23 CFR 710.513 - Environmental mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Environmental mitigation. 710.513 Section 710.513...-WAY AND REAL ESTATE Property Acquisition Alternatives § 710.513 Environmental mitigation. (a) The acquisition and maintenance of land for wetlands mitigation, wetlands banking, natural habitat, or other...

23 CFR 710.513 - Environmental mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Environmental mitigation. 710.513 Section 710.513...-WAY AND REAL ESTATE Property Acquisition Alternatives § 710.513 Environmental mitigation. (a) The acquisition and maintenance of land for wetlands mitigation, wetlands banking, natural habitat, or other...

23 CFR 710.513 - Environmental mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Environmental mitigation. 710.513 Section 710.513 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT RIGHT-OF... wetland mitigation sites and other mitigation banks is governed by 23 CFR part 777. (b) Environmental...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan intelligent transportation systems infrastructure in the USA : FY 1997 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

The essence of effective environmental justice practice is summarized in three fundamental principles: (1) Avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects, including social and economic effects,...

Resilience Planning Approaches “Ready-to-Use”: Lessons from EPA Partnerships. How to work with a community to design a nature-based hazard mitigation project

EPA Science Inventory

A fast-paced delivery of approaches developed in EPA partnerships to enable effective inclusion of environmental and social resilience into hazard mitigation planning. This presentation will cover a broad spectrum, from 1) EPA’s role in mitigation, 2) what a Regional Resil...

Nanomaterials in the construction industry: a review of their applications and environmental health and safety considerations.

PubMed

Lee, Jaesang; Mahendra, Shaily; Alvarez, Pedro J J

2010-07-27

The extraordinary chemical and physical properties of materials at the nanometer scale enable novel applications ranging from structural strength enhancement and energy conservation to antimicrobial properties and self-cleaning surfaces. Consequently, manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) and nanocomposites are being considered for various uses in the construction and related infrastructure industries. To achieve environmentally responsible nanotechnology in construction, it is important to consider the lifecycle impacts of MNMs on the health of construction workers and dwellers, as well as unintended environmental effects at all stages of manufacturing, construction, use, demolition, and disposal. Here, we review state-of-the-art applications of MNMs that improve conventional construction materials, suggest likely environmental release scenarios, and summarize potential adverse biological and toxicological effects and their mitigation. Aligned with multidisciplinary assessment of the environmental implications of emerging technologies, this review seeks to promote awareness of potential benefits of MNMs in construction and stimulate the development of guidelines to regulate their use and disposal to mitigate potential adverse effects on human and environmental health.

The effectiveness of the mitigation hierarchy in environmental impact studies on marine ecosystems: A case study in France

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

Jacob, Céline, E-mail: celine.jacob@cefe.cnrs.fr; CREOCEAN, Les Belvédères, Bâtiment B, 128, Avenue de Fès, 34080 Montpellier; Pioch, Sylvain, E-mail: sylvain.pioch@gmail.com

While the development of maritime economic activity is increasingly encouraged, the consideration of its impacts constitutes a real challenge. The limitations of the implementation of the mitigation hierarchy have been widely discussed in scientific literature, yet data on marine biodiversity offset practices remains scarce. In this study, we investigated the use of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) as suitable instruments to achieve the No Net Loss objective. Drawing on a French approach developed for the initial assessment of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, we examined the pressures and impacts related to various marine development projects and the effectiveness of themore » mitigation hierarchy in limiting these. An analysis of 55 recent French environmental impact studies showed that only 7% of the proposed measures had the aim of offsetting predicted degradation of sites of remarkable biodiversity. This can be partly explained by the lack of a clear definition of ‘significant impact’, which varies greatly depending on what is impacted, in turn allowing socio-economic activities to benefit more easily from offset. Furthermore, offsetting does not always constitute the final step of the mitigation hierarchy, highlighting the need to reinforce avoidance and reduction steps. Although we acknowledge the role of EIA in mitigating the negative impacts of development projects, synergies with other European marine environmental policies such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Maritime Spatial Planning directive (MSP) should be developed in order to improve current practices. - Highlights: • Avoidance measures were not well represented in the Environmental Impact Assessments studied. • Few significant residual impacts and measures to offset these were described. • Common biodiversity did not benefit from offset measures. • The equivalency of proposed marine offsets is questionable.« less

Ranking current and prospective NO2 pollution mitigation strategies: An environmental and economic modelling investigation in Oxford Street, London.

PubMed

Jeanjean, A P R; Gallagher, J; Monks, P S; Leigh, R J

2017-06-01

Air pollution continues to be a problem in the urban environment. A range of different pollutant mitigation strategies that promote dispersion and deposition exist, but there is little evidence with respect to their comparative performance from both an environmental and economic perspective. This paper focuses on examining different NO 2 mitigation strategies such as trees, buildings facades coated with photocatalytic paint and solid barriers in Oxford Street in London. The case study findings will support ranking the environmental and economic impacts of these different strategies to improve personal exposure conditions on the footpath and on the road in a real urban street canyon. CFD simulations of airflow and NO 2 dispersion in Oxford Street in London were undertaken using the OpenFOAM software platform with the k-ε model, taking into account local prevailing wind conditions. Trees are shown to be the most cost-effective strategy, with a small reduction in NO 2 concentrations of up to 0.7% on the road. However, solid barriers with and without the application of photocatalytic paint and an innovative material (20 times more expensive than trees) can improve air quality on the footpaths more substantially, up to 7.4%, yet this has a significant detrimental impact on NO 2 concentrations (≤23.8%) on the road. Photocatalytic paint on building surfaces presented a minimal environmental reductions (1.2%) and economic (>100 times more expensive than trees) mitigation strategy. The findings recognised the differences between footpath and road concentrations occurred and that a focused examination of three pollution hotspots can provide more cost effective pollution mitigation. This study considers how a number of pollutant mitigation measures can be applied in a single street canyon and demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of these strategies from economic and environmental perspectives. Further research is required to extrapolate the findings presented here to different street geometries. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Mission Success and Environmental Protection: Orbital Debris Considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Nicholas

2007-01-01

The current U.S. National Space Policy specifically calls on U.S. Government entities "to follow the United States Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices, consistent with mission requirements and cost effectiveness, in the procurement and operation of spacecraft, launch services, and the operation of tests and experiments in space. Early assessment (pre-PDR) of orbital debris mitigation compliance is essential to minimize development impacts. Orbital debris mitigation practices today are the most effective means to protect the near-Earth space environment for future missions.

Develop an asset management tool for collecting and tracking commitments on selected environmental mitigation features.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

Wisconsin has constructed many environmental mitigation projects in conjunction with transportation projects that have been implemented according : to the National Environmental Policy Act. Other mitigation projects have been constructed pursuant to ...

ODOT research news : fall 2004.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-01-01

ODOT research newsletter includes: 1) project solicitation and selection. 2) GIS mapping and environmental justice which environmental justice requires ODOT to avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse effects of its activities...

Space Debris: Its Causes and Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Nicholas L.

2002-01-01

Orbital debris is internationally recognized as an environmental issue which needs to be addressed today to preserve near-Earth space for future generations. All major space agencies are committed to mitigating the growth of the debris environment. Many commercial space system operators have responded positively to orbital debris mitigation principles and recommendations. Orbital debris mitigation measures are most cost-effective if included in the design development phase.

Northeast Oregon Wildlife Mitigation Project : Final Environmental Assessment.

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

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Nez Perce Tribe

1996-08-01

Development of the hydropower system in the Columbia River Basin has had far-reaching effects on many species of wildlife. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is responsible for mitigating the loss of wildlife habitat caused by the Federal portion of this system, as allocated to the purpose of power production. BPA needs to mitigate for loss of wildlife habitat in the Snake River Subbasin.

Environmental Health Assessment for Pyrotechnic Perchlorate Elimination/Mitigation Program for M118/M119 Simulators

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-11

evaluated. When toxicity data were not available, criteria were modeled using QSAR approaches. 3 Toxicology Report No. 87-XE-074Z-09C g. Potential...Environmental Health Assessment for Work Unit PYRO 06-08, Pyrotechnic Perchlorate Elimination/Mitigation Program for M118/M119 Simulators, Toxicology ...Directorate of Toxicology , Health Effects Research Program. He may be contacted at DSN (312) 584-7159 or commercial (410) 436-7159. FOR THE COMMANDER

Shelf life extension as solution for environmental impact mitigation: A case study for bakery products.

PubMed

Bacenetti, Jacopo; Cavaliere, Alessia; Falcone, Giacomo; Giovenzana, Valentina; Banterle, Alessandro; Guidetti, Riccardo

2018-06-15

Over the last years, increasing attention has been paid to environmental concerns related to food production and potential solutions to this issue. Among the different strategies being considered to reduce the impact food production has on the environment, only moderate has been paid to the extension of shelf life; a longer shelf life can reduce food losses as well as the economic and environmental impacts of the distribution logistics. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental performance of whole-wheat breadsticks with extended shelf lives and to evaluate whether the shelf-life extension is an effective mitigation solution from an environmental point of view. To this purpose, the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was applied from a "cradle-to-grave" perspective. Rosmarinic acid was used as an antioxidant to extend the shelf life. To test the robustness of the results and to investigate the influence of the choices made in the modelling phase, a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis were carried out. The achieved results highlighted how, for 10 of the 12 evaluated impact categories, the shelf-life extension is a proper mitigation solution, and its effectiveness depends on the magnitude of product loss reduction that is achieved. The shelf-life extension doesn't allow for the reduction of environmental impact in the categories of human toxicity, cancer effects and freshwater eutrophication. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

15 CFR 971.604 - Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Best available technologies (BAT) and... Environmental Effects § 971.604 Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation. (a) The Administrator shall..., NOAA is unable either to specify particular equipment or procedures comprising BAT or to define...

15 CFR 971.604 - Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Best available technologies (BAT) and... Environmental Effects § 971.604 Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation. (a) The Administrator shall..., NOAA is unable either to specify particular equipment or procedures comprising BAT or to define...

15 CFR 971.604 - Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Best available technologies (BAT) and... Environmental Effects § 971.604 Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation. (a) The Administrator shall..., NOAA is unable either to specify particular equipment or procedures comprising BAT or to define...

15 CFR 971.604 - Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Best available technologies (BAT) and... Environmental Effects § 971.604 Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation. (a) The Administrator shall..., NOAA is unable either to specify particular equipment or procedures comprising BAT or to define...

15 CFR 971.604 - Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Best available technologies (BAT) and... Environmental Effects § 971.604 Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation. (a) The Administrator shall..., the use of the best available technologies for the protection of safety, health, and the environment...

Current available strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in livestock systems: an animal welfare perspective.

PubMed

Llonch, P; Haskell, M J; Dewhurst, R J; Turner, S P

2017-02-01

Livestock production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so will play a significant role in the mitigation effort. Recent literature highlights different strategies to mitigate GHG emissions in the livestock sector. Animal welfare is a criterion of sustainability and any strategy designed to reduce the carbon footprint of livestock production should consider animal welfare amongst other sustainability metrics. We discuss and tabulate the likely relationships and trade-offs between the GHG mitigation potential of mitigation strategies and their welfare consequences, focusing on ruminant species and on cattle in particular. The major livestock GHG mitigation strategies were classified according to their mitigation approach as reducing total emissions (inhibiting methane production in the rumen), or reducing emissions intensity (Ei; reducing CH4 per output unit without directly targeting methanogenesis). Strategies classified as antimethanogenic included chemical inhibitors, electron acceptors (i.e. nitrates), ionophores (i.e. Monensin) and dietary lipids. Increasing diet digestibility, intensive housing, improving health and welfare, increasing reproductive efficiency and breeding for higher productivity were categorized as strategies that reduce Ei. Strategies that increase productivity are very promising ways to reduce the livestock carbon footprint, though in intensive systems this is likely to be achieved at the cost of welfare. Other strategies can effectively reduce GHG emissions whilst simultaneously improving animal welfare (e.g. feed supplementation or improving health). These win-win strategies should be strongly supported as they address both environmental and ethical sustainability. In order to identify the most cost-effective measures for improving environmental sustainability of livestock production, the consequences of current and future strategies for animal welfare must be scrutinized and contrasted against their effectiveness in mitigating climate change.

Assessing the effectiveness of vegetative environmental buffers in mitigating air pollutant emissions from poultry houses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over 560 million broilers are produced on the Delmarva Peninsula each year. However, emissions from poultry houses have come under intense scrutiny due to the potential human and environmental effects of the released particulate matter (PM), ammonia, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Ammonia an...

National environmental observing system to mitigate the effects of nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) attacks: strategic and tactical

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleming, Rex J.

2003-09-01

The challenge of obtaining an adequate environmental support system to help mitigate the effects of various terrorist generated plumes is articulated and a fiscally responsible solution is presented. A substantially improved national system of upper air data observing systems serves as a powerful information source prior to a terrorist event. A mobile tactical observing system for measuring the environment and for measuring the composition and intensity of the plume is implemented immediately following an event. Only proven and tested technologies are used. Program costs, benefits for the fight against terrorism, and multiple benefits to other aspects of the economy are summarized.

Environmental potentials of policy instruments to mitigate nutrient emissions in Chinese livestock production.

PubMed

Zheng, Chaohui; Liu, Yi; Bluemling, Bettina; Mol, Arthur P J; Chen, Jining

2015-01-01

To minimize negative environmental impact of livestock production, policy-makers face a challenge to design and implement more effective policy instruments for livestock farmers at different scales. This research builds an assessment framework on the basis of an agent-based model, named ANEM, to explore nutrient mitigation potentials of five policy instruments, using pig production in Zhongjiang county, southwest China, as the empirical filling. The effects of different policy scenarios are simulated and compared using four indicators and differentiating between small, medium and large scale pig farms. Technology standards, biogas subsidies and information provisioning prove to be the most effective policies, while pollution fees and manure markets fail to environmentally improve manure management in pig livestock farming. Medium-scale farms are the more relevant scale category for a more environmentally sound development of Chinese livestock production. A number of policy recommendations are formulated as conclusion, as well as some limitations and prospects of the simulations are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of vegetation in mitigating air quality impacts from ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On Apri1 27-28, 2019, a multi-disciplinary group of researchers and po1icymakers met to discuss the state-of-the-science regarding the potential of roadside vegetation to mitigate near-road air quality impacts. Concerns over population exposures to traffic-generated pollutants near roads have grown with an increasing number of health studies reporting links between proximity to roads and adverse health effects. A recent EM article described how roadway design, including the presence of roadside vegetation, may be a means of mitigating air pollutant concentrations near roads. As a first step in evaluating this concept, representatives from government agencies, academia, state and local agencies, and non-governmental environmental organizations with expertise in air quality, urban forestry, ecosystem services, and environmental policy reviewed the current science and identified future activities in evaluating the potential role of vegetation in mitigating near-road air pollutant concentrations. journal article

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

Thurman, J.

Can operating companies cost-effectively manage environmental risks, meet compliance requirements and attain financial and market-oriented goals? Yes, if top management fully supports incorporating environmental-risk issues into the corporate management system. Using evaluation tools such as risk assessment and environmental audits, operators can fully define their environment condition and risk level. Working these results, HPI companies can take action to reduce the probability of environmental accidents and mitigate adverse event effects. Adopting this top-down, proactive outlook, organizations can evade environmental catastrophes, avoid negative public image and prevent ruined reputations.

Forest environmental investments and implications for climate change mitigation.

Treesearch

Ralph J. Alig; Lucas S. Bair

2006-01-01

Forest environmental conditions are affected by climate change, but investments in forest environmental quality can be used as part of the climate change mitigation strategy. A key question involving the potential use of forests to store more carbon as part of climate change mitigation is the impact of forest investments on the timing and quantity of forest volumes...

The use of regional advance mitigation planning (RAMP) to integrate transportation infrastructure impacts with sustainability; a perspective from the USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorne, James H.; Huber, Patrick R.; O'Donoghue, Elizabeth; Santos, Maria J.

2014-05-01

Globally, urban areas are expanding, and their regional, spatially cumulative, environmental impacts from transportation projects are not typically assessed. However, incorporation of a Regional Advance Mitigation Planning (RAMP) framework can promote more effective, ecologically sound, and less expensive environmental mitigation. As a demonstration of the first phase of the RAMP framework, we assessed environmental impacts from 181 planned transportation projects in the 19 368 km2 San Francisco Bay Area. We found that 107 road and railroad projects will impact 2411-3490 ha of habitat supporting 30-43 threatened or endangered species. In addition, 1175 ha of impacts to agriculture and native vegetation are expected, as well as 125 crossings of waterways supporting anadromous fish species. The extent of these spatially cumulative impacts shows the need for a regional approach to associated environmental offsets. Many of the impacts were comprised of numerous small projects, where project-by-project mitigation would result in increased transaction costs, land costs, and lost project time. Ecological gains can be made if a regional approach is taken through the avoidance of small-sized reserves and the ability to target parcels for acquisition that fit within conservation planning designs. The methods are straightforward, and can be used in other metropolitan areas.

30 CFR 580.29 - Will BOEM monitor the environmental effects of my activity?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Will BOEM monitor the environmental effects of my activity? 580.29 Section 580.29 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF... research activities for adverse impact on the environment to determine the need for mitigation measures. ...

30 CFR 580.29 - Will BOEM monitor the environmental effects of my activity?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Will BOEM monitor the environmental effects of my activity? 580.29 Section 580.29 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF... research activities for adverse impact on the environment to determine the need for mitigation measures. ...

30 CFR 580.29 - Will BOEM monitor the environmental effects of my activity?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Will BOEM monitor the environmental effects of my activity? 580.29 Section 580.29 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF... research activities for adverse impact on the environment to determine the need for mitigation measures. ...

Applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process to Oil Sands Environmental Compliance Risk Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roux, Izak Johannes, III

Oil companies in Alberta, Canada, invested $32 billion on new oil sands projects in 2013. Despite the size of this investment, there is a demonstrable deficiency in the uniformity and understanding of environmental legislation requirements that manifest into increased project compliance risks. This descriptive study developed 2 prioritized lists of environmental regulatory compliance risks and mitigation strategies and used multi-criteria decision theory for its theoretical framework. Information from compiled lists of environmental compliance risks and mitigation strategies was used to generate a specialized pairwise survey, which was piloted by 5 subject matter experts (SMEs). The survey was validated by a sample of 16 SMEs, after which the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank a total of 33 compliance risks and 12 mitigation strategy criteria. A key finding was that the AHP is a suitable tool for ranking of compliance risks and mitigation strategies. Several working hypotheses were also tested regarding how SMEs prioritized 1 compliance risk or mitigation strategy compared to another. The AHP showed that regulatory compliance, company reputation, environmental compliance, and economics ranked the highest and that a multi criteria mitigation strategy for environmental compliance ranked the highest. The study results will inform Alberta oil sands industry leaders about the ranking and utility of specific compliance risks and mitigations strategies, enabling them to focus on actions that will generate legislative and public trust. Oil sands leaders implementing a risk management program using the risks and mitigation strategies identified in this study will contribute to environmental conservation, economic growth, and positive social change.

The effectiveness of mitigation for reducing radon risk in single-family Minnesota homes.

PubMed

Steck, Daniel J

2012-09-01

Increased lung cancer incidence has been linked with long-term exposure to elevated residential radon. Experimental studies have shown that soil ventilation can be effective in reducing radon concentrations in single-family homes. Most radon mitigation systems in the U.S. are installed by private contractors. The long-term effectiveness of these systems is not well known, since few state radon programs regulate or independently confirm post-mitigation radon concentrations. The effectiveness of soil ventilation systems in Minnesota was measured for 140 randomly selected clients of six professional mitigators. Homeowners reported pre-mitigation radon screening concentrations that averaged 380 Bq m (10.3 pCi L). Long term post-mitigation radon measurements on the two lowest floors show that, even years after mitigation, 97% of these homes have concentrations below the 150 Bq m U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action level. The average post-mitigation radon in the houses was 30 Bq m, an average observed reduction of >90%. If that reduction was maintained over the lifetime of the 1.2 million Minnesotans who currently reside in single-family homes with living space radon above the EPA action level, approximately 50,000 lives could be extended for nearly two decades by preventing radon-related lung cancers.

Where to plant urban trees? A spatially explicit methodology to explore ecosystem service tradeoffs

Treesearch

E.W. Bodnaruk; C.N. Kroll; Y. Yang; S. Hirabayashi; David Nowak; T.A. Endreny

2017-01-01

Urban trees can help mitigate some of the environmental degradation linked to the rapid urbanization of humanity. Many municipalities are implementing ambitious tree planting programs to help remove air pollution, mitigate urban heat island effects, and provide other ecosystem services and benefits but lack quantitative tools to explore priority planting locations and...

Perception of Urban Environmental Risks and the Effects of Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs) on Human Well-being in Four Public Green Spaces of Guangzhou, China.

PubMed

Duan, Junya; Wang, Yafei; Fan, Chen; Xia, Beicheng; de Groot, Rudolf

2018-05-28

Cities face many challenging environmental problems that affect human well-being. Environmental risks can be reduced by Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs). The effects of UGIs on the urban environment have been widely studied, but less attention has been given to the public perception of these effects. This paper presents the results of a study in Guangzhou, China, on UGI users' perceptions of these effects and their relationship with sociodemographic variables. A questionnaire survey was conducted in four public green spaces. Descriptive statistics, a binary logistic regression model and cross-tabulation analysis were applied on the data from 396 valid questionnaires. The results show that UGI users were more concerned about poor air quality and high temperature than about flooding events. Their awareness of environmental risks was partly in accordance with official records. Regarding the perception of the impacts of environmental risks on human well-being, elderly and female respondents with higher education levels were the most sensitive to these impacts. The respondents' perceptions of these impacts differed among the different green spaces. The effects of UGIs were well perceived and directly observed by the UGI users, but were not significantly influenced by most sociodemographic variables. Moreover, tourists had a lower perception of the impacts of environmental risks and the effects of UGI than residents did. This study provides strong support for UGIs as an effective tool to mitigate environmental risks. Local governments should consider the role of UGIs in environmental risk mitigation and human well-being with regard to urban planning and policy making.

Betweenness-Based Method to Identify Critical Transmission Sectors for Supply Chain Environmental Pressure Mitigation.

PubMed

Liang, Sai; Qu, Shen; Xu, Ming

2016-02-02

To develop industry-specific policies for mitigating environmental pressures, previous studies primarily focus on identifying sectors that directly generate large amounts of environmental pressures (a.k.a. production-based method) or indirectly drive large amounts of environmental pressures through supply chains (e.g., consumption-based method). In addition to those sectors as important environmental pressure producers or drivers, there exist sectors that are also important to environmental pressure mitigation as transmission centers. Economy-wide environmental pressure mitigation might be achieved by improving production efficiency of these key transmission sectors, that is, using less upstream inputs to produce unitary output. We develop a betweenness-based method to measure the importance of transmission sectors, borrowing the betweenness concept from network analysis. We quantify the betweenness of sectors by examining supply chain paths extracted from structural path analysis that pass through a particular sector. We take China as an example and find that those critical transmission sectors identified by betweenness-based method are not always identifiable by existing methods. This indicates that betweenness-based method can provide additional insights that cannot be obtained with existing methods on the roles individual sectors play in generating economy-wide environmental pressures. Betweenness-based method proposed here can therefore complement existing methods for guiding sector-level environmental pressure mitigation strategies.

Avoiding an uncertain catastrophe: Climate change mitigation under risk and wealth heterogeneity

Treesearch

Thomas C. Brown; Stephan Kroll

2017-01-01

For environmental problems such as climate change, uncertainty about future conditions makes it difficult to know what the goal of mitigation efforts should be, and inequality among the affected parties makes it hard for them to know how much they each should do toward reaching the goal. We examine the effects of scientific uncertainty and wealth inequality in...

Mitigating with macrophytes: submersed plants reduce the toxicity of pesticide-contaminated water to zooplankton.

PubMed

Brogan, William R; Relyea, Rick A

2013-03-01

In ecotoxicology, appreciation is growing for the influence that ecological interactions have on the toxicity of contaminants, such as insecticides, to sensitive species. Most previous studies, however, have focused on factors that exacerbate insecticide effects on species, while factors that may mitigate these effects have been relatively ignored. In aquatic habitats, a small number of studies have shown that submersed macrophytes can remove some insecticides from the water column via sorption. Although examining sorption dynamics is important for understanding the environmental fate of insecticides, whether and to what extent macrophytes actually mitigate insecticide effects on aquatic species remains unknown. In the present study, the authors examined how much and how quickly several realistic densities of the macrophyte Elodea canadensis decreased the toxicity of the insecticide malathion to Daphnia magna, a keystone aquatic herbivore. To do this, the authors quantified Daphnia survival in outdoor test systems (0.95 L) exposed to a factorial combination of five Elodea densities crossed with five malathion concentrations. The authors discovered that malathion's lethality to Daphnia decreased with increasing Elodea density. Furthermore, the rate at which Elodea reduced malathion's toxicity in the water column increased with macrophyte density. These results provide strong evidence that submersed macrophytes can mitigate the ecological impacts of a popular insecticide and further support that ecological interactions can strongly influence contaminant environmental effects. Copyright © 2013 SETAC.

75 FR 8046 - National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Draft Guidance, “NEPA Mitigation and Monitoring.”

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-23

... COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Draft Guidance, ``NEPA Mitigation and Monitoring.'' AGENCY: Council On Environmental Quality. ACTION: Notice of Availability, Draft... Quality (CEQ) announced four steps to modernize, reinvigorate, and ease the use and increase the...

Land use and management change under climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies: a U.S. case study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mu, Jianhong E.; Wein, Anne; McCarl, Bruce

2015-01-01

We examine the effects of crop management adaptation and climate mitigation strategies on land use and land management, plus on related environmental and economic outcomes. We find that crop management adaptation (e.g. crop mix, new species) increases Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1.7 % under a more severe climate projection while a carbon price reduces total forest and agriculture GHG annual flux by 15 % and 9 %, respectively. This shows that trade-offs are likely between mitigation and adaptation. Climate change coupled with crop management adaptation has small and mostly negative effects on welfare; mitigation, which is implemented as a carbon price starting at $15 per metric ton carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent with a 5 % annual increase rate, bolsters welfare carbon payments. When both crop management adaptation and carbon price are implemented the effects of the latter dominates.

Policy Directions Addressing the Public Health Impact of Climate Change in South Korea: The Climate-change Health Adaptation and Mitigation Program

PubMed Central

Shin, Yong Seung

2012-01-01

Climate change, caused by global warming, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to mankind's survival. Climate change concurrently has both direct and modifying influences on environmental, social, and public health systems undermining human health as a whole. Environmental health policy-makers need to make use of political and technological alternatives to address these ramifying effects. The objective of this paper is to review public health policy in Korea, as well as internationally, particularly as it relates to climate change health adaptation and mitigation programs (such as C-CHAMP of Korea), in order to assess and elicit directions for a robust environmental health policy that is adaptive to the health impacts of climate change. In Korea, comprehensive measures to prevent or mitigate overall health effects are limited, and the diffusion of responsibility among various government departments makes consistency in policy execution very difficult. This paper proposes integration, synergy, and utilization as the three core principles of policy direction for the assessment and adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. For specific action plans, we suggest policy making based on scientifically integrated health impact assessments and the prioritization of environmental factors in climate change; the development of practical and technological tools that support policy decisions by making their political implementation more efficient; and customized policy development that deals with the vulnerability of local communities. PMID:23256088

Policy Directions Addressing the Public Health Impact of Climate Change in South Korea: The Climate-change Health Adaptation and Mitigation Program.

PubMed

Shin, Yong Seung; Ha, Jongsik

2012-01-01

Climate change, caused by global warming, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to mankind's survival. Climate change concurrently has both direct and modifying influences on environmental, social, and public health systems undermining human health as a whole. Environmental health policy-makers need to make use of political and technological alternatives to address these ramifying effects. The objective of this paper is to review public health policy in Korea, as well as internationally, particularly as it relates to climate change health adaptation and mitigation programs (such as C-CHAMP of Korea), in order to assess and elicit directions for a robust environmental health policy that is adaptive to the health impacts of climate change. In Korea, comprehensive measures to prevent or mitigate overall health effects are limited, and the diffusion of responsibility among various government departments makes consistency in policy execution very difficult. This paper proposes integration, synergy, and utilization as the three core principles of policy direction for the assessment and adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. For specific action plans, we suggest policy making based on scientifically integrated health impact assessments and the prioritization of environmental factors in climate change; the development of practical and technological tools that support policy decisions by making their political implementation more efficient; and customized policy development that deals with the vulnerability of local communities.

Evaluating the effectiveness of vegetative environmental buffers in mitigating particulate matter emissions from poultry houses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from animal operations have been identified as a major air pollutant source with health and environmental impacts. Nearly 600 million broilers are produced annually on the Delmarva Peninsula, making it a hot spot for particulate matter emissions from poultry houses....

Forecasting the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on polar bears

Treesearch

Todd C. Atwood; Bruce G. Marcot; David C. Douglas; Steven C. Amstrup; Karyn D. Rode; George M. Durner; Jeffrey F. Bromaghin

2016-01-01

Effective conservation planning requires understanding and ranking threats to wildlife populations. We developed a Bayesian network model to evaluate the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic stressors, and their mitigation, on the persistence of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Overall sea ice conditions, affected by rising global...

REMEDIAL DREDGING AND EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: EXAMPLES FROM THE NEW BEDFORD HARBOR, MA SUPERFUND SITE

EPA Science Inventory

Currently, there is an on-going national debate questioning whether remedial dredging can be conducted without causing environmental harm. Two common assertions are that: 1) dredging contaminated sediment will do more harm than good, and 2) natural processes will eventually mitig...

Valuing risks to the environment

Treesearch

Robin Gregory; Thomas C. Brown; Jack L. Knetsch

1996-01-01

Increasing awareness of exposure to environmental risks has focused attention on measures that would give greater assurance that such risks are effectively managed and that the adverse consequences of risky activities are mitigated. Implementing such actions is made more difficult by the uncertainties of environmental changes, their often delayed impacts, the great...

Promoting pro-environmental action in climate change deniers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bain, Paul G.; Hornsey, Matthew J.; Bongiorno, Renata; Jeffries, Carla

2012-08-01

A sizeable (and growing) proportion of the public in Western democracies deny the existence of anthropogenic climate change. It is commonly assumed that convincing deniers that climate change is real is necessary for them to act pro-environmentally. However, the likelihood of `conversion' using scientific evidence is limited because these attitudes increasingly reflect ideological positions. An alternative approach is to identify outcomes of mitigation efforts that deniers find important. People have strong interests in the welfare of their society, so deniers may act in ways supporting mitigation efforts where they believe these efforts will have positive societal effects. In Study 1, climate change deniers (N=155) intended to act more pro-environmentally where they thought climate change action would create a society where people are more considerate and caring, and where there is greater economic/technological development. Study 2 (N=347) replicated this experimentally, showing that framing climate change action as increasing consideration for others, or improving economic/technological development, led to greater pro-environmental action intentions than a frame emphasizing avoiding the risks of climate change. To motivate deniers' pro-environmental actions, communication should focus on how mitigation efforts can promote a better society, rather than focusing on the reality of climate change and averting its risks.

CWA Section 404 Mitigation

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Council on Environmental Quality has defined mitigation in its implementing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act to include avoiding, minimizing, rectifying, reducing over time, and compensating for impacts.

43 CFR 46.130 - Mitigation measures in analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Mitigation measures in analyses. 46.130 Section 46.130 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969 Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality § 46.130 Mitigation measures in analyses. (a) Bureau...

Hydropower impacts on reservoir fish populations are modified by environmental variation.

PubMed

Eloranta, Antti P; Finstad, Anders G; Helland, Ingeborg P; Ugedal, Ola; Power, Michael

2018-03-15

Global transition towards renewable energy production has increased the demand for new and more flexible hydropower operations. Before management and stakeholders can make informed choices on potential mitigations, it is essential to understand how the hydropower reservoir ecosystems respond to water level regulation (WLR) impacts that are likely modified by the reservoirs' abiotic and biotic characteristics. Yet, most reservoir studies have been case-specific, which hampers large-scale planning, evaluation and mitigation actions across various reservoir ecosystems. Here, we investigated how the effect of the magnitude, frequency and duration of WLR on fish populations varies along environmental gradients. We used biomass, density, size, condition and maturation of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) in Norwegian hydropower reservoirs as a measure of ecosystem response, and tested for interacting effects of WLR and lake morphometry, climatic conditions and fish community structure. Our results showed that environmental drivers modified the responses of brown trout populations to different WLR patterns. Specifically, brown trout biomass and density increased with WLR magnitude particularly in large and complex-shaped reservoirs, but the positive relationships were only evident in reservoirs with no other fish species. Moreover, increasing WLR frequency was associated with increased brown trout density but decreased condition of individuals within the populations. WLR duration had no significant impacts on brown trout, and the mean weight and maturation length of brown trout showed no significant response to any WLR metrics. Our study demonstrates that local environmental characteristics and the biotic community strongly modify the hydropower-induced WLR impacts on reservoir fishes and ecosystems, and that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to mitigate environmental impacts. This knowledge is vital for sustainable planning, management and mitigation of hydropower operations that need to meet the increasing worldwide demand for both renewable energy and ecosystem services delivered by freshwaters. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact assessment using a utility-based recursive evidential reasoning approach for structural flood mitigation measures in Metro Manila, Philippines.

PubMed

Gilbuena, Romeo; Kawamura, Akira; Medina, Reynaldo; Nakagawa, Naoko; Amaguchi, Hideo

2013-12-15

In recent years, the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) has created significant awareness on the role of environmentally sound projects in sustainable development. In view of the recent studies on the effects of climate change, the Philippine government has given high priority to the construction of flood control structures to alleviate the destructive effects of unmitigated floods, especially in highly urbanized areas like Metro Manila. EIA thus, should be carefully and effectively carried out to maximize or optimize the potential benefits that can be derived from structural flood mitigation measures (SFMMs). A utility-based environmental assessment approach may significantly aid flood managers and decision-makers in planning for effective and environmentally sound SFMM projects. This study proposes a utility-based assessment approach using the rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) technique, coupled with the evidential reasoning approach, to rationally and systematically evaluate the ecological and socio-economic impacts of 4 planned SFMM projects (i.e. 2 river channel improvements and 2 new open channels) in Metro Manila. Results show that the overall environmental effects of each of the planned SFMM projects are positive, which indicate that the utility of the positive impacts would generally outweigh the negative impacts. The results also imply that the planned river channel improvements will yield higher environmental benefits over the planned open channels. This study was able to present a clear and rational approach in the examination of overall environmental effects of SFMMs, which provides valuable insights that can be used by decision-makers and policy makers to improve the EIA practice and evaluation of projects in the Philippines. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Possible environmental effects of increased coal use in California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carey, D. L.

1978-01-01

If coal is to be utilized in California it must be made compatible with the state's drive toward restoring environmental quality. The impacts resulting from coal's mining and transportation, or from water consumption, water quality degradation and electric transmission line routing can probably be adequately mitigated through strong and early planning efforts, the use of improved control and process technologies, and sincere utility commitment. The socioeconomic impacts may prove somewhat more difficult to satisfactorily mitigate. Of greatest concern is adequate control of generated air pollutants and disposal of solid and liquid wastes since acceptable technologies or handling techniques have yet to be conclusively demonstrated.

Occidental Geothermal, Inc. , Oxy Geothermal Power Plant No. 1: draft environmental impact report

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

Not Available

1981-08-01

The following aspects of the proposed geothermal power plant are discussed: the project description; the environment in the vicinity of project as it exists before the project begins, from both a local and regional perspective; the adverse consequences of the project, any significant environmental effects which cannot be avoided, and any mitigation measures to minimize significant effects; the potential feasible alternatives to the proposed project; the significant unavoidable, irreversible, and long-term environmental impacts; and the growth inducing impacts. (MHR)

Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers.

PubMed

Poore, J; Nemecek, T

2018-06-01

Food's environmental impacts are created by millions of diverse producers. To identify solutions that are effective under this heterogeneity, we consolidated data covering five environmental indicators; 38,700 farms; and 1600 processors, packaging types, and retailers. Impact can vary 50-fold among producers of the same product, creating substantial mitigation opportunities. However, mitigation is complicated by trade-offs, multiple ways for producers to achieve low impacts, and interactions throughout the supply chain. Producers have limits on how far they can reduce impacts. Most strikingly, impacts of the lowest-impact animal products typically exceed those of vegetable substitutes, providing new evidence for the importance of dietary change. Cumulatively, our findings support an approach where producers monitor their own impacts, flexibly meet environmental targets by choosing from multiple practices, and communicate their impacts to consumers. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Common and conflicting interests in the engagements between conservation organizations and corporations.

PubMed

Robinson, John G

2012-12-01

The conservation community increasingly views the corporate sector as a positive force for conservation. Collaborations between corporations and nongovernmental conservation organizations (NGOs) seek to mitigate the negative effects of corporate activities and augment positive conservation outcomes. I reviewed the establishment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies by corporations; the emerging focus on environmental practices and sustainability; and the history of engagement between corporations and nongovernmental organizations. I considered the ethical and reputation vulnerabilities of these collaborations, which depend especially on the financial nature of the relationship and reviewed how CSR approaches have influenced corporate practices. I concluded that whereas CSR practices can act to mitigate negative environmental impact, to date they have had limited positive effect on biodiversity conservation. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Governance and networks for health co-benefits of climate change mitigation: Lessons from two Indian cities.

PubMed

Puppim de Oliveira, Jose A; Doll, Christopher N H

2016-12-01

Health has been the main driver for many urban environmental interventions, particularly in cases of significant health problems linked to poor urban environmental conditions. This paper examines empirically the links between climate change mitigation and health in urban areas, when health is the main driver for improvements. The paper aims to understand how systems of urban governance can enable or prevent the creation of health outcomes via continuous improvements in the environmental conditions in a city. The research draws on cases from two Indian cities where initiatives were undertaken in different sectors: Surat (waste) and Delhi (transportation). Using the literature on network effectiveness as an analytical framework, the paper compares the cases to identify the possible ways to strengthen the governance and policy making process in the urban system so that each intervention can intentionally realize multiple impacts for both local health and climate change mitigation in the long term as well as factors that may pose a threat to long-term progress and revert back to the previous situation after initial achievements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Communicating Environmental Risks: Clarifying the Severity Effect in Interpretations of Verbal Probability Expressions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Adam J. L.; Corner, Adam

2011-01-01

Verbal probability expressions are frequently used to communicate risk and uncertainty. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for example, uses them to convey risks associated with climate change. Given the potential for human action to mitigate future environmental risks, it is important to understand how people respond to these…

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

Winkler, Mirko S., E-mail: mirko.winkler@unibas.c; NewFields, LLC, Pretoria 0062; Divall, Mark J., E-mail: mdivall@newfields.co

In the developing world, large-scale projects in the extractive industry and natural resources sectors are often controversial and associated with long-term adverse health consequences to local communities. In many industrialised countries, health impact assessment (HIA) has been institutionalized for the mitigation of anticipated negative health effects while enhancing the benefits of projects, programmes and policies. However, in developing country settings, relatively few HIAs have been performed. Hence, more HIAs with a focus on low- and middle-income countries are needed to advance and refine tools and methods for impact assessment and subsequent mitigation measures. We present a promising HIA approach, developedmore » within the frame of a large gold-mining project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The articulation of environmental health areas, the spatial delineation of potentially affected communities and the use of a diversity of sources to obtain quality baseline health data are utilized for risk profiling. We demonstrate how these tools and data are fed into a risk analysis matrix, which facilitates ranking of potential health impacts for subsequent prioritization of mitigation strategies. The outcomes encapsulate a multitude of environmental and health determinants in a systematic manner, and will assist decision-makers in the development of mitigation measures that minimize potential adverse health effects and enhance positive ones.« less

75 FR 49513 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians 228.04-Acre Fee-to-Trust...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-13

... facility would include a casino floor, food and beverage areas (consisting of a buffet, specialty..., visual resources, cumulative effects, indirect effects, and mitigation measures. The BIA has afforded...

Responsibilities of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Provider in the Treatment and Prevention of Climate Change-Related Health Problems.

PubMed

Perkison, William B; Kearney, Gregory D; Saberi, Pouné; Guidotti, Tee; McCarthy, Ronda; Cook-Shimanek, Margaret; Pensa, Mellisa A; Nabeel, Ismail

2018-02-01

: Workers are uniquely susceptible to the health hazards imposed by environmental changes. Occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) providers are at the forefront of emerging health issues pertaining to working populations including climate change, and must be prepared to recognize, respond to, and mitigate climate change-related health effects in workers. This guidance document from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine focuses on North American workers health effects that may occur as a result of climate change and describes the responsibilities of the OEM provider in responding to these health challenges.

Clays and clay minerals in Bikaner: Sources, environment pollution and management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gayatri, Sharma; Anu, Sharma

2016-05-01

Environmental pollution can also be caused by minerals which include natural as well as human activities. Rapid urbanization, consumerist life style, anthropogenic deeds are increasing environmental pollution day by day. Fluctuation in our ecosystem or polluted environment leads to many diseases and shows adverse effects on living organisms. The main aim of this paper is to highlight the environmental pollution from clays and clay minerals and their mitigation..

Untested pesticide mitigation requirements: ecological, agricultural, and legal implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vyas, Nimish B.

2013-01-01

Every pesticide sold in the United States must have a U.S. Environmental Agency approved label on its container. The label provides directions for the pesticide’s use and is legally enforceable under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. For a pesticide with high ecological risks, mitigation statements may be included on the label to reduce the pesticide’s risks and to support its registration. Many mitigation mandates are easy to implement and are effective, however, at times, well-intentioned but novel and untested mitigation requirements, though theoretically sound, may not be perceived by the pesticide users to be practical under operational settings. Courts of law recognize the pesticide label as a legal document, therefore it is imperative that the label mitigation mandates be achievable. I use the rodenticide Rozol label to illustrate how an untested risk mitigation mandate may be considered too burdensome by pesticide users whereby the mitigation action may not be implemented in the field, resulting in label violation and unreasonable risks to the environment.

Measuring and mitigating inhibition during real-time, quantitative PCR analysis of viral nucleic acid extracts from large-volume environmental water samples

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Naturally-occurring inhibitory compounds are a major concern during qPCR and RT-qPCR analysis of environmental samples, particularly large volume water samples. Here, a standardized method for measuring and mitigating sample inhibition in environmental water concentrates is described. Specifically, ...

Integrated cost-effectiveness analysis of agri-environmental measures for water quality.

PubMed

Balana, Bedru B; Jackson-Blake, Leah; Martin-Ortega, Julia; Dunn, Sarah

2015-09-15

This paper presents an application of integrated methodological approach for identifying cost-effective combinations of agri-environmental measures to achieve water quality targets. The methodological approach involves linking hydro-chemical modelling with economic costs of mitigation measures. The utility of the approach was explored for the River Dee catchment in North East Scotland, examining the cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollutants. In-stream nitrate concentration was modelled using the STREAM-N and phosphorus using INCA-P model. Both models were first run for baseline conditions and then their effectiveness for changes in land management was simulated. Costs were based on farm income foregone, capital and operational expenditures. The costs and effects data were integrated using 'Risk Solver Platform' optimization in excel to produce the most cost-effective combination of measures by which target nutrient reductions could be attained at a minimum economic cost. The analysis identified different combination of measures as most cost-effective for the two pollutants. An important aspect of this paper is integration of model-based effectiveness estimates with economic cost of measures for cost-effectiveness analysis of land and water management options. The methodological approach developed is not limited to the two pollutants and the selected agri-environmental measures considered in the paper; the approach can be adapted to the cost-effectiveness analysis of any catchment-scale environmental management options. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Collective Response of Leaf-Cutting Ants to the Effects of Wind on Foraging Activity.

PubMed

Alma, Andrea Marina; Farji-Brener, Alejandro G; Elizalde, Luciana

2016-11-01

One advantage of sociality is to mitigate environmental restrictions through collective behavior. Here we document a colony-level response of leaf-cutting ants to wind, an environmental factor that impedes foraging. Given that larger ants adhere more strongly to the substrate, increasing forager size in windy conditions should reduce the negative effect of wind. We tested this idea for Acromyrmex lobicornis in windy regions of Patagonia. We examined (1) whether the fraction of larger ants versus smaller ants increased in windy conditions and (2) whether the effect of wind on the ants' movement was lower for larger ants. The size-frequency distribution of foragers was skewed more toward larger ants in nature under more windy conditions. Under windy conditions in the field, the mobility of smaller ants was more reduced than that of larger ants. The change toward larger foragers in windy conditions reduced the negative effect of wind by 32%, illustrating how a social organism can collectively mitigate the adverse effects of the environment.

Polymer Coated Urea in Turfgrass Maintains Vigor and Mitigates Nitrogen's Environmental Impacts

PubMed Central

LeMonte, Joshua J.; Jolley, Von D.; Summerhays, Jeffrey S.; Terry, Richard E.; Hopkins, Bryan G.

2016-01-01

Polymer coated urea (PCU) is a N fertilizer which, when added to moist soil, uses temperature-controlled diffusion to regulate N release in matching plant demand and mitigate environmental losses. Uncoated urea and PCU were compared for their effects on gaseous (N2O and NH3) and aqueous (NO3-) N environmental losses in cool season turfgrass over the entire PCU N-release period. Field studies were conducted on established turfgrass sites with mixtures of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) in sand and loam soils. Each study compared 0 kg N ha-1 (control) to 200 kg N ha-1 applied as either urea or PCU (Duration 45CR®). Application of urea resulted in 127–476% more evolution of measured N2O into the atmosphere, whereas PCU was similar to background emission levels from the control. Compared to urea, PCU reduced NH3 emissions by 41–49% and N2O emissions by 45–73%, while improving growth and verdure compared to the control. Differences in leachate NO3- among urea, PCU and control were inconclusive. This improvement in N management to ameliorate atmospheric losses of N using PCU will contribute to conserving natural resources and mitigating environmental impacts of N fertilization in turfgrass. PMID:26764908

14 CFR 1216.309 - Mitigation and monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Mitigation and monitoring. 1216.309 Section... Mitigation and monitoring. When the analysis proceeds to an EA or EIS and mitigation measures are selected to avoid or reduce environmental impacts, such mitigation measures will be identified in the EA/FONSI or...

A conceptual framework for hydropeaking mitigation.

PubMed

Bruder, Andreas; Tonolla, Diego; Schweizer, Steffen P; Vollenweider, Stefan; Langhans, Simone D; Wüest, Alfred

2016-10-15

Hydropower plants are an important source of renewable energy. In the near future, high-head storage hydropower plants will gain further importance as a key element of large-scale electricity production systems. However, these power plants can cause hydropeaking which is characterized by intense unnatural discharge fluctuations in downstream river reaches. Consequences on environmental conditions in these sections are diverse and include changes to the hydrology, hydraulics and sediment regime on very short time scales. These altered conditions affect river ecosystems and biota, for instance due to drift and stranding of fishes and invertebrates. Several structural and operational measures exist to mitigate hydropeaking and the adverse effects on ecosystems, but estimating and predicting their ecological benefit remains challenging. We developed a conceptual framework to support the ecological evaluation of hydropeaking mitigation measures based on current mitigation projects in Switzerland and the scientific literature. We refined this framework with an international panel of hydropeaking experts. The framework is based on a set of indicators, which covers all hydrological phases of hydropeaking and the most important affected abiotic and biotic processes. Effects of mitigation measures on these indicators can be predicted quantitatively using prediction tools such as discharge scenarios and numerical habitat models. Our framework allows a comparison of hydropeaking effects among alternative mitigation measures, to the pre-mitigation situation, and to reference river sections. We further identified key issues that should be addressed to increase the efficiency of current and future projects. They include the spatial and temporal context of mitigation projects, the interactions of river morphology with hydropeaking effects, and the role of appropriate monitoring to evaluate the success of mitigation projects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantifying Process-Based Mitigation Strategies in Historical Context: Separating Multiple Cumulative Effects on River Meander Migration

PubMed Central

Fremier, Alexander K.; Girvetz, Evan H.; Greco, Steven E.; Larsen, Eric W.

2014-01-01

Environmental legislation in the US (i.e. NEPA) requires defining baseline conditions on current rather than historical ecosystem conditions. For ecosystems with long histories of multiple environmental impacts, this baseline method can subsequently lead to a significantly altered environment; this has been termed a ‘sliding baseline’. In river systems, cumulative effects caused by flow regulation, channel revetment and riparian vegetation removal significantly impact floodplain ecosystems by altering channel dynamics and precluding subsequent ecosystem processes, such as primary succession. To quantify these impacts on floodplain development processes, we used a model of river channel meander migration to illustrate the degree to which flow regulation and riprap impact migration rates, independently and synergistically, on the Sacramento River in California, USA. From pre-dam conditions, the cumulative effect of flow regulation alone on channel migration is a reduction by 38%, and 42–44% with four proposed water diversion project scenarios. In terms of depositional area, the proposed water project would reduce channel migration 51–71 ha in 130 years without current riprap in place, and 17–25 ha with riprap. Our results illustrate the utility of a modeling approach for quantifying cumulative impacts. Model-based quantification of environmental impacts allow scientists to separate cumulative and synergistic effects to analytically define mitigation measures. Additionally, by selecting an ecosystem process that is affected by multiple impacts, it is possible to consider process-based mitigation scenarios, such as the removal of riprap, to allow meander migration and create new floodplains and allow for riparian vegetation recruitment. PMID:24964145

Designing better methane mitigation policies: the challenge of distributed small sources in the natural gas sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravikumar, Arvind P.; Brandt, Adam R.

2017-04-01

Methane—a short-lived and potent greenhouse gas—presents a unique challenge: it is emitted from a large number of highly distributed and diffuse sources. In this regard, the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended periodic leak detection and repair surveys at oil and gas facilities using optical gas imaging technology. This regulation requires an operator to fix all detected leaks within a set time period. Whether such ‘find-all-fix-all’ policies are effective depends on significant uncertainties in the character of emissions. In this work, we systematically analyze the effect of facility-related and mitigation-related uncertainties on regulation effectiveness. Drawing from multiple publicly-available datasets, we find that: (1) highly-skewed leak-size distributions strongly influence emissions reduction potential; (2) variations in emissions estimates across facilities leads to large variability in mitigation effectiveness; (3) emissions reductions from optical gas imaging-based leak detection programs can range from 15% to over 70%; and (4) while implementation costs are uniformly lower than EPA estimates, benefits from saved gas are highly variable. Combining empirical evidence with model results, we propose four policy options for effective methane mitigation: performance-oriented targets for accelerated emission reductions, flexible policy mechanisms to account for regional variation, technology-agnostic regulations to encourage adoption of the most cost-effective measures, and coordination with other greenhouse gas mitigation policies to reduce unintended spillover effects.

14 CFR § 1216.309 - Mitigation and monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Mitigation and monitoring. § 1216.309... Mitigation and monitoring. When the analysis proceeds to an EA or EIS and mitigation measures are selected to avoid or reduce environmental impacts, such mitigation measures will be identified in the EA/FONSI or...

The Urban Heat Island Phenomenon and Potential Mitigation Strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Gorsevski, Virginia; Russell, Camille; Quattrochi, Dale; Luvall, Jeffrey

1999-01-01

A survey of urban heat island research is provided to describe how heat islands develop, urban landscape and meteorological characteristics that facilitate development, use of aircraft remote sensing data, and why heat islands are of interest to planners, elected officials, and the public. The roles of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), other federal agencies, national laboratories and universities, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOS) in studying the urban heat island effect and developing mitigation strategies are explored. Barriers that hamper mitigation efforts and case studies in Atlanta and Salt Lake City are discussed.

Progress in Evaluating Quantitative Optical Gas Imaging

EPA Science Inventory

Development of advanced fugitive emission detection and assessment technologies that facilitate cost effective leak and malfunction mitigation strategies is an ongoing goal shared by industry, regulators, and environmental groups. Optical gas imaging (OGI) represents an importan...

Understanding Farmer Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

PubMed Central

Morton, Lois Wright; Hobbs, Jon

2015-01-01

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers’ trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management). PMID:25983336

Response of fish population dynamics to mitigation activities in a large regulated river

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watkins, Carson J.; Ross, Tyler J.; Quist, Michael C.; Hardy, Ryan S.

2017-01-01

Extensive water development in large rivers has precipitated many negative ecological effects on native fish populations. Mitigation for such development often focuses on restoring biological integrity through remediation of the physical and chemical properties of regulated rivers. However, evaluating and defining the success of those programs can be difficult. We modeled the influence of mitigation-related environmental factors on growth and recruitment of two ecologically important native fish species (Largescale Sucker Catostomus macrocheilus and Mountain Whitefish Prosopium williamsoni) in the Kootenai River, Idaho. Artificial nutrient (phosphorus) addition best predicted the variability in annual growth of both species. Nutrient addition was positively related to Largescale Sucker growth but negatively related to Mountain Whitefish growth. The best model explained 82% of the annual variability in incremental growth for Largescale Suckers and 61% of the annual variability for Mountain Whitefish. Year-class strength of Largescale Suckers was not closely related to any of the environmental variables evaluated; however, year-class strength of Mountain Whitefish was closely associated with nutrient addition, discharge, and temperature. Most research has focused on biotic assemblages to evaluate the effects of mitigation activities on fishes, but there is an increased need to identify the influence of rehabilitation activities on fish population dynamics within those assemblages. Here, we demonstrate how fish growth can serve as an indicator of rehabilitation success in a highly regulated large river. Future fish restoration projects can likely benefit from a change in scope and from consideration of an evaluation framework involving the response of population rate functions to mitigation.

