A Different Trolley Problem: The Limits of Environmental Justice and the Promise of Complex Moral Assessments for Transportation Infrastructure.

PubMed

Epting, Shane

2016-12-01

Transportation infrastructure tremendously affects the quality of life for urban residents, influences public and mental health, and shapes social relations. Historically, the topic is rich with social and political controversy and the resultant transit systems in the United States cause problems for minority residents and issues for the public. Environmental justice frameworks provide a means to identify and address harms that affect marginalized groups, but environmental justice has limits that cannot account for the mainstream population. To account for this condition, I employ a complex moral assessment measure that provides a way to talk about harms that affect the public.

Hanford science and technology needs statements, 2000

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

BERLIN, G.T.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the United States has begun addressing the environmental consequences of five decades of nuclear weapons production. In November 1989, DOE established the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) as the central authority for cleaning up the DOE weapons complex legacy of pollution, for preventing further environmental contamination, and for instituting responsible environmental management. While performing its tasks, EM found that many aspects of its large and complex mission could not be achieved using existing science and technology or without incurring unreasonable costs, risks, or schedule impacts. Consequently, a process was developedmore » to solicit needs from around the DOE complex and focus the science and technology resources of EM-50, the National Laboratories, private industry, and colleges and universities on those needs. This document describes those needs that the Hanford Site has identified as requiring additional science or technology to complete.« less

Hanford science and technology needs statements, 1999

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berlin, G.T.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the US has begun addressing the environmental consequences of five decades of nuclear weapons production. In November 1989, DOE established the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) as the central authority for cleaning up the DOE weapons complex legacy of pollution, for preventing further environmental contamination, and for instituting responsible environmental management. While performing its tasks, EM found that many aspects of its large and complex decisions could not be achieved using existing science and technology or without incurring unreasonable costs, risks, or schedule impacts. Consequently, a process was developed tomore » solicit needs from around the DOE complex and focus the science and technology resources of EM-50, the National Laboratories, private industry, and collages and universities on those needs. This document describes those needs which the Hanford Site has identified as requiring additional science or technology to complete.« less

LC-MS/MS signal suppression effects in the analysis of pesticides in complex environmental matrices.

PubMed

Choi, B K; Hercules, D M; Gusev, A I

2001-02-01

The application of LC separation and mobile phase additives in addressing LC-MS/MS matrix signal suppression effects for the analysis of pesticides in a complex environmental matrix was investigated. It was shown that signal suppression is most significant for analytes eluting early in the LC-MS analysis. Introduction of different buffers (e.g. ammonium formate, ammonium hydroxide, formic acid) into the LC mobile phase was effective in improving signal correlation between the matrix and standard samples. The signal improvement is dependent on buffer concentration as well as LC separation of the matrix components. The application of LC separation alone was not effective in addressing suppression effects when characterizing complex matrix samples. Overloading of the LC column by matrix components was found to significantly contribute to analyte-matrix co-elution and suppression of signal. This signal suppression effect can be efficiently compensated by 2D LC (LC-LC) separation techniques. The effectiveness of buffers and LC separation in improving signal correlation between standard and matrix samples is discussed.

A Global Environmental Agenda for the United States: Issues for the New U.S. Administration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Donald; Sant, Roger W.

2000-01-01

The new presidential administration faces an array of urgent challenges. Complex public policy choices are necessary to address the near-term challenges of climate change and resource degradation which will help the United States deal with the chronic problems of global inequity and human deprivation. Outlines the environmental problems…

Futures research: A neglected dimension in environmental policy and planning

Treesearch

David N. Bengston

2012-01-01

The need for strategic foresight in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world poses a formidable challenge to environmental planners and policy makers. Th is paper introduces futures research as an under used but fruitful set of approaches to addressing this challenge. Futures research is a transdisciplinary social science that uses a wide range of methods to...

[Clinic of environmental pediatric care in a high complexity hospital].

PubMed

Gaioli, Marisa; Amoedo, Diego; González, Daniel

2014-12-01

Children environmental health is considered by The World Health Organization as one of the main challenges of Public Health during the Century XXI. They promote the development of programs that allow approaching, disclosure or mitigation of the impact of polluting agents on health at every level of pediatric attention. The Children Hospital "Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan" has created an Environmental Health Office in order to address the demands of those patients with suspected or verified exposure to environmental risks. An Environmental Clinical History has been elaborated with this purpose.

Toward sustainable environmental quality: Identifying priority research questions for Latin America

PubMed Central

Furley, Tatiana Heid; Brodeur, Julie; Silva de Assis, Helena C; Carriquiriborde, Pedro; Chagas, Katia R; Corrales, Jone; Denadai, Marina; Fuchs, Julio; Mascarenhas, Renata; Miglioranza, Karina SB; Miguez Caramés, Diana Margarita; Navas, José Maria; Nugegoda, Dayanthi; Planes, Estela; Rodriguez‐Jorquera, Ignacio Alejandro; Orozco‐Medina, Martha; Boxall, Alistair BA; Rudd, Murray A

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT The Global Horizon Scanning Project (GHSP) is an innovative initiative that aims to identify important global environmental quality research needs. Here we report 20 key research questions from Latin America (LA). Members of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) LA and other scientists from LA were asked to submit research questions that would represent priority needs to address in the region. One hundred questions were received, then partitioned among categories, examined, and some rearranged during a workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Twenty priority research questions were subsequently identified. These research questions included developing, improving, and harmonizing across LA countries methods for 1) identifying contaminants and degradation products in complex matrices (including biota); 2) advancing prediction of contaminant risks and effects in ecosystems, addressing lab‐to‐field extrapolation challenges, and understanding complexities of multiple stressors (including chemicals and climate change); and 3) improving management and regulatory tools toward achieving sustainable development. Whereas environmental contaminants frequently identified in these key questions were pesticides, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors or modulators, plastics, and nanomaterials, commonly identified environmental challenges were related to agriculture, urban effluents, solid wastes, pulp and paper mills, and natural extraction activities. Several interesting research topics included assessing and preventing pollution impacts on conservation protected areas, integrating environment and health assessments, and developing strategies for identification, substitution, and design of less hazardous chemicals (e.g., green chemistry). Finally, a recurrent research need included developing an understanding of differential sensitivity of regional species and ecosystems to environmental contaminants and other stressors. Addressing these critical questions will support development of long‐term strategic research efforts to advance more sustainable environmental quality and protect public health and the environment in LA. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:344–357. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC) PMID:29469193

NASA Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Health and Air Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omar, Ali H.

2015-01-01

There is a growing body of evidence that the environment can affect human health in ways that are both complex and global in scope. To address some of these complexities, NASA maintains a diverse constellation of Earth observing research satellites, and sponsors research in developing satellite data applications across a wide spectrum of areas. These include environmental health; infectious disease; air quality standards, policies, and regulations; and the impact of climate change on health and air quality in a number of interrelated efforts. The Health and Air Quality Applications fosters the use of observations, modeling systems, forecast development, application integration, and the research to operations transition process to address environmental health effects. NASA has been a primary partner with Federal operational agencies over the past nine years in these areas. This talk presents the background of the Health and Air Quality Applications program, recent accomplishments, and a plan for the future.

Group Development and Integration in a Cross-Disciplinary and Intercultural Research Team.

PubMed

Kirk-Lawlor, Naomi; Allred, Shorna

2017-04-01

Cross-disciplinary research is necessary to solve many complex problems that affect society today, including problems involving linked social and environmental systems. Examples include natural resource management or scarcity problems, problematic effects of climate change, and environmental pollution issues. Intercultural research teams are needed to address many complex environmental matters as they often cross geographic and political boundaries, and involve people of different countries and cultures. It follows that disciplinarily and culturally diverse research teams have been organized to investigate and address environmental issues. This case study investigates a team composed of both monolingual and bilingual Chilean and US university researchers who are geoscientists, engineers and economists. The objective of this research team was to study both the natural and human parts of a hydrologic system in a hyper-arid region in northern Chile. Interviews (n = 8) addressed research questions focusing on the interaction of cross-disciplinary diversity and cultural diversity during group integration and development within the team. The case study revealed that the group struggled more with cross-disciplinary challenges than with intercultural ones. Particularly challenging ones were instances the of disciplinary crosstalk, or hidden misunderstandings, where team members thought they understood their cross-disciplinary colleagues, when in reality they did not. Results showed that translation served as a facilitator to cross-disciplinary integration of the research team. The use of translation in group meetings as a strategy for effective cross-disciplinary integration can be extended to monolingual cross-disciplinary teams as well.

Group Development and Integration in a Cross-Disciplinary and Intercultural Research Team

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirk-Lawlor, Naomi; Allred, Shorna

2017-04-01

Cross-disciplinary research is necessary to solve many complex problems that affect society today, including problems involving linked social and environmental systems. Examples include natural resource management or scarcity problems, problematic effects of climate change, and environmental pollution issues. Intercultural research teams are needed to address many complex environmental matters as they often cross geographic and political boundaries, and involve people of different countries and cultures. It follows that disciplinarily and culturally diverse research teams have been organized to investigate and address environmental issues. This case study investigates a team composed of both monolingual and bilingual Chilean and US university researchers who are geoscientists, engineers and economists. The objective of this research team was to study both the natural and human parts of a hydrologic system in a hyper-arid region in northern Chile. Interviews ( n = 8) addressed research questions focusing on the interaction of cross-disciplinary diversity and cultural diversity during group integration and development within the team. The case study revealed that the group struggled more with cross-disciplinary challenges than with intercultural ones. Particularly challenging ones were instances the of disciplinary crosstalk, or hidden misunderstandings, where team members thought they understood their cross-disciplinary colleagues, when in reality they did not. Results showed that translation served as a facilitator to cross-disciplinary integration of the research team. The use of translation in group meetings as a strategy for effective cross-disciplinary integration can be extended to monolingual cross-disciplinary teams as well.

Complying with Executive Order 13148 using the Enterprise Environmental Safety And Occupational Health Management Information System.

PubMed

McFarland, Michael J; Nelson, Tim M; Rasmussen, Steve L; Palmer, Glenn R; Olivas, Arthur C

2005-03-01

All U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) facilities are required under Executive Order (EO) 13148, "Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management," to establish quality-based environmental management systems (EMSs) that support environmental decision-making and verification of continuous environmental improvement by December 31, 2005. Compliance with EO 13148 as well as other federal, state, and local environmental regulations places a significant information management burden on DoD facilities. Cost-effective management of environmental data compels DoD facilities to establish robust database systems that not only address the complex and multifaceted environmental monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting requirements demanded by these rules but enable environmental management decision-makers to gauge improvements in environmental performance. The Enterprise Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Management Information System (EESOH-MIS) is a new electronic database developed by the U.S. Air Force to manage both the data needs associated with regulatory compliance programs across its facilities as well as the non-regulatory environmental information that supports installation business practices. The U.S. Air Force, which has adopted the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology as the EMS standard that it will employ to address EO 13148 requirements.

Need for Enhanced Environmental Representation in the Implementation of One Health.

PubMed

Barrett, Meredith A; Bouley, Timothy A

2015-06-01

Issues of global environmental change, global health, emerging disease, and sustainability present some of the most complex challenges of the twenty-first century. Individual disciplines cannot address these issues in isolation. Proactive, innovative, and trans-disciplinary solutions are required. Recognizing the inherent connectedness of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment, One Health encourages the collaboration of many disciplines-including human and veterinary medicine, public health, social science, public policy, environmental science, and others-to address global and local health challenges. Despite great progress in this shift toward transdisciplinarity, the environmental component of the One Health paradigm remains underrepresented in One Health discourse. Human and animal health issues are commonly discussed under the umbrella of the One Health paradigm, while upstream environmental drivers and solutions are less prominent. We assessed the current integration of environmental issues in One Health publications and leadership. There is room for enhanced integration of environmental knowledge in the implementation of One Health approaches. We discuss the potential benefits from the collaboration between One Health and ecohealth, and explore strategies for increased environmental involvement.

The role of place-based projects as ecosystem service laboratories

EPA Science Inventory

Successfully addressing the increasingly complex ecological problems throughout the United States requires an integrative and innovative approach. In this regard, the concept of ecosystem services has emerged as a promising approach for improving environmental decision making. ...

Using Big Data Analytics to Address Mixtures Exposure

EPA Science Inventory

The assessment of chemical mixtures is a complex issue for regulators and health scientists. We propose that assessing chemical co-occurrence patterns and prevalence rates is a relatively simple yet powerful approach in characterizing environmental mixtures and mixtures exposure...

Regional Geograhpic Network Partnerships Supporting Sustainable Landscapes - An Example: The North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative

EPA Science Inventory

Natural resource management agencies, conservation organizations and other stakeholders are facing increasingly complex environmental challenges that require coordinated management actions at regional and landscape levels. To address these challenges, integrated multi-disciplina...

Curriculum Development for the Achievement of Multiple Goals in the Agri-Food Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stonehouse, D. P.

1994-01-01

The agri-food industry is concerned with maximizing global food output while preventing environmental damage. Agricultural education focuses on multidisciplinary, holistic, and integrative approaches that enhance student capabilities to address this complex issue. (SK)

Modification of heterogeneous chemistry by complex substrate morphology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Henson, B.F.; Buelow, S.J.; Robinson, J.M.

1998-12-31

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Chemistry in many environmental systems is determined at some stage by heterogeneous reaction with a surface. Typically the surface exists as a dispersion or matrix of particulate matter or pores, and a determination of the heterogeneous chemistry of the system must address the extent to which the complexity of the environmental surface affects the reaction rates. Reactions that are of current interest are the series of chlorine nitrate reactions important in polar ozone depletion. The authors have applied surfacemore » spectroscopic techniques developed at LANL to address the chemistry of chlorine nitrate reactions on porous nitric and sulfuric acid ice surfaces as a model study of the measurement of complex, heterogeneous reaction rates. The result of the study is an experimental determination of the surface coverage of one adsorbed reagent and a mechanism of reactivity based on the dependence of this coverage on temperature and vapor pressure. The resulting mechanism allows the first comprehensive modeling of chlorine nitrate reaction probability data from several laboratories.« less

Environmental Determinants of Chronic Disease and Medical Approaches: Recognition, Avoidance, Supportive Therapy, and Detoxification

PubMed Central

Sears, Margaret E.; Genuis, Stephen J.

2012-01-01

The World Health Organization warns that chronic, noncommunicable diseases are rapidly becoming epidemic worldwide. Escalating rates of neurocognitive, metabolic, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases cannot be ascribed only to genetics, lifestyle, and nutrition; early life and ongoing exposures, and bioaccumulated toxicants may also cause chronic disease. Contributors to ill health are summarized from multiple perspectives—biological effects of classes of toxicants, mechanisms of toxicity, and a synthesis of toxic contributors to major diseases. Healthcare practitioners have wide-ranging roles in addressing environmental factors in policy and public health and clinical practice. Public health initiatives include risk recognition and chemical assessment then exposure reduction, remediation, monitoring, and avoidance. The complex web of disease and environmental contributors is amenable to some straightforward clinical approaches addressing multiple toxicants. Widely applicable strategies include nutrition and supplements to counter toxic effects and to support metabolism; as well as exercise and sweating, and possibly medication to enhance excretion. Addressing environmental health and contributors to chronic disease has broad implications for society, with large potential benefits from improved health and productivity. PMID:22315626

Rethinking Environmental Protection: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World.

PubMed

Burke, Thomas A; Cascio, Wayne E; Costa, Daniel L; Deener, Kacee; Fontaine, Thomas D; Fulk, Florence A; Jackson, Laura E; Munns, Wayne R; Orme-Zavaleta, Jennifer; Slimak, Michael W; Zartarian, Valerie G

2017-03-01

From climate change to hydraulic fracturing, and from drinking water safety to wildfires, environmental challenges are changing. The United States has made substantial environmental protection progress based on media-specific and single pollutant risk-based frameworks. However, today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex and new scientific approaches and tools are needed to achieve sustainable solutions to protect the environment and public health. In this article, we present examples of today’s environmental challenges and offer an integrated systems approach to address them. We provide a strategic framework and recommendations for advancing the application of science for protecting the environment and public health. We posit that addressing 21st century challenges requires transdisciplinary and systems approaches, new data sources, and stakeholder partnerships. To address these challenges, we outline a process driven by problem formulation with the following steps: a ) formulate the problem holistically, b ) gather and synthesize diverse information, c ) develop and assess options, and d ) implement sustainable solutions. This process will require new skills and education in systems science, with an emphasis on science translation. A systems-based approach can transcend media- and receptor-specific bounds, integrate diverse information, and recognize the inextricable link between ecology and human health.

Rethinking Environmental Protection: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World

PubMed Central

Burke, Thomas A.; Cascio, Wayne E.; Costa, Daniel L.; Deener, Kacee; Fontaine, Thomas D.; Fulk, Florence A.; Jackson, Laura E.; Munns, Wayne R.; Orme-Zavaleta, Jennifer; Slimak, Michael W.; Zartarian, Valerie G.

2017-01-01

Summary: From climate change to hydraulic fracturing, and from drinking water safety to wildfires, environmental challenges are changing. The United States has made substantial environmental protection progress based on media-specific and single pollutant risk-based frameworks. However, today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex and new scientific approaches and tools are needed to achieve sustainable solutions to protect the environment and public health. In this article, we present examples of today’s environmental challenges and offer an integrated systems approach to address them. We provide a strategic framework and recommendations for advancing the application of science for protecting the environment and public health. We posit that addressing 21st century challenges requires transdisciplinary and systems approaches, new data sources, and stakeholder partnerships. To address these challenges, we outline a process driven by problem formulation with the following steps: a) formulate the problem holistically, b) gather and synthesize diverse information, c) develop and assess options, and d) implement sustainable solutions. This process will require new skills and education in systems science, with an emphasis on science translation. A systems-based approach can transcend media- and receptor-specific bounds, integrate diverse information, and recognize the inextricable link between ecology and human health. PMID:28248180

The Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey (ARES) Mission to Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, J. S.

2005-01-01

ARES is an exploration mission concept for an Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey of Mars designed to fly an instrumented platform over the surface of Mars at very low altitudes (1-3 km) for distances of hundreds to thousands of kilometers to obtain scientific data to address fundamental problems in Mars science. ARES helps to fill a gap in the scale and perspective of the Mars Exploration Program and addresses many key COMPLEX/MEPAG questions (e.g., nature and origin of crustal magnetic anomalies) not readily pursued in other parts of the exploration program. ARES supports the human exploration program through key environmental measurements and high-resolution contiguous data essential to reference mission design. Here we describe the major types of scientific goals, candidate instruments, and reference mission profiles.

Integrating human and ecological risk assessment: application to the cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom problem.

PubMed

Orme-Zavaleta, Jennifer; Munns, Wayne R

2008-01-01

Environmental and public health policy continues to evolve in response to new and complex social, economic and environmental drivers. Globalization and centralization of commerce, evolving patterns of land use (e.g., urbanization, deforestation), and technological advances in such areas as manufacturing and development of genetically modified foods have created new and complex classes of stressors and risks (e.g., climate change, emergent and opportunist disease, sprawl, genomic change). In recognition of these changes, environmental risk assessment and its use are changing from stressor-endpoint specific assessments used in command and control types of decisions to an integrated approach for application in community-based decisions. As a result, the process of risk assessment and supporting risk analyses are evolving to characterize the human-environment relationship. Integrating risk paradigms combine the process of risk estimation for humans, biota, and natural resources into one assessment to improve the information used in environmental decisions (Suter et al. 2003b). A benefit to this approach includes a broader, system-wide evaluation that considers the interacting effects of stressors on humans and the environment, as well the interactions between these entities. To improve our understanding of the linkages within complex systems, risk assessors will need to rely on a suite of techniques for conducting rigorous analyses characterizing the exposure and effects relationships between stressors and biological receptors. Many of the analytical techniques routinely employed are narrowly focused and unable to address the complexities of an integrated assessment. In this paper, we describe an approach to integrated risk assessment, and discuss qualitative community modeling and Probabilistic Relational Modeling techniques that address these limitations and evaluate their potential for use in an integrated risk assessment of cyanobacteria.

Environmental Nutrition: A New Frontier for Public Health

PubMed Central

Sabaté, Joan; Soret, Samuel

2016-01-01

Food systems must operate within environmental constraints to avoid disastrous consequences for the biosphere. Such constraints must also take into account nutritional quality and health outcomes. Given the intrinsic relationships between the environmental sciences and nutritional sciences, it is imperative that public health embraces environmental nutrition as the new frontier of research and practice and begins a concerted focus on the new discipline of environmental nutrition, which seeks to comprehensively address the sustainability of food systems. We provide an overview to justify our proposition, outline a research and practice agenda for environmental nutrition, and explore how the complex relationships within food systems that affect public health could be better understood through the environmental nutrition model. PMID:26985617

The Importance of Training for Environmental Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furtado, Jose I.

1984-01-01

Discusses an appropriate framework for sustainable development in the Third World that concurrently addresses the efficient utilization and management of natural resources. Areas considered include: human dimension; sustainable development; complexity of inputs; kinds of training; indigenous scientific capability; transnational issues;…

Environmental Management

ScienceCinema

None

2018-01-16

Another key aspect of the NNSS mission is Environmental Management program, which addresses the environmental legacy from historic nuclear weapons related activities while also ensuring the health and safety of present day workers, the public, and the environment as current and future missions are completed. The Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management site receives low-level and mixed low-level waste from some 28 different generators from across the DOE complex in support of the legacy clean-up DOE Environmental Management project. Without this capability, the DOE would not be able to complete the clean up and proper disposition of these wastes. The program includes environmental protection, compliance, and monitoring of the air, water, plants, animals, and cultural resources at the NNSS. Investigation and implementation of appropriate corrective actions to address the contaminated ground water facilities and soils resulting from historic nuclear testing activities, the demolition of abandoned nuclear facilities, as well as installation of ground water wells to identify and monitor the extent of ground water contamination.

Science with society in the anthropocene.

PubMed

Seidl, Roman; Brand, Fridolin Simon; Stauffacher, Michael; Krütli, Pius; Le, Quang Bao; Spörri, Andy; Meylan, Grégoire; Moser, Corinne; González, Monica Berger; Scholz, Roland Werner

2013-02-01

Interdisciplinary scientific knowledge is necessary but not sufficient when it comes to addressing sustainable transformations, as science increasingly has to deal with normative and value-related issues. A systems perspective on coupled human-environmental systems (HES) helps to address the inherent complexities. Additionally, a thorough interaction between science and society (i.e., transdisciplinarity = TD) is necessary, as sustainable transitions are sometimes contested and can cause conflicts. In order to navigate complexities regarding the delicate interaction of scientific research with societal decisions these processes must proceed in a structured and functional way. We thus propose HES-based TD processes to provide a basis for reorganizing science in coming decades.

Challenges and Opportunities for Tribal Waters: Addressing Disparities in Safe Public Drinking Water on the Crow Reservation in Montana, USA.

PubMed

Doyle, John T; Kindness, Larry; Realbird, James; Eggers, Margaret J; Camper, Anne K

2018-03-21

Disparities in access to safe public drinking water are increasingly being recognized as contributing to health disparities and environmental injustice for vulnerable communities in the United States. As the Co-Directors of the Apsaálooke Water and Wastewater Authority (AWWWA) for the Crow Tribe, with our academic partners, we present here the multiple and complex challenges we have addressed in improving and maintaining tribal water and wastewater infrastructure, including the identification of diverse funding sources for infrastructure construction, the need for many kinds of specialized expertise and long-term stability of project personnel, ratepayer difficulty in paying for services, an ongoing legacy of inadequate infrastructure planning, and lack of water quality research capacity. As a tribal entity, the AWWWA faces additional challenges, including the complex jurisdictional issues affecting all phases of our work, lack of authority to create water districts, and additional legal and regulatory gaps-especially with regards to environmental protection. Despite these obstacles, the AWWWA and Crow Tribe have successfully upgraded much of the local water and wastewater infrastructure. We find that ensuring safe public drinking water for tribal and other disadvantaged U.S. communities will require comprehensive, community-engaged approaches across a broad range of stakeholders to successfully address these complex legal, regulatory, policy, community capacity, and financial challenges.

Challenges and Opportunities for Tribal Waters: Addressing Disparities in Safe Public Drinking Water on the Crow Reservation in Montana, USA

PubMed Central

Doyle, John T.; Kindness, Larry; Realbird, James; Camper, Anne K.

2018-01-01

Disparities in access to safe public drinking water are increasingly being recognized as contributing to health disparities and environmental injustice for vulnerable communities in the United States. As the Co-Directors of the Apsaálooke Water and Wastewater Authority (AWWWA) for the Crow Tribe, with our academic partners, we present here the multiple and complex challenges we have addressed in improving and maintaining tribal water and wastewater infrastructure, including the identification of diverse funding sources for infrastructure construction, the need for many kinds of specialized expertise and long-term stability of project personnel, ratepayer difficulty in paying for services, an ongoing legacy of inadequate infrastructure planning, and lack of water quality research capacity. As a tribal entity, the AWWWA faces additional challenges, including the complex jurisdictional issues affecting all phases of our work, lack of authority to create water districts, and additional legal and regulatory gaps—especially with regards to environmental protection. Despite these obstacles, the AWWWA and Crow Tribe have successfully upgraded much of the local water and wastewater infrastructure. We find that ensuring safe public drinking water for tribal and other disadvantaged U.S. communities will require comprehensive, community-engaged approaches across a broad range of stakeholders to successfully address these complex legal, regulatory, policy, community capacity, and financial challenges. PMID:29561815

Multidisciplinary approaches to climate change questions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Middleton, Beth A.; LePage, Ben A.

2011-01-01

Multidisciplinary approaches are required to address the complex environmental problems of our time. Solutions to climate change problems are good examples of situations requiring complex syntheses of ideas from a vast set of disciplines including science, engineering, social science, and the humanities. Unfortunately, most ecologists have narrow training, and are not equipped to bring their environmental skills to the table with interdisciplinary teams to help solve multidisciplinary problems. To address this problem, new graduate training programs and workshops sponsored by various organizations are providing opportunities for scientists and others to learn to work together in multidisciplinary teams. Two examples of training in multidisciplinary thinking include those organized by the Santa Fe Institute and Dahlem Workshops. In addition, many interdisciplinary programs have had successes in providing insight into climate change problems including the International Panel on Climate Change, the Joint North American Carbon Program, the National Academy of Science Research Grand Challenges Initiatives, and the National Academy of Science. These programs and initiatives have had some notable success in outlining some of the problems and solutions to climate change. Scientists who can offer their specialized expertise to interdisciplinary teams will be more successful in helping to solve the complex problems related to climate change.

Community-based research as a mechanism to reduce environmental health disparities in american Indian and alaska native communities.

PubMed

McOliver, Cynthia Agumanu; Camper, Anne K; Doyle, John T; Eggers, Margaret J; Ford, Tim E; Lila, Mary Ann; Berner, James; Campbell, Larry; Donatuto, Jamie

2015-04-13

Racial and ethnic minority communities, including American Indian and Alaska Natives, have been disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution and contamination. This includes siting and location of point sources of pollution, legacies of contamination of drinking and recreational water, and mining, military and agricultural impacts. As a result, both quantity and quality of culturally important subsistence resources are diminished, contributing to poor nutrition and obesity, and overall reductions in quality of life and life expectancy. Climate change is adding to these impacts on Native American communities, variably causing drought, increased flooding and forced relocation affecting tribal water resources, traditional foods, forests and forest resources, and tribal health. This article will highlight several extramural research projects supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) tribal environmental research grants as a mechanism to address the environmental health inequities and disparities faced by tribal communities. The tribal research portfolio has focused on addressing tribal environmental health risks through community based participatory research. Specifically, the STAR research program was developed under the premise that tribal populations may be at an increased risk for environmentally-induced diseases as a result of unique subsistence and traditional practices of the tribes and Alaska Native villages, community activities, occupations and customs, and/or environmental releases that significantly and disproportionately impact tribal lands. Through a series of case studies, this article will demonstrate how grantees-tribal community leaders and members and academic collaborators-have been addressing these complex environmental concerns by developing capacity, expertise and tools through community-engaged research.

Community-Based Research as a Mechanism to Reduce Environmental Health Disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

PubMed Central

McOliver, Cynthia Agumanu; Camper, Anne K.; Doyle, John T.; Eggers, Margaret J.; Ford, Tim E.; Lila, Mary Ann; Berner, James; Campbell, Larry; Donatuto, Jamie

2015-01-01

Racial and ethnic minority communities, including American Indian and Alaska Natives, have been disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution and contamination. This includes siting and location of point sources of pollution, legacies of contamination of drinking and recreational water, and mining, military and agricultural impacts. As a result, both quantity and quality of culturally important subsistence resources are diminished, contributing to poor nutrition and obesity, and overall reductions in quality of life and life expectancy. Climate change is adding to these impacts on Native American communities, variably causing drought, increased flooding and forced relocation affecting tribal water resources, traditional foods, forests and forest resources, and tribal health. This article will highlight several extramural research projects supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) tribal environmental research grants as a mechanism to address the environmental health inequities and disparities faced by tribal communities. The tribal research portfolio has focused on addressing tribal environmental health risks through community based participatory research. Specifically, the STAR research program was developed under the premise that tribal populations may be at an increased risk for environmentally-induced diseases as a result of unique subsistence and traditional practices of the tribes and Alaska Native villages, community activities, occupations and customs, and/or environmental releases that significantly and disproportionately impact tribal lands. Through a series of case studies, this article will demonstrate how grantees—tribal community leaders and members and academic collaborators—have been addressing these complex environmental concerns by developing capacity, expertise and tools through community-engaged research. PMID:25872019

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND MAINTENANCE OF COVER SYSTEMS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE: AN ENGINEERING GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Engineering for cover over solid hazardous waste addresses complex interactions among many technical, environmental, and economical factors. The document emphasizes the special characteristics of solid waste management as they bear on the cover system while at the same time stres...

Finding the Maine Story in Hugh Cumbersome National Monitoring Datasets

EPA Science Inventory

What’s a manager, analyst, or concerned citizen to do with the complex datasets generated by State and Federal monitoring efforts? Is it possible to use such information to address Maine’s environmental issues without having a degree in informatics and statistics? This presentati...

Comprehensive Environmental Assessment: A Meta-Assessment Approach

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

With growing calls for changes in the field of risk assessment, improved systematic approaches for addressing environmental issues with greater transparency and stakeholder engagement are needed to ensure sustainable trade-offs. Here we describe the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) approach as a holistic way to manage complex information and to structure input from diverse stakeholder perspectives to support environmental decision-making for the near- and long-term. We further note how CEA builds upon and incorporates other available tools and approaches, describe its current application at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and point out how it could be extended in evaluating a major issue such as the sustainability of biofuels. PMID:22889372

Geophysics and nutritional science: toward a novel, unified paradigm.

PubMed

Eshel, Gidon; Martin, Pamela A

2009-05-01

This article discusses a few basic geophysical processes, which collectively indicate that several nutritionally adverse elements of current Western diets also yield environmentally harmful food consumption patterns. We address oceanic dead zones, which are at the confluence of oceanography, aquatic chemistry, and agronomy and which are a clear environmental problem, and agriculture's effects on the surface heat budget. These exemplify the unknown, complex, and sometimes unexpected large-scale environmental effects of agriculture. We delineate the significant alignment in purpose between nutritional and environmental sciences. We identify red meat, and to a lesser extent the broader animal-based portion of the diet, as having the greatest environmental effect, with clear nutritional parallels.

Past successes and future challenges: Improving the urban environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gade, M.

1994-12-31

The author discusses issues related to the Chicago urban environment from her perspective in the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Understanding of the ozone air pollution problem in the Chicago area has undergone significant changes in the past three years, and there is still more to be understood about the complex factors which contribute to ozone pollution over urban areas such as Chicago. Ability to address these problems to present clean air standards is not in hand at present. The author asserts that information, and the ability of governmental agencies to ingest and respond to that information in a timely mannermore » is a key to improvement of the environment in urban areas in reasonable time spans. In addition cost and price information on environmental control and protection needs to be more clearly presented to the people so they can understand the difficult choices which must be made in addressing these environmental problems.« less

Governance of environmental risk: new approaches to managing stakeholder involvement.

PubMed

Benn, Suzanne; Dunphy, Dexter; Martin, Andrew

2009-04-01

Disputes concerning industrial legacies such as the disposal of toxic wastes illustrate changing pressures on corporations and governments. Business and governments are now confronted with managing the expectations of a society increasingly aware of the social and environmental impacts and risks associated with economic development and demanding more equitable distribution and democratic management of such risks. The closed managerialist decision-making of the powerful bureaucracies and corporations of the industrial era is informed by traditional management theory which cannot provide a framework for the adequate governance of these risks. Recent socio-political theories have conceptualised some key themes that must be addressed in a more fitting approach to governance. We identify more recent management and governance theory which addresses these themes and develop a process-based approach to governance of environmental disputes that allows for the evolving nature of stakeholder relations in a highly complex multiple stakeholder arena.

An operationalized post-normal science framework for assisting in the development of complex science policy solutions: the case of nanotechnology governance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernstein, Michael J.; Foley, Rider W.; Bennett, Ira

2014-07-01

Scientists, engineers, and policy analysts commonly suggest governance regimes for technology to maximize societal benefits and minimize negative societal and environmental impacts of innovation processes. Yet innovation is a complex socio-technical process that does not respond predictably to modification. Our human propensity to exclude complexity when attempting to manage systems often results in insufficient, one-dimensional solutions. The tendency to exclude complexity (1) reinforces itself by diminishing experience and capacity in the design of simple solutions to complex problems, and (2) leads to solutions that do not address the identified problem. To address the question of how to avoid a complexity- exclusion trap, this article operationalizes a post-normal science framework to assist in the enhancement or design of science policy proposals. A literature review of technological fixes, policy panaceas, and knowledge-to-action gaps is conducted to survey examples of post-normal science frameworks. Next, an operational framework is used to assess the case of a proposed international nanotechnology advisory board. The framework reveals that the board addresses a slice of the broader, more complex problem of nanotechnology governance. We argue that while the formation of an international advisory board is not problematic in-and-of-itself, it is symptomatic of and plays into a complexity- exclusion trap. We offer researchers, policy analysts, and decision-makers three recommendations that incorporate a more appropriate level of complexity into governance proposals.

Are Water-Related Leadership Development Programs Designed to Be Effective? An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burbach, Mark E.; Floress, Kristin; Kaufman, Eric K.

2015-01-01

Water resource professionals and others involved in managing water resources face increasingly complex challenges. Effective leadership development programs are needed to produce water leaders who can address these challenges. Leadership programs must be designed not simply to increase participants' environmental and leadership knowledge but to…

Farms and Learning Partnerships in Farming Systems Projects: A Response to the Challenges of Complexity in Agricultural Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Anne; Nettle, Ruth; Paine, Mark; Kabore, Carolyn

2007-01-01

Managing the competing interests of productivity growth, environmental concerns, landscape change and societal expectations presents challenges for agricultural industries. Innovation projects supporting knowledge development to address these challenges often involve partnerships with commercial farms, a methodology which promises much but has…

Collaboration in an Era of Change: New Forms of Community Problem-Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramaley, Judith A.

2016-01-01

Campuses are developing new ways to respond to complex social, cultural, economic and environmental problems by adapting their educational approaches and their scholarship to address a changing world order. At the same time, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and businesses are embracing collaborative approaches to community…

Reducing Undesirable Behaviors. Working with Behavioral Disorders: CEC Mini-Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polsgrove, Lewis, Ed.

This booklet reviews the literature and offers procedures to reduce undesirable behavior in school settings. The following topics are addressed: definition of terms relating to behavior reduction procedures; environmental modification (changing the demands of a task, reducing the complexity of each step, or teaching a new skill); differential…

Trade and the environment: Discussion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lutz, E.

1992-12-01

The author presents a synopsis of several papers on the issue of international trade and the environment. The papers address the following topics: the complex interrelationships of international trade, environment, and poverty in developing countries; environmental aspects of economic relations between nations; and the debate between environmentalists and free trade advocates. The author also adds comments about the US embargo on Mexican yellow-fin tuna imports, concluding that this unilateral embargo action, while initially creating tentions, may have provided a useful impetus to working out a multinational environmental standard.

Narrative Inquiry for Science Education: Teachers' repertoire-making in the case of environmental curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Seyoung

2011-04-01

This paper considers how the school science curriculum can be conceptualised in order to address the contingent and complex nature of environmental and sustainability-related knowledge and understanding. A special concern lies in the development of research perspectives and tools for investigating ways, in which teachers are faced with complex and various situations in the sense-making of science-related issues, and subsequent pedagogic issues. Based on an empirical examination of Korean teachers' sense-making of their curricular practice, the paper develops a narrative approach to teachers' perspectives and knowledge by considering the value of stories as sense-making tools for reflective questioning of what is worth teaching, how and why. By employing the idea of 'repertoire', the study regards teachers' stories about their environment-related personal and teaching experiences as offering angles with which to understand teachers' motivation and reflection in curricular development and implementation. Furthermore, three empirical cases present ways in which the nature of knowledge and understanding is recognised and potentially integrated into pedagogies through teachers' narratives. Finally, the paper argues for the need to reconsider the role of the science teacher in addressing environmental and sustainability-related issues, in ways that facilitate teachers' reflexive interpretation of meanings in cultural texts and the construction of pedagogic text.

Second Quarter Report Environmental Biosciences Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2002-10-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Third Quarter Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2003-01-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

MUSC Environmental Biosciences Program First Quarter Report May - June, 2002

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr

2002-07-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risk issues. These initiatives are consistent with the Medical University's role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable the Medical University to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBP's success in convening worldwide scientific expertise is due in part to the inherent credibility the Medical University brings to the process of addressing these complex issues.« less

DEVELOPMENT OF A PASSIVE, IN SITU, INTEGRATIVE ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Until recently, hydrophobic, bioconcentratable compounds have been the primary focus of most environmental organic contaminant investigations, There is an increasing realization that a holistic hazard assessment of complex environmental contaminant mixtures requires data on the concentrations of hydrophilic organic contaminants as well. This group of compounds includes a wide variety of chemicals, including potentially endocrine disrupting and estrogenic contaminants which have been shown to contribute to numerous abnormalities such as impaired reproduction in aquatic organisms exposed in environmental waters. To address this issue, we developed a passive, in situ, sampling device (the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler or POCIS) which integratively concentrates trace levels of complex mixtures of hydrophilic environmental contaminants, enables the determination of their time-weighted average water concentrations and provides a screening assessment of the toxicological significance of the complex mixture of waterborne contaminants. Using a prototype sampler (effective membrane sampling surface area = 18.2 cm 2) linear uptake of selected herbicides and pharmaceuticals was observed for up to 56 days. Estimation of the ambient water concentrations of chemicals of interest is achieved by using appropriate uptake models and determination of POCIS chemical sampling rates. The research focused on in the subtasks is the development and application of state-of

Environmental Assessment for Central Campus Complex John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dankert, Donald

2013-01-01

This Environmental Assessment addresses the Proposed Action to consolidate multiple facilities in the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Industrial Area by constructing two new buildings in the existing headquarters area between NASA Parkway, 3rd Street, C Avenue, and D Avenue. Under the Proposed Action, the historic Headquarters Building will be demolished and a new building will be constructed closer to the Operations and Checkout Building by centering it on D A venue (Hunton Brady Architects, P A and Jones Edmunds and Associates, Inc. 2011). This option was selected from a group of 15 initial sketches as the most viable option during a Central Campus Complex Siting Study completed in February 2011. A No-Action Alternative is also presented in which no demolition or construction of new facilities would occur. Implementing the Proposed Action will have major impacts to cultural resources, while the remaining environmental impacts will be minor.

Curricular Innovation for Sustainability: The Piedmont/Ponderosa Model of Faculty Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barlett, Peggy F.; Chase, Geoffrey W.

2012-01-01

Curricular innovation is at the center of the challenges many colleges and universities face as they seek to help students address more successfully than previous generations the complex, multi-faceted, systemic challenges of global climate change, population growth, loss of biodiversity, environmental justice, toxic wastes, and food insecurity.…

75 FR 21096 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: 2010 Community...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

..., and social challenges are intimately linked to their counterparts on a global scale. So too, are each community's solutions and approaches to these problems. Making progress on today's complex global challenges... economic, environmental, political, and social well-being of their communities. As a global tool to address...

Preparing Young Adolescents for a Bright Future--Right Now!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deering, Paul D.; Martin, Kathryn L.; Buelow, Stephanie M.; Hoffman, Jennifer T.; Cameli, Sandy; Martin, Matt; Walker, Robert E.; O'Neill, Tara B.

2016-01-01

We must prepare young adolescents for a bright future by examining all of our educational practices in terms of their current and future relevance. The education we provide our students must prepare them to address enormously complex issues involving demographics and international relations, environmental and human health, and the development and…

The Quiet Revolution in Land Use Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosselman, Fred; Callies, David

The Council on Environmental Quality commissioned this report on the innovative land use laws of several states to learn how some of the most complex land use issues and problems of re-allocating responsibilities between state and local governments are being addressed. Many of the laws analyzed are designed to deal with problems that are treated…

Citizenship for a Changing Global Climate: Learning from New Zealand and Norway

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayward, Bronwyn; Selboe, Elin; Plew, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Young citizens under the age of 25?years make up just under half of the world's population. Globally, they face new, interrelated problems of dangerous environmental change, including increasing incidence of severe storms associated with a changing climate, and related new threats to human security. Addressing the complex challenge of climate…

Political complexity predicts the spread of ethnolinguistic groups

PubMed Central

Currie, Thomas E.; Mace, Ruth

2009-01-01

Human languages show a remarkable degree of variation in the area they cover. However, the factors governing the distribution of human cultural groups such as languages are not well understood. While previous studies have examined the role of a number of environmental variables the importance of cultural factors has not been systematically addressed. Here we use a geographical information system (GIS) to integrate information about languages with environmental, ecological, and ethnographic data to test a number of hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the global distribution of languages. We show that the degree of political complexity and type of subsistence strategy exhibited by societies are important predictors of the area covered by a language. Political complexity is also strongly associated with the latitudinal gradient in language area, whereas subsistence strategy is not. We argue that a process of cultural group selection favoring more complex societies may have been important in shaping the present-day global distribution of language diversity. PMID:19380740

Fundamental changes to EPA's research enterprise: the path forward.

PubMed

Anastas, Paul T

2012-01-17

Environmental protection in the United States has reached a critical juncture. It has become clear that to address the complex and interrelated environmental challenges we face, we must augment our traditional approaches. The scientific community must build upon its deep understanding of risk assessment, risk management, and reductionism with tools, technologies, insights and approaches to pursue sustainability. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized this need for systemic change by implementing a new research paradigm called "The Path Forward." This paper outlines the principles of the Path Forward and the actions taken since 2010 to align EPA's research efforts with the goal of sustainability.

Contextual influences on environmental concerns cross-nationally: A multilevel investigation.

PubMed

Marquart-Pyatt, Sandra T

2012-09-01

Environmental issues continue to grow in international prominence, as environmental conditions are recognized as some of the most important problems facing the world. Research examining this globalization of environmental concern shown in public opinion surveys emphasizes the importance of context yet is currently underspecified. To address this gap, this research uses a multi-level, cross-national study to examine individual-level and country-level influences on three measures of environmental concern: environmental threat awareness, environmental efficacy, and willingness to pay. At the individual level, education, age, and gender affect environmental concerns. At the national level, economic, political, and environmental factors affect environmental concerns. Importantly, contextual factors differ in their effects depending on the dimension of environmental concern measured. Results from cross-level interactions for education confirm these complexities across these measures, supporting a dimensionality argument. The importance of the measurement of environmental concern shown in this research is emphasized for future cross-national scholarship. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Water and Social Justice in Bangladesh: A Transdisciplinary and Intercultural Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilligan, J. M.; Ackerly, B.; Ahmed, K.; Benneyworth, L.; Goodbred, S. L.; Hall, M.; Jacobi, J. H.; Mondal, D. R.; Pickering, J.; Rogers, K. G.; Roy, K.; Wallace Auerbach, L.

2013-12-01

Effectively addressing environmental problems---at local, national, and global scales---requires actively crossing disciplinary boundaries between natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and policymaking. The best technical solution is useless if it cannot win political support from the people it is intended to help. Enacted policies are too often hindered either by misunderstanding or ignorance of scientific and technical aspects of the problem or by misunderstanding the behavior of the population they address. Environmental problems at the international scale also require understanding of cultural and social differences across national boundaries. To prepare graduate students to be professionally effective at addressing major environmental problems, Vanderbilt University has created a transdisciplinary, intercultural course that brings students from the US and Bangladesh together, both through online connections such as blogs and Skype sessions, and in person in a week-long joint field trip in which students and faculty from universities in both countries, and representing many disciplines work side-by-side to study water as both a natural resource and a natural hazard. Activities included studying sources of drinking water, observing areas affected by flooding from cyclone storm surges, cataloging physical infrastructure, and conducting interviews with residents of vulnerable areas. Few if any students can simultaneously master the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering skills necessary to comprehensively address major environmental problems, but students can learn to work and communicate effectively with peers in other disciplines, working together to understand the complex interactions between different aspects of their problem. We will report on the structure of the course; our experiences as faculty and student participants; and connections between this class, graduate curricula in environmental sciences, and international transdisciplinary research projects.

Intersectoral action for health equity as it relates to climate change in Canada: contributions from critical systems heuristics.

PubMed

Buse, Chris

2013-12-01

Intersectoral action (ISA) has been at the forefront of public health policy discussions since the 1970s. ISA incorporates a broader perspective of public health issues and coordinates efforts to address the social, political, economic and environmental contexts from which health determinants operate and are created. Despite being forwarded as a useful way to address and treat complex or 'wicked' problems, such policy issues are still often addressed within, rather than across, disciplinary silos and ISA has been documented to fail more often than it succeeds. This paper contributes to an understanding of ISA by outlining and applying critical systems heuristics (CSH) theory and methods. CSH theory and methods are described and discussed before applying them to the example of addressing climate change and health equity through public health practice. CSH thinking provides useful tools to engage stakeholders, question relations of power that may exist between collaborating partners, and move beyond power inequalities that guide ISA initiatives. CSH is a compelling framing that can improve an understanding of the collaborative relationships that are a prerequisite for engaging in ISA to address complex or 'wicked' policy problems such as climate change. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Planning practice in support of economically and environmentally sustainable roads in floodplains: the case of the Mekong delta floodplains.

PubMed

Douven, Wim; Buurman, Joost

2013-10-15

Road development in relatively undisturbed floodplain systems, such as the floodplains of the Mekong River, will impact hydraulics and interrupt the natural flow of water. This affects the ecology and environment, and the livelihoods of people who depend on fishing and agriculture. On the other hand, floods can severely damage road infrastructure in years with large floods and can cause high annual maintenance costs. Improving road development practices in floodplains is a complex, multidimensional task involving hydraulic and geotechnical analysis, ecosystem analysis, socio-economic analysis, policy analysis, etc. This paper analyses the planning practice of road development and rehabilitation and how this practice can be improved in support of economically and environmentally sustainable roads in floodplains. It is concluded that although ample technical, planning and environmental assessment guidelines exist, guidelines need updating to address cumulative impacts at floodplain level and factors hampering the implementation in guidelines should be addressed in the guideline design (process). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and Analysis of Offshore Macroalgae Biorefineries.

PubMed

Golberg, Alexander; Liberzon, Alexander; Vitkin, Edward; Yakhini, Zohar

2018-03-15

Displacing fossil fuels and their derivatives with renewables, and increasing sustainable food production are among the major challenges facing the world in the coming decades. A possible, sustainable direction for addressing this challenge is the production of biomass and the conversion of this biomass to the required products through a complex system coined biorefinery. Terrestrial biomass and microalgae are possible sources; however, concerns over net energy balance, potable water use, environmental hazards, and uncertainty in the processing technologies raise questions regarding their actual potential to meet the anticipated food, feed, and energy challenges in a sustainable way. Alternative sustainable sources for biorefineries are macroalgae grown and processed offshore. However, implementation of the offshore biorefineries requires detailed analysis of their technological, economic, and environmental performance. In this chapter, the basic principles of marine biorefineries design are shown. The methods to integrate thermodynamic efficiency, investment, and environmental aspects are discussed. The performance improvement by development of new cultivation methods that fit macroalgae physiology and development of new fermentation methods that address macroalgae unique chemical composition is shown.

Critical education in resource and environmental management: Learning and empowerment for a sustainable future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diduck, A.

1999-10-01

Changing rom current patterns of resource use to a sustainable and equitable economy is a complex and intractable problem. This paper suggests that critical education may form part of the solution. Critical environmental assessment (EA) education, the model explored in this paper, offers a tool for resource and environmental managers to use in managing public involvement processes. This model challenges current patterns of resource use and addresses criticisms of public involvement processes. Critical EA education, involving both cognitive development and personal empowerment, focuses on critical intelligence, problem solving and social action. The concept is offered as a means to facilitatemore » and improve public involvement and, thereby, empower local communities to take greater control of resource use decisions affecting their lives. Positive implications of critical EA education for change, complexity, uncertainty and conflict, which are four enduring themes in resource and environmental management, are discussed in the paper. The implications include: cognitive development and personal empowerment at the level of local resource communities; simplification of the often complex discourse encountered in resource management; reduction in feelings of powerlessness often experienced by members of the public in environmental assessment scenarios; a reduction of ignorance and indeterminacy regarding resource management issues; conflict resolution at the cognitive level; and, clarification of the opposing values, interests or actions at the heart of a conflict.« less

Decision support methods for the environmental assessment of contamination at mining sites.

PubMed

Jordan, Gyozo; Abdaal, Ahmed

2013-09-01

Polluting mine accidents and widespread environmental contamination associated with historic mining in Europe and elsewhere has triggered the improvement of related environmental legislation and of the environmental assessment and management methods for the mining industry. Mining has some unique features such as natural background pollution associated with natural mineral deposits, industrial activities and contamination located in the three-dimensional sub-surface space, the problem of long-term remediation after mine closure, problem of secondary contaminated areas around mine sites and abandoned mines in historic regions like Europe. These mining-specific problems require special tools to address the complexity of the environmental problems of mining-related contamination. The objective of this paper is to review and evaluate some of the decision support methods that have been developed and applied to mining contamination. In this paper, only those methods that are both efficient decision support tools and provide a 'holistic' approach to the complex problem as well are considered. These tools are (1) landscape ecology, (2) industrial ecology, (3) landscape geochemistry, (4) geo-environmental models, (5) environmental impact assessment, (6) environmental risk assessment, (7) material flow analysis and (8) life cycle assessment. This unique inter-disciplinary study should enable both the researcher and the practitioner to obtain broad view on the state-of-the-art of decision support methods for the environmental assessment of contamination at mine sites. Documented examples and abundant references are also provided.

The premises and promises of trolls in Norwegian biodiversity preservation: on the boundaries between bureaucracy and science.

PubMed

Bay-Larsen, Ingrid

2012-05-01

This paper examines the perception and implementation of scientific knowledge among Norwegian environmental bureaucrats in the process of preserving biodiversity. Based on interviews with environmental officials and scientists, and document studies, the data reveal a mismatch between the ideal administrative world presented by environmental managers, and the empirical reality of biodiversity vulnerability and preservation. The environmental officials depict a process where their mandate is merely instrumental, where science provides objective descriptions of biodiversity value, and where the spheres of science, policy and administration are strictly separated. Instead of a transparent strategy for handling scientific ambiguities inherent in biodiversity value assessments (such as complexity and uncertainty), and administrative judgments, the paper argues that these boundary objects and areas are perceived as 'trolls' that are ignored and hidden by environmental officials. This strategy appears intuitive and guided by a linear decision making paradigm where boundary objects are considered illegitimate. As a solution to possible obstacles stemming from this institutional vacuum, the article finally discusses the potential of adapting or assimilating the trolls to better meet the challenges of biodiversity preservation. A viable first step might be cross-disciplinary characterisation of complexities and uncertainties of biodiversity assessments. This might help to articulate the binary ontology of value assessments and to better address the critical administrative, political and scientific intersections. These boundary areas must be re-institutionalised by environmental agencies, and cognizant strategies must be devised and implemented for making professional judgment and discretion. Finally, it may amount to a more honest stance on conservation, where the inherent complexities to biodiversity preservation may be managed as complexities, and not as trolls.

The Premises and Promises of Trolls in Norwegian Biodiversity Preservation. On the Boundaries Between Bureaucracy and Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bay-Larsen, Ingrid

2012-05-01

This paper examines the perception and implementation of scientific knowledge among Norwegian environmental bureaucrats in the process of preserving biodiversity. Based on interviews with environmental officials and scientists, and document studies, the data reveal a mismatch between the ideal administrative world presented by environmental managers, and the empirical reality of biodiversity vulnerability and preservation. The environmental officials depict a process where their mandate is merely instrumental, where science provides objective descriptions of biodiversity value, and where the spheres of science, policy and administration are strictly separated. Instead of a transparent strategy for handling scientific ambiguities inherent in biodiversity value assessments (such as complexity and uncertainty), and administrative judgments, the paper argues that these boundary objects and areas are perceived as `trolls' that are ignored and hidden by environmental officials. This strategy appears intuitive and guided by a linear decision making paradigm where boundary objects are considered illegitimate. As a solution to possible obstacles stemming from this institutional vacuum, the article finally discusses the potential of adapting or assimilating the trolls to better meet the challenges of biodiversity preservation. A viable first step might be cross-disciplinary characterisation of complexities and uncertainties of biodiversity assessments. This might help to articulate the binary ontology of value assessments and to better address the critical administrative, political and scientific intersections. These boundary areas must be re-institutionalised by environmental agencies, and cognizant strategies must be devised and implemented for making professional judgment and discretion. Finally, it may amount to a more honest stance on conservation, where the inherent complexities to biodiversity preservation may be managed as complexities, and not as trolls.

Linking Environmental Research and Practice: Lessons From The Integration of Climate Science and Water Management in the Western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, D. B.; Rice, J.; Woodhouse, C. A.

2015-12-01

Efforts to better connect scientific research with people and organizations involved in environmental decision making are receiving increased interest and attention. Some of the challenges we currently face, however—including complex questions associated with climate change—present unique challenges because of their scale and scope. Focused research on the intersections between environment and society has provided substantial insight into dynamics of large-scale environmental change and the related impacts on people, natural resources, and ecosystems, yet our ability to connect this research to real-world decision making remains limited. Addressing these complex environmental problems requires broad cooperation between scientists and those who may apply research results in decision making, but there are few templates for guiding the growing number of scientists and practitioners now engaging in this kind of cooperative work. This presentation will offer a set of heuristics for carrying out collaborative work between scientists and practitioners. These heuristics were derived from research that examined the direct experiences of water resources professionals and climate researchers who have been working to integrate science and practice.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Therapeutics Agents: Quality and Environmental Regulatory Aspects

PubMed Central

Sabata, Roger; Verges, Josep; Zugaza, José L.; Ruiz, Adolfina; Clares, Beatriz

2016-01-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the main stem cells that have been used for advanced therapies and regenerative medicine. To carry out the translational clinical application of MSCs, their manufacturing and administration in human must be controlled; therefore they should be considered as medicine: stem cell-based medicinal products (SCMPs). The development of MSCs as SCMPs represents complicated therapeutics due to their extreme complex nature and rigorous regulatory oversights. The manufacturing process of MSCs needs to be addressed in clean environments in compliance with requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Facilities should maintain these GMP conditions according to international and national medicinal regulatory frameworks that introduce a number of specifications in order to produce MSCs as safe SCMPs. One of these important and complex requirements is the environmental monitoring. Although a number of environmental requirements are clearly defined, some others are provided as recommendations. In this review we aim to outline the current issues with regard to international guidelines which impact environmental monitoring in cleanrooms and clean areas for the manufacturing of MSCs. PMID:27999600

Identifying Basic Factors for Communal Prosperity - Space Technologies are Bridging this Gap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib, Shahid

2006-01-01

There are many aspects, which are important for maintaining environmentally clean and safe conditions for a healthy and economically self-sufficient community. This problem was somewhat of a lesser concern in earlier days because many communities were small, isolated and solely dependent upon their owners or landlords. Due to an astronomical growth in human population within the last century, extensive use of combustion technologies, and changing environmental conditions has resulted in scarcity of natural resources. In reality, the societal sustainability issues are becoming much more acute and complex. Therefore, the researchers and social scientists are joining forces to address these topics and find solutions to many contentious areas such as public health and diseases, water resources, agriculture production, survivability during and after the natural disasters, energy needs and many others. Forthrightly speaking, there is no canned solution or a methodology to go about solving these issues since the magnitude and complexity of these issues are multi-dimensional and are further inter-locked with other areas. A common sense tells us that we need data, resources and technologies to begin addressing these problems. This is where space observations have provided us with tremendous information and opportunities, which are of great assets to the science, economist, and social scientists. This paper specifically addresses what are critical areas for a successful societal sustainability and growth; and how can we take advantage of multiple sensors and models already in existence. Increasing our knowledge of the home planet, via amplified set of observations, is certainly a right step in a right direction. Furthermore, this is a pre-requisite in understanding multiple hazard phenomena's. This paper further examines various space sensors and observing architectures that can be useful specifically in addressing some of these complex issues. The ultimate goal is to serve the society by providing such valuable information so the decision makers can take full advantage in making timely societal decisions.

Understanding social complexity within the wildland urban interface: A new species of human habitation? Environmental Management

Treesearch

Travis B. Paveglio; Pamela J. Jakes; Matthew S. Carroll; Daniel R. Williams

2009-01-01

The lack of knowledge regarding social diversity in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) or an in-depth understanding of the ways people living there interact to address common problems is concerning, perhaps even dangerous, given that community action is necessary for successful wildland fire preparedness and natural resource management activities. In this article, we...

A thematic review of life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to pig production

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McAuliffe, Graham A., E-mail: g.a.mcauliffe@umail.ucc.ie; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork; Chapman, Deborah V.

