14 CFR 415.203 - Environmental information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... parameters of any existing environmental impact statement that applies to that site; (d) A proposed payload that may have significant environmental impacts in the event of a mishap; and (e) Other factors as...

14 CFR 415.203 - Environmental information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... parameters of any existing environmental impact statement that applies to that site; (d) A proposed payload that may have significant environmental impacts in the event of a mishap; and (e) Other factors as...

14 CFR 415.203 - Environmental information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... parameters of any existing environmental impact statement that applies to that site; (d) A proposed payload that may have significant environmental impacts in the event of a mishap; and (e) Other factors as...

14 CFR 415.203 - Environmental information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... parameters of any existing environmental impact statement that applies to that site; (d) A proposed payload that may have significant environmental impacts in the event of a mishap; and (e) Other factors as...

Modeling the Environmental Impact of Air Traffic Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Neil

2011-01-01

There is increased interest to understand and mitigate the impacts of air traffic on the climate, since greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, and contrails generated by air traffic can have adverse impacts on the climate. The models described in this presentation are useful for quantifying these impacts and for studying alternative environmentally aware operational concepts. These models have been developed by leveraging and building upon existing simulation and optimization techniques developed for the design of efficient traffic flow management strategies. Specific enhancements to the existing simulation and optimization techniques include new models that simulate aircraft fuel flow, emissions and contrails. To ensure that these new models are beneficial to the larger climate research community, the outputs of these new models are compatible with existing global climate modeling tools like the FAA's Aviation Environmental Design Tool.

Data Call Response for NEPA Supplement Analysis of CMRR

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

Booth, Steven Richard

The Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) is proposing to provide analytical chemistry (AC) and materials characterization (MC) capabilities at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) by using a combination of existing space in two existing buildings: the Radiological Laboratory/Utility/Office Building (RLUOB) and the Plutonium Facility, Building 4 (PF-4) in TA-55. This represents a change from decisions made by DOE as informed by previous National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses. In accordance with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and DOE requirements, NNSA is preparing a Supplement Analysis (SA) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action. Themore » focus of this analysis is on determining whether the proposal to provide AC and MC laboratory capabilities in existing space in RLUOB and PF-4 rather than building a new nuclear facility (NF) is a substantial change that is relevant to environmental concerns or whether new circumstance or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts are significant. The end result of the analysis is a determination whether the existing Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building Replacement Environmental Impact Statement (CMRR EIS) should be supplemented, a new EIS should be prepared, or no further NEPA analysis is necessary. This report provides data for incorporation into the Supplement Analysis being written by Leidos, Inc. under contract to NNSA. Responding to the data call requires several areas of expertise. Los Alamos subject matter experts estimate equipments lists, facility modifications, waste quantities, labor needs and radiological doses. Los Alamos NEPA experts assist Leidos in compiling existing data from the LANL Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) and CMRR EIS for public and other impacts. Bounding conditions are used to determine NEPA estimates.« less

43 CFR 46.120 - Using existing environmental analyses prepared pursuant to NEPA and the Council on Environmental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Using existing environmental analyses... Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL... available, the Responsible Official should use existing NEPA analyses for assessing the impacts of a...

New Internet search volume-based weighting method for integrating various environmental impacts

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

Ji, Changyoon, E-mail: changyoon@yonsei.ac.kr; Hong, Taehoon, E-mail: hong7@yonsei.ac.kr

Weighting is one of the steps in life cycle impact assessment that integrates various characterized environmental impacts as a single index. Weighting factors should be based on the society's preferences. However, most previous studies consider only the opinion of some people. Thus, this research proposes a new weighting method that determines the weighting factors of environmental impact categories by considering public opinion on environmental impacts using the Internet search volumes for relevant terms. To validate the new weighting method, the weighting factors for six environmental impacts calculated by the new weighting method were compared with the existing weighting factors. Themore » resulting Pearson's correlation coefficient between the new and existing weighting factors was from 0.8743 to 0.9889. It turned out that the new weighting method presents reasonable weighting factors. It also requires less time and lower cost compared to existing methods and likewise meets the main requirements of weighting methods such as simplicity, transparency, and reproducibility. The new weighting method is expected to be a good alternative for determining the weighting factor. - Highlight: • A new weighting method using Internet search volume is proposed in this research. • The new weighting method reflects the public opinion using Internet search volume. • The correlation coefficient between new and existing weighting factors is over 0.87. • The new weighting method can present the reasonable weighting factors. • The proposed method can be a good alternative for determining the weighting factors.« less

75 FR 44008 - Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Boardman...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-27

... Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Boardman to Hemingway 500 Kilovolt Transmission..., intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Project... for construction by IPC between the existing Hemingway substation, located near Melba in Owyhee County...

Comparative assessment of the environmental sustainability of existing and emerging perchlorate treatment technologies for drinking water.

PubMed

Choe, Jong Kwon; Mehnert, Michelle H; Guest, Jeremy S; Strathmann, Timothy J; Werth, Charles J

2013-05-07

Environmental impacts of conventional and emerging perchlorate drinking water treatment technologies were assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA). Comparison of two ion exchange (IX) technologies (i.e., nonselective IX with periodic regeneration using brines and perchlorate-selective IX without regeneration) at an existing plant shows that brine is the dominant contributor for nonselective IX, which shows higher impact than perchlorate-selective IX. Resource consumption during the operational phase comprises >80% of the total impacts. Having identified consumables as the driving force behind environmental impacts, the relative environmental sustainability of IX, biological treatment, and catalytic reduction technologies are compared more generally using consumable inputs. The analysis indicates that the environmental impacts of heterotrophic biological treatment are 2-5 times more sensitive to influent conditions (i.e., nitrate/oxygen concentration) and are 3-14 times higher compared to IX. However, autotrophic biological treatment is most environmentally beneficial among all. Catalytic treatment using carbon-supported Re-Pd has a higher (ca. 4600 times) impact than others, but is within 0.9-30 times the impact of IX with a newly developed ligand-complexed Re-Pd catalyst formulation. This suggests catalytic reduction can be competitive with increased activity. Our assessment shows that while IX is an environmentally competitive, emerging technologies also show great promise from an environmental sustainability perspective.

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

PubMed

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

2014-04-01

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

Ports Primer: 8.2 Citizen Science Projects

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Communities can demonstrate environmental concerns by providing scientific evidence of environmental impact. Communities may be able to access existing local data and conduct their own analyses or communities may turn to existing studies.

75 FR 73935 - Miscellaneous Administrative Changes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-30

... on October 18, 2004 In a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by the Nuclear Energy Institute on... entity regulated by the NRC. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion The NRC has determined that this... modify existing regulations. Therefore, neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental...

The environmental balance of the Alta Val d'Agri: a contribution to the evaluation of the industrial risk and strategic sustainable development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loperte, S.; Cosmi, C.

2015-09-01

This study presents the preliminary environmental balance of the Alta Val d'Agri (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy), an area of great naturalistic interest characterized by the presence of huge oil and gas fields. The Driving Forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Responses (DPSIR) methodology was used to outline the background in terms of environmental impacts mainly caused by oil extraction activities, as well as potential existing responses. The study aims at providing stakeholders with an exhaustive framework to identify the existing data, the main sources of pollution, their potential impacts, the associated industrial risks and the existing policy strategies. Moreover, the DPSIR approach allows the identification of the vulnerable areas and the definition of targeted actions for a sustainable development of the area.

Ports Primer: 8.1 Using Scientific Data and Research

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Communities can demonstrate environmental concerns by providing scientific evidence of environmental impact. Communities may be able to access existing local data and conduct their own analyses or communities may turn to existing studies.

A protocol for lifetime energy and environmental impact assessment of building insulation materials

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

Shrestha, Som S., E-mail: shresthass@ornl.gov; Biswas, Kaushik; Desjarlais, Andre O.

This article describes a proposed protocol that is intended to provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in evaluating the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building insulation materials, as well as detailed descriptions of standardized calculation methodologies to determine those impacts. The energy and environmental impacts of insulation materials can generally be divided into two categories: (1) direct impact due to the embodied energy of the insulation materials and other factors and (2) indirect or environmental impacts avoided as a result of reduced building energy use due to addition of insulation. Standards and product category rules exist,more » which provide guidelines about the life cycle assessment (LCA) of materials, including building insulation products. However, critical reviews have suggested that these standards fail to provide complete guidance to LCA studies and suffer from ambiguities regarding the determination of the environmental impacts of building insulation and other products. The focus of the assessment protocol described here is to identify all factors that contribute to the total energy and environmental impacts of different building insulation products and, more importantly, provide standardized determination methods that will allow comparison of different insulation material types. Further, the intent is not to replace current LCA standards but to provide a well-defined, easy-to-use comparison method for insulation materials using existing LCA guidelines. - Highlights: • We proposed a protocol to evaluate the environmental impacts of insulation materials. • The protocol considers all life cycle stages of an insulation material. • Both the direct environmental impacts and the indirect impacts are defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided operational energy’ is defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided environmental impact’ is defined.« less

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.

Environmental assessment: geothermal energy geopressure subprogram. DOE Sweet Lake No. 1, Cameron Parish, Louisiana

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

Not Available

1980-02-01

The following are described: the proposed action; existing environment; probable impacts, direct and indirect; probable cumulative and long-term environmental impacts; accidents; coordination with federal, state, and local agencies; and alternatives. (MHR)

Modeling for waste management associated with environmental-impact abatement under uncertainty.

PubMed

Li, P; Li, Y P; Huang, G H; Zhang, J L

2015-04-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment can generate significant amounts of pollutants, and thus pose a risk on human health. Besides, in MSW management, various uncertainties exist in the related costs, impact factors, and objectives, which can affect the optimization processes and the decision schemes generated. In this study, a life cycle assessment-based interval-parameter programming (LCA-IPP) method is developed for MSW management associated with environmental-impact abatement under uncertainty. The LCA-IPP can effectively examine the environmental consequences based on a number of environmental impact categories (i.e., greenhouse gas equivalent, acid gas emissions, and respiratory inorganics), through analyzing each life cycle stage and/or major contributing process related to various MSW management activities. It can also tackle uncertainties existed in the related costs, impact factors, and objectives and expressed as interval numbers. Then, the LCA-IPP method is applied to MSW management for the City of Beijing, the capital of China, where energy consumptions and six environmental parameters [i.e., CO2, CO, CH4, NOX, SO2, inhalable particle (PM10)] are used as systematic tool to quantify environmental releases in entire life cycle stage of waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of. Results associated with system cost, environmental impact, and the related policy implication are generated and analyzed. Results can help identify desired alternatives for managing MSW flows, which has advantages in providing compromised schemes under an integrated consideration of economic efficiency and environmental impact under uncertainty.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

2-13 3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS METHODS ................................ 3-1 3.1 Methods for Assessing Nationwide Impacts...3-2 3.1.1 Methods for Assessing National Economic Impacts ........... 3-2 3.1.2 Methods for Assessing Railroad Network...3.2.4 Methods for Assessing Existing and Future Baseline Conditions .......................................... 3-6 3.2.5 Methods for Assessing

The Economic Impact on the Construction Industry of Additional Demands Caused by New Environmental Protection Standards (1972)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

New facilities and additions to existing facilities will be required to meet the EPA's new (early 1970s) environmental quality standards. The report examines extent of these additional demands for construction and their economic impacts.

Environmental Assessment Facility Renovation / New Construction and Operation of Marine Corps Units (MAG-42, HMLA-773 and MALS-42) Relocated from Naval Air Station Atlanta to Robins Air Force Base

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-16

activities within the area do not significantly adversely or significantly positively impact storm water quality . The Proposed Construction Area does...adversely impact storm water quality . Existing buildings receive limited runoff from the adjacent area to the west; however, no indications of adverse... water quality . Existing buildings receive limited runoff from the adjacent area to the north and west; however, no indications of adverse environmental

75 FR 8988 - Final Environmental Impact Statement; Yosemite Institute Environmental Education Campus; Yosemite...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-26

... environmental education program, location, or conditions at the Crane Flat campus. Necessary maintenance and... wilderness status. The existing roadbed (historic route of Glacier Point Road) would be converted to a...

Schools That Sustain: Lessening the Environmental Impact of New Construction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peele, Katherine N.; Malone, Sara

2002-01-01

Discusses sustainable school design and its benefits to the environment, offering examples of illustrative schools. Provides suggestions on site selection (such as using smaller sites and recycling existing buildings), sharing facilities with the community, and construction elements that improve environmental impact (such as flexibility,…

Health and environmental impacts of increased generation of coal ash and FGD sludges. Report to the Committee on Health and Ecological Effects of Increased Coal Utilization.

PubMed Central

Santhanam, C J; Lunt, R R; Johnson, S L; Cooper, C B; Thayer, P S; Jones, J W

1979-01-01

This paper focuses on the incremental impacts of coal ash and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastes associated with increased coal usage by utilities and industry under the National Energy Plan (NEP). In the paper, 1985 and 2000 are the assessment points using the baseline data taken from the Annual Environmental Analysis Report (AEAR, September 1977). In each EPA region, the potential mix of disposal options has been broadly estimated and impacts assessed therefrom. In addition, future use of advanced combustion techniques has been taken into account. The quantities of coal ash and FGD wastes depend on ash and sulfur content of the coal, emission regulations, the types of ash collection and FGD systems, and operating conditions of the systems and boiler. The disposal of these wastes is (or will be) subject to Federal and State regulations. The one key legal framework concerning environmental impact on land is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA and related Federal and State laws provide a sufficient statutory basis for preventing significant adverse health and environmental impacts from coal ash and FGD waste disposal. However, much of the development and implementation of specific regulations lie ahead. FGD wastes and coal ash and FGD wastes are currently disposed of exclusively on land. The most common land disposal methods are inpoundments (ponds) and landfills, although some mine disposal is also practiced. The potential environmental impacts of this disposal are dependent on the characteristics of the disposal site, characteristics of the coal ash and FGD wastes, control method and the degree of control employed. In general, the major potential impacts are ground and surface water contamination and the "degradation" of large quantities of land. However, assuming land is available for disposal of these wastes, control technology exists for environmentally sound disposal. Because of existing increases in coal use, the possibility of significant environmental impacts, both regionally and nationally, exists regardless of whether the NEP scenario develops or not. Existing baseline data indicate that with sound control technology and successful development and implementation of existing regulatory framework, regional scale impacts are likely to be small; however, site-specific impacts could be significant and need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Both Federal and privately-funded programs are developing additional data and information on disposal of FGD sludges and coal ash. Continuation of these programs will provide additional vital information in the future. However, further information in several areas if desirable: further data on levels of radionuclides and trace metals in these wastes: studies on biological impacts of trace metals; and completion of current and planned studies on disposal problems associated with advanced combustion techniques like fluid bed combustion. PMID:540614

A numerical calculation method of environmental impacts for the deep sea mining industry - a review.

PubMed

Ma, Wenbin; van Rhee, Cees; Schott, Dingena

2018-03-01

Since the gradual decrease of mineral resources on-land, deep sea mining (DSM) is becoming an urgent and important emerging activity in the world. However, until now there has been no commercial scale DSM project in progress. Together with the reasons of technological feasibility and economic profitability, the environmental impact is one of the major parameters hindering its industrialization. Most of the DSM environmental impact research focuses on only one particular aspect ignoring that all the DSM environmental impacts are related to each other. The objective of this work is to propose a framework for the numerical calculation methods of the integrated DSM environmental impacts through a literature review. This paper covers three parts: (i) definition and importance description of different DSM environmental impacts; (ii) description of the existing numerical calculation methods for different environmental impacts; (iii) selection of a numerical calculation method based on the selected criteria. The research conducted in this paper provides a clear numerical calculation framework for DSM environmental impact and could be helpful to speed up the industrialization process of the DSM industry.

77 FR 38779 - Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Mather Specific...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-29

... Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Mather Specific Plan Project, Sacramento County, CA, Corps...-acre Mather Specific Plan area, Sacramento County, California (note that approximately 2,554 acres of the Plan area contains existing development, primarily Mather Airport, a Commerce Center, a...

75 FR 32919 - Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Northwest Aggregates' Previously...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-10

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Northwest Aggregates' Previously Authorized Replacement of an Existing Barge... alternatives, and the depth to which the various alternatives will be evaluated in the EIS. The Corps has...

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)

Integrating human health into environmental impact assessment: an unrealized opportunity for environmental health and justice.

PubMed

Bhatia, Rajiv; Wernham, Aaron

2008-08-01

The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice.

Integrating Human Health into Environmental Impact Assessment: An Unrealized Opportunity for Environmental Health and Justice

PubMed Central

Bhatia, Rajiv; Wernham, Aaron

2008-01-01

Objectives The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. Data sources We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. Data synthesis We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. Conclusions The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice. PMID:18709140

75 FR 57051 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Sunset Area Community...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-17

... community, a Renton Housing Authority property of approximately 100 existing units in 50-year old, two story... quality, including greenhouse gas emissions; earth; energy; environmental health; environmental justice...

Biodiversity in environmental assessment-current practice and tools for prediction

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

Gontier, Mikael; Balfors, Berit; Moertberg, Ulla

Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to biodiversity. Environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment are essential instruments used in physical planning to address such problems. Yet there are no well-developed methods for quantifying and predicting impacts of fragmentation on biodiversity. In this study, a literature review was conducted on GIS-based ecological models that have potential as prediction tools for biodiversity assessment. Further, a review of environmental impact statements for road and railway projects from four European countries was performed, to study how impact prediction concerning biodiversity issues was addressed. The results of the study showed the existing gapmore » between research in GIS-based ecological modelling and current practice in biodiversity assessment within environmental assessment.« less

Risk analysis within environmental impact assessment of proposed construction activity

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

Zeleňáková, Martina; Zvijáková, Lenka

Environmental impact assessment is an important process, prior to approval of the investment plan, providing a detailed examination of the likely and foreseeable impacts of proposed construction activity on the environment. The objective of this paper is to develop a specific methodology for the analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts of selected constructions – flood protection structures using risk analysis methods. The application of methodology designed for the process of environmental impact assessment will develop assumptions for further improvements or more effective implementation and performance of this process. The main objective of the paper is to improve the implementation ofmore » the environmental impact assessment process. Through the use of risk analysis methods in environmental impact assessment process, the set objective has been achieved. - Highlights: This paper is informed by an effort to develop research with the aim of: • Improving existing qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the impacts • A better understanding of relations between probabilities and consequences • Methodology for the EIA of flood protection constructions based on risk analysis • Creative approaches in the search for environmentally friendly proposed activities.« less

Ground-Truthing Validation to Assess the Effect of Facility Locational Error on Cumulative Impacts Screening Tools

EPA Science Inventory

Over the past three decades, a number of researchers in the fields of environmental justice (EJ) and environmental public health have highlighted the existence of regional and local scale differences in exposure to air pollution, as well as calculated health risk and impacts of a...

The Impact of Childhood Reading on the Development of Environmental Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freestone, Margaret; O'Toole, John Mitchell

2016-01-01

Direct experiences of nature are becoming less common in our urbanised world and little research exists regarding the impact of less direct experiences, particularly how childhood reading relates to the development of pro-environmental values. This study differs from previous reports into the influence of books, as it concentrates on the potential…

78 FR 12347 - Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

... Historic trails. The four alternatives were: Alternative A: Continues existing management practices (no... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLWYR05000 L16100000.DQ0000 LXSS04 K0000] Notice of Availability of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement...

33 CFR 337.9 - Identification and use of disposal areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., ocean disposal, etc. Within existing policy, district engineers should also explore beneficial uses of...) evaluation and environmental assessment or environmental impact statement should also address long-term...

33 CFR 337.9 - Identification and use of disposal areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., ocean disposal, etc. Within existing policy, district engineers should also explore beneficial uses of...) evaluation and environmental assessment or environmental impact statement should also address long-term...

33 CFR 337.9 - Identification and use of disposal areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., ocean disposal, etc. Within existing policy, district engineers should also explore beneficial uses of...) evaluation and environmental assessment or environmental impact statement should also address long-term...

33 CFR 337.9 - Identification and use of disposal areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., ocean disposal, etc. Within existing policy, district engineers should also explore beneficial uses of...) evaluation and environmental assessment or environmental impact statement should also address long-term...

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

77 FR 51619 - Source Specific Federal Implementation Plan for Implementing Best Available Retrofit Technology...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-24

... Energy and Non-Air Quality Environmental Impacts C. Comments on Factor Three--Existing Controls at FCPP D... compliance, (2) the energy and non-air quality environmental impacts of compliance, (3) any pollution control... installing and operating any of several equivalent controls on Units 1- 3, and through proper operation of...

Impact of environmental chemicals on key transcription regulators and correlation to toxicity end points within EPA's ToxCast program

EPA Science Inventory

Exposure to environmental chemicals adds to the burden of disease in humans and wildlife to a degree that is difficult to estimate and, thus, mitigate. The ability to assess the impact of existing chemicals for which little to no toxicity data are available or to foresee such eff...

76 FR 77008 - Notice of Intent To Prepare Environmental Impact Statements and Supplemental Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-09

...] Vernal RMP (2008) [cir] Uinta National Forest Revised Forest Plan (2003) (FS) Wyoming (please note that...] Bighorn Basin RMP revision [cir] Buffalo RMP revision (and existing 1985 Buffalo RMP) [cir] Casper RMP...] Thunder Basin National Grassland LMP (not included in BLM Wyoming Notice of Intent above) (FS) Within the...

Impact of hospital-based environmental exposures on neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants.

PubMed

Santos, Janelle; Pearce, Sarah E; Stroustrup, Annemarie

2015-04-01

Over 300,000 infants are hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the United States annually during a developmental period critical to later neurobehavioral function. Environmental exposures during the fetal period and infancy have been shown to impact long-term neurobehavioral outcomes. This review summarizes evidence linking NICU-based environmental exposures to neurodevelopmental outcomes of children born preterm. Preterm infants experience multiple exposures important to neurodevelopment during the NICU hospitalization. The physical layout of the NICU, management of light and sound, social interactions with parents and NICU staff, and chemical exposures via medical equipment are important to long-term neurobehavioral outcomes in this highly vulnerable population. Existing research documents NICU-based exposure to neurotoxic chemicals, aberrant light, excess sound, and restricted social interaction. In total, this creates an environment of co-existing excesses (chemicals, light, sound) and deprivation (touch, speech). The full impact of these co-exposures on the long-term neurodevelopment of preterm infants has not been adequately elucidated. Research into the importance of the NICU from an environmental health perspective is in its infancy, but could provide understanding about critical modifiable factors impacting the neurobehavioral health of hundreds of thousands of children each year.

A model for the sustainable selection of building envelope assemblies

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

Huedo, Patricia, E-mail: huedo@uji.es; Mulet, Elena, E-mail: emulet@uji.es; López-Mesa, Belinda, E-mail: belinda@unizar.es

2016-02-15

The aim of this article is to define an evaluation model for the environmental impacts of building envelopes to support planners in the early phases of materials selection. The model is intended to estimate environmental impacts for different combinations of building envelope assemblies based on scientifically recognised sustainability indicators. These indicators will increase the amount of information that existing catalogues show to support planners in the selection of building assemblies. To define the model, first the environmental indicators were selected based on the specific aims of the intended sustainability assessment. Then, a simplified LCA methodology was developed to estimate themore » impacts applicable to three types of dwellings considering different envelope assemblies, building orientations and climate zones. This methodology takes into account the manufacturing, installation, maintenance and use phases of the building. Finally, the model was validated and a matrix in Excel was created as implementation of the model. - Highlights: • Method to assess the envelope impacts based on a simplified LCA • To be used at an earlier phase than the existing methods in a simple way. • It assigns a score by means of known sustainability indicators. • It estimates data about the embodied and operating environmental impacts. • It compares the investment costs with the costs of the consumed energy.« less

Environmental impacts of bridge cleaning operations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

Cleaning (washing) operations of existing leaded paints on bridges were studied to determine the level of lead contamination in the resulting wastewater. Twelve experimental overcoating projects were let on bridges with various types of existing pain...

77 FR 71585 - Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-03

... Compressor Station Upgrade Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues The staff of the Federal... discuss the environmental impacts of the Daleville Compressor Station Upgrade Project (Project) involving... compressor engines at its existing Daleville Compressor Station in Chester County, Pennsylvania. One...

38 CFR Appendix C to Part 200 - Actions Requiring Environmental Impact Statement

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... of EIS, as indicates may have significant environmental effects: C.1Acquisition of space by Federal construction or lease construction, or expansion or improvement of an existing facility, where one or more of...

38 CFR Appendix C to Part 200 - Actions Requiring Environmental Impact Statement

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of EIS, as indicates may have significant environmental effects: C.1Acquisition of space by Federal construction or lease construction, or expansion or improvement of an existing facility, where one or more of...

38 CFR Appendix C to Part 200 - Actions Requiring Environmental Impact Statement

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of EIS, as indicates may have significant environmental effects: C.1Acquisition of space by Federal construction or lease construction, or expansion or improvement of an existing facility, where one or more of...

Future Protein Supply and Demand: Strategies and Factors Influencing a Sustainable Equilibrium

PubMed Central

Henchion, Maeve; Hayes, Maria; Mullen, Anne Maria; Fenelon, Mark; Tiwari, Brijesh

2017-01-01

A growing global population, combined with factors such as changing socio-demographics, will place increased pressure on the world’s resources to provide not only more but also different types of food. Increased demand for animal-based protein in particular is expected to have a negative environmental impact, generating greenhouse gas emissions, requiring more water and more land. Addressing this “perfect storm” will necessitate more sustainable production of existing sources of protein as well as alternative sources for direct human consumption. This paper outlines some potential demand scenarios and provides an overview of selected existing and novel protein sources in terms of their potential to sustainably deliver protein for the future, considering drivers and challenges relating to nutritional, environmental, and technological and market/consumer domains. It concludes that different factors influence the potential of existing and novel sources. Existing protein sources are primarily hindered by their negative environmental impacts with some concerns around health. However, they offer social and economic benefits, and have a high level of consumer acceptance. Furthermore, recent research emphasizes the role of livestock as part of the solution to greenhouse gas emissions, and indicates that animal-based protein has an important role as part of a sustainable diet and as a contributor to food security. Novel proteins require the development of new value chains, and attention to issues such as production costs, food safety, scalability and consumer acceptance. Furthermore, positive environmental impacts cannot be assumed with novel protein sources and care must be taken to ensure that comparisons between novel and existing protein sources are valid. Greater alignment of political forces, and the involvement of wider stakeholders in a governance role, as well as development/commercialization role, is required to address both sources of protein and ensure food security. PMID:28726744

Future Protein Supply and Demand: Strategies and Factors Influencing a Sustainable Equilibrium.

PubMed

Henchion, Maeve; Hayes, Maria; Mullen, Anne Maria; Fenelon, Mark; Tiwari, Brijesh

2017-07-20

A growing global population, combined with factors such as changing socio-demographics, will place increased pressure on the world's resources to provide not only more but also different types of food. Increased demand for animal-based protein in particular is expected to have a negative environmental impact, generating greenhouse gas emissions, requiring more water and more land. Addressing this "perfect storm" will necessitate more sustainable production of existing sources of protein as well as alternative sources for direct human consumption. This paper outlines some potential demand scenarios and provides an overview of selected existing and novel protein sources in terms of their potential to sustainably deliver protein for the future, considering drivers and challenges relating to nutritional, environmental, and technological and market/consumer domains. It concludes that different factors influence the potential of existing and novel sources. Existing protein sources are primarily hindered by their negative environmental impacts with some concerns around health. However, they offer social and economic benefits, and have a high level of consumer acceptance. Furthermore, recent research emphasizes the role of livestock as part of the solution to greenhouse gas emissions, and indicates that animal-based protein has an important role as part of a sustainable diet and as a contributor to food security. Novel proteins require the development of new value chains, and attention to issues such as production costs, food safety, scalability and consumer acceptance. Furthermore, positive environmental impacts cannot be assumed with novel protein sources and care must be taken to ensure that comparisons between novel and existing protein sources are valid. Greater alignment of political forces, and the involvement of wider stakeholders in a governance role, as well as development/commercialization role, is required to address both sources of protein and ensure food security.

Environmental impacts of climate change adaptation

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

Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro, E-mail: aenriquez@draba.org; Díaz-Sierra, Rubén, E-mail: sierra@dfmf.uned.es; Martín-Aranda, Rosa M., E-mail: rmartin@ccia.uned.es

Climate change adaptation reduces adverse effects of climate change but may also have undesirable environmental impacts. However, these impacts are yet poorly defined and analysed in the existing literature. To complement this knowledge-gap, we reviewed the literature to unveil the relationship between climate change adaptation and environmental impact assessment, and the degree to which environmental impacts are included in climate change adaptation theory and practice. Our literature review showed that technical, social and economic perspectives on climate change adaptation receive much more attention than the environmental perspective. The scarce interest on the environmental impacts of adaptation may be attributed tomore » (1) an excessive sectoral approach, with dominance of non-environmental perspectives, (2) greater interest in mitigation and direct climate change impacts rather than in adaptation impacts, (3) a tendency to consider adaptation as inherently good, and (4) subjective/preconceived notions on which measures are good or bad, without a comprehensive assessment. Environmental Assessment (EA) has a long established history as an effective tool to include environment into decision-making, although it does not yet guarantee a proper assessment of adaptation, because it is still possible to postpone or even circumvent the processes of assessing the impacts of climate adaptation. Our results suggest that there is a need to address adaptation proactively by including it in EA, to update current policy frameworks, and to demand robust and reliable evaluation of alternatives. Only through the full EA of adaptation measures can we improve our understanding of the primary and secondary impacts of adaptation to global environmental change. - Highlights: • Climate change adaptation may have undesirable environmental impacts. • The impacts of adaptation are yet poorly analysed in the literature. • There is an excessive sectoral approach to adaptation, mainly non-environmental.« less

A Submersible Holographic Camera for the Undisturbed Characterization of Optically Relevant Particles in Water (HOLOCAM)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

environmental factors that impact toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes, including their initiation, development, and senescence. The project is...integrated with existing harmful algal bloom monitoring and observational activities through the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory...holograms showing the orientation of Ditylum chains within a phytoplankton thin layer in East Sound, WA, 2013. IMPACT /APPLICATIONS The HOLOCAM

Environmental Assessment: Lease with Omaha Public Power District (PPD) to Support New United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Facility and Existing Base Load

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-01

offutt.af.mil Designation: Final Environmental Assessment (EA) with attached Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) Abstract: OPPD needs a new...Evaluation 6 2.5 Summary of Potential Impacts 7 3.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 8 3.1 Location 8 3.2 History and Current Mission of Installation 8...4.2.10 Energy Usage and Alternative Energy Sources 19 4.1.11 Cultural Resources 19 4.3 Cumulative Impacts 19 5.0

32 CFR Appendix - Figures 4 through 8 to Subpart F of Part 651

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Figures 4 through 8 to Subpart F of Part 651 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ARMY ACTIONS (AR 200-2) Environmental Impact Statement Existing EISs. Pt. 651, Subpt...

Extensive review of shale gas environmental impacts from scientific literature (2010-2015).

PubMed

Costa, Daniele; Jesus, João; Branco, David; Danko, Anthony; Fiúza, António

2017-06-01

Extensive reviews and meta-analyses are essential to summarize emerging developments in a specific field and offering information on the current trends in the scientific literature. Shale gas exploration and exploitation has been extensively debated in literature, but a comprehensive review of recent studies on the environmental impacts has yet to be carried out. Therefore, the goal of this article is to systematically examine scientific articles published between 2010 and 2015 and identify recent advances and existing data gaps. The examined articles were classified into six main categories (water resources, atmospheric emissions, land use, induced seismicity, occupational and public health and safety, and other impacts). These categories are analyzed separately to identify specific challenges, possibly existing consensus and data gaps yet remained in the literature.

Environmental Quality Index and Childhood Mental Health

EPA Science Inventory

Childhood mental disorders affect between 13%-20% of children in the United States (US) annually and impact the child, family, and community. Literature suggests associations exist between environmental and children’s mental health such as air pollution with autism and ADHD...

Potential for Integrating Diffusion of Innovation Principles into Life Cycle Assessment of Emerging Technologies.

PubMed

Sharp, Benjamin E; Miller, Shelie A

2016-03-15

Life cycle assessment (LCA) measures cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of a product. To assess impacts of an emerging technology, LCA should be coupled with additional methods that estimate how that technology might be deployed. The extent and manner that an emerging technology diffuses throughout a region shapes the magnitude and type of environmental impacts. Diffusion of innovation is an established field of research that analyzes the adoption of new innovations, and its principles can be used to construct scenario models that enhance LCA of emerging technologies. Integrating diffusion modeling techniques with an LCA of emerging technology can provide estimates for the extent of market penetration, the displacement of existing systems, and the rate of adoption. Two general perspectives of application are macro-level diffusion models that use a function of time to represent adoption, and microlevel diffusion models that simulate adoption through interactions of individuals. Incorporating diffusion of innovation concepts complement existing methods within LCA to inform proactive environmental management of emerging technologies.

Evaluation of social impact : a suggested approach.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-01-01

In recent years, the investigation of the effects of highway improvements on the social structure existing in the chosen highway corridor has become a necessary part of the transportation planning process. The environmental impact statement, as requi...

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

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-08

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

Insulation materials for commercial buildings in North America: An assessment of lifetime energy and environmental impacts

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

Biswas, Kaushik; Shrestha, Som S.; Bhandari, Mahabir S.

In the United States, commercial buildings accounted for about 19 percent of the total primary energy consumption in 2012. Further, 29 percent of the site energy in commercial buildings was consumed for space heating and cooling. Applying insulation materials to building envelopes is an effective way of reducing energy consumption for heating and cooling, and limiting the negative environmental impacts from the buildings sector. While insulation materials have a net positive impact on the environment due to reduced energy consumption, they also have some negative impacts associated with their 'embodied energy'. The total lifetime environmental impacts of insulation materials aremore » a summation of: (1) direct impacts due to their embodied energy, and (2) indirect or impacts avoided due to the reduced building energy consumption. Here, assessments of the lifetime environmental impacts of selected insulation materials are presented. Direct and indirect environmental impact factors were estimated for the cradle-to-grave insulation life cycle stages. Impact factors were calculated for two categories: primary energy consumption and global warming potential. The direct impact factors were calculated using data from existing literature and a life cycle assessment software. The indirect impact factors were calculated through simulations of a set of standard whole-building models.« less

Insulation materials for commercial buildings in North America: An assessment of lifetime energy and environmental impacts

DOE PAGES

Biswas, Kaushik; Shrestha, Som S.; Bhandari, Mahabir S.; ...

2015-12-12

In the United States, commercial buildings accounted for about 19 percent of the total primary energy consumption in 2012. Further, 29 percent of the site energy in commercial buildings was consumed for space heating and cooling. Applying insulation materials to building envelopes is an effective way of reducing energy consumption for heating and cooling, and limiting the negative environmental impacts from the buildings sector. While insulation materials have a net positive impact on the environment due to reduced energy consumption, they also have some negative impacts associated with their 'embodied energy'. The total lifetime environmental impacts of insulation materials aremore » a summation of: (1) direct impacts due to their embodied energy, and (2) indirect or impacts avoided due to the reduced building energy consumption. Here, assessments of the lifetime environmental impacts of selected insulation materials are presented. Direct and indirect environmental impact factors were estimated for the cradle-to-grave insulation life cycle stages. Impact factors were calculated for two categories: primary energy consumption and global warming potential. The direct impact factors were calculated using data from existing literature and a life cycle assessment software. The indirect impact factors were calculated through simulations of a set of standard whole-building models.« less

Environmental impact of thermal insulations: How do natural insulation products differ from synthetic ones?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dovjak, M.; Košir, M.; Pajek, L.; Iglič, N.; Božiček, D.; Kunič, R.

2017-10-01

As the environmental awareness of the public is rising and at the same time contemporary buildings are becoming more and more energy efficient, the focus is shifting towards the usage of environmentally friendly building products. Human decisions are often driven by emotions and perceptions. Consequently, there exists a strong tendency towards preferring “natural” constructional products to the synthetic ones, especially in the case of thermal insulations. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has enabled an opportunity to widen the meaning of the word “environmentally friendly”, giving researchers and building designers an objective decision making tool to determine the environmental impact of building products, building components and buildings as a whole. The purpose of this study was to compare the environmental impact of various thermal insulations for the cradle to gate life cycle stages, based on a unified functional unit. Overall, 15 most commonly used thermal insulation products were analysed and classified into natural and synthetic groups. Based on the differentiation, we compared the impact in the selected environmental categories and identified the most influential environmental drivers. The results show that in some environmental categoriesnatural thermal insulations perform better (i.e. global warming potential), whilein others (i.e. eutrophication potential) they underperform. However, environmental impact trends can be identified, specifically for the natural and the synthetic materials.

Life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of European regulation.

PubMed

Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro; Mendoza, Joan Manuel F; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Azapagic, Adisa

2016-07-15

Energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners has been declining over the past decades while at the same time their number in Europe has been increasing. The European Commission has recently adopted an eco-design regulation to improve the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. In addition to the existing directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the regulation could potentially have significant effects on the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. However, the scale of the effects is currently unknown, beyond scant information on greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this paper considers for the first time life cycle environmental impacts of vacuum cleaners and the effects of the implementation of these regulations at the European level. The effects of electricity decarbonisation, product lifetime and end-of-life disposal options are also considered. The results suggest that the implementation of the eco-design regulation alone will reduce significantly the impacts from vacuum cleaners (37%-44%) by 2020 compared with current situation. If business as usual continued and the regulation was not implemented, the impacts would be 82%-109% higher by 2020 compared to the impacts with the implementation of the regulation. Improvements associated with the implementation of the WEEE directive will be much smaller (<1% in 2020). However, if the WEEE directive did not exist, then the impacts would be 2%-21% higher by 2020 relative to the impacts with the implementation of the directive. Further improvements in most impacts (6%-20%) could be achieved by decarbonising the electricity mix. Therefore, energy efficiency measures must be accompanied by appropriate actions to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation; otherwise, the benefits of improved energy efficiency could be limited. Moreover, because of expected lower life expectancy of vacuum cleaners and limited availability of some raw materials, the eco-design regulation should be broadened to reduce the impacts from raw materials, production and end-of-life management. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Final Environmental Assessment for Aircraft Maintenance Operations Center

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

short-term emissions during construction of new facilities, demolition of existing buildings, and removal of existing asphalt /concrete. There would...Repair: The existing asphalt road accessing Building 1934 would be repaired in June 2014. It is anticipated that this project would qualify for a CatEx...removal of existing asphalt /concrete. Minimal ambient air impacts from localized short-term emissions that would quickly dissipate away from the

40 CFR 6.207 - Environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, including actions for which... treated effluent from a new or modified existing facility into a body of water and the discharge is likely... size and location of new and existing facilities, land requirements, operation and maintenance...

40 CFR 6.207 - Environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, including actions for which... treated effluent from a new or modified existing facility into a body of water and the discharge is likely... size and location of new and existing facilities, land requirements, operation and maintenance...

40 CFR 6.207 - Environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, including actions for which... treated effluent from a new or modified existing facility into a body of water and the discharge is likely... size and location of new and existing facilities, land requirements, operation and maintenance...

Validation of non-stationary precipitation series for site-specific impact assessment: Comparison of two statistical downscaling techniques

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The generation of realistic future precipitation scenarios is crucial for assessing their impacts on a range of environmental and socio-economic impact sectors. A scale mismatch exists, however, between the coarse spatial resolution at which global climate models (GCMs) output future climate scenari...

33 CFR 337.9 - Identification and use of disposal areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) evaluation and environmental assessment or environmental impact statement should also address long-term... ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 337.9 Identification and use of disposal areas. (a... life of existing disposal areas. Requests for water quality certification and/or coastal zone...

32 CFR Appendix - Figures 4 through 8 to Subpart F of Part 651

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Figures 4 through 8 to Subpart F of Part 651 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ARMY ACTIONS (AR 200-2) Environmental Impact Statement Existing EISs. Pt. 651, Subpt. F, Figs. Figures 4 through 8 to...

Towards better environmental performance of wastewater sludge treatment using endpoint approach in LCA methodology.

PubMed

Alyaseri, Isam; Zhou, Jianpeng

2017-03-01

The aim of this study is to use the life cycle assessment method to measure the environmental performance of the sludge incineration process in a wastewater treatment plant and to propose an alternative that can reduce the environmental impact. To show the damages caused by the treatment processes, the study aimed to use an endpoint approach in evaluating impacts on human health, ecosystem quality, and resources due to the processes. A case study was taken at Bissell Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S. The plant-specific data along with literature data from technical publications were used to build an inventory, and then analyzed the environmental burdens from sludge handling unit in the year 2011. The impact assessment method chosen was ReCipe 2008. The existing scenario (dewatering-multiple hearth incineration-ash to landfill) was evaluated and three alternative scenarios (fluid bed incineration and anaerobic digestion with and without land application) with energy recovery from heat or biogas were proposed and analyzed to find the one with the least environmental impact. The existing scenario shows that the most significant impacts are related to depletion in resources and damage to human health. These impacts mainly came from the operation phase (electricity and fuel consumption and emissions related to combustion). Alternatives showed better performance than the existing scenario. Using ReCipe endpoint methodology, and among the three alternatives tested, the anaerobic digestion had the best overall environmental performance. It is recommended to convert to fluid bed incineration if the concerns were more about human health or to anaerobic digestion if the concerns were more about depletion in resources. The endpoint approach may simplify the outcomes of this study as follows: if the plant is converted to fluid bed incineration, it could prevent an average of 43.2 DALYs in human life, save 0.059 species in the area from extinction, and make a 62% reduction in the plant's current expenses needed by future generations to extract resources per year. At the same time it may prevent 36.1 DALYs in humans, save 0.157 species, and make a 101% reduction in current expenses on resources per year, if converting to anaerobic digestion.

Environmental information volume: Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) project

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

NONE

1996-05-01

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the commercial viability of the Liquid Phase Methanol Process using coal-derived synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This report describes the proposed actions, alternative to the proposed action, the existing environment at the coal gasification plant at Kingsport, Tennessee, environmental impacts, regulatory requirements, offsite fuel testing, and DME addition to methanol production. Appendices include the air permit application, solid waste permits, water permit, existing air permits, agency correspondence, and Eastman and Air Products literature.

Cumulative Risk and Impact Modeling on Environmental Chemical and Social Stressors.

PubMed

Huang, Hongtai; Wang, Aolin; Morello-Frosch, Rachel; Lam, Juleen; Sirota, Marina; Padula, Amy; Woodruff, Tracey J

2018-03-01

The goal of this review is to identify cumulative modeling methods used to evaluate combined effects of exposures to environmental chemicals and social stressors. The specific review question is: What are the existing quantitative methods used to examine the cumulative impacts of exposures to environmental chemical and social stressors on health? There has been an increase in literature that evaluates combined effects of exposures to environmental chemicals and social stressors on health using regression models; very few studies applied other data mining and machine learning techniques to this problem. The majority of studies we identified used regression models to evaluate combined effects of multiple environmental and social stressors. With proper study design and appropriate modeling assumptions, additional data mining methods may be useful to examine combined effects of environmental and social stressors.

A Protocol for Lifetime Energy and Environmental Impact Assessment of Building Insulation Materials

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

Shrestha, Som S; Biswas, Kaushik; Desjarlais, Andre Omer

This article describes a proposed protocol that is intended to provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in evaluating the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building insulation materials, as well as detailed descriptions of standardized calculation methodologies to determine those impacts. The energy and environmental impacts of insulation materials can generally be divided into two categories: (1) direct impact due to the embodied energy of the insulation materials and other factors, and (2) indirect or environmental impacts avoided as a result of reduced building energy use due to addition of insulation. Standards and product category rules existmore » that provide guidelines about the life cycle assessment (LCA) of materials, including building insulation products. However, critical reviews have suggested that these standards fail to provide complete guidance to LCA studies and suffer from ambiguities regarding the determination of the environmental impacts of building insulation and other products. The focus of the assessment protocol described here is to identify all factors that contribute to the total energy and environmental impacts of different insulation products and, more importantly, provide standardized determination methods that will allow comparison of different insulation material types. Further, the intent is not to replace current LCA standards but to provide a well-defined, easy-to-use comparison method for insulation materials using existing LCA guidelines.« less

7 CFR Appendix E to Subpart E of... - Environmental Assessment Guidelines

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... items and questions and contain as attachments the indicated descriptive materials, as well as the.... When necessary for descriptive purposes or environmental analysis, include land use maps or other.... Evaluate the impact on air quality given the types and amounts of projected emissions, the existing air...

