Government management and overexploitation of groundwater resources: absence of local community initiatives in Ardabil plain-Iran

Although mismanagement of groundwater resources has resulted in their destruction over centuries, climate change is speeding up this process more than ever. On the one hand, urgent action by government bodies is needed to address the challenge. On the other hand, a vast body of literature proves that bottom-up collective action, although requiring a longer time period, is a better solution to manage such resources. This research aims to address this dilemma. The groundwater resource in Ardabil plain in Iran, which has long been managed solely through government intervention, has been chosen as a case study to explore the opportunities and limitations of managing a critically endangered area from a common pool resource perspective. Our study suggests that managing Ardabil groundwater resources should be conducted on two scales. The bottom-up institutional agreements should take place at village scale while the government should stay in charge of the overall organization at plain scale.     

Community perspectives on managing health of peri-urban river system: evidence from the Hawkesbury-Nepean river catchment,Australia

In this study, we examine aspects of community values and perspectives on goods and services received from the river along with issues related to sustainable management of the river. The study reveals that the contemporary values placed on rivers by communities are mostly associated with recreational and leisure activities. The distance from the river and age of the participants appeared as the most influential social demographic factors affecting participants' perspectives on river health. The study indicates that people tend to develop a strong bond with the natural resources around them and the amount of time spent at a location is directly related to the strength of this relationship. To assess the general river condition and health, a number of visual indicators (e.g., floating debris) were suggested. If properly standardised and calibrated, such indicators have the potential to develop cost-effective monitoring tools for detecting seasonal and spatial changes in river health.     

Socio-environmental conflict in the construction of a power plant in Spain's Basque Country: strategies,expertise and certifications

Social and anthropological studies show a growing number of conflicts surrounding energy projects, as governments and companies insist on their implementation despite the concerns of local actors about their perceived socio-environmental risks. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the politicisation of expertise and certifications in a conflict over the construction of a combined cycle power plant by linking strategic assumptions from two particular sociological approaches. The first approach is based on the study of frame alignment in social movement organisations and the second on the translating interests in actor–network theory. These linked premises are examined in the conflict arising from the construction of a combined cycle natural gas plant in Boroa, in the Basque Country of Spain. This case study brings to light interesting findings on the strategies of the different agencies, certifications, politicisation of expertise and the increasing hostility in local conflicts.     

Social values and biodiversity conservation in a dynamic world

Understanding what shape values (which ultimately shape human behavior) will help improve the effectiveness of conservation solutions that depend on public support. To contribute to this understanding, we investigated the influence of societal‐level changes, such as modernization, on values in a multilevel framework. We collected survey responses (n = 4183) to questionnaires mailed to a random selection of households within each county in Washington (U.S.A.) (response rate 32%). We used multilevel modeling to determine the relationship between modernization (e.g., county‐level urbanization, wealth, and education) and wildlife value orientations (values that shape thought about wildlife) while controlling for individual‐level sociodemographics. We then explored how values influence conservation support at different levels (e.g., individual and county) and how values explain conservation support in a case study of public responses to wolf (Canis lupis) recovery. We found positive associations between county‐level examples of modernization and mutualism (a wildlife value orientation that prioritizes the perceived needs of wildlife) independent of a respondent's sociodemographics, and negative associations between modernization and domination (a wildlife value orientation that prioritizes human needs). Our results suggest that context has an additive impact on one's values; certain locations exhibited domination values, whereas others exhibited a mix of value types. This finding is important because actions that restrict human interests to promote biodiversity were negatively associated with domination and positively associated with mutualism. In the wolf case study, mutualism was strongly correlated with less social conflict over wolf recovery in many, but not all, counties (e.g., Pearson's r correlation = 0.59 in one county and a nonsignificant correlation in another). Our findings suggest that modernization operates on values within a state with implications for biodiversity, but other factors in addition to values must be investigated to fully understand what leads to proconservation behavior.     

Scaling up site disputes: strategies to redefine ‘local’ in the fight against fracking

Plans to replace an aging diesel backup energy plant with liquid natural gas (LNG) generators in Whitehorse, Yukon, resulted in a public outcry, involving community meetings, massive petitions, and demonstrations. Are these civil society protests just a case of a local siting dispute – a response to an unwanted industrial site in an urban neighborhood? Here, it is argued that siting debates are not the driver of these campaigns, but instead are harnessed by activists to advance a broader environmental movement. By linking the LNG project to more distant extraction, involving hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’), movement leaders portray the entire territory as part of the ‘local’ for Whitehorse residents. Movement leaders rely upon two key mechanisms: claiming insider status, and identifying visible symbols. This case reveals the strategic use by environmental movements of local concerns to recruit support for broader campaigns, and the value of local, place-based activism for broader environmental movements.     

Inventory and treatment of compost maturation emissions in a municipal solid waste treatment facility

Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the compost maturation building in a municipal solid waste treatment facility were inventoried by solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A large diversity of chemical classes and compounds were found. The highest concentrations were found for n-butanol, methyl ethyl ketone and limonene (ppm_v level). Also, a range of compounds exceeded their odor threshold evidencing that treatment was needed. Performance of a chemical scrubber followed by two parallel biofilters packed with an advanced packing material and treating an average airflow of 99,300 m³ h^?1 was assessed in the treatment of the VOCs inventoried. Performance of the odor abatement system was evaluated in terms of removal efficiency by comparing inlet and outlet abundances. Outlet concentrations of selected VOCs permitted to identify critical odorants emitted to the atmosphere. In particular, limonene was found as the most critical VOC in the present study. Only six compounds from the odorant group were removed with efficiencies higher than 90%. Low removal efficiencies were found for most of the compounds present in the emission showing a significant relation with their chemical properties (functionality and solubility) and operational parameters (temperature, pH and inlet concentration). Interestingly, benzaldehyde and benzyl alcohol were found to be produced in the treatment system.     