Long-term soil monitoring at U.S. Geological Survey reference watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

McHale, Michael R.; Siemion, Jason; Lawrence, Gregory B.; Mast, M. Alisa

2014-01-01

Monitoring the environment by making repeated measurements through time is essential to evaluate and track the health of ecosystems (fig. 1). Long-term datasets produced by such monitoring are indispensable for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental legislation and for designing mitigation strategies to address environmental changes in an era when human activities are altering the environment locally and globally.

The Role of Science in Advising the Decision Making Process: A Pathway for Building Effective Climate Change Mitigation Policies in Mexico at the Local Level.

PubMed

Barraza, Roberto; Velazquez-Angulo, Gilberto; Flores-Tavizón, Edith; Romero-González, Jaime; Huertas-Cardozo, José Ignacio

2016-04-27

This study examines a pathway for building urban climate change mitigation policies by presenting a multi-dimensional and transdisciplinary approach in which technical, economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions interact. Now, more than ever, the gap between science and policymaking needs to be bridged; this will enable judicious choices to be made in regarding energy and climate change mitigation strategies, leading to positive social impacts, in particular for the populations at-risk at the local level. Through a case study in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, we propose a multidimensional and transdisciplinary approach with the role of scientist as policy advisers to improve the role of science in decision-making on mitigation policies at the local level in Mexico.

Lunar Dust: Characterization and Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hyatt. Mark J.; Feighery, John

2007-01-01

Lunar dust is a ubiquitous phenomenon which must be explicitly addressed during upcoming human lunar exploration missions. Near term plans to revisit the moon as a stepping stone for further exploration of Mars, and beyond, places a primary emphasis on characterization and mitigation of lunar dust. Comprised of regolith particles ranging in size from tens of nanometers to microns, lunar dust is a manifestation of the complex interaction of the lunar soil with multiple mechanical, electrical, and gravitational effects. The environmental and anthropogenic factors effecting the perturbation, transport, and deposition of lunar dust must be studied in order to mitigate it's potentially harmful effects on exploration systems. The same hold true for assessing the risk it may pose for toxicological health problems if inhaled. This paper presents the current perspective and implementation of dust knowledge management and integration, and mitigation technology development activities within NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program. This work is presented within the context of the Constellation Program's Integrated Lunar Dust Management Strategy. This work further outlines the scientific basis for lunar dust behavior, it's characteristics and potential effects, and surveys several potential strategies for its control and mitigation both for lunar surface operations and within the working volumes of a lunar outpost. The paper also presents a perspective on lessons learned from Apollo and forensics engineering studies of Apollo hardware.

Compensatory Mitigation Rule Draft Environmental Assessment

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Draft Compensatory Mitigation Rule intended to promote regulatory efficiency by establishing standards and criteria that would apply to compensatory mitigation required for DA permits issued under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

Evaluation of impacts and mitigation assessments for the UMTRA Project: Gunnison and Durango pilot studies. Final report

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

Beranich, S.J.

1994-08-24

This report evaluates the impacts assessment and proposed mitigations provided in environmental documents concerning the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The projected impacts and proposed mitigations identified in UMTRA Project environmental documents were evaluated for two UMTRA Project sites. These sites are Gunnison and Durango, which are representative of currently active and inactive UMTRA Project sites, respectively. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation was prepared for the remedial action at Durango and Gunnison as well as for the provision of an alternate water supply system at Gunnison. Additionally, environmental analysis was completed formore » mill site demolition Gunnison, and for a new road related to the Durango remedial action. The results in this report pertain only to the impact assessments prepared by the Regulatory Compliance staff as a part of the NEPA compliance requirements. Similarly, the mitigative measures documented are those that were identified during the NEPA process.« less

76 FR 23613 - Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Hazard Mitigation Safe Room Construction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-27

... Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may provide funding to eligible applicants for eligible, feasible, and... from hazards and their effects. One such activity is the construction and installation of safe rooms to...

Compensatory Mitigation Rule Final Environmental Assessment

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EA performed to determine the costs resulting from implementation of the Compensatory Mitigation Rule and the extent to which the rule changes aggregate mitigation costs borne by permittees and Corps administrative burdens and associated costs.

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

10 CFR Appendix B to Subpart A of... - Environmental Effect of Renewing the Operating License of a Nuclear Power Plant

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., from other State or local agencies. Temperature effects on sediment transport capacity 1 SMALL. These... cooling ponds and is not expected to be a problem. Effects of cooling water discharge on dissolved oxygen... mitigated. Eutrophication (nutrient loading) and resulting effects on chemical and biological oxygen demands...

Moving beyond a knowledge deficit perspective to understand climate action by youth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busch, K. C.

2016-12-01

This presentation reports on an experiment testing two framings of uncertainty on students' intent to take action to mitigate climate change. Additionally, to explore possible mechanisms involved in the choice of taking mitigating action, several factors highlighted within behavior theory literature were measured to create a theoretical model for youth's choice to take mitigating action. The factors explored were: knowledge, certainty, affect, efficacy, and social norms. The experiment was conducted with 453 middle and high school students within the Bay Area. Findings indicated that these students did hold a basic understanding of the causes and effects of climate change. They were worried and felt negatively about the topic. They felt somewhat efficacious about their personal ability to mitigate climate change. The students reported that they associated with people who were more likely to think climate change was real and caused by humans. Students also reported that they often take part in private pro-environmental behaviors such as using less electricity. When asked to respond freely to a question about what think about climate change, participants described the negative effects of human-caused climate change on Earth systems at the global scale and as a current phenomenon. The results of the experiment showed that while the text portraying climate change with high uncertainty did affect student's own certainty and their perception of scientists' certainty, it did not affect behavioral intention. This result can be explained through regression analysis. It was found that efficacy and social norms were direct determinants of pro-environmental behaviors. The cognitive variables - knowledge and certainty - and the psychological variable - affect - were not significant predictors of pro-environmental behavior. The implications for this study are that while students hold basic understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, this understanding lacks personal relevance. Another implication of this study is that if we wish to have action-taking as an outcome of climate change education efforts, then the learning activities should include components to address efficacy and social norms.

Ammonia emission mitigation in food waste composting: A review.

PubMed

Wang, Shuguang; Zeng, Yang

2018-01-01

Composting is a reliable technology to treat food waste (FW) and produce high quality compost. The ammonia (NH 3 ) emission accounts for the largest nitrogen loss and leads to various environmental impacts. This review introduced the recent progresses on NH 3 mitigation in FW composting. The basic characteristics of FW from various sources were given. Seven NH 3 emission strategies proven effective in the literature were presented. The links between these strategies and the mechanisms of NH 3 production were addressed. Application of hydrothermally treated C rich substrates, biochar or struvite salts had a broad prospect in FW composting if these strategies were proven cost-effective enough. Regulation of nitrogen assimilation and nitrification using biological additive had the potential to achieve NH 3 mitigation but the existing evidence was not enough. In the end, the future prospects highlighted four research topics that needed further investigation to improve NH 3 mitigation and nitrogen conservation in FW composting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of methods for methyl iodide emission reduction and pest control using a simulation model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Various methods have been developed to reduce atmospheric emissions from the agricultural use of highly volatile pesticides and mitigate their adverse environmental effects. The effectiveness of various methods on emissions reduction and pest control was assessed using simulation model in this study...

Management of Service Projects in Support of Space Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Love, J.

2009-01-01

Goal:To provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration . [HRP-47051] Specific Objectives: 1) Develop capabilities, necessary countermeasures, and technologies in support of human space exploration, focusing on mitigating the highest risks to human health and performance. 2) Define and improve human spaceflight medical, environmental, and human factors standards. 3) Develop technologies that serve to reduce medical and environmental risks, to reduce human systems resource requirements (mass, volume, power, data, etc.) and to ensure effective human-system integration across exploration systems. 4) Ensure maintenance of Agency core competencies necessary to enable risk reduction in the following areas: A. Space medicine B. Physiological and behavioral effects of long duration spaceflight on the human body C. Space environmental effects, including radiation, on human health and performance D. Space "human factors" [HRP-47051]. Service projects can form integral parts of research-based project-focused programs to provide specialized functions. Traditional/classic project management methodologies and agile approaches are not mutually exclusive paradigms. Agile strategies can be combined with traditional methods and applied in the management of service projects functioning in changing environments. Creative collaborations afford a mechanism for mitigation of constrained resource limitations.

Mapping the spatio-temporal risk of lead exposure in apex species for more effective mitigation

PubMed Central

Mateo-Tomás, Patricia; Olea, Pedro P.; Jiménez-Moreno, María; Camarero, Pablo R.; Sánchez-Barbudo, Inés S.; Rodríguez Martín-Doimeadios, Rosa C.; Mateo, Rafael

2016-01-01

Effective mitigation of the risks posed by environmental contaminants for ecosystem integrity and human health requires knowing their sources and spatio-temporal distribution. We analysed the exposure to lead (Pb) in griffon vulture Gyps fulvus—an apex species valuable as biomonitoring sentinel. We determined vultures' lead exposure and its main sources by combining isotope signatures and modelling analyses of 691 bird blood samples collected over 5 years. We made yearlong spatially explicit predictions of the species risk of lead exposure. Our results highlight elevated lead exposure of griffon vultures (i.e. 44.9% of the studied population, approximately 15% of the European, showed lead blood levels more than 200 ng ml−1) partly owing to environmental lead (e.g. geological sources). These exposures to environmental lead of geological sources increased in those vultures exposed to point sources (e.g. lead-based ammunition). These spatial models and pollutant risk maps are powerful tools that identify areas of wildlife exposure to potentially harmful sources of lead that could affect ecosystem and human health. PMID:27466455

Quantifying the effectiveness of air quality mitigation measures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Before Caltrans can deliver any transportation project, the potential air quality impacts from the operation : of the project must be disclosed in its environmental document. If the air emissions are deemed : significant or would contribute to a viol...

Modelling mitigation options to reduce diffuse nitrogen water pollution from agriculture.

PubMed

Bouraoui, Fayçal; Grizzetti, Bruna

2014-01-15

Agriculture is responsible for large scale water quality degradation and is estimated to contribute around 55% of the nitrogen entering the European Seas. The key policy instrument for protecting inland, transitional and coastal water resources is the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Reducing nutrient losses from agriculture is crucial to the successful implementation of the WFD. There are several mitigation measures that can be implemented to reduce nitrogen losses from agricultural areas to surface and ground waters. For the selection of appropriate measures, models are useful for quantifying the expected impacts and the associated costs. In this article we review some of the models used in Europe to assess the effectiveness of nitrogen mitigation measures, ranging from fertilizer management to the construction of riparian areas and wetlands. We highlight how the complexity of models is correlated with the type of scenarios that can be tested, with conceptual models mostly used to evaluate the impact of reduced fertilizer application, and the physically-based models used to evaluate the timing and location of mitigation options and the response times. We underline the importance of considering the lag time between the implementation of measures and effects on water quality. Models can be effective tools for targeting mitigation measures (identifying critical areas and timing), for evaluating their cost effectiveness, for taking into consideration pollution swapping and considering potential trade-offs in contrasting environmental objectives. Models are also useful for involving stakeholders during the development of catchments mitigation plans, increasing their acceptability. © 2013.

Are non-native plants perceived to be more risky? Factors influencing horticulturists' risk perceptions of ornamental plant species.

PubMed

Humair, Franziska; Kueffer, Christoph; Siegrist, Michael

2014-01-01

Horticultural trade is recognized as an important vector in promoting the introduction and dispersal of harmful non-native plant species. Understanding horticulturists' perceptions of biotic invasions is therefore important for effective species risk management. We conducted a large-scale survey among horticulturists in Switzerland (N = 625) to reveal horticulturists' risk and benefit perceptions from ornamental plant species, their attitudes towards the regulation of non-native species, as well as the factors decisive for environmental risk perceptions and horticulturists' willingness to engage in risk mitigation behavior. Our results suggest that perceived familiarity with a plant species had a mitigating effect on risk perceptions, while perceptions of risk increased if a species was perceived to be non-native. However, perceptions of the non-native origin of ornamental plant species were often not congruent with scientific classifications. Horticulturists displayed positive attitudes towards mandatory trade regulations, particularly towards those targeted against known invasive species. Participants also expressed their willingness to engage in risk mitigation behavior. Yet, positive effects of risk perceptions on the willingness to engage in risk mitigation behavior were counteracted by perceptions of benefits from selling non-native ornamental species. Our results indicate that the prevalent practice in risk communication to emphasize the non-native origin of invasive species can be ineffective, especially in the case of species of high importance to local industries and people. This is because familiarity with these plants can reduce risk perceptions and be in conflict with scientific concepts of non-nativeness. In these cases, it might be more effective to focus communication on well-documented environmental impacts of harmful species.

Are Non-Native Plants Perceived to Be More Risky? Factors Influencing Horticulturists' Risk Perceptions of Ornamental Plant Species

PubMed Central

Humair, Franziska; Kueffer, Christoph; Siegrist, Michael

2014-01-01

Horticultural trade is recognized as an important vector in promoting the introduction and dispersal of harmful non-native plant species. Understanding horticulturists' perceptions of biotic invasions is therefore important for effective species risk management. We conducted a large-scale survey among horticulturists in Switzerland (N = 625) to reveal horticulturists' risk and benefit perceptions from ornamental plant species, their attitudes towards the regulation of non-native species, as well as the factors decisive for environmental risk perceptions and horticulturists' willingness to engage in risk mitigation behavior. Our results suggest that perceived familiarity with a plant species had a mitigating effect on risk perceptions, while perceptions of risk increased if a species was perceived to be non-native. However, perceptions of the non-native origin of ornamental plant species were often not congruent with scientific classifications. Horticulturists displayed positive attitudes towards mandatory trade regulations, particularly towards those targeted against known invasive species. Participants also expressed their willingness to engage in risk mitigation behavior. Yet, positive effects of risk perceptions on the willingness to engage in risk mitigation behavior were counteracted by perceptions of benefits from selling non-native ornamental species. Our results indicate that the prevalent practice in risk communication to emphasize the non-native origin of invasive species can be ineffective, especially in the case of species of high importance to local industries and people. This is because familiarity with these plants can reduce risk perceptions and be in conflict with scientific concepts of non-nativeness. In these cases, it might be more effective to focus communication on well-documented environmental impacts of harmful species. PMID:25003195

The Role of Science in Advising the Decision Making Process: A Pathway for Building Effective Climate Change Mitigation Policies in Mexico at the Local Level

PubMed Central

Barraza, Roberto; Velazquez-Angulo, Gilberto; Flores-Tavizón, Edith; Romero-González, Jaime; Huertas-Cardozo, José Ignacio

2016-01-01

This study examines a pathway for building urban climate change mitigation policies by presenting a multi-dimensional and transdisciplinary approach in which technical, economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions interact. Now, more than ever, the gap between science and policymaking needs to be bridged; this will enable judicious choices to be made in regarding energy and climate change mitigation strategies, leading to positive social impacts, in particular for the populations at-risk at the local level. Through a case study in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, we propose a multidimensional and transdisciplinary approach with the role of scientist as policy advisers to improve the role of science in decision-making on mitigation policies at the local level in Mexico. PMID:27128933

Why do some people do "more" to mitigate climate change than others? Exploring heterogeneity in psycho-social associations.

PubMed

Ortega-Egea, José Manuel; García-de-Frutos, Nieves; Antolín-López, Raquel

2014-01-01

The urgency of climate change mitigation calls for a profound shift in personal behavior. This paper investigates psycho-social correlates of extra mitigation behavior in response to climate change, while also testing for potential (unobserved) heterogeneity in European citizens' decision-making. A person's extra mitigation behavior in response to climate change is conceptualized--and differentiated from common mitigation behavior--as some people's broader and greater levels of behavioral engagement (compared to others) across specific self-reported mitigation actions and behavioral domains. Regression analyses highlight the importance of environmental psychographics (i.e., attitudes, motivations, and knowledge about climate change) and socio-demographics (especially country-level variables) in understanding extra mitigation behavior. By looking at the data through the lens of segmentation, significant heterogeneity is uncovered in the associations of attitudes and knowledge about climate change--but not in motivational or socio-demographic links--with extra mitigation behavior in response to climate change, across two groups of environmentally active respondents. The study has implications for promoting more ambitious behavioral responses to climate change, both at the individual level and across countries.

Microbial mitigation-exacerbation continuum: a novel framework for microbiome effects on hosts in the face of stress.

PubMed

David, Aaron S; Thapa-Magar, Khum B; Afkhami, Michelle E

2018-03-01

A key challenge to understanding microbiomes and their role in ecological processes is contextualizing their effects on host organisms, particularly when faced with environmental stress. One influential theory, the Stress Gradient Hypothesis, might predict that the frequency of positive interactions increases with stressful conditions such that microbial taxa would mitigate harmful effects on host performance. Yet, equally plausible is that microbial taxa could exacerbate these effects. Here, we introduce the Mitigation-Exacerbation Continuum as a novel framework to conceptualize microbial mediation of stress. We (1) use this continuum to quantify microbial mediation of stress for six plant species and (2) test the association between these continuum values and natural species' abundance. We factorially manipulated a common stress (allelopathy) and the presence of soil microbes to quantify microbial effects in benign and stressed environments for two critical early life-history metrics, seed germination and seedling biomass. Although we found evidence of both mitigation and exacerbation among the six species, exacerbation was more common. Across species, the degree of microbial-mediated effects on germination explained >80% of the variation of natural field abundances. Our results suggest a critical role of soil microbes in mediating plant stress responses, and a potential microbial mechanism underlying species abundance. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Strategic Environmental Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options in the Canadian Agricultural Sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noble, Bram F.; Christmas, Lisa M.

2008-01-01

This article presents a methodological framework for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) application. The overall objective is to demonstrate SEA as a systematic and structured policy, plan, and program (PPP) decision support tool. In order to accomplish this objective, a stakeholder-based SEA application to greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policy options in Canadian agriculture is presented. Using a mail-out impact assessment exercise, agricultural producers and nonproducers from across the Canadian prairie region were asked to evaluate five competing GHG mitigation options against 13 valued environmental components (VECs). Data were analyzed using multi-criteria and exploratory analytical techniques. The results suggest considerable variation in perceived impacts and GHG mitigation policy preferences, suggesting that a blanket policy approach to GHG mitigation will create gainers and losers based on soil type and associate cropping and on-farm management practices. It is possible to identify a series of regional greenhouse gas mitigation programs that are robust, socially meaningful, and operationally relevant to both agricultural producers and policy decision makers. The assessment demonstrates the ability of SEA to address, in an operational sense, environmental problems that are characterized by conflicting interests and competing objectives and alternatives. A structured and systematic SEA methodology provides the necessary decision support framework for the consideration of impacts, and allows for PPPs to be assessed based on a much broader set of properties, objectives, criteria, and constraints whereas maintaining rigor and accountability in the assessment process.

Southwest regional climate hub and California subsidiary hub assessment of climate change vulnerability and adaptation and mitigation strategies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This report describes the potential vulnerability of specialty crops, field crops, forests, and animal agriculture to climate-driven environmental changes. Here, vulnerability is defined as a function of exposure to climate change effects, sensitivity to these effects, and adaptive capacity. The exp...

Environmental audits and process flow mapping to assess management of solid waste and wastewater from a healthcare facility: an Italian case study.

PubMed

Vaccari, Mentore; Montasser, Waleed; Tudor, Terry; Leone, Luigi

2017-05-01

In Europe, there are an increasing number of policy and legislative drivers for a more sustainable approach to the management of natural resources as well as for the mitigation of environmental health risks. However, despite significant progress in recent years, there is still some way to go to achieve circularity of process, as well as risk mitigation within organisations. Using a case study of the Gardone Val Trompia hospital in northern Italy, this manuscript offers a novel holistic examination of strategies to enhance resource efficiency and environmental health within a key sector, i.e. the healthcare sector. Through the use of environmental audits and process flow mapping, trends in waste and wastewater arisings and the associated financial and environmental costs and risks were identified. Recommendations for developing more resource efficient approaches as well as mitigating the environmental and public health risks are suggested. These include strategies for improved resource efficiency (including reduction in the hazardous waste) and reduced environmental impacts during the containment, transport and treatment of the waste.

Environmental Security Cooperation USARPAC’s: Defense Environmental and International Cooperation (DEIC) Conference (Center of Strategic Leadeship Issue Paper, Volume 07-03, September 2003)

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-01

infrastructure, and providing consequence management and mitigation of man-made and natural disasters. The United States Army, Pacifi c (USARPAC), the Offi...Terrorism, Disaster Response and Consequence Management , and Medical Aspects of Environmental Security. The conference brought together military and...consequence management in maintaining governmental legitimacy, and examine salient military roles in preventing, responding to, and mitigating natural

Mitigation potential of horizontal ground coupled heat pumps for current and future climatic conditions: UK environmental modelling and monitoring studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García González, Raquel; Verhoef, Anne; Vidale, Pier Luigi; Gan, Guohui; Wu, Yupeng; Hughes, Andrew; Mansour, Majdi; Blyth, Eleanor; Finch, Jon; Main, Bruce

2010-05-01

An increased uptake of alternative low or non-CO2 emitting energy sources is one of the key priorities for policy makers to mitigate the effects of environmental change. Relatively little work has been undertaken on the mitigation potential of Ground Coupled Heat Pumps (GCHPs) despite the fact that a GCHP could significantly reduce CO2 emissions from heating systems. It is predicted that under climate change the most probable scenario is for UK temperatures to increase and for winter rainfall to become more abundant; the latter is likely to cause a general rise in groundwater levels. Summer rainfall may reduce considerably, while vegetation type and density may change. Furthermore, recent studies underline the likelihood of an increase in the number of heat waves. Under such a scenario, GCHPs will increasingly be used for cooling as well as heating. These factors will affect long-term performance of horizontal GCHP systems and hence their economic viability and mitigation potential during their life span ( 50 years). The seasonal temperature differences encountered in soil are harnessed by GCHPs to provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The performance of a GCHP system will depend on technical factors (heat exchanger (HE) type, length, depth, and spacing of pipes), but also it will be determined to a large extent by interactions between the below-ground parts of the system and the environment (atmospheric conditions, vegetation and soil characteristics). Depending on the balance between extraction and rejection of heat from and to the ground, the soil temperature in the neighbourhood of the HE may fall or rise. The GROMIT project (GROund coupled heat pumps MITigation potential), funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), is a multi-disciplinary research project, in collaboration with EarthEnergy Ltd., which aims to quantify the CO2 mitigation potential of horizontal GCHPs. It considers changing environmental conditions and combines model predictions of soil moisture content and soil temperature with measurements at different GCHP locations over the UK. The combined effect of environment dynamics and horizontal GCHP technical properties on long-term GCHP performance will be assessed using a detailed land surface model (JULES: Joint UK Land Environment Simulator, Meteorological Office, UK) with additional equations embedded describing the interaction between GCHP heat exchangers and the surrounding soil. However, a number of key soil physical processes are currently not incorporated in JULES, such as groundwater flow, which, especially in lowland areas, can have an important effect on the heat flow between soil and HE. Furthermore, the interaction between HE and soil may also cause soil vapour and moisture fluxes. These will affect soil thermal conductivity and hence heat flow between the HE and the surrounding soil, which will in turn influence system performance. The project will address these issues. We propose to drive an improved version of JULES (with equations to simulate GCHP exchange embedded), with long-term gridded (1 km) atmospheric, soil and vegetation data (reflecting current and future environmental conditions) to reliably assess the mitigation potential of GCHPs over the entire domain of the UK, where uptake of GCHPs has been low traditionally. In this way we can identify areas that are most suitable for the installation of GCHPs. Only then recommendations can be made to local and regional governments, for example, on how to improve the mitigation potential in less suitable areas by adjusting GCHP configurations or design.

Environmental Adult Education for Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Change on Crop Production and Fish Farming in Rivers State of Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eheazu, Caroline L.; Ezeala, Joy I.

2017-01-01

The threats of climate change to human society and natural ecosystems have become a devastating environmental problem for crop production and fish farming in Nigeria. This is partly because farmers and fisher folk are known to adopt age-old methods that do not counter current global warming and climate change effects. The purpose of this study was…

The US-Japan Security Bargain: Origins and Transformation

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

of institut1ione to crisis. As governmental officials respond to environmental changes: "institutional ilconstruction through reform" 2 8 Cz generite...Press, 1982), p. 18. By environmental change, Skowronek mean* (1) domestic or international crises, (2) class conflicts, or (3) the complexity of...structure of power worked to mitigate the effects of the purge. A Purge Appeals Committee, headed by former Minister of Justice Tanimura Tadaichiro

Understanding Farmer Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: The Roles of Trust in Sources of Climate Information, Climate Change Beliefs, and Perceived Risk.

PubMed

Arbuckle, J Gordon; Morton, Lois Wright; Hobbs, Jon

2015-02-01

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers' trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management).

The Evolution of Operational Satellite Based Remote Sensing in Support of Weather Analysis, Nowcasting, and Hazard Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, B. K.

2010-12-01

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Data Information Service (NESDIS) is to provide timely access to global environmental data from satellites and other sources to promote, protect, and enhance America’s economy, security, environment, and quality of life. To fulfill its responsibilities, NESDIS acquires and manages America’s operational environmental satellites, operates the NOAA National Data Centers, provides data and information services including Earth system monitoring, performs official assessments of the environment, and conducts related research. The Nation’s fleet of operational environmental satellites has proven to be very critical in the detection, analysis, and forecast of natural or man-made phenomena. These assets have provided for the protection of people and property while safeguarding the Nation’s commerce and enabling safe and effective military operations. This presentation will take the audience through the evolution of operational satellite based remote sensing in support of weather forecasting, nowcasting, warning operations, hazard detection and mitigation. From the very first experiments involving radiation budget to today’s fleet of Geostationary and Polar Orbiting satellites to tomorrow’s constellation of high resolution imagers and hyperspectral sounders, environmental satellites sustain key observations for current and future generations.

Hydrological and thermal effects of hydropeaking on early life stages of salmonids: A modelling approach for implementing mitigation strategies.

PubMed

Casas-Mulet, Roser; Saltveit, Svein Jakob; Alfredsen, Knut Tore

2016-12-15

Alterations in hydrological and thermal regimes can potentially affect salmonid early life stages development and survival. The dewatering of salmon spawning redds due to hydropeaking can lead to mortality in early life stages, with higher impact on the alevins as they have lower tolerance to dewatering than the eggs. Flow-related mitigation measures can reduce early life stage mortality. We present a set of modelling tools to assess impacts and mitigation options to minimise the risk of mortality in early life stages in hydropeaking rivers. We successfully modelled long-term hydrological and thermal alterations and consequences for development rates. We estimated the risk of early life stages mortality and assessed the cost-effectiveness of implementing three release-related mitigation options (A,B,C). The economic cost of mitigation was low and ranged between 0.7% and 2.6% of the annual hydropower production. Options reducing the flow during spawning (B and C) in addition to only release minimum flows during development (A) were considered more effective for egg and alevin survival. Options B and C were however constraint by water availability in the system for certain years, and therefore only option A was always feasible. The set of modelling tools used in this study were satisfactory and their applications can be useful especially in systems where little field data is available. Targeted measures built on well-informed modelling tools can be tested on their effectiveness to mitigate dewatering effects vs. the hydropower system capacity to release or conserve water for power production. Environmental flow releases targeting specific ecological objectives can provide better cost-effective options than conventional operational rules complying with general legislation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape moderation of biodiversity patterns and processes - eight hypotheses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding how landscape characteristics affect local biodiversity patterns and ecological processes is critical for mitigating effects of global environmental change. In this review, we use knowledge gained from human-modified landscapes to suggest the following seven hypotheses, which we hope w...

Managing the Financial Risks of Water Scarcity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Characklis, Greg; Foster, Ben; Kern, Jordan; Meyer, Eliot; Zeff, Harrison

2015-04-01

Environmental uncertainty poses a growing number of financial risks to society, with droughts, floods, extreme temperatures and violent storms imposing costs that approach 500 billion per year. While structural forms of mitigation (i.e. levees, dams) will certainly play a role in limiting financial impacts, these are large investments whose full value is only rarely realized. Furthermore, the value of such long-lived measures becomes increasingly uncertain in a changing climate, raising the issue of whether they will be effective 20-30 years hence. Financial instruments, such as index insurance, can provide increased flexibility by providing compensation for losses only when they occur, and limited contract periods allow terms to be periodically rewritten in response to changing conditions. Financial instruments can also be effectively combined with other economic tools and infrastructure to create integrated solutions in which infrastructure mitigates losses from moderate events, while financial products compensate for more rare, but extreme, events. There is a long history of environmentally-related insurance and hedging instruments, but to date the actuarial analyses that underlie contract structure and pricing have been based on straightforward observations, such as cumulative rainfall. More recently, simple correlations between two time series have been used to develop index-based contracts. Links between temperature and electricity demand, for example, provide a basis for contracts that are used to limit the financial exposure of power generators to low revenues during unseasonably warm winters or cool summers. Unfortunately, few environmental risks can be so quickly and easily linked to a financial impact. However, with a more advanced understanding of the environmental systems that give rise to financial losses, opportunities exist to develop innovative contracts for a range of new applications. Recent research describes the characterization and mitigation of financial losses experienced by such entities as water utilities, hydropower producers and inland shipping firms as a result of water scarcity, all of which suggest a growing role for financial instruments in managing environmental risk.

Predicting and Mitigating Outbreaks of Vector-Borne Disease Utilizing Satellite Remote Sensing Technology and Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Sue M.

2009-01-01

The Public Health application area focuses on Earth science applications to public health and safety, particularly regarding infectious disease, emergency preparedness and response, and environmental health issues. The application explores issues of toxic and pathogenic exposure, as well as natural and man-made hazards and their effects, for risk characterization/mitigation and improvements to health and safety. The program elements of the NASA Applied Sciences Program are: Agricultural Efficiency, Air Quality, Climate, Disaster Management, Ecological Forecasting, Water Resources, Weather, and Public Health.

Decoupling analysis and socioeconomic drivers of environmental pressure in China.

PubMed

Liang, Sai; Liu, Zhu; Crawford-Brown, Douglas; Wang, Yafei; Xu, Ming

2014-01-21

China's unprecedented change offers a unique opportunity for uncovering relationships between economic growth and environmental pressure. Here we show the trajectories of China's environmental pressure and reveal underlying socioeconomic drivers during 1992-2010. Mining and manufacturing industries are the main contributors to increasing environmental pressure from the producer perspective. Changes in urban household consumption, fixed capital formation, and exports are the main drivers from the consumer perspective. While absolute decoupling is not realized, China has in general achieved relative decoupling between economic growth and environmental pressure. China's decoupling performance has four distinguishable periods, closely aligning with nation-wide major policy adjustments, which indicates significant impact of China's national socioeconomic policies on its environmental pressure. Material intensity change is the main contributor to the mitigation of environmental pressure, except for ammonia nitrogen, solid wastes, aquatic Cu, and aquatic Zn. Production structure change is the largest contributor to mitigate ammonia nitrogen emissions, and final demand structure change is the largest contributor to mitigate emissions of solid wastes, aquatic Cu, and aquatic Zn. We observe materialization trends for China's production structure and final demand structure during 2002-2007. Environmental sustainability can only be achieved by timely technology innovation and changes of production structure and consumption pattern.

Tsunami mitigation by resonant triad interaction with acoustic-gravity waves.

PubMed

Kadri, Usama

2017-01-01

Tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of almost a half million lives, widespread long lasting destruction, profound environmental effects, and global financial crisis, within the last two decades. The main tsunami properties that determine the size of impact at the shoreline are its wavelength and amplitude in the ocean. Here, we show that it is in principle possible to reduce the amplitude of a tsunami, and redistribute its energy over a larger space, through forcing it to interact with resonating acoustic-gravity waves. In practice, generating the appropriate acoustic-gravity modes introduces serious challenges due to the high energy required for an effective interaction. However, if the findings are extended to realistic tsunami properties and geometries, we might be able to mitigate tsunamis and so save lives and properties. Moreover, such a mitigation technique would allow for the harnessing of the tsunami's energy.

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

King, E.A., E-mail: kingea@tcd.ie; O'Malley, V.P.

The Irish National Roads Authority (NRA) recently completed over twenty post environmental impact assessment evaluations of noise chapters prepared as part of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for new national road schemes in Ireland. The study focused on a range of issues including a review of noise monitoring procedures, noise prediction methodologies and an assessment of the effectiveness of noise mitigation measures currently in use on national road schemes. This review was carried out taking cognisance of best international practices for noise assessment and methodologies used to mitigate road traffic noise. The primary focus of the study was to assess themore » actual noise impacts of national road scheme developments and to revise, where necessary, methodologies recommended in the current NRA guidance document describing the treatment of noise on national road schemes. This paper presents a summary of the study and identifies a number of key areas that should be considered prior to the development of future guidance documents. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Presents a post-EIS evaluation of noise assessments for national roads in Ireland. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The effectiveness of some noise mitigation measures is critically evaluated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Issues related to the current EIS noise assessment methodologies are discussed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Implications for alterations to the NRA noise guidelines.« less

Lunar Dust Mitigation Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hyatt, Mark J.; Deluane, Paul B.

2008-01-01

NASA s plans for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration include returning to the moon as a stepping stone for further exploration of Mars, and beyond. Dust on the lunar surface has a ubiquitous presence which must be explicitly addressed during upcoming human lunar exploration missions. While the operational challenges attributable to dust during the Apollo missions did not prove critical, the comparatively long duration of impending missions presents a different challenge. Near term plans to revisit the moon places a primary emphasis on characterization and mitigation of lunar dust. Comprised of regolith particles ranging in size from tens of nanometers to microns, lunar dust is a manifestation of the complex interaction of the lunar soil with multiple mechanical, electrical, and gravitational effects. The environmental and anthropogenic factors effecting the perturbation, transport, and deposition of lunar dust must be studied in order to mitigate it s potentially harmful effects on exploration systems. This paper presents the current perspective and implementation of dust knowledge management and integration, and mitigation technology development activities within NASA s Exploration Technology Development Program. This work is presented within the context of the Constellation Program s Integrated Lunar Dust Management Strategy. The Lunar Dust Mitigation Technology Development project has been implemented within the ETDP. Project scope and plans will be presented, along with a a perspective on lessons learned from Apollo and forensics engineering studies of Apollo hardware. This paper further outlines the scientific basis for lunar dust behavior, it s characteristics and potential effects, and surveys several potential strategies for its control and mitigation both for lunar surface operations and within the working volumes of a lunar outpost.

Translational toxicology: a developmental focus for integrated research strategies.

PubMed

Hughes, Claude; Waters, Michael; Allen, David; Obasanjo, Iyabo

2013-09-30

Given that toxicology studies the potential adverse effects of environmental exposures on various forms of life and that clinical toxicology typically focuses on human health effects, what can and should the relatively new term of "translational toxicology" be taken to mean? Our assertion is that the core concept of translational toxicology must incorporate existing principles of toxicology and epidemiology, but be driven by the aim of developing safe and effective interventions beyond simple reduction or avoidance of exposure to prevent, mitigate or reverse adverse human health effects of exposures.The field of toxicology has now reached a point where advances in multiple areas of biomedical research and information technologies empower us to make fundamental transitions in directly impacting human health. Translational toxicology must encompass four action elements as follows: 1) Assessing human exposures in critical windows across the lifespan; 2) Defining modes of action and relevance of data from animal models; 3) Use of mathematical models to develop plausible predictions as the basis for: 4) Protective and restorative human health interventions. The discussion focuses on the critical window of in-utero development. Exposure assessment, basic toxicology and development of certain categories of mathematical models are not new areas of research; however overtly integrating these in order to conceive, assess and validate effective interventions to mitigate or reverse adverse effects of environmental exposures is our novel opportunity. This is what we should do in translational toxicology so that we have a portfolio of interventional options to improve human health that include both minimizing exposures and specific preventative/restorative/mitigative therapeutics.

Mitigating the Risk of Environmental Hazards in Mexico

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-28

consultant reports, country data, media reports, medical studies, government websites, environmental data, and Congressional testimony. iv... medications , immunizations, or personal protective equipment). DoD Instruction Number 6490.03, dated August 2006, states the objective is “to...complexity, with the potential for tragic medical outcomes in the absence of a risk mitigation strategy. 8 EXPOSURES DURING PAST DEPLOYMENTS

Environmental projects, volume 11. Environmental assessment: Addition to operations building, Mars site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

An Environmental Assessment was performed of the proposed addition to building G-86 at the Mars Site, which will provide space for new electronic equipment to consolidate the Deep Space Network (DSN) support facilities from other Goldstone Deep Space Communication Complex (GDSCC) sites at the Mars Site, and will include a fifth telemetry and command group with its associated link monitor, control processor, and operator consoles. The addition of these facilities will increase the capability of the DSN to support future sophisticated NASA spacecraft missions such as the International Solar and Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Program. The planned construction of this building addition requires an Environmental Assessment (EA) document that records the existing environmental conditions at the Mars Site, that analyzes the environmental effects that possibly could be expected from the construction and use of the new building addition, and that recommends measures to be taken to mitigate any possible deleterious environmental effects.

High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization.

PubMed

Carah, Jennifer K; Howard, Jeanette K; Thompson, Sally E; Short Gianotti, Anne G; Bauer, Scott D; Carlson, Stephanie M; Dralle, David N; Gabriel, Mourad W; Hulette, Lisa L; Johnson, Brian J; Knight, Curtis A; Kupferberg, Sarah J; Martin, Stefanie L; Naylor, Rosamond L; Power, Mary E

2015-08-01

The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state of California, where by some estimates 60%-70% of the marijuana consumed in the United States is grown, we argue that (a) the environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation merits a direct policy response, (b) current approaches to governing the environmental effects are inadequate, and (c) neglecting discussion of the environmental impacts of cultivation when shaping future marijuana use and possession policies represents a missed opportunity to reduce, regulate, and mitigate environmental harm.

High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization

PubMed Central

Carah, Jennifer K.; Howard, Jeanette K.; Thompson, Sally E.; Short Gianotti, Anne G.; Bauer, Scott D.; Carlson, Stephanie M.; Dralle, David N.; Gabriel, Mourad W.; Hulette, Lisa L.; Johnson, Brian J.; Knight, Curtis A.; Kupferberg, Sarah J.; Martin, Stefanie L.; Naylor, Rosamond L.; Power, Mary E.

2015-01-01

The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state of California, where by some estimates 60%–70% of the marijuana consumed in the United States is grown, we argue that (a) the environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation merits a direct policy response, (b) current approaches to governing the environmental effects are inadequate, and (c) neglecting discussion of the environmental impacts of cultivation when shaping future marijuana use and possession policies represents a missed opportunity to reduce, regulate, and mitigate environmental harm. PMID:26955083

Why Do Some People Do “More” to Mitigate Climate Change than Others? Exploring Heterogeneity in Psycho-Social Associations

PubMed Central

Ortega-Egea, José Manuel; García-de-Frutos, Nieves; Antolín-López, Raquel

2014-01-01

The urgency of climate change mitigation calls for a profound shift in personal behavior. This paper investigates psycho-social correlates of extra mitigation behavior in response to climate change, while also testing for potential (unobserved) heterogeneity in European citizens' decision-making. A person's extra mitigation behavior in response to climate change is conceptualized—and differentiated from common mitigation behavior—as some people's broader and greater levels of behavioral engagement (compared to others) across specific self-reported mitigation actions and behavioral domains. Regression analyses highlight the importance of environmental psychographics (i.e., attitudes, motivations, and knowledge about climate change) and socio-demographics (especially country-level variables) in understanding extra mitigation behavior. By looking at the data through the lens of segmentation, significant heterogeneity is uncovered in the associations of attitudes and knowledge about climate change—but not in motivational or socio-demographic links—with extra mitigation behavior in response to climate change, across two groups of environmentally active respondents. The study has implications for promoting more ambitious behavioral responses to climate change, both at the individual level and across countries. PMID:25191841

Environmental Effects of BPA

PubMed Central

Canesi, Laura

2015-01-01

Research on bisphenol A (BPA) as an environmental contaminant has now major regulatory implications toward the ecosystem health, and hence it is incumbent on scientists to do their research to the highest standards possible, in order that the most appropriate decisions are made to mitigate the impacts to aquatic wildlife. However, the contribution given so far appears rather fragmented. The present overview aims to collect available information on the effects of BPA on aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates to provide a general scenario and to suggest future developments toward more comprehensive approaches useful for aquatic species protection. PMID:26674307

Environmental Change, Natural Disasters and Stability in Central America and the Caribbean (CSL Issue Paper, Volume 5-10, September 2010)

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

the climate situation is wetter and more vulnerable to hurricane events. Environmental impacts also influence human health, biodiversity , and...frequency of more severe hurricanes, floods, and droughts. The detrimental manmade disasters in the region include deforestation , land use changes...to mitigating the effects of these issues that limit the spread and severity of disasters and preserve the resource base upon which nation state

Fiscal Year 2013 Trails Management Program Mitigation Action Plan Annual Report, October 2013

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

Pava, Daniel S.

This Trails Management Program Mitigation Action Plan Annual Report (Trails MAPAR) has been prepared for the Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as part of implementing the 2003 Final Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Los Alamos National Laboratory Trails Management Program (DOE 2003). The Trails Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) is now a part of the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory (DOE/EIS 0380) Mitigation Action Plan (2008 SWEIS MAP) (DOE 2008). The MAP provides guidance for the continued implementation of the Trails Management Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) andmore » integration of future mitigation actions into the 2008 SWEIS MAP to decrease impacts associated with recreational trails use at LANL. This eighth MAPAR includes a summary of Trails Management Program activities and actions during Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, from October 2012 through September 2013.« less

Functionalizable Sol-Gel Silica Coatings for Corrosion Mitigation.

PubMed

Gąsiorek, Jolanta; Szczurek, Anna; Babiarczuk, Bartosz; Kaleta, Jerzy; Jones, Walis; Krzak, Justyna

2018-01-26

Corrosion is constantly a major problem of the world economy in the field of metal products, metal processing and other areas that utilise metals. Previously used compounds utilizing hexavalent chromium were amongst the most effective materials for corrosion protection but regulations have been recently introduced that forbid their use. Consequently, there is a huge drive by engineers, technologists and scientists from different disciplines focused on searching a new, more effective and environmentally-friendly means of corrosion protection. One novel group of materials with the potential to solve metal protection problems are sol-gel thin films, which are increasingly interesting as mitigation corrosion barriers. These environmentally-friendly and easy-to-obtain coatings have the promise to be an effective alternative to hexavalent chromium compounds using for anti-corrosion industrial coatings. In this review the authors present a range of different solutions for slow down the corrosion processes of metallic substrates by using the oxides and doped oxides obtained by the sol-gel method. Examples of techniques used to the sol-gel coating examinations, in terms of anti-corrosion protection, are also presented.

Functionalizable Sol-Gel Silica Coatings for Corrosion Mitigation

PubMed Central

Gąsiorek, Jolanta; Babiarczuk, Bartosz; Kaleta, Jerzy; Jones, Walis; Krzak, Justyna

2018-01-01

Corrosion is constantly a major problem of the world economy in the field of metal products, metal processing and other areas that utilise metals. Previously used compounds utilizing hexavalent chromium were amongst the most effective materials for corrosion protection but regulations have been recently introduced that forbid their use. Consequently, there is a huge drive by engineers, technologists and scientists from different disciplines focused on searching a new, more effective and environmentally-friendly means of corrosion protection. One novel group of materials with the potential to solve metal protection problems are sol-gel thin films, which are increasingly interesting as mitigation corrosion barriers. These environmentally-friendly and easy-to-obtain coatings have the promise to be an effective alternative to hexavalent chromium compounds using for anti-corrosion industrial coatings. In this review the authors present a range of different solutions for slow down the corrosion processes of metallic substrates by using the oxides and doped oxides obtained by the sol-gel method. Examples of techniques used to the sol-gel coating examinations, in terms of anti-corrosion protection, are also presented. PMID:29373540

Global and local concerns: what attitudes and beliefs motivate farmers to mitigate and adapt to climate change?

PubMed

Haden, Van R; Niles, Meredith T; Lubell, Mark; Perlman, Joshua; Jackson, Louise E

2012-01-01

In response to agriculture's vulnerability and contribution to climate change, many governments are developing initiatives that promote the adoption of mitigation and adaptation practices among farmers. Since most climate policies affecting agriculture rely on voluntary efforts by individual farmers, success requires a sound understanding of the factors that motivate farmers to change practices. Recent evidence suggests that past experience with the effects of climate change and the psychological distance associated with people's concern for global and local impacts can influence environmental behavior. Here we surveyed farmers in a representative rural county in California's Central Valley to examine how their intention to adopt mitigation and adaptation practices is influenced by previous climate experiences and their global and local concerns about climate change. Perceived changes in water availability had significant effects on farmers' intention to adopt mitigation and adaptation strategies, which were mediated through global and local concerns respectively. This suggests that mitigation is largely motivated by psychologically distant concerns and beliefs about climate change, while adaptation is driven by psychologically proximate concerns for local impacts. This match between attitudes and behaviors according to the psychological distance at which they are cognitively construed indicates that policy and outreach initiatives may benefit by framing climate impacts and behavioral goals concordantly; either in a global context for mitigation or a local context for adaptation.

A Polarization Technique for Mitigating Low Grazing Angle Radar Sea Clutter

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-03

alarm mitigation, low grazing angles, polarimetry , radar, sea clutter. I. INTRODUCTION Sea clutter poses unique challenges for maritime radars looking...radar polarimetry offers a practical means of robustly mitigating LGA sea clutter across a range of radar and environmental parameters, we stood up a

40 CFR 1508.20 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Mitigation. 1508.20 Section 1508.20 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.20 Mitigation... eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action. (e...

40 CFR 1508.20 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Mitigation. 1508.20 Section 1508.20 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.20 Mitigation... eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action. (e...

40 CFR 1508.20 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Mitigation. 1508.20 Section 1508.20 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.20 Mitigation... eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action. (e...

40 CFR 1508.20 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mitigation. 1508.20 Section 1508.20 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.20 Mitigation... eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action. (e...

40 CFR 1508.20 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Mitigation. 1508.20 Section 1508.20 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.20 Mitigation... eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action. (e...

2008 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano

2008-09-30

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2008 and includes 22 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and two bat habitat mitigation projects.

Fuel-mix, fuel efficiency, and transport demand affect prospects for biofuels in northern Europe.

PubMed

Bright, Ryan M; Strømman, Anders Hammer

2010-04-01

Rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the road transport sector represents a difficult mitigation challenge due to a multitude of intricate factors, namely the dependency on liquid energy carriers and infrastructure lock-in. For this reason, low-carbon renewable energy carriers, particularly second generation biofuels, are often seen as a prominent candidate for realizing reduced emissions and lowered oil dependency over the medium- and long-term horizons. However, the overarching question is whether advanced biofuels can be an environmentally effective mitigation strategy in the face of increasing consumption and resource constraints. Here we develop both biofuel production and road transport consumption scenarios for northern Europe-a region with a vast surplus of forest bioenergy resources-to assess the potential role that forest-based biofuels may play over the medium- and long-term time horizons using an environmentally extended, multiregion input-output model. Through scenarios, we explore how evolving vehicle technologies and consumption patterns will affect the mitigation opportunities afforded by any future supply of forest biofuels. We find that in a scenario involving ambitious biofuel targets, the size of the GHG mitigation wedge attributed to the market supply of biofuels is severely reduced under business-as-usual growth in consumption in the road transport sector. Our results indicate that climate policies targeting the road transport sector which give high emphases to reducing demand (volume), accelerating the deployment of more fuel-efficient vehicles, and promoting altered consumption patterns (structure) can be significantly more effective than those with single emphasis on expanded biofuel supply.

Anaerobic digestion and milking frequency as mitigation strategies of the environmental burden in the milk production system.

PubMed

Bacenetti, Jacopo; Bava, Luciana; Zucali, Maddalena; Lovarelli, Daniela; Sandrucci, Anna; Tamburini, Alberto; Fiala, Marco

2016-01-01

The aim of the study was to assess, through a cradle to farm gate Life Cycle Assessment, different mitigation strategies of the potential environmental impacts of milk production at farm level. The environmental performances of a conventional intensive dairy farm in Northern Italy (baseline scenario) were compared with the results obtained: from the introduction of the third daily milking and from the adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD) of animal slurry in a consortium AD plant. The AD plant, fed only with animal slurries coming also from nearby farms. Key parameters concerning on-farm activities (forage production, energy consumptions, agricultural machines maintenance, manure and livestock management), off-farm activities (production of fertilizers, pesticides, bedding materials, purchased forages, purchased concentrate feed, replacement animals, agricultural machines manufacturing, electricity, fuel) and transportation were considered. The functional unit was 1kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) leaving the farm gate. The selected environmental impact categories were: global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidation and non-renewable energy use. The production of 1kg of FPCM caused, in the baseline scenario, the following environmental impact potentials: global warming potential 1.12kg CO2 eq; acidification 15.5g SO2 eq; eutrophication 5.62g PO4(3-) eq; photochemical oxidation 0.87g C2H4 eq/kg FPCM; energy use 4.66MJeq. The increase of milking frequency improved environmental performances for all impact categories in comparison with the baseline scenario; in particular acidification and eutrophication potentials showed the largest reductions (-11 and -12%, respectively). In anaerobic digestion scenario, compared to the baseline one, most of the impact potentials were strongly reduced. In particular the most important advantages were in terms of acidification (-29%), global warming (-22%) and eutrophication potential (-18%). The AD of cow slurry is confirmed as an effective strategy to mitigate the environmental impact of milk production at farm level. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulatng Sawtooth Mixers For Biofouling Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waters, James; Balazs, Anna

2017-11-01

We demonstrate how a ridged surface can be used to generate vortices that will break up clusters of cells as they form. This offers an appealing avenue for fouling mitigation, as it relies on a physical mechanism without unintended environmental consequences. By adjusting the shape of these ridges, we can increase the effectiveness of the surface across a range of shear values. We represent such a system computationally using a hybrid of bulk fluid simulated via the lattice Boltzmann method, and deformable vesicles, representing cells, simulated via that lattice spring method. This simulation methodology allows us to rapidly implement and test different surface patterns, and explore how their parameters can most effectively deter the accumulation of biofilms.

Mitigating environmental impacts through the energetic use of wood: Regional displacement factors generated by means of substituting non-wood heating systems.

PubMed

Wolf, Christian; Klein, Daniel; Richter, Klaus; Weber-Blaschke, Gabriele

2016-11-01

Wood biomass, especially when applied for heating, plays an important role for mitigating environmental impacts such as climate change and the transition towards higher shares of renewable energy in today's energy mix. However, the magnitude of mitigation benefits and burdens associated with wood use can vary greatly depending on regional parameters such as the displaced fossil reference or heating mix. Therefore, regionalized displacement factors, considering region-specific production conditions and substituted products are required when assessing the precise contribution of wood biomass towards the mitigation of environmental impacts. We carried out Life Cycle Assessments of wood heating systems for typical Bavarian conditions and substitute energy carriers with a focus on climate change and particulate matter emissions. In order to showcase regional effects, we created weighted displacement factors for the region of Bavaria, based on installed capacities of individual wood heating systems and the harvested tree species distribution. The study reveals that GHG displacements between -57gCO2-eq.∗MJ(-1) of useful energy through the substitution of natural gas with a 15kW spruce pellets heating system and -165gCO2-eq.∗MJ(-1) through the substitution of power utilized for heating with a modern 6kW beech split log heating system can be achieved. It was shown that the GHG mitigation potentials of wood utilization are overestimated through the common use of light fuel oil as the only reference system. We further propose a methodology for the calculation of displacement factors which is adaptable to other regions worldwide. Based on our approach it is possible to generate displacement factors for wood heating systems which enable accurate decision-making for project planning in households, heating plants, communities and also for entire regions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Veterinary antibiotic sorption and transport through agroforestry buffer, grass buffer and cropland soils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Veterinary antibiotics (VAs), such as sulfamethazine (SMZ) are released into the environment by application of manure to agricultural fields. Understanding the fate and transport of VAs is important for assessing and mitigating possible environmental hazards. To study the effects of dissolved organi...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

Environmental effects of shifts in a regional heating mix through variations in the utilization of solid biofuels.