7 CFR Appendix E to Subpart E of... - Environmental Assessment Guidelines

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... items and questions and contain as attachments the indicated descriptive materials, as well as the.... When necessary for descriptive purposes or environmental analysis, include land use maps or other.... Evaluate the impact on air quality given the types and amounts of projected emissions, the existing air...

7 CFR Appendix E to Subpart E of... - Environmental Assessment Guidelines

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... items and questions and contain as attachments the indicated descriptive materials, as well as the.... When necessary for descriptive purposes or environmental analysis, include land use maps or other.... Evaluate the impact on air quality given the types and amounts of projected emissions, the existing air...

7 CFR Appendix E to Subpart E of... - Environmental Assessment Guidelines

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... items and questions and contain as attachments the indicated descriptive materials, as well as the.... When necessary for descriptive purposes or environmental analysis, include land use maps or other.... Evaluate the impact on air quality given the types and amounts of projected emissions, the existing air...

7 CFR Appendix E to Subpart E of... - Environmental Assessment Guidelines

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... items and questions and contain as attachments the indicated descriptive materials, as well as the.... When necessary for descriptive purposes or environmental analysis, include land use maps or other.... Evaluate the impact on air quality given the types and amounts of projected emissions, the existing air...

Comparing Distributions of Environmental Outcomes for Regulatory Environmental Justice Analysis

PubMed Central

Maguire, Kelly; Sheriff, Glenn

2011-01-01

Economists have long been interested in measuring distributional impacts of policy interventions. As environmental justice (EJ) emerged as an ethical issue in the 1970s, the academic literature has provided statistical analyses of the incidence and causes of various environmental outcomes as they relate to race, income, and other demographic variables. In the context of regulatory impacts, however, there is a lack of consensus regarding what information is relevant for EJ analysis, and how best to present it. This paper helps frame the discussion by suggesting a set of questions fundamental to regulatory EJ analysis, reviewing past approaches to quantifying distributional equity, and discussing the potential for adapting existing tools to the regulatory context. PMID:21655146

Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA.

PubMed

Pfister, Stephan; Koehler, Annette; Hellweg, Stefanie

2009-06-01

A method for assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption was developed. This method considers damages to three areas of protection: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. The method can be used within most existing life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. The relative importance of water consumption was analyzed by integrating the method into the Eco-indicator-99 LCIA method. The relative impact of water consumption in LCIA was analyzed with a case study on worldwide cotton production. The importance of regionalized characterization factors for water use was also examined in the case study. In arid regions, water consumption may dominate the aggregated life-cycle impacts of cotton-textile production. Therefore, the consideration of water consumption is crucial in life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies that include water-intensive products, such as agricultural goods. A regionalized assessment is necessary, since the impacts of water use vary greatly as a function of location. The presented method is useful for environmental decision-support in the production of water-intensive products as well as for environmentally responsible value-chain management.

Environmental regulatory failure and metal contamination at the Giap Lai pyrite mine, Northern Vietnam.

PubMed

Håkan Tarras-Wahlberg, N; Nguyen, Lan T

2008-03-01

The causes for the failure in enforcement of environmental regulations at the Giap Lai pyrite mine in northern Vietnam are considered and the environmental impacts that are associated with this mine are evaluated. It is shown that sulphide-rich tailings and waste rock in the mining area represent significant sources of acid rock drainage (ARD). The ARD is causing elevated metal levels in downstream water bodies, which in turn, represent a threat to both human health and to aquatic ecosystems. Metal concentrations in impacted surface waters have increased after mine closure, suggesting that impacts are becoming progressively more serious. No post-closure, remediation measures have been applied at the mine, in spite of the existence of environmental legislation and both central and regional institutions charged with environmental supervision and control. The research presented here provides further emphasis for the recommendation that, while government institutions may need to be strengthened, and environmental regulations need to be in place, true on the ground improvement in environmental quality in Vietnam and in many other developing countries require an increased focus on promoting public awareness of industrial environmental issues.

Identifying/Quantifying Environmental Trade-offs Inherent in GHG Reduction Strategies for Coal-Fired Power.

PubMed

Schivley, Greg; Ingwersen, Wesley W; Marriott, Joe; Hawkins, Troy R; Skone, Timothy J

2015-07-07

Improvements to coal power plant technology and the cofired combustion of biomass promise direct greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions for existing coal-fired power plants. Questions remain as to what the reduction potentials are from a life cycle perspective and if it will result in unintended increases in impacts to air and water quality and human health. This study provides a unique analysis of the potential environmental impact reductions from upgrading existing subcritical pulverized coal power plants to increase their efficiency, improving environmental controls, cofiring biomass, and exporting steam for industrial use. The climate impacts are examined in both a traditional-100 year GWP-method and a time series analysis that accounts for emission and uptake timing over the life of the power plant. Compared to fleet average pulverized bed boilers (33% efficiency), we find that circulating fluidized bed boilers (39% efficiency) may provide GHG reductions of about 13% when using 100% coal and reductions of about 20-37% when cofiring with 30% biomass. Additional greenhouse gas reductions from combined heat and power are minimal if the steam coproduct displaces steam from an efficient natural gas boiler. These upgrades and cofiring biomass can also reduce other life cycle impacts, although there may be increased impacts to water quality (eutrophication) when using biomass from an intensely cultivated source. Climate change impacts are sensitive to the timing of emissions and carbon sequestration as well as the time horizon over which impacts are considered, particularly for long growth woody biomass.

Environmental impacts of the emerging digital economy: the e-for-environment e-commerce?

PubMed

Sui, Daniel Z; Rejeski, David W

2002-02-01

The Internet-led digital economy is changing both the production and consumption patterns at the global scale. Although great potential exists to harness information technology in general and the Internet in particular and improve the environment, possible negative impacts of e-commerce on the environment should also be considered and dealt with. In this forum, we discuss both the potential positive and negative impacts of e-commerce. Drawing from insights gained from the complexity theory, we also delineate some broad contours for environmental policies in the information age. Given the paradoxical nature of technological innovations, we want to caution the scientific community and policymakers not to treat the Internet as the Holy Grail for environmental salvation.

76 FR 213 - National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-03

...The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) proposes to amend its existing regulations governing compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The majority of the changes are proposed for the categorical exclusions provisions contained in its NEPA Implementing Procedures, with a small number of related changes proposed for other provisions. These proposed changes are intended to better align the Department's regulations, particularly its categorical exclusions, with DOE's current activities and recent experiences, and to update the provisions with respect to current technologies and regulatory requirements. DOE proposes to establish 20 new categorical exclusions, and to remove two categorical exclusion categories, one environmental assessment (EA) category, and two environmental impact statement (EIS) categories. Other proposed changes modify and clarify DOE's existing provisions.

Finding of No Significant Impact for the Environmental Assessment for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve West Hackberry Facility Raw Water Intake Pipeline Replacement Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana

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

N /A

DOE has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), DOE/EA-1497, for the proposed replacement of the existing 107 centimeter (cm) [42 inch (in)] 6.87 kilometer (km) [4.27 mile (mi)] raw water intake pipeline (RWIPL). This action is necessary to allow for continued, optimum operations at the West Hackberry facility (main site/facility). The EA described the proposed action (including action alternatives) and three alternatives to the proposed action. The EA evaluated only the potential environmental consequences of the proposed action (one action alternative), and Alternative 3, which consisted of the No Build Action that is required by 10 CFR 1021.321(c). Based on themore » analysis in DOE/EA-1497, DOE has determined that the proposed action does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting humans or the natural environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 USC 4321 et seq. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required, and DOE is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). To further minimize impacts to environmental media, the DOE will also implement a Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for this action. The MAP is included as Appendix F of this EA, which is appended to this FONSI. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, authorizes the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to store crude oil to reduce the United States' vulnerability to energy supply disruptions. Crude oil is stored in geologic formations, or salt domes, located under these facilities. The purpose of this proposed project is to construct a new RWIPL at the main site to replace the existing RWIPL which services this facility.« less

The concept of hydropower certification in Italy and Slovenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolar-Zvanut, Natasa; Goltara, Andrea; Conte, Gulio

2010-05-01

River regulation by building a hydropower plants (HPPs) is one of the most stressful factor influencing the aquatic and riparian ecosystem. In many countries a development of HPPs is often opposed by public bodies and NGOs, worried about the risk of adverse effects on the "good status" of water bodies, that, according to the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC, WFD), has to be reached by year 2015. The paper describes a technically and economically feasible certification procedure for existing hydro power generation facilities of higher environmental standard, being explicitly coherent with the requirements of the WFD, to be implemented in "green labelled" electricity products, and being integrated, as much as possible, with existing EU tools, such as Ecolabel, EMAS, EIA and SEA. The methodology was developed for Italy and Slovenia and it will be tested in different types of HPPs in both countries. In order to be certified, a given HPP has to commit to carry out appropriate measures in order to mitigate its impacts on specified environmental objectives, in such a way to fulfil predefined environmental targets and prescriptions. These measures have to be described through a specific management programme, based upon a dedicated environmental study, supported mainly by existing data, but complemented by ad-hoc assessment/monitoring when necessary. The realization of both the environmental study and the management programme must be supported by public consultation; both documents must be approved through an auditing process. For some types of HPPs, operating in totally artificial networks and not entailing direct or indirect impact on water related ecosystems, a simplified procedure is foreseen, where detailed environmental analysis, related management programme and stakeholders involvement are not requested, but just a description of the system and proof of fulfilment of the conditions and of specific prescriptions. HPPs impacting water bodies defined as Artificial or Heavily Modified (following the definitions of the WFD) in most cases have to fulfil more limited environmental targets. The involvement of local stakeholders must be ensured along the whole certification procedure and, when completed, during the lifespan of the label. The methodology includes a predefined framework where pressure factors due to hydropower production are related to potentially impacted environmental quality elements. For each of these cause-effect relationships possible mitigation measures are suggested. In the long run, it is expected that the certification will have a positive impact on hydro power generation in Europe, will help focusing the conception of new HPPs towards more sustainable solutions and making easier authorization procedure.

7 CFR 1779.53 - Evaluation of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., there is reasonable assurance of repayment ability, sufficient collateral and equity exists, the proposed loan complies with all applicable statutes and regulations, the environmental impact analyses is...

7 CFR 1779.53 - Evaluation of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., there is reasonable assurance of repayment ability, sufficient collateral and equity exists, the proposed loan complies with all applicable statutes and regulations, the environmental impact analyses is...

7 CFR 1779.53 - Evaluation of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., there is reasonable assurance of repayment ability, sufficient collateral and equity exists, the proposed loan complies with all applicable statutes and regulations, the environmental impact analyses is...

7 CFR 1779.53 - Evaluation of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., there is reasonable assurance of repayment ability, sufficient collateral and equity exists, the proposed loan complies with all applicable statutes and regulations, the environmental impact analyses is...

From waste plastics to industrial raw materials: A life cycle assessment of mechanical plastic recycling practice based on a real-world case study.

PubMed

Gu, Fu; Guo, Jianfeng; Zhang, Wujie; Summers, Peter A; Hall, Philip

2017-12-01

Mechanical recycling of waste plastics is an environmental solution to the problem of waste plastic disposal, and has already become a common practice in industry. However, limited information can be found on either the industralised plastic recycling or the recycled materials, despite the use of recycled plastics has already extended to automobile production. This study investigates the life cycle environmental impacts of mechanical plastic recycling practice of a plastic recycling company in China. Waste plastics from various sources, such as agricultural wastes, plastic product manufacturers, collected solid plastic wastes and parts dismantled from waste electric and electronic equipments, are processed in three routes with products end up in different markets. The results of life cycle assessments show that the extrusion process has the largest environmental impacts, followed by the use of fillers and additives. Compared to production of virgin plastics and composites, the mechanical recycling is proved to be a superior alternative in most environmental aspects. Substituting virgin plastic composites with recycled plastic composites has achieved the highest environmental benefits, as virgin composite production has an impact almost 4 times higher that of the recycled composite production in each ReCiPe endpoint damage factor. Sensitivity analysis shows that the coverage of collecting network contribute affect little to overall environmental impact, and centralisation plays an important role in reducing overall environmental impacts. Among the fillers and additives, impact modifiers account for the most significant contributions to the environmental impacts of recycled composites. This study provides necessary information about the existing industrialised plastic recycling practice, and recommendations are given. Research implications are presented with the purpose to achieve higher substitution rate and lower environmental impact. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental Impacts from Photovoltaic Solar Cells Made with Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

PubMed

Celik, Ilke; Mason, Brooke E; Phillips, Adam B; Heben, Michael J; Apul, Defne

2017-04-18

An ex-ante life cycle inventory was developed for single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) PV cells, including a laboratory-made 1% efficient device and an aspirational 28% efficient four-cell tandem device. The environmental impact of unit energy generation from the mono-Si PV technology was used as a reference point. Compared to monocrystalline Si (mono-Si), the environmental impacts from 1% SWCNT was ∼18 times higher due mainly to the short lifetime of three years. However, even with the same short lifetime, the 28% cell had lower environmental impacts than mono-Si. The effects of lifetime and efficiency on the environmental impacts were further examined. This analysis showed that if the SWCNT device efficiency had the same value as the best efficiency of the material under comparison, to match the total normalized impacts of the mono- and poly-Si, CIGS, CdTe, and a-Si devices, the SWCNT devices would need a lifetime of 2.8, 3.5, 5.3, 5.1, and 10.8 years, respectively. It was also found that if the SWCNT PV has an efficiency of 4.5% or higher, its energy payback time would be lower than other existing and emerging PV technologies. The major impacts of SWCNT PV came from the cell's materials synthesis.

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Environmental Characteristics of Alternative Designated Deployment Areas, Atmospheric Resources.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-15

restrictions concerning air quality TSP increments that cannot be exceeded (see Table 2.1.1-7). The Capulin Mountain National Monument has been recommended...impacts on existing and proposed Class I areas of White Mountain, Pecos, Wheeler Peak, and Capulin Mountain, New Mexico, were reflected in higher

Environmental assessment of SP-100 ground engineering system test site: Hanford Site, Richland, Washington

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1988-12-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to modify an existing reactor containment building (decommissioned Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor (PRTR) 309 Building) to provide ground test capability for the prototype SP-100 reactor. The 309 Building (Figure 1.1) is located in the 300 Area on the Hanford Site in Washington State. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that Federal agencies assess the potential impacts that their actions may have on the environment. This Environmental Assessment describes the consideration given to environmental impacts during reactor concept and test site selection, examines the environmental effects of the DOE proposal to ground test the nuclear subsystem, describes alternatives to the proposed action, and examines radiological risks of potential SP-100 use in space.

National Hydropower Plant Dataset, Version 1 (Update FY18Q2)

DOE Data Explorer

Samu, Nicole; Kao, Shih-Chieh; O'Connor, Patrick; Johnson, Megan; Uria-Martinez, Rocio; McManamay, Ryan

2016-09-30

The National Hydropower Plant Dataset, Version 1, Update FY18Q2, includes geospatial point-level locations and key characteristics of existing hydropower plants in the United States that are currently online. These data are a subset extracted from NHAAP’s Existing Hydropower Assets (EHA) dataset, which is a cornerstone of NHAAP’s EHA effort that has supported multiple U.S. hydropower R&D research initiatives related to market acceleration, environmental impact reduction, technology-to-market activities, and climate change impact assessment.

High-Resolution Biogeochemical Simulation Identifies Practical Opportunities for Bioenergy Landscape Intensification Across Diverse US Agricultural Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, J.; Adler, P. R.; Evans, S.; Paustian, K.; Marx, E.; Easter, M.

2015-12-01

The sustainability of biofuel expansion is strongly dependent on the environmental footprint of feedstock production, including both direct impacts within feedstock-producing areas and potential leakage effects due to disruption of existing food, feed, or fiber production. Assessing and minimizing these impacts requires novel methods compared to traditional supply chain lifecycle assessment. When properly validated and applied at appropriate spatial resolutions, biogeochemical process models are useful for simulating how the productivity and soil greenhouse gas fluxes of cultivating both conventional crops and advanced feedstock crops respond across gradients of land quality and management intensity. In this work we use the DayCent model to assess the biogeochemical impacts of agricultural residue collection, establishment of perennial grasses on marginal cropland or conservation easements, and intensification of existing cropping at high spatial resolution across several real-world case study landscapes in diverse US agricultural regions. We integrate the resulting estimates of productivity, soil carbon changes, and nitrous oxide emissions with crop production budgets and lifecycle inventories, and perform a basic optimization to generate landscape cost/GHG frontiers and determine the most practical opportunities for low-impact feedstock provisioning. The optimization is constrained to assess the minimum combined impacts of residue collection, land use change, and intensification of existing agriculture necessary for the landscape to supply a commercial-scale biorefinery while maintaining exiting food, feed, and fiber production levels. These techniques can be used to assess how different feedstock provisioning strategies perform on both economic and environmental criteria, and sensitivity of performance to environmental and land use factors. The included figure shows an example feedstock cost-GHG mitigation tradeoff frontier for a commercial-scale cellulosic biofuel facility in Kansas.

Environmental and economic sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet.

PubMed

Germani, Alessia; Vitiello, Valeria; Giusti, Anna Maria; Pinto, Alessandro; Donini, Lorenzo Maria; del Balzo, Valeria

2014-12-01

The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been proposed as a healthy dietary pattern for disease prevention. However, little information exists on the cost and on the environmental impact of such a dietary model. We compared the environmental impact and the costs of the current food consumption pattern of the Italian population and the Mediterranean model in order to investigate its overall sustainability. The environmental impact was calculated on the basis of three indexes, i.e. Carbon, Ecological and Water Footprint. The costs (Euro) per person of the MD and of the current Italian household food expenditure were considered on a weekly basis according to the 2013 data from the Observatory prices and tariffs of the Ministry of Economic Development and the service SMS consumers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. The MD resulted to produce a lower environmental impact than the current food consumption of the Italian population. The monthly expenditure of the MD is slightly higher in the overall budget compared to the current expenditure allocated to food by the Italian population, but there is a substantial difference in the distribution of budget according to the different food groups.

Geothermal environmental studies, Heber Region, Imperial Valley, California. Environmental baseline data acquisition. Final report

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

Not Available

1977-02-01

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has been studying the feasibility of a Low Salinity Hydrothermal Demonstration Plant as part of its Geothermal Energy Program. The Heber area of the Imperial Valley was selected as one of the candidate geothermal reservoirs. Documentation of the environmental conditions presently existing in the Heber area is required for assessment of environmental impacts of future development. An environmental baseline data acquisition program to compile available data on the environment of the Heber area is reported. The program included a review of pertinent existing literature, interviews with academic, governmental and private entities, combined with fieldmore » investigations and meteorological monitoring to collect primary data. Results of the data acquisition program are compiled in terms of three elements: the physical, the biological and socioeconomic settings.« less

78 FR 26354 - Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-06

... compressor stations located in York County, Pennsylvania and Mercer and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey to... Connector Project would be constructed on lands owned by Transco within existing compressor station sites... proposes to: Add an incremental 6,540 horsepower (hp) of compression at its existing Compressor Station 195...

78 FR 31628 - Environmental Impact Statement for the Milwaukee, WI to Minneapolis, MN Rail Corridor

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-24

... the Twin Cities by: decreasing travel times, increasing frequency of service, and providing safe and... frequency and reduced travel times for passenger rail service along the existing route on the Corridor. The...'' reduction in travel time. The existing passenger rail service route between Milwaukee and the Twin Cities...

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latrubesse, Edgardo M.; Arima, Eugenio Y.; Dunne, Thomas; Park, Edward; Baker, Victor R.; D'Horta, Fernando M.; Wight, Charles; Wittmann, Florian; Zuanon, Jansen; Baker, Paul A.; Ribas, Camila C.; Norgaard, Richard B.; Filizola, Naziano; Ansar, Atif; Flyvbjerg, Bent; Stevaux, Jose C.

2017-06-01

More than a hundred hydropower dams have already been built in the Amazon basin and numerous proposals for further dam constructions are under consideration. The accumulated negative environmental effects of existing dams and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin’s floodplains, estuary and sediment plume. We introduce a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index to quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The scale of foreseeable environmental degradation indicates the need for collective action among nations and states to avoid cumulative, far-reaching impacts. We suggest institutional innovations to assess and avoid the likely impoverishment of Amazon rivers.

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin.

PubMed

Latrubesse, Edgardo M; Arima, Eugenio Y; Dunne, Thomas; Park, Edward; Baker, Victor R; d'Horta, Fernando M; Wight, Charles; Wittmann, Florian; Zuanon, Jansen; Baker, Paul A; Ribas, Camila C; Norgaard, Richard B; Filizola, Naziano; Ansar, Atif; Flyvbjerg, Bent; Stevaux, Jose C

2017-06-14

More than a hundred hydropower dams have already been built in the Amazon basin and numerous proposals for further dam constructions are under consideration. The accumulated negative environmental effects of existing dams and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin's floodplains, estuary and sediment plume. We introduce a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index to quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The scale of foreseeable environmental degradation indicates the need for collective action among nations and states to avoid cumulative, far-reaching impacts. We suggest institutional innovations to assess and avoid the likely impoverishment of Amazon rivers.

The impact of the economic downturn on environmental health services and professionals in North Carolina.

PubMed

Weston-Cox, Paula

2012-06-01

The objective of the authors' study was to examine the impact of the economic recession on the environmental health profession between budget year (BY) 2006-2007 and BY 2010-2011 in the following areas: (1) environmental health department fees for services; (2) changes in staffing levels, benefits, or pay; (3) changes in staff responsibilities; and (4) the impact to the private environmental sector compared to public environmental health professionals. Data were summarized from the following surveys: North Carolina Environmental Health Supervisors Association Fee and Economic Surveys; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Government Current Salary Index; and a created online survey of private-sector environmental professionals. Total fees in the public sector for services have risen for most environmental health departments, but not enough to offset budget reductions. All of the counties that participated in the survey either have reduced staff, pay, or benefits due to budget cuts, and some counties utilized staff in other areas through cross-training. The private environmental sector also reduced staff in response to a reduced workload. Public sector employers may have difficulties retaining existing employees and recruiting new employees over the long-term in the current economic climate.

Development of a risk-based environmental management tool for drilling discharges. Summary of a four-year project.

PubMed

Singsaas, Ivar; Rye, Henrik; Frost, Tone Karin; Smit, Mathijs G D; Garpestad, Eimund; Skare, Ingvild; Bakke, Knut; Veiga, Leticia Falcao; Buffagni, Melania; Follum, Odd-Arne; Johnsen, Ståle; Moltu, Ulf-Einar; Reed, Mark

2008-04-01

This paper briefly summarizes the ERMS project and presents the developed model by showing results from environmental fates and risk calculations of a discharge from offshore drilling operations. The developed model calculates environmental risks for the water column and sediments resulting from exposure to toxic stressors (e.g., chemicals) and nontoxic stressors (e.g., suspended particles, sediment burial). The approach is based on existing risk assessment techniques described in the European Union technical guidance document on risk assessment and species sensitivity distributions. The model calculates an environmental impact factor, which characterizes the overall potential impact on the marine environment in terms of potentially impacted water volume and sediment area. The ERMS project started in 2003 and was finalized in 2007. In total, 28 scientific reports and 9 scientific papers have been delivered from the ERMS project (http://www.sintef.no/erms).

Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture.

PubMed

Tilman, David; Balzer, Christian; Hill, Jason; Befort, Belinda L

2011-12-13

Global food demand is increasing rapidly, as are the environmental impacts of agricultural expansion. Here, we project global demand for crop production in 2050 and evaluate the environmental impacts of alternative ways that this demand might be met. We find that per capita demand for crops, when measured as caloric or protein content of all crops combined, has been a similarly increasing function of per capita real income since 1960. This relationship forecasts a 100-110% increase in global crop demand from 2005 to 2050. Quantitative assessments show that the environmental impacts of meeting this demand depend on how global agriculture expands. If current trends of greater agricultural intensification in richer nations and greater land clearing (extensification) in poorer nations were to continue, ~1 billion ha of land would be cleared globally by 2050, with CO(2)-C equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reaching ~3 Gt y(-1) and N use ~250 Mt y(-1) by then. In contrast, if 2050 crop demand was met by moderate intensification focused on existing croplands of underyielding nations, adaptation and transfer of high-yielding technologies to these croplands, and global technological improvements, our analyses forecast land clearing of only ~0.2 billion ha, greenhouse gas emissions of ~1 Gt y(-1), and global N use of ~225 Mt y(-1). Efficient management practices could substantially lower nitrogen use. Attainment of high yields on existing croplands of underyielding nations is of great importance if global crop demand is to be met with minimal environmental impacts.

Energy Facility Siting by Means of Environmental Modelling with LANDSAT, Thematic Mapper and Geographic Information System (GIS) Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Currently based on ground and aerial surveys, the land cover data base of the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company is routinely used for modelling the effects of alternative generating plant and transmission line sites on the local and regional environment. The development of a satellite-based geographic information system would facilitate both the preparation of environmental impact statements by power companies and assessment of the data by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A cooperative project is planned to demonstrate the methodology for integrating satellite data into an existing geographic information system, d to further evaluate the ability of satellite data in modeling environmental conditions that would be applied in the preparation and assessment of environmental impact statements.

The environmental impact of future coal production and use in the EEC

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

Not Available

1983-01-01

The aims of this study are to assess the expected increased levels of coal consumption in the European Community up to the year 2000; to estimate to what extent consumer demand is likely to be met by EEC production; to determine the level of polluting emissions which are likely to derive from changes in coal consumption and production; and finally, to compare the environmental impact of alternative, existing or developing means of coal utilisation. Contents: Conclusions; Future coal supply and demand in the EEC; Environmental consequences of coal production and use; Coal extraction; Transport and storage; Coal combustion: air pollution;more » Coal combustion: water pollution; Pollution from solid wastes; Coal conversion process; Environmental control technology; Bibliography.« less

Needs and challenges for assessing the environmental impacts of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs)

PubMed Central

Romero-Franco, Michelle; Godwin, Hilary A; Bilal, Muhammad

2017-01-01

The potential environmental impact of nanomaterials is a critical concern and the ability to assess these potential impacts is top priority for the progress of sustainable nanotechnology. Risk assessment tools are needed to enable decision makers to rapidly assess the potential risks that may be imposed by engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), particularly when confronted by the reality of limited hazard or exposure data. In this review, we examine a range of available risk assessment frameworks considering the contexts in which different stakeholders may need to assess the potential environmental impacts of ENMs. Assessment frameworks and tools that are suitable for the different decision analysis scenarios are then identified. In addition, we identify the gaps that currently exist between the needs of decision makers, for a range of decision scenarios, and the abilities of present frameworks and tools to meet those needs. PMID:28546894

75 FR 81591 - Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Entry Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-28

.... SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 United States... proposed action is to improve security, safety, and traffic flow into and on the military base. An EIS must... concerns related to the ECPs and existing roadway network where State Route 444 separates the Kittyhawk...

Cost, performance, and esthetic impacts of an experimental forest road in Montana

Treesearch

Rulon B. Gardner

1978-01-01

An experimental logging road designed to minimize environmental and esthetic impact was constructed in northwest Montana. The road was single-lane (14-foot finished surface, 3-foot ditch), constructed along the contour. Esthetically, the single-lane experimental road was judged far superior to existing roads on the forest.

Current legal regime for environmental impact assessment in areas beyond national jurisdiction and its future approaches

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

Ma, Deqiang; Coastal and Ocean Management Institute, Xiamen University, 361102; Fang, Qinhua, E-mail: qhfang@xmu.edu.cn

In 2004, the United Nations launched an Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Since then, the topic of governing marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) has been widely discussed by politicians, policy makers and scholars. As one of management tools to protect marine biodiversity in ABNJ, environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been widely recognized and accepted by the international community, however, the biggest challenge is how to effectively implement the EIA regime in ABNJ. This paper explores the impacts of anthropogenicmore » activities in ABNJ on marine ecosystems, reviews the existing legal regime for EIA in ABNJ and discusses possible measures to strengthen the implementation of EIA in ABNJ. - Highlights: • We identify human activities in ABNJ and their impacts on marine ecosystems. • We analyze the characters and gaps of the existing legal regime for EIA in ABNJ. • We analyze the pros and cons of alternative approaches of EIA in ABNJ.« less

III: Use of biomarkers as Risk Indicators in Environmental Risk Assessment of oil based discharges offshore.

PubMed

Sanni, Steinar; Lyng, Emily; Pampanin, Daniela M

2017-06-01

Offshore oil and gas activities are required not to cause adverse environmental effects, and risk based management has been established to meet environmental standards. In some risk assessment schemes, Risk Indicators (RIs) are parameters to monitor the development of risk affecting factors. RIs have not yet been established in the Environmental Risk Assessment procedures for management of oil based discharges offshore. This paper evaluates the usefulness of biomarkers as RIs, based on their properties, existing laboratory biomarker data and assessment methods. Data shows several correlations between oil concentrations and biomarker responses, and assessment principles exist that qualify biomarkers for integration into risk procedures. Different ways that these existing biomarkers and methods can be applied as RIs in a probabilistic risk assessment system when linked with whole organism responses are discussed. This can be a useful approach to integrate biomarkers into probabilistic risk assessment related to oil based discharges, representing a potential supplement to information that biomarkers already provide about environmental impact and risk related to these kind of discharges. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technical Fact Sheet – Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides a brief summary of polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), including physical and chemical properties; environmental and health impacts; existing federal and state guidelines; detection and treatment methods; and additional sources of info

7 CFR 1940.314 - Criteria for determining a significant environmental impact.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE... the existing habitat that may affect species diversity and stability (both flora and fauna and over...

77 FR 37737 - Environmental Impact Statement for the Northeast Corridor Between Washington, DC, New York, NY...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-22

... issuing this Notice of Intent (Notice) to advise the public of the preparation of a Tier 1 Environmental... Investment Plan (PRCIP). A PRCIP provides the data necessary to support an FRA decision to fund and implement... existing NEC. FRA is issuing this Notice to alert the public and agencies about the preparation of the Tier...

A study on the impact of the GLOBE program on students' attitudes regarding environmental issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manfready, Gary Martin

A key objective in environmental curricula should be to instill responsible and concerned attitudes toward environmental issues. This can be accomplished through the application of innovative programs which emphasize the development of the affective domain of learning. The development of personal attitudes is one form of evidence that the affective domain is being addressed. This study was undertaken to determine the impact of the GLOBE program (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) on the attitudes of students toward environmental issues. Three hundred and five middle and high school level students from four states were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward selected environmental statements. Results demonstrated that attitudes toward environmental issues of GLOBE students were significantly greater than non-GLOBE students. Additional analysis demonstrated that regardless of grade levels, gender, racial and ethnicity backgrounds, depth of GLOBE involvement, and degree of teachers' GLOBE experiences, GLOBE students display similar levels of attitudes toward environmental issues. Establishment of a reliable Likert scale measurement instrument was accomplished. Permission to use an existing survey was obtained. Additional items were added to increase validity. Establishment of reliability was accomplished through a Guttman split half analysis of the piloted instrument. Through the use of factor analysis, four categories or sub-groupings of attitudes were determined to exist. Reliability was established for the factors. These sub-groupings were identified as personal commitment to environmental protection, awareness of avenues for action, loci of control, and students' perception of teachers' abilities to present environmental topics. These categories were a part of the analysis of four hypotheses.

77 FR 17051 - Environmental Impacts Statements; Notice of Availability

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-23

..., Contact: Tina Orcutt 410-962-4290. EIS No. 20120072, Final EIS, FTA, CA, Westside Subway Extension Transit Corridor Project, Extension of the Existing Metro Purple Line and Metro Red Line Heavy Rail Subway, Los...

Potential impacts of nanotechnology on energy transmission applications and needs.

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

Elcock, D.; Environmental Science Division

2007-11-30

The application of nanotechnologies to energy transmission has the potential to significantly impact both the deployed transmission technologies and the need for additional development. This could be a factor in assessing environmental impacts of right-of-way (ROW) development and use. For example, some nanotechnology applications may produce materials (e.g., cables) that are much stronger per unit volume than existing materials, enabling reduced footprints for construction and maintenance of electricity transmission lines. Other applications, such as more efficient lighting, lighter-weight materials for vehicle construction, and smaller batteries having greater storage capacities may reduce the need for long-distance transport of energy, and possiblymore » reduce the need for extensive future ROW development and many attendant environmental impacts. This report introduces the field of nanotechnology, describes some of the ways in which processes and products developed with or incorporating nanomaterials differ from traditional processes and products, and identifies some examples of how nanotechnology may be used to reduce potential ROW impacts. Potential environmental, safety, and health impacts are also discussed.« 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

Environmental modelling of use of treated organic waste on agricultural land: a comparison of existing models for life cycle assessment of waste systems.

PubMed

Hansen, Trine Lund; Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Schmidt, Sonia

2006-04-01

Modelling of environmental impacts from the application of treated organic municipal solid waste (MSW) in agriculture differs widely between different models for environmental assessment of waste systems. In this comparative study five models were examined concerning quantification and impact assessment of environmental effects from land application of treated organic MSW: DST (Decision Support Tool, USA), IWM (Integrated Waste Management, U.K.), THE IFEU PROJECT (Germany), ORWARE (ORganic WAste REsearch, Sweden) and EASEWASTE (Environmental Assessment of Solid Waste Systems and Technologies, Denmark). DST and IWM are life cycle inventory (LCI) models, thus not performing actual impact assessment. The DST model includes only one water emission (biological oxygen demand) from compost leaching in the results and IWM considers only air emissions from avoided production of commercial fertilizers. THE IFEU PROJECT, ORWARE and EASEWASTE are life cycle assessment (LCA) models containing more detailed land application modules. A case study estimating the environmental impacts from land application of 1 ton of composted source sorted organic household waste was performed to compare the results from the different models and investigate the origin of any difference in type or magnitude of the results. The contributions from the LCI models were limited and did not depend on waste composition or local agricultural conditions. The three LCA models use the same overall approach for quantifying the impacts of the system. However, due to slightly different assumptions, quantification methods and environmental impact assessment, the obtained results varied clearly between the models. Furthermore, local conditions (e.g. soil type, farm type, climate and legal regulation) and waste composition strongly influenced the results of the environmental assessment.

A case study of packaging waste collection systems in Portugal - Part II: Environmental and economic analysis.

PubMed

Pires, Ana; Sargedas, João; Miguel, Mécia; Pina, Joaquim; Martinho, Graça

2017-03-01

An understanding of the environmental impacts and costs related to waste collection is needed to ensure that existing waste collection schemes are the most appropriate with regard to both environment and cost. This paper is Part II of a three-part study of a mixed packaging waste collection system (curbside plus bring collection). Here, the mixed collection system is compared to an exclusive curbside system and an exclusive bring system. The scenarios were assessed using life cycle assessment and an assessment of costs to the waste management company. The analysis focuses on the collection itself so as to be relevant to waste managers and decision-makers who are involved only in this step of the packaging life cycle. The results show that the bring system has lower environmental impacts and lower economic costs, and is capable of reducing the environmental impacts of the mixed system. However, a sensitivity analysis shows that these results could differ if the curbside collection were to be optimized. From economic and environmental perspectives, the mixed system has few advantages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Considering social and environmental concerns as reservoir operating objectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tilmant, A.; Georis, B.; Doulliez, P.

2003-04-01

Sustainability principles are now widely recognized as key criteria for water resource development schemes, such as hydroelectric and multipurpose reservoirs. Development decisions no longer rely solely on economic grounds, but also consider environmental and social concerns through the so-called environmental and social impact assessments. The objective of this paper is to show that environmental and social concerns can also be addressed in the management (operation) of existing or projected reservoir schemes. By either adequately exploiting the results of environmental and social impact assessments, or by carrying out survey of water users, experts and managers, efficient (Pareto optimal) reservoir operating rules can be derived using flexible mathematical programming techniques. By reformulating the problem as a multistage flexible constraint satisfaction problem, incommensurable and subjective operating objectives can contribute, along with classical economic objectives, to the determination of optimal release decisions. Employed in a simulation mode, the results can be used to assess the long-term impacts of various operating rules on the social well-being of affected populations as well as on the integrity of the environment. The methodology is illustrated with a reservoir reallocation problem in Chile.

Assessing cumulative impacts within state environmental review frameworks in the United States

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

Ma Zhao, E-mail: zma@nrc.umass.ed; Becker, Dennis R., E-mail: drbecker@umn.ed; Kilgore, Michael A., E-mail: mkilgore@umn.ed

Cumulative impact assessment (CIA) is the process of systematically assessing a proposed action's cumulative environmental effects in the context of past, present, and future actions, regardless of who undertakes such actions. Previous studies have examined CIA efforts at the federal level but little is known about how states assess the cumulative impacts of nonfederal projects. By examining state environmental review statutes, administrative rules, agency-prepared materials, and a national survey of the administrators of state environmental review programs, this study identifies the legal and administrative frameworks for CIA. It examines current CIA practice, discusses the relationship between CIA policy and itsmore » implementation, and explores the opportunities for improvement. The results of the study show that twenty-nine state environmental review programs across twenty-six states required the assessment of cumulative environmental impacts. More than half of these programs have adopted specific procedures for implementing their policies. Some programs assessed cumulative impacts using a standard review document, and others have created their own documentations incorporated into applications for state permits or funding. The majority of programs have adopted various scales, baselines, significance criteria, and coordination practices in their CIA processes. Mixed methods were generally used for data collection and analysis; qualitative methods were more prevalent than quantitative methods. The results also suggest that a program with comprehensive and consistent environmental review policies and procedures does not always imply extensive CIA requirements and practices. Finally, this study discusses the potential for improving existing CIA processes and promoting CIA efforts in states without established environmental review programs.« less

Environmental engineering of navigation infrastructure: a survey of existing practices, challenges, and potential opportunities.

PubMed

Fredette, Thomas J; Foran, Christy M; Brasfield, Sandra M; Suedel, Burton C

2012-01-01

Navigation infrastructure such as channels, jetties, river training structures, and lock-and-dam facilities are primary components of a safe and efficient water transportation system. Planning for such infrastructure has until recently involved efforts to minimize impacts on the environment through a standardized environmental assessment process. More recently, consistent with environmental sustainability concepts, planners have begun to consider how such projects can also be constructed with environmental enhancements. This study examined the existing institutional conditions within the US Army Corps of Engineers and cooperating federal agencies relative to incorporating environmental enhancements into navigation infrastructure projects. The study sought to (1) investigate institutional attitudes towards the environmental enhancement of navigation infrastructure (EENI) concept, (2) identify potential impediments to implementation and solutions to such impediments, (3) identify existing navigation projects designed with the express intent of enhancing environmental benefit in addition to the primary project purpose, (4) identify innovative ideas for increasing environmental benefits for navigation projects, (5) identify needs for additional technical information or research, and (6) identify laws, regulations, and policies that both support and hinder such design features. The principal investigation tool was an Internet-based survey with 53 questions. The survey captured a wide range of perspectives on the EENI concept including ideas, concerns, research needs, and relevant laws and policies. Study recommendations included further promotion of the concept of EENI to planners and designers, documentation of existing projects, initiation of pilot studies on some of the innovative ideas provided through the survey, and development of national goals and interagency agreements to facilitate implementation. Copyright © 2011 SETAC.

The ‘grey’ assessment practice of IA screening: Prevalence, influence and applied rationale

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

Bidstrup, Morten, E-mail: Bidstrup@plan.aau.dk

Research focusing on the practices surrounding screening in Impact Assessment (IA) is limited. Yet, it has been found that development proposals sometimes are adjusted through an informal dialog with IA practitioners prior to or during screening. Such practice is often referred to as ‘grey IA’ in Denmark. This article explores the prevalence, influence and applied rationale of grey IA. Through a questionnaire, data was collected from 121 IA practitioners working within the fields of environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment. It was found that grey IA is a common practice, which influences the outcomes of formal screening procedures throughmore » consideration of impacts on neighbours and spatial zones of protection. Grey IA is to some extent motivated by the opportunity to save the resources required for full-scale IA, but an additional ‘green’ rationale also exists. Grey IA may influence the effectiveness of IA systems, but further research is needed before any conclusions can be made. - Highlights: • Screening procedures may function as an informal, ‘grey’ assessment. • Grey assessment is common and influences formal screening outcomes. • Grey assessment is motivated by an opportunity to cut IA costs. • Yet, an environmental, ‘green’ rationale for grey assessment also exists.« less

NOAA data service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beginning this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a new source of information for scientists seeking information on environmental assessment and impact studies, facility site planning, research program planning, project data tracking and management, and new data.The agency's new National Environmental Data Referral Service (NEDRES) is an electronic catalog that identifies the existence, location, characteristics, and availability of conditions of environmental data. NOAA expects NEDRES to develop into a national network serving federal, state, and private organizations. NEDRES now contains about 13,000 data files.

75 FR 76981 - Environmental Impact Statements; Notice of Availability

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-10

..., Contact: Cesar Perez 916-498-5065. EIS No. 20100459, Draft EIS, BPA, 00, Big Eddy-Knight Transmission... using a Combination of Existing BPA and New 150-Foot wide Right-of-Way, Wasco County, OR and Klickitat...

90 Seconds of Discovery: Fast Pyrolysis

ScienceCinema

Weber, Robert; Elliot, Douglas

2018-01-16

Fossil fuels have provided a time-proven, energy-dense fuel for more than a century. The challenge facing America today is developing alternatives that work within our existing infrastructure; to decrease environmental impact; and to increase energy security.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Peacekeeper in Minuteman Silos, 90th Strategic MIssile Wing, F. E. Warren Air Force Base

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-01

exceed a 5-year period. Single-family and multifamily housing will experience both growth and decline cycle impact conditions . Single family housing will... growth and decline cycle impact conditions . A high and significant short-term impact is the result of a required supply of 42 units in 1989 ( growth ...over-design. The model corroborated, however, that expansion is necessary even for existing conditions , much less the 114-person growth expected during

Data and monitoring needs for a more ecological agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaks, David P. M.; Kucharik, Christopher J.

2011-01-01

Information on the life-cycle environmental impacts of agricultural production is often limited. As demands grow for increasing agricultural output while reducing its negative environmental impacts, both existing and novel data sources can be leveraged to provide more information to producers, consumers, scientists and policy makers. We review the components and organization of an agroecological sensor web that integrates remote sensing technologies and in situ sensors with models in order to provide decision makers with effective management options at useful spatial and temporal scales for making more informed decisions about agricultural productivity while reducing environmental burdens. Several components of the system are already in place, but by increasing the extent and accessibility of information, decision makers will have the opportunity to enhance food security and environmental quality. Potential roadblocks to implementation include farmer acceptance, data transparency and technology deployment.

Environmental regulations: their impact on the battery and lead industries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ainley, John R.

This paper presents a general overview of the past and current position of the lead industry in relation to environmental legislation and its impact. The lead industry has watched environmental lead levels being steadily reduced down to levels that, ten years ago, would have been considered unachievable. Nevertheless, the industry has managed to survive the effect of the ever-increasing demands of environmental controls. During the last ten to twenty years, lead producers and users have had to assess their future positions, as the cost implications of environmental laws have had a significant impact on their bottom lines. Without doubt, this consideration most definitely affected the viability of many plants. The need to be aware of the existence of new and proposed legislation is of paramount importance, as the threat from the vast array of EEC legislation is ever apparent. Lead companies have all considered environmental legislation to have no more than a nuisance value, but it is of vital importance to the future of the industry that such legislation is approached in a positive and sensible way in order to demonstrate a full commitment to protecting both employees and the general environment. Lead must receive the credit that it so richly deserves.

Revision and extension of Eco-LCA metrics for sustainability assessment of the energy and chemical processes.

