Chemical Warfare Materiel: Unique Regulatory Issues

In those states that have not included CWM as hazardous materials in their RCRA programs, the RCRA requirements for management of hazardous waste would not strictly apply to any of the CWM. The Army has historically implemented procedures requiring that chemical warfare agents be managed as RCRA hazardous waste regardless of the concentration, physical form, or configuration of the agent. Such application of strict hazardous waste requirements to management of potentially nonhazardous CWM can result in remedial costs well out of proportion to potential human health and environmental benefits. Recent development of chronic toxicity values for the CWM has opened the door for development of cleanup and waste management standards for waste streams or media containing small residual amounts of CWM. Implementation of this health-based approach to management of CWM remediation wastes may, in part, help to reduce potentially unnecessary hazardous waste management costs for the nonhazardous CWM.     

阿科蔓介质生物接触氧化法预处理微污染原水

随着库区经济的发展,大量点源或面源污染物未经有效处理便直接排入水体致使许多可作为生活饮用水的水源变成了"微污染"水源,鉴于常规的预处理工艺不能很好地适应现有"微污染"水源水质的变化,采用挂膜成功的阿科蔓介质生物接触氧化法对微污染水源水进行预处理实验研究,并与挂膜成功的组合介质生物接触氧化法进行对比,结果表明,阿科蔓介质挂膜速度较快,效果较好,且对水源水质的变化具有较好的适应性,是微污染水原水质改善较为理想的人工介质;对于相同的微污染水源,阿科蔓介质的处理效果明显优于组合介质且处理效果良好,其对"微污染"水源水中TN、氨氮、COD和总磷的平均去除率分别为67.4%、87.2%、54.1%和40.1%,其中较适宜的阿科蔓介质生物接触氧化预处理进水溶解氧浓度为4.0~6.0 mg/L。阿科蔓介质生物接触氧化不失为一种开展饮用水源地生态防护与饮用水质改善的技术。     

不同挂膜方式成熟滤料去除地下水中As(Ⅲ)研究

通过动力学和动态柱实验对比研究了不同挂膜方式成熟滤料去除地下水中As（Ⅲ）效能.并采用SEM-EDS?XRD及FTIR等表征手段对滤料形态和结构进行了分析.结果表明,两种滤料的形貌具有较大差异.采用化学挂膜的滤料去除As（Ⅲ）性能更优.二级动力学模型能较好地模拟两种滤料除As（Ⅲ）动力学过程,自然挂膜滤料和化学挂膜滤料拟合速率常数分别为8.568×10^-6和14.248×10^-6mg/（g·min）.Yan模型对动态柱实验穿透曲线的拟合系数R²>0.999.通过脱附再生实验,发现0.5mol/L的NaHCO₃作为脱附剂可使滤料有效再生.对比过滤前后滤料的XRD分析结果,滤料结构变化不大,除砷能力稳定.滤料表面铁锰氧化物含量直接影响滤料除As（Ⅲ）性能.两种滤料在除砷过程中均消耗了羟基.本研究为不同方法去除地下水中As（Ⅲ）提供了理论支撑,具有一定工程指导意义.     

人工湿地系统中填充基质对磷的吸附能力

人工湿地中填充基质对磷的吸附、沉淀作用是湿地系统的主要除磷机制,探明基质对磷的吸附能力对人工湿地系统设计至关重要. 分别利用吸附试验和柱吸附试验考察了宝钢钢渣、首钢钢渣、水淬渣和陶粒4种基质对磷的吸附能力,同时进行了浸出液毒性鉴别试验. 吸附试验表明,基质对磷的吸附符合Langmuir和Freundlich模型(R2为0.956～0.989),采用Langmuir模型预测的基质磷吸附量为2.274～3.637 mg/g. 在为期144 d的柱吸附试验中,填充宝钢钢渣和首钢钢渣的试验柱对磷有良好的去除效果,而填充水淬渣和陶粒的试验柱在90 d左右达到吸附饱和状态.在试验期内,基质的累积磷吸附量:宝钢钢渣为7.921 mg/g,首钢钢渣为7.495 mg/g,水淬渣3.317mg/g,陶粒为1.627 mg/g. 浸出液毒性鉴别试验表明,4种基质均有较高的环境安全性,由于2种钢渣和水淬渣具有较高的磷去除效率和便宜的价格,在湿地系统中具有广泛的应用价值.      