Commercial livestock production is known to have significant impacts on the environment. Pig production is a complex system which involves the production of animal feed, transportation, animal rearing and waste management. One tool for assessing the environmental performance of such complex systems is life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA has been applied to pig production considerably to date. This paper provides a chronological review of state-of-the-art pig production LCAs under three themes: feed production; entire-system livestock rearing; and waste management. The study considers how LCA applications have addressed technological improvements in animal husbandry, and highlights methodological limitations, particularly related to cross-studymore » comparisons. Recent research demonstrates crude protein reduction in feed and anaerobic treatment of pig excreta resulting in bioenergy production are the key targets for environmental performance improvements related to pig production. - Highlights: • An extensive review of LCA applied to pig production is provided chronologically over the past decade. • Individual studies have been categorised into feed, whole-system pig production and waste management themes. • We consider how LCAs have addressed state-of-the-art pig husbandry. • We offer a discussion on key findings, limitations and future research.« less

Mathematical and Numerical Techniques in Energy and Environmental Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Z.; Ewing, R. E.

Mathematical models have been widely used to predict, understand, and optimize many complex physical processes, from semiconductor or pharmaceutical design to large-scale applications such as global weather models to astrophysics. In particular, simulation of environmental effects of air pollution is extensive. Here we address the need for using similar models to understand the fate and transport of groundwater contaminants and to design in situ remediation strategies. Three basic problem areas need to be addressed in the modeling and simulation of the flow of groundwater contamination. First, one obtains an effective model to describe the complex fluid/fluid and fluid/rock interactions that control the transport of contaminants in groundwater. This includes the problem of obtaining accurate reservoir descriptions at various length scales and modeling the effects of this heterogeneity in the reservoir simulators. Next, one develops accurate discretization techniques that retain the important physical properties of the continuous models. Finally, one develops efficient numerical solution algorithms that utilize the potential of the emerging computing architectures. We will discuss recent advances and describe the contribution of each of the papers in this book in these three areas. Keywords: reservoir simulation, mathematical models, partial differential equations, numerical algorithms

Dietary Strategies to Reduce Environmental Impact: A Critical Review of the Evidence Base.

PubMed

Ridoutt, Bradley G; Hendrie, Gilly A; Noakes, Manny

2017-11-01

The food system is a major source of environmental impact, and dietary change has been recommended as an important and necessary strategy to reduce this impact. However, assessing the environmental performance of diets is complex due to the many types of foods eaten and the diversity of agricultural production systems and local environmental settings. To assess the state of science and identify knowledge gaps, an integrative review of the broad topic of environment and diet was undertaken, with particular focus on the completeness of coverage of environmental concerns and the metrics used. Compared with the 14 discrete environmental areas of concern identified in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the located journal literature mainly addressed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, to a lesser extent, land and water use. Some relevant concerns were rarely addressed or not addressed at all. In the case of GHG emissions, changes in land use and soil carbon stocks were seldom considered. This represents a disconnect between the science informing strategic climate action in the agricultural sector and the science informing public health nutrition. In the case of land and water use, few studies used metrics that are appropriate in a life-cycle context. Some metrics produce inherently biased results, which misinform about environmental impact. The limited evidence generally points to recommended diets having lower environmental impacts than typical diets, although not in every case. This is largely explained by the overconsumption of food energy associated with average diets, which is also a major driver of obesity. A shared-knowledge framework is identified as being needed to guide future research on this topic. Until the evidence base becomes more complete, commentators on sustainable diets should not be quick to assume that a dietary strategy to reduce overall environmental impact can be readily defined or recommended. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

From process complexity to communication effectiveness: A challenge to those within and outside of the environmental sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaiser, K. E.; McGlynn, B. L.

2014-12-01

Interdisciplinary work has become a cornerstone in research across the environmental sciences. Our work does so by evaluating biogeochemical cycling, specifically methane, in the context of landscape hydrology. Atmospheric methane is a greenhouse gas 27 times more potent than carbon dioxide and has been increasing at an unprecedented rate. This drastic increase in atmospheric methane has been attributed to anthropogenic activities such as burning of fossil fuels, ruminants, and rice cultivation, which together constitute approximately 67% of global methane sources. Characterizing CH4 flux in natural systems has remained difficult due to complex relationships among environmental variables (e.g. soil temperature and soil water content). To address this, we focus on how the redistribution of water in complex terrain influences the magnitude and direction of flux in upland and riparian soils. Distilling this complex behavior and scaling these observations is complicated by interacting feedback loops and uncertainties associated with global scale modeling. However, progress is critical given that predicting future climate is necessary to forecasting the quantity and distribution of available fresh water, and understanding how ecosystem processes, and energy/food production will be affected. Water sciences and environmental science as a whole must improve communication to a range of audiences, and advocate for researchers, policy makers, and business leaders to work together for a more sustainable future. A crucial step in this process is to optimize the appropriate level of information to convey that is both memorable and meaningful given the complexity of environmental systems. The challenge also extends to artists and filmmakers to present the subject in compelling ways that inspire audiences to take action in their own communities. True integration of professionals across environmental, social, political, and economic disciplines while motivating local involvement will be necessary for development and success of innovative solutions for improving the trajectory of climate change.

The Greenhouse Effect and the Destruction of the Ozone Shield: Implications for Rhetoric and Criticism.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoller, Martin Reid

Rhetoric, in the Aristotelian sense of "the available means of persuasion," is a crucial, often determining component of the process of making public policy generally, and environmental policy specifically. Environmental crises which have been addressed by the governmental, industrial, and social policy -making establishments have tended to be treated in a manner similar to that in which social, political, economic, military, and other problems have been commonly treated, utilizing a traditional rhetoric, including long-proven persuasive language and arguments. Such problems as air pollution and water pollution have been, to some degree, successfully addressed in this manner. A new and fundamentally different cluster of environmental problems has recently been recognized by elements of the policy making establishment as a legitimate candidate for consideration and policy formation. These environmental problems differ from the more familiar type in a variety of ways, each of which, to a greater or lesser degree, make problematic for those activists concerned with these crises the production of an effective crisis-oriented rhetoric. This study addresses two such closely related phenomena, the Greenhouse Effect and ozone depletion, and identifies those characteristics which contribute to their rhetorical complexity. Using traditional techniques of rhetorical examination, primarily neo-Aristotelian analysis, this study demonstrates the inadequacy of current crisis-oriented rhetoric, and identifies the causes of this rhetorical ineffectiveness. The study concludes that the mediation of such crises as the Greenhouse Effect and ozone depletion cannot be significantly facilitated by traditional environmental-oriented rhetoric, and may in fact be hindered by the use of rhetoric associated with fundamentally different (i.e., easier to solve) environmental problems.

Adapting to and coping with the threat and impacts of climate change.

PubMed

Reser, Joseph P; Swim, Janet K

2011-01-01

This article addresses the nature and challenge of adaptation in the context of global climate change. The complexity of "climate change" as threat, environmental stressor, risk domain, and impacting process with dramatic environmental and human consequences requires a synthesis of perspectives and models from diverse areas of psychology to adequately communicate and explain how a more psychological framing of the human dimensions of global environmental change can greatly inform and enhance effective and collaborative climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and research. An integrative framework is provided that identifies and considers important mediating and moderating parameters and processes relating to climate change adaptation, with particular emphasis given to environmental stress and stress and coping perspectives. This psychological perspective on climate change adaptation highlights crucial aspects of adaptation that have been neglected in the arena of climate change science. Of particular importance are intra-individual and social "psychological adaptation" processes that powerfully mediate public risk perceptions and understandings, effective coping responses and resilience, overt behavioral adjustment and change, and psychological and social impacts. This psychological window on climate change adaptation is arguably indispensable to genuinely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change.

Causal effects on child language development: A review of studies in communication sciences and disorders.

PubMed

Rogers, Clare R; Nulty, Karissa L; Betancourt, Mariana Aparicio; DeThorne, Laura S

2015-01-01

We reviewed recent studies published across key journals within the field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) to survey what causal influences on child language development were being considered. Specifically, we reviewed a total of 2921 abstracts published within the following journals between 2003 and 2013: Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (LSHSS); American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (AJSLP); Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR); Journal of Communication Disorders (JCD); and the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders (IJLCD). Of the 346 eligible articles that addressed causal factors on child language development across the five journals, 11% were categorized as Genetic (37/346), 83% (287/346) were categorized as Environmental, and 6% (22/346) were categorized as Mixed. The bulk of studies addressing environmental influences focused on therapist intervention (154/296=52%), family/caregiver linguistic input (65/296=22%), or family/caregiver qualities (39/296=13%). A more in-depth review of all eligible studies published in 2013 (n=34) revealed that family/caregiver qualities served as the most commonly controlled environmental factor (e.g., SES) and only 3 studies explicitly noted the possibility of gene-environment interplay. This review highlighted the need to expand the research base for the field of CSD to include a broader range of environmental influences on child language development (e.g., diet, toxin exposure, stress) and to consider more directly the complex and dynamic interplay between genetic and environmental effects. Readers will be able to highlight causal factors on child language development that have been studied over the past decade in CSD and recognize additional influences worthy of consideration. In addition, readers will become familiar with basic tenets of developmental systems theory, including the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors that shapes child development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

State of STEM (SoSTEM) Address

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-29

Environmentalist and third-year law student at Elon University School of Law Tyrone Davis is interviewed by TIME for Kids reporter Grace Clark ahead of the annual White House State of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (SoSTEM) address, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. Davis sat with the First Lady at the President’s 2014 State of the Union Address. As a Fellow with the Environmental Defense Fund in 2010, he helped show Elizabeth City State University how to save more than $31,000 a year and 200 tons of carbon emissions reductions annually by using technology and efficiency solutions. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Final Environmental Assessment Addressing Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of a Security Forces Complex at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

20449 20346 20324 20323 20321...20411 20663 20358 20410 20452 20361 20451 20685 20686 20440 20687 20600 20320 20345 20369 20449 20346 20324 20323 20321 20396 20420 2036220363 20352 70...20414 20423 20356 20605 20684 20341 20348 20609 20359 20412 20411 20663 20358 20410 20452 20451 20685 20686 0440 20687 20600 20345 20369 20449 20346

Resilience to stress and disturbance, and resistance to Bromus tectorum LBromus tectorum L. invasion in cold desert shrublands of western North America

Treesearch

Jeanne C. Chambers; Bethany A. Bradley; Cynthia S. Brown; Carla D' Antonio; Matthew J. Germino; James B. Grace; Stuart P. Hardegree; Richard F. Miller; David A. Pyke

2014-01-01

Alien grass invasions in arid and semi-arid ecosystems are resulting in grass-fire cycles and ecosystem-level transformations that severely diminish ecosystem services. Our capacity to address the rapid and complex changes occurring in these ecosystems can be enhanced by developing an understanding of the environmental factors and ecosystem attributes that determine...

A general procedure to generate models for urban environmental-noise pollution using feature selection and machine learning methods.

PubMed

Torija, Antonio J; Ruiz, Diego P

2015-02-01

The prediction of environmental noise in urban environments requires the solution of a complex and non-linear problem, since there are complex relationships among the multitude of variables involved in the characterization and modelling of environmental noise and environmental-noise magnitudes. Moreover, the inclusion of the great spatial heterogeneity characteristic of urban environments seems to be essential in order to achieve an accurate environmental-noise prediction in cities. This problem is addressed in this paper, where a procedure based on feature-selection techniques and machine-learning regression methods is proposed and applied to this environmental problem. Three machine-learning regression methods, which are considered very robust in solving non-linear problems, are used to estimate the energy-equivalent sound-pressure level descriptor (LAeq). These three methods are: (i) multilayer perceptron (MLP), (ii) sequential minimal optimisation (SMO), and (iii) Gaussian processes for regression (GPR). In addition, because of the high number of input variables involved in environmental-noise modelling and estimation in urban environments, which make LAeq prediction models quite complex and costly in terms of time and resources for application to real situations, three different techniques are used to approach feature selection or data reduction. The feature-selection techniques used are: (i) correlation-based feature-subset selection (CFS), (ii) wrapper for feature-subset selection (WFS), and the data reduction technique is principal-component analysis (PCA). The subsequent analysis leads to a proposal of different schemes, depending on the needs regarding data collection and accuracy. The use of WFS as the feature-selection technique with the implementation of SMO or GPR as regression algorithm provides the best LAeq estimation (R(2)=0.94 and mean absolute error (MAE)=1.14-1.16 dB(A)). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advice and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Citizen-Science Environmental Health Assessments.

PubMed

Barzyk, Timothy M; Huang, Hongtai; Williams, Ronald; Kaufman, Amanda; Essoka, Jonathan

2018-05-11

Citizen science provides quantitative results to support environmental health assessments (EHAs), but standardized approaches do not currently exist to translate findings into actionable solutions. The emergence of low-cost portable sensor technologies and proliferation of publicly available datasets provides unparalleled access to supporting evidence; yet data collection, analysis, interpretation, visualization, and communication are subjective approaches that must be tailored to a decision-making audience capable of improving environmental health. A decade of collaborative efforts and two citizen science projects contributed to three lessons learned and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that address the complexities of environmental health and interpersonal relations often encountered in citizen science EHAs. Each project followed a structured step-by-step process in order to compare and contrast methods and approaches. These lessons and FAQs provide advice to translate citizen science research into actionable solutions in the context of a diverse range of environmental health issues and local stakeholders.

Tethered Satellites as Enabling Platforms for an Operational Space Weather Monitoring System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krause, L. Habash; Gilchrist, B. E.; Bilen, S.; Owens, J.; Voronka, N.; Furhop, K.

2013-01-01

Space weather nowcasting and forecasting models require assimilation of near-real time (NRT) space environment data to improve the precision and accuracy of operational products. Typically, these models begin with a climatological model to provide "most probable distributions" of environmental parameters as a function of time and space. The process of NRT data assimilation gently pulls the climate model closer toward the observed state (e.g. via Kalman smoothing) for nowcasting, and forecasting is achieved through a set of iterative physics-based forward-prediction calculations. The issue of required space weather observatories to meet the spatial and temporal requirements of these models is a complex one, and we do not address that with this poster. Instead, we present some examples of how tethered satellites can be used to address the shortfalls in our ability to measure critical environmental parameters necessary to drive these space weather models. Examples include very long baseline electric field measurements, magnetized ionospheric conductivity measurements, and the ability to separate temporal from spatial irregularities in environmental parameters. Tethered satellite functional requirements will be presented for each space weather parameter considered in this study.

Environmental Public Health Tracking: a cost-effective system for characterizing the sources, distribution and public health impacts of environmental hazards.

PubMed

Saunders, P J; Middleton, J D; Rudge, G

2017-09-01

The contemporary environment is a complex of interactions between physical, biological, socio-economic systems with major impacts on public health. However, gaps in our understanding of the causes, extent and distribution of these effects remain. The public health community in Sandwell West Midlands has collaborated to successfully develop, pilot and establish the first Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) programme in Europe to address this 'environmental health gap' through systematically linking data on environmental hazards, exposures and diseases. Existing networks of environmental, health and regulatory agencies developed a suite of innovative methods to routinely share, integrate and analyse data on hazards, exposures and health outcomes to inform interventions. Effective data sharing and horizon scanning systems have been established, novel statistical methods piloted, plausible associations framed and tested, and targeted interventions informed by local concerns applied. These have influenced changes in public health practice. EPHT is a powerful tool for identifying and addressing the key environmental public health impacts at a local level. Sandwell's experience demonstrates that it can be established and operated at virtually no cost. The transfer of National Health Service epidemiological skills to local authorities in 2013 provides an opportunity to expand the programme to fully exploit its potential. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report for period ending September 30, 1990

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-04-01

The Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducts research on the environmental aspects of existing and emerging energy systems and applies this information to ensure that technology development and energy use are consistent with national environmental health and safety goals. Offering an interdisciplinary resource of staff and facilities to address complex environmental problems, the division is currently providing technical leadership for major environmental issues of national concern: (1) acidic deposition and related environmental effects, (2) effects of increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO{sub 2} and the resulting climatic changes to ecosystems and natural and physical resources, (3)more » hazardous chemical and radioactive waste disposal and remediation research and development, and (4) development of commercial biomass energy production systems. This progress report outlines ESD's accomplishments in these and other areas in FY 1990. Individual reports are processed separately for the data bases in the following areas: ecosystem studies; environmental analyses; environmental toxicology; geosciences; technical and administrative support; biofuels feedstock development program; carbon dioxide information analysis and research program; and environmental waste program.« less

Can environmental purchasing reduce mercury in U.S. health care?

PubMed Central

Eagan, Patrick D; Kaiser, Barb

2002-01-01

Environmental purchasing represents an innovative approach to mercury control for the health care sector in the United States. The U.S. health care sector creates significant environmental impacts, including the release of toxic substances such as mercury. Our goal in this study was to provide the health care industry with a method of identifying the environmental impacts associated with the products they use. The Health Care Environmental Purchasing Tool (HCEPT) was developed and tested at nine health care facilities in the Great Lakes region of the United States. As a result, more than 1 kg of mercury was removed from four facilities. The complexity of the supply chain inhibits a direct environmental information exchange between health-care decision makers and suppliers. However, a dialogue is starting within the health care supply chain to address environmental issues. The HCEPT has been shown to assist health care facilities with that dialogue by identifying products that have environmental consequences. This promising tool is now available for further experimentation and modification, to facilitate overall environmental improvement, and to provide a systematic method for environmental assessment of health care products. PMID:12204816

Advanced Materials, Technologies, and Complex Systems Analyses: Emerging Opportunities to Enhance Urban Water Security.

PubMed

Zodrow, Katherine R; Li, Qilin; Buono, Regina M; Chen, Wei; Daigger, Glen; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo; Elimelech, Menachem; Huang, Xia; Jiang, Guibin; Kim, Jae-Hong; Logan, Bruce E; Sedlak, David L; Westerhoff, Paul; Alvarez, Pedro J J

2017-09-19

Innovation in urban water systems is required to address the increasing demand for clean water due to population growth and aggravated water stress caused by water pollution, aging infrastructure, and climate change. Advances in materials science, modular water treatment technologies, and complex systems analyses, coupled with the drive to minimize the energy and environmental footprints of cities, provide new opportunities to ensure a resilient and safe water supply. We present a vision for enhancing efficiency and resiliency of urban water systems and discuss approaches and research needs for overcoming associated implementation challenges.

Processing of spatial and non-spatial information in rats with lesions of the medial and lateral entorhinal cortex: Environmental complexity matters.

PubMed

Rodo, Christophe; Sargolini, Francesca; Save, Etienne

2017-03-01

The entorhinal-hippocampal circuitry has been suggested to play an important role in episodic memory but the contribution of the entorhinal cortex remains elusive. Predominant theories propose that the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) processes spatial information whereas the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) processes non spatial information. A recent study using an object exploration task has suggested that the involvement of the MEC and LEC spatial and non-spatial information processing could be modulated by the amount of information to be processed, i.e. environmental complexity. To address this hypothesis we used an object exploration task in which rats with excitotoxic lesions of the MEC and LEC had to detect spatial and non-spatial novelty among a set of objects and we varied environmental complexity by decreasing the number of objects or amount of object diversity. Reducing diversity resulted in restored ability to process spatial and non-spatial information in MEC and LEC groups, respectively. Reducing the number of objects yielded restored ability to process non-spatial information in the LEC group but not the ability to process spatial information in the MEC group. The findings indicate that the MEC and LEC are not strictly necessary for spatial and non-spatial processing but that their involvement depends on the complexity of the information to be processed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microfluidic Model Porous Media: Fabrication and Applications.

PubMed

Anbari, Alimohammad; Chien, Hung-Ta; Datta, Sujit S; Deng, Wen; Weitz, David A; Fan, Jing

2018-05-01

Complex fluid flow in porous media is ubiquitous in many natural and industrial processes. Direct visualization of the fluid structure and flow dynamics is critical for understanding and eventually manipulating these processes. However, the opacity of realistic porous media makes such visualization very challenging. Micromodels, microfluidic model porous media systems, have been developed to address this challenge. They provide a transparent interconnected porous network that enables the optical visualization of the complex fluid flow occurring inside at the pore scale. In this Review, the materials and fabrication methods to make micromodels, the main research activities that are conducted with micromodels and their applications in petroleum, geologic, and environmental engineering, as well as in the food and wood industries, are discussed. The potential applications of micromodels in other areas are also discussed and the key issues that should be addressed in the near future are proposed. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Understanding Water-Stress Responses in Soybean Using Hydroponics System—A Systems Biology Perspective

PubMed Central

Tripathi, Prateek; Rabara, Roel C.; Shulaev, Vladimir; Shen, Qingxi J.; Rushton, Paul J.

2015-01-01

The deleterious changes in environmental conditions such as water stress bring physiological and biochemical changes in plants, which results in crop loss. Thus, combating water stress is important for crop improvement to manage the needs of growing population. Utilization of hydroponics system in growing plants is questionable to some researchers, as it does not represent an actual field condition. However, trying to address a complex problem like water stress we have to utilize a simpler growing condition like the hydroponics system wherein every input given to the plants can be controlled. With the advent of high-throughput technologies, it is still challenging to address all levels of the genetic machinery whether a gene, protein, metabolite, and promoter. Thus, using a system of reduced complexity like hydroponics can certainly direct us toward the right candidates, if not completely help us to resolve the issue. PMID:26734044

Understanding Water-Stress Responses in Soybean Using Hydroponics System-A Systems Biology Perspective.

PubMed

Tripathi, Prateek; Rabara, Roel C; Shulaev, Vladimir; Shen, Qingxi J; Rushton, Paul J

2015-01-01

The deleterious changes in environmental conditions such as water stress bring physiological and biochemical changes in plants, which results in crop loss. Thus, combating water stress is important for crop improvement to manage the needs of growing population. Utilization of hydroponics system in growing plants is questionable to some researchers, as it does not represent an actual field condition. However, trying to address a complex problem like water stress we have to utilize a simpler growing condition like the hydroponics system wherein every input given to the plants can be controlled. With the advent of high-throughput technologies, it is still challenging to address all levels of the genetic machinery whether a gene, protein, metabolite, and promoter. Thus, using a system of reduced complexity like hydroponics can certainly direct us toward the right candidates, if not completely help us to resolve the issue.

Qualitative methods in environmental health research.

PubMed Central

Brown, Phil

2003-01-01

Public health researchers increasingly turn to qualitative methods either on their own or in combination with quantitative methods. Qualitative methods are especially important to community environmental health research, as they provide a way to produce community narratives that give voice to individuals and characterize the community in a full and complex fashion. This article first traces the legacy of qualitative research in environmental health, then uses a case study of the author's experiences studying the Woburn, Massachusetts, childhood leukemia cluster to provide personal and scholarly insights on qualitative approaches. That material then informs a discussion of important components of qualitative methods in environmental health research, including flexible study design, access, trust, empathy, and personal shifts in the researcher's worldview, bias, and the nature of the researcher's roles. A concluding discussion addresses issues in funding policy and research practices. PMID:14594634

Zoonosis emergence linked to agricultural intensification and environmental change.

PubMed

Jones, Bryony A; Grace, Delia; Kock, Richard; Alonso, Silvia; Rushton, Jonathan; Said, Mohammed Y; McKeever, Declan; Mutua, Florence; Young, Jarrah; McDermott, John; Pfeiffer, Dirk Udo

2013-05-21

A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best available scientific evidence on the effect of agricultural intensification and environmental changes on the risk of zoonoses for which there are epidemiological interactions between wildlife and livestock. The study found several examples in which agricultural intensification and/or environmental change were associated with an increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence, driven by the impact of an expanding human population and changing human behavior on the environment. We conclude that the rate of future zoonotic disease emergence or reemergence will be closely linked to the evolution of the agriculture-environment nexus. However, available research inadequately addresses the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental, biological, economic, and social dimensions of zoonotic pathogen emergence, which significantly limits our ability to predict, prevent, and respond to zoonotic disease emergence.

Early decision framework for integrating sustainable risk management for complex remediation sites: Drivers, barriers, and performance metrics.

PubMed

Harclerode, Melissa A; Macbeth, Tamzen W; Miller, Michael E; Gurr, Christopher J; Myers, Teri S

2016-12-15

As the environmental remediation industry matures, remaining sites often have significant underlying technical challenges and financial constraints. More often than not, significant remediation efforts at these "complex" sites have not achieved stringent, promulgated cleanup goals. Decisions then have to be made about whether and how to commit additional resources towards achieving those goals, which are often not achievable nor required to protect receptors. Guidance on cleanup approaches focused on evaluating and managing site-specific conditions and risks, rather than uniformly meeting contaminant cleanup criteria in all media, is available to aid in this decision. Although these risk-based cleanup approaches, such as alternative endpoints and adaptive management strategies, have been developed, they are under-utilized due to environmental, socio-economic, and risk perception barriers. Also, these approaches are usually implemented late in the project life cycle after unsuccessful remedial attempts to achieve stringent cleanup criteria. In this article, we address these barriers by developing an early decision framework to identify if site characteristics support sustainable risk management, and develop performance metrics and tools to evaluate and implement successful risk-based cleanup approaches. In addition, we address uncertainty and risk perception challenges by aligning risk-based cleanup approaches with the concepts of risk management and sustainable remediation. This approach was developed in the context of lessons learned from implementing remediation at complex sites, but as a framework can, and should, be applied to all sites undergoing remediation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Key NASA, USAF and federal officials sign a Memorandum of Agreement on groundwater cleanup

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Walter W. Kovalick Jr., Ph.D., director of Technology Innovation Office for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, addresses representatives from Kennedy Space Center, the 45th Space Wing, and various federal environmental agencies gathered to attend a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing, taking place at the site of Launch Complex 34. The MOA formalizes the cooperative efforts of the federal agencies in ground-water cleanup initiatives. NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the agencies have formed a consortium and are participating in a comparative study of three innovative techniques to be used in cleaning a contaminated area of Launch Complex 34. The study will be used to help improve groundwater cleanup processes nationally. Other attendees included Timothy Oppelt, director, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Tom Heenan, assistant manager of environmental management, Savannah River Site, U.S. Department of Energy; Col. James Heald, Vice Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory, U.S. Air Force; Gerald Boyd, acting deputy assistant secretary, Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Department of Energy; James Fiore, acting deputy assistant secretary, Office of Environmental Restoration, Department of Energy; Brig. Gen. Randall R. Starbuck, Commander 45th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force; and Roy Bridges Jr., director of John F. Kennedy Space Center.

KSC-99pp0389

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-04-06

Walter W. Kovalick Jr., Ph.D., director of Technology Innovation Office for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, addresses representatives from Kennedy Space Center, the 45th Space Wing, and various federal environmental agencies gathered to attend a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing, taking place at the site of Launch Complex 34. The MOA formalizes the cooperative efforts of the federal agencies in ground-water cleanup initiatives. NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the agencies have formed a consortium and are participating in a comparative study of three innovative techniques to be used in cleaning a contaminated area of Launch Complex 34. The study will be used to help improve groundwater cleanup processes nationally. Other attendees included Timothy Oppelt, director, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Tom Heenan, assistant manager of environmental management, Savannah River Site, U.S. Department of Energy; Col. James Heald, Vice Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory, U.S. Air Force; Gerald Boyd, acting deputy assistant secretary, Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Department of Energy; James Fiore, acting deputy assistant secretary, Office of Environmental Restoration, Department of Energy; Brig. Gen. Randall R. Starbuck, Commander 45th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force; and Roy Bridges Jr., director of John F. Kennedy Space Center

Identifying novel interventional strategies for psychiatric disorders: integrating genomics, 'enviromics' and gene-environment interactions in valid preclinical models.

PubMed

McOmish, Caitlin E; Burrows, Emma L; Hannan, Anthony J

2014-10-01

Psychiatric disorders affect a substantial proportion of the population worldwide. This high prevalence, combined with the chronicity of the disorders and the major social and economic impacts, creates a significant burden. As a result, an important priority is the development of novel and effective interventional strategies for reducing incidence rates and improving outcomes. This review explores the progress that has been made to date in establishing valid animal models of psychiatric disorders, while beginning to unravel the complex factors that may be contributing to the limitations of current methodological approaches. We propose some approaches for optimizing the validity of animal models and developing effective interventions. We use schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders as examples of disorders for which development of valid preclinical models, and fully effective therapeutics, have proven particularly challenging. However, the conclusions have relevance to various other psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders. We address the key aspects of construct, face and predictive validity in animal models, incorporating genetic and environmental factors. Our understanding of psychiatric disorders is accelerating exponentially, revealing extraordinary levels of genetic complexity, heterogeneity and pleiotropy. The environmental factors contributing to individual, and multiple, disorders also exhibit breathtaking complexity, requiring systematic analysis to experimentally explore the environmental mediators and modulators which constitute the 'envirome' of each psychiatric disorder. Ultimately, genetic and environmental factors need to be integrated via animal models incorporating the spatiotemporal complexity of gene-environment interactions and experience-dependent plasticity, thus better recapitulating the dynamic nature of brain development, function and dysfunction. © 2014 The British Pharmacological Society.

Using Workflow Diagrams to Address Hand Hygiene in Pediatric Long-Term Care Facilities1

PubMed Central

Carter, Eileen J.; Cohen, Bevin; Murray, Meghan T.; Saiman, Lisa; Larson, Elaine L.

2015-01-01

Hand hygiene (HH) in pediatric long-term care settings has been found to be sub-optimal. Multidisciplinary teams at three pediatric long-term care facilities developed step-by-step workflow diagrams of commonly performed tasks highlighting HH opportunities. Diagrams were validated through observation of tasks and concurrent diagram assessment. Facility teams developed six workflow diagrams that underwent 22 validation observations. Four main themes emerged: 1) diagram specificity, 2) wording and layout, 3) timing of HH indications, and 4) environmental hygiene. The development of workflow diagrams is an opportunity to identify and address the complexity of HH in pediatric long-term care facilities. PMID:25773517

Environmental risk assessment for plant pests: a procedure to evaluate their impacts on ecosystem services.

PubMed

Gilioli, G; Schrader, G; Baker, R H A; Ceglarska, E; Kertész, V K; Lövei, G; Navajas, M; Rossi, V; Tramontini, S; van Lenteren, J C

2014-01-15

The current methods to assess the environmental impacts of plant pests differ in their approaches and there is a lack of the standardized procedures necessary to provide accurate and consistent results, demonstrating the complexity of developing a commonly accepted scheme for this purpose. By including both the structural and functional components of the environment threatened by invasive alien species (IAS), in particular plant pests, we propose an environmental risk assessment scheme that addresses this complexity. Structural components are investigated by evaluating the impacts of the plant pest on genetic, species and landscape diversity. Functional components are evaluated by estimating how plant pests modify ecosystem services in order to determine the extent to which an IAS changes the functional traits that influence ecosystem services. A scenario study at a defined spatial and temporal resolution is then used to explore how an IAS, as an exogenous driving force, may trigger modifications in the target environment. The method presented here provides a standardized approach to generate comparable and reproducible results for environmental risk assessment as a component of Pest Risk Analysis. The method enables the assessment of overall environmental risk which integrates the impacts on different components of the environment and their probabilities of occurrence. The application of the proposed scheme is illustrated by evaluating the environmental impacts of the invasive citrus long-horn beetle, Anoplophora chinensis. © 2013.

Megacities and Large Urban Complexes - WMO Role in Addressing Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terblanche, Deon; Jalkanen, Liisa

2013-04-01

Megacities and Large Urban Complexes - WMO Role in Addressing Challenges and Opportunities Deon E. Terblanche and Liisa Jalkanen dterblanche@wmo.int ljalkanen@wmo.int World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland The 21st Century could amongst others, become known as the century in which our species has evolved from Homo sapiens to Homo urbanus. By now the urban population has surpassed the rural population and the rate of urbanization will continue at such a pace that by 2050 urban dwellers could outnumber their rural counterpart by more than two to one. Most of this growth in urban population will occur in developing countries and along coastal areas. Urbanization is to a large extent the outcome of humans seeking a better life through improved opportunities presented by high-density communities. Megacities and large urban complexes provide more job opportunities and social structures, better transport and communication links and a relative abundance of physical goods and services when compared to most rural areas. Unfortunately these urban complexes also present numerous social and environmental challenges. Urban areas differ from their surroundings by morphology, population density, and with high concentration of industrial activities, energy consumption and transport. They also pose unique challenges to atmospheric modelling and monitoring and create a multi-disciplinary spectrum of potential threats, including air pollution, which need to be addressed in an integrated way. These areas are also vulnerable to the changing climate and its implications to sea-level and extreme events, air quality and related health impacts. Many urban activities are significantly impacted by weather events that would not be considered to be of high impact in less densely populated areas. For instance, moderate precipitation events can cause flooding and landslides as modified urban catchments generally have higher run-off to rainfall ratios than their more pristine rural counterparts. The urban environment also provides numerous opportunities. One example being the better use of weather and environmental predictions to proactively optimize the functioning of the urban environment in terms of the use of energy, goods and services. Another is the providing of air quality forecasting services to benefit the health of the population. To address the challenges and opportunities facing megacities and large urban complexes, WMO has established the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Urban Research Meteorology and Environment (GURME). Air pollution questions in urban areas, in particular megacities, is the main focus, building observational and modelling capabilities in developing countries through pilot projects and transfer of scientific expertise. GURME contributes to improving capabilities to handle meteorological and related features of air pollution by addressing end-to-end aspects of air quality, linking observational capabilities with the needs of chemical weather prediction, with the goal of providing high quality air quality services. Using examples from around the world but with specific reference to Africa, the unique challenges and opportunities related to megacities and large urban complexes, as perceived by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are highlighted.

Tackling 'wicked' health promotion problems: a New Zealand case study.

PubMed

Signal, Louise N; Walton, Mat D; Ni Mhurchu, Cliona; Maddison, Ralph; Bowers, Sharron G; Carter, Kristie N; Gorton, Delvina; Heta, Craig; Lanumata, Tolotea S; McKerchar, Christina W; O'Dea, Des; Pearce, Jamie

2013-03-01

This paper reports on a complex environmental approach to addressing 'wicked' health promotion problems devised to inform policy for enhancing food security and physical activity among Māori, Pacific and low-income people in New Zealand. This multi-phase research utilized literature reviews, focus groups, stakeholder workshops and key informant interviews. Participants included members of affected communities, policy-makers and academics. Results suggest that food security and physical activity 'emerge' from complex systems. Key areas for intervention include availability of money within households; the cost of food; improvements in urban design and culturally specific physical activity programmes. Seventeen prioritized intervention areas were explored in-depth and recommendations for action identified. These include healthy food subsidies, increasing the statutory minimum wage rate and enhancing open space and connectivity in communities. This approach has moved away from seeking individual solutions to complex social problems. In doing so, it has enabled the mapping of the relevant systems and the identification of a range of interventions while taking account of the views of affected communities and the concerns of policy-makers. The complex environmental approach used in this research provides a method to identify how to intervene in complex systems that may be relevant to other 'wicked' health promotion problems.

Traditional Knowledge of Western Herbal Medicine and Complex Systems Science

PubMed Central

Niemeyer, Kathryn; Bell, Iris R.; Koithan, Mary

2013-01-01

Traditional knowledge of Western herbal medicine (WHM) supports experiential approaches to healing that have evolved over time. This is evident in the use of polyherb formulations comprised of crude plant parts, individually tailored to treat the cause of dysfunction and imbalance by addressing the whole person holistically. The challenge for WHM is to integrate science with traditional knowledge that is a foundation of the practice of WHM. The purpose of this paper is to provide a plausible theoretical hypothesis by applying complex systems science to WHM, illustrating how medicinal plants are complex, adaptive, environmentally interactive systems exhibiting synergy and nonlinear healing causality. This paper explores the conceptual congruence between medicinal plants and humans as complex systems coherently coupled through recurrent interaction. Complex systems science provides the theoretical tenets that explain traditional knowledge of medicinal plants while supporting clinical practice and expanding research and documentation of WHM. PMID:24058898

Traditional Knowledge of Western Herbal Medicine and Complex Systems Science.

PubMed

Niemeyer, Kathryn; Bell, Iris R; Koithan, Mary

2013-09-01

Traditional knowledge of Western herbal medicine (WHM) supports experiential approaches to healing that have evolved over time. This is evident in the use of polyherb formulations comprised of crude plant parts, individually tailored to treat the cause of dysfunction and imbalance by addressing the whole person holistically. The challenge for WHM is to integrate science with traditional knowledge that is a foundation of the practice of WHM. The purpose of this paper is to provide a plausible theoretical hypothesis by applying complex systems science to WHM, illustrating how medicinal plants are complex, adaptive, environmentally interactive systems exhibiting synergy and nonlinear healing causality. This paper explores the conceptual congruence between medicinal plants and humans as complex systems coherently coupled through recurrent interaction. Complex systems science provides the theoretical tenets that explain traditional knowledge of medicinal plants while supporting clinical practice and expanding research and documentation of WHM.

The MPLEx Protocol for Multi-omic Analyses of Soil Samples

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nicora, Carrie D.; Burnum-Johnson, Kristin E.; Nakayasu, Ernesto S.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based integrated metaproteomic, metabolomic and lipidomic (multi-omic) studies are transforming our ability to understand and characterize microbial communities in environmental and biological systems. These measurements are even enabling enhanced analyses of complex soil microbial communities, which are the most complex microbial systems known to date. Multi-omic analyses, however, do have sample preparation challenges since separate extractions are typically needed for each omic study, thereby greatly amplifying the preparation time and amount of sample required. To address this limitation, a 3-in-1 method for simultaneous metabolite, protein, and lipid extraction (MPLEx) from the exact same soil sample was created bymore » adapting a solvent-based approach. This MPLEx protocol has proven to be simple yet robust for many sample types and even when utilized for limited quantities of complex soil samples. The MPLEx method also greatly enabled the rapid multi-omic measurements needed to gain a better understanding of the members of each microbial community, while evaluating the changes taking place upon biological and environmental perturbations.« less

Hierarchy and Interactions in Environmental Interfaces Regarded as Biophysical Complex Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mihailovic, Dragutin T.; Balaz, Igor

The field of environmental sciences is abundant with various interfaces and is the right place for the application of new fundamental approaches leading towards a better understanding of environmental phenomena. For example, following the definition of environmental interface by Mihailovic and Balaž [23], such interface can be placed between: human or animal bodies and surrounding air, aquatic species and water and air around them, and natural or artificially built surfaces (vegetation, ice, snow, barren soil, water, urban communities) and the atmosphere. Complex environmental interface systems are open and hierarchically organised, interactions between their constituent parts are nonlinear, and the interaction with the surrounding environment is noisy. These systems are therefore very sensitive to initial conditions, deterministic external perturbations and random fluctuations always present in nature. The study of noisy non-equilibrium processes is fundamental for modelling the dynamics of environmental interface systems and for understanding the mechanisms of spatio-temporal pattern formation in contemporary environmental sciences, particularly in environmental fluid mechanics. In modelling complex biophysical systems one of the main tasks is to successfully create an operative interface with the external environment. It should provide a robust and prompt translation of the vast diversity of external physical and/or chemical changes into a set of signals, which are "understandable" for an organism. Although the establishment of organisation in any system is of crucial importance for its functioning, it should not be forgotten that in biophysical systems we deal with real-life problems where a number of other conditions should be reached in order to put the system to work. One of them is the proper supply of the system by the energy. Therefore, we will investigate an aspect of dynamics of energy flow based on the energy balance equation. The energy as well as the exchange of biological, chemical and other physical quantities between interacting environmental interfaces can be represented by coupled maps. In this chapter we will address only two illustrative issues important for the modelling of interacting environmental interfaces regarded as complex systems. These are (i) use of algebra for modelling the autonomous establishment of local hierarchies in biophysical systems and (ii) numerical investigation of coupled maps representing exchange of energy, chemical and other relevant biophysical quantities between biophysical entities in their surrounding environment.

Environmental Assessment Addressing Gate Complex Construction at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

2014 221,760 No change I3. Construct Aircraft Deicing Pad, which would include an underground storage tank, a drainage system , and permanent lighting...Defense Information System Agency DNL day-night average A-weighted sound level DOD Department of Defense DOPAA Description of the Proposed Action...MWDs); a truck-inspection search office; a cargo-transfer facility; a mobile vehicle and cargo inspection system ; an over watch building; and a

Integrating health and environmental impact analysis.

PubMed

Reis, S; Morris, G; Fleming, L E; Beck, S; Taylor, T; White, M; Depledge, M H; Steinle, S; Sabel, C E; Cowie, H; Hurley, F; Dick, J McP; Smith, R I; Austen, M

2015-10-01

Scientific investigations have progressively refined our understanding of the influence of the environment on human health, and the many adverse impacts that human activities exert on the environment, from the local to the planetary level. Nonetheless, throughout the modern public health era, health has been pursued as though our lives and lifestyles are disconnected from ecosystems and their component organisms. The inadequacy of the societal and public health response to obesity, health inequities, and especially global environmental and climate change now calls for an ecological approach which addresses human activity in all its social, economic and cultural complexity. The new approach must be integral to, and interactive, with the natural environment. We see the continuing failure to truly integrate human health and environmental impact analysis as deeply damaging, and we propose a new conceptual model, the ecosystems-enriched Drivers, Pressures, State, Exposure, Effects, Actions or 'eDPSEEA' model, to address this shortcoming. The model recognizes convergence between the concept of ecosystems services which provides a human health and well-being slant to the value of ecosystems while equally emphasizing the health of the environment, and the growing calls for 'ecological public health' as a response to global environmental concerns now suffusing the discourse in public health. More revolution than evolution, ecological public health will demand new perspectives regarding the interconnections among society, the economy, the environment and our health and well-being. Success must be built on collaborations between the disparate scientific communities of the environmental sciences and public health as well as interactions with social scientists, economists and the legal profession. It will require outreach to political and other stakeholders including a currently largely disengaged general public. The need for an effective and robust science-policy interface has never been more pressing. Conceptual models can facilitate this by providing theoretical frameworks and supporting stakeholder engagement process simplifications for inherently complex situations involving environment and human health and well-being. They can be tools to think with, to engage, to communicate and to help navigate in a sea of complexity. We believe models such as eDPSEEA can help frame many of the issues which have become the challenges of the new public health era and can provide the essential platforms necessary for progress. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Architectural Framework for Addressing Legacy Waste from the Cold War - 13611

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Love, Gregory A.; Glazner, Christopher G.; Steckley, Sam

We present an architectural framework for the use of a hybrid simulation model of enterprise-wide operations used to develop system-level insight into the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) environmental cleanup of legacy nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site. We use this framework for quickly exploring policy and architectural options, analyzing plans, addressing management challenges and developing mitigation strategies for DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM). The socio-technical complexity of EM's mission compels the use of a qualitative approach to complement a more a quantitative discrete event modeling effort. We use this model-based analysis to pinpoint pressure and leverage pointsmore » and develop a shared conceptual understanding of the problem space and platform for communication among stakeholders across the enterprise in a timely manner. This approach affords the opportunity to discuss problems using a unified conceptual perspective and is also general enough that it applies to a broad range of capital investment/production operations problems. (authors)« less

Optimizing the health impacts of civil legal aid interventions: the public health framework of medical-legal partnerships.

PubMed

Lawton, Ellen; Tyler, Elizabeth Tobin

2013-07-01

Research documents the significance of the social determinants of health - the social and environmental conditions in which people live, work and play. A critical foundation of these social and environmental conditions are laws and regulations, which construct the environments in which individuals and populations live, influencing how and when people face disease. Increasingly, healthcare providers, public health professionals and lawyers concerned with social determinants are joining forces to form Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) which offer a preventive approach to address the complex social, legal and systemic problems that affect the health of vulnerable populations. Now in more than 500 health and legal institutions across the country, including Rhode Island, MLP is a healthcare delivery model that integrates legal assistance as a vital component of healthcare. This article explores the many benefits of the MLP model for improving patient health, transforming medical and legal practice and institutions and generating policy changes that specifically address health disparities and social determinants.

A vision of the environmental and occupational noise pollution in Malaysia.

PubMed

Yuen, Foo Keng

2014-01-01

Environmental noise remains a complex and fragmented interplay between industrialization, population growth, technological developments, and the living environment. Next to the circulatory diseases and cancer, noise pollution has been cited as the third epidemic cause of psychological and physiological disorders internationally. A reliable and firm relationship between the cumulative health implications with the traffic annoyance and occupational noise has been established. This agenda has called for an integrated, coordinated, and participatory approach to the reliable protection of noise interference. Despite several fragmented policies, legislation and global efforts have been addressed; the noise pollution complaints have been traditionally neglected in developing countries, especially in Malaysia. This paper was undertaken to postulate an initial platform to address the dynamic pressures, gigantic challenges, and tremendous impacts of noise pollution scenario in Malaysia. The emphasis is speculated on the traffic interference and assessment of industrial and occupational noise. The fundamental importance of noise monitoring and modeling is proposed. Additionally, the confronting conservation program and control measure for noise pollution control are laconically elucidated.

Advice and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Citizen-Science Environmental Health Assessments

PubMed Central

Barzyk, Timothy M.; Huang, Hongtai; Williams, Ronald; Kaufman, Amanda; Essoka, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Citizen science provides quantitative results to support environmental health assessments (EHAs), but standardized approaches do not currently exist to translate findings into actionable solutions. The emergence of low-cost portable sensor technologies and proliferation of publicly available datasets provides unparalleled access to supporting evidence; yet data collection, analysis, interpretation, visualization, and communication are subjective approaches that must be tailored to a decision-making audience capable of improving environmental health. A decade of collaborative efforts and two citizen science projects contributed to three lessons learned and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that address the complexities of environmental health and interpersonal relations often encountered in citizen science EHAs. Each project followed a structured step-by-step process in order to compare and contrast methods and approaches. These lessons and FAQs provide advice to translate citizen science research into actionable solutions in the context of a diverse range of environmental health issues and local stakeholders. PMID:29751612

Durability and CMAS Resistance of Advanced Environmental Barrier Coatings Systems for SiC/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhu, Dongming

2015-01-01

Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) and SiCSiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) systems will play a crucial role in next generation turbine engines for hot-section component applications because of their ability to significantly increase engine operating temperatures with improved efficiency, reduce engine weight and cooling requirements. This paper will emphasize advanced environmental barrier coating developments for SiCSiC turbine airfoil components, by using advanced coating compositions and processing, in conjunction with mechanical and environment testing and durability validations. The coating-CMC degradations and durability in the laboratory simulated engine fatigue-creep and complex operating environments are being addressed. The effects of Calcium-Magnesium-Alumino-Silicate (CMAS) from road sand or volcano-ash deposits on the degradation mechanisms of the environmental barrier coating systems will be discussed. The results help understand the advanced EBC-CMC system performance, aiming at the durability improvements of more robust, prime-reliant environmental barrier coatings for successful applications of the component technologies and lifing methodologies.

Addressing Social Determinants Of Health Through Medical-Legal Partnerships.

PubMed

Regenstein, Marsha; Trott, Jennifer; Williamson, Alanna; Theiss, Joanna

2018-03-01

The US health care system needs effective tools to address complex social and environmental issues that perpetuate health inequities, such as food insecurity, education and employment barriers, and substandard housing conditions. The medical-legal partnership is a collaborative intervention that embeds civil legal aid professionals in health care settings to address seemingly intractable social problems that contribute to poor health outcomes and health disparities. More than three hundred health care organizations are home to medical-legal partnerships. This article draws upon national survey data and field research to identify three models of the medical-legal partnership that health care organizations have adopted and the core elements of infrastructure that they share. Financing and commitment from health care organizations are key considerations for sustaining and scaling up the medical-legal partnership as a health equity intervention.

Ecosystem oceanography for global change in fisheries.

PubMed

Cury, Philippe Maurice; Shin, Yunne-Jai; Planque, Benjamin; Durant, Joël Marcel; Fromentin, Jean-Marc; Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Travers, Morgane; Grimm, Volker

2008-06-01

Overexploitation and climate change are increasingly causing unanticipated changes in marine ecosystems, such as higher variability in fish recruitment and shifts in species dominance. An ecosystem-based approach to fisheries attempts to address these effects by integrating populations, food webs and fish habitats at different scales. Ecosystem models represent indispensable tools to achieve this objective. However, a balanced research strategy is needed to avoid overly complex models. Ecosystem oceanography represents such a balanced strategy that relates ecosystem components and their interactions to climate change and exploitation. It aims at developing realistic and robust models at different levels of organisation and addressing specific questions in a global change context while systematically exploring the ever-increasing amount of biological and environmental data.

Fetal programming and environmental exposures ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Fetal programming is an enormously complex process that relies on numerous environmental inputs from uterine tissue, the placenta, the maternal blood supply, and other sources. Recent evidence has made clear that the process is not based entirely on genetics, but rather on a delicate series of interactions between genes and the environment. It is likely that epigenctic (“above the genome”) changes are responsible for modifying gene expression in the developing fetus, and these modifications can have long-lasting health impacts. Determining which epigenetic regulators are most vital in embryonic development will improve pregnancy outcomes and our ability to treat and prevent disorders that emerge later in life. “Fetal Programming and Environmental Exposures: Implications for Prenatal Care and Preterm Birth’ began with a keynote address by Frederick vom Saal, who explained that low-level exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) perturbs hormone systems in utero and can have negative effects on fetal development. vom Saal presented data on the LOC bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen-mimicking compound found in many plastics. He suggested that low-dose exposure to LOCs can alter the development process and enhance chances of acquiring adult diseases, such as breastcancer, diabetes, and even developmental disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADHD).’ Fetal programming is an enormously complex process that relies on numerous environmental inputs

An Energetic Concept of Habitability for the Deep Subsurface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoehler, Tori M.

2006-01-01

Universally, life must be characterized by a characteristic level of order and complexity. In the most general sense, habitability could then be defined as the set of factors required to allow the creation and maintenance of molecular complexity. These factors are: chemical raw materials; energy with which to assemble those materials into complex molecules and sustain the resultant state of complexity; a solvent that allows the interaction of complex molecules, promotes tertiary structure, and permits compartmentalization; and environmental conditions that permit the assembly and maintenance of complex molecules. On Earth, these general requirements correspond to the major biogenic elements C, H, O, N, P, S; chemical or light energy; the solvent water; and specific ranges of temperature, pH, radiation, ionic strength, and so forth, which have thus far been determined on and exclusively empirical basis. Importantly, while the complete absence of any of these factors ensures uninhabitable conditions, the mere presence of all four does not guarantee habitability. In each case - even that of water - it is a question of degree. This question can be couched in quantitative terms by considering the impact of each of these factors on cellular energy balance. More "extreme" conditions (e.g., high temperature, high or low pH, etc.), lower water activity, and low concentrations of nutrients incur or have potential to be addressed by increased investment of energy on the part of the cell. This must be balanced by energy conservation in the cell, noting that biochemical, mass transport, and abiotic chemical limitations intervene between environmental energy availability and biological energy capture. Similarly, lower boundary conditions are emplaced on useful environmental energy yields by the "quantized" nature of biological energy conservation, and upper boundary conditions are emplaced by energy levels or fluxes that are destructive with respect to complexity. This energetic framework, with boundary conditions supplied by the specifics of the biochemistry in question, offers a generalized, yet quantitative means of assessing the habitability of any system with respect to complex life.

Methods of estimating or accounting for neighborhood associations with health using complex survey data.

PubMed

Brumback, Babette A; Cai, Zhuangyu; Dailey, Amy B

2014-05-15

Reasons for health disparities may include neighborhood-level factors, such as availability of health services, social norms, and environmental determinants, as well as individual-level factors. Investigating health inequalities using nationally or locally representative data often requires an approach that can accommodate a complex sampling design, in which individuals have unequal probabilities of selection into the study. The goal of the present article is to review and compare methods of estimating or accounting for neighborhood influences with complex survey data. We considered 3 types of methods, each generalized for use with complex survey data: ordinary regression, conditional likelihood regression, and generalized linear mixed-model regression. The relative strengths and weaknesses of each method differ from one study to another; we provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each method theoretically, in terms of the nature of the estimable associations and the plausibility of the assumptions required for validity, and also practically, via a simulation study and 2 epidemiologic data analyses. The first analysis addresses determinants of repeat mammography screening use using data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey. The second analysis addresses disparities in preventive oral health care using data from the 2008 Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey.

High-throughput metagenomic technologies for complex microbial community analysis: open and closed formats.

PubMed

Zhou, Jizhong; He, Zhili; Yang, Yunfeng; Deng, Ye; Tringe, Susannah G; Alvarez-Cohen, Lisa

2015-01-27

Understanding the structure, functions, activities and dynamics of microbial communities in natural environments is one of the grand challenges of 21st century science. To address this challenge, over the past decade, numerous technologies have been developed for interrogating microbial communities, of which some are amenable to exploratory work (e.g., high-throughput sequencing and phenotypic screening) and others depend on reference genes or genomes (e.g., phylogenetic and functional gene arrays). Here, we provide a critical review and synthesis of the most commonly applied "open-format" and "closed-format" detection technologies. We discuss their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages within the context of environmental applications and focus on analysis of complex microbial systems, such as those in soils, in which diversity is high and reference genomes are few. In addition, we discuss crucial issues and considerations associated with applying complementary high-throughput molecular technologies to address important ecological questions. Copyright © 2015 Zhou et al.

Foundations of translational ecology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enquist, Carolyn A. F.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Garfin, Gregg M.; Davis, Frank W.; Gerber, Leah R.; Littell, Jeremy; Tank, Jennifer L.; Terando, Adam; Wall, Tamara U.; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Morelli, Toni L.; Hiers, J. Kevin; McNie, Elizabeth; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Williamson, Matthew A.; Woodhouse, Connie A.; Yung, Laurie; Brunson, Mark W.; Hall, Kimberly R.; Hallett, Lauren M.; Lawson, Dawn M.; Moritz, Max A.; Nydick, Koren R.; Pairis, Amber; Ray, Andrea J.; Regan, Claudia M.; Safford, Hugh D.; Schwartz, Mark W.; Shaw, M. Rebecca

2017-01-01

Ecologists who specialize in translational ecology (TE) seek to link ecological knowledge to decision making by integrating ecological science with the full complement of social dimensions that underlie today's complex environmental issues. TE is motivated by a search for outcomes that directly serve the needs of natural resource managers and decision makers. This objective distinguishes it from both basic and applied ecological research and, as a practice, it deliberately extends research beyond theory or opportunistic applications. TE is uniquely positioned to address complex issues through interdisciplinary team approaches and integrated scientist–practitioner partnerships. The creativity and context‐specific knowledge of resource managers, practitioners, and decision makers inform and enrich the scientific process and help shape use‐driven, actionable science. Moreover, addressing research questions that arise from on‐the‐ground management issues – as opposed to the top‐down or expert‐oriented perspectives of traditional science – can foster the high levels of trust and commitment that are critical for long‐term, sustained engagement between partners.

High-Throughput Metagenomic Technologies for Complex Microbial Community Analysis: Open and Closed Formats

PubMed Central

He, Zhili; Yang, Yunfeng; Deng, Ye; Tringe, Susannah G.; Alvarez-Cohen, Lisa

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT   Understanding the structure, functions, activities and dynamics of microbial communities in natural environments is one of the grand challenges of 21st century science. To address this challenge, over the past decade, numerous technologies have been developed for interrogating microbial communities, of which some are amenable to exploratory work (e.g., high-throughput sequencing and phenotypic screening) and others depend on reference genes or genomes (e.g., phylogenetic and functional gene arrays). Here, we provide a critical review and synthesis of the most commonly applied “open-format” and “closed-format” detection technologies. We discuss their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages within the context of environmental applications and focus on analysis of complex microbial systems, such as those in soils, in which diversity is high and reference genomes are few. In addition, we discuss crucial issues and considerations associated with applying complementary high-throughput molecular technologies to address important ecological questions. PMID:25626903

High-throughput metagenomic technologies for complex microbial community analysis. Open and closed formats

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Jizhong; He, Zhili; Yang, Yunfeng; ...

2015-01-27

Understanding the structure, functions, activities and dynamics of microbial communities in natural environments is one of the grand challenges of 21st century science. To address this challenge, over the past decade, numerous technologies have been developed for interrogating microbial communities, of which some are amenable to exploratory work (e.g., high-throughput sequencing and phenotypic screening) and others depend on reference genes or genomes (e.g., phylogenetic and functional gene arrays). Here, we provide a critical review and synthesis of the most commonly applied “open-format” and “closed-format” detection technologies. We discuss their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages within the context of environmental applications andmore » focus on analysis of complex microbial systems, such as those in soils, in which diversity is high and reference genomes are few. In addition, we discuss crucial issues and considerations associated with applying complementary high-throughput molecular technologies to address important ecological questions.« less

76 FR 55653 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-08

...Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), and Executive Order 12114, the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (OEIS) to evaluate the potential environmental effects associated with maintaining military readiness training and research, development, testing, and evaluation (hereafter referred to as ``training and testing'') activities conducted in the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) EIS/OEIS Study Area. The MITT Study Area includes the existing Mariana Islands Range Complex (MIRC), additional areas on the high seas, and a general transit corridor between Hawaii to MITT where training and testing activities may occur. The MIRC is the only major Navy range complex in the Study Area. The DoN is preparing this EIS/OEIS to renew current regulatory permits and authorizations, address current training and testing not covered under existing permits and authorizations, and to obtain those permits and authorizations necessary to support force structure changes and emerging and future training and testing requirements including those associated with new platforms and weapons systems within the MITT Study Area, starting in 2015, thereby ensuring critical Department of Defense (DoD) requirements are met. The DoN will invite the National Marine Fisheries Service, United States (U.S.) Fish and Wildlife Service (Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office), and U.S. Air Force, to be cooperating agencies in preparation of the EIS/OEIS.

COOP+ project: Promoting the cooperation of international Research Infrastructures to address global environmental challenges.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonet-García, F.; Järvi, L.; Asmi, A.; Suárez-Muñoz, M.