PubMed

Yang, Shiying; Yang, Siyu; Kraslawski, Andrzej; Qian, Yu

2013-12-17

Ecologically based life cycle assessment (Eco-LCA) is an appealing approach for the evaluation of resources utilization and environmental impacts of the process industries from an ecological scale. However, the aggregated metrics of Eco-LCA suffer from some drawbacks: the environmental impact metric has limited applicability; the resource utilization metric ignores indirect consumption; the renewability metric fails to address the quantitative distinction of resources availability; the productivity metric seems self-contradictory. In this paper, the existing Eco-LCA metrics are revised and extended for sustainability assessment of the energy and chemical processes. A new Eco-LCA metrics system is proposed, including four independent dimensions: environmental impact, resource utilization, resource availability, and economic effectiveness. An illustrative example of comparing assessment between a gas boiler and a solar boiler process provides insight into the features of the proposed approach.

77 FR 6787 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for a Live-Fire...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-09

... the community's ability to access the cultural sites of Pagat Village and Pagat Cave. In response to... about locating Surface Danger Zones for the ranges over Pagat Village and Pagat Cave, in January 2011... manner that would not impact access to Pagat Village and Cave via the existing trail. The DoN further...

Assessing Health Impacts within Environmental Impact Assessments: An Opportunity for Public Health Globally Which Must Not Remain Missed

PubMed Central

Harris, Patrick; Viliani, Francesca; Spickett, Jeff

2015-01-01

Within the member states of the United Nations 190 of 193 have regulated Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) which is a systematic process to prevent and mitigate the potential environmental impacts of industry development projects before these occur. However, the routine and comprehensive assessment of health impacts within EIAs remains underdeveloped. Focusing, as an example, on the risks to global health from the global shift in the mining industry towards Low and Middle Income Countries LMIC), this viewpoint details why connecting with EIA is an essential task for the health system. Although existing knowledge is out of date in relation to global practice we identify how health has been included, to some extent, in High Income Country EIAs and the institutional requirements for doing so. Using arguments identified by industry themselves about requiring a ‘social license to operate’, we conclude that EIA regulations provide the best current mechanism to ensure health protection is a core aspect in the decision making process to approve projects. PMID:25608592

Center for Nuclear Medicine Research in Alzheimer`s Disease Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University. Environmental Assessment

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

Not Available

1994-04-01

The Environmental Assessment (EA) of the Center for Nuclear Medicine Research in Alzheimer`s Disease (CNMR) at the Health Sciences Center, at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia for the construction and operation was prepared by DOE. The EA documents analysis of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts that might occur as a result of these actions, and characterizes potential impacts on the environment. In the EA, DOE presents its evaluation of potential impacts of construction and operation of the CNMR on health and safety of both workers and the public, as well as on the external environment. Construction impacts includemore » the effects of erosion, waste disposal, air emissions, noise, and construction traffic and parking. Operational impacts include the effects of waste generation (domestic, sanitary, hazardous, medical/biological, radioactive and mixed wastes), radiation exposures, air emissions (radioactive, criteria, and air toxics), noise, and new workers. No sensitive resources (wetlands, special sources of groundwater, protected species) exist in the area of project effect.« less

76 FR 41791 - Environmental Impacts Statements; Notice of Availability

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-15

.... Crabtree, PhD 727-824-5305. EIS No. 20110218, Final EIS, BPA, 00, Big Eddy-Knight Transmission Project... Combination of Existing BPA and New 150-Foot wide Right-of-Way, Wasco County, OR and Klickitat County, WA...

How Stereochemistry Considerations can Improve Pesticide Safety

EPA Science Inventory

About 30% of pesticides are chiral molecules and therefore exist as two or more stereoisomers, which can differ significantly in their toxicity, biodegradation, and persistence. Such differences can impact their relative safety to humans and environmental species. Enantiomers, mi...

AN OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

There is substantial public health concern that aspects of the environment adversely impact child health and development. Children may be more vulnerable to environmental threats but little comprehensive research exists to identify which factors are harmful, harmless or helpful....

Environmental sustainability comparison of a hypothetical pneumatic waste collection system and a door-to-door system.

PubMed

Punkkinen, Henna; Merta, Elina; Teerioja, Nea; Moliis, Katja; Kuvaja, Eveliina

2012-10-01

Waste collection is one of the life cycle phases that influence the environmental sustainability of waste management. Pneumatic waste collection systems represent a new way of arranging waste collection in densely populated urban areas. However, limited information is available on the environmental impacts of this system. In this study, we compare the environmental sustainability of conventional door-to-door waste collection with its hypothetical pneumatic alternative. Furthermore, we analyse whether the size of the hypothetical pneumatic system, or the number of waste fractions included, have an impact on the results. Environmental loads are calculated for a hypothetical pneumatic waste collection system modelled on an existing dense urban area in Helsinki, Finland, and the results are compared to those of the prevailing, container-based, door-to-door waste collection system. The evaluation method used is the life-cycle inventory (LCI). In this study, we report the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), SO(2) and NO(x). The results indicate that replacing the prevailing system with stationary pneumatic waste collection in an existing urban infrastructure would increase total air emissions. Locally, in the waste collection area, emissions would nonetheless diminish, as collection traffic decreases. While the electricity consumption of the hypothetical pneumatic system and the origin of electricity have a significant bearing on the results, emissions due to manufacturing the system's components prove decisive. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Opportunities for cost reduction and improved environmental impact in the lead and lead/acid battery industries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, N.

The opportunities for cost reduction through improved environmental performance exist in many companies, but often are not realized. This paper describes the efforts of a typical firm — Calder Industrial Materials (CIM) — that is experiencing ever-tighter environmental controls and profit erosion through the effects of new environmental legislation. At the same time, however, CIM sees opportunities to reduce its environmental burden and cut costs. As the story unfolds, readers may well discover many parallels with their own companies. It may even spur some into action, for remember, every £1000 saved requires ten times the turnover to generate the same profit.

The use of existing environmental networks for the post-market monitoring of GM crop cultivation in the EU.

PubMed

Smets, G; Alcalde, E; Andres, D; Carron, D; Delzenne, P; Heise, A; Legris, G; Martinez Parrilla, M; Verhaert, J; Wandelt, C; Ilegems, M; Rüdelsheim, P

2014-07-01

The European Union (EU) Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment requires that both Case-Specific Monitoring (CSM) and General Surveillance (GS) are considered as post-market implementing measures. Whereas CSM is directed to monitor potential adverse effects of GMOs or their use identified in the environmental risk assessment, GS aims to detect un-intended adverse effects of GMOs or their use on human and animal health or the environment. Guidance documents on the monitoring of genetically modified (GM) plants from the Commission and EFSA clarify that, as appropriate, GS can make use of established routine surveillance practices. Networks involved in routine surveillance offer recognised expertise in a particular domain and are designed to collect information on important environmental aspects over a large geographical area. However, as the suitability of existing monitoring networks to provide relevant data for monitoring impacts of GMOs is not known, plant biotechnology companies developed an approach to describe the processes and criteria that will be used for selecting and evaluating existing monitoring systems. In this paper, the availability of existing monitoring networks for this purpose is evaluated. By cataloguing the existing environmental monitoring networks in the EU, it can be concluded that they can only be used, in the context of GMO cultivation monitoring, as secondary tools to collect baseline information.

Industrial Fuel Gas Demonstration Plant Program. Volume 1. Demonstration plant environmental analysis (Deliverable No. 27)

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

Gray, Robert W.; Swift, Richard J.; Krause, Arthur J.

1979-08-01

This environmental report describes the proposed action to construct, test and operate a coal gasification demonstration plant in Memphis, Tennessee, under the co-sponsorship of the Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division (MLGW) and the US Department of Energy (DOE). This document is Volume I of a three-volume Environmental Report. Volume I consists of the Summary, Introduction and the Description of the Proposed Action. Volume II consists of the Description of the Existing Environment. Volume III contains the Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action, Mitigating Measures and Alternatives to the Proposed Action.

76 FR 63763 - National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-13

...The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is revising its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Procedures. The majority of the changes are being made to the categorical exclusion provisions. These revisions are intended to better align the Department's regulations, particularly its categorical exclusions, with DOE's current activities and recent experiences, and to update the provisions with respect to current technologies and regulatory requirements. DOE is establishing 20 new categorical exclusions and removing two categorical exclusion categories, one environmental assessment category, and three environmental impact statement categories. Other changes modify and clarify DOE's existing provisions.

Impact of European Union Legislation On The Wash Catchment, U.k.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daldorph, P.; Wheater, H.; Saunders, A.

A case study is presented which shows the impact of existing European Legislation (Urban Waste Water Directive, Nitrate Directive, Bathing Waters Directive, Habitats Directive) on aquatic nutrient concentrations in the 16112 km2 catchment area of The Wash in eastern England , including both the inland and coastal zones. Information is provided on the implementation process (administrative and economic) and the observed impacts of measures to reduce environmental nutrient levels. Impacts are compared with simulations of nutrients in the inland and coastal zones, and the modeling tools are further used to predict impacts of future management change, e.g. to meet possible requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The issues in setting future environmental targets and research needs to underpin this process are discussed in the context of developing river basin management plans to support the Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive.

Jobs and the environment: An overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodstein, Eban

1996-05-01

This paper provides an overview of economic research on the relationship between environmental protection and employment. The paper addresses, first, the impact of existing regulation on overall employment rates, shutdowns and layoffs, and regulation-induced capital flight from developed countries. Second, the paper provides a framework for evaluating claims that, over the longer run, environmental protection measures will boost overall employment and provide the foundation for a robust, sustainable economy.

Environmental Assessment for Construct/Demolish Dog Kennel Facility MacDill AFB, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-04-01

on-base wastewater treatment plant is applied by spray irrigation. 26 APRIL 2003 Affected Environment Environmental Assessment for Construct...undecimalis sse Plants No State or Federally listed plant species are known to exist on MacDill AFB - - T =Threatened, T(SA) Threatcncd/Stmllanty of...Base-related economic impacts. The area includes all or part of Hillsborough, Pinellas , Polk, Pasco, Hardee, Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto Counties

78 FR 24771 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Gateway West 230/345...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-26

..., especially wind energy, in Idaho and Wyoming and would aid in delivering that energy throughout the region... linear facility outside of existing corridors. Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National...

SPERM COUNT DISTRIBUTIONS IN FERTILE MEN

EPA Science Inventory

Sperm concentration and count are often used as indicators of environmental impacts on male reproductive health. Existing clinical databases may be biased towards subfertile men with low sperm counts and less is known about expected sperm count distributions in cohorts of fertil...

Environmental profile evaluations of piezoelectric polymers using life cycle assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parvez Mahmud, M. A.; Huda, Nazmul; Hisan Farjana, Shahjadi; Lang, Candace

2018-05-01

Piezoelectric materials are indispensable to produce electricity, harvesting ambient mechanical energy through motion for sectors and products, from sensors, to biomedical systems, to tiny electronics. Nylon 66 and tetrafluoroethylene dominate the market among thousands of piezoelectric materials to provide an autonomous power supply. Emphasis has been given on investigating the environmental impacts of both materials due to the growing consciousness of the ecological and health risks of piezoelectric polymers. The fabrication steps of these polymers from raw materials are extremely hazardous to the environment in terms of toxicity and human health effects. However, no quantification of the possible environmental impacts for the manufacturing of nylon 66 and tetrafluoroethylene exists. This research paper addresses their comparative environmental effects, in terms of chemical constituents. Life cycle impact analysis has been carried out by ReCipe 2016 Endpoint, Ecopoints 97, Raw material flows and CML-IA baseline methods, using Australasian life cycle inventory database and SimaPro software. The impacts are considered in categories like global warming, eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity, fine particulates, and marine ecotoxicity. The results show that there is a significant environmental impact caused by tetrafluoroethylene in comparison with nylon 66 polymer during the manufacturing process. These impacts occur due to the quantity of toxic chemical elements present as constituents of tetrafluoroethylene raw material and its fabrication periods. It can be anticipated that a better ecological performance can be attained through optimization, especially by cautiously picking substitute materials and machines, taking into account the toxicity aspects, and by minimizing the impacts related to designs, fabrication processes and usage.

Geothermal space/water heating for City of Mammoth Lakes, California. Draft final report

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

Sims, A.V.; Racine, W.C.

1977-09-01

The results of a study to determine the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of geothermal district heating for Mammoth Lakes Village, California are presented. The geothermal district heating system selected is technically feasible and uses existing technology in its design and operation. During a preliminary environmental assessment, no potential adverse environmental impacts could be identified of sufficient consequence to preclude the construction and operation of the proposed district heating system. A follow-on program aimed at implementing district heating in Mammoth is outlined.

The socioeconomic impacts of the 2004-2008 drought in the Ebro river basin (Spain): A comprehensive and critical assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández-Mora, N.; Garrido, A.; Gil, M.

2012-04-01

Water scarcity and drought are particularly relevant phenomena in Spain, a country with a Mediterranean climate and intense pressure on existing water resources. Spain's drought management policies have evolved significantly over time, and today Spain is at the forefront of drought management and mitigation planning in Europe. However, drought management policies are not informed by comprehensive or accurate estimations of the socioeconomic impacts of drought, nor by the efficiency or efficacy of drought management and mitigation measures. Previous studies attempting to estimate on the impacts of drought are based on direct economic users of water, primarily irrigated agriculture and hydropower. Existing analyses do not take into consideration the impacts on other economic sectors, such as recreational uses, which have a growing importance from a socioeconomic perspective. Additionally, the intangible or non-market impacts (on social welfare and wellbeing and on the environment) are not considered or measured, although they can be significant. This paper presents the mid-point results of the PREEMPT project (Policy relevant assessment of the socioeconomic effects of droughts and floods, ECHO - grant agreement # 070401/2010/579119/SUB/C4), an effort to provide a comprehensive assessment of the socioeconomic impacts of the 2004-2008 drought in the Ebro river basin. The study gathers existing information on direct and indirect economic impacts of drought on different sectors, completing existing gaps and comparing the results of studies that use different methodologies. It also estimates the welfare losses resulting from domestic water use restrictions and environmental degradation as a result of the drought using a value transfer approach from results derived from value choice experiments developed for other Spanish and international river basins. Results indicate that there is a clear need to improve our knowledge of the direct and indirect impacts of drought and to devise simple methodological and institutional approaches that allow for more effective and harmonized information gathering. We propose more accurate and policy relevant methodological alternatives. In terms of the welfare and environmental impacts of drought, we use different and complementary approaches and discuss possible limitations of existing methodologies. In spite of these limitations, we argue that an improved knowledge of the risks and costs of extreme meteorological events will help inform and improve decision making for effective and cost-efficient risk mitigation practices. Comparing our results of the Ebro drought 2004-2008 with previous academic and official analyses reveals significant biases, resulting from impacts overestimation and from omitting non-market water uses, indirect effects and intangible effects.

Proposed Columbia Wind Farm No. 1 : Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Joint NEPA/SEPA.

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

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Klickitat County

1995-03-01

This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) addresses the Columbia Wind Farm {number_sign}1 (Project) proposal for construction and operation of a 25 megawatt (MW) wind power project in the Columbia Hills area southeast of Goldendale in Klickitat County, Washington. The Project would be constructed on private land by Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES) (the Applicant). An Environmental Impact Statement is required under both NEPA and SEPA guidelines and is issued under Section 102 (2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq and under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) as provided bymore » RCW 43.21C.030 (2) (c). Bonneville Power Administration is the NEPA lead agency; Klickitat County is the nominal SEPA lead agency and CARES is the SEPA co-lead agency for this DEIS. The Project site is approximately 395 hectares (975 acres) in size. The Proposed Action would include approximately 91 model AWT-26 wind turbines. Under the No Action Alternative, the Project would not be constructed and existing grazing and agricultural activities on the site would continue.« less

Grizzly Substation Fiber Optics : Environmental Assessment.

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

United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

1998-02-01

This notice announces BPA`s decision to construct, operate, and maintain the Grizzly Substation Fiber Optic Project (Project). This Project is part of a continuing effort by BPA to complete a regionwide upgrade of its existing telecommunications system. The US Forest Service and BPA jointly prepared the Grizzly Substation Fiber Optic Project Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1241) evaluating the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Action, the Underground Installation Alternative, and the No Action Alternative. Based on the analysis in the EA, the US Forest Service and BPA have determined that the Proposed Action is not a major Federal action significantly affectingmore » the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI. The US Forest Service has separately issued a FONSI and Decision Notice authorizing BPA to construct, operate, and maintain the Project within the Crooked River National Grassland (Grassland).« less

INCORPORATING ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES INTO A HEALTH ECONOMIC MODEL.

PubMed

Marsh, Kevin; Ganz, Michael; Nørtoft, Emil; Lund, Niels; Graff-Zivin, Joshua

2016-01-01

Traditional economic evaluations for most health technology assessments (HTAs) have previously not included environmental outcomes. With the growing interest in reducing the environmental impact of human activities, the need to consider how to include environmental outcomes into HTAs has increased. We present a simple method of doing so. We adapted an existing clinical-economic model to include environmental outcomes (carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions) to predict the consequences of adding insulin to an oral antidiabetic (OAD) regimen for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) over 30 years, from the United Kingdom payer perspective. Epidemiological, efficacy, healthcare costs, utility, and carbon emissions data were derived from published literature. A scenario analysis was performed to explore the impact of parameter uncertainty. The addition of insulin to an OAD regimen increases costs by 2,668 British pounds per patient and is associated with 0.36 additional quality-adjusted life-years per patient. The insulin-OAD combination regimen generates more treatment and disease management-related CO2 emissions per patient (1,686 kg) than the OAD-only regimen (310 kg), but generates fewer emissions associated with treating complications (3,019 kg versus 3,337 kg). Overall, adding insulin to OAD therapy generates an extra 1,057 kg of CO2 emissions per patient over 30 years. The model offers a simple approach for incorporating environmental outcomes into health economic analyses, to support a decision-maker's objective of reducing the environmental impact of health care. Further work is required to improve the accuracy of the approach; in particular, the generation of resource-specific environmental impacts.

Environmental health research recommendations from the Inter-Environmental Health Sciences Core Center Working Group on unconventional natural gas drilling operations.

PubMed

Penning, Trevor M; Breysse, Patrick N; Gray, Kathleen; Howarth, Marilyn; Yan, Beizhan

2014-11-01

Unconventional natural gas drilling operations (UNGDO) (which include hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling) supply an energy source that is potentially cleaner than liquid or solid fossil fuels and may provide a route to energy independence. However, significant concerns have arisen due to the lack of research on the public health impact of UNGDO. Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHSCCs), funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), formed a working group to review the literature on the potential public health impact of UNGDO and to make recommendations for needed research. The Inter-EHSCC Working Group concluded that a potential for water and air pollution exists that might endanger public health, and that the social fabric of communities could be impacted by the rapid emergence of drilling operations. The working group recommends research to inform how potential risks could be mitigated. Research on exposure and health outcomes related to UNGDO is urgently needed, and community engagement is essential in the design of such studies.

Environmental Impact and Relative Invasiveness of Free-Roaming Domestic Carnivores—a North American Survey of Governmental Agencies

PubMed Central

Lepe, Ana; Kaplan, Valerie; Arreaza, Alirio; Szpanderfer, Robert; Bristol, David; Sinclair, M. Scott

2017-01-01

Simple Summary This paper reports on a survey that explores the impact of three non-native domestic carnivores—dogs, cats, and ferrets—on the native wildlife of the United States (US) and Canada. Government agencies were asked to document the number and frequency of sightings, and the degree of concern resulting from free-roaming animals on urban, suburban, rural, recreational areas, and wildlands in their jurisdictions. Results confirm the existence of free-roaming cats and dogs throughout North America, as well as their profound impact on native wildlife, with cats being the major offenders. Except for an occasional stray, free-roaming ferrets were “never” or “rarely seen”; no agency reported that ferrets caused environmental harm. This is the first study to compare the relative impact of free-roaming dogs, cats, and ferrets. It shows differences in how these three animals react to novel environments. For the US and Canada, free roaming cats and dogs meet the definition of an “invasive” species, whereas ferrets do not. However, the way we as a society view these animals, our attitudes and perceptions, may influence how governmental agencies manage and control them. Abstract A survey of the United States and Canadian governmental agencies investigated the environmental impact and relative invasiveness of free-roaming domestic non-native carnivores—dogs, cats, and ferrets. Agencies represented wildlife, fish, game, natural or environmental resources, parks and recreation, veterinary and human health, animal control, and agriculture. Respondents were asked to document the number and frequency of sightings of unconfined animals, evidence for environmental harm, and the resulting “degree of concern” in their respective jurisdictions. Results confirmed the existence of feral (breeding) cats and dogs, documenting high levels of concern regarding the impact of these animals on both continental and surrounding insular habitats. Except for occasional strays, no free-roaming or feral ferrets were reported; nor were there reports of ferrets impacting native wildlife, including ground-nesting birds, or sensitive species. This is the first study to report the relative impact of free-roaming domestic carnivores. Dogs and cats meet the current definition of “invasive” species, whereas ferrets do not. Differences in how each species impacts the North American environment highlights the complex interaction between non-native species and their environment. Public attitudes and perceptions regarding these species may be a factor in their control and agency management priorities. PMID:29036923

Weapons and Minority Youth Violence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northrop, Daphne; Hamrick, Kim

Weapons violence is a major public health problem that especially impacts minority youth. Interventions designed to reduce weapon use by youth are categorized as educational/behavioral change, legal, and technological/environmental. Few educational programs currently exist, but those that do largely concern firearm safety courses, public…

75 FR 20377 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Sonoran Solar...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-19

... the Arizona State Land Department (approximately 5.3 acres) and private land owners (approximately 9.4... solar conditions existed (night time, cloud cover, etc.), and would provide up to 25 percent of annual...

Wheel/Rail Noise Control : A Critical Evaluation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-01-01

Noise and vibration are the major sources of environmental impact from urban rail transit operations, and is a concern for both new and existing systems. One of the primary sources of noise on rail transit systems is wheel/rail noise, or, the noise e...

A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF MODEL UNCERTAINTY FOR FORECASTING HYDROLOGIC CHANGE

EPA Science Inventory

GIS-based hydrologic modeling offers a convenient means of assessing the impacts associated with land-cover/use change for environmental planning efforts. Alternative future scenarios can be used as input to hydrologic models and compared with existing conditions to evaluate pot...

GEOTHERMAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT: BASELINE DATA FOR FOUR GEOTHERMAL AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

This report describes the existing data on climatology, hydrology, water chemistry, seismicity, and subsidence in the Rio Grande Rift Zone, New Mexico; The Geysers, California; the Klamath Falls, Oregon; and with special emphasis, The Imperial Valley, California.

Using environmental tracer data to identify deep-aquifer, long-term flow patterns and recharge distributions in the Surat Basin, Queensland, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siade, A. J.; Suckow, A. O.; Morris, R.; Raiber, M.; Prommer, H.

2017-12-01

The calibration of regional groundwater flow models, including those investigating coal-seam gas (CSG) impacts in the Surat Basin, Australia, are not typically constrained using environmental tracers, although the use of such data can potentially provide significant reductions in predictive uncertainties. These additional sources of information can also improve the conceptualisation of flow systems and the quantification of groundwater fluxes. In this study, new multi-tracer data (14C, 39Ar, 81Kr, and 36Cl) were collected for the eastern recharge areas of the basin and within the deeper Hutton and Precipice Sandstone formations to complement existing environmental tracer data. These data were used to better understand the recharge mechanisms, recharge rates and the hydraulic properties associated with deep aquifer systems in the Surat Basin. Together with newly acquired pressure data documenting the response to the large-scale reinjection of highly treated CSG co-produced water, the environmental tracer data helped to improve the conceptualisation of the aquifer system, forming the basis for a more robust quantification of the long-term impacts of CSG-related activities. An existing regional scale MODFLOW-USG groundwater flow model of the area was used as the basis for our analysis of existing and new observation data. A variety of surrogate modelling approaches were used to develop simplified models that focussed on the flow and transport behaviour of the deep aquifer systems. These surrogate models were able to represent sub-system behaviour in terms of flow, multi-environmental tracer transport and the observed large-scale hydrogeochemical patterns. The incorporation of the environmental tracer data into the modelling framework provide an improved understanding of the flow regimes of the deeper aquifer systems as well as valuable information on how to reduce uncertainties in hydraulic properties where there is little or no historical observations of hydraulic heads.

An innovative implementation of LCA within the EIA procedure: Lessons learned from two Wastewater Treatment Plant case studies

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

Larrey-Lassalle, Pyrène, E-mail: pyrene.larrey-lassalle@irstea.fr; LGEI, Ecole des mines d'Alès, 6 avenue de Clavières, 30319 Alès Cedex; Catel, Laureline

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been identified in the literature as a promising tool to increase the performance of environmental assessments at different steps in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure. However, few publications have proposed a methodology for an extensive integration, and none have compared the results with existing EIA conclusions without LCA. This paper proposes a comprehensive operational methodology for implementing an LCA within an EIA. Based on a literature review, we identified four EIA steps that could theoretically benefit from LCA implementation, i.e., (a) the environmental comparison of alternatives, (b) the identification of key impacts, (c) themore » impact assessment, and (d) the impact of mitigation measures. For each of these steps, an LCA was implemented with specific goal and scope definitions that resulted in a specific set of indicators. This approach has been implemented in two contrasting Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) projects and compared to existing EIA studies. The results showed that the two procedures, i.e., EIAs with or without inputs from LCA, led to different conclusions. The environmental assessments of alternatives and mitigation measures were not carried out in the original studies and showed that other less polluting technologies could have been chosen. Regarding the scoping step, the selected environmental concerns were essentially different. Global impacts such as climate change or natural resource depletion were not taken into account in the original EIA studies. Impacts other than those occurring on the project site (off-site impacts) were not assessed, either. All these impacts can be significant compared to those initially considered. On the other hand, unlike current LCA applications, EIAs usually address natural and technological risks and neighbourhood disturbances such as noises or odours, which are very important for the public acceptability of projects. Regarding the impact assessment, even if the conclusions of the EIAs with or without LCA were partially common for local on-site impacts, LCA gives crucial additional information on global and off-site impacts and highlights the processes responsible for them. Finally, for all EIA steps investigated, interest in LCA was demonstrated for both WWTP case studies. The feasibility in terms of skills, time and cost of such implementation has also been assessed. - Highlights: • An innovative methodology for a first-stage implementation of LCA in EIA is proposed. • Its applicability is demonstrated on two Wastewater Treatment Plant case studies. • The conclusions for the four EIA steps investigated differ with or without LCA. • LCA provides valuable additional information on 1) global and 2) off-site impacts. • LCA identifies pollution transfers towards a life cycle perspective.« less

Environmental impacts of the Swiss collection and recovery systems for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): a follow-up.

PubMed

Wäger, P A; Hischier, R; Eugster, M

2011-04-15

While Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collection and recovery have significantly gained in importance all over Europe in the last 15years, comprehensive studies assessing the environmental loads and benefits of these systems still are not common. In this paper we present the results of a combined material flow analysis and life cycle assessment study, which aimed to calculate the overall environmental impacts of collection, pre-processing and end-processing for the existing Swiss WEEE collection and recovery systems, as well as of incineration and landfilling scenarios, in which the same amount of WEEE is either incinerated in a an MSWI plant or landfilled. According to the calculations based on the material flow data for the year 2009 and a new version of the ecoinvent life cycle inventory database (ecoinvent v2.01), collection, recovery and disposal result in significantly lower environmental impacts per t of WEEE for midpoint indicators such as global warming or ozone depletion and the endpoint indicator Eco-Indicator '99 points. A comparison between the environmental impacts of the WEEE recovery scenarios 2009 and 2004, both calculated with ecoinvent v2.01 data, shows that the impacts per t of WEEE in 2009 were slightly lower. This appears to be mainly due to the changes in the treatment of plastics (more recycling, less incineration). Compared to the overall environmental impacts of the recovery scenario 2004 obtained with an old version of ecoinvent (ecoinvent v1.1), the calculation with ecoinvent v2.01 results in an increase of the impacts by about 20%, which is primarily the consequence of a more adequate modeling of several WEEE fractions (e.g. metals, cables or CRT devices). In view of a further increase of the environmental benefits associated with the Swiss WEEE collection and recovery systems, the recovery of geochemically scarce metals should be further investigated, in particular. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What Causes Environmental Inequalities and Related Health Effects? An Analysis of Evolving Concepts

PubMed Central

Kruize, Hanneke; Droomers, Mariël; van Kamp, Irene; Ruijsbroek, Annemarie

2014-01-01

Early environmental justice studies were exposure-oriented, lacked an integrated approach, and did not address the health impact of environmental inequalities. A coherent conceptual framework, needed to understand and tackle environmental inequalities and the related health effects, was lacking. We analyzed the more recent environmental justice literature to find out how conceptual insights have evolved. The conceptual framework of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) was analyzed for additional explanations for environmental inequalities and the related health effects. This paper points out that recent environmental justice studies have broadened their scope by incorporating a broader set of physical and social environmental indicators, and by focusing on different geographic levels and on health impacts of environmental inequalities. The CSDH framework provided additional elements such as the role of structural determinants, the role of health-related behavior in relation to the physical and social environment, access to health care, as well as the life course perspective. Incorporating elements of the CSDH framework into existing environmental justice concepts, and performing more empirical research on the interactions between the different determinants at different geographical levels would further improve our understanding of environmental inequalities and their health effects and offer new opportunities for policy action. PMID:24886752

Climate change and Australian agriculture: a review of the threats facing rural communities and the health policy landscape.

PubMed

Hanna, Elizabeth G; Bell, Erica; King, Debra; Woodruff, Rosalie

2011-03-01

Population health is a function of social and environmental health determinants. Climate change is predicted to bring significant alterations to ecological systems on which human health and livelihoods depend; the air, water, plant, and animal health. Agricultural systems are intrinsically linked with environmental conditions, which are already under threat in much of southern Australian because of rising heat and protracted drying. The direct impact of increasing heat waves on human physiology and survival has recently been well studied. More diffusely, increasing drought periods may challenge the viability of agriculture in some regions, and hence those communities that depend on primary production. A worst case scenario may herald the collapse of some communities. Human health impacts arising from such transition would be profound. This article summarizes existing rural health challenges and presents the current evidence plus future predictions of climate change impacts on Australian agriculture to argue the need for significant augmentation of public health and existing health policy frameworks. The article concludes by suggesting that adaptation to climate change requires planning for worst case scenario outcomes to avert catastrophic impacts on rural communities. This will involve national policy planning as much as regional-level leadership for rapid development of adaptive strategies in agriculture and other key areas of rural communities.

A Unified Classification of Alien Species Based on the Magnitude of their Environmental Impacts

PubMed Central

Blackburn, Tim M.; Essl, Franz; Evans, Thomas; Hulme, Philip E.; Jeschke, Jonathan M.; Kühn, Ingolf; Kumschick, Sabrina; Marková, Zuzana; Mrugała, Agata; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Pergl, Jan; Pyšek, Petr; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Ricciardi, Anthony; Richardson, David M.; Sendek, Agnieszka; Vilà, Montserrat; Wilson, John R. U.; Winter, Marten; Genovesi, Piero; Bacher, Sven

2014-01-01

Species moved by human activities beyond the limits of their native geographic ranges into areas in which they do not naturally occur (termed aliens) can cause a broad range of significant changes to recipient ecosystems; however, their impacts vary greatly across species and the ecosystems into which they are introduced. There is therefore a critical need for a standardised method to evaluate, compare, and eventually predict the magnitudes of these different impacts. Here, we propose a straightforward system for classifying alien species according to the magnitude of their environmental impacts, based on the mechanisms of impact used to code species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Invasive Species Database, which are presented here for the first time. The classification system uses five semi-quantitative scenarios describing impacts under each mechanism to assign species to different levels of impact—ranging from Minimal to Massive—with assignment corresponding to the highest level of deleterious impact associated with any of the mechanisms. The scheme also includes categories for species that are Not Evaluated, have No Alien Population, or are Data Deficient, and a method for assigning uncertainty to all the classifications. We show how this classification system is applicable at different levels of ecological complexity and different spatial and temporal scales, and embraces existing impact metrics. In fact, the scheme is analogous to the already widely adopted and accepted Red List approach to categorising extinction risk, and so could conceivably be readily integrated with existing practices and policies in many regions. PMID:24802715

15 CFR 971.601 - Environmental requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... hard mineral resources, the Administrator must find that: (a) The issuance of a permit cannot... those important for the food chain; (4) The importance of the receiving water area to the surrounding... impacts on human health through direct and indirect pathways; (7) Existing or potential recreational and...

THE IMPACT OF PARTICULATE EMISSIONS CONTROL ON THE CONTROL OF OTHER MWC AIR EMISSIONS

EPA Science Inventory

On December 20, 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed revised new source performance standards for new municipal waste combustion (MWC) units and guidelines for existing sources. The proposed national regulations require tighter particulate matter control and a...

Legal and institutional aspects of regulating intermedia pollution

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

Entman, R.M.

1980-05-01

Intermedia pollution is defined here as the creation of new environmental impacts by controlling existing ones. DOE asked four questions: (1) do the major environmental laws address intermedia pollution; (2) does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have rules, regulations, and procedures through which it considers intermedia questions; (3) do the legislative histories of the laws indicate whether Congress intended for the EPA to consider intermedia issues; and (4) in what ways do the existing laws and regulatory procedures exacerbate intermedia pollution. The answer to the first three questions is yes; much of this report is devoted to amplifying and qualifyingmore » that response, the rest to answering the fourth question. The report frames these issues by asking how we can control the adverse environmental i.e., intermedia, impacts of EPA itself. A case study of the intermedia implications of recently issued air-pollution standards for coal-fired power plants illustrates the themes concretely. An analysis of policy alternatives for improving intermedia pollution control concludes the study. The major problems impending good intermedia policy decisions are: conflicts among and failures fully to implement environmental laws; political pressures; tendencies of EPA to minimize the adverse environmental consequences of its own actions; uncertainties caused by the rudimentary scientific understanding of intermedia pollution; and limitations on EPA's organizational ability to handle whatever complex intermedia information it does obtain. The final chapter assesses three policy responses to these problems: do nothing new; issue an incremental prod; and a new law and EPA suffice. Evaluation of these alternatives depends on how deficient current practices are thought to be.« less

Sizing up arthropod genomes: an evaluation of the impact of environmental variation on genome size estimates by flow cytometry and the use of qPCR as a method of estimation.

PubMed

Gregory, T Ryan; Nathwani, Paula; Bonnett, Tiffany R; Huber, Dezene P W

2013-09-01

A study was undertaken to evaluate both a pre-existing method and a newly proposed approach for the estimation of nuclear genome sizes in arthropods. First, concerns regarding the reliability of the well-established method of flow cytometry relating to impacts of rearing conditions on genome size estimates were examined. Contrary to previous reports, a more carefully controlled test found negligible environmental effects on genome size estimates in the fly Drosophila melanogaster. Second, a more recently touted method based on quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was examined in terms of ease of use, efficiency, and (most importantly) accuracy using four test species: the flies Drosophila melanogaster and Musca domestica and the beetles Tribolium castaneum and Dendroctonus ponderosa. The results of this analysis demonstrated that qPCR has the tendency to produce substantially different genome size estimates from other established techniques while also being far less efficient than existing methods.

Multi-criteria decision-making on assessment of proposed tidal barrage schemes in terms of environmental impacts.

PubMed

Wu, Yunna; Xu, Chuanbo; Ke, Yiming; Chen, Kaifeng; Xu, Hu

2017-12-15

For tidal range power plants to be sustainable, the environmental impacts caused by the implement of various tidal barrage schemes must be assessed before construction. However, several problems exist in the current researches: firstly, evaluation criteria of the tidal barrage schemes environmental impact assessment (EIA) are not adequate; secondly, uncertainty of criteria information fails to be processed properly; thirdly, correlation among criteria is unreasonably measured. Hence the contributions of this paper are as follows: firstly, an evaluation criteria system is established from three dimensions of hydrodynamic, biological and morphological aspects. Secondly, cloud model is applied to describe the uncertainty of criteria information. Thirdly, Choquet integral with respect to λ-fuzzy measure is introduced to measure the correlation among criteria. On the above bases, a multi-criteria decision-making decision framework for tidal barrage scheme EIA is established to select the optimal scheme. Finally, a case study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed framework. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of PSR framework and development of a DPSIR model to assess greenhouse effect in Taiwan.

PubMed

Huang, Hui-Fen; Kuo, Jeff; Lo, Shang-Lien

2011-06-01

In dealing with the complex issues of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and climate change mitigation, many interrelated factors such as cost, level of technology development, supply and demand of energy, structure of industry, and expenditures on research and development exist. Using indicators to monitor environmental impacts and evaluate the efficacies of policies and regulations has been practiced for a long time, and it can serve as a useful tool for decision making and for comparison between different countries. Although numerous indicators have been developed for relevant subjects, integrated approaches that consider individual changes, dynamic interaction, and multi-dimensions of indicators are scarce. This paper aimed to develop a Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to assess the problems. This DPSIR model is mainly related to energy consumption, environmental impacts, and policy responses. The objectives of the paper were: (1) conduct a literature review on the indicators that have been used in GHG-related studies; (2) develop a DPSIR model that incorporates GHG-related indicators and evaluate their relationships using a cause-effect chain of GHG emission; and (3) develop a calculative method that can be used to explain the dynamic correlation among the interdependent indicators. Taiwan is a significant source of global GHG emissions. A case study, using the developed framework and Taiwan's actual data of the past two decades, was conducted. The results indicate that regulatory strategies for pollution control are inadequate in terms of ensuring environmental quality, and the nature does not have the capability to revert the impacts from the existing level of pollution.

Technical, hygiene, economic, and life cycle assessment of full-scale moving bed biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment in India.

PubMed

Singh, Anju; Kamble, Sheetal Jaisingh; Sawant, Megha; Chakravarthy, Yogita; Kazmi, Absar; Aymerich, Enrique; Starkl, Markus; Ghangrekar, Makarand; Philip, Ligy

2018-01-01

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is a highly effective biological treatment process applied to treat both urban and industrial wastewaters in developing countries. The present study investigated the technical performance of ten full-scale MBBR systems located across India. The biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solid, pathogens, and nutrient removal efficiencies were low as compared to the values claimed in literature. Plant 1 was considered for evaluation of environmental impacts using life cycle assessment approach. CML 2 baseline 2000 methodology was adopted, in which 11 impact categories were considered. The life cycle impact assessment results revealed that the main environmental hot spot of this system was energy consumption. Additionally, two scenarios were compared: scenario 1 (direct discharge of treated effluent, i.e., no reuse) and scenario 2 (effluent reuse and tap water replacement). The results showed that scenario 2 significantly reduce the environmental impact in all the categories ultimately decreasing the environmental burden. Moreover, significant economic and environmental benefits can be obtained in scenario 2 by replacing the freshwater demand for non-potable uses. To enhance the performance of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), there is a need to optimize energy consumption and increase wastewater collection efficiency to maximize the operating capacity of plant and minimize overall environmental footprint. It was concluded that MBBR can be a good alternative for upgrading and optimizing existing municipal wastewater treatment plants with appropriate tertiary treatment. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Environmental impact assessment of Gonabad municipal waste landfill site using Leopold Matrix

PubMed Central

Sajjadi, Seyed Ali; Aliakbari, Zohreh; Matlabi, Mohammad; Biglari, Hamed; Rasouli, Seyedeh Samira

2017-01-01

Introduction An environmental impact assessment (EIA) before embarking on any project is a useful tool to reduce the potential effects of each project, including landfill, if possible. The main objective of this study was to assess the environmental impact of the current municipal solid waste disposal site of Gonabad by using the Iranian Leopold matrix method. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of a landfill site in Gonabad in 2015 by an Iranian matrix (modified Leopold matrix). This study was conducted based on field visits of the landfill, and collected information from various sources and analyzing and comparing between five available options, including the continuation of the current disposal practices, construction of new sanitary landfills, recycling plans, composting, and incineration plants was examined. The best option was proposed to replace the existing landfill. Results The current approach has a score of 2.35, the construction of new sanitary landfill has a score of 1.59, a score of 1.57 for the compost plant, and recycling and incineration plant, respectively, have scores of 1.68 and 2.3. Conclusion Results showed that continuation of the current method of disposal, due to severe environmental damage and health problems, is rejected. A compost plant with the lowest negative score is the best option for the waste disposal site of Gonabad City and has priority over the other four options. PMID:28465797

Environmental impact assessment of Gonabad municipal waste landfill site using Leopold Matrix.

PubMed

Sajjadi, Seyed Ali; Aliakbari, Zohreh; Matlabi, Mohammad; Biglari, Hamed; Rasouli, Seyedeh Samira

2017-02-01

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) before embarking on any project is a useful tool to reduce the potential effects of each project, including landfill, if possible. The main objective of this study was to assess the environmental impact of the current municipal solid waste disposal site of Gonabad by using the Iranian Leopold matrix method. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of a landfill site in Gonabad in 2015 by an Iranian matrix (modified Leopold matrix). This study was conducted based on field visits of the landfill, and collected information from various sources and analyzing and comparing between five available options, including the continuation of the current disposal practices, construction of new sanitary landfills, recycling plans, composting, and incineration plants was examined. The best option was proposed to replace the existing landfill. The current approach has a score of 2.35, the construction of new sanitary landfill has a score of 1.59, a score of 1.57 for the compost plant, and recycling and incineration plant, respectively, have scores of 1.68 and 2.3. Results showed that continuation of the current method of disposal, due to severe environmental damage and health problems, is rejected. A compost plant with the lowest negative score is the best option for the waste disposal site of Gonabad City and has priority over the other four options.

Where You Live Matters: Localising Environmental Impacts on Health, Nutrition and Poverty in Cambodia Using Small Area Estimation Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsen, K.; van Soesbergen, A.; Matthews, Z.

2016-12-01

Socioeconomic development depends on local environments. However, the scientific evidence quantifying the impact of environmental factors on health, nutrition and poverty at subnational levels is limited. This is because socioeconomic indicators are derived from sample surveys representative only at aggregate levels compared to environmental variables mostly available in high-resolution grids. Cambodia was selected because of its commitment to development in the context of a rapidly deteriorating environment. Having made considerable progress since 2005, access to health services is limited, a quarter of the population is still poor and 40% rural children are malnourished. Cambodia is also facing considerable environmental challenges including high deforestation rates, land degradation and natural hazards. Addressing existing gaps in the knowledge of environmental impacts on health and livelihoods, this study applies small area estimation (SAE) to quantify health, nutritional and poverty outcomes in the context of local environments. SAE produces reliable subnational estimates of socioeconomic outcomes available only from sample surveys by combining them with information from auxiliary sources (census). A model is used to explain common trades across areas and a random effect structure is applied to explain the observed extra heterogeneity. SAE models predicting health, nutrition and poverty outcomes excluding and including contextual environmental variables on natural hazards vulnerability, forest cover, climate, and agricultural production are compared. Results are mapped at regional and district levels to spatially assess the impacts of environmental variation on the outcomes. Inter and intra-regional inequalities are also estimated to examine the efficacy of health/socioeconomic policy targeting based on geographic location. Preliminary results suggest that localised environmental factors have considerable impacts on the indicators estimated and should therefore not be ignored. While there are large regional differences, pockets of malnutrition, poverty and inequitable health outcomes within regions are identified. The inequality decomposition shows under and over-coverage of geographical targeting when environmental factors are taken into account.

Brownfields vs greenfields -- Considerations for facility siting

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

Hale, D.W.; Kaiding, D.C.; DeMaria, M.J.