How to Discredit a Social Movement: Negative Framing of “Idle No More” in Canadian Print Media

The Idle No More (INM) movement entered public view in November 2012 as a grassroots response to Canadian federal legislation Bill C-45, an omnibus bill that reduced environmental protection of lands and waters. Backed by new media technologies, Indigenous activists and their Settler Canadian allies took a series of online and offline actions to bring public attention to Bill C-45’s devastating implications and the socio-economic sufferings of Indigenous people across Canada. This explorative study examines how INM was reported by nine Canadian print media during its initial upsurge from December 2012 to January 2013. A mixed-methods content analysis reveals that although there were numerous supportive voices discussing INM’s contributions to Indigenous self-determination and environmental protection, they were overwhelmed by anti-INM rhetoric advanced by Postmedia Network and its affiliated titles. The study thus highlights the importance of promoting communication and media alternatives for future struggles against capitalism’s appropriation of nature.     

Framing trans-border energy transportation: the case of Keystone XL

Increasing discussion over the safety of natural resource extraction and transportation to facilitate international energy needs has given rise to controversy over the prospect of large quantities of bitumen and crude oil flowing through trans-national pipelines. This debate, incorporating the voices of industry, government and advocacy groups, has gained traction in the news media, alternately framed as an environmental, economic, trade, human rights or public safety concern. It is possible, however, that such coverage may vary substantially with regional interests and perceptions of costs and benefits, locally or nationally. To uncover how the framing of energy transportation varies with proximity considerations, regional and national media coverage in Canada and the United States of the Keystone XL pipeline from 2010 to 2014 is analyzed. National and local papers frame the pipeline according to different considerations, as do cities near to and distant from the pipeline route.     

“Stop Blaming the Cows!”: How Livestock Production is Legitimized in Everyday Discourse on Facebook

In 2016, Swedish climate reporting declined in quantity and shifted focus somewhat from climate change as such to the harmful climate impacts of meat consumption. The latter prompted discussions in social media—an increasingly important forum for public debate but infrequently studied in environmental communication research. Despite strong evidence that a meat and dairy-based diet is harmful for the environment, meat consumption is increasing, and this qualitative study aims to—through the lens of social representation theory—contribute knowledge about how livestock production is legitimized in everyday discourse on Facebook. The article identifies representations that legitimize livestock production through polarization between (1) livestock production and other (environmental) issues, (2) environmentally “good” and “bad” countries, and (3) “reliable” and “unreliable” information. It concludes by discussing the influence of national ideology on the legitimization of livestock production and the potential of social media to counter the post-politicization of environmental issues.     

External Communication About Sustainability: Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and Social Media Activity

External communication about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability activities may vary significantly across firms. Communication channel, content, and frequency may reflect a company’s resource allocation priorities, its culture, and its leadership in the sustainability domain. This empirical research compares n?=?11 global consumer apparel companies, with brands ranging from Adidas to Prada to Wrangler, in terms of their communication about CSR and sustainability in both formal outlets (annual CSR reports), informal channels (Twitter and Facebook social media), and voluntary participation in external rankings (the Global Reporting Initiative). In addition, the sample is divided into “High-Ranked” and “Low-Ranked” subsamples, using Newsweek’s Greenest Companies 2014 rankings, to examine if companies ranked highly by Newsweek communicate more often and display higher levels of engagement in sustainability reporting, compared to low-ranked firms. Results provide support for our research propositions. We conclude with recommendations for companies seeking to strengthen their CSR external communication.     

Global Climate Talks from Failure to Cooperation and Hope: Swedish News Framings of COP15 and COP21

The purpose of this study is to offer an analysis of how two UN Conferences of Parties, COP15 in Copenhagen 2009 and COP21 in Paris 2015, were covered and debated in Swedish newspapers. Two national and two regional newspapers were selected for the study, and a qualitative frame analysis was conducted on 309 articles. A typology of frames applicable to science-related policy and climate change debates was used and its relevance for global climate summit context was discussed. Having territory in the Arctic region, indigenous populations affected by climate change measures, and political and public sensitivity to environmental issues, the climate debate has particular significance in the Swedish case. Findings indicate a trust in the role of national and supra-national governance to address climate change problems, but also that newspapers in Sweden maintained a focus on the global aspects of the two meetings, rather than framing them as surrogate battlefields for domestic politics.     

Decreasing the knowledge gap among different socioeconomic status groups on the issue of climate change

Climate change is causing severe negative consequences to small low-lying islands. To mitigate and adapt to climate change, it is important to improve public knowledge on its causes and consequences. As a social issue that needs collective action to address, the knowledge gap among different segments of population would be a barrier to people’s behaviors toward mitigation and adaption to climate change. This study aims to investigate public knowledge acquisition of climate change by revisiting the knowledge gap hypothesis. A nationally representative random computer-assisted telephone interview survey (N?=?1093) was conducted in Singapore. Quantitative analyses revealed that both newspaper reading and television viewing could reduce the knowledge gap between high and low socioeconomic status individuals. We recommend that governments and relevant authorities should utilize mass media to disseminate information and cultivate public understanding of climate change.