PubMed

Wolf, Christian; Klein, Daniel; Richter, Klaus; Weber-Blaschke, Gabriele

2016-07-15

Solid Biofuels, i.e. wood, play an important role in present and future national and global climate change mitigation policies. Wood energy, while displaying favorable properties for the mitigation of climate change also exhibits several drawbacks, such as potentially high emission of particulate matter. To assess the environmental effects of shifts in the heating mix, emission factors of the comprising energy carriers and the Bavarian heating mix were determined. Through the application of regionalized substitution percentiles the environmental effects caused by shifts in the amount of final energy provided by solid biofuels could be identified. For this purpose, four scenarios, based on political and scientific specifications were assessed. In 2011 a total amount of 663.715 TJ of final energy was used for the provision of heat in Bavaria, with solid biofuels exhibiting the third largest share of 12.6% (83% of renewable heat). Environmental effects were evaluated through life cycle assessments assessing the impact categories of Global Warming (GW), Particulate Matter emissions (PM), Freshwater Eutrophication (ET) and Acidification (AC). Additionally, the non-renewable primary energy consumption (PE) was analyzed. The heating mix in Bavaria (Baseline) causes emissions of 49.6 Mt CO2-eq. * yr(-1)(GW), 14.555 t of PM2.5-eq. * yr(-1) (PM), 873.4 t P-eq. * yr(-1) (ET), and 82.299 kmol H(+) eq. * yr(-1) (AC), for which 721,745 TJ of primary energy were expended. Current policies entail a GHG reduction potential of approximately 1 Mt CO2-eq. * yr(-1) while increasing the amount of energy wood by 15%. The maximum, hypothetical share of solid biofuels of the heating mix cannot surpass 25%, while the climate change mitigation performance of the current use of solid biofuels is approximately 6.4 Mt CO2-eq. * yr(-1). GHG-emissions would be 13% higher and PM emissions 77% lower without this energetic use of wood. Furthermore, our calculations allow for new specified displacement factors through energy substitution, based on the current wood energy mix for regionalized conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China.

PubMed

Yang, Zhiyong; Dong, Wenjie; Xiu, Jinfeng; Dai, Rufeng; Chou, Jieming

2015-01-01

Environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) has long been used to quantify global and regional environmental impacts and to clarify emission transfers. Structural path analysis (SPA), a technique based on EEIOA, is especially useful for measuring significant flows in this environmental-economic system. This paper constructs an imports-adjusted single-region input-output (SRIO) model considering only domestic final use elements, and it uses the SPA technique to highlight crucial routes along the production chain in both final use and sectoral perspectives. The results indicate that future mitigation policies on household consumption should change direct energy use structures in rural areas, cut unreasonable demand for power and chemical products, and focus on urban areas due to their consistently higher magnitudes than rural areas in the structural routes. Impacts originating from government spending should be tackled by managing onsite energy use in 3 major service sectors and promoting cleaner fuels and energy-saving techniques in the transport sector. Policies on investment should concentrate on sectoral interrelationships along the production chain by setting up standards to regulate upstream industries, especially for the services, construction and equipment manufacturing sectors, which have high demand pulling effects. Apart from the similar methods above, mitigating policies in exports should also consider improving embodied technology and quality in manufactured products to achieve sustainable development. Additionally, detailed sectoral results in the coal extraction industry highlight the onsite energy use management in large domestic companies, emphasize energy structure rearrangement, and indicate resources and energy safety issues. Conclusions based on the construction and public administration sectors reveal that future mitigation in secondary and tertiary industries should be combined with upstream emission intensive industries in a systematic viewpoint to achieve sustainable development. Overall, SPA is a useful tool in empirical studies, and it can be used to analyze national environmental impacts and guide future mitigation policies.

Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhiyong; Dong, Wenjie; Xiu, Jinfeng; Dai, Rufeng; Chou, Jieming

2015-01-01

Environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) has long been used to quantify global and regional environmental impacts and to clarify emission transfers. Structural path analysis (SPA), a technique based on EEIOA, is especially useful for measuring significant flows in this environmental-economic system. This paper constructs an imports-adjusted single-region input-output (SRIO) model considering only domestic final use elements, and it uses the SPA technique to highlight crucial routes along the production chain in both final use and sectoral perspectives. The results indicate that future mitigation policies on household consumption should change direct energy use structures in rural areas, cut unreasonable demand for power and chemical products, and focus on urban areas due to their consistently higher magnitudes than rural areas in the structural routes. Impacts originating from government spending should be tackled by managing onsite energy use in 3 major service sectors and promoting cleaner fuels and energy-saving techniques in the transport sector. Policies on investment should concentrate on sectoral interrelationships along the production chain by setting up standards to regulate upstream industries, especially for the services, construction and equipment manufacturing sectors, which have high demand pulling effects. Apart from the similar methods above, mitigating policies in exports should also consider improving embodied technology and quality in manufactured products to achieve sustainable development. Additionally, detailed sectoral results in the coal extraction industry highlight the onsite energy use management in large domestic companies, emphasize energy structure rearrangement, and indicate resources and energy safety issues. Conclusions based on the construction and public administration sectors reveal that future mitigation in secondary and tertiary industries should be combined with upstream emission intensive industries in a systematic viewpoint to achieve sustainable development. Overall, SPA is a useful tool in empirical studies, and it can be used to analyze national environmental impacts and guide future mitigation policies. PMID:26332222

Environmental agency in read-alouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Rogers, Patterson; Quigley, Cassie F.; Samburskiy, Denis; Barss, Kimberly; Rivera, Seema

2015-06-01

Despite growing interest in helping students become agents of environmental change who can, through informed decision-making and action-taking, transform environmentally detrimental forms of human activity, science educators have reduced agency to rationality by overlooking sociocultural influences such as norms and values. We tackle this issue by examining how elementary teachers and students negotiate and attribute responsibility, credit, or blame for environmental events during three environmental read-alouds. Our verbal analysis and visual representation of meta-agentive discourse revealed varied patterns of agential attribution. First, humans were simultaneously attributed negative agentive roles (agents of endangerment and imbalance) and positive agentive roles (agents of prevention, mitigation, and balance). Second, while wolves at Yellowstone were constructed as intentional (human-like) agents when they crossed over into the human world to kill livestock in nearby farms, polar bears in the Arctic were denied any form of agential responsibility when they approached people's homes. Third, anthropogenic causation of global warming was constructed as distal and indirect chains of cause and effect (i.e., sophisticated sequences of ripple effects), whereas its mitigation and prevention assumed the form of simple and unidirectional causative links (direct and proximal causality). Fourth, the notion of balance of nature was repeatedly used as a justification for environmental conservation but its cause and dynamic nature remained unclear. And, fifth, while one teacher promoted environmental agency by encouraging students to experience positive emotions such as love of nature, freedom, and oneness with nature, the other teachers encouraged students to experience negative emotions such as self-blame and guilt. This study's main significance is that it highlights the need for environmental educators who set out to promote environmental agency to expand the focus of their instructional efforts beyond rational argumentation and reasoning. It also underscores the importance of increasing school teachers' awareness of implicit discursive messages in particular patterns of environmental agency attribution when discussing environmental issues with students and implementing pedagogical strategies centered on oral deliberation such as read-alouds.

2007 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

K. A. Gano; C. T. Lindsey

2007-09-27

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2007 and includes 11 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and 3 bat habitat mitigation projects.

Volatility and Uncertainty in Environmental Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maniloff, Peter Taylor

Environmental policy is increasingly implemented via market mechanisms. While this is in many ways a great success for the economics profession, a number of questions remain. In this dissertation, I empirically explore the question of what will happen as environmental outcomes are coupled to potentially volatile market phenomena, whether policies can insulate environmental outcomes and market shocks, and policymakers should act to mitigate such volatility. I use a variety of empirical methods including reduced form and structural econometrics as well as theoretical models to consider a variety of policy, market, and institutional contexts. The effectiveness of market interventions depends on the context and on the policy mechanism. In particular, energy markets are characterized by low demand elasticities and kinked supply curves which are very flat below a capacity constraint (elastic) and very steep above it (inelastic). This means that a quantity-based policy that acts on demand, such as releasing additional pollution emission allowances from a reserved fund would be an effective way to constrain price shocks in a cap-and-trade system. However, a quantity-based policy that lowers the need for inframarginal supply, such as using ethanol as an oil product substitute to mitigate oil shocks, would be ineffective. Similarly, the benefits of such interventions depends on the macroeconomic impacts of price shocks from the sector. Relatedly, I show that a liability rule designed to reduce risk from low-probability, high-consequence oil spills have very low compliance costs.

Resource Programs : Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 2, Appendices.

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

United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

1992-03-01

Every two years, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) prepares a Resource Program which identifies the resource actions BPA will take to meet its obligation to serve the forecasted power requirements of its customers. The Resource Program`s Environmental Impact Statement (RPEIS) is a programmatic environmental document which will support decisions made in several future Resource Programs. Environmental documents tiered to the EIS may be prepared on a site-specific basis. The RPEIS includes a description of the environmental effects and mitigation for the various resource types available in order to evaluate the trade-offs among them. It also assesses the environmental impacts of addingmore » thirteen alternative combinations of resources to the existing power system. This report contains the appendices to the RPEIS.« less

Proposals for the mitigation of the environmental impact of clinical laboratories.

PubMed

Lopez, Joseph B; Badrick, Tony

2012-03-24

Laboratories should be aware of the carbon footprint resulting from their activities and take steps to mitigate it as part of their societal responsibilities. Once committed to a mitigation programme, they should announce an environmental policy, secure the support of senior management, initiate documentation, institute a staff training programme, schedule environmental audits and appoint an environmental manager. Laboratories may aspire to be accredited to one of the standards for environmental management, such as the ISO 14000. As environmental and quality issues are linked, the improvement in the environmental management of an organisation will ultimately lead to improved quality system performance. Indeed, environmental management could conceivably come under overall quality management. Although there will be initial costs, good environmental practices can bring savings. Environmental improvement should be based on the 3R concept to reduce, reuse and recycle. Several policy initiatives may be introduced. These include a green purchasing policy for equipment, laboratory furniture and reagents as well as the management of packaging wastes. There are several ways to reduce energy, water usage and wastage. A reduction of test numbers and collection tubes should be attempted. Paper management involves all aspects of 3R. The recycling of solvents and general wastes should be practised where feasible. The construction new laboratories or renovations to existing ones are opportunities to make them more environmentally-friendly. The advocacy of policies to associates and the inclusion of environmentally-friendly conditions on contractors are integral parts of the programme.

An optimization model for regional air pollutants mitigation based on the economic structure adjustment and multiple measures: A case study in Urumqi city, China.

PubMed

Sun, Xiaowei; Li, Wei; Xie, Yulei; Huang, Guohe; Dong, Changjuan; Yin, Jianguang

2016-11-01

A model based on economic structure adjustment and pollutants mitigation was proposed and applied in Urumqi. Best-worst case analysis and scenarios analysis were performed in the model to guarantee the parameters accuracy, and to analyze the effect of changes of emission reduction styles. Results indicated that pollutant-mitigations of electric power industry, iron and steel industry, and traffic relied mainly on technological transformation measures, engineering transformation measures and structure emission reduction measures, respectively; Pollutant-mitigations of cement industry relied mainly on structure emission reduction measures and technological transformation measures; Pollutant-mitigations of thermal industry relied mainly on the four mitigation measures. They also indicated that structure emission reduction was a better measure for pollutants mitigation of Urumqi. Iron and steel industry contributed greatly in SO2, NOx and PM (particulate matters) emission reduction and should be given special attention in pollutants emission reduction. In addition, the scales of iron and steel industry should be reduced with the decrease of SO2 mitigation amounts. The scales of traffic and electric power industry should be reduced with the decrease of NOx mitigation amounts, and the scales of cement industry and iron and steel industry should be reduced with the decrease of PM mitigation amounts. The study can provide references of pollutants mitigation schemes to decision-makers for regional economic and environmental development in the 12th Five-Year Plan on National Economic and Social Development of Urumqi. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 79706 - Office of the Assistant Secretary-Water and Science; Draft Environmental Assessment of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-31

...The Department of the Interior (Department), the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission (Mitigation Commission), and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD), as joint leads, are evaluating the impacts of a proposed increase in operation, maintenance and replacement activities associated with the Wasatch County Water Efficiency Project (WCWEP) and have prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment.

Evaluating Aggregate Terrestrial Impacts of Road Construction Projects for Advanced Regional Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorne, James H.; Girvetz, Evan H.; McCoy, Michael C.

2009-05-01

This study presents a GIS-based database framework used to assess aggregate terrestrial habitat impacts from multiple highway construction projects in California, USA. Transportation planners need such impact assessment tools to effectively address additive biological mitigation obligations. Such assessments can reduce costly delays due to protracted environmental review. This project incorporated the best available statewide natural resource data into early project planning and preliminary environmental assessments for single and multiple highway construction projects, and provides an assessment of the 10-year state-wide mitigation obligations for the California Department of Transportation. Incorporation of these assessments will facilitate early and more strategic identification of mitigation opportunities, for single-project and regional mitigation efforts. The data architecture format uses eight spatial scales: six nested watersheds, counties, and transportation planning districts, which were intersected. This resulted in 8058 map planning units statewide, which were used to summarize all subsequent analyses. Range maps and georeferenced locations of federally and state-listed plants and animals and a 55-class landcover map were spatially intersected with the planning units and the buffered spatial footprint of 967 funded projects. Projected impacts were summarized and output to the database. Queries written in the database can sum expected impacts and provide summaries by individual construction project, or by watershed, county, transportation district or highway. The data architecture allows easy incorporation of new information and results in a tool usable without GIS by a wide variety of agency biologists and planners. The data architecture format would be useful for other types of regional planning.

The contribution of future agricultural trends in the US Midwest to global climate change mitigation

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

Thomson, Allison M.; Kyle, G. Page; Zhang, Xuesong

2014-01-19

Land use change is a complex response to changing environmental and socioeconomic systems. Historical drivers of land use change include changes in the natural resource availability of a region, changes in economic conditions for production of certain products and changing policies. Most recently, introduction of policy incentives for biofuel production have influenced land use change in the US Midwest, leading to concerns that bioenergy production systems may compete with food production and land conservation. Here we explore how land use may be impacted by future climate mitigation measures by nesting a high resolution agricultural model (EPIC – Environmental Policy Indicatormore » Climate) for the US Midwest within a global integrated assessment model (GCAM – Global Change Assessment Model). This approach is designed to provide greater spatial resolution and detailed agricultural practice information by focusing on the climate mitigation potential of agriculture and land use in a specific region, while retaining the global economic context necessary to understand the far ranging effects of climate mitigation targets. We find that until the simulated carbon prices are very high, the US Midwest has a comparative advantage in producing traditional food and feed crops over bioenergy crops. Overall, the model responds to multiple pressures by adopting a mix of future responses. We also find that the GCAM model is capable of simulations at multiple spatial scales and agricultural technology resolution, which provides the capability to examine regional response to global policy and economic conditions in the context of climate mitigation.« less

Evaluating aggregate terrestrial impacts of road construction projects for advanced regional mitigation.

PubMed

Thorne, James H; Girvetz, Evan H; McCoy, Michael C

2009-05-01

This study presents a GIS-based database framework used to assess aggregate terrestrial habitat impacts from multiple highway construction projects in California, USA. Transportation planners need such impact assessment tools to effectively address additive biological mitigation obligations. Such assessments can reduce costly delays due to protracted environmental review. This project incorporated the best available statewide natural resource data into early project planning and preliminary environmental assessments for single and multiple highway construction projects, and provides an assessment of the 10-year state-wide mitigation obligations for the California Department of Transportation. Incorporation of these assessments will facilitate early and more strategic identification of mitigation opportunities, for single-project and regional mitigation efforts. The data architecture format uses eight spatial scales: six nested watersheds, counties, and transportation planning districts, which were intersected. This resulted in 8058 map planning units statewide, which were used to summarize all subsequent analyses. Range maps and georeferenced locations of federally and state-listed plants and animals and a 55-class landcover map were spatially intersected with the planning units and the buffered spatial footprint of 967 funded projects. Projected impacts were summarized and output to the database. Queries written in the database can sum expected impacts and provide summaries by individual construction project, or by watershed, county, transportation district or highway. The data architecture allows easy incorporation of new information and results in a tool usable without GIS by a wide variety of agency biologists and planners. The data architecture format would be useful for other types of regional planning.

Techniques to Assess and Mitigate the Environmental Risk Posed by use of Airguns: Recent Advances from Academic Research Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, P. J.; Tyack, P. L.; Johnson, M. P.; Madsen, P. T.; King, R.

2006-05-01

There is considerable uncertainty about the ways in which marine mammals might react to noise, the biological significance of reactions, and the effectiveness of planning and real-time mitigation techniques. A planning tool commonly used to assess environmental risk of acoustic activities uses simulations to predict acoustic exposures received by animals, and translates exposure to response using a dose-response function to yield an estimate of the undesired impact on a population. Recent advances show promise to convert this planning tool into a real-time mitigation tool, using Bayesian statistical methods. In this approach, being developed for use by the British Navy, the environmental risk simulation is updated continuously during field operations. The distribution of exposure, set initially based on animal density, is updated in real-time using animal sensing data or environmental data known to correlate with the absence or presence of marine mammals. This conditional probability of animal presence should therefore be more accurate than prior probabilities used during planning, which enables a more accurate and quantitative assessment of both the impact of activities and reduction of impact via mitigation decisions. Two key areas of uncertainty in addition to animal presence/absence are 1.) how biologically-relevant behaviours are affected by exposure to noise, and 2.) whether animals avoid loud noise sources, which is the basis of ramp-up as a mitigation tool. With support from MMS and industry partners, we assessed foraging behaviour and avoidance movements of 8 tagged sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico during experimental exposure to airguns. The whale that was approached most closely prolonged a surface resting bout hours longer than typical, but resumed foraging immediately after the airguns ceased, suggesting avoidance of deep diving necessary for foraging near active airguns. Behavioral indices of foraging rate (echolocation buzzes produced during prey capture) and locomotion (from pitching movements generated by active swimming) of the 7 remaining exposed whales were compared to sham exposure and post-exposure control periods in 13 unexposed whales. Pitching movements were 6% lower during exposure (P=0.014) with all 7 whales reducing pitching movements. Buzz rates were 19% lower during the exposure condition, but this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.141). The substantial change in mean buzz rate from this small sample motivated a Bayesian analysis, which determined that a model of reduced buzz rate had roughly 3x more posterior support than no effect. Despite the likely impact of airguns on foraging, no avoidance by tagged sperm whales was observed during gradual ramp-up at distances of 7-13km, or full array exposures at 1-13km, calling into question the effectiveness of ramp-up. These results demonstrate that response data can be collected at measured exposure levels, and should motivate additional studies of the effects of airguns on foraging, particularly in waters without such a long history of seismic exploration as the Gulf of Mexico.

Cardiovascular effects of environmental noise exposure

PubMed Central

Münzel, Thomas; Gori, Tommaso; Babisch, Wolfgang; Basner, Mathias

2014-01-01

The role of noise as an environmental pollutant and its impact on health are being increasingly recognized. Beyond its effects on the auditory system, noise causes annoyance and disturbs sleep, and it impairs cognitive performance. Furthermore, evidence from epidemiologic studies demonstrates that environmental noise is associated with an increased incidence of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Both observational and experimental studies indicate that in particular night-time noise can cause disruptions of sleep structure, vegetative arousals (e.g. increases of blood pressure and heart rate) and increases in stress hormone levels and oxidative stress, which in turn may result in endothelial dysfunction and arterial hypertension. This review focuses on the cardiovascular consequences of environmental noise exposure and stresses the importance of noise mitigation strategies for public health. PMID:24616334

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL OF TOXIC METAL AIR EMISSIONS FROM THE COMBUSTION OF COAL AND WASTES

EPA Science Inventory

The paper is concerned with the partitioning of toxic metals (e.g., arsenic, selenium, mercury, chromium, lead, and cadmium) during combustion, and with the mitigation of their effect on the environment using high-temperature sorbents. The paper is divided into three parts: (1) t...

Recommendations for developing and applying genetic tools to assess and manage biological invasions in marine ecosystems

EPA Science Inventory

The European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to adopt integrated ecosystem management approaches to achieve or maintain “Good Environmental Status” for marine waters, habitats and resources, including mitigation of the negative effects of non-indigenous sp...

The Environmental Effects of Underwater Explosions with Methods to Mitigate Impacts

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-08-01

of small patches of scales in the vicinity of the swimbladder from each side of red salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) exposed to 40-percent gelatin...m. The divers descended and found no mortality in the school. Baldwin (1954) observed "many salmon ( Oncorhynchus ) swimming about in the blasting

Net carbon uptake by establishing biofuel crops in Central Illinois

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Clean and renewable sources of energy as wind, solar or biofuels comprise a valuable set of options available to deal with the pressing topics of energy security and mitigation of climate change effects. However, the efficiency in energy conversion and the environmental impacts of each new source of...

Effective Strategies for Talking about Climate Change in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busch, K. C.; Osborne, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Teaching about climate science presents some unique challenges. Unlike many other science topics, mitigation and adaptation to climate change will require students to take action. This article outlines five major challenges to communicating about climate change in the classroom, drawing on research in environmental psychology: scepticism,…

25 CFR 225.24 - Environmental studies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. (b) The Secretary shall ensure that all necessary surveys are performed and... 11593 (3 CFR 1971-1975 Comp., p. 559, May 13, 1971). If these surveys indicate that a mineral... effect is mitigated, or that appropriate excavations or other related research is conducted; and (3...

25 CFR 225.24 - Environmental studies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. (b) The Secretary shall ensure that all necessary surveys are performed and... 11593 (3 CFR 1971-1975 Comp., p. 559, May 13, 1971). If these surveys indicate that a mineral... effect is mitigated, or that appropriate excavations or other related research is conducted; and (3...

25 CFR 225.24 - Environmental studies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. (b) The Secretary shall ensure that all necessary surveys are performed and... 11593 (3 CFR 1971-1975 Comp., p. 559, May 13, 1971). If these surveys indicate that a mineral... effect is mitigated, or that appropriate excavations or other related research is conducted; and (3...

25 CFR 225.24 - Environmental studies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. (b) The Secretary shall ensure that all necessary surveys are performed and... 11593 (3 CFR 1971-1975 Comp., p. 559, May 13, 1971). If these surveys indicate that a mineral... effect is mitigated, or that appropriate excavations or other related research is conducted; and (3...

Investigating the Environmental Effects of Ocean Energy Generation (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Copping, A. E.; Anderson, R.; Schultz, I.; Woodruff, D.; Carlson, T.; Ward, J.; van Cleve, F.; Eere Mhk Environmental Effects

2010-12-01

The production of electricity from the moving waters of the ocean has the potential to be a viable addition to the portfolio of renewable energy sources worldwide. The marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) industry seeks to deploy and operate devices that harvest energy from the tides, waves, ocean currents and run of the river. Challenges facing the emerging industry include technology development, rigors of offshore deployments, and financing; however, the barrier most commonly cited by industry, regulators, and stakeholders is the uncertainty surrounding potential environmental effects of devices placed in the water and the permitting processes associated with those impacts. There is a need to evaluate the extensive list of potential interactions that may cause harm to marine organisms and ecosystems, to set priorities for regulatory triggers, and to direct future research. Project developers need information to understand how to minimize environmental effects; regulators need to know what monitoring targets are needed near ocean energy farms; and stakeholders need to know what mitigation strategies are effective in addressing unavoidable impacts. Scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are developing an Environmental Risk Evaluation System (ERES) to assess environmental effects associated with MHK technologies and projects through a systematic analytical process, with specific input from key stakeholder groups. The ERES development process provides the scientific structure to support risk characterization, comparison of tradeoffs, and risk-informed decision-making by project and technology developers, regulatory agencies, and other interested stakeholders. The PNNL team will determine the range and severity of environmental effects of MHK development, leading to the development of mitigation strategies where residual risk remains. Input to ERES draws from a wide range of marine and freshwater studies to understand which marine receptors may suffer damage from specific portions of MHK devices, mooring systems, or electrical cabling. However little is known about the effects of certain MHK stressors such as electromagnetic fields (EMF) from underwater cables and machines, as well as acoustic outputs from rotating turbines. Laboratory investigations into the effects of EMF and acoustics on test organisms will be discussed, and preliminary results presented.

Mitigation of climate change impacts on raptors by behavioural adaptation: ecological buffering mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wichmann, Matthias C.; Groeneveld, Jürgen; Jeltsch, Florian; Grimm, Volker

2005-07-01

The predicted climate change causes deep concerns on the effects of increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns on species viability and, in turn, on biodiversity. Models of Population Viability Analysis (PVA) provide a powerful tool to assess the risk of species extinction. However, most PVA models do not take into account the potential effects of behavioural adaptations. Organisms might adapt to new environmental situations and thereby mitigate negative effects of climate change. To demonstrate such mitigation effects, we use an existing PVA model describing a population of the tawny eagle ( Aquila rapax) in the southern Kalahari. This model does not include behavioural adaptations. We develop a new model by assuming that the birds enlarge their average territory size to compensate for lower amounts of precipitation. Here, we found the predicted increase in risk of extinction due to climate change to be much lower than in the original model. However, this "buffering" of climate change by behavioural adaptation is not very effective in coping with increasing interannual variances. We refer to further examples of ecological "buffering mechanisms" from the literature and argue that possible buffering mechanisms should be given due consideration when the effects of climate change on biodiversity are to be predicted.

Mitigation of environmental problems in Lake Victoria, East Africa: causal chain and policy options analyses.

PubMed

Odada, Eric O; Olago, Daniel O; Kulindwa, Kassim; Ntiba, Micheni; Wandiga, Shem

2004-02-01

Lake Victoria is an international waterbody that offers the riparian communities a large number of extremely important environmental services. Over the past three decades or so, the lake has come under increasing and considerable pressure from a variety of interlinked human activities such as overfishing, species introductions, industrial pollution, eutrophication, and sedimentation. In this paper we examine the root causes for overfishing and pollution in Lake Victoria and give possible policy options that can help remediate or mitigate the environmental degradation.

Contamination Mitigation Strategies for Long Duration Human Spaceflight Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Ruthan; Lupisella, Mark; Bleacher, Jake; Farrell, William

2017-01-01

Contamination control issues are particularly challenging for long-term human spaceflight and are associated with the search for life, dynamic environmental conditions, human-robotic-environment interaction, sample collection and return, biological processes, waste management, long-term environmental disturbance, etc. These issues impact mission success, human health, planetary protection, and research and discovery. Mitigation and control techniques and strategies may include and integrate long-term environmental monitoring and reporting, contamination control and planetary protection protocols, habitation site design, habitat design, and surface exploration and traverse pathways and area access planning.

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program; Annual report, FY91

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

NONE

1992-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a possible site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the Yucca Mountain area, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and to ensure that activities comply with applicable environmentalmore » regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments during fiscal year 1991 (FY91) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Activities Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.« less

Research: The Effect of Wetland Mitigation Banking on the Achievement of No-Net-Loss.

PubMed

BROWN; LANT

1999-04-01

/ This study determines whether the 68 wetland mitigation banks in existence in the United States through 1 January 1996 are achieving no-net-loss of wetland acreage nationally and regionally. Although 74% of the individual banks achieve no-net-loss by acreage, overall, wetland mitigation banks are projected to result in a net loss of 21,328 acres of wetlands nationally, 52% of the acreage in banks, as already credited wetland acreages are converted to otheruses. While most wetland mitigation banks are using appropriate compensation methods and ratios, several of the largest banks use preservation or enhancement, instead of restoration or creation. Most of these preservation/enhancement banks use minimum mitigation ratios of 1:1, which is much lower than ratios given in current guidelines. Assuming that mitigation occurs in these banks as preservation at the minimum allowable ratio, ten of these banks, concentrated in the western Gulf Coast region, will account for over 99% of projected net wetland acreage loss associated with banks. We conclude that wetland mitigation banking is a conceptually sound environmental policy and planning tool, but only if applied according to recently issued guidelines that ensure no-net-loss of wetland functions and values. Wetland mitigation banking inevitably leads to geographic relocation of wetlands, and therefore changes, either positively or negatively, the functions they perform and ecosystem services they provide. KEY WORDS: Mitigation banking; Wetlands; Army Corps of Engineers; No-net-loss

Gulf of Mexico Sales 147 and 150: Central and Western planning areas. Final environmental impact statement, Volume 1: Sections 1 through 4.C

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

Not Available

1993-11-01

This Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) covers the proposed 1994 Gulf of Mexico OCS oil and gas lease sales [Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 147 (March 1994) and Western Gulf of Mexico Sale 150 (August 1994)]. This document includes the purpose and background of the proposed actions, the alternatives, the descriptions of the affected environment, and the potential environmental impacts of the proposed actions and alternatives. Proposed mitigating measures and their effects are analyzed, in addition to potential cumulative impacts resulting from proposed activities.

Supplement Analysis for the Wildlife Mitigation Program EIS (DOE/EIS-0246/SA-36)

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

N /A

2003-10-10

The compliance checklist for this project was originally completed by the Burns Paiute Tribe in 2000, and meets the standards and guidelines for the Wildlife Mitigation Program Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD), as well as the Watershed Management Program Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD). The Logan Valley Wildlife Mitigation Plan, now being implemented, continues to be consistent with the above mentioned EISs and RODs. Pursuant to its obligations under the Endangered Species Act, BPA has made a determination of whether its proposed project will have any effects on any listed species undermore » the jurisdiction of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). A species list was obtained from USFWS on June 12, 2003, identifying bald eagles, Canada lynx, and bull trout as potentially occurring in the project area. A site assessment was conducted on July 15, 2003 to determine if these species were present and the potential effects of project activities. A ''No Effect'' determination was made for all ESA-listed species. There were no listed species under the jurisdiction of NOAA Fisheries present in the project area. As management activities proceed in the future, BPA will annually re-assess potential effects of planned activities on listed species. The Burns-Paiute Tribe conducted a literature search for historic and archaeological sites on the property on January 11, 1999. No known sites were identified. Further site-specific surveys will be conducted for individual ground disturbing activities. The results of these surveys will be sent to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and BPA. BPA will annually summarize and submit a report to the State Historic Preservation Office. On December 29, 1999, Fred Walasavage of BPA completed a Phase I Site Assessment and concluded that the site did not reveal any environmental factors that would pose a significant liability for remedial action or cleanup under the Comprehensive Recovery, Compensation and Liability Act. A public meeting was held when the property was initially acquired where the property acquisition and proposed activities were discussed. Subsequent public involvement was conducted on July 23, 2002 for commenting on the proposed Logan Valley Wildlife Mitigation Plan.« less

Environmental Asthma Reduction Potential Estimates for Selected Mitigation Actions in Finland Using a Life Table Approach

PubMed Central

Rumrich, Isabell Katharina; Hänninen, Otto

2015-01-01

Aims: To quantify the reduction potential of asthma in Finland achievable by adjusting exposures to selected environmental factors. Methods: A life table model for the Finnish population for 1986–2040 was developed and Years Lived with Disability caused by asthma and attributable to the following selected exposures were estimated: tobacco smoke (smoking and second hand tobacco smoke), ambient fine particles, indoor dampness and mould, and pets. Results: At baseline (2011) about 25% of the total asthma burden was attributable to the selected exposures. Banning tobacco was the most efficient mitigation action, leading to 6% reduction of the asthma burden. A 50% reduction in exposure to dampness and mould as well as a doubling in exposure to pets lead each to a 2% reduction. Ban of urban small scale wood combustion, chosen as a mitigation action to reduce exposure to fine particles, leads to a reduction of less than 1% of the total asthma burden. Combination of the most efficient mitigation actions reduces the total asthma burden by 10%. A more feasible combination of mitigation actions leads to 6% reduction of the asthma burden. Conclusions: The adjustment of environmental exposures can reduce the asthma burden in Finland by up to 10%. PMID:26067987

Epidemiologic methods lessons learned from environmental public health disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina.

PubMed

Svendsen, Erik R; Runkle, Jennifer R; Dhara, Venkata Ramana; Lin, Shao; Naboka, Marina; Mousseau, Timothy A; Bennett, Charles

2012-08-01

Environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants may have devastating effects. While much is known about their immediate devastation, far less is known about long-term impacts of these disasters. Extensive latent and chronic long-term public health effects may occur. Careful evaluation of contaminant exposures and long-term health outcomes within the constraints imposed by limited financial resources is essential. Here, we review epidemiologic methods lessons learned from conducting long-term evaluations of four environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants at Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville (South Carolina, USA). We found several lessons learned which have direct implications for the on-going disaster recovery work following the Fukushima radiation disaster or for future disasters. These lessons should prove useful in understanding and mitigating latent health effects that may result from the nuclear reactor accident in Japan or future environmental public health disasters.

Lease of Parcel ED-1 of the Oak Ridge Reservation by the East Tennessee Economic Council

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

NONE

1996-04-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has completed an environmental assessment (DOE/EA-1113) for the proposed lease of 957.16 acres of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) to the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), a non-profit community organization, for a period of 10 years, with an option for renewal. ETEC proposes to develop an industrial park on the leased site to provide employment opportunities for DOE and contractor employees affected by decreased federal funding. Based on the results of the analysis reported in the EA and implementation of mitigation measures defined in this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), DOE has determinedmore » that the proposed action is not a major Federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment within the context of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not necessary, and DOE is issuing this mitigated FONSI. DOE will implement a Mitigation Action Plan for this project and provide annual reports on mitigation and monitoring.« less

QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Volume 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Pattie

2011-01-01

QuEST is a publication of the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM). This issue contains brief articles on: Risk Identification and Mitigation, Material Management and Substitution Efforts--Hexavalent Chrome-free Coatings and Low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Coatings, Lead-Free Electronics, Corn-Based Depainting Media; Alternative Energy Efforts Hydrogen Sensors and Solar Air Conditioning. Other TEERM Efforts include: Energy and Water Management and Remediation Technology Collaboration.

Co-Mitigation of Ozone and PM2.5 Pollution over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J.; Xiang, S.; Yi, K.; Tao, W.

2017-12-01

With the rapid industrialization and urbanization, emissions of air pollutants in China were increasing rapidly during the past few decades, causing severe particulate matter and ozone pollution in many megacities. Facing these knotty environmental problems, China has released a series of pollution control policies to mitigate air pollution emissions and optimize energy supplement structure. Consequently, fine particulate matters (PM2.5) decrease recently. However, the concentrations of ambient ozone have been increasing, especially during summer time and over megacities. In this study, we focus on the opposite trends of ozone and PM2.5 over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) to simulate and analyze the best emission reduction strategies, and adopt the Empirical Kinetics Modeling Approach (EKMA) to depict the influences of mitigating NOx and VOCs. We also incorporate the abatement costs for NOx and VOCs in our analysis to explore the most cost-effective mitigation strategies for both ozone and PM2.5.

Environmental effects on composite airframes: A study conducted for the ARM UAV Program (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle)

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

Noguchi, R.A.

1994-06-01

Composite materials are affected by environments differently than conventional airframe structural materials are. This study identifies the environmental conditions which the composite-airframe ARM UAV may encounter, and discusses the potential degradation processes composite materials may undergo when subjected to those environments. This information is intended to be useful in a follow-on program to develop equipment and procedures to prevent, detect, or otherwise mitigate significant degradation with the ultimate goal of preventing catastrophic aircraft failure.

Recent advances in environmental controls outside the home setting.

PubMed

Hauptman, Marissa; Phipatanakul, Wanda

2016-04-01

It has been well studied that aeroallergen, mold, and airborne pollutant exposure in the inner-city home environment is associated with significant childhood asthma morbidity. Although the home environment has been extensively studied, the school environment is less well understood. In this article, we discuss the relationship between environmental exposures within the school and daycare environment and pediatric asthma morbidity and novel environmental interventions designed to help mitigate pediatric asthma morbidity. Studies assessing environmental exposures outside the home environment and interventions to mitigate these exposures have the potential to reduce pediatric asthma morbidity. Further study in this area should focus on the complex cost benefit analyses of environmental interventions outside the home setting, while controlling for the home environment.

The role of productivity in improving the environmental sustainability of ruminant production systems.

PubMed

Capper, Judith L; Bauman, Dale E

2013-01-01

The global livestock industry is charged with providing sufficient animal source foods to supply the global population while improving the environmental sustainability of animal production. Improved productivity within dairy and beef systems has demonstrably reduced resource use and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of food over the past century through the dilution of maintenance effect. Further environmental mitigation effects have been gained through the current use of technologies and practices that enhance milk yield or growth in ruminants; however, the social acceptability of continued intensification and use of productivity-enhancing technologies is subject to debate. As the environmental impact of food production continues to be a significant issue for all stakeholders within the field, further research is needed to ensure that comparisons among foods are made based on both environmental impact and nutritive value to truly assess the sustainability of ruminant products.

Barriers to Mitigate Carbon Footprint in a Selected Academic Institution in Bacoor City, Cavite, Philippines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adanza, Jonathan R.

2016-01-01

Carbon footprint is an environmental menace that needs to be addressed at once. Various mitigating measures were proposed and yet manifestations of its proliferation are very much observable. This study seeks to determine primarily the barriers of non-adherence to identified measures to mitigate carbon footprint in the environment. Using the mixed…

Longitudinal and Integrative Tests of Family Stress Model Effects on Mexican-Origin Adolescents

PubMed Central

White, Rebecca M. B.; Liu, Yu; Nair, Rajni L.; Tein, Jenn-Yun

2015-01-01

The family stress model represents a common framework through which to examine the effects of environmental stressors on adolescent adjustment. The model suggests that economic and neighborhood stressors influence youth adjustment via disruptions to parenting. Incorporating integrative developmental theory, we examined the degree to which parents’ cultural value orientations mitigated the effects of stressors on parenting disruptions and the degree to which environmental adversity qualified the effect of parenting on adolescent adjustment. We tested the hypothesized Integrative Family Stress Model longitudinally in a sample of mother-youth dyads (N = 749) and father-youth dyads (N = 467) from Mexican origin families, across three times points spanning early to middle adolescence. Providing the first longitudinal evidence of family stress mediated effects, mothers’ perceptions of economic pressure were associated with increases in adolescent externalizing symptoms five years later via intermediate increases in harsh parenting. The remaining findings supported the notion that integrative developmental theory can inform family stress model hypothesis testing that is culturally and contextually relevant for wide range of diverse families and youth. For example, fathers’ perceptions of economic pressure and neighborhood danger had important implications for adolescent internalizing, via reductions in paternal warmth, but only at certain levels of neighborhood adversity. Mothers’ familism value orientations mitigated the effects of economic pressure on maternal warmth, protecting their adolescents from experiencing developmental costs associated with environmental stressors. Results are discussed in terms of identifying how integrative developmental theory intersects with the family stress model to set diverse youth on different developmental pathways. PMID:25751100

Longitudinal and integrative tests of family stress model effects on Mexican origin adolescents.

PubMed

White, Rebecca M B; Liu, Yu; Nair, Rajni L; Tein, Jenn-Yun

2015-05-01

The family stress model represents a common framework through which to examine the effects of environmental stressors on adolescent adjustment. The model suggests that economic and neighborhood stressors influence youth adjustment via disruptions to parenting. Incorporating integrative developmental theory, we examined the degree to which parents' cultural value orientations mitigated the effects of stressors on parenting disruptions and the degree to which environmental adversity qualified the effect of parenting on adolescent adjustment. We tested the hypothesized integrative family stress model longitudinally in a sample of mother-youth dyads (N = 749) and father-youth dyads (N = 467) from Mexican origin families, across 3 times points spanning early to middle adolescence. Providing the first longitudinal evidence of family stress mediated effects, mothers' perceptions of economic pressure were associated with increases in adolescent externalizing symptoms 5 years later via intermediate increases in harsh parenting. The remaining findings supported the notion that integrative developmental theory can inform family stress model hypothesis testing that is culturally and contextually relevant for a wide range of diverse families and youth. For example, fathers' perceptions of economic pressure and neighborhood danger had important implications for adolescent internalizing, via reductions in paternal warmth, but only at certain levels of neighborhood adversity. Mothers' familism value orientations mitigated the effects of economic pressure on maternal warmth, protecting their adolescents from experiencing developmental costs associated with environmental stressors. Results are discussed in terms of identifying how integrative developmental theory intersects with the family stress model to set diverse youth on different developmental pathways. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of diet and manure storage method on carbon and nitrogen dynamics during storage and plant nitrogen uptake

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Altering dairy cattle diets to reduce both enteric methane (CH4) production and nitrogen (N) excretion are valuable tools for mitigating the environmental impact of dairy production. We examined the impact of altering diets on changes in physicochemical properties of manure during storage, short ter...

Environmental and social-demographic predictors of the southern house mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus in New Orleans, Louisiana

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Flooding events have become common throughout the world yet our understanding of how these events affect the spatial and temporal distribution of disease vectors such as mosquitoes is limited. This knowledge can guide development of effective and timely strategies for mitigating mosquito-borne disea...

76 FR 69758 - Draft Environmental Assessment, Incidental Take Plan, and Application for an Incidental Take...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

... local governments. DATES: Comment Period: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments... describes the proposed action and possible alternatives, and analyzes the effects of the alternatives on the... avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures) and other alternatives in the draft EA are adequate to...

Multivariate analysis of the cotton seed ionome reveals integrated genetic signatures of abiotic stress-response

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To mitigate the effects of heat and drought stress, an understanding of the genetic control of physiological responses to these environmental conditions is needed. To this end, we evaluated an upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) mapping population under water-limited and well-watered conditions in...

Middle and High School Students' Conceptions of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bofferding, Laura; Kloser, Matthew

2015-01-01

Both scientists and policy-makers emphasize the importance of education for influencing pro-environmental behavior and minimizing the effects of climate change on biological and physical systems. Education has the potential to impact students' system knowledge--their understanding of the variables that affect the climate system--and action…

75 FR 68333 - Notice of Availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-05

... YTC as well as significant but mitigable impacts to water resources at YTC. At PCMS, cumulative... assets to promote more effective training and force management. The Draft PEIS evaluates the... support integrated training with ground units. Land acquisition is not being considered as part of this...

Perverse effects of carbon markets on HFC-23 and SF6 abatement projects in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Lambert; Kollmuss, Anja

2015-12-01

Carbon markets are considered a key policy tool to achieve cost-effective climate mitigation. Project-based carbon market mechanisms allow private sector entities to earn tradable emissions reduction credits from mitigation projects. The environmental integrity of project-based mechanisms has been subject to controversial debate and extensive research, in particular for projects abating industrial waste gases with a high global warming potential (GWP). For such projects, revenues from credits can significantly exceed abatement costs, creating perverse incentives to increase production or generation of waste gases as a means to increase credit revenues from waste gas abatement. Here we show that all projects abating HFC-23 and SF6 under the Kyoto Protocol’s Joint Implementation mechanism in Russia increased waste gas generation to unprecedented levels once they could generate credits from producing more waste gas. Our results suggest that perverse incentives can substantially undermine the environmental integrity of project-based mechanisms and that adequate regulatory oversight is crucial. Our findings are critical for mechanisms in both national jurisdictions and under international agreements.

The effect of ICT on CO2 emissions in emerging economies: does the level of income matters?

PubMed

Danish; Khan, Noheed; Baloch, Muhammad Awais; Saud, Shah; Fatima, Tehreem

2018-05-31

In the modern era of globalization, the rapid increase in information and telecommunication technologies (ICTs) contributes in various sectors of an economy; however, the environmental consequences of ICTs cannot be ignored. Therefore, the study investigates the nexus between ICTs, economic growth, financial development, and environmental quality in emerging economies. The novel feature of the study is that the interaction term of ICT is introduced with economic growth and financial development. The empirical findings of the study are based on panel mean group (MG) and augmented mean group (AMG) estimation methods from 1990 to 2015. The following empirical results are established: first the ICTs significantly affect CO 2 emissions. Second, the moderating effect of ICT and financial development stimulate the level of CO 2 emissions. Third, economic growth contributes CO 2 emission; however, the interaction between ICT and GDP mitigates the level of pollution. Policy thresholds with the R&D in ICT sector are required to mitigate the level of CO 2 emission. Introduction of green ICTs projects in the financial sector is a better choice to improve the energy efficiency.

10 CFR 960.3-4 - Environmental impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Environmental impacts. 960.3-4 Section 960.3-4 Energy... REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-4 Environmental impacts. Environmental impacts shall be... process. The DOE shall mitigate significant adverse environmental impacts, to the extent practicable...

Introduction to NEPA and mitigation for TxDOT PDP : workshop material.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-10-01

The purpose of this workshop is to provide transportation planners, engineers, : environmental practitioners, and local officials with an introduction to National : Environemntal policy Act (EPA), mitigation, and the project development : process (PD...

Development of a Green Roof Environmental Monitoring and Meteorological Network in New York City

PubMed Central

Gaffin, Stuart R.; Khanbilvardi, Reza; Rosenzweig, Cynthia

2009-01-01

Green roofs (with plant cover) are gaining attention in the United States as a versatile new environmental mitigation technology. Interest in data on the environmental performance of these systems is growing, particularly with respect to urban heat island mitigation and stormwater runoff control. We are deploying research stations on a diverse array of green roofs within the New York City area, affording a new opportunity to monitor urban environmental conditions at small scales. We show some green roof systems being monitored, describe the sensor selection employed to study energy balance, and show samples of selected data. These roofs should be superior to other urban rooftops as sites for meteorological stations. PMID:22574037

Development of a green roof environmental monitoring and meteorological network in new york city.

PubMed

Gaffin, Stuart R; Khanbilvardi, Reza; Rosenzweig, Cynthia

2009-01-01

Green roofs (with plant cover) are gaining attention in the United States as a versatile new environmental mitigation technology. Interest in data on the environmental performance of these systems is growing, particularly with respect to urban heat island mitigation and stormwater runoff control. We are deploying research stations on a diverse array of green roofs within the New York City area, affording a new opportunity to monitor urban environmental conditions at small scales. We show some green roof systems being monitored, describe the sensor selection employed to study energy balance, and show samples of selected data. These roofs should be superior to other urban rooftops as sites for meteorological stations.

Turbine Aeration Design Software for Mitigating Adverse Environmental Impacts Resulting From Conventional Hydropower Turbines

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

Gulliver, John S.

2015-03-01

Conventional hydropower turbine aeration test-bed for computational routines and software tools for improving environmental mitigation technologies for conventional hydropower systems. In achieving this goal, we have partnered with Alstom, a global leader in energy technology development and United States power generation, with additional funding from the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) and the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) at the UMN

The Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation Strategies on Animal Welfare

PubMed Central

Shields, Sara; Orme-Evans, Geoffrey

2015-01-01

Simple Summary Climate change is probably the most important environmental issue of our time. Raising animals for food contributes to the production of greenhouse gases implicated in the global warming that is causing climate change. To combat this ecological disaster, a number of mitigation strategies involving changes to agricultural practices have been proposed. However, some of these changes will impact the welfare of farmed animals. This paper reviews selected climate change mitigation strategies and explains how different approaches could have negative or positive effects. Abstract The objective of this review is to point out that the global dialog on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in animal agriculture has, thus far, not adequately considered animal welfare in proposed climate change mitigation strategies. Many suggested approaches for reducing emissions, most of which could generally be described as calls for the intensification of production, can have substantial effects on the animals. Given the growing world-wide awareness and concern for animal welfare, many of these approaches are not socially sustainable. This review identifies the main emission abatement strategies in the climate change literature that would negatively affect animal welfare and details the associated problems. Alternative strategies are also identified as possible solutions for animal welfare and climate change, and it is suggested that more attention be focused on these types of options when allocating resources, researching mitigation strategies, and making policy decisions on reducing emissions from animal agriculture. PMID:26479240

Dioxin uptake by Indian plant species.

PubMed

Pandey, J S; Kumar, R; Wate, S R

2008-08-01

Dioxins like various gaseous pollutants and aerosols can be scavenged by appropriate vegetative greenbelts. Based on their stomatal properties and the models for contaminant uptake, uptake of dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) by three important Indian plant species, viz. Eugenia jambolana (Jamun), Azadirachta indica (Neem) and Ficus religiosa (Peepal), has been estimated. 2,3,7,8-TCDD is a contaminant with severe harmful ecological ramifications. Computations show that Ficus religiosa has highest uptake capacity. The present exercise has its utility in designing appropriate green-belts for mitigating adverse environmental and human health impacts due to dioxins. This can be an effective management option for mitigating the damages caused by dioxins.

A Mitigation Process for Impacts of the All American Pipeline on Oak Woodlands in Santa Barbara County

Treesearch

Germaine Reyes-French; Timothy J. Cohen

1991-01-01

This paper outlines a mitigation program for pipeline construction impacts to oak tree habitat by describing the requirements for the Offsite Oak Mitigation Program for the All American Pipeline (AAPL) in Santa Barbara County, California. After describing the initial environmental analysis, the County regulatory structure is described under which the plan was required...

Maximizing mitigation benefits: research to support a mitigation cost framework-final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

Tracking environmental costs in the project development process has been a challenging task for state : departments of transportation (DOTs). Previous research identified the need to accurately track and : subsequently estimate project costs resultin...

The enviornmental assessment of a contemporary coal mining system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dutzi, E. J.; Sullivan, P. J.; Hutchinson, C. F.; Stevens, C. M.

1980-01-01

A contemporary underground coal mine in eastern Kentucky was assessed in order to determine potential off-site and on-site environmental impacts associated with the mining system in the given environmental setting. A 4 section, continuous room and pillor mine plan was developed for an appropriate site in eastern Kentucky. Potential environmental impacts were identified, and mitigation costs determined. The major potential environmental impacts were determined to be: acid water drainage from the mine and refuse site, uneven subsidence of the surface as a result of mining activity, and alteration of ground water aquifers in the subsidence zone. In the specific case examined, the costs of environmental impact mitigation to levels prescribed by regulations would not exceed $1/ton of coal mined, and post mining land values would not be affected.

Policy Development for Biodiversity Offsets: A Review of Offset Frameworks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenney, Bruce A.; Kiesecker, Joseph M.

2010-01-01

Biodiversity offsets seek to compensate for residual environmental impacts of planned developments after appropriate steps have been taken to avoid, minimize or restore impacts on site. Offsets are emerging as an increasingly employed mechanism for achieving net environmental benefits, with offset policies being advanced in a wide range of countries (i.e., United States, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and South Africa). To support policy development for biodiversity offsets, we review a set of major offset policy frameworks—US wetlands mitigation, US conservation banking, EU Natura 2000, Australian offset policies in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia, and Brazilian industrial and forest offsets. We compare how the frameworks define offset policy goals, approach the mitigation process, and address six key issues for implementing offsets: (1) equivalence of project impacts with offset gains; (2) location of the offset relative to the impact site; (3) “additionality” (a new contribution to conservation) and acceptable types of offsets; (4) timing of project impacts versus offset benefits; (5) offset duration and compliance; and (6) “currency” and mitigation replacement ratios. We find substantial policy commonalities that may serve as a sound basis for future development of biodiversity offsets policy. We also identify issues requiring further policy guidance, including how best to: (1) ensure conformance with the mitigation hierarchy; (2) identify the most environmentally preferable offsets within a landscape context; and (3) determine appropriate mitigation replacement ratios.

Policy development for biodiversity offsets: a review of offset frameworks.

PubMed

McKenney, Bruce A; Kiesecker, Joseph M

2010-01-01

Biodiversity offsets seek to compensate for residual environmental impacts of planned developments after appropriate steps have been taken to avoid, minimize or restore impacts on site. Offsets are emerging as an increasingly employed mechanism for achieving net environmental benefits, with offset policies being advanced in a wide range of countries (i.e., United States, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and South Africa). To support policy development for biodiversity offsets, we review a set of major offset policy frameworks-US wetlands mitigation, US conservation banking, EU Natura 2000, Australian offset policies in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia, and Brazilian industrial and forest offsets. We compare how the frameworks define offset policy goals, approach the mitigation process, and address six key issues for implementing offsets: (1) equivalence of project impacts with offset gains; (2) location of the offset relative to the impact site; (3) "additionality" (a new contribution to conservation) and acceptable types of offsets; (4) timing of project impacts versus offset benefits; (5) offset duration and compliance; and (6) "currency" and mitigation replacement ratios. We find substantial policy commonalities that may serve as a sound basis for future development of biodiversity offsets policy. We also identify issues requiring further policy guidance, including how best to: (1) ensure conformance with the mitigation hierarchy; (2) identify the most environmentally preferable offsets within a landscape context; and (3) determine appropriate mitigation replacement ratios.

Climate Change-Related Water Disasters' Impact on Population Health.