Since the promulgation of the ``Superfund`` component of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980, the sale and acquisition of industrial properties (brownfields) have been sluggish at best or non-existent where significant environmental contamination has been detected. As a result, many urban areas contain numerous brownfield sites that lie vacant due to the presence or the potential existence of contaminants. Wary of the potential remedial costs associated with brownfield sites, industry has focused its development on greenfield areas -- undeveloped areas where the potential for previous environmental contamination is remote. This paper evaluates the impact ofmore » the development of these brownfield areas from both an environmental and economic perspective. Critical to this evaluation is the impact of brownfield development as it relates to urban areas. Mature, heavily developed urban areas are usually unable to offer substantial greenfield areas, and as a result, have suffered a declining tax base, as employment opportunities are shifted beyond city limits. This paper also explores the advantages and disadvantages of developing brownfield versus greenfield areas, including issues such as: infrastructure, proximity to public transportation, public acceptance, and zoning and permitting. Furthermore, this paper provides an overview of current and pending legislation from both the federal government and various state agencies with regard to incentives being offered for the development of brownfield sites.« less

Environmental Social Stress, Paranoia and Psychosis Liability: A Virtual Reality Study

PubMed Central

Veling, Wim; Pot-Kolder, Roos; Counotte, Jacqueline; van Os, Jim; van der Gaag, Mark

2016-01-01

The impact of social environments on mental states is difficult to assess, limiting the understanding of which aspects of the social environment contribute to the onset of psychotic symptoms and how individual characteristics moderate this outcome. This study aimed to test sensitivity to environmental social stress as a mechanism of psychosis using Virtual Reality (VR) experiments. Fifty-five patients with recent onset psychotic disorder, 20 patients at ultra high risk for psychosis, 42 siblings of patients with psychosis, and 53 controls walked 5 times in a virtual bar with different levels of environmental social stress. Virtual social stressors were population density, ethnic density and hostility. Paranoia about virtual humans and subjective distress in response to virtual social stress exposures were measured with State Social Paranoia Scale (SSPS) and self-rated momentary subjective distress (SUD), respectively. Pre-existing (subclinical) symptoms were assessed with the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), Green Paranoid Thoughts Scale (GPTS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Paranoia and subjective distress increased with degree of social stress in the environment. Psychosis liability and pre-existing symptoms, in particular negative affect, positively impacted the level of paranoia and distress in response to social stress. These results provide experimental evidence that heightened sensitivity to environmental social stress may play an important role in the onset and course of psychosis. PMID:27038469

78 FR 37843 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Panels F and G...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-24

... existing haul road and would deviate only where engineering constraints dictate (i.e., too tight a corner... 20 acres for the temporary storage of chert to be used for reclamation; and (3) utilization of a geo...

A Multi-scale Method of Mapping Urban Influence

EPA Science Inventory

Urban development can impact environmental quality and ecosystem services well beyond urban extent. Many methods to map urban areas have been developed and used in the past, but most have simply tried to map existing extent of urban development, and all have been single-scale t...

Environmental impacts of emerging biomass feedstock markets: energy, agriculture, and the farmer

EPA Science Inventory

The production of biofuels in the United States and elsewhere has the potential to induce major changes in rural landscapes via a burgeoning demand for biomass resources. This includes existing agricultural commodities such as corn grain for ethanol and soybean oil for biodiesel,...

HYDROLOGIC MODEL UNCERTAINTY ASSOCIATED WITH SIMULATING FUTURE LAND-COVER/USE SCENARIOS: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

EPA Science Inventory

GIS-based hydrologic modeling offers a convenient means of assessing the impacts associated with land-cover/use change for environmental planning efforts. Alternative future scenarios can be used as input to hydrologic models and compared with existing conditions to evaluate pot...

COMPARATIVE TOXICITY TESTING OF SELECTED BENTHIC AND EPIBENTHIC ORGANISMS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEDIMENT QUALITY TEST PROTOCOLS

EPA Science Inventory

Sediment contamination has resulted in the need to develop an appropriate suite of toxicity tests to assess ecotoxicological impacts on estuarine ecosystems. Existing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocols recommend a number of test organisms, including amphipods, polych...

The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Applying Life Cycle Thinking to Nanoproducts and Nanomaterials

EPA Science Inventory

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-established methodology for evaluating the environmental impact of products, materials, and processes. LCA experts worldwide agree that existing LCA tools are capable of supporting the development of decisions on the use of nanomaterials and ...

76 FR 29728 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Potential Floodplain...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-23

... 2.0 program would proceed through 2020 with design, construction, operation, and monitoring... of this test includes project definition, design, procurement, manufacture, installation, startup... the repowered oxy-combustion design. The station contains existing infrastructure that could support...

World Eco-Crisis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kay, David A., Ed.; Skolnikoff, Eugene B., Ed.

The essays contained in this volume are concerned with the existing and potential role of international organizations in coping with the environmental impact of the widespread application of science and technology. The results of the study are designed to be useful to policy-makers and students of international organizations. The essays are…

Defining indicators and standards for tourism impacts in protected areas: Cape Range National Park, Australia.

PubMed

Moore, Susan A; Polley, Amanda

2007-03-01

Visitors' perceptions of impacts and acceptable standards for environmental conditions can provide essential information for the sustainable management of tourist destinations, especially protected areas. To this end, visitor surveys were administered during the peak visitor season in Cape Range National Park, on the northwest coast of Western Australia and adjacent to the iconic Ningaloo Reef. The central focus was visitors' perceptions regarding environmental conditions and standards for potential indicators. Conditions considered of greatest importance in determining visitors' quality of experience included litter, inadequate disposal of human waste, presence of wildlife, levels of noise, and access to beach and ocean. Standards were determined, based on visitors' perceptions, for a range of site-specific and non-site-specific indicators, with standards for facilities (e.g., acceptable number of parking bays, signs) and for negative environmental impacts (e.g., levels of littering, erosion) sought. The proposed standards varied significantly between sites for the facilities indicators; however, there was no significant difference between sites for environmental impacts. For the facilities, the standards proposed by visitors were closely related to the existing situation, suggesting that they were satisfied with the status quo. These results are considered in the context of current research interest in the efficacy of visitor-derived standards as a basis for protected area management.

Implications of environmental externalities assessments for solar thermal powerplants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, A. D.; Baechler, M. C.

1991-03-01

Externalities are those impacts of one activity on other activities that are not priced in the marketplace. An externality is said to exist when two conditions hold: (1) the utility or operations of one economic agent, A, include nonmonetary variables whose values are chosen by another economic agent, B, without regard to the effects on A, and (2) B does not pay A compensation equal to the incremental costs inflicted on A. Electricity generation involves a wide range of potential and actual environmental impacts. Legislative, permitting, and regulatory requirements directly or indirectly control certain environmental impacts, implicitly causing them to become internalized in the cost of electricity generation. Electricity generation, however, often produces residual environmental impacts that meet the definition of an externality. Mechanisms have been developed by several states to include the costs associated with externalities in the cost-effectiveness analyses of new powerplants. This paper examines these costs for solar thermal plants and applies two states' scoring methodologies to estimate how including externalities would affect the levelized costs of power from a solar plant in the Pacific Northwest. It concludes that including externalities in the economics can reduce the difference between the levelized cost of a coal and solar plant by between 0.74 and 2.42 cents/kWh.

Cyanides in the environment-analysis-problems and challenges.

PubMed

Jaszczak, Ewa; Polkowska, Żaneta; Narkowicz, Sylwia; Namieśnik, Jacek

2017-07-01

Cyanide toxicity and their environmental impact are well known. Nevertheless, they are still used in the mining, galvanic and chemical industries. As a result of industrial activities, cyanides are released in various forms to all elements of the environment. In a natural environment, cyanide exists as cyanogenic glycosides in plants seeds. Too much consumption can cause unpleasant side effects. However, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is the most common source of cyanide. Live organisms have the ability to convert cyanide into less toxic compounds excreted with physiological fluids. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of knowledge on the behaviour of cyanide in the environment and its impact on the health and human life.

The Pueblo Superfund program -- a Native American perspective on cultural impacts and environmental equity under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

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

Sanchez, C.M.; Garcia, T.L.; Chavez, E.F.

1996-12-31

The All Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC) through the Pueblo Office of Environmental Protection (POEP) implements and provides a variety of environmental programs and services to the 19 Indian Pueblos of New Mexico. Specifically, the POEP Superfund Program investigates and evaluates potential hazardous waste sites within Pueblo lands. The POEP Superfund Program began in September 1991 when the 19 Pueblo Governors signed a Superfund Memorandum of Agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6. The goal of the POEP Superfund Program is to determine those sites that are eligible for Superfund-financed remedial action by placing those sites on themore » National Priorities List (NPL), while including the Pueblo perspective. Because the 19 Pueblos are each unique, sovereign nations, several differences and gaps associated with the current Superfund law and EPA methodologies exist. Currently, the Superfund Hazard Ranking System (HRS) model does not account for Indian religious and ceremonial impacts from these sites. Due to their importance in Pueblo life, culturally significant plants, animals, ceremonial surface water use, and sacred areas should be considered as critical impacts when evaluating the various pathways of exposure of the HRS. Tribal environmental equality is an aspect that will be included into all environmental laws. AIPC and POEP are working to address this issue under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA).« less

Stakeholder Analysis in Utilizing of Environmental Services and Natural Attractions in Tuk Semuncar Utilization Zone of Gunung Merbabu National Park: A literature review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiawan, Muhammad Arif; Muhammad, Fuad

2018-02-01

Many stakeholders in the utilizing of environmental services and natural attraction of Tuk Semuncar Utilization Zone needs to get the attention of the Gunung Merbabu National Park Officer. The existence of natural resources has an important role for the life of the community, making the complexity of the relationship between various parties who have interests in natural resource management. The existence of stakeholders and their interests should receive attention and be considered to be accommodated as an effort to prevent the occurrence of losses to the conservation area of Gunung Merbabu National Park. Every stakeholder's interest can have a positive and negative impact on other stakeholders. Stakeholder analysis can help in understanding the conflict on the utilizing of environmental services and natural attraction that is happening, as well as input strategy in involving stakeholders for the achievement of goals.

Earth Observation in Environmental and Societal Impacts of Mineral Resources Exploitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chevrel, Stephane

Several national and international initiatives, both from the private or the institutional sectors, arised to address the sustainable development of the extractive industry and the reduction of its environmental footprint. Meanwhile, the extractive industry is facing increasing environmental and societal pressures, being regulatory or not, during all phases of a project, from exploration to exploitation and closure. The social acceptability of a project is among the major key issues to be dealt with. The EO-MINERS project (Earth Observation for Monitoring and Observing Environmental and Societal Impacts of Mineral Resources Exploration and Exploitation) is a newly EU funded Research and Technological Development project started in February 2010. EO-MINERS scientific and technical objectives are to: i) assess policy requirements at macro (public) and micro (mining companies) levels and define environmental, socio-economic, societal and sustainable development criteria and indicators to be possibly dealt using EO (Earth Observation); ii) use existing EO knowledge and carry out new developments on demonstration sites to further demonstrate the capabilities of integrated EO-based methods and tools in monitoring, managing and contributing reducing the environmental and societal footprints of the extractive industry during all phases of a mining project, from the exploration to the exploitation and closure stages; iii) contribute making reliable and objective information about affected ecosystems, populations and societies, to serve as a basis for a sound "trialogue" between industrialists, governmental organisations and stakeholders. EO-MINERS also is designed to embed the outcomes of the project firmly in the GEO process through a review the existing GEO Tasks covering the 9 societal benefit and 5 transverse areas defined by GEO work plan 2007-2009. This analysis will be used to identify synergies and gaps between EO-MINERS and GEO, with the aim of mapping mining and environmental observa-tion systems into the 9 GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas, identifying EO-MINERS contributions to existing GEOSS targets and defining new, EO-MINERS activities in support of GEOSS. EO-MINERS will run a minerals workshop with GEO members and/or the GEO Secretariat.

Global warming potential of pavements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santero, Nicholas J.; Horvath, Arpad

2009-09-01

Pavements comprise an essential and vast infrastructure system supporting our transportation network, yet their impact on the environment is largely unquantified. Previous life-cycle assessments have only included a limited number of the applicable life-cycle components in their analysis. This research expands the current view to include eight different components: materials extraction and production, transportation, onsite equipment, traffic delay, carbonation, lighting, albedo, and rolling resistance. Using global warming potential as the environmental indicator, ranges of potential impact for each component are calculated and compared based on the information uncovered in the existing research. The relative impacts between components are found to be orders of magnitude different in some cases. Context-related factors, such as traffic level and location, are also important elements affecting the impacts of a given component. A strategic method for lowering the global warming potential of a pavement is developed based on the concept that environmental performance is improved most effectively by focusing on components with high impact potentials. This system takes advantage of the fact that small changes in high-impact components will have more effect than large changes in low-impact components.

Commons ignorance: the failure of environmental law to produce needed information on health and the environment.

PubMed

Wagner, Wendy E

2004-04-01

One of the most significant problems facing environmental law is the dearth of scientific information available to assess the impact of industrial activities on public health and the environment. After documenting the significant gaps in existing information, this Article argues that existing laws both exacerbate and perpetuate this problem. By failing to require actors to assess the potential harm from their activities, and by penalizing them with additional regulation when they do, existing laws fail to counteract actors' natural inclination to remain silent about the harms that they might be causing. Both theory and practice confirm that when the stakes are high, actors not only will resist producing potentially incriminating information but will invest in discrediting public research that suggests their activities are harmful. The Article concludes with specific recommendations about how these perverse incentives for ignorance can be reversed.

A critical review of environmental impact statements in Sri Lanka with particular reference to ecological impact assessment.

PubMed

Samarakoon, Miriya; Rowan, John S

2008-03-01

This article critically reviews environmental assessment (EA) practices in Sri Lanka, with a particular focus on ecology. An overview is provided of the domestic and international influences which have shaped the administrative process which is currently a two-tiered scheme. An Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) provides a preliminary screening tool, prior to the requirement for a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A comprehensive survey of Sri Lankan national archives showed that 463 EAs were completed in the period 1981-2005, with the bulk of these in the more populated Western and North Western Provinces. Two-thirds were IEE surveys, while the remaining third advanced to full EIA. A representative sample of 130 EAs (both IEEs and full EIAs) spanning a broad range of project types, scales, and environmental settings was selected to evaluate the quality of the ecological investigations within the published environmental impact statements (EISs). These were assigned into five classes of "explanatory power", on the basis of their scientific content in relation to survey, analysis, and reporting of ecological interests. Within most EISs, the ecological impact assessment (EcIA) was restricted to the lowest two categories of ecological assessment, i.e., tokenistic presentation of reconnaissance-level species lists without further analysis of the development implications for individual organisms or communities. None of the assessments reviewed provided statistically rigorous analysis, which would be required if ecological impact studies are to include quantitative and testable predictions of impact, which could then be followed up by appropriate post-impact monitoring programs. Attention to key local issues such as biodiversity or ecosystem services, which also have strong social dimensions in the developing world, was also notably underrepresented. It was thus concluded that despite the existence of a sound legislative framework in Sri Lanka, the analysis contained within EISs generally fails to convey meaningful information to the relevant stakeholders and decision makers involved in protecting ecological interests and promoting sustainable development. The introduction of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is considered an important tool to strengthen the institutional capacity of Sri Lankan government to implement current regulations and, in particular, to combat the cumulative effects of incremental development.

Completing the Circle: A Model for Effective Community Review of Environmental Health Research

PubMed Central

Shepard, Peggy Morrow; Corbin-Mark, Cecil D.

2009-01-01

While it is well understood that multiple and cumulative environmental stressors negatively impact health at the community level, existing ethical research review procedures are designed to protect individual research participants but not communities. Increasing concerns regarding the ethical conduct of research in general and environmental and genetic research in particular underscore the need to expand the scope of current human participant research regulations and ethical guidelines to include protections for communities. In an effort to address this issue, West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT), a nonprofit, community-based environmental justice organization in New York City that has been involved in community–academic partnerships for the past decade, used qualitative interview data to develop a pilot model for community review of environmental health science research. PMID:19890159

USEEIO: a New and Transparent United States ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

National-scope environmental life cycle models of goods and services may be used for many purposes, not limited to quantifying impacts of production and consumption of nations, assessing organization-wide impacts, identifying purchasing hot spots, analyzing environmental impacts of policies, and performing streamlined life cycle assessment. USEEIO is a new environmentally extended input-output model of the United States fit for such purposes and other sustainable materials management applications. USEEIO melds data on economic transactions between 389 industry sectors with environmental data for these sectors covering land, water, energy and mineral usage and emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria air pollutants, nutrients and toxics, to build a life cycle model of 385 US goods and services. In comparison with existing US input-output models, USEEIO is more current with most data representing year 2013, more extensive in its coverage of resources and emissions, more deliberate and detailed in its interpretation and combination of data sources, and includes formal data quality evaluation and description. USEEIO was assembled with a new Python module called the IO Model Builder capable of assembling and calculating results of user-defined input-output models and exporting the models into LCA software. The model and data quality evaluation capabilities are demonstrated with an analysis of the environmental performance of an average hospital in the US. All USEEIO f

75 FR 36447 - Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Public Meetings for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-25

... Statement and Public Meetings for the General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment, LLC Proposed Laser... the proposed General Electric-Hitachi (GEH) Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) Uranium Enrichment Facility... to locate the facility on the existing General Electric Company (GE) site near Wilmington, North...

76 FR 27344 - Water Resources Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Mojave National Preserve, San...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-11

... within the Preserve to support cattle grazing operations and game populations. Human manipulation of... water for the same purposes. There also existed 133 small game wildlife water developments (also known as ``guzzlers'' or ``drinkers''), and 6 big game guzzlers, which intercept and store rainwater for...

Impact of Chemical Proportions on the Acute Neurotoxicity of a Mixture of Seven Carbamates in Rats

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental exposures generally involve multiple chemicals and pathways, and statistical methodologies now exist to evaluate interactions among any number of chemicals in defined mixtures. N-methyl carbamate pesticides are presumed to act through a common mode of action, that i...

Understanding the scale and drivers of ecosystem services in working landscapes of the southeastern US

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network exists to build knowledge required for “sustainable intensification of agriculture, increasing yields from the current agricultural land base while minimizing or reversing agriculture’s adverse environmental impacts.” Of the 18 current LTAR lo...

Research on Potential Environmental Impacts of Oxy-fuel Combustion at EPA

EPA Science Inventory

An existing 35kW laboratory-scale combustor located at the U.S. EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, has been modified for performing oxy-natural gas and oxy-coal experiments by adding O2 operation and flue gas recycling capa...

Research on Potential Environmental Impacts of Oxyfuel Combustion at EPA

EPA Science Inventory

An existing 35kW laboratory-scale combustor located at the U.S. EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, has been modified for performing oxy-natural gas and oxy-coal experiments by adding O2 operation and flue gas recyclin...

Linking field-based metabolomics and chemical analyses to identify contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes ecosystem

EPA Science Inventory

Although research has focused on remediating ecological impacts of environmental contaminants on the Great Lakes and other aquatic ecosystems, there exists a continuing need for additional biologically-based tools for monitoring success. Profiling of endogenous metabolites (i.e....

Potential for Siting New Water Wells and Restoring Existing Wells in Arsenic-Impacted Aquifers

EPA Science Inventory

Studies have indicated that arsenic concentrations greater than the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) concentration of 10 micrograms per liter (ug/L) occur in numerous aquifers around the United States. One such aquifer is the Central ...

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DATA COLLECTION AND DATA VISUALIZATION

EPA Science Inventory

Major routes of human impact on the Great Lakes are through localized input by rivers, embayment/harbor development, or shore line activities. Stress is expected to be greatest around the origin of activity and to dissipate with distance. A need exists for assessment strategies o...

Enterprise.SRS = Business for Success at SRS

ScienceCinema

Wilson, Dwayne; Moody, David; Michalske, Terry; Bush, Byron; Sprague, Leslie; Worrell, Timothy

2017-12-09

Goals and accomplishments of SRS. The debut of enterprise.srs, a strategic vision that will refocus site talents and efforts on developing future missions by broadening its impact in existing and new areas of national service. An expansion of people and facility in 3 areas: National Security, Clean Energy, and Environmental Stewardship.

78 FR 79707 - Office of the Assistant Secretary-Water and Science; Environmental Assessment of the Olmsted...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-31

... October 2015, the District will assume the responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Olmsted... Olmsted power plant and its continued operation. Principal components of the proposed project include... gallon equalization reservoir into the power plant configuration with potential impacts to the existing...

ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF INTEGRATED MODEL SYSTEMS WITH INDUSTRIAL, ECOLOGICAL, AND MACROECONOMIC COMPONENTS

EPA Science Inventory

At its core, sustainability asks whether the planet will persist into the indefinite future in a regime which is amenable to human existence. The issue of sustainability has ever increasing amounts of natural resources and causing a host of environmental impacts. The management o...

77 FR 43046 - Lolo National Forest; Montana; Center Horse Landscape Restoration EIS

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-23

... construction (about 5 miles); (7) re-route 5 road segments to improve fish habitat; (8) add existing roads to... implement restoration activities, including vegetation management, road and trail management, and watershed... unneeded or environmentally impactive roads and trails. Proposed Action The Center Horse Landscape...

40 CFR 61.182 - Standard for new and existing sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... impacts in other environmental media: (i) Clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical... inorganic arsenic content greater than 2 percent that accumulates on any surface within the plant boundaries outside of a dust-tight enclosure. (ii) Immediate clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical...

40 CFR 61.182 - Standard for new and existing sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... impacts in other environmental media: (i) Clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical... inorganic arsenic content greater than 2 percent that accumulates on any surface within the plant boundaries outside of a dust-tight enclosure. (ii) Immediate clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical...

40 CFR 61.182 - Standard for new and existing sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... impacts in other environmental media: (i) Clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical... inorganic arsenic content greater than 2 percent that accumulates on any surface within the plant boundaries outside of a dust-tight enclosure. (ii) Immediate clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical...

40 CFR 61.182 - Standard for new and existing sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... impacts in other environmental media: (i) Clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical... inorganic arsenic content greater than 2 percent that accumulates on any surface within the plant boundaries outside of a dust-tight enclosure. (ii) Immediate clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical...

40 CFR 61.182 - Standard for new and existing sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... impacts in other environmental media: (i) Clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical... inorganic arsenic content greater than 2 percent that accumulates on any surface within the plant boundaries outside of a dust-tight enclosure. (ii) Immediate clean-up and proper disposal, wet-down, or chemical...

A Consideration of the Health and Environmental Risks/Effects of Geoengineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemming, B. L.; Felgenhauer, T. N.; Miller, C. A.

2014-12-01

The views expressed in this abstract are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A number of geoengineering strategies have been proposed and, to date, a few are being seriously investigated as possible approaches to reducing the degree of climate change. Whether under the broad rubrics of solar radiation management (SRM) or carbon dioxide removal (CDR), these projects would involve major, intentional intervention in the world's climate. Even if successful in off-setting the global radiative imbalance induced by human activities, it is not at all clear how well humans and the ecosystems upon which they depend will weather the climate system perturbations induced by the implementation of a large-scale geoengineering program. It is reasonable to expect that such perturbations could exacerbate the existing health and environmental consequences of anthropogenic climate change at large and small scales, or create entirely new ones. An accounting of the derivative physical and biological effects of consequence to human health and ecosystems welfare that may result from the use of geoengineering is a necessary part of any policy-relevant analysis. However, the scientific understanding required to quantitatively assess these potential impacts is absent in most cases, and still nascent in others. Furthermore, current discussions and existing literature lack the fully integrated "systems" approach required for adequately assessing the short- and long-term impacts of geoengineering strategies on ecosystems and human populations. We present an overview of critical science questions, including broad questions concerning the potential response of the complex earth system to further human interference and those concerning potential impacts to local environmental metrics such as air and water quality and ecosystem viability.

Incorporating geoethics into environmental engineering lectures - three years of experience from international students visiting Iceland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finger, David C.

2017-04-01

Never before has human kind been facing bigger environmental challenges than today. The challenges are overwhelming: growing human population, increasing ecological footprints, accelerated climate change, severe soil degradation, eutrophication of vital fresh water resources, acidification of oceans, health threatening air pollution and rapid biodiversity loss, to name just a few. It is the task of environmental scientists to transmit established knowledge on these complex and interdisciplinary challenges while demonstrating that management and engineering solutions exist to meet these threats. In this presentation I will outline the concept of my environmental impact (EI) assessment course, where prospective engineering students can select a topic of their choice, assess the environmental impacts, discuss with relevant stakeholders and come up with innovative solutions. The course is structured in three parts: i) lecturing of theoretical methods frequently used within the EI assessment process, ii) interaction with local businesses to acquire first-hand experience and iii) hands on training by writing an EI statement on a selected topic (see link below). Over the course of three years over 70 prospective engineering students from all over the world have not only acquired environmental system understanding, but also enhanced their awareness and developed potential solutions to mitigate, compensate and reverse the persistent environmental challenges. Most importantly, during this process all involved stakeholders (students, teachers, industry partners, governmental bodies and NGO partners) will hopefully develop a mutual understanding of the above mentioned environmental challenges and engage in an open and constructive dialogue necessary to generate acceptable solutions. Link to student projects from previous years: https://fingerd.jimdo.com/teaching/courses/environmental-impact-assessment/

Impact of environmental conditions and chemicals on the neuronal epigenome.

PubMed

Del Blanco, Beatriz; Barco, Angel

2018-06-15

During development, chromatin changes contribute to establishing and maintaining the distinct gene-expression profiles of each individual cell type in a multicellular organism. This feat is especially remarkable in the human brain considering the sheer number of distinct cell types that make up this organ. This epigenetic programing is sensitive to environmental influences such as the presence of toxicants, diet, temperature, maternal behavior and many other external factors that can lead to sustained differences in neuronal gene expression. Here, we review a number of studies that demonstrate the existence of these environmental fingerprints in the neuronal epigenome and discuss the current challenges and prospects of environmental neuroepigenetics research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An overview of algae biofuel production and potential environmental impact.

PubMed

Menetrez, Marc Y

2012-07-03

Algae are among the most potentially significant sources of sustainable biofuels in the future of renewable energy. A feedstock with virtually unlimited applicability, algae can metabolize various waste streams (e.g., municipal wastewater, carbon dioxide from industrial flue gas) and produce products with a wide variety of compositions and uses. These products include lipids, which can be processed into biodiesel; carbohydrates, which can be processed into ethanol; and proteins, which can be used for human and animal consumption. Algae are commonly genetically engineered to allow for advantageous process modification or optimization. However, issues remain regarding human exposure to algae-derived toxins, allergens, and carcinogens from both existing and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as the overall environmental impact of GMOs. A literature review was performed to highlight issues related to the growth and use of algal products for generating biofuels. Human exposure and environmental impact issues are identified and discussed, as well as current research and development activities of academic, commercial, and governmental groups. It is hoped that the ideas contained in this paper will increase environmental awareness of issues surrounding the production of algae and will help the algae industry develop to its full potential.

Environmental Assessment for the NASA First Response Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Carolyn

2003-01-01

NASA intends to construct a First Response Facility for integrated emergency response and health management. This facility will consolidate the Stennis Space Center fire department, medical clinic, security operations, emergency operations and the energy management and control center. The alternative considered is the "No Action Alternative". The proposed action will correct existing operational weaknesses and enhance capabilities to respond to medical emergencies and mitigate any other possible threats. Environmental impacts include are emissions, wetlands disturbance, solid waste generation, and storm water control.

Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Ulysses Mission (Tier 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This Final (Tier 2) Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) addresses the environmental impacts which may be caused by implementation of the Ulysses mission, a space flight mission to observe the polar regions of the Sun. The proposed action is completion of preparation and operation of the Ulysses spacecraft, including its planned launch at the earliest available launch opportunity on the Space Transportation System (STS) Shuttle in October 1990 or in the backup opportunity in November 1991. The alternative is canceling further work on the mission. The Tier 1 EIS included a delay alternative which considered the Titan 4 launch vehicle as an alternative booster stage for launch in 1991 or later. This alternative was further evaluated and eliminated from consideration when, in November 1988, the U.S. Air Force, which procures the Titan 4, notified that it could not provide a Titan 4 vehicle for the 1991 launch opportunity because of high priority Department of Defense requirements. The Titan 4 launch vehicle is no longer a feasible alternative to the STS/Inertial Upper Stage (IUS)/Payload Assist Module-Special (PAM-S) for the November 1991 launch opportunity. The only expected environment effects of the proposed action are associated with normal launch vehicle operation and are treated elsewhere. The environmental impacts of normal Shuttle launches were addressed in existing NEPA documentation and are briefly summarized. These impacts are limited largely to the near-field at the launch pad, except for temporary stratospheric ozone effects during launch and occasional sonic boom effects near the landing site. These effects were judged insufficient to preclude Shuttle launches. There could also be environmental impacts associated with the accidental release of radiological material during launch, deployment, or interplanetary trajectory injection of the Ulysses spacecraft. Intensive analysis indicates that the probability of release is small. There are no environmental impacts in the no-action alternative; however, the U.S. Government and the European Space Agency would suffer adverse fiscal and programmatic impacts if this alternative were adopted. The scientific benefits of the mission would be delayed and possibly lost. There could be significant impacts on the ability of the U.S. to negotiate international agreements for cooperative space activities.

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

PubMed

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

2017-09-01

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

Multicriteria decision analysis applied to Glen Canyon Dam

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flug, M.; Seitz, H.L.H.; Scott, J.F.

2000-01-01

Conflicts in water resources exist because river-reservoir systems are managed to optimize traditional benefits (e.g., hydropower and flood control), which are historically quantified in economic terms, whereas natural and environmental resources, including in-stream and riparian resources, are more difficult or impossible to quantify in economic terms. Multicriteria decision analysis provides a quantitative approach to evaluate resources subject to river basin management alternatives. This objective quantification method includes inputs from special interest groups, the general public, and concerned individuals, as well as professionals for each resource considered in a trade-off analysis. Multicriteria decision analysis is applied to resources and flow alternatives presented in the environmental impact statement for Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. A numeric rating and priority-weighting scheme is used to evaluate 29 specific natural resource attributes, grouped into seven main resource objectives, for nine flow alternatives enumerated in the environmental impact statement.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dankert, Donald

2013-01-01

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

Environmental review of the Panda-Brandywine cogeneration project. Final report

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

Walters, G.; Keating, R.; Huggins, A.

1997-02-01

The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to Panda-Brandywine, L.P., to construct and operate a 248-megawatt (electric) generating station near Brandywine, Prince George`s County, Maryland. This report describes PPRP`s evaluation of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the Panda-Brandywine facility, summarizes the results of that evaluation, and presents recommendations for license conditions which have been incorporated into Panda`s CPCN. The document includes description of the proposed facility, host facility, and associated linear facilities (transmission line, pipelines); discussion of existing environmental and socioeconomic conditions at the site and in the vicinity; analysis ofmore » the potential air quality, surface water, biological, ground water, socioeconomic, cultural, and noise impacts from the proposed facility; and discussion of critical engineering issues associated with operation of the facility, including water supply, water discharge, and fuel handling.« less

Identification of High Performance, Low Environmental Impact Materials and Processes Using Systematic Substitution (SyS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhooge, P. M.; Nimitz, J. S.

2001-01-01

Process analysis can identify opportunities for efficiency improvement including cost reduction, increased safety, improved quality, and decreased environmental impact. A thorough, systematic approach to materials and process selection is valuable in any analysis. New operations and facilities design offer the best opportunities for proactive cost reduction and environmental improvement, but existing operations and facilities can also benefit greatly. Materials and processes that have been used for many years may be sources of excessive resource use, waste generation, pollution, and cost burden that should be replaced. Operational and purchasing personnel may not recognize some materials and processes as problems. Reasons for materials or process replacement may include quality and efficiency improvements, excessive resource use and waste generation, materials and operational costs, safety (flammability or toxicity), pollution prevention, compatibility with new processes or materials, and new or anticipated regulations.

Comparative life cycle assessment and financial analysis of mixed culture polyhydroxyalkanoate production.

PubMed

Gurieff, Nicholas; Lant, Paul

2007-12-01

A life cycle assessment and financial analysis of mixed culture PHA (PHA(MC)) and biogas production was undertaken based on treating an industrial wastewater. Internal rate of return (IRR) and non-renewable CO(2)eq emissions were used to quantify financial viability and environmental impact. PHA(MC) was preferable to biogas production for treating the specified industrial effluent. PHA(MC) was also financially attractive in comparison to pure culture PHA production. Both PHA production processes had similar environmental impacts that were significantly lower than HDPE production. A large potential for optimisation exists for the PHA(MC) process as financial and environmental costs were primarily due to energy use for downstream processing. Under the conditions used in this work PHA(MC) was shown to be a viable biopolymer production process and an effective industrial wastewater treatment technology. This is the first study of its kind and provides valuable insight into the PHA(MC) process.

Disability adjusted life year (DALY): a useful tool for quantitative assessment of environmental pollution.

PubMed

Gao, Tingting; Wang, Xiaochang C; Chen, Rong; Ngo, Huu Hao; Guo, Wenshan

2015-04-01

Disability adjusted life year (DALY) has been widely used since 1990s for evaluating global and/or regional burden of diseases. As many environmental pollutants are hazardous to human health, DALY is also recognized as an indicator to quantify the health impact of environmental pollution related to disease burden. Based on literature reviews, this article aims to give an overview of the applicable methodologies and research directions for using DALY as a tool for quantitative assessment of environmental pollution. With an introduction of the methodological framework of DALY, the requirements on data collection and manipulation for quantifying disease burdens are summarized. Regarding environmental pollutants hazardous to human beings, health effect/risk evaluation is indispensable for transforming pollution data into disease data through exposure and dose-response analyses which need careful selection of models and determination of parameters. Following the methodological discussions, real cases are analyzed with attention paid to chemical pollutants and pathogens usually encountered in environmental pollution. It can be seen from existing studies that DALY is advantageous over conventional environmental impact assessment for quantification and comparison of the risks resulted from environmental pollution. However, further studies are still required to standardize the methods of health effect evaluation regarding varied pollutants under varied circumstances before DALY calculation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On Dams in the Amazon Basin, Teleconnected Impacts, and Neighbors Unaware of the Damage to their Natural Resources and Assets.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latrubesse, E. M.; Park, E.

2017-12-01

In a recent study, Latrubesse et al., (2017) demonstrated that the accumulated negative environmental effects of more than one hundred existing dams and at least 288 proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin's floodplains, estuary and sediment plume. The authors introduced a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index (DEVI) to quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The current and potential vulnerabilities of different regions of the Amazon basin was assessed, and the results highlighted the need for a more efficient and integrative legal framework involving all nine countries of the basin in an anticipatory assessment to minimize the negative socio-environmental and biotic impacts of hydropower developments. Here we present expanded information on the potential impacts of dams in the lower Amazon and the northeast Atlantic coast of South America, and revisit our proposed integrative strategies for basin management which are based on the adaptation and functionality of the institutional and legal framework already existing in the Amazon countries. Participative strategies involving members from the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) countries, and additional members (for example, France), such as the creation of a basin committee -as defined by the Brazilian Law of Waters of Brazil-, and the creation of an Amazon Basin Panel allowing the participation of scientists that could have a policy-relevant role but should be not policy-prescriptive, are also discussed. ReferencesLatrubesse, E., Arima E. Dunne T., Park E., Baker V, Horta F.,Wight, C., Wittmann F., Zuanon, J., Baker P., Ribas C, Norgaard R., Filizola N., Ansar A., Flyvbjerg B., Stevaux, J. 2017. Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin. Nature, 546, 363-369.

Environmental Impact Statement For the Disposal and Reuse of Hunters Point Shipyard Volume 1: Main Text and Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-03-01

tristis Spizella passerina Stelgidopteryx serripennis Sterna Sterna caspia Sterna forsteri Sturnella neglecta Sturnus vulgaris Tachycineta...ENVIRONMENT 3-1 3.1 Transportation, Traffic, and Circulation 3_1 3.1.1 Existing Transportation System 3~5 3.1.2 Methodology for Estimating Existing...Policies 3-121 3.10 Utilities 3-125 3.10.1 Water Systems 3� 3.10.2 Storm Water Collection System 3蕎 3.10.3 Sanitary Collection System 3�

State Clean Energy Policies Analysis. State, Utility, and Municipal Loan Programs

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

Lantz, Eric

2010-05-01

This report relies on six in-depth interviews with loan program administrators to provide descriptions of existing programs. Findings from the interviews are combined with a review of relevant literature to elicit best practices and lessons learned from existing loan programs. Data collected from each of the loan programs profiled are used to quantify the impacts of these specific loan programs on the commonly cited, overarching state clean energy goals of energy security, economic development, and environmental protection.

Assessing the influence of Environmental Impact Assessments on science and policy: an analysis of the Three Gorges Project.

PubMed

Tullos, Desiree

2009-07-01

The need to understand and minimize negative environmental outcomes associated with large dams has both contributed to and benefited from the introduction and subsequent improvements in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. However, several limitations in the EIA process remain, including those associated with the uncertainty and significance of impact projections. These limitations are directly related to the feedback between science and policy, with information gaps in scientific understanding discovered through the EIA process contributing valuable recommendations on critical focus areas for prioritizing and funding research within the fields of ecological conservation and river engineering. This paper presents an analysis of the EIA process for the Three Gorges Project (TGP) in China as a case study for evaluating this feedback between the EIA and science and policy. For one of the best-studied public development projects in the world, this paper presents an investigation into whether patterns exist between the scientific interest (via number of publications) in environmental impacts and (a) the identification of impacts as uncertain or priority by the EIA, (b) decisions or political events associated with the dam, and (c) impact type. This analysis includes the compilation of literature on TGP, characterization of ecosystem interactions and responses to TGP through a hierarchy of impacts, coding of EIA impacts as "uncertain" impacts that require additional study and "priority" impacts that have particularly high significance, mapping of an event chronology to relate policies, institutional changes, and decisions about TGP as "events" that could influence the focus and intensity of scientific investigation, and analysis of the number of publications by impact type and order within the impact hierarchy. From these analyses, it appears that the availability and consistency of scientific information limit the accuracy of environmental impact projections. These analyses also suggest a lack of direct feedback between the EIA process and emerging science, as indicated by the failure of literature to focus on issues related to the design and management of TGP, ultimately challenging the environmental sustainability of the project. While the EIA process has enormous potential for improving both the basic sciences and the planning and sustainability of hydrodevelopment, important institutional changes need to occur for this potential to be realized. This paper concludes with recommendations about those institutional changes needed to improve the feedback between the science and policy, and ultimately the environmental sustainability, of large dams.

Environmental Protection Tools in Agricultural Management Works

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glowacka, Agnieszka; Taszakowski, Jaroslaw; Janus, Jaroslaw; Bozek, Piotr

2016-10-01

Land consolidation is a fundamental instrument for agricultural management. It facilitates comprehensive changes in the agricultural, social, and ecological domains. Consolidation and post-consolidation development-related investments are an opportunity to improve living conditions in rural areas, and simultaneously ensure its positive impact on the environment. One of the primary goals of consolidation, directly specified in the Act on land consolidation, is to improve farming conditions. In Poland, consolidation is possible due to EU funds: RDP 2007-2013 and RDP 2014-2020. In order for individual villages to be granted EU funds for consolidation and post-consolidation development under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, their consolidation has to implement actions with positive impact on the environment and the landscape. The goal of this paper is to analyse documentation in the form of assumptions for a land consolidation project enclosed to an RDP 2014-2020 grant application and project information sheets as the basis for environmental impact assessment in the context of detailed presentation of environmental protection solutions that ensure a positive impact of the project on the environment and landscape. The detailed study involved 9 villages in the Malopolskie Voivodeship, which applied for EU grants for land consolidation in the current financial perspective. The paper specifies the existing state of the analysed villages as regards the natural environment, lists agricultural management instruments that have a positive impact on the environment, and demonstrates that planning of actions aimed at environmental protection is a necessary element of assumptions for land consolidation projects.

Environmental Social Stress, Paranoia and Psychosis Liability: A Virtual Reality Study.

PubMed

Veling, Wim; Pot-Kolder, Roos; Counotte, Jacqueline; van Os, Jim; van der Gaag, Mark

2016-11-01

The impact of social environments on mental states is difficult to assess, limiting the understanding of which aspects of the social environment contribute to the onset of psychotic symptoms and how individual characteristics moderate this outcome. This study aimed to test sensitivity to environmental social stress as a mechanism of psychosis using Virtual Reality (VR) experiments. Fifty-five patients with recent onset psychotic disorder, 20 patients at ultra high risk for psychosis, 42 siblings of patients with psychosis, and 53 controls walked 5 times in a virtual bar with different levels of environmental social stress. Virtual social stressors were population density, ethnic density and hostility. Paranoia about virtual humans and subjective distress in response to virtual social stress exposures were measured with State Social Paranoia Scale (SSPS) and self-rated momentary subjective distress (SUD), respectively. Pre-existing (subclinical) symptoms were assessed with the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), Green Paranoid Thoughts Scale (GPTS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Paranoia and subjective distress increased with degree of social stress in the environment. Psychosis liability and pre-existing symptoms, in particular negative affect, positively impacted the level of paranoia and distress in response to social stress. These results provide experimental evidence that heightened sensitivity to environmental social stress may play an important role in the onset and course of psychosis. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Environmental assessment: Kotzebue Wind Installation Project, Kotzebue, Alaska

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

NONE

1998-05-01

The DOE is proposing to provide financial assistance to the Kotzebue Electric Association to expand its existing wind installation near Kotzebue, Alaska. Like many rural Alaska towns, Kotzebue uses diesel-powered generators to produce its electricity, the high cost of which is currently subsidized by the Alaska State government. In an effort to provide a cost effective and clean source of electricity, reduce dependence on diesel fuel, and reduce air pollutants, the DOE is proposing to fund an experimental wind installation to test commercially available wind turbines under Arctic conditions. The results would provide valuable information to other Alaska communities experiencingmore » similar dependence on diesel-powered generators. The environmental assessment for the proposed wind installation assessed impacts to biological resources, land use, electromagnetic interference, coastal zone, air quality, cultural resources, and noise. It was determined that the project does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required, and DOE has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact.« less

75 FR 77859 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Hawai‘i...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-14

... Energy Program (HIREP). Hawai`i proposes to facilitate the development of wind-generated electric energy and the required improvements to the existing electric transmission infrastructure in Hawai`i. This... energy technologies in Hawai`i. DATES: The public scoping period starts with the publication of this...

76 FR 67670 - Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-02

..., modifications to 4 existing substations, a 345-kV switchyard, maintenance access roads, temporary construction... will address the construction, operation, and maintenance of Basin Electric's proposed Project. The Project includes construction, operation and maintenance of approximately 190 miles of new 345-kV single...

78 FR 42516 - Iroquois Gas Transmission System, L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-16

... Public Scoping Meetings. At that time, Constitution proposed to construct a new compressor station as... has since identified that the objectives of the new compressor station could be met by making modifications at Iroquois' existing Wright Compressor Station in Schoharie County, New York. The other aspects...

77 FR 29967 - Notice of Intent To Terminate the Existing Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Prepare a New...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-21

... Makah Indian Tribe's (Tribe) request that we authorize treaty right hunting of eastern North Pacific... by [NOAA-NMFS-2012- 0104], by any of the following methods: Electronic Submissions: Submit all..., and permit would allow the Tribe to continue treaty right ceremonial and subsistence hunting of...

Life cycle assessment for emerging materials: case study of a garden bed constructed from lumber produced with three different copper treatments

EPA Science Inventory

Although important data and methodological challenges facing LCA and emerging materials exist, this LCA captures material and process changes that are important drivers of environmental impacts. LCA methods need to be amended to reflect properties of emerging materials that deter...

Math/Science/Technology Projects for the Technology Teacher. A Professional Monograph.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maley, Donald L., Ed.

The underlying development behind this monograph grew out of a series of 14 panels (20 inches by 28 inches) illustrating the basic linkages between existing industrial arts/technology education activities and mathematics or science principles or societal and environmental impacts. Specifically, each panel contained a full-color photograph of a…

Is environmental legislation conserving tropical stream faunas? A large-scale assessment of local, riparian and catchment-scale influences on Amazonian fishes

EPA Science Inventory

Tropical agricultural is a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. In addition to the direct impacts of converting native vegetation to agriculture this process is accompanied by a wider set of human-induced disturbances, many of which are poorly addressed by existing environment...

78 FR 77417 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Little Otter...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-23

... availability. The Missouri Drought Plan places Caldwell County in a region classified as having ``severe surface and groundwater supply drought vulnerability.'' Digital models estimate that existing water sources could supply only 37 percent of the county's demand during the drought of record. In addition, the...