Twin–twin transfusion syndrome: mathematical modelling

Twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) represents a pregnancy complication with a high risk for perinatal mortality and postnatal morbidity. Mathematical models have been utilized to examine the mechanisms of disease and potential treatment modalities. We developed four consecutive models based on pathophysiology mechanisms. Conceptually, these models remained simple, but with increased complexity in details. We present our models tutorially with the necessary equations expressed in words. The aetiology of TTTS was related to AV anastomoses from donor to recipient and their growth commensurate with placental growth. We assessed that natural growth of placenta and foetuses causes the diameter and length of the AV, as well as the AV's pressure gradient, to increase proportional to gestational age. The AV transfusion then increases faster than natural foetal growth. A progressively increasing discordance subsequently develops, not compensated for by foetal growth. A simulation is performed to show how this discordance in blood volumetric development causes successive discordances in other functions, particularly renal, circulatory, and cardio-vascular, resulting in disease progression to the various stages of TTTS. In conclusion, mathematical modelling of TTTS has provided an understanding of the sequence of events that leads to the various presentations of TTTS stages as well as the efficacy of therapies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nickel recovery from electronic waste II Electrodeposition of Ni and Ni–Fe alloys from diluted sulfate solutions

This study focuses on the electrodeposition of Ni and Ni–Fe alloys from synthetic solutions similar to those obtained by the dissolution of electron gun (an electrical component of cathode ray tubes) waste. The influence of various parameters (pH, electrolyte composition, Ni²⁺/Fe²⁺ ratio, current density) on the electrodeposition process was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRFA) were used to provide information about the obtained deposits’ thickness, morphology, and elemental composition. By controlling the experimental parameters, the composition of the Ni–Fe alloys can be tailored towards specific applications. Complementarily, the differences in the nucleation mechanisms for Ni, Fe and Ni–Fe deposition from sulfate solutions have been evaluated and discussed using cyclic voltammetry and potential step chronoamperometry. The obtained results suggest a progressive nucleation mechanism for Ni, while for Fe and Ni–Fe, the obtained data points are best fitted to an instantaneous nucleation model.     

Evaluating conservation dogs in the search for rare species

Detecting rare species is important for both threatened species management and invasive species eradication programs. Conservation scent dogs provide an olfactory survey tool that has advantages over traditional visual and auditory survey techniques for some cryptic species. From the literature, we identified 5 measures important in evaluating the use of scent dogs: precision, sensitivity, effort, cost, and comparison with other techniques. We explored the scale at which performance is evaluated and examined when field testing under real working conditions is achievable. We also identified cost differences among studies. We examined 61 studies published in 1976–2018 that reported conservation dog performance, and considered the inconsistencies in the reporting of scent dog performance among these studies. The majority of studies reported some measure of performance; however, only 8 studies reported all 3 aspects necessary for performance evaluation: precision, sensitivity, and effort. Although effort was considered in 43 studies, inconsistent methods and incomplete reporting prevented meaningful evaluation of performance and comparison among studies. Differences in cost between similar studies were influenced by geographical location and how the dog and handler were sourced for the study. To develop consistent reporting for evaluation, we recommend adoption of sensitivity, precision, and effort as standard performance measures. We recommend reporting effort as the total area and total time spent searching and reporting sensitivity and precision as proportions of the sample size. Additionally, reporting of costs, survey objectives, dog training and experience, type of detection task, and human influences will provide better opportunities for comparison within and among studies.     

An adaptive plan for prioritizing road sections for fencing to reduce animal mortality

Mortality of animals on roads is a critical threat to many wildlife populations and is poised to increase strongly because of ongoing and planned road construction. If these new roads cannot be avoided, effective mitigation measures will be necessary to stop biodiversity decline. Fencing along roads effectively reduces roadkill and is often used in combination with wildlife passages. Because fencing the entire road is not always possible due to financial constraints, high-frequency roadkill areas are often identified to inform the placement of fencing. We devised an adaptive fence-implementation plan to prioritize road sections for fencing. In this framework, areas along roads of high, moderate, and low levels of animal mortality (respectively, roadkill hotspots, warmspots, and coldspots) are identified at multiple scales (i.e., in circles of different diameters [200–2000 m] in which mortality frequency is measured). Fence deployment is based on the relationship between the amount of fencing being added to the road, starting with the strongest roadkill hotspots, and potential reduction in road mortality (displayed in mortality-reduction graphs). We applied our approach to empirical and simulated spatial patterns of wildlife–vehicle collisions. The scale used for analysis affected the number and spatial extent of roadkill hot-, warm-, and coldspots. At fine scales (e.g., 200 m), more hotspots were identified than at coarse scales (e.g., 2000 m), but combined the fine-scale hotspots covered less road and less fencing was needed to reduce road mortality. However, many short fences may be less effective in practice due to a fence-end effect (i.e., animals moving around the fence more easily), resulting in a trade-off between few long and many short fences, which we call the FLOMS (few-long-or-many-short) fences trade-off. Thresholds in the mortality-reduction graphs occurred for some roadkill patterns, but not for others. Thresholds may be useful to consider when determining road-mitigation targets. The existence of thresholds at multiple scales and the FLOMS trade-off have important implications for biodiversity conservation.