PubMed

Veenema, Tener Goodwin; Thornton, Clifton P; Lavin, Roberta Proffitt; Bender, Annah K; Seal, Stella; Corley, Andrew

2017-11-01

Rising global temperatures have resulted in an increased frequency and severity of cyclones, hurricanes, and flooding in many parts of the world. These climate change-related water disasters (CCRWDs) have a devastating impact on communities and the health of residents. Clinicians and policymakers require a substantive body of evidence on which to base planning, prevention, and disaster response to these events. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature concerning the impact of CCRWDs on public health in order to identify factors in these events that are amenable to preparedness and mitigation. Ultimately, this evidence could be used by nurses to advocate for greater preparedness initiatives and inform national and international disaster policy. A systematic literature review of publications identified through a comprehensive search of five relevant databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature [CINAHL], Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science) was conducted using a modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach in January 2017 to describe major themes and associated factors of the impact of CCRWDs on population health. Three major themes emerged: environmental disruption resulting in exposure to toxins, population susceptibility, and health systems infrastructure (failure to plan-prepare-mitigate, inadequate response, and lack of infrastructure). Direct health impact was characterized by four major categories: weather-related morbidity and mortality, waterborne diseases/water-related illness, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, and psychiatric/mental health effects. Scope and duration of the event are factors that exacerbate the impact of CCRWDs. Discussion of specific factors amenable to mitigation was limited. Flooding as an event was overrepresented in this analysis (60%), and the majority of the research reviewed was conducted in high-income or upper middle-/high-income countries (62%), despite the fact that low-income countries bear a disproportionate share of the burden on morbidity and mortality from CCRWDs. Empirical evidence related to CCRWDs is predominately descriptive in nature, characterizing the cascade of climatic shifts leading to major environmental disruption and exposure to toxins, and their resultant morbidity and mortality. There is inadequate representation of research exploring potentially modifiable factors associated with CCRWDs and their impact on population health. This review lays the foundation for a wide array of further areas of analysis to explore the negative health impacts of CCRWDs and for nurses to take a leadership role in identifying and advocating for evidence-based policies to plan, prevent, or mitigate these effects. Nurses comprise the largest global healthcare workforce and are in a position to advocate for disaster preparedness for CCRWDs, develop more robust environmental health policies, and work towards mitigating exposure to environmental toxins that may threaten human health. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

2006 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

A. L. Johnson; K. A. Gano

2006-10-03

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. One of the objectives of restoration is the revegetation of remediated waste sites to stabilize the soil and restore the land to native vegetation. The report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2006 and includes 11 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and 2 bat habitat mitigation projects.

Research notes : GIS mapping of environmental justice populations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-03-01

As part of the requirements for receiving federal funds, ODOT is responsible for successfully integrating environmental justice (EJ) into its program and planning activities. Environmental justice requires ODOT to avoid, minimize, or mitigate disprop...

Spectroscopic studies of the physical origin of environmental aging effects on doped graphene

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

Chang, J.-K.; Department of Electrical Engineering, Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; Hsu, C.-C.

The environmental aging effect of doped graphene is investigated as a function of the organic doping species, humidity, and the number of graphene layers adjacent to the dopant by studies of the Raman spectroscopy, x-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and electrical transport measurements. It is found that higher humidity and structural defects induce faster degradation in doped graphene. Detailed analysis of the spectroscopic data suggest that the physical origin of the aging effect is associated with the continuing reaction of H{sub 2}O molecules with the hygroscopic organic dopants, which leads to formation of excess chemicalmore » bonds, reduction in the doped graphene carrier density, and proliferation of damages from the graphene grain boundaries. These environmental aging effects are further shown to be significantly mitigated by added graphene layers.« less

Environmental Outreach

Science.gov Websites

System Environmental Outreach Feature Stories Individual Permit for Storm Water Public Reading Room calendar to provide input on the subject matter. Visit the Public Reading Rooms and study our environmental Mitigating Wildland Fires Public Reading Room: Environmental Documents, Reports Los Alamos National

Environmental assessment for the Groundwater Characterization Project, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada; Revision 1

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

NONE

1992-08-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to conduct a program to characterize groundwater at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nye County, Nevada, in accordance with a 1987 DOE memorandum stating that all past, present, and future nuclear test sites would be treated as Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites (Memorandum from Bruce Green, Weapons Design and Testing Division, June 6, 1987). DOE has prepared an environmental assessment (DOE/EA-0532) to evaluate the environmental consequences associated with the proposed action, referred to as the Groundwater Characterization Project (GCP). This proposed action includes constructing access roads and drill pads,more » drilling and testing wells, and monitoring these wells for the purpose of characterizing groundwater at the NTS. Long-term monitoring and possible use of these wells in support of CERCLA, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, is also proposed. The GCP includes measures to mitigate potential impacts on sensitive biological, cultural and historical resources, and to protect workers and the environment from exposure to any radioactive or mixed waste materials that may be encountered. DOE considers those mitigation measures related to sensitive biological, cultural and historic resources as essential to render the impacts of the proposed action not significant, and DOE has prepared a Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) that explains how such mitigations will be planned and implemented. Based on the analyses presented in the EA, DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required and the Department is issuing this FONSI.« less

Antimicrobial Stewardship and Environmental Decontamination for the Control of Clostridium difficile Transmission in Healthcare Settings

PubMed Central

Bintz, Jason; Lenhart, Suzanne; Lanzas, Cristina

2017-01-01

We implement an agent-based model for Clostridium difficile transmission in hospitals that accounts for several processes and individual factors including environmental and antibiotic heterogeneity in order to evaluate the efficacy of various control measures aimed at reducing environmental contamination and mitigating the effects of antibiotic use on transmission. In particular, we account for local contamination levels that contribute to the probability of colonization and we account for both the number and type of antibiotic treatments given to patients. Simulations illustrate the relative efficacy of several strategies for the reduction of nosocomial colonizations and nosocomial diseases. PMID:27826877

A new mechanism of macrophyte mitigation: how submerged plants reduce malathion's acute toxicity to aquatic animals.

PubMed

Brogan, William R; Relyea, Rick A

2014-08-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that aquatic plants can mitigate the toxicity of insecticides to sensitive aquatic animals. The current paradigm is that this ability is driven primarily by insecticide sorption to plant tissues, especially for hydrophobic compounds. However, recent work shows that submerged plants can strongly mitigate the toxicity of the relatively hydrophilic insecticide malathion, despite the fact that this compound exhibits a slow sorption rate to plants. To examine this disparity, we tested the hypothesis that the mitigating effect of submerged plants on malathion's toxicity is driven primarily by the increased water pH from plant photosynthesis causing the hydrolysis of malathion, rather than by sorption. To do this, we compared zooplankton (Daphnia magna) survival across five environmentally relevant malathion concentrations (0, 1, 4, 6, or 36 μg L(-1)) in test containers where we chemically manipulated water pH in the absence of plants or added the submerged plant (Elodea canadensis) but manipulated plant photosynthetic activity via shading or no shading. We discovered that malathion was equally lethal to Daphnia at all concentrations tested when photosynthetically inactive (i.e. shaded) plants were present (pH at time of dosing=7.8) or when pH was chemically decreased (pH=7.7). In contrast, when photosynthetically active (i.e. unshaded) plants were present (pH=9.8) or when pH was chemically increased (pH=9.5), the effects of 4 and 6 μg L(-1) of malathion on Daphnia were mitigated strongly and to an equal degree. These results demonstrate that the mitigating effect of submerged plants on malathion's toxicity can be explained entirely by a mechanism of photosynthesizing plants causing an increase in water pH, resulting in rapid malathion hydrolysis. Our findings suggest that current ecotoxicological models and phytoremediation strategies may be overlooking a critical mechanism for mitigating pesticides. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Securing Mitigation as Injunctive Relief in Certain Civil Enforcement Settlements (2nd edition)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

To ensure that EPA's environmental enforcement efforts not only correct and deter illegal conduct but maximize the redress of its consequences, this memorandum is intended to strongly encourage case teams to seek mitigation.

An overview of a free-market approach to climate change and conservation.

PubMed

Sandor, Richard L; Bettelheim, Eric C; Swingland, Ian R

2002-08-15

This paper describes the convergence of environmental and financial markets, reviews the evolution of market-based environmental programmes as an example of the seven-stage evolutionary process witnessed in a variety of markets and summarizes the emergence of greenhouse-gas-mitigation markets and their potential role in advancing land stewardship, biodiversity and other environmental services. Emissions trading has been developed to meet the demand to reduce pollution while avoiding economic disruption. Consistent with the seven-stage pattern of market evolution, the US programme to reduce the damage from acid rain established a standardized environmental commodity, developed 'evidence of ownership' necessary for financial instruments and provided the infrastructure to efficiently transfer title. The success of the system in reducing pollution at low cost has provided a model for other market-based environmental protection initiatives. The demand for cost-effective action to reduce the threat of climate change has initiated the same evolutionary process for markets to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Many of the land- and forest-management practices that can capture and store atmospheric CO(2) can also provide other environmental benefits, such as biodiversity preservation and enhanced water quality. The presence of a carbon-trading market will introduce a clear financial value for capture and mitigation of CO(2) emissions, thus introducing a new source of funding for land stewardship and forest rehabilitation. The market is now emerging through a variety of 'bottom-up' developments being undertaken through governmental, multilateral, private-sector and non-governmental-organization initiatives. The extension of markets to other emerging environmental issues is now underway, and the linkages between environmental sustainability and capital markets are being more deeply understood. The early evidence indicates that environmental sustainability can be compatible with maximization of shareholder value.

Environmental impacts of in-house windrow composting of broiler litter prior to land application in subtropical/semi-arid conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Land application to crop and pasture land is a common and effective method of utilizing the resource value of poultry litter. In-house windrow composting of litter is an emerging management practice with the potential to mitigate water quality and nuisance odor concerns associated with land applica...

Using NASA Using Remote Sensing in Public Health Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Sue; Haynes, John

2011-01-01

The Public Health application area focuses on Earth science applications to public health and safety, particularly regarding infectious disease, emergency preparedness and response, and environmental health issues. The application explores issues of toxic and pathogenic exposure, as well as natural and man-made hazards and their effects, for risk characterization/mitigation and improvements to health and safety.

Changes in fire regime break the legacy lock on successional trajectories in Alaskan boreal forest

Treesearch

Jill F. Johnstone; Teresa N. Hollingsworth; F. Stuart Chapin; Michelle C. Mack

2009-01-01

Predicting plant community responses to changing environmental conditions is a key element of forecasting and mitigating the effects of global change. Disturbance can play an important role in these dynamics, by initiating cycles of secondary succession and generating opportunities for communities of long-lived organisms to reorganize in alternative configurations....

Influence of forest roads and BMPs on soil erosion

Treesearch

J. McFero Grace; William J. Elliot

2011-01-01

Mitigating sediment export from the forest road prism and potential delivery to forest streams will require a more complete prospective on forest road erosion and benefit of BMPs in reducing the risk of degrading environmental impacts. Sediment control systems have clearly been presented as effective in minimizing sediment travel distances downslope and are likely the...

Indexing Soil Conservation: Farmer Perceptions of Agroforestry Benefits

Treesearch

Subhrendu K. Pattanayak; D. Evan Mercer

2002-01-01

Soil erosion poses economic and environmental concerns in many tropical uplands. Agroforestry has been proposed as a sustainable land use that can mitigate soil erosion and promote the economic welfare of small farmers. To evaluate such claims, we must (a) develop a composite measure of effectiveness, such as a soil conservation index, and (b) define it in terms...

78 FR 6303 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Effects of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-30

... activities (e.g., seismic surveys and exploratory drilling) in Federal and state waters of the U.S. Chukchi...), and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring...., NMFS' issuance of MMPA ITAs for take of marine mammals incidental to G&G surveys, ancillary activities...

Environmental health capacity-building: Examples from EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research Grants Program

EPA Science Inventory

NCER’s environmental health research funding to academic institutions and non-profit entities have supported EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment, while also supporting capacity-building in communities in understanding and mitigating environmental...

How much land-based greenhouse gas mitigation can be achieved without compromising food security and environmental goals?

PubMed

Smith, Pete; Haberl, Helmut; Popp, Alexander; Erb, Karl-Heinz; Lauk, Christian; Harper, Richard; Tubiello, Francesco N; de Siqueira Pinto, Alexandre; Jafari, Mostafa; Sohi, Saran; Masera, Omar; Böttcher, Hannes; Berndes, Göran; Bustamante, Mercedes; Ahammad, Helal; Clark, Harry; Dong, Hongmin; Elsiddig, Elnour A; Mbow, Cheikh; Ravindranath, Nijavalli H; Rice, Charles W; Robledo Abad, Carmenza; Romanovskaya, Anna; Sperling, Frank; Herrero, Mario; House, Joanna I; Rose, Steven

2013-08-01

Feeding 9-10 billion people by 2050 and preventing dangerous climate change are two of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Both challenges must be met while reducing the impact of land management on ecosystem services that deliver vital goods and services, and support human health and well-being. Few studies to date have considered the interactions between these challenges. In this study we briefly outline the challenges, review the supply- and demand-side climate mitigation potential available in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use AFOLU sector and options for delivering food security. We briefly outline some of the synergies and trade-offs afforded by mitigation practices, before presenting an assessment of the mitigation potential possible in the AFOLU sector under possible future scenarios in which demand-side measures codeliver to aid food security. We conclude that while supply-side mitigation measures, such as changes in land management, might either enhance or negatively impact food security, demand-side mitigation measures, such as reduced waste or demand for livestock products, should benefit both food security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. Demand-side measures offer a greater potential (1.5-15.6 Gt CO2 -eq. yr(-1) ) in meeting both challenges than do supply-side measures (1.5-4.3 Gt CO2 -eq. yr(-1) at carbon prices between 20 and 100 US$ tCO2 -eq. yr(-1) ), but given the enormity of challenges, all options need to be considered. Supply-side measures should be implemented immediately, focussing on those that allow the production of more agricultural product per unit of input. For demand-side measures, given the difficulties in their implementation and lag in their effectiveness, policy should be introduced quickly, and should aim to codeliver to other policy agenda, such as improving environmental quality or improving dietary health. These problems facing humanity in the 21st Century are extremely challenging, and policy that addresses multiple objectives is required now more than ever. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Radiation Tolerant Intelligent Memory Stack (RTIMS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Tak-kwong; Herath, Jeffrey A.

2006-01-01

The Radiation Tolerant Intelligent Memory Stack (RTIMS), suitable for both geostationary and low earth orbit missions, has been developed. The memory module is fully functional and undergoing environmental and radiation characterization. A self-contained flight-like module is expected to be completed in 2006. RTIMS provides reconfigurable circuitry and 2 gigabits of error corrected or 1 gigabit of triple redundant digital memory in a small package. RTIMS utilizes circuit stacking of heterogeneous components and radiation shielding technologies. A reprogrammable field programmable gate array (FPGA), six synchronous dynamic random access memories, linear regulator, and the radiation mitigation circuitries are stacked into a module of 42.7mm x 42.7mm x 13.00mm. Triple module redundancy, current limiting, configuration scrubbing, and single event function interrupt detection are employed to mitigate radiation effects. The mitigation techniques significantly simplify system design. RTIMS is well suited for deployment in real-time data processing, reconfigurable computing, and memory intensive applications.

Cumulative Impact Assessment: Approaching Environmental Capacity in Development Area Using Environmental Impact Assessment Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, N.; Lee, M. J.; Maeng, J. H.

2017-12-01

Environmental impact assessment estimates the impact of development as a business unit and establishes mitigation plan. If the development is done, its economic effects can spread to the nearby areas. So that various developments can be distributed at different time intervals. The impact of the new developments can be combined with existing environmental impacts and can have a larger impact. That is, Cumulative impact assessment is needed to consider the environmental capacity of the Nearby area. Cumulative impact assessments require policy tools such as environmental impact assessment information and cumulative impact estimation models. In Korea, environmental information (water quality, air quality, etc.) of the development site is measured for environmental impact assessment and monitored for a certain period (generally 5 years) after the project. In addition, by constructing the environmental information as a spatial database, it is possible to express the environmental impact on a regional basis spatially and to intuitively use it for development site selection. Utilizing a composite model of environmental impact assessment information and Remote Sensing data for cumulative impact estimation, That can be used as a policy decision support tool that provides quantitative information for development area management, such as time series effect and sprawl phenomenon.

Designing payments for ecosystem services: Lessons from previous experience with incentive-based mechanisms

PubMed Central

Jack, B. Kelsey; Kousky, Carolyn; Sims, Katharine R. E.

2008-01-01

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) policies compensate individuals or communities for undertaking actions that increase the provision of ecosystem services such as water purification, flood mitigation, or carbon sequestration. PES schemes rely on incentives to induce behavioral change and can thus be considered part of the broader class of incentive- or market-based mechanisms for environmental policy. By recognizing that PES programs are incentive-based, policymakers can draw on insights from the substantial body of accumulated knowledge about this class of instruments. In particular, this article offers a set of lessons about how the environmental, socioeconomic, political, and dynamic context of a PES policy is likely to interact with policy design to produce policy outcomes, including environmental effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and poverty alleviation. PMID:18621696

Designing payments for ecosystem services: Lessons from previous experience with incentive-based mechanisms.

PubMed

Jack, B Kelsey; Kousky, Carolyn; Sims, Katharine R E

2008-07-15

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) policies compensate individuals or communities for undertaking actions that increase the provision of ecosystem services such as water purification, flood mitigation, or carbon sequestration. PES schemes rely on incentives to induce behavioral change and can thus be considered part of the broader class of incentive- or market-based mechanisms for environmental policy. By recognizing that PES programs are incentive-based, policymakers can draw on insights from the substantial body of accumulated knowledge about this class of instruments. In particular, this article offers a set of lessons about how the environmental, socioeconomic, political, and dynamic context of a PES policy is likely to interact with policy design to produce policy outcomes, including environmental effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and poverty alleviation.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

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

J.R. Paterek; G. Husmillo; V. Trbovic

The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmental benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is one or more environmental benign, a.k.a. ''green'' products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. The technical approach for this quarter were isolation and cultivation of MIC-causing microorganisms from corroded pipeline samples, optimizing parameters in the laboratory-scale corrosion test loop system and testing the effective concentrations of Capsicum sp. extracts to verifymore » the extent of corrosion on metal coupons by batch culture method. A total of 22 strains from the group of heterotrophic, acid producing, denitrifying and sulfate reducing bacteria were isolated from the gas pipeline samples obtained from Northern Indiana Public Service Company in Trenton, Indiana. They were purified and will be sent out for identification. Bacterial strains of interest were used in antimicrobial screenings and test loop experiments. Parameters for the laboratory-scale test loop system such as gas and culture medium flow rate; temperature; inoculation period; and length of incubation were established. Batch culture corrosion study against Desulfovibrio vulgaris showed that one (S{sub 1}M) out of the four Capsicum sp. extracts tested was effective in controlling the corrosion rate in metal coupons by 33.33% when compared to the untreated group.« less

Occurrence and attempted mitigation of carbon dioxide in a home constructed on reclaimed coal-mine spoil, Pike County, Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, Bret A.

2010-01-01

In recent years carbon dioxide intrusion has become recognized as a potentially serious health threat where homes are constructed on or near reclaimed surface coal mines. When carbon dioxide invades the living space of a home, it can collect near the floor, displace the oxygen there, and produce an oxygen-deficient environment. In this investigation, several lines of inquiry were pursued to determine the environmental factors that most influence carbon dioxide intrusion at a Pike County, Ind., home where this phenomenon is known to occur. It was found that carbon dioxide intrusion events at the home are most closely tied to rapid drops in barometric pressure and rainfall. Other researchers have shown that windy conditions and periods of cold weather also can contribute to soil-gas intrusion to structures. From this, a conceptual model was developed to illustrate the influence of these four meteorological conditions. Additionally, three mitigation methods-block-wall depressurization, block-wall and sub-slab depressurization, and block-wall and sub-slab pressurization-were applied successively to the study-site home, and environmental data were collected to evaluate the effectiveness of each mitigation method. In each case, it was found that these methods did not ensure a safe environment when meteorological conditions were favorable for carbon dioxide intrusion.

Toward a Comprehensive Strategy to Mitigate Dissemination of Environmental Sources of Antibiotic Resistance.

PubMed

Vikesland, Peter J; Pruden, Amy; Alvarez, Pedro J J; Aga, Diana; Bürgmann, Helmut; Li, Xiang-Dong; Manaia, Celia M; Nambi, Indumathi; Wigginton, Krista; Zhang, Tong; Zhu, Yong-Guan

2017-11-21

Antibiotic resistance is a pervasive global health threat. To combat the spread of resistance, it is necessary to consider all possible sources and understand the pathways and mechanisms by which resistance disseminates. Best management practices are urgently needed to provide barriers to the spread of resistance and maximize the lifespan of antibiotics as a precious resource. Herein we advise upon the need for coordinated national and international strategies, highlighting three essential components: (1) Monitoring, (2) Risk Assessment, and (3) Mitigation of antibiotic resistance. Central to all three components is What exactly to monitor, assess, and mitigate? We address this question within an environmental framework, drawing from fundamental microbial ecological processes driving the spread of resistance.

Managing the environmental impacts of land transport: integrating environmental analysis with urban planning.

PubMed

Irving, Paul; Moncrieff, Ian

2004-12-01

Ecological systems have limits or thresholds that vary by pollutant type, emissions sources and the sensitivity of a given location. Human health can also indicate sensitivity. Good environmental management requires any problem to be defined to obtain efficient and effective solutions. Cities are where transport activities, effects and resource management decisions are often most focussed. The New Zealand Ministry of Transport has developed two environmental management tools. The Vehicle Fleet Model (VFM) is a predictive database of the environmental performance of the New Zealand traffic fleet (and rail fleet). It calculates indices of local air quality, stormwater, and greenhouse gases emissions. The second is an analytical process based on Environmental Capacity Analysis (ECA). Information on local traffic is combined with environmental performance data from the Vehicle Fleet Model. This can be integrated within a live, geo-spatially defined analysis of the overall environmental effects within a defined local area. Variations in urban form and activity (traffic and other) that contribute to environmental effects can be tracked. This enables analysis of a range of mitigation strategies that may contribute, now or in the future, to maintaining environmental thresholds or meeting targets. A case study of the application of this approach was conducted within Waitakere City. The focus was on improving the understanding of the relative significance of stormwater contaminants derived from land transport.

Covenants with Weak Swords: ISO 14001 and Facilities' Environmental Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potoski, Matthew; Prakash, Aseem

2005-01-01

Voluntary environmental programs are codes of progressive environmental conduct that firms pledge to adopt. This paper investigates whether ISO 14001, a voluntary program with a weak sword--a weak monitoring and sanctioning mechanism--can mitigate shirking and improve participants' environmental performance. Sponsored by the International…

An effective public health program to reduce urban heat islands in Québec, Canada.

PubMed

Beaudoin, Mélanie; Gosselin, Pierre

2016-09-01

In 2005, the Government of the Province of Québec, Canada, adopted the Climate Change Action Plan for 2006 - 2012. The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (National Institute of Public Health of Québec), charged with implementing the health adaptation component of the Plan, worked to mitigate urban heat islands (UHI) by funding and evaluating 40 pilot projects. These projects explored different methods of fighting UHIs by greening cities in a participative and mobilizing approach led mainly by non-governmental organizations and municipalities. An assessment of temperatures before and after implementing various methods demonstrated that some actions enabled significant gains of coolness and more efficiently mitigated heat (reduction of concrete/asphalt surfaces, increasing vegetation, etc.). An assessment of quality of life showed that projects were positively received by users, especially by those living in vulnerable situations. A lifecycle analysis showed that from the environmental perspective, UHI mitigation measures that do not require fertilization or maintenance are preferable. Finally, communication efforts that raise awareness of UHI and mitigation are of significant importance to program success.

The importance of carbon footprint estimation boundaries.

PubMed

Matthews, H Scott; Hendrickson, Chris T; Weber, Christopher L

2008-08-15

Because of increasing concern about global climate change and carbon emissions as a causal factor, many companies and organizations are pursuing "carbon footprint" projects to estimate their own contributions to global climate change. Protocol definitions from carbon registries help organizations analyze their footprints. The scope of these protocols varies but generally suggests estimating only direct emissions and emissions from purchased energy, with less focus on supply chain emissions. In contrast approaches based on comprehensive environmental life-cycle assessment methods are available to track total emissions across the entire supply chain, and experience suggests that following narrowly defined estimation protocols will generally lead to large underestimates of carbon emissions for providing products and services. Direct emissions from an industry are, on average, only 14% of the total supply chain carbon emissions (often called Tier 1 emissions), and direct emissions plus industry energy inputs are, on average, only 26% of the total supply chain emissions (often called Tier 1 and 2 emissions). Without a full knowledge of their footprints, firms will be unable to pursue the most cost-effective carbon mitigation strategies. We suggest that firms use the screening-level analysis described here to set the bounds of their footprinting strategy to ensure that they do not ignore large sources of environmental effects across their supply chains. Such information can help firms pursue carbon and environmental emission mitigation projects not only within their own plants but also across their supply chain.

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program. Progress report, January 1994--December 1994

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

NONE

1995-07-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential geological repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, a program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. Thismore » report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG and G/EM) from January 1994 through December 1994 for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the environmental program for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP): Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.« less

Yucca Mountain biological resources monitoring program; Annual report FY92

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

NONE

1993-02-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a potential site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmentalmore » regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG&G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG&G/EM) during fiscal year 1992 (FY92) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.« less

Epidemiologic Methods Lessons Learned from Environmental Public Health Disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina

PubMed Central

Svendsen, Erik R.; Runkle, Jennifer R.; Dhara, Venkata Ramana; Lin, Shao; Naboka, Marina; Mousseau, Timothy A.; Bennett, Charles

2012-01-01

Background: Environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants may have devastating effects. While much is known about their immediate devastation, far less is known about long-term impacts of these disasters. Extensive latent and chronic long-term public health effects may occur. Careful evaluation of contaminant exposures and long-term health outcomes within the constraints imposed by limited financial resources is essential. Methods: Here, we review epidemiologic methods lessons learned from conducting long-term evaluations of four environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants at Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville (South Carolina, USA). Findings: We found several lessons learned which have direct implications for the on-going disaster recovery work following the Fukushima radiation disaster or for future disasters. Interpretation: These lessons should prove useful in understanding and mitigating latent health effects that may result from the nuclear reactor accident in Japan or future environmental public health disasters. PMID:23066404

Disability correlates in Canadian Armed Forces Regular Force Veterans.

PubMed

Thompson, James M; Pranger, Tina; Sweet, Jill; VanTil, Linda; McColl, Mary Ann; Besemann, Markus; Shubaly, Colleen; Pedlar, David

2015-01-01

This study was undertaken to inform disability mitigation for military veterans by identifying personal, environmental, and health factors associated with activity limitations. A sample of 3154 Canadian Armed Forces Regular Force Veterans who were released during 1998-2007 participated in the 2010 Survey on Transition to Civilian Life. Associations between personal and environmental factors, health conditions and activity limitations were explored using ordinal logistic regression. The prevalence of activity reduction in life domains was higher than the Canadian general population (49% versus 21%), as was needing assistance with at least one activity of daily living (17% versus 5%). Prior to adjusting for health conditions, disability odds were elevated for increased age, females, non-degree post-secondary graduation, low income, junior non-commissioned members, deployment, low social support, low mastery, high life stress, and weak sense of community belonging. Reduced odds were found for private/recruit ranks. Disability odds were highest for chronic pain (10.9), any mental health condition (2.7), and musculoskeletal conditions (2.6), and there was a synergistic additive effect of physical and mental health co-occurrence. Disability, measured as activity limitation, was associated with a range of personal and environmental factors and health conditions, indicating multifactorial and multidisciplinary approaches to disability mitigation.

A Methodology for Integrated, Multiregional Life Cycle Assessment Scenarios under Large-Scale Technological Change.

PubMed

Gibon, Thomas; Wood, Richard; Arvesen, Anders; Bergesen, Joseph D; Suh, Sangwon; Hertwich, Edgar G

2015-09-15

Climate change mitigation demands large-scale technological change on a global level and, if successfully implemented, will significantly affect how products and services are produced and consumed. In order to anticipate the life cycle environmental impacts of products under climate mitigation scenarios, we present the modeling framework of an integrated hybrid life cycle assessment model covering nine world regions. Life cycle assessment databases and multiregional input-output tables are adapted using forecasted changes in technology and resources up to 2050 under a 2 °C scenario. We call the result of this modeling "technology hybridized environmental-economic model with integrated scenarios" (THEMIS). As a case study, we apply THEMIS in an integrated environmental assessment of concentrating solar power. Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions for this plant range from 33 to 95 g CO2 eq./kWh across different world regions in 2010, falling to 30-87 g CO2 eq./kWh in 2050. Using regional life cycle data yields insightful results. More generally, these results also highlight the need for systematic life cycle frameworks that capture the actual consequences and feedback effects of large-scale policies in the long term.

Managing for Successful Control of Naturally Occurring Asbestos During Large Scale Grading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saur, R.; Harnish, D.; Cavanaugh, J.; Kendall, K.; Virdee, A.; Ludlam, D.

2012-12-01

Pacific Gas and Electric Company recently completed environmental remediation and civil grading of a 35-acre site in San Francisco Bay Area, and the project became recognized with local agencies as having excellent controls systems for naturally-occurring asbestos (NOA). The project began in 2010 and was completed in 2012, and involved excavating and grading over 100,000 tons of soil containing NOA. The work was subject to requirements by state, local and regional agencies, including an asbestos dust mitigation plan for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Effective control of NOA is attributed to management approaches combined with effective monitoring and state-of-the-art controls. Management Planning. The contract for construction specified NOA compliance management and controls, including having a NOA-control "czar" ultimately responsible for effective mitigation. An important element was daily pre-planning for excavation/grading that involved both the NOA mitigation experts and construction staff. Personnel Planning and Training. All construction personnel were trained before work regarding NOA hazards and mitigations. Daily tailboards with all construction personnel included discussions of the NOA controls integral to the daily work. Supervision. A NOA mitigation compliance leader was assigned to each excavation operation, responsible for continuously monitoring wind direction and work to ensure mitigation met requirements, and that disturbed areas were hydrosealed or covered. Adaptive Management - Daily and weekly debriefs occurred with those responsible for NOA controls to evaluate effectiveness, and identify improvements needed. If a monitoring result exceeded the project trigger level, work shut down and a root-cause analysis was performed to determine appropriate corrective actions. Deviations of results from background were researched as to cause, and any adjustments identified. Nearby non-project activities were monitored, as they occasionally caused trigger level exceedences in perimeter monitors, including from off-site vehicles, nearby construction, and mechanical vegetation management (e.g. weed whacking). Regulatory and Owner Oversight. Monitoring results were reported daily to agencies, agencies made frequent inspections, and owner's independent compliance representatives observed the NOA mitigation and provided real-time feedback to the construction team. NOA Controls. NOA emissions were controlled site-wide and for each work activity. Site systems included misting, water trucks on roads, temporary covers and soil sealants. Work activity controls for excavation/grading included both source and perimeter controls. Water application technologies specially designed for NOA fiber mitigation, and not just dust mitigation, were effective without adding excessive water to work areas. These activities collectively created a management structure that facilitated successful implementation of NOA control technologies.

A synthesis of two decades of research documenting the effects of noise on wildlife.

PubMed

Shannon, Graeme; McKenna, Megan F; Angeloni, Lisa M; Crooks, Kevin R; Fristrup, Kurt M; Brown, Emma; Warner, Katy A; Nelson, Misty D; White, Cecilia; Briggs, Jessica; McFarland, Scott; Wittemyer, George

2016-11-01

Global increases in environmental noise levels - arising from expansion of human populations, transportation networks, and resource extraction - have catalysed a recent surge of research into the effects of noise on wildlife. Synthesising a coherent understanding of the biological consequences of noise from this literature is challenging. Taxonomic groups vary in auditory capabilities. A wide range of noise sources and exposure levels occur, and many kinds of biological responses have been observed, ranging from individual behaviours to changes in ecological communities. Also, noise is one of several environmental effects generated by human activities, so researchers must contend with potentially confounding explanations for biological responses. Nonetheless, it is clear that noise presents diverse threats to species and ecosystems and salient patterns are emerging to help inform future natural resource-management decisions. We conducted a systematic and standardised review of the scientific literature published from 1990 to 2013 on the effects of anthropogenic noise on wildlife, including both terrestrial and aquatic studies. Research to date has concentrated predominantly on European and North American species that rely on vocal communication, with approximately two-thirds of the data set focussing on songbirds and marine mammals. The majority of studies documented effects from noise, including altered vocal behaviour to mitigate masking, reduced abundance in noisy habitats, changes in vigilance and foraging behaviour, and impacts on individual fitness and the structure of ecological communities. This literature survey shows that terrestrial wildlife responses begin at noise levels of approximately 40 dBA, and 20% of papers documented impacts below 50 dBA. Our analysis highlights the utility of existing scientific information concerning the effects of anthropogenic noise on wildlife for predicting potential outcomes of noise exposure and implementing meaningful mitigation measures. Future research directions that would support more comprehensive predictions regarding the magnitude and severity of noise impacts include: broadening taxonomic and geographical scope, exploring interacting stressors, conducting larger-scale studies, testing mitigation approaches, standardising reporting of acoustic metrics, and assessing the biological response to noise-source removal or mitigation. The broad volume of existing information concerning the effects of anthropogenic noise on wildlife offers a valuable resource to assist scientists, industry, and natural-resource managers in predicting potential outcomes of noise exposure. © 2015 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Review of Offshore Wind Farm Impact Monitoring and Mitigation with Regard to Marine Mammals.

PubMed

Verfuss, Ursula K; Sparling, Carol E; Arnot, Charlie; Judd, Adrian; Coyle, Michael

2016-01-01

Monitoring and mitigation reports from 19 UK and 9 other European Union (EU) offshore wind farm (OWF) developments were reviewed, providing a synthesis of the evidence associated with the observed environmental impact on marine mammals. UK licensing conditions were largely concerned with mitigation measures reducing the risk of physical and auditory injury from pile driving. At the other EU sites, impact monitoring was conducted along with mitigation measures. Noise-mitigation measures were developed and tested in UK and German waters in German government-financed projects. We highlight some of the review's findings and lessons learned with regard to noise impact on marine mammals.

SLICEIT and TAHMO Partnerships: Students Local and International Collaboration for Climate and Environmental Monitoring, Technology Development, Education, Adaptation and Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aishlin, P. S.; Selker, J. S.

2015-12-01

Climate change understanding and impacts vary by community, yet the global nature of climate change requires international collaboration to address education, monitoring, adaptation and mitigation needs. We propose that effective climate change monitoring and education can be accomplished via student-led local and international community partnerships. By empowering students as community leaders in climate-environmental monitoring and education, as well as exploration of adaptation/mitigation needs, well-informed communities and young leadership are developed to support climate change science moving forward. Piloted 2013-2015, the SLICEIT1 program partnered with TAHMO2 to connect student leaders in North America, Europe and Africa. At the international level, schools in the U.S.A and Netherlands were partnered with schools in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda for science and cultural exchange. Each school was equipped with a climate or other environmental sensing system, real-time data publication and curricula for both formal and informal science, technology, engineering and math education and skill development. African counterparts in TAHMO's School-2-School program collect critically important data for enhanced on-the-ground monitoring of weather conditions in data-scarce regions of Africa. In Idaho, student designed, constructed and installed weather stations provide real time data for classroom and community use. Student-designed formal educational activities are disseminated to project partners, increasing hands-on technology education and peer-based learning. At the local level, schools are partnered with a local agency, research institute, nonprofit organization, industry and/or community partner that supplies a climate science expert mentor to SLICEIT program leaders and teachers. Mentor engagement is facilitated and secured by program components that directly benefit the mentor's organization and local community via climate/environment monitoring, student workforce skill development, community education, and/or adaptation/mitigation activities. Students are motivated by advanced real-world skill development, leadership opportunity, internship, community service and opportunity for international peer communication.

High Spatial Resolution Thermal Remote Sensing of the Urban Heat Island Effect: Assessment of Risks to Human Health and Development of Mitigation Strategies for Sustainable Cities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Rickman, Douglas L.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Laymon, Charles A.; Crosson, William; Howell, Burgess F.; Gillani, Noor V.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The growth of cities, both in population and in areal extent, appears as an inexorable process. Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 80% of the world's population will live in cities. One of the more egregious side effects of urbanization is the deterioration in air quality as a result of increased vehicular traffic, industrialization and related activities. In the United States alone, under the more stringent air quality guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1997, nearly 300 counties in 34 states will not meet the new air quality standards for ground level ozone. The mitigation of one the physical/environmental characteristics of urbanization known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, is now being looked at more closely as a possible way to bring down ground level ozone levels in cities and assist states in improving air quality. The UHI results from the replacement of "natural" land covers (e.g., trees, grass) with urban land surface types, such as pavement and buildings. Heat stored in these surfaces is released into the air and results in a "dome" of elevated air temperatures that presides over cities. The effect of this dome of elevated air temperatures is known as the UHI, which is most prevalent about 2-3 hours after sunset on days with intense solar radiation and calm winds. Given the local and regional impacts of the UHI, there are significant potential affects on human health, particularly as related to heat stress and ozone on body temperature regulation and on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. In this study we are using airborne and satellite remote sensing data to analyze how differences in the urban landscape influence or drive the development of the UHI over four U.S. cities. Additionally, we are assessing what the potential impact is on risks to human health, and developing mitigation strategies to make urban areas more environmentally sustainable.

Remote Sensing of the Urban Heat Island Effect: Assessment of Risks to Human Health and Development of Mitigation Strategies for Sustainable Cities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Rickman, Douglas L.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Laymon, Charles A.; Crosson, William; Howell, Burgess F.; Gillani, Noor V.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The growth of cities, both in population and in areal extent, appears as an inexorable process. Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 80% of the world's population will live in cities. One of the more egregious side effects of urbanization is the deterioration in air quality as a result of increased vehicular traffic, industrialization and related activities. In the United States alone, under the more stringent air quality guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1997, nearly 300 counties in 34 states will not meet the new air quality standards for ground level ozone. The mitigation of one the physical/environmental characteristics of urbanization known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, is now being looked at more closely as a possible way to bring down ground level ozone levels in cities and assist states in improving air quality. The UHI results from the replacement of "natural" land covers (e.g., trees, grass) with urban land surface types, such as pavement and buildings. Heat stored in these surfaces is released into the air and results in a "dome" of elevated air temperatures that presides over cities. The effect of this dome of elevated air temperatures is known as the UHI, which is most prevalent about 2-3 hours after sunset on days with intense solar radiation and calm winds. Given the local and regional impacts of the UHI, there are significant potential affects on human health, particularly as related to heat stress and ozone on body temperature regulation and on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. In this study we are using airborne and satellite remote sensing data to analyze how differences in the urban landscape influence or drive the development of the UHI over four U.S. cities. Additionally, we are assessing what the potential impact is on risks to human health, and developing mitigation strategies to make urban areas more environmentally sustainable.

Nonzero-Sum Relationships in Mitigating Urban Carbon Emissions: A Dynamic Network Simulation.

PubMed

Chen, Shaoqing; Chen, Bin; Su, Meirong

2015-10-06

The "stove-pipe" way of thinking has been mostly used in mitigating carbon emissions and managing socioeconomics because of its convenience of implementation. However, systems-oriented approaches become imperative in pursuit of an efficient regulation of carbon emissions from systems as complicated as urban systems. The aim of this paper is to establish a dynamic network approach that is capable of assessing the effectiveness of carbon emissions mitigation in a more holistic way. A carbon metabolic network is constructed by modeling the carbon flows between economic sectors and environment. With the network shocked by interventions to the sectoral carbon flows, indirect emissions from the city are accounted for under certain carbon mitigation strategies. The nonzero-sum relationships between sectors and environmental components are identified based on utility analysis, which synthesize the nature of direct and indirect network interactions. The results of the case study of Beijing suggest that the stove-pipe mitigation strategies targeted the economic sectors might be not as efficient as they were expected. A direct cutting in material or energy import to the sectors may result in a rebound in indirect emissions and thus fails to achieve the carbon mitigation goal of the city as a whole. A promising way of foreseeing the dynamic mechanism of emissions is to analyze the nonzero-sum relationships between important urban components. Thinking cities as systems of interactions, the network approach is potentially a strong tool for appraising and filtering mitigation strategies of carbon emissions.

Ecological impact assessments fail to reduce risk of bat casualties at wind farms.

PubMed

Lintott, Paul R; Richardson, Suzanne M; Hosken, David J; Fensome, Sophie A; Mathews, Fiona

2016-11-07

Demand for renewable energy is rising exponentially. While this has benefits in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there may be costs to biodiversity [1]. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are the main tool used across the world to predict the overall positive and negative effects of renewable energy developments before planning consent is given, and the Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIAs) within them assess their species-specific effects. Given that EIAs are undertaken globally, are extremely expensive, and are enshrined in legislation, their place in evidence-based decision making deserves evaluation. Here we assess how well EIAs of wind-farm developments protect bats. We found they do not predict the risks to bats accurately, and even in those cases where high risk was correctly identified, the mitigation deployed did not avert the risk. Given that the primary purpose of an EIA is to make planning decisions evidence-based, our results indicate that EIA mitigation strategies used to date have been ineffective in protecting bats. In the future, greater emphasis should be placed on assessing the actual impacts post-construction and on developing effective mitigation strategies. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Assessment and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from feedlots

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This was an invited 45 minute oral presentation concerning assessment and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from feedlots. The audience at the summit (about 60 people) included university professors, environmental regulators, and producers. The presentation included a brief review of environm...

Research for Environmental Stewardship and Conservation at the APTRU

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research methods for mitigation of off-target spray drift, remote sensing for precision crop management, and irrigation and tillage methods are presented. Research for mitigation of off target spray drift includes development of sophisticated weather apparatus to determine weather conditions unfavor...

Policy Development for Environmental Licensing and Biodiversity Offsets in Latin America

PubMed Central

Villarroya, Ana; Barros, Ana Cristina; Kiesecker, Joseph

2014-01-01

Attempts to meet biodiversity goals through application of the mitigation hierarchy have gained wide traction globally with increased development of public policy, lending standards, and corporate practices. With interest in biodiversity offsets increasing in Latin America, we seek to strengthen the basis for policy development through a review of major environmental licensing policy frameworks in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Here we focused our review on an examination of national level policies to evaluate to which degree current provisions promote positive environmental outcomes. All the surveyed countries have national-level Environmental Impact Assessment laws or regulations that cover the habitats present in their territories. Although most countries enable the use of offsets only Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru explicitly require their implementation. Our review has shown that while advancing quite detailed offset policies, most countries do not seem to have strong requirements regarding impact avoidance. Despite this deficiency most countries have a strong foundation from which to develop policy for biodiversity offsets, but several issues require further guidance, including how best to: (1) ensure conformance with the mitigation hierarchy; (2) identify the most environmentally preferable offsets within a landscape context; (3) determine appropriate mitigation replacement ratios; and (4) ensure appropriate time and effort is given to monitor offset performance. PMID:25191758

Policy development for environmental licensing and biodiversity offsets in Latin America.

PubMed

Villarroya, Ana; Barros, Ana Cristina; Kiesecker, Joseph

2014-01-01

Attempts to meet biodiversity goals through application of the mitigation hierarchy have gained wide traction globally with increased development of public policy, lending standards, and corporate practices. With interest in biodiversity offsets increasing in Latin America, we seek to strengthen the basis for policy development through a review of major environmental licensing policy frameworks in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Here we focused our review on an examination of national level policies to evaluate to which degree current provisions promote positive environmental outcomes. All the surveyed countries have national-level Environmental Impact Assessment laws or regulations that cover the habitats present in their territories. Although most countries enable the use of offsets only Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru explicitly require their implementation. Our review has shown that while advancing quite detailed offset policies, most countries do not seem to have strong requirements regarding impact avoidance. Despite this deficiency most countries have a strong foundation from which to develop policy for biodiversity offsets, but several issues require further guidance, including how best to: (1) ensure conformance with the mitigation hierarchy; (2) identify the most environmentally preferable offsets within a landscape context; (3) determine appropriate mitigation replacement ratios; and (4) ensure appropriate time and effort is given to monitor offset performance.

The urban heat island effect, its causes, and mitigation, with reference to the thermal properties of asphalt concrete.

PubMed

Mohajerani, Abbas; Bakaric, Jason; Jeffrey-Bailey, Tristan

2017-07-15

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a phenomenon that affects many millions of people worldwide. The higher temperatures experienced in urban areas compared to the surrounding countryside has enormous consequences for the health and wellbeing of people living in cities. The increased use of manmade materials and increased anthropogenic heat production are the main causes of the UHI. This has led to the understanding that increased urbanisation is the primary cause of the urban heat island. The UHI effect also leads to increased energy needs that further contribute to the heating of our urban landscape, and the associated environmental and public health consequences. Pavements and roofs dominate the urban surface exposed to solar irradiation. This review article outlines the contribution that pavements make to the UHI effect and analyses localized and citywide mitigation strategies against the UHI. Asphalt Concrete (AC) is one of the most common pavement surfacing materials and is a significant contributor to the UHI. Densely graded AC has low albedo and high volumetric heat capacity, which results in surface temperatures reaching upwards of 60 °C on hot summer days. Cooling the surface of a pavement by utilizing cool pavements has been a consistent theme in recent literature. Cool pavements can be reflective or evaporative. However, the urban geometry and local atmospheric conditions should dictate whether or not these mitigation strategies should be used. Otherwise both of these pavements can actually increase the UHI effect. Increasing the prevalence of green spaces through the installation of street trees, city parks and rooftop gardens has consistently demonstrated a reduction in the UHI effect. Green spaces also increase the cooling effect derived from water and wind sources. This literature review demonstrates that UHI mitigation techniques are best used in combination with each other. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the current mitigation measures need development to make them relevant to various climates and throughout the year. There are also many possible sources of future study, and alternative measures for mitigation have been described, thereby providing scope for future research and development following this review. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate change and eHealth: a promising strategy for health sector mitigation and adaptation

PubMed Central

Holmner, Åsa; Rocklöv, Joacim; Ng, Nawi; Nilsson, Maria

2012-01-01

Climate change is one of today's most pressing global issues. Policies to guide mitigation and adaptation are needed to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change. The health sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, and its climate impact in low-income countries is growing steadily. This paper reviews and discusses the literature regarding health sector mitigation potential, known and hypothetical co-benefits, and the potential of health information technology, such as eHealth, in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The promising role of eHealth as an adaptation strategy to reduce societal vulnerability to climate change, and the link's between mitigation and adaptation, are also discussed. The topic of environmental eHealth has gained little attention to date, despite its potential to contribute to more sustainable and green health care. A growing number of local and global initiatives on ‘green information and communication technology (ICT)’ are now mentioning eHealth as a promising technology with the potential to reduce emission rates from ICT use. However, the embracing of eHealth is slow because of limitations in technological infrastructure, capacity and political will. Further research on potential emissions reductions and co-benefits with green ICT, in terms of health outcomes and economic effectiveness, would be valuable to guide development and implementation of eHealth in health sector mitigation and adaptation policies. PMID:22679398

Climate change and eHealth: a promising strategy for health sector mitigation and adaptation.

PubMed

Holmner, Asa; Rocklöv, Joacim; Ng, Nawi; Nilsson, Maria

2012-01-01

Climate change is one of today's most pressing global issues. Policies to guide mitigation and adaptation are needed to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change. The health sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, and its climate impact in low-income countries is growing steadily. This paper reviews and discusses the literature regarding health sector mitigation potential, known and hypothetical co-benefits, and the potential of health information technology, such as eHealth, in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The promising role of eHealth as an adaptation strategy to reduce societal vulnerability to climate change, and the link's between mitigation and adaptation, are also discussed. The topic of environmental eHealth has gained little attention to date, despite its potential to contribute to more sustainable and green health care. A growing number of local and global initiatives on 'green information and communication technology (ICT)' are now mentioning eHealth as a promising technology with the potential to reduce emission rates from ICT use. However, the embracing of eHealth is slow because of limitations in technological infrastructure, capacity and political will. Further research on potential emissions reductions and co-benefits with green ICT, in terms of health outcomes and economic effectiveness, would be valuable to guide development and implementation of eHealth in health sector mitigation and adaptation policies.

The Moving Target of Climate Mitigation: Examples from the Energy Sector in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarroja, B.; AghaKouchak, A.; Forrest, K.; Chiang, F.; Samuelsen, S.

2016-12-01

In response to the concerns of climate change-induced impacts on human health, environmental integrity, and the secure operation of resource supply infrastructures, strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of major societal sectors have been in development. In the energy sector, these strategies are based in low carbon primary energy deployment, increased energy efficiency, and implementing complementary technologies for operational resilience. While these strategies are aimed at climate mitigation, a degree of climate change-induced impacts will occur by the time of their deployment, and many of these impacts can compromise the effectiveness of these climate mitigation strategies. In order to develop climate mitigation strategies that will achieve their GHG reduction and other goals, the impact that climate change-induced conditions can have on different components of climate mitigation strategies must be understood. This presentation will highlight three examples of how climate change-induced conditions affect components of climate mitigation strategies in California: through impacts on 1) hydropower generation, 2) renewable potential for geothermal and solar thermal resources to form part of the renewable resource portfolio, and 3) the magnitudes and shapes of the electric load demand that must be met sustainably. These studies are part of a larger, overarching project to understand how climate change impacts the energy system and how to develop a sustainable energy infrastructure that is resilient against these impacts.

Vulnerability of point-of-care test reagents and instruments to environmental stresses: implications for health professionals and developers.

PubMed

Louie, Richard F; Ferguson, William J; Curtis, Corbin M; Vy, John H; Kost, Gerald J

2014-03-01

Strategic integration of point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tools during crisis response can accelerate triage and improve management of victims. Timely differential diagnosis is essential wherever care is provided to rule out or rule in disease, expedite life-saving treatment, and improve utilization of limited resources. POC testing needs to be accurate in any environment in which it is used. Devices are exposed to potentially adverse storage and operating conditions, such as high/low temperature and humidity during emergencies and field rescues. Therefore, characterizing environmental conditions allows technology developers, operators, and responders to understand the broad operational requirements of test reagents, instruments, and equipment in order to improve the quality and delivery of care in complex emergencies, disasters, and austere environmental settings. This review aims to describe the effects of environmental stress on POC testing performance and its impact on decision-making, to describe how to study the effects, and to summarize ways to mitigate the effects of environmental stresses through good laboratory practice, development of robust reagents, and novel thermal packaging solutions.

Unintended environmental consequences and co-benefits of economic restructuring.

PubMed

Liang, Sai; Xu, Ming; Suh, Sangwon; Tan, Raymond R

2013-11-19

Current economic restructuring policies have ignored unintended environmental consequences and cobenefits, the understanding of which can provide foundations for effective policy decisions for green economy transformation. Using the input-output life cycle assessment model and taking China as an example, we find that household consumption, fixed capital formation, and export are main drivers to China's environmental impacts. At the product scale, major contributors to environmental impacts vary across different types of impacts. Stimulating the development of seven strategic emerging industries will cause unintended consequences, such as increasing nonferrous metal ore usage, terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation, human toxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Limiting the surplus outputs in the construction materials industry and metallurgy industry may only help mitigate some of the environmental impacts caused by China's regulated pollutants, with little effect on reducing other impacts, such as marine eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation. However, it will bring cobenefits by simultaneously reducing mineral ore usage, human toxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Sustainable materials management and integrated policy modeling are possible ways for policy-making to avoid unintended consequences and effectively utilize cobenefits.

Citizen Science Air Monitor (CSAM) Quality Assurance Guidelines

EPA Science Inventory

Many communities in the United States are potentially impacted by a wide variety of environmental pollution sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages communities to advocate for environmental and public health mitigations and to raise awareness of air pol...

Solar Array Sails: Possible Space Plasma Environmental Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackey, Willie R.

2005-01-01

An examination of the interactions between proposed "solar sail" propulsion systems with photovoltaic energy generation capabilities and the space plasma environments. Major areas of interactions ere: Acting from high voltage arrays, ram and wake effects, V and B current loops and EMI. Preliminary analysis indicates that arcing will be a major risk factor for voltages greater than 300V. Electron temperature enhancement in the wake will be produce noise that can be transmitted via the wake echo process. In addition, V and B induced potential will generate sheath voltages with potential tether like breakage effects in the thin film sails. Advocacy of further attention to these processes is emphasized so that plasma environmental mitigation will be instituted in photovoltaic sail design.

NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program: Contamination Engineering Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, Steven D.; Clifton, K. Stuart

1999-01-01

ABSTRACT The return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in 1990 brought a wealth of space exposure data on materials, paints, solar cells, etc. and data on the many space environments. The effects of the harsh space environments can provide damaging or even disabling effects on spacecraft, its materials, and its instruments. In partnership with industry, academia, and other government agencies, National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Environments & Effects (SEE) Program defines the space environments and provides technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on the spacecraft. This program provides a very comprehensive and focused approach to understanding the space environment, to define the best techniques for both flight and ground-based experimentation, to update the models which predict both the environments and the environmental effects on spacecraft, and finally to ensure that this information is properly maintained and inserted into spacecraft design programs. This paper will describe the current SEE Program and will present SEE contamination engineering technology development and risk mitigation for future spacecraft design.

NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) program: contamination engineering technology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, Steven D.; Clifton, K. Stuart

1999-10-01

The return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in 1990 brought a wealth of space exposure data on materials, paints, solar cells, etc. and data on the many space environments. The effects of the harsh space environments can provide damaging or even disabling effects on spacecraft, its materials, and its instruments. In partnership with industry, academia, and other government agencies, National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Environments & Effects (SEE) Program defines the space environments and provides technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on the spacecraft. This program provides a very comprehensive and focused approach to understanding the space environment, to define the best techniques for both flight and ground-based experimentation, to update the models which predict both the environments and the environmental effects on spacecraft, and finally to ensure that this information is properly maintained and inserted into spacecraft design programs. This paper will describe the current SEE Program and will present SEE contamination engineering technology development and risk mitigation for future spacecraft design.

Urban plant physiology: adaptation-mitigation strategies under permanent stress.

PubMed

Calfapietra, Carlo; Peñuelas, Josep; Niinemets, Ülo

2015-02-01

Urban environments that are stressful for plant function and growth will become increasingly widespread in future. In this opinion article, we define the concept of 'urban plant physiology', which focuses on plant responses and long term adaptations to urban conditions and on the capacity of urban vegetation to mitigate environmental hazards in urbanized settings such as air and soil pollution. Use of appropriate control treatments would allow for studies in urban environments to be comparable to expensive manipulative experiments. In this opinion article, we propose to couple two approaches, based either on environmental gradients or manipulated gradients, to develop the concept of urban plant physiology for assessing how single or multiple environmental factors affect the key environmental services provided by urban forests. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a Cost-Effectiveness Methodology to Prioritize Environmental Mitigation Projects

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-01

GEOMET Technologies, Inc., 1991:2.4- 2.16). Other factors that determine exposure to home radon is time spent at home and equilibrium factor of radon ... daughters . The EPA assumes that people in the United States spend about 75% of their time in the home, based on a study by GEOMET (EPA, 1992:2.13, 2.33

Atrazine transport within a coastal zone in Southeastern Puerto Rico: a sensitivity analysis of an agricultural field model and riparian zone management model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Water quality models are used to predict effects of conservation practices to mitigate the transport of herbicides to water bodies. We used two models - the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) and the Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) to predict the movement of atrazine from ...

Environmental enrichment mitigates the impact of ancestral stress on motor skill and corticospinal tract plasticity.

PubMed

McCreary, J Keiko; Erickson, Zachary T; Metz, Gerlinde A S

2016-10-06

An adverse fetal environment in utero has been associated with long-term alterations in brain structure and function, and a higher risk of neurological disorders in later life. A common consequence of early adverse experience is impaired motor system function. A causal relationship for stress-associated impairments and a suitable therapy, however, have not been determined yet. To investigate the impact of ancestral stress on corticospinal tract (CST) morphology and fine motor performance in rats, and to determine if adverse programming by ancestral stress can be mitigated by environmental enrichment therapy in rats. The study examined F3 offspring generated by three lineages; one with prenatal stress only in the F1 generation, one with compounding effects of multigenerational prenatal stress, and a non-stress control lineage. F3 offspring from each lineage were injected with biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) into the motor cortex for anterograde tracing of the CST. Examination of the CST revealed reduced axonal density in the ancestrally stressed lineages. These anatomical changes were associated with significant impairments in skilled walking, as indicated by reduced foot placement accuracy and disturbed inter-limb coordination. Therapeutic intervention by environmental enrichment reduced the neuromorphological consequences of ancestral stress and restored skilled walking ability. The data suggest a causal relationship between stress-induced abnormal CST function and loss of fine motor performance. Thus, ancestral stress may be a determinant of motor system development and motor skill. Environmental enrichment may represent an effective intervention for the adverse programming by ancestral stress and trauma. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact assessment of structural flood mitigation measures by a rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) technique: a case study in Metro Manila, Philippines.

PubMed

Gilbuena, Romeo; Kawamura, Akira; Medina, Reynaldo; Amaguchi, Hideo; Nakagawa, Naoko; Bui, Duong Du

2013-07-01

In recent decades, the practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the planning processes of infrastructure projects has created significant awareness on the benefits of environmentally sound and sustainable urban development around the world. In the highly urbanized megacities in the Philippines, like Metro Manila, high priority is given by the national government to structural flood mitigation measures (SFMM) due to the persistently high frequency of flood-related disasters, which are exacerbated by the on-going effects of climate change. EIA thus, should be carefully and effectively executed to maximize the potential benefits of the SFMM. The common practice of EIA in the Philippines is generally qualitative and lacks clear methodology in evaluating multi-criteria systems. Thus, this study proposes the use of the rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) technique to provide a method that would systematically and quantitatively evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impacts of planned SFMM in Metro Manila. The RIAM technique was slightly modified to fit the requirements of this study. The scale of impact was determined for each perceived impact, and based on the results, the planned SFMM for Metro Manila will likely bring significant benefits; however, significant negative impacts may also likely occur. The proposed modifications were found to be highly compatible with RIAM, and the results of the RIAM analysis provided a clear view of the impacts associated with the implementation of SFMM projects. This may prove to be valuable in the practice of EIA in the Philippines. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cascading costs: an economic nitrogen cycle.

PubMed

Moomaw, William R; Birch, Melissa B L

2005-09-01

The chemical nitrogen cycle is becoming better characterized in terms of fluxes and reservoirs on a variety of scales. Galloway has demonstrated that reactive nitrogen can cascade through multiple ecosystems causing environmental damage at each stage before being denitrified to N(2). We propose to construct a parallel economic nitrogen cascade (ENC) in which economic impacts of nitrogen fluxes can be estimated by the costs associated with each stage of the chemical cascade. Using economic data for the benefits of damage avoided and costs of mitigation in the Chesapeake Bay basin, we have constructed an economic nitrogen cascade for the region. Since a single ton of nitrogen can cascade through the system, the costs also cascade. Therefore evaluating the benefits of mitigating a ton of reactive nitrogen released needs to consider the damage avoided in all of the ecosystems through which that ton would cascade. The analysis reveals that it is most cost effective to remove a ton of nitrogen coming from combustion since it has the greatest impact on human health and creates cascading damage through the atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic and coastal ecosystems. We will discuss the implications of this analysis for determining the most cost effective policy option for achieving environmental quality goals.

Cascading costs: an economic nitrogen cycle.

PubMed

Moomaw, William R; Birch, Melissa B L

2005-12-01

The chemical nitrogen cycle is becoming better characterized in terms of fluxes and reservoirs on a variety of scales. Galloway has demonstrated that reactive nitrogen can cascade through multiple ecosystems causing environmental damage at each stage before being denitrified to N2. We propose to construct a parallel economic nitrogen cascade (ENC) in which economic impacts of nitrogen fluxes can be estimated by the costs associated with each stage of the chemical cascade. Using economic data for the benefits of damage avoided and costs of mitigation in the Chesapeake Bay basin, we have constructed an economic nitrogen cascade for the region. Since a single tonne of nitrogen can cascade through the system, the costs also cascade. Therefore evaluating the benefits of mitigating a tonne of reactive nitrogen released needs to consider the damage avoided in all of the ecosystems through which that tonne would cascade. The analysis reveals that it is most cost effective to remove a tonne of nitrogen coming from combustion since it has the greatest impact on human health and creates cascading damage through the atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic and coastal ecosystems. We will discuss the implications of this analysis for determining the most cost effective policy option for achieving environmental quality goals.

Mir Environmental Effects Payload and Returned Mir Solar Panel Cleanliness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, Gale A.; Humes, Donald H.; Kinard, William H.

2000-01-01

The MIR Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) was attached to the Docking Module of the MIR space station for 18 months during calendar years 1996 and 1997 (March 1996, STS 76 to October 1997, STS 86). A solar panel array with more than 10 years space exposure was removed from the MIR core module in November 1997, and returned to Earth in January, 1998, STS 89. MEEP and the returned solar array are part of the International Space Station (ISS) Risk Mitigation Program. This space flight hardware has been inspected and studied by teams of space environmental effects (SEE) investigators for micrometeoroid and space debris effects, space exposure effects on materials, and electrical performance. This paper reports changes in cleanliness of parts of MEEP and the solar array due to the space exposures. Special attention is given to the extensive water soluble residues deposited on some of the flight hardware surfaces. Directionality of deposition and chemistry of these residues are discussed.

Life sciences and environmental sciences

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

Not Available

1992-02-01

The DOE laboratories play a unique role in bringing multidisciplinary talents -- in biology, physics, chemistry, computer sciences, and engineering -- to bear on major problems in the life and environmental sciences. Specifically, the laboratories utilize these talents to fulfill OHER's mission of exploring and mitigating the health and environmental effects of energy use, and of developing health and medical applications of nuclear energy-related phenomena. At Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) support of this mission is evident across the spectrum of OHER-sponsored research, especially in the broad areas of genomics, structural biology, basic cell and molecular biology, carcinogenesis, energy and environment,more » applications to biotechnology, and molecular, nuclear and radiation medicine. These research areas are briefly described.« less

Ecological resilience in lakes and the conjunction fallacy.

PubMed

Spears, Bryan M; Futter, Martyn N; Jeppesen, Erik; Huser, Brian J; Ives, Stephen; Davidson, Thomas A; Adrian, Rita; Angeler, David G; Burthe, Sarah J; Carvalho, Laurence; Daunt, Francis; Gsell, Alena S; Hessen, Dag O; Janssen, Annette B G; Mackay, Eleanor B; May, Linda; Moorhouse, Heather; Olsen, Saara; Søndergaard, Martin; Woods, Helen; Thackeray, Stephen J

2017-11-01

There is a pressing need to apply stability and resilience theory to environmental management to restore degraded ecosystems effectively and to mitigate the effects of impending environmental change. Lakes represent excellent model case studies in this respect and have been used widely to demonstrate theories of ecological stability and resilience that are needed to underpin preventative management approaches. However, we argue that this approach is not yet fully developed because the pursuit of empirical evidence to underpin such theoretically grounded management continues in the absence of an objective probability framework. This has blurred the lines between intuitive logic (based on the elementary principles of probability) and extensional logic (based on assumption and belief) in this field.

Measuring and building resilience after big storms: Lessons learned from Super-Storm Sandy for the Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria coasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdoch, P. S.; Penn, K. M.; Taylor, S. M.; Subramanian, B.; Bennett, R.

2017-12-01

As we recover from recent large storms, we need information to support increased environmental and socio-economic resilience of the Nation's coasts. Defining baseline conditions, tracking effects of mitigation actions, and measuring the uncertainty of resilience to future disturbance are essential so that the best management practices can be determined. The US Dept. of the Interior invested over $787 million dollars in 2013 to understand and mitigate coastal storm vulnerabilities and enhance resilience of the Northeast coast following Super-Storm Sandy. Several lessons-learned from that investment have direct application to mitigation and restoration needs following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria. New models of inundation, overwash, and erosion, developed during the Sandy projects have already been applied to coastlines before and after these recent storms. Results from wetland, beach, back-bay, estuary, and built-environment projects improved models of inundation and erosion from surge and waves. Tests of nature-based infrastructure for mitigating coastal disturbance yielded new concepts for best-practices. Ecological and socio-economic measurements established for detecting disturbance and tracking recovery provide baseline data critical to early detection of vulnerabilities. The Sandy lessons and preliminary applications on the recent storms could help define best-resilience practices before more costly mitigation or restoration efforts are required.

Methodological Issues In Forestry Mitigation Projects: A CaseStudy Of Kolar District

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

Ravindranath, N.H.; Murthy, I.K.; Sudha, P.

2007-06-01

There is a need to assess climate change mitigationopportunities in forest sector in India in the context of methodologicalissues such as additionality, permanence, leakage, measurement andbaseline development in formulating forestry mitigation projects. A casestudy of forestry mitigation project in semi-arid community grazing landsand farmlands in Kolar district of Karnataka, was undertaken with regardto baseline and project scenariodevelopment, estimation of carbon stockchange in the project, leakage estimation and assessment ofcost-effectiveness of mitigation projects. Further, the transaction coststo develop project, and environmental and socio-economic impact ofmitigation project was assessed.The study shows the feasibility ofestablishing baselines and project C-stock changes. Since the areamore » haslow or insignificant biomass, leakage is not an issue. The overallmitigation potential in Kolar for a total area of 14,000 ha under variousmitigation options is 278,380 tC at a rate of 20 tC/ha for the period2005-2035, which is approximately 0.67 tC/ha/yr inclusive of harvestregimes under short rotation and long rotation mitigation options. Thetransaction cost for baseline establishment is less than a rupee/tC andfor project scenario development is about Rs. 1.5-3.75/tC. The projectenhances biodiversity and the socio-economic impact is alsosignificant.« less

Implications of sustainable development considerations for comparability across nationally determined contributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyer, Gokul; Calvin, Katherine; Clarke, Leon; Edmonds, James; Hultman, Nathan; Hartin, Corinne; McJeon, Haewon; Aldy, Joseph; Pizer, William

2018-01-01

An important component of the Paris Agreement is the assessment of comparability across nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Indeed, game-theory literature on international environmental agreements highlights the need for comparable emission-mitigation efforts by countries to avoid free-riding1. At the same time, there are well-recognized links between mitigation and other national priorities, including but not limited to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)2-6, which raises the question of how such links might influence comparability assessments. Here, using a global integrated assessment model7, we demonstrate that geographical distributions of the influence of meeting the domestic mitigation component of the NDCs on a subset of the broader SDGs may not align with distributions of effort across NDCs obtained from conventional emissions-based or cost-based comparability metrics8-11. This implies that comparability assessments would be altered if interactions between mitigation and other SDGs were accounted for. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the extent to which these distributions differ depends on the degree to which mitigation activities directly affect broader SDGs domestically and indirectly affect international goals, and whether these effects are synergistic or antagonistic. Our analysis provides a foundation for assessing how comparability across NDCs could be better understood in the larger context of sustainability.

Mitigating Climate Change at the Carbon Water Nexus: A Call to Action for the Environmental Engineering Community

PubMed Central

Clarens, Andres F.; Peters, Catherine A.

2016-01-01

Abstract Environmental engineers have played a critical role in improving human and ecosystem health over the past several decades. These contributions have focused on providing clean water and air as well as managing waste streams and remediating polluted sites. As environmental problems have become more global in scale and more deeply entrenched in sociotechnical systems, the discipline of environmental engineering must grow to be ready to respond to the challenges of the coming decades. Here we make the case that environmental engineers should play a leadership role in the development of climate change mitigation technologies at the carbon-water nexus (CWN). Climate change, driven largely by unfettered emissions of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, is a far-reaching and enormously complex environmental risk with the potential to negatively affect food security, human health, infrastructure, and other systems. Solving this problem will require a massive mobilization of existing and innovative new technology. The environmental engineering community is uniquely positioned to do pioneering work at the CWN using a skillset that has been honed, solving related problems. The focus of this special issue, on “The science and innovation of emerging subsurface energy technologies,” provides one example domain within which environmental engineers and related disciplines are beginning to make important contributions at the CWN. In this article, we define the CWN and describe how environmental engineers can bring their considerable expertise to bear in this area. Then we review some of the topics that appear in this special issue, for example, mitigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon storage, and we provide perspective on emergent research directions, for example, enhanced geothermal energy, energy storage in sedimentary formations, and others. PMID:28031695

Mitigating Climate Change at the Carbon Water Nexus: A Call to Action for the Environmental Engineering Community.

PubMed

Clarens, Andres F; Peters, Catherine A

2016-10-01

Environmental engineers have played a critical role in improving human and ecosystem health over the past several decades. These contributions have focused on providing clean water and air as well as managing waste streams and remediating polluted sites. As environmental problems have become more global in scale and more deeply entrenched in sociotechnical systems, the discipline of environmental engineering must grow to be ready to respond to the challenges of the coming decades. Here we make the case that environmental engineers should play a leadership role in the development of climate change mitigation technologies at the carbon-water nexus (CWN). Climate change, driven largely by unfettered emissions of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, is a far-reaching and enormously complex environmental risk with the potential to negatively affect food security, human health, infrastructure, and other systems. Solving this problem will require a massive mobilization of existing and innovative new technology. The environmental engineering community is uniquely positioned to do pioneering work at the CWN using a skillset that has been honed, solving related problems. The focus of this special issue, on "The science and innovation of emerging subsurface energy technologies," provides one example domain within which environmental engineers and related disciplines are beginning to make important contributions at the CWN. In this article, we define the CWN and describe how environmental engineers can bring their considerable expertise to bear in this area. Then we review some of the topics that appear in this special issue, for example, mitigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon storage, and we provide perspective on emergent research directions, for example, enhanced geothermal energy, energy storage in sedimentary formations, and others.

PROCEEDINGS: THE 1995 SYMPOSIUM ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND MITIGATION RESEARCH

EPA Science Inventory

The report documents the 1995 Symposium on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation Research, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division (EPA/APPCD), in Washington, DC on June 27-29, 1995. The symposium provided a forum of...

77 FR 69436 - JPSS Polar Satellite-Gap Mitigation-Request for Public Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-19

... positive steps to mitigate the negative impacts to NOAA's numerical weather forecasts that could be...-satellite data, weather modeling, and data assimilation improvements. NOAA is convening teams of internal... of NOAA's numerical weather forecasts should we experience a loss of polar satellite environmental...

Do Bat Gantries and Underpasses Help Bats Cross Roads Safely?

PubMed Central

Berthinussen, Anna; Altringham, John

2012-01-01

Major roads can reduce bat abundance and diversity over considerable distances. To mitigate against these effects and comply with environmental law, many European countries install bridges, gantries or underpasses to make roads permeable and safer to cross. However, through lack of appropriate monitoring, there is little evidence to support their effectiveness. Three underpasses and four bat gantries were investigated in northern England. Echolocation call recordings and observations were used to determine the number of bats using underpasses in preference to crossing the road above, and the height at which bats crossed. At gantries, proximity to the gantry and height of crossing bats were measured. Data were compared to those from adjacent, severed commuting routes that had no crossing structure. At one underpass 96% of bats flew through it in preference to crossing the road. This underpass was located on a pre-construction commuting route that allowed bats to pass without changing flight height or direction. At two underpasses attempts to divert bats from their original commuting routes were unsuccessful and bats crossed the road at the height of passing vehicles. Underpasses have the potential to allow bats to cross roads safely if built on pre-construction commuting routes. Bat gantries were ineffective and used by a very small proportion of bats, even up to nine years after construction. Most bats near gantries crossed roads along severed, pre-construction commuting routes at heights that put them in the path of vehicles. Crossing height was strongly correlated with verge height, suggesting that elevated verges may have some value in mitigation, but increased flight height may be at the cost of reduced permeability. Green bridges should be explored as an alternative form of mitigation. Robust monitoring is essential to assess objectively the case for mitigation and to ensure effective mitigation. PMID:22719941

Thoron Mitigation System based on charcoal bed for applications in thorium fuel cycle facilities (part 1): Development of theoretical models for design considerations.

PubMed

Sahoo, B K; Sudeep Kumara, K; Karunakara, N; Gaware, J J; Sapra, B K; Mayya, Y S

2017-06-01

Regulating the environmental discharge of 220 Rn (historically known as thoron) and its decay products from thorium processing facilities is important for protection of environment and general public living in the vicinities. Activated charcoal provides an effective solution to this problem because of its high adsorption capacity to gaseous element like radon. In order to design and develop a charcoal based Thoron Mitigation System, a mathematical model has been developed in the present work for studying the 220 Rn transport and adsorption in a flow through charcoal bed and estimating the 220 Rn mitigation factor (MF) as a function of system and operating parameters. The model accounts for inter- and intra-grain diffusion, advection, radioactive decay and adsorption processes. Also, the effects of large void fluctuation and wall channeling on the mitigation factor have been included through a statistical model. Closed form solution has been provided for the MF in terms of adsorption coefficient, system dimensions, grain size, flow rate and void fluctuation exponent. It is shown that the delay effects due to intra grain diffusion plays a significant role thereby rendering external equilibrium assumptions unsuitable. Also, the application of the statistical model clearly demonstrates the transition from the exponential MF to a power-law form and shows how the occurrence of channels with low probability can lower mitigation factor by several orders of magnitude. As a part of aiding design, the model is further extended to optimise the bed dimensions in respect of pressure drop and MF. The application of the results for the design and development of a practically useful charcoal bed is discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental impacts of utility-scale solar energy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hernandez, R.R.; Easter, S.B.; Murphy-Mariscal, M. L.; Maestre, F.T.; Tavassoli, M.; Allen, E.B.; Barrows, C.W.; Belnap, J.; Ochoa-Hueso, R.; Ravi, S.; Allen, M.F.

2014-01-01

Renewable energy is a promising alternative to fossil fuel-based energy, but its development can require a complex set of environmental tradeoffs. A recent increase in solar energy systems, especially large, centralized installations, underscores the urgency of understanding their environmental interactions. Synthesizing literature across numerous disciplines, we review direct and indirect environmental impacts – both beneficial and adverse – of utility-scale solar energy (USSE) development, including impacts on biodiversity, land-use and land-cover change, soils, water resources, and human health. Additionally, we review feedbacks between USSE infrastructure and land-atmosphere interactions and the potential for USSE systems to mitigate climate change. Several characteristics and development strategies of USSE systems have low environmental impacts relative to other energy systems, including other renewables. We show opportunities to increase USSE environmental co-benefits, the permitting and regulatory constraints and opportunities of USSE, and highlight future research directions to better understand the nexus between USSE and the environment. Increasing the environmental compatibility of USSE systems will maximize the efficacy of this key renewable energy source in mitigating climatic and global environmental change.

Consensus, uncertainties and challenges for perennial bioenergy crops and land use.

PubMed

Whitaker, Jeanette; Field, John L; Bernacchi, Carl J; Cerri, Carlos E P; Ceulemans, Reinhart; Davies, Christian A; DeLucia, Evan H; Donnison, Iain S; McCalmont, Jon P; Paustian, Keith; Rowe, Rebecca L; Smith, Pete; Thornley, Patricia; McNamara, Niall P

2018-03-01

Perennial bioenergy crops have significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation by substituting for fossil fuels; yet delivering significant GHG savings will require substantial land-use change, globally. Over the last decade, research has delivered improved understanding of the environmental benefits and risks of this transition to perennial bioenergy crops, addressing concerns that the impacts of land conversion to perennial bioenergy crops could result in increased rather than decreased GHG emissions. For policymakers to assess the most cost-effective and sustainable options for deployment and climate change mitigation, synthesis of these studies is needed to support evidence-based decision making. In 2015, a workshop was convened with researchers, policymakers and industry/business representatives from the UK, EU and internationally. Outcomes from global research on bioenergy land-use change were compared to identify areas of consensus, key uncertainties, and research priorities. Here, we discuss the strength of evidence for and against six consensus statements summarising the effects of land-use change to perennial bioenergy crops on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and water, in the context of the whole life-cycle of bioenergy production. Our analysis suggests that the direct impacts of dedicated perennial bioenergy crops on soil carbon and nitrous oxide are increasingly well understood and are often consistent with significant life cycle GHG mitigation from bioenergy relative to conventional energy sources. We conclude that the GHG balance of perennial bioenergy crop cultivation will often be favourable, with maximum GHG savings achieved where crops are grown on soils with low carbon stocks and conservative nutrient application, accruing additional environmental benefits such as improved water quality. The analysis reported here demonstrates there is a mature and increasingly comprehensive evidence base on the environmental benefits and risks of bioenergy cultivation which can support the development of a sustainable bioenergy industry.

Integrated environmental impact assessment: a Canadian example.

PubMed Central

Kwiatkowski, Roy E.; Ooi, Maria

2003-01-01

The Canadian federal process for environmental impact assessment (EIA) integrates health, social, and environmental aspects into either a screening, comprehensive study, or a review by a public panel, depending on the expected severity of potential adverse environmental effects. In this example, a Public Review Panel considered a proposed diamond mining project in Canada's northern territories, where 50% of the population are Aboriginals. The Panel specifically instructed the project proposer to determine how to incorporate traditional knowledge into the gathering of baseline information, preparing impact prediction, and planning mitigation and monitoring. Traditional knowledge is defined as the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and/or local communities developed from experience gained over the centuries and adapted to local culture and environment. The mining company was asked to consider in its EIA: health, demographics, social and cultural patterns; services and infrastructure; local, regional and territorial economy; land and resource use; employment, education and training; government; and other matters. Cooperative efforts between government, industry and the community led to a project that coordinated the concerns of all interested stakeholders and the needs of present and future generations, thereby meeting the goals of sustainable development. The mitigation measures that were implemented take into account: income and social status, social support networks, education, employment and working conditions, physical environments, personal health practices and coping skills, and health services. PMID:12894328

Long-term prospects for the environmental profile of advanced sugar cane ethanol.

PubMed

da Silva, Cinthia R U; Franco, Henrique Coutinho Junqueira; Junqueira, Tassia Lopes; van Oers, Lauran; van der Voet, Ester; Seabra, Joaquim E A

2014-10-21

This work assessed the environmental impacts of the production and use of 1 MJ of hydrous ethanol (E100) in Brazil in prospective scenarios (2020-2030), considering the deployment of technologies currently under development and better agricultural practices. The life cycle assessment technique was employed using the CML method for the life cycle impact assessment and the Monte Carlo method for the uncertainty analysis. Abiotic depletion, global warming, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation, acidification, and eutrophication were the environmental impacts categories analyzed. Results indicate that the proposed improvements (especially no-til farming-scenarios s2 and s4) would lead to environmental benefits in prospective scenarios compared to the current ethanol production (scenario s0). Combined first and second generation ethanol production (scenarios s3 and s4) would require less agricultural land but would not perform better than the projected first generation ethanol, although the uncertainties are relatively high. The best use of 1 ha of sugar cane was also assessed, considering the displacement of the conventional products by ethanol and electricity. No-til practices combined with the production of first generation ethanol and electricity (scenario s2) would lead to the largest mitigation effects for global warming and abiotic depletion. For the remaining categories, emissions would not be mitigated with the utilization of the sugar cane products. However, this conclusion is sensitive to the displaced electricity sources.

Environmental and medical geochemistry in urban disaster response and preparedness

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A.; Cook, A.

2012-01-01

History abounds with accounts of cities that were destroyed or significantly damaged by natural or anthropogenic disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, wildland–urban wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, urban firestorms, terrorist attacks, and armed conflicts. Burgeoning megacities place ever more people in the way of harm from future disasters. In addition to the physical damage, casualties, and injuries they cause, sudden urban disasters can also release into the environment large volumes of potentially hazardous materials. Environmental and medical geochemistry investigations help us to (1) understand the sources and environmental behavior of disaster materials, (2) assess potential threats the materials pose to the urban environment and health of urban populations, (3) develop strategies for their cleanup/disposal, and (4) anticipate and mitigate potential environmental and health effects from future urban disasters.

Supplement Analysis for the Wildlife Mitigation Program EIS (DOE/EIS-0246/SA-18)

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

N /A

2001-10-17

BPA proposes to fund the acquisition and preservation of approximately 99 acres of native wet prairie and oak woodland habitat in Lane County, Oregon. Title to the land will be held by The Nature Conservancy, who will convey permanent mitigation rights to BPA in the form of a conservation easement. These newly acquired parcels will become part of the existing 330-acre Willow Creek Wildlife Mitigation Area. Passive management practices may take place on the land until a wildlife mitigation and management plan is developed and approved for the property. The compliance checklist for this project was completed by Cathy MacDonaldmore » with The Nature Conservancy and meets the standards and guidelines for the Wildlife Mitigation Program Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD). A comprehensive wildlife mitigation and management plan will be prepared for the property after it is acquired and will follow the guidelines and mitigation measures detailed in the Wildlife Mitigation Program EIS and ROD. No plant or animal species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) will be affected by the proposed acquisition of the subject property. Through contact with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Oregon Natural Heritage Program, staff from The Nature Conservancy identified a number of federal and state listed species that have the potential to occur at the project site. ESA Section 7 consultation will be conducted by BPA and The Nature Conservancy, as necessary, prior to the implementation of any restoration or enhancement activities on the site. A cultural resource survey was conducted at the Eugene Wetlands Phase II site on July 9, 2001. No prehistoric or historic cultural materials were observed during the survey and no landforms considered likely to be archaeological sites were noted. The nearest recorded archeological find consists of two prehistoric sites that are located within a mile of the project area along Willow Creek. Based on the findings of this survey, BPA concluded that there would be no effect on prehistoric or historic artifacts associated with the Eugene Wetlands acquisition project. The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office concurred with BPA's determination on September 18, 2001. In the unlikely event that archaeological material is encountered during developments that may occur on the site, an archeologist will immediately be notified and work halted in the vicinity of the finds until they can be inspected and assessed. Phase I Environmental Site Assessments were conducted on the Eugene wetland site by staff from The Nature Conservancy and Hahn and Associates, Inc. The surveys did not reveal evidence of recognized environmental conditions in conjunction with the subject properties. Fred Walasavage an Environmental Specialist with BPA reviewed the Phase I assessments and reported to The Nature Conservancy on May 14, 2001 that he concurred with these findings. Public involvement associated with this project has included written notification and solicitation of comments to interested parties, adjacent landowners, local tribes, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Public response from the solicitation indicated general support for the project. Because of initial favorable comments on this project, it was decided that subsequent public meetings and/or workshops were not warranted.« less

Conservation planning for offsetting the impacts of development: a case study of biodiversity and renewable energy in the Mojave Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kreitler, Jason R.; Schloss, Carrie A.; Soong, Oliver; Lee Hannah,; Davis, Frank W.

2015-01-01

Balancing society’s competing needs of development and conservation requires careful consideration of tradeoffs. Renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation are often considered beneficial environmental goals. The direct footprint and disturbance of renewable energy, however, can displace species’ habitat and negatively impact populations and natural communities if sited without ecological consideration. Offsets have emerged as a potentially useful tool to mitigate residual impacts after trying to avoid, minimize, or restore affected sites. Yet the problem of efficiently designing a set of offset sites becomes increasingly complex where many species or many sites are involved. Spatial conservation prioritization tools are designed to handle this problem, but have seen little application to offset siting and analysis. To address this need we designed an offset siting support tool for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) of California, and present a case study of hypothetical impacts from solar development in the Western Mojave subsection. We compare two offset scenarios designed to mitigate a hypothetical 15,331 ha derived from proposed utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) projects. The first scenario prioritizes offsets based precisely on impacted features, while the second scenario offsets impacts to maximize biodiversity conservation gains in the region. The two methods only agree on 28% of their prioritized sites and differ in meeting species-specific offset goals. Differences between the two scenarios highlight the importance of clearly specifying choices and priorities for offset siting and mitigation in general. Similarly, the effects of background climate and land use change may lessen the durability or effectiveness of offsets if not considered. Our offset siting support tool was designed specifically for the DRECP area, but with minor code modification could work well in other offset analyses, and could provide continuing support for a potentially innovative mitigation solution to environmental impacts.

Conservation Planning for Offsetting the Impacts of Development: A Case Study of Biodiversity and Renewable Energy in the Mojave Desert.

PubMed

Kreitler, Jason; Schloss, Carrie A; Soong, Oliver; Hannah, Lee; Davis, Frank W

2015-01-01

Balancing society's competing needs of development and conservation requires careful consideration of tradeoffs. Renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation are often considered beneficial environmental goals. The direct footprint and disturbance of renewable energy, however, can displace species' habitat and negatively impact populations and natural communities if sited without ecological consideration. Offsets have emerged as a potentially useful tool to mitigate residual impacts after trying to avoid, minimize, or restore affected sites. Yet the problem of efficiently designing a set of offset sites becomes increasingly complex where many species or many sites are involved. Spatial conservation prioritization tools are designed to handle this problem, but have seen little application to offset siting and analysis. To address this need we designed an offset siting support tool for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) of California, and present a case study of hypothetical impacts from solar development in the Western Mojave subsection. We compare two offset scenarios designed to mitigate a hypothetical 15,331 ha derived from proposed utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) projects. The first scenario prioritizes offsets based precisely on impacted features, while the second scenario offsets impacts to maximize biodiversity conservation gains in the region. The two methods only agree on 28% of their prioritized sites and differ in meeting species-specific offset goals. Differences between the two scenarios highlight the importance of clearly specifying choices and priorities for offset siting and mitigation in general. Similarly, the effects of background climate and land use change may lessen the durability or effectiveness of offsets if not considered. Our offset siting support tool was designed specifically for the DRECP area, but with minor code modification could work well in other offset analyses, and could provide continuing support for a potentially innovative mitigation solution to environmental impacts.

Conservation Planning for Offsetting the Impacts of Development: A Case Study of Biodiversity and Renewable Energy in the Mojave Desert

PubMed Central

Kreitler, Jason; Schloss, Carrie A.; Soong, Oliver; Hannah, Lee; Davis, Frank W.

2015-01-01

Balancing society’s competing needs of development and conservation requires careful consideration of tradeoffs. Renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation are often considered beneficial environmental goals. The direct footprint and disturbance of renewable energy, however, can displace species’ habitat and negatively impact populations and natural communities if sited without ecological consideration. Offsets have emerged as a potentially useful tool to mitigate residual impacts after trying to avoid, minimize, or restore affected sites. Yet the problem of efficiently designing a set of offset sites becomes increasingly complex where many species or many sites are involved. Spatial conservation prioritization tools are designed to handle this problem, but have seen little application to offset siting and analysis. To address this need we designed an offset siting support tool for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) of California, and present a case study of hypothetical impacts from solar development in the Western Mojave subsection. We compare two offset scenarios designed to mitigate a hypothetical 15,331 ha derived from proposed utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) projects. The first scenario prioritizes offsets based precisely on impacted features, while the second scenario offsets impacts to maximize biodiversity conservation gains in the region. The two methods only agree on 28% of their prioritized sites and differ in meeting species-specific offset goals. Differences between the two scenarios highlight the importance of clearly specifying choices and priorities for offset siting and mitigation in general. Similarly, the effects of background climate and land use change may lessen the durability or effectiveness of offsets if not considered. Our offset siting support tool was designed specifically for the DRECP area, but with minor code modification could work well in other offset analyses, and could provide continuing support for a potentially innovative mitigation solution to environmental impacts. PMID:26529595

Using Remotely Sensed Data for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: A Collaborative Effort Between the Climate Change Adaptation Science Investigators Workgroup (CASI), NASA Johnson Space Center, and Jacobs Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jagge, Amy

2016-01-01

With ever changing landscapes and environmental conditions due to human induced climate change, adaptability is imperative for the long-term success of facilities and Federal agency missions. To mitigate the effects of climate change, indicators such as above-ground biomass change must be identified to establish a comprehensive monitoring effort. Researching the varying effects of climate change on ecosystems can provide a scientific framework that will help produce informative, strategic and tactical policies for environmental adaptation. As a proactive approach to climate change mitigation, NASA tasked the Climate Change Adaptation Science Investigators Workgroup (CASI) to provide climate change expertise and data to Center facility managers and planners in order to ensure sustainability based on predictive models and current research. Generation of historical datasets that will be used in an agency-wide effort to establish strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation at NASA facilities is part of the CASI strategy. Using time series of historical remotely sensed data is well-established means of measuring change over time. CASI investigators have acquired multispectral and hyperspectral optical and LiDAR remotely sensed datasets from NASA Earth Observation Satellites (including the International Space Station), airborne sensors, and astronaut photography using hand held digital cameras to create a historical dataset for the Johnson Space Center, as well as the Houston and Galveston area. The raster imagery within each dataset has been georectified, and the multispectral and hyperspectral imagery has been atmospherically corrected. Using ArcGIS for Server, the CASI-Regional Remote Sensing data has been published as an image service, and can be visualized through a basic web mapping application. Future work will include a customized web mapping application created using a JavaScript Application Programming Interface (API), and inclusion of the CASI data for the NASA Johnson Space Center into a NASA-Wide GIS Institutional Portal.

44 CFR 10.4 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... approach that will ensure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences, and environmental... GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS General § 10.4 Policy. (a) FEMA shall act with care to assure that... mitigation and flood insurance, it does so in a manner consistent with national environmental policies. Care...

44 CFR 10.4 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... approach that will ensure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences, and environmental... GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS General § 10.4 Policy. (a) FEMA shall act with care to assure that... mitigation and flood insurance, it does so in a manner consistent with national environmental policies. Care...

OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION (OTEC) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

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

Sands, M. D.

1980-01-01

This programmatic environmental analysis is an initial assessment of OTEC technology considering development, demonstration and commercialization; it is concluded that the OTEC development program should continue because the development, demonstration, and commercialization on a single-plant deployment basis should not present significant environmental impacts. However, several areas within the OTEC program require further investigation in order to assess the potential for environmental impacts from OTEC operation, particularly in large-scale deployments and in defining alternatives to closed-cycle biofouling control: (1) Larger-scale deployments of OTEC clusters or parks require further investigations in order to assess optimal platform siting distances necessary to minimize adversemore » environmental impacts. (2) The deployment and operation of the preoperational platform (OTEC-1) and future demonstration platforms must be carefully monitored to refine environmental assessment predictions, and to provide design modifications which may mitigate or reduce environmental impacts for larger-scale operations. These platforms will provide a valuable opportunity to fully evaluate the intake and discharge configurations, biofouling control methods, and both short-term and long-term environmental effects associated with platform operations. (3) Successful development of OTEC technology to use the maximal resource capabilities and to minimize environmental effects will require a concerted environmental management program, encompassing many different disciplines and environmental specialties.« less

Comparative analysis of environmental impacts of maize-biogas and photovoltaics on a land use basis

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

Graebig, Markus; Fenner, Richard; Bringezu, Stefan

2010-07-15

This study aims to stimulate the discussion on how to optimize a sustainable energy mix from an environmental perspective and how to apply existing renewable energy sources in the most efficient way. Ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV) and the maize-biogas-electricity route are compared with regard to their potential to mitigate environmental pressure, assuming that a given agricultural area is available for energy production. Existing life cycle assessment (LCA) studies are taken as a basis to analyse environmental impacts of those technologies in relation to conventional technology for power and heat generation. The life-cycle-wide mitigation potential per area used is calculated for themore » impact categories non-renewable energy input, green house gas (GHG) emissions, acidification and eutrophication. The environmental performance of each system depends on the scenario that is assumed for end energy use (electricity and heat supply have been contemplated). In all scenarios under consideration, PV turns out to be superior to biogas in almost all studied impact categories. Even when maize is used for electricity production in connection with very efficient heat usage, and reduced PV performance is assumed to account for intermittence, PV can still mitigate about four times the amount of green house gas emissions and non-renewable energy input compared to maize-biogas. Soil erosion, which can be entirely avoided with PV, exceeds soil renewal rates roughly 20-fold on maize fields. Regarding the overall Eco-indicator 99 (H) score under most favourable assumptions for the maize-biogas route, PV has still a more than 100% higher potential to mitigate environmental burden. At present, the key advantages of biogas are its price and its availability without intermittence. In the long run, and with respect to more efficient land use, biogas might preferably be produced from organic waste or manure, whereas PV should be integrated into buildings and infrastructures. (author)« less

Managing conflict between large carnivores and livestock.

PubMed

van Eeden, Lily M; Crowther, Mathew S; Dickman, Chris R; Macdonald, David W; Ripple, William J; Ritchie, Euan G; Newsome, Thomas M

2018-02-01

Large carnivores are persecuted globally because they threaten human industries and livelihoods. How this conflict is managed has consequences for the conservation of large carnivores and biodiversity more broadly. Mitigating human-predator conflict should be evidence-based and accommodate people's values while protecting carnivores. Despite much research into human and large-carnivore coexistence strategies, there have been few attempts to document the success of conflict-mitigation strategies on a global scale. We conducted a meta-analysis of global research on conflict mitigation related to large carnivores and humans. We focused on conflicts that arise from the threat large carnivores pose to livestock. We first used structured and unstructured searching to identify replicated studies that used before-after or control-impact design to measure change in livestock loss as a result of implementing a management intervention. We then extracted relevant data from these studies to calculate an overall effect size for each intervention type. Research effort and focus varied among continents and aligned with the histories and cultures that shaped livestock production and attitudes toward carnivores. Livestock guardian animals most effectively reduced livestock losses. Lethal control was the second most effective control, although its success varied the most, and guardian animals and lethal control did not differ significantly. Financial incentives have promoted tolerance of large carnivores in some settings and reduced retaliatory killings. We suggest coexistence strategies be location-specific, incorporate cultural values and environmental conditions, and be designed such that return on financial investment can be evaluated. Improved monitoring of mitigation measures is urgently required to promote effective evidence-based policy. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Environmental effects of information and communications technologies.

PubMed

Williams, Eric

2011-11-16

The digital revolution affects the environment on several levels. Most directly, information and communications technology (ICT) has environmental impacts through the manufacturing, operation and disposal of devices and network equipment, but it also provides ways to mitigate energy use, for example through smart buildings and teleworking. At a broader system level, ICTs influence economic growth and bring about technological and societal change. Managing the direct impacts of ICTs is more complex than just producing efficient devices, owing to the energetically expensive manufacturing process, and the increasing proliferation of devices needs to be taken into account. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

A Review of Frameworks for Developing Environmental Health Indicators for Climate Change and Health

PubMed Central

Hambling, Tammy; Weinstein, Philip; Slaney, David

2011-01-01

The role climate change may play in altering human health, particularly in the emergence and spread of diseases, is an evolving area of research. It is important to understand this relationship because it will compound the already significant burden of diseases on national economies and public health. Authorities need to be able to assess, anticipate, and monitor human health vulnerability to climate change, in order to plan for, or implement action to avoid these eventualities. Environmental health indicators (EHIs) provide a tool to assess, monitor, and quantify human health vulnerability, to aid in the design and targeting of interventions, and measure the effectiveness of climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. Our aim was to identify the most suitable framework for developing EHIs to measure and monitor the impacts of climate change on human health and inform the development of interventions. Using published literature we reviewed the attributes of 11 frameworks. We identified the Driving force-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) framework as the most suitable one for developing EHIs for climate change and health. We propose the use of EHIs as a valuable tool to assess, quantify, and monitor human health vulnerability, design and target interventions, and measure the effectiveness of climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. In this paper, we lay the groundwork for the future development of EHIs as a multidisciplinary approach to link existing environmental and epidemiological data and networks. Analysis of such data will contribute to an enhanced understanding of the relationship between climate change and human health. PMID:21845162

Characteristics of School Buildings in the U.S.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chmelynski, Harry J.; Leovic, Kelly W.

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Radon Mitigation Branch (RMB) conducts research and development on the reduction of indoor radon levels. Finding that there was no comprehensive database on the physical characteristics of the nations's school buildings (with information specific to radon-mitigation research), the RMB conducted a study…

76 FR 23337 - Warner Valley Comprehensive Site Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Lassen Volcanic National...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-26

..., including incrementional lowering and removal of Dream Lake Dam, rehabilitation of drainage ditches in... foreseeable environmental consequences were assessed, and appropriate mitigation measures are incorporated in...

NASA TEERM Principal Center Non-Chrome Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rothgeb, Matthew

2008-01-01

Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation (TEERM) Principal Center Mission is to identify and validate environmental technologies through joint activities that enhance mission readiness and reduce risk while minimizing duplication and associated costs.

Supplemental Environmental Assessment & Finding of No Significant Impact: Louisville Bend State Wildlife Area Fish and Wildlife Habitat Rehabilitation

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, and Operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System, and acquiring and...developing lands to produce habitat as directed by the BSNP Mitigation Project. The proposed project would be constructed under the authority of...the Mitigation Project. The Missouri River BSNP Mitigation Project of Missouri, Kansas , Iowa, and Nebraska was authorized by Section 601 (a) of the

2011 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

West, W. J.; Lucas, J. G.; Gano, K. A.

2011-11-14

This report documents the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report contains the vegetation monitoring data that was collected in the spring and summer of 2011 from the River Corridor Closure Contractor’s revegetation and mitigation areas on the Hanford Site.

Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change, Priorities, and Decision-Making among Municipalities in Lima, Peru to Better Inform Adaptation and Mitigation Planning.

PubMed

Siña, Mariella; Wood, Rachel C; Saldarriaga, Enrique; Lawler, Joshua; Zunt, Joseph; Garcia, Patricia; Cárcamo, César

2016-01-01

Climate change poses multiple risks to the population of Lima, the largest city and capital of Peru, located on the Pacific coast in a desert ecosystem. These risks include increased water scarcity, increased heat, and the introduction and emergence of vector-borne and other climate sensitive diseases. To respond to these threats, it is necessary for the government, at every level, to adopt more mitigation and adaptation strategies. Here, focus groups were conducted with representatives from five Lima municipalities to determine priorities, perception of climate change, and decision-making processes for implementing projects within each municipality. These factors can affect the ability and desire of a community to implement climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The results show that climate change and other environmental factors are of relatively low priority, whereas public safety and water and sanitation services are of highest concern. Perhaps most importantly, climate change is not well understood among the municipalities. Participants had trouble distinguishing climate change from other environmental issues and did not fully understand its causes and effects. Greater understanding of what climate change is and why it is important is necessary for it to become a priority for the municipalities. Different aspects of increased climate change awareness seem to be connected to having experienced extreme weather events, whether related or not to climate change, and to higher socioeconomic status.

Arsenic and Environmental Health: State of the Science and Future Research Opportunities

PubMed Central

Carlin, Danielle J.; Naujokas, Marisa F.; Bradham, Karen D.; Cowden, John; Heacock, Michelle; Henry, Heather F.; Lee, Janice S.; Thomas, David J.; Thompson, Claudia; Tokar, Erik J.; Waalkes, Michael P.; Birnbaum, Linda S.; Suk, William A.

2015-01-01

Background: Exposure to inorganic and organic arsenic compounds is a major public health problem that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Exposure to arsenic is associated with cancer and noncancer effects in nearly every organ in the body, and evidence is mounting for health effects at lower levels of arsenic exposure than previously thought. Building from a tremendous knowledge base with > 1,000 scientific papers published annually with “arsenic” in the title, the question becomes, what questions would best drive future research directions? Objectives: The objective is to discuss emerging issues in arsenic research and identify data gaps across disciplines. Methods: The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program convened a workshop to identify emerging issues and research needs to address the multi-faceted challenges related to arsenic and environmental health. This review summarizes information captured during the workshop. Discussion: More information about aggregate exposure to arsenic is needed, including the amount and forms of arsenic found in foods. New strategies for mitigating arsenic exposures and related health effects range from engineered filtering systems to phytogenetics and nutritional interventions. Furthermore, integration of omics data with mechanistic and epidemiological data is a key step toward the goal of linking biomarkers of exposure and susceptibility to disease mechanisms and outcomes. Conclusions: Promising research strategies and technologies for arsenic exposure and adverse health effect mitigation are being pursued, and future research is moving toward deeper collaborations and integration of information across disciplines to address data gaps. Citation: Carlin DJ, Naujokas MF, Bradham KD, Cowden J, Heacock M, Henry HF, Lee JS, Thomas DJ, Thompson C, Tokar EJ, Waalkes MP, Birnbaum LS, Suk WA. 2016. Arsenic and environmental health: state of the science and future research opportunities. Environ Health Perspect 124:890–899; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510209 PMID:26587579

Urban Heat Islands and Their Mitigation vs. Local Impacts of Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taha, H.

2007-12-01

Urban heat islands and their mitigation take on added significance, both negative and positive, when viewed from a climate-change perspective. In negative terms, urban heat islands can act as local exacerbating factors, or magnifying lenses, to the effects of regional and large-scale climate perturbations and change. They can locally impact meteorology, energy/electricity generation and use, thermal environment (comfort and heat waves), emissions of air pollutants, photochemistry, and air quality. In positive terms, on the other hand, mitigation of urban heat islands (via urban surface modifications and control of man-made heat, for example) can potentially have a beneficial effect of mitigating the local negative impacts of climate change. In addition, mitigation of urban heat islands can, in itself, contribute to preventing regional and global climate change, even if modestly, by helping reduce CO2 emissions from power plants and other sources as a result of decreased energy use for cooling (both direct and indirect) and reducing the rates of meteorology-dependent emissions of air pollutants. This presentation will highlight aspects and characteristics of heat islands, their mitigation, their modeling and quantification techniques, and recent advances in meso-urban modeling of California (funded by the California Energy Commission). In particular, the presentation will focus on results from quantitative, modeling-based analyses of the potential benefits of heat island mitigation in 1) reducing point- and area-source emissions of CO2, NOx, and VOC as a result of reduced cooling energy demand and ambient/surface temperatures, 2) reducing evaporative and fugitive hydrocarbon emissions as a result of lowered temperatures, 3) reducing biogenic hydrocarbon emissions from existing vegetative cover, 4) slowing the rates of tropospheric/ground-level ozone formation and/or accumulation in the urban boundary layer, and 5) helping improve air quality. Quantitative estimates of the above will be presented based on recent and earlier meteorological, energy, thermal environmental, emissions, and photochemical modeling studies for California and Texas.

Radiation -- A Cosmic Hazard to Human Habitation in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Ruthan; Pellish, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Radiation exposure is one of the greatest environmental threats to the performance and success of human and robotic space missions. Radiation permeates all space and aeronautical systems, challenges optimal and reliable performance, and tests survival and survivability. We will discuss the broad scope of research, technological, and operational considerations to forecast and mitigate the effects of the radiation environment for deep space and planetary exploration.

Acoustically-equipped Ocean Gliders for Environmental and Oceanographic Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

mammal occurrence and behavior. The instruments purchased with this grant will significantly enhance our DoD-funded work, including both currently...funded research and proposed research. OBJECTIVES The Navy observes and studies marine mammals , both to better understand marine mammal ...occurrence and behavior and also to mitigate the deleterious effects of its operations on marine mammals . To facilitate acquisition of marine mammal data, we

Qualitative Erosion and Sedimentation Investigation Maline Creek, City and County of St. Louis, Missouri.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-30

Flooding of Maline Creek in and around St. Louis, Missouri has been a problem. In an effort to provide significant flood damage mitigation, increase...miles of environmental/recreational trails. The sediment transport characteristics of Maline Creek , were qualitatively evaluated and the effect of...erosion and sedimentation of loess soils since they are common to the Maline Creek watershed.

Increasing pro-environmental behaviors by increasing self-concordance: Testing an intervention.

PubMed

Unsworth, Kerrie L; McNeill, Ilona M

2017-01-01

Globally, there is a clear need to change our behavior to mitigate climate change. Many people, however, will not find the need for mitigation important enough to make their behavior more environmentally sustainable. Three studies supported the hypothesis that it is possible to overcome this issue by connecting these behaviors to goals that are important to people, even if such goals are unrelated to climate change or the environment in general. Study 1 (N = 305 working adults) showed that stronger self-concordance of behavior related to energy sustainability was related to a greater chance of signing a petition for increasing renewable energy sources. Next, 2 experimental studies (Study 2: N = 412 working and nonworking adults, and Study 3: N = 300 working adults) showed that increasing self-concordance of environmentally sustainable behaviors by asking people to cognitively connect either sustainable energy use (Study 2) or commuting behaviors (Study 3) to their personal goals increased intentions to engage in these behaviors compared to a control condition (Study 2 and Study 3) and compared to persuasion attempts based on climate change mitigation (Study 3). These findings occurred even after controlling for political orientation and environmental concerns. This research has significant practical implications for workplaces, particularly for those in which employees or managers place a low priority on environmental and climate change considerations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Comprehensive summary of beach renourishment and offshore sand removal impacts for Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Demopoulos, A.W.J.; Gualtieri, D.J.; Neils, A.; Huge, D.

2011-01-01

An essential first step in the scope of environmental impacts for a sediment mining project is a formulation of specific purpose, precise needs, and estimated impacts. For each individual project, scope must be described, acceptable alternatives must be determined, critical environmental issues must be identified, and mitigation measures must be resolved. Appropriate Federal and State regulations will often require evidence that sand placement is a reasonable alternative to shoreline protection. If so, material to be extracted from the borrow site must be characterized. Candidates must identify the extent of the potential area for sand resources, complete with screening criteria, and site-specific information must be obtained. Alternatives must be identified, compared, and contrasted. And, importantly, the most cost-effective and environmentally sound approach must be determined for the project to move forward. Florida's beaches and coastlines once provided natural protection against storm damage, while simultaneously supporting aquatic ecosystems and both commercial and recreational fisheries. However, beach erosion associated with regional construction and development of the coastline has reduced the effectiveness of natural storm protection. Coastal beaches are, in geological terms, ever-shifting and evolving through natural processes of erosion and replenishment. With permanent structures in place, such as seawalls, jetties, and revetments, natural shoreline is compartmentalized, dynamics are interrupted, and sediment is no longer replenished. Coastal erosion is often a problem where the natural sediment source is deficient. Many of Florida's beaches are now in need of beach replenishment to reduce the high level of damage caused by coastal flooding. Strategic placement of beach fill is a logical means for improving the stability of a shoreline where such a project is economically and environmentally feasible. Sand placement effectively extends the shoreline and provides protection for coastal developments. Beach nourishment or restoration must, however, be thought of as a continual effort and not a one-time fix. Therefore, a combination of sand placement with other erosion mitigation measures can be an effective way to stabilize a shoreline and extend the life of the beach nourishment. Fill material can be obtained from an offshore borrow site, and its characteristics must match the native material in terms of grain size and structure. Environmental concerns for such an effort include potential for decreased water quality during dredging operations, and disturbance of coastal habitat while removing or depositing dredged material. An in-depth scientific evaluation of deposit sites and potential borrow sites must be executed. Mitigation and monitoring efforts will also be critical for a successful low-impact beach management project. The potential exists for unwanted consequences to develop during dredging operations, all of which must be considered and reduced.-->

Maintaining environmental quality while expanding biomass production: Sub-regional U.S. policy simulations

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

Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, S.; Izaurralde, Roberto C.