2016-12-01

Humanity must face enormous environmental challenges including biodiversity decline, climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise and overpopulation. The research infrastructures (RIs) created in the last decades worldwide cover a wide range of spatial and thematic scales and collect information about the functioning of Earth ecosystems. However, we need to go one step forward: understand and simulate the functioning of the Earth as a complex system in a global change scenario. Cooperation among international RIs as well as multidisciplinary work are mandatory to achieve this challenging objective. COOP+ (EU Horizon 2020 project) aims to strengthen the links and coordination of European environmental RIs with their international counterparts. COOP+ will create cooperation threads among international research infrastructures using environmental Global Challenges (GCs) as thematic guidelines. These GCs are polyhedral and sometimes wicked problems that threaten the sustainability of our modern societies from a social and environmental perspective. This contribution describes how COOP+ uses GCs as guidelines to foster cooperation among RIs. First we have created an open survey to collect ideas about GCs within the different scientific communities. We present the structure of this survey as well as the preliminary information that it contains. The survey will be accepting responses during the project life (September 2018). We also describe the structure of a template that will be used to collaboratively characterize some selected GCs under the point of view of RIs. The main idea is to assess how RIs can be useful to address global environmental problems. We encourage all scientists related to RIs communities to participate in this process.

Web-Based Geographic Information System Tool for Accessing Hanford Site Environmental Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Triplett, Mark B.; Seiple, Timothy E.; Watson, David J.

Data volume, complexity, and access issues pose severe challenges for analysts, regulators and stakeholders attempting to efficiently use legacy data to support decision making at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site. DOE has partnered with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on the PHOENIX (PNNL-Hanford Online Environmental Information System) project, which seeks to address data access, transparency, and integration challenges at Hanford to provide effective decision support. PHOENIX is a family of spatially-enabled web applications providing quick access to decades of valuable scientific data and insight through intuitive query, visualization, and analysis tools. PHOENIX realizes broad, public accessibilitymore » by relying only on ubiquitous web-browsers, eliminating the need for specialized software. It accommodates a wide range of users with intuitive user interfaces that require little or no training to quickly obtain and visualize data. Currently, PHOENIX is actively hosting three applications focused on groundwater monitoring, groundwater clean-up performance reporting, and in-tank monitoring. PHOENIX-based applications are being used to streamline investigative and analytical processes at Hanford, saving time and money. But more importantly, by integrating previously isolated datasets and developing relevant visualization and analysis tools, PHOENIX applications are enabling DOE to discover new correlations hidden in legacy data, allowing them to more effectively address complex issues at Hanford.« less

Addressing Emerging Risks: Scientific and Regulatory Challenges Associated with Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals.

PubMed

Dugas, Tammy R; Lomnicki, Slawomir; Cormier, Stephania A; Dellinger, Barry; Reams, Margaret

2016-06-08

Airborne fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM) are often generated through widely-used thermal processes such as the combustion of fuels or the thermal decomposition of waste. Residents near Superfund sites are exposed to PM through the inhalation of windblown dust, ingestion of soil and sediments, and inhalation of emissions from the on-site thermal treatment of contaminated soils. Epidemiological evidence supports a link between exposure to airborne PM and an increased risk of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. It is well-known that during combustion processes, incomplete combustion can lead to the production of organic pollutants that can adsorb to the surface of PM. Recent studies have demonstrated that their interaction with metal centers can lead to the generation of a surface stabilized metal-radical complex capable of redox cycling to produce ROS. Moreover, these free radicals can persist in the environment, hence their designation as Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFR). EPFR has been demonstrated in both ambient air PM2.5 (diameter < 2.5 µm) and in PM from a variety of combustion sources. Thus, low-temperature, thermal treatment of soils can potentially increase the concentration of EPFR in areas in and around Superfund sites. In this review, we will outline the evidence to date supporting EPFR formation and its environmental significance. Furthermore, we will address the lack of methodologies for specifically addressing its risk assessment and challenges associated with regulating this new, emerging contaminant.

Addressing Emerging Risks: Scientific and Regulatory Challenges Associated with Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals

PubMed Central

Dugas, Tammy R.; Lomnicki, Slawomir; Cormier, Stephania A.; Dellinger, Barry; Reams, Margaret

2016-01-01

Airborne fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM) are often generated through widely-used thermal processes such as the combustion of fuels or the thermal decomposition of waste. Residents near Superfund sites are exposed to PM through the inhalation of windblown dust, ingestion of soil and sediments, and inhalation of emissions from the on-site thermal treatment of contaminated soils. Epidemiological evidence supports a link between exposure to airborne PM and an increased risk of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. It is well-known that during combustion processes, incomplete combustion can lead to the production of organic pollutants that can adsorb to the surface of PM. Recent studies have demonstrated that their interaction with metal centers can lead to the generation of a surface stabilized metal-radical complex capable of redox cycling to produce ROS. Moreover, these free radicals can persist in the environment, hence their designation as Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFR). EPFR has been demonstrated in both ambient air PM2.5 (diameter < 2.5 µm) and in PM from a variety of combustion sources. Thus, low-temperature, thermal treatment of soils can potentially increase the concentration of EPFR in areas in and around Superfund sites. In this review, we will outline the evidence to date supporting EPFR formation and its environmental significance. Furthermore, we will address the lack of methodologies for specifically addressing its risk assessment and challenges associated with regulating this new, emerging contaminant. PMID:27338429

Hydrocomplexity: Addressing water security and emergent environmental risks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Praveen

2015-07-01

Water security and emergent environmental risks are among the most significant societal concerns. They are highly interlinked to other global risks such as those related to climate, human health, food, human migration, biodiversity loss, urban sustainability, etc. Emergent risks result from the confluence of unanticipated interactions from evolving interdependencies between complex systems, such as those embedded in the water cycle. They are associated with the novelty of dynamical possibilities that have significant potential consequences to human and ecological systems, and not with probabilities based on historical precedence. To ensure water security we need to be able to anticipate the likelihood of risk possibilities as they present the prospect of the most impact through cascade of vulnerabilities. They arise due to a confluence of nonstationary drivers that include growing population, climate change, demographic shifts, urban growth, and economic expansion, among others, which create novel interdependencies leading to a potential of cascading network effects. Hydrocomplexity aims to address water security and emergent risks through the development of science, methods, and practices with the potential to foster a "Blue Revolution" akin to the Green revolution for food security. It blends both hard infrastructure based solution with soft knowledge driven solutions to increase the range of planning and design, management, mitigation and adaptation strategies. It provides a conceptual and synthetic framework to enable us to integrate discovery science and engineering, observational and information science, computational and communication systems, and social and institutional approaches to address consequential water and environmental challenges.

Current frontiers and future directions of telecoupling research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J.

2016-12-01

The world has been increasingly interconnected over long distances though processes such as international trade, migration, telecommunication, and disease spread. However, previous studies often focused on socioeconomic or environmental issues of distant processes. While these studies have generated useful information for individual disciplines, integrating socioeconomic and environmental information is essential for holistic understanding of complex global challenges and unbiased decision making to address the challenges. To advance integrated research, the framework of telecoupling (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) has been developed to explicitly address both socioeconomic and environmental issues simultaneously. Although the framework is relatively new, it has already been applied to tackle a variety of globally important issues, such as food security, water resources, energy sustainability, land use, international trade (e.g., food, forest products, energy, wildlife, industrial products), species invasion, investment, ecosystem services, conservation, information dissemination, and tourism. These applications have identified many important research gaps (e.g. spillover systems) and hidden linkages (e.g. feedbacks) among distant areas of the world with profound implications for sustainable development, ecosystem health, and human well-being. While working with telecoupling presents more challenges than focusing only on disciplinary issues, support from funding agencies has helped accelerate research on telecoupling and more efforts are being aimed at framework quantification and operationalization. The presenter will provide an overview of the current frontiers, discuss future research directions, and highlight emerging opportunities and challenges in telecoupling research and governance.

Strategies for Evaluating Complex Environmental Education Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, V.

2011-12-01

Evidence for the effectiveness of environmental education programs has been difficult to establish for many reasons. Chief among them are the lack of clear program objectives and an inability to conceptualize how environmental education programs work. Both can lead to evaluations that make claims that are difficult to substantiate, such as significant changes in student achievement levels or behavioral changes based on acquisition of knowledge. Many of these challenges can be addressed by establishing the program theory and developing a logic model. However, claims of impact on larger societal outcomes are difficult to attribute solely to program activities. Contribution analysis may offer a promising method for addressing this challenge. Rather than attempt to definitively and causally link a program's activities to desired results, contribution analysis seeks to provide plausible evidence that can reduce uncertainty regarding the 'difference' a program is making to observed outcomes. It sets out to verify the theory of change behind a program and, at the same time, takes into consideration other influencing factors. Contribution analysis is useful in situations where the program is not experimental-there is little or no scope for varying how the program is implemented-and the program has been funded on the basis of a theory of change. In this paper, the author reviews the feasibility of using contribution analysis as a way of evaluating the impact of the GLOBE program, an environmental science and education program. Initially conceptualized by Al Gore in 1995, the program's implementation model is based on worldwide environmental monitoring by students and scientists around the globe. This paper will make a significant and timely contribution to the field of evaluation, and specifically environmental education evaluation by examining the usefulness of this analysis for developing evidence to assess the impact of environmental education programs.

Prioritizing environmental justice and equality: diesel emissions in southern California.

PubMed

Marshall, Julian D; Swor, Kathryn R; Nguyen, Nam P

2014-04-01

Existing environmental policies aim to reduce emissions but lack standards for addressing environmental justice. Environmental justice research documents disparities in exposure to air pollution; however, little guidance currently exists on how to make improvements or on how specific emission-reduction scenarios would improve or deteriorate environmental justice conditions. Here, we quantify how emission reductions from specific sources would change various measures of environmental equality and justice. We evaluate potential emission reductions for fine diesel particulate matter (DPM) in Southern California for five sources: on-road mobile, off-road mobile, ships, trains, and stationary. Our approach employs state-of-the-science dispersion and exposure models. We compare four environmental goals: impact, efficiency, equality, and justice. Results indicate potential trade-offs among those goals. For example, reductions in train emissions produce the greatest improvements in terms of efficiency, equality, and justice, whereas off-road mobile source reductions can have the greatest total impact. Reductions in on-road emissions produce improvements in impact, equality, and justice, whereas emission reductions from ships would widen existing population inequalities. Results are similar for complex versus simplified exposure analyses. The approach employed here could usefully be applied elsewhere to evaluate opportunities for improving environmental equality and justice in other locations.

Accounting for Parameter Uncertainty in Complex Atmospheric Models, With an Application to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swallow, B.; Rigby, M. L.; Rougier, J.; Manning, A.; Thomson, D.; Webster, H. N.; Lunt, M. F.; O'Doherty, S.

2016-12-01

In order to understand underlying processes governing environmental and physical phenomena, a complex mathematical model is usually required. However, there is an inherent uncertainty related to the parameterisation of unresolved processes in these simulators. Here, we focus on the specific problem of accounting for uncertainty in parameter values in an atmospheric chemical transport model. Systematic errors introduced by failing to account for these uncertainties have the potential to have a large effect on resulting estimates in unknown quantities of interest. One approach that is being increasingly used to address this issue is known as emulation, in which a large number of forward runs of the simulator are carried out, in order to approximate the response of the output to changes in parameters. However, due to the complexity of some models, it is often unfeasible to run large numbers of training runs that is usually required for full statistical emulators of the environmental processes. We therefore present a simplified model reduction method for approximating uncertainties in complex environmental simulators without the need for very large numbers of training runs. We illustrate the method through an application to the Met Office's atmospheric transport model NAME. We show how our parameter estimation framework can be incorporated into a hierarchical Bayesian inversion, and demonstrate the impact on estimates of UK methane emissions, using atmospheric mole fraction data. We conclude that accounting for uncertainties in the parameterisation of complex atmospheric models is vital if systematic errors are to be minimized and all relevant uncertainties accounted for. We also note that investigations of this nature can prove extremely useful in highlighting deficiencies in the simulator that might otherwise be missed.

Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes—Pitfalls and Possibilities

PubMed Central

Prasad, Rashmi B.; Groop, Leif

2015-01-01

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex disease that is caused by a complex interplay between genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. While the major environmental factors, diet and activity level, are well known, identification of the genetic factors has been a challenge. However, recent years have seen an explosion of genetic variants in risk and protection of T2D due to the technical development that has allowed genome-wide association studies and next-generation sequencing. Today, more than 120 variants have been convincingly replicated for association with T2D and many more with diabetes-related traits. Still, these variants only explain a small proportion of the total heritability of T2D. In this review, we address the possibilities to elucidate the genetic landscape of T2D as well as discuss pitfalls with current strategies to identify the elusive unknown heritability including the possibility that our definition of diabetes and its subgroups is imprecise and thereby makes the identification of genetic causes difficult. PMID:25774817

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jeffries, H P

The principal hypothesis addressed in this study states that community variability is related to fatty acid structure. As a test of this idea, the zooplankton in three regimes of increasing physical severity (Block Island Sound, Narragansett Bay and Green Hill Pond) are being compared. Measurements were made on the physical environment, on standing crop and on fatty acid composition in both the phytoplankton-microzooplankton and macrozooplankton. Fatty acid variation in these communities displays a unique trajectory in time at each location. Environmental change and biochemical variability are directly related. The resulting biochemical message is complex but apparently highly informative. Patterns ofmore » variation in some fatty acids are affected most strongly by physical environmental parameters whereas the variation of other fatty acids is more responsive to differences in species composition, diversity and food web relationships. Taken together, these two aspects of biochemical pattern appear to characterize complex species assemblages. The result offers a new strategem for convenient assessment of the ever changing state in a natural community.« less

Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling.

PubMed

Ganju, Neil K; Brush, Mark J; Rashleigh, Brenda; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L; Del Barrio, Pilar; Grear, Jason S; Harris, Lora A; Lake, Samuel J; McCardell, Grant; O'Donnell, James; Ralston, David K; Signell, Richard P; Testa, Jeremy M; Vaudrey, Jamie M P

2016-03-01

Numerical modeling has emerged over the last several decades as a widely accepted tool for investigations in environmental sciences. In estuarine research, hydrodynamic and ecological models have moved along parallel tracks with regard to complexity, refinement, computational power, and incorporation of uncertainty. Coupled hydrodynamic-ecological models have been used to assess ecosystem processes and interactions, simulate future scenarios, and evaluate remedial actions in response to eutrophication, habitat loss, and freshwater diversion. The need to couple hydrodynamic and ecological models to address research and management questions is clear, because dynamic feedbacks between biotic and physical processes are critical interactions within ecosystems. In this review we present historical and modern perspectives on estuarine hydrodynamic and ecological modeling, consider model limitations, and address aspects of model linkage, skill assessment, and complexity. We discuss the balance between spatial and temporal resolution and present examples using different spatiotemporal scales. Finally, we recommend future lines of inquiry, approaches to balance complexity and uncertainty, and model transparency and utility. It is idealistic to think we can pursue a "theory of everything" for estuarine models, but recent advances suggest that models for both scientific investigations and management applications will continue to improve in terms of realism, precision, and accuracy.

Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ganju, Neil K.; Brush, Mark J.; Rashleigh, Brenda; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.; del Barrio, Pilar; Grear, Jason S.; Harris, Lora A.; Lake, Samuel J.; McCardell, Grant; O'Donnell, James; Ralston, David K.; Signell, Richard P.; Testa, Jeremy; Vaudrey, Jamie M. P.

2016-01-01

Numerical modeling has emerged over the last several decades as a widely accepted tool for investigations in environmental sciences. In estuarine research, hydrodynamic and ecological models have moved along parallel tracks with regard to complexity, refinement, computational power, and incorporation of uncertainty. Coupled hydrodynamic-ecological models have been used to assess ecosystem processes and interactions, simulate future scenarios, and evaluate remedial actions in response to eutrophication, habitat loss, and freshwater diversion. The need to couple hydrodynamic and ecological models to address research and management questions is clear because dynamic feedbacks between biotic and physical processes are critical interactions within ecosystems. In this review, we present historical and modern perspectives on estuarine hydrodynamic and ecological modeling, consider model limitations, and address aspects of model linkage, skill assessment, and complexity. We discuss the balance between spatial and temporal resolution and present examples using different spatiotemporal scales. Finally, we recommend future lines of inquiry, approaches to balance complexity and uncertainty, and model transparency and utility. It is idealistic to think we can pursue a “theory of everything” for estuarine models, but recent advances suggest that models for both scientific investigations and management applications will continue to improve in terms of realism, precision, and accuracy.

Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling

PubMed Central

Ganju, Neil K.; Brush, Mark J.; Rashleigh, Brenda; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.; del Barrio, Pilar; Grear, Jason S.; Harris, Lora A.; Lake, Samuel J.; McCardell, Grant; O’Donnell, James; Ralston, David K.; Signell, Richard P.; Testa, Jeremy M.; Vaudrey, Jamie M.P.

2016-01-01

Numerical modeling has emerged over the last several decades as a widely accepted tool for investigations in environmental sciences. In estuarine research, hydrodynamic and ecological models have moved along parallel tracks with regard to complexity, refinement, computational power, and incorporation of uncertainty. Coupled hydrodynamic-ecological models have been used to assess ecosystem processes and interactions, simulate future scenarios, and evaluate remedial actions in response to eutrophication, habitat loss, and freshwater diversion. The need to couple hydrodynamic and ecological models to address research and management questions is clear, because dynamic feedbacks between biotic and physical processes are critical interactions within ecosystems. In this review we present historical and modern perspectives on estuarine hydrodynamic and ecological modeling, consider model limitations, and address aspects of model linkage, skill assessment, and complexity. We discuss the balance between spatial and temporal resolution and present examples using different spatiotemporal scales. Finally, we recommend future lines of inquiry, approaches to balance complexity and uncertainty, and model transparency and utility. It is idealistic to think we can pursue a “theory of everything” for estuarine models, but recent advances suggest that models for both scientific investigations and management applications will continue to improve in terms of realism, precision, and accuracy. PMID:27721675

Addressing Curse of Dimensionality in Sensitivity Analysis: How Can We Handle High-Dimensional Problems?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safaei, S.; Haghnegahdar, A.; Razavi, S.

2016-12-01

Complex environmental models are now the primary tool to inform decision makers for the current or future management of environmental resources under the climate and environmental changes. These complex models often contain a large number of parameters that need to be determined by a computationally intensive calibration procedure. Sensitivity analysis (SA) is a very useful tool that not only allows for understanding the model behavior, but also helps in reducing the number of calibration parameters by identifying unimportant ones. The issue is that most global sensitivity techniques are highly computationally demanding themselves for generating robust and stable sensitivity metrics over the entire model response surface. Recently, a novel global sensitivity analysis method, Variogram Analysis of Response Surfaces (VARS), is introduced that can efficiently provide a comprehensive assessment of global sensitivity using the Variogram concept. In this work, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of this highly efficient GSA method in saving computational burden, when applied to systems with extra-large number of input factors ( 100). We use a test function and a hydrological modelling case study to demonstrate the capability of VARS method in reducing problem dimensionality by identifying important vs unimportant input factors.

Assessing biodiversity loss due to land use with Life Cycle Assessment: are we there yet?

PubMed

Souza, Danielle M; Teixeira, Ricardo F M; Ostermann, Ole P

2015-01-01

Ecosystems are under increasing pressure from human activities, with land use and land-use change at the forefront of the drivers that provoke global and regional biodiversity loss. The first step in addressing the challenge of how to reverse the negative outlook for the coming years starts with measuring environmental loss rates and assigning responsibilities. Pinpointing the global pressures on biodiversity is a task best addressed using holistic models such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA is the leading method for calculating cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of products and services; it is actively promoted by many public policies, and integrated as part of environmental information systems within private companies. LCA already deals with the potential biodiversity impacts of land use, but there are significant obstacles to overcome before its models grasp the full reach of the phenomena involved. In this review, we discuss some pressing issues that need to be addressed. LCA mainly introduces biodiversity as an endpoint category modeled as a loss in species richness due to the conversion and use of land over time and space. The functional and population effects on biodiversity are mostly absent due to the emphasis on species accumulation with limited geographic and taxonomical reach. Current land-use modeling activities that use biodiversity indicators tend to oversimplify the real dynamics and complexity of the interactions of species among each other and with their habitats. To identify the main areas for improvement, we systematically reviewed LCA studies on land use that had findings related to global change and conservation ecology. We provide suggestion as to how to address some of the issues raised. Our overall objective was to encourage companies to monitor and take concrete steps to address the impacts of land use on biodiversity on a broader geographical scale and along increasingly globalized supply chains. © 2014 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessing biodiversity loss due to land use with Life Cycle Assessment: are we there yet?

PubMed Central

Souza, Danielle M; Teixeira, Ricardo FM; Ostermann, Ole P

2015-01-01

Ecosystems are under increasing pressure from human activities, with land use and land-use change at the forefront of the drivers that provoke global and regional biodiversity loss. The first step in addressing the challenge of how to reverse the negative outlook for the coming years starts with measuring environmental loss rates and assigning responsibilities. Pinpointing the global pressures on biodiversity is a task best addressed using holistic models such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA is the leading method for calculating cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of products and services; it is actively promoted by many public policies, and integrated as part of environmental information systems within private companies. LCA already deals with the potential biodiversity impacts of land use, but there are significant obstacles to overcome before its models grasp the full reach of the phenomena involved. In this review, we discuss some pressing issues that need to be addressed. LCA mainly introduces biodiversity as an endpoint category modeled as a loss in species richness due to the conversion and use of land over time and space. The functional and population effects on biodiversity are mostly absent due to the emphasis on species accumulation with limited geographic and taxonomical reach. Current land-use modeling activities that use biodiversity indicators tend to oversimplify the real dynamics and complexity of the interactions of species among each other and with their habitats. To identify the main areas for improvement, we systematically reviewed LCA studies on land use that had findings related to global change and conservation ecology. We provide suggestion as to how to address some of the issues raised. Our overall objective was to encourage companies to monitor and take concrete steps to address the impacts of land use on biodiversity on a broader geographical scale and along increasingly globalized supply chains. PMID:25143302

Collaborative Observation and Research (CORE) Watersheds: new strategies for tracking the regional effects of climate change on complex systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdoch, P. S.

2007-12-01

The past 30 years of environmental research have shown that our world is not made up of discrete components acting independently, but rather of a mosaic of complex relations among air, land, water, living resources, and human activities. Recent warming of the climate is having a significant effect on the functioning of those systems. A national imperative is developing to quickly establish local, regional, and national systems for anticipating environmental degradation from a changing climate and developing cost-effective adaptation or mitigation strategies. In these circumstances, the debate over research versus monitoring becomes moot--there is a clear need for the integrated application of both across a range of temporal and spatial scales. A national framework that effectively addresses the multiple scales and complex multi-disciplinary processes of climate change is being assembled largely from existing programs through collaboration among Federal, State, local, and NGO organizations. The result will be an observation and research network capable of interpreting complex environmental changes at a range of spatial and temporal scales, but at less cost than if the network were funded as an independent initiative. A pilot implementation of the collaborative framework in the Delaware River Basin yielded multi-scale assessments of carbon storage and flux, and the effects of forest fragmentation and soil calcium depletion on ecosystem function. A prototype of a national climate-effects observation and research network linking research watersheds, regional surveys, remote sensing, and ecosystem modeling is being initiated in the Yukon River Basin where carbon flux associated with permafrost thaw could accelerate global warming.

Development of a passive, in situ, integrative sampler for hydrophilic organic contaminants in aquatic environments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alvarez, D.A.; Petty, J.D.; Huckins, J.N.; Jones-Lepp, T. L.; Getting, D.T.; Goddard, J.P.; Manahan, S.E.

2004-01-01

Increasingly it is being realized that a holistic hazard assessment of complex environmental contaminant mixtures requires data on the concentrations of hydrophilic organic contaminants including new generation pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and many chemicals associated with household, industrial, and agricultural wastes. To address this issue, we developed a passive in situ sampling device (the polar organic chemical integrative sampler [POCIS]) that integratively concentrates trace levels of complex mixtures of hydrophilic environmental contaminants, enables the determination of their time-weighted average water concentrations, and provides a method of estimating the potential exposure of aquatic organisms to the complex mixture of waterborne contaminants. Using a prototype sampler, linear uptake of selected herbicides and pharmaceuticals with log KowS < 4.0 was observed for up to 56 d. Estimation of the ambient water concentrations of chemicals of interest is achieved by using appropriate uptake models and determination of POCIS sampling rates for appropriate exposure conditions. Use of POCIS in field validation studies targeting the herbicide diuron in the United Kingdom resulted in the detection of the chemical at estimated concentrations of 190 to 600 ng/L. These values are in agreement with reported levels found in traditional grab samples taken concurrently.

In praise of mechanistically-rich models

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeAngelis, Donald L.; Mooij, Wolf M.; Canham, Charles D.; Cole, Jonathan J.; Lauenroth, William K.

2003-01-01

The book opens with an overview of the status and role of modeling in ecosystem science, including perspectives on the long-running debate over the appropriate level of complexity in models. This is followed by eight chapters that address the critical issue of evaluating ecosystem models, including methods of addressing uncertainty. Next come several case studies of the role of models in environmental policy and management. A section on the future of modeling in ecosystem science focuses on increasing the use of modeling in undergraduate education and the modeling skills of professionals within the field. The benefits and limitations of predictive (versus observational) models are also considered in detail. Written by stellar contributors, this book grants access to the state of the art and science of ecosystem modeling.

Energy supplies and future engines for land, sea, and air.

PubMed

Hidy, George M; Chow, Judith C; England, Glen C; Legge, Alan H; Lloyd, Alan C; Watson, John G

2012-11-01

The 2012 Critical Review Discussion complements Wilson, (2012), provides pointers to more detailed treatments of different topics and adds additional dimensions to the area of "energy". These include broader aspects of technologies driven by fuel resources and environmental issues, the concept of energy technology innovation, evolution in transportation resources, and complexities of energy policies addressing carbon taxes or carbon trading. National and global energy data bases are identified and evaluated and conversion factors are given to allow their comparability.

Feasibility and Environmental Implications of Using Waste Motor Oil as Alternative Supplemental Fuel in Contingency Prime Power Generation

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-23

days of World War II, a problem arose when General George Patton’s 3rd Army exceeded expectations on the march to Germany. Gen. Patton’s jeeps...to address this problem . The military’s complex and arduous logistic requirement to deliver fuel to the combat theater sparked an interest in...the particles it can vaporize. It does not detect particles beyond the five- to eight- micron range” (Mayer, 2006). This is a problem because that

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cournia, Zoe; Allen, Toby W.; Andricioaei, Ioan

It is fundamental for the flourishing biological cells that membrane proteins mediate the process. Membrane-embedded transporters move ions and larger solutes across membranes; receptors mediate communication between the cell and its environment and membrane-embedded enzymes catalyze chemical reactions. Understanding these mechanisms of action requires knowledge of how the proteins couple to their fluid, hydrated lipid membrane environment. Here, we present here current studies in computational and experimental membrane protein biophysics, and show how they address outstanding challenges in understanding the complex environmental effects on the structure, function, and dynamics of membrane proteins.

Internal complexity and environmental sensitivity in hospitals.

PubMed

Ashmos, D P; Duchon, D; Hauge, F E; McDaniel, R R

1996-01-01

Theory suggests that organizations should respond to external complexity with internal complexity. We examine whether "environmentally sensitive" hospitals are more internally complex than "environmentally insensitive" hospitals. Results show that environmentally sensitive and insensitive hospitals differed on three of the measures of internal complexity: goal complexity, strategic complexity, and relational complexity.

A methodology to incorporate life cycle analysis and the triple bottom line mechanism for sustainable management of industrial enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ling; Lin, Li

2004-02-01

Since 1970"s, the environmental protection movement has challenged industries to increase their investment in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM) techniques and management tools. Social considerations for global citizens and their descendants also motivated the examination on the complex issues of sustainable development beyond the immediate economic impact. Consequently, industrial enterprises have started to understand sustainable development in considering the Triple Bottom Line (TBL): economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice. For the management, however, a lack of systematic ECM methodologies hinders their effort in planning, evaluating, reporting and auditing of sustainability. To address this critical need, this research develops a framework of a sustainable management system by incorporating a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of industrial operations with the TBL mechanism. A TBL metric system with seven sets of indices for the TBL elements and their complex relations is identified for the comprehensive evaluation of a company"s sustainability performance. Utilities of the TBL indices are estimated to represent the views of various stakeholders, including the company, investors, employees and the society at large. Costs of these indices are also captured to reflect the company"s effort in meeting the utilities. An optimization model is formulated to maximize the economic, environmental and social benefits by the company"s effort in developing sustainable strategies. To promote environmental and social consciousness, the methodology can significantly facilitate management decisions by its capabilities of including "non-business" values and external costs that the company has not contemplated before.

Environment and asthma in adults.

PubMed

Le Moual, Nicole; Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Varraso, Raphaëlle; Dumas, Orianne; Kauffmann, Francine; Nadif, Rachel

2013-09-01

The present review addresses recent advances and especially challenging aspects regarding the role of environmental risk factors in adult-onset asthma, for which the causes are poorly established. In the first part of the review, we discuss aspects regarding some environmental risk factors for adult-onset asthma: air pollution, occupational exposures with a focus on an emerging risk represented by exposure to cleaning agents (both at home and in the workplace), and lifestyle and nutrition. The second part is focused on perspectives and challenges, regarding relevant topics on which research is needed to improve the understanding of the role of environmental factors in asthma. Aspects of exposure assessment, the complexity of multiple exposures, the interrelationships of the environment with behavioral characteristics and the importance of studying biological markers and gene-environment interactions to identify the role of the environment in asthma are discussed. We conclude that environmental and lifestyle exposures play an important role in asthma or related phenotypes. The changes in lifestyle and the environment in recent decades have modified the specific risk factors in asthma even for well-recognized risks such as occupational exposures. To better understand the role of the environment in asthma, the use of objective (quantitative measurement of exposures) or modern tools (bar code, GPS) and the development of multidisciplinary collaboration would be very promising. A better understanding of the complex interrelationships between socio-economic, nutritional, lifestyle and environmental conditions might help to study their joint and independent roles in asthma. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Community-Based Participatory Research: Lessons Learned from the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research

PubMed Central

Israel, Barbara A.; Parker, Edith A.; Rowe, Zachary; Salvatore, Alicia; Minkler, Meredith; López, Jesús; Butz, Arlene; Mosley, Adrian; Coates, Lucretia; Lambert, George; Potito, Paul A.; Brenner, Barbara; Rivera, Maribel; Romero, Harry; Thompson, Beti; Coronado, Gloria; Halstead, Sandy

2005-01-01

Over the past several decades there has been growing evidence of the increase in incidence rates, morbidity, and mortality for a number of health problems experienced by children. The causation and aggravation of these problems are complex and multifactorial. The burden of these health problems and environmental exposures is borne disproportionately by children from low-income communities and communities of color. Researchers and funding institutions have called for increased attention to the complex issues that affect the health of children living in marginalized communities—and communities more broadly—and have suggested greater community involvement in processes that shape research and intervention approaches, for example, through community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships among academic, health services, public health, and community-based organizations. Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (Children’s Centers) funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were required to include a CBPR project. The purpose of this article is to provide a definition and set of CBPR principles, to describe the rationale for and major benefits of using this approach, to draw on the experiences of six of the Children’s Centers in using CBPR, and to provide lessons learned and recommendations for how to successfully establish and maintain CBPR partnerships aimed at enhancing our understanding and addressing the multiple determinants of children’s health. PMID:16203263

Chemical, biochemical, and environmental fiber sensors III; Proceedings of the Meeting, Boston, MA, Sept. 4, 5, 1991

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lieberman, Robert A.

Various papers on chemical, biochemical, and environmental fiber sensors are presented. Individual topics addressed include: fiber optic pressure sensor for combustion monitoring and control, viologen-based fiber optic oxygen sensors, renewable-reagent fiber optic sensor for ocean pCO2, transition metal complexes as indicators for a fiber optic oxygen sensor, fiber optic pH measurements using azo indicators, simple reversible fiber optic chemical sensors using solvatochromic dyes, totally integrated optical measuring sensors, integrated optic biosensor for environmental monitoring, radiation dosimetry using planar waveguide sensors, optical and piezoelectric analysis of polymer films for chemical sensor characterization, source polarization effects in an optical fiber fluorosensor, lens-type refractometer for on-line chemical analysis, fiber optic hydrocarbon sensor system, chemical sensors for environmental monitoring, optical fibers for liquid-crystal sensing and logic devices, suitability of single-mode fluoride fibers for evanescent-wave sensing, integrated modules for fiber optic sensors, optoelectronic sensors based on narrowband A3B5 alloys, fiber Bragg grating chemical sensor.

Research and Technology Development Activities to Address the DOE-EM Environmental Mercury Challenge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pierce, Eric M; Peterson, Mark J

Human activities have altered trace metal distributions globally. This is especially true for the trace metal mercury (Hg), a pervasive global pollutant that can be methylated to form highly toxic methylmercury (MeHg), which bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs, endangering humans and other biota. Currently there are more than 3,000 mercury-contaminated sites identified worldwide and the United Nations Environment Programme has recently highlighted the risk of this contamination to human health [1, 2]. The Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) represents an example of one of these mercury-contaminated sites. Unlike other contaminants metals, radionuclides, and organic solvents that impact the Department of Energymore » Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) cleanup program at the ORR and other DOE sites, mercury has several unique characteristics that make environmental remediation of the Y-12 National Security Complex one of the most formidable challenges ever encountered. These distinctive physicochemical properties for mercury include the following: it is a liquid at ambient temperature and pressure; it is the only metal that biomagnifies; and it is the only contaminant transported as a cation, as a dissolved or gaseous elemental metal (similar to an organic solvent), or as both a cation and a dissolved or gaseous elemental metal under environmental conditions. Because of these complexities, implementing cost effective and sustainable solutions that reduce mercury flux from various primary and secondary contamination sources will require linking basic science understanding and applied research advancements into Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management s (OREM) cleanup process. Currently, DOE is investing in mercury-related research through a variety of programs, including the Office of Science sponsored Critical Interfaces Science Focus Area, EM headquarters sponsored Applied Field Research Initiative, OREM-sponsored Lower East Fork Poplar Creek (LEFPC) Mercury Technology Development Program, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), and EM s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program. Collectively, these multi-institutional and multidisciplinary programs are generating new tools, knowledge, and remediation approaches that will enable efficient cleanup of mercury contaminated systems locally and globally. In this talk we will highlight the progress made to date in addressing key knowledge gaps required to solve this watershed-scale conundrum.« less

New perspectives in ecosystem services science as instruments to understand environmental securities

PubMed Central

Villa, Ferdinando; Voigt, Brian; Erickson, Jon D.

2014-01-01

As societal demand for food, water and other life-sustaining resources grows, the science of ecosystem services (ES) is seen as a promising tool to improve our understanding, and ultimately the management, of increasingly uncertain supplies of critical goods provided or supported by natural ecosystems. This promise, however, is tempered by a relatively primitive understanding of the complex systems supporting ES, which as a result are often quantified as static resources rather than as the dynamic expression of human–natural systems. This article attempts to pinpoint the minimum level of detail that ES science needs to achieve in order to usefully inform the debate on environmental securities, and discusses both the state of the art and recent methodological developments in ES in this light. We briefly review the field of ES accounting methods and list some desiderata that we deem necessary, reachable and relevant to address environmental securities through an improved science of ES. We then discuss a methodological innovation that, while only addressing these needs partially, can improve our understanding of ES dynamics in data-scarce situations. The methodology is illustrated and discussed through an application related to water security in the semi-arid landscape of the Great Ruaha river of Tanzania. PMID:24535393

DEACTIVATION AND DECOMMISSIONING ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY FOR THE PLUTONIUM FINISHING PLANT COMPLEX, HANFORD NUCLEAR RESERVATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hopkins, A.M.; Heineman, R.; Norton, S.

Maintaining compliance with environmental regulatory requirements is a significant priority in successful completion of the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Nuclear Material Stabilization (NMS) Project. To ensure regulatory compliance throughout the deactivation and decommissioning of the PFP complex, an environmental regulatory strategy was developed. The overall goal of this strategy is to comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and/or compliance agreements during PFP stabilization, deactivation, and eventual dismantlement. Significant environmental drivers for the PFP Nuclear Material Stabilization Project include the Tri-Party Agreement; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Actmore » of 1980 (CERCLA); the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA); the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA). Recent TPA negotiation s with Ecology and EPA have resulted in milestones that support the use of CERCLA as the primary statutory framework for decommissioning PFP. Milestones have been negotiated to support the preparation of Engineering Evaluations/Cost Analyses for decommissioning major PFP buildings. Specifically, CERCLA EE/CA(s) are anticipated for the following scopes of work: Settling Tank 241-Z-361, the 232-Z Incinerator, , the process facilities (eg, 234-5Z, 242, 236) and the process facility support buildings. These CERCLA EE/CA(s) are for the purpose of analyzing the appropriateness of the slab-on-grade endpoint Additionally, agreement was reached on performing an evaluation of actions necessary to address below-grade structures or other structures remaining after completion of the decommissioning of PFP. Remaining CERCLA actions will be integrated with other Central Plateau activities at the Hanford site.« less

Trends in hard X-ray fluorescence mapping: environmental applications in the age of fast detectors.

PubMed

Lombi, E; de Jonge, M D; Donner, E; Ryan, C G; Paterson, D

2011-06-01

Environmental samples are extremely diverse but share a tendency for heterogeneity and complexity. This heterogeneity poses methodological challenges when investigating biogeochemical processes. In recent years, the development of analytical tools capable of probing element distribution and speciation at the microscale have allowed this challenge to be addressed. Of these available tools, laterally resolved synchrotron techniques such as X-ray fluorescence mapping are key methods for the in situ investigation of micronutrients and inorganic contaminants in environmental samples. This article demonstrates how recent advances in X-ray fluorescence detector technology are bringing new possibilities to environmental research. Fast detectors are helping to circumvent major issues such as X-ray beam damage of hydrated samples, as dwell times during scanning are reduced. They are also helping to reduce temporal beamtime requirements, making particularly time-consuming techniques such as micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) tomography increasingly feasible. This article focuses on μXRF mapping of nutrients and metalloids in environmental samples, and suggests that the current divide between mapping and speciation techniques will be increasingly blurred by the development of combined approaches.

Observations on the interaction of nanomaterials with bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raja, P. M.; Ajayan, P. M.; Nalamasu, O.; Sharma, A.

2006-05-01

Large scale commercial manufacturing of nanomaterials raises the important issue of their environmental fate. With increased production (estimated to be in million gallon range) the nanomaterial interactions with environmental microbial ecology would be significant. However, there are scant studies that have addressed this concern. It is therefore essential to experimentally determine some fundamental parameters to ascertain any environmental stresses related to microbiological interactions of nanomaterials. There are concerns that such an interaction may be similar to the biogeochemical interactions of asbestos fibers, which continues to be an alarming environmental issue. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are newly emerging nanomaterials, with a wide range of potential electronic and medical applications. Though CNTs are dimensionally similar to the mineral fibers, they differ morphologically, and can possess different surface chemistries, capable of complex and varied biological interactions within the environment. In this study, we present experimental data that show discernible effects on microbial morphology, biofilm formation, substrate consumption rates and growth of Escherichia coli in the presence of carbon nanotubes with the aim of developing a fundamental understanding of the environmental implications of CNT-microbial interactions.

New parsimonious simulation methods and tools to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations

PubMed Central

Antle, John M.; Stoorvogel, Jetse J.; Valdivia, Roberto O.

2014-01-01

This article presents conceptual and empirical foundations for new parsimonious simulation models that are being used to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations. The conceptual framework integrates key features of the biophysical and economic processes on which the farming systems are based. The approach represents a methodological advance by coupling important behavioural processes, for example, self-selection in adaptive responses to technological and environmental change, with aggregate processes, such as changes in market supply and demand conditions or environmental conditions as climate. Suitable biophysical and economic data are a critical limiting factor in modelling these complex systems, particularly for the characterization of out-of-sample counterfactuals in ex ante analyses. Parsimonious, population-based simulation methods are described that exploit available observational, experimental, modelled and expert data. The analysis makes use of a new scenario design concept called representative agricultural pathways. A case study illustrates how these methods can be used to assess food and environmental security. The concluding section addresses generalizations of parametric forms and linkages of regional models to global models. PMID:24535388

New parsimonious simulation methods and tools to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations.

PubMed

Antle, John M; Stoorvogel, Jetse J; Valdivia, Roberto O

2014-04-05

This article presents conceptual and empirical foundations for new parsimonious simulation models that are being used to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations. The conceptual framework integrates key features of the biophysical and economic processes on which the farming systems are based. The approach represents a methodological advance by coupling important behavioural processes, for example, self-selection in adaptive responses to technological and environmental change, with aggregate processes, such as changes in market supply and demand conditions or environmental conditions as climate. Suitable biophysical and economic data are a critical limiting factor in modelling these complex systems, particularly for the characterization of out-of-sample counterfactuals in ex ante analyses. Parsimonious, population-based simulation methods are described that exploit available observational, experimental, modelled and expert data. The analysis makes use of a new scenario design concept called representative agricultural pathways. A case study illustrates how these methods can be used to assess food and environmental security. The concluding section addresses generalizations of parametric forms and linkages of regional models to global models.

Metabolic reprogramming and dysregulated metabolism: cause, consequence and/or enabler of environmental carcinogenesis?

PubMed Central

Robey, R.Brooks; Weisz, Judith; Kuemmerle, Nancy; Salzberg, Anna C.; Berg, Arthur; Brown, Dustin G.; Kubik, Laura; Palorini, Roberta; Al-Mulla, Fahd; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Colacci, Annamaria; Mondello, Chiara; Raju, Jayadev; Woodrick, Jordan; Scovassi, A.Ivana; Singh, Neetu; Vaccari, Monica; Roy, Rabindra; Forte, Stefano; Memeo, Lorenzo; Salem, Hosni K.; Amedei, Amedeo; Hamid, Roslida A.; Williams, Graeme P.; Lowe, Leroy; Meyer, Joel; Martin, Francis L.; Bisson, William H.; Chiaradonna, Ferdinando; Ryan, Elizabeth P.

2015-01-01

Environmental contributions to cancer development are widely accepted, but only a fraction of all pertinent exposures have probably been identified. Traditional toxicological approaches to the problem have largely focused on the effects of individual agents at singular endpoints. As such, they have incompletely addressed both the pro-carcinogenic contributions of environmentally relevant low-dose chemical mixtures and the fact that exposures can influence multiple cancer-associated endpoints over varying timescales. Of these endpoints, dysregulated metabolism is one of the most common and recognizable features of cancer, but its specific roles in exposure-associated cancer development remain poorly understood. Most studies have focused on discrete aspects of cancer metabolism and have incompletely considered both its dynamic integrated nature and the complex controlling influences of substrate availability, external trophic signals and environmental conditions. Emerging high throughput approaches to environmental risk assessment also do not directly address the metabolic causes or consequences of changes in gene expression. As such, there is a compelling need to establish common or complementary frameworks for further exploration that experimentally and conceptually consider the gestalt of cancer metabolism and its causal relationships to both carcinogenesis and the development of other cancer hallmarks. A literature review to identify environmentally relevant exposures unambiguously linked to both cancer development and dysregulated metabolism suggests major gaps in our understanding of exposure-associated carcinogenesis and metabolic reprogramming. Although limited evidence exists to support primary causal roles for metabolism in carcinogenesis, the universality of altered cancer metabolism underscores its fundamental biological importance, and multiple pleiomorphic, even dichotomous, roles for metabolism in promoting, antagonizing or otherwise enabling the development and selection of cancer are suggested. PMID:26106140

Science, Practitioners and Faith Communities: using TEK and Faith Knowledge to address climate issues.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, K.

2017-12-01

Worldview, Lifeway and Science - Communities that are tied to the land or water for their livelihood, and for whom subsistence guides their cultural lifeway, have knowledges that inform their interactions with the environment. These frameworks, sometimes called Traditional Ecological Knowledges (TEK), are based on generations of observations made and shared within lived life-environmental systems, and are tied to practitioners' broader worldviews. Subsistence communities, including Native American tribes, are well aware of the crises caused by climate change impacts. These communities are working on ways to integrate knowledge from their ancient ways with current observations and methods from Western science to implement appropriate adaptation and resilience measures. In the delta region of south Louisiana, the communities hold worldviews that blend TEK, climate science and faith-derived concepts. It is not incongruent for the communities to intertwine conversations from complex and diverse sources, including the academy, to inform their adaptation measures and their imagined solutions. Drawing on over twenty years of work with local communities, science organizations and faith institutions of the lower bayou region of Louisiana, the presenter will address the complexity of traditional communities' work with diverse sources of knowledge to guide local decision-making and to assist outside partners to more effectively address challenges associated with climate change.

Integrating GIS and ABM to Explore Spatiotemporal Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, M.; Jiang, Y.; Yang, C.

2013-12-01

Agent-based modeling as a methodology for the bottom-up exploration with the account of adaptive behavior and heterogeneity of system components can help discover the development and pattern of the complex social and environmental system. However, ABM is a computationally intensive process especially when the number of system components becomes large and the agent-agent/agent-environmental interaction is modeled very complex. Most of traditional ABM frameworks developed based on CPU do not have a satisfying computing capacity. To address the problem and as the emergence of advanced techniques, GPU computing with CUDA can provide powerful parallel structure to enable the complex simulation of spatiotemporal dynamics. In this study, we first develop a GPU-based ABM system. Secondly, in order to visualize the dynamics generated from the movement of agent and the change of agent/environmental attributes during the simulation, we integrate GIS into the ABM system. Advanced geovisualization technologies can be utilized for representing the spatiotemporal change events, such as proper 2D/3D maps with state-of-the-art symbols, space-time cube and multiple layers each of which presents pattern in one time-stamp, etc. Thirdly, visual analytics which include interactive tools (e.g. grouping, filtering, linking, etc.) is included in our ABM-GIS system to help users conduct real-time data exploration during the progress of simulation. Analysis like flow analysis and spatial cluster analysis can be integrated according to the geographical problem we want to explore.

Temporal information partitioning: Characterizing synergy, uniqueness, and redundancy in interacting environmental variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodwell, Allison E.; Kumar, Praveen

2017-07-01

Information theoretic measures can be used to identify nonlinear interactions between source and target variables through reductions in uncertainty. In information partitioning, multivariate mutual information is decomposed into synergistic, unique, and redundant components. Synergy is information shared only when sources influence a target together, uniqueness is information only provided by one source, and redundancy is overlapping shared information from multiple sources. While this partitioning has been applied to provide insights into complex dependencies, several proposed partitioning methods overestimate redundant information and omit a component of unique information because they do not account for source dependencies. Additionally, information partitioning has only been applied to time-series data in a limited context, using basic pdf estimation techniques or a Gaussian assumption. We develop a Rescaled Redundancy measure (Rs) to solve the source dependency issue, and present Gaussian, autoregressive, and chaotic test cases to demonstrate its advantages over existing techniques in the presence of noise, various source correlations, and different types of interactions. This study constitutes the first rigorous application of information partitioning to environmental time-series data, and addresses how noise, pdf estimation technique, or source dependencies can influence detected measures. We illustrate how our techniques can unravel the complex nature of forcing and feedback within an ecohydrologic system with an application to 1 min environmental signals of air temperature, relative humidity, and windspeed. The methods presented here are applicable to the study of a broad range of complex systems composed of interacting variables.

'Multimorbidity' as the manifestation of network disturbances.

PubMed

Sturmberg, Joachim P; Bennett, Jeanette M; Martin, Carmel M; Picard, Martin

2017-02-01

We argue that 'multimorbidity' is the manifestation of interconnected physiological network processes within an individual in his or her socio-cultural environment. Networks include genomic, metabolomic, proteomic, neuroendocrine, immune and mitochondrial bioenergetic elements, as well as social, environmental and health care networks. Stress systems and other physiological mechanisms create feedback loops that integrate and regulate internal networks within the individual. Minor (e.g. daily hassles) and major (e.g. trauma) stressful life experiences perturb internal and social networks resulting in physiological instability with changes ranging from improved resilience to unhealthy adaptation and 'clinical disease'. Understanding 'multimorbidity' as a complex adaptive systems response to biobehavioural and socio-environmental networks is essential. Thus, designing integrative care delivery approaches that more adequately address the underlying disease processes as the manifestation of a state of physiological dysregulation is essential. This framework can shape care delivery approaches to meet the individual's care needs in the context of his or her underlying illness experience. It recognizes 'multimorbidity' and its symptoms as the end product of complex physiological processes, namely, stress activation and mitochondrial energetics, and suggests new opportunities for treatment and prevention. The future of 'multimorbidity' management might become much more discerning by combining the balancing of physiological dysregulation with targeted personalized biotechnology interventions such as small molecule therapeutics targeting specific cellular components of the stress response, with community-embedded interventions that involve addressing psycho-socio-cultural impediments that would aim to strengthen personal/social resilience and enhance social capital. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Building a Co-Created Citizen Science Program with Community Members Neighboring a Hazardous Waste Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez-Andreotta, M.; Brusseau, M. L. L.; Artiola, J. F.; Maier, R. M.; Gandolfi, A. J.

2015-12-01

A research project that is only expert-driven may ignore the role of local knowledge in research, often gives low priority to the development of a comprehensive strategy to engage the community, and may not deliver the results of the study to the community in an effective way. To date, only a limited number of co-created citizen science projects, where community members are involved in most or all steps of the scientific process, have been initiated at contaminated sites and even less in conjunction with risk communication. Gardenroots: The Dewey-Humboldt AZ Garden Project was a place-based, co-created citizen science project where community members and researchers together: defined the question for study, developed hypotheses, collected environmental samples, disseminated results broadly, translated the results into action, and posed new research questions. This co-created environmental research project produced new data and addressed an additional exposure route (consumption of vegetables grown in soils with elevated arsenic levels) that was not being evaluated in the current site assessment. Furthermore, co-producing science led to both individual learning and social-ecological outcomes. This approach illustrates the benefits of a co-created citizen-science program in addressing the complex problems that arise in communities neighboring a hazardous waste sites. Such a project increased the community's involvement in regional environmental assessment and decision-making, which has the potential to help mitigate environmental exposures and thereby reduce associated risks.

Logic-Based Models for the Analysis of Cell Signaling Networks†

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Computational models are increasingly used to analyze the operation of complex biochemical networks, including those involved in cell signaling networks. Here we review recent advances in applying logic-based modeling to mammalian cell biology. Logic-based models represent biomolecular networks in a simple and intuitive manner without describing the detailed biochemistry of each interaction. A brief description of several logic-based modeling methods is followed by six case studies that demonstrate biological questions recently addressed using logic-based models and point to potential advances in model formalisms and training procedures that promise to enhance the utility of logic-based methods for studying the relationship between environmental inputs and phenotypic or signaling state outputs of complex signaling networks. PMID:20225868

Therapies in inborn errors of oxidative metabolism

PubMed Central

Schiff, Manuel; Bénit, Paule; Jacobs, Howard T.; Vockley, Jerry; Rustin, Pierre

2014-01-01

Mitochondrial diseases encompass a wide range of presentations and mechanisms, dictating a need to consider both broad-based and disease-specific therapies. The manifestations of mitochondrial dysfunction and the response to therapy vary between individuals. This probably reflects the genetic complexity of mitochondrial biology, which requires an excess of 2000 genes for proper function, with numerous interfering epigenetic and environmental factors. Accordingly, we are increasingly aware of the complexity of these diseases which involve far more than merely decreased ATP supply. Indeed, recent therapeutic progress has addressed only specific disease entities. In this review present and prospective therapeutic approaches will be discussed on the basis of targets and mechanism of action, but with a broad outlook on their potential applications. PMID:22633959

A Benchmarking Initiative for Reactive Transport Modeling Applied to Subsurface Environmental Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steefel, C. I.

2015-12-01

Over the last 20 years, we have seen the evolution of multicomponent reactive transport modeling and the expanding range and increasing complexity of subsurface environmental applications it is being used to address. Reactive transport modeling is being asked to provide accurate assessments of engineering performance and risk for important issues with far-reaching consequences. As a result, the complexity and detail of subsurface processes, properties, and conditions that can be simulated have significantly expanded. Closed form solutions are necessary and useful, but limited to situations that are far simpler than typical applications that combine many physical and chemical processes, in many cases in coupled form. In the absence of closed form and yet realistic solutions for complex applications, numerical benchmark problems with an accepted set of results will be indispensable to qualifying codes for various environmental applications. The intent of this benchmarking exercise, now underway for more than five years, is to develop and publish a set of well-described benchmark problems that can be used to demonstrate simulator conformance with norms established by the subsurface science and engineering community. The objective is not to verify this or that specific code--the reactive transport codes play a supporting role in this regard—but rather to use the codes to verify that a common solution of the problem can be achieved. Thus, the objective of each of the manuscripts is to present an environmentally-relevant benchmark problem that tests the conceptual model capabilities, numerical implementation, process coupling, and accuracy. The benchmark problems developed to date include 1) microbially-mediated reactions, 2) isotopes, 3) multi-component diffusion, 4) uranium fate and transport, 5) metal mobility in mining affected systems, and 6) waste repositories and related aspects.

Rethinking Environmental Protection: Meeting the Challenges ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Background: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made great progress in addressing some major environmental problems. These successes were framed within EPA’s statutory mandates which are largely media-specific and receptor-focused and follow a segmented risk-based construct. Today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex, and new approaches are needed to achieve sustainable solutions that protect the environment and public health. Objectives: We provide an overview of environmental protection at EPA and highlight today’s environmental challenges. We provide case examples of systems approaches that consider the links between environment and human health. We offer a strategic framework for tackling challenges so EPA can continue to protect the environment and public health.Discussion: Expanded approaches will be transdisciplinary, informed by vast new sources of data, and build upon new stakeholder partnerships. A systems approach to environmental protection looks at problems holistically, includes the drivers and stressors that impact the issue and the dimensions that frame it, and integrates various types of data from health, ecological, and social sciences, with the goal of formulating sustainable solutions to environmental issues. Conclusions: The natural environment and human health are inextricably linked, and human health, well-being, and economic prosperity depend on healthy ecosystems. EPA research is leading an evolution in

The Difference between Uncertainty and Information, and Why This Matters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nearing, G. S.

2016-12-01

Earth science investigation and arbitration (for decision making) is very often organized around a concept of uncertainty. It seems relatively straightforward that the purpose of our science is to reduce uncertainty about how environmental systems will react and evolve under different conditions. I propose here that approaching a science of complex systems as a process of quantifying and reducing uncertainty is a mistake, and specifically a mistake that is rooted in certain rather hisoric logical errors. Instead I propose that we should be asking questions about information. I argue here that an information-based perspective facilitates almost trivial answers to environmental science questions that are either difficult or theoretically impossible to answer when posed as questions about uncertainty. In particular, I propose that an information-centric perspective leads to: Coherent and non-subjective hypothesis tests for complex system models. Process-level diagnostics for complex systems models. Methods for building complex systems models that allow for inductive inference without the need for a priori specification of likelihood functions or ad hoc error metrics. Asymptotically correct quantification of epistemic uncertainty. To put this in slightly more basic terms, I propose that an information-theoretic philosophy of science has the potential to resolve certain important aspects of the Demarcation Problem and the Duhem-Quine Problem, and that Hydrology and other Earth Systems Sciences can immediately capitalize on this to address some of our most difficult and persistent problems.

Environmental Risk Assessment of Pharmaceutical Mixtures: Demands, Gaps, and Possible Bridges.

PubMed

Backhaus, Thomas

2016-07-01

The ecotoxicological risk of pharmaceutical mixtures typically exceeds the risk of each individual compound, which calls specific attention to the fact that monitoring surveys routinely find complex pharmaceutical mixtures in various environmental compartments. However, although the body of evidence on the ecotoxicology of pharmaceutical mixtures is quite consistent, the current guidelines for the environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals often do not explicitly address mixture effects. Data availability and acceptable methods often limit such assessments. A tiered approach that begins with summing up individual risk quotients, i.e., the ratio between the predicted or measured environmental concentration and the predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) is therefore suggested in this paper, in order to improve the realism of the environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals. Additionally, the use of a mixture-specific assessment factor, as well as the classical mixture toxicity concepts of concentration addition and independent action is explored. Finally, specific attention is given to the exposure-based waiving of environmental risk assessments, as currently implemented in screening or pre-screening phases (tier 0 in Europe, categorical exclusion in the USA), since even low, individually non-toxic concentrations might combine to produce substantial mixture effects.

COOP+ project: Promoting the cooperation among international Research Infrastructures to address global environmental challenges.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonet-García, Francisco; Materia, Paola; Kutsch, Werner; de Lucas, Jesús Marco; Tjulin, Anders

2016-04-01

During the Anthropocene, mankind will face several global environmental challenges. One of the first and more successful responses provided by Science to these challenges is the collecting of long-term series of biophysical variables in order to improve our knowledge of natural systems. The huge amount of information gathered during the last decades by Research Infrastructures (RIs) has helped to understand the structure and functioning of natural systems at local and regional scales. But how can we address the global cross-scale and cross-disciplinary challenges posed by the global environment change? We believe that it will be necessary to observe, model better and understand the whole biosphere using long term data generated by international RIs. RIs play a key role on many of the last advances and discoveries in science, from the observation of the Higgs Boson at CERN to the exploration of the Universe by the telescopes of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The scale of complexity, instrumentation, computing resources, technological advances, and also of the investments, and the size of research collaborations, do not have precedents in Science. RIs in environmental field are developing fast, but the corresponding communities need yet to further reflect the need for a wider global collaboration because the challenges to tackle are in essence of global nature. This contribution describes how COOP+ project (EU Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action) will promote the cooperation among RIs at a global scale to address global environmental challenges. Our project evolves from the experience of the sucessful FP7 COOPEUS project (see http://www.coopeus.eu), which explored the use and access to data from RIs in environmental research in Europe and USA. The general goal of COOP+ is to strengthen the links and coordination of the ESFRI RIs related to Marine Science (EMSO), Arctic and Atmospheric Research (EISCAT), Carbon Observation (ICOS) and Biodiversity (LifeWatch) with international counterparts (NEON, TERN, AMISR/SRI, CGSM, OOI, INPA/LBA, IMOS, OCN, AMERIFLUX, etc.) and to leverage international scientific cooperation and data exchange with non-EU countries. During the time span of COOP+ (March 2016 to July 2018), we will address several important questions regarding RIs: What could be the contribution of international RIs to address cross-disciplinary global challenges like modelling and understanding the carbon cycle? Is it feasible to join the knowledge gathered in Arctic research with marine science outputs into comprehensive global models? What collaboration approaches could be implemented to foster the cooperation among RIs? What is the role of local observatories (bottom-up) in this cooperation framework? This contribution will describe COOP+ project using the concept of global challenge. We will describe several possible case study that could be addressed by a network of international RIs.