76 FR 3925 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Housing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-21

... Predominantly Criminal Aliens at a Privately- Owned and Operated Institution in Either Hinton, OK; McRae, GA... Meetings for the proposed housing of inmates under the Criminal Alien Requirement 12 (CAR 12) solicitation... predominantly criminal aliens. Proposals received by the BOP from private contractors include existing...

78 FR 75557 - CE FLNG, LLC, CE Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-12

... acquisition of an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the natural gas transmission pipeline...-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The LNG terminal would be... port. The planned transmission pipeline would connect the terminal to existing natural gas...

78 FR 44943 - EcoEléctrica, L.P.; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-25

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP13-516-000] EcoEl[eacute... existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and cogeneration facility site in Pe[ntilde]uelas, Puerto... environmental impact statement (FEIS) or EA for this proposal. The filing of the EA in the Commission's public...

77 FR 12076 - Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Integrated Water Resource Management Plan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-28

..., Systems Modification, and Water Supply) which are comprised of seven elements (listed below). The Habitat... existing facilities and operations in order to improve conditions for fish and to improve water supply. The... elements. The third component, Water Supply, is intended to improve water supply for agricultural and...

75 FR 18238 - United States Section; Final Environmental Impact Statement, Flood Control Improvements and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-09

... engineering alternatives for long-term improvement of the Presidio FCP flood containment capacity. The EIS... Federal Register on February 26, 2010 for a 30-day wait period. Finding: Based on engineering, economic... existing levee and provide protection to the City of Presidio and adjacent agricultural areas from a 25...

78 FR 56729 - Final Environmental Impact Statement, Habitat Conservation Plan, and Implementing Agreement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-13

..., maintenance, and decommissioning of the Beech Ridge Wind Power Project. Beech Ridge Energy is requesting a 25... of 67 existing turbines in the project area; the construction, operation, and maintenance of up to 33... Wind Power Project, Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties, West Virginia AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service...

75 FR 49515 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Chevron Energy...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-13

... megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic project which would connect to an existing Southern California Edison 33... Solutions Lucerne Valley Solar Project, California and the Proposed Amendment to the California Desert... Chevron Energy Solutions Lucerne Valley Solar Project and by this notice is announcing its availability...

Community Economic Development Strategies in Rural Washington: Toward a Synthesis of Natural and Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crowe, Jessica A.

2006-01-01

Routes to economic development attract considerable attention in community and rural sociology. Social scientists draw increasingly on studies of social capital and environmental surroundings as they examine the factors that facilitate and inhibit economic development. However, few empirical analyses exist that analyze the impact of the…

77 FR 44267 - Notice of Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-27

... Final EIS NOA and use them to inform the Records of Decision. Those individuals wishing to submit... general information regarding the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA... development. Through the Final Programmatic EIS, the BLM is considering replacing elements of its existing...

Macronutrients in soils and plants, and their impacts on animal and human health

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil supplies an abundance of macronutrients necessary for plants to grow and thrive under a variety of environmental conditions around the world. The capability of soil to store and release these nutrients supports our existence. Scientists from USDA-ARS in Raleigh NC and at the University of Ark...

Sustainable Biomass Resource Development and Use | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Sustainable Biomass Resource Development and Use Sustainable Biomass Resource Development and Use A sustainability analysis includes biomass resource use and impact assessment. This analysis examines how we can use existing resources in a sustainable manner. It also examines the environmental and socio-economic

76 FR 74074 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Windy Gap Firming Project, Colorado

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-30

... Chimney Hollow Reservoir, pre-positioning of Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) water in the new reservoir, and a new pipeline to convey water to the reservoir from existing C-BT facilities. DATES: Reclamation... (Proposed Action) described in the Final EIS includes: Construction of Chimney Hollow Reservoir (90,000 acre...

78 FR 39315 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Public Workshops...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-01

... area relocations, and other alternative features; water operations-related effects within the reservoir... Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed system by modifying the existing Shasta Dam and Reservoir to meet... enlarging Shasta Dam and Reservoir. Related legislation includes Title 34 of Public Law 102-575 (the Central...

Aging and Financial Planning for Retirement: Interdisciplinary Influences Viewed through a Cross-Cultural Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hershey, Douglas A.; Henkens, Kene; van Dalen, Hendrik P.

2010-01-01

Current theoretical models support the existence of interactions between the individual and socio-environmental forces when it comes to the formation and enactment of life plans (Friedman & Scholnick, 1997; Shanahan & Elder, 2002). In this investigation, we examine the social, economic, and psychological forces that impact financial…

Numerical simulation of the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing of tight/shale gas reservoirs on near-surface ground water: background, base cases, shallow reservoirs, short-term gas and water transport

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Researchers examined gas and water transport between a deep tight shale gas reservoir and a shallow overlying aquifer in the two years following hydraulic fracturing, assuming a pre-existing connecting pathway.

Data requirements for valuing externalities: The role of existing permitting processes

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

Lee, A.D.; Baechler, M.C.; Callaway, J.M.

1990-08-01

While the assessment of externalities, or residual impacts, will place new demands on regulators, utilities, and developers, existing processes already require certain data and information that may fulfill some of the data needs for externality valuation. This paper examines existing siting, permitting, and other processes and highlights similarities and differences between their data requirements and the data required to value environmental externalities. It specifically considers existing requirements for siting new electricity resources in Oregon and compares them with the information and data needed to value externalities for such resources. This paper also presents several observations about how states can takemore » advantage of data acquired through processes already in place as they move into an era when externalities are considered in utility decision-making. It presents other observations on the similarities and differences between the data requirements under existing processes and those for valuing externalities. This paper also briefly discusses the special case of cumulative impacts. And it presents recommendations on what steps to take in future efforts to value externalities. 35 refs., 2 tabs.« less

Identification and ranking of environmental threats with ecosystem vulnerability distributions.

PubMed

Zijp, Michiel C; Huijbregts, Mark A J; Schipper, Aafke M; Mulder, Christian; Posthuma, Leo

2017-08-24

Responses of ecosystems to human-induced stress vary in space and time, because both stressors and ecosystem vulnerabilities vary in space and time. Presently, ecosystem impact assessments mainly take into account variation in stressors, without considering variation in ecosystem vulnerability. We developed a method to address ecosystem vulnerability variation by quantifying ecosystem vulnerability distributions (EVDs) based on monitoring data of local species compositions and environmental conditions. The method incorporates spatial variation of both abiotic and biotic variables to quantify variation in responses among species and ecosystems. We show that EVDs can be derived based on a selection of locations, existing monitoring data and a selected impact boundary, and can be used in stressor identification and ranking for a region. A case study on Ohio's freshwater ecosystems, with freshwater fish as target species group, showed that physical habitat impairment and nutrient loads ranked highest as current stressors, with species losses higher than 5% for at least 6% of the locations. EVDs complement existing approaches of stressor assessment and management, which typically account only for variability in stressors, by accounting for variation in the vulnerability of the responding ecosystems.

Cumulative Environmental Impacts: Science and Policy to Protect Communities.

PubMed

Solomon, Gina M; Morello-Frosch, Rachel; Zeise, Lauren; Faust, John B

2016-01-01

Many communities are located near multiple sources of pollution, including current and former industrial sites, major roadways, and agricultural operations. Populations in such locations are predominantly low-income, with a large percentage of minorities and non-English speakers. These communities face challenges that can affect the health of their residents, including limited access to health care, a shortage of grocery stores, poor housing quality, and a lack of parks and open spaces. Environmental exposures may interact with social stressors, thereby worsening health outcomes. Age, genetic characteristics, and preexisting health conditions increase the risk of adverse health effects from exposure to pollutants. There are existing approaches for characterizing cumulative exposures, cumulative risks, and cumulative health impacts. Although such approaches have merit, they also have significant constraints. New developments in exposure monitoring, mapping, toxicology, and epidemiology, especially when informed by community participation, have the potential to advance the science on cumulative impacts and to improve decision making.

Examples of Level Products Possible from Existing Assets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2012-01-01

How do patterns of human environmental and infectious diseases respond to leading environmental changes, particularly to urban growth and change and the associated impacts of urbanization? We use HyspIRI high spatial resolution, multispectral, and multitemporal TIR data to track energy balance and energy flux characteristics for changing land covers/land uses through time to provide synoptic views of impacts on surface energy fluxes, emissivity and temperature and HyspIRI data in conjunction with spatial growth models to project land cover/land use changes in the future to assess impacts on natural and human ecosystems. We use multispectral thermal IR land cover maps at a high spatial resolution (60m) on a weekly basis for long-term validation of surface energy responses and changes in emissivity and integration of HyspIRI TIR data with spatial modeling to assess changes in land cover/land use through time and subsequent changes in thermal energy responses

Baby, it's cold outside: Climate model simulations of the effects of the asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brugger, Julia; Feulner, Georg; Petri, Stefan

2017-01-01

Sixty-six million years ago, the end-Cretaceous mass extinction ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Flood basalt eruptions and an asteroid impact are widely discussed causes, yet their contributions remain debated. Modeling the environmental changes after the Chicxulub impact can shed light on this question. Existing studies, however, focused on the effect of dust or used one-dimensional, noncoupled atmosphere models. Here we explore the longer-lasting cooling due to sulfate aerosols using a coupled climate model. Depending on aerosol stratospheric residence time, global annual mean surface air temperature decreased by at least 26°C, with 3 to 16 years subfreezing temperatures and a recovery time larger than 30 years. The surface cooling triggered vigorous ocean mixing which could have resulted in a plankton bloom due to upwelling of nutrients. These dramatic environmental changes suggest a pivotal role of the impact in the end-Cretaceous extinction.

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

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

Columbia River System Operation Review

1995-11-01

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

Biofuels: balancing risks and rewards.

PubMed

Thornley, Patricia; Gilbert, Paul

2013-02-06

This paper describes a framework that can be used to evaluate the environmental risks and benefits associated with biofuel production. It uses the example of biodiesel produced from Argentinean soy to show how such a framework can be used to conceptualize trade-offs between different environmental, social and economic impacts of biofuel production. Results showing the greenhouse-gas savings and overall life-cycle impact of different 'soy-biodiesel' production methods are presented. These impacts and the significance of uncertainty in overall assessments of key parameters, such as greenhouse-gas savings, are discussed. It is shown that, even where sufficient knowledge exists to be able to quantify these impacts, the sustainability of supply of a particular biofuel is inextricably linked to values and ethical judgements. However, tailoring certification efforts to the issues that are most likely to make a significant difference to the overall sustainability could improve the effectiveness of certification efforts. The potential for a framework to guide and focus certification efforts is discussed and future research and policy priorities suggested.

Predicting the impacts of existing, pending, and future surface water rights on environmental flows to maintain anadromous salmonids in the northern California wine country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deitch, M.; Kondolf, G. M.; Merenlender, A.; Cover, M. R.

2006-12-01

We used digitized aerial photographs on a geographical information system, historical stream flow records, and water rights records to model the effects of existing, pending, and future small reservoirs on stream flow on six tributaries to the Russian River in Sonoma County. Institutions governing whether these reservoirs can operate as constructed, and as proposed, has important implications for efforts to meet human and ecological water needs in the California wine country. Beginning in 1992, state agencies rewrote the policies governing how wine grape growers meet water needs to offer protections to endangered species and public trust values. These changes caused a shift in water management institutions: wine grape growers could no longer rely on surface water appropriations to meet growing water needs for new vineyards, and instead turned to other types of water rights that placed different (and potentially more severe) pressures on aquatic ecosystems. Despite growing controversy over the ecological impacts of existing and pending surface water appropriations (primarily small onstream and offstream reservoirs) on environmental flows necessary to support endangered anadromous salmonids, no analysis has been conducted to evaluate the impacts of existing small reservoirs, pending proposed reservoirs, or future reservoirs on local or catchment-scale stream flow. Our stream flow models indicated that existing and pending small reservoirs can eliminate flow immediately downstream of small reservoirs at the onset of the rainy season (when adult salmonids begin to migrate upstream to spawn); but the cumulative effect of several small reservoirs on stream reaches suitable for spawning is dampened by the spatial distribution of small reservoirs in a drainage network. The temporal extant of local flow effects is variable; most recent and pending onstream reservoirs can impair flows late into the rainy season, but their cumulative effects on downstream flows are less because they are located on ephemeral streams far in river headwaters.

A social-ecological systems approach for environmental management.

PubMed

Virapongse, Arika; Brooks, Samantha; Metcalf, Elizabeth Covelli; Zedalis, Morgan; Gosz, Jim; Kliskey, Andrew; Alessa, Lilian

2016-08-01

Urgent environmental issues are testing the limits of current management approaches and pushing demand for innovative approaches that integrate across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Practitioners, scholars, and policy-makers alike call for increased integration of natural and social sciences to develop new approaches that address the range of ecological and societal impacts of modern environmental issues. From a theoretical perspective, social-ecological systems (SES) science offers a compelling approach for improved environmental management through the application of transdisciplinary and resilience concepts. A framework for translating SES theory into practice, however, is lacking. In this paper, we define the key components of an SES-based environmental management approach. We offer recommendations for integrating an SES approach into existing environmental management practices. Results presented are useful for management professionals that seek to employ an SES environmental management approach and scholars aiming to advance the theoretical foundations of SES science for practical application. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Impact-acoustics inspection of tile-wall bonding integrity via wavelet transform and hidden Markov models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luk, B. L.; Liu, K. P.; Tong, F.; Man, K. F.

2010-05-01

The impact-acoustics method utilizes different information contained in the acoustic signals generated by tapping a structure with a small metal object. It offers a convenient and cost-efficient way to inspect the tile-wall bonding integrity. However, the existence of the surface irregularities will cause abnormal multiple bounces in the practical inspection implementations. The spectral characteristics from those bounces can easily be confused with the signals obtained from different bonding qualities. As a result, it will deteriorate the classic feature-based classification methods based on frequency domain. Another crucial difficulty posed by the implementation is the additive noise existing in the practical environments that may also cause feature mismatch and false judgment. In order to solve this problem, the work described in this paper aims to develop a robust inspection method that applies model-based strategy, and utilizes the wavelet domain features with hidden Markov modeling. It derives a bonding integrity recognition approach with enhanced immunity to surface roughness as well as the environmental noise. With the help of the specially designed artificial sample slabs, experiments have been carried out with impact acoustic signals contaminated by real environmental noises acquired under practical inspection background. The results are compared with those using classic method to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Disaster waste management: a review article.

PubMed

Brown, Charlotte; Milke, Mark; Seville, Erica

2011-06-01

Depending on their nature and severity, disasters can create large volumes of debris and waste. The waste can overwhelm existing solid waste management facilities and impact on other emergency response and recovery activities. If poorly managed, the waste can have significant environmental and public health impacts and can affect the overall recovery process. This paper presents a system overview of disaster waste management based on existing literature. The main literature available to date comprises disaster waste management plans or guidelines and isolated case studies. There is ample discussion on technical management options such as temporary storage sites, recycling, disposal, etc.; however, there is little or no guidance on how these various management options are selected post-disaster. The literature does not specifically address the impact or appropriateness of existing legislation, organisational structures and funding mechanisms on disaster waste management programmes, nor does it satisfactorily cover the social impact of disaster waste management programmes. It is envisaged that the discussion presented in this paper, and the literature gaps identified, will form a basis for future comprehensive and cohesive research on disaster waste management. In turn, research will lead to better preparedness and response to disaster waste management problems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disaster waste management: A review article

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

Brown, Charlotte, E-mail: charlotte.brown@pg.canterbury.ac.nz; Milke, Mark, E-mail: mark.milke@canterbury.ac.nz; Seville, Erica, E-mail: erica.seville@canterbury.ac.nz

2011-06-15

Depending on their nature and severity, disasters can create large volumes of debris and waste. The waste can overwhelm existing solid waste management facilities and impact on other emergency response and recovery activities. If poorly managed, the waste can have significant environmental and public health impacts and can affect the overall recovery process. This paper presents a system overview of disaster waste management based on existing literature. The main literature available to date comprises disaster waste management plans or guidelines and isolated case studies. There is ample discussion on technical management options such as temporary storage sites, recycling, disposal, etc.;more » however, there is little or no guidance on how these various management options are selected post-disaster. The literature does not specifically address the impact or appropriateness of existing legislation, organisational structures and funding mechanisms on disaster waste management programmes, nor does it satisfactorily cover the social impact of disaster waste management programmes. It is envisaged that the discussion presented in this paper, and the literature gaps identified, will form a basis for future comprehensive and cohesive research on disaster waste management. In turn, research will lead to better preparedness and response to disaster waste management problems.« less

Environmental Impact Statement. Disposal and Reuse of George Air Force Base, California. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

development area. Non-aviation land uses George AFB Disposal and Reuse FEIS S -1 proposed for property within the existing base boundary Include...local communities. S -2 George AFB Disposal and Reuse FEIS The baseline assumed In this document Is the conditions projected at base closure. Impacts...of George AFB are summarized In 5. 10. and 20 year intervals in Tables S -1 through S -6 and briefly described below. Influencing factors are non

New Orleans to Venice, Louisiana, Hurricane Protection Project: Draft Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report on Reach C and Barrier Features. Supplement 2. Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. Appendixes,

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

tree species where appropriate. The configuration of borrow pits proposed for the batture area could be modified to maximize sedimentation rates and thus...bottomland hardwood species where conditions would be conducive to their growth . -’ -*,.. 4. Unavoidable impacts to Resource Category 2 bottomland hardwood... duckweed , frogbit, bladderwort, coontail, and widgeon grass. Upland developed habitat consists of existing levees, roads, agricultural areas

Health impact assessment needs in south-east Asian countries.

PubMed Central

Caussy, Deoraj; Kumar, Priti; Than Sein, U.

2003-01-01

A situation analysis was undertaken to assess impediments to health impact assessment (HIA) in the South-East Asia Region of WHO (SEARO). The countries of the region were assessed on the policy framework and procedures for HIA, existing infrastructure required to support HIA, the capacity for undertaking HIA, and the potential for intersectoral collaboration. The findings show that environmental impact assessment (EIA) is being used implicitly as a substitute for HIA, which is not explicitly or routinely conducted in virtually all countries of the Region. Therefore, policy, infrastructure, capacity, and intersectoral collaboration need strengthening for the routine implementation of HIA. PMID:12894329

Development of the method and U.S. normalization database for Life Cycle Impact Assessment and sustainability metrics.

PubMed

Bare, Jane; Gloria, Thomas; Norris, Gregory

2006-08-15

Normalization is an optional step within Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) that may be used to assist in the interpretation of life cycle inventory data as well as life cycle impact assessment results. Normalization transforms the magnitude of LCI and LCIA results into relative contribution by substance and life cycle impact category. Normalization thus can significantly influence LCA-based decisions when tradeoffs exist. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a normalization database based on the spatial scale of the 48 continental U.S. states, Hawaii, Alaska, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico with a one-year reference time frame. Data within the normalization database were compiled based on the impact methodologies and lists of stressors used in TRACI-the EPA's Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts. The new normalization database published within this article may be used for LCIA case studies within the United States, and can be used to assist in the further development of a global normalization database. The underlying data analyzed for the development of this database are included to allow the development of normalization data consistent with other impact assessment methodologies as well.

National Coal Utilization Assessment. a preliminary assessment of the health and environmental effects of coal utilization in the Midwest. Volume I. Energy scenarios, technology characterizations, air and water resource impacts, and health effects

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

Not Available

1977-01-01

This report presents an initial evaluation of the major health and environmental issues associated with increased coal use in the six midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Using an integrated assessment approach, the evaluation proceeds from a base-line scenario of energy demand and facility siting for 1975-2020. Emphasis is placed on impacts from coal extraction, land reclamation, coal combustion for electrical generation, and coal gasification. The range of potential impacts and constraints is illustrated by a second scenario that represents an expected upper limit for coal utilization in Illinois. The following are among the more significantmore » issues identified and evaluated in this study: If environmental and related issues can be resolved, coal will continue to be a major source of energy for the Midwest; existing sulfur emission constraints will increase use of western coal; the resource requirements and environmental impacts of coal utilization will require major significant environmental and economic tradeoffs in site selection; short-term (24-hr) ambient standards for sulfur dioxide will limit the sizes of coal facilities or require advanced control technologies; an impact on public health may result from long-range transport of airborne sulfur emissions from coal facilities in the Midwest; inadequately controlled effluents from coal gasification may cause violations of water-quality standards; the major ecological effects of coal extraction are from pre-mining and post-reclamation land use; and sulfur dioxide is the major potential contributor to effects on vegetation of atmospheric emissions from coal facilities.« less

Convergent spray process for environmentally friendly coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scarpa, Jack

1995-01-01

Conventional spray application processes have poor transfer efficiencies, resulting in an exorbitant loss in materials, solvents, and time. Also, with ever tightening Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, the low transfer efficiencies have a significant impact on the quantities of materials and solvents that are released into the environment. High solids spray processes are also limited by material viscosities, thus requiring many passes over the surface to achieve a thickness in the 0.125 -inch range. This results in high application costs and a negative impact on the environment. Until recently, requirements for a 100 percent solid sprayable, environmentally friendly, lightweight thermal protection system that can be applied in a thick (greater than 0.125 inch) single-pass operation exceeded the capability of existing systems. Such coatings must be applied by hand lay-up techniques, especially for thermal and/or fire protection systems. The current formulation of these coatings has presented many problems such as worker safety, environmental hazards, waste, high cost, and application constraints. A system which can apply coatings without using hazardous materials would alleviate many of these problems. Potential applications include the aerospace thermal protective specialty coatings, chemical and petroleum industries that require fire-protection coatings that resist impact, chemicals, and weather. These markets can be penetrated by offering customized coatings applied by automated processes that are environmentally friendly.

Proposed methods and endpoints for defining and assessing adverse environmental impact (AEI) on fish communities/populations in Tennessee River reservoirs.

PubMed

Hickman, Gary D; Brown, Mary L

2002-06-07

Two multimetric indices have been developed to help address fish community (reservoir fish assemblage index [RFAI]) and individual population quality (sport fishing index [SFI]) in Tennessee River reservoirs. The RFAI, with characteristics similar to the index of biotic integrity (IBI) used in stream fish community determinations, was developed to monitor the existing condition of resident fish communities. The index, which incorporates standardized electrofishing of littoral areas and experimental gill netting for limnetic bottom-dwelling species, has been used to determine residential fish community response to various anthropogenic impacts in southeastern reservoirs. The SFI is a multimetric index designed to address the quality of the fishery for individual resident sport fish species in a particular lake or reservoir[4]. The SFI incorporates measures of fish population aspects and angler catch and pressure estimates. This paper proposes 70% of the maximum RFAI score and 10% above the average SFI score for individual species as "screening" endpoints for balanced indigenous populations (BIP) or adverse environmental impact (AEI). Endpoints for these indices indicate: (1) communities/populations are obviously balanced indigenous populations (BIP) indicating no adverse environmental impact (AEI), or are "screened out"; (2) communities/populations are considered to be potentially impacted; and (3) where the resident fish community/population should be considered adversely impacted. Suggestions are also made concerning how examination of individual metric scores can help determine the source or cause of the impact.

Assessing adaptation to the health risks of climate change: what guidance can existing frameworks provide?

PubMed

Füssel, Hans-Martin

2008-02-01

Climate change adaptation assessments aim at assisting policy-makers in reducing the health risks associated with climate change and variability. This paper identifies key characteristics of the climate-health relationship and of the adaptation decision problem that require consideration in climate change adaptation assessments. It then analyzes whether these characteristics are appropriately considered in existing guidelines for climate impact and adaptation assessment and in pertinent conceptual models from environmental epidemiology. The review finds three assessment guidelines based on a generalized risk management framework to be most useful for guiding adaptation assessments of human health. Since none of them adequately addresses all key challenges of the adaptation decision problem, actual adaptation assessments need to combine elements from different guidelines. Established conceptual models from environmental epidemiology are found to be of limited relevance for assessing and planning adaptation to climate change since the prevailing toxicological model of environmental health is not applicable to many climate-sensitive health risks.

Local environmental context conditions the impact of Russian olive in a heterogeneous riparian ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tuttle, Graham M.; Katz, Gabrielle L.; Friedman, Jonathan M.; Norton, Andrew P.

2016-01-01

Local abiotic and biotic conditions can alter the strength of exotic species impacts. To better understand the effects of exotic species on invaded ecosystems and to prioritize management efforts, it is important that exotic species impacts are put in local environmental context. We studied how differences in plant community composition, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and available soil N associated with Russian olive presence are conditioned by local environmental variation within a western U.S. riparian ecosystem. In four sites along the South Fork of the Republican River in Colorado, we established 200 pairs of plots (underneath and apart from Russian olive) to measure the effects of invasion across the ecosystem. We used a series of a priori mixed models to identify environmental variables that altered the effects of Russian olive. For all response variables, models that included the interaction of environmental characteristics, such as presence/absence of an existing cottonwood canopy, with the presence/absence of Russian olive canopy were stronger candidate models than those that just included Russian olive canopy presence as a factor. Compared with reference plots outside of Russian olive canopy, plots underneath Russian olive had higher relative exotic cover (exotic/total cover), lower perennial C4 grass cover, and higher perennial forb cover. These effects were reduced, however, in the presence of a cottonwood canopy. As expected, Russian olive was associated with reduced PAR and increased N, but these effects were reduced under cottonwood canopy. Our results demonstrate that local abiotic and biotic environmental factors condition the effects of Russian olive within a heterogeneous riparian ecosystem and suggest that management efforts should be focused in open areas where Russian olive impacts are strongest.

[Nuclear energy and environment: review of the IAEA environmental projects].

PubMed

Fesenko, S; Fogt, G

2012-01-01

The review of the environmental projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency is presented. Basic IAEA documents intended to protect humans and the Environment are considered and their main features are discussed. Some challenging issues in the area of protection of the Environment and man, including the impact of nuclear facilities on the environment, radioactive waste management, and remediation of the areas affected by radiological accidents, nuclear testing and sites of nuclear facilities are also discussed. The need to maintain the existing knowledge in radioecology and protection of the environment is emphasised.

The Geysers pipeline project

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

Dellinger, M.; Allen, E.

A unique public/private partnership of local, state, federal and corporate stakeholders are constructing the world`s first wastewater-to-electricity system at The Geysers. A rare example of a genuinely {open_quotes}sustainable{close_quotes} energy system, three Lake County communities will recycle their treated wastewater effluent through the southeast portion of the The Geysers steamfield to produce approximately 625,000 MWh annually from six existing geothermal power plants. In effect, the communities` effluent will produce enough power to indefinitely sustain their electric needs, along with enough extra power for thousands of other California consumers. Because of the project`s unique sponsorship, function and environmental impacts, its implementation hasmore » required: (1) preparation of a consolidated state environmental impact report (EIR) and federal environmental impact statement (EIS), and seven related environmental agreements and management plans; (2) acquisition of 25 local, state, and federal permits; (3) negotiation of six federal and state financial assistance agreements; (4) negotiation of six participant agreements on construction, operation and financing of the project, and (5) acquisition of 163 easements from private land owners for pipeline construction access and ongoing maintenance. The project`s success in efficiently and economically completing these requirements is a model for geothermal innovation and partnering throughout the Pacific Rim and elsewhere internationally.« less

Turning community wastes into sustainable geothermal energy: The S.E. Geysers effluent pipeline project

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

Dellinger, M.; Allen, E.

A unique public/private partnership of local, state, federal, and corporate stakeholders are constructing the world`s first wastewater-to-electricity system at The Geysers. A rare example of a genuinely {open_quotes}sustainable{close_quote} energy system, three Lake County communities will recycle their treated wastewater effluent through the southeast portion of The Geysers steamfield to produce approximately 625,000 MWh annually from six existing geothermal power plants. In effect, the communities` effluent will produce enough power to indefinitely sustain their electric needs, along with enough extra power for thousands of other California consumers. Because of the project`s unique sponsorship, function, and environmental impacts, its implementation has required:more » (1) preparation of a consolidated state environmental impact report (EIR) and federal environmental impact statement (EIS), and seven related environmental agreements and management plans; (2) acquisition of 25 local, state, and federal permits; (3) negotiation of six federal and state financial assistance agreements; (4) negotiation of six participant agreements on construction, operation, and financing of the project; and (5) acquisition of 163 easements from private land owners for pipeline construction access and ongoing maintenance. The project`s success in efficiently and economically completing these requirements is a model for geothermal innovation and partnering throughout the Pacific Rim and elsewhere internationally.« less

Geographical Environment Factors and Risk Assessment of Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Hulunbuir, Northeastern China.

PubMed

Li, Yifan; Wang, Juanle; Gao, Mengxu; Fang, Liqun; Liu, Changhua; Lyu, Xin; Bai, Yongqing; Zhao, Qiang; Li, Hairong; Yu, Hongjie; Cao, Wuchun; Feng, Liqiang; Wang, Yanjun; Zhang, Bin

2017-05-26

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is one of natural foci diseases transmitted by ticks. Its distribution and transmission are closely related to geographic and environmental factors. Identification of environmental determinates of TBE is of great importance to understanding the general distribution of existing and potential TBE natural foci. Hulunbuir, one of the most severe endemic areas of the disease, is selected as the study area. Statistical analysis, global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis, and regression methods were applied to detect the spatiotemporal characteristics, compare the impact degree of associated factors, and model the risk distribution using the heterogeneity. The statistical analysis of gridded geographic and environmental factors and TBE incidence show that the TBE patients mainly occurred during spring and summer and that there is a significant positive spatial autocorrelation between the distribution of TBE cases and environmental characteristics. The impact degree of these factors on TBE risks has the following descending order: temperature, relative humidity, vegetation coverage, precipitation and topography. A high-risk area with a triangle shape was determined in the central part of Hulunbuir; the low-risk area is located in the two belts next to the outside edge of the central triangle. The TBE risk distribution revealed that the impact of the geographic factors changed depending on the heterogeneity.

Evaluation of environmental impacts from municipal solid waste management in the municipality of Aarhus, Denmark (EASEWASTE).

PubMed

Kirkeby, Janus T; Birgisdottir, Harpa; Hansen, Trine Lund; Christensen, Thomas H; Bhander, Gurbakhash Singh; Hauschild, Michael

2006-02-01

A new computer based life cycle assessment model (EASEWASTE) was used to evaluate a municipal solid waste system with the purpose of identifying environmental benefits and disadvantages by anaerobic digestion of source-separated household waste and incineration. The most important processes that were included in the study are optical sorting and pre-treatment, anaerobic digestion with heat and power recovery, incineration with heat and power recovery, use of digested biomass on arable soils and finally, an estimated surplus consumption of plastic in order to achieve a higher quality and quantity of organic waste to the biogas plant. Results showed that there were no significant differences in most of the assessed environmental impacts for the two scenarios. However, the use of digested biomass may cause a potential toxicity impact on human health due to the heavy metal content of the organic waste. A sensitivity analysis showed that the results are sensitive to the energy recovery efficiencies, to the extra plastic consumption for waste bags and to the content of heavy metals in the waste. A model such as EASEWASTE is very suitable for evaluating the overall environmental consequences of different waste management strategies and technologies, and can be used for most waste material fractions existing in household waste.

Biogenic CO2 fluxes, changes in surface albedo and biodiversity impacts from establishment of a miscanthus plantation.

PubMed

Jørgensen, Susanne V; Cherubini, Francesco; Michelsen, Ottar

2014-12-15

Depletion in oil resources and environmental concern related to the use of fossil fuels has increased the interest in using second generation biomass as alternative feedstock for fuels and materials. However, the land use and land use change for producing second generation (2G) biomass impacts the environment in various ways, of which not all are usually considered in life cycle assessment. This study assesses the biogenic CO2 fluxes, surface albedo changes and biodiversity impacts for 100 years after changing land use from forest or fallow land to miscanthus plantation in Wisconsin, US. Climate change impacts are addressed in terms of effective forcing, a mid-point indicator which can be used to compare impacts from biogenic CO2 fluxes and albedo changes. Biodiversity impacts are assessed through elaboration on two different existing approaches, to express the change in biodiversity impact from one human influenced state to another. Concerning the impacts from biogenic CO2 fluxes, in the case of conversion from a forest to a miscanthus plantation (case A) there is a contribution to global warming, whereas when a fallow land is converted (case B), there is a climate cooling. When the effects from albedo changes are included, both scenarios show a net cooling impact, which is more pronounced in case B. Both cases reduce biodiversity in the area where the miscanthus plantation is established, though most in case A. The results illustrate the relevance of these issues when considering environmental impacts of land use and land use change. The apparent trade-offs in terms of environmental impacts further highlight the importance of including these aspects in LCA of land use and land use changes, in order to enable informed decision making. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding Resistance to Climate Change Resistance.

PubMed

Coyle, Maureen

2014-12-01

Fifty years after the emergence of warnings over the effects of the environmental impacts of industrialization and other conditions of a planet subjugated by humans, we are still entertaining discussions about the existence of the phenomena of climate change. Worse still, we have not checked the behaviors and conditions that exacerbate the rate of environmental destruction. Older people, particularly those who are economically vulnerable, are among those most at risk in disasters, including events resulting from climate change. By applying the "epistemologies of ignorance" outlined by Nancy Tuana, I attempt to understand the rooted ignorance that prevents acceptance of the environmental impact of human kind's unrepentant misuse of the world's natural resources and the refusal to curb the excesses that have lead to environmental damage that has had, and that will continue to have, dire consequences on the planet and for the most vulnerable denizens of Earth. Far from being a pessimistic project of abjection and despair, this article proposes that an examination of climate change denial can provide guidance for the development of a better counter-narrative. © The Author(s) 2015.

Aqueous hybrid ion batteries - An environmentally friendly alternative for stationary energy storage?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Jens F.; Weil, Marcel

2017-10-01

Aqueous hybrid ion batteries (AHIB) are being promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative to existing stationary battery technologies. However, no quantification of their potential environmental impacts has yet been done. This paper presents a prospective life cycle assessment of an AHIB module and compares its performance with lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries in two different stationary energy storage applications. The findings show that the claim of being an environmentally friendly technology can only be supported with some major limitations. While the AHIB uses abundant and non-toxic materials, it has a very low energy density and requires increased amounts of material for providing a given storage capacity. Per kWh of battery, results comparable to those of the alternative lithium- or sodium-ion batteries are obtained, but significantly higher impacts under global warming and ozone depletion aspects. The comparable high cycle life of the AHIB compensates this partially, requiring less battery replacements over the lifetime of the application. On the other hand, its internal inefficiencies are higher, what becomes the dominating factor when charging majorly fossil based electricity, making AHIB unattractive for this type of applications.

75 FR 21343 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Round Mountain...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-23

... INFORMATION: The Round Mountain Gold Corporation, which is a joint venture of Kinross Gold Corporation and Barrick Gold Corporation, proposes to expand its Round Mountain Mine, an existing open-pit gold mining and... about 66.2 acres between the Round Mountain area and the Gold Hill area. The primary method of...

78 FR 8582 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for Brooks River Visitor Access for Katmai National Park and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-06

... River floating bridge and sites to relocate the existing Naknek Lake barge landing area at the mouth of... barge landing site would be located approximately 200 feet south of the mouth of the Brooks River. A new... new Naknek Lake barge landing site. Alternative 4 (NPS Preferred Alternative): This alternative...

77 FR 49854 - Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement for the Oregon Portion of the Pacific Northwest Rail...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-17

... represents other transportation modes such as auto, air travel, intercity bus, and existing rail and the... well as making decisions regarding the level of intercity passenger rail service provided in the... growth of 139% between 2000 and 2008. Current intercity passenger rail service in Oregon includes two...

76 FR 1501 - Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement for Transit Improvements in the US 90A/Southwest...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-10

... limited traffic capacity on existing streets and highways resulting in increased travel time, delays, and... result, bus travel times are influenced by roadway congestion which is anticipated to increase. Peak period bus travel times can be as much as 30 percent longer than travel times during off-peak periods. In...

78 FR 26004 - Notice of Availability; Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the FutureGen 2.0 Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-03

... floodplain and wetland review requirements (10 CFR part 1022). DATES: DOE invites the public to comment on... commercial operations after this date. The oxy-combustion plant would be built on a 263-acre existing power... would be used for the injection facilities, associated infrastructure and buildings, and access roads...

PRESENTED AT TRIANGLE CONSORTIUM FOR REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY MEETING IN CHAPEL HILL, NC ON 2/11/2006: SPERM COUNT DISTRIBUTIONS IN FERTILE MEN

EPA Science Inventory

Sperm concentration and count are often used as indicators of environmental impacts on male reproductive health. Existing clinical databases may be biased towards sub-fertile men with low sperm counts and less is known about expected sperm count distributions in cohorts of ferti...

77 FR 51554 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt of Application for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-24

... from Beech Ridge Energy for an ITP for the operation, and maintenance of 67 existing turbines in the project area; the construction, operation and maintenance of up to 33 additional turbines and associated... low wind speeds by raising turbine cut-in speeds (the wind speed at which turbines begin generating...

Influences of Neighborhood Context, Individual History and Parenting Behavior on Recidivism among Juvenile Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grunwald, Heidi E.; Lockwood, Brian; Harris, Philip W.; Mennis, Jeremy

2010-01-01

This study examined the effects of neighborhood context on juvenile recidivism to determine if neighborhoods influence the likelihood of reoffending. Although a large body of literature exists regarding the impact of environmental factors on delinquency, very little is known about the effects of these factors on juvenile recidivism. The sample…

USE OF TOXICOGENOMICS DATA IN RISK ASSESSMENT: CASE STUDY FOR A CHEMICAL IN THE ANDROGEN-MEDIATED MALE REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT TOXICITY PATHWAY

EPA Science Inventory

The goal of this project is to address the question, “Can existing toxicogenomics (TG) data improve Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chemical health or risk assessments?” Although genomics data promises to impact multiple areas of science, medicine, law, and policy, there ar...

Information Summary, Area of Concern: Ashtabula River, Ohio

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

Sediment data...............................10 Water quality data............................11 Groundwater impacts..............................11 Point...Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) The Water Quality -Act of 1987, Section 118, authorizes the Great Lakes...serious impairment of ben- eficial uses of water or biota (drinking, swimming, fishing, navigation, etc.) is known to exist, or where environmental quality

Forest access roads: design, maintenance, and soil loss

Treesearch

Lloyd W. Swift

1988-01-01

The Regional Guide for,the South (United States Department of Agriculture 1984b) recognizes that roads and skid trails are the major sources of sediment from forestry-related activities. The overall environmental impact statement for Region 8 (United States Department of Agriculture 1984a) estimates an existing national forest road network of 56,300 km (3 1,000 miles)...

Comparative study of cellulose nanofibrils Disintegrated from different Approaches

Treesearch

Yan Qing; Ronald Sabo; J.Y. Zhu; Zhiyong Cai; Yiqiang Wu

2013-01-01

The use of renewable materials has received a great deal of attention over the last several decades due to the environmental impact and finite resources of petroleum and other non-renewable resources. Cellulose nanofibrils are a type of nanomaterial made from natural resources like wood and non-wood plants, and they are considering promising alternative to existing...

78 FR 29336 - Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Arctic Deep Draft Ports Navigation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-20

... vicinity of Nome is not adequate to accommodate the need for an efficient and safe harbor appropriate to... Transportation is working with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in investigating the need for expanding the... encounter the haphazard navigation scenario that presently exists in a challenging maritime environment...

A multi-scale method of mapping urban influence

Treesearch

Timothy G. Wade; James D. Wickham; Nicola Zacarelli; Kurt H. Riitters

2009-01-01

Urban development can impact environmental quality and ecosystem services well beyond urban extent. Many methods to map urban areas have been developed and used in the past, but most have simply tried to map existing extent of urban development, and all have been single-scale techniques. The method presented here uses a clustering approach to look beyond the extant...

77 FR 64097 - Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to the 2011 Final EIS for the Leasing and Underground...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-18

... Final EIS for the Leasing and Underground Mining of the Greens Hollow Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU... Mining of the Greens Hollow Federal Coal Lease Tract UTU-84102. Supplemental analyses are required to... mining methods, with foreseeable access from existing adjacent leases. The Forest Service and BLM have...

Modeling relationships between landscape-level attributes and snorkel counts of chinook salmon and steelhead parr in Idaho

Treesearch

William L. Thompson; Danny C. Lee

2000-01-01

Knowledge of environmental factors impacting anadromous salmonids in their freshwater habitats, particularly at large spatial scales, may be important for restoring them to previously recorded levels in the northwestern United States. Consequently, we used existing data sets and an information-theoretic approach to model landscape-level attributes and snorkel count...

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

Bazillian, Morgan; Pedersen, Ascha Lychett; Pless, Jacuelyn

Shale gas resource potential in China is assessed to be large, and its development could have wide-ranging economic, environmental, and energy security implications. Although commercial scale shale gas development has not yet begun in China, it holds the potential to change the global energy landscape. Chinese decision-makers are wrestling with the challenges associated with bringing the potential to reality: geologic complexity; infrastructure and logistical difficulties; technological, institutional, social and market development issues; and environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, impacts on water availability and quality, and air pollution. This paper briefly examines the current situation and outlook for shale gasmore » in China, and explores existing and potential avenues for international cooperation. We find that despite some barriers to large-scale development, Chinese shale gas production has the potential to grow rapidly over the medium-term.« less

An environmental assessment of food supply chains: a case study on dessert apples.

PubMed

Jones, Andy

2002-10-01

The contemporary food system provides consumers with convenience, extensive choice, and the year-round availability of fresh produce. In this paper these achievements are recognized within the context of the associated environmental impacts. While many analyses have considered the energy and material efficiency of various options for food production and packaging, very few studies have investigated the environmental impacts of the transport components of food supply chains. This is surprising, given that the global sourcing of food produce, centralized distribution systems, and shopping by car have become prevalent in recent decades and have contributed to an increase in the distance between producer and consumer or "food miles." In a case study the transport energy consumption is calculated for all possible ways in which dessert apples can be supplied to the UK consumer. The aim is to assess the environmental performance of the predominant fresh produce supply chains and to investigate claims that localized systems are more environmentally efficient. The main criteria used to compare the environmental efficiency in alternative food supply chains are the transport-related fossil-fuel energy consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions. Analysis of the empirical data shows that transportation is now responsible for a considerable fraction of the total energy consumption in the life cycle of fresh apples, and in most cases exceeds the energy consumed in commercial apple cultivation. By developing local production and marketing systems for fresh products, transport demand can be reduced and many of the environmental impacts associated with existing supply chains can be avoided. The results of the study are then discussed in relation to the wider issues of transport policy, international trade, food security, and product-related environmental information for consumers.

Assessing impacts of introduced aquatic species: Grass carp in large systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bain, Mark B.

1993-03-01

Introduced species have created environmental benefits and unanticipated disasters so a priori assessments of species introductions are needed for environmental management. A checklist for assessing impacts of introduced species was developed from studies of introduced species and recommendations for planning introductions. Sterile, triploid grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella) are just beginning to be used as a biocontrol agent for the management of aquatic vegetation in open waterways. Potential impacts of grass carp in open systems were identified by reviewing grass carp biology relative to the impact assessment checklist. The potential consequences of introduced grass carp were reviewed for one case study. The case study demonstrated that conclusions about potential impacts and monitoring needs can be made despite incomplete information and uncertainty. Indicators of environmental impact and vulnerability of host systems were grouped into six categories: population control, hybridization, diseases and parasites, habitat alterations, biological effects, and management issues. Triploid grass carp can significantly alter habitat and biological resources through the secondary effects of reductions in aquatic vegetation. Potential impacts and significant uncertainties involve fish dispersions from plant control areas, inability to control vegetation loss, loss of diverse plant communities and their dependent species, and conflicts with human use of the water resource. Adequate knowledge existed to assess most potential consequences of releasing large numbers of triploid grass carp in Guntersville Reservoir, Alabama. However, the assessment of potential impacts indicated that moderate, incremental stockings combined with monitoring of vegetation and biological resources are necessary to control the effects of grass carp and achieve desirable, intermediate plant densities.