2013-03-01

This paper evaluates environmental policy effects on ligno-cellulosic biomass production and environ- mental outcomes using an integrated bioeconomic optimization model. The environmental policy integrated climate (EPIC) model is used to simulate crop yields and environmental indicators in current and future potential bioenergy cropping systems based on weather, topographic and soil data. The crop yield and environmental outcome parameters from EPIC are combined with biomass transport costs and economic parameters in a representative farmer profit-maximizing mathematical optimization model. The model is used to predict the impact of alternative policies on biomass production and environmental outcomes. We find that without environmental policy,more » rising biomass prices initially trigger production of annual crop residues, resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, and nutrient losses to surface and ground water. At higher biomass prices, perennial bioenergy crops replace annual crop residues as biomass sources, resulting in lower environmental impacts. Simulations of three environmental policies namely a carbon price, a no-till area subsidy, and a fertilizer tax reveal that only the carbon price policy systematically mitigates environmental impacts. The fertilizer tax is ineffectual and too costly to farmers. The no-till subsidy is effective only at low biomass prices and is too costly to government.« less

On mitigating rapid onset natural disasters: Project THRUST (Tsunami Hazards Reduction Utilizing Systems Technology)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, E. N.; Behn, R. R.; Hebenstreit, G. T.; Gonzalez, F. I.; Krumpe, P.; Lander, J. F.; Lorca, E.; McManamon, P. M.; Milburn, H. B.

Rapid onset natural hazards have claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide in the past 20 years. This category includes such events as earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornados, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and tsunamis. Effective hazard mitigation is particularly difficult in such cases, since the time available to issue warnings can be very short or even nonexistent. This paper presents the concept of a local warning system that exploits and integrates the existing technologies of risk evaluation, environmental measurement, and telecommunications. We describe Project THRUST, a successful implementation of this general, systematic approach to tsunamis. The general approach includes pre-event emergency planning, real-time hazard assessment, and rapid warning via satellite communication links.

Arachidonic Acid Enhances Reproduction in Daphnia magna and Mitigates Changes in Sex Ratios Induced by Pyriproxyfen

PubMed Central

Ginjupalli, Gautam K.; Gerard, Patrick D.; Baldwin, William S.

2016-01-01

Arachidonic acid (AA) is one of only two unsaturated fatty acids retained in the ovaries of crustaceans, and an inhibitor of HR97g, a nuclear receptor expressed in adult ovaries. We hypothesized that as a key fatty acid, AA may be associated with reproduction and potentially environmental sex determination in Daphnia. Reproduction assays with AA indicate that it alters female/male sex ratios by increasing female production. This reproductive effect only occurred during a restricted P. subcapitata diet. Next, we tested whether enriching a poorer algal diet (C. vulgaris) with AA enhances overall reproduction and sex ratios. AA enrichment of a C. vulgaris diet also enhances fecundity at 1.0 and 4.0μM by 30–40% in the presence and absence of pyriproxyfen. This indicates that AA is crucial in reproduction regardless of environmental sex determination. Furthermore, our data indicates that P. subcapitata may provide a threshold concentration of AA needed for reproduction. Diet switch experiments from P. subcapitata to C. vulgaris mitigate some but not all of AA’s effects when compared to a C. vulgaris only diet, suggesting that some AA provided by P. subcapitata is retained. In summary, AA supplementation increases reproduction and represses pyriproxyfen-induced environmental sex determination in D. magna in restricted diets. A diet rich in AA may provide protection from some reproductive toxicants such as the juvenile hormone agonist, pyriproxyfen. PMID:25393616

Rapid emergence of climate change in environmental drivers of marine ecosystems.

PubMed

Henson, Stephanie A; Beaulieu, Claudie; Ilyina, Tatiana; John, Jasmin G; Long, Matthew; Séférian, Roland; Tjiputra, Jerry; Sarmiento, Jorge L

2017-03-07

Climate change is expected to modify ecological responses in the ocean, with the potential for important effects on the ecosystem services provided to humankind. Here we address the question of how rapidly multiple drivers of marine ecosystem change develop in the future ocean. By analysing an ensemble of models we find that, within the next 15 years, the climate change-driven trends in multiple ecosystem drivers emerge from the background of natural variability in 55% of the ocean and propagate rapidly to encompass 86% of the ocean by 2050 under a 'business-as-usual' scenario. However, we also demonstrate that the exposure of marine ecosystems to climate change-induced stress can be drastically reduced via climate mitigation measures; with mitigation, the proportion of ocean susceptible to multiple drivers within the next 15 years is reduced to 34%. Mitigation slows the pace at which multiple drivers emerge, allowing an additional 20 years for adaptation in marine ecological and socio-economic systems alike.

Rapid emergence of climate change in environmental drivers of marine ecosystems

PubMed Central

Henson, Stephanie A.; Beaulieu, Claudie; Ilyina, Tatiana; John, Jasmin G.; Long, Matthew; Séférian, Roland; Tjiputra, Jerry; Sarmiento, Jorge L.

2017-01-01

Climate change is expected to modify ecological responses in the ocean, with the potential for important effects on the ecosystem services provided to humankind. Here we address the question of how rapidly multiple drivers of marine ecosystem change develop in the future ocean. By analysing an ensemble of models we find that, within the next 15 years, the climate change-driven trends in multiple ecosystem drivers emerge from the background of natural variability in 55% of the ocean and propagate rapidly to encompass 86% of the ocean by 2050 under a ‘business-as-usual' scenario. However, we also demonstrate that the exposure of marine ecosystems to climate change-induced stress can be drastically reduced via climate mitigation measures; with mitigation, the proportion of ocean susceptible to multiple drivers within the next 15 years is reduced to 34%. Mitigation slows the pace at which multiple drivers emerge, allowing an additional 20 years for adaptation in marine ecological and socio-economic systems alike. PMID:28267144

Rapid emergence of climate change in environmental drivers of marine ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henson, Stephanie A.; Beaulieu, Claudie; Ilyina, Tatiana; John, Jasmin G.; Long, Matthew; Séférian, Roland; Tjiputra, Jerry; Sarmiento, Jorge L.

2017-03-01

Climate change is expected to modify ecological responses in the ocean, with the potential for important effects on the ecosystem services provided to humankind. Here we address the question of how rapidly multiple drivers of marine ecosystem change develop in the future ocean. By analysing an ensemble of models we find that, within the next 15 years, the climate change-driven trends in multiple ecosystem drivers emerge from the background of natural variability in 55% of the ocean and propagate rapidly to encompass 86% of the ocean by 2050 under a `business-as-usual' scenario. However, we also demonstrate that the exposure of marine ecosystems to climate change-induced stress can be drastically reduced via climate mitigation measures; with mitigation, the proportion of ocean susceptible to multiple drivers within the next 15 years is reduced to 34%. Mitigation slows the pace at which multiple drivers emerge, allowing an additional 20 years for adaptation in marine ecological and socio-economic systems alike.

Clear, Conductive, Transparent, Flexible Space Durable Composite Films for Electrostatic Charge Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Kent A.; Connell, John W.; Delozier, Donavon M.; Smith, Joseph G., Jr.

2004-01-01

Space environmentally durable polymeric films with low color and sufficient electrical conductivity to mitigate electrostatic charge (ESC) build-up have been under investigation as part of a materials development activity. These materials have potential applications on advanced spacecraft, particularly on large, deployable, ultra-light weight Gossamer spacecraft. The approach taken to impart sufficient electrical conductivity into the polymer film while maintaining flexibility is to use single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as conductive additives. Approaches investigated in our lab involved an in-situ polymerization method, addition of SWNTs to a polymer containing reactive end-groups, and spray coating of polymer surfaces. The work described herein is a summary of the current status of this project. Surface conductivities (measured as surface resistance) in the range sufficient for ESC mitigation were achieved with minimal effects on the physical, thermal, mechanical and optical properties of the films. Additionally, the electrical conductivity was not affected by harsh mechanical manipulation of the films. The chemistry and physical properties of these nanocomposites will be discussed.

Environmental Decision Making on Acid Mine Drainage Issues in South Africa: An Argument for the Precautionary Principle.

PubMed

Morodi, T J; Mpofu, Charles

2017-06-28

This paper examines the issue of acid mine drainage in South Africa and environmental decision making processes that could be taken to mitigate the problem in the context of both conventional risk assessment and the precautionary principle. It is argued that conventional risk assessment protects the status quo and hence cannot be entirely relied upon as an effective tool to resolve environmental problems in the context of South Africa, a developing country with complex environmental health concerns. The complexity of the environmental issues is discussed from historical and political perspectives. An argument is subsequently made that the precautionary principle is an alternative tool, and its adoption can be used to empower local communities. This work, therefore, adds to new knowledge by problematising conventional risk assessment and proposing the framing of the acid mine drainage issues in a complex and contextual scenario of a developing country-South Africa.

Evaluation of trade-offs in costs and environmental impacts for returnable packaging implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarupan, Lerpong; Kamarthi, Sagar V.; Gupta, Surendra M.

2004-02-01

The main thrust of returnable packaging these days is to provide logistical services through transportation and distribution of products and be environmentally friendly. Returnable packaging and reverse logistics concepts have converged to mitigate the adverse effect of packaging materials entering the solid waste stream. Returnable packaging must be designed by considering the trade-offs between costs and environmental impact to satisfy manufacturers and environmentalists alike. The cost of returnable packaging entails such items as materials, manufacturing, collection, storage and disposal. Environmental impacts are explicitly linked with solid waste, air pollution, and water pollution. This paper presents a multi-criteria evaluation technique to assist decision-makers for evaluating the trade-offs in costs and environmental impact during the returnable packaging design process. The proposed evaluation technique involves a combination of multiple objective integer linear programming and analytic hierarchy process. A numerical example is used to illustrate the methodology.

Nanotechnology for environmentally sustainable electromobility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellingsen, Linda Ager-Wick; Hung, Christine Roxanne; Majeau-Bettez, Guillaume; Singh, Bhawna; Chen, Zhongwei; Whittingham, M. Stanley; Strømman, Anders Hammer

2016-12-01

Electric vehicles (EVs) powered by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) or proton exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cells (PEMFCs) offer important potential climate change mitigation effects when combined with clean energy sources. The development of novel nanomaterials may bring about the next wave of technical improvements for LIBs and PEMFCs. If the next generation of EVs is to lead to not only reduced emissions during use but also environmentally sustainable production chains, the research on nanomaterials for LIBs and PEMFCs should be guided by a life-cycle perspective. In this Analysis, we describe an environmental life-cycle screening framework tailored to assess nanomaterials for electromobility. By applying this framework, we offer an early evaluation of the most promising nanomaterials for LIBs and PEMFCs and their potential contributions to the environmental sustainability of EV life cycles. Potential environmental trade-offs and gaps in nanomaterials research are identified to provide guidance for future nanomaterial developments for electromobility.

How is environmental conflict addressed by SIA?

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

Barrow, C.J., E-mail: c.j.barrow@swansea.ac.u

2010-09-15

The fields of Environmental Conflict Management (ECM), Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR), and Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) have become well established; however, as yet there has not been much use of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to manage environmental conflicts. ECM, ECR and PCIA are mainly undertaken when problems are advanced or, more likely, have run their course (post-conflict). This paper examines how conflict is addressed by SIA and whether there is potential to develop it for more proactive assessment of conflicts (pre-conflict or while things develop). SIA has the potential to identify and clarify the cause(s) of environmental andmore » natural resources conflicts, and could possibly enable some avoidance or early mitigation. A promising approach may be for 'conflict-aware' SIA to watch for critical conflict stages or thresholds and to monitor stakeholders. Effective conflict-aware SIA might also significantly contribute to efforts to achieve sustainable development.« less

Chemical Safety Alert: First Responders’ Environmental Liability Due To Mass Decontamination Runoff

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

CERCLA's good Samaritan provisions protect responders such as the Chemical Weapons Improved Response Team during lifesaving actions. Once imminent threats are addressed, responders should contain contamination and avoid/mitigate environmental consequences.

VERIFICATION OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES

EPA Science Inventory

This is a continuation of independent performance evaluations of environmental technologies under EPA's Environmental Technology Verification Program. Emissions of some greenhouse gases, most notably methane. can be controlled profitably now, even in the absence of regulations. ...

The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation.

PubMed

Gifford, Robert

2011-01-01

Most people think climate change and sustainability are important problems, but too few global citizens engaged in high-greenhouse-gas-emitting behavior are engaged in enough mitigating behavior to stem the increasing flow of greenhouse gases and other environmental problems. Why is that? Structural barriers such as a climate-averse infrastructure are part of the answer, but psychological barriers also impede behavioral choices that would facilitate mitigation, adaptation, and environmental sustainability. Although many individuals are engaged in some ameliorative action, most could do more, but they are hindered by seven categories of psychological barriers, or "dragons of inaction": limited cognition about the problem, ideological world views that tend to preclude pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, comparisons with key other people, sunk costs and behavioral momentum, discredence toward experts and authorities, perceived risks of change, and positive but inadequate behavior change. Structural barriers must be removed wherever possible, but this is unlikely to be sufficient. Psychologists must work with other scientists, technical experts, and policymakers to help citizens overcome these psychological barriers.

Bigger is better: Improved nature conservation and economic returns from landscape-level mitigation.

PubMed

Kennedy, Christina M; Miteva, Daniela A; Baumgarten, Leandro; Hawthorne, Peter L; Sochi, Kei; Polasky, Stephen; Oakleaf, James R; Uhlhorn, Elizabeth M; Kiesecker, Joseph

2016-07-01

Impact mitigation is a primary mechanism on which countries rely to reduce environmental externalities and balance development with conservation. Mitigation policies are transitioning from traditional project-by-project planning to landscape-level planning. Although this larger-scale approach is expected to provide greater conservation benefits at the lowest cost, empirical justification is still scarce. Using commercial sugarcane expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado as a case study, we apply economic and biophysical steady-state models to quantify the benefits of the Brazilian Forest Code (FC) under landscape- and property-level planning. We find that FC compliance imposes small costs to business but can generate significant long-term benefits to nature: supporting 32 (±37) additional species (largely habitat specialists), storing 593,000 to 2,280,000 additional tons of carbon worth $69 million to $265 million ($ pertains to U.S. dollars), and marginally improving surface water quality. Relative to property-level compliance, we find that landscape-level compliance reduces total business costs by $19 million to $35 million per 6-year sugarcane growing cycle while often supporting more species and storing more carbon. Our results demonstrate that landscape-level mitigation provides cost-effective conservation and can be used to promote sustainable development.

A study on the causal effect of urban population growth and international trade on environmental pollution: evidence from China.

PubMed

Boamah, Kofi Baah; Du, Jianguo; Boamah, Angela Jacinta; Appiah, Kingsley

2018-02-01

This study seeks to contribute to the recent literature by empirically investigating the causal effect of urban population growth and international trade on environmental pollution of China, for the period 1980-2014. The Johansen cointegration confirmed a long-run cointegration association among the utilised variables for the case of China. The direction of causality among the variables was, consequently, investigated using the recent bootstrapped Granger causality test. This bootstrapped Granger causality approach is preferred as it provides robust and accurate critical values for statistical inferences. The findings from the causality analysis revealed the existence of a bi-directional causality between import and urban population. The three most paramount variables that explain the environmental pollution in China, according to the impulse response function, are imports, urbanisation and energy consumption. Our study further established the presence of an N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution of China. Hence, our study recommends that China should adhere to stricter environmental regulations in international trade, as well as enforce policies that promote energy efficiency in the urban residential and commercial sector, in the quest to mitigate environmental pollution issues as the economy advances.

76 FR 31677 - Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on Proposed Highway in California

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-01

... Transportation (Caltrans) assumed, environmental responsibilities for this project pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327... applies. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brent, Caltrans District 4 Office of Environmental... Mitigated Negative Declaration/Environmental Assessment (IS/EA) for the project, approved on March 18, 2011...

30 CFR 282.13 - Suspension of production or other operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... environmental evaluation to define mitigation measures to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. (5... deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the National security or defense, or to the marine, coastal.... 282.13 Section 282.13 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

30 CFR 282.13 - Suspension of production or other operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... environmental evaluation to define mitigation measures to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. (5... deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the National security or defense, or to the marine, coastal.... 282.13 Section 282.13 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

30 CFR 282.13 - Suspension of production or other operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... environmental evaluation to define mitigation measures to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. (5... deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the National security or defense, or to the marine, coastal.... 282.13 Section 282.13 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

77 FR 43575 - Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-25

..., identifying significant environmental issues in the DEIS/EIR, providing useful information such as published and unpublished data, and knowledge of relevant issues and recommending mitigation measures to offset... the scoping process. c. Individuals and agencies may offer information or data relevant to the...

Life cycle assessment of sewage sludge co-incineration in a coal-based power station.

PubMed

Hong, Jingmin; Xu, Changqing; Hong, Jinglan; Tan, Xianfeng; Chen, Wei

2013-09-01

A life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate the environmental and economic effects of sewage sludge co-incineration in a coal-fired power plant. The general approach employed by a coal-fired power plant was also assessed as control. Sewage sludge co-incineration technology causes greater environmental burden than does coal-based energy production technology because of the additional electricity consumption and wastewater treatment required for the pretreatment of sewage sludge, direct emissions from sludge incineration, and incinerated ash disposal processes. However, sewage sludge co-incineration presents higher economic benefits because of electricity subsidies and the income generating potential of sludge. Environmental assessment results indicate that sewage sludge co-incineration is unsuitable for mitigating the increasing pressure brought on by sewage sludge pollution. Reducing the overall environmental effect of sludge co-incineration power stations necessitates increasing net coal consumption efficiency, incinerated ash reuse rate, dedust system efficiency, and sludge water content rate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strategically placing green infrastructure: cost-effective land conservation in the floodplain.

PubMed

Kousky, Carolyn; Olmstead, Sheila M; Walls, Margaret A; Macauley, Molly

2013-04-16

Green infrastructure approaches have attracted increased attention from local governments as a way to lower flood risk and provide an array of other environmental services. The peer-reviewed literature, however, offers few estimates of the economic impacts of such approaches at the watershed scale. We estimate the avoided flood damages and the costs of preventing development of floodplain parcels in the East River Watershed of Wisconsin's Lower Fox River Basin. Results suggest that the costs of preventing conversion of all projected floodplain development would exceed the flood damage mitigation benefits by a substantial margin. However, targeting of investments to high-benefit, low-cost parcels can reverse this equation, generating net benefits. The analysis demonstrates how any flood-prone community can use a geographic-information-based model to estimate the flood damage reduction benefits of green infrastructure, compare them to the costs, and target investments to design cost-effective nonstructural flood damage mitigation policies.

ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

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

J. Robert Paterek; Gemma Husmillo

The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmental benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is one or more environmental benign, a.k.a. ''green'' products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. Capsicum sp. extracts and pure compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity against MIC causing bacteria. Studies on the ability of these compounds to dissociate biofilm from the substratum were conducted using microtiter plate assays. Tests usingmore » laboratory scale pipeline simulators continued. Preliminary results showed that the natural extracts possess strong antimicrobial activity being comparable to or even better than the pure compounds tested against strains of sulfate reducers. Their minimum inhibitory concentrations had been determined. It was also found that they possess bactericidal properties at minimal concentrations. Biofilm dissociation activity as assessed by microtiter plate assays demonstrated varying degrees of differences between the treated and untreated group with the superior performance of the extracts over pure compounds. Such is an indication of the possible benefits that could be obtained from these natural products. Confirmatory experiments are underway.« less

Susitna Hydroelectric Project: terrestrial environmental workshop and preliminary simulation model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Everitt, Robert R.; Sonntag, Nicholas C.; Auble, Gregory T.; Roelle, James E.; Gazey, William

1982-01-01

The technical feasibility, economic viability, and environmental impacts of a hydroelectric development project in the Susitna River Basin are being studied by Acres American, Inc. on behalf of the Alaska Power Authority. As part of these studies, Acres American recently contracted LGL Alaska Research Associates, Inc. to coordinate the terrestrial environmental studies being performed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and, as subcontractors to LGL, several University of Alaska research groups. LGL is responsible for further quantifying the potential impacts of the project on terrestrial wildlife and vegetation, and for developing a plan to mitigate adverse impacts on the terrestrial environment. The impact assessment and mitigation plan will be included as part of a license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) scheduled for the first quarter of 1983. The quantification of impacts, mitigation planning, and design of future research is being organized using a computer simulation modelling approach. Through a series of workshops attended by researchers, resource managers, and policy-makers, a computer model is being developed and refined for use in the quantification of impacts on terrestrial wildlife and vegetation, and for evaluating different mitigation measures such as habitat enhancement and the designation of replacement lands to be managed by wildlife habitat. This report describes the preliminary model developed at the first workshop held August 23 -27, 1982 in Anchorage.

Research Contributing to Improvements in Controlling Florida's Mosquitoes and Mosquito-borne Diseases.

PubMed

Tabachnick, Walter J

2016-09-28

Research on mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases has contributed to improvements in providing effective, efficient, and environmentally proper mosquito control. Florida has benefitted from several research accomplishments that have increased the state's mosquito control capabilities. Research with Florida's mosquitoes has resulted in the development of ecologically sound management of mosquito impoundments on Florida's east coast. This strategy, called Rotational Impoundment Management (RIM), has improved the ability to target the delivery of pesticides and has helped to reduce non-target effects and environmental damage. Research has led to the development of an arbovirus surveillance system which includes sentinel chicken surveillance, real time use of environmental contributing factors like meteorology and hydrology to target mosquito control, as well as public health efforts to mitigate disease outbreaks to areas with risk of disease. These research driven improvements have provided substantial benefits to all of Florida. More research is needed to meet the future challenges to reduce emerging pathogens like Zika virus and the consequences of environmental changes like global climate change that are likely to influence the effects of mosquito-borne pathogens on human health and well-being.

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.

A REVIEW OF RADON MITIGATION IN LARGE BUILDINGS IN THE US

EPA Science Inventory

The Environmental Protection Agency of the US carried out its initial research on radon mitigation in houses, both existing and new. A review of this work is presented in another paper at this workshop. Four years ago, this work was expanded to include the study of radon in schoo...

Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) for Minor Construction Projects at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

water quality or increase storm water runoff. Adherence to all applicable local , state and federal laws regarding storm water mitigates any direct...during construction will mitigate any hazard. 7 .1.4 Water Resources: 7.1.4.1 Storm Water: New construction has the potential to degrade storm

Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) for Minor Construction Projects at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-07

water quality or increase storm water runoff. Adherence to all applicable local , state and federal laws regarding storm water mitigates any direct...during construction will mitigate any hazard. 7 .1.4 Water Resources: 7.1.4.1 Storm Water: New construction has the potential to degrade storm

Cobenefits of replacing car trips with alternative transportation: a review of evidence and methodological issues.

PubMed

Xia, Ting; Zhang, Ying; Crabb, Shona; Shah, Pushan

2013-01-01

It has been reported that motor vehicle emissions contribute nearly a quarter of world energy-related greenhouse gases and cause nonnegligible air pollution primarily in urban areas. Reducing car use and increasing ecofriendly alternative transport, such as public and active transport, are efficient approaches to mitigate harmful environmental impacts caused by a large amount of vehicle use. Besides the environmental benefits of promoting alternative transport, it can also induce other health and economic benefits. At present, a number of studies have been conducted to evaluate cobenefits from greenhouse gas mitigation policies. However, relatively few have focused specifically on the transport sector. A comprehensive understanding of the multiple benefits of alternative transport could assist with policy making in the areas of transport, health, and environment. However, there is no straightforward method which could estimate cobenefits effect at one time. In this paper, the links between vehicle emissions and air quality, as well as the health and economic benefits from alternative transport use, are considered, and methodological issues relating to the modelling of these cobenefits are discussed.

The Effect of Considering Environmental Aspect to Distribution Planning: A Case in Logistics SME

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prambudia, Yudha; Andrian Nur, Andri

2016-01-01

Environmental aspect is often neglected in traditional distribution planning process of a product. Especially in small-medium enterprises (SME) of developing countries where cost efficiency is the predominant factor. Bearing in mind that there is a large number of SME's performing logistics activities, the consideration of environmental aspect in their distribution planning process would be beneficial to climate change mitigation efforts. The purpose of this paper is to show the impact of environmental aspect should it be considered as a contributing factor in distribution planning. In this research, an adoption of CO2-emission factor in an SME's distribution planning in Indonesia was simulated. The outputs of distribution planning with and without the factor consideration are then compared. The result shows that adoption of CO2-emission factor would change the priority of delivery route.

ENVIRONMENTALLY-BENIGN MULTIPHASE CATALYSIS. (R826034)

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental concerns stemming from the use of conventional solvents and from hazardous waste generation have propelled research efforts aimed at developing benign chemical processing techniques that either eliminate or significantly mitigate pollution at the source. This pap...

QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Pattie

2012-01-01

Articles in this issue inlude: (1) Foundation of Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM) Technology Evaluation is Testing and Qualification, (2) Materials Management and Substitution Efforts, (3 Recycling and Pollution Control Efforts, and (4) Remediation Efforts

Social and ethical perspectives of landslide risk mitigation measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalsnes, Bjørn; Vangelsten, Bjørn V.

2015-04-01

Landslide risk may be mitigated by use of a wide range of measures. Mitigation and prevention options may include (1) structural measures to reduce the frequency, severity or exposure to the hazard, (2) non-structural measures, such as land-use planning and early warning systems, to reduce the hazard frequency and consequences, and (3) measures to pool and transfer the risks. In a given situation the appropriate system of mitigation measures may be a combination of various types of measures, both structural and non-structural. In the process of choosing mitigation measures for a given landslide risk situation, the role of the geoscientist is normally to propose possible mitigation measures on basis of the risk level and technical feasibility. Social and ethical perspectives are often neglected in this process. However, awareness of the need to consider social as well as ethical issues in the design and management of mitigating landslide risk is rising. There is a growing understanding that technical experts acting alone cannot determine what will be considered the appropriate set of mitigation and prevention measures. Issues such as environment versus development, questions of acceptable risk, who bears the risks and benefits, and who makes the decisions, also need to be addressed. Policymakers and stakeholders engaged in solving environmental risk problems are increasingly recognising that traditional expert-based decision-making processes are insufficient. This paper analyse the process of choosing appropriate mitigation measures to mitigate landslide risk from a social and ethical perspective, considering technical, cultural, economical, environmental and political elements. The paper focus on stakeholder involvement in the decision making process, and shows how making strategies for risk communication is a key for a successful process. The study is supported by case study examples from Norway and Italy. In the Italian case study, three different risk mitigation options was presented to the local community. The options were based on a thorough stakeholder involvement process ending up in three different views on how to deal with the landslide risk situation: i) protect lives and properties (hierarchical) ; ii) careful stewardship of the mountains (egalitarian); and iii) rational individual choice (individualist).

Improving the effectiveness of impact assessment pertaining to Indigenous peoples in the Brazilian environmental licensing procedure

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

Hanna, Philippe; Vanclay, Frank, E-mail: frank.vanclay@rug.nl; Langdon, Esther Jean

The number of environmental licence applications for projects affecting Indigenous peoples in Brazil has increased since the implementation of a major infrastructure program (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento) in 2007. This increase has caused problems for Brazilian agencies involved in environmental licensing procedures (IBAMA, FUNAI and others). We analyze the Brazilian environmental licensing procedure for situations involving Indigenous peoples, Maroons (Quilombolas) or other traditional communities in order to identify potential improvements for Brazil and potentially other countries. Although Brazilian procedures are consistent with international best practice in environmental licensing, in practice social impacts are inadequately addressed, mitigation measures are poorlymore » implemented, and there is a lack of enforcement and compliance. The paper is based on document analysis and interviews with key actors in governmental and non-governmental organizations and Indigenous leaders. We suggest that Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes need to be conducted at the earliest stages of project planning, and that Indigenous peoples should actively participate in impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation processes. In order to achieve a social licence to operate, there needs to be full recognition of traditional knowledge and acceptance of Indigenous values and concepts. We also recommend increased involvement of social experts and mediators as well as improved accountability, enforcement and grievance mechanisms in the licensing process. - Highlights: • The Brazilian environmental licensing system needs to address social impacts better. • Communities need to be consulted at the earliest stage possible. • Indigenous peoples need to be invited to participate in impact assessment teams. • Independent Indigenous committees to monitor implementation of mitigation measures. • Accountability, enforcement and grievance mechanisms need to be improved.« less

Engaging farmers to inform future diffuse pollution policy in England

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrain, Emilie; Lovett, Andrew; Nobel, Lister; Grant, Fiona; Blundell, Paul; Cleasby, Will

2013-04-01

Stakeholder knowledge and engagement is increasingly seen as a necessary ingredient for catchment management. Whilst many agricultural management options remain voluntary, the implementation of diffuse pollution mitigation measures will only be effective with the cooperation of stakeholders. Anthony et al. (2009) and Zhang et al. (2012) state the need for more information on the realistic farmer uptake of methods to enhance analyses of the potential for pollution mitigation. A study engaging farmers to understand current agricultural practices and their attitudes towards mitigation measures has formed part of the Demonstration Test Catchment (DTC) programme in England. Interviews with over seventy farmers were conducted during 2012 in three contrasting areas of the UK: the grassland dominated Eden catchment in the North West of England; the arable dominated Wensum catchment in East Anglia and the mixed farming of the Hampshire Avon catchment in southern England. Results from the farmer survey provide a baseline regarding current agricultural practices and give insight regarding attitudes to the adoption of other mitigation measures in the future. Opinions were obtained on eighty different measures taken from a recent guide to possible measures prepared for the UK government (Newell-Price et al., 2011). Analyses have been conducted examining how current use and attitudes towards future adoption of measures varies according to different characteristics of farm businesses. These findings will be of benefit to researchers, policy makers and farm advisers, particularly aiding decision making with respect to strategies for future implementation of programmes of measures. References. Anthony, S.G. et al., 2009. Quantitative assessment of scenarios for managing trade-off between the economic performance of agriculture and the environment and between different environmental media. Available at: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=14421&FromSearch=Y&Status=3&Publisher=1&SearchText=quantitative assessment&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description. Newell-Price, J.P., Harris, D., Taylor, M., Williams, J.R., Anthony, S.G., Duethmann, D., Gooday, R.D., Lord, E.I. and Chambers, B.J. (ADAS), A. & Chadwick, D.R. and Misselbrook, T.H., 2011. An Inventory of Mitigation Methods and Guide to their Effects on Diffuse Water Pollution , Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Ammonia Emissions from Agriculture Prepared as part of Defra Project WQ0106. , (December). Zhang, Y., Collins, A.L. & Gooday, R.D., 2012. Application of the FARMSCOPER tool for assessing agricultural diffuse pollution mitigation methods across the Hampshire Avon Demonstration Test Catchment, UK. Environmental Science & Policy.

Interactions of polymeric drug carriers with DDT reduce their combined cytotoxicity.

PubMed

Zhang, Xuejiao; Lei, Lei; Zhang, Haiyan; Zhang, Siyu; Xing, Weiwei; Wang, Jin; Li, Haibo; Zhao, Qing; Xing, Baoshan

2018-06-07

Attention has been paid to the environmental distribution and fate of nanomedicines. However, their effects on the toxicity of environmental pollutants are lack of knowledge. In this study, the negatively charged poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (L-lactide-co-glycolide) (mPEG-PLA) and positively charged polyethyleneimine-palmitate (PEI-PA) nanomicelles were synthesized and served as model drug carriers to study the interaction and combined toxicity with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). DDT exerted limited effect on the biointerfacial behavior of mPEG-PLA nanomicelles, whereas it significantly mitigated the attachment of PEI-PA nanomicelles on the model cell membrane as monitored by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). The cytotoxicity of DDT towards NIH 3T3 cells was greatly decreased by either co-treatment or pre-treatment with the nanomicelles according to the results of real-time cell analysis (RTCA). The cell viability of NIH 3T3 exposed to DDT was increased up to 90% by the co-treatment with mPEG-PLA nanomicelles. Three possible reasons were proposed: (1) decreased amount of free DDT in the cell culture medium due to the partitioning of DDT into nanomicelles; (2) mitigated cellular uptake of nanomicelle-DDT complexes due to the complex agglomeration or electrostatic repulsion between complexes and cell membrane; (3) detoxification effect in the lysosome upon endocytosis of nanomicelle-DDT complexes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrous Oxide Abatement Coupled with Biopolymer Production As a Model GHG Biorefinery for Cost-Effective Climate Change Mitigation.

PubMed

Frutos, Osvaldo D; Cortes, Irene; Cantera, Sara; Arnaiz, Esther; Lebrero, Raquel; Muñoz, Raúl

2017-06-06

N 2 O represents ∼6% of the global greenhouse gas emission inventory and the most important O 3 -depleting substance emitted in this 21st century. Despite its environmental relevance, little attention has been given to cost-effective and environmentally friendly N 2 O abatement methods. Here we examined, the potential of a bubble column (BCR) and an internal loop airlift (ALR) bioreactors of 2.3 L for the abatement of N 2 O from a nitric acid plant emission. The process was based on the biological reduction of N 2 O by Paracoccus denitrificans using methanol as a carbon/electron source. Two nitrogen limiting strategies were also tested for the coproduction of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) coupled with N 2 O reduction. High N 2 O removal efficiencies (REs) (≈87%) together with a low PHBV cell accumulation were observed in both bioreactors in excess of nitrogen. However, PHBV contents of 38-64% were recorded under N limiting conditions along with N 2 O-REs of ≈57% and ≈84% in the ALR and BCR, respectively. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses showed that P. denitrificans was dominant (>50%) after 6 months of experimentation. The successful abatement of N 2 O concomitant with PHBV accumulation confirmed the potential of integrating biorefinery concepts into biological gas treatment for a cost-effective GHG mitigation.

Accidental spills at sea--risk, impact, mitigation and the need for co-ordinated post-incident monitoring.

PubMed

Kirby, Mark F; Law, Robin J

2010-06-01

A fully integrated and effective response to an oil or chemical spill at sea must include a well planned and executed post-incident assessment of environmental contamination and damage. While salvage, rescue and clean-up operations are generally well considered, including reviews and exercises, the expertise, resources, networks and logistical planning required to achieve prompt and effective post-spill impact assessment and monitoring are not generally well established. The arrangement and co-ordination of post-incident monitoring and impact assessment need to consider sampling design, biological effects, chemical analysis and collection/interpretation of expert local knowledge. This paper discusses the risks, impacts and mitigation options associated with accidental spills and considers the importance of pre-considered impact assessment and monitoring programmes in the wider response cycle. The PREMIAM (Pollution Response in Emergencies: Marine Impact Assessment and Monitoring; www.premiam.org) project is considered as an example of an improved approach to the planning, co-ordination and conduct of post-incident monitoring.

Paying the pipers: Mitigating the impact of anticoagulant rodenticides on predators and scavengers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elliott, John E.; Rattner, Barnett A.; Shore, Richard F.; van den Brink, Nico W.

2016-01-01

Anticoagulant rodenticides, mainly second-generation forms, or SGARs, dominate the global market for rodent control. Introduced in the 1970s to counter genetic resistance in rodent populations to first-generation compounds such as warfarin, SGARs are extremely toxic and highly effective killers. However, their tendency to persist and accumulate in the body has led to the widespread contamination of terrestrial predators and scavengers. Commercial chemicals that are classified by regulators as persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals and that are widely used with potential environmental release, such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have been removed from commerce. However, despite consistently failing ecological risk assessments, SGARs remain in use because of the demand for effective rodent-control options and the lack of safe and humane alternatives. Although new risk-mitigation measures for rodenticides are now in effect in some countries, the contamination and poisoning of nontarget wildlife are expected to continue. Here, we suggest options to further attenuate this problem.

Human effects on ecological connectivity in aquatic ecosystems: Integrating scientific approaches to support management and mitigation.

PubMed

Crook, David A; Lowe, Winsor H; Allendorf, Frederick W; Erős, Tibor; Finn, Debra S; Gillanders, Bronwyn M; Hadwen, Wade L; Harrod, Chris; Hermoso, Virgilio; Jennings, Simon; Kilada, Raouf W; Nagelkerken, Ivan; Hansen, Michael M; Page, Timothy J; Riginos, Cynthia; Fry, Brian; Hughes, Jane M

2015-11-15

Understanding the drivers and implications of anthropogenic disturbance of ecological connectivity is a key concern for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Here, we review human activities that affect the movements and dispersal of aquatic organisms, including damming of rivers, river regulation, habitat loss and alteration, human-assisted dispersal of organisms and climate change. Using a series of case studies, we show that the insight needed to understand the nature and implications of connectivity, and to underpin conservation and management, is best achieved via data synthesis from multiple analytical approaches. We identify four key knowledge requirements for progressing our understanding of the effects of anthropogenic impacts on ecological connectivity: autecology; population structure; movement characteristics; and environmental tolerance/phenotypic plasticity. Structuring empirical research around these four broad data requirements, and using this information to parameterise appropriate models and develop management approaches, will allow for mitigation of the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on ecological connectivity in aquatic ecosystems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental Development Plan (EDP). Enhanced gas recovery, FY 1977

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

Not Available

1978-03-01

This Enhanced Gcs Recovery EDP addresses the environmental impacts of enhanced gas recovery processes in shale and sandstone, methane drainage from coalbeds, and methane recovery from geopressured aquifers. The EDP addresses planning in two basic areas: environmental research and environmental assessment. Environmental research can be categorized as follows: characterization of pollutants from EGR processes; selective application of monitoring and measuring techniques; evaluation of control/mitigation techniques; and evaluation of the synergistic impacts of the development of EGR techniques. Environmental assessment activities scheduled by EDP include: assessment of ecological impacts; assessment of socioeconomic effects; EIA/EIS preparation; evaluation of control technology needs; andmore » analysis of applicable and proposed emission, effluent, and health and safety standards. The EGR EDP includes an EGR technology overview (Section 2), a discussion of EGR environmental issues and requirements (Section 3), an environmental action plan (Section 4), an environmental management strategy for the EGR program (Section 5), and supporting appendices which present information on Federal legislation applicable to EGR technology, a summary of ongoing and completed research, and future research and assessment projects.« less

Climate Change and Health: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians.

PubMed

Crowley, Ryan A

2016-05-03

Climate change could have a devastating effect on human and environmental health. Potential effects of climate change on human health include higher rates of respiratory and heat-related illness, increased prevalence of vector-borne and waterborne diseases, food and water insecurity, and malnutrition. Persons who are elderly, sick, or poor are especially vulnerable to these potential consequences. Addressing climate change could have substantial benefits to human health. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that physicians and the broader health care community throughout the world engage in environmentally sustainable practices that reduce carbon emissions; support efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change; and educate the public, their colleagues, their community, and lawmakers about the health risks posed by climate change. Tackling climate change is an opportunity to dramatically improve human health and avert dire environmental outcomes, and ACP believes that physicians can play a role in achieving this goal.

Fire behavior modeling to assess net benefits of forest treatments on fire hazard mitigation and bioenergy production in Northeastern California

Treesearch

David J. Ganz; David S. Saah; Klaus Barber; Mark Nechodom

2007-01-01

The fire behavior modeling described here, conducted as part of the Biomass to Energy (B2E) life cycle assessment, is funded by the California Energy Commission to evaluate the potential net benefits associated with treating and utilizing forest biomass. The B2E project facilitates economic, environmental, energy, and effectiveness assessments of the potential public...

Field and Numerical Study on Natural River Mixing

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

transport of larvae from spawning to rearing habitats , or to mitigate potentially harmful human and environmental effects from wastewater discharges or...fluorescent dye was released for approximately one-hour through an 8mm diameter tube located 0.05 m below the waterline through a butterfly valve that was...multidimensional flow model for the white sturgeon critical- habitat reach, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific

Final Environmental Assessment for Jacksonville Aviation Authority Launch Site Operator License at Cecil Field, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-01

eligible areas near Cecil Field – Branan Field Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area , Cecil Field Conservation Corridor, and Sal Taylor... Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks (April 21, 1997), Federal agencies are directed to make it a high priority to identify and assess ... Environmental Protection 3900 Commonwealth Blvd. Mail Station 47 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000 Dear Ms. Milligan: RE: Environmental Assessment

Calibrating and monitoring the western gray whale mitigation zone and estimating acoustic transmission during a 3D seismic survey, Sakhalin Island, Russia.

PubMed

Rutenko, A N; Borisov, S V; Gritsenko, A V; Jenkerson, M R

2007-11-01

A 3D marine seismic survey of the Odoptu license area off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, was conducted by DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG) on behalf of Exxon Neftegas Limited and the Sakhalin-1 consortium during mid-August through early September 2001. The key environmental issue identified in an environmental impact assessment was protection of the critically endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which spends the summer-fall open water period feeding off northeast Sakhalin Island in close proximity to the seismic survey area. Seismic mitigation and monitoring guidelines and recommendations were developed and implemented to reduce impacts on the feeding activity of western gray whales. Results of the acoustic monitoring program indicated that the noise monitoring and mitigation program was successful in reducing exposure of feeding western gray whales to seismic noise.

Managing marine disease emergencies in an era of rapid change

PubMed Central

Maynard, Jeffrey; Breyta, Rachel; Carnegie, Ryan B.; Dobson, Andy; Friedman, Carolyn S.; Froelich, Brett; Garren, Melissa; Gulland, Frances M. D.; Heron, Scott F.; Noble, Rachel T.; Revie, Crawford W.; Shields, Jeffrey D.; Vanderstichel, Raphaël; Weil, Ernesto; Wyllie-Echeverria, Sandy; Harvell, C. Drew

2016-01-01

Infectious marine diseases can decimate populations and are increasing among some taxa due to global change and our increasing reliance on marine environments. Marine diseases become emergencies when significant ecological, economic or social impacts occur. We can prepare for and manage these emergencies through improved surveillance, and the development and iterative refinement of approaches to mitigate disease and its impacts. Improving surveillance requires fast, accurate diagnoses, forecasting disease risk and real-time monitoring of disease-promoting environmental conditions. Diversifying impact mitigation involves increasing host resilience to disease, reducing pathogen abundance and managing environmental factors that facilitate disease. Disease surveillance and mitigation can be adaptive if informed by research advances and catalysed by communication among observers, researchers and decision-makers using information-sharing platforms. Recent increases in the awareness of the threats posed by marine diseases may lead to policy frameworks that facilitate the responses and management that marine disease emergencies require. PMID:26880835

Mitigation options for the industrial sector in Egypt

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

Gelil, I.A.; El-Touny, S.; Korkor, H.

1996-12-31

Though its contribution to the global Greenhouse gases emission is relatively small, Egypt has signed and ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) and has been playing an active role in the international efforts to deal with such environmental challenges. Energy efficiency has been one of the main strategies that Egypt has adopted to improve environmental quality and enhance economic competitiveness. This paper highlights three initiatives currently underway to improve energy efficiency of the Egyptian industry. The first is a project that has been recently completed by OECP to assess potential GHG mitigation options available inmore » Egypt`s oil refineries. The second initiative is an assessment of GHG mitigation potential in the Small and Medium size Enterprises (SME) in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. The third one focuses on identifying demand side management options in some industrial electricity consumers in the same city.« less

Managing marine disease emergencies in an era of rapid change.

PubMed

Groner, Maya L; Maynard, Jeffrey; Breyta, Rachel; Carnegie, Ryan B; Dobson, Andy; Friedman, Carolyn S; Froelich, Brett; Garren, Melissa; Gulland, Frances M D; Heron, Scott F; Noble, Rachel T; Revie, Crawford W; Shields, Jeffrey D; Vanderstichel, Raphaël; Weil, Ernesto; Wyllie-Echeverria, Sandy; Harvell, C Drew

2016-03-05

Infectious marine diseases can decimate populations and are increasing among some taxa due to global change and our increasing reliance on marine environments. Marine diseases become emergencies when significant ecological, economic or social impacts occur. We can prepare for and manage these emergencies through improved surveillance, and the development and iterative refinement of approaches to mitigate disease and its impacts. Improving surveillance requires fast, accurate diagnoses, forecasting disease risk and real-time monitoring of disease-promoting environmental conditions. Diversifying impact mitigation involves increasing host resilience to disease, reducing pathogen abundance and managing environmental factors that facilitate disease. Disease surveillance and mitigation can be adaptive if informed by research advances and catalysed by communication among observers, researchers and decision-makers using information-sharing platforms. Recent increases in the awareness of the threats posed by marine diseases may lead to policy frameworks that facilitate the responses and management that marine disease emergencies require. © 2016 The Author(s).

Life-cycle energy production and emissions mitigation by comprehensive biogas-digestate utilization.

PubMed

Chen, Shaoqing; Chen, Bin; Song, Dan

2012-06-01

In the context of global energy shortages and climate change, developing biogas plants with links to agricultural system has become an important strategy for cleaner rural energy and renewable agriculture. In this study, a life-cycle energy and environmental assessment was performed for a biogas-digestate utilization system in China. The results suggest that biogas utilization (heating, illumination, and fuel) and comprehensive digestate reuse are of equal importance in the total energy production of the system, and they also play an important role in systemic greenhouse gas mitigation. Improvement can be achieved in both energy production and emissions mitigation when the ratio of the current three biogas utilization pathways is adjusted. Regarding digestate reuse, a tradeoff between energy and environmental performance can be obtained by focusing on the substitution for top-dressing, base fertilizers, and the application to seed soaking. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Annual monitoring report for the Gunnison, Colorado, wetlands mitigation plan

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

NONE

1995-10-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) administers the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project to clean up uranium mill tailings and other surface contamination at 24 abandoned uranium mill sites in 10 states. One of these abandoned mill sites is near the town of Gunnison, Colorado; surface remediation and the environmental impacts of remedial action are described in the Gunnison environmental assessment (EA) (DOE, 1992). Remedial action resulted in the elimination of 4.3 acres (ac) 1.7 hectares (ha) of wetlands and mitigation of this loss of wetlands is being accomplished through the enhance of 18.4 ac (7.5 ha) ofmore » riparian plant communities in six spring feed areas on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. The description of the impacted and mitigation wetlands is provided in the Mitigation and Monitoring Plan for Impacted Wetlands at the Gunnison UMTRA Project Site, Gunnison, Colorado (DOE, 1994), which is attached to the US Army corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 Permit. As part of the wetlands mitigation plan, the six mitigation wetlands were fenced in the fall of 1993 to exclude livestock grazing. Baseline of grazed conditions of the wetlands vegetation was determined during the summer of 1993 (DOE, 1994). A 5-year monitoring program of these six sites has been implemented to document the response of vegetation and wildlife to the exclusion of livestock. This annual monitoring report provides the results of the first year of the 5-year monitoring period.« less

Searching for stochastic gravitational waves using data from the two colocated LIGO Hanford detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aasi, J.; Abadie, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T.; Abernathy, M. R.; Accadia, T.; Acernese, F.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Amador Ceron, E.; Amariutei, D.; Anderson, R. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C.; Areeda, J.; Ast, S.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Austin, L.; Aylott, B. E.; Babak, S.; Baker, P. T.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barker, D.; Barnum, S. H.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J.; Bauchrowitz, J.; Bauer, Th. S.; Bebronne, M.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Beker, M. G.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C.; Belopolski, I.; Bergmann, G.; Berliner, J. M.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Bessis, D.; Betzwieser, J.; Beyersdorf, P. T.; Bhadbhade, T.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, J.; Biscans, S.; Bitossi, M.; Bizouard, M. A.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackburn, L.; Blair, D.; Blom, M.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogan, C.; Bond, C.; Bondu, F.; Bonelli, L.; Bonnand, R.; Bork, R.; Born, M.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bosi, L.; Bowers, J.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brannen, C. A.; Brau, J. E.; Breyer, J.; Briant, T.; Bridges, D. O.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Britzger, M.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brückner, F.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Calderón Bustillo, J.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Campsie, P.; Cannon, K. C.; Canuel, B.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Carbognani, F.; Carbone, L.; Caride, S.; Castiglia, A.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Chow, J.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, S. S. Y.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, D. E.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Colla, A.; Colombini, M.; Constancio, M.; Conte, A.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cordier, M.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S.; Couvares, P.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M.; Coyne, D. C.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Dahl, K.; Dal Canton, T.; Damjanic, M.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dattilo, V.; Daudert, B.; Daveloza, H.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; Dayanga, T.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; Deleeuw, E.; Deléglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.; DeRosa, R. T.; De Rosa, R.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M.; Dietz, A.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dmitry, K.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Dumas, J.-C.; Dwyer, S.; Eberle, T.; Edwards, M.; Effler, A.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Endrőczi, G.; Essick, R.; Etzel, T.; Evans, K.; Evans, M.; Evans, T.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fairhurst, S.; Fang, Q.; Farr, B.; Farr, W.; Favata, M.; Fazi, D.; Fehrmann, H.; Feldbaum, D.; Ferrante, I.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Finn, L. S.; Fiori, I.; Fisher, R.; Flaminio, R.; Foley, E.; Foley, S.; Forsi, E.; Fotopoulos, N.; Fournier, J.-D.; Franco, S.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frede, M.; Frei, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fujimoto, M.-K.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gair, J.; Gammaitoni, L.; Garcia, J.; Garufi, F.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; Gergely, L.; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giampanis, S.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gil-Casanova, S.; Gill, C.; Gleason, J.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; González, G.; Gordon, N.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S.; Goßler, S.; Gouaty, R.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greenhalgh, R. J. S.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Griffo, C.; Grote, H.; Grover, K.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guido, C.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hall, B.; Hall, E.; Hammer, D.; Hammond, G.; Hanke, M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hanson, J.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Harstad, E. D.; Hartman, M. T.; Haughian, K.; Hayama, K.; Heefner, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Holt, K.; Hong, T.; Hooper, S.; Horrom, T.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y.; Hua, Z.; Huang, V.; Huerta, E. A.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh, M.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Iafrate, J.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isogai, T.; Ivanov, A.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacobson, M.; James, E.; Jang, H.; Jang, Y. J.; Jaranowski, P.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalmus, P.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Kasprzack, M.; Kasturi, R.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, H.; Kaufman, K.; Kawabe, K.; Kawamura, S.; Kawazoe, F.; Kéfélian, F.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Keppel, D. G.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kim, B. K.; Kim, C.; Kim, K.; Kim, N.; Kim, W.; Kim, Y.-M.; King, E.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Klimenko, S.; Kline, J.; Koehlenbeck, S.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Koranda, S.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D.; Kremin, A.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Królak, A.; Kucharczyk, C.; Kudla, S.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, D. Nanda; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kurdyumov, R.; Kwee, P.; Landry, M.; Lantz, B.; Larson, S.; Lasky, P. D.; Lawrie, C.; Lazzarini, A.; Leaci, P.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.-H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, J. J.; Lee, J.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Le Roux, A.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levine, B.; Lewis, J. B.; Lhuillier, V.; Li, T. G. F.; Lin, A. C.; Littenberg, T. B.; Litvine, V.; Liu, F.; Liu, H.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Z.; Lloyd, D.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lockett, V.; Lodhia, D.; Loew, K.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J.; Luan, J.; Lubinski, M. J.; Lück, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Macarthur, J.; Macdonald, E.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Mageswaran, M.; Mailand, K.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Manca, G. M.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A.; Maros, E.; Marque, J.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martini, G.; Martynov, D.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Matzner, R. A.; Mavalvala, N.; May, G.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Mehmet, M.; Meidam, J.; Meier, T.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Meyer, M. S.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Mikhailov, E.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Minenkov, Y.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moe, B.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Mokler, F.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morgado, N.; Mori, T.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Mukherjee, S.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D.; Murray, P. G.; Mytidis, A.; Nagy, M. F.; Nardecchia, I.; Nash, T.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R.; Necula, V.; Neri, I.; Neri, M.; Newton, G.; Nguyen, T.; Nishida, E.; Nishizawa, A.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E.; Nuttall, L. K.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oppermann, P.; O'Reilly, B.; Ortega Larcher, W.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Osthelder, C.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Ou, J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Padilla, C.; Pai, A.; Palomba, C.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoletti, R.; Paris, H.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Pedraza, M.; Peiris, P.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Pichot, M.; Pickenpack, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pinard, L.; Pindor, B.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poeld, J.; Poggiani, R.; Poole, V.; Postiglione, F.; Poux, C.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Rácz, I.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajalakshmi, G.; Rakhmanov, M.; Ramet, C.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Re, V.; Reed, C. M.; Reed, T.; Regimbau, T.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Ricci, F.; Riesen, R.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Roddy, S.; Rodriguez, C.; Rodruck, M.; Roever, C.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Salemi, F.; Sammut, L.; Sandberg, V.; Sanders, J.; Sannibale, V.; Santiago-Prieto, I.; Saracco, E.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Savage, R.; Schilling, R.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schulz, B.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwinberg, P.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Seifert, F.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Shaddock, D.; Shah, S.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Sidery, T. L.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Simakov, D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L.; Sintes, A. M.; Skelton, G. R.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Slutsky, J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, M. R.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith-Lefebvre, N. D.; Soden, K.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Souradeep, T.; Sperandio, L.; Staley, A.; Steinert, E.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steplewski, S.; Stevens, D.; Stochino, A.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Strigin, S.; Stroeer, A. S.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Susmithan, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B.; Szeifert, G.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tang, L.; Tanner, D. B.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taylor, R.; ter Braack, A. P. M.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Tomlinson, C.; Toncelli, A.; Tonelli, M.; Torre, O.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Tse, M.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; van der Putten, S.; van der Sluys, M. V.; van Heijningen, J.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, P. J.; Veitch, J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Verma, S.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Vincent-Finley, R.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vitale, S.; Vlcek, B.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Vousden, W. D.; Vrinceanu, D.; Vyachanin, S. P.; Wade, A.; Wade, L.; Wade, M.; Waldman, S. J.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Wan, Y.; Wang, J.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wanner, A.; Ward, R. L.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.; Wessels, P.; West, M.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Wibowo, S.; Wiesner, K.; Wilkinson, C.; Williams, L.; Williams, R.; Williams, T.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M.; Winkelmann, L.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Yablon, J.; Yakushin, I.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yang, H.; Yeaton-Massey, D.; Yoshida, S.; Yum, H.; Yvert, M.; ZadroŻny, A.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, C.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, X. J.; Zotov, N.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

2015-01-01

Searches for a stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) using terrestrial detectors typically involve cross-correlating data from pairs of detectors. The sensitivity of such cross-correlation analyses depends, among other things, on the separation between the two detectors: the smaller the separation, the better the sensitivity. Hence, a colocated detector pair is more sensitive to a gravitational-wave background than a noncolocated detector pair. However, colocated detectors are also expected to suffer from correlated noise from instrumental and environmental effects that could contaminate the measurement of the background. Hence, methods to identify and mitigate the effects of correlated noise are necessary to achieve the potential increase in sensitivity of colocated detectors. Here we report on the first SGWB analysis using the two LIGO Hanford detectors and address the complications arising from correlated environmental noise. We apply correlated noise identification and mitigation techniques to data taken by the two LIGO Hanford detectors, H1 and H2, during LIGO's fifth science run. At low frequencies, 40-460 Hz, we are unable to sufficiently mitigate the correlated noise to a level where we may confidently measure or bound the stochastic gravitational-wave signal. However, at high frequencies, 460-1000 Hz, these techniques are sufficient to set a 95% confidence level upper limit on the gravitational-wave energy density of Ω (f )<7.7 ×1 0-4(f /900 Hz )3 , which improves on the previous upper limit by a factor of ˜180 . In doing so, we demonstrate techniques that will be useful for future searches using advanced detectors, where correlated noise (e.g., from global magnetic fields) may affect even widely separated detectors.