Planning and Design of Water Resources Systems Under Climate Change and Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strzepek, K. M.

2014-12-01

Regional and local water supplies and demands are impacted by global and national systems: climate, economics, population and energy as well as policies: development, energy, and environmental. These drivers can result in complex interactions that require deeper understanding in order to provide actionable information for water planners and stakeholders to develop strategic plans in the face of a changing and growing world. To add more complexity to this issue is the fact that all these drivers are uncertain and the type of uncertainty is not the same. This talk will address approaches to Water Resource Planning at sub-national water regions, national levels and trans-boundary river basins under a non-stationary hydro-climatic future. Additionally the talk will address the design of specific water resource projects such as reservoirs and hydroplants that are being designed now but will operate far in the future when the hydro-climatology will be very different. Examples will be drawn from recent work in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and North America and some insights and outstanding questions will be presented.

Weight Bias and Psychosocial Implications for Acute Care of Patients With Obesity.

PubMed

Smigelski-Theiss, Rachel; Gampong, Malisa; Kurasaki, Jill

2017-01-01

Obesity is a complex medical condition that has psychosocial and physiological implications for those suffering from the disease. Factors contributing to obesity such as depression, childhood experiences, and the physical environment should be recognized and addressed. Weight bias and stigmatization by health care providers and bedside clinicians negatively affect patients with obesity, hindering those patients from receiving appropriate care. To provide optimal care of patients with obesity or adiposity, health care providers must understand the physiological needs and requirements of this population while recognizing and addressing their own biases. The authors describe psychosocial and environmental factors that contribute to obesity, discuss health care providers' weight biases, and highlight implications for acute care of patients suffering from obesity. ©2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Engineering scalable biological systems

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Synthetic biology is focused on engineering biological organisms to study natural systems and to provide new solutions for pressing medical, industrial and environmental problems. At the core of engineered organisms are synthetic biological circuits that execute the tasks of sensing inputs, processing logic and performing output functions. In the last decade, significant progress has been made in developing basic designs for a wide range of biological circuits in bacteria, yeast and mammalian systems. However, significant challenges in the construction, probing, modulation and debugging of synthetic biological systems must be addressed in order to achieve scalable higher-complexity biological circuits. Furthermore, concomitant efforts to evaluate the safety and biocontainment of engineered organisms and address public and regulatory concerns will be necessary to ensure that technological advances are translated into real-world solutions. PMID:21468204

Promoting Conditional Use of Communication Skills for Learners With Complex Communication Needs: A Tutorial.

PubMed

Simacek, Jessica; Reichle, Joe; Byiers, Breanne J; Parker-McGowan, Quannah; Dimian, Adele F; Elmquist, Marianne

2018-05-03

Conditional use of communication skills refers to the ability of a learner to appropriately generalize and discriminate when, where, and how to communicate based on constant variation and shifts in environmental cues. We describe discrimination and generalization challenges encountered by learners with complex communication needs and ways in which these challenges are fostered through traditional communication intervention programming. We address arrangements in instruction that maximize the probability of learners acquiring the conditional use of new vocabulary and the modest instructional technology implemented when planning for generalization. We propose establishing well-discriminated and generalized use of new vocabulary items through the application of a general case instruction framework to communication intervention programming. We provide intervention methodology, including intervention steps for general case instruction, a plethora of functional examples, and graphic displays to assess and intervene to promote conditional use of communication skills for learners with complex communication needs.

Intersection of participation and environmental factors: a complex interactive process.

PubMed

Noreau, Luc; Boschen, Kathryn

2010-09-01

The objective was to review contemporary and historical rehabilitation-focused literature on conceptualizations of the environment, broadly defined, and environmental measures. Data sources included historical nonempirical American-based literature from 1935 to the present and descriptive and empirical rehabilitation articles worldwide, retrieved from computerized databases predominantly from past 10 years depicting a participation-environment association. Literature selection required relevance to 3 combined topics: physical disability rehabilitation, participation/community integration, and impact of environmental barriers and facilitators. The ultimate focus was on spinal cord injury for recent literature and measures reviewed. Data extraction was based on author-assessed relevance to both participation and environmental considerations. Nonempirical literature from last three quarters of a century suggests an environmental impact on participation, focusing on "person-environment fit." Recent empirical evidence supports environmental contributions to participation, but the magnitude of the contribution is low. Despite the obvious theoretic impact of the environment, scientific demonstration of environmental contribution to participation restriction or facilitation has yet to be achieved. Participation-environment interaction could be illustrated better by (1) taking into account critical elements in environmental measures (eg, comprehensiveness of approach to environment, scales describing spectrum of environmental influence, subjective vs objective perspectives), (2) addressing the concept of participation in a dimension-specific approach, and (3) avoiding environmental features in construction of participation measures. Copyright 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A theoretical study on the mechanistic highlights behind the Brønsted-acid dependent mer-fac isomerization of homoleptic carbenic iridium complexes for PhOLEDs.

PubMed

Setzer, Tobias; Lennartz, Christian; Dreuw, Andreas

2017-06-06

Recently, a successful Brønsted-acid mediated geometric isomerization of the meridional homoleptic carbenic iridium(iii) complexes tris-(N-phenyl,N-methyl-benzimidazol-2-yl)iridium(iii) (1) and tris-(N-phenyl,N-benzyl-benzimidazol-2-yl)iridium(iii) (2) into their facial form has been reported. In the present work the pronounced acid-dependency of this particular isomerization procedure is revisited and additional mechanistic pathways are taken into account. Moreover, the acid-induced material decomposition is addressed. All calculations are carried out using density functional theory (DFT) while the environmental effects in solution are accounted for by the COSMO-RS model. The simulated results clearly reveal the outstanding importance of the complex interplay between acid strength, coordinating power of the corresponding base and the steric influence of the ligand system in contrast to the plain calculation of minimum energy pathways for selected complexes. Eventually, general rules to enhance the material-specific reaction yields are provided.

Environmental Biosciences Program Second Quarter Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2004-12-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2006-10-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Fourth Quarter Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2005-06-30

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation s need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems.more » The intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyles (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

The Media as an Invaluable Tool for Informal Earth System Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, E.; Gautier, C.

2001-12-01

One of the most widely utilized avenues for educating the general public about the Earth's environment is the media, be it print, radio or broadcast. Accurate and effective communication of issues in Earth System Science (ESS), however, is significantly hindered by the public's relative scientific illiteracy. Discussion of ESS concepts requires the laying down of a foundation of complex scientific information, which must first be conveyed to an incognizant audience before any strata of sophisticated social context can be appropriately considered. Despite such a substantial obstacle to be negotiated, the environmental journalist is afforded the unique opportunity of providing a broad-reaching informal scientific education to a largely scientifically uninformed population base. This paper will review the tools used by various environmental journalists to address ESS issues and consider how successful each of these approaches has been at conveying complex scientific messages to a general audience lacking sufficient scientific sophistication. Different kinds of media materials used to this effect will be analyzed for their ideas and concepts conveyed, as well as their effectiveness in reaching the public at large.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peterson, Mark J; Efroymson, Rebecca Ann; Adams, Marshall

The long-term ecological recovery of an impaired stream in response to an industrial facility's pollution abatement actions and the implications of the biological monitoring effort to environmental management is the subject of this special issue of Environmental Management. This final article focuses on the synthesis of the biological monitoring program's components and methods, the efficacy of various biological monitoring techniques to environmental management, and the lessons learned from the program that might be applicable to the design and application of other programs. The focus of the 25-year program has been on East Fork Poplar Creek, an ecologically impaired stream inmore » Oak Ridge, Tennessee with varied and complex stressors from a Department of Energy facility in its headwaters. Major components of the long-term program included testing and monitoring of invertebrate and fish toxicity, bioindicators of fish health, fish contaminant accumulation, and instream communities (including periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish). Key parallel components of the program include water chemistry sampling and data management. Multiple lines of evidence suggested positive ecological responses during three major pollution abatement periods. Based on this case study and the related literature, effective environmental management of impaired streams starts with program design that is consistent across space and time, but also adaptable to changing conditions. The biological monitoring approaches used for the program provided a strong basis for assessments of recovery from remedial actions, and the likely causes of impairment. This case study provides a unique application of multidisciplinary and quantitative techniques to address multiple and complex regulatory and programmatic goals, environmental stressors, and remedial actions.« less

Metallic iron for water treatment: leaving the valley of confusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makota, Susanne; Nde-Tchoupe, Arnaud I.; Mwakabona, Hezron T.; Tepong-Tsindé, Raoul; Noubactep, Chicgoua; Nassi, Achille; Njau, Karoli N.

2017-12-01

Researchers on metallic iron (Fe0) for environmental remediation and water treatment are walking in a valley of confusion for 25 years. This valley is characterized by the propagation of different beliefs that have resulted from a partial analysis of the Fe0/H2O system as (1) a reductive chemical reaction was considered an electrochemical one and (2) the mass balance of iron has not been really addressed. The partial analysis in turn has been undermining the scientific method while discouraging any real critical argumentation. This communication re-establishes the complex nature of the Fe0/H2O system while recalling that, finally, proper system analysis and chemical thermodynamics are the most confident ways to solve any conflicting situation in Fe0 environmental remediation.

From Worker Health To Citizen Health: Moving Upstream

PubMed Central

Sepulveda, Martin-Jose

2014-01-01

New rapid growth economies, urbanization, health systems crises and “big data” are causing fundamental changes in social structures and systems including health. These forces for change have significant consequences for occupational and environmental medicine and will challenge the specialty to think beyond workers and workplaces as the principal locus of innovation for health and performance. These trends are placing great emphasis on upstream strategies for addressing the complex systems dynamics of the social determinants of health. The need to engage systems in communities for healthier workforces is a shift in orientation from worker and workplace centric to citizen and community centric. This change for occupational and environmental medicine requires extending systems approaches in the workplace to communities which are systems of systems and which require different skills, data, tools and partnerships. PMID:24284749

From worker health to citizen health: moving upstream.

PubMed

Sepulveda, Martin-Jose

2013-12-01

New rapid growth economies, urbanization, health systems crises, and "big data" are causing fundamental changes in social structures and systems, including health. These forces for change have significant consequences for occupational and environmental medicine and will challenge the specialty to think beyond workers and workplaces as the principal locus of innovation for health and performance. These trends are placing great emphasis on upstream strategies for addressing the complex systems dynamics of the social determinants of health. The need to engage systems in communities for healthier workforces is a shift in orientation from worker and workplace centric to citizen and community centric. This change for occupational and environmental medicine requires extending systems approaches in the workplace to communities that are systems of systems and that require different skills, data, tools, and partnerships.

Computational chemistry in 25 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abagyan, Ruben

2012-01-01

Here we are making some predictions based on three methods: a straightforward extrapolations of the existing trends; a self-fulfilling prophecy; and picking some current grievances and predicting that they will be addressed or solved. We predict the growth of multicore computing and dramatic growth of data, as well as the improvements in force fields and sampling methods. We also predict that effects of therapeutic and environmental molecules on human body, as well as complex natural chemical signalling will be understood in terms of three dimensional models of their binding to specific pockets.

Polluting Canada's Public Square: The Harper Government's War on Science and the Environment?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linnitt, C.; Hoggan, J. C.

2013-12-01

Conversations about key environmental issues like climate change are increasingly viewed as matters of politics rather than matters of science. As a result, competing -and often polarized - interests have made public debate on these issues vulnerable to aggressive politicization. This politicization, particularly when it comes to important policy decisions regarding industrial (and especially fossil fuel) development, obscures the facts on these issues, leaving democratic public debate prey to aggressive public relations tactics, misinformation campaigns, pseudo-science, modern-day propaganda and/or the deliberate ';pollution' of the public square. In Canada a coordinated effort is underway to mischaracterize environmental groups as radical ideologues, associating environmental views and pursuits with extremism. A Tea Party-style echo chamber has also emerged in Canada, coordinating anti-science messaging in an attempt to bolster industrial development while misaligning environmental non-profits with domestic terror threats. This attempt to undermine ecological agendas and to push environmental concerns to the margins is paired with government-sponsored censorship of federally-funded scientists and the elimination of vital public science programs in Canada. The result is a dearth of scientific information surrounding significant environmental concerns - such as the Alberta oil sands and industry contamination of waterways - and a dangerous and false association of these issues with an extremist agenda. Ultimately scientists and science communicators face a unique set of challenges in Canada when it comes to addressing environmental issues. Although the 'science' of science communication has evolved to address relevant cultural and socio-political barriers associated with change resistance (for example, adapting one's behavior to minimize greenhouse gas emissions), much work remains in both acknowledging and ameliorating the politicization of science and the intentional pollution of public conversations. Democracy depends on the public's access to information; however, in a climate in which that access is under threat, scientists and science communicators may need to address those fundamental concerns deliberately in order to participate effectively in the public policy and decision-making process. This paper provides a brief overview of environmental communications theory and practice, current misinformation techniques, and key instances in which either government policy and/or media and industry behavior have actively sought to contaminate or impede more constructive discourse on issues of science and environmental regulation. We conclude by offering a set of recommendations for improving the ability of scientists and experts to communicate effectively in an increasingly complex political and media environment, and for safeguarding the quality of democratic discourse on these and other issues.

Sustainable mineral resources management: from regional mineral resources exploration to spatial contamination risk assessment of mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, Gyozo

2009-07-01

Wide-spread environmental contamination associated with historic mining in Europe has triggered social responses to improve related environmental legislation, the environmental assessment and management methods for the mining industry. Mining has some unique features such as natural background contamination associated with mineral deposits, industrial activities and contamination in the three-dimensional subsurface space, problem of long-term remediation after mine closure, problem of secondary contaminated areas around mine sites, land use conflicts and abandoned mines. These problems require special tools to address the complexity of the environmental problems of mining-related contamination. The objective of this paper is to show how regional mineral resources mapping has developed into the spatial contamination risk assessment of mining and how geological knowledge can be transferred to environmental assessment of mines. The paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the spatial mine inventory, hazard, impact and risk assessment and ranking methods developed by national and international efforts in Europe. It is concluded that geological knowledge on mineral resources exploration is essential and should be used for the environmental contamination assessment of mines. Also, sufficient methodological experience, knowledge and documented results are available, but harmonisation of these methods is still required for the efficient spatial environmental assessment of mine contamination.

ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CHALLENGES WITH COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

EPA Science Inventory

In the field of environmental engineering, modeling tools are playing an ever larger role in addressing air quality issues, including source pollutant emissions, atmospheric dispersion and human exposure risks. More detailed modeling of environmental flows requires tools for c...

EPA Announces Collaborative Innovative Research in Mass. and New York to Address State Environmental Issues

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced research projects addressing priority environmental and human health problems in 14 states through partnerships between EPA’s research office, regional offices, and states.

Social determinants in an Australian urban region: a 'complexity' lens.

PubMed

Fisher, Matthew; Milos, Danijela; Baum, Frances; Friel, Sharon

2016-03-01

Area-based strategies have been widely employed in efforts to improve population health and take action on social determinants of health (SDH) and health inequities, including in urban areas where many of the social, economic and environmental factors converge to influence health. Increasingly, these factors are recognized as being part of a complex system, where population health outcomes are shaped by multiple, interacting factors operating at different levels of social organization. This article reports on research to assess the extent to which an alliance of health and human service networks is able to promote action on SDH within an Australian urban region, using a complex systems frame. We found that such an alliance was able to promote some effective action which takes into account complex interactions between social factors affecting health, but also identified significant potential barriers to other forms of desired action identified by alliance members. We found that a complex systems lens was useful in assessing a collaborative intervention to address SDH within an urban region. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Managing inherent complexity for sustainable walleye fisheries in Lake Erie

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roseman, Edward F.; Drouin, Richard; Gaden, Marc; Knight, Roger; Tyson, Jeff; Zhao, Yingming; Taylor, William W.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Léonard, Nancy J.

2012-01-01

In Lake Erie, Walleye (Sander vitreus vitreus) is king. The naturally occurring species is the foundation of commercial fishing operations on the Canadian side of the lake and is a much-prized sport fish on the American side. Management of Lake Erie walleye fisheries is complex and takes place in an inter-jurisdictional setting composed of resource agencies from the states of Michigan (MDNR), Ohio (ODNR), Pennsylvania (PFBC), and New York (NYDEC) and the province of Ontario (OMNR). The complexity of walleye management is exacerbated by interactions among environmental and ecological changes in Lake Erie, complex life-history characteristics of the species, public demand for walleye, and cultural/governance differences among managing groups and their respective constituents. Success of future management strategies will largely hinge upon our ability to understand these inherent complexities and to employ tactics that successfully accommodate stock productivity and human demand in a highly dynamic environment. In this report, we review the history of Lake Erie walleye management, outline the multi-jurisdictional process for international management of walleye, and discuss strategies to address challenges facing managers.

Addressing the complexity of water chemistry in environmental fate modeling for engineered nanoparticles.

PubMed

Sani-Kast, Nicole; Scheringer, Martin; Slomberg, Danielle; Labille, Jérôme; Praetorius, Antonia; Ollivier, Patrick; Hungerbühler, Konrad

2015-12-01

Engineered nanoparticle (ENP) fate models developed to date - aimed at predicting ENP concentration in the aqueous environment - have limited applicability because they employ constant environmental conditions along the modeled system or a highly specific environmental representation; both approaches do not show the effects of spatial and/or temporal variability. To address this conceptual gap, we developed a novel modeling strategy that: 1) incorporates spatial variability in environmental conditions in an existing ENP fate model; and 2) analyzes the effect of a wide range of randomly sampled environmental conditions (representing variations in water chemistry). This approach was employed to investigate the transport of nano-TiO2 in the Lower Rhône River (France) under numerous sets of environmental conditions. The predicted spatial concentration profiles of nano-TiO2 were then grouped according to their similarity by using cluster analysis. The analysis resulted in a small number of clusters representing groups of spatial concentration profiles. All clusters show nano-TiO2 accumulation in the sediment layer, supporting results from previous studies. Analysis of the characteristic features of each cluster demonstrated a strong association between the water conditions in regions close to the ENP emission source and the cluster membership of the corresponding spatial concentration profiles. In particular, water compositions favoring heteroaggregation between the ENPs and suspended particulate matter resulted in clusters of low variability. These conditions are, therefore, reliable predictors of the eventual fate of the modeled ENPs. The conclusions from this study are also valid for ENP fate in other large river systems. Our results, therefore, shift the focus of future modeling and experimental research of ENP environmental fate to the water characteristic in regions near the expected ENP emission sources. Under conditions favoring heteroaggregation in these regions, the fate of the ENPs can be readily predicted. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of multicriteria decision analysis to address conservation conflicts.

PubMed

Davies, A L; Bryce, R; Redpath, S M

2013-10-01

Conservation conflicts are increasing on a global scale and instruments for reconciling competing interests are urgently needed. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a structured, decision-support process that can facilitate dialogue between groups with differing interests and incorporate human and environmental dimensions of conflict. MCDA is a structured and transparent method of breaking down complex problems and incorporating multiple objectives. The value of this process for addressing major challenges in conservation conflict management is that MCDA helps in setting realistic goals; entails a transparent decision-making process; and addresses mistrust, differing world views, cross-scale issues, patchy or contested information, and inflexible legislative tools. Overall we believe MCDA provides a valuable decision-support tool, particularly for increasing awareness of the effects of particular values and choices for working toward negotiated compromise, although an awareness of the effect of methodological choices and the limitations of the method is vital before applying it in conflict situations. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Legal Preemption and the Prevention of Chronic Conditions

PubMed Central

Corbett, Alicia

2016-01-01

State and local legal innovations to address chronic conditions are an ongoing source of public health improvements. For decades, some of the most ingenious law and policy ideas to address the underlying causes of chronic conditions and their contributing factors have emerged from state or local public sector grassroots initiatives in diverse areas, including tobacco use, safe housing and transportation, and environmental hazards. These reforms, however, are susceptible to invalidation through the legal doctrine of preemption. Embedded throughout our constitutional system, preemption refers to how state or local laws may be averted, displaced, or negated by conflicting laws at a higher level of government. Preemption can be complex in concept and application, leading to considerable confusion among public health leaders seeking to generate meaningful policy proposals. The objective of this article is to unravel the legal concept of preemption, explain its use as a tool to both thwart or further public health interventions, and offer practical guidance for how to legally navigate around it to address factors underlying chronic conditions. PMID:27362933

Advanced Computational Framework for Environmental Management ZEM, Version 1.x

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vesselinov, Velimir V.; O'Malley, Daniel; Pandey, Sachin

2016-11-04

Typically environmental management problems require analysis of large and complex data sets originating from concurrent data streams with different data collection frequencies and pedigree. These big data sets require on-the-fly integration into a series of models with different complexity for various types of model analyses where the data are applied as soft and hard model constraints. This is needed to provide fast iterative model analyses based on the latest available data to guide decision-making. Furthermore, the data and model are associated with uncertainties. The uncertainties are probabilistic (e.g. measurement errors) and non-probabilistic (unknowns, e.g. alternative conceptual models characterizing site conditions).more » To address all of these issues, we have developed an integrated framework for real-time data and model analyses for environmental decision-making called ZEM. The framework allows for seamless and on-the-fly integration of data and modeling results for robust and scientifically-defensible decision-making applying advanced decision analyses tools such as Bayesian- Information-Gap Decision Theory (BIG-DT). The framework also includes advanced methods for optimization that are capable of dealing with a large number of unknown model parameters, and surrogate (reduced order) modeling capabilities based on support vector regression techniques. The framework is coded in Julia, a state-of-the-art high-performance programing language (http://julialang.org). The ZEM framework is open-source and can be applied to any environmental management site. The framework will be open-source and released under GPL V3 license.« less

Nevada National Security Site Environmental Report 2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wills

This Nevada National Security Site Environmental Report (NNSSER) was prepared to satisfy DOE Order DOE O 231.1B, “Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.” Its purpose is to (1) report compliance status with environmental standards and requirements, (2) present results of environmental monitoring of radiological and nonradiological effluents, (3) report estimated radiological doses to the public from releases of radioactive material, (4) summarize environmental incidents of noncompliance and actions taken in response to them, (5) describe the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) Environmental Management System and characterize its performance, and (6) highlight significant environmental programs and efforts. This NNSSERmore » summarizes data and compliance status for calendar year 2016 at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and its two Nevada-based support facilities, the North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF) and the Remote Sensing Laboratory–Nellis (RSL-Nellis). It also addresses environmental restoration (ER) projects conducted at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) and the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). NNSA/NFO directs the management and operation of the NNSS and six sites across the nation. In addition to the NNSA itself, the six sites include two in Nevada (NLVF and RSL-Nellis) and four in other states (RSL-Andrews in Maryland, Livermore Operations in California, Los Alamos Operations in New Mexico, and Special Technologies Laboratory in California). Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia National Laboratories are the principal organizations that sponsor and implement the nuclear weapons programs at the NNSS. National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), is the current Management and Operating contractor accountable for the successful execution of work and ensuring that work is performed in compliance with environmental regulations. The six sites all provide support to enhance the NNSS as a location for its multiple missions. The three major NNSS missions include National Security/Defense, Environmental Management, and Nondefense. The major programs that support these missions are Stockpile Stewardship and Management, Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism, Nuclear Emergency Response, Strategic Partnership Projects, Environmental Restoration, Waste Management, Conservation and Renewable Energy, Other Research and Development, and Infrastructure. The major facilities that support the programs include the U1a Facility, Big Explosives Experimental Facility (BEEF), Device Assembly Facility, Dense Plasma Focus Facility, Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research Facility, Radiological/Nuclear Countermeasures Test and Evaluation Complex, Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC), Radiological/Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Exercise Site, the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), and the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS).« less

Development of a Systems Science Curriculum to Engage Rural African American Teens in Understanding and Addressing Childhood Obesity Prevention.

PubMed

Frerichs, Leah; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Young, Tiffany L; Dave, Gaurav; Stith, Doris; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

2018-06-01

Engaging youth from racial and ethnic minority communities as leaders for change is a potential strategy to mobilize support for addressing childhood obesity, but there are limited curricula designed to help youth understand the complex influences on obesity. Our aim was to develop and pilot test a systems science curriculum to elicit rural African American youth perspectives on childhood obesity and enhance their understanding of and support for obesity prevention solutions. The curriculum was designed so it could be integrated with existing positive youth development curricula that help youth advocate for and implement identified solutions. We conducted four workshop sessions with youth that engaged them in systems learning activities such as guided systems diagramming activities. The participants ( n = 21) completed validated surveys presession and postsession that assessed their causal attributions of obesity and support for obesity prevention policies. The youths' perception that environmental factors cause obesity increased ( p < .05), and perceptions that individual behavior and biology cause obesity did not change. Their support for policies that addressed food access and food pricing significantly increased ( p < .05). The youths' system diagrams elucidated links between multilevel factors such as personal attitudes, social influence, and the built environment, which provides important information for designing synergistic solutions. The changes we observed in youths' perceptions of obesity and support for policy changes have important implications for youths' interest and willingness to advocate for social and environmental changes in their community. The strategies have a promising role in supporting community mobilization to address childhood obesity.

Sustainable Remediation of Legacy Mine Drainage: A Case Study of the Flight 93 National Memorial.

PubMed

Emili, Lisa A; Pizarchik, Joseph; Mahan, Carolyn G

2016-03-01

Pollution from mining activities is a global environmental concern, not limited to areas of current resource extraction, but including a broader geographic area of historic (legacy) and abandoned mines. The pollution of surface waters from acid mine drainage is a persistent problem and requires a holistic and sustainable approach to addressing the spatial and temporal complexity of mining-specific problems. In this paper, we focus on the environmental, socio-economic, and legal challenges associated with the concurrent activities to remediate a coal mine site and to develop a national memorial following a catastrophic event. We provide a conceptual construct of a socio-ecological system defined at several spatial, temporal, and organizational scales and a critical synthesis of the technical and social learning processes necessary to achieving sustainable environmental remediation. Our case study is an example of a multi-disciplinary management approach, whereby collaborative interaction of stakeholders, the emergence of functional linkages for information exchange, and mediation led to scientifically informed decision making, creative management solutions, and ultimately environmental policy change.

Assessing correlations between geological hazards and health outcomes: Addressing complexity in medical geology.

PubMed

Wardrop, Nicola Ann; Le Blond, Jennifer Susan

2015-11-01

The field of medical geology addresses the relationships between exposure to specific geological characteristics and the development of a range of health problems: for example, long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can result in the development of skin conditions and cancers. While these relationships are well characterised for some examples, in others there is a lack of understanding of the specific geological component(s) triggering disease onset, necessitating further research. This paper aims to highlight several important complexities in geological exposures and the development of related diseases that can create difficulties in the linkage of exposure and health outcome data. Several suggested approaches to deal with these complexities are also suggested. Long-term exposure and lengthy latent periods are common characteristics of many diseases related to geological hazards. In combination with long- or short-distance migrations over an individual's life, daily or weekly movement patterns and small-scale spatial heterogeneity in geological characteristics, it becomes problematic to appropriately assign exposure measurements to individuals. The inclusion of supplementary methods, such as questionnaires, movement diaries or Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers can support medical geology studies by providing evidence for the most appropriate exposure measurement locations. The complex and lengthy exposure-response pathways involved, small-distance spatial heterogeneity in environmental components and a range of other issues mean that interdisciplinary approaches to medical geology studies are necessary to provide robust evidence. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

TAN HOT SHOP AND SUPPORT FACILITY UTILIZATION STUDY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, Ken Crawforth

2001-11-01

Impacts to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex caused by early closure (prior to 2018) and Demolition and Dismantlement (D&D) of the Test Area North (TAN) hot shop and its support facilities are explored in this report. Various possible conditions, such as Standby, Safe Store and Lay-up, that the facility may be placed in prior to eventually being turned over to D&D are addressed. The requirements, impacts, and implications to the facility and to the DOE Complex are discussed for each condition presented in the report. Some details of the report reference the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratorymore » (INEEL) Spent Nuclear Fuel Life Cycle Baseline Plan, the INEEL 2000 Infrastructure Long Range Plan, and other internal INEEL reports.« less

TAN Hot Shop and Support Facility Utilization Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Picker, B.A.

2001-11-16

Impacts to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex caused by early closure (prior to 2018) and Demolition and Dismantlement (D and D) of the Test Area North (TAN) hot shop and its support facilities are explored in this report. Various possible conditions, such as Standby, Safe Store and Lay-up, that the facility may be placed in prior to eventually being turned over to D and D are addressed. The requirements, impacts, and implications to the facility and to the DOE Complex are discussed for each condition presented in the report. Some details of the report reference the Idaho Nationalmore » Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) Spent Nuclear Fuel Life Cycle Baseline Plan, the INEEL 2000 Infrastructure Long Range Plan, and other internal INEEL reports.« less

Foundation stones for a real socio-environmental integration in projects' impact assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andres Dominguez-Gomez, J.

2015-04-01

In the last twenty years, both the increase in academic production and the expansion of professional involvement in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA), have evidenced growing scientific and business interest in risk and impact analysis. However, this growth has not brought with it a parallel progress in addressing their main shortcomings: insufficient integration of environmental and social features into development project analyses and, in cases where the social aspects are considered, technical-methodological failings in their diagnosis and assessment. It is clear that these weaknesses carry with them substantial threats to the sustainability (social, environmental and economic) of schemes which impact on the environment, and in consequence, to the local contexts where they are carried out and to the delicate balance of the global ecosystem. This paper argue that, in a sociological context of growing complexity, four foundation-stones are required to underpin research methodologies (for both diagnosis and assessment) in the socio-environmental risks of development projects: a theoretical foundation in actor-network theory; an ethical grounding in values which are internationally recognized though not always carried through into practice; a (new) epistemological-scientific base; and a methodological foundation in social participation.

A resource oriented webs service for environmental modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferencik, Ioan

2013-04-01

Environmental modeling is a largely adopted practice in the study of natural phenomena. Environmental models can be difficult to build and use and thus sharing them within the community is an important aspect. The most common approach to share a model is to expose it as a web service. In practice the interaction with this web service is cumbersome due to lack of standardized contract and the complexity of the model being exposed. In this work we investigate the use of a resource oriented approach in exposing environmental models as web services. We view a model as a layered resource build atop the object concept from Object Oriented Programming, augmented with persistence capabilities provided by an embedded object database to keep track of its state and implementing the four basic principles of resource oriented architectures: addressability, statelessness, representation and uniform interface. For implementation we use exclusively open source software: Django framework, dyBase object oriented database and Python programming language. We developed a generic framework of resources structured into a hierarchy of types and consequently extended this typology with recurses specific to the domain of environmental modeling. To test our web service we used cURL, a robust command-line based web client.

Probabilistic performance assessment of complex energy process systems - The case of a self-sustained sanitation system.

PubMed

Kolios, Athanasios; Jiang, Ying; Somorin, Tosin; Sowale, Ayodeji; Anastasopoulou, Aikaterini; Anthony, Edward J; Fidalgo, Beatriz; Parker, Alison; McAdam, Ewan; Williams, Leon; Collins, Matt; Tyrrel, Sean

2018-05-01

A probabilistic modelling approach was developed and applied to investigate the energy and environmental performance of an innovative sanitation system, the "Nano-membrane Toilet" (NMT). The system treats human excreta via an advanced energy and water recovery island with the aim of addressing current and future sanitation demands. Due to the complex design and inherent characteristics of the system's input material, there are a number of stochastic variables which may significantly affect the system's performance. The non-intrusive probabilistic approach adopted in this study combines a finite number of deterministic thermodynamic process simulations with an artificial neural network (ANN) approximation model and Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) to assess the effect of system uncertainties on the predicted performance of the NMT system. The joint probability distributions of the process performance indicators suggest a Stirling Engine (SE) power output in the range of 61.5-73 W with a high confidence interval (CI) of 95%. In addition, there is high probability (with 95% CI) that the NMT system can achieve positive net power output between 15.8 and 35 W. A sensitivity study reveals the system power performance is mostly affected by SE heater temperature. Investigation into the environmental performance of the NMT design, including water recovery and CO 2 /NO x emissions, suggests significant environmental benefits compared to conventional systems. Results of the probabilistic analysis can better inform future improvements on the system design and operational strategy and this probabilistic assessment framework can also be applied to similar complex engineering systems.

From Scientists to the Public: Communicating Science through Blogs on oceanbites.org and envirobites.org

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemon, M. G.; McDonough, C. A.; Schifman, L. A.

2017-12-01

Science communication is increasingly important. Our world is facing difficult environmental challenges that can only be addressed if an understanding of the basic scientific principles exists. With this in mind, we founded oceanbites.org in 2013, and recently (August 2017) also started envirobites.org. For both blogs, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and science professionals come together to write and edit easy-to-read, compelling summaries of recent, cutting-edge research papers in environmental science or oceanography and make them accessible to non-experts. We want to share our passion for research with all non-scientists who are interested to learn more about the environment and our oceans: This ranges in scale from identifying science problems and solutions in cities to explaining the complex environmental challenges facing our planet as a whole. Because science is also about identifying and applying technologies to address these challenges, we also cover some success stories! For envirobites.org, topics of posts include science in and for cities, global transport of pollutants, toxic effects of pollution, climate change, and environmental remediation. Oceanbites.org covers topics ranging from chemical, to biological, and physical oceanography. Currently, oceanbites.org has 24 writers and publishes posts daily, whereas envirobites.org has 26 writers and we publish posts on our blog three times per week. We hope to recruit more members and editors, but most of all, increase our readership to make a big splash in the communication of science to the public, whether we reach K-12 classrooms or living rooms.

Remediation management of complex sites using an adaptive site management approach.

PubMed

Price, John; Spreng, Carl; Hawley, Elisabeth L; Deeb, Rula

2017-12-15

Complex sites require a disproportionate amount of resources for environmental remediation and long timeframes to achieve remediation objectives, due to their complex geologic conditions, hydrogeologic conditions, geochemical conditions, contaminant-related conditions, large scale of contamination, and/or non-technical challenges. A recent team of state and federal environmental regulators, federal agency representatives, industry experts, community stakeholders, and academia worked together as an Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) team to compile resources and create new guidance on the remediation management of complex sites. This article summarizes the ITRC team's recommended process for addressing complex sites through an adaptive site management approach. The team provided guidance for site managers and other stakeholders to evaluate site complexities and determine site remediation potential, i.e., whether an adaptive site management approach is warranted. Adaptive site management was described as a comprehensive, flexible approach to iteratively evaluate and adjust the remedial strategy in response to remedy performance. Key aspects of adaptive site management were described, including tools for revising and updating the conceptual site model (CSM), the importance of setting interim objectives to define short-term milestones on the journey to achieving site objectives, establishing a performance model and metrics to evaluate progress towards meeting interim objectives, and comparing actual with predicted progress during scheduled periodic evaluations, and establishing decision criteria for when and how to adapt/modify/revise the remedial strategy in response to remedy performance. Key findings will be published in an ITRC Technical and Regulatory guidance document in 2017 and free training webinars will be conducted. More information is available at www.itrc-web.org. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CESAR robotics and intelligent systems research for nuclear environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mann, R.C.

1992-07-01

The Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) encompasses expertise and facilities to perform basic and applied research in robotics and intelligent systems in order to address a broad spectrum of problems related to nuclear and other environments. For nuclear environments, research focus is derived from applications in advanced nuclear power stations, and in environmental restoration and waste management. Several programs at CESAR emphasize the cross-cutting technology issues, and are executed in appropriate cooperation with projects that address specific problem areas. Although the main thrust of the CESAR long-term research is on developingmore » highly automated systems that can cooperate and function reliably in complex environments, the development of advanced human-machine interfaces represents a significant part of our research. 11 refs.« less

CESAR robotics and intelligent systems research for nuclear environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mann, R.C.

1992-01-01

The Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) encompasses expertise and facilities to perform basic and applied research in robotics and intelligent systems in order to address a broad spectrum of problems related to nuclear and other environments. For nuclear environments, research focus is derived from applications in advanced nuclear power stations, and in environmental restoration and waste management. Several programs at CESAR emphasize the cross-cutting technology issues, and are executed in appropriate cooperation with projects that address specific problem areas. Although the main thrust of the CESAR long-term research is on developingmore » highly automated systems that can cooperate and function reliably in complex environments, the development of advanced human-machine interfaces represents a significant part of our research. 11 refs.« less

Challenges in studying the effects of scientific societies on research integrity.

PubMed

Levine, Felice J; Iutcovich, Joyce M

2003-04-01

Beyond impressionistic observations, little is known about the role and influence of scientific societies on research conduct. Acknowledging that the influence of scientific societies is not easily disentangled from other factors that shape norms and practices, this article addresses how best to study the promotion of research integrity generally as well as the role and impact of scientific societies as part of that process. In setting forth the parameters of a research agenda, the article addresses four issues: (1) how to conceptualize research on scientific societies and research integrity; (2) challenges and complexities in undertaking basic research; (3) strategies for undertaking basic research that is attentive to individual, situational, organizational, and environmental levels of analysis; and (4) the need for evaluation research as integral to programmatic change and to assessment of the impact of activities by scientific societies.

Integrated Environmental Modelling: Human decisions, human challenges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glynn, Pierre D.

2015-01-01

Integrated Environmental Modelling (IEM) is an invaluable tool for understanding the complex, dynamic ecosystems that house our natural resources and control our environments. Human behaviour affects the ways in which the science of IEM is assembled and used for meaningful societal applications. In particular, human biases and heuristics reflect adaptation and experiential learning to issues with frequent, sharply distinguished, feedbacks. Unfortunately, human behaviour is not adapted to the more diffusely experienced problems that IEM typically seeks to address. Twelve biases are identified that affect IEM (and science in general). These biases are supported by personal observations and by the findings of behavioural scientists. A process for critical analysis is proposed that addresses some human challenges of IEM and solicits explicit description of (1) represented processes and information, (2) unrepresented processes and information, and (3) accounting for, and cognizance of, potential human biases. Several other suggestions are also made that generally complement maintaining attitudes of watchful humility, open-mindedness, honesty and transparent accountability. These suggestions include (1) creating a new area of study in the behavioural biogeosciences, (2) using structured processes for engaging the modelling and stakeholder communities in IEM, and (3) using ‘red teams’ to increase resilience of IEM constructs and use.

Assessing and Managing Multiple Risks in a Changing World ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Roskilde University hosted a November 2015 workshop on “Environmental Risk – Assessing and Managing Multiple Risks in a Changing World”. Thirty attendees from 9 countries developed consensus recommendations regarding: implementation of a common currency (ecosystem services) for holistic environmental risk assessment and management; improvements to risk assessment and management in a complex, human-modified, and changing world; appropriate development of protection goals in a 2-stage process involving both universal and site-, region-, or problem-specific protection goals; addressing societal issues; risk management information needs; conducting risk assessment of risk management; and development of adaptive and flexible regulatory systems. We encourage both cross- and inter-disciplinary approaches to address 10 recommendations: 1) adopt ecosystem services as a common currency for risk assessment and management; 2) consider cumulative stressors (chemical and non-chemical) and determine which dominate to best manage and restore ecosystem services; 3) fully integrate risk managers and communities of interest into the risk assessment process; 4) fully integrate risk assessors and communities of interest into the risk management process; 5) consider socio-economics and increase transparency in both risk assessment and risk management; 6) recognize the ethical rights of humans and ecosystems to an adequate level of protection; 7) determine relevant reference con

Anthropology and decision making about chronic technological disasters: Mixed waste remediation on the Oak Ridge Reservation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolfe, A.K.; Schweitzer, M.

This paper discusses two related case studies of decision making about the remediation of mixed (hazardous and radioactive) wastes on the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The three goals of the paper are to (1) place current decision-making efforts in the varied and evolving social, political, regulatory, economic, and technological contexts in which they occur; (2) present definitions and attributes of {open_quotes}successful{close_quotes} environmental decision making from the perspectives of key constituency groups that participate in decision making; and (3) discuss the role of anthropology in addressing environmental decision making. Environmental decision making about remediation is extraordinarily complex, involving human healthmore » and ecological risks; uncertainties about risks, technological ability to clean up, the financial costs of clean up; multiple and sometimes conflicting regulations; social equity and justice considerations; and decreasing budgets. Anthropological theories and methods can contribute to better understanding and, potentially, to better decision making.« less

Environmental influences on food security in high-income countries.

PubMed

Gorton, Delvina; Bullen, Chris R; Mhurchu, Cliona Ni

2010-01-01

Food security is a fundamental human right yet many people are food insecure, even in high-income countries. Reviewed here is the evidence for the physical, economic, sociocultural, and political environmental influences on household food security in high-income countries. The literature was evaluated using the ANGELO framework, which is a lens developed for understanding the environmental factors underpinning the obesity pandemic. A review of the literature identified 78 articles, which mostly reported on cross-sectional or qualitative studies. These studies identified a wide range of factors associated with food security. Foremost among them was household financial resources, but many other factors were identified and the complexity of the issue was highlighted. Few studies were prospective and even fewer tested the use of interventions other than the supplemental nutrition assistance program to address food security. This indicates a solution-oriented research paradigm is required to identify effective interventions and policies to enhance food security. In addition, comprehensive top-down and bottom-up interventions at the community and national levels are urgently needed.

Education for Environmental Planning and Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bandhu, Desh, Ed.; Ramanathan, N. L., Ed.

Presented in these proceedings are the inaugural and presidential addresses, 8 keynote addresses, and 40 contributed papers presented at an international conference on environmental education (EE). Conference recommendations, a synopsis of conference themes/thrusts, resolution on the organization of a national environmental congress, and the Delhi…

Addressing environmental justice under the National Environment Policy Act at Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cohen, T.M.; Bleakly, D.R.

1997-04-01

Under Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Sandia National Laboratories New Mexico (SNL) are required to identify and address, as appropriate, disproportionately high, adverse human health or environmental effects of their activities on minority and low-income populations. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) also requires that environmental justice issues be identified and addressed. This presents a challenge for SNL because it is located in a culturally diverse area. Successfully addressing potential impacts is contingent upon accurately identifying them through objective analysis of demographic information. However,more » an effective public participation process, which is necessarily subjective, is also needed to understand the subtle nuances of diverse populations that can contribute to a potential impact, yet are not always accounted for in a strict demographic profile. Typically, there is little or no coordination between these two disparate processes. This report proposes a five-step method for reconciling these processes and uses a hypothetical case study to illustrate the method. A demographic analysis and community profile of the population within 50 miles of SNL were developed to support the environmental justice analysis process and enhance SNL`s NEPA and public involvement programs. This report focuses on developing a methodology for identifying potentially impacted populations. Environmental justice issues related to worker exposures associated with SNL activities will be addressed in a separate report.« less

A multi-scale spatial approach to address environmental effects of small hydropower development.

PubMed

McManamay, Ryan A; Samu, Nicole; Kao, Shih-Chieh; Bevelhimer, Mark S; Hetrick, Shelaine C

2015-01-01

Hydropower development continues to grow worldwide in developed and developing countries. While the ecological and physical responses to dam construction have been well documented, translating this information into planning for hydropower development is extremely difficult. Very few studies have conducted environmental assessments to guide site-specific or widespread hydropower development. Herein, we propose a spatial approach for estimating environmental effects of hydropower development at multiple scales, as opposed to individual site-by-site assessments (e.g., environmental impact assessment). Because the complex, process-driven effects of future hydropower development may be uncertain or, at best, limited by available information, we invested considerable effort in describing novel approaches to represent environmental concerns using spatial data and in developing the spatial footprint of hydropower infrastructure. We then use two case studies in the US, one at the scale of the conterminous US and another within two adjoining rivers basins, to examine how environmental concerns can be identified and related to areas of varying energy capacity. We use combinations of reserve-design planning and multi-metric ranking to visualize tradeoffs among environmental concerns and potential energy capacity. Spatial frameworks, like the one presented, are not meant to replace more in-depth environmental assessments, but to identify information gaps and measure the sustainability of multi-development scenarios as to inform policy decisions at the basin or national level. Most importantly, the approach should foster discussions among environmental scientists and stakeholders regarding solutions to optimize energy development and environmental sustainability.

Current Issues in Environmental Education and Environmental Studies. Volume VIII. Selected Papers from the Annual Conference of the National Association for Environmental Education (11th, Silver Bay, New York, October 15-20, 1982).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sacks, Arthur B.; And Others

Provided in three major sections are selected papers presented at the 1982 Conference of the National Association for Environmental Education. The first part contains four invited addresses on environmental issues and two symposium papers related to the Global 2000 Report to the President. Topics of addresses focus on education/citizen…

Conceptual shifts needed to understand the dynamic interactions of genes, environment, epigenetics, social processes, and behavioral choices.

PubMed

Jackson, Fatimah L C; Niculescu, Mihai D; Jackson, Robert T

2013-10-01

Social and behavioral research in public health is often intimately tied to profound, but frequently neglected, biological influences from underlying genetic, environmental, and epigenetic events. The dynamic interplay between the life, social, and behavioral sciences often remains underappreciated and underutilized in addressing complex diseases and disorders and in developing effective remediation strategies. Using a case-study format, we present examples as to how the inclusion of genetic, environmental, and epigenetic data can augment social and behavioral health research by expanding the parameters of such studies, adding specificity to phenotypic assessments, and providing additional internal control in comparative studies. We highlight the important roles of gene-environment interactions and epigenetics as sources of phenotypic change and as a bridge between the life and social and behavioral sciences in the development of robust interdisciplinary analyses.

The Big Sky Model: A Regional Collaboration for Participatory Research on Environmental Health in the Rural West

PubMed Central

Ward, Tony J.; Vanek, Diana; Marra, Nancy; Holian, Andrij; Adams, Earle; Jones, David; Knuth, Randy

2010-01-01

The case for inquiry-based, hands-on, meaningful science education continues to gain credence as an effective and appropriate pedagogical approach (Karukstis 2005; NSF 2000). An innovative community-based framework for science learning, hereinafter referred to as the Big Sky Model, successfully addresses these educational aims, guiding high school and tribal college students from rural areas of Montana and Idaho in their understanding of chemical, physical, and environmental health concepts. Students participate in classroom lessons and continue with systematic inquiry through actual field research to investigate a pressing, real-world issue: understanding the complex links between poor air quality and respiratory health outcomes. This article provides background information, outlines the procedure for implementing the model, and discusses its effectiveness as demonstrated through various evaluation tools. PMID:20428505

Quality measurement in diabetes care.

PubMed

Leas, Brian F; Berman, Bettina; Kash, Kathryn M; Crawford, Albert G; Toner, Richard W; Goldfarb, Neil I; Nash, David B

2009-10-01

This study aimed to evaluate diabetes quality measurement efforts, assess their strengths and areas for improvement, and identify gaps not adequately addressed by these measures. We conducted an environmental scan of diabetes quality measures, focusing on metrics included in the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse or promulgated by leading measurement organizations. Key informant interviews were also completed with thought leaders who develop, promote, and use quality measures. The environmental scan identified 146 distinct measures spanning 31 clinical processes or outcomes. This suggests a measurement system that is both redundant and inconsistent, with many different measures assessing the same clinical indicators. Interviewees believe that current diabetes measurement efforts are excessively broad and complex and expressed a need for better harmonization of these measures. Several gaps were also found, including a lack of measures focusing on population health, structural elements of health care, and prevention of diabetes.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whicker, Jeffrey J; Field, Jason P; Belnap, Jayne

Emission and redistribution of dust due to wind erosion in drylands drives major biogeochemical dynamics and provides important aeolian environmental connectivity at scales from individual plants up to the global scale. Yet, perhaps because most relevant research on aeolian processes has been presented in a geosciences rather than ecological context, most ecological studies do not explicitly consider dust-driven processes. To bridge this disciplinary gap, we provide a general overview of the ecological importance of dust, examine complex interactions between wind erosion and ecosystem dynamics from the plant-interspace scale to regional and global scales, and highlight specific examples of how disturbancemore » affects these interactions and their consequences. Changes in climate and intensification of land use will both likely lead to increased dust production. To address these challenges, environmental scientists, land managers and policy makers need to more explicitly consider dust in resource management decisions.« less

Transforming the New Brunswick Energy Hub: An Analysis on Renewable Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunter, Christopher

This research examines the benefits and disadvantages of instituting a shift from fossil fuel dependence to renewable sources of energy in New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Energy Hub is a complex system acting under the mandate of the White Paper New Brunswick Energy Policy. In my research, I consider information derived from statistical indicators developed by Patlitzianas, Doukas, Kagiannas and Psarras (2008) and compare these findings to the efficacy of energy policies in Germany, Denmark and Spain. These countries are similar to New Brunswick in climate and organizational complexity (US Department of Commerce, 2009). Weighing the outcomes of this comparative study, I discuss my recommendations highlighting the environmental and economic benefits. My research investigates subsidies in each country that allowed them early economic and environmental advantages. Specific regional considerations, such as Denmark's trend of selling energy technology for profit over domestic applications, inform my conclusions. The future New Brunswick Energy Policy should focus on creating favorable conditions for renewable energy development to occur. Some proven conditions include infrastructure development subsidies and the development and annual review of a competitive open access transmission tariff. With the expiry of the current White Paper comes the necessity of this investigation, and the opportunity to address the growing financial and environmental concerns that many politicians and policy planners have failed to deal with in past policies.

Genomics and epigenomics in rheumatic diseases: what do they provide in terms of diagnosis and disease management?

PubMed

Castro-Santos, Patricia; Díaz-Peña, Roberto

2017-09-01

Most rheumatic diseases are complex or multifactorial entities with pathogeneses that interact with both multiple genetic factors and a high number of diverse environmental factors. Knowledge of the human genome sequence and its diversity among populations has provided a crucial step forward in our understanding of genetic diseases, identifying many genetic loci or genes associated with diverse phenotypes. In general, susceptibility to autoimmunity is associated with multiple risk factors, but the mechanism of the environmental component influence is poorly understood. Studies in twins have demonstrated that genetics do not explain the totality of the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases. One method of modulating gene expression through environmental effects is via epigenetic modifications. These techniques open a new field for identifying useful new biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this context, the development of "-omics" techniques is an opportunity to progress in our knowledge of complex diseases, impacting the discovery of new potential biomarkers suitable for their introduction into clinical practice. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in the fields of genomics and epigenomics in rheumatic diseases and their potential to be useful for the diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment of these diseases. The ultimate aim of genomic studies in any human disease is to understand its pathogenesis, thereby enabling the prediction of the evolution of the disease to establish new treatments and address the development of personalized therapies.

Integrating Collaboration, Adaptive Management, and Scenario-Planning to Address Rapid Change: Experiences at Las Cienegas National Conservation Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caves, J. K.; Bodner, G.; Simms, K.; Fisher, L.; Robertson, T.

2012-12-01

There is growing recognition that public lands cannot be managed as islands; rather, land management must address the ecological, social, and temporal complexity that often spans jurisdictions and traditional planning horizons. Collaborative decision-making and adaptive management (CAM) have been promoted as methods to reconcile competing societal demands and respond to complex ecosystem dynamics. We present the experiences of land managers and stakeholders in using CAM at Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (LCNCA), a highly valued site under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The CAM process at Las Cienegas is marked by strong stakeholder engagement, with four core elements: 1) shared watershed goals with measurable resource objectives; 2) mechanisms to incorporate new information into decision-making; 3) efforts to make information increasingly relevant and reliable; and 4) shared learning to improve both the process and management actions. The combination of stakeholder engagement and adaptive management has led to agreement on contentious issues, more innovative solutions, and more effective land management. Yet the region is now experiencing rapid changes outside managers' control—including climate change, human population growth, and reduced federal budgets—with large but unpredictable impacts on natural resources. While CAM experience provides a strong foundation for making the difficult and contentious management decisions that such changes are likely to require, neither collaboration nor adaptive management provides a sufficient structure for addressing uncontrollable and unpredictable change. As a result, LCNCA is exploring two specific modifications to CAM that may better address emerging challenges, including: 1) Creating nested resource objectives to distinguish between those objectives which may be crucial from those which may hinder a flexible response to climate change, and 2) Incorporating scenario planning into CAM to explore how climate change may interact with other drivers and alter options for the future, to identify robust management, and to prioritize ecological monitoring efforts. The experiences at LCNCA demonstrate how collaboration and adaptive management can be used to improve social and environmental outcomes and, with a few modifications, may help address the complexity and change that threatens to overwhelm even the best efforts to sustain public lands.

Academic Responses to Fukushima Disaster.

PubMed

Yasui, Kiyotaka; Kimura, Yuko; Kamiya, Kenji; Miyatani, Rie; Tsuyama, Naohiro; Sakai, Akira; Yoshida, Koji; Yamashita, Shunichi; Chhem, Rethy; Abdel-Wahab, May; Ohtsuru, Akira

2017-03-01

Since radiation accidents, particularly nuclear disasters, are rarer than other types of disasters, a comprehensive radiation disaster medical curriculum for them is currently unavailable. The Fukushima compound disaster has urged the establishment of a new medical curriculum in preparation for any future complex disaster. The medical education will aim to aid decision making on various health risks for workers, vulnerable people, and residents addressing each phase in the disaster. Herein, we introduce 3 novel educational programs that have been initiated to provide students, professionals, and leaders with the knowledge of and skills to elude the social consequences of complex nuclear disasters. The first program concentrates on radiation disaster medicine for medical students at the Fukushima Medical University, together with a science, technology, and society module comprising various topics, such as public risk communication, psychosocial consequences of radiation anxiety, and decision making for radiation disaster. The second program is a Phoenix Leader PhD degree at the Hiroshima University, which aims to develop future leaders who can address the associated scientific, environmental, and social issues. The third program is a Joint Graduate School of Master's degree in the Division of Disaster and Radiation Medical Sciences at the Nagasaki University and Fukushima Medical University.

Membrane Protein Structure, Function, and Dynamics: a Perspective from Experiments and Theory

DOE PAGES

Cournia, Zoe; Allen, Toby W.; Andricioaei, Ioan; ...

2015-06-11

It is fundamental for the flourishing biological cells that membrane proteins mediate the process. Membrane-embedded transporters move ions and larger solutes across membranes; receptors mediate communication between the cell and its environment and membrane-embedded enzymes catalyze chemical reactions. Understanding these mechanisms of action requires knowledge of how the proteins couple to their fluid, hydrated lipid membrane environment. Here, we present here current studies in computational and experimental membrane protein biophysics, and show how they address outstanding challenges in understanding the complex environmental effects on the structure, function, and dynamics of membrane proteins.

Influence of Natural Environments in Spacecraft Design, Development, and Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Dave

2013-01-01

Spacecraft are growing in complexity and sensitivity to environmental effects. The spacecraft engineer must understand and take these effects into account in building reliable, survivable, and affordable spacecraft. Too much protections, however, means unnecessary expense while too little will potentially lead to early mission loss. The ability to balance cost and risk necessitates an understanding of how the environment impacts the spacecraft and is a critical factor in its design. This presentation is intended to address both the space environment and its effects with the intent of introducing the influence of the environment on spacecraft performance.

Influence of Natural Environments in Spacecraft Design, Development, and Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Dave

2012-01-01

Spacecraft are growing in complexity and sensitivity to environmental effects. The spacecraft engineer must understand and take these effects into account in building reliable, survivable, and affordable spacecraft. Too much protections, however, means unnecessary expense while too little will potentially lead to early mission loss. The ability to balance cost and risk necessitates an understanding of how the environment impacts the spacecraft and is a critical factor in its design. This presentation is intended to address both the space environment and its effects with the intent of introducing the influence of the environment on spacecraft performance.

KSC-2011-1395

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new 18,500-square-foot Electrical Maintenance Facility (EMF) officially opening for business. Addressing the attendees is NASA Construction of Facility Project Manager Nick Rivieccio. Located in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 area, the EMF will provide new and renovated space for maintenance shops, offices, and equipment and material storage in support of the electrical maintenance functions for the center. The facility is projected to receive Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Photo credit: NASA/ Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-1397

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new 18,500-square-foot Electrical Maintenance Facility (EMF) officially opening for business. Addressing the attendees is Kennedy Director of Operations Mike Benik. Located in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 area, the EMF will provide new and renovated space for maintenance shops, offices, and equipment and material storage in support of the electrical maintenance functions for the center. The facility is projected to receive Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Photo credit: NASA/ Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-1396

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new 18,500-square-foot Electrical Maintenance Facility (EMF) officially opening for business. Addressing the attendees is Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana. Located in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 area, the EMF will provide new and renovated space for maintenance shops, offices, and equipment and material storage in support of the electrical maintenance functions for the center. The facility is projected to receive Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Photo credit: NASA/ Troy Cryder

Advances in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of hyperthyroidism in children.

PubMed

Amer, Kim Siarkowski

2005-04-01

The thyroid gland is responsible for regulating multiple complex metabolic processes that affect most organs. Physical growth and cognitive development are dependent on proper levels of thyroid hormone. This article will review common challenges in the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism in children, the approaches to treatment, and the nursing interventions guided toward child and family responses to thyroid disease. A comparison of signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism is also included. The nursing interventions addressed in the article integrate the biological, psychological, social, and environmental stresses and adaptations necessary to cope with hyperthyroid disease.

An Integrated Assessment Approach to Address Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana.