Environmental Assessment for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve West Hackberry Facility Raw Water Intake Pipeline Replacement Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana

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

N /A

The proposed action and three alternatives, including a No Build alternative, were evaluated along the existing RWIPL alignment to accommodate the placement of the proposed RWIPL. Construction feasibility, reasonableness and potential environmental impacts were considered during the evaluation of the four actions (and action alternatives) for the proposed RWIPL activities. Reasonable actions were identified as those actions which were considered to be supported by common sense and sound technical principles. Feasible actions were those actions which were considered to be capable of being accomplished, practicable and non-excessive in terms of cost. The evaluation process considered the following design specifications, whichmore » were determined to be important to the feasibility of the overall project. The proposed RWIPL replacement project must therefore: (1) Comply with the existing design basis and criteria, (2) Maintain continuity of operation of the facility during construction, (3)Provide the required service life, (4) Be cost effective, (5)Improve the operation and maintenance of the pipeline, and (6) Maintain minimal environmental impact while meeting the performance requirements. Sizing of the pipe, piping construction materials, construction method (e.g., open-cut trench, directional drilling, etc.) and the acquisition of new Right-of-Way (ROW) were additionally evaluated in the preliminary alternative identification, selection and screening process.« less

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) research highlights, September--October 1998

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

NONE

New AFOSR-sponsored research shows that exhausts from solid-fueled rocket motors have very limited impact on stratospheric ozone. The research provides the Air Force with hard data to support continued access to space using the existing fleet of rockets and rocket technology. This basic research data allows the Air Force to maintain a strongly proactive environmental stance, and to meet federal guidelines regarding environmental impacts. Long-standing conjecture within the international rocket community suggests that chlorine compounds and alumina particulates produced in solid rocket motor (SRM) exhausts could create localized, temporary ozone toss in rocket plumes following launches. The extent of amore » local depletion of ozone and its environmental impact depends on details of the composition and chemistry in these plumes. Yet direct measurements of plume composition and plume chemistry in the stratosphere had never been made. Uncertainty about these details left the Air Force and commercial space launch capability potentially vulnerable to questions about the environmental impact of rocket launches. In 1995, APOSR and the Space and Missiles Systems Center Launch Programs Office (SMC/CL) jointly began the Rocket Impacts on Stratospheric Ozone (RISO) program to make the first-ever detailed measurements of rocket exhaust plumes. These measurements were aimed at understanding how the exhaust from large rocket motors effect the Earth`s stratospheric ozone layer. The studies determined: the size distribution of alumina particles in these exhausts, the amount of reactive chlorine in SRM exhaust, and the size and duration of localized ozone toss in the rocket plumes.« less

An interval-based possibilistic programming method for waste management with cost minimization and environmental-impact abatement under uncertainty.

PubMed

Li, Y P; Huang, G H

2010-09-15

Considerable public concerns have been raised in the past decades since a large amount of pollutant emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal of processes pose risks on surrounding environment and human health. Moreover, in MSW management, various uncertainties exist in the related costs, impact factors and objectives, which can affect the optimization processes and the decision schemes generated. In this study, an interval-based possibilistic programming (IBPP) method is developed for planning the MSW management with minimized system cost and environmental impact under uncertainty. The developed method can deal with uncertainties expressed as interval values and fuzzy sets in the left- and right-hand sides of constraints and objective function. An interactive algorithm is provided for solving the IBPP problem, which does not lead to more complicated intermediate submodels and has a relatively low computational requirement. The developed model is applied to a case study of planning a MSW management system, where mixed integer linear programming (MILP) technique is introduced into the IBPP framework to facilitate dynamic analysis for decisions of timing, sizing and siting in terms of capacity expansion for waste-management facilities. Three cases based on different waste-management policies are examined. The results obtained indicate that inclusion of environmental impacts in the optimization model can change the traditional waste-allocation pattern merely based on the economic-oriented planning approach. The results obtained can help identify desired alternatives for managing MSW, which has advantages in providing compromised schemes under an integrated consideration of economic efficiency and environmental impact under uncertainty. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A bi-level environmental impact assessment framework for comparing construction and demolition waste management strategies.

PubMed

Yazdanbakhsh, Ardavan

2018-04-27

Several pioneering life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have been conducted in the past to assess the environmental impact of specific methods for managing mineral construction and demolition waste (MCDW), such as recycling the waste for use in concrete. Those studies focus on comparing the use of recycled MCDW and that of virgin components to produce materials or systems that serve specified functions. Often, the approaches adopted by the studies do not account for the potential environmental consequence of avoiding the existing or alternative waste management practices. The present work focuses on how product systems need to be defined in recycling LCA studies and what processes need to be within the system boundaries. A bi-level LCA framework is presented for modelling alternative waste management approaches in which the impacts are measured and compared at two scales of strategy and decision-making. Different functional units are defined for each level, all of which correspond to the same flow of MCDW in a cascade of product systems. For the sole purpose of demonstrating how the framework is implemented an illustrative example is presented, based on real data and a number of simplifying assumptions, which compares the impacts of a number of potential MCDW management strategies in New York City. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental Metabolic Footprinting (EMF) vs. half-life: a new and integrative proxy for the discrimination between control and pesticides exposed sediments in order to further characterise pesticides' environmental impact.

PubMed

Salvia, Marie-Virginie; Ben Jrad, Amani; Raviglione, Delphine; Zhou, Yuxiang; Bertrand, Cédric

2017-06-28

Pesticides are regularly used for a variety of applications and are disseminated throughout the environment. These substances may have significant negative impacts. To date, the half-life, t 1/2 , was often used to study the fate of pesticides in environmental matrices (water, soil, sediment). However, this value gives limited information. First, it does not evaluate the formation of by-products, resulting in the need for additional experiments to be performed to evaluate biodegradation and biotransformation products. T 1/2 also fails to consider the chemical's impact on biodiversity. Resilience time, a new and integrative proxy, was recently proposed as an alternative to t 1/2 , with the potential to evaluate all the post-application effects of the chemical on the environment. The 'Environmental Metabolic Footprinting' (EMF) approach, giving an idea of the resilience time, was used to evaluate the impact of botanicals on soil. The goal is to optimise the EMF to study the impact of a microbial insecticide, the Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), on sediment. The difficulty of this work lies in the commercial solution of Bti that is really complex, and this complexity yields chromatograms that are extremely difficult to interpret; t 1/2 cannot be used. No methodologies currently exist to monitor the impact of these compounds on the environment. We will test the EMF to determine if it is sensitive enough to tolerate such complex mixtures. A pure chemical insecticide, the α-cypermethrin, will be also studied. The article shows that the EMF is able to distinguish meta-metabolome differences between control and exposed (with Bti) sediments.

Information Fusion Issues in the UK Environmental Science Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, J. R.

2010-12-01

The Earth is a complex, interacting system which cannot be neatly divided by discipline boundaries. To gain an holistic understanding of even a component of an Earth System requires researchers to draw information from multiple disciplines and integrate these to develop a broader understanding. But the barriers to achieving this are formidable. Research funders attempting to encourage the integration of information across disciplines need to take into account culture issues, the impact of intrusion of projects on existing information systems, ontologies and semantics, scale issues, heterogeneity and the uncertainties associated with combining information from diverse sources. Culture - There is a cultural dualism in the environmental sciences were information sharing is both rewarded and discouraged. Researchers who share information both gain new opportunities and risk reducing their chances of being first author in an high-impact journal. The culture of the environmental science community has to be managed to ensure that information fusion activities are encouraged. Intrusion - Existing information systems have an inertia of there own because of the intellectual and financial capital invested within them. Information fusion activities must recognise and seek to minimise the potential impact of their projects on existing systems. Low intrusion information fusions systems such as OGC web-service and the OpenMI Standard are to be preferred to whole-sale replacement of existing systems. Ontology and Semantics - Linking information across disciplines requires a clear understanding of the concepts deployed in the vocabulary used to describe them. Such work is a critical first step to creating routine information fusion. It is essential that national bodies, such as geological surveys organisations, document and publish their ontologies, semantics, etc. Scale - Environmental processes operate at scales ranging from microns to the scale of the Solar System and potentially beyond. The many different scales involved provide serious challenges to information fusion which need to be researched. Heterogeneity - Natural systems are heterogeneous, that is a system consisting of multiple components each of which may have considerable internal variation. Modelling Earth Systems requires recognition of the inherent complexity. Uncertainty - Understanding the uncertainties within a single information source can be difficult. Understanding the uncertainties across a system of linked models, each drawn from multiple information resources, represents a considerable challenge that must be addressed. The challenges to overcome appear insurmountable to individual research groups; but the potential rewards, in terms of a fuller scientific understanding of Earth Systems, are significant. A major international effort must be mounted to tackle these barriers and enable routine information fusion.

Harvesting forest biomass for energy in Minnesota: An assessment of guidelines, costs and logistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh, Dalia El Sayed Abbas Mohamed

The emerging market for renewable energy in Minnesota has generated a growing interest in utilizing more forest biomass for energy. However, this growing interest is paralleled with limited knowledge of the environmental impacts and cost effectiveness of utilizing this resource. To address environmental and economic viability concerns, this dissertation has addressed three areas related to biomass harvest: First, existing biomass harvesting guidelines and sustainability considerations are examined. Second, the potential contribution of biomass energy production to reduce the costs of hazardous fuel reduction treatments in these trials is assessed. Third, the logistics of biomass production trials are analyzed. Findings show that: (1) Existing forest related guidelines are not sufficient to allow large-scale production of biomass energy from forest residue sustainably. Biomass energy guidelines need to be based on scientific assessments of how repeated and large scale biomass production is going to affect soil, water and habitat values, in an integrated and individual manner over time. Furthermore, such guidelines would need to recommend production logistics (planning, implementation, and coordination of operations) necessary for a potential supply with the least site and environmental impacts. (2) The costs of biomass production trials were assessed and compared with conventional treatment costs. In these trials, conventional mechanical treatment costs were lower than biomass energy production costs less income from biomass sale. However, a sensitivity analysis indicated that costs reductions are possible under certain site, prescriptions and distance conditions. (3) Semi-structured interviews with forest machine operators indicate that existing fuel reduction prescriptions need to be more realistic in making recommendations that can overcome operational barriers (technical and physical) and planning and coordination concerns (guidelines and communications) identified by machine operators, and which are necessary for a viable biomass energy production system. The results of this dissertation suggest that once biomass energy production is intended, incorporating an early understanding of production logistics while developing environmentally sensitive guidelines and site-specific prescriptions can improve biomass energy production, costs, performance and sustainability.

Are functional fillers improving environmental behavior of plastics? A review on LCA studies.

PubMed

Civancik-Uslu, Didem; Ferrer, Laura; Puig, Rita; Fullana-I-Palmer, Pere

2018-06-01

The use of functional fillers can be advantageous in terms of cost reduction and improved properties in plastics. There are many types of fillers used in industry, organic and inorganic, with a wide application area. As a response to the growing concerns about environmental damage that plastics cause, recently fillers have started to be considered as a way to reduce it by decreasing the need for petrochemical resources. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is identified as a proper tool to evaluate potential environmental impacts of products or systems. Therefore, in this study, the literature regarding LCA of plastics with functional fillers was reviewed in order to see if the use of fillers in plastics could be environmentally helpful. It was interesting to find out that environmental impacts of functional fillers in plastics had not been studied too often, especially in the case of inorganic fillers. Therefore, a gap in the literature was identified for the future works. Results of the study showed that, although there were not many and some differences exist among the LCA studies, the use of fillers in plastics industry may help to reduce environmental emissions. In addition, how LCA methodology was applied to these materials was also investigated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Engineered inorganic nanoparticles and cosmetics: facts, issues, knowledge gaps and challenges.

PubMed

Wiechers, Johann W; Musee, Ndeke

2010-10-01

The cosmetic industry is among the first adaptors of nanotechnology through the use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) to enhance the performance of their products and meet the customers' needs. Recently, there have been increasing concerns from different societal stakeholders (e.g., governments, environmental activist pressure groups, scientists, general public, etc.) concerning the safety and environmental impact of ENPs used in cosmetics. This review paper seeks to address the twin concerns of the safety of cosmetics and the potential environmental impacts due to the constituent chemicals-the ENPs. The safety aspect is addressed by examining recently published scientific data on the possibility of ENPs penetrating human skin. Data indicates that although particular types of ENPs can penetrate into the skin, until now no penetration has been detected beyond the stratum corneum of the ENPs used in cosmetics. Yet, important lessons can be learned from the more recent studies that identify the characteristics of ENPs penetrating into and permeating through human skin. On the part of the environmental impact, the scientific literature has very limited or none existent specific articles addressing the environmental impacts of ENPs owing to the cosmetic products. Therefore, general ecotoxicological data on risk assessment of ENPs has been applied to ascertain if there are potential environmental impacts from cosmetics. Results include some of the first studies on the qualitative and quantitative risk assessment of ENPs from cosmetics and suggest that further research is required as the knowledge is incomplete to make definitive conclusions as is the case with skin penetration. The authors conclude that the cosmetic industry should be more transparent in its use of nanotechnology in cosmetic products to facilitate realistic risk assessments as well as scientists and pressure groups being accurate in their conclusions on the general applicability of their findings. Transparency in cosmetics needs nanotechnology, but nanotechnology in cosmetics also needs transparency...

Ecological risk assessment of landfill air emissions from a hazardous waste management facility in Ontario

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

Durda, J.L.; Suit-Kowalski, L.; Preziosi, D.

1997-12-31

An ecological risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential for adverse environmental impacts associated with chemicals released to air as a result of a proposed expansion of a hazardous waste landfill in Ontario. The purpose of the risk assessment was to characterize ecological risks associated with the proposed expansion relative to those associated with the existing landfill and those that would exist if the current landfill was completely closed and background conditions prevailed. The ecological risk assessment was one part of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the proposed landfill continuation that was being performed under the requirements ofmore » Ontario`s Environmental Assessment Act. Air monitoring data from the facility were used to identify a list of 141 chemicals potentially released during landfill continuation, as well as to characterize current emissions and background chemical levels. An ecological risk-based chemical screening process that considered background concentration, source strength, environmental partitioning, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity was used to select a group of 23 chemicals for detailed evaluation in the ecological risk assessment. Dispersion, deposition, partitioning and bioaccumulation modeling were used to predict potential exposures in ecological receptors. Receptors were selected for evaluation based on regional habitat characteristics, exposure potential, toxicant sensitivity, ecological significance, population status, and societal value. Livestock and agricultural crop and pasture species were key receptors for the assessment, given the highly agricultural nature of the study area. In addition, native wildlife species, including the endangered Henslow`s sparrow and the regionally vulnerable pugnose minnow, also were considered.« less

On the divergences in assessment of environmental impacts from ionising radiation following the Fukushima accident.

PubMed

Strand, P; Sundell-Bergman, S; Brown, J E; Dowdall, M

2017-04-01

The accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on March 11, 2011, led to significant contamination of the surrounding terrestrial and marine environments. Whilst impacts on human health remain the primary concern in the aftermath of such an accident, recent years have seen a significant body of work conducted on the assessment of the accident's impacts on both the terrestrial and marine environment. Such assessments have been undertaken at various levels of biological organisation, for different species, using different methodologies and coming, in many cases, to divergent conclusions as to the effects of the accident on the environment. This article provides an overview of the work conducted in relation to the environmental impacts of the Fukushima accident, critically comparing and contrasting methodologies and results with a view towards finding reasons for discrepancies, should they indeed exist. Based on the outcomes of studies conducted to date, it would appear that in order to avoid the fractured and disparate conclusions drawn in the aftermath of previous accidents, radioactive contaminants and their effects can no longer simply be viewed in isolation with respect to the ecosystems these effects may impact. A combination of laboratory based and field studies with a focus on ecosystem functioning and effects could offer the best opportunities for coherence in the interpretation of the results of studies into the environmental impacts of ionising radiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward the Assessment of Scientific and Public Health Impacts of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Extramural Asthma Research Program Using Available Data

PubMed Central

Liebow, Edward; Phelps, Jerry; Van Houten, Bennett; Rose, Shyanika; Orians, Carlyn; Cohen, Jennifer; Monroe, Philip; Drew, Christina H.

2009-01-01

Background In the past 15 years, asthma prevalence has increased and is disproportionately distributed among children, minorities, and low-income persons. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Division of Extramural Research and Training developed a framework to measure the scientific and health impacts of its extramural asthma research to improve the scientific basis for reducing the health effects of asthma. Objectives Here we apply the framework to characterize the NIEHS asthma portfolio’s impact in terms of publications, clinical applications of findings, community interventions, and technology developments. Methods A logic model was tailored to inputs, outputs, and outcomes of the NIEHS asthma portfolio. Data from existing National Institutes of Health (NIH) databases are used, along with publicly available bibliometric data and structured elicitation of expert judgment. Results NIEHS is the third largest source of asthma-related research grant funding within the NIH between 1975 and 2005, after the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Much of NIEHS-funded asthma research focuses on basic research, but results are often published in journals focused on clinical investigation, increasing the likelihood that the work is moved into practice along the “bench to bedside” continuum. NIEHS support has led to key breakthroughs in scientific research concerning susceptibility to asthma, environmental conditions that heighten asthma symptoms, and cellular mechanisms that may be involved in treating asthma. Conclusions If gaps and limitations in publicly available data receive adequate attention, further linkages can be demonstrated between research activities and public health improvements. This logic model approach to research impact assessment demonstrates that it is possible to conceptualize program components, mine existing databases, and begin to show longer-term impacts of program results. The next challenges will be to modify current data structures, improve the linkages among relevant databases, incorporate as much electronically available data as possible, and determine how to improve the quality and health impact of the science that we support. PMID:19654926

A preliminary approach to quantifying the overall environmental risks posed by development projects during environmental impact assessment

PubMed Central

Chadès, Iadine

2017-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is used globally to manage the impacts of development projects on the environment, so there is an imperative to demonstrate that it can effectively identify risky projects. However, despite the widespread use of quantitative predictive risk models in areas such as toxicology, ecosystem modelling and water quality, the use of predictive risk tools to assess the overall expected environmental impacts of major construction and development proposals is comparatively rare. A risk-based approach has many potential advantages, including improved prediction and attribution of cause and effect; sensitivity analysis; continual learning; and optimal resource allocation. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of using a Bayesian belief network (BBN) to quantify the likelihood and consequence of non-compliance of new projects based on the occurrence probabilities of a set of expert-defined features. The BBN incorporates expert knowledge and continually improves its predictions based on new data as it is collected. We use simulation to explore the trade-off between the number of data points and the prediction accuracy of the BBN, and find that the BBN could predict risk with 90% accuracy using approximately 1000 data points. Although a further pilot test with real project data is required, our results suggest that a BBN is a promising method to monitor overall risks posed by development within an existing EIA process given a modest investment in data collection. PMID:28686651

A preliminary approach to quantifying the overall environmental risks posed by development projects during environmental impact assessment.

PubMed

Nicol, Sam; Chadès, Iadine

2017-01-01

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is used globally to manage the impacts of development projects on the environment, so there is an imperative to demonstrate that it can effectively identify risky projects. However, despite the widespread use of quantitative predictive risk models in areas such as toxicology, ecosystem modelling and water quality, the use of predictive risk tools to assess the overall expected environmental impacts of major construction and development proposals is comparatively rare. A risk-based approach has many potential advantages, including improved prediction and attribution of cause and effect; sensitivity analysis; continual learning; and optimal resource allocation. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of using a Bayesian belief network (BBN) to quantify the likelihood and consequence of non-compliance of new projects based on the occurrence probabilities of a set of expert-defined features. The BBN incorporates expert knowledge and continually improves its predictions based on new data as it is collected. We use simulation to explore the trade-off between the number of data points and the prediction accuracy of the BBN, and find that the BBN could predict risk with 90% accuracy using approximately 1000 data points. Although a further pilot test with real project data is required, our results suggest that a BBN is a promising method to monitor overall risks posed by development within an existing EIA process given a modest investment in data collection.

UK Environmental Prediction - integration and evaluation at the convective scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fallmann, Joachim; Lewis, Huw; Castillo, Juan Manuel; Pearson, David; Harris, Chris; Saulter, Andy; Bricheno, Lucy; Blyth, Eleanor

2016-04-01

It has long been understood that accurate prediction and warning of the impacts of severe weather requires an integrated approach to forecasting. For example, high impact weather is typically manifested through various interactions and feedbacks between different components of the Earth System. Damaging high winds can lead to significant damage from the large waves and storm surge along coastlines. The impact of intense rainfall can be translated through saturated soils and land surface processes, high river flows and flooding inland. The substantial impacts on individuals, businesses and infrastructure of such events indicate a pressing need to understand better the value that might be delivered through more integrated environmental prediction. To address this need, the Met Office, NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and NERC National Oceanography Centre have begun to develop the foundations of a coupled high resolution probabilistic forecast system for the UK at km-scale. This links together existing model components of the atmosphere, coastal ocean, land surface and hydrology. Our initial focus has been on a 2-year Prototype project to demonstrate the UK coupled prediction concept in research mode. This presentation will provide an update on UK environmental prediction activities. We will present the results from the initial implementation of an atmosphere-land-ocean coupled system and discuss progress and initial results from further development to integrate wave interactions. We will discuss future directions and opportunities for collaboration in environmental prediction, and the challenges to realise the potential of integrated regional coupled forecasting for improving predictions and applications.

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

PubMed

Douven, Wim; Buurman, Joost

2013-10-15

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

Preliminary site evaluation report on Potomac Electric Power Company's proposed station H. Final report

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

Not Available

1987-06-01

This report provides a preliminary environmental assessment of two 375-MW Coal Gasification-Combined Cycle (GCC) units which the Potomac Electric Power Company proposes to construct on their existing Dickerson Generating Station site in western Montgomery County, Maryland. A mass-burn municipal solid-waste incinerator is also proposed at the site by Montgomery County. Research on the GCC technology and data for the air, land, and water environs in and around the site indicates that the proposed GCC technology offers substantial engineering, environmental, and economic benefits. Overall environmental impacts should be less than those anticipated for a comparably sized pulverized-coal power plant. Projected air,more » land, and water impacts appear to be within any applicable regulatory standards or limitations. However, four areas of concern were identified which could be of significant consequence to the suitability of the site. Recommendations are provided for detailed site evaluations including monitoring recommendations to fill data or information gaps.« less

Nutrition and sustainability: an emerging food policy discourse.

PubMed

Lang, Tim; Barling, David

2013-02-01

It is well known that food has a considerable environmental impact. Less attention has been given to mapping and analysing the emergence of policy responses. This paper contributes to that process. It summarises emerging policy development on nutrition and sustainability, and explores difficulties in their integration. The paper describes some policy thinking at national, European and international levels of governance. It points to the existence of particular policy hotspots such as meat and dairy, sustainable diets and waste. Understanding the environmental impact of food systems challenges nutrition science to draw upon traditions of thinking which have recently been fragmented. These perspectives (life sciences, social and environmental) are all required if policy engagement and clarification is to occur. Sustainability issues offer opportunities for nutrition science and scientists to play a more central role in the policy analysis of future food systems. The task of revising current nutrition policy advice to become sustainable diet advice needs to begin at national and international levels.

Does Forest Continuity Enhance the Resilience of Trees to Environmental Change?

PubMed

von Oheimb, Goddert; Härdtle, Werner; Eckstein, Dieter; Engelke, Hans-Hermann; Hehnke, Timo; Wagner, Bettina; Fichtner, Andreas

2014-01-01

There is ample evidence that continuously existing forests and afforestations on previously agricultural land differ with regard to ecosystem functions and services such as carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. However, no studies have so far been conducted on possible long-term (>100 years) impacts on tree growth caused by differences in the ecological continuity of forest stands. In the present study we analysed the variation in tree-ring width of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) trees (mean age 115-136 years) due to different land-use histories (continuously existing forests, afforestations both on arable land and on heathland). We also analysed the relation of growth patterns to soil nutrient stores and to climatic parameters (temperature, precipitation). Tree rings formed between 1896 and 2005 were widest in trees afforested on arable land. This can be attributed to higher nitrogen and phosphorous availability and indicates that former fertilisation may continue to affect the nutritional status of forest soils for more than one century after those activities have ceased. Moreover, these trees responded more strongly to environmental changes - as shown by a higher mean sensitivity of the tree-ring widths - than trees of continuously existing forests. However, the impact of climatic parameters on the variability in tree-ring width was generally small, but trees on former arable land showed the highest susceptibility to annually changing climatic conditions. We assume that incompletely developed humus horizons as well as differences in the edaphon are responsible for the more sensitive response of oak trees of recent forests (former arable land and former heathland) to variation in environmental conditions. We conclude that forests characterised by a long ecological continuity may be better adapted to global change than recent forest ecosystems.

Does Forest Continuity Enhance the Resilience of Trees to Environmental Change?

PubMed Central

von Oheimb, Goddert; Härdtle, Werner; Eckstein, Dieter; Engelke, Hans-Hermann; Hehnke, Timo; Wagner, Bettina; Fichtner, Andreas

2014-01-01

There is ample evidence that continuously existing forests and afforestations on previously agricultural land differ with regard to ecosystem functions and services such as carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. However, no studies have so far been conducted on possible long-term (>100 years) impacts on tree growth caused by differences in the ecological continuity of forest stands. In the present study we analysed the variation in tree-ring width of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) trees (mean age 115–136 years) due to different land-use histories (continuously existing forests, afforestations both on arable land and on heathland). We also analysed the relation of growth patterns to soil nutrient stores and to climatic parameters (temperature, precipitation). Tree rings formed between 1896 and 2005 were widest in trees afforested on arable land. This can be attributed to higher nitrogen and phosphorous availability and indicates that former fertilisation may continue to affect the nutritional status of forest soils for more than one century after those activities have ceased. Moreover, these trees responded more strongly to environmental changes – as shown by a higher mean sensitivity of the tree-ring widths – than trees of continuously existing forests. However, the impact of climatic parameters on the variability in tree-ring width was generally small, but trees on former arable land showed the highest susceptibility to annually changing climatic conditions. We assume that incompletely developed humus horizons as well as differences in the edaphon are responsible for the more sensitive response of oak trees of recent forests (former arable land and former heathland) to variation in environmental conditions. We conclude that forests characterised by a long ecological continuity may be better adapted to global change than recent forest ecosystems. PMID:25494042

Trade-offs and spatial dependency of rice production and environmental consequences at community level in Southeastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Hui; Liu, Zhong; Wang, Lihua; Wan, Haibo; Jing, Changwei; Jiang, Jingang; Wu, Jiaping; Qi, Jiaguo

2018-02-01

Over the past three decades, farmers in China have increasingly used fertilizers to increase paddy rice production. While this approach has eased the rising demand for food, it is unclear whether it pays off in the long-run when costs associated with environmental consequences are considered. Using two case studies in Zhejiang Province, China, this paper analyzed field-based rice yields, fertilizer inputs, nitrogen leaching and greenhouse emissions and their socioeconomic values of different farm practices. The objective was to assess the trade-offs among economic gains from increased yield and environmental consequences of different paddy rice management practices. The results indicated short-term economic gains to farmers outweigh the environmental cost concerns. However, considering the lasting environmental effects, there is a significant imbalance toward a conservative farming practice. The results further indicated that synergies can be achieved if precision management practices are adopted. It was also indicated that a large spatial variation exists in yields and environmental impacts, suggesting ‘one-size fits all’ policies will likely be ineffective in reducing environmental impacts. Although only two case studies were demonstrated in this study, the approach may be generalized to other geographic regions to help guide paddy farmers in similar climatic and land use environments such as those in the subtropical regions of Southeast Asia, to achieve synergic environment practices.

Controls on project proponents and environmental impact assessment effectiveness

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

Ortolano, L.

The degree of effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) for particular projects is associated with the existence of mechanisms of organizational control. Five dimensions of EIA effectiveness are considered: procedural compliance, completeness of EIA documents, methods to assess impacts, influence on project decisions, and weight given to environmental factors. Six mechanisms of control are introduced and illustrated by programs and projects in several countries. Experience in the Philippines under President Marcos demonstrates that procedural control in the form of EIA regulations, when used without other control mechanisms, will lead at most to token compliance. Judicial control, as practiced in themore » US, yields high procedural compliance. Evaluative control can yield effective EIA, but some systems based on this form of control treat only a small fraction of the major projects proposed. Both control exerted by development assistance organizations and control by professionals have great potential for yielding effective EIA, but that potential has not been fully realized. Control exerted directly by citizens or agencies not otherwise involved in EIA is uncommon, but cases from Taiwan demonstrate that those controls can be significant. An understanding of relationships between control mechanisms and EIA effectiveness is useful in designing EIA policies and programs.« less

Novorossiysk agglomeration landscapes and cement production: geochemical impact assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alekseenko, A. V.; Pashkevich, M. A.

2016-09-01

The article deals with assessing the environmental impact of marl mining and cement production in Novorossiysk city (Krasnodar krai, Russia). The existing methods of studying the environmental effects caused by the cement industry have been reviewed. Soil and aquatic vegetation sampling has been carried out and the gross concentration of metals in the samples has been defined. The research has been conducted in the certified and accredited laboratory using emission spectral analysis. The external control has been carried out via X-ray fluorescence analysis. Based on the collected data, main chemical pollutants in soil cover and water area near the cement plant have been identified. The contaminants released by urban enterprises and motor vehicle emissions, as well as fugitive dust from dumps and the cement factory, lead to multi-element lithogeochemical anomaly at geochemical barriers in soils. Accumulation of pollutants in soil depends on the type of land use and the area relief. The most contaminated aquatic landscapes have been identified in the inner bay. According to this information, the technical proposals can be prepared for environmental safety management in strongly polluted city areas, as well as for the reclamation design in the areas currently experiencing the negative impact of cement production.

Impact of Industrialization on Environment and Sustainable Solutions - Reflections from a South Indian Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patnaik, Rasmi

2018-03-01

Industrialization has brought economic prosperity; additionally it has resulted in more population, urbanization, obvious stress on the basic life supporting systems while pushing the environmental impacts closer to the threshold limits of tolerance. With booming industrial growth and relatively low land mass, environmental sustainability is now becoming a significant deciding factor in industrial development process. Accumulating evidences constantly indicate that the transition of the existing industries into eco-industrial network through successful implementation of green approaches provides a viable solution to preserve the natural resources of the region while concurrently enhances the regional economy on a sustainable basis. It calls for an appropriate planning and integrated framework in harmony with the environment, after careful assessment of past and prevailing conditions. The empirical knowledge on affected area helps understanding the local context and developing further course of action based on ground realities. With this aim, a study was conducted on the current industrial pollution and environmental setting of Puducherry. A causal chain analysis indicated severe impacts of industrialization on local environment while highlighting its immediate and root causes. The findings form a base for suggesting sustainable solutions to curb rampant pollution in Puducherry region and similar scenarios found across the world.

Oral health disparities and the workforce: a framework to guide innovation.

PubMed

Hilton, Irene V; Lester, Arlene M

2010-06-01

Oral health disparities currently exist in the United States, and workforce innovations have been proposed as one strategy to address these disparities. A framework is needed to logically assess the possible role of workforce as a contributor to and to analyze workforce strategies addressing the issue of oral health disparities. Using an existing framework, A Strategic Framework for Improving Racial/Ethnic Minority Health and Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities, workforce was sequentially applied across individual, environmental/community, and system levels to identify long-term problems, contributing factors, strategies/innovation, measurable outcomes/impacts, and long-term goals. Examples of current workforce innovations were applied to the framework. Contributing factors to oral health disparities included lack of racial/ethnic diversity of the workforce, lack of appropriate training, provider distribution, and a nonuser-centered system. The framework was applied to selected workforce innovation models delineating the potential impact on contributing factors across the individual, environmental/community, and system levels. The framework helps to define expected outcomes from workforce models that would contribute to the goal of reducing oral health disparities and examine impacts across multiple levels. However, the contributing factors to oral health disparities cannot be addressed by workforce innovation alone. The Strategic Framework is a logical approach to guide workforce innovation, solutions, and identification of other aspects of the oral healthcare delivery system that need innovation in order to reduce oral health disparities.

Development and testing of an assessment to measure spatial thinking about enhanced greenhouse effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skaza, Heather Jean

Americans, in general, do not behave in environmentally sustainable ways. We drive cars and fly in planes that emit planet-warming carbon. We purchase food in nearly indestructible packaging that is not recycled or repurposed. We do not consider the environmental impact of the "stuff" stuffed into our grocery and department stores, most of which is made of materials that had to be dug out of the ground, leaving rivers and skies full of pollution in its place. Citizens have a responsibility to understand complex global and local environmental problems. A person's ability to think about the way that an environmental problem they are tasked with understanding changes over time and space can better prepare them to make sustainable decisions in the face of this complexity. Spatial thinking serves the learner's ability to understand the impact of environmental actions and should be given a consistent place in environmental education. Teaching practices and pedagogies that focus on spatial thinking are necessary to learners' success. In order to know if these strategies are successful, educators need an assessment tool that targets the spatial thinking skills necessary to understanding environmental problems. This dissertation project used a models and modeling theoretical framework to develop and test an assessment of students' spatial thinking abilities related to the environmental problem of enhanced greenhouse effect. This assessment was developed from a review of existing spatial thinking literature, research on existing assessments of spatial thinking abilities, and existing assessment of enhanced greenhouse effect. In addition, I interviewed and surveyed experts in science, math, and environmental education to elicit their perspectives on the spatial thinking skills necessary for learners to understand enhanced greenhouse effect. All of this information was synthesized into 14 Central Concepts of spatial thinking for enhanced greenhouse effect. The assessment was developed for students to express their mental models related to these 14 Central Concepts. The assessment was reviewed and tested by experts related to the project's content, as well as students from the target population for assessment delivery. It was revised based on feedback and data collect from these groups. Here I describe my findings, that students are more proficient at modeling simple spatial relationships, one at a time, than modeling more complex relationships; that students understand human-scale spatial relationships related to enhanced greenhouse effect better than very small or very large ones; and that students can associate and correlate spatially distributed features and phenomena to describe enhanced greenhouse effect. Finally, I describe the ways in which student and expert feedback has informed not only revisions of this assessment specifically, but also to the assessment development process, for better assessment design, when spatial thinking assessments related to other environmental problems are developed in the future.

Global data collection and the surveillance of active volcanoes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ward, P.L.

1990-01-01

Data relay systems on existing earth-orbiting satellites provide an inexpensive way to collect environmental data from numerous remote sites around the world. This technology could be used effectively for fundamental monitoring of most of the world's active volcanoes. Such global monitoring would focus attention on the most dangerous volcanoes that are likely to significantly impact the geosphere and the biosphere. ?? 1990.

77 FR 37707 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Brooks River Visitor Access for Katmai National Park and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-22

... floating bridge and sites to relocate the existing Naknek Lake barge landing area at the mouth of the... landing site on Naknek Lake. Alternative 3: This alternative evaluates construction of a new bridge and... barge landing site would be located approximately 200 feet south of the mouth of the Brooks River. A new...

76 FR 66747 - Notice of Availability of the Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal Final Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-27

... on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/mining/timeout.html . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION... million acres of Federal locatable minerals in northern Arizona from location and entry under the Mining Law of 1872, (30 U.S.C. 22-54) (Mining Law), subject to valid existing rights, by the Secretary of the...

An Examination of Intrinsic Existence Value towards Wildlife of Columbus Zoo and Aquariums Tourists: Evaluating the Impact of behind the Scenes Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakes, Robert Maxwell

2016-01-01

Changes in climate and the corresponding environmental issues are major concerns facing the world today. Human consumption, which is leading the rapid depletion of the earth's finite resources and causing a dramatic loss of biodiversity, is largely to blame (Pearson, Lowry, Dorrian, & Litchfield, 2014). American zoos and aquariums are…

76 FR 30384 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed Habitat...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-25

... includes the operation of 355 existing wind turbine generators during the first three phases of the project... of up to 448 wind turbines. The project would also include all associated collector lines, access... areas and concrete batch plants, if applicable. Up to five different models of wind turbines may be in...

78 FR 57626 - Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-19

... Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for viewing on the FERC Web site ( www.ferc.gov ). This fact sheet addresses a number of typically-asked questions, including... Relay (L&R) \\2\\); \\2\\ Lift and relay refers to a construction method by which an existing pipeline is...

78 FR 62012 - Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-11

... 647 thousand dekatherms per day (Mdth/d) of natural gas to National Grid's distribution system in New... incremental natural gas supply to National Grid, as part of the 647 Mdth/d to be provided by the Rockaway...: Approximately 3.2 miles of new 26-inch-diameter pipeline to deliver natural gas from Transco's existing Lower...

77 FR 40079 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Hycroft Mine Expansion...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-06

.../nepa0.html . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Kathleen Rehberg, Project... amended Plan of Operations to the BLM for approval, which proposes to expand the existing project boundary of 8,858 acres an additional 5,895 acres for a total project area of approximately 14,753 acres of...

77 FR 38821 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin's Proposed Fee...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-29

... Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin's Proposed Fee-to-Trust Transfer and Casino-Hotel Project in the City of... casino-hotel complex. This notice also announces the FEIS is now available for public review. Hard copies... develop a casino-hotel complex. The proposed project is located at the site of the existing Dairyland...

77 FR 35662 - Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Greenup Locks and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-14

... project in April 2000. This study recommended a 600- foot (ft) extension of the existing auxiliary lock chamber to a length of 1200 ft. The project was authorized by Congress in 2000; however, no funds have been appropriated for project construction. Due to the amount of time that has elapsed since completion...

76 FR 17752 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the San Francisco Veterans...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-30

... issues associated with 945,000 square feet of new construction and approximately 500,000 square feet of... an additional 945,000 square feet of medical facility space (in addition to the existing 1.02 million square feet of medical facility space) to meet the needs of San Francisco Bay Area and northern...

76 FR 32994 - Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and Unistar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC; Combined...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-07

... December 1, 2009, UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE), which is acting on behalf of the COL applicants Nine Mile... impacted by this exemption. Special Circumstances Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a... exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) exist. Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion From Environmental...

77 FR 23669 - Public Hearing and Notice of Availability for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-20

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers Public Hearing and Notice of... and depth of - 42 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) (with 2 feet of allowable over- depth and 2 feet of... existing Federally authorized depth of -42 feet MLLW. The proposed project would include the placement of...

Uncertainty in Model Predictions of Vibrio Vulnificus Response to Climate Variability and Change: A Chesapeake Bay Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urquhart, Erin A.; Zaitchik, Benjamin F.; Waugh, Darryn W.; Guikema, Seth D.; Del Castillo, Carlos E.

2014-01-01

The effect that climate change and variability will have on waterborne bacteria is a topic of increasing concern for coastal ecosystems, including the Chesapeake Bay. Surface water temperature trends in the Bay indicate a warming pattern of roughly 0.3-0.4 C per decade over the past 30 years. It is unclear what impact future warming will have on pathogens currently found in the Bay, including Vibrio spp. Using historical environmental data, combined with three different statistical models of Vibrio vulnificus probability, we explore the relationship between environmental change and predicted Vibrio vulnificus presence in the upper Chesapeake Bay. We find that the predicted response of V. vulnificus probability to high temperatures in the Bay differs systematically between models of differing structure. As existing publicly available datasets are inadequate to determine which model structure is most appropriate, the impact of climatic change on the probability of V. vulnificus presence in the Chesapeake Bay remains uncertain. This result points to the challenge of characterizing climate sensitivity of ecological systems in which data are sparse and only statistical models of ecological sensitivity exist.

32 CFR 651.38 - Existing environmental assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Existing environmental assessments. 651.38...) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ARMY ACTIONS (AR 200-2) Environmental Assessment § 651.38 Existing environmental assessments. EAs are dynamic documents. To ensure that the described setting...

Reevaluation of the global warming impacts of algae-derived biofuels to account for possible contributions of nitrous oxide.

PubMed

Bauer, Sarah K; Grotz, Lara S; Connelly, Elizabeth B; Colosi, Lisa M

2016-10-01

The environmental impacts of algae biofuels have been evaluated by life-cycle assessment (LCA); however, these analyses have overlooked nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. A literature analysis was performed to estimate algal N2O emissions and assess the impacts of growth conditions on flux magnitudes. Nitrogen source and dissolved oxygen concentration were identified as possible key contributors; therefore, their individual and combined impacts were evaluated using bench-scale experiments. It was observed that maximum N2O emissions (77.5μg/galgae/day) occur under anoxic conditions with nitrite. Conversely, minimum emissions (6.25μg/galgae/day) occur under oxic conditions with nitrate. Aggregated N2O flux estimates were then incorporated into a LCA framework for algae biodiesel. Accounting for "low" N2O emissions mediated no significant increase (<1%) compared to existing GWP estimates; however, "high" N2O emissions mediate an increase of roughly 25%, potentially jeopardizing the anticipated economic and environmental performances of algae biofuels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A health impact assessment of California's proposed cap-and-trade regulations.

PubMed

Richardson, Maxwell J; English, Paul; Rudolph, Linda

2012-09-01

To identify unintended health effects of California's controversial cap-and-trade regulations and establish health-promoting policy recommendations, we performed a health impact assessment. We used literature reviews, public data, and local health surveys to qualitatively assess potential health risks and benefits related to changes in employment and income, energy costs, effects of emission offset projects, and cobenefits from the allocation of program revenue. We examined case studies from various communities to find existing social, economic, and environmental health conditions. We found that policy implementation will minimally impact job creation (< 0.1% change) and that health effects from job sector shifts are unlikely. Fuel prices may increase (0%-11%), and minor negative health effects could accrue for some low-income households. Offset projects would likely benefit environmental health, but more research is needed. Allocating some program revenue for climate change adaptation and mitigation would have substantial health benefits. Health impact assessment is a useful tool for health agencies to engage in policy discussions that typically fall outside public health. Our results can inform emission reduction strategies and cap-and-trade policy at the federal level.

Illustrating anticipatory life cycle assessment for emerging photovoltaic technologies.

PubMed

Wender, Ben A; Foley, Rider W; Prado-Lopez, Valentina; Ravikumar, Dwarakanath; Eisenberg, Daniel A; Hottle, Troy A; Sadowski, Jathan; Flanagan, William P; Fisher, Angela; Laurin, Lise; Bates, Matthew E; Linkov, Igor; Seager, Thomas P; Fraser, Matthew P; Guston, David H

2014-09-16

Current research policy and strategy documents recommend applying life cycle assessment (LCA) early in research and development (R&D) to guide emerging technologies toward decreased environmental burden. However, existing LCA practices are ill-suited to support these recommendations. Barriers related to data availability, rapid technology change, and isolation of environmental from technical research inhibit application of LCA to developing technologies. Overcoming these challenges requires methodological advances that help identify environmental opportunities prior to large R&D investments. Such an anticipatory approach to LCA requires synthesis of social, environmental, and technical knowledge beyond the capabilities of current practices. This paper introduces a novel framework for anticipatory LCA that incorporates technology forecasting, risk research, social engagement, and comparative impact assessment, then applies this framework to photovoltaic (PV) technologies. These examples illustrate the potential for anticipatory LCA to prioritize research questions and help guide environmentally responsible innovation of emerging technologies.

Environmental-Economic Assessment Of Generation, Flow And Efficiency Of Use Of Production And Consumption Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhailov, V. G.; Golofastova, N. N.; Galanina, T. V.; Koroleva, T. G.; Mikhailova, Ya S.

2017-01-01

The article deals with the issues of environmental and economic analysis of industrial and economic activities of an enterprise to assess the generation, flow and efficiency of production and consumption waste. The purpose of research is the analysis and the development of theoretical propositions for the functioning of the system of environmental and economic indicators for the effective management of production and consumption waste in the enterprise. The analysis of the existing systems of environmental and economic indicators taking into consideration the industry characteristics and the types of negative impacts is carried out. The main result of the study is the development of the system of environmental and economic indicators of production and consumption waste, adapted to the modern requirements. The results of the study can be recommended to support the effective management decision-making concerning waste management and the establishment of appropriate infrastructure.

Investigation of the environmental implications of the CNT switch through its life cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlben, Lindsay Johanna

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are unique allotropes of carbon that have high tensile strength, a high Young's modulus, good thermal conductivity, and depending on the CNT chirality can be metallic or semiconducting. These mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties make CNTs an attractive element in electronic applications such as conductive films, photovoltaics, non-volatile memory devices, batteries, sensors, and displays. Although commercialization of CNT-enabled products is increasing, there remains a significant lack of information regarding the health effects and environmental impacts of CNTs. Some studies have even shown that the behavior, toxicity, and persistence of CNTs may differ from bulk heterogeneous carbon. Given these uncertainties, it is prudent to assess the environmental attributes of CNT products and processes now to discover and potentially prevent adverse effects. This study investigates the environmental implications of a non-volatile bi-stable electromechanical CNT switch through its life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used to track the environmental impacts of the CNT switch through its fabrication and expected use and end-of-life (EOL) stages. Process parameters, energy consumption, input materials, output emissions, and yield efficiencies are determined for the laboratory and full-scale manufacture environments. The Ecoinvent(TM) inventory database and Eco-indicator 1999(TM) method are utilized for the impact assessment. Results for the fabrication stage are reported for highest contributions to environmental impact such as airborne inorganics, land use, and fossil fuels due to Au refining processes and electricity consumption. Extension of the LCA scope is evaluated for the potential replacement of CNT switches to current field-effect transistors (FETs) in flash memory for a cellular phone application. First-order predictions are made for the functionality and performance of the CNT switch during the use stage through an environmental perspective. Existing cellular phone EOL management options including recycling and direct disposal to landfill and incineration are evaluated for potential limitations, concerns, and environmental releases that may occur from the assimilation of CNT switch-enabled phones into the waste stream. In this manner, potential environmental effects of the CNT switch throughout its life cycle stages can be addressed alongside its technological development to ensure safe, sustainable, and successful CNT products.

The Global Rise of Zero Liquid Discharge for Wastewater Management: Drivers, Technologies, and Future Directions.

PubMed

Tong, Tiezheng; Elimelech, Menachem

2016-07-05

Zero liquid discharge (ZLD)-a wastewater management strategy that eliminates liquid waste and maximizes water usage efficiency - has attracted renewed interest worldwide in recent years. Although implementation of ZLD reduces water pollution and augments water supply, the technology is constrained by high cost and intensive energy consumption. In this critical review, we discuss the drivers, incentives, technologies, and environmental impacts of ZLD. Within this framework, the global applications of ZLD in the United States and emerging economies such as China and India are examined. We highlight the evolution of ZLD from thermal- to membrane-based processes, and analyze the advantages and limitations of existing and emerging ZLD technologies. The potential environmental impacts of ZLD, notably greenhouse gas emission and generation of solid waste, are discussed and the prospects of ZLD technologies and research needs are highlighted.

Advanced system demonstration for utilization of biomass as an energy source. Environmental report

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

McCollom, M.

1979-01-01

The conclusions and findings of extensive analyses undertaken to assess the environmental impacts and effects of the proposal to assist in an Advanced System Demonstration for Utilization of Biomass as an Energy Source by means of a wood-fueled power plant. Included are a description of the proposed project, a discussion of the existing environment that the project would affect, a summary of the project's impacts on the natural and human environments, a discussion of the project's relationships to other government policies and plans, and an extensive review of the alternatives which were considered in evaluating the proposed action. All findingsmore » of the research undertaken are discussed. More extensive presentations of the methods of analysis used to arrive at the various conclusions are available in ten topical technical appendices.« less

Geothermal energy geopressure subprogram

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

Not Available

1981-02-01

The proposed action will consist of drilling one geopressured-geothermal resource fluid well for intermittent production testing over the first year of the test. During the next two years, long-term testing of 40,000 BPD will be flowed. A number of scenarios may be implemented, but it is felt that the total fluid production will approximate 50 million barrels. The test well will be drilled with a 22 cm (8.75 in.) borehole to a total depth of approximately 5185 m (17,000 ft). Up to four disposal wells will provide disposal of the fluid from the designated 40,000 BPD test rate. The followingmore » are included in this assessment: the existing environment; probable environmental impacts-direct and indirect; probable cumulative and long-term environmental impacts; accidents; coordination with federal, state, regional, and local agencies; and alternative actions. (MHR)« less

Advanced reactors and associated fuel cycle facilities: safety and environmental impacts.

PubMed

Hill, R N; Nutt, W M; Laidler, J J

2011-01-01

The safety and environmental impacts of new technology and fuel cycle approaches being considered in current U.S. nuclear research programs are contrasted to conventional technology options in this paper. Two advanced reactor technologies, the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) and the very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR), are being developed. In general, the new reactor technologies exploit inherent features for enhanced safety performance. A key distinction of advanced fuel cycles is spent fuel recycle facilities and new waste forms. In this paper, the performance of existing fuel cycle facilities and applicable regulatory limits are reviewed. Technology options to improve recycle efficiency, restrict emissions, and/or improve safety are identified. For a closed fuel cycle, potential benefits in waste management are significant, and key waste form technology alternatives are described. Copyright © 2010 Health Physics Society

Refurbishment of uranium hexafluoride cylinder storage yards C-745-K, L, M, N, and P and construction of a new uranium hexafluoride cylinder storage yard (C-745-T) at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, Kentucky

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

NONE

1996-07-01

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) is a uranium enrichment facility owned by the US Department of Energy (DOE). A residual of the uranium enrichment process is depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6). Depleted UF6, a solid at ambient temperature, is stored in 32,200 steel cylinders that hold a maximum of 14 tons each. Storage conditions are suboptimal and have resulted in accelerated corrosion of cylinders, increasing the potential for a release of hazardous substances. Consequently, the DOE is proposing refurbishment of certain existing yards and construction of a new storage yard. This environmental assessment (EA) evaluates the impacts of the proposedmore » action and no action and considers alternate sites for the proposed new storage yard. The proposed action includes (1) renovating five existing cylinder yards; (2) constructing a new UF6 storage yard; handling and onsite transport of cylinders among existing yards to accommodate construction; and (4) after refurbishment and construction, restacking of cylinders to meet spacing and inspection requirements. Based on the results of the analysis reported in the EA, DOE has determined 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. Therefore, DOE is issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact. Additionally, it is reported in this EA that the loss of less than one acre of wetlands at the proposed project site would not be a significant adverse impact.« less

Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: Western's Hoover Dam Bypass Project Phase II (Double-Circuiting a Portion of the Hoover-Mead No.5 and No.7 230-kV Transmission Lines with the Henderson-Mead No.1 230-kV Transmission Line, Clark County, Nevada)

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

N /A

2003-10-27

The U.S. Highway 93 (U.S. 93) Hoover Dam Bypass Project calls for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Western Area Power Administration (Western) to remove its Arizona and Nevada (A&N) Switchyard. As a result of this action, Western must reconfigure its existing electrical transmission system in the Hoover Dam area. Western proposes to double-circuit a portion of the Hoover-Mead No.5 and No.7 230-kV Transmission Lines with the Henderson-Mead No.1 Transmission Line (see Figure 1-1). Double-circuiting is the placement of two separate electrical circuits, typically in the form of three separate conductors or bundles of conductors, on the same set ofmore » transmission line structures. The old Henderson-Hoover 230-kV Transmission Line would become the new Henderson-Mead No.1 and would extend approximately eight miles to connect with the Mead Substation. Western owns, operates, and maintains the Hoover-Mead No.5 and No.7, and Henderson-Hoover electrical power transmission lines. Additionally, approximately 0.25 miles of new right-of-way (ROW) would be needed for the Henderson-Mead No.1 when it transfers from double-circuiting with the Hoover-Mead No.7 to the Hoover-Mead No.5 at the Boulder City Tap. The proposed project would also involve a new transmission line ROW and structures where the Henderson-Mead No.1 will split from the Hoover-Mead No.5 and enter the northeast corner of the Mead Substation. Lastly, Western has proposed adding fiber optic overhead ground wire from the Hoover Power Plant to the Mead Substation on to the Henderson-Mead No.1, Hoover-Mead No.5 and No.7 Transmission Lines. The proposed project includes replacing existing transmission line tower structures, installing new structures, and adding new electrical conductors and fiber optic cables. As a consequence of these activities, ground disturbance may result from grading areas for structure placement, constructing new roads, improving existing roads for vehicle and equipment access, and from installing structures, conductors, and fiber optic cables. Project construction activities would be conducted within the existing 200-foot transmission line ROW and 50-foot access road ROW, although new spur access roads could occur outside of existing ROWs. As lead Federal agency for this action under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Western must ensure that adverse environmental effects on Federal and non-Federal lands and resources are avoided or minimized. This Environmental Assessment (EA) is intended to be a concise public document that assesses the probable and known impacts to the environment from Western's Proposed Action and alternatives, and reaches a conclusion about the significance of the impacts. This EA was prepared in compliance with NEPA regulations published by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500-1508) and implementing procedures of the Department of Energy (10 CFR 1021).« less

Uranium mining in Portugal: a review of the environmental legacies of the largest mines and environmental and human health impacts.

PubMed

Pereira, R; Barbosa, S; Carvalho, F P

2014-04-01

The history of uranium mining in Portugal during almost one century has followed international demand peaks of both radium and uranium, which in turn were driven by medical, military, and civil applications. Nowadays, following price drop in the 1980s, mining activities decreased and ceased in 2001. The current challenge is to deal with environmental legacies left by old uranium mines, mainly located in Viseu and Guarda districts. In 2001, based on several radiological surveys carried out, the Portuguese government assumed the remediation costs of abandoned mine areas for environmental safety and public health protection. Detailed environmental and public health risk assessments were performed under the scope of studies both requested by the government and by funded research projects. It was found that the existing risks, due to radiological and chemical exposures to metals and radionuclide's, were particularly high at the old milling facilities and mines where in situ and heap leaching of low-grade ore occurred. The different studies, involving both humans and non-human species from different trophic levels, demonstrated the existence of effects at different levels of biological organization (molecular, cellular, tissues, individuals, and populations) and on ecosystem services. To mitigate the risks, the environmental rehabilitation works at the Urgeiriça mine complex are almost complete, while at Cunha Baixa mine, they are presently in progress. These works and environmental improvements achieved and expected are described herein.

LCA-based optimization of wood utilization under special consideration of a cascading use of wood.

PubMed

Höglmeier, Karin; Steubing, Bernhard; Weber-Blaschke, Gabriele; Richter, Klaus

2015-04-01

Cascading, the use of the same unit of a resource in multiple successional applications, is considered as a viable means to improve the efficiency of resource utilization and to decrease environmental impacts. Wood, as a regrowing but nevertheless limited and increasingly in demand resource, can be used in cascades, thereby increasing the potential efficiency per unit of wood. This study aims to assess the influence of cascading wood utilization on optimizing the overall environmental impact of wood utilization. By combining a material flow model of existing wood applications - both for materials provision and energy production - with an algebraic optimization tool, the effects of the use of wood in cascades can be modelled and quantified based on life cycle impact assessment results for all production processes. To identify the most efficient wood allocation, the effects of a potential substitution of non-wood products were taken into account in a part of the model runs. The considered environmental indicators were global warming potential, particulate matter formation, land occupation and an aggregated single score indicator. We found that optimizing either the overall global warming potential or the value of the single score indicator of the system leads to a simultaneous relative decrease of all other considered environmental impacts. The relative differences between the impacts of the model run with and without the possibility of a cascading use of wood were 7% for global warming potential and the single score indicator, despite cascading only influencing a small part of the overall system, namely wood panel production. Cascading led to savings of up to 14% of the annual primary wood supply of the study area. We conclude that cascading can improve the overall performance of a wood utilization system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental siting suitability analysis for commercial scale ocean renewable energy: A southeast Florida case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulcan, Amanda

This thesis aims to facilitate the siting and implementation of Florida Atlantic University Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (FAU SNMREC) ocean current energy (OCE) projects offshore southeastern Florida through the analysis of benthic anchoring conditions. Specifically, a suitability analysis considering all presently available biologic and geologic datasets within the legal framework of OCE policy and regulation was done. OCE related literature sources were consulted to assign suitability levels to each dataset, ArcGIS interpolations generated seafloor substrate maps, and existing submarine cable pathways were considered for OCE power cables. The finalized suitability map highlights the eastern study area as most suitable for OCE siting due to its abundance of sand/sediment substrate, existing underwater cable route access, and minimal biologic presence. Higher resolution datasets are necessary to locate specific OCE development locales, better understand their benthic conditions, and minimize potentially negative OCE environmental impacts.

Western oil shale development: a technology assessment. Volume 1. Main report

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

Not Available

1981-11-01

The general goal of this study is to present the prospects of shale oil within the context of (1) environmental constraints, (2) available natural and economic resources, and (3) the characteristics of existing and emerging technology. The objectives are: to review shale oil technologies objectively as a means of supplying domestically produced fuels within environmental, social, economic, and legal/institutional constraints; using available data, analyses, and experienced judgment, to examine the major points of uncertainty regarding potential impacts of oil shale development; to resolve issues where data and analyses are compelling or where conclusions can be reached on judgmental grounds; tomore » specify issues which cannot be resolved on the bases of the data, analyses, and experienced judgment currently available; and when appropriate and feasible, to suggest ways for the removal of existing uncertainties that stand in the way of resolving outstanding issues.« less

Breathing easier? The known impacts of biodiesel on air quality

PubMed Central

Traviss, Nora

2013-01-01

Substantial scientific evidence exists on the negative health effects of exposure to petroleum diesel exhaust. Many view biodiesel as a ‘green’, more environmentally friendly alternative fuel, especially with respect to measured reductions of particulate matter in tailpipe emissions. Tailpipe emissions data sets from heavy-duty diesel engines comparing diesel and biodiesel fuels provide important information regarding the composition and potential aggregate contribution of particulate matter and other pollutants to regional airsheds. However, exposure – defined in this instance as human contact with tailpipe emissions – is another key link in the chain between emissions and human health effects. Although numerous biodiesel emissions studies exist, biodiesel exposure studies are nearly absent from the literature. This article summarizes the known impacts of biodiesel on air quality and health effects, comparing emissions and exposure research. In light of rapidly changing engine, fuel and exhaust technologies, both emissions and exposure studies are necessary for developing a fuller understanding of the impact of biodiesel on air quality and human health. PMID:23585814

A consolidated environmental monitoring plan for Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

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

Ebinger, M.H.; Hansen, W.R.

1997-04-01

The US Army operates facilities in Edgewood and Aberdeen under several licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Compliance with each license is time consuming and could potentially result in duplicated efforts to demonstrate compliance with existing environmental regulations. The goal of the ERM plan is to provide the sampling necessary to ensure that operations at Edgewood and Aberdeen are within applicable regulatory guidelines and to provide a means of ensuring that adverse effects to the environment are minimized. Existing sampling plans and environmental data generated from those plans are briefly reviewed as part of the development of the presentmore » ERM plan. The new ERM plan was designed to provide data that can be used for assessing risks to the environment and to humans using Aberdeen and Edgewood areas. Existing sampling is modified and new sampling is proposed based on the results of the long-term DU fate study. In that study, different environmental pathways were identified that would show transport of DU at Aberdeen. Those pathways would also be impacted by other radioactive constituents from Aberdeen and Edgewood areas. The ERM plan presented in this document includes sampling from Edgewood and Aberdeen facilities. The main radioactive constituents of concern at Edgewood are C, P, N, S, H, I, Co, Cs, Ca, Sr and U that are used in radiolabeling different compounds and tracers for different reactions and syntheses. Air and water sampling are the thrust of efforts at the Edgewood area.« less

Finding of No Significant Impact and Finding of No Practicable Aleternative for the Environmental Assessment for the 21 Point Enclosed Firing Range at Joint-Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington, Maryland

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-02

Corps of Engineers Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Final EA – Firing Range October 2014 v WSSC Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission...are leaving the site with waste residue still on their skin and uniforms. Per section 7.6.1.7 [Latrines ( Sanitary Facilities)] in ETL 11-18 (Small...served by water, sanitary sewer, and power. A fire hydrant exists on the site, while another hydrant exists at the intersection of the entry road and

The co-existence of life and death for the perioperative nurse.

PubMed

Perrin, Karen; Jones, Barbara; Winkelman, Cecelia

2013-10-01

Death and life co-exist in organ procurement surgery; untimely death for one provides hope for continued life for others. Drawing from interactionist theory, the impact of personal and environmental forces and functions specific to organ procurement surgery were examined. Seven nurses (6 women, 1 man aged 34-58 years) were provided with an opportunity to describe their experiences. Three core themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the interviews: existential issues, coping strategies, and support for each other. Nurses spoke of ways in which they contribute to this challenging work and draw on inner resources.

Environmental education: A blueprint for achievement?

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

McErlean, A.J.; Williams, E.; Wittwer, F.

1995-09-01

The present national effort devoted to environmental education (EE), particularly as it relates to K-12 education, is examined and indexed to other current events and their support levels. For the most part, EE efforts are embedded in science, mathematics, and engineering programs (SME), and the relationships to these other areas are discussed. In the present context, many aspects such as social, ethical, and religious consideration of EE are not addressed. The relationships between EE and the expectation for scientific literacy (SL) and improved environmental decision-making in both short- and long-term contexts are also examined. Under existing programs, the prognosis formore » serious, effective accomplishment, or credible impact on universal EE literacy or enhanced decision-making, is doubtful.« less

Environmental assessment for the Plating Shop Replacement, Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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

Not Available

1992-03-01

The existing of Y-12 Plant Plating Shop provides vital support functions for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Defense Programs operations. In addition to weapon component plating, the facility performs other plating services to support existing operations for the Y-12 Plant, other DOE facilities, and other federal agencies. In addition, the facility would also provide essential deplating services for weapons reclamation and teardown. The existing Y-12 Plant Plating Shop is presently located in a structure which is rapidly deteriorating and obsolete. The existing building structure was originally designed to house a steam plant, not chemical plating operations. As such, vaporsmore » from plating operations have deteriorated the structure to a point where a new facility is needed for continued safe operations. The potential environmental impacts of the proposed action was anticipated to be minimal and would affect no environmentally sensitive areas. Some short-term construction- and demolition-related effects would occur in an already highly industrialized setting. These include temporarily disturbing 72,000 square feet of land for the new plating shop and related site preparation activities, constructing a permanent building on part of the area, and using 80 construction personnel over a period of 18 months for site preparation and construction. Demolition effects vary depending on the environmentally suitable option selected, but they could involve as much as 262 cubic yards of concrete rubble and approximately 1600 cubic yards of soil disposed as waste. Either 1600 cubic yards of fresh soil or 1850 yards of clay and fresh soil could be required. Soil erosion would be minimal. Approximately 20 construction personnel would be involved for 12 months in demolition activities.« less

Sustainability Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Plants with Carbon Capture and Storage

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

Widder, Sarah H.; Butner, R. Scott; Elliott, Michael L.

2011-11-30

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) has the ability to dramatically reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power production. Most studies find the potential for 70 to 80 percent reductions in CO2 emissions on a life-cycle basis, depending on the technology. Because of this potential, utilities and policymakers are considering the wide-spread implementation of CCS technology on new and existing coal plants to dramatically curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power generation sector. However, the implementation of CCS systems will have many other social, economic, and environmental impacts beyond curbing GHG emissions that must be considered to achieve sustainable energymore » generation. For example, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter (PM) are also important environmental concerns for coal-fired power plants. For example, several studies have shown that eutrophication is expected to double and acidification would increase due to increases in NOx emissions for a coal plant with CCS provided by monoethanolamine (MEA) scrubbing. Potential for human health risks is also expected to increase due to increased heavy metals in water from increased coal mining and MEA hazardous waste, although there is currently not enough information to relate this potential to actual realized health impacts. In addition to environmental and human health impacts, supply chain impacts and other social, economic, or strategic impacts will be important to consider. A thorough review of the literature for life-cycle analyses of power generation processes using CCS technology via the MEA absorption process, and other energy generation technologies as applicable, yielded large variability in methods and core metrics. Nonetheless, a few key areas of impact for CCS were developed from the studies that we reviewed. These are: the impact of MEA generation on increased eutrophication and acidification from ammonia emissions and increased toxicity from MEA production and the impact of increased coal use including the increased generation of NOx from combustion and transportation, impacts of increased mining of coal and limestone, and the disposal of toxic fly ash and boiler ash waste streams. Overall, the implementing CCS technology could contribute to a dramatic decrease in global GHG emissions, while most other environmental and human health impact categories increase only slightly on a global scale. However, the impacts on human toxicity and ecotoxicity have not been studied as extensively and could have more severe impacts on a regional or local scale. More research is needed to draw strong conclusions with respect to the specific relative impact of different CCS technologies. Specifically, a more robust data set that disaggregates data in terms of component processes and treats a more comprehensive set of environmental impacts categories from a life-cycle perspective is needed. In addition, the current LCA framework lacks the required temporal and spatial scales to determine the risk of environmental impact from carbon sequestration. Appropriate factors to use when assessing the risk of water acidification (groundwater/oceans/aquifers depending on sequestration site), risk of increased human toxicity impact from large accidental releases from pipeline or wells, and the legal and public policy risk associated with licensing CO2 sequestration sites are also not currently addressed. In addition to identifying potential environmental, social, or risk-related issues that could impede the large-scale deployment of CCS, performing LCA-based studies on energy generation technologies can suggest places to focus our efforts to achieve technically feasible, economically viable, and environmentally conscious energy generation technologies for maximum impact.« less

New developments in transit noise and vibration criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Carl E.

2004-05-01

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) noise and vibration impact criteria were developed in the early 1990's. Noise criteria are ambient-based, developed from the Schultz curve and fundamental research performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970's. Vibration criteria are single-value rms vibration velocity levels. After 10 years of experience applying the criteria in assessments of new transit projects throughout the United States, FTA is updating its methods. Approach to assessment of new projects in existing high-noise environments will be clarified. Method for assessing noise impacts due to horn blowing at grade crossings will be provided. Vibration criteria will be expanded to include spectral information. This paper summarizes the background of the current criteria, discusses examples where existing methods are lacking, and describes the planned remedies to improve criteria and methods.

Environmental Impacts of Surgical Procedures: Life Cycle Assessment of Hysterectomy in the United States

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The healthcare sector is a driver of economic growth in the U.S., with spending on healthcare in 2012 reaching $2.8 trillion, or 17% of the U.S. gross domestic product, but it is also a significant source of emissions that adversely impact environmental and public health. The current state of the healthcare industry offers significant opportunities for environmental efficiency improvements, potentially leading to reductions in costs, resource use, and waste without compromising patient care. However, limited research exists that can provide quantitative, sustainable solutions. The operating room is the most resource-intensive area of a hospital, and surgery is therefore an important focal point to understand healthcare-related emissions. Hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to quantify environmental emissions from four different surgical approaches (abdominal, vaginal, laparoscopic, and robotic) used in the second most common major procedure for women in the U.S., the hysterectomy. Data were collected from 62 cases of hysterectomy. Life cycle assessment results show that major sources of environmental emissions include the production of disposable materials and single-use surgical devices, energy used for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and anesthetic gases. By scientifically evaluating emissions, the healthcare industry can strategically optimize its transition to a more sustainable system. PMID:25517602

Environmental constraints and call evolution in torrent-dwelling frogs.

PubMed

Goutte, Sandra; Dubois, Alain; Howard, Samuel D; Marquez, Rafael; Rowley, Jodi J L; Dehling, J Maximilian; Grandcolas, Philippe; Rongchuan, Xiong; Legendre, Frédéric

2016-04-01

Although acoustic signals are important for communication in many taxa, signal propagation is affected by environmental properties. Strong environmental constraints should drive call evolution, favoring signals with greater transmission distance and content integrity in a given calling habitat. Yet, few empirical studies have verified this prediction, possibly due to a shortcoming in habitat characterization, which is often too broad. Here we assess the potential impact of environmental constraints on the evolution of advertisement call in four groups of torrent-dwelling frogs in the family Ranidae. We reconstruct the evolution of calling site preferences, both broadly categorized and at a finer scale, onto a phylogenetic tree for 148 species with five markers (∼3600 bp). We test models of evolution for six call traits for 79 species with regard to the reconstructed history of calling site preferences and estimate their ancestral states. We find that in spite of existing morphological constraints, vocalizations of torrent-dwelling species are most probably constrained by the acoustic specificities of torrent habitats and particularly their high level of ambient noise. We also show that a fine-scale characterization of calling sites allows a better perception of the impact of environmental constraints on call evolution. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Cost optimisation and minimisation of the environmental impact through life cycle analysis of the waste water treatment plant of Bree (Belgium).

PubMed

De Gussem, K; Wambecq, T; Roels, J; Fenu, A; De Gueldre, G; Van De Steene, B

2011-01-01

An ASM2da model of the full-scale waste water plant of Bree (Belgium) has been made. It showed very good correlation with reference operational data. This basic model has been extended to include an accurate calculation of environmental footprint and operational costs (energy consumption, dosing of chemicals and sludge treatment). Two optimisation strategies were compared: lowest cost meeting the effluent consent versus lowest environmental footprint. Six optimisation scenarios have been studied, namely (i) implementation of an online control system based on ammonium and nitrate sensors, (ii) implementation of a control on MLSS concentration, (iii) evaluation of internal recirculation flow, (iv) oxygen set point, (v) installation of mixing in the aeration tank, and (vi) evaluation of nitrate setpoint for post denitrification. Both an environmental impact or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based approach for optimisation are able to significantly lower the cost and environmental footprint. However, the LCA approach has some advantages over cost minimisation of an existing full-scale plant. LCA tends to chose control settings that are more logic: it results in a safer operation of the plant with less risks regarding the consents. It results in a better effluent at a slightly increased cost.

Estimating environmental co-benefits of U.S. low-carbon pathways using an integrated assessment model with state-level resolution.

PubMed

Ou, Yang; Shi, Wenjing; Smith, Steven J; Ledna, Catherine M; West, J Jason; Nolte, Christopher G; Loughlin, Daniel H

2018-04-15

There are many technological pathways that can lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions. However, these pathways can have substantially different impacts on other environmental endpoints, such as air quality and energy-related water demand. This study uses an integrated assessment model with state-level resolution of the energy system to compare environmental impacts of alternative low-carbon pathways for the United States. One set of pathways emphasizes nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage, while another set emphasizes renewable energy, including wind, solar, geothermal power, and bioenergy. These are compared with pathways in which all technologies are available. Air pollutant emissions, mortality costs attributable to particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter, and energy-related water demands are evaluated for 50% and 80% carbon dioxide reduction targets in 2050. The renewable low-carbon pathways require less water withdrawal and consumption than the nuclear and carbon capture pathways. However, the renewable low-carbon pathways modeled in this study produce higher particulate matter-related mortality costs due to greater use of biomass in residential heating. Environmental co-benefits differ among states because of factors such as existing technology stock, resource availability, and environmental and energy policies.

Life cycle assessment part 1: framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications.

PubMed

Rebitzer, G; Ekvall, T; Frischknecht, R; Hunkeler, D; Norris, G; Rydberg, T; Schmidt, W-P; Suh, S; Weidema, B P; Pennington, D W

2004-07-01

Sustainable development requires methods and tools to measure and compare the environmental impacts of human activities for the provision of goods and services (both of which are summarized under the term "products"). Environmental impacts include those from emissions into the environment and through the consumption of resources, as well as other interventions (e.g., land use) associated with providing products that occur when extracting resources, producing materials, manufacturing the products, during consumption/use, and at the products' end-of-life (collection/sorting, reuse, recycling, waste disposal). These emissions and consumptions contribute to a wide range of impacts, such as climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone (smog) creation, eutrophication, acidification, toxicological stress on human health and ecosystems, the depletion of resources, water use, land use, and noise-among others. A clear need, therefore, exists to be proactive and to provide complimentary insights, apart from current regulatory practices, to help reduce such impacts. Practitioners and researchers from many domains come together in life cycle assessment (LCA) to calculate indicators of the aforementioned potential environmental impacts that are linked to products-supporting the identification of opportunities for pollution prevention and reductions in resource consumption while taking the entire product life cycle into consideration. This paper, part 1 in a series of two, introduces the LCA framework and procedure, outlines how to define and model a product's life cycle, and provides an overview of available methods and tools for tabulating and compiling associated emissions and resource consumption data in a life cycle inventory (LCI). It also discusses the application of LCA in industry and policy making. The second paper, by Pennington et al. (Environ. Int. 2003, in press), highlights the key features, summarises available approaches, and outlines the key challenges of assessing the aforementioned inventory data in terms of contributions to environmental impacts (life cycle impact assessment, LCIA).

Application of adenylate energy charge to problems of environmental impact assessment in aquatic organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanovici, A. M.

1980-03-01

Various physiological and biochemical methods have been proposed for assessing the effects of environmental perturbation on aquatic organisms. The success of these methods as diagnostic tools has, however, been limited. This paper proposes that adenylate energy charge overcomes some of these limitations. The adenylate energy charge (AEC) is calculated from concentrations of adenine nucleotides ([ATP+½ADP]/[ATP+ADP+AMP]), and is a reflection of metabolic potential available to an organism. Several features of this method are: correlation of specific values with physiological condition or growth state, a defined range of values, fast response times and high precision. Several examples from laboratory and field experiments are given to demonstrate these features. The test organisms used (mollusc species) were exposed to a variety of environmental perturbations, including salinity reduction, hydrocarbons and low doses of heavy metal. The studies performed indicate that the energy charge may be a useful measure in the assessment of environmental impact. Its use is restricted, however, as several limitations exist which need to be fully evaluated. Further work relating values to population characteristics of multicellular organisms needs to be completed before the method can become a predictive tool for management.

Incorporating physical activity measures into environmental monitoring of national parks: an example from Yosemite.

PubMed

Walden-Schreiner, Chelsey; Leung, Yu-Fai; Floyd, Myron F

2014-09-01

To address increasing prevalence of obesity and associated chronic disease, recent national initiatives have called upon federal agencies to promote healthy lifestyles and provide opportunities for physical activity. In response, the U.S. National Park Service has developed strategies promoting health through physical activity in addition to its well-established biodiversity and landscape conservation mission. Incorporating physical activity measures with routine environmental monitoring would help identify areas where parks can promote active pursuits with minimal environmental impact. This study provides one example of how protocols developed for visitor and environmental monitoring can generate data to evaluate physical activity. Researchers implemented an observational study in high-use meadows of Yosemite National Park during the summer of 2011. Variables measured include the spatial location of visitors and activity type. Metabolic equivalents (METs) were assigned to activity categories and analyzed for average energy expenditure. Mean METs values indicated sedentary to light physical activity across the meadows, with greater means in areas with boardwalks or paved pathways. Data leveraged in this study provide park managers an example of adapting existing monitoring programs to incorporate indicators relevant to physical activity evaluation and how physical activity may impact resource conditions in national parks.

Evaluation of the hazardous impact of landfill leachates by toxicity and biodegradability tests.

PubMed

Kalcíková, G; Vávrová, M; Zagorc-Koncan, J; Gotvajn, A Zgajnar

2011-01-01

The aim of our research was to assess the ecotoxicity and biodegradability of leachates originating from two parts of a municipal landfill before and after biological treatment in the existing treatment plant. Biotests represent important tools for adequate environmental characterization of landfill leachates and could be helpful in reliable assessment and monitoring of the treatment plant efficiency. For ecotoxicity testing of landfill leachate before and after biological treatment, different organisms were chosen: the bacteria Vibrio fischeri, a mixed culture of activated sludge, duckweed Lemna minor, white mustard Sinapis alba, brine shrimp Artemia salina, and water flea Daphnia magna. For assessment of biodegradability, the method for determination of oxygen demand in a closed respirometer was used. The investigated leachates were heavily polluted, and in some cases, effluent limits were exceeded even after treatment. Results indicated that toxicity tests and physico-chemical parameters determined before and after treatment equivalently assess the efficiency of the existing treatment plant. However, the investigated leachates showed higher toxicity to Daphnia magna and especially to Lemna minor in contrast to Vibrio fischeri and Artemia salina (neither was sensitive to any of the leachates). No leachates were readily biodegradable. Experiments confirmed that the battery of toxicity tests should be applied for more comprehensive assessment of landfill leachate treatment and for reliable assessment of the treated leachate's subsequent environmental impact. It was confirmed that treated leachate, in spite of its better physico-chemical characteristics, still represents a potential environmental risk and thus should not be released into the environment.

Weighing environmental advantages and disadvantages of advanced wastewater treatment of micro-pollutants using environmental life cycle assessment.

PubMed

Wenzel, H; Larsen, H F; Clauson-Kaas, J; Høibye, L; Jacobsen, B N

2008-01-01

Much research and development effort is directed towards advances in municipal wastewater treatment aiming at reducing the effluent content of micro-pollutants and pathogens. The objective is to further reduce the eco-toxicity, hormone effects and pathogenic effects of the effluent. Such further polishing of the effluent, however, involves an environmental trade-off: the reduction in eco-toxicity, hormone effects, etc. will happen at the expense of increased resource- and energy consumption. Obviously, at some point of further advances, there must be an 'environmental break-even'. This trade-off was investigated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and based on a literature review of advanced treatment performance. The LCA evaluation comprised sand filtration, ozonation and MBRs and assessed the effect of extending existing tertiary treatment with these technologies on a variety of micro-pollutants being: heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni), endocrine disruptors (E2 and EE2), PAH, DEHP, and detergents (LAS & NPE). It was found, in some of the studied scenarios, that more environmental impact may be induced than removed by the advanced treatment. The study showed that for the 3 technologies, sand filtration has the best balance between prevented and induced impacts, and sand filtration proved to have a net environmental benefit under the assumptions used in the study. But the outcome of the study suggests that this is not always the case for ozonation and MBR.

HVI-Test Setup for Debris Detector Verification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, Waldemar; Romberg, Oliver; Wiedemann, Carsten; Putzar, Robin; Drolshagen, Gerhard; Vorsmann, Peter

2013-08-01

Risk assessment concerning impacting space debris or micrometeoroids with spacecraft or payloads can be performed by using environmental models such as MASTER (ESA) or ORDEM (NASA). The validation of such models is performed by comparison of simulated results with measured data. Such data can be obtained from ground-based or space-based radars or telescopes, or by analysis of space hardware (e.g. Hubble Space Telescope, Space Shuttle Windows), which are retrieved from orbit. An additional data source is in-situ impact detectors, which are purposed for the collection of space debris and micrometeoroids impact data. In comparison to the impact data gained by analysis of the retrieved surfaces, the detected data contains additional information regarding impact time and orbit. In the past, many such in-situ detectors have been developed, with different measurement methods for the identification and classification of impacting objects. However, existing detectors have a drawback in terms of data acquisition. Generally the detection area is small, limiting the collected data as the number of recorded impacts has a linear dependence to the exposed area. An innovative impact detector concept is currently under development at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Bremen, in order to increase the surface area while preserving the advantages offered by dedicated in-situ impact detectors. The Solar Generator based Impact Detector (SOLID) is not an add-on component on the spacecraft, making it different to all previous impact detectors. SOLID utilises existing subsystems of the spacecraft and adapts them for impact detection purposes. Solar generators require large panel surfaces in order to provide the spacecraft with sufficient energy. Therefore, the spacecraft solar panels provide a perfect opportunity for application as impact detectors. Employment of the SOLID method in several spacecraft in various orbits would serve to significantly increase the spatial coverage concerning space debris and micrometeoroids. In this way, the SOLID method will allow the generation of a large amount of impact data for environmental model validation. The ground verification of the SOLID method was performed at Fraunhofer EMI. For this purpose, a test model was developed. This paper focuses on the test methodology and development of the Hypervelocity Impact (HVI) test setup, including pretesting at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Bremen. Foreseen hardware and software for the automatic damage assessment of the detector after the impact are also presented.

Mobilization and Defense Management Technical Reports Series. The Impact of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) on Defense Industry and the Implications for Mobilization.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-05-01

mat of the voluntary standards thean in existence (JASI and NVA standards, for wcmmle). fwue affected the broad spectrum of Nm rican industry. As OBIA ...have been funded. As OMA matured, programs, standards, and inspections were significantly improved and gained industry aeptance. OBIA has deleted many

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

Nugent, Philip J; Omitaomu, Olufemi A; Parish, Esther S

The urban climate is changing rapidly. Therefore, climate change and its projected impacts on environmental conditions must be considered in assessing and comparing urban planning alternatives. In this paper, we present an integrated framework for urban climate adaptation tool (Urban-CAT) that will help cities to plan for, rather than react to, possible risks. Urban-CAT will be developed as a scenario planning tool that is locally relevant to existing urban decision-making processes.

76 FR 57979 - Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Permit Application for Widening...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-19

... (Port) application for a Department of the Army permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, and Section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research, and..., to the existing depth of -42 feet mean lower low water, as well as the beneficial use and placement...

Assault Airstrip Environmental Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

Wetlands do exist within the area of concern. Survey and design will avoid impacts to the wetland , streams, and drainages. There is no floodplain...burden on drainages. The ponds will completely drain in a few days so new wetlands will not be created; therefore the BASH hazard is not increased. No...refuges, marine sanctuaries, wild and scenic rivers, state aquatic preserves, and waters in areas acquired through donation, trade, or purchase

The Role of Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Stability Operations: Reality and Potential

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

education systems, mortuary services, and environmental control.” n, 18 The next mission is...the importance of PRTs and offer assesments to justify the PRTs existence and improve their effectiveness. All of this input has helped the DOD and...damage to or loss of property.”16 A nation suffering from the impact of warfare needs humanitarian assistance. Providing rudimentary needs in a

78 FR 18325 - Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Formal Training Unit (FTU) and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-26

... Statement (EIS) for the Formal Training Unit (FTU) and Main Operating Base 1 (MOB 1) for the Beddown of KC... Statement (EIS) for the Formal Training Unit (FTU) and Main Operating Base 1 (MOB 1) for the Beddown of KC...-46A tanker aircraft, associated infrastructure and manpower of the FTU and MOB 1 at existing active...

Environmental Assessment for the MC-12 Training Squadron Beddown

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

existing conditions at any of the installations. Transportation: The Proposed Action at any of the bases would result in minor to moderate increases in...would be insignificant. Visual Resources: Temporary and minor impacts would occur on the areas’ visual resources during any construction activities...The Proposed Action would result in minor increases to utility (power, communication, and wastewater) demands, but these increases would be easily

Advanced system demonstration for utilization of biomass as an energy source. Technical Appendix D: terrestrial ecosystems and forestry. Environmental report

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

McCollom, M.

1979-01-01

The existing terrestrial ecosystems at the plant site and impacts on them are described. The following are discussed for the fuelwood harvest region: forest soils, forest types and ecological succession, nutrient cycles in the forest ecosystem, fauna of the ecosystem, forest practices in the harvest region, and long-term productivity of the forest resource. (MHR)

Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health

PubMed Central

Bell, Karen

2016-01-01

Gender continues to be a relatively marginal issue in environmental justice debates and yet it remains an important aspect of injustice. To help redress the balance, this article explores women’s experience of environmental justice through a review of the existing literature and the author’s prior qualitative research, as well as her experience of environmental activism. The analysis confirms that women tend to experience inequitable environmental burdens (distributional injustice); and are less likely than men to have control over environmental decisions (procedural injustice), both of which impact on their health (substantive injustice). It is argued that these injustices occur because women generally have lower incomes than men and are perceived as having less social status than their male counterparts as a result of entwined and entrenched capitalist and patriarchal processes. In the light of this analysis, it is proposed that environmental justice research, teaching, policy and practice should be made more gender aware and feminist orientated. This could support cross-cutting debates and activities in support of the radical social change necessary to bring about greater social and environmental justice more generally. PMID:27754351

Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health.

PubMed

Bell, Karen

2016-10-12

Gender continues to be a relatively marginal issue in environmental justice debates and yet it remains an important aspect of injustice. To help redress the balance, this article explores women's experience of environmental justice through a review of the existing literature and the author's prior qualitative research, as well as her experience of environmental activism. The analysis confirms that women tend to experience inequitable environmental burdens (distributional injustice); and are less likely than men to have control over environmental decisions (procedural injustice), both of which impact on their health (substantive injustice). It is argued that these injustices occur because women generally have lower incomes than men and are perceived as having less social status than their male counterparts as a result of entwined and entrenched capitalist and patriarchal processes. In the light of this analysis, it is proposed that environmental justice research, teaching, policy and practice should be made more gender aware and feminist orientated. This could support cross-cutting debates and activities in support of the radical social change necessary to bring about greater social and environmental justice more generally.

Environmental management of small-scale and artisanal mining: the Portovelo-Zaruma goldmining area, southern Ecuador.

PubMed

Tarras-Wahlberg, N H

2002-06-01

This paper considers technical measures and policy initiatives needed to improve environmental management in the Portovelo-Zaruma mining district of southern Ecuador. In this area, gold is mined by a large number of small-scale and artisanal operators, and discharges of cyanide and metal-laden tailings have had a severe impact on the shared Ecuadorian-Peruvian Puyango river system. It is shown to be technically possible to confine mining waste and tailings at a reasonable cost. However, the complex topography of the mining district forces tailings management to be communal, where all operators are connected to one central tailings impoundment. This, in turn, implies two things: (i) that a large number of operators must agree to pool resources to bring such a facility into reality; and (ii) that miners must move away from rudimentary operations that survive on a day-to-day basis, towards bigger, mechanized and longer-term sustainable operations that are based on proven ore reserves. It is deemed unlikely that existing environmental regulations and the provision of technical solutions will be sufficient to resolve the environmental problems. Important impediments relate to the limited financial resources available to each individual miner and the problems of pooling these resources, and to the fact that the main impacts of pollution are suffered downstream of the mining district and, hence, do not affect the miners themselves. Three policy measures are therefore suggested. First, the enforcement of existing regulations must be improved, and this may be achieved by the strengthening of the central authority charged with supervision and control of mining activities. Second, local government involvement and local public participation in environmental management needs to be promoted. Third, a clear policy should be defined which promotes the reorganisation of small operations into larger units that are strong enough to sustain rational exploration and environmental obligations. The case study suggests that mining policy in lesser-developed countries should develop to enable small-scale and artisanal miners to form entities that are of a sufficiently large scale to allow adequate and cost-effective environmental protection.

Environmental Factors Impacting Bone-Relevant Chemokines

PubMed Central

Smith, Justin T.; Schneider, Andrew D.; Katchko, Karina M.; Yun, Chawon; Hsu, Erin L.

2017-01-01

Chemokines play an important role in normal bone physiology and the pathophysiology of many bone diseases. The recent increased focus on the individual roles of this class of proteins in the context of bone has shown that members of the two major chemokine subfamilies—CC and CXC—support or promote the formation of new bone and the remodeling of existing bone in response to a myriad of stimuli. These chemotactic molecules are crucial in orchestrating appropriate cellular homing, osteoblastogenesis, and osteoclastogenesis during normal bone repair. Bone healing is a complex cascade of carefully regulated processes, including inflammation, progenitor cell recruitment, differentiation, and remodeling. The extensive role of chemokines in these processes and the known links between environmental contaminants and chemokine expression/activity leaves ample opportunity for disruption of bone healing by environmental factors. However, despite increased clinical awareness, the potential impact of many of these environmental factors on bone-related chemokines is still ill defined. A great deal of focus has been placed on environmental exposure to various endocrine disruptors (bisphenol A, phthalate esters, etc.), volatile organic compounds, dioxins, and heavy metals, though mainly in other tissues. Awareness of the impact of other less well-studied bone toxicants, such as fluoride, mold and fungal toxins, asbestos, and chlorine, is also reviewed. In many cases, the literature on these toxins in osteogenic models is lacking. However, research focused on their effects in other tissues and cell lines provides clues for where future resources could be best utilized. This review aims to serve as a current and exhaustive resource detailing the known links between several classes of high-interest environmental pollutants and their interaction with the chemokines relevant to bone healing. PMID:28261155

Draft environmental impact statement siting, construction, and operation of New Production Reactor capacity. Volume 4, Appendices D-R

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

None

1991-04-01

This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assesses the potential environmental impacts, both on a broad programmatic level and on a project-specific level, concerning a proposed action to provide new tritium production capacity to meet the nation`s nuclear defense requirements well into the 21st century. A capacity equivalent to that of about a 3,000-megawatt (thermal) heavy-water reactor was assumed as a reference basis for analysis in this EIS; this is the approximate capacity of the existing production reactors at DOE`s Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. The EIS programmatic alternatives address Departmental decisions to be made on whether to build newmore » production facilities, whether to build one or more complexes, what size production capacity to provide, and when to provide this capacity. Project-specific impacts for siting, constructing, and operating new production reactor capacity are assessed for three alternative sites: the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington; the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho; and the Savannah River Site. For each site, the impacts of three reactor technologies (and supporting facilities) are assessed: a heavy-water reactor, a light-water reactor, and a modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. Impacts of the no-action alternative also are assessed. The EIS evaluates impacts related to air quality; noise levels; surface water, groundwater, and wetlands; land use; recreation; visual environment; biotic resources; historical, archaeological, and cultural resources; socioeconomics; transportation; waste management; and human health and safety. The EIS describes in detail the potential radioactive releases from new production reactors and support facilities and assesses the potential doses to workers and the general public. This volume contains 15 appendices.« less

78 FR 54906 - Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-06

...-FF08ECAR00] Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed... Conservation Commission (CVCC), has prepared a joint draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (draft Supplemental EIR/EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA...

Using game theory to analyze green stormwater infrastructure implementation policies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

William, R. K.; Garg, J.; Stillwell, A. S.

2017-12-01

While green stormwater infrastructure is a useful approach in addressing multiple challenges facing the urban environment, little consensus exists on how to best incentivize its adoption by private landowners. Game theory, a field of study designed to model conflict and cooperation between two or more agents, is well-suited to address this policy question. We used a cooperative game theory framework to analyze the impacts of three different policy approaches frequently used to incentivize the uptake of green infrastructure by private landowners: municipal regulation, direct grants, and stormwater fees. The results indicate that municipal regulation leads to the greatest environmental benefits; however, the choice of "best" regulatory approach is dependent on a variety of different factors including political and financial considerations. Policy impacts are also highly dependent on agents' spatial positions within the stormwater network. This finding leads to important questions of social equity and environmental justice.

Green initiative impact on stock prices: A quantitative study of the clean energy industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jurisich, John M.

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto research study was to explore the relationship between green initiative expense disclosures and stock prices of 46 NASDAQ listed Clean Edge Green Energy global companies from 2007 to 2010. The independent variables were sales and marketing, environmental, customer and supplier, community, and corporate governance practices that were correlated with the dependent variable in the study of stock prices. Expense disclosures were examined in an effort to measure the impact of green initiative programs and to expose the interrelationships between green initiative expense disclosures and fluctuations of stock prices. The data for the research was secondary data from existing annual reports. A statistically significant relationship was revealed between environmental practices and changes in stock prices. The study results also provided substantial evidence for leadership and managerial decision making to reduce or increase green initiative practices to maximize shareholder wealth of their respective organizations.

Lightweight steel tidal power barrages with minimal environmental impact: application to the Severn Barrage.

PubMed

Rainey, R C T

2018-01-01

For tidal power barrages, a breast-shot water wheel, with a hydraulic transmission, has significant advantages over a conventional Kaplan turbine. It is better suited to combined operations with pumping that maintain the tidal range upstream of the barrage (important in reducing the environmental impact), and is much less harmful to fish. It also does not require tapered entry and exit ducts, making the barrage much smaller and lighter, so that it can conveniently be built in steel. For the case of the Severn Estuary, UK, it is shown that a barrage at Porlock would generate an annual average power of 4 GW (i.e. 35 TWh yr -1 ), maintain the existing tidal ranges upstream of it and reduce the tidal ranges downstream of it by only about 10%. The weight of steel required, in relation to the annual average power generated, compares very favourably with a recent offshore wind farm.

The development of a green supply chain dual-objective facility by considering different levels of uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khorasani, Sasan Torabzadeh; Almasifard, Maryam

2017-11-01

This paper presents a dual-objective facility programming model for a green supply chain network. The main objectives of the presented model are minimizing overall expenditure and negative environmental impacts of the supply chain. This study contributes to the existing literature by incorporating uncertainty in customer demand, suppliers, production, and casting capacity. An industrial case study is also analyzed to reveal the feasibility of the proposed model and its application. A fuzzy approach which is known as TH is used to solve the suggested dual-objective model. TH approach is integration of a max-min method (LH) and modified version of Werners' approach (MW). The outcome of this study reveals that the presented model can support green supply chain network in different levels of uncertainty. In presented model, cost and negative environmental impacts derived from the supply chain network will increase of higher levels of uncertainty.

Lightweight steel tidal power barrages with minimal environmental impact: application to the Severn Barrage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rainey, R. C. T.

2018-01-01

For tidal power barrages, a breast-shot water wheel, with a hydraulic transmission, has significant advantages over a conventional Kaplan turbine. It is better suited to combined operations with pumping that maintain the tidal range upstream of the barrage (important in reducing the environmental impact), and is much less harmful to fish. It also does not require tapered entry and exit ducts, making the barrage much smaller and lighter, so that it can conveniently be built in steel. For the case of the Severn Estuary, UK, it is shown that a barrage at Porlock would generate an annual average power of 4 GW (i.e. 35 TWh yr-1), maintain the existing tidal ranges upstream of it and reduce the tidal ranges downstream of it by only about 10%. The weight of steel required, in relation to the annual average power generated, compares very favourably with a recent offshore wind farm.

Climate change and human health: the role of nurses in confronting the issue.

PubMed

Sayre, Lucia; Rhazi, Nadia; Carpenter, Holly; Hughes, Nancy L

2010-01-01

Climate change will impact human health in various ways as the ecology of our planet changes. Environmental changes such as increased heat waves, sea-level rise, and increased drought around the globe will aggravate already-existing health problems, increase the onset of new health problems, and, in some cases, cause premature death. Catastrophic events associated with these environmental changes, such as floods, and increases in hospital and routine clinic visits will have nurses on the front lines tending to those in need. Climate change needs to be reframed as a public health issue, and the importance of nurses to be educated and engaged cannot be overstated. Nurses can be instrumental in communications with patients and families, working with their hospitals and health systems to reduce emissions and influencing the adoption of strategies to better prepare our health care facilities and our communities for the health impacts of climate change.

Contrasting trends in light pollution across Europe based on satellite observed night time lights.

PubMed

Bennie, Jonathan; Davies, Thomas W; Duffy, James P; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J

2014-01-21

Since the 1970s nighttime satellite images of the Earth from space have provided a striking illustration of the extent of artificial light. Meanwhile, growing awareness of adverse impacts of artificial light at night on scientific astronomy, human health, ecological processes and aesthetic enjoyment of the night sky has led to recognition of light pollution as a significant global environmental issue. Links between economic activity, population growth and artificial light are well documented in rapidly developing regions. Applying a novel method to analysis of satellite images of European nighttime lights over 15 years, we show that while the continental trend is towards increasing brightness, some economically developed regions show more complex patterns with large areas decreasing in observed brightness over this period. This highlights that opportunities exist to constrain and even reduce the environmental impact of artificial light pollution while delivering cost and energy-saving benefits.

Marine Socio-Environmental Covariates: queryable global layers of environmental and anthropogenic variables for marine ecosystem studies.

PubMed

Yeager, Lauren A; Marchand, Philippe; Gill, David A; Baum, Julia K; McPherson, Jana M

2017-07-01

Biophysical conditions, including climate, environmental stress, and habitat availability, are key drivers of many ecological processes (e.g., community assembly and productivity) and associated ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and fishery production). Furthermore, anthropogenic impacts such as coastal development and fishing can have drastic effects on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Scientists need to account for environmental variation and human impacts to accurately model, manage, and conserve marine ecosystems. Although there are many types of environmental data available from global remote sensing and open-source data products, some are inaccessible to potential end-users because they exist as global layers in high temporal and spatial resolutions which require considerable computational power to process. Additionally, coastal locations often suffer from missing data or data quality issues which limit the utility of some global marine products for coastal sites. Herein we present the Marine Socio-Environmental Covariates dataset for the global oceans, which consists of environmental and anthropogenic variables summarized in ecologically relevant ways. The dataset includes four sets of environmental variables related to biophysical conditions (net primary productivity models corrected for shallow-water reflectance, wave energy including sheltered-coastline corrections) and landscape context (coral reef and land cover within varying radii). We also present two sets of anthropogenic variables, human population density (within varying radii) and distance to large population center, which can serve as indicators of local human impacts. We have paired global, summarized layers available for download with an online data querying platform that allows users to extract data for specific point locations with finer control of summary statistics. In creating these global layers and online platform, we hope to make the data accessible to a wide array of end-users with the goal of advancing marine ecosystem studies. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Temporal evolution of the environmental performance of implementing selective collection in municipal waste management systems in developing countries: A Brazilian case study.

PubMed

Ibáñez-Forés, Valeria; Bovea, María D; Coutinho-Nóbrega, Claudia; de Medeiros-García, Hozana R; Barreto-Lins, Raissa

2018-02-01

The aim of this study is to analyse the evolution of the municipal solid waste management system of João Pessoa (Brazil), which was one of the Brazilian pioneers cities in implementing door-to-door selective collection programmes, in order to analyse the effect of policy decisions adopted in last decade with regard to selective collection. To do it, this study focuses on analysing the evolution, from 2005 to 2015, of the environmental performance of the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system implemented in different sorting units with selective collection programmes by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and using as a starting point data collected directly from the different stakeholders involved in the MSWM system. This article presents the temporal evolution of environmental indicators measuring the environmental performance of the MSWM system implemented in João Pessoa by sorting unit, for each stage of the life cycle of the waste (collection, classification, intermediate transports, recycling and landfilling), for each waste fraction and for each collection method (selective collection or mixed collection), with the aim of identifying the key aspects with the greatest environmental impact and their causes. Results show on one hand, that environmental behaviour of waste management in a door-to-door selective collection programme significantly improves the behaviour of the overall waste management system. Consequently, the potential to reduce the existing environmental impact based on citizens' increased participation in selective collection is evidenced, so the implementation of awareness-raising campaigns should be one of the main issues of the next policies on solid waste. On the other hand, increasing the amount of recyclable wastes collected selectively, implementing alternative methods for valorising the organic fraction (compost/biomethanization) and improving the efficiency of the transportation stage by means of optimizing vehicles or routes, are essential actions to reduce the overall net environmental impact generated by the MSWM system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental performances of Sardinian dairy sheep production systems at different input levels.

PubMed

Vagnoni, E; Franca, A; Breedveld, L; Porqueddu, C; Ferrara, R; Duce, P

2015-01-01

Although sheep milk production is a significant sector for the European Mediterranean countries, it shows serious competitiveness gaps. Minimizing the ecological impacts of dairy sheep farming systems could represent a key factor for farmers to bridging the gaps in competitiveness of such systems and also obtaining public incentives. However, scarce is the knowledge about the environmental performance of Mediterranean dairy sheep farms. The main objectives of this paper were (i) to compare the environmental impacts of sheep milk production from three dairy farms in Sardinia (Italy), characterized by different input levels, and (ii) to identify the hotspots for improving the environmental performances of each farm, by using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The LCA was conducted using two different assessment methods: Carbon Footprint-IPCC and ReCiPe end-point. The analysis, conducted "from cradle to gate", was based on the functional unit 1 kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM). The observed trends of the environmental performances of the studied farming systems were similar for both evaluation methods. The GHG emissions revealed a little range of variation (from 2.0 to 2.3 kg CO2-eq per kg of FPCM) with differences between farming systems being not significant. The ReCiPe end-point analysis showed a larger range of values and environmental performances of the low-input farm were significantly different compared to the medium- and high-input farms. In general, enteric methane emissions, field operations, electricity and production of agricultural machineries were the most relevant processes in determining the overall environmental performances of farms. Future research will be dedicated to (i) explore and better define the environmental implications of the land use impact category in the Mediterranean sheep farming systems, and (ii) contribute to revising and improving the existing LCA dataset for Mediterranean farming systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An assessment of individual foodprints attributed to diets and food waste in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birney, Catherine I.; Franklin, Katy F.; Davidson, F. Todd; Webber, Michael E.

2017-10-01

This paper assesses the environmental impacts of the average American’s diet and food loss and waste (FLW) habits through an analysis of energy, water, land, and fertilizer requirements (inputs) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (outputs). We synthesized existing datasets to determine the ramifications of the typical American adult’s food habits, as well as the environmental impact associated with shifting diets to meet the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) dietary guideline recommendations. In 2010, FLW accounted for 35% of energy use, 34% of blue water use, 34% of GHG emissions, 31% of land use, and 35% of fertilizer use related to an individual’s food-related resource consumption, i.e. their foodprint. A shift in consumption towards a healthier diet, combined with meeting the USDA and Environmental Protection Agency’s 2030 food loss and waste reduction goal could increase per capita food related energy use 12%, decrease blue water consumption 4%, decrease green water use 23%, decrease GHG emissions from food production 11%, decrease GHG emissions from landfills 20%, decrease land use 32%, and increase fertilizer use 12%.

System dynamics model of taxi management in metropolises: Economic and environmental implications for Beijing.

PubMed

Wang, Hao; Zhang, Kai; Chen, Junhua; Wang, Zhifeng; Li, Guijun; Yang, Yuqi

2018-05-01

Taxis are an important component of urban passenger transport. Research on the daily dispatching of taxis and the utility of governmental management is important for the improvement of passenger travel, taxi driver income and environmental impacts. However, urban taxi management is a complex and dynamic system that is affected by many factors, and positive/negative feedback relationships and nonlinear interactions exist between each subsystem and variable. Therefore, conventional research methods can hardly depict its characteristics comprehensively. To bridge this gap, this paper develops a system dynamics model of urban taxi management, in which the empty-loaded rate and total demand are selected as key factors affecting taxi dispatching, and the impacts of taxi fares on driver income and travel demand are taken into account. After the validation of the model, taxi operations data derived from a prior analysis of origin-destination data of Beijing taxis are used as input for the model to simulate the taxi market in Beijing. Finally, economic and environmental implications are provided for the government to optimise policies on taxi management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrating Multiple Criteria Evaluation and GIS in Ecotourism: a Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohd, Z. H.; Ujang, U.

2016-09-01

The concept of 'Eco-tourism' is increasingly heard in recent decades. Ecotourism is one adventure that environmentally responsible intended to appreciate the nature experiences and cultures. Ecotourism should have low impact on environment and must contribute to the prosperity of local residents. This article reviews the use of Multiple Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and Geographic Information System (GIS) in ecotourism. Multiple criteria evaluation mostly used to land suitability analysis or fulfill specific objectives based on various attributes that exist in the selected area. To support the process of environmental decision making, the application of GIS is used to display and analysis the data through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Integration between MCE and GIS tool is important to determine the relative weight for the criteria used objectively. With the MCE method, it can resolve the conflict between recreation and conservation which is to minimize the environmental and human impact. Most studies evidences that the GIS-based AHP as a multi criteria evaluation is a strong and effective in tourism planning which can aid in the development of ecotourism industry effectively.

Urban water infrastructure optimization to reduce environmental impacts and costs.

PubMed

Lim, Seong-Rin; Suh, Sangwon; Kim, Jung-Hoon; Park, Hung Suck

2010-01-01

Urban water planning and policy have been focusing on environmentally benign and economically viable water management. The objective of this study is to develop a mathematical model to integrate and optimize urban water infrastructures for supply-side planning and policy: freshwater resources and treated wastewater are allocated to various water demand categories in order to reduce contaminants in the influents supplied for drinking water, and to reduce consumption of the water resources imported from the regions beyond a city boundary. A case study is performed to validate the proposed model. An optimal urban water system of a metropolitan city is calculated on the basis of the model and compared to the existing water system. The integration and optimization decrease (i) average concentrations of the influents supplied for drinking water, which can improve human health and hygiene; (ii) total consumption of water resources, as well as electricity, reducing overall environmental impacts; (iii) life cycle cost; and (iv) water resource dependency on other regions, improving regional water security. This model contributes to sustainable urban water planning and policy. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of virtual environments for percentage view analysis.

PubMed

Schofield, Damian; Cox, Christopher J B

2005-09-01

It is recognised that Visual Impact Assessment (VIA), unlike many other aspects of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), relies less upon measurement than upon experience and judgement. Hence, it is necessary for a more structured and consistent approach towards VIA, reducing the amount of bias and subjectivity. For proposed developments, there are very few quantitative techniques for the evaluation of visibility, and these existing methods can be highly inaccurate and time consuming. Percentage view changes are one of the few quantitative techniques, and the use of computer technology can reduce the inaccuracy and the time spent evaluating the visibility of either existing or proposed developments. For over 10 years, research work undertaken by the authors at the University of Nottingham has employed Computer Graphics (CG) and Virtual Reality (VR) in civilian and industrial contexts for environmental planning, design visualisation, accident reconstruction, risk analysis, data visualisation and training simulators. This paper describes a method to quantitatively assess the visual impact of proposed developments on the landscape using CG techniques. This method allows the determination of accurate percentage view changes with the use of a computer-generated model of the environment and the application of specialist software that has been developed at the University of Nottingham. The principles are easy to understand and therefore planners, authorisation agencies and members of the public can use and understand the results. A case study is shown to demonstrate the application and the capabilities of the technology.

Comparative analysis of the life cycle impact assessment of available cement inventories in the EU

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

Josa, Alejandro; Aguado, Antonio; Cardim, Arnaldo

Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is one of basic steps in life cycle assessment methodology (LCA). This paper presents a comparative study of the LCIA of different life cycle inventories (LCI) for EU cements. The analysis unit used is the manufacture of 1 kg of cement, from 'cradle to gate'. The impact categories considered are those resulting from the manufacture of cement and include greenhouse effects, acidification, eutrophication and summer and winter smog, amongst others. The results of the study highlighted some inconsistencies in existing inventories. As for the LCIA, the main environmental interventions related to cement manufacture were classifiedmore » and characterised and their effect on different impact categories analysed. Differences observed in evaluation of the impact of cement type were essentially related to their clinker content.« less

Horses for courses: analytical tools to explore planetary boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Lucas, Paul L.; Häyhä, Tiina; Cornell, Sarah E.; Stafford-Smith, Mark

2016-03-01

There is a need for more integrated research on sustainable development and global environmental change. In this paper, we focus on the planetary boundaries framework to provide a systematic categorization of key research questions in relation to avoiding severe global environmental degradation. The four categories of key questions are those that relate to (1) the underlying processes and selection of key indicators for planetary boundaries, (2) understanding the impacts of environmental pressure and connections between different types of impacts, (3) better understanding of different response strategies to avoid further degradation, and (4) the available instruments to implement such strategies. Clearly, different categories of scientific disciplines and associated model types exist that can accommodate answering these questions. We identify the strength and weaknesses of different research areas in relation to the question categories, focusing specifically on different types of models. We discuss that more interdisciplinary research is need to increase our understanding by better linking human drivers and social and biophysical impacts. This requires better collaboration between relevant disciplines (associated with the model types), either by exchanging information or by fully linking or integrating them. As fully integrated models can become too complex, the appropriate type of model (the racehorse) should be applied for answering the target research question (the race course).

Area of Concern: a new paradigm in life cycle assessment for ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Purpose: As a class of environmental metrics, footprints have been poorly defined, have shared an unclear relationship to life cycle assessment (LCA), and the variety of approaches to quantification have sometimes resulted in confusing and contradictory messages in the marketplace. In response, a task force operating under the auspices of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative project on environmental life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has been working to develop generic guidance for developers of footprint metrics. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a universal footprint definition and related terminology as well as to discuss modelling implications.MethodsThe task force has worked from the perspective that footprints should be based on LCA methodology, underpinned by the same data systems and models as used in LCA. However, there are important differences in purpose and orientation relative to LCA impact category indicators. Footprints have a primary orientation toward society and nontechnical stakeholders. They are also typically of narrow scope, having the purpose of reporting only in relation to specific topics. In comparison, LCA has a primary orientation toward stakeholders interested in comprehensive evaluation of overall environmental performance and trade-offs among impact categories. These differences create tension between footprints, the existing LCIA framework based on the area of protection paradigm and the core LCA standards ISO14040/44.Res

The Race for Space: Tracking Land-Cover Transformation in a Socio-ecological Landscape, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coetzer, Kaera L.; Erasmus, Barend F. N.; Witkowski, Edward T. F.; Reyers, Belinda

2013-09-01

Biosphere Reserves attempt to align existing biodiversity conservation with sustainable resource use, specifically for improving socio-economic circumstances of resident communities. Typically, the Biosphere Reserve model is applied to an established landscape mosaic of existing land uses; these are often socio-ecological systems where strict environmental protection and community livelihoods are in conflict, and environmental degradation frequently accompanies "use". This raises challenges for successful implementation of the model, as the reality of the existing land-use mosaic undermines the theoretical aspirations of the Biosphere concept. This study focuses on the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve (K2C), South Africa; a socio-ecological landscape where formal conservation is juxtaposed against extensive impoverished rural communities. We focus on land-cover changes of the existing land-use mosaic (1993-2006), specifically selected land-cover classes identified as important for biodiversity conservation and local-level resource utilization. We discuss the implications of transformation for conservation, sustainable resource-use, and K2C's functioning as a "Biosphere Reserve". Spatially, changes radiated outward from the settlement expanse, with little regard for the theoretical land-use zonation of the Biosphere Reserve. Settlement growth tracked transport routes, transforming cohesive areas of communal-use rangelands. Given the interdependencies between the settlement population and local environmental resources, the Impacted Vegetation class expanded accordingly, fragmenting the Intact Vegetation class, and merging rangelands. This has serious implications for sustainability of communal harvesting areas, and further transformation of intact habitat. The distribution and magnitude of Intact Vegetation losses raise concerns around connectivity and edge effects, with long-term consequences for ecological integrity of remnant habitat, and K2C's existing network of protected areas.

Human Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes: An Alternative ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Chemical spills and associated deaths in the US has increased 2.6-fold and 16-fold from 1983 to 2012, respectfully. In addition, the number of chemicals to which humans are exposed to in the environment has increased almost 10-fold from 2001 to 2013 within the US. Internationally, a WHO report on the global composite impact of chemicals on health reported that 16% of the total burden of cardiovascular disease was attributed to environmental chemical exposure with 2.5 million deaths per year. Clearly, the cardiovascular system, at all its various developmental and life stages, represents a critical target organ system that can be adversely affected by existing and emerging chemicals (e.g., engineered nanomaterials) in a variety of environmental media. The ability to assess chemical cardiac risk and safety is critically needed but extremely challenging due to the number and categories of chemicals in commerce, as indicated. This presentation\\session will evaluate the use of adult human stem cell derived cardiomyocytes, and existing platforms, as an alternative model to evaluate environmental chemical cardiac toxicity as well as provide key information for the development of predictive adverse outcomes pathways associated with environmental chemical exposures. (This abstract does not represent EPA policy) Rapid and translatable chemical safety screening models for cardiotoxicity current status for informing regulatory decisions, a workshop sponsored by the Society

When synthetic chemicals degrade in the environment: What are the absolute fate, effects, and potential risks to humans and the ecosystem?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boxall, Alistair; Sinclair, C.; Fenner, Kathrin; Kolpin, Dana W.; Maund, S.

2004-01-01

Although some regulatory schemes require information about the impacts of degradates on human and environmental health, that information does not exist for many compounds (25, 26). Pesticides are the exception. In this article, we bring together the available data to address the environmental behavior of degradates and their effects on organisms and discuss how to identify substances of potential concern. In addition, we cite gaps in the current knowledge and make recommendations for future research requirements. While the article focuses on pesticides, we believe these observations can be extended to biologically active compounds and some industrial substances.

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

N /A

The ''National Environmental Policy Act of 1969'' (NEPA) requires Federal agency officials to consider the environmental consequences of their proposed actions before decisions are made. In complying with NEPA, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) follows the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR 1021). The purpose of an Environmental Assessment (EA) is to provide Federal decision makers with sufficient evidence and analysis to determine whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or issue a Finding of No Significant Impact. In this case, themore » DOE decision to be made is whether to construct and operate a 19.5-mile (mi) (31-kilometer [km]) electric transmission line (power line) reaching from the Norton Substation, west across the Rio Grande, to locations within the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Technical Areas (TAs) 3 and 5 at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The construction of one electric substation at LANL would be included in the project as would the construction of two line segments less than 1,200 feet (ft) (366 meters [m]) long that would allow for the uncrossing of a portion of two existing power lines. Additionally, a fiber optics communications line would be included and installed concurrently as part of the required overhead ground conductor for the power line. The new power line would improve the reliability of electric service in the LANL and Los Aktrnos County areas as would the uncrossing of the crossed segments of the existing lines. Additionally, installation of the new power line would enable the LANL and the Los Alamos County electric grid, which is a shared resource, to be adapted to accommodate the future import of increased power when additional power service becomes available in the northern New Mexico area. Similarly, the fiber optics line would allow DOE to take advantage of future opportunities in enhanced communications services. The objectives of this EA are to (1) describe the baseline environmental conditions at the proposed power line location, (2) analyze the potential effects to the existing environment from construction, operation, and maintenance of a new power line, and (3) compare the effects of the Proposed Action and the four action alternatives to the No Action Alternative. In addition, the EA provides DOE with environmental information that could be used in developing mitigative actions to minimize or avoid adverse effects to the integrity of the human environment and natural ecosystems should DOE decide to proceed with construction and operation of the new power line. Ultimately, the goal of NEPA and this EA is to aid DOE officials in making decisions based on understanding the environmental consequences of their decision.« less

Estimating the Environmental Costs of Africa's Massive "Development Corridors".

PubMed

Laurance, William F; Sloan, Sean; Weng, Lingfei; Sayer, Jeffrey A

2015-12-21

In sub-Saharan Africa, dozens of major "development corridors" have been proposed or are being created to increase agricultural production [1-4], mineral exports [5-7], and economic integration. The corridors involve large-scale expansion of infrastructure such as roads, railroads, pipelines, and port facilities and will open up extensive areas of land to new environmental pressures [1, 4, 8]. We assessed the potential environmental impacts of 33 planned or existing corridors that, if completed, would total over 53,000 km in length and crisscross much of the African continent. We mapped each corridor and estimated human occupancy (using the distribution of persistent night-lights) and environmental values (endangered and endemic vertebrates, plant diversity, critical habitats, carbon storage, and climate-regulation services) inside a 50-km-wide band overlaid onto each corridor. We also assessed the potential for each corridor to facilitate increases in agricultural production. The corridors varied considerably in their environmental values, and many were only sparsely populated. Because of marginal soils or climates, some corridors appear to have only modest agricultural potential. Collectively, the corridors would bisect over 400 existing protected areas and could degrade a further ~1,800 by promoting habitat disruption near or inside the reserves. We conclude that many of the development corridors will promote serious and largely irreversible environmental changes and should proceed only if rigorous mitigation and protection measures can be employed. Some planned corridors with high environmental values and limited agricultural benefits should possibly be cancelled altogether. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hanford science and technology needs statements, 2000

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

BERLIN, G.T.

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

Hanford science and technology needs statements, 1999

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

Berlin, G.T.

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

Environmental Policy of Mangroves Management in Rembang Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roziqin, Ali

2018-02-01

Mangrove area is an area overgrown mangrove in a natural or artificial, to maintain the environmental sustainability of coastal areas. In addition to maintaining the ecosystem of biodiversity, the mangrove area also has a role to social-economic, and socio-cultural. Rembang regency is one of the districts on the north coast of Java which has a large mangrove area. However, due to the high economic activity in the region of Rembang Regency, the mangrove area becomes less and damaged. This research to describe how environmental policy to manage mangrove area in Rembang regency with qualitative descriptive approach. The result is the role of government and society gradually able to restore mangrove ecosystem. Moreover the district government through Environmental Agency has made a masterplan for the development of mangrove ecotourism in Pasarbanggi Village. The existence of sustainable mangrove conservation has a positive impact on the environment and society.

Environmental Assessment for the Warren Station externally fired combined cycle demonstration project

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

NONE

1995-04-01

The proposed Penelec project is one of 5 projects for potential funding under the fifth solicitation under the Clean Coal Technology program. In Penelec, two existing boilers would be replaced at Warren Station, PA; the new unit would produce 73 MW(e) in a combined cycle mode (using both gas-fired and steam turbines). The project would fill the need for a full utility-size demonstration of externally fire combined cycle (EFCC) technology as the next step toward commercialization. This environmental assessment was prepared for compliance with NEPA; its purpose is to provide sufficient basis for determining whether to prepare an environmental impactmore » statement or to issue a finding of no significant impact. It is divided into the sections: purpose and need for proposed action; alternatives; brief description of affected environment; environmental consequences, including discussion of commercial operation beyond the demonstration period.« less

Life cycle assessment as development and decision support tool for wastewater resource recovery technology.

PubMed

Fang, Linda L; Valverde-Pérez, Borja; Damgaard, Anders; Plósz, Benedek Gy; Rygaard, Martin

2016-01-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly used in the field of wastewater treatment where the focus has been to identify environmental trade-offs of current technologies. In a novel approach, we use LCA to support early stage research and development of a biochemical system for wastewater resource recovery. The freshwater and nutrient content of wastewater are recognized as potential valuable resources that can be recovered for beneficial reuse. Both recovery and reuse are intended to address existing environmental concerns, for example, water scarcity and use of non-renewable phosphorus. However, the resource recovery may come at the cost of unintended environmental impacts. One promising recovery system, referred to as TRENS, consists of an enhanced biological phosphorus removal and recovery system (EBP2R) connected to a photobioreactor. Based on a simulation of a full-scale nutrient and water recovery system in its potential operating environment, we assess the potential environmental impacts of such a system using the EASETECH model. In the simulation, recovered water and nutrients are used in scenarios of agricultural irrigation-fertilization and aquifer recharge. In these scenarios, TRENS reduces global warming up to 15% and marine eutrophication impacts up to 9% compared to conventional treatment. This is due to the recovery and reuse of nutrient resources, primarily nitrogen. The key environmental concerns obtained through the LCA are linked to increased human toxicity impacts from the chosen end use of wastewater recovery products. The toxicity impacts are from both heavy metals release associated with land application of recovered nutrients and production of AlCl3, which is required for advanced wastewater treatment prior to aquifer recharge. Perturbation analysis of the LCA pinpointed nutrient substitution and heavy metals content of algae biofertilizer as critical areas for further research if the performance of nutrient recovery systems such as TRENS is to be better characterized. Our study provides valuable feedback to the TRENS developers and identifies the importance of system expansion to include impacts outside the immediate nutrient recovery system itself. The study also show for the first time the successful evaluation of urban-to-agricultural water systems in EASETECH. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

77 FR 17038 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-23

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/ Overseas Environmental Impact Statement for Military Readiness Activities in the Northwest... development of an Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement for the Northwest...

46 CFR 504.7 - Environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Environmental impact statements. 504.7 Section 504.7... POLICY ANALYSIS § 504.7 Environmental impact statements. (a) General. (1) An environmental impact... environmental impact statements. (1) A draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) will initially be prepared in...

The impact of biotechnology on agricultural worker safety and health.

PubMed

Shutske, J M; Jenkins, S M

2002-08-01

Biotechnology applications such as the use and production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been widely promoted, adopted, and employed by agricultural producers throughout the world. Yet, little research exists that examines the implications of agricultural biotechnology on the health and safety of workers involved in agricultural production and processing. Regulatory frameworks do exist to examine key issues related to food safety and environmental protection in GMO applications. However, based on the lack of research and regulatory oversight, it would appear that the potential impact on the safety and health of workers is of limited interest. This article examines some of the known worker health and safety implications related to the use and production of GMOs using the host, agent, and environment framework. The characteristics of employers, workers, inputs, production practices, and socio-economic environments in which future agricultural workers perform various tasks is likely to change based on the research summarized here.

Environmental assessment for the proposed construction and operation of a Genome Sequencing Facility in Building 64 at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California

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

NONE

1995-04-01

This document is an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed project to modify 14,900 square feet of an existing building (Building 64) at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) to operate as a Genome Sequencing Facility. This EA addresses the potential environmental impacts from the proposed modifications to Building 64 and operation of the Genome Sequencing Facility. The proposed action is to modify Building 64 to provide space and equipment allowing LBL to demonstrate that the Directed DNA Sequencing Strategy can be scaled up from the current level of 750,000 base pairs per year to a facility that produces over 6,000,000 basemore » pairs per year, while still retaining its efficiency.« less

RESEARCH: Conceptualizing Environmental Stress: A Stress-Response Model of Coastal Sandy Barriers.

PubMed

Gabriel; Kreutzwiser

2000-01-01

/ The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a conceptual framework of environmental stress-response for a geomorphic system. Constructs and methods generated from the literature were applied in the development of an integrative stress-response framework using existing environmental assessment techniques: interaction matrices and a systems diagram. Emphasis is on the interaction between environmental stress and the geomorphic environment of a sandy barrier system. The model illustrates a number of stress concepts pertinent to modeling environmental stress-response, including those related to stress-dependency, frequency-recovery relationships, environmental heterogeneity, spatial hierarchies and linkages, and temporal change. Sandy barrier stress-response and recovery are greatly impacted by fluctuating water levels, stress intensity and frequency, as well as environmental gradients such as differences in sediment storage and supply. Aspects of these stress-response variables are articulated in terms of three main challenges to management: dynamic stability, spatial integrity, and temporal variability. These in turn form the framework for evaluative principles that may be applied to assess how policies and management practices reflect key biophysical processes and human stresses identified by the model.

Sustainability Action Planning and Initiatives at Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

Energy and water security/ independence; sustain leadership • Compliance and environmental stewardship (cannot impact training mission...reduction, with efforts underway and cogeneration opportunities 18.3% of energy consumed by facilities is produced or procured from renewable...payback timeframes of ɠ years on existing cogeneration plant and ɛ years on new cogeneration plant Renewable Energy • In FY2010, approximately 6.2% of

Risk Scan: A Review of Risk Assessment Capability and Maturity within the Canadian Safety and Security Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

SCADA / ICS Cyber Test Lab initiated in 2013 Psychosocial – academic research exists,; opportunity for sharing and developing impact assessment...ecosystems and species at risk), accidents / system failure (rail; pipelines ; ferries CSSP strategy for the North Focus on regional l(and local) problem...Guidance; business planning; environmental scan; proposal evaluation; and performance measurement Program Risk Management – Guidelines for project

78 FR 29120 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Main Operating Base 2 (MOB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-17

... Operating Base 2 (MOB-2) for the Beddown of KC-46A Tanker Aircraft AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DOD... Operating Base 2 (MOB-2) for the beddown of KC-46A tanker aircraft. The EIS will assess the potential... infrastructure, and personnel in support of the MOB-2 at existing Air National Guard (ANG) installations within...

78 FR 40128 - Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Reaches 8, 9...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-03

... to R-134+135. The Town proposes to place approximately 74,300 cubic yards of beach quality sand in... beach quality sand is proposed to be placed between R-134+135 and R-135+551 to elevate the existing berm... and dune restoration projects between R-128+955 and R-138+551 with sand placement and the construction...

Feasibility Report and Final Environmental Impact Statement, Wisconsin River at Portage, Wisconsin, Feasibility Study for Flood Control. Appendixes.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

therefore, any possible changes in floodplain regulation would be independent of project implementation. The existing regulation affects properties...to 0.4. Based on engineering experience there is a tendency toward independence as tributary drainage area size decreases. Frequency-discharge...stages on the Wisconsin River. Similarly the storage areas are analyzed as independent syste,, o thereby, reduction in flood elevations (routing) and

Ecology of eelgrass meadows of the Atlantic Coast: a community profile

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

Thayer, G.W.; Kenworthy, W.J.; Fonseca, M.S.

1984-07-01

Eelgrass, Zostera marina, dominates the ecologically important but fragile seagrass communities along the east coast of the United States from North Carolina to Nova Scotia. Grasslike leaves and an extensive root and rhizome system enable eelgrass to exist in a shallow aquatic environment subject to waves, tides, and shifting sediments. Eelgrass meadows are highly productive, frequently rivaling agricultural croplands. They provide shelter and a rich variety of primary and secondary food resources, and form a nursery habitat for the life history stages of numerous fishery organisms. The leaves absorb and release nutrients, provide surfaces for attachment, reduce water current velocity,more » turbulence and scour, and promote accumulation of detritus. Rhizomes provide protection for benthic infauna and enhance sediment stability. Roots absorb and release nutrients to interstitial waters. Because of their shallow, subtidal existence, seagrasses are susceptible to perturbations of both the water column and sediments. Eelgrass meadows are impacted by dredging and filling, some commercial fishery harvest techniques, modification of normal temperature and salinity regimes, and addition of chemical wastes. Techniques have been developed to successfully restore eelgrass habitats, but a holistic approach to planning research and environmentally-related decisions is needed to avoid cumulative environmental impacts on these vital nursery areas. 64 figures, 16 tables.« less

The Interconnectedness of Water and Health: Translating Science Into Public Health-driven Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lichtveld, M.

2017-12-01

Louisiana and other U.S. Gulf Coast communities' unique vulnerability stems from three interconnected stressors they face: historic health disparities, persistent environmental stressors, and a geography prone to both natural and technological disasters. The health of the ecosystem is inextricably linked to that of humans. Specifically, water presents both a central asset and an intransigent environmental health threat. Waterborne illnesses associated with infectious organisms, chemical contaminants, coastal erosion, natural and technological disasters such as hurricanes and oil spills, as well as climate change-associated sea level rise and dead zones, all can negatively impact human health. Existing water-related policies at the federal, state, and local levels have failed to effectively protect the health of communities and their environment to date. For example, despite the existence of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, oil spills and drinking water contamination continue to pose significant threats to communities' health and wellbeing. This presentation will examine water-related threats to Gulf Coast communities and their ecosystem. Emphasis will be placed on key examples of policy failure and the impact such failures. A public health-driven framework will demonstrate how science can inform evidence- based policy and in turn prevention-driven public health practice.

Comparison of Health Impact of Air Pollution Between China and Other Countries.

PubMed

Tian, Linwei; Sun, Shengzhi

2017-01-01

Air pollution is the world's largest single environmental risk according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which caused around seven million deaths in 2012. Extensive epidemiological studies have been carried out worldwide to examine the health impacts of ambient air pollution, consistently demonstrating significant health impacts of ambient air pollution. Air pollution problem in China is especially serious; it has become the fourth biggest threat to the health of the Chinese people. In this review, we summarized existing literature, compared health impact of air pollution between China and other countries, and found substantial heterogeneity in the risk estimates of air pollution. The effect heterogeneities may be due to the differences in the characteristics of populations (e.g., the proportion of the elder population and people with preexisting diseases), exposure profile (e.g., air pollution concentrations and composition), and regional climate. Although the magnitude of relative risk estimates of air pollution is generally similar with that in other parts of the world, air pollution is one of China's most serious environmental health problems given the huge number of people exposed to high concentration levels of air pollution in China.

Policy interactions and underperforming emission trading markets in China.

PubMed

Zhang, Bing; Zhang, Hui; Liu, Beibei; Bi, Jun

2013-07-02

Emission trading is considered to be cost-effective environmental economic instrument for pollution control. However, the ex post analysis of emission trading program found that cost savings have been smaller and the trades fewer than might have been expected at the outset of the program. Besides policy design issues, pre-existing environmental regulations were considered to have a significant impact on the performance of the emission trading market in China. Taking the Jiangsu sulfur dioxide (SO2) market as a case study, this research examined the impact of policy interactions on the performance of the emission trading market. The results showed that cost savings associated with the Jiangsu SO2 emission trading market in the absence of any policy interactions were CNY 549 million or 12.5% of total pollution control costs. However, policy interactions generally had significant impacts on the emission trading system; the lone exception was current pollution levy system. When the model accounted for all four kinds of policy interactions, the total pollution control cost savings from the emission trading market fell to CNY 39.7 million or 1.36% of total pollution control costs. The impact of policy interactions would reduce 92.8% of cost savings brought by emission trading program.

Deep-sea benthic community and environmental impact assessment at the Atlantic Frontier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gage, John D.

2001-05-01

The seabed community provides a sensitive litmus for environmental change. North Sea analysis of benthic populations provides an effective means for monitoring impacts from man's interventions, such as offshore oil exploitation and fishing, against baseline knowledge of the environment. Comparable knowledge of the benthic biology in the deep waters of the Atlantic Frontier beyond the N.E. Atlantic shelf edge is poorly developed. But uncertainties should not encourage assumptions and extrapolations from the better-known conditions on the continental shelf. While sampling at present still provides the best means to assess the health of the deepwater benthic habitat, protocols developed for deep-sea fauna should be applied. These are necessary because of (a) lower faunal densities, (b) higher species richness, (c) smaller body size, and (d) to ensure comparability with other deep-sea data. As in the North Sea, species richness and relative abundance can be analysed from quantitative samples in order to detect impacts. But analysis based on taxonomic sufficiency above species level is premature, even if arguably possible for coastal communities. Measures also need to ensure identifications are not forced to more familiar coastal species without proper study. Species-level analysis may be applied to seabed photographs of megafauna in relation to data on bottom environment, such as currents and the sediment, to monitor the health of the deep-water community. Although the composition of higher taxa in the benthic community is broadly similar to soft sediments on the shelf, concordance in sensitivities is speculative. Moreover, new organisms occur, such as giant protozoan xenophyophores, unknown on the continental shelf, whose sensitivities remain conjectural. Past knowledge of the benthic biology of the deep-water areas off Scotland is based on scattered stations and some more focussed, multidisciplinary studies, and should be significantly augmented by the results from the oil industry-funded Atlantic Margin Environmental Study cruises in 1996 and 1998. A predominantly depth-related pattern in variability applies here as found elsewhere in the deep ocean, and just sufficient knowledge-based predictive power exists to make comprehensive, high-resolution grid surveys unnecessary for the purpose of broad-scale environmental assessment. But new, small-scale site surveys remain necessary because of local-scale variability. Site survey should be undertaken in the context of existing knowledge of the deep sea in the UK area of the Atlantic Frontier and beyond, and can itself usefully be structured as tests of a projection from the regional scale to reduce sampling effort. It is to the benefit of all stakeholders that environmental assessment aspires to the highest scientific standards and contributes meaningfully to context knowledge. By doing so it will reduce uncertainties in future impact assessments and hence contribute usefully to environmental risk management.

Lead intoxicated children in Kabwe, Zambia.

PubMed

Bose-O'Reilly, Stephan; Yabe, John; Makumba, Joseph; Schutzmeier, Paul; Ericson, Bret; Caravanos, Jack

2017-10-28

Kabwe is a lead contaminated mining town in Zambia. Kabwe has extensive lead contaminated soil and children in Kabwe ingest and inhale high quantities of this toxic dust. The aim of this paper is to analyze the health impact of this exposure for children. Health data from three existing studies were re-analyzed. Over 95% of children living in the most affected townships had high blood lead levels (BLLs) > 10µg/dL. Approximately 50% of those children had BLLs ≥ 45µg/dL. The existing data clearly establishes the presence of a severe environmental health crisis in Kabwe which warrants immediate attention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Poultry litter incineration as a source of energy: reviewing the potential for impacts on environmental health and justice.

PubMed

Stingone, Jeanette A; Wing, Steve

2011-01-01

Legislation in North Carolina has mandated obtaining renewable energy from the incineration of poultry waste, resulting in proposals for three poultry-litter-fueled power plants statewide. This article summarizes environmental health and environmental justice issues associated with incineration of poultry waste for the generation of electric power. Emissions from poultry waste incineration include particulate matter, dioxins, arsenic, bioaerosols and other toxins; various components are associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory illness, and other diseases. Industrial farm animal production tends to be concentrated in low-income, rural communities, where residents may be more vulnerable to air pollutants due to pre-existing diseases, other exposures and stressors, and poor access to medical services. These communities lack the political clout to prevent citing of polluting facilities or to pressure industry and government to follow and enforce regulations. Policies intended to reduce reliance on fossil fuels have the potential to increase environmental injustices and threats to environmental health.

Technological and life cycle assessment of organics processing odour control technologies.

PubMed

Bindra, Navin; Dubey, Brajesh; Dutta, Animesh

2015-09-15

As more municipalities and communities across developed world look towards implementing organic waste management programmes or upgrading existing ones, composting facilities are emerging as a popular choice. However, odour from these facilities continues to be one of the most important concerns in terms of cost & effective mitigation. This paper provides a technological and life cycle assessment of some of the different odour control technologies and treatment methods that can be implemented in organics processing facilities. The technological assessment compared biofilters, packed tower wet scrubbers, fine mist wet scrubbers, activated carbon adsorption, thermal oxidization, oxidization chemicals and masking agents. The technologies/treatment methods were evaluated and compared based on a variety of operational, usage and cost parameters. Based on the technological assessment it was found