Searching for Stochastic Gravitational Waves Using Data from the Two Co-Located LIGO Hanford Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aasi, J.; Abadie, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T.; Abernathy, M. R.; Accadia, T.; Acernese, F.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.;

76 FR 3843 - Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on the Appropriate Use of Mitigation and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-21

... 1970, is a fundamental tool used to harmonize our environmental, economic, and social aspirations and... Environmental Quality (CEQ) is charged with overseeing NEPA's implementation by Federal agencies. CEQ recognizes... implementation procedures.\\5\\ \\4\\ The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the...

78 FR 65698 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Gas Hills In Situ...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-01

... addition of several elements designed to reduce environmental impacts. These additions would include annual... through agencies other than the BLM. Add a comparative table for Operator-committed Mitigation Measures...

GLIMPSE – A computational framework for supporting state-level environmental and energy planning

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

GLIMPSE is an EPA modeling tool for environmental and energy planning used to find U.S. policy scenarios that simultaneously improve air quality, human health, reduce impacts to ecosystems, and mitigate climate change.

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION AND EQUITY IN SOUTHWESTERN DETROIT

EPA Science Inventory

This project supplements current regulations with creative mitigation strategies, and requires interdisciplinary thinking in order to achieve a balance between local economic, social, and environmental needs by combining scientific knowledge, community engagement and education...

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Programmatic Environmental Analysis--Appendices

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

Authors, Various

1980-01-01

The programmatic environmental analysis is an initial assessment of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology considering development, demonstration and commercialization. It is concluded that the OTEC development program should continue because the development, demonstration, and commercialization on a single-plant deployment basis should not present significant environmental impacts. However, several areas within the OTEC program require further investigation in order to assess the potential for environmental impacts from OTEC operation, particularly in large-scale deployments and in defining alternatives to closed-cycle biofouling control: (1) Larger-scale deployments of OTEC clusters or parks require further investigations in order to assess optimal platform siting distancesmore » necessary to minimize adverse environmental impacts. (2) The deployment and operation of the preoperational platform (OTEC-1) and future demonstration platforms must be carefully monitored to refine environmental assessment predictions, and to provide design modifications which may mitigate or reduce environmental impacts for larger-scale operations. These platforms will provide a valuable opportunity to fully evaluate the intake and discharge configurations, biofouling control methods, and both short-term and long-term environmental effects associated with platform operations. (3) Successful development of OTEC technology to use the maximal resource capabilities and to minimize environmental effects will require a concerted environmental management program, encompassing many different disciplines and environmental specialties. This volume contains these appendices: Appendix A -- Deployment Scenario; Appendix B -- OTEC Regional Characterization; and Appendix C -- Impact and Related Calculations.« less

The Dragons of Inaction: Psychological Barriers That Limit Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gifford, Robert

2011-01-01

Most people think climate change and sustainability are important problems, but too few global citizens engaged in high-greenhouse-gas-emitting behavior are engaged in enough mitigating behavior to stem the increasing flow of greenhouse gases and other environmental problems. Why is that? Structural barriers such as a climate-averse infrastructure…

Looking at the big picture: The importance of landbase interactions among forests, agriculture, and climate mitigation policies

Treesearch

Rhonda Mazza; Alig Ralph

2010-01-01

Land use change is a key part of global change. Deforestation, urban sprawl, agriculture, and other human influences have substantially altered natural ecosystems and fragmented the global landscape. Slowing down deforestation and afforesting environmentally sensitive agricultural land are important steps for mitigating climate change. Because no policy operates in a...

Disappearing rivers — The limits of environmental assessment for hydropower in India

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

Erlewein, Alexander, E-mail: erlewein@sai.uni-heidelberg.de

2013-11-15

The mountain rivers of the Indian Himalaya possess a vast potential for hydropower generation. After decades of comparatively modest development recent years have seen a major intensification in the construction of new hydropower dams. Although increasingly portrayed as a form of renewable energy generation, hydropower development may lead to extensive alterations of fluvial systems and conflicts with resource use patterns of local communities. To appraise and reduce adverse effects is the purpose of statutory Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and corresponding mitigation plans. However, in the light of ambitious policies for hydropower expansion conventional approaches of environmental assessment are increasingly challengedmore » to keep up with the intensity and pace of development. This paper aims to explore the systemic limitations of environmental assessment for hydropower development in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Based on a qualitative methodology involving interviews with environmental experts, document reviews and field observations the study suggests that the current practice of constraining EIAs to the project level fails to address the larger effects of extensive hydropower development. Furthermore, it is critically discussed as to what extent the concept of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) might have the potential to overcome existing shortcomings.« less

Plasma Interactions with High Voltage Solar Arrays for a Direct Drive Hall Effect Thruster System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, T.; Horvater, M. A.; Vaughn, J.; Carruth, M. R.; Jongeward, G. A.; Mikellides, I. G.

2003-01-01

The Environmental Effects Group of NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is conducting research into the effects of plasma interaction with high voltage solar arrays. These high voltage solar arrays are being developed for a direct drive Hall Effect Thruster propulsion system. A direct drive system configuration will reduce power system mass by eliminating a conventional power-processing unit. The Environmental Effects Group has configured two large vacuum chambers to test different high-voltage array concepts in a plasma environment. Three types of solar arrays have so far been tested, an International Space Station (ISS) planar array, a Tecstar planar array, and a Tecstar solar concentrator array. The plasma environment was generated using a hollow cathode plasma source, which yielded densities between 10(exp 6) - 10(exp 7) per cubic centimeter and electron temperatures of 0.5-1 eV. Each array was positioned in this plasma and biased in the -500 to + 500 volt range. The current collection was monitored continuously. In addition, the characteristics of arcing, snap over, and other features, were recorded. Analysis of the array performance indicates a time dependence associated with the current collection as well as a tendency for "conditioning" over a large number of runs. Mitigation strategies, to reduce parasitic current collection, as well as arcing, include changing cover-glass geometry and layout as well as shielding the solar cell edges. High voltage performance data for each of the solar array types tested will be presented. In addition, data will be provided to indicate the effectiveness of the mitigation techniques.

Effects of Place Identity, Place Dependence, and Experience-Use History on Perceptions of Recreation Impacts in a Natural Setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Dave D.; Virden, Randy J.; van Riper, Carena J.

2008-10-01

It is generally accepted that recreation use in natural environments results in some degree of negative social and environmental impact. Environmental managers are tasked with mitigating the impact while providing beneficial recreation opportunities. Research on the factors that influence visitors’ perceptions of environmental and social conditions is necessary to inform sound environmental management of protected natural areas. This study examines the effect of prior experience with the setting and two dimensions of place attachment (i.e., place identity and place dependence) on visitors’ perceptions of three types of recreation impacts (i.e., depreciative behavior, environmental impacts, and recreation conflict). Principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to test the study hypotheses using data collected from 351 visitors through on-site questionnaires (response rate of 93 percent). The results show that prior experience exhibited a moderate and significant direct positive effect on place identity, place dependence, and visitors’ perceptions of recreation impacts. Contrary to study hypotheses and prior research, neither place dependence nor place identity exhibited a significant effect on the dependent variables. The results show that prior experience causes visitors to be more sensitive to depreciative behaviors, environmental impacts, and recreation conflict. These findings raise concerns over potential visitor displacement and deterioration of site conditions. Implications for resource managers are discussed, which include education, modifying visitor use patterns, and site design strategies.

Effects of place identity, place dependence, and experience-use history on perceptions of recreation impacts in a natural setting.

PubMed

White, Dave D; Virden, Randy J; van Riper, Carena J

2008-10-01

It is generally accepted that recreation use in natural environments results in some degree of negative social and environmental impact. Environmental managers are tasked with mitigating the impact while providing beneficial recreation opportunities. Research on the factors that influence visitors' perceptions of environmental and social conditions is necessary to inform sound environmental management of protected natural areas. This study examines the effect of prior experience with the setting and two dimensions of place attachment (i.e., place identity and place dependence) on visitors' perceptions of three types of recreation impacts (i.e., depreciative behavior, environmental impacts, and recreation conflict). Principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to test the study hypotheses using data collected from 351 visitors through on-site questionnaires (response rate of 93 percent). The results show that prior experience exhibited a moderate and significant direct positive effect on place identity, place dependence, and visitors' perceptions of recreation impacts. Contrary to study hypotheses and prior research, neither place dependence nor place identity exhibited a significant effect on the dependent variables. The results show that prior experience causes visitors to be more sensitive to depreciative behaviors, environmental impacts, and recreation conflict. These findings raise concerns over potential visitor displacement and deterioration of site conditions. Implications for resource managers are discussed, which include education, modifying visitor use patterns, and site design strategies.

Space Environmental Effects on Materials and Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabbann, Leslie M.

2009-01-01

The Materials and Processes (M&P) Branch of the Structural Engineering Division at Johnson Space Center (JSC) seeks to uphold the production of dependable space hardware through materials research, which fits into NASA's purpose of advancing human exploration, use, and development of space. The Space Environmental Effects projects fully support these Agency goals. Two tasks were assigned to support M&P. Both assignments were to further the research of material behavior outside of Earth's atmosphere in order to determine which materials are most durable and safe to use in space for mitigating risks. One project, the Materials on International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) task, was to compile data from International Space Station (ISS) experiments to pinpoint beneficial space hardware. The other project was researching the effects on composite materials of exposure to high doses of radiation for a Lunar habitat project.

Mind the gap in SEA: An institutional perspective on why assessment of synergies amongst climate change mitigation, adaptation and other policy areas are missing

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

Vammen Larsen, Sanne, E-mail: sannevl@plan.aau.dk; Kornov, Lone, E-mail: lonek@plan.aau.dk; Wejs, Anja, E-mail: wejs@plan.aau.dk

2012-02-15

This article takes its point of departure in two approaches to integrating climate change into Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): Mitigation and adaptation, and in the fact that these, as well as the synergies between them and other policy areas, are needed as part of an integrated assessment and policy response. First, the article makes a review of how positive and negative synergies between a) climate change mitigation and adaptation and b) climate change and other environmental concerns are integrated into Danish SEA practice. Then, the article discusses the implications of not addressing synergies. Finally, the article explores institutional explanations asmore » to why synergies are not addressed in SEA practice. A document analysis of 149 Danish SEA reports shows that only one report comprises the assessment of synergies between mitigation and adaptation, whilst 9,4% of the reports assess the synergies between climate change and other environmental concerns. The consequences of separation are both the risk of trade-offs and missed opportunities for enhancing positive synergies. In order to propose explanations for the lacking integration, the institutional background is analysed and discussed, mainly based on Scott's theory of institutions. The institutional analysis highlights a regulatory element, since the assessment of climate change synergies is underpinned by legislation, but not by guidance. This means that great focus is on normative elements such as the local interpretation of legislation and of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The analysis also focuses on how the fragmentation of the organisation in which climate change and SEA are embedded has bearings on both normative and cultural-cognitive elements. This makes the assessment of synergies challenging. The evidence gathered and presented in the article points to a need for developing the SEA process and methodology in Denmark with the aim to include climate change in the assessments in a more systematic and integrated manner. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Synergies between climate change mitigation, adaptation and other environmental concerns are not addressed in Danish SEA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Institutional explanations relate to organisational set-ups and understandings of climate change as a new planning issue. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The paper points to a need for developing SEA to include climate change in a more systematic and integrated manner.« less

Genomic signals of selection predict climate-driven population declines in a migratory bird.

PubMed

Bay, Rachael A; Harrigan, Ryan J; Underwood, Vinh Le; Gibbs, H Lisle; Smith, Thomas B; Ruegg, Kristen

2018-01-05

The ongoing loss of biodiversity caused by rapid climatic shifts requires accurate models for predicting species' responses. Despite evidence that evolutionary adaptation could mitigate climate change impacts, evolution is rarely integrated into predictive models. Integrating population genomics and environmental data, we identified genomic variation associated with climate across the breeding range of the migratory songbird, yellow warbler ( Setophaga petechia ). Populations requiring the greatest shifts in allele frequencies to keep pace with future climate change have experienced the largest population declines, suggesting that failure to adapt may have already negatively affected populations. Broadly, our study suggests that the integration of genomic adaptation can increase the accuracy of future species distribution models and ultimately guide more effective mitigation efforts. Copyright © 2018, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Mitigation of power sector environmental emissions through energy efficiency improvements: The case of Pakistan

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

Shrestha, R.M.; Biswas, W.K.; Jalal, A.I.

1998-11-01

This paper assesses the potential of selected efficient electrical appliances for avoiding power generation and for mitigation of selected air pollutants from the power sector in Pakistan from technical as well as national, utility and user perspectives. The study shows that about 14, 21 and 35% of the total CO{sub 2}, SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} emissions in the business as usual (BAU) case could be avoided by the adoption of selected efficient appliances during 1997--2015 from the national perspective, while the corresponding figures from the user perspective are 12, 17 and 29%, respectively. All selected efficient appliances would bemore » cost effective to the users if electricity prices were set at the long-run marginal cost of supply.« less

Modeling for Integrated Science Management and Resilient Systems Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelhamer, M.; Mindock, J.; Lumpkins, S.

2014-01-01

Many physiological, environmental, and operational risks exist for crewmembers during spaceflight. An understanding of these risks from an integrated perspective is required to provide effective and efficient mitigations during future exploration missions that typically have stringent limitations on resources available, such as mass, power, and crew time. The Human Research Program (HRP) is in the early stages of developing collaborative modeling approaches for the purposes of managing its science portfolio in an integrated manner to support cross-disciplinary risk mitigation strategies and to enable resilient human and engineered systems in the spaceflight environment. In this talk, we will share ideas being explored from fields such as network science, complexity theory, and system-of-systems modeling. Initial work on tools to support these explorations will be discussed briefly, along with ideas for future efforts.

Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) Upper Yellowstone River, Montana: Environmental Assessment, FONSI, and Selected Alternative

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

Mitigation Procedure NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NHPA National Historic Preservation Act NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service NWP...United States Geological Service, Biological Research Division USFWS US Fish and Wildlife Service YNP Yellowstone National Park 4 5 Finding of No...Significant Impact In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and its implementing regulations, the attached environmental assessment (EA

AN OVERVIEW OF INDOOR RADON RISK REDUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

Radon in the indoor environment is a recognized environmental hazard. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established several programs to develop, demonstrate, and transfer radon mitigation technology. Administration and management of these programs are shared by EPA's ...

40 CFR 35.708 - Award limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....708 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Environmental Program Grants for Tribes Indoor Radon Grants (section 306...)(iv)) and demonstration of radon mitigation, methods, and technologies (see § 35.820(b)(1)(ix)) shall...

EPA GROUP VERIFIES PERFORMANCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS-MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES

EPA Science Inventory

The Greenhouse Gas Technology Verification Center (the Center) is one of 12 independently operated environmental technology verification organizations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Center provides third-party performance data to industry and o...

Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change, Priorities, and Decision-Making among Municipalities in Lima, Peru to Better Inform Adaptation and Mitigation Planning

PubMed Central

Saldarriaga, Enrique; Lawler, Joshua; Zunt, Joseph; Garcia, Patricia; Cárcamo, César

2016-01-01

Climate change poses multiple risks to the population of Lima, the largest city and capital of Peru, located on the Pacific coast in a desert ecosystem. These risks include increased water scarcity, increased heat, and the introduction and emergence of vector-borne and other climate sensitive diseases. To respond to these threats, it is necessary for the government, at every level, to adopt more mitigation and adaptation strategies. Here, focus groups were conducted with representatives from five Lima municipalities to determine priorities, perception of climate change, and decision-making processes for implementing projects within each municipality. These factors can affect the ability and desire of a community to implement climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The results show that climate change and other environmental factors are of relatively low priority, whereas public safety and water and sanitation services are of highest concern. Perhaps most importantly, climate change is not well understood among the municipalities. Participants had trouble distinguishing climate change from other environmental issues and did not fully understand its causes and effects. Greater understanding of what climate change is and why it is important is necessary for it to become a priority for the municipalities. Different aspects of increased climate change awareness seem to be connected to having experienced extreme weather events, whether related or not to climate change, and to higher socioeconomic status. PMID:26808087

Nitrogen rate strategies for reducing yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions in maize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xu; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Pittelkow, Cameron M.

2017-12-01

Mitigating nitrogen (N) losses from agriculture without negatively impacting crop productivity is a pressing environmental and economic challenge. Reductions in N fertilizer rate are often highlighted as a solution, yet the degree to which crop yields and economic returns may be impacted at the field-level remains unclear, in part due to limited data availability. Farmers are risk averse and potential yield losses may limit the success of voluntary N loss mitigation protocols, thus understanding field-level yield tradeoffs is critical to inform policy development. Using a case study of soil N2O mitigation in the US Midwest, we conducted an ex-post assessment of two economic and two environmental N rate reduction strategies to identify promising practices for maintaining maize yields and economic returns while reducing N2O emissions per unit yield (i.e. yield-scaled emissions) compared to an assumed baseline N input level. Maize yield response data from 201 on-farm N rate experiments were combined with an empirical equation predicting N2O emissions as a function of N rate. Results indicate that the economic strategy aimed at maximizing returns to N (MRTN) led to moderate but consistent reductions in yield-scaled N2O emissions with small negative impacts on yield and slight increases in median returns. The economic optimum N rate strategy reduced yield-scaled N2O emissions in 75% of cases but increased them otherwise, challenging the assumption that this strategy will automatically reduce environmental impacts per unit production. Both environmental strategies, one designed to increase N recovery efficiency and one to balance N inputs with grain N removal, further reduced yield-scaled N2O emissions but were also associated with negative yield penalties and decreased returns. These results highlight the inherent tension between achieving agronomic and economic goals while reducing environmental impacts which is often overlooked in policy discussions. To enable the development of more scalable environmental N loss mitigation strategies, yield tradeoffs occurring at the critical point of adoption (i.e. the farm-level) should be considered.

Decision Support For Digester Algae Integration For Improved Environmental And Economic Sustainability

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

Guillen, Donna P.; Panike, Katherine R.; Havlovick, Caryn M.

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has teamed with University of Idaho and Boise State University to make the use of ADs more attractive by implementing a two-stage AD and coupling additional processes to the system. The addition of a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) reactor, algae cultivation system, and a biomass treatment system such as fast-pyrolysis or hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) would further sequester carbon and nutrients, as well as add valuable products that can be sold or used on-site to mitigate costs. The Decision-support for Digester-Algae IntegRation for Improved Environmental and Economic Sustainability (DAIRIEES) technoeconomic model will play a key role in evaluatingmore » the effectiveness and viability of this system to achieve economic and environmental sustainability by the dairy industry.« less

The Association between Infants' Attention Control and Social Inhibition Is Moderated by Genetic and Environmental Risk for Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooker, Rebecca J.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Leve, Leslie D.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Reiss, David

2011-01-01

Infant social inhibition is associated with increased risk for anxiety later in life. Although both genetic and environmental factors are associated with anxiety, little empirical work has addressed how developing regulatory abilities work with genetic and environmental risk to exacerbate or mitigate problem behaviors. The current study was aimed…

Linking Ecological, Environmental and Biogeochemical Data with Multi'omics Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasler-Sheetal, H.; Castorani, M. C.; Fragner, L.; Zeng, Y.; Holmer, M.; Glud, R. N.; Weckwerth, W.; Canfield, D. E.

2016-02-01

The integrated analysis of multi'omics and environmental data provides a holistic understanding of biological processes and has been proven to be challenging. Here we present our research concept for conducting multi-omics experiments and linking them to environmental data. Hypoxia, reduced light availability and species interaction - all amplified by global warming - cause a global decline of seagrasses. Metabolic mechanisms for coping with these global threats are largely unknown and multi'omics approaches can be an important approach for generating this insight. We applied GC, LC-qTOF-MS and bioinformatics to investigate the effects of environmental pressure on metabolites present in seagrasses. In a first experiment we assessed the metabolomics response of the seagrass Zostera marina towards anoxia and showed that photosynthetically derived oxygen could satisfy the oxygen demand in the leaves. But accumulation of fermentation products in the roots showed that the rhizosphere was under anoxic stress. In contrast nocturnal anoxia caused a biphasic shift in the metabolome of roots and leaves. This nocturnal reprogramming of the metabolome under anoxia indicates a mitigation mechanism to avoid the toxic effects. A pathway enrichment analysis proposes the alanine shunt, the GABA shunt and the 2-oxoglutarate shunt as such mitigation mechanisms that alleviate pyruvate levels and lead to carbon and nitrogen storage during anoxia. In a second experiment, varying light exposure and species interaction of Z. marina with the blue mussel Mytilus edulis - a co-occurring species in seagrass systems - resulted in treatment specific metabolic fingerprints in seagrass. Light modified the metabolic fingerprint expressed in Z. marina to the presence of mussels, indicating varying physiological responses to mussels in normal and low light regimes. Multivariate data-analysis indicated light exposure as main driver (45%) and mussel presence as minor driver (13%) for the metabolic responses. Traditional plant performance parameters exhibited light dependent variation but in contrast to the metabolome none of these parameters were dependent on the presence of M. edulis. This demonstrates the applicability of metabolomics to reveal hidden effects of environmental pressure on seagrasses.

America’s Security Role in a Changing World: A Global Strategic Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

actually three interrelated crises: a global warming crisis, fuel crisis, and diplomatic crisis. Global warming threatens to create an environmental...which is a diplomatic crisis, particularly for the United States. Global warming is already being used as a dip- lomatic wedge issue against America...mitigating or stopping transnational threats 4 INSS Proceedings April 7–8, 2009 actors, and effects of global warming . A result of these increasing

Joint Ordnance Test Procedure (JOTP)-001 Allied Ammunition Safety and Suitability for Service Assessment Testing Publication - Guidance

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-08

hazard due to enemy attack or accident (e.g. Insensitive Munitions (IM) and Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3)) and the explosive materials...of mitigating potential explosive remnants of war hazards , particularly from unexploded ordnance , should be conducted. 6.5 Munition Software System...TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Joint Ordnance Test Procedure (JOTP)-001 Allied Ammunition Safety and

Archaeological Testing of the Lewisville Lake Shoreline, Denton County, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

establishment of new communities supported by military aid and the coming of the railroads. The railroads created new markets for crops and other goods produced...concerning necessary additional work to mitigate the adverse effects of the proposed pool raise on these sites and to further substantiate the...the west is palso-environmental change with respect to local adaptive the Grand Praire. To the immediat east of the Eastern Cross strategies and

14 CFR 1216.311 - Emergency responses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

....311 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Subpart... immediate impacts of the emergency needed to mitigate harm to life, property, or resources. When taking such... of Part 1216—Acronyms and Definitions CatExCategorical Exclusion CEQCouncil on Environmental Quality...

Particulate capture efficiency of a vegetative environmental buffer surrounding an animal feeding operation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Particulate matter emitted from tunnel-ventilated animal feeding operations (AFOs) is known to transport malodorous compounds. As a mitigation strategy, vegetative environmental buffers (VEBs) are often installed surrounding AFOs to capture particulates and induce lofting and dispersion. Currently, ...

Dave Bielen | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Dave Bielen Photo of Dave Bielen Dave Bielen Energy and Environmental Policy Analyst David.Bielen Energy Analysis Center. Areas of Expertise Environmental policy design Dynamic programming Time series energy policy GHG emissions mitigation in the electricity and transportation sectors Optimal control of

Sustainable Energy Crop Production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biofuels currently supply a small portion of the world’s energy needs but this is increasing due to mandates intended to reduce use of fossil fuels and the associated environmental impacts. However, the potentials of plant based feedstocks to substitute for fossil fuels and mitigate environmental im...

Landscape characteristics of a stream and wetland mitigation banking program.

PubMed

BenDor, Todd; Sholtes, Joel; Doyle, Martin W

2009-12-01

In the United States, stream restoration is an increasing part of environmental and land management programs, particularly under the auspices of compensatory mitigation regulations. Markets and regulations surrounding stream mitigation are beginning to mirror those of the well-established wetland mitigation industry. Recent studies have shown that wetland mitigation programs commonly shift wetlands across space from urban to rural areas, thereby changing the functional characteristics and benefits of wetlands in the landscape. However, it is not yet known if stream mitigation mirrors this behavior, and if so, what effects this may have on landscape-scale ecological and hydrological processes. This project addresses three primary research questions. (1) What are the spatial relationships between stream and wetland impact and compensation sites as a result of regulations requiring stream and wetland mitigation in the State of North Carolina? (2) How do stream impacts come about due to the actions of different types of developers, and how do the characteristics of impacts sites compare with compensation sites? (3) To what extent does stream compensation relocate high-quality streams within the river network, and how does this affect localized (intrawatershed) loss or gain of aquatic resources? Using geospatial data collected from the North Carolina Division of Water Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers' Wilmington District, we analyzed the behavior of the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program in providing stream and wetland mitigation for the State of North Carolina. Our results suggest that this program provides mitigation (1) in different ways for different types of permittees; (2) at great distances (both Euclidean and within the stream network) from original impacts; (3) in significantly different places than impacts within watersheds; and (4) in many cases, in different watersheds from original impacts. Our analysis also reveals problems with regulator data collection, storage, and quality control. These results have significant implications given new federal requirements for ecological consistency within mitigation programs. Our results also indicate some of the landscape-scale implications of using market-based approaches to ecological restoration in general.

75 FR 13125 - Pet Spot-On Analysis and Mitigation Plan Available for Public Comment; Notice of Availability

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-18

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0229; FRL-8816-8] Pet Spot-On Analysis and... registered pet spot-on products to control fleas and ticks and a mitigation plan. The analysis consists of a Technical Review Document and Data Evaluation Records for pet spot-on products. The Agency is requesting...

Mitigating climate change through small-scale forestry in the USA: opportunities and challenges

Treesearch

Susan Charnley; David Diaz; Hannah Gosnell

2010-01-01

Forest management for carbon sequestration is a low-cost, low-technology, relatively easy way to help mitigate global climate change that can be adopted now while additional long-term solutions are developed. Carbon-oriented management of forests also offers forest owners an opportunity to obtain a new source of income, and commonly has environmental co-benefits. The...

Use of Wildfire Smoke Forcasting Model to Mitigate Burden on a Population's Health and Wellbeing Presentation for International Society of Environmental Epidemiology meeting

EPA Science Inventory

Use of Wildfire Smoke Forecasting Model to Mitigate Burden on a Population’s Health and Wellbeing Ana G. Rappold, Neal Fann, Wayne E. Cascio, Robert B. Devlin, David Diaz-Sanchez Background Wildfires are a major source of fine particular matter and other air pollutants as...

Annual Adaptive Management Report for Compensatory Mitigation at Keyport Lagoon: Mitigation of Pier B Development at the Bremerton Naval Facilities - Compensatory Mitigation at Keyport Lagoon - Naval Underwater Warfare Center Division - Keyport, Washington

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

Vavrinec, John; Borde, Amy B.; Woodruff, Dana L.

Unites States Navy capital improvement projects are designed to modernize and improve mission capacity. Such capital improvement projects often result in unavoidable environmental impacts by increasing over-water structures, which results in a loss of subtidal habitat within industrial areas of Navy bases. In the Pacific Northwest, compensatory mitigation often targets alleviating impacts to Endangered Species Act-listed salmon species. The complexity of restoring large systems requires limited resources to target successful and more coordinated mitigation efforts to address habitat loss and improvements in water quality that will clearly contribute to an improvement at the site scale and can then be linkedmore » to a cumulative net ecosystem improvement.« less

Bigger is better: Improved nature conservation and economic returns from landscape-level mitigation

PubMed Central

Kennedy, Christina M.; Miteva, Daniela A.; Baumgarten, Leandro; Hawthorne, Peter L.; Sochi, Kei; Polasky, Stephen; Oakleaf, James R.; Uhlhorn, Elizabeth M.; Kiesecker, Joseph

2016-01-01

Impact mitigation is a primary mechanism on which countries rely to reduce environmental externalities and balance development with conservation. Mitigation policies are transitioning from traditional project-by-project planning to landscape-level planning. Although this larger-scale approach is expected to provide greater conservation benefits at the lowest cost, empirical justification is still scarce. Using commercial sugarcane expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado as a case study, we apply economic and biophysical steady-state models to quantify the benefits of the Brazilian Forest Code (FC) under landscape- and property-level planning. We find that FC compliance imposes small costs to business but can generate significant long-term benefits to nature: supporting 32 (±37) additional species (largely habitat specialists), storing 593,000 to 2,280,000 additional tons of carbon worth $69 million to $265 million ($ pertains to U.S. dollars), and marginally improving surface water quality. Relative to property-level compliance, we find that landscape-level compliance reduces total business costs by $19 million to $35 million per 6-year sugarcane growing cycle while often supporting more species and storing more carbon. Our results demonstrate that landscape-level mitigation provides cost-effective conservation and can be used to promote sustainable development. PMID:27419225

The southern Brazilian grassland biome: soil carbon stocks, fluxes of greenhouse gases and some options for mitigation.

PubMed

Pillar, V D; Tornquist, C G; Bayer, C

2012-08-01

The southern Brazilian grassland biome contains highly diverse natural ecosystems that have been used for centuries for grazing livestock and that also provide other important environmental services. Here we outline the main factors controlling ecosystem processes, review and discuss the available data on soil carbon stocks and greenhouse gases emissions from soils, and suggest opportunities for mitigation of climatic change. The research on carbon and greenhouse gases emissions in these ecosystems is recent and the results are still fragmented. The available data indicate that the southern Brazilian natural grassland ecosystems under adequate management contain important stocks of organic carbon in the soil, and therefore their conservation is relevant for the mitigation of climate change. Furthermore, these ecosystems show a great and rapid loss of soil organic carbon when converted to crops based on conventional tillage practices. However, in the already converted areas there is potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by using cropping systems based on no soil tillage and cover-crops, and the effect is mainly related to the potential of these crop systems to accumulate soil organic carbon in the soil at rates that surpass the increased soil nitrous oxide emissions. Further modelling with these results associated with geographic information systems could generate regional estimates of carbon balance.

Role of rock/fluid characteristics in carbon (CO2) storage and modeling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, Mahendra K.

2005-01-01

The presentation ? Role of Rock/Fluid Characteristics in Carbon (CO2) Storage and Modeling ? was prepared for the meeting of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Houston, Tex., on April 6?7, 2005. It provides an overview of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, and a summary of their effects on the Earth?s atmosphere. It presents methods of mitigating the effects of greenhouse gases, and the role of rock and fluid properties on CO2 storage mechanisms. It also lists factors that must be considered to adequately model CO2 storage.

Failure mode and effects analysis of the universal anaesthesia machine in two tertiary care hospitals in Sierra Leone

PubMed Central

Rosen, M. A.; Sampson, J. B.; Jackson, E. V.; Koka, R.; Chima, A. M.; Ogbuagu, O. U.; Marx, M. K.; Koroma, M.; Lee, B. H.

2014-01-01

Background Anaesthesia care in developed countries involves sophisticated technology and experienced providers. However, advanced machines may be inoperable or fail frequently when placed into the austere medical environment of a developing country. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a method for engaging local staff in identifying real or potential breakdowns in processes or work systems and to develop strategies to mitigate risks. Methods Nurse anaesthetists from the two tertiary care hospitals in Freetown, Sierra Leone, participated in three sessions moderated by a human factors specialist and an anaesthesiologist. Sessions were audio recorded, and group discussion graphically mapped by the session facilitator for analysis and commentary. These sessions sought to identify potential barriers to implementing an anaesthesia machine designed for austere medical environments—the universal anaesthesia machine (UAM)—and also engaging local nurse anaesthetists in identifying potential solutions to these barriers. Results Participating Sierra Leonean clinicians identified five main categories of failure modes (resource availability, environmental issues, staff knowledge and attitudes, and workload and staffing issues) and four categories of mitigation strategies (resource management plans, engaging and educating stakeholders, peer support for new machine use, and collectively advocating for needed resources). Conclusions We identified factors that may limit the impact of a UAM and devised likely effective strategies for mitigating those risks. PMID:24833727

Comparative Analysis of Supply Risk-Mitigation Strategies for Critical Byproduct Minerals: A Case Study of Tellurium.

PubMed

Bustamante, Michele L; Gaustad, Gabrielle; Alonso, Elisa

2018-01-02

Materials criticality assessment is a screening framework increasingly applied to identify materials of importance that face scarcity risks. Although these assessments highlight materials for the implicit purpose of informing future action, the aggregated nature of their findings make them difficult to use for guidance in developing nuanced mitigation strategy and policy response. As a first step in the selection of mitigation strategies, the present work proposes a modeling framework and accompanying set of metrics to directly compare strategies by measuring effectiveness of risk reduction as a function of the features of projected supply demand balance over time. The work focuses on byproduct materials, whose criticality is particularly important to understand because their supplies are inherently less responsive to market balancing forces, i.e., price feedbacks. Tellurium, a byproduct of copper refining, which is critical to solar photovoltaics, is chosen as a case study, and three commonly discussed byproduct-relevant strategies are selected: dematerialization of end-use product, byproduct yield improvement, and end-of-life recycling rate improvement. Results suggest that dematerialization will be nearly twice as effective at reducing supply risk as the next best option, yield improvement. Finally, due to its infrequent use at present and its dependence upon long product lifespans, recycling end-of-life products is expected to be the least effective option despite potentially offering other benefits (e.g., cost savings and environmental impact reduction).

Environmental Assessment of Different Cement Manufacturing ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Due to its high environmental impact and energy intensive production, the cement industry needs to adopt more energy efficient technologies to reduce its demand for fossil fuels and impact on the environment. Bearing in mind that cement is the most widely used material for housing and modern infrastructure, the aim of this paper is to analyse the Emergy and Ecological Footprint of different cement manufacturing processes for a particular cement plant. There are several mitigation measures that can be incorporated in the cement manufacturing process to reduce the demand for fossil fuels and consequently reduce the CO2 emissions. The mitigation measures considered in this paper were the use of alternative fuels and a more energy efficient kiln process. In order to estimate the sustainability effect of the aforementioned measures, Emergy and Ecological Footprint were calculated for four different scenarios. The results show that Emergy, due to the high input mass of raw material needed for clinker production, stays at about the same level. However, for the Ecological Footprint, the results show that by combining the use of alternative fuels together with a more energy efficient kiln process, the environmental impact of the cement manufacturing process can be lowered. The research paper presents an analysis of the sustainability of cement production , a major contributor to carbon emissions, with respect to using alternative fuels and a more efficient kiln. It show

Integrated watershed- and farm-scale modeling framework for targeting critical source areas while maintaining farm economic viability.

PubMed

Ghebremichael, Lula T; Veith, Tamie L; Hamlett, James M

2013-01-15

Quantitative risk assessments of pollution and data related to the effectiveness of mitigating best management practices (BMPs) are important aspects of nonpoint source pollution control efforts, particularly those driven by specific water quality objectives and by measurable improvement goals, such as the total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements. Targeting critical source areas (CSAs) that generate disproportionately high pollutant loads within a watershed is a crucial step in successfully controlling nonpoint source pollution. The importance of watershed simulation models in assisting with the quantitative assessments of CSAs of pollution (relative to their magnitudes and extents) and of the effectiveness of associated BMPs has been well recognized. However, due to the distinct disconnect between the hydrological scale in which these models conduct their evaluation and the farm scale at which feasible BMPs are actually selected and implemented, and due to the difficulty and uncertainty involved in transferring watershed model data to farm fields, there are limited practical applications of these tools in the current nonpoint source pollution control efforts by conservation specialists for delineating CSAs and planning targeting measures. There are also limited approaches developed that can assess impacts of CSA-targeted BMPs on farm productivity and profitability together with the assessment of water quality improvements expected from applying these measures. This study developed a modeling framework that integrates farm economics and environmental aspects (such as identification and mitigation of CSAs) through joint use of watershed- and farm-scale models in a closed feedback loop. The integration of models in a closed feedback loop provides a way for environmental changes to be evaluated with regard to the impact on the practical aspects of farm management and economics, adjusted or reformulated as necessary, and revaluated with respect to effectiveness of environmental mitigation at the farm- and watershed-levels. This paper also outlines steps needed to extract important CSA-related information from a watershed model to help inform targeting decisions at the farm scale. The modeling framework is demonstrated with two unique case studies in the northeastern United States (New York and Vermont), with supporting data from numerous published, location-specific studies at both the watershed and farm scales. Using the integrated modeling framework, it can be possible to compare the costs (in terms of changes required in farm system components or financial compensations for retiring crop lands) and benefits (in terms of measurable water quality improvement goals) of implementing targeted BMPs. This multi-scale modeling approach can be used in the multi-objective task of mitigating CSAs of pollution to meet water quality goals while maintaining farm-level economic viability. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making the links: do we connect climate change with health? A qualitative case study from Canada.

PubMed

Cardwell, Francesca S; Elliott, Susan J

2013-03-08

Climate change has been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Typically framed as an environmental issue, some suggest this view has contributed to public ambivalence and hence a lack of public engagement. The lack of understanding of climate change as a significant environmental health risk on the part of the lay public represents a significant barrier to behaviour change. We therefore need to think about reframing the impact of climate change from an environmental to a health issue. This paper builds on calls for increased understanding of the public's views of human health risks associated with climate change, focusing on facilitators and barriers to behaviour change. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 22) with residents of the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario were conducted between August 2010 and January 2011. Topics included individual and community health, climate change, and facilitators and barriers to behaviour change. Few participants recognized the role of the environment in the context of either individual and community health. When asked about health concerns specific to their community, however, environmental issues were mentioned frequently. Health effects as possible impacts of global environmental change were mentioned by 77% of participants when prompted, but this link was not described in great detail or within the context of impacting their communities or themselves. Participants were willing to act in environmentally friendly ways, and possible incentives to undertake behaviour change such as decreasing cost were described. Health co-benefits were not identified as incentives to engaging in mitigative or adaptive behaviours. The results support recent calls for reframing the impact of climate change from an environmental to a public health issue in order to increase public engagement in adaptive and mitigative behaviour change. While previous research has touched on public awareness of the human health risks of climate change, we have further explored the attitude-action link through the examination of facilitators and barriers to behaviour change.

Polyimide/Carbon Nanotube Composite Films for Electrostatic Charge Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Joseph G., Jr.; Delozier, Donavon M.; Connell, John W.; Watson, Kent A.

2004-01-01

Low color, space environmentally durable polymeric films with sufficient electrical conductivity to mitigate electrostatic charge (ESC) build-up have potential applications on large, deployable, ultra-light weight Gossamer spacecraft as thin film membranes on antennas, solar sails, thermal/optical coatings, multi-layer insulation blankets, etc.. The challenge has been to develop a method to impart robust electrical conductivity into these materials without increasing solar absorptivity (alpha ) or decreasing optical transparency or film flexibility. Since these spacecraft will require significant compaction prior to launch, the film portion of the spacecraft will require folding. The state-of-the-art clear, conductive coating (e.g. indium-tin-oxide, ITO) is brittle and cannot tolerate folding. In this report, doping a polymer with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using two different methods afforded materials with good flexibility and surface conductivities in the range sufficient for ESC mitigation. A coating method afforded materials with minimal effects on the mechanical, optical, and thermo-optical properties as compared to dispersal of SWNTs in the matrix. The chemistry and physical properties of these nanocomposites are discussed.

Tobacco industry responsibility for butts: a Model Tobacco Waste Act

PubMed Central

Curtis, Clifton; Novotny, Thomas E; Lee, Kelley; Freiberg, Mike; McLaughlin, Ian

2017-01-01

Cigarette butts and other postconsumer products from tobacco use are the most common waste elements picked up worldwide each year during environmental cleanups. Under the environmental principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, tobacco product manufacturers may be held responsible for collection, transport, processing and safe disposal of tobacco product waste (TPW). Legislation has been applied to other toxic and hazardous postconsumer waste products such as paints, pesticide containers and unused pharmaceuticals, to reduce, prevent and mitigate their environmental impacts. Additional product stewardship (PS) requirements may be necessary for other stakeholders and beneficiaries of tobacco product sales and use, especially suppliers, retailers and consumers, in order to ensure effective TPW reduction. This report describes how a Model Tobacco Waste Act may be adopted by national and subnational jurisdictions to address the environmental impacts of TPW. Such a law will also reduce tobacco use and its health consequences by raising attention to the environmental hazards of TPW, increasing the price of tobacco products, and reducing the number of tobacco product retailers. PMID:26931480

Surfactant toxicity to Artemia Franciscana and the influence of humic acid and chemical composition

PubMed Central

Deese, Rachel D.; LeBlanc, Madeline R.

2016-01-01

Surfactants can be extremely toxic to aquatic species and are introduced to the environment in a variety of ways. It is thus important to understand how other environmental constituents, in this case humic acids (HAs), may alter the toxicity of anthropogenic surfactants. Hatching and mortality assays of Artemia Franciscana were performed for three different toxic surfactants: Triton X-100 (Tx-100, non-ionic), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC, cationic), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, anionic). Humic acids of varying composition and concentrations were added to the assays to determine the toxicity mitigating ability of the HAs. Tx-100 had a significant toxic effect on Artemia mortality rates and HAs from terrestrial sources were able to mitigate the toxicity, but an aquatic HA did not. CPC and SDS limited hatching success of the Artemia and, as HAs were added, the hatching percentages increased for all HA sources, indicating toxicity mitigation. In order to determine which functional groups within HAs were responsible for the interaction with the surfactants, the HAs were chemically modified by: (i) bleaching to reduce aromatics, (ii) Soxhlet extraction to reduce lipids, and (iii) acid hydrolysis to reduce O- and N-alkyl groups. Although most of the modified HAs had some toxicity mitigating ability for each of the surfactants, there were two notable differences: 1) the lipid-extracted HA did not reduce the toxicity of Tx-100 and 2) the bleached HA had a lower toxicity mitigating ability for CPC than the other modified HAs. PMID:27453688

Wildlife mitigation and monitoring report Gunnison, Colorado, site

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

NONE

1997-04-01

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); its purpose is to cleanup uranium mill tailings and other contaminated material at 24 UMTRA Project sites in 10 states. This report summarizes the wildlife mitigation and monitoring program under way at the Gunnison UMTRA Project, Gunnison, Colorado. Remedial action at the Gunnison site was completed in December 1995 and is described in detail in the Gunnison completion report. The impacts of this activity were analyzed in the Gunnison environmental assessment (EA). These impacts included two important game species: the pronghorn antelope (Antilocapramore » americans) and sage grouse (Wentrocerus urophasianus). Haul truck traffic was predicted to limit antelope access to water sources north of the Tenderfoot Mountain haul road and that truck traffic along this and other haul roads could result in antelope road kills. Clearing land at the disposal cell, haul road and borrow site activities, and the associated human activities also were predicted to negatively impact (directly and indirectly) sage grouse breeding, nesting, loafing, and wintering habitat. As a result, an extensive mitigation and monitoring plan began in 1992. Most of the monitoring studies are complete and the results of these studies, written by different authors, appear in numerous reports. This report will: (1) Analyze existing impacts and compare them to predicted impacts. (2) Summarize mitigation measures. (3) Summarize all existing monitoring data in one report. (4) Analyze the effectiveness of the mitigation measures.« less

Research Contributing to Improvements in Controlling Florida’s Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases

PubMed Central

Tabachnick, Walter J.

2016-01-01

Research on mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases has contributed to improvements in providing effective, efficient, and environmentally proper mosquito control. Florida has benefitted from several research accomplishments that have increased the state’s mosquito control capabilities. Research with Florida’s mosquitoes has resulted in the development of ecologically sound management of mosquito impoundments on Florida’s east coast. This strategy, called Rotational Impoundment Management (RIM), has improved the ability to target the delivery of pesticides and has helped to reduce non-target effects and environmental damage. Research has led to the development of an arbovirus surveillance system which includes sentinel chicken surveillance, real time use of environmental contributing factors like meteorology and hydrology to target mosquito control, as well as public health efforts to mitigate disease outbreaks to areas with risk of disease. These research driven improvements have provided substantial benefits to all of Florida. More research is needed to meet the future challenges to reduce emerging pathogens like Zika virus and the consequences of environmental changes like global climate change that are likely to influence the effects of mosquito-borne pathogens on human health and well-being. PMID:27690112

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IN-SITU MITIGATION OF MERCURY CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER IN KAZAKHSTAN

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) OIA receives funding from the U.S. State Department's Bio-Chem Redirect program to engage former Soviet biological and chemical weapons scientists in civilian research in environmental monitoring and remediation. Scientists in t...

40 CFR 35.700 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Environmental Program Grants for Tribes Indoor Radon Grants (section 306) § 35.700 Purpose. (a... programs that assess and mitigate radon and that aim at reducing radon health risks. Indoor Radon Grant...

40 CFR 35.298 - Award limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....298 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Environmental Program Grants State Indoor Radon Grants (section 306) § 35.298... measurement equipment or devices (see § 35.290(b)(1)(iv)) and demonstration of radon mitigation, methods, and...

Science Overview: The LTTG Technology Review Meeting March 2006 Summary Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruning, Claus; Ko, Malcolm; Lee, David; Miake-Lye, Richard

2006-01-01

This report presents an overview of the latest scientific consensus understanding of the effect of aviation emissions on the atmosphere for both local air quality and climate change in order to provide a contextual framework for raising future questions to help assess the environmental benefits of technology goals. Although studies of the two issues share a common framework (of quantifying the emissions, the change in concentrations in the atmosphere, and the environmental impacts), the communities of practitioners are distinctly different. The scientific community will continue to provide guidelines on trade-off among different contributors to a specific environmental impact, such as global climate, or local air quality. Ultimately, monetization of the costs and benefits of mitigation actions is the proper tool for quantifying and analyzing trade-offs between the two issues. Scientific assessment of the impacts and their uncertainties are critical inputs to these analyses. Until environmental effects of aviation emerge as a policy driven issue, there is little incentive within the scientific community to focus on research efforts specific to trade-off studies between local and global impacts.

Health Effects and Environmental Justice Concerns of Exposure to Uranium in Drinking Water.

PubMed

Corlin, Laura; Rock, Tommy; Cordova, Jamie; Woodin, Mark; Durant, John L; Gute, David M; Ingram, Jani; Brugge, Doug

2016-12-01

We discuss the recent epidemiologic literature regarding health effects of uranium exposure in drinking water focusing on the chemical characteristics of uranium. While there is strong toxicologic evidence for renal and reproductive effects as well as DNA damage, the epidemiologic evidence for these effects in people exposed to uranium in drinking water is limited. Further, epidemiologic evidence is lacking for cardiovascular and oncogenic effects. One challenge in characterizing health effects of uranium in drinking water is the paucity of long-term cohort studies with individual level exposure assessment. Nevertheless, there are environmental justice concerns due to the substantial exposures for certain populations. For example, we present original data suggesting that individuals living in the Navajo Nation are exposed to high levels of uranium in unregulated well water used for drinking. In 10 out of 185 samples (5.4 %), concentrations of uranium exceeded standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Therefore, efforts to mitigate exposure to toxic elements in drinking water are warranted and should be prioritized.

Influence of foreign direct investment on indicators of environmental degradation.

PubMed

Solarin, Sakiru Adebola; Al-Mulali, Usama

2018-06-21

This study aims to contribute to the existing literature by looking at the influence of foreign direct investment on carbon dioxide emissions, carbon footprint, and ecological footprint. In order to realize the aim of this study, we have utilized the augmented mean group estimator, which is supported by common correlated effect mean group estimator in the analysis for 20 countries. The panel results reveal that foreign direct investment has no effect on environmental degradation indicators. The panel results further reveal that gross domestic product, energy consumption, and urbanization are the main contributors to environmental degradation. The results at country level show that foreign direct investment and urbanization increase pollution in the developing countries while they mitigate pollution in the developed countries. Moreover, gross domestic product and energy consumption increase pollution for both developed and developing countries, which includes China and the USA. The negative impact of foreign direct investment on environmental degradation in the developed countries can be explained on the basis that these countries have strong environmental regulations, which makes it almost impossible for dirty foreign industries to invest therein. From the output of this research, several policy recommendations are enumerated for the investigated countries.

Reactive nitrogen requirements to feed the world in 2050 and potential to mitigate nitrogen pollution.

PubMed

Bodirsky, Benjamin Leon; Popp, Alexander; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Dietrich, Jan Philipp; Rolinski, Susanne; Weindl, Isabelle; Schmitz, Christoph; Müller, Christoph; Bonsch, Markus; Humpenöder, Florian; Biewald, Anne; Stevanovic, Miodrag

2014-05-13

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) is an indispensable nutrient for agricultural production and human alimentation. Simultaneously, agriculture is the largest contributor to Nr pollution, causing severe damages to human health and ecosystem services. The trade-off between food availability and Nr pollution can be attenuated by several key mitigation options, including Nr efficiency improvements in crop and animal production systems, food waste reduction in households and lower consumption of Nr-intensive animal products. However, their quantitative mitigation potential remains unclear, especially under the added pressure of population growth and changes in food consumption. Here we show by model simulations, that under baseline conditions, Nr pollution in 2050 can be expected to rise to 102-156% of the 2010 value. Only under ambitious mitigation, does pollution possibly decrease to 36-76% of the 2010 value. Air, water and atmospheric Nr pollution go far beyond critical environmental thresholds without mitigation actions. Even under ambitious mitigation, the risk remains that thresholds are exceeded.

Environmental effects on lunar astronomical observatories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Stewart W.; Taylor, G. Jeffrey; Wetzel, John P.

1992-01-01

The Moon offers a stable platform with excellent seeing conditions for astronomical observations. Some troublesome aspects of the lunar environment will need to be overcome to realize the full potential of the Moon as an observatory site. Mitigation of negative effects of vacuum, thermal radiation, dust, and micrometeorite impact is feasible with careful engineering and operational planning. Shields against impact, dust, and solar radiation need to be developed. Means of restoring degraded surfaces are probably essential for optical and thermal control surfaces deployed in long-lifetime lunar facilities. Precursor missions should be planned to validate and enhance the understanding of the lunar environment (e.g., dust behavior without and with human presence) and to determine environmental effects on surfaces and components. Precursor missions should generate data useful in establishing keepout zones around observatory facilities where rocket launches and landings, mining, and vehicular traffic could be detrimental to observatory operation.