PubMed

Basu, Niladri; Renne, Elisha P; Long, Rachel N

2015-09-17

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is growing in many regions of the world including Ghana. The problems in these communities are complex and multi-faceted. To help increase understanding of such problems, and to enable consensus-building and effective translation of scientific findings to stakeholders, help inform policies, and ultimately improve decision making, we utilized an Integrated Assessment approach to study artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities in Ghana. Though Integrated Assessments have been used in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development, their use in addressing specific matter in public health, and in particular, environmental and occupational health is quite limited despite their many benefits. The aim of the current paper was to describe specific activities undertaken and how they were organized, and the outputs and outcomes of our activity. In brief, three disciplinary workgroups (Natural Sciences, Human Health, Social Sciences and Economics) were formed, with 26 researchers from a range of Ghanaian institutions plus international experts. The workgroups conducted activities in order to address the following question: What are the causes, consequences and correctives of small-scale gold mining in Ghana? More specifically: What alternatives are available in resource-limited settings in Ghana that allow for gold-mining to occur in a manner that maintains ecological health and human health without hindering near- and long-term economic prosperity? Several response options were identified and evaluated, and are currently being disseminated to various stakeholders within Ghana and internationally.

An Integrated Assessment Approach to Address Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana

PubMed Central

Basu, Niladri; Renne, Elisha P.; Long, Rachel N.

2015-01-01

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is growing in many regions of the world including Ghana. The problems in these communities are complex and multi-faceted. To help increase understanding of such problems, and to enable consensus-building and effective translation of scientific findings to stakeholders, help inform policies, and ultimately improve decision making, we utilized an Integrated Assessment approach to study artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities in Ghana. Though Integrated Assessments have been used in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development, their use in addressing specific matter in public health, and in particular, environmental and occupational health is quite limited despite their many benefits. The aim of the current paper was to describe specific activities undertaken and how they were organized, and the outputs and outcomes of our activity. In brief, three disciplinary workgroups (Natural Sciences, Human Health, Social Sciences and Economics) were formed, with 26 researchers from a range of Ghanaian institutions plus international experts. The workgroups conducted activities in order to address the following question: What are the causes, consequences and correctives of small-scale gold mining in Ghana? More specifically: What alternatives are available in resource-limited settings in Ghana that allow for gold-mining to occur in a manner that maintains ecological health and human health without hindering near- and long-term economic prosperity? Several response options were identified and evaluated, and are currently being disseminated to various stakeholders within Ghana and internationally. PMID:26393627

Enabling complex genetic circuits to respond to extrinsic environmental signals.

PubMed

Hoynes-O'Connor, Allison; Shopera, Tatenda; Hinman, Kristina; Creamer, John Philip; Moon, Tae Seok

2017-07-01

Genetic circuits have the potential to improve a broad range of metabolic engineering processes and address a variety of medical and environmental challenges. However, in order to engineer genetic circuits that can meet the needs of these real-world applications, genetic sensors that respond to relevant extrinsic and intrinsic signals must be implemented in complex genetic circuits. In this work, we construct the first AND and NAND gates that respond to temperature and pH, two signals that have relevance in a variety of real-world applications. A previously identified pH-responsive promoter and a temperature-responsive promoter were extracted from the E. coli genome, characterized, and modified to suit the needs of the genetic circuits. These promoters were combined with components of the type III secretion system in Salmonella typhimurium and used to construct a set of AND gates with up to 23-fold change. Next, an antisense RNA was integrated into the circuit architecture to invert the logic of the AND gate and generate a set of NAND gates with up to 1168-fold change. These circuits provide the first demonstration of complex pH- and temperature-responsive genetic circuits, and lay the groundwork for the use of similar circuits in real-world applications. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1626-1631. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Installation Flightline Fence Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-07-28

Georgia Street,Moody AFB, GA ,31699 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR...Environmental Protection Committee Finding of No Sign~ficant Impact Installation Flightline Fence Moody Air Force Base, GA Environmental Assessment...Water Resources/Wetlands - Compliance Resources Moody Air Force Base, GA Environmental Assessment

78 FR 6814 - Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Sacramento-San Joaquin...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-31

... an Environmental Impact Statement for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Islands and Levees Feasibility... Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Islands and Levees Feasibility Study (Delta Study). The EIS will be prepared in... environmental analysis should be received at (see ADDRESSES) by March 15, 2013. ADDRESSES: Written comments...

Protons and pleomorphs: aerobic hydrogen production in Azotobacters.

PubMed

Noar, Jesse D; Bruno-Bárcena, José M

2016-02-01

As obligate aerobic soil organisms, the ability of Azotobacter species to fix nitrogen is unusual given that the nitrogenase complex requires a reduced cellular environment. Molecular hydrogen is an unavoidable byproduct of the reduction of dinitrogen; at least one molecule of H2 is produced for each molecule of N2 fixed. This could be considered a fault in nitrogenase efficiency, essentially a waste of energy and reducing equivalents. Wild-type Azotobacter captures this hydrogen and oxidizes it with its membrane-bound uptake hydrogenase complex. Strains lacking an active hydrogenase complex have been investigated for their hydrogen production capacities. What is the role of H2 in the energy metabolism of nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter? Is hydrogen production involved in Azotobacter species' protection from or tolerance to oxygen, or vice versa? What yields of hydrogen can be expected from hydrogen-evolving strains? Can the yield of hydrogen be controlled or increased by changing genetic, environmental, or physiological conditions? We will address these questions in the following mini-review.

Soft micromachines with programmable motility and morphology

PubMed Central

Huang, Hen-Wei; Sakar, Mahmut Selman; Petruska, Andrew J.; Pané, Salvador; Nelson, Bradley J.

2016-01-01

Nature provides a wide range of inspiration for building mobile micromachines that can navigate through confined heterogenous environments and perform minimally invasive environmental and biomedical operations. For example, microstructures fabricated in the form of bacterial or eukaryotic flagella can act as artificial microswimmers. Due to limitations in their design and material properties, these simple micromachines lack multifunctionality, effective addressability and manoeuvrability in complex environments. Here we develop an origami-inspired rapid prototyping process for building self-folding, magnetically powered micromachines with complex body plans, reconfigurable shape and controllable motility. Selective reprogramming of the mechanical design and magnetic anisotropy of body parts dynamically modulates the swimming characteristics of the micromachines. We find that tail and body morphologies together determine swimming efficiency and, unlike for rigid swimmers, the choice of magnetic field can subtly change the motility of soft microswimmers. PMID:27447088

Soft micromachines with programmable motility and morphology.

PubMed

Huang, Hen-Wei; Sakar, Mahmut Selman; Petruska, Andrew J; Pané, Salvador; Nelson, Bradley J

2016-07-22

Nature provides a wide range of inspiration for building mobile micromachines that can navigate through confined heterogenous environments and perform minimally invasive environmental and biomedical operations. For example, microstructures fabricated in the form of bacterial or eukaryotic flagella can act as artificial microswimmers. Due to limitations in their design and material properties, these simple micromachines lack multifunctionality, effective addressability and manoeuvrability in complex environments. Here we develop an origami-inspired rapid prototyping process for building self-folding, magnetically powered micromachines with complex body plans, reconfigurable shape and controllable motility. Selective reprogramming of the mechanical design and magnetic anisotropy of body parts dynamically modulates the swimming characteristics of the micromachines. We find that tail and body morphologies together determine swimming efficiency and, unlike for rigid swimmers, the choice of magnetic field can subtly change the motility of soft microswimmers.

`You caught me off guard': Probing the futures of complex engineered nanomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadowski, Jathan; Guston, David H.

2016-07-01

This paper applies principles and methods from the framework of anticipatory governance to the case of what the National Research Council calls "complex engineered nanomaterials" (CENM). This framework does not aim to generate crystal ball visions or definitive answers, but rather provides guidance for uncovering, understanding, and addressing social, ethical, environmental, and policy issues that stem from emerging technologies. Thus, in anticipation of increased CENM research, CENM products, and their different governance challenges, we aim to lay the groundwork for the anticipatory governance of CENMs by mapping out what—according to the engineers and scientists, we interviewed who are working at the research level of these CENMs—will be the main issues and themes that we need to pay attention to in the near future. The structured interviews focused on three groups of questions: (1) potential and/or actual applications and/or products from the participant's research; (2) environmental health and safety issues pertaining to both the participant's research and CENMs generally; and (3) the future of CENMs. Without a foundational understanding to build on, social scientists, policymakers, and regulatory agencies will be at a loss about how to govern CENMs before they are widely implemented in society.

Environmental governance in China: Interactions between the state and "nonstate actors".

PubMed

Guttman, Dan; Young, Oran; Jing, Yijia; Bramble, Barbara; Bu, Maoliang; Chen, Carmen; Furst, Kathinka; Hu, Tao; Li, Yifei; Logan, Kate; Liu, Lingxuan; Price, Lydia; Spencer, Michael; Suh, Sangwon; Sun, Xiaopu; Tan, Bowen; Wang, Harold; Wang, Xin; Zhang, Juan; Zhang, Xinxin; Zeidan, Rodrigo

2018-08-15

In the West, limited government capacity to solve environmental problems has triggered the rise of a variety of "nonstate actors" to supplement government efforts or provide alternative mechanisms for addressing environmental issues. How does this development - along with our efforts to understand it - map onto environmental governance processes in China? China's efforts to address environmental issues reflect institutionalized governance processes that differ from parallel western processes in ways that have major consequences for domestic environmental governance practices and the governance of China "going abroad." China's governance processes blur the distinction between the state and other actors; the "shadow of the state" is a major factor in all efforts to address environmental issues. The space occupied by nonstate actors in western systems is occupied by shiye danwei ("public service units"), she hui tuanti ("social associations") and e-platforms, all of which have close links to the state. Meanwhile, international NGOs and multinational corporations are also significant players in China. As a result, the mechanisms of influence that produce effects in China differ in important ways from mechanisms familiar from the western experience. This conclusion has far-reaching implications for those seeking to address global environmental concerns, given the importance of China's growing economy and burgeoning network of trade relationships. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmentally regulated aerospace coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Virginia L.

1995-01-01

Aerospace coatings represent a complex technology which must meet stringent performance requirements in the protection of aerospace vehicles. Topcoats and primers are used, primarily, to protect the structural elements of the air vehicle from exposure to and subsequent degradation by environmental elements. There are also many coatings which perform special functions, i.e., chafing resistance, rain erosion resistance, radiation and electric effects, fuel tank coatings, maskants, wire and fastener coatings. The scheduled promulgation of federal environmental regulations for aerospace manufacture and rework materials and processes will regulate the emissions of photochemically reactive precursors to smog and air toxics. Aerospace organizations will be required to identify, qualify and implement less polluting materials. The elimination of ozone depleting chemicals (ODC's) and implementation of pollution prevention requirements are added constraints which must be addressed concurrently. The broad categories of operations affected are the manufacture, operation, maintenance, and repair of military, commercial, general aviation, and space vehicles. The federal aerospace regulations were developed around the precept that technology had to be available to support the reduction of organic and air toxic emissions, i.e., the regulations cannot be technology forcing. In many cases, the regulations which are currently in effect in the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), located in Southern California, were used as the baseline for the federal regulations. This paper addresses strategies used by Southern California aerospace organizations to cope with these regulatory impacts on aerospace productions programs. All of these regulatory changes are scheduled for implementation in 1993 and 1994, with varying compliance dates established.

A phenomenographic study of the ability to address complex socio-technical systems via variation theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendoza Garcia, John A.

Sometimes engineers fail when addressing the inherent complexity of socio-technical systems because they lack the ability to address the complexity of socio-technical systems. Teaching undergraduate engineering students how to address complex socio-technical systems, has been an educational endeavor at different levels ranging from kindergarten to post-graduate education. The literature presents different pedagogical strategies and content to reach this goal. However, there are no existing empirically-based assessments guided by a learning theory. This may be because at the same time explanations of how the skill is developed are scarce. My study bridges this gap, and I propose a developmental path for the ability to address the complex socio-technical systems via Variation Theory, and according to the conceptual framework provided by Variation Theory, my research question was "What are the various ways in which engineers address complex socio-technical systems?" I chose the research approach of phenomenography to answer my research question. I also chose to use a blended approach, Marton's approach for finding the dimensions of variation, and the developmental approach (Australian) for finding a hierarchical relationship between the dimensions. Accordingly, I recruited 25 participants with different levels of experience with addressing complex socio-technical systems and asked them all to address the same two tasks: A design of a system for a county, and a case study in a manufacturing firm. My outcome space is a nona-dimensional (nine) developmental path for the ability to address the complexity in socio-technical systems, and I propose 9 different ways of experiencing the complexity of a socio-technical system. The findings of this study suggest that the critical aspects that are needed to address the complexity of socio-technical systems are: being aware of the use of models, the ecosystem around, start recognizing different boundaries, being aware of time as a factor, recognizing the part-whole relationships, make effort in tailoring a solution that responds to stakeholders' needs, find the right problem, giving voice to others, and finally be aware of the need to iterate.

Conceptual Foundations of Systems Biology Explaining Complex Cardiac Diseases.

PubMed

Louridas, George E; Lourida, Katerina G

2017-02-21

Systems biology is an important concept that connects molecular biology and genomics with computing science, mathematics and engineering. An endeavor is made in this paper to associate basic conceptual ideas of systems biology with clinical medicine. Complex cardiac diseases are clinical phenotypes generated by integration of genetic, molecular and environmental factors. Basic concepts of systems biology like network construction, modular thinking, biological constraints (downward biological direction) and emergence (upward biological direction) could be applied to clinical medicine. Especially, in the field of cardiology, these concepts can be used to explain complex clinical cardiac phenotypes like chronic heart failure and coronary artery disease. Cardiac diseases are biological complex entities which like other biological phenomena can be explained by a systems biology approach. The above powerful biological tools of systems biology can explain robustness growth and stability during disease process from modulation to phenotype. The purpose of the present review paper is to implement systems biology strategy and incorporate some conceptual issues raised by this approach into the clinical field of complex cardiac diseases. Cardiac disease process and progression can be addressed by the holistic realistic approach of systems biology in order to define in better terms earlier diagnosis and more effective therapy.

The collaboration imperative.

PubMed

Nidumolu, Ram; Ellison, Jib; Whalen, John; Billman, Erin

2014-04-01

Addressing global sustainability challenges--including climate change, resource depletion, and ecosystem loss--is beyond the individual capabilities of even the largest companies. To tackle these threats, and unleash new value, companies and other stakeholders must collaborate in new ways that treat fragile and complex ecosystems as a whole. In this article, the authors draw on cases including the Latin American Water Funds Partnership, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (led by Nike, Patagonia, and Walmart), and Action to Accelerate Recycling (a partnership between Alcoa, consumer packaged goods companies, and local governments, among others) to describe four new collaboration models that create shared value and address environmental protection across the value stream. Optimal collaborations focus on improving either business processes or outcomes. They start with a small group of key organizations, bring in project management expertise, link self-interest to shared interest, encourage productive competition, create quick wins, and, above all, build and maintain trust.

USGS: Science to understand and forecast change in coastal ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Myers, M.

2007-01-01

The multidisciplinary approach of the US Geological Survey (USGS), a principal science agency of the US Department of the Interior (DOI), to address the complex and cumulative impacts of human activities and natural events on the US coastal ecosystems has been considered remarkable for understanding and forecasting the changes. The USGS helps explain geologic, hydrologic, and biologic systems and their connectivity across landscapes and seascapes along the coastline. The USGS coastal science programs effectively address science and information to other scientists, managers, policy makers, and the public. The USGS provides scientific expertise, capabilities, and services to collaborative federal, regional, and state-led efforts, which are in line with the goals of Ocean Action Plan (OAP) and Ocean Research Priorities Plan (ORPP). The organization is a leader in understanding terrestrial and marine environmental hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides and assessing and forecasting coastal impacts using various specialized visualization techniques.

Identifying barriers to Science, Technology, Society and environment (STSE) educational goals and pedagogy in science education: A case study of UMASS Lowell undergraduate engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phaneuf, Tiffany

The implementation of sustainable development in higher education is a global trend. Engineers, as gatekeepers of technological innovation, confront increasingly complex world issues ranging from economic and social to political and environmental. Recently, a multitude of government reports have argued that solving such complex problems requires changes in the pedagogy of engineering education, such as that prescribed by the Science, Technology, Society, and education (STS) movement that grew out of the environmental movement in the 70s. In STS students are engaged in the community by understanding that scientific progress is innately a sociopolitical process that involves dimensions of power, wealth and responsibility. United States accreditation criteria now demand "the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context" (ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission 2005). With such emphasis on STS education as necessary to address complex world issues, it is vital to assess the barriers in the traditional engineering curriculum that may inhibit the success of such educational reform. This study identifies barriers to STS goals and pedagogy in post secondary science education by using the Francis College of Engineering at UMASS Lowell as a single case study. The study draws on existing literature to develop a theoretical framework for assessing four hypothesized barriers to STS education in undergraduate engineering. Identification of barriers to STS education in engineering generates a critical reflection of post secondary science education and its role in preparing engineers to be active citizens in shaping a rapidly globalizing world. The study offers policy recommendations for enabling post secondary science education to incorporate STS education into its curriculum.

ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CHALLENGES WITH COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

EPA Science Inventory

This paper discusses the status and application of Computational Fluid Dynamics )CFD) models to address environmental engineering challenges for more detailed understanding of air pollutant source emissions, atmospheric dispersion and resulting human exposure. CFD simulations ...

Efforts to Empower Teachers in Ethiopia to Address Local Environmental Problems: Achievements and Limitations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalelo, Aklilu

2009-01-01

It is believed that the possibilities of integrating environmental issues into the formal and nonformal education programs depend on the capacity of teachers who put such programs into effect. A pilot project, aimed at building the capacity of schools in Ethiopia to address key environmental issues, was initiated in 2004. Among the major…

Defense Logistics Agency Support for Environmental Sustainability - Products and Services Supporting Environmental Requirements

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-12

SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER( S ) 12. DISTRIBUTION /AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY...Logistics Agency Support for Environmental Sustainability 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR( S ) 5d. PROJECT...NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) Defense Logistics Agency,Environmental Office,Fort

The Huaihe Basin Water Resource and Water Quality Management Platform Implemented with a Spatio-Temporal Data Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Zhang, W.; Yan, C.

2012-07-01

Presently, planning and assessment in maintenance, renewal and decision-making for watershed hydrology, water resource management and water quality assessment are evolving toward complex, spatially explicit regional environmental assessments. These problems have to be addressed with object-oriented spatio-temporal data models that can restore, manage, query and visualize various historic and updated basic information concerning with watershed hydrology, water resource management and water quality as well as compute and evaluate the watershed environmental conditions so as to provide online forecasting to police-makers and relevant authorities for supporting decision-making. The extensive data requirements and the difficult task of building input parameter files, however, has long been an obstacle to use of such complex models timely and effectively by resource managers. Success depends on an integrated approach that brings together scientific, education and training advances made across many individual disciplines and modified to fit the needs of the individuals and groups who must write, implement, evaluate, and adjust their watershed management plans. The centre for Hydro-science Research, Nanjing University, in cooperation with the relevant watershed management authorities, has developed a WebGIS management platform to facilitate this complex process. Improve the management of watersheds over the Huaihe basin through the development, promotion and use of a web-based, user-friendly, geospatial watershed management data and decision support system (WMDDSS) involved many difficulties for the development of this complicated System. In terms of the spatial and temporal characteristics of historic and currently available information on meteorological, hydrological, geographical, environmental and other relevant disciplines, we designed an object-oriented spatiotemporal data model that combines spatial, attribute and temporal information to implement the management system. Using this system, we can update, query and analyze environmental information as well as manage historical data, and a visualization tool was provided to help the user interpret results so as to provide scientific support for decision-making. The utility of the system has been demonstrated its values by being used in watershed management and environmental assessments.

Cultivating Positive Youth Development, Critical Consciousness, and Authentic Care in Urban Environmental Education.

PubMed

Delia, Jesse; Krasny, Marianne E

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of how to provide affordances for youth development in the context of environmental stewardship in cities. Urban environmental education encompasses place-based and action-oriented stewardship practices, including community gardening and vegetable production, often with the dual goals of developing youth and community assets. Yet in-depth understanding of how these goals are achieved is lacking. Using narrative inquiry, we explored participant experiences in a multi-year agriculture internship program conducted by the food justice organization East New York Farms! (ENYF) in Brooklyn, NY. Emerging from our conversations with youth were five themes defining their intern experience: ENYF as somewhere to belong, to be pushed, to grapple with complexity, to practice leadership, and to become yourself. We propose a theory of change that emphasizes politicized notions of caring as a foundation for cultivating developmental assets, including competence, contribution, and critical consciousness, among youth who participate in ENYF programs multiple years. This paper extends the literature on socio-environmental affordances to encompass urban environmental education programs, which incorporate physical and social features that act as affordances. Further, this paper describes a feedback loop in which youth afforded opportunities to develop assets through contributing to their community in turn create affordances for additional youth and adults.

Sampling and monitoring for the mine life cycle

USGS Publications Warehouse

McLemore, Virginia T.; Smith, Kathleen S.; Russell, Carol C.

2014-01-01

Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle provides an overview of sampling for environmental purposes and monitoring of environmentally relevant variables at mining sites. It focuses on environmental sampling and monitoring of surface water, and also considers groundwater, process water streams, rock, soil, and other media including air and biological organisms. The handbook includes an appendix of technical summaries written by subject-matter experts that describe field measurements, collection methods, and analytical techniques and procedures relevant to environmental sampling and monitoring.The sixth of a series of handbooks on technologies for management of metal mine and metallurgical process drainage, this handbook supplements and enhances current literature and provides an awareness of the critical components and complexities involved in environmental sampling and monitoring at the mine site. It differs from most information sources by providing an approach to address all types of mining influenced water and other sampling media throughout the mine life cycle.Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle is organized into a main text and six appendices that are an integral part of the handbook. Sidebars and illustrations are included to provide additional detail about important concepts, to present examples and brief case studies, and to suggest resources for further information. Extensive references are included.

Psychosocial assistance after environmental accidents: a policy perspective.

PubMed Central

Becker, S M

1997-01-01

There is a substantial body of literature on psychosocial impacts of chemical and nuclear accidents. Less attention, however, has been focused on the program and policy issues that are connected with efforts to provide psychosocial assistance to the victims of such accidents. Because psychosocial assistance efforts are certain to be an essential part of the response to future environmental emergencies, it is vital that relevant program and policy issues by more fully considered. This article discusses the highly complex nature of contamination situations and highlights some of the key policy issues that are associated with the provision of psychosocial services after environmental accidents. One issue concerns the potential for assistance efforts to become objects of conflict. In the context of the intense controversy typically associated with chemical or nuclear accidents, and with debates over the causation of illness usually at the center of environmental accidents, psychosocial assistance services may themselves become contested terrain. Other significant program and policy issues include determining how to interface with citizen self-help and other voluntary groups, addressing the problem of stigma, and deciding how to facilitate stakeholder participation in the shaping of service provision. This article offers a series of policy proposals that may help smooth the way for psychosocial assistance programs in future environmental emergencies. PMID:9467082

Cultivating Positive Youth Development, Critical Consciousness, and Authentic Care in Urban Environmental Education

PubMed Central

Delia, Jesse; Krasny, Marianne E.

2018-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of how to provide affordances for youth development in the context of environmental stewardship in cities. Urban environmental education encompasses place-based and action-oriented stewardship practices, including community gardening and vegetable production, often with the dual goals of developing youth and community assets. Yet in-depth understanding of how these goals are achieved is lacking. Using narrative inquiry, we explored participant experiences in a multi-year agriculture internship program conducted by the food justice organization East New York Farms! (ENYF) in Brooklyn, NY. Emerging from our conversations with youth were five themes defining their intern experience: ENYF as somewhere to belong, to be pushed, to grapple with complexity, to practice leadership, and to become yourself. We propose a theory of change that emphasizes politicized notions of caring as a foundation for cultivating developmental assets, including competence, contribution, and critical consciousness, among youth who participate in ENYF programs multiple years. This paper extends the literature on socio-environmental affordances to encompass urban environmental education programs, which incorporate physical and social features that act as affordances. Further, this paper describes a feedback loop in which youth afforded opportunities to develop assets through contributing to their community in turn create affordances for additional youth and adults. PMID:29379456

Environmental controls, oceanography and population dynamics of pathogens and harmful algal blooms: connecting sources to human exposure.

PubMed

Dyble, Julianne; Bienfang, Paul; Dusek, Eva; Hitchcock, Gary; Holland, Fred; Laws, Ed; Lerczak, James; McGillicuddy, Dennis J; Minnett, Peter; Moore, Stephanie K; O'Kelly, Charles; Solo-Gabriele, Helena; Wang, John D

2008-11-07

Coupled physical-biological models are capable of linking the complex interactions between environmental factors and physical hydrodynamics to simulate the growth, toxicity and transport of infectious pathogens and harmful algal blooms (HABs). Such simulations can be used to assess and predict the impact of pathogens and HABs on human health. Given the widespread and increasing reliance of coastal communities on aquatic systems for drinking water, seafood and recreation, such predictions are critical for making informed resource management decisions. Here we identify three challenges to making this connection between pathogens/HABs and human health: predicting concentrations and toxicity; identifying the spatial and temporal scales of population and ecosystem interactions; and applying the understanding of population dynamics of pathogens/HABs to management strategies. We elaborate on the need to meet each of these challenges, describe how modeling approaches can be used and discuss strategies for moving forward in addressing these challenges.

Nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors for arsenic - A review.

PubMed

Kempahanumakkagari, Sureshkumar; Deep, Akash; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Kumar Kailasa, Suresh; Yoon, Hye-On

2017-09-15

The existence of arsenic in the environment poses severe global health threats. Considering its toxicity, the sensing of arsenic is extremely important. Due to the complexity of environmental and biological samples, many of the available detection methods for arsenic have serious limitations on selectivity and sensitivity. To improve sensitivity and selectivity and to circumvent interferences, different electrode systems have been developed based on surface modification with nanomaterials including carbonaceous nanomaterials, metallic nanoparticles (MNPs), metal nanotubes (MNTs), and even enzymes. Despite the progress made in electrochemical sensing of arsenic, some issues still need to be addressed to realize cost effective, portable, and flow-injection type sensor systems. The present review provides an in-depth evaluation of the nanoparticle-modified electrode (NME) based methods for the electrochemical sensing of arsenic. NME based sensing systems are projected to become an important option for monitoring hazardous pollutants in both environmental and biological media. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors that Impact Susceptibility to Fiber-Induced Health Effects

PubMed Central

Below, Jennifer E.; Cox, Nancy J.; Fukagawa, Naomi K.; Hirvonen, Ari; Testa, Joseph R.

2011-01-01

Asbestos and related fibers are associated with a number of adverse health effects, including malignant mesothelioma (MM), an aggressive cancer that generally develops in the surface serosal cells of the pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal cavities. Although approximately 80% of individuals with MM are exposed to asbestos, fewer than 5% of asbestos workers develop MM. In addition to asbestos, other mineralogical, environmental, genetic, and possibly viral factors might contribute to MM susceptibility. Given this complex etiology of MM, understanding susceptibility to MM needs to be a priority for investigators in order to reduce exposure of those most at risk to known environmental carcinogens. In this review, the current body of literature related to fiber-associated disease susceptibility including age, sex, nutrition, genetics, asbestos, and other mineral exposure is addressed with a focus on MM, and critical areas for further study are recommended. PMID:21534090

Complex problems and unchallenged solutions: Bringing ecosystem governance to the forefront of the UN sustainable development goals.

PubMed

Vasseur, Liette; Horning, Darwin; Thornbush, Mary; Cohen-Shacham, Emmanuelle; Andrade, Angela; Barrow, Ed; Edwards, Steve R; Wit, Piet; Jones, Mike

2017-11-01

Sustainable development aims at addressing economic, social, and environmental concerns, but the current lack of responsive environmental governance hinders progress. Short-term economic development has led to limited actions, unsustainable resource management, and degraded ecosystems. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) may continue to fall short of achieving significant progress without a better understanding of how ecosystems contribute to achieving sustainability for all people. Ecosystem governance is an approach that integrates the social and ecological components for improved sustainability and includes principles such as adaptive ecosystem co-management, subsidiarity, and telecoupling framework, as well as principles of democracy and accountability. We explain the importance of ecosystem governance in achieving the SDGs, and suggest some ways to ensure that ecosystem services are meaningfully considered. This paper reflects on how integration of these approaches into policies can enhance the current agenda of sustainability.

Introduction to Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cassedy, Edward S.; Grossman, Peter Z.

1999-01-01

Energy issues such as pollution, resource depletion, global warming, nuclear power and waste are problems demanding timely solutions. This book provides a critical examination of the resources, market forces, and social impacts of modern energy production. The book addresses the dilemmas that have arisen due to society's crucial dependence on energy, particularly fossil fuels, and explores the available alternative energy producing technologies. The second edition has increased emphasis on those issues at the forefront of the current energy debate: energy sustainability, climate change, and the radical restructuring of the power industry due to deregulation. Assuming no prior technical expertise and avoiding complex mathematical formulation. The second edition, like the first, will be especially useful as a textbook for undergraduate programs in Science, Technology and Society (STS), and as a supplementary text in a variety of courses that touch on energy studies, including environmental and technology policy, environmental, mineral and business law, energy and resource economics.

A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Douglas

As a culture, we are faced with a series of increasingly complex environmental problems. As geoscientists, we are often asked to assume the role of technical experts to provide guidance or solutions to these difficult dilemmas. Unfortunately, the political, social, economic, and judicial aspects of environmental management often require geoscientists to advocate choices or provide definitive answers that are in conflict with our training as never-ending hypothesis testers and unbiased observers of nature.A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences addresses this topic by providing a collection of works that highlights various discrepancies between standard scientific procedures and the public decision-making process. The book presents a range of views and examples that provides geoscientists with a background on the issues surrounding the use of their expertise and analyses in typical law and policy decisions.

Final Environmental Assessment for Constructing and Operating Remoted Target Systems at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-12-01

NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Air Combat Command,Environmental Flight,Avon Park Air Force Range...FL,33825 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11...Oscar Range are either Spodosols or Alfisols. Spodosols soils are characterized by a subsurface zone called a spodic ( organic ) horizon layer, whereas

Environmental Biosciences Program Quarterly Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-07-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Program Report for Year 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-04-30

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Report for Year 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-10-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Environmental Biosciences Quarterly Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawrence C. Mohr, M.D.

2007-01-31

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. Themore » intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. Work on the trichloroethylene research projects has been slowed as a result of funding uncertainties. The impact of these funding uncertainties has been discussed with the DOE. Plans for restructuring the performance schedule of the trichloroethylene projects have been submitted to the department. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology to analyze population health risks related to environmental hazards as a tool for risk-based decision-making. Questions, comments or requests for further information concerning the activities under this cooperative agreement can be forwarded to Dr. Lawrence C. Mohr in the EBP office of the Medical University of South Carolina at (843) 792-1532.« less

Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities.

PubMed

Gouveia, Nelson

2016-08-27

Environmental health inequalities refer to health hazards disproportionately or unfairly distributed among the most vulnerable social groups, which are generally the most discriminated, poor populations and minorities affected by environmental risks. Although it has been known for a long time that health and disease are socially determined, only recently has this idea been incorporated into the conceptual and practical framework for the formulation of policies and strategies regarding health. In this Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), "Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities-Proceedings from the ISEE Conference 2015", we incorporate nine papers that were presented at the 27th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. This small collection of articles provides a brief overview of the different aspects of this topic. Addressing environmental health inequalities is important for the transformation of our reality and for changing the actual development model towards more just, democratic, and sustainable societies driven by another form of relationship between nature, economy, science, and politics.

SEMINAR PUBLICATION: MANAGING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AT INACTIVE AND ABANDONED METALS MINE SITES

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental problems associated with abandoned and inactive mines are addressed along with some approaches to resolving those problems, including case studies demonstrating technologies that have worked. New technologies being investigated are addressed also.

Air Pollution Control and Waste Management

EPA Science Inventory

This special issue addresses air pollution control and waste management, two environmental problems that are usually considered separately. Indeed, one of the challenges of environmental protection is that problems are addressed in 'media-specific' ways. In reality, these problem...

Molecular Environmental Science: An Assessment of Research Accomplishments, Available Synchrotron Radiation Facilities, and Needs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, G

2004-02-05

Synchrotron-based techniques are fundamental to research in ''Molecular Environmental Science'' (MES), an emerging field that involves molecular-level studies of chemical and biological processes affecting the speciation, properties, and behavior of contaminants, pollutants, and nutrients in the ecosphere. These techniques enable the study of aqueous solute complexes, poorly crystalline materials, solid-liquid interfaces, mineral-aqueous solution interactions, microbial biofilm-heavy metal interactions, heavy metal-plant interactions, complex material microstructures, and nanomaterials, all of which are important components or processes in the environment. Basic understanding of environmental materials and processes at the molecular scale is essential for risk assessment and management, and reduction of environmental pollutantsmore » at field, landscape, and global scales. One of the main purposes of this report is to illustrate the role of synchrotron radiation (SR)-based studies in environmental science and related fields and their impact on environmental problems of importance to society. A major driving force for MES research is the need to characterize, treat, and/or dispose of vast quantities of contaminated materials, including groundwater, sediments, and soils, and to process wastes, at an estimated cost exceeding 150 billion dollars through 2070. A major component of this problem derives from high-level nuclear waste. Other significant components come from mining and industrial wastes, atmospheric pollutants derived from fossil fuel consumption, agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, and the pollution problems associated with animal waste run-off, all of which have major impacts on human health and welfare. Addressing these problems requires the development of new characterization and processing technologies--efforts that require information on the chemical speciation of heavy metals, radionuclides, and xenobiotic organic compounds and their reactions with environmental materials. To achieve this goal, both fundamental and targeted studies of complex environmental systems at a molecular level are needed, and examples of both types of studies are presented herein. These examples illustrate the fact that MES SR studies have led to a revolution in our understanding of the fundamental physical and chemical aspects of natural systems. The MES SR user community has continued to experience strong growth at U.S. SR laboratories, with MES researchers comprising up to 15% of the total user base. Further growth and development of the MES community is being hindered by insufficient resources, including support personnel, materials preparation facilities, and available beam time at U.S. SR laboratories. ''EnviroSync'' recommends the following actions, in cooperation with U.S. SR laboratory directors, to meet the MES community's needs.« less

Understanding and valuing environmental issues: the effects of availability and anchoring on judgment.

PubMed

van der Pligt, J; van Schie, E C; Hoevenagel, R

1998-01-01

This paper addresses the effects of availability and anchoring-and-adjustment on people's beliefs and values concerning environmental issues. The first three studies focus on lay people's perceptions of the causes of large scale environmental risks, the second series of three studies deals with how people value environmental goods and how much they are prepared to pay to mitigate environmental risks. In studies 1-3 we investigate the effects of availability and anchoring-and-adjustment on estimating the contribution of various factors to large scale environmental risks. Highly complex risks such as acid rain and global warming tend to be associated with multiple causes, and our results show that estimating the role of these causes is clearly affected by availability and anchoring-and-adjustment. Both have sizeable effects and persist over time. Moreover, corrective procedures only seem to have a limited effect. Availability and anchoring-and-adjustment not only play a role in judging the possible causes of risks; they also play a role in research attempting to assess the public's willingness to pay (WTP) to protect our environment. The outcomes of WTP surveys are often used as a tool to help policy decision making. In the second part of this article we present three studies on this issue. Results provide further evidence of the impact of the two heuristics on the outcomes of WTP research. Implications for research and practice are briefly discussed.

Pattern formation--A missing link in the study of ecosystem response to environmental changes.

PubMed

Meron, Ehud

2016-01-01

Environmental changes can affect the functioning of an ecosystem directly, through the response of individual life forms, or indirectly, through interspecific interactions and community dynamics. The feasibility of a community-level response has motivated numerous studies aimed at understanding the mutual relationships between three elements of ecosystem dynamics: the abiotic environment, biodiversity and ecosystem function. Since ecosystems are inherently nonlinear and spatially extended, environmental changes can also induce pattern-forming instabilities that result in spatial self-organization of life forms and resources. This, in turn, can affect the relationships between these three elements, and make the response of ecosystems to environmental changes far more complex. Responses of this kind can be expected in dryland ecosystems, which show a variety of self-organizing vegetation patterns along the rainfall gradient. This paper describes the progress that has been made in understanding vegetation patterning in dryland ecosystems, and the roles it plays in ecosystem response to environmental variability. The progress has been achieved by modeling pattern-forming feedbacks at small spatial scales and up-scaling their effects to large scales through model studies. This approach sets the basis for integrating pattern formation theory into the study of ecosystem dynamics and addressing ecologically significant questions such as the dynamics of desertification, restoration of degraded landscapes, biodiversity changes along environmental gradients, and shrubland-grassland transitions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental management on the basis of Complex Regional Indicators Concept: case of the Murmansk region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlov, A.; Gutman, S.; Zaychenko, I.; Rytova, E.; Nijinskaya, P.

2015-09-01

The article presents an approach to sustainable environmental development of the Murmansk region of the Russian Federation based on the complex regional indicators as a transformation of a balance scorecard method. The peculiarities of Murmansk region connected with sustainable environmental development are described. The complex regional indicators approach allows to elaborate the general concept of complex regional development taking into consideration economic and non-economic factors with the focus on environmental aspects, accumulated environmental damage in particular. General strategic chart of sustainable environmental development of the Murmansk region worked out on the basis of complex regional indicators concept is composed. The key target indicators of sustainable ecological development of the Murmansk region are presented for the following strategic chart components: regional finance; society and market; industry and entrepreneurship; training, development and innovations. These charts are to be integrated with international environmental monitoring systems.

Final Environmental Assessment: Addressing Construction of a New Civil Engineering Workshop at Bellows Air Force Station, O’ahu, Hawaii

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ADDRESSING CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKSHOP AT BELLOWS AIR FORCE STATION , O‘AHU, HAWAI‘I...Minimize impacts on other Bellows AFS functions and environmental resources This alternative would be located in an area located near Building 546 and...Preparation of An Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Construction of New Civil Engineering Workshop at Bellows Air !Force Station Thank you

The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djenontin, Ida Nadia S.; Meadow, Alison M.

2018-06-01

This review paper addresses the challenging question of "how to" design and implement co-production of knowledge in climate science and other environmental and agricultural sciences. Based on a grounded theory review of nine (9) published case studies of transdisciplinary and collaborative research projects, the paper offers a set of common themes regarding specific components and processes for the design, implementation, and achievement of co-production of knowledge work, which represent the "Modus Operandi" of knowledge co-production. The analysis focuses on practical methodological guidance based on lessons from how different research teams have approached the challenges of complex collaborative research. We begin by identifying broad factors or actions that inhibit or facilitate the process, then highlight specific practices associated with co-production of knowledge and necessary competencies for undertaking co-production. We provide insights on issues such as the integration of social and professional cultures, gender and social equity, and power dynamics, and illustrate the different ways in which researchers have addressed these issues. By exploring the specific practices involved in knowledge co-production, this paper provides guidance to researchers on how to navigate different possibilities of the process of conducting transdisciplinary and co-production of knowledge research projects that best fit their research context, stakeholder needs, and research team capacities.

The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice.

PubMed

Djenontin, Ida Nadia S; Meadow, Alison M

2018-06-01

This review paper addresses the challenging question of "how to" design and implement co-production of knowledge in climate science and other environmental and agricultural sciences. Based on a grounded theory review of nine (9) published case studies of transdisciplinary and collaborative research projects, the paper offers a set of common themes regarding specific components and processes for the design, implementation, and achievement of co-production of knowledge work, which represent the "Modus Operandi" of knowledge co-production. The analysis focuses on practical methodological guidance based on lessons from how different research teams have approached the challenges of complex collaborative research. We begin by identifying broad factors or actions that inhibit or facilitate the process, then highlight specific practices associated with co-production of knowledge and necessary competencies for undertaking co-production. We provide insights on issues such as the integration of social and professional cultures, gender and social equity, and power dynamics, and illustrate the different ways in which researchers have addressed these issues. By exploring the specific practices involved in knowledge co-production, this paper provides guidance to researchers on how to navigate different possibilities of the process of conducting transdisciplinary and co-production of knowledge research projects that best fit their research context, stakeholder needs, and research team capacities.

Empowerment and the ecological determinants of health: three critical capacities for practitioners.

PubMed

Williams, Lewis

2017-08-01

Human agency or the expression of intentionality towards some form of betterment has long occupied human imagination and creativity. The ways in which we express such aspirations are fundamentally informed by our beliefs about the nature of reality, meanings of human well-being and progress, and the ways in which our social locations shape our interests. Within Western health-promoting discourse and practice, such processes have largely been expressed through the construct of empowerment. To date, like health, much empowerment practice has been implicitly rooted in Cartesianism, has tended towards anthropocentrism and in cases where it has engaged with environmental issues, has mirrored environmentalism's focus on externalities and objectivity. These tendencies coupled with the increasing complexity of global, ecological, human well-being issues call empowerment practitioners to integrate new kinds of capacities more suited to addressing the ecological determinants of health. Drawing in part on the author's empowerment research over more than a decade, this article distinguishes between a range of epistemological perspectives underlying contemporary empowerment practices while fore-grounding the concepts of place-based agency and social-ecological resilience. These constructs in turn form the basis for three capacities considered critical for practitioners addressing human-ecological well-being. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Groundwater regulation and integrated planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Quevauviller, Philippe; Batelaan, Okke; Hunt, Randall J.

2016-01-01

The complex nature of groundwater and the diversity of uses and environmental interactions call for emerging groundwater problems to be addressed through integrated management and planning approaches. Planning requires different levels of integration dealing with: the hydrologic cycle (the physical process) including the temporal dimension; river basins and aquifers (spatial integration); socioeconomic considerations at regional, national and international levels; and scientific knowledge. The great natural variation in groundwater conditions obviously affects planning needs and options as well as perceptions from highly localised to regionally-based approaches. The scale at which planning is done therefore needs to be carefully evaluated against available policy choices and options in each particular setting. A solid planning approach is based on River Basin Management Planning (RBMP), which covers: (1) objectives that management planning are designed to address; (2) the way various types of measures fit into the overall management planning; and (3) the criteria against which the success or failure of specific strategies or interventions can be evaluated (e.g. compliance with environmental quality standards). A management planning framework is to be conceived as a “living” or iterated document that can be updated, refined and if necessary changed as information and experience are gained. This chapter discusses these aspects, providing an insight into European Union (EU), United States and Australia groundwater planning practices.

Sustainability of utility-scale solar energy: Critical environmental concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, R. R.; Moore-O'Leary, K. A.; Johnston, D. S.; Abella, S.; Tanner, K.; Swanson, A.; Kreitler, J.; Lovich, J.

2017-12-01

Renewable energy development is an arena where ecological, political, and socioeconomic values collide. Advances in renewable energy will incur steep environmental costs to landscapes in which facilities are constructed and operated. Scientists - including those from academia, industry, and government agencies - have only recently begun to quantify trade-off in this arena, often using ground-mounted, utility-scale solar energy facilities (USSE, ≥ 1 megawatt) as a model. Here, we discuss five critical ecological concepts applicable to the development of more sustainable USSE with benefits over fossil-fuel-generated energy: (1) more sustainable USSE development requires careful evaluation of trade-offs between land, energy, and ecology; (2) species responses to habitat modification by USSE vary; (3) cumulative and large-scale ecological impacts are complex and challenging to mitigate; (4) USSE development affects different types of ecosystems and requires customized design and management strategies; and (5) long-term ecological consequences associated with USSE sites must be carefully considered. These critical concepts provide a framework for reducing adverse environmental impacts, informing policy to establish and address conservation priorities, and improving energy production sustainability.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemical Induced "Pollution of Metabolic Pathways": A Case of Shifting Paradigms With Implications for Vascular Diseases.

PubMed

Janardhanan, Rajiv

2018-05-14

The latter half of the twentieth century has witnessed a humongous spurt in the use of synthetic chemicals in a wide variety of industrial and agricultural applications are leading to niche specific perturbations affecting every trophic level of the ecosystems due to unmitigated environmental contamination. Despite the incremental usefulness of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as pesticides and plasticizers, their statutory impact on environmental health is assuming worrisome proportions. The EDCs can disrupt physiological homeostasis resulting in developmental and reproductive abnormalities. Both preclinical animal experiments, as well as epidemiological studies, have correlated EDC exposure with metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes as well as cardiovascular health. Here we briefly review the statutory impact of EDCs on metabolic disruption as well as their impact on environmental health. Finally, difficulties pertaining to the categorization of EDC induced metabolic diseases as risk factors for global disease burden have been addressed taking into account the complexity of such interactions. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Nuclear risk assessment for the Mars 2020 mission environmental impact statement.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clayton, Daniel James; Bignell, John L.; Jones, Christopher Andrew

In the summer of 2020, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch a spacecraft as part of the Mars 2020 mission. One option for the rover on the proposed spacecraft uses a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) to provide continuous electrical and thermal power for the mission. An alternative option being considered is a set of solar panels for electrical power with up to 80 Light-Weight Radioisotope Heater Units (LWRHUs) for local component heating. Both the MMRTG and the LWRHUs use radioactive plutonium dioxide. NASA is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the Nationalmore » Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will include information on the risks of mission accidents to the general public and on-site workers at the launch complex. This Nuclear Risk Assessment (NRA) addresses the responses of the MMRTG or LWRHU options to potential accident and abort conditions during the launch opportunity for the Mars 2020 mission and the associated consequences. This information provides the technical basis for the radiological risks of both options for the EIS.« less

The construction of feelings of justice in environmental management: An empirical study of multiple biodiversity conflicts in Calakmul, Mexico.

PubMed

Lecuyer, Lou; White, Rehema M; Schmook, Birgit; Lemay, Violaine; Calmé, Sophie

2018-05-01

A failure to address social concerns in biodiversity conservation can lead to feelings of injustice among some actors, and hence jeopardize conservation goals. The complex socio-cultural and political context of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, has historically led to multiple biodiversity conflicts. Our goal, in this case study, was to explore perceptions of justice held by local actors in relation to biodiversity conflicts. We then aimed to determine the following: 1) people's definitions of their feelings of justice; 2) the criteria used in this assessment; 3) variability in the criteria influencing them; and 4) implications for environmental management in the region and beyond. We worked with five focus groups, exploring three examples of biodiversity conflict around forest, water and jaguar management with a total of 41 ranchers, farmers and representatives of local producers. Our results demonstrated that people constructed their feelings of justice around four dimensions of justice: recognition (acknowledging individuals' rights, values, cultures and knowledge systems); ecological (fair and respectful treatment of the natural environment), procedural (fairness in processes of environmental management), distributive (fairness in the distribution of costs and benefits). We identified a list of criteria the participants used in their appraisal of justice and sources of variation such as the social scale of focus and participant role, and whom they perceived to be responsible for resource management. We propose a new framework that conceptualizes justice-as-recognition and ecological justice as forms of conditional justices, and procedural and distributive justices as forms of practical justice. Conditional justice allows us to define who is a legitimate source of justice norms and if nature should be integrated in the scope of justice; hence, conditional justice underpins other dimensions of justice. On the other hand, procedural and distributive address the daily practices of fair processes and distribution. We propose that the perception of justice is a neglected but important aspect to include in integrative approaches to managing biodiversity conflicts. Addressing demands of justice in environmental management will require us to consider more than the distribution of costs and benefits among actors. We also need to respect the plurality of fairness perspectives and to recognize the benefits of dialogical approaches to achieve more successful environmental management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-Term Environmental Research Programs - Evolving Capacity for Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, F. J.

2008-12-01

Long-term forestry, watershed, and ecological research sites have become critical, productive nodes for environmental science research and in some cases for work in the social sciences and humanities. The Forest Service's century-old Experimental Forests and Ranges and the National Science Foundation's 28- year-old Long-Term Ecological Research program have been remarkably productive in both basic and applied sciences, including characterization of acid rain and old-growth ecosystems and development of forest, watershed, and range management systems for commercial and other land use objectives. A review of recent developments suggests steps to enhance the function of collections of long-term research sites as interactive science networks. The programs at these sites have evolved greatly, especially over the past few decades, as the questions addressed, disciplines engaged, and degree of science integration have grown. This is well displayed by small, experimental watershed studies, which first were used for applied hydrology studies then more fundamental biogeochemical studies and now examination of complex ecosystem processes; all capitalizing on the legacy of intensive studies and environmental monitoring spanning decades. In very modest ways these collections of initially independent sites have functioned increasingly as integrated research networks addressing inter-site questions by using common experimental designs, being part of a single experiment, and examining long-term data in a common analytical framework. The network aspects include data sharing via publicly-accessible data-harvester systems for climate and streamflow data. The layering of one research or environmental monitoring network upon another facilitates synergies. Changing climate and atmospheric chemistry highlight a need to use these networks as continental-scale observatory systems for assessing the impacts of environmental change on ecological services. To better capitalize on long-term research sites and networks, agencies and universities 1) need to encourage collaboration among sites and between science and land manager communities while 2) maintaining long- term studies and monitoring efforts, and staffing the collaboration in each partner organization, including positions specifically designated as liaisons among the participating communities.

Integrating public commentary and participation into environmental decision-making: The implications of Ontario`s Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McRobert, D.

1995-12-31

In February 1994, the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 (EBR) was proclaimed into law by the Ontario government. The EBR is intended to promote a new era in environmental decision-making one characterized by enhanced public participation, citizen empowerment and greater accountability of decision makers. A key challenge in the implementation of the EBR is the change it will force in government decision-making. Historically, Ontario environmental regulation focused on the development of appropriate pollution control instruments, techniques and standards to control harmful environmental activity. Often the knowledge of outsiders, (i.e. the public), was considered inadequate or irrelevant to the regulatory process.more » In contrast, the EBR recognizes the relevance and validity of public knowledge, and is intended to encourage decision-makers to mesh public and scientific knowledge through a new regulatory approval system based on notice of new developments, approvals and laws on a province-wide electronic bulletin board service. The positive potential of the EBR is in its ability to promote social understanding of the issues and risks in environmental management. The EBR mandates open dialogue and proactive interaction between government, industry, environmental groups, citizen groups, and employees to explore new mechanisms in environmental decision making. In addition, the EBR seeks to enlist the cooperation of all sectors of society in addressing the complex issues posed by the environment so that not only problem solving but problem identification and prevention activities are conducted in the context of greater shared responsibility and accountability.« less

Arctic tipping points: governance in turbulent times.

PubMed

Young, Oran R

2012-02-01

Interacting forces of climate change and globalization are transforming the Arctic. Triggered by a non-linear shift in sea ice, this transformation has unleashed mounting interest in opportunities to exploit the region's natural resources as well as growing concern about environmental, economic, and political issues associated with such efforts. This article addresses the implications of this transformation for governance, identifies limitations of existing arrangements, and explores changes needed to meet new demands. It advocates the development of an Arctic regime complex featuring flexibility across issues and adaptability over time along with an enhanced role for the Arctic Council both in conducting policy-relevant assessments and in promoting synergy in interactions among the elements of the emerging Arctic regime complex. The emphasis throughout is on maximizing the fit between the socioecological features of the Arctic and the character of the governance arrangements needed to steer the Arctic toward a sustainable future.

Investigation of hydrophobic interactions mediating the self-assembly of supramolecular host/guest polymer complexes utilizing Simultaneous Multiple Sample Light Scattering (SMSLS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Payne, Molly; Jarand, Curtis; Grayson, Scott; Reed, Wayne

While living systems spontaneously heal injuries, most man made materials cannot recover from damage. Incorporating self-healing properties into synthetic polymers could significantly extend product lifetime, safety, and applications. Most reported approaches to incorporate healing into synthetic materials, however, require external stimuli such as chemical additives, heat, and light exposure. Although dynamic bonds have been explored, particularly using a hydrogen bond motif, this has not been fully investigated in an aqueous environment. To address this, hosts and guests that dynamically associate in water have been investigated to build aqueous self-healing materials. These association values were probed for various host/guest complexes using Simultaneous Multiple Sample Light Scattering (SMSLS), a technique that measures the size of aggregates via light scattering while varying concentration and other environmental factors. NSF EPSCoR IIA1430280.

Driving safety and adolescent behavior.

PubMed

Brown, R C; Sanders, J M; Schonberg, S K

1986-04-01

Accidents, and mainly automotive accidents, are currently the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among young people. Understanding and addressing the issue of automotive accident prevention requires an awareness of the multiple psychodynamic, familial, and societal influences that affect the development and behavior of adolescents. Risk-taking behavior is the product of complex personal and environmental factors. As pediatricians, we have the obligation and the opportunity to improve the safety of our youth who drive and ride. This opportunity is available to us not only in our roles as counselors to youth and families, but also as we serve as role models, educators, and agents for change within our communities.

Mercury Remediation Technology Development for Lower East Fork Poplar Creek - FY 2016 Progress Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dickson, Johnbull O.; Smith, John G.; Mehlhorn, Tonia L.

2017-07-01

Mercury remediation is a high priority for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM), especially at and near the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) where historical mercury use has resulted in contaminated buildings, soils, and downstream surface waters. To address mercury contamination of East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC), the DOE has adopted a phased, adaptive management approach to remediation, which includes mercury treatment actions at Y-12 in the short-term and research and technology development (TD) to evaluate longer-term solutions in the downstream environment (US Department of Energy 2014).

Integrating biological redesign: where synthetic biology came from and where it needs to go.

PubMed

Way, Jeffrey C; Collins, James J; Keasling, Jay D; Silver, Pamela A

2014-03-27

Synthetic biology seeks to extend approaches from engineering and computation to redesign of biology, with goals such as generating new chemicals, improving human health, and addressing environmental issues. Early on, several guiding principles of synthetic biology were articulated, including design according to specification, separation of design from fabrication, use of standardized biological parts and organisms, and abstraction. We review the utility of these principles over the past decade in light of the field's accomplishments in building complex systems based on microbial transcription and metabolism and describe the progress in mammalian cell engineering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measurement and Modeling of Ecosystem Risk and Recovery for In Situ Treatment of Contaminated Sediments

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-01

Hydrocarbons in Petroleum- Impacted Sediments." Environmental Science & Technology 47(2): 1024-1032. Choi, Y., Y. M. Cho, et al. (2013). "Measurement and...4020 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Strategic Environmental Research and Development...was prepared under contract to the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The publication of this

Risk Assessments for the Insect Repellents DEET and Picaridin

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

aDepartment of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, 334 Leon Johnson Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717-3120, USA b Sacramento...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Montana State University,Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences,334 Leon Johnson...2007), Macedo et al. (2007), and Schleier et al. (2008) have estimated hu- man health and environmental risks from other mosquito manage- ment and

Adverse outcome pathway networks II: Network analytics.

PubMed

Villeneuve, Daniel L; Angrish, Michelle M; Fortin, Marie C; Katsiadaki, Ioanna; Leonard, Marc; Margiotta-Casaluci, Luigi; Munn, Sharon; O'Brien, Jason M; Pollesch, Nathan L; Smith, L Cody; Zhang, Xiaowei; Knapen, Dries

2018-06-01

Toxicological responses to stressors are more complex than the simple one-biological-perturbation to one-adverse-outcome model portrayed by individual adverse outcome pathways (AOPs). Consequently, the AOP framework was designed to facilitate de facto development of AOP networks that can aid in the understanding and prediction of pleiotropic and interactive effects more common to environmentally realistic, complex exposure scenarios. The present study introduces nascent concepts related to the qualitative analysis of AOP networks. First, graph theory-based approaches for identifying important topological features are illustrated using 2 example AOP networks derived from existing AOP descriptions. Second, considerations for identifying the most significant path(s) through an AOP network from either a biological or risk assessment perspective are described. Finally, approaches for identifying interactions among AOPs that may result in additive, synergistic, or antagonistic responses (or previously undefined emergent patterns of response) are introduced. Along with a companion article (part I), these concepts set the stage for the development of tools and case studies that will facilitate more rigorous analysis of AOP networks, and the utility of AOP network-based predictions, for use in research and regulatory decision-making. The present study addresses one of the major themes identified through a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Horizon Scanning effort focused on advancing the AOP framework. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1734-1748. © 2018 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. © 2018 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Scenarios in Social-Ecological Systems: Co-Producing Futures in Arctic Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovecraft, A. L.; Eicken, H.

2016-12-01

Companies use scenarios to gain the capacity to think ahead in rapidly changing complex competitive environments and make crucial decisions in absence of complete information about the future. Currently, at many regional scales of governance there is a growing need for tools that enable the actors at local-scales to address pressing concerns in the midst of uncertainty. This is particularly true of areas experiencing rapidly changing environments (e.g., drought, floods, diminishing sea ice, erosion) and complex social problems (e.g., remote communities, resource extraction, threatened cultures). Resilience theory and deliberative democracy both promote governance by informed actors in an effort to produce decisions that avoid social-environmental collapse. The former focusing on resilient ecosystems, the latter on informed social choices. Scenario exercises produce neither forecasts of what is to come nor are they visions of what participants would like to happen. Rather, they produce pertinent and accurate information related to questions of "what would happen if…" and thus provide the possibility of strategic decision-making to reduce risk and promote community resilience. Scenarios can be forms of social learning and among local-scale experts they create a deliberative process to make decisions about proactive adaptation. This talk represents the results from two projects from Alaska's Arctic Slope region. Resident expert participants from the Northwest Arctic and North Slope Boroughs addressed the focal question "What is needed for healthy sustainable communities by 2040?" Our findings reinforce the growing evidence from studies related to Arctic community sustainability and human development that indicate tight connections between fate-control, health, and environmental change. Our work differs, however, in using a future studies approach. The participants are addressing social-ecological resilience from a proactive standpoint thinking long-term about local and regional scale concerns rather than examining global-scale forecasts for near-term decision-making. The results contribute to a multi-disciplinary cross-cultural discussion of the importance of innovative thinking at the local scale and future directions for geophysical researchers in a rapidly changing Arctic.

Benchmarking in pathology: development of a benchmarking complexity unit and associated key performance indicators.

PubMed

Neil, Amanda; Pfeffer, Sally; Burnett, Leslie

2013-01-01

This paper details the development of a new type of pathology laboratory productivity unit, the benchmarking complexity unit (BCU). The BCU provides a comparative index of laboratory efficiency, regardless of test mix. It also enables estimation of a measure of how much complex pathology a laboratory performs, and the identification of peer organisations for the purposes of comparison and benchmarking. The BCU is based on the theory that wage rates reflect productivity at the margin. A weighting factor for the ratio of medical to technical staff time was dynamically calculated based on actual participant site data. Given this weighting, a complexity value for each test, at each site, was calculated. The median complexity value (number of BCUs) for that test across all participating sites was taken as its complexity value for the Benchmarking in Pathology Program. The BCU allowed implementation of an unbiased comparison unit and test listing that was found to be a robust indicator of the relative complexity for each test. Employing the BCU data, a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were developed, including three that address comparative organisational complexity, analytical depth and performance efficiency, respectively. Peer groups were also established using the BCU combined with simple organisational and environmental metrics. The BCU has enabled productivity statistics to be compared between organisations. The BCU corrects for differences in test mix and workload complexity of different organisations and also allows for objective stratification into peer groups.

Sink or Swim: Adapting to the Hydrologic Impacts of Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gleick, P. H.

2014-12-01

Climate changes lead to a wide range of societal and environmental impacts; indeed, strong evidence has accrued that such impacts are already occurring, as summarized by the newest National Climate Assessment and other analyses. Among the most important will be alterations in the hydrologic cycle, changes in water supply and demand, and impacts on existing water-related infrastructure. Because of the complexity of our water systems, adaptation responses will be equally complex. This problem has made it difficult for water managers and planners to develop and implement adaptation strategies. This talk will address three ways to think about water-related adaptation approaches to climate change: (1) strategies that are already being implemented to address population and economic changes without climate change; (2) whether these first-line strategies are appropriate for additional impacts that might result from climatic changes; and (3) new approaches that might be necessary for new, non-linear, or threshold impacts. An effort will also be made to differentiate between adaptation strategies that influence the hydrologic cycle directly (e.g., cloud seeding), those that influence supply management (e.g., construction of additional reservoirs or water-distribution systems), and those that affect water demand (e.g., removal of outdoor landscaping, installation of efficient irrigation systems).

Extracellular Electron Transfer and Survival Strategies in Acid Mine Drainage Impacted Soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorby, Y. A.; Senko, J.

2011-12-01

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a prominent and increasing problem in the greater Appalachian region of the United States and throughout the world. Recognition of the importance of extracellular electron transfer (EET) in microbial communities has provided a fertile research environment for multidisciplinary collaborations to emerge and effectively address complex questions with important environmental implications. Our research focuses on the components, strategies and mechanisms of EET in soil systems impacted by AMD and extends to other biogeochemical systems typified by steep redox gradients. Organisms within acid mine drainage use Fe(II) as their primary electron donor and couple Fe(II) oxidation to the reduction of oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor. Biogenic minerals formed by this process completely encase microbes in think deposits that would seem to limit diffusion of both Fe(II) and O2 for access by the organisms. We have developed methods for catalytically removing biogenic minerals revealing microorganisms and a fine network of filamentous extracellular material. Here we present a status report of our efforts to characterize the molecular and electronic properties of these filaments and to address the hypothesis that at least some of these filaments are electrically conductive microbial nanowires that facilitate electron transfer reactions within this complex biogeochemical system.

Project Galaxy - Sustianable Resource Supply and Environmental Implications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Downing, Mark; Wimmer, Robert

2012-03-01

Understanding what it takes to move from a corn-based liquid fuels industry to one that is cellulosic-based requires a complex transition over time. This transition implies, among other things, a shift from annual cropping systems considered under United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy as commodity crops, to perennial lignocellulosic crops that are herbaceous and wood-based. Because of changes in land use as well as biomass and other crop supplies, land-based environmental amenities such as water quality, soil health and tilth, air quality, and animal and avian species populations and their diversity change also. Environmental effects are measured as magnitudesmore » (how much they are impacted), and direction of the impact (either positive or negative). By developing a series of quantitative and qualitative metrics, the larger issue of defining relative sustainability may be addressed, and this can be done at a finer detail of regional (scale) and environmental amenity-specific impacts. Although much literature exists about research relevant to specific environmental variables, there is no published, documented, nor research literature on direct application of environmental over-compliance with regards a 'biorefinery.' Our three goals were to (1) understand and quantify bioenergy sustainability and some key environmental effects in a generic set of examples; (2) explain the effort and means to define and quantify specific qualitative environmental measures, and to determine a way to understand changes in these measures over time and what their implications might be; and (3) use these outcomes to evaluate potential sites in any geographic area. This would permit assessment of candidate locations, combined with an understanding of co-production of fuels, chemicals, and electric power, to interpret sustainability measures and the relationship between environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. The process of determining environmental sustainability effects as a result of providing renewable energy is complex. We have only included in this report environmental effects as a result of producing biomass for the biorefinery, and the area represented by the footprint of the biorefinery itself. In doing this, we have defined critical environmental variables (water, soil, air, and flora and fauna) and discussed some measurable indicators used to quantify effects such as nitrate content, soil organic matter, air particulates, and avian species diversity, respectively. We also point out the need to perform specific sustainability risk assessments, and the need to continually evaluate the life cycle inventory with an accompanying life-cycle assessment. Only in this dynamic framework can environmental sustainability be determined, evaluated and assessed, and contrasted with economic sustainability goals of a firm or an industry.« less

Identification of Quarries Rehabilitation Scenarios: A Case Study Within the Metropolitan Area of Bari (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dal Sasso, Pasquale; Ottolino, Maria Antonella; Caliandro, Lucia Patrizia

2012-06-01

This paper addresses quarries rehabilitation issue within a Metropolitan Area. Areas where mining activity is carried out have been subjected to physical and environmental degradation linked both to pursue the building materials extraction and to the city expansion continuously asking for new areas to be developed with residential and service functions. These changes also occurred where environmental and landscape values are present. It has been therefore pointed out the issue of such areas redevelopment that, to be functionally reintegrated, must be consistently linked to the activities and the territorial local contexts characteristics. In this paper the quarries reuse issue is carried out through parameters identification able to define the quarries relationship with the neighboring towns and with their surroundings besides to identify their physical, environmental and landscaping characteristics. Quarry reuse alternatives have been identified among those consistent with the rehabilitation goals, as defined by the planning sector and internationally approved, while their selection is derived from the application of a two-step methodology: a multi-criteria analysis related to punctual parameters at a "site-specific" level, followed by a further territorial indicators checking over the wide area. This application has led to socially accepted results identifying the examined quarries for reuses ranging from agricultural-forestry and urban to functional or naturalistic. The proposed method has also proved to be suitable to address the abandoned quarries reuse problem with a systemic and consultative approach, as it is able to correlate the many variables present in the social and spatial complexity of the Metropolitan Areas.

Building a co-created citizen science program with gardeners neighboring a superfund site: The Gardenroots case study

PubMed Central

Ramirez-Andreotta, Monica D; Brusseau, Mark L; Artiola, Janick; Maier, Raina M; Gandolfi, A Jay

2014-01-01

A research project that is only expert-driven may ignore the role of local knowledge in research, give low priority to the development of a comprehensive communication strategy to engage the community, and may not deliver the results of the study to the community in an effective way. Objective To demonstrate how a research program can respond to a community research need, establish a community-academic partnership, and build a co-created citizen science program. Methods A place-based, community-driven project was designed where academics and community members maintained a reciprocal dialogue, and together, we: 1) defined the question for study, 2) gathered information, 3) developed hypotheses, 3) designed data collection methodologies, 4) collected environmental samples (soil, irrigation water, and vegetables), 5) interpreted data, 6) disseminated results and translated results into action, and 7) discussed results and asked new questions. Results The co-created environmental research project produced new data and addressed an additional exposure route (consumption of vegetables grown in soils with elevated arsenic levels). Public participation in scientific research improved environmental health assessment, information transfer, and risk communication efforts. Furthermore, incorporating the community in the scientific process produced both individual learning outcomes and community-level outcomes. Conclusions This approach illustrates the benefits of a community-academic co-created citizen-science program in addressing the complex problems that arise in communities neighboring a contaminated site. Such a project can increase the community's involvement in risk communication and decision-making, which ultimately has the potential to help mitigate exposure and thereby reduce associated risk. PMID:25954473

Building a co-created citizen science program with gardeners neighboring a superfund site: The Gardenroots case study.

PubMed

Ramirez-Andreotta, Monica D; Brusseau, Mark L; Artiola, Janick; Maier, Raina M; Gandolfi, A Jay

2015-01-01

A research project that is only expert-driven may ignore the role of local knowledge in research, give low priority to the development of a comprehensive communication strategy to engage the community, and may not deliver the results of the study to the community in an effective way. To demonstrate how a research program can respond to a community research need, establish a community-academic partnership, and build a co-created citizen science program. A place-based, community-driven project was designed where academics and community members maintained a reciprocal dialogue, and together, we: 1) defined the question for study, 2) gathered information, 3) developed hypotheses, 3) designed data collection methodologies, 4) collected environmental samples (soil, irrigation water, and vegetables), 5) interpreted data, 6) disseminated results and translated results into action, and 7) discussed results and asked new questions. The co-created environmental research project produced new data and addressed an additional exposure route (consumption of vegetables grown in soils with elevated arsenic levels). Public participation in scientific research improved environmental health assessment, information transfer, and risk communication efforts. Furthermore, incorporating the community in the scientific process produced both individual learning outcomes and community-level outcomes. This approach illustrates the benefits of a community-academic co-created citizen-science program in addressing the complex problems that arise in communities neighboring a contaminated site. Such a project can increase the community's involvement in risk communication and decision-making, which ultimately has the potential to help mitigate exposure and thereby reduce associated risk.

A new spin on research translation: the Boston Consensus Conference on Human Biomonitoring.

PubMed

Nelson, Jessica W; Scammell, Madeleine Kangsen; Altman, Rebecca Gasior; Webster, Thomas F; Ozonoff, David M

2009-04-01

Translating research to make it more understandable and effective (research translation) has been declared a priority in environmental health but does not always include communication to the public or residents of communities affected by environmental hazards. Their unique perspectives are also commonly missing from discussions about science and technology policy. The consensus conference process, developed in Denmark, offers a way to address this gap. The Boston Consensus Conference on Human Biomonitoring, held in Boston, Massachusetts, in the fall of 2006, was designed to educate and elicit input from 15 Boston-area residents on the scientifically complex topic of human biomonitoring for environmental chemicals. This lay panel considered the many ethical, legal, and scientific issues surrounding biomonitoring and prepared a report expressing their views. The lay panel's findings provide a distinct and important voice on the expanding use of biomonitoring. In some cases, such as a call for opt-in reporting of biomonitoring results to study participants, they mirror recommendations raised elsewhere. Other conclusions have not been heard previously, including the recommendation that an individual's results should be statutorily exempted from the medical record unless permission is granted, and the opportunity to use biomonitoring data to stimulate green chemistry. The consensus conference model addresses both aspects of a broader conception of research translation: engaging the public in scientific questions, and bringing their unique perspectives to bear on public health research, practice, and policy. In this specific application, a lay panel's recommendations on biomonitoring surveillance, communication, and ethics have practical implications for the conduct of biomonitoring studies and surveillance programs.

6th Institute for Systems Biology International Symposium: Systems Biology and the Environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galitski, Timothy P.

2007-04-23

Systems biology recognizes the complex multi-scale organization of biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems. The International Symposium on Systems Biology is an annual two-day event gathering the most influential researchers transforming biology into an integrative discipline investigating complex systems. In recognition of the fundamental similarity between the scientific problems addressed in environmental science and systems biology studies at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels, the 2007 Symposium featured global leaders in “Systems Biology and the Environment.” The objective of the 2007 “Systems Biology and the Environment” International Symposium was to stimulate interdisciplinary thinking and research that spans systems biology andmore » environmental science. This Symposium was well aligned with the DOE’s Genomics: GTL program efforts to achieve scientific objectives for each of the three DOE missions: Develop biofuels as a major secure energy source for this century; Develop biological solutions for intractable environmental problems; Understand biosystems’ climate impacts and assess sequestration strategies. Our scientific program highlighted world-class research exemplifying these priorities. The Symposium featured 45 minute lectures from 12 researchers including: Penny/Sallie Chisholm of MIT gave the keynote address “Tiny Cells, Global Impact: What Prochlorococcus Can Teach Us About Systems Biology”, plus Jim Fredrickson of PNNL, Nitin Baliga of ISB, Steve Briggs of UCSD, David Cox of Perlegen Sciences, Antoine Danchin of Institut Pasteur, John Delaney of the U of Washington, John Groopman of Johns Hopkins, Ben Kerr of the U of Washington, Steve Koonin of BP, Elliott Meyerowitz of Caltech, and Ed Rubin of LBNL. The 2007 Symposium promoted DOE’s three mission areas among scientists from multiple disciplines representing academia, non-profit research institutions, and the private sector. As in all previous Symposia, we had excellent attendance of participants representing 20-30 academic or research-oriented facilities along with 25-30 private corporations from 5-10 countries. To broaden the audience for the Symposium and ensure the continued accessibility of the presentations, we made the presentation videos available afterward on the ISB’s website.« less

Task-phase-specific dynamics of basal forebrain neuronal ensembles

PubMed Central

Tingley, David; Alexander, Andrew S.; Kolbu, Sean; de Sa, Virginia R.; Chiba, Andrea A.; Nitz, Douglas A.

2014-01-01

Cortically projecting basal forebrain neurons play a critical role in learning and attention, and their degeneration accompanies age-related impairments in cognition. Despite the impressive anatomical and cell-type complexity of this system, currently available data suggest that basal forebrain neurons lack complexity in their response fields, with activity primarily reflecting only macro-level brain states such as sleep and wake, onset of relevant stimuli and/or reward obtainment. The current study examined the spiking activity of basal forebrain neuron populations across multiple phases of a selective attention task, addressing, in particular, the issue of complexity in ensemble firing patterns across time. Clustering techniques applied to the full population revealed a large number of distinct categories of task-phase-specific activity patterns. Unique population firing-rate vectors defined each task phase and most categories of task-phase-specific firing had counterparts with opposing firing patterns. An analogous set of task-phase-specific firing patterns was also observed in a population of posterior parietal cortex neurons. Thus, consistent with the known anatomical complexity, basal forebrain population dynamics are capable of differentially modulating their cortical targets according to the unique sets of environmental stimuli, motor requirements, and cognitive processes associated with different task phases. PMID:25309352

Health-related disparities: influence of environmental factors.

PubMed

Olden, Kenneth; White, Sandra L

2005-07-01

Racial disparities in health cannot be explained solely on the basis of poverty, access to health care, behavior, or environmental factors. Their complex etiology is dependent on interactions between all these factors plus genetics. Scientists have been slow to consider genetics as a risk factor because genetic polymorphisms tend to be more variable within a race than between races. Now that studies are demonstrating the existence of racial differences in allelic frequencies for multiple genes affecting a single biologic mechanism, the present argument for a significant genetic role in contributing to health disparities is gaining support. Individuals vary, often significantly, in their response to environmental agents. This variability provides a high "background noise" when scientists examine human populations to identify environmental links to disease. This variability often masks important environmental contributors to disease risk and is a major impediment to efforts to investigate the causes of diseases.Fortunately, investments in the various genome projects have led to the development of tools and databases that can be used to help identify the genetic variations in environmental response genes that can lead to such wide differences in disease susceptibility. NIEHS developed the environ-mental genome project to catalog these genetic variants (polymorphisms)and to identify the ones that play a major role in human susceptibility to environmental agents. This information is being used in epidemiologic studies to pinpoint environmental contributors to disease better. The research summarized in this article is critically important for tying genetics and the environment to health disparities, and for the development of a rational approach to gauge environmental threats. Common variants in genes play pivotal roles in determining if or when illness or death result from exposure to drugs or environmental xenobiotics. Most common variants exist in all human populations, but their frequency can vary substantially,rendering individuals or groups more or less susceptible to particular environmental exposures. Such findings are consistent with the highly publicized analogy, "genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger." That is, one can inherit the genetic predisposition to develop a disease but will do so only if or when exposed to the environmental trigger. Poor people have approximately the same genetic makeup as everyone else,but they have the unfortunate experience of living and working in environments containing multiple and high levels of carcinogens or other toxicants capable of interacting with susceptibility genes to cause disease.Furthermore, certain disadvantaged ethnic groups may have a higher incidence of certain susceptible genes that render them more vulnerable to adverse effects of the environments they inhabit. For both of these reasons,much of the nation's disease burden could likely be reduced through better environmental protection practices, especially in low-income and minority communities. Of the many implications of polymorphisms and frequency variations for public health and the practice of medicine, however, none is more urgent than the choice of drugs in therapy. Using such knowledge,randomized trials have identified race-specific drug response differences between blacks and whites [42].To date, most knowledge of the health effects of environmental factors is derived from studies of single agents. The reality, though, is that environmental contributions to health disparities are mostly from multiple agents. These simultaneous exposures to multiple risk factors, which may accumulate or interact synergistically, remain to be fully explained and defined.Finally, health disparity is a significant public health problem that cannot be solved using "business as usual" approaches for funding and priority setting. The current emphasis on basic and clinical research at the exclusion of public health and the social sciences does not provide the interdisciplinary research teams necessary to address such a complex problem as health disparities. Although the poor will always be with us, their health could be greatly improved if social, environmental, and genetic scientists could find ways to collaborate and develop more insightful and relevant ways to address the health of disadvantaged communities.

ORD-State Cooperation is Essential to Help States Address Contemporary Environmental Public Health Challenges

EPA Science Inventory

Dr. Cascio’s presentation “ORD-State Cooperation is Essential to Help States Address Contemporary Environmental Public Health Challenges” at ORD’s State Coordination Team Meeting will highlight the role that ORD science and technical expertise in helping t...

Final Environmental Assessment for Proposed Colorado Springs Airport/El Paso County School District 11 Property Acquisition and Future Development at Peterson Air Foce Base, Colorado

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc,104 W Anapamu...St Ste 204a,San Barbara,CA,93101 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR...National Ambient Air Quality Standards [NAAQS]). The USEPA require the proponent of a proposed action to perform an analysis to determine if its

Compressive Membrane Capability Estimates in Laterally Edge Restrained Reinforced Concrete One-Way Slabs

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-05-01

by THE UNITED STATES ARMY, I DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGI UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY and DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ...SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING I MONITORING AG-ENCY REPORT NUMBER Department of Civil and Environmental ...LATERALLY EDGE RESTRAINED REINFORCED CONCRETE ONE-WAY SLABS Ronald Wayne Welch, Ph.D. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of

Final Environmental Assessment for Low-Level Flight Testing, Evaluation, and Training, Edwards Air Force Base

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-05-01

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Final Environmental Assessment for Low-Level Flight Testing, Evaluation, and Training, Edwards Air Force Base 5a. CONTRACT...NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Air Force Flight Test Center,Environmental Management Directorate,Edwards AFB,CA,93524 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT...DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT The U.S. Air Force Flight Test

Housing accessibility for senior citizens in Sweden: Estimation of the effects of targeted elimination of environmental barriers.

PubMed

Pettersson, Cecilia; Slaug, Björn; Granbom, Marianne; Kylberg, Marianne; Iwarsson, Susanne

2017-01-24

To estimate the effects of targeted elimination of environmental barriers (EB) in the ordinary housing stock in Sweden, and to explore the estimated effects on accessibility at a population level in relation to (a) residents with different functional profiles, (b) different housing types and (c) building periods. Data on dwellings from existing Swedish research databases were utilized. EB and accessibility were assessed by means of the Housing Enabler instrument. In simulations of EB removal, five items that correspond to the most common housing adaptations were selected. The simulations were applied to four functional profiles of different complexity. EB known to be commonly removed by housing adaptations exist in large proportions of the existing ordinary housing stock. Estimated targeted elimination of selected barriers would have the largest accessibility effects for the more complex functional profiles. The effects would be consistently larger for one-family houses, and for all types of dwellings built before 1960. The elimination of the EB most commonly addressed by housing adaptations could result in a reduction of the housing accessibility problems that community-living older people are facing. For society to solve the housing situation for the ageing population well-informed and efficient upgrading of ordinary housing is imperative.

JAMS - a software platform for modular hydrological modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kralisch, Sven; Fischer, Christian

2015-04-01

Current challenges of understanding and assessing the impacts of climate and land use changes on environmental systems demand for an ever-increasing integration of data and process knowledge in corresponding simulation models. Software frameworks that allow for a seamless creation of integrated models based on less complex components (domain models, process simulation routines) have therefore gained increasing attention during the last decade. JAMS is an Open-Source software framework that has been especially designed to cope with the challenges of eco-hydrological modelling. This is reflected by (i) its flexible approach for representing time and space, (ii) a strong separation of process simulation components from the declarative description of more complex models using domain specific XML, (iii) powerful analysis and visualization functions for spatial and temporal input and output data, and (iv) parameter optimization and uncertainty analysis functions commonly used in environmental modelling. Based on JAMS, different hydrological and nutrient-transport simulation models were implemented and successfully applied during the last years. We will present the JAMS core concepts and give an overview of models, simulation components and support tools available for that framework. Sample applications will be used to underline the advantages of component-based model designs and to show how JAMS can be used to address the challenges of integrated hydrological modelling.

The NGA-DOE grant to examine critical issues related to radioactive waste and materials disposition involving DOE facilities. Quarterly report, October 1--December 31, 1997

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beauchesne, A.M.

1997-12-31

Topics explored through this project include: decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials; decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities; strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites in the complex; changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the EM 2006 cleanup plans and contractor integration analysis; interstate waste and materials shipments; and reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes.more » The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; and maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, DOE activities in the area of the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule, and DOE`s proposed National Dialogue.« less

Predictive Toxicology and Computer Simulation of Male ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The reproductive tract is a complex, integrated organ system with diverse embryology and unique sensitivity to prenatal environmental exposures that disrupt morphoregulatory processes and endocrine signaling. U.S. EPA’s in vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) database (ToxCastDB) was used to profile the bioactivity of 54 chemicals with male developmental consequences across ~800 molecular and cellular features. The in vitro bioactivity on molecular targets could be condensed into 156 gene annotations in a bipartite network. These results highlighted the role of estrogen and androgen signaling pathways in male reproductive tract development, and importantly, broadened the list of molecular targets to include GPCRs, cytochrome-P450s, vascular remodeling proteins, and retinoic acid signaling. A multicellular agent-based model was used to simulate the complex interactions between morphoregulatory, endocrine, and environmental influences during genital tubercle (GT) development. Spatially dynamic signals (e.g., SHH, FGF10, and androgen) were implemented in the model to address differential adhesion, cell motility, proliferation, and apoptosis. Under control of androgen signaling, urethral tube closure was an emergent feature of the model that was linked to gender-specific rates of ventral mesenchymal proliferation and urethral plate endodermal apoptosis. A systemic parameter sweep was used to examine the sensitivity of crosstalk between genetic deficiency and envi

Databases on biotechnology and biosafety of GMOs.

PubMed

Degrassi, Giuliano; Alexandrova, Nevena; Ripandelli, Decio

2003-01-01

Due to the involvement of scientific, industrial, commercial and public sectors of society, the complexity of the issues concerning the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for the environment, agriculture, and human and animal health calls for a wide coverage of information. Accordingly, development of the field of biotechnology, along with concerns related to the fate of released GMOs, has led to a rapid development of tools for disseminating such information. As a result, there is a growing number of databases aimed at collecting and storing information related to GMOs. Most of the sites deal with information on environmental releases, field trials, transgenes and related sequences, regulations and legislation, risk assessment documents, and literature. Databases are mainly established and managed by scientific, national or international authorities, and are addressed towards scientists, government officials, policy makers, consumers, farmers, environmental groups and civil society representatives. This complexity can lead to an overlapping of information. The purpose of the present review is to analyse the relevant databases currently available on the web, providing comments on their vastly different information and on the structure of the sites pertaining to different users. A preliminary overview on the development of these sites during the last decade, at both the national and international level, is also provided.

Multiscale Systems Modeling of Male Reproductive Tract ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The reproductive tract is a complex, integrated organ system with diverse embryology and unique sensitivity to prenatal environmental exposures that disrupt morphoregulatory processes and endocrine signaling. U.S. EPA’s in vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) database (ToxCastDB) was used to profile the bioactivity of 54 chemicals with male developmental consequences across ~800 molecular and cellular features [Leung et al., accepted manuscript]. The in vitro bioactivity on molecular targets could be condensed into 156 gene annotations in a bipartite network. These results highlighted the role of estrogen and androgen signaling pathways in male reproductive tract development, and importantly, broadened the list of molecular targets to include GPCRs, cytochrome-P450s, vascular remodeling proteins, and retinoic acid signaling. A multicellular agent-based model was used to simulate the complex interactions between morphoregulatory, endocrine, and environmental influences during genital tubercle (GT) development. Spatially dynamic signals (e.g., SHH, FGF10, and androgen) were implemented in the model to address differential adhesion, cell motility, proliferation, and apoptosis. Urethral tube closure was an emergent feature of the model that was linked to gender-specific rates of ventral mesenchymal proliferation and urethral plate endodermal apoptosis, both under control of androgen signaling [Leung et al., manuscript in preparation]. A systemic parameter sweep w

Critical Practice and the Public Pedagogy of Environmental and Conservation Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blewitt, John

2011-01-01

This article addresses the reluctance of mainstream corporate and commercial media to critically address major environmental and conservation issues. The resulting public pedagogy largely reproduces the neoliberal ideology informing much conservation practice and discourse. Nonetheless, the media retains an unrealised critical educative potential…

Abiotic Remediation of Nitro-Aromatic Groundwater Contaminants by Zero-Valent Iron

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-18

Paul G. Tratnyek 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER Department of Environmental Science N/A...REMEDIATION OF NITRO-AROMATIC GROUNDWATER CONTAMINANTS BY ZERO-VALENT IRON Abinash Agrmwal and Paul G. Tratnyek Department of Environmental Science and

77 FR 52328 - National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Notification of Public Teleconference Meeting...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-29

... addressing tribal and indigenous peoples environmental justice issues and concerns. There will be a public.... What activities and mechanisms should EPA conduct and develop to work collaboratively with indigenous... discourage tribal governments and indigenous organizations from effectively working together to address...

Developing dimensions for a multicomponent multidisciplinary approach to obesity management: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Cochrane, Anita J; Dick, Bob; King, Neil A; Hills, Andrew P; Kavanagh, David J

2017-10-16

There have been consistent recommendations for multicomponent and multidisciplinary approaches for obesity management. However, there is no clear agreement on the components, disciplines or processes to be considered within such an approach. In this study, we explored multicomponent and multidisciplinary approaches through an examination of knowledge, skills, beliefs, and recommendations of stakeholders involved in obesity management. These stakeholders included researchers, practitioners, educators, and patients. We used qualitative action research methods, including convergent interviewing and observation, to assist the process of inquiry. The consensus was that a multicomponent and multidisciplinary approach should be based on four central meta-components (patient, practitioner, process, and environmental factors), and specific components of these factors were identified. Psychologists, dieticians, exercise physiologists and general practitioners were nominated as key practitioners to be included. A complex condition like obesity requires that multiple components be addressed, and that both patients and multiple disciplines are involved in developing solutions. Implementing cycles of continuous improvement to deal with complexity, instead of trying to control for it, offers an effective way to deal with complex, changing multisystem problems like obesity.

Designer carbon nanotubes for contaminant removal in water and wastewater: A critical review.

PubMed

Sarkar, Binoy; Mandal, Sanchita; Tsang, Yiu Fai; Kumar, Pawan; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Ok, Yong Sik

2018-01-15

The search for effective materials for environmental cleanup is a scientific and technological issue of paramount importance. Among various materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess unique physicochemical, electrical, and mechanical properties that make them suitable for potential applications as environmental adsorbents, sensors, membranes, and catalysts. Depending on the intended application and the chemical nature of the target contaminants, CNTs can be designed through specific functionalization or modification processes. Designer CNTs can remarkably enhance contaminant removal efficiency and facilitate nanomaterial recovery and regeneration. An increasing number of CNT-based materials have been used to treat diverse organic, inorganic, and biological contaminants. These success stories demonstrate their strong potential in practical applications, including wastewater purification and desalination. However, CNT-based technologies have not been broadly accepted for commercial use due to their prohibitive cost and the complex interactions of CNTs with other abiotic and biotic environmental components. This paper presents a critical review of the existing literature on the interaction of various contaminants with CNTs in water and soil environments. The preparation methods of various designer CNTs (surface functionalized and/or modified) and the functional relationships between their physicochemical characteristics and environmental uses are discussed. This review will also help to identify the research gaps that must be addressed for enhancing the commercial acceptance of CNTs in the environmental remediation industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria in Middle East: Current situation and future challenges.

PubMed

Velayati, Ali Akbar; Rahideh, Sanaz; Nezhad, Zahra Derakhshani; Farnia, Parissa; Mirsaeidi, Mehdi

2015-03-01

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a diverse group of bacterial species that are distributed in the environment. Many of these environmental bacteria can cause disease in humans. The identification of NTM in environmental sources is important for both clinical and epidemiological purposes. In this study, the distribution of NTM species from environmental and clinical samples in the Middle East was reviewed. In order to provide an overview of NTM, as well as recent epidemiological trends, all studies addressing NTM in the Middle East from 1984 to 2014 were reviewed. A total of 96 articles were found, in which 1751 NTM strains were isolated and 1084 of which were obtained from clinical samples, 619 from environmental samples and 48 were cited by case reports. Mycobacterium fortuitum was the most common rapid growing mycobacteria (RGM) isolated from both clinical (269 out of 447 RGM; 60.1%) and environmental (135 out of 289 RGM; 46.7%) samples. Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was the most common slow growing mycobacteria (SGM) isolated from clinical samples (140 out of 637 SGM; 21.9%). An increasing trend in NTM isolation from the Middle East was noted over the last 5years. This review demonstrates the increasing concern regarding NTM disease in the Middle East, emphasizing the need for regional collaboration and coordination in order to respond appropriately. Copyright © 2015 Asian African Society for Mycobacteriology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental Quality Assessment of Built Areas with High Vacancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Y.; Yuan, Y.; Neale, A. C.

2015-12-01

Around the world, many urban areas are challenged by vacant and abandoned residential and business property. High vacancy areas have often been associated with increasing public safety problems and declining property values and subsequent tax base. High vacancy can lead to visible signs of city decline and significant barriers to the revitalization of cities. Addressing the problem of vacancy requires knowledge of vacancy patterns and their possible contributing factors. In this study, we evaluated the ten year (2005-2015) urban environmental changes for some high vacancy areas. Social and economic variables derived from U.S. census data such as non-white population, employment rate, housing price, and environmental variables derived from National Land Cover Data such as land cover and impervious area, were used as the basis for analysis. Correlation analysis and principle components analysis were performed at the Census Block Group level. Three components were identified and interpreted as economic status, urbanness, and greenness. A synthetic Urban Environmental Quality (UEQ) index was developed by integrating the three principle components according to their weights. Comparisons of the UEQ indices between the 2005 and 2015 in the increasingly high vacancy area provided useful information for investigating the possible associations between social, economic, and environmental factors, and the vacancy status. This study could provide useful information for understanding the complex issues leading to vacancy and facilitating future rehabilitation of vacant urban area.

Metrics to assess ecological condition, change, and impacts in sandy beach ecosystems.

PubMed

Schlacher, Thomas A; Schoeman, David S; Jones, Alan R; Dugan, Jenifer E; Hubbard, David M; Defeo, Omar; Peterson, Charles H; Weston, Michael A; Maslo, Brooke; Olds, Andrew D; Scapini, Felicita; Nel, Ronel; Harris, Linda R; Lucrezi, Serena; Lastra, Mariano; Huijbers, Chantal M; Connolly, Rod M

2014-11-01

Complexity is increasingly the hallmark in environmental management practices of sandy shorelines. This arises primarily from meeting growing public demands (e.g., real estate, recreation) whilst reconciling economic demands with expectations of coastal users who have modern conservation ethics. Ideally, shoreline management is underpinned by empirical data, but selecting ecologically-meaningful metrics to accurately measure the condition of systems, and the ecological effects of human activities, is a complex task. Here we construct a framework for metric selection, considering six categories of issues that authorities commonly address: erosion; habitat loss; recreation; fishing; pollution (litter and chemical contaminants); and wildlife conservation. Possible metrics were scored in terms of their ability to reflect environmental change, and against criteria that are widely used for judging the performance of ecological indicators (i.e., sensitivity, practicability, costs, and public appeal). From this analysis, four types of broadly applicable metrics that also performed very well against the indicator criteria emerged: 1.) traits of bird populations and assemblages (e.g., abundance, diversity, distributions, habitat use); 2.) breeding/reproductive performance sensu lato (especially relevant for birds and turtles nesting on beaches and in dunes, but equally applicable to invertebrates and plants); 3.) population parameters and distributions of vertebrates associated primarily with dunes and the supralittoral beach zone (traditionally focused on birds and turtles, but expandable to mammals); 4.) compound measurements of the abundance/cover/biomass of biota (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates) at both the population and assemblage level. Local constraints (i.e., the absence of birds in highly degraded urban settings or lack of dunes on bluff-backed beaches) and particular issues may require alternatives. Metrics - if selected and applied correctly - provide empirical evidence of environmental condition and change, but often do not reflect deeper environmental values per se. Yet, values remain poorly articulated for many beach systems; this calls for a comprehensive identification of environmental values and the development of targeted programs to conserve these values on sandy shorelines globally. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 80385 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Maricopa Sun Solar Complex Multi-Species...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-23

...-FXES11120800000F2-123] Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Maricopa Sun Solar Complex Multi-Species... National Environmental Policy Act for the proposed Maricopa Sun Solar Complex Habitat Conservation Plan... construction, operation, and decommissioning of a 700 megawatt photo-voltaic power generating facility and...

Bayesian model evidence as a model evaluation metric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guthke, Anneli; Höge, Marvin; Nowak, Wolfgang

2017-04-01

When building environmental systems models, we are typically confronted with the questions of how to choose an appropriate model (i.e., which processes to include or neglect) and how to measure its quality. Various metrics have been proposed that shall guide the modeller towards a most robust and realistic representation of the system under study. Criteria for evaluation often address aspects of accuracy (absence of bias) or of precision (absence of unnecessary variance) and need to be combined in a meaningful way in order to address the inherent bias-variance dilemma. We suggest using Bayesian model evidence (BME) as a model evaluation metric that implicitly performs a tradeoff between bias and variance. BME is typically associated with model weights in the context of Bayesian model averaging (BMA). However, it can also be seen as a model evaluation metric in a single-model context or in model comparison. It combines a measure for goodness of fit with a penalty for unjustifiable complexity. Unjustifiable refers to the fact that the appropriate level of model complexity is limited by the amount of information available for calibration. Derived in a Bayesian context, BME naturally accounts for measurement errors in the calibration data as well as for input and parameter uncertainty. BME is therefore perfectly suitable to assess model quality under uncertainty. We will explain in detail and with schematic illustrations what BME measures, i.e. how complexity is defined in the Bayesian setting and how this complexity is balanced with goodness of fit. We will further discuss how BME compares to other model evaluation metrics that address accuracy and precision such as the predictive logscore or other model selection criteria such as the AIC, BIC or KIC. Although computationally more expensive than other metrics or criteria, BME represents an appealing alternative because it provides a global measure of model quality. Even if not applicable to each and every case, we aim at stimulating discussion about how to judge the quality of hydrological models in the presence of uncertainty in general by dissecting the mechanism behind BME.

The influence of farmer demographic characteristics on environmental behaviour: a review.

PubMed

Burton, Rob J F

2014-03-15

Many agricultural studies have observed a relationship between farmer demographic characteristics and environmental behaviours. These relationships are frequently employed in the construction of models, the identification of farmer types, or as part of more descriptive analyses aimed at understanding farmers' environmental behaviour. However, they have also often been found to be inconsistent or contradictory. Although a considerable body of literature has built up around the subject area, research has a tendency to focus on factors such as the direction, strength and consistency of the relationship - leaving the issue of causality largely to speculation. This review addresses this gap by reviewing literature on 4 key demographic variables: age, experience, education, and gender for hypothesised causal links. Overall the review indicates that the issue of causality is a complex one. Inconsistent relationships can be attributed to the presence of multiple causal pathways, the role of scheme factors in determining which pathway is important, inadequately specified measurements of demographic characteristics, and the treatment of non-linear causalities as linear. In addition, all demographic characteristics were perceived to be influenced (to varying extents) by cultural-historical patterns leading to cohort effects or socialised differences in the relationship with environmental behaviour. The paper concludes that more work is required on the issue of causality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Participatory Systems Modeling to Explore Sustainable ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Decision makers often need assistance in understanding dynamic interactions and linkages among economic, environmental and social systems in coastal watersheds. They also need scientific input to better evaluate potential costs and benefits of alternative policy interventions. The US EPA is applying sustainability science to address these needs. Triple Value (3V) Scoping and Modeling projects bring a systems approach to understand complex environmental problems, incorporate local knowledge, and allow decision-makers to explore policy scenarios. This leads to better understanding of feedbacks and outcomes to both human and environmental systems. The Suffolk County, NY (eastern Long Island) 3V Case uses SES interconnections to explore possible policy options and scenarios for intervention to mitigate the effects of excess nitrogen (N) loading to ground, surface, and estuarine waters. Many of the environmental impacts of N pollution negatively affect social and economic well-being and productivity. Key are loss of enjoyment and recreational use of local beach environments and loss of income and revenues from tourism and local fisheries. Stakeholders generated this Problem Statement: Suffolk County is experiencing widespread degradation to groundwater and the coastal marine environment caused by excess nitrogen. How can local stakeholders and decision makers in Suffolk County arrest and reverse this degradation, restore conditions to support a healthy thriving ecos

Reconceptualizing INRM in understanding environmental risks from food production systems.

PubMed

Pandey, Chitra; Diwan, Hema

2018-02-15

Sustainable agri-development is composed of soil fertility maintenance, nutrient use efficiency and resource use efficiency. In this regard, the present study aims to address the complex dynamics of farm-soil and the water nexus for integrated natural resource management by understanding the fertilizer use decision of farmers. In addition to the monitoring of soil quality parameters, that is, the total nitrogen and nitrate concentrations, factor analysis was used to explore the drivers of high fertilizer use in the most agriculturally intensive region of India. The results classified economic benefits, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, resource-related aspects, institutional set-up and passivity towards environmental quality as major entry points for integrated natural resource management. Although the economic benefit in the form of the affordability of nitrogenous fertilizers was found to be the most critical rationale for fertilizer use, passivity towards environmental quality emerged as a factor of interest. Because short-term economic benefits outweigh concerns for environmental quality, our research suggests that outreach educational programs on sustainable farm practices can be instrumental in resource management. Support of the farming community by governmental/non-governmental agricultural agencies to formulate site-specific recommendations can significantly mitigate fertilizer-induced non-point pollution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, J. Angus; Watts, Robyn J.; Allan, Catherine; Conallin, John C.

2018-03-01

Adaptive management enables managers to work with complexity and uncertainty, and to respond to changing biophysical and social conditions. Amid considerable uncertainty over the benefits of environmental flows, governments are embracing adaptive management as a means to inform decision making. This Special Issue of Environmental Management presents examples of adaptive management of environmental flows and addresses claims that there are few examples of its successful implementation. It arose from a session at the 11th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics held in Australia, and is consequently dominated by papers from Australia. We classified the papers according to the involvement of researchers, managers and the local community in adaptive management. Five papers report on approaches developed by researchers, and one paper on a community-led program; these case studies currently have little impact on decision making. Six papers provide examples involving water managers and researchers, and two papers provide examples involving water managers and the local community. There are no papers where researchers, managers and local communities all contribute equally to adaptive management. Successful adaptive management of environmental flows occurs more often than is perceived. The final paper explores why successes are rarely reported, suggesting a lack of emphasis on reflection on management practices. One major challenge is to increase the documentation of successful adaptive management, so that benefits of learning extend beyond the project where it takes place. Finally, moving towards greater involvement of all stakeholders is critical if we are to realize the benefits of adaptive management for improving outcomes from environmental flows.

Final Environmental Assessment For Demolishing Buildings 202 and 425 At Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-08-01

ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Air Combat Command,Environmental Flight,Avon Park Air Force Range,FL,33825 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT...Oklahoma State University, 1973 Years of Experience: 21 Margaret Margosian Geographer Avon Park AFR, FL B.L.A., Landscape Architechture

Environmental Design Research. Volume Two: Symposia and Workshops. Community Development Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preiser, Wolfgang F. E., Ed.

The contents of this volume represent the invited contributions to the conference and are categorized according to special (invited) addresses, symposia, and workshops. Special addresses were conceptualized to view environmental design research in a holistic way, incorporating changing societal and political conditions. Lynton K. Caldwell spoke on…

"Human Nature": Chemical Engineering Students' Ideas about Human Relationships with the Natural World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman, Daphne; Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi; Shemesh, Julia

2014-01-01

While importance of environmental ethics, as a component of sustainable development, in preparing engineers is widely acknowledged, little research has addressed chemical engineers' environmental concerns. This study aimed to address this void by exploring chemical engineering students' values regarding human-nature relationships. The study was…

77 FR 16862 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-22

... address. Robert Brook, Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural...' natural resource damage assessment costs of $18,964.34, and will pay future travel costs incurred by... Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural...

Nonhydrostatic Numerical Investigations of Oscillating Flow over Sills: Generation of Internal Tides and Solitary Waves

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-25

Distribution Unlimited Principal Investigator: Shenn-Yu Chao, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science , PO Box 0775...ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE REPORT NUMBER OFFICE OF GRANTS

Dynamics of and Characteristics of Numerical Models of Weakly Nonlinear Flows

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-09-30

for Environmental Science 2020 Horns Point Road PO Box 775 Cambridge, MD 21613-0775 phone: (410) 221-8477 fax: (410) 221-8490 email: walstad...AND ADDRESS(ES) University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science ,Horn Point Laboratory,2020 Horns Point Road,Cambridge,MD,21613-0775 8

Finding of No Significant Impact and Finding of No Practicable Alternative Construction of a Warehouse Complex MacDill Air Force Base, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-31

that Federal agencies identify and assess environmental health and safety risks that might disproportionately affect children. The Proposed Action...extra water is sent to one irrigation field near Golf Course Avenue and Affected Environment Environmental Assessment for Warehouse Complex...the area . Environmental Consequences Environmental Assessment for Warehouse Complex MacDill AFB, Florida FEBRUARY 2010 4-15 FINAL Figure

15 CFR 950.6 - Environmental Science Information Center (ESIC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Environmental Science Information... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND INFORMATION § 950.6 Environmental Science...-NOAA publication series. (b) Queries should be addressed to: Environmental Science Information Center...

15 CFR 950.6 - Environmental Science Information Center (ESIC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Environmental Science Information... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND INFORMATION § 950.6 Environmental Science...-NOAA publication series. (b) Queries should be addressed to: Environmental Science Information Center...

15 CFR 950.6 - Environmental Science Information Center (ESIC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Environmental Science Information... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND INFORMATION § 950.6 Environmental Science...-NOAA publication series. (b) Queries should be addressed to: Environmental Science Information Center...

15 CFR 950.6 - Environmental Science Information Center (ESIC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Environmental Science Information... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND INFORMATION § 950.6 Environmental Science...-NOAA publication series. (b) Queries should be addressed to: Environmental Science Information Center...

15 CFR 950.6 - Environmental Science Information Center (ESIC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Environmental Science Information... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND INFORMATION § 950.6 Environmental Science...-NOAA publication series. (b) Queries should be addressed to: Environmental Science Information Center...

A system dynamic modeling approach for evaluating municipal solid waste generation, landfill capacity and related cost management issues.

PubMed

Kollikkathara, Naushad; Feng, Huan; Yu, Danlin

2010-11-01

As planning for sustainable municipal solid waste management has to address several inter-connected issues such as landfill capacity, environmental impacts and financial expenditure, it becomes increasingly necessary to understand the dynamic nature of their interactions. A system dynamics approach designed here attempts to address some of these issues by fitting a model framework for Newark urban region in the US, and running a forecast simulation. The dynamic system developed in this study incorporates the complexity of the waste generation and management process to some extent which is achieved through a combination of simpler sub-processes that are linked together to form a whole. The impact of decision options on the generation of waste in the city, on the remaining landfill capacity of the state, and on the economic cost or benefit actualized by different waste processing options are explored through this approach, providing valuable insights into the urban waste-management process. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A system dynamic modeling approach for evaluating municipal solid waste generation, landfill capacity and related cost management issues

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kollikkathara, Naushad, E-mail: naushadkp@gmail.co; Feng Huan; Yu Danlin

2010-11-15

As planning for sustainable municipal solid waste management has to address several inter-connected issues such as landfill capacity, environmental impacts and financial expenditure, it becomes increasingly necessary to understand the dynamic nature of their interactions. A system dynamics approach designed here attempts to address some of these issues by fitting a model framework for Newark urban region in the US, and running a forecast simulation. The dynamic system developed in this study incorporates the complexity of the waste generation and management process to some extent which is achieved through a combination of simpler sub-processes that are linked together to formmore » a whole. The impact of decision options on the generation of waste in the city, on the remaining landfill capacity of the state, and on the economic cost or benefit actualized by different waste processing options are explored through this approach, providing valuable insights into the urban waste-management process.« less

Environmental management plan (EMP) for Melamchi water supply project, Nepal.

PubMed

Khadka, Ram B; Khanal, Anil B

2008-11-01

More than 1.5 million people live in the Kathmandu valley. The valley is facing an extreme shortage of water supply. At the same time the demand is escalating rapidly. To address this issue of scarcity of water, the government of Nepal has proposed a project of inter-basin transfer of water from Melamchi River located 40 km north-east of the Kathmandu valley. The project will cover two districts and three municipalities and will potentially have significant impacts on the environment. In accordance with the Environmental Protection Regulation of Nepal (1997), the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) has undergone an EIA during the feasibility study stage of the proposed project. The recommendations contained in the EIA were integrated into the project design for implementation in 2006. This paper summarizes the background of MWSP, the environmental concerns described in the EIA and the status of Environmental Management Plan (EMP) developed to address environmental compliance and other issues involving participation and support of the local people. This paper also provides some lessons to learn on the modalities of addressing the demands and grievances of the local people concerning environmental management.

Challenges in researching violence affecting health service delivery in complex security environments.

PubMed

Foghammar, Ludvig; Jang, Suyoun; Kyzy, Gulzhan Asylbek; Weiss, Nerina; Sullivan, Katherine A; Gibson-Fall, Fawzia; Irwin, Rachel

2016-08-01

Complex security environments are characterized by violence (including, but not limited to "armed conflict" in the legal sense), poverty, environmental disasters and poor governance. Violence directly affecting health service delivery in complex security environments includes attacks on individuals (e.g. doctors, nurses, administrators, security guards, ambulance drivers and translators), obstructions (e.g. ambulances being stopped at checkpoints), discrimination (e.g. staff being pressured to treat one patient instead of another), attacks on and misappropriation of health facilities and property (e.g. vandalism, theft and ambulance theft by armed groups), and the criminalization of health workers. This paper examines the challenges associated with researching the context, scope and nature of violence directly affecting health service delivery in these environments. With a focus on data collection, it considers how these challenges affect researchers' ability to analyze the drivers of violence and impact of violence. This paper presents key findings from two research workshops organized in 2014 and 2015 which convened researchers and practitioners in the fields of health and humanitarian aid delivery and policy, and draws upon an analysis of organizational efforts to address violence affecting healthcare delivery and eleven in-depth interviews with representatives of organizations working in complex security environments. Despite the urgency and impact of violence affecting healthcare delivery, there is an overall lack of research that is of health-specific, publically accessible and comparable, as well as a lack of gender-disaggregated data, data on perpetrator motives and an assessment of the 'knock-on' effects of violence. These gaps limit analysis and, by extension, the ability of organizations operating in complex security environments to effectively manage the security of their staff and facilities and to deliver health services. Increased research collaboration among aid organizations, researchers and multilateral organizations, such as the WHO, is needed to address these challenges. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST) and its potential use for environmental justice efforts.

PubMed

Zartarian, Valerie G; Schultz, Bradley D; Barzyk, Timothy M; Smuts, Marybeth; Hammond, Davyda M; Medina-Vera, Myriam; Geller, Andrew M

2011-12-01

Our primary objective was to provide higher quality, more accessible science to address challenges of characterizing local-scale exposures and risks for enhanced community-based assessments and environmental decision-making. After identifying community needs, priority environmental issues, and current tools, we designed and populated the Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST) in collaboration with stakeholders, following a set of defined principles, and considered it in the context of environmental justice. C-FERST is a geographic information system and resource access Web tool under development for supporting multimedia community assessments. Community-level exposure and risk research is being conducted to address specific local issues through case studies. C-FERST can be applied to support environmental justice efforts. It incorporates research to develop community-level data and modeled estimates for priority environmental issues, and other relevant information identified by communities. Initial case studies are under way to refine and test the tool to expand its applicability and transferability. Opportunities exist for scientists to address the many research needs in characterizing local cumulative exposures and risks and for community partners to apply and refine C-FERST.

Environmental justice and regional inequality in southern California: implications for future research.

PubMed Central

Morello-Frosch, Rachel; Pastor, Manuel; Porras, Carlos; Sadd, James

2002-01-01

Environmental justice offers researchers new insights into the juncture of social inequality and public health and provides a framework for policy discussions on the impact of discrimination on the environmental health of diverse communities in the United States. Yet, causally linking the presence of potentially hazardous facilities or environmental pollution with adverse health effects is difficult, particularly in situations in which diverse populations are exposed to complex chemical mixtures. A community-academic research collaborative in southern California sought to address some of these methodological challenges by conducting environmental justice research that makes use of recent advances in air emissions inventories and air exposure modeling data. Results from several of our studies indicate that communities of color bear a disproportionate burden in the location of treatment, storage, and disposal facilities and Toxic Release Inventory facilities. Longitudinal analysis further suggests that facility siting in communities of color, not market-based "minority move-in," accounts for these disparities. The collaborative also investigated the health risk implications of outdoor air toxics exposures from mobile and stationary sources and found that race plays an explanatory role in predicting cancer risk distributions among populations in the region, even after controlling for other socioeconomic and demographic indicators. Although it is unclear whether study results from southern California can be meaningfully generalized to other regions in the United States, they do have implications for approaching future research in the realm of environmental justice. The authors propose a political economy and social inequality framework to guide future research that could better elucidate the origins of environmental inequality and reasons for its persistence. PMID:11929723

GeoHealth: A Transdisciplinary Science Comes of Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McEntee, C.

2016-12-01

GeoHealth is a transdisciplinary research discipline that connects Earth and environmental sciences with ecosystem and human health sciences. Geohealth research advances both basic and solutions focused research to address global societal challenges in ecosystem and human health. Some of the areas being addressed by geohealth include toxic substances in water, atmosphere, and soil and their effect on human health and environmental health. Geohealth research has been underway for several decades; several examples of recent prominent research findings include identifying complex exposures to dust in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and a better understanding of toxic exposures from the Gulf oil spill and their health effects on humans and other species both on land and in water. Over the past decade, GeoHealth research output has grown significantly as evidenced by research output in both the volume of meeting abstracts and journal articles and by significant funding commitments by governmental funding agencies around the world. This presentation will provide an overview of scientific research areas encompassed in geohealth, data that demonstrate a nearly 50% increase in geohealth research output between 2010 and 2015, the double digit growth of geohealth research output in AGU meetings and journals, and which countries are currently leading in geohealth research output. An overview of government funding sources for geohealth research both within and outside the United States along with new AGU geohealth initiatives will also be presented.

W(h)ither the Oracle? Cognitive biases and other human challenges of integrated environmental modeling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glynn, Pierre D.; Ames, D.P.; Quinn, N. W. T.; Rizzoli, A.E.

2014-01-01

Integrated environmental modeling (IEM) can organize and increase our knowledge of the complex, dynamic ecosystems that house our natural resources and control the quality of our environments. Human behavior, however, must be taken into account. Human biases/heuristics reflect adaptation over our evolutionary past to frequently experienced situations that affected our survival and that provided sharply distinguished feedbacks at the level of the individual. Unfortunately, human behavior is not adapted to the more diffusely experienced, less frequently encountered, problems and issues that IEM typically seeks to address in the simulation of natural resources and environments. While seeking inspiration from the prophetic traditions of the Oracle of Delphi, several human biases are identified that may affect how the science base of IEM is assembled, and how IEM results are interpreted and used. These biases are supported by personal observations, and by the findings of behavioral scientists. A process for critical analysis is proposed that solicits explicit accounting and cognizance of potential human biases. A number of suggestions are made to address the human challenges of IEM, in addition to maintaining attitudes of watchful humility, open-mindedness, honesty, and transparent accountability. These include creating a new area of study in the behavioral biogeosciences, using structured processes for engaging the modeling and stakeholder community in IEM, and using “red teams” to increase resilience of IEM constructs and use.

EPA Order 5700.7A1: EPA's Policy for Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This order establishes Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy for addressing environmental results under EPA assistance agreements, including results that advance EPA’s environmental and human health mission.

Stochastic Simulation and Forecast of Hydrologic Time Series Based on Probabilistic Chaos Expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z.; Ghaith, M.

2017-12-01

Hydrological processes are characterized by many complex features, such as nonlinearity, dynamics and uncertainty. How to quantify and address such complexities and uncertainties has been a challenging task for water engineers and managers for decades. To support robust uncertainty analysis, an innovative approach for the stochastic simulation and forecast of hydrologic time series is developed is this study. Probabilistic Chaos Expansions (PCEs) are established through probabilistic collocation to tackle uncertainties associated with the parameters of traditional hydrological models. The uncertainties are quantified in model outputs as Hermite polynomials with regard to standard normal random variables. Sequentially, multivariate analysis techniques are used to analyze the complex nonlinear relationships between meteorological inputs (e.g., temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, etc.) and the coefficients of the Hermite polynomials. With the established relationships between model inputs and PCE coefficients, forecasts of hydrologic time series can be generated and the uncertainties in the future time series can be further tackled. The proposed approach is demonstrated using a case study in China and is compared to a traditional stochastic simulation technique, the Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) method. Results show that the proposed approach can serve as a reliable proxy to complicated hydrological models. It can provide probabilistic forecasting in a more computationally efficient manner, compared to the traditional MCMC method. This work provides technical support for addressing uncertainties associated with hydrological modeling and for enhancing the reliability of hydrological modeling results. Applications of the developed approach can be extended to many other complicated geophysical and environmental modeling systems to support the associated uncertainty quantification and risk analysis.

The Hidden World within Plants: Ecological and Evolutionary Considerations for Defining Functioning of Microbial Endophytes

PubMed Central

van Overbeek, Leonard S.; Berg, Gabriele; Pirttilä, Anna Maria; Compant, Stéphane; Campisano, Andrea; Döring, Matthias; Sessitsch, Angela

2015-01-01

SUMMARY All plants are inhabited internally by diverse microbial communities comprising bacterial, archaeal, fungal, and protistic taxa. These microorganisms showing endophytic lifestyles play crucial roles in plant development, growth, fitness, and diversification. The increasing awareness of and information on endophytes provide insight into the complexity of the plant microbiome. The nature of plant-endophyte interactions ranges from mutualism to pathogenicity. This depends on a set of abiotic and biotic factors, including the genotypes of plants and microbes, environmental conditions, and the dynamic network of interactions within the plant biome. In this review, we address the concept of endophytism, considering the latest insights into evolution, plant ecosystem functioning, and multipartite interactions. PMID:26136581

Ecoinformatics: supporting ecology as a data-intensive science.

PubMed

Michener, William K; Jones, Matthew B

2012-02-01

Ecology is evolving rapidly and increasingly changing into a more open, accountable, interdisciplinary, collaborative and data-intensive science. Discovering, integrating and analyzing massive amounts of heterogeneous data are central to ecology as researchers address complex questions at scales from the gene to the biosphere. Ecoinformatics offers tools and approaches for managing ecological data and transforming the data into information and knowledge. Here, we review the state-of-the-art and recent advances in ecoinformatics that can benefit ecologists and environmental scientists as they tackle increasingly challenging questions that require voluminous amounts of data across disciplines and scales of space and time. We also highlight the challenges and opportunities that remain. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Intensive Programme on Education for Sustainable Development: The Participants' Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biasutti, Michele

2015-01-01

This paper presents the framework of an intensive programme (IP) organised by UNESCO and addressed to young graduate professionals to prepare them for a career in fields related to sustainability. The aims of the IP were to address participants' environmental awareness and to develop attitudes and skills related to environmental planning and…

Economics and the Environment - EcoDetectives. EconomicsAmerica.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schug, Mark C.; Morton, John S.; Wentworth, Donald R.

This book helps middle school and high school students address environmental issues in an intelligent and productive manner. The lessons introduce economic reasoning and show students how to apply it to environmental problems. The 18 lessons are divided into four units addressing: the environment and the economy; incentives; use of market forces…

78 FR 71639 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians' Proposed 534-Acre...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-29

... Action also includes the development of a 300-room hotel, casino, restaurants, retail establishments, a... addressed within the FEIS included land resources, water resources, air quality, biological resources..., Chief of the Division of Environmental, Cultural Resources Management and Safety, at the address listed...

Enforcement Alert: U.S. EPA Encourages Iron and Steel Minimills to Self Audits to Address Noncompliance with Environmental Requirements; Nucor Corp. agrees to Control Practices; Provides Model for Industry

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is the enforcement alert for U.S. EPA Encourages Iron and Steel Minimills to Self Audits to Address Noncompliance with Environmental Requirements; Nucor Corp. agrees to Control Practices; Provides Model for Industry

Optical Dynamics in the Adriatic Sea: Production, Transformation and Transport of Optical Properties from the Coastal Zone into the Open Ocean

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-09-30

Burton H. Jones Wrigley Institute of Environmental Science and Department of Biological Sciences University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Wrigley Institute of Environmental Science ,,and Department of Biological Sciences,University of Southern

Coastal Marine Demonstration of Forecast Information to Mariners for the U.S. East Coast

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-09-30

Maryland Center for Environmental Science PO Box 775 Cambridge, MD 21613-0775 410.221.8477 fax:410.221.8490 walstad@hpl.umces.edu George L. Mellor... Environmental Science ,PO Box 775,Cambridge,MD,21613-0775 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES

Addressing Complex Challenges through Adaptive Leadership: A Promising Approach to Collaborative Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Tenneisha; Squires, Vicki

2017-01-01

Organizations are faced with solving increasingly complex problems. Addressing these issues requires effective leadership that can facilitate a collaborative problem solving approach where multiple perspectives are leveraged. In this conceptual paper, we critique the effectiveness of earlier leadership models in tackling complex organizational…

Diet, Microbiota and Immune System in Type 1 Diabetes Development and Evolution.

PubMed

Mejía-León, María E; Barca, Ana M Calderón de la

2015-11-06

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the second most frequent autoimmune disease in childhood. The long-term micro- and macro-vascular complications of diabetes are associated with the leading causes of disability and even mortality in young adults. Understanding the T1D etiology will allow the design of preventive strategies to avoid or delay the T1D onset and to help to maintain control after developing. T1D development involves genetic and environmental factors, such as birth delivery mode, use of antibiotics, and diet. Gut microbiota could be the link between environmental factors, the development of autoimmunity, and T1D. In this review, we will focus on the dietary factor and its relationship with the gut microbiota in the complex process involved in autoimmunity and T1D. The molecular mechanisms involved will also be addressed, and finally, evidence-based strategies for potential primary and secondary prevention of T1D will be discussed.

Columbia River System Operation Review : Final Environmental Impact Statement, Appendix N: Wildlife.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Columbia River System Operation Review

1995-11-01

The Columbia River System is a vast and complex combination of Federal and non-Federal facilities used for many purposes including power production, irrigation, navigation, flood control, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat and municipal and industrial water supply. Each river use competes for the limited water resources in the Columbia River Basin. This technical appendix addresses only the effects of alternative system operating strategies for managing the Columbia River system. The environmental impact statement (EIS) itself and some of the other appendices present analyses of the alternative approaches to the other three decisions considered as part of the SOR. This documentmore » is the product of the Wildlife Work Group, focusing on wildlife impacts but not including fishes. Topics covered include the following: scope and process; existing and affected environment, including specific discussion of 18 projects in the Columbia river basin. Analysis, evaluation, and alternatives are presented for all projects. System wide impacts to wildlife are also included.« less

Development of fuzzy air quality index using soft computing approach.

PubMed

Mandal, T; Gorai, A K; Pathak, G

2012-10-01

Proper assessment of air quality status in an atmosphere based on limited observations is an essential task for meeting the goals of environmental management. A number of classification methods are available for estimating the changing status of air quality. However, a discrepancy frequently arises from the quality criteria of air employed and vagueness or fuzziness embedded in the decision making output values. Owing to inherent imprecision, difficulties always exist in some conventional methodologies like air quality index when describing integrated air quality conditions with respect to various pollutants parameters and time of exposure. In recent years, the fuzzy logic-based methods have demonstrated to be appropriated to address uncertainty and subjectivity in environmental issues. In the present study, a methodology based on fuzzy inference systems (FIS) to assess air quality is proposed. This paper presents a comparative study to assess status of air quality using fuzzy logic technique and that of conventional technique. The findings clearly indicate that the FIS may successfully harmonize inherent discrepancies and interpret complex conditions.

Arsenic, Antimony, Chromium, and Thallium Speciation in Water and Sediment Samples with the LC-ICP-MS Technique

PubMed Central

Jabłońska-Czapla, Magdalena

2015-01-01

Chemical speciation is a very important subject in the environmental protection, toxicology, and chemical analytics due to the fact that toxicity, availability, and reactivity of trace elements depend on the chemical forms in which these elements occur. Research on low analyte levels, particularly in complex matrix samples, requires more and more advanced and sophisticated analytical methods and techniques. The latest trends in this field concern the so-called hyphenated techniques. Arsenic, antimony, chromium, and (underestimated) thallium attract the closest attention of toxicologists and analysts. The properties of those elements depend on the oxidation state in which they occur. The aim of the following paper is to answer the question why the speciation analytics is so important. The paper also provides numerous examples of the hyphenated technique usage (e.g., the LC-ICP-MS application in the speciation analysis of chromium, antimony, arsenic, or thallium in water and bottom sediment samples). An important issue addressed is the preparation of environmental samples for speciation analysis. PMID:25873962

Honorary Authorship Practices in Environmental Science Teams: Structural and Cultural Factors and Solutions.

PubMed

Elliott, Kevin C; Settles, Isis H; Montgomery, Georgina M; Brassel, Sheila T; Cheruvelil, Kendra Spence; Soranno, Patricia A

2017-01-01

Overinclusive authorship practices such as honorary or guest authorship have been widely reported, and they appear to be exacerbated by the rise of large interdisciplinary collaborations that make authorship decisions particularly complex. Although many studies have reported on the frequency of honorary authorship and potential solutions to it, few have probed how the underlying dynamics of large interdisciplinary teams contribute to the problem. This article reports on a qualitative study of the authorship standards and practices of six National Science Foundation-funded interdisciplinary environmental science teams. Using interviews of the lead principal investigator and an early-career member on each team, our study explores the nature of honorary authorship practices as well as some of the motivating factors that may contribute to these practices. These factors include both structural elements (policies and procedures) and cultural elements (values and norms) that cross organizational boundaries. Therefore, we provide recommendations that address the intersection of these factors and that can be applied at multiple organizational levels.

Tipping Points, Great and Small

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, Foster

2010-12-01

The Forum by Jordan et al. [2010] addressed environmental problems of various scales in great detail, but getting the critical message through to the formulators of public policies requires going back to basics, namely, that exponential growth (of a population, an economy, or most anything else) is not sustainable. When have you heard any politician or economist from anywhere across the ideological spectrum say anything other than that more growth is essential? There is no need for computer models to demonstrate “limits to growth,” as was done in the 1960s. Of course, as one seeks more details, the complexity of modeling will rapidly outstrip the capabilities of both observation and computing. This is common with nonlinear systems, even simple ones. Thus, identifying all possible “tipping points,” as suggested by Jordan et al. [2010], and then stopping just short of them, is impractical if not impossible. The main thing needed to avoid environmental disasters is a bit of common sense.

Environmental controls, oceanography and population dynamics of pathogens and harmful algal blooms: connecting sources to human exposure

PubMed Central

Dyble, Julianne; Bienfang, Paul; Dusek, Eva; Hitchcock, Gary; Holland, Fred; Laws, Ed; Lerczak, James; McGillicuddy, Dennis J; Minnett, Peter; Moore, Stephanie K; O'Kelly, Charles; Solo-Gabriele, Helena; Wang, John D

2008-01-01

Coupled physical-biological models are capable of linking the complex interactions between environmental factors and physical hydrodynamics to simulate the growth, toxicity and transport of infectious pathogens and harmful algal blooms (HABs). Such simulations can be used to assess and predict the impact of pathogens and HABs on human health. Given the widespread and increasing reliance of coastal communities on aquatic systems for drinking water, seafood and recreation, such predictions are critical for making informed resource management decisions. Here we identify three challenges to making this connection between pathogens/HABs and human health: predicting concentrations and toxicity; identifying the spatial and temporal scales of population and ecosystem interactions; and applying the understanding of population dynamics of pathogens/HABs to management strategies. We elaborate on the need to meet each of these challenges, describe how modeling approaches can be used and discuss strategies for moving forward in addressing these challenges. PMID:19025676

Evolving MCDM Applications Using Hybrid Expert-Based ISM and DEMATEL Models: An Example of Sustainable Ecotourism

PubMed Central

Chuang, Huan-Ming

2013-01-01

Ecological degradation is an escalating global threat. Increasingly, people are expressing awareness and priority for concerns about environmental problems surrounding them. Environmental protection issues are highlighted. An appropriate information technology tool, the growing popular social network system (virtual community, VC), facilitates public education and engagement with applications for existent problems effectively. Particularly, the exploration of related involvement behavior of VC member engagement is an interesting topic. Nevertheless, member engagement processes comprise interrelated sub-processes that reflect an interactive experience within VCs as well as the value co-creation model. To address the top-focused ecotourism VCs, this study presents an application of a hybrid expert-based ISM model and DEMATEL model based on multi-criteria decision making tools to investigate the complex multidimensional and dynamic nature of member engagement. Our research findings provide insightful managerial implications and suggest that the viral marketing of ecotourism protection is concerned with practitioners and academicians alike. PMID:24453902

Evolving MCDM applications using hybrid expert-based ISM and DEMATEL models: an example of sustainable ecotourism.

PubMed

Chuang, Huan-Ming; Lin, Chien-Ku; Chen, Da-Ren; Chen, You-Shyang

2013-01-01

Ecological degradation is an escalating global threat. Increasingly, people are expressing awareness and priority for concerns about environmental problems surrounding them. Environmental protection issues are highlighted. An appropriate information technology tool, the growing popular social network system (virtual community, VC), facilitates public education and engagement with applications for existent problems effectively. Particularly, the exploration of related involvement behavior of VC member engagement is an interesting topic. Nevertheless, member engagement processes comprise interrelated sub-processes that reflect an interactive experience within VCs as well as the value co-creation model. To address the top-focused ecotourism VCs, this study presents an application of a hybrid expert-based ISM model and DEMATEL model based on multi-criteria decision making tools to investigate the complex multidimensional and dynamic nature of member engagement. Our research findings provide insightful managerial implications and suggest that the viral marketing of ecotourism protection is concerned with practitioners and academicians alike.

7 CFR 1794.41 - Document requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... addresses all applicable environmental issues, the ER will normally serve as RUS' EA. However, RUS reserves... AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Procedure for Environmental Assessments § 1794...

South Fork Flathead Watershed Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program, Annual Report 2002.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grisak, Grant; Marotz, Brian

2003-06-01

In 1999, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) began a program aimed at conserving the genetically pure populations of westslope cutthroat trout in the South Fork Flathead River drainage. The objective of this program is to eliminate all of the exotic and hybrid trout that threaten the genetically pure westslope cutthroat populations in the South Fork Flathead. The exotic and hybrid trout populations occur in several headwater lakes and their outflow streams. In 2001 MFWP released a draft environmental assessment, pursuant to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), that addressed the use of motorized equipment to deliver personnel and materialsmore » to some of these lakes in the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wildernesses (Grisak 2001). After a 30-day public comment period, MFWP determined that the complexity of issues was too great and warranted a more detailed analysis. These issues included transportation options for personnel, equipment and materials, the use of motorized equipment in wilderness, fish removal methods, fish stocking, and the status and distribution of amphibian populations in the project area. Because the program also involves the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the environmental analysis needs to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In October 2001, pursuant to NEPA, MFWP, along with the USFS and BPA initiated an environmental assessment to address these issues. In June 2002, the three agencies determined that the scope of these issues warranted an Environmental Impact Statement. This specialist report describes the logistical, technical and biological issues associated with this project and provides an analysis of options for fish removal, transportation and fish stocking. It further analyzes issues and concerns associated with amphibian populations and creating new domesticated stocks of westslope cutthroat trout. Finally, this document provides a description of each lake, the best method of fish removal that would achieve the goals of the project, logistics for carrying out the fish removal, and the immediate management direction for each lake following fish removal. The USFS is preparing a specialist report detailing land management issues that relate to National Forest, designated Hiking Areas, and Wilderness. Information from these two documents will be used by BPA to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.« less

Hydrothermal transport and deposition of the rare earth elements by fluorine-bearing aqueous liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Migdisov, Art A.; Williams-Jones, A. E.

2014-12-01

New technologies, particularly those designed to address environmental concerns, have created a great demand for the rare earth elements (REE), and focused considerable attention on the processes by which they are concentrated to economically exploitable levels in the Earth's crust. There is widespread agreement that hydrothermal fluids played an important role in the formation of the world's largest economic REE deposit, i.e. Bayan Obo, China. Until recently, many researchers have assumed that hydrothermal transport of the REE in fluorine-bearing ore-forming systems occurs mainly due to the formation of REE-fluoride complexes. Consequently, hydrothermal models for REE concentration have commonly involved depositional mechanisms based on saturation of the fluid with REE minerals due to destabilization of REE-fluoride complexes. Here, we demonstrate that these complexes are insignificant in REE transport, and that the above models are therefore flawed. The strong association of H+ and F- as HF° and low solubility of REE-F solids greatly limit transport of the REE as fluoride complexes. However, this limitation does not apply to REE-chloride complexes. Because of this, the high concentration of Cl- in the ore fluids, and the relatively high stability of REE-chloride complexes, the latter can transport appreciable concentrations of REE at low pH. The limitation also does not apply to sulphate complexes and in some fluids, the concentration of sulphate may be sufficient to transport significant concentrations of REE as sulphate complexes, particularly at weakly acidic pH. This article proposes new models for hydrothermal REE deposition based on the transport of the REE as chloride and sulphate complexes.

Environmental Concerns and the New Environmental Paradigm in Bulgaria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bostrom, Ann; Barke, Richard; Turaga, Rama Mohana R.; O'Connor, Robert E.

2006-01-01

Little is known about environmental concerns and attitudes among people in former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe despite widespread perceptions of severe environmental problems. The authors addressed this gap by examining Bulgarians' environmental concerns with a focus on whether the new environmental paradigm (NEP) scale can reliably…

Ethical foundations of environmental radiological protection.

PubMed

Oughton, D H

2016-06-01

Assessing the potential ecological impact of ionising radiation raises a number of ethical questions. These include fundamental questions such as what exactly constitutes harming the environment, and how the environment should be valued, as well as links to political protection principles such as sustainability and biodiversity. Starting from developments within ecological risk assessment, this paper summarises some of the ethical issues concerning the protection of the environment from radiation. Chapter 2 gives a brief overview of different philosophical and cultural world views on valuing the environment in a context of radiation risk. Chapter 3 addresses some recent challenges to proposed environmental protection frameworks, including practical applications following the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, and some scientific developments such as the ecosystem approach. Finally, Chapter 4 offers some recommendations on how ethical evaluation can help produce a more robust and transparent approach to the protection of the environment. In conclusion, there is a need for a holistic evaluation of the environmental impacts of ionising radiation that not only considers the direct consequences on the health of humans and non-human species, but also the more complex social, ethical, and economic consequences of both human and non-human exposures. © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics.

The Office of Technology Development technical reports. A bibliography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-09-01

The US Department of Energy`s Office of Technology Development (OTD) within the Office of Environmental Management was established in 1989 to conduct an aggressive national program of applied research, development, demonstration, testing, and evaluation (RDDT&E) for innovative environmental cleanup solutions that are safer and more time- and cost-effective than those currently available. In many cases, the development of new technology presents the best hope for ensuring a substantive reduction in risk to the environment and improved worker/public safety within realistic financial constraints. Five major remediation and waste management problem areas have been identified to date within the DOE weapons complex;more » Contaminant Plume Containment and Remediation; Mixed Waste Characterization, Treatment, and Disposal; High-Level Waste Tank Remediation; Landfill Stabilization; and Facility Transitioning, Decommissioning, and Final Disposition. New technologies to address these problem areas are demonstrated to the point that they are proven to work and that they can be transferred to the private sector end-users. This bibliography contains information on scientific and technical reports sponsored by the Office of Environmental Management from its inception in 1989 through June 1994. Future issues contain reports from Technology Development activities and will be published biannually.« less

Life-Cycle environmental impact assessment of mineral industries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hisan Farjana, Shahjadi; Huda, Nazmul; Parvez Mahmud, M. A.

2018-05-01

Mining is the extraction and processing of valuable ferro and non-ferro metals and minerals to be further used in manufacturing industries. Valuable metals and minerals are extracted from the geological deposits and ores deep in the surface through complex manufacturing technologies. The extraction and processing of mining industries involve particle emission to air or water, toxicity to the environment, contamination of water resources, ozone layer depletion and most importantly decay of human health. Despite all these negative impacts towards sustainability, mining industries are working throughout the world to facilitate the employment sector, economy and technological growth. The five most important miners in the world are South Africa, Russia, Australia, Ukraine, Guinea. The mining industries contributes to their GDP significantly. However, the most important issue is making the mining world sustainable thus reducing the emissions. To address the environmental impacts caused by the mining sectors, this paper is going to analyse the environmental impacts caused by the 5 major minerals extraction processes, which are bauxite, ilmenite, iron ore, rutile and uranium by using the life-cycle impact assessment technologies. The analysis is done here using SimaPro software version 8.4 using ReCipe, CML and Australian indicator method.

XVI European Charcot Foundation Lecture: Nutrition and environment, can MS be prevented?

PubMed Central

Simon, Kelly Claire; Munger, Kassandra L; Ascherio, Alberto

2012-01-01

Multiple sclerosis is a relatively common debilitating neurologic disease that affects people in early adulthood. While the characteristic pathology of MS has been well described, the etiology of the disease is not well understood, despite decades of research and the identification of strong genetic and environmental candidates for susceptibility. A question central to all diseases, but posed specifically for MS at the XVI European Charcot Foundation Lecture, was ‘Can MS be prevented?’ To address this question, we have evaluated the available data regarding nutritional and environmental factors that may be related to MS susceptibility and suggest the extent to which a potential intervention may reduce disease burden. It is our opinion that intervention, particularly supplementation with vitamin D, could have a dramatic impact on disease prevalence. Understanding that any intervention or behavioral modification will surely act in the context of genetic susceptibility and unidentified stochastic events, it is likely that not all MS is ‘preventable’. Epidemiologic observation has provided key insights into environmental and nutritional factors that may alter one’s susceptibility to MS, however, there are still many questions in unraveling the etiology of this complex disease. PMID:21975017

An investigation of environmental and sustainability discourses associated with the substantive purposes of environmental assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rozema, Jaap G., E-mail: j.rozema@uea.ac.uk; Bond, Alan J., E-mail: alan.bond@uea.ac.uk; Cashmore, Matthew, E-mail: cashmore@plan.aau.dk

2012-02-15

This paper investigates the discursive construction of the substantive purposes of environmental assessment (EA). It addresses these purposes by exploring the complex and often multifaceted linkages between political factors and plural views of democracy, public participation, and the role of science that are embedded in environmental and sustainability discourses. The interaction between policy-making and public actors leads to the formulation of divergent and potentially competing rationales for public participation, and for social appraisal more generally. Participatory approaches have also given impetus to the development of several interpretations on the role of science in assessment procedures. Science is important in mediatingmore » public participation and the two are therefore reciprocally linked. This leads to discourses that become manifest in the construction of substantive purposes. Discourse analysis in EA is a relevant method for examining trends and patterns in sustainable development. It is argued that public participation is an important, if not decisive, variable in the articulation and civil legitimacy of certain purposes. A general proposition that results from this paper is that EA, although typically presented as an objective scientific tool, is an intrinsically normative process. Enhanced knowledge on the construction, and reconstruction over time, of substantive purposes is required if environmental and sustainability discourses are to be used and understood as meaningful analytical instruments to assess the socio-political implications of EA. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Substantive purposes related to environmental assessment may be best analyzed through discourse analysis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Environmental and sustainability discourses are contingent on the level of participatory democracy and civic science. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Public participation is a decisive variable in the construction of the substantive purpose of environmental assessment.« less

Morphodynamics and Geology of the Southeastern Virginia Shelf: False Cape Shoals Area (Phase 2)

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-09-30

Code 322PO Randolph A. McBride, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Geology Environmental Science and Policy, MS 5F2 George Mason University Fairfax...NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Environmental Science and Policy, MS 5F2,,George Mason...Geology Laboratory at George Mason University. In addition, a Ph.D. student in Environmental Science and Policy, who is working under the direction

The reconstruction of narrative identity during mental health recovery: a complex adaptive systems perspective.

PubMed

Kerr, Douglas J R; Crowe, Trevor P; Oades, Lindsay G

2013-06-01

1) to understand the reconstruction of narrative identity during mental health recovery using a complex adaptive systems perspective, 2) to address the need for alternative approaches that embrace the complexities of health care. A narrative review of published literature was conducted. A complex adaptive systems perspective offers a framework and language that can assist individuals to make sense of their experiences and reconstruct their narratives during an often erratic and uncertain life transition. It is a novel research direction focused on a critical area of recovery and addresses the need for alternative approaches that embrace the complexities of health care. A complexity research approach to narrative identity reconstruction is valuable. It is an accessible model for addressing the complexities of recovery and may underpin the development of simple, practical recovery coaching tools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Integrated Assessment of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana - Part 3: Social Sciences and Economics.

PubMed

Wilson, Mark L; Renne, Elisha; Roncoli, Carla; Agyei-Baffour, Peter; Tenkorang, Emmanuel Yamoah

2015-07-15

This article is one of three synthesis reports resulting from an integrated assessment (IA) of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana. Given the complexities that involve multiple drivers and diverse disciplines influencing ASGM, an IA framework was used to analyze economic, social, health, and environmental data and to co-develop evidence-based responses in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders. We look at both micro- and macro-economic processes surrounding ASGM, including causes, challenges, and consequences. At the micro-level, social and economic evidence suggests that the principal reasons whereby most people engage in ASGM involve "push" factors aimed at meeting livelihood goals. ASGM provides an important source of income for both proximate and distant communities, representing a means of survival for impoverished farmers as well as an engine for small business growth. However, miners and their families often end up in a "poverty trap" of low productivity and indebtedness, which reduce even further their economic options. At a macro level, Ghana's ASGM activities contribute significantly to the national economy even though they are sometimes operating illegally and at a disadvantage compared to large-scale industrial mining companies. Nevertheless, complex issues of land tenure, social stability, mining regulation and taxation, and environmental degradation undermine the viability and sustainability of ASGM as a livelihood strategy. Although more research is needed to understand these complex relationships, we point to key findings and insights from social science and economics research that can guide policies and actions aimed to address the unique challenges of ASGM in Ghana and elsewhere.

Editorial overview: Omics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barran, Perdita; Baker, Erin

The great complexity of biological systems and their environment poses similarly vast challenges for accurate analytical evaluations of their identity, structure and quantity. Post genomic science, has predicted much regarding the static populations of biological systems, but a further challenge for analysis is to test the accuracy of these predictions, as well as provide a better representation of the transient nature of the molecules of life. Accurate measurements of biological systems have wide applications for biological, forensic, biotechnological and healthcare fields. Therefore, the holy grail is to find a technique which can identify and quantify biological molecules with high throughput,more » sensitivity and robustness, as well evaluate molecular structure(s) in order to understand how the specific molecules interact and function. While wrapping all of these characteristics into one platform may sound difficult, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is addressing all of these challenges. Over the last decade, the number of analytical studies utilizing IMS for the evaluation of complex biological and environmental samples has greatly increased. In most cases IMS is coupled with mass spectrometry (IM-MS), but even alone IMS provides the unique capability of rapidly assessing a molecule’s structure, which can be extremely difficult with other techniques. The robustness of the IMS measurement is bourne out by its widespread use in security, environmental and military applications. The multidimensional IM-MS measurements however have been proven to be ever more powerful, as applied to complex mixtures as they enable the evaluation of both the structure and mass of every molecular component in a sample during a single measurement, without the need for continual reference calibration.« less

Food availability/convenience and obesity.

PubMed

Gordon-Larsen, Penny

2014-11-01

Neighborhood environments have received considerable attention in recent local, state, and national obesity prevention initiatives, with a particular focus on food deserts, or areas with poor access to healthy foods. Yet, there are inconsistencies in the evidence base, suggesting a nuanced association between neighborhood environment, food availability, diet behaviors, and obesity. There is heterogeneity in associations between environmental exposures and health outcomes across race/ethnicity, gender, region, and urbanicity, which results in complexity in the interpretation of findings. There are several limitations in the literature, including a predominance of cross-sectional studies, reliance on commercial business listings, lack of attention to the process by which diet resources are established and expanded within neighborhoods and the potential for individuals to selectively migrate to locate near such facilities, a predominant focus on residential neighborhoods, and lack of information about the decision-making process underlying purchasing patterns. More research is needed to address the complexity of individual-level residential decision making as well as the purposeful placement of food environment resources across social and geographic space using longitudinal data and complex statistical approaches. In addition, improvements in data quality and depth related to food access and availability are needed, including behavioral data on purchase patterns and interactions with the food environment, and greater attention to heterogeneity across subpopulations. As policy changes to the food environment move forward, it is critical that there is rigorous and scientific evaluation of environmental changes and their impact on individual-level diet choices and behaviors, and their further influence on body weight. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

Integrated Assessment of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana — Part 3: Social Sciences and Economics

PubMed Central

Wilson, Mark L.; Renne, Elisha; Roncoli, Carla; Agyei-Baffour, Peter; Yamoah Tenkorang, Emmanuel

2015-01-01

This article is one of three synthesis reports resulting from an integrated assessment (IA) of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana. Given the complexities that involve multiple drivers and diverse disciplines influencing ASGM, an IA framework was used to analyze economic, social, health, and environmental data and to co-develop evidence-based responses in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders. We look at both micro- and macro-economic processes surrounding ASGM, including causes, challenges, and consequences. At the micro-level, social and economic evidence suggests that the principal reasons whereby most people engage in ASGM involve “push” factors aimed at meeting livelihood goals. ASGM provides an important source of income for both proximate and distant communities, representing a means of survival for impoverished farmers as well as an engine for small business growth. However, miners and their families often end up in a “poverty trap” of low productivity and indebtedness, which reduce even further their economic options. At a macro level, Ghana’s ASGM activities contribute significantly to the national economy even though they are sometimes operating illegally and at a disadvantage compared to large-scale industrial mining companies. Nevertheless, complex issues of land tenure, social stability, mining regulation and taxation, and environmental degradation undermine the viability and sustainability of ASGM as a livelihood strategy. Although more research is needed to understand these complex relationships, we point to key findings and insights from social science and economics research that can guide policies and actions aimed to address the unique challenges of ASGM in Ghana and elsewhere. PMID:26184277

Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum: Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pushnik, J.

2012-12-01

The next generation will confront an increased number of global issues that interface the complexities of socioeconomic perspectives, environmental stability, poverty and development. Recently California State University Chico undertook a general education reform, providing a unique opportunity to craft a general education pathway to prepare students for these challenges by focusing a curriculum on sustainability. The Sustainability Pathway emphasizes a system thinking approach to help students understand and be able to address a set of problems involving the biosphere processes, human institutions and the economic vitality. The curriculum intentionally integrates courses from across the disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, agriculture, engineering, economics, arts and humanities into a central focused theme of sustainability. The diverse backgrounds and academic focus of the participating faculty has necessitate the development of a common language and a cohesion within the curriculum. To address these needs a faculty learning community (FLC) was established to build on a common set of case studies. Three regional environmental water related issues were selected that had demonstrable socioeconomic, equity/ethical dimensions and environmental consequences. These case studies are Klamath River basin in northern California, the Bay-Delta project in the central part of the state and the Sultan Sea in southern California. Members of the FLC has contributed a perspective from their academic discipline which includes proposed reading lists, web based resources and PowerPoint presentations which are housed in common web- based resource repository. The pedagogical rational is to create linkages and cohesion among the courses in the curriculum by iteratively examining these case studies as basis for development of a multidisciplinary perspective as students progress through their general education.

Recommendations for sexual expression management in long-term care: a qualitative needs assessment

PubMed Central

Syme, Maggie L.; Lichtenberg, Peter; Moye, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Aims To conduct a qualitative needs assessment of Directors of Nursing regarding challenges and recommendations for addressing sexual expression and consent. Background Sexual expression management among long-term care residents is a complex issue for nursing home staff. Little guidance is available for those wanting to follow a person-centred approach. Policies and procedures are needed, and must be usable across long-term care settings. Design Qualitative design for in-depth exploration. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 Directors of Nursing in the spring and summer of 2013, representing a range of regions, facility sizes and resident populations. Interview questions prompted them to identify recommendations that address challenges to improving sexual expression management in long-term care settings. Results Comparative thematic analysis resulted in several codes, which were grouped into eight overall categories. Recommendation categories that addressed key challenges included: address the issue, make environmental changes, identify staff expertise, provide education and training, assess sexuality initially and recurrently, establish policies/procedures for sexual expression management, develop assessment tools for sexual expression and consent, and clarify legal issues. The recommendation to develop national guidelines was observed across categories. Discussion Directors of Nursing report several challenges to sexual expression management in their facilities, and perceive their current methods to be ad hoc. A proactive approach to policy and procedure development is needed. PMID:27188413

School-Based Study of Complex Environmental Exposures and Related Health Effects in Children: Part A - Exposure. Final Report and Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. School of Public Health.

The School Health Initiative: Environment, Learning, and Disease (SHIELD) study examined children's exposure to complex mixtures of environmental agents (i.e., volatile organic chemicals, environmental tobacco smoke, allergens, bioaerosols, metals, and pesticides). Environmental, personal, and biological data were collected on ethnically and…

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL/ENERGY WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT. COMPOSITE: ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING/TECHNOLOGY

EPA Science Inventory

Beginning with Phase II of the National Environmental/Energy Workforce Assessment project, which addressed the capabilities of the educational community to generate an environmental workforce, definitional problems developed as to the placing of programs into media specific areas...

76 FR 21877 - Environmental Management Advisory Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-19

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Environmental Management Advisory Board AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of call for nominations for appointment to the Environmental Management Advisory Board. SUMMARY... Environmental Management Advisory Board. DATES: Nominations will be accepted through May 13, 2011. ADDRESSES...

Addressing Externalities From Swine Production to Reduce Public Health and Environmental Impacts

PubMed Central

Osterberg, David; Wallinga, David

2004-01-01

Animal agriculture in the United States for the most part has industrialized, with negative consequences for air and water quality and antibiotic use. We consider health and environmental impacts of current US swine production and give an overview of current federal, state, and local strategies being used to address them. PMID:15451736

A systemic approach to occupational and environmental health.

PubMed

Spitzer, Skip

2005-01-01

As the corporate role in occupational and public health receives increased scrutiny, it is essential to recognize that it is not sufficient to identify specific acts of malfeasance or influence, or even to campaign to address them. A more comprehensive and systemic framework for understanding the role of corporations requires consideration of corporate power and its effects as endemic features of national socioeconomic systems and the rapidly integrating global order. The underlying social structures that produce social and environmental problems, and undermine reform, make systemic change necessary. Identifying this "structure of harm" provides important implications for researchers, policymakers, activists, and others trying to address environmental and social problems, particularly with regard to integrating efforts to address immediate impacts with those for longer-term, systemic change.

What evidence and support do state-level public health practitioners need to address obesity prevention.

PubMed

Leeman, Jennifer; Teal, Randall; Jernigan, Jan; Reed, Jenica Huddleston; Farris, Rosanne; Ammerman, Alice

2014-01-01

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Public health practitioners are distinctly positioned to promote the environmental changes essential to addressing obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other entities provide evidence and technical assistance to support this work, yet little is known about how practitioners use evidence and support as they intervene to prevent obesity. The study's purpose was to describe how practitioners and CDC project officers characterized the obesity prevention task, where practitioners accessed support and evidence, and what approaches to support and evidence they found most useful. APPROACH OR DESIGN: Mixed-methods, cross-sectional interviews, and survey. State-level public health obesity prevention programs. Public health practitioners and CDC project officers. We conducted 10 in-depth interviews with public health practitioners (n = 7) and project officers (n = 3) followed by an online survey completed by 62 practitioners (50% response rate). We applied content analysis to interview data and descriptive statistics to survey data. Practitioners characterized obesity prevention as uncertain and complex, involving interdependence among actors, multiple levels of activity, an excess of information, and a paucity of evidence. Survey findings provide further detail on the types of evidence and support practitioners used and valued. We recommend approaches to tailoring evidence and support to the needs of practitioners working on obesity prevention and other complex health problems.

Finite Dimensional Approximations for Continuum Multiscale Problems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berlyand, Leonid

2017-01-24

The completed research project concerns the development of novel computational techniques for modeling nonlinear multiscale physical and biological phenomena. Specifically, it addresses the theoretical development and applications of the homogenization theory (coarse graining) approach to calculation of the effective properties of highly heterogenous biological and bio-inspired materials with many spatial scales and nonlinear behavior. This theory studies properties of strongly heterogeneous media in problems arising in materials science, geoscience, biology, etc. Modeling of such media raises fundamental mathematical questions, primarily in partial differential equations (PDEs) and calculus of variations, the subject of the PI’s research. The focus of completed researchmore » was on mathematical models of biological and bio-inspired materials with the common theme of multiscale analysis and coarse grain computational techniques. Biological and bio-inspired materials offer the unique ability to create environmentally clean functional materials used for energy conversion and storage. These materials are intrinsically complex, with hierarchical organization occurring on many nested length and time scales. The potential to rationally design and tailor the properties of these materials for broad energy applications has been hampered by the lack of computational techniques, which are able to bridge from the molecular to the macroscopic scale. The project addressed the challenge of computational treatments of such complex materials by the development of a synergistic approach that combines innovative multiscale modeling/analysis techniques with high performance computing.« less

A Framework for the Environmental Professional in the Chemical Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Priesing, Charles P.

1982-01-01

Addresses four areas of environmental concern in the chemical industry: (1) needs and responsibilities of environmental protection; (2) organization and distribution of environmental affairs within the corporate structure; (3) functions and operations associated with industrial environmental management; and (4) origins and tasks of the…

A Historical Perspective on Local Environmental Movements in Japan: Lessons for the Transdisciplinary Approach on Water Resource Governance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, T.

2014-12-01

Typical studies on natural resources from a social science perspective tend to choose one type of resource—water, for example— and ask what factors contribute to the sustainable use or wasteful exploitation of that resource. However, climate change and economic development, which are causing increased pressure on local resources and presenting communities with increased levels of tradeoffs and potential conflicts, force us to consider the trade-offs between options for using a particular resource. Therefore, the transdisciplinary approach that accurately captures the advantages and disadvantages of various possible resource uses is particularly important in the complex social-ecological systems, where concerns about inequality with respect to resource use and access have become unavoidable. Needless to say, resource management and policy require sound scientific understanding of the complex interconnections between nature and society, however, in contrast to typical international discussions, I discuss Japan not as an "advanced" case where various dilemmas have been successfully addressed by the government through the optimal use of technology, but rather as a nation seeing an emerging trend that is based on a awareness of the connections between local resources and the environment. Furthermore, from a historical viewpoint, the nexus of local resources is not a brand-new idea in the experience of environmental governance in Japan. There exist the local environment movements, which emphasized the interconnection of local resources and succeeded in urging the governmental action and policymaking. For this reason, local movements and local knowledge for the resource governance warrant attention. This study focuses on the historical cases relevant to water resource management including groundwater, and considers the contexts and conditions to holistically address local resource problems, paying particular attention to interactions between science and society. I will argue the research design to enhance the holistic view of local stakeholders on local resources as the key to effective transdisciplinary approach through the on-going research project focusing on the water-energy-food nexus.

Beyond Wiki to Judgewiki for Transparent Climate Change Decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capron, M. E.

2008-12-01

Climate Change is like the prisoner's dilemma, a zero-sum game, or cheating in sports. Everyone and every country is tempted to selfishly maintain or advance their standard of living. The tremendous difference between standards of living amplifies the desire to opt out of Climate Change solutions adverse to economic competitiveness. Climate Change is also exceedingly complex. No one person, one organization, one country, or partial collection of countries has the capacity and the global support needed to make decisions on Climate Change solutions. There are thousands of potential actions, tens of thousands of known and unknown environmental and economic impacts. Some actions are belatedly found to be unsustainable beyond token volumes, corn ethanol or soy-biodiesel for example. Mankind can address human nature and complexity with a globally transparent information and decision process available to all 7 billion of us. We need a process that builds trust and simplifies complexity. Fortunately, we have the Internet for trust building communication and computers to simplify complexity. Mankind can produce new software tailored to the challenge. We would combine group information collection software (a wiki) with a decision-matrix (a judge), market forecasting, and video games to produce the tool mankind needs for trust building transparent decisions on Climate Change actions. The resulting software would be a judgewiki.

A Systems Approach to Vaccine Decision Making

PubMed Central

Lee, Bruce Y.; Mueller, Leslie E.; Tilchin, Carla G.

2016-01-01

Vaccines reside in a complex multiscale system that includes biological, clinical, behavioral, social, operational, environmental, and economical relationships. Not accounting for these systems when making decisions about vaccines can result in changes that have little effect rather than solutions, lead to unsustainable solutions, miss indirect (e.g., secondary, tertiary, and beyond) effects, cause unintended consequences, and lead to wasted time, effort, and resources. Mathematical and computational modeling can help better understand and address complex systems by representing all or most of the components, relationships, and processes. Such models can serve as “virtual laboratories” to examine how a system operates and test the effects of different changes within the system. Here are ten lessons learned from using computational models to bring more of a systems approach to vaccine decision making: (i) traditional single measure approaches may overlook opportunities; (ii) there is complex interplay among many vaccine, population, and disease characteristics; (iii) accounting for perspective can identify synergies; (iv) the distribution system should not be overlooked; (v) target population choice can have secondary and tertiary effects; (vi) potentially overlooked characteristics can be important; (vii) characteristics of one vaccine can affect other vaccines; (viii) the broader impact of vaccines is complex; (ix) vaccine administration extends beyond the provider level; (x) and the value of vaccines is dynamic. PMID:28017430

A systems approach to vaccine decision making.

PubMed

Lee, Bruce Y; Mueller, Leslie E; Tilchin, Carla G

2017-01-20

Vaccines reside in a complex multiscale system that includes biological, clinical, behavioral, social, operational, environmental, and economical relationships. Not accounting for these systems when making decisions about vaccines can result in changes that have little effect rather than solutions, lead to unsustainable solutions, miss indirect (e.g., secondary, tertiary, and beyond) effects, cause unintended consequences, and lead to wasted time, effort, and resources. Mathematical and computational modeling can help better understand and address complex systems by representing all or most of the components, relationships, and processes. Such models can serve as "virtual laboratories" to examine how a system operates and test the effects of different changes within the system. Here are ten lessons learned from using computational models to bring more of a systems approach to vaccine decision making: (i) traditional single measure approaches may overlook opportunities; (ii) there is complex interplay among many vaccine, population, and disease characteristics; (iii) accounting for perspective can identify synergies; (iv) the distribution system should not be overlooked; (v) target population choice can have secondary and tertiary effects; (vi) potentially overlooked characteristics can be important; (vii) characteristics of one vaccine can affect other vaccines; (viii) the broader impact of vaccines is complex; (ix) vaccine administration extends beyond the provider level; and (x) the value of vaccines is dynamic. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Risk Assessments of Genetically Modified Organisms Can Learn from Institutional Analyses of Public Health Risks

PubMed Central

Rajan, S. Ravi; Letourneau, Deborah K.

2012-01-01

The risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are evaluated traditionally by combining hazard identification and exposure estimates to provide decision support for regulatory agencies. We question the utility of the classical risk paradigm and discuss its evolution in GMO risk assessment. First, we consider the problem of uncertainty, by comparing risk assessment for environmental toxins in the public health domain with genetically modified organisms in the environment; we use the specific comparison of an insecticide to a transgenic, insecticidal food crop. Next, we examine normal accident theory (NAT) as a heuristic to consider runaway effects of GMOs, such as negative community level consequences of gene flow from transgenic, insecticidal crops. These examples illustrate how risk assessments are made more complex and contentious by both their inherent uncertainty and the inevitability of failure beyond expectation in complex systems. We emphasize the value of conducting decision-support research, embracing uncertainty, increasing transparency, and building interdisciplinary institutions that can address the complex interactions between ecosystems and society. In particular, we argue against black boxing risk analysis, and for a program to educate policy makers about uncertainty and complexity, so that eventually, decision making is not the burden that falls upon scientists but is assumed by the public at large. PMID:23193357

What risk assessments of genetically modified organisms can learn from institutional analyses of public health risks.

PubMed

Rajan, S Ravi; Letourneau, Deborah K

2012-01-01

The risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are evaluated traditionally by combining hazard identification and exposure estimates to provide decision support for regulatory agencies. We question the utility of the classical risk paradigm and discuss its evolution in GMO risk assessment. First, we consider the problem of uncertainty, by comparing risk assessment for environmental toxins in the public health domain with genetically modified organisms in the environment; we use the specific comparison of an insecticide to a transgenic, insecticidal food crop. Next, we examine normal accident theory (NAT) as a heuristic to consider runaway effects of GMOs, such as negative community level consequences of gene flow from transgenic, insecticidal crops. These examples illustrate how risk assessments are made more complex and contentious by both their inherent uncertainty and the inevitability of failure beyond expectation in complex systems. We emphasize the value of conducting decision-support research, embracing uncertainty, increasing transparency, and building interdisciplinary institutions that can address the complex interactions between ecosystems and society. In particular, we argue against black boxing risk analysis, and for a program to educate policy makers about uncertainty and complexity, so that eventually, decision making is not the burden that falls upon scientists but is assumed by the public at large.

40 CFR 6.401 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT AND ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ABROAD OF EPA ACTIONS Assessing the Environmental Effects Abroad of EPA Actions § 6.401 Applicability. (a) Administrative actions requiring... addressed in the facility plan would have environmental effects abroad. (5) Other EPA activities as...

The Value of Environmental Ethics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hargrove, Eugene C.

1987-01-01

Discusses some of the views of environmentalists toward the study of environmental ethics. Addresses the problem that environmental ethics literature is difficult to read and argues that certain opinions about the value of the study of environmental ethics are rooted in misconceptions. (TW)

Environmental Justice Guidance Under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), by the Council on Environmental Quality, 1997

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

CEQ, in consultation with EPA and other affected agencies, has developed this guidance to further assist Federal agencies with their NEPA procedures so that environmental justice concerns are effectively identified and addressed.

Building on common ground to address biodiversity conflicts and foster collaboration in environmental management.

PubMed

Lecuyer, Lou; White, Rehema M; Schmook, Birgit; Calmé, Sophie

2018-08-15

Conservation biology faces critical challenges that require collaborative approaches, including novel strategies to support interactions among actors in biodiversity conflicts. The goals of this study were to investigate the concept of common ground across multiple issues and to explore its practical application for the support of environmental management. We conceptually defined common ground as the areas of relevance underlying the suite of issues expressed by people regarding environmental management in a particular context. We then empirically tested this in the Calakmul region of Mexico, where the complex socio-historical context and high biodiversity have created environmental management challenges that are now being addressed by a local, multi-stakeholder management board. We conducted 26 open interviews with members of the board and a further round of quantitative prioritisation of issues raised. Using a coding process designed to reveal common ground, we categorized the issues at four levels ranging from coarse to fine (themes, topics, sub-topics and perspectives). We then analysed two levels, topics (n = 14 issues) and sub-topics (n = 51 issues). To do so, we built common ground matrices to identify and analyze common ground among actors and across issues. First, cluster and non-metrical data analyses revealed the diversity of actor positions and the lack of consistent grouping among actors by occupational activity. This demonstrated that focusing on actors' differences might be misleading, and that actors' views were not closely aligned with their roles. Second, we located issues according to their levels of common ground and importance among actors. We showed that by not focusing on single issue conflicts, the identification of common ground across multiple issues can pinpoint synergies. We then proposed a framework for collaboration that prioritizes issues of high importance with greater common ground (e.g. sustainable resource use activities), to support the development of trust and norms of reciprocity among actors, strengthening the potential for future cooperation. By adopting this approach, environmental managers could support the initial stages of collaborative conservation strategies, engaging with other actors to seek common ground, avoid the creation of polarised groups and help effectively manage biodiversity conflicts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decision makers, scientists and the public as stakeholders: the connection between traffic intervention policy and air quality in a local context.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiand, L.; von Schneidemesser, E.; Schmitz, S.; Niehoff, N.

2017-12-01

Urban mobility is a key issue to make cities more inclusive, safer, and more environmentally friendly. To ensure a sustainable future, local policy should, among other actions, aim to improve access to sustainable transport systems and enhance mobility opportunities, while at the same time addressing critical environmental and health targets. In order to assess whether these objectives are met, measures should be informed and evaluated from a social and environmental perspective. Citizens' opinions and the acceptance of environmental policies are crucial to successful implementation of urban mobility measures. The complexity of urban air quality issues require transparent decision-making processes that are grounded in evidence-based research and embrace local knowledge. From this basis, our research group and the city council collaborated to assess a new policy action intended to address environmental and health targets. This talk will present the results from the assessment of this new policy, that was implemented in large part to alleviate air quality exceedances, from the perspective of public acceptability of the measure and the approach taken by the city council to implement the measure. Parallel to assessing the effect of this policy on the recorded levels of air pollution and traffic counts, we conducted a social survey to examine public opinions of this measure, as well as the link between air quality awareness and mobility decisions. 4661 responses were collected over a one month period. Survey participants were those most affected by the traffic measure, including commuters and local residents. The results show that there is an overall low acceptance rate of the measure (8%) as well as low concern for air quality (2,90 - where 1 = not concerned and 6 = very concerned). We also found that there is a negative relationship between air quality rating and air quality concern. A similar approach was taken to understand climate change concern, which will be discussed further in the talk as well as how concern for air quality can increase acceptability for climate change mitigation policies.

Participatory Systems Modeling to Explore Sustainable Solutions: Triple-Value Simulation Modeling Cases Tackle Nutrient and Watershed Management from a Socio-Ecological Systems (ses) Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchholtz ten Brink, M. R.; Heineman, K.; Foley, G. J.; Ruder, E.; Tanners, N.; Bassi, A.; Fiksel, J.

2016-12-01

Decision makers often need assistance in understanding dynamic interactions and linkages among economic, environmental and social systems in coastal watersheds. They also need scientific input to better evaluate potential costs and benefits of alternative policy interventions. The US EPA is applying sustainability science to address these needs. Triple Value (3V) Scoping and Modeling projects bring a systems approach to understand complex environmental problems, incorporate local knowledge, and allow decision-makers to explore policy scenarios. This leads to better understanding of feedbacks and outcomes to both human and environmental systems.The Suffolk County, NY (eastern Long Island) 3V Case uses SES interconnections to explore possible policy options and scenarios for intervention to mitigate the effects of excess nitrogen (N) loading to ground, surface, and estuarine waters. Many of the environmental impacts of N pollution have adverse effects on social and economic well-being and productivity. Key are loss of enjoyment and recreational use of local beach environments and loss of income and revenues from tourism and local fisheries. Stakeholders generated this Problem Statement: Suffolk County is experiencing widespread degradation to groundwater and the coastal marine environment caused by excess nitrogen. How can local stakeholders and decision makers in Suffolk County arrest and reverse this degradation, restore conditions to support a healthy thriving ecosystem, strengthen the County's resilience to emerging and expected environmental threats from global climate change, support and promote economic growth, attract a vibrant and sustainable workforce, and maintain and enhance quality of life and affordability for all County residents? They then built a Causal Loop Diagram of indicators and relationships that reflect these issues and identified a set of alternative policy interventions to address them. The project team conducted an extensive review of available data for constructing a quantitative model to explore scenarios. Impacts of selected scenarios on measures of health, the economy, transportation, equity, water, energy, and land use will be presented for this Case, along with highlights from 3V projects in MA and RI coastal watersheds.

Ten Years of Addressing Children’s Health through Regulatory Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

PubMed Central

Payne-Sturges, Devon; Kemp, Debra

2008-01-01

Background Executive Order (EO) 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, directs each federal agency to ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate environmental health and safety risks to children. Objectives We reviewed regulatory actions published by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Federal Register from April 1998 through December 2006 to evaluate applicability of EO 13045 to U.S. EPA actions and consideration of children’s health issues in U.S. EPA rulemakings. Discussion Although virtually all actions discussed EO 13045, fewer than two regulations per year, on average, were subject to the EO requirement to evaluate children’s environmental health risks. Nonetheless, U.S. EPA considered children’s environmental health in all actions addressing health or safety risks that may disproportionately affect children. Conclusion The EO does not apply to a broad enough set of regulatory actions to ensure protection of children’s health and safety risks, largely because of the small number of rules that are economically significant. However, given the large number of regulations that consider children’s health issues despite not being subject to the EO, other statutory requirements and agency policies reach a larger set of regulations to ensure protection of children’s environmental health. PMID:19079726

Environmental cleaning and disinfection.

PubMed

Traverse, Michelle; Aceto, Helen

2015-03-01

The guidelines in this article provide veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary health care workers with an overview of evidence-based recommendations for the best practices associated with environmental cleaning and disinfection of a veterinary clinic that deals with small animals. Hospital-associated infections and the control and prevention programs necessary to alleviate them are addressed from an environmental perspective. Measures of hospital cleaning and disinfection include understanding mechanisms and types of contamination in veterinary settings, recognizing areas of potential concern, addressing appropriate decontamination techniques and selection of disinfectants, the management of potentially contaminated equipment, laundry, and waste management, and environmental surveillance strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AANA Journal course: update for nurse anesthetists--ERR WATCH: anesthesia crisis resource management from the nurse anesthetist's perspective.

PubMed

Fletcher, J L

1998-12-01

Anesthesia crisis resource management (ACRM) was developed by David Gaba, MD, and colleagues at Stanford University in the early 1990s. Derived from cockpit resource management of the aviation industry, ACRM addresses the issues of human performance and patient safety in anesthesia. Due to the inherent complexity of our dynamic work environment, we are frequently faced with situations that could escalate into critical incidents. ACRM explains the role of personal and environmental factors that can contribute to the evolution of critical incidents and provides the practitioner with some behavioral and intellectual guidelines to manage the risks more effectively. ERR WATCH is an acronym I developed to interpret the principles of ACRM from the nurse anesthetist's perspective. It provides a quick review of the major principles of ACRM, which are Environment, Resources, Reevaluation, Workload, Attention, Teamwork, Communication, and Help. Used together with good clinical management, these principles may provide an edge in solving complex problems and improving performance.

A software-aided workflow for precinct-scale residential redevelopment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glackin, Stephen, E-mail: sglackin@swin.edu.au; Trubka, Roman, E-mail: r.trubka@gmail.com; Dionisio, Maria Rita, E-mail: rita.dionisio@canterbury.ac.nz

2016-09-15

Growing urban populations, combined with environmental challenges, have placed significant pressure on urban planning to supply housing while addressing policy issues such as sustainability, affordability, and liveability. The interrelated nature of these issues, combined with the requirement of evidence-based planning, has made decision-making so complex that urban planners need to combine expertise on energy, water, carbon emissions, transport and economic development along with other bodies of knowledge necessary to make well-informed decisions. This paper presents two geospatial software systems that can assist in the mediation of complexity, by allowing users to assess a variety of planning metrics without expert knowledgemore » in those disciplines. Using Envision and Envision Scenario Planner (ESP), both products of the Greening the Greyfields research project funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) in Australia, we demonstrate a workflow for identifying potential redevelopment precincts and designing and assessing possible redevelopment scenarios to optimise planning outcomes.« less

Situated knowledge of pathogenic landscapes in Ghana: Understanding the emergence of Buruli ulcer through qualitative analysis.

PubMed

Tschakert, Petra; Ricciardi, Vincent; Smithwick, Erica; Machado, Mario; Ferring, David; Hausermann, Heidi; Bug, Leah

2016-02-01

Successfully addressing neglected tropical diseases requires nuanced understandings of pathogenic landscapes that incorporate situated, contexualized community knowledge. In the case of Buruli ulcer (BU), the role of social science is vital to investigate complex human-environment interactions and navigate different ways of knowing. We analyze a set of qualitative data from our interdisciplinary project on BU in Ghana, drawing from participatory mapping, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and open-ended survey questions to explore how people in endemic and non-endemic areas see themselves embedded in changing environmental and social landscapes. We pay particular attention to landscape disturbance through logging and small-scale alluvial gold mining. The results from our participatory research underscore the holistic nature of BU emergence in landscapes, encapsulated in partial and incomplete local descriptions, the relevance of collective learning to distill complexity, and the potential of rich qualitative data to inform quantitative landscape-disease models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanotechnology applications and implications research supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency STAR grants program.

PubMed

Savage, Nora; Thomas, Treye A; Duncan, Jeremiah S

2007-10-01

Since 2002, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been funding research on the environmental aspects of nanotechnology through its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program. In total, more than $25 million has been awarded for 86 research projects on the environmental applications and implications of nanotechnology. In the applications area, grantees have produced promising results in green manufacturing, remediation, sensors, and treatment using nanotechnology and nanomaterials. Although there are many potential benefits of nanotechnology, there has also been increasing concern about the environmental and health effects of nanomaterials, and there are significant gaps in the data needed to address these concerns. Research performed by STAR grantees is beginning to address these needs.

Biodiversity in environmental assessment-current practice and tools for prediction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gontier, Mikael; Balfors, Berit; Moertberg, Ulla

Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to biodiversity. Environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment are essential instruments used in physical planning to address such problems. Yet there are no well-developed methods for quantifying and predicting impacts of fragmentation on biodiversity. In this study, a literature review was conducted on GIS-based ecological models that have potential as prediction tools for biodiversity assessment. Further, a review of environmental impact statements for road and railway projects from four European countries was performed, to study how impact prediction concerning biodiversity issues was addressed. The results of the study showed the existing gapmore » between research in GIS-based ecological modelling and current practice in biodiversity assessment within environmental assessment.« less

Report to Congress on the U.S. Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program: Research funded and its linkages to environmental cleanup problems, and Environmental Management Science Program research award abstracts. Volume 2 of 3 -- Appendix B

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) serves as a catalyst for the application of scientific discoveries to the development and deployment of technologies that will lead to reduction of the costs and risks associated with cleaning up the nation`s nuclear complex. Appendix B provides details about each of the 202 research awards funded by the EMSP. This information may prove useful to researchers who are attempting to address the Department`s environmental management challenges in their work, program managers who are planning, integrating, and prioritizing Environmental Management projects, and stakeholders and regulators who are interested in the Department`smore » environmental challenges. The research award information is organized by the state and institution in which the lead principal investigator is located. In many cases, the lead principal investigator is one of several investigators at a number of different institutions. In these cases, the lead investigator (major collaborator) at each of the additional institutions is listed. Each research award abstract is followed by a list of high cost projects that can potentially be impacted by the research results. High cost projects are Environmental Management projects that have total costs greater than $50 million from the year 2007 and beyond, based on the March 1998 Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure Draft data, and have costs or quantities of material associated with an Environmental Management problem area. High cost projects which must remain active in the year 2007 and beyond to manage high risk are also identified. Descriptions of these potentially related high cost Environmental Management projects can be found in Appendix C. Additional projects in the same problem area as a research award can be located using the Index of High Cost Environmental Management Projects by Problem Area, at the end of Appendices B and C.« less

Cooperation of international Research Infrastructures to address environmental global challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonet García, Francisco J.; Suárez-Muñoz, María; Conchubhair, Diarmuid O.; Dohna, Tina; Lo Bue, Nadia

2017-04-01

Human impact on the planet is causing a set of global environmental problems that threaten the wellbeing of current and future generations. Examples of these environmental problems include climate change, decline of biodiversity, alteration of biogeochemical cycles, ocean acidification, etc. These environmental Global Challenges (GCs) are transnational and complex, combining elements of both natural and social factors. Providing solutions for these challenges can be significantly enhanced through the collaboration of various related institutions, governments and stakeholders. A deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of GCs, as well as the processes which control them is required. Environmental Research Infrastructures (DANUBIUS-RI) are key players in this learning process. Covering many fields of research, it is through RIs collaboration that GCs can be more fully addressed. However, the collaboration among environmental RIs is still limited nationally as well as internationally. Although contact is encouraged and interactions are common practice, there are few cases where RI managers initiate and foster transnational collaborations in order to address specific problems. The COOP+ project aims to explore and strengthen cooperation among global RIs by bringing various RIs together and working on the identification of requirements, strengths, knowledge gaps and other relevant items in regard to the selected GCs. For this purpose, 13 GCs have been selected: coral bleaching, marine debris, noise impact on marine fauna, Arctic sea ice melting, pollinators decline, threatened species, agriculture pollutants, nitrogen cycle, carbon and GHG, geohazards and extreme events, estuaries, global urbanization process, and ozone depletion. These GCs are being analysed and described by multidisciplinary teams of experts composed of scientists, RIs operators and other stakeholders. This assessment will derive a list of tasks and requirements to be fulfilled by the participating RIs regarding each GC. Moreover, it is expected that the outcomes of this work will encourage and promote project participants and stakeholders, as well as the general public to take action with regard to the challenges and solutions outlined by the GC descriptions. This task of describing GCs is an open initiative: all input is welcome. To input with any suggestions, please send an email to info@coop-plus.eu. This contribution presents the preliminary results obtained during the description of the selected GC's under the point of view of RIs: - Template used to describe all GC in a standardized way. It contains several sections regarding topics such as: rationale of the challenge, identification of scientific/technical/social needs, role of RIs in the GC, tasks to be done (data collection, experimental research, modelling, dissemination), etc. - Configuration of working teams designed to describe the GCs. Each GC has a person in charge who is responsible of coordinating the writing process. The working team is composed by scientists experts in each challenge, experts in thematic RIs (within EU and abroad), policy makers and other stakeholders. The results obtained by this description task will be published in a special issue in a Geoscience journal. The writing teams are expected to become project consortia willing to participate in specific calls to address GCs.

Genetic and environmental pathways to complex diseases.

PubMed

Gohlke, Julia M; Thomas, Reuben; Zhang, Yonqing; Rosenstein, Michael C; Davis, Allan P; Murphy, Cynthia; Becker, Kevin G; Mattingly, Carolyn J; Portier, Christopher J

2009-05-05

Pathogenesis of complex diseases involves the integration of genetic and environmental factors over time, making it particularly difficult to tease apart relationships between phenotype, genotype, and environmental factors using traditional experimental approaches. Using gene-centered databases, we have developed a network of complex diseases and environmental factors through the identification of key molecular pathways associated with both genetic and environmental contributions. Comparison with known chemical disease relationships and analysis of transcriptional regulation from gene expression datasets for several environmental factors and phenotypes clustered in a metabolic syndrome and neuropsychiatric subnetwork supports our network hypotheses. This analysis identifies natural and synthetic retinoids, antipsychotic medications, Omega 3 fatty acids, and pyrethroid pesticides as potential environmental modulators of metabolic syndrome phenotypes through PPAR and adipocytokine signaling and organophosphate pesticides as potential environmental modulators of neuropsychiatric phenotypes. Identification of key regulatory pathways that integrate genetic and environmental modulators define disease associated targets that will allow for efficient screening of large numbers of environmental factors, screening that could set priorities for further research and guide public health decisions.

78 FR 15973 - Notice of Public Scoping Meetings for the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System Environmental...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-13

... Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System Environmental Impact Statement, New Mexico AGENCY: Bureau of... Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Reclamation is preparing an environmental impact... document, alternatives, concerns, and issues to be addressed in the environmental impact statement. DATES...

School and Local Environmental Knowledge, What Are the Links? A Case Study among Indigenous Adolescents in Oaxaca, Mexico

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruiz-Mallen, Isabel; Barraza, Laura; Bodenhorn, Barbara; Reyes-Garcia, Victoria

2009-01-01

Understanding environmental learning is the first step to constructing successful environmental education programs. Little research has addressed the relation between the environmental knowledge learned inside and outside schools. Environmental educators and ethnobiologists have worked independently, without assessing how school and local…

Toward Fostering Environmental Political Participation: Framing an Agenda for Environmental Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levy, Brett L. M.; Zint, Michaela T.

2013-01-01

Scholars of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) have been among the environmental leaders calling for individuals to become increasingly engaged in political action aimed at addressing environmental and sustainability issues. Few, however, have studied how educational experiences might foster greater…

Kids Can Make a Difference! Environmental Science Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dashefsky, H. Steven

This book of more than 160 environmental science activities is designed to help students understand environmental issues, ask questions, and find solutions to the problems. Introductory sections address: (1) the nature of major global problems and a history of environmental concern; (2) basic environmental science terminology and scientific study…

Environmental Volunteers: Factors Influencing Their Involvement in Environmental Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liarakou, Georgia; Kostelou, Eleni; Gavrilakis, Costas

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors that influence volunteers to become involved in environmental action. The research focused on volunteers undertaking action in summer camps organised by an environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Greece. The results suggest that the environmental issues addressed in volunteer…

Teaching undergraduate nursing students about environmental health: addressing public health issues through simulation.

PubMed

Stanley, Mary Jo; Rojas, Deb

2014-01-01

Schools of nursing are challenged to find clinical placements in public health settings. Use of simulation can address situations unique to public health, with attention to specific concerns, such as environmental health. Environmental health is an integral part of public health nursing and is a standard of professional practice. Current simulations focus on acute care situations, offering limited scenarios with a public health perspective and excluding environmental health. This study's simulation scenario was created to enhance nursing students' understanding of public health concepts within an environmental health context. Outcomes from the simulation include the need for integration of environmental issues in public health teaching. Students stated that this scenario provided a broader understanding of the environmental influences that can affect the client's and family's health. This scenario fills a void in simulation content, while providing an interactive teaching and learning strategy to help students to apply knowledge to practice. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Antibiotics in the aquatic environments: A review of the European scenario.

PubMed

Carvalho, Isabel T; Santos, Lúcia

2016-09-01

The discovery of antibiotics is considered one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century, revolutionizing both human and veterinary medicine. However, antibiotics have been recently recognized as an emerging class of environmental contaminants since they have been massively administrated in humans and animals and persist in the environment through a complex vicious cycle of transformation and bioaccumulation. The diffusion of antibiotics in the environment, particularly in natural water systems, contributes to the development and global dissemination of antibiotic resistance. This phenomenon is one of the most important challenges to the health care sector in the 21st century. As a result, studies on the occurrence, fate, and effects of antibiotics in European aqueous environments have increased in the last years. Nevertheless, their potential aquatic ecotoxicity and human toxicity via environmental exposure routes remain unknown. Consequently, antibiotics are not regulated through the current European environmental water quality standards, which requires evidence concerning their widespread environmental contamination and intrinsic hazard. In this context, this literature review summarizes the state of knowledge on the occurrence of antibiotics in the different aqueous environmental systems across the Europe, as reported since 2000. Relating this subject to antibiotic consumption and their dynamic behavior in the environment, the acquired insights provide an improved understanding on aquatic pollution by antibiotics to outline the European scenario. Moreover, it addresses challenges, prospects for future research, and typical topics to stimulate discussion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brains, brawn and sociality: a hyaena’s tale

PubMed Central

Holekamp, Kay E.; Dantzer, Ben; Stricker, Gregory; Shaw Yoshida, Kathryn C.; Benson-Amram, Sarah

2015-01-01

Theoretically intelligence should evolve to help animals solve specific types of problems posed by the environment, but it remains unclear how environmental complexity or novelty facilitates the evolutionary enhancement of cognitive abilities, or whether domain-general intelligence can evolve in response to domain-specific selection pressures. The social complexity hypothesis, which posits that intelligence evolved to cope with the labile behaviour of conspecific group-mates, has been strongly supported by work on the sociocognitive abilities of primates and other animals. Here we review the remarkable convergence in social complexity between cercopithecine primates and spotted hyaenas, and describe our tests of predictions of the social complexity hypothesis in regard to both cognition and brain size in hyaenas. Behavioural data indicate that there has been remarkable convergence between primates and hyaenas with respect to their abilities in the domain of social cognition. Furthermore, within the family Hyaenidae, our data suggest that social complexity might have contributed to enlargement of the frontal cortex. However, social complexity failed to predict either brain volume or frontal cortex volume in a larger array of mammalian carnivores. To address the question of whether or not social complexity might be able to explain the evolution of domain-general intelligence as well as social cognition in particular, we presented simple puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species housed in zoos and found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more innovative and more successful at opening the boxes. However, social complexity failed to predict success in solving this problem. Overall our work suggests that, although social complexity enhances social cognition, there are no unambiguous causal links between social complexity and either brain size or performance in problem-solving tasks outside the social domain in mammalian carnivores. PMID:26160980

Two Boston Organizations Awarded EPA Environmental Education Grants

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Two organizations in Massachusetts have been awarded 181,864 in Environmental Education Grants by the US Environmental Protection Agency to support their work in addressing a range of topics in classrooms.

Can cloud point-based enrichment, preservation, and detection methods help to bridge gaps in aquatic nanometrology?

PubMed

Duester, Lars; Fabricius, Anne-Lena; Jakobtorweihen, Sven; Philippe, Allan; Weigl, Florian; Wimmer, Andreas; Schuster, Michael; Nazar, Muhammad Faizan

2016-11-01

Coacervate-based techniques are intensively used in environmental analytical chemistry to enrich and extract different kinds of analytes. Most methods focus on the total content or the speciation of inorganic and organic substances. Size fractionation is less commonly addressed. Within coacervate-based techniques, cloud point extraction (CPE) is characterized by a phase separation of non-ionic surfactants dispersed in an aqueous solution when the respective cloud point temperature is exceeded. In this context, the feature article raises the following question: May CPE in future studies serve as a key tool (i) to enrich and extract nanoparticles (NPs) from complex environmental matrices prior to analyses and (ii) to preserve the colloidal status of unstable environmental samples? With respect to engineered NPs, a significant gap between environmental concentrations and size- and element-specific analytical capabilities is still visible. CPE may support efforts to overcome this "concentration gap" via the analyte enrichment. In addition, most environmental colloidal systems are known to be unstable, dynamic, and sensitive to changes of the environmental conditions during sampling and sample preparation. This delivers a so far unsolved "sample preparation dilemma" in the analytical process. The authors are of the opinion that CPE-based methods have the potential to preserve the colloidal status of these instable samples. Focusing on NPs, this feature article aims to support the discussion on the creation of a convention called the "CPE extractable fraction" by connecting current knowledge on CPE mechanisms and on available applications, via the uncertainties visible and modeling approaches available, with potential future benefits from CPE protocols.

Supporting Current Energy Conversion Projects through Numerical Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, S. C.; Roberts, J.

2016-02-01

The primary goals of current energy conversion (CEC) technology being developed today are to optimize energy output and minimize environmental impact. CEC turbines generate energy from tidal and current systems and create wakes that interact with turbines located downstream of a device. The placement of devices can greatly influence power generation and structural reliability. CECs can also alter the environment surrounding the turbines, such as flow regimes, sediment dynamics, and water quality. These alterations pose potential stressors to numerous environmental receptors. Software is needed to investigate specific CEC sites to simulate power generation and hydrodynamic responses of a flow through a CEC turbine array so that these potential impacts can be evaluated. Moreover, this software can be used to optimize array layouts that yield the least changes to the environmental (i.e., hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics, and water quality). Through model calibration exercises, simulated wake profiles and turbulence intensities compare favorably to the experimental data and demonstrate the utility and accuracy of a fast-running tool for future siting and analysis of CEC arrays in complex domains. The Delft3D modeling tool facilitates siting of CEC projects through optimization of array layouts and evaluation of potential environmental effect all while provide a common "language" for academics, industry, and regulators to be able to discuss the implications of marine renewable energy projects. Given the enormity of any full-scale marine renewable energy project, it necessarily falls to modeling to evaluate how array operations must be addressed in an environmental impact statement in a way that engenders confidence in the assessment of the CEC array to minimize environmental effects.

Report to Congress on the U.S. Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program: Research funded and its linkages to environmental cleanup problems, and high out-year cost environmental management project descriptions. Volume 3 of 3 -- Appendix C

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1998-04-01

The Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) serves as a catalyst for the application of scientific discoveries to the development and deployment of technologies that will lead to reduction of the costs and risks associated with cleaning up the nation`s nuclear complex. Appendix C provides details about each of the Department`s 82 high cost projects and lists the EMSP research awards with potential to impact each of these projects. The high cost projects listed are those having costs greater than $50 million in constant 1998 dollars from the year 2007 and beyond, based on the March 1998 Acceleratingmore » Cleanup: Paths to Closure Draft data, and having costs of quantities of material associated with an environmental management problem area. The high cost project information is grouped by operations office and organized by site and project code. Each operations office section begins with a list of research needs associated with that operations office. Potentially related research awards are listed by problem area in the Index of Research Awards by Environmental Management Problem Area, which can be found at the end of appendices B and C. For projects that address high risks to the public, workers, or the environment, refer also the Health/Ecology/Risk problem area awards. Research needs are programmatic or technical challenges that may benefit from knowledge gained through basic research.« less

Legal and institutional aspects of regulating intermedia pollution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Entman, R.M.

1980-05-01

Intermedia pollution is defined here as the creation of new environmental impacts by controlling existing ones. DOE asked four questions: (1) do the major environmental laws address intermedia pollution; (2) does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have rules, regulations, and procedures through which it considers intermedia questions; (3) do the legislative histories of the laws indicate whether Congress intended for the EPA to consider intermedia issues; and (4) in what ways do the existing laws and regulatory procedures exacerbate intermedia pollution. The answer to the first three questions is yes; much of this report is devoted to amplifying and qualifyingmore » that response, the rest to answering the fourth question. The report frames these issues by asking how we can control the adverse environmental i.e., intermedia, impacts of EPA itself. A case study of the intermedia implications of recently issued air-pollution standards for coal-fired power plants illustrates the themes concretely. An analysis of policy alternatives for improving intermedia pollution control concludes the study. The major problems impending good intermedia policy decisions are: conflicts among and failures fully to implement environmental laws; political pressures; tendencies of EPA to minimize the adverse environmental consequences of its own actions; uncertainties caused by the rudimentary scientific understanding of intermedia pollution; and limitations on EPA's organizational ability to handle whatever complex intermedia information it does obtain. The final chapter assesses three policy responses to these problems: do nothing new; issue an incremental prod; and a new law and EPA suffice. Evaluation of these alternatives depends on how deficient current practices are thought to be.« less

A multicriteria decision analysis model and risk assessment framework for carbon capture and storage.

PubMed

Humphries Choptiany, John Michael; Pelot, Ronald

2014-09-01

Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been applied to various energy problems to incorporate a variety of qualitative and quantitative criteria, usually spanning environmental, social, engineering, and economic fields. MCDA and associated methods such as life-cycle assessments and cost-benefit analysis can also include risk analysis to address uncertainties in criteria estimates. One technology now being assessed to help mitigate climate change is carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS is a new process that captures CO2 emissions from fossil-fueled power plants and injects them into geological reservoirs for storage. It presents a unique challenge to decisionmakers (DMs) due to its technical complexity, range of environmental, social, and economic impacts, variety of stakeholders, and long time spans. The authors have developed a risk assessment model using a MCDA approach for CCS decisions such as selecting between CO2 storage locations and choosing among different mitigation actions for reducing risks. The model includes uncertainty measures for several factors, utility curve representations of all variables, Monte Carlo simulation, and sensitivity analysis. This article uses a CCS scenario example to demonstrate the development and application of the model based on data derived from published articles and publicly available sources. The model allows high-level DMs to better understand project risks and the tradeoffs inherent in modern, complex energy decisions. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

Ecogenomics of microbial communities in bioremediation of chlorinated contaminated sites

PubMed Central

Maphosa, Farai; Lieten, Shakti H.; Dinkla, Inez; Stams, Alfons J.; Smidt, Hauke; Fennell, Donna E.

2012-01-01

Organohalide compounds such as chloroethenes, chloroethanes, and polychlorinated benzenes are among the most significant pollutants in the world. These compounds are often found in contamination plumes with other pollutants such as solvents, pesticides, and petroleum derivatives. Microbial bioremediation of contaminated sites, has become commonplace whereby key processes involved in bioremediation include anaerobic degradation and transformation of these organohalides by organohalide respiring bacteria and also via hydrolytic, oxygenic, and reductive mechanisms by aerobic bacteria. Microbial ecogenomics has enabled us to not only study the microbiology involved in these complex processes but also develop tools to better monitor and assess these sites during bioremediation. Microbial ecogenomics have capitalized on recent advances in high-throughput and -output genomics technologies in combination with microbial physiology studies to address these complex bioremediation problems at a system level. Advances in environmental metagenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics have provided insights into key genes and their regulation in the environment. They have also given us clues into microbial community structures, dynamics, and functions at contaminated sites. These techniques have not only aided us in understanding the lifestyles of common organohalide respirers, for example Dehalococcoides, Dehalobacter, and Desulfitobacterium, but also provided insights into novel and yet uncultured microorganisms found in organohalide respiring consortia. In this paper, we look at how ecogenomic studies have aided us to understand the microbial structures and functions in response to environmental stimuli such as the presence of chlorinated pollutants. PMID:23060869

Environmental Education and Behaviour: The Case of Corporate Social-Responsibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvey, Brian

1981-01-01

Addresses the potential effects of environmental education on corporate behavior and social and environmental impact by examining connections between human behavior and environmental problems, the role of the modern corporation, a behavioral theory of the firm, and corporate social responsibility. (DC)

78 FR 4586 - Environmental Impact Statement: Kake Access, AK

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-22

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Environmental Impact Statement: Kake... Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed transportation project to improve access to and from the... written comments on environmental concerns that should be addressed in the EIS. The public scoping...

Desk Reference to the Toolkit for Assessing Potential Allegations of Environmental Injustice

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document provides an overview of tools and other reference materials to assist U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel in assessing and addressing potential allegations of environmental injustice.

U.S.-China Relations: Policy Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-12

China (PRC) include promoting U.S. trade and investment, protecting national security interests, addressing global environmental and climate change...influence and natural resources. Other U.S. concerns include the bilateral trade deficit with China and allegations of PRC unfair trade practices, PRC...with the PRC include promoting U.S. trade and investment, protecting national security interests, addressing global environmental and climate change

Robust Membranes for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment by Forward Osmosis in FOBs

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-09

the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The publication of this report does not indicate...CT 06511 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) Strategic Environmental Research and...strategies, in-situ fabrication and post -fabrication membrane modification. In-situ fabrication modification involves fabrication of a polyamide selective

Trends in Environmental Education Images of Textbooks from Western and Eastern European Countries and Non-European Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carvalho, Graca S.; Tracana, Rosa Branca; Skujiene, Grita; Turcinaviciene, Jurga

2011-01-01

Textbook analysis is seen as a major element for studying environmental education addressing pupils, image analysis being rather relevant when studying textbooks written in 11 languages. We analysed 25 textbooks from 14 countries addressed to 14-16-year-old pupils, focusing on: (1) local and foreign/global images; (2) urban/rural and nature…

A needs assessment on addressing environmental health issues within reproductive health service provision: Considerations for continuing education and support.

PubMed

Williamson, Linzi; Sangster, Sarah; Bayly, Melanie; Gibson, Kirstian; Lawson, Karen; Clark, Megan

2017-12-01

This needs assessment was initially undertaken to explore the beliefs and knowledge of nurses and physicians about the impact of environmental toxicants on maternal and infant health, as well as to describe current practice and needs related to addressing environmental health issues (EHI). One hundred and thirty-five nurses (n = 99) and physicians (n = 36) working in Saskatchewan completed an online survey. Survey questions were designed to determine how physicians and nurses think about and incorporate environmental health issues into their practice and means of increasing their capacity to do so. Although participants considered it important to address EHIs with patients, in actual practice they do so with only moderate frequency. Participants reported low levels of knowledge about EHIs' impact on health, and low levels of confidence discussing them with patients. Participants requested additional information on EHIs, especially in the form of online resources. The results suggests that while nurses and physicians consider EHIs important to address with patients, more education, support, and resources would increase their capacity to do so effectively. Based on the findings, considerations and recommendations for continuing education in this area have been provided.

Flash flooding: Toward an Interdisciplinary and Integrated Strategy for Disaster Reduction in a Global Environmental Change Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruin, Isabelle

2014-05-01

How do people answer to heavy precipitation and flood warnings? How do they adapt their daily schedule and activity to the fast evolution of the environmental circumstances? More generally, how do social processes interact with physical ones? Such questions address the dynamical interactions between hydro-meteorological variables, human perception and representation of the environment, and actual individual and social behavioral responses. It also poses the question of scales and hierarchy issues through seamless interactions between smaller and larger scales. These questions are relevant for both social and physical scientists. They are more and more pertinently addressed in the Global Environmental Change perspective through the concepts of Coupled Human And Natural Systems (CHANS), resilience or panarchy developped in the context of interdisciplinary collaborations. Nevertheless those concepts are complex and not easy to handle, specially when facing with operational goals. One of the main difficulty to advance these integrated approaches is the access to empirical data informing the processes at various scales. In fact, if physical and social processes are well studied by distinct disciplines, they are rarely jointly explored within similar spatial and temporal resolutions. Such coupled observation and analysis poses methodological challenges, specially when dealing with responses to short-fuse and extreme weather events. In fact, if such coupled approach is quite common to study large scale phenomenon like global change (for instance using historical data on green house gaz emissions and the evolution of temperatures worldwide), it is rarer for studing smaller nested sets of scales of human-nature systems where finer resolution data are sparse. Another problem arise from the need to produce comparable analysis on different case studies where social, physical and even cultural contexts may be diverse. Generic and robust framework for data collection, modeling and analysis are needed to allow cross comparison and deeper understanding of the processes accross scales. This presentation will address these issues based on concrete exemples from empirical studies on past flash flooding events across Europe and USA.

Redefining the Federal Role of Public-Funded Environmental Research: Identifying Critical Attributes for Sustainability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyd, Gerald G.; Sink, CLaire H.; Howes, Walter S.

2000-09-25

For the past fifty years, U.S. science and technology policy has been based on Vannevar Bush s classic report, Science--The Endless Frontier. As the U.S. enters the 21st century, public funding for environmental research and development (R&D) in achieving environmental sustainability is crucial to the nation s economic and overall well being. In domestic environmental remediation, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE EM) is committed to cleaning up DOE sites contaminated with radioactive, chemical, and other hazardous wastes. To best accomplish this mission amid fiscal and regulatory regimes and to promote long-term environmental sustainability requires improvedmore » interdisciplinary collaboration among R&D performers--universities, industry, and federal laboratories--as well as advances in environmental science and technology. Public funding for interdisciplinary long-term environmental R&D is essential as no long-term approach to environmental R&D exists. With increased awareness of the rapidity of global technological change and the impact of this change on humans and the earth s ecosystem, it is timely to identify, evaluate, and establish critical attributes as characteristics of long-term environmental sustainability for facilitating a broad science and technology policy. For environmental R&D, these attributes are functionally grouped into R&D performers, operational aspects, and technology-related aspects. Individually, each attribute addresses a specific need; collectively, they create a strategy to achieve long-term sustainability. Most of the attributes are commonplace in today s R&D community; the uniqueness is their integration into an overall system as suggested. Added value for environmental R&D would address the attributes collectively to provide overall synergy. As the U.S. enters the 21st century and adapts to increased globalization, addressing the consequences of humans and environmental interactions is critical to furthering a national science and technology policy in a socio-economic context. The suggested policy vets environmental sustainability as a societal goal and incorporates attributes such as pollution prevention, cost effectiveness, merit review, safety, stable funding and accountability, priority setting, stakeholder participation, and comprehensive risk allocation into an interdisciplinary systems approach centered around communication, creative collaboration, and cooperation that collectively address a common goal.« less

Environmental/Biomedical Terminology Index

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huffstetler, J.K.; Dailey, N.S.; Rickert, L.W.

1976-12-01

The Information Center Complex (ICC), a centrally administered group of information centers, provides information support to environmental and biomedical research groups and others within and outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In-house data base building and development of specialized document collections are important elements of the ongoing activities of these centers. ICC groups must be concerned with language which will adequately classify and insure retrievability of document records. Language control problems are compounded when the complexity of modern scientific problem solving demands an interdisciplinary approach. Although there are several word lists, indexes, and thesauri specific to various scientific disciplines usually groupedmore » as Environmental Sciences, no single generally recognized authority can be used as a guide to the terminology of all environmental science. If biomedical terminology for the description of research on environmental effects is also needed, the problem becomes even more complex. The building of a word list which can be used as a general guide to the environmental/biomedical sciences has been a continuing activity of the Information Center Complex. This activity resulted in the publication of the Environmental Biomedical Terminology Index (EBTI).« less

Deep-sea mining: potential environmental, legal, economic, and societal implications - an interdisciplinary research.

PubMed

Koschinsky, Andrea; Heinrich, Luise; Boehnke, Klaus; Cohrs, J Christopher; Markus, Till; Shani, Maor; Singh, Pradeep; Stegen, Karen Smith; Werner, Welf

2018-06-19

Deep-sea mining refers to the retrieval of marine mineral resources such as manganese nodules, ferromanganese crusts and seafloor massive sulfide deposits, which contain a variety of metals that serve as crucial raw materials for a range of applications, from electronic devices to renewable energy technologies to construction materials. With the intent of decreasing dependence on imports, supporting the economy and potentially even overcoming the environmental problems related to conventional terrestrial mining, a number of public and private institutions have re-discovered their interest in exploring the prospects of deep-sea mining, which had been deemed economically and technically unfeasible in the early 1980 s. To date, many national and international research projects are grappling to understand the economic environmental, social and legal implications of potential commercial deep-sea mining operations: a challenging endeavor due to the complexity of direct impacts and spill-over effects. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge in the aforementioned fields as well as a comparison of the impacts associated with conventional terrestrial mining. Furthermore, we identify knowledge gaps that should be urgently addressed to ensure that the world at large benefits from safe, efficient and environmentally-sound mining procedures. We conclude by highlighting the need for interdisciplinary research and international cooperation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

NEIMiner: nanomaterial environmental impact data miner.

PubMed

Tang, Kaizhi; Liu, Xiong; Harper, Stacey L; Steevens, Jeffery A; Xu, Roger

2013-01-01

As more engineered nanomaterials (eNM) are developed for a wide range of applications, it is crucial to minimize any unintended environmental impacts resulting from the application of eNM. To realize this vision, industry and policymakers must base risk management decisions on sound scientific information about the environmental fate of eNM, their availability to receptor organisms (eg, uptake), and any resultant biological effects (eg, toxicity). To address this critical need, we developed a model-driven, data mining system called NEIMiner, to study nanomaterial environmental impact (NEI). NEIMiner consists of four components: NEI modeling framework, data integration, data management and access, and model building. The NEI modeling framework defines the scope of NEI modeling and the strategy of integrating NEI models to form a layered, comprehensive predictability. The data integration layer brings together heterogeneous data sources related to NEI via automatic web services and web scraping technologies. The data management and access layer reuses and extends a popular content management system (CMS), Drupal, and consists of modules that model the complex data structure for NEI-related bibliography and characterization data. The model building layer provides an advanced analysis capability for NEI data. Together, these components provide significant value to the process of aggregating and analyzing large-scale distributed NEI data. A prototype of the NEIMiner system is available at http://neiminer.i-a-i.com/.

NEIMiner: nanomaterial environmental impact data miner

PubMed Central

Tang, Kaizhi; Liu, Xiong; Harper, Stacey L; Steevens, Jeffery A; Xu, Roger

2013-01-01

As more engineered nanomaterials (eNM) are developed for a wide range of applications, it is crucial to minimize any unintended environmental impacts resulting from the application of eNM. To realize this vision, industry and policymakers must base risk management decisions on sound scientific information about the environmental fate of eNM, their availability to receptor organisms (eg, uptake), and any resultant biological effects (eg, toxicity). To address this critical need, we developed a model-driven, data mining system called NEIMiner, to study nanomaterial environmental impact (NEI). NEIMiner consists of four components: NEI modeling framework, data integration, data management and access, and model building. The NEI modeling framework defines the scope of NEI modeling and the strategy of integrating NEI models to form a layered, comprehensive predictability. The data integration layer brings together heterogeneous data sources related to NEI via automatic web services and web scraping technologies. The data management and access layer reuses and extends a popular content management system (CMS), Drupal, and consists of modules that model the complex data structure for NEI-related bibliography and characterization data. The model building layer provides an advanced analysis capability for NEI data. Together, these components provide significant value to the process of aggregating and analyzing large-scale distributed NEI data. A prototype of the NEIMiner system is available at http://neiminer.i-a-i.com/. PMID:24098076

NASA's Advanced Environmental Barrier Coatings Development for SiC/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites: Understanding Calcium Magnesium Alumino-Silicate (CMAS) Degradations and Resistance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhu, Dongming

2014-01-01

Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) and SiCSiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) systems will play a crucial role in next generation turbine engines for hot-section component applications because of their ability to significantly increase engine operating temperatures with improved efficiency, reduce engine weight and cooling requirements. The development of prime-reliant environmental barrier coatings is essential to the viability and reliability of the envisioned CMC engine component applications, ensuring integrated EBC-CMC system durability and designs are achievable for successful applications of the game-changing component technologies and lifing methodologies.This paper will emphasize recent NASA environmental barrier coating developments for SiCSiC turbine airfoil components, utilizing advanced coating compositions, state-of-the-art processing methods, and combined mechanical and environment testing and durability evaluations. The coating-CMC degradations in the engine fatigue-creep and operating environments are particularly complex; one of the important coating development aspects is to better understand engine environmental interactions and coating life debits, and we have particularly addressed the effect of Calcium-Magnesium-Alumino-Silicate (CMAS) from road sand or volcano-ash deposits on the durability of the environmental barrier coating systems, and how the temperature capability, stability and cyclic life of the candidate rare earth oxide and silicate coating systems will be impacted in the presence of the CMAS at high temperatures and under simulated heat flux conditions. Advanced environmental barrier coating systems, including HfO2-Si with rare earth dopant based bond coat systems, will be discussed for the performance improvements to achieve better temperature capability and CMAS resistance for future engine operating conditions.

Machine Learning Technologies Translates Vigilant Surveillance Satellite Big Data into Predictive Alerts for Environmental Stressors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, S. P.; Rohrer, M. E.

2017-12-01

The application of scientific research pertaining to satellite imaging and data processing has facilitated the development of dynamic methodologies and tools that utilize nanosatellites and analytical platforms to address the increasing scope, scale, and intensity of emerging environmental threats to national security. While the use of remotely sensed data to monitor the environment at local and global scales is not a novel proposition, the application of advances in nanosatellites and analytical platforms are capable of overcoming the data availability and accessibility barriers that have historically impeded the timely detection, identification, and monitoring of these stressors. Commercial and university-based applications of these technologies were used to identify and evaluate their capacity as security-motivated environmental monitoring tools. Presently, nanosatellites can provide consumers with 1-meter resolution imaging, frequent revisits, and customizable tasking, allowing users to define an appropriate temporal scale for high resolution data collection that meets their operational needs. Analytical platforms are capable of ingesting increasingly large and diverse volumes of data, delivering complex analyses in the form of interpretation-ready data products and solutions. The synchronous advancement of these technologies creates the capability of analytical platforms to deliver interpretable products from persistently collected high-resolution data that meet varying temporal and geographic scale requirements. In terms of emerging environmental threats, these advances translate into customizable and flexible tools that can respond to and accommodate the evolving nature of environmental stressors. This presentation will demonstrate the capability of nanosatellites and analytical platforms to provide timely, relevant, and actionable information that enables environmental analysts and stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding the prevention, intervention, and prediction of emerging environmental threats.

Multiscale Mathematics for Biomass Conversion to Renewable Hydrogen

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Plechac, Petr; Vlachos, Dionisios; Katsoulakis, Markos

2013-09-05

The overall objective of this project is to develop multiscale models for understanding and eventually designing complex processes for renewables. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first attempt at modeling complex reacting systems, whose performance relies on underlying multiscale mathematics. Our specific application lies at the heart of biofuels initiatives of DOE and entails modeling of catalytic systems, to enable economic, environmentally benign, and efficient conversion of biomass into either hydrogen or valuable chemicals. Specific goals include: (i) Development of rigorous spatio-temporal coarse-grained kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) mathematics and simulation for microscopic processes encountered in biomassmore » transformation. (ii) Development of hybrid multiscale simulation that links stochastic simulation to a deterministic partial differential equation (PDE) model for an entire reactor. (iii) Development of hybrid multiscale simulation that links KMC simulation with quantum density functional theory (DFT) calculations. (iv) Development of parallelization of models of (i)-(iii) to take advantage of Petaflop computing and enable real world applications of complex, multiscale models. In this NCE period, we continued addressing these objectives and completed the proposed work. Main initiatives, key results, and activities are outlined.« less

Variability in the efficacy of psychopharmaceuticals: contributions from pharmacogenomics, ethnopsychopharmacology, and psychological and psychiatric anthropologies.

PubMed

Ninnemann, Kristi M

2012-03-01

Psychological and psychiatric anthropology have long questioned the universality of psychiatric diagnoses, bringing to light the fluidity of mental disorder, and recognizing that the experience and expression of psychopathology is influenced by complex and interacting genetic, environmental, and cultural factors. The majority of our discussions, however, have remained centered around the role of culture in shaping mental illness: drawing attention to subjective experiences of mental illness and culturally patterned modes of symptom presentation, and interrogating the cogency of universal diagnostic rubrics. Psychological and psychiatric anthropology have yet to robustly engage the broadly assumed universal validity of psychiatric medications and the ways in which they are prescribed and experienced. This article provides an introduction into the fields of pharmacogenomics and ethnopsychopharmacology, areas of inquiry seeking to understand the ways in which genetic variability occurring between, and within, large population groups influences individual ability to metabolize psychotropic medications. This piece further addresses the complex issue of psychopharmaceutical efficacy, stressing the ways in which, just as with psychopathology, medications and their outcomes are likewise influenced by the complex interactions of genes, environment, and culture. Lastly, ways in which anthropology can and should engage with the growing fields of pharmacogenomics and ethnopsychopharmacology are suggested.

7 CFR 1709.17 - Environmental review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Environmental review. 1709.17 Section 1709.17... AGRICULTURE ASSISTANCE TO HIGH ENERGY COST COMMUNITIES General Requirements § 1709.17 Environmental review. (a.... (b) Applicants must address environmental aspects of their projects in the grant application in...

7 CFR 1709.17 - Environmental review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Environmental review. 1709.17 Section 1709.17... AGRICULTURE ASSISTANCE TO HIGH ENERGY COST COMMUNITIES General Requirements § 1709.17 Environmental review. (a.... (b) Applicants must address environmental aspects of their projects in the grant application in...

Interaction between heterogeneous environmental quality domains (air, water, land, socio-demographic and built environment) on preterm birth.

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental exposures are often measured individually, though many occur in tandem. To address aggregate exposures, a county-level Environmental Quality Index (EQI) representing five environmental domains (air, water, land, built and sociodemographic) was constructed. Recent st...

Quantitative Risk - Phase 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-03

SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11 . SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION... 11 Connecting technical risk and types of complexity...24 Figure 11 . Complexity evolution throughout the systems acquisition lifecycle ......................................... 25

Quantitative Risk - Phases 1 & 2

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-12

MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11 . SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY... 11 Connecting technical risk and types of complexity...24 Figure 11 . Complexity evolution throughout the systems acquisition lifecycle

Defining Environmental Technology. A Report from the "Defining Environmental Technology" Workshop (St. Louis, MO, March 13-15, 1996).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Advanced Tech. Environmental Education Center, Bettendorf, IA.

This workshop identified and defined environmental technology occupations, particularly at the technician level. The resulting report aims to enhance counselor, teacher, and student awareness of environmental careers at the technician level, and ultimately to address the environmental workforce needs of business, industry, and government by…

Teaching Sustainability as a Large Format Environmental Science Elective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, C.; Frisch, M.; Wagner, J.

2012-12-01

A challenge in teaching sustainability is engaging students in the global scale and immediacy of environmental impacts, and degree of societal change required to address environmental challenges. Succeeding in a large format Environmental Science elective course with a many as 100 students is an even greater challenge. ENVSC 322 Environmental Sustainability is an innovative new course integrating multiple disciplines, a wide range of external expert speakers and a hands-on community engagement project. The course, in its third year, has been highly successful and impacting for the students, community and faculty involved. The determination of success is based on student and community impacts. Students covered science topics on Earth systems, ecosystem complexity and services through readings and specialist speakers. The interconnection of society and climate was approached through global and local examples with a strong environmental justice component. Experts in a wide range of professional fields were engaged to speak with students on the role and impacts of sustainability in their particular field. Some examples are: Region VII Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Justice Director engaged students in both urban and rural aspects of environmental justice; a Principle Architect and national leader in Green architecture and redevelopment spoke with students regarding the necessity and potential for green urbanism; and industry innovators presented closed-cycle and alternative energy projects. The capstone project and highlight of the course was an individual or team community engagement project on sustainability, designed and implemented by the students. Community engagement projects completed throughout the Kansas City metro area have increased each year in number, quality and impact from 35 the first year to 70 projects this past spring. Students directly engage their communities and through this experience integrate knowledge of environmental systems with how their own society uses and impacts these systems. The direct nature of "doing" a project, not its success, can and has been transformative for many students.

Connecticut Environmental Chapter Awarded EPA Education Grant

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The National Audubon Society has been awarded a $91,000 Environmental Education Grant by the US Environmental Protection Agency to support its work in addressing a range of topics in classrooms to support schoolyard habitats.

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working on or planning to work on projects to address local environmental and/or public health issues

Information for Government Agencies about Specific Environmental Health Issues in Child-Care Settings

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

research on child care environmental health issues, identify key state and regional healthy child care organizations for partnerships, and see how other states are addressing child care environmental health issues.

Addressing Environmental Justice in EPA Brownfields Communities

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The EPA Brownfields Program has a rich history rooted in environmental justice. The Brownfields Program and the environmental justice movement have evolved over a similar timeline, fueling one another and helping to build strong communities.

`Human nature': Chemical engineering students' ideas about human relationships with the natural world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldman, Daphne; Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Orit; Shemesh, Julia

2014-05-01

While importance of environmental ethics, as a component of sustainable development, in preparing engineers is widely acknowledged, little research has addressed chemical engineers' environmental concerns. This study aimed to address this void by exploring chemical engineering students' values regarding human-nature relationships. The study was conducted with 247 3rd-4th year chemical engineering students in Israeli Universities. It employed the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP)-questionnaire to which students added written explanations. Quantitative analysis of NEP-scale results shows that the students demonstrated moderately ecocentric orientation. Explanations to the NEP-items reveal diverse, ambivalent ideas regarding the notions embodied in the NEP, strong scientific orientation and reliance on technology for addressing environmental challenges. Endorsing sustainability implies that today's engineers be equipped with an ecological perspective. The capacity of Higher Education to enable engineers to develop dispositions about human-nature interrelationships requires adaptation of curricula towards multidisciplinary, integrative learning addressing social-political-economic-ethical perspectives, and implementing critical-thinking within the socio-scientific issues pedagogical approach.

Fall Prediction and Prevention Systems: Recent Trends, Challenges, and Future Research Directions.

PubMed

Rajagopalan, Ramesh; Litvan, Irene; Jung, Tzyy-Ping

2017-11-01

Fall prediction is a multifaceted problem that involves complex interactions between physiological, behavioral, and environmental factors. Existing fall detection and prediction systems mainly focus on physiological factors such as gait, vision, and cognition, and do not address the multifactorial nature of falls. In addition, these systems lack efficient user interfaces and feedback for preventing future falls. Recent advances in internet of things (IoT) and mobile technologies offer ample opportunities for integrating contextual information about patient behavior and environment along with physiological health data for predicting falls. This article reviews the state-of-the-art in fall detection and prediction systems. It also describes the challenges, limitations, and future directions in the design and implementation of effective fall prediction and prevention systems.

Refining psychiatric genetics: from ‘mouse psychiatry’ to understanding complex human disorders

PubMed Central

LaPorte, Justin L.; Ren-Patterson, Renee F.; Murphy, Dennis L.; Kalueff, Allan V.

2009-01-01

Investigating the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders is a complicated and rigorous task for psychiatric geneticists, as the disorders often involve combinations of genetic, behavioral, personality, and environmental factors. To nurture further progress in this field, a new set of conceptual tools is needed in addition to the currently accepted approaches. Concepts that consider cross-species trait genetics and the interplay between the domains of disorders, as well as the full spectrum of potential symptoms and their place along the pathogenetic continuum, are particularly important to address these needs. Here, we outline recent concepts and approaches that can help refine the field and enable more precise dissection of the genetic mechanisms contributing to psychiatric disorders. PMID:18690099

System Dynamics Modeling for Public Health: Background and Opportunities

PubMed Central

Homer, Jack B.; Hirsch, Gary B.

2006-01-01

The systems modeling methodology of system dynamics is well suited to address the dynamic complexity that characterizes many public health issues. The system dynamics approach involves the development of computer simulation models that portray processes of accumulation and feedback and that may be tested systematically to find effective policies for overcoming policy resistance. System dynamics modeling of chronic disease prevention should seek to incorporate all the basic elements of a modern ecological approach, including disease outcomes, health and risk behaviors, environmental factors, and health-related resources and delivery systems. System dynamics shows promise as a means of modeling multiple interacting diseases and risks, the interaction of delivery systems and diseased populations, and matters of national and state policy. PMID:16449591

Ten Years of Landscape Genomics: Challenges and Opportunities.

PubMed

Li, Yong; Zhang, Xue-Xia; Mao, Run-Li; Yang, Jie; Miao, Cai-Yun; Li, Zhuo; Qiu, Ying-Xiong

2017-01-01

Landscape genomics is a relatively new discipline that aims to reveal the relationship between adaptive genetic imprints in genomes and environmental heterogeneity among natural populations. Although the interest in landscape genomics has increased since this term was coined, studies on this topic remain scarce. Landscape genomics has become a powerful method to scan and determine the genes responsible for the complex adaptive evolution of species at population (mostly) and individual (more rarely) level. This review outlines the sampling strategies, molecular marker types and research categories in 37 articles published during the first 10 years of this field (i.e., 2007-2016). We also address major challenges and future directions for landscape genomics. This review aims to promote interest in conducting additional studies in landscape genomics.

Household air pollution from cooking fires: a challenge for nurses globally and a call to action.

PubMed

Speaks, Jason Thomas; Thomas, Eileen C; Thompson, Lisa M

2012-01-01

The global burden of disease from exposure to household air pollution related to cooking fires is ranked as the 6th leading cause of death, primarily impacting poor women and children in low-income countries. Globally, smoke exposure from household air pollution is attributed to approximately 1/3 of chronic obstructive pulmonary deaths, 1/4 of pneumonia deaths, and 3% of lung cancer deaths. Nurses are increasingly working in global health arenas but are typically ill-prepared to address this complex environmental health problem. Nurses can play a key role in education, practice, and research to develop and support interventions, both in the United States and abroad, which may reduce this substantial burden of disease.

Neuromodulation of Innate Behaviors in Drosophila.

PubMed

Kim, Susy M; Su, Chih-Ying; Wang, Jing W

2017-07-25

Animals are born with a rich repertoire of robust behaviors that are critical for their survival. However, innate behaviors are also highly adaptable to an animal's internal state and external environment. Neuromodulators, including biogenic amines, neuropeptides, and hormones, are released to signal changes in animals' circumstances and serve to reconfigure neural circuits. This circuit flexibility allows animals to modify their behavioral responses according to environmental cues, metabolic demands, and physiological states. Aided by powerful genetic tools, researchers have made remarkable progress in Drosophila melanogaster to address how a myriad of contextual information influences the input-output relationship of hardwired circuits that support a complex behavioral repertoire. Here we highlight recent advances in understanding neuromodulation of Drosophila innate behaviors, with a special focus on feeding, courtship, aggression, and postmating behaviors.

The new science of cognitive sex differences.

PubMed

Miller, David I; Halpern, Diane F

2014-01-01

Surprising new findings indicate that many conclusions about sex differences and similarities in cognitive abilities need to be reexamined. Cognitive sex differences are changing, decreasing for some tasks whereas remaining stable or increasing for other tasks. Some sex differences are detected in infancy, but the data are complex and depend on task characteristics. Diverse disciplines have revolutionized our understanding of why these differences exist. For instance, fraternal-twin studies align with earlier literature to help establish the role of prenatal androgens and large international datasets help explain how cultural factors such as economic prosperity and gender equity affect females and males differently. Understanding how biological and environmental factors interact could help maximize cognitive potential and address pressing societal issues. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methods and techniques for measuring gas emissions from agricultural and animal feeding operations.

PubMed

Hu, Enzhu; Babcock, Esther L; Bialkowski, Stephen E; Jones, Scott B; Tuller, Markus

2014-01-01

Emissions of gases from agricultural and animal feeding operations contribute to climate change, produce odors, degrade sensitive ecosystems, and pose a threat to public health. The complexity of processes and environmental variables affecting these emissions complicate accurate and reliable quantification of gas fluxes and production rates. Although a plethora of measurement technologies exist, each method has its limitations that exacerbate accurate quantification of gas fluxes. Despite a growing interest in gas emission measurements, only a few available technologies include real-time, continuous monitoring capabilities. Commonly applied state-of-the-art measurement frameworks and technologies were critically examined and discussed, and recommendations for future research to address real-time monitoring requirements for forthcoming regulation and management needs are provided.

Abiotic/biotic coupling in the rhizosphere: a reactive transport modeling analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lawrence, Corey R.; Steefel, Carl; Maher, Kate

2014-01-01

A new generation of models is needed to adequately simulate patterns of soil biogeochemical cycling in response changing global environmental drivers. For example, predicting the influence of climate change on soil organic matter storage and stability requires models capable of addressing complex biotic/abiotic interactions of rhizosphere and weathering processes. Reactive transport modeling provides a powerful framework simulating these interactions and the resulting influence on soil physical and chemical characteristics. Incorporation of organic reactions in an existing reactive transport model framework has yielded novel insights into soil weathering and development but much more work is required to adequately capture root and microbial dynamics in the rhizosphere. This endeavor provides many advantages over traditional soil biogeochemical models but also many challenges.

Advances in asthma and allergy genetics in 2007.

PubMed

Vercelli, Donata

2008-08-01

This review discusses the main advances in the genetics of asthma and allergy published in the Journal in 2007. The association studies discussed herein addressed 3 main topics: the effect of the environment and gene-environment interactions on asthma/allergy susceptibility, the contribution of T(H)2 immunity gene variants to allergic inflammation, and the role of filaggrin mutations in atopic dermatitis and associated phenotypes. Other articles revealed novel, potentially important candidate genes or confirmed known ones. Collectively, the works published in 2007 reiterate that allergy and asthma are typical complex diseases; that is, they are disorders in which intricate interactions among environmental and genetic factors modify disease susceptibility by altering the fundamental structural and functional properties of target organs at critical developmental windows.

The Use of Complex Adaptive Systems as a Generative Metaphor in an Action Research Study of an Organisation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Callum

2008-01-01

Understanding the dynamic behaviour of organisations is challenging and this study uses a model of complex adaptive systems as a generative metaphor to address this challenge. The research question addressed is: How might a conceptual model of complex adaptive systems be used to assist in understanding the dynamic nature of organisations? Using an…

Waste is a Terrible Thing to Mind: Perspectives on the Cleanup of the United States Nuclear Weapons Complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodde, David

1997-03-01

For the 50 years of the Cold War, the United States nuclear arsenal was the cornerstone of our national security. These weapons were designed, manufactured, and armed with fissionable materials in an industrial complex that, at its peak, included about 16 major facilities and vast tracts of land in Nevada, Idaho, Washington, and South Carolina. Included among these are such well-known sites as the Savannah River Plant, the Hanford, Oak Ridge, and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The Cold War, that "long twilight struggle" in the evocative phrase of John Kennedy, left little time and few resources for understanding and managing the environmental consequences of nuclear weapons production. At the same time, perceptions of the special nature of the atom led to a concentration of governance in the Atomic Energy Commission and the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. Thus, external feedback for the managers of the complex was heavily filtered. But the imperatives of the Cold War have waned, and our understanding of the implications for the environment and the health and safety of workers has grown. By 1995 the Department of Energy (DoE) had spent about 23 billion in identifying and characterizing its waste, managing it, and assessing the actions needed to clean up the 120 sites in 36 states. Yet the majority of the task appeared ahead. Estimates made in 1995 suggested a total cost ranging from 200-350 billion and a time to complete of 75 years. If these were true, the cleanup of the weapons complex would become the largest civil works project in the history of humankind. Over the past year or so, the DoE program has shifted its focus from studies to actual cleanup. A strategic plan has been proposed that would accomplish most of the needed work over ten years at a cost of about $85 billion. At the same time, the Department is proposing to transfer oversight to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the states. This Invited Symposium will address this cleanup from the perspective of contemporary issues, rather than the mistakes of the past. Dr. David Bodde, currently Co-Chair of the Environmental Management Advisory Board, which advises the DoE on technical and policy issues pertaining to the cleanup, will chair the Symposium. Dr. Frank Parker, Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at Vanderbilt University, will provide a general description of these problems and issues, including cultural and historical factors, a technical description of the wastes, and what is physically required for resolution. The Honorable Alvin Alm, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, will describe the current strategy for solving the problem, how this differs from approaches used in the past, what can realistically be accomplished and when and at what cost. Mr. Thomas Winston of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, will present the perspective of the affected localities. And Dr. Charles Powers, Executive Director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, will speak to the current role and future prospects for risk analysis in improving the allocation of resources for cleanup.

Quantitative Outcomes of a One Health approach to Study Global Health Challenges.

PubMed

Falzon, Laura C; Lechner, Isabel; Chantziaras, Ilias; Collineau, Lucie; Courcoul, Aurélie; Filippitzi, Maria-Eleni; Laukkanen-Ninios, Riikka; Peroz, Carole; Pinto Ferreira, Jorge; Postma, Merel; Prestmo, Pia G; Phythian, Clare J; Sarno, Eleonora; Vanantwerpen, Gerty; Vergne, Timothée; Grindlay, Douglas J C; Brennan, Marnie L

2018-03-01

Having gained momentum in the last decade, the One Health initiative promotes a holistic approach to address complex global health issues. Before recommending its adoption to stakeholders, however, it is paramount to first compile quantitative evidence of the benefit of such an approach. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and summarize primary research that describes monetary and non-monetary outcomes following adoption of a One Health approach. An extensive literature search yielded a total of 42,167 references, of which 85 were included in the final analysis. The top two biotic health issues addressed in these studies were rabies and malaria; the top abiotic health issue was air pollution. Most studies described collaborations between human and animal (n = 42), or human and environmental disciplines (n = 41); commonly reported interventions included vector control and animal vaccination. Monetary outcomes were commonly expressed as cost-benefit or cost-utility ratios; non-monetary outcomes were described using disease frequency or disease burden measurements. The majority of the studies reported positive or partially positive outcomes. This paper illustrates the variety of health challenges that can be addressed using a One Health approach, and provides tangible quantitative measures that can be used to evaluate future implementations of the One Health approach.

The demarcation of arbitrary boundaries for coastal zone management: the Israeli case.

PubMed

Sas, Eliraz; Fischhendler, Itay; Portman, Michelle E

2010-11-01

Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) addresses the interconnections, complexities, and conflicts between many users of the coastal area with different goals. It requires setting managerial boundaries that capture many elements of human and natural systems. Experience teaches us that without a directed effort managerial rules and laws are not likely to coincide with the physical sensitivity of units that reflect different environmental characteristics of the coastal zone. Hence the aim of this study is to explore why coastal managerial boundaries are set arbitrarily and whether and how it is possible to address the problems this poses. We examine what influences the decisions of a new coastal management authority in Israel to determine how this body overcomes the limits of arbitrary boundary demarcation. The study found that real life management succeeded to both address areas outside the arbitrary boundaries and also to respect some of the different socio-economic needs and physical constraints of the coastal sub-units. Israel's Coastal Environment Protection Law allows and, in fact, encourages the regulator to use discretion and to employ various criteria to balance development and conservation. This implies that policy makers are cognizant of a need to balance ecologically-sensitive boundaries that consider the homogeneity of the coast with politically feasible boundaries that are set arbitrarily. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Media coverage of "wise" interventions can reduce concern for the disadvantaged.

PubMed

Ikizer, Elif G; Blanton, Hart

2016-06-01

Recent articulation of the "wise" approach to psychological intervention has drawn attention to the way small, seemingly trivial social psychological interventions can exert powerful, long-term effects. These interventions have been used to address such wide-ranging social issues as the racial achievement gap, environmental conservation, and the promotion of safer sex. Although there certainly are good reasons to seek easier as opposed to harder solutions to social problems, we examine a potentially undesirable effect that can result from common media portrayals of wise interventions. By emphasizing the ease with which interventions help address complex social problems, media reports might decrease sympathy for the individuals assisted by such efforts. Three studies provide evidence for this, showing that media coverage of wise interventions designed to address academic and health disparities increased endorsement of the view that the disadvantaged can solve their problems on their own, and the tendency to blame such individuals for their circumstances. Effects were strongest for interventions targeted at members of a historically disadvantaged group (African Americans as opposed to college students) and when the coverage was read by conservatives as opposed to liberals. Attempts to undermine this effect by introducing cautious language had mixed success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Global change modeling for Northern Eurasia: a review and strategies to move forward

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monier, E.; Kicklighter, D. W.; Sokolov, A. P.; Zhuang, Q.; Sokolik, I. N.; Lawford, R. G.; Kappas, M.; Paltsev, S.; Groisman, P. Y.

2017-12-01

Northern Eurasia is made up of a complex and diverse set of physical, ecological, climatic and human systems, which provide important ecosystem services including the storage of substantial stocks of carbon in its terrestrial ecosystems. At the same time, the region has experienced dramatic climate change, natural disturbances and changes in land management practices over the past century. For these reasons, Northern Eurasia is both a critical region to understand and a complex system with substantial challenges for the modeling community. This review is designed to highlight the state of past and ongoing efforts of the research community to understand and model these environmental, socioeconomic, and climatic changes. We further aim to provide perspectives on the future direction of global change modeling to improve our understanding of the role of Northern Eurasia in the coupled human-Earth system. Modeling efforts have shown that environmental and socioeconomic changes in Northern Eurasia can have major impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems services, environmental sustainability, and the carbon cycle of the region, and beyond. These impacts have the potential to feedback onto and alter the global Earth system. We find that past and ongoing studies have largely focused on specific components of Earth system dynamics and have not systematically examined their feedbacks to the global Earth system and to society. We identify the crucial role of Earth system models in advancing our understanding of feedbacks within the region and with the global system. We further argue for the need for integrated assessment models (IAMs), a suite of models that couple human activity models to Earth system models, which are key to address many emerging issues that require a representation of the coupled human-Earth system.

A review of and perspectives on global change modeling for Northern Eurasia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monier, Erwan; Kicklighter, David W.; Sokolov, Andrei P.; Zhuang, Qianlai; Sokolik, Irina N.; Lawford, Richard; Kappas, Martin; Paltsev, Sergey V.; Groisman, Pavel Ya

2017-08-01

Northern Eurasia is made up of a complex and diverse set of physical, ecological, climatic and human systems, which provide important ecosystem services including the storage of substantial stocks of carbon in its terrestrial ecosystems. At the same time, the region has experienced dramatic climate change, natural disturbances and changes in land management practices over the past century. For these reasons, Northern Eurasia is both a critical region to understand and a complex system with substantial challenges for the modeling community. This review is designed to highlight the state of past and ongoing efforts of the research community to understand and model these environmental, socioeconomic, and climatic changes. We further aim to provide perspectives on the future direction of global change modeling to improve our understanding of the role of Northern Eurasia in the coupled human-Earth system. Modeling efforts have shown that environmental and socioeconomic changes in Northern Eurasia can have major impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems services, environmental sustainability, and the carbon cycle of the region, and beyond. These impacts have the potential to feedback onto and alter the global Earth system. We find that past and ongoing studies have largely focused on specific components of Earth system dynamics and have not systematically examined their feedbacks to the global Earth system and to society. We identify the crucial role of Earth system models in advancing our understanding of feedbacks within the region and with the global system. We further argue for the need for integrated assessment models (IAMs), a suite of models that couple human activity models to Earth system models, which are key to address many emerging issues that require a representation of the coupled human-Earth system.

Commons problems, common ground: Earth-surface dynamics and the social-physical interdisciplinary frontier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazarus, E.

2015-12-01

In the archetypal "tragedy of the commons" narrative, local farmers pasture their cows on the town common. Soon the common becomes crowded with cows, who graze it bare, and the arrangement of open access to a shared resource ultimately fails. The "tragedy" involves social and physical processes, but the denouement depends on who is telling the story. An economist might argue that the system collapses because each farmer always has a rational incentive to graze one more cow. An ecologist might remark that the rate of grass growth is an inherent control on the common's carrying capacity. And a geomorphologist might point out that processes of soil degradation almost always outstrip processes of soil production. Interdisciplinary research into human-environmental systems still tends to favor disciplinary vantages. In the context of Anthropocene grand challenges - including fundamental insight into dynamics of landscape resilience, and what the dominance of human activities means for processes of change and evolution on the Earth's surface - two disciplines in particular have more to talk about than they might think. Here, I use three examples - (1) beach nourishment, (2) upstream/downstream fluvial asymmetry, and (3) current and historical "land grabbing" - to illustrate a range of interconnections between physical Earth-surface science and common-pool resource economics. In many systems, decision-making and social complexity exert stronger controls on landscape expression than do physical geomorphological processes. Conversely, human-environmental research keeps encountering multi-scale, emergent problems of resource use made 'common-pool' by water, nutrient and sediment transport dynamics. Just as Earth-surface research can benefit from decades of work on common-pool resource systems, quantitative Earth-surface science can make essential contributions to efforts addressing complex problems in environmental sustainability.

The Path of Human Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feibel, C. S.

2004-12-01

A complex series of evolutionary steps, contingent upon a dynamic environmental context and a long biological heritage, have led to the ascent of Homo sapiens as a dominant component of the modern biosphere. In a field where missing links still abound and new discoveries regularly overturn theoretical paradigms, our understanding of the path of human evolution has made tremendous advances in recent years. Two major trends characterize the development of the hominin clade subsequent to its origins with the advent of upright bipedalism in the Late Miocene of Africa. One is a diversification into two prominent morphological branches, each with a series of 'twigs' representing evolutionary experimentation at the species or subspecies level. The second important trend, which in its earliest manifestations cannot clearly be ascribed to one or the other branch, is the behavioral complexity of an increasing reliance on technology to expand upon limited inherent morphological specializations and to buffer the organism from its environment. This technological dependence is directly associated with the expansion of hominin range outside Africa by the genus Homo, and is accelerated in the sole extant form Homo sapiens through the last 100 Ka. There are interesting correlates between the evolutionary and behavioral patterns seen in the hominin clade and environmental dynamics of the Neogene. In particular, the tempo of morphological and behavioral innovation may be tracking major events in Neogene climatic development as well as reflecting intervals of variability or stability. Major improvements in analytical techniques, coupled with important new collections and a growing body of contextual data are now making possible the integration of global, regional and local environmental archives with an improved biological understanding of the hominin clade to address questions of coincidence and causality.

Use of amplicon sequencing to improve sensitivity in PCR-based detection of microbial pathogen in environmental samples.

PubMed

Saingam, Prakit; Li, Bo; Yan, Tao

2018-06-01

DNA-based molecular detection of microbial pathogens in complex environments is still plagued by sensitivity, specificity and robustness issues. We propose to address these issues by viewing them as inadvertent consequences of requiring specific and adequate amplification (SAA) of target DNA molecules by current PCR methods. Using the invA gene of Salmonella as the model system, we investigated if next generation sequencing (NGS) can be used to directly detect target sequences in false-negative PCR reaction (PCR-NGS) in order to remove the SAA requirement from PCR. False-negative PCR and qPCR reactions were first created using serial dilutions of laboratory-prepared Salmonella genomic DNA and then analyzed directly by NGS. Target invA sequences were detected in all false-negative PCR and qPCR reactions, which lowered the method detection limits near the theoretical minimum of single gene copy detection. The capability of the PCR-NGS approach in correcting false negativity was further tested and confirmed under more environmentally relevant conditions using Salmonella-spiked stream water and sediment samples. Finally, the PCR-NGS approach was applied to ten urban stream water samples and detected invA sequences in eight samples that would be otherwise deemed Salmonella negative. Analysis of the non-target sequences in the false-negative reactions helped to identify primer dime-like short sequences as the main cause of the false negativity. Together, the results demonstrated that the PCR-NGS approach can significantly improve method sensitivity, correct false-negative detections, and enable sequence-based analysis for failure diagnostics in complex environmental samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.