabilities to Changes in Ecosystem Services: Case Study of Counties in Maryland,USA

We develop indicators showing the relative environmental burdens that human activities place on locales for a given level of economic benefits. The main purpose is to develop tools that allow us to examine the potential vulnerabilities within economies to changes in resource conditions. The indicators of pollution emission or resource consumption per job can be used to identify potential challenges to resource and industry managers and to compare areas in terms of their ability to adapt to change. For example, if a large number of area jobs are dependent on abundant water, this indicates a vulnerability to a reduction in water availability for industrial use. We develop a case study for 23 counties and 1 city in Maryland to examine the usefulness and limitations of the indicators. Our case study demonstrates that the indicators provide an informative view into patterns of local economic activity and use of an area’s environmental goods and services. In contrast to patterns for total environmental burdens (e.g., total SO₂ emissions) that are typically reported, the rates of environmental burden per job are not simply correlated with high or low economic output. Thus, the indicators represent distinct patterns of environmental burdens per job that reflect reliance on environmental services. The indicators have some limitations when used at this fine scale because they can misrepresent conditions in counties in which economic sectors are dominated by one or a few businesses. For this reason, the indicators are best used as a regional screening tool.     

河流污染带特征参数预测模型及其软件化研究

本文建立了连续点源和瞬时点源两种常见排污工况下河流污染带的特征参数预测模型，模型预测的污染带特征参数包括污染物达到全断面均匀混合的距离、污染带最大长度、最大宽度及其出现的位置、污染带面积等，并能利用污染带的特征参数反演推算允许排污量和削减量。模型所用方法简便易行，且具有较高精度，可用于常规连续排污和突发事故排污情况下的河流污染带预测。在此基础上，研制开发了河流污染带特征参数预测系统（RPZS），方便实用。     

Pb2+、Cr6+、Cd2+单一及其复合污染对白蝴蝶叶片CAT、POD活性的影响

采用室内溶液培养法研究了Pb^2＋、Cr^6＋、Cd^2＋单一及其复合污染对白蝴蝶叶片过氧化氢酶（CAT）和过氧化物酶（POD）活性的影响。结果表明在处理浓度范围内，处理后白蝴蝶叶片CAT活性明显高于对照，随着各处理浓度的增加，表现先升高后降低最后再上升的趋势。经Cd^2＋及复合污染处理后，白蝴蝶叶片内POD活性变化趋势与CAT活性相似；但是经Pb^2＋、Cr^6＋处理后，其POD活性变化趋势与CAT不同，即在高浓度处理下，POD活性明显低于对照。当处理浓度为100mg／L时，POD活性随着处理时间的延长表现出先升高再降低的趋势。可以认为，酶活性升高是由于白蝴蝶对Pb^2＋、Cr^6＋、Cd^2＋单一及其复合胁迫做出的应激反应。     

Terrestrial and Aquatic Invertebrates as Bioindicators for Environmental Monitoring, with Particular Reference to Mountain Ecosystems

The use of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates as a management tool for monitoring change in ecosystems is reviewed and critically evaluated. Their suitability and value for assessing a range of environmental problems from pollution impacts, through habitat evaluation for conservation to the long-term degradation and recovery of ecosystems, is critically discussed. Guidelines are provided for the choice of appropriate bioindicators. Examples of the use of a broad spectrum of invertebrates to assess a variety of environmental problems are summarized. The particular potential of invertebrates for monitoring montane ecosystems is highlighted.     

Cobalt and zinc removal from aqueous solution by chemically treated bentonite

Natural bentonite was treated by hydrochloric, nitric, and phosphoric acids followed by washing with sodium hydroxide in order to enhance its adsorption capacity. The sample that treated with hydrochloric acid followed by further treatment with NaOH showed the highest cation exchange capacity with a value of 51.20 meq/100 g. The zero-point of charge for this sample was found to be 4.50. Adsorption isotherms for both cobalt and zinc were fitted using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Redlich-Peterson and showed an adsorption capacity of 138.1 mg Co²⁺ and 202.6 mg Zn²⁺ per gram of treated sample.     

风的污染指数在大气污染中的应用

根据无锡特定的气候条件，对风的污染指数Id进行修正，并将Id=0．27定为污染型和清洁型的临界值。Id作为反映污染程度的指标，与SO2的线性相关较好，而与NOx几乎无相关性；通过风的污染指数Id计算的污染机率，与污染主要来源于上风向污染物长距离输送的监测点污染物浓度相关性较好，因此，风的污染指数Id经过修正后可以用来判断SO2等长距离输送类污染物的污染程度。     

Can China control the side effects of motor vehicle growth?

Motor vehicle growth in China is the fastest in the world. This is placing great strain on the urban environment and causing a rapid increase in oil imports and motor vehicle carbon dioxide emissions. To deal with the environmental and health effects of air pollution, China has adopted a strong motor vehicle pollution control programme and imposed limits on fuel consumption of new light duty vehicles. The article will review these problems and programmes. Special focus will be given to the need to reduce sulphur levels in both gasoline and diesel fuel.     

Strategies for Emission Reduction of Air Pollutants Produced from a Chemical Plant

Various air pollution control (APC) techniques were employed in order to reduce emissions of air pollutants produced from chemical plants, which have many different chemical production facilities. For an emission reduction of acid gases, this study employed a method to improve solubility of pollutants by decreasing the operating temperature of the scrubbers, increasing the surface area for effective contact of gas and liquid, and modifying processes in the acid scrubbers. To reduce emission of both amines and acid gases, pollutant gas components were first separated, then condensation and/or acid scrubbing, depending on the chemical and physical properties of pollutant components, were used. To reduce emission of solvents, condensation and activated carbon adsorption were employed. To reduce emission of a mixture gases containing acid gases and solvents, the mixed gases were passed into the first condenser, the acid scrubber, the second condenser, and the activated carbon adsorption tower in sequence. As a strategy to reduce emission of pollutants at the source, this study also employed the simple pollution prevention concept of modification of the previously operating APC control device. Finally, air emissions of pollutants produced from the chemical plants were much more reduced by applying proper APC methods, depending upon the types (physical or chemical properties) and the specific emission situations of pollutants.     

Identification of road salt contamination using multiple regression and GIS

A multiple regression model of atmospheric deposition of salt, combined with geographic information systems (GIS) data on four classes of roads, is used to predict sodium concentrations in 162 randomly chosen streams in Massachusetts. All four classes of roads, as well as atmospheric deposition, were found to be highly significant in a model that explains 68% of the observed variation in sodium concentration. The highest salt loading rates are associated with interstate and major state roads with an estimated 22,500 and 17,700 kg of salt per kilometer, respectively. Our mass balance calculations indicate road salt is the major source of salt to the streams in Massachusetts. We examined some of the common statistical problems associated with the use of multiple regression for this type of analysis. Our confidence in the accuracy of the loading rates estimated above are limited by the collinear nature of environmental data and uncertainties related to model specification. Our results suggest multiple regression techniques can lead to overconfidence in the accuracy of the estimated loading rates and thus should not be used as the basis for policy unless the model is validated.