Environmental effects on an optical-UV-IR synthesis array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Stewart W.; Taylor, G. Jeffrey; Wetzel, John P.

1992-01-01

The Moon offers a stable platform with excellent seeing conditions for the Lunar Optical-UV-IR Synthesis Array (LOUISA). Some troublesome aspects of the lunar environment will need to be overcome to realize the full potential of the Moon as an observatory site. Mitigation of negative effects of vacuum, thermal radiation, dust, and micrometeorite impact is feasible with careful engineering and operational planning. Shields against impact, dust, and solar radiation need to be developed. Means of restoring degraded surfaces are probably essential for optical and thermal control surfaces deployed in long-lifetime lunar facilities. Precursor missions should be planned to validate and enhance the understanding of the lunar environment (e.g., dust behavior without and with human presence and to determine environmental effects on surfaces and components. Precursor missions should generate data useful in establishing keepout zones around observatory facilities while rocket launches and landings, mining, and vehicular traffic could be detrimental to observatory operation.

Integrated Environmental Risk Assessment and Whole-Process Management System in Chemical Industry Parks

PubMed Central

Shao, Chaofeng; Yang, Juan; Tian, Xiaogang; Ju, Meiting; Huang, Lei

2013-01-01

Chemical industry parks in China are considered high-risk areas because they present numerous risks that can damage the environment, such as pollution incidents. In order to identify the environmental risks and the principal risk factors in these areas, we have developed a simple physical model of a regional environmental risk field (ERF) using existing dispersal patterns and migration models. The regional ERF zoning was also conducted and a reference value for diagnostic methods was developed to determine risk-acceptable, risk-warning, and risk-mitigation zones, which can provide a risk source layout for chemical industry parks. In accordance with the environmental risk control requirements, this study focused on the three stages of control and management of environmental risk and established an environmental risk management system including risk source identification and assessment, environmental safety planning, early risk warning, emergency management, assessment of environmental effects, and environmental remediation of pollution accidents. By using this model, the environmental risks in Tianjin Binhai New Area, the largest chemical industry park in China, were assessed and the environmental risk zoning map was drawn, which suggested the existence of many unacceptable environmental risks in this area. Thus, relevant suggestions have been proposed from the perspective of the adjustment of risk source layout, intensified management of environmental risk control and so on. PMID:23603866

Integrated environmental risk assessment and whole-process management system in chemical industry parks.

PubMed

Shao, Chaofeng; Yang, Juan; Tian, Xiaogang; Ju, Meiting; Huang, Lei

2013-04-19

Chemical industry parks in China are considered high-risk areas because they present numerous risks that can damage the environment, such as pollution incidents. In order to identify the environmental risks and the principal risk factors in these areas, we have developed a simple physical model of a regional environmental risk field (ERF) using existing dispersal patterns and migration models. The regional ERF zoning was also conducted and a reference value for diagnostic methods was developed to determine risk-acceptable, risk-warning, and risk-mitigation zones, which can provide a risk source layout for chemical industry parks. In accordance with the environmental risk control requirements, this study focused on the three stages of control and management of environmental risk and established an environmental risk management system including risk source identification and assessment, environmental safety planning, early risk warning, emergency management, assessment of environmental effects, and environmental remediation of pollution accidents. By using this model, the environmental risks in Tianjin Binhai New Area, the largest chemical industry park in China, were assessed and the environmental risk zoning map was drawn, which suggested the existence of many unacceptable environmental risks in this area. Thus, relevant suggestions have been proposed from the perspective of the adjustment of risk source layout, intensified management of environmental risk control and so on.

Emerging Public Health Challenges of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Related to Changes in the Pathogen, the Population, and the Environment.

PubMed

Karmali, Mohamed A

2017-02-01

Emerging public health challenges of Shiga toxin (stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) include the occurrence of more frequent or severe disease and risk factors shifts associated with changes, often interconnected, in the pathogen, the population, and the environment. In 3 outbreaks with heightened severity attributed to enhanced pathogen virulence, including the acquisition of an stx2 phage in 1 outbreak, population and environmental factors likely contributed significantly to disease outcomes. Evolving population risk factors that are associated with more severe disease include consumption of fresh produce, contact with STEC-contaminated environments, demographics, socioeconomic status, and immunity. Risks of increasing STEC environmental pollution are related to continued intensification of agriculture and super-shedder cattle. Mitigation strategies include surveillance and research on emerging STEC, development of effective communications and public education strategies, and improved policies and interventions to mitigate risks, including those related to the contamination of produce and the environment, using a "One Health" approach. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

43 CFR 10010.18 - Content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Content. 10010.18 Section 10010.18 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Environmental Assessments § 10010.18 Content. (a)...

43 CFR 10010.18 - Content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Content. 10010.18 Section 10010.18 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Environmental Assessments § 10010.18 Content. (a)...

43 CFR 10010.18 - Content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Content. 10010.18 Section 10010.18 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Environmental Assessments § 10010.18 Content. (a)...

43 CFR 10010.18 - Content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2008-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2008-10-01 2008-10-01 false Content. 10010.18 Section 10010.18 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Environmental Assessments § 10010.18 Content. (a)...

40 CFR 35.290 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Environmental Program Grants State Indoor Radon Grants (section 306) § 35.290 Purpose. (a) Purpose... mitigate radon and that aim at reducing radon health risks. State Indoor Radon Grant funds may be used for...

43 CFR 10010.18 - Content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Content. 10010.18 Section 10010.18 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Environmental Assessments § 10010.18 Content. (a)...

Rice management interventions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions: a review.

PubMed

Hussain, Saddam; Peng, Shaobing; Fahad, Shah; Khaliq, Abdul; Huang, Jianliang; Cui, Kehui; Nie, Lixiao

2015-03-01

Global warming is one of the gravest threats to crop production and environmental sustainability. Rice, the staple food of more than half of the world's population, is the most prominent cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agriculture and gives way to global warming. The increasing demand for rice in the future has deployed tremendous concerns to reduce GHG emissions for minimizing the negative environmental impacts of rice cultivation. In this review, we presented a contemporary synthesis of existing data on how crop management practices influence emissions of GHGs in rice fields. We realized that modifications in traditional crop management regimes possess a huge potential to overcome GHG emissions. We examined and evaluated the different possible options and found that modifying tillage permutations and irrigation patterns, managing organic and fertilizer inputs, selecting suitable cultivar, and cropping regime can mitigate GHG emissions. Previously, many authors have discussed the feasibility principle and the influence of these practices on a single gas or, in particular, in the whole agricultural sector. Nonetheless, changes in management practices may influence more than one gas at the same time by different mechanisms or sometimes their effects may be antagonistic. Therefore, in the present attempt, we estimated the overall global warming potential of each approach to consider the magnitude of its effects on all gases and provided a comprehensive assessment of suitable crop management practices for reducing GHG emissions in rice culture.

Solutions Network Formulation Report. NASA's Potential Contributions for Using Solar Ultraviolet Radiation in Conjunction with Photocatalysis for Urban Air Pollution Mitigation and Increasing Air Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Underwood, Lauren; Ryan, Robert E.

2007-01-01

This Candidate Solution is based on using NASA Earth science research on atmospheric ozone and aerosols data as a means to predict and evaluate the effectiveness of photocatalytically created surfaces (building materials like glass, tile and cement) for air pollution mitigation purposes. When these surfaces are exposed to near UV light, organic molecules, like air pollutants and smog precursors, will degrade into environmentally friendly compounds. U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for forecasting daily air quality by using the Air Quality Index (AQI) that is provided by AIRNow. EPA is partnered with AIRNow and is responsible for calculating the AQI for five major air pollutants that are regulated by the Clean Air Act. In this Solution, UV irradiance data acquired from the satellite mission Aura and the OMI Surface UV algorithm will be used to help understand both the efficacy and efficiency of the photocatalytic decomposition process these surfaces facilitate, and their ability to reduce air pollutants. Prediction models that estimate photocatalytic function do not exist. NASA UV irradiance data will enable this capability, so that air quality agencies that are run by state and local officials can develop and implement programs that utilize photocatalysis for urban air pollution control and, enable them to make effective decisions about air pollution protection programs.

Perspectives on Carbon Capture and Sequestration in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong-Parodi, Gabrielle Mei-Ling

Overall, this dissertation examines a sequence of important interconnected issues: the perspectives of potential and actual CCS host communities, the perspectives of the environmental community on the rationality of CCS as viable mitigation solution for the United States, and strategies for engaging with the public on CCS. Much of the research in this dissertation is original work addressing major interdisciplinary gaps in existing literature as well as in industry and government public engagement practice. Each of the chapters is a stand-alone paper that provides a unique contribution to a series of different types of carbon management technologies and academic disciplines. They are assembled together to provide a unique integrated evaluation of these related problems. Collectively, these chapters capture some of the major challenges facing mitigation technology engagement from the potentially time consuming need for careful social site characterization to the opportunities for using citizen-guided marketing methods to identify factors that may enhance effective public engagement. Chapters 2 and 3 are essays on the perspectives of potential and actual CCS host communities. Chapter 2 finds that host communities in California's Central Valley are more concerned with the social risks of hosting a CCS project (e.g. fear of neglect should something go wrong) rather than with the technical risks of the technology. Chapter 3 finds that host communities across the US are more concerned with social risks, and want a say in how those risks should be mitigated. This Chapter concludes with a discussion of how a 'social site characterization' conducted along side a traditional site characterization when evaluating the potential for a CCS project may be a good way to both encourage positive relationships with community members and mitigate potential concerns. Chapter 4 is an essay on the perspectives of the environmental community towards the potential of CCS as a viable mitigation solution in the US. This Chapter shows that environmental non-governmental organizations' position on CCS falls into one of four camps who believe: CCS should be developed and deployed in the near-term (Enthusiasts), CCS should be studied (Prudents), CCS will likely need to be deployed but only as a last resort (Reluctants), and CCS should not be deployed (Opponents). This Chapter finds that only Enthusiasts plan on educating the public about the technology in the near-term, however their ability to influence the public may be limited because they are more adept at targeting policymakers (not as experienced with the public) and receive much of their funding from industry (not seen as particularly trustworthy). In this dissertation, Chapter 5 is an essay on using citizen-guided emotional messages about CCS as a way to effectively communicate with the energy veteran public. This Chapter finds that Wyoming citizens believe information about CCS presented within an emotionally self-referent framework is likely to be a more persuasive way to garner support for or rejection of the technology amongst the Wyoming public than just the presentation of the same information alone.

Reshaping the Built Environment to Reduce Environmental and Public Health Impacts of Summertime Heat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenthal, J. E.; Bakewell, K.

2005-12-01

Many American cities are experiencing two types of warming trends in their local climate that due to global environmental change, and that due to local environmental change. Over the next five decades, urban areas within temperate regions may warm disproportionately compared to tropical and subtropical zones according to the IPCC Special Report on The Regional Impacts of Climate Change, and the frequency of very hot days in these climates is expected to approximately double for an increase of 2-3°C in the average summer temperature. As well, due to urbanized land-cover, air temperatures in cities can register 2 to 10 degrees F higher than in surrounding rural areas, resulting in a hotter environment, higher energy demand, and accelerated smog formation due to the urban heat island effect. Our previous research analyzed the temperature differences over time between NY Central Park (NYCP) station and 23 metropolitan regional weather stations classified according to distance and level of urbanization, and showed a heat island effect existing in NYC, with mean temperatures in the NYCP Station generally higher than the surrounding stations, ranging from 1.20 C to 3.02 C. A difference of at least 1 C already existed at the beginning of the 20th century between the mean temperature in NYC and its surrounding rural areas, and this difference increased over the twentieth century. Summertime heat can create heat stress and other health consequences for urban residents. In cities around the world, summer heat can lead to elevated mortality and morbidity rates, especially during extreme events. The epidemiological literature has identified factors in the built environment and demographic characteristics that can increase the risk of heat-related mortality. The elderly and people with pre-existing illnesses are especially vulnerable; also, being bedridden, living alone, and having poor access to public transportation or air-conditioned places. During the Chicago 1995 heat wave, risk of mortality was higher in the black community, and in those living in certain types of low-income and multi-tenant housing. Interventions in the built environment to promote urban heat island mitigation can reduce ambient temperatures, potentially reducing heat-related mortality rates in vulnerable populations, electricity consumption and air pollutant emissions, and slow ozone formation, an important health stressor. These mitigation measures may also serve as adaptive responses for a range of potential future climate conditions. Here we review current research that assesses the health, air quality, and energy conservation benefits in cities from these interventions in the built environment, and discuss the techniques and research objectives of a new pilot community-based project to mitigate the heat island effect in the South Bronx, New York City through implementation of vegetated and high albedo roofing on residential and institutional buildings. Recent studies use mesoscale climate models and a variety of land-use and land-cover scenarios to project the effects of increasing vegetative fraction and albedo within metropolitan regions and to evaluate the impacts of measures that may serve both as adaptive responses to current conditions and mitigation for future climate variability. Through this perspective, we address the questions: What urban design approaches make for resilient cities in a changing environment? What costs and benefits may be expected by the adoption of heat island mitigation techniques within the New York metropolitan region?

Polyimide/Carbon Nanotube Composite Films for Electrostatic Charge Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delozier, D. M.; Tigelaar, D. M.; Watson, K. A.; Smith, J. G., Jr.; Lillehei, P. T.; Connell, J. W.

2004-01-01

Low color, space environmentally durable polymeric films with sufficient electrical conductivity to mitigate electrostatic charge build-up have been under investigation as part of a materials development activity. In the work described herein, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) solutions were dispersed in solutions of a novel ionomer in N,N-dimethylacetamide resulting in homogenous suspensions or quasi-solutions. The ionomer was used to aid in the dispersal of SWNTs in to a soluble, low color space environmentally durable polyimide. The use of the ionomer as a dispersant enabled the nanotubes to be dispersed at loading levels up to 3 weight % in a polyimide solution without visual agglomeration. The films were further characterized for their electrical and mechanical properties.

A review of the health impacts of barium from natural and anthropogenic exposure.

PubMed

Kravchenko, Julia; Darrah, Thomas H; Miller, Richard K; Lyerly, H Kim; Vengosh, Avner

2014-08-01

There is an increasing public awareness of the relatively new and expanded industrial barium uses which are potential sources of human exposure (e.g., a shale gas development that causes an increased awareness of environmental exposures to barium). However, absorption of barium in exposed humans and a full spectrum of its health effects, especially among chronically exposed to moderate and low doses of barium populations, remain unclear. We suggest a systematic literature review (from 1875 to 2014) on environmental distribution of barium, its bioaccumulation, and potential and proven health impacts (in animal models and humans) to provide the information that can be used for optimization of future experimental and epidemiological studies and developing of mitigative and preventive strategies to minimize negative health effects in exposed populations. The potential health effects of barium exposure are largely based on animal studies, while epidemiological data for humans, specifically for chronic low-level exposures, are sparse. The reported health effects include cardiovascular and kidney diseases, metabolic, neurological, and mental disorders. Age, race, dietary patterns, behavioral risks (e.g., smoking), use of medications (those that interfere with absorbed barium in human organism), and specific physiological status (e.g., pregnancy) can modify barium effects on human health. Identifying, evaluating, and predicting the health effects of chronic low-level and moderate-level barium exposures in humans is challenging: Future research is needed to develop an understanding of barium bioaccumulation in order to mitigate its potential health impacts in various exposured populations. Further, while occupationally exposed at-risk populations exist, it is also important to identify potentially vulnerable subgroups among non-occupationally exposed populations (e.g., elderly, pregnant women, children) who are at higher risk of barium exposure from drinking water and food.

Analysis of the relationships between environmental noise and urban morphology.

PubMed

Han, Xiaopeng; Huang, Xin; Liang, Hong; Ma, Song; Gong, Jianya

2018-02-01

Understanding the effects of urban morphology on urban environmental noise (UEN) at a regional scale is crucial for creating a pleasant urban acoustic environment. This study seeks to investigate how the urban morphology influences the UEN in the Shenzhen metropolitan region of China, by employing remote sensing and geographic information data. The UEN in this study consists of not only regional environmental noise (RN), but also traffic noise (TN). The experimental results reveal the following findings: 1) RN is positively correlated with the nighttime light intensity (NTL) and land surface temperature (LST) (p < 0.05). More interestingly, landscape composition and configuration can also significantly affect RN. For instance, urban vegetation can mitigate the RN (r = -0.411, p < 0.01). There is a reduced RN effect when fewer buildings exist in an urban landscape, in terms of the positive relationship between building density and RN (r = 0.188, p < 0.01). Given the same percentage of building area, buildings are more effective at reducing noise when they are distributed across the urban scenes, rather than being spatially concentrated (r = -0.205, p < 0.01). 2) TN positively relates to large (r = 0.520, p < 0.01) and small-medium (r = 0.508, p < 0.01) vehicle flow. In addition, vegetation along or near roads can alleviate the TN effect (r = -0.342, p < 0.01). TN can also become more severe in urban landscapes where there is higher road density (r = 0.307, p < 0.01). 3) Concerning the urban functional zones, traffic land is the greatest contributor to urban RN, followed by mixed residential and commercial land. The findings revealed by this research will indicate how to mitigate UEN. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forecasting the effects of coastal protection and restoration projects on wetland morphology in coastal Louisiana under multiple environmental uncertainty scenarios

USGS Publications Warehouse

Couvillion, Brady R.; Steyer, Gregory D.; Wang, Hongqing; Beck, Holly J.; Rybczyk, John M.

2013-01-01

Few landscape scale models have assessed the effects of coastal protection and restoration projects on wetland morphology while taking into account important uncertainties in environmental factors such as sea-level rise (SLR) and subsidence. In support of Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, we developed a spatially explicit wetland morphology model and coupled it with other predictive models. The model is capable of predicting effects of protection and restoration projects on wetland area, landscape configuration, surface elevation, and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage under multiple environmental uncertainty scenarios. These uncertainty scenarios included variability in parameters such as eustatic SLR (ESLR), subsidence rate, and Mississippi River discharge. Models were run for a 2010–2060 simulation period. Model results suggest that under a “future-without-action” condition (FWOA), coastal Louisiana is at risk of losing between 2118 and 4677 km2 of land over the next 50 years, but with protection and restoration projects proposed in the Master Plan, between 40% and 75% of that loss could be mitigated. Moreover, model results indicate that under a FWOA condition, SOC storage (to a depth of 1 m) could decrease by between 108 and 250 million metric tons, a loss of 12% to 30% of the total coastwide SOC, but with the Master Plan implemented, between 35% and 74% of the SOC loss could be offset. Long-term maintenance of project effects was best attained in areas of low SLR and subsidence, with a sediment source to support marsh accretion. Our findings suggest that despite the efficacy of restoration projects in mitigating losses in certain areas, net loss of wetlands in coastal Louisiana is likely to continue. Model results suggest certain areas may eventually be lost regardless of proposed restoration investment, and, as such, other techniques and strategies of adaptation may have to be utilized in these areas.

Environmental Effects of Offshore Wind Development. Fiscal Year 2012 Progress Report

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

Copping, Andrea E.; Hanna, Luke A.; Butner, R. Scott

Potential environmental effects of offshore wind (OSW) energy projects are not well understood, and regulatory agencies are required to make decisions in spite of substantial uncertainty about environmental impacts and their long-term consequences. An understanding of risks associated with interactions between OSW installations and aquatic receptors, including animals, habitats, and ecosystems, can help define key uncertainties and focus regulatory actions and scientific studies on interactions of most concern. To examine the environmental risks associated with OSW developments in the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) focused on the following four priority research areas in FY 2012: • Environmental Risk Evaluationmore » System (ERES) - Followed project developments on the two OSW projects that PNNL screened in FY 2011 for environmental consequence: Fishermen’s Energy off the coast of Atlantic City, NJ and LEEDCo. near Cleveland, OH in Lake Erie. • Tethys - Developed a smart knowledge base which houses environmental research, data and information pertaining to OSW energy: • Technical Assessment - Produced a new software to create an automated process of identifying and differentiating between flying organism such as birds and bats by using thermal imagery; and • North Atlantic Right Whales - Developed an environmental risk management system to mitigate the impacts on North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) during installation and piledriving stages of OSW developments. By identifying and addressing the highest priority environmental risks for OSW devices and associated installations the ERES process assists project proponents, regulators, and stakeholders to engage in the most efficient and effective siting and permitting pathways.« less

Electron Beam Technology for Environmental Pollution Control.

PubMed

Chmielewski, Andrzej G; Han, Bumsoo

2016-10-01

Worldwide, there are over 1700 electron beam (EB) units in commercial use, providing an estimated added value to numerous products, amounting to 100 billion USD or more. High-current electron accelerators are used in diverse industries to enhance the physical and chemical properties of materials and to reduce undesirable contaminants such as pathogens, toxic byproducts, or emissions. Over the past few decades, EB technologies have been developed aimed at ensuring the safety of gaseous and liquid effluents discharged to the environment. It has been demonstrated that EB technologies for flue gas treatment (SO x and NO x removal), wastewater purification, and sludge hygienization can be effectively deployed to mitigate environmental degradation. Recently, extensive work has been carried out on the use of EB for environmental remediation, which also includes the removal of emerging contaminants such as VOCs, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and potential EDCs.

The latent causal chain of industrial water pollution in China.

PubMed

Miao, Xin; Tang, Yanhong; Wong, Christina W Y; Zang, Hongyu

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discover the latent causal chain of industrial water pollution in China and find ways to cure the want on discharge of toxic waste from industries. It draws evidences from the past pollution incidents in China. Through further digging the back interests and relations by analyzing representative cases, extended theory about loophole derivations and causal chain effect is drawn. This theoretical breakthrough reflects deeper causality. Institutional defect instead of human error is confirmed as the deeper reason of frequent outbreaks of water pollution incidents in China. Ways for collaborative environmental governance are proposed. This paper contributes to a better understanding about the deep inducements of industrial water pollution in China, and, is meaningful for ensuring future prevention and mitigation of environmental pollution. It illuminates multiple dimensions for collaborative environmental governance to cure the stubborn problem.

CO2 emissions, natural gas and renewables, economic growth: Assessing the evidence from China.

PubMed

Dong, Kangyin; Sun, Renjin; Dong, Xiucheng

2018-05-31

This study aims to test the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in China by developing a new framework based on the suggestion of Narayan and Narayan (2010). The dynamic effect of natural gas and renewable energy consumption on CO 2 emissions is also analyzed. Considering the structural break observed in the sample, a series of econometric techniques allowing for structural breaks is utilized for the period 1965-2016. The empirical results confirm the existence of the EKC for CO 2 emissions in China. Furthermore, in both the long-run and the short-run, the beneficial effects of natural gas and renewables on CO 2 emission reduction are observable. In addition, the mitigation effect of natural gas on CO 2 emissions will be weakened over time, while renewables will become progressively more important. Finally, policy suggestions are highlighted not only for mitigating CO 2 emissions, but also for promoting growth in the natural gas and renewable energy industries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Linking genetic and environmental factors in amphibian disease risk

PubMed Central

Savage, Anna E; Becker, Carlos G; Zamudio, Kelly R

2015-01-01

A central question in evolutionary biology is how interactions between organisms and the environment shape genetic differentiation. The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused variable population declines in the lowland leopard frog (Lithobates yavapaiensis); thus, disease has potentially shaped, or been shaped by, host genetic diversity. Environmental factors can also influence both amphibian immunity and Bd virulence, confounding our ability to assess the genetic effects on disease dynamics. Here, we used genetics, pathogen dynamics, and environmental data to characterize L. yavapaiensis populations, estimate migration, and determine relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors in predicting Bd dynamics. We found that the two uninfected populations belonged to a single genetic deme, whereas each infected population was genetically unique. We detected an outlier locus that deviated from neutral expectations and was significantly correlated with mortality within populations. Across populations, only environmental variables predicted infection intensity, whereas environment and genetics predicted infection prevalence, and genetic diversity alone predicted mortality. At one locality with geothermally elevated water temperatures, migration estimates revealed source–sink dynamics that have likely prevented local adaptation. We conclude that integrating genetic and environmental variation among populations provides a better understanding of Bd spatial epidemiology, generating more effective conservation management strategies for mitigating amphibian declines. PMID:26136822

Studying the effect of CO2-induced acidification on sediment toxicity using acute amphipod toxicity test.

PubMed

Basallote, M Dolores; De Orte, Manoela R; DelValls, T Ángel; Riba, Inmaculada

2014-01-01

Carbon capture and storage is increasingly being considered one of the most efficient approaches to mitigate the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere associated with anthropogenic emissions. However, the environmental effects of potential CO2 leaks remain largely unknown. The amphipod Ampelisca brevicornis was exposed to environmental sediments collected in different areas of the Gulf of Cádiz and subjected to several pH treatments to study the effects of CO2-induced acidification on sediment toxicity. After 10 days of exposure, the results obtained indicated that high lethal effects were associated with the lowest pH treatments, except for the Ría of Huelva sediment test. The mobility of metals from sediment to the overlying seawater was correlated to a pH decrease. The data obtained revealed that CO2-related acidification would lead to lethal effects on amphipods as well as the mobility of metals, which could increase sediment toxicity.

Voluntary climate change mitigation actions of young adults: a classification of mitigators through latent class analysis.

PubMed

Korkala, Essi A E; Hugg, Timo T; Jaakkola, Jouni J K

2014-01-01

Encouraging individuals to take action is important for the overall success of climate change mitigation. Campaigns promoting climate change mitigation could address particular groups of the population on the basis of what kind of mitigation actions the group is already taking. To increase the knowledge of such groups performing similar mitigation actions we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in Finland. The study population comprised 1623 young adults who returned a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 64%). Our aims were to identify groups of people engaged in similar climate change mitigation actions and to study the gender differences in the grouping. We also determined if socio-demographic characteristics can predict group membership. We performed latent class analysis using 14 mitigation actions as manifest variables. Three classes were identified among men: the Inactive (26%), the Semi-active (63%) and the Active (11%) and two classes among women: the Semi-active (72%) and the Active (28%). The Active among both genders were likely to have mitigated climate change through several actions, such as recycling, using environmentally friendly products, preferring public transport, and conserving energy. The Semi-Active had most probably recycled and preferred public transport because of climate change. The Inactive, a class identified among men only, had very probably done nothing to mitigate climate change. Among males, being single or divorced predicted little involvement in climate change mitigation. Among females, those without tertiary degree and those with annual income €≥16801 were less involved in climate change mitigation. Our results illustrate to what extent young adults are engaged in climate change mitigation, which factors predict little involvement in mitigation and give insight to which segments of the public could be the audiences of targeted mitigation campaigns.

Voluntary Climate Change Mitigation Actions of Young Adults: A Classification of Mitigators through Latent Class Analysis

PubMed Central

Korkala, Essi A. E.; Hugg, Timo T.; Jaakkola, Jouni J. K.

2014-01-01

Encouraging individuals to take action is important for the overall success of climate change mitigation. Campaigns promoting climate change mitigation could address particular groups of the population on the basis of what kind of mitigation actions the group is already taking. To increase the knowledge of such groups performing similar mitigation actions we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in Finland. The study population comprised 1623 young adults who returned a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 64%). Our aims were to identify groups of people engaged in similar climate change mitigation actions and to study the gender differences in the grouping. We also determined if socio-demographic characteristics can predict group membership. We performed latent class analysis using 14 mitigation actions as manifest variables. Three classes were identified among men: the Inactive (26%), the Semi-active (63%) and the Active (11%) and two classes among women: the Semi-active (72%) and the Active (28%). The Active among both genders were likely to have mitigated climate change through several actions, such as recycling, using environmentally friendly products, preferring public transport, and conserving energy. The Semi-Active had most probably recycled and preferred public transport because of climate change. The Inactive, a class identified among men only, had very probably done nothing to mitigate climate change. Among males, being single or divorced predicted little involvement in climate change mitigation. Among females, those without tertiary degree and those with annual income €≥16801 were less involved in climate change mitigation. Our results illustrate to what extent young adults are engaged in climate change mitigation, which factors predict little involvement in mitigation and give insight to which segments of the public could be the audiences of targeted mitigation campaigns. PMID:25054549

Groundwater potential for water supply during droughts in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyun, Y.; Cha, E.; Moon, H. J.

2016-12-01

Droughts have been receiving much attention in Korea because severe droughts occurred in recent years, causing significant social, economic and environmental damages in some regions. Residents in agricultural area, most of all, were most damaged by droughts with lack of available water supplies to meet crop water demands. In order to mitigate drought damages, we present a strategy to keep from agricultural droughts by using groundwater to meet water supply as a potential water resource in agricultural areas. In this study, we analyze drought severity and the groundwater potential to mitigate social and environmental damages caused by droughts in Korea. We evaluate drought severity by analyzing spatial and temporal meteorological and hydrological data such as rainfall, water supply and demand. For drought severity, we use effective drought index along with the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized runoff index(SRI). Water deficit during the drought period is also quantified to consider social and environmental impact of droughts. Then we assess the feasibility of using groundwater as a potential source for groundwater impact mitigation. Results show that the agricultural areas are more vulnerable to droughts and use of groundwater as an emergency water resource is feasible in some regions. For a case study, we select Jeong-Sun area located in Kangwon providence having well-developed Karst aquifers and surrounded by mountains. For Jeong-Sun area, we quantify groundwater potential use, design the method of water supply by using groundwater, and assess its economic benefit. Results show that water supply system with groundwater abstraction can be a good strategy when droughts are severe for an emergency water supply in Jeong-Sun area, and groundwater can also be used not only for a dry season water supply resource, but for everyday water supply system. This case study results can further be applicable to some regions with no sufficient water infrastructure and high groundwater use potential. For concrete conclusions, rigorous study on performance evaluation of water supply using groundwater is further needed.

An Earthling to an Astronaut: Medical Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

Humans can travel safely into space in low Earth orbit (LEO) or to near-Earth objects if several medical, physiological, environmental, and human factors issues risks are mitigated. Research must be performed in order to set standards in these four areas, and current NASA standards are contained in the Space Flight Human System Standards volumes 1 and 2, and crew medical certification standards. These three sets of standards drive all of the clinical, biomedical research and environmental technology development for the NASA human space flight program. These standards also drive the identification of specific risks to crew health and safety, and we currently manage 65 human system risks within the human space flight program. Each risk has a specific program of research, technology development, and development of operational procedures to mitigate the risks. Some of the more important risks tat will be discussed in this talk include exposure to radiation, behavioral health due to confinement in a closed cabin, physiological changes such as loss of bone, muscle and exercise capability, reduction in immune system capability, environmental threats of maintaining an adequate atmosphere and water for drinking, avoidance of toxic or infectious material, protection of hearing, and human factors issues of equipment and task design. A nutritious and varied food supply must also be provided. All of these risks will be discussed and current strategies for mitigating these risks for long-duration human space flight. In mitigating these 65 human system risks, novel approaches to problem solving must be employed to find the most appropriate research and technology based applications. Some risk mitigations are developed internally to NASA while others are found through research grants, technology procurements, and more recently open innovation techniques to seek solutions from the global technical community. Examples and results will be presented from all of these approaches including the more recent use of prizes to stimulate innovation.

Approach for Assessing Direct Flood Damages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaňová, Lenka; Zeleňáková, Martina; Słyś, Daniel; Purcz, Pavol

2014-11-01

This article presents a methodological approach to flood direct tangible damage - damage to assets and direct intangible damage - environmental damage and loss of life assessment. The assessment of flood risk is an essential part of the risk management approach, which is the conceptual basis for the EU directive 2007/60/ES on the assessment and management of flood risk. The purpose of this directive is to establish a framework for the assessment and management of flood risk, aiming at the reduction of the adverse consequences for human health, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity associated with flood in the community. Overall, an accurate estimation of negative effects on assets, environment and people is important in order to be able to determine the economy, environmental and social flood risk level in a system and the effects of risk mitigation measures.

Utilizing vegetative environmental buffers to mitigate ammonia and particulate matter emissions from poultry houses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Vegetative Environmental Buffers (VEBs) are vegetation designed as a visual screen, which usually consist of trees, shrubs, grass and other potential plants. VEBs are placed around the poultry houses for the purpose of minimizing the air pollutant emissions. The expansion of the poultry industry due...

Guidance on the prevention and mitigation of environmental, health and safety impacts of electromagnetic fields and radiation for electric transit systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-02

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Office of Planning and Environment (TPE) tasked the Volpe Center to develop guidance for transit planners, in order to address persisting public health and safety concerns with prolonged EMF environmental expo...

76 FR 14424 - Office of the Assistant Secretary-Water and Science; Environmental Assessment for the Proposed...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-16

... of the existing water supply. DATES: Date and location for public scoping will be announced locally... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Assistant Secretary--Water and Science; Environmental... Central Utah Water Conservancy District, and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission...

44 CFR 10.4 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Policy. 10.4 Section 10.4... GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS General § 10.4 Policy. (a) FEMA shall act with care to assure that... mitigation and flood insurance, it does so in a manner consistent with national environmental policies. Care...

Environmental monitoring network for India

Treesearch

P.V. Sundareshwar; R. Murtugudde; G. Srinivasan; S. Singh; K.J. Ramesh; R. Ramesh; S.B. Verma; D. Agarwal; D. Baldocchi; C.K. Baru; K.K. Baruah; G.R. Chowdhury; V.K. Dadhwal; C.B.S. Dutt; J. Fuentes; Prabhat Gupta; W.W. Hardgrove; M. Howard; C.S. Jha; S. Lal; W.K. Michener; A.P. Mitra; J.T. Morris; R.R. Myneni; M. Naja; R. Nemani; R. Purvaja; S. Raha; S.K. Santhana Vanan; M. Sharma; A. Subramaniam; R. Sukumar; R.R. Twilley; P.R. Zimmerman

2007-01-01

Understanding the consequences of global environmental change and its mitigation will require an integrated global effort of comprehensive long-term data collection, synthesis, and action (1). The last decade has seen a dramatic global increase in the number of networked monitoring sites. For example, FLUXNET is a global collection of >300 micrometeorological...

Virtual Issue #1: Oil Spill Research in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

EPA Science Inventory

The Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology has been a venue for publishing oil spill research for over forty years. Rehwoldt et al. (1974) published the first oil spill focused paper in the Bulletin, reporting on the aquatic toxicity of two spill mitigating agents...

32 CFR 989.21 - Record of decision (ROD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.21 Record of decision (ROD). (a) The proponent and the EPF... all the major factors the agency weighed in making its decision, including essential considerations of... avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts and, if not, explain why not. [64 FR 38129, July 15...

32 CFR 989.21 - Record of decision (ROD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.21 Record of decision (ROD). (a) The proponent and the EPF... all the major factors the agency weighed in making its decision, including essential considerations of... avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts and, if not, explain why not. [64 FR 38129, July 15...

32 CFR 989.21 - Record of decision (ROD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.21 Record of decision (ROD). (a) The proponent and the EPF... all the major factors the agency weighed in making its decision, including essential considerations of... avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts and, if not, explain why not. [64 FR 38129, July 15...

Counting at low concentrations: the statistical challenges of verifying ballast water discharge standards

EPA Science Inventory

Discharge from the ballast tanks of ships is one of the primary vectors of nonindigenous species in marine environments. To mitigate this environmental and economic threat, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will regulate the concentration of livin...

Estimating Environmental Co-benefits of U.S. GHG Reduction Pathways Using the GCAM-USA Integrated Assessment Model

EPA Science Inventory

Previous studies have shown that mitigating climate change through curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can bring about substantial environmental co-benefits, such as for air quality and reductions in energy-related water demand. A variety of pathways are available for reducing...

7 CFR 650.4 - Definition of terms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... action. (40 CFR 1508.18) Mitigation. (40 CFR 1508.20) NEPA process. (40 CFR 1508.21) Scope. (40 CFR 1508... the environmental impacts of the proposed action and alternatives, and a list of agencies and persons... action is a major Federal action significantly affecting the human environment. The environmental...

Land-Use-Planning Writing Assignment for an Environmental-Geology Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, Robert James; Sadd, James Lester

1991-01-01

Describes writing environmental impact statement concerning land use as assignment in geology courses. Students select area, propose land-use project, analyze available literature, choose specific site within map area for project, and write report addressing site access, water supply, liquid and solid waste disposal, mitigation of environmental…

Lessons Learned from Arsenic Mitigation among Private Well Households.

PubMed

Zheng, Yan

2017-09-01

Many thousands of research papers have been published on the occurrence, health effects, and mitigation of arsenic in drinking water sourced from groundwater around the world. Here, an attempt is made to summarize this large body of knowledge into a small number of lessons. This is an opinion paper reflecting on why we are far from the goal of eliminating this silent and widespread poison to protect the health of many millions. The lessons are drawn from research in countries representing a range of economic development and cultural contexts. The replacement of household wells with centralized water supplies has reduced population level exposure to moderate (50-100 μg/L) and high (>100 μg/L) levels of arsenic in drinking water in some countries as they become wealthier. However, there remains a very large rural population in all countries where the exposure to low levels (10-50 μg/L) of arsenic continues due to its dispersed occurrence in the environment and frequent reliance on private well. A set of natural (geological and biological), socioeconomic, and behavioral barriers to progress are summarized as lessons. They range from challenges in identifying the exposed households due to spatially heterogeneous arsenic distribution in groundwater, difficulties in quantifying the exposure let alone reducing the exposure, failures in maintaining compliance to arsenic drinking water standards, to misplaced risk perceptions and environmental justice issues. Environmental health professionals have an ethical obligation to help As mitigation among private well water households, along with physicians, hydrogeologists, water treatment specialists, community organizations, and government.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND CASE STUDIES: Addressing the Public Outreach Responsibilities of the National Historic Preservation Act: Argonne National Laboratory’s Box Digital Display Platform

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

O’Rourke, Daniel J.; Weber, Cory C.; Richmond, Pamela D.

Federal agencies are made responsible for managing the historic properties under their jurisdiction by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. A component of this responsibility is to mitigate the effect of a federal undertaking on historic properties through mitigation often through documentation. Providing public access to this documentation has always been a challenge. To address the issue of public access to mitigation information, personnel from Argonne National Laboratory created the Box Digital Display Platform, a system for communicating information about historic properties to the public. The platform, developed for the US Army Dugway Proving Ground, uses shortmore » introductory videos to present a topic but can also incorporate photos, drawings, GIS information, and documents. The system operates from a small, self-contained computer that can be attached to any digital monitor via an HDMI cable. The system relies on web-based software that allows the information to be republished as a touch-screen device application or as a website. The system does not connect to the Internet, and this increases security and eliminates the software maintenance fees associated with websites. The platform is designed to incorporate the products of past documentation to make this information more accessible to the public; specifically those documentations developed using the Historic American Building Survey/ Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) standards. Argonne National Laboratory’s Box Digital Display Platform can assist federal agencies in complying with the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act. Environmental Practice 18: 209–213 (2016)« less

A Possible Paradigm for the Mitigation of the Adverse Impacts of Natural Hazards in the Developing Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aswathanarayana, U.

2001-05-01

The proneness of a country or region to a given natural hazard depends upon its geographical location, physiography, geological and structural setting, landuse/landcover situation, and biophysical and socioeconomic environments (e.g. cyclones and floods in Bangladesh, earthquakes in Turkey, drought in Sub-Saharan Africa). While the natural hazards themselves cannot be prevented, it is possible to mitigate their adverse effects, by a knowledge-based, environmentally-sustainable approach, involving the stakeholder communities: (i) by being prepared: on the basis of the understanding of the land conditions which are prone to a given hazard and the processes which could culminate in damage to life and property (e.g. planting of dense-rooted vegetation belts to protect against landslides in the earthquake-prone areas), (ii) by avoiding improper anthropogenic activities that may exacerbate a hazard (e.g. deforestation accentuating the floods and droughts), and (iii) by putting a hazard to a beneficial use, where possible (groundwater recharging of flood waters), etc. Mitigation strategies need to be custom-made for each country/region by integrating the biophysical and socioeconomic components. The proposed paradigm is illustrated in respect of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs), which is based on the adoption of three approaches: (i) Typology approach, involving the interpretation of remotely sensed data, to predict (say) temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation, (ii) "black box" approach, whereby the potential environmental consequences of an EWE are projected on the basis of previously known case histories, and (iii) Information Technology approach, to translate advanced technical information in the form of "virtual" do-it-yourself steps understandable to lay public.

Evaluation of the wind pumped hydropower storage integrated flood mitigation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safi, Aishah; Basrawi, Firdaus

2018-04-01

As Wind Pumped Hydropower Storage (WPHS) need high cost to construct, it is important to study their impacts on economic and environmental aspects. Thus, this research aims to evaluate their economic and environmental performances. First, Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) was used to simulate power generation system with and without the flood reservoir. Next, the total amount of emitted air pollutant was used to evaluate the environmental impacts. It was found the wind-diesel with reservoir storage system (A-III) will have much lower NPC than other systems that do not include reservoir for flood mitigation when the cost of flood losses are included in the total Net Present Cost (NPC). The NPC for system A-III was RM 1.52 million and for diesel standalone system (A-I) is RM 10.8 million when the cost of flood losses are included in the total NPC. Between both energy systems, the amount of pollutants emitted by the A-III system was only 408 kg-CO2/year which is much less than the A-I system which is 99, 754 kg of carbon dioxide per year. To conclude, the WPHS integrated with flood mitigation system seems promising in the aspects of economic and environment.

Recoupling Industrial Dairy Feedlots and Industrial Farmlands Mitigates the Environmental Impacts of Milk Production in China.

PubMed

Fan, Xing; Chang, Jie; Ren, Yuan; Wu, Xu; Du, Yuanyuan; Xu, Ronghua; Liu, Dong; Chang, Scott X; Meyerson, Laura A; Peng, Changhui; Ge, Ying

2018-04-03

Dairy production is becoming more industrialized globally, especially in developing countries. The large amount of animal wastes from industrial feedlots cannot be fully used on nearby farmlands, leading to severe environmental problems. Using China as a case study, we found that most dairy feedlots employ a semicoupled mode that only recycles solid manure to farmlands, and only a few dairy feedlots employ a fully coupled mode that recycles both solid and liquid animal manure. To produce 1 ton of milk, the fully coupled mode could reduce greenhouse gas (including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in this paper) emissions by 24%, ammonia emissions by 14%, and N discharge into water by 29%, compared with the semicoupled systems. Coupling feedlots with constructed wetlands can further result in greater mitigation of N leaching into groundwater. However, the fully coupled system has not been widely used due to the low benefit to farmers and the institutional barrier that the feedlot owners have no right to use adjacent farmlands. Since a fully coupled system improves net ecosystem services that favor the public, a policy that supports removing the economic and institutional barriers is necessary. Our approach provides a template for mitigating environmental impacts from livestock production without sacrificing milk production.

Proceedings, AMA Congress on Environmental Health Problems, Impact of Environment on Accidental Injuries and Fatalities (3rd, Chicago, Illinois, April 4-5, 1966).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Medical Association, Chicago, IL.

Included are 21 papers presented at the third AMA Congress on Environmental Health Problems. The problem of accidents is considered by several panels: Panel 1, The Environmental Health Problem; Panel 2, The Medical Problem; Panel 3, Prevention and Mitigation; and Panel 4, Accident Research. Panel 1 reviews the nature of accidents, accident…

Extreme weather-year sequences have nonadditive effects on environmental nitrogen losses.

PubMed

Iqbal, Javed; Necpalova, Magdalena; Archontoulis, Sotirios V; Anex, Robert P; Bourguignon, Marie; Herzmann, Daryl; Mitchell, David C; Sawyer, John E; Zhu, Qing; Castellano, Michael J

2018-01-01

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather years, characterized by abnormal precipitation and temperature, are increasing. In isolation, these years have disproportionately large effects on environmental N losses. However, the sequence of extreme weather years (e.g., wet-dry vs. dry-wet) may affect cumulative N losses. We calibrated and validated the DAYCENT ecosystem process model with a comprehensive set of biogeophysical measurements from a corn-soybean rotation managed at three N fertilizer inputs with and without a winter cover crop in Iowa, USA. Our objectives were to determine: (i) how 2-year sequences of extreme weather affect 2-year cumulative N losses across the crop rotation, and (ii) if N fertilizer management and the inclusion of a winter cover crop between corn and soybean mitigate the effect of extreme weather on N losses. Using historical weather (1951-2013), we created nine 2-year scenarios with all possible combinations of the driest ("dry"), wettest ("wet"), and average ("normal") weather years. We analyzed the effects of these scenarios following several consecutive years of relatively normal weather. Compared with the normal-normal 2-year weather scenario, 2-year extreme weather scenarios affected 2-year cumulative NO 3 - leaching (range: -93 to +290%) more than N 2 O emissions (range: -49 to +18%). The 2-year weather scenarios had nonadditive effects on N losses: compared with the normal-normal scenario, the dry-wet sequence decreased 2-year cumulative N 2 O emissions while the wet-dry sequence increased 2-year cumulative N 2 O emissions. Although dry weather decreased NO 3 - leaching and N 2 O emissions in isolation, 2-year cumulative N losses from the wet-dry scenario were greater than the dry-wet scenario. Cover crops reduced the effects of extreme weather on NO 3 - leaching but had a lesser effect on N 2 O emissions. As the frequency of extreme weather is expected to increase, these data suggest that the sequence of interannual weather patterns can be used to develop short-term mitigation strategies that manipulate N fertilizer and crop rotation to maximize crop N uptake while reducing environmental N losses. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Environmental assessment overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valentino, A. R.

1980-01-01

The assessment program has as its objectives: to identify the environmental issues associated with the SPS Reference System; to prepare a preliminary assessment based on existing data; to suggest mitigating strategies and provide environmental data and guidance to other components of the program as required; and to plan long-range research to reduce the uncertainty in the preliminary assessment. The key environmental issues associated with the satellite power system are discussed and include human health and safety, ecosystems, climate, and interaction with electromagnetic systems.

Mitigation for one & all: An integrated framework for mitigation of development impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

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

Tallis, Heather, E-mail: htallis@tnc.org; Kennedy, Christina M., E-mail: ckennedy@tnc.org; Ruckelshaus, Mary

Emerging development policies and lending standards call for consideration of ecosystem services when mitigating impacts from development, yet little guidance exists to inform this process. Here we propose a comprehensive framework for advancing both biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. We have clarified a means for choosing representative ecosystem service targets alongside biodiversity targets, identified servicesheds as a useful spatial unit for assessing ecosystem service avoidance, impact, and offset options, and discuss methods for consistent calculation of biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation ratios. We emphasize the need to move away from area- and habitat-based assessment methods for both biodiversity and ecosystemmore » services towards functional assessments at landscape or seascape scales. Such comprehensive assessments more accurately reflect cumulative impacts and variation in environmental quality, social needs and value preferences. The integrated framework builds on the experience of biodiversity mitigation while addressing the unique opportunities and challenges presented by ecosystem service mitigation. These advances contribute to growing potential for economic development planning and execution that will minimize impacts on nature and maximize human wellbeing. - Highlights: • This is the first framework for biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. • Functional, landscape scale assessments are ideal for avoidance and offsets. • Servicesheds define the appropriate spatial extent for ecosystem service mitigation. • Mitigation ratios should be calculated consistently and based on standard factors. • Our framework meets the needs of integrated mitigation assessment requirements.« less

Wetland Mitigation Monitoring at the Fernald Preserve - 13200

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

Powell, Jane; Bien, Stephanie; Decker, Ashlee

The U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for 7.2 hectares (17.8 acres) of mitigation wetland at the Fernald Preserve, Ohio. Remedial activities affected the wetlands, and mitigation plans were incorporated into site-wide ecological restoration planning. In 2008, the Fernald Natural Resource Trustees developed a comprehensive wetland mitigation monitoring approach to evaluate whether compensatory mitigation requirements have been met. The Fernald Preserve Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Plan provided a guideline for wetland evaluations. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) wetland mitigation monitoring protocols were adopted as the means for compensatory wetland evaluation. Design, hydrologic regime, vegetation, wildlife, and biogeochemistry were evaluatedmore » from 2009 to 2011. Evaluations showed mixed results when compared to the Ohio EPA performance standards. Results of vegetation monitoring varied, with the best results occurring in wetlands adjacent to forested areas. Amphibians, particularly ambystomatid salamanders, were observed in two areas adjacent to forested areas. Not all wetlands met vegetation performance standards and amphibian biodiversity metrics. However, Fernald mitigation wetlands showed substantially higher ratings compared to other mitigated wetlands in Ohio. Also, soil sampling results remain consistent with other Ohio mitigated wetlands. The performance standards are not intended to be 'pass/fail' criteria; rather, they are reference points for use in making decisions regarding future monitoring and maintenance. The Trustees approved the Fernald Preserve Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Report with the provision that long-term monitoring of the wetlands continues at the Fernald Preserve. (authors)« less

Mitigating greenhouse gases: the importance of land base interactions between forests, agriculture, and residential development in the face of changes in bioenergy and carbon prices

Treesearch

Ralph Alig; Greg Latta; Darius Adams; Bruce McCarl

2009-01-01

The forest sector can contribute to atmospheric greenhouse gas reduction, while also providing other environmental, economic, and social benefits. Policy tools for climate change mitigation include carbon-related payment programs as well as laws and programs to impede the loss of agricultural and forest lands to development. Policy makers will base their expectations...

A Topical Mitochondria-Targeted Redox Cycling Nitroxide Mitigates Oxidative Stress Induced Skin Damage

PubMed Central

Brand, Rhonda M.; Epperly, Michael W.; Stottlemyer, J. Mark; Skoda, Erin M.; Gao, Xiang; Li, Song; Huq, Saiful; Wipf, Peter; Kagan, Valerian E.; Greenberger, Joel S.; Falo, Louis D.

2017-01-01

Skin is the largest human organ and provides a first line of defense that includes physical, chemical, and immune mechanisms to combat environmental stress. Radiation is a prevalent environmental stressor. Radiation induced skin damage ranges from photoaging and cutaneous carcinogenesis from UV exposure, to treatment-limiting radiation dermatitis associated with radiotherapy, to cutaneous radiation syndrome, a frequently fatal consequence of exposures from nuclear accidents. The major mechanism of skin injury common to these exposures is radiation induced oxidative stress. Efforts to prevent or mitigate radiation damage have included development of antioxidants capable of reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS). Mitochondria are particularly susceptible to oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dependent apoptosis plays a major role in radiation induced tissue damage. We reasoned that targeting a redox cycling nitroxide to mitochondria could prevent ROS accumulation, limiting downstream oxidative damage and preserving mitochondrial function. Here we show that in both mouse and human skin, topical application of a mitochondrial targeted antioxidant prevents and mitigates radiation induced skin damage characterized by clinical dermatitis, loss of barrier function, inflammation, and fibrosis. Further, damage mitigation is associated with reduced apoptosis, preservation of the skin’s antioxidant capacity, and reduction of irreversible DNA and protein oxidation associated with oxidative stress. PMID:27794421

Sources, behaviour, and environmental and human health risks of high-technology rare earth elements as emerging contaminants.

PubMed

Gwenzi, Willis; Mangori, Lynda; Danha, Concilia; Chaukura, Nhamo; Dunjana, Nothando; Sanganyado, Edmond

2018-04-26

Recent studies show that high-technology rare earth elements (REEs) of anthropogenic origin occur in the environment including in aquatic systems, suggesting REEs are contaminants of emerging concern. However, compared to organic contaminants, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews on the anthropogenic sources, environmental behaviour, and public and ecological health risks of REEs. The current review aims to: (1) identify anthropogenic sources, transfer mechanisms, and environmental behaviour of REEs; (2) highlight the human and ecological health risks of REEs and propose mitigation measures; and (3) identify knowledge gaps and future research directions. Out of the 17 REEs, La, Gd, Ce and Eu are the most studied. The main sources of anthropogenic REE include; medical facilities, petroleum refining, mining and technology industries, fertilizers, livestock feeds, and electronic wastes and recycling plants. REEs are mobilized and transported in the environment by hydrological and wind-driven processes. Ecotoxicological effects include reduced plant growth, function and nutritional quality, genotoxicity and neurotoxicity in animals, trophic bioaccumulation, chronic and acute toxicities in soil organisms. Human exposure to REEs occurs via ingestion of contaminated water and food, inhalation, and direct intake during medical administration. REEs have been detected in human hair, nails, and biofluids. In humans, REEs cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and severe damage to nephrological systems associated with Gd-based contrast agents, dysfunctional neurological disorder, fibrotic tissue injury, oxidative stress, pneumoconiosis, cytotoxicity, anti-testicular effects, and male sterility. Barring REEs in medical devices, epidemiological evidence directly linking REEs in the environment to human health conditions remains weak. To minimize health risks, a conceptual framework and possible mitigation measures are highlighted. Future research is needed to better understand sources, environmental behaviour, ecotoxicology, and human epidemiology. Moreover, research on REEs in developing regions, including Africa, is needed given prevailing conditions predisposing humans to health risks (e.g., untreated drinking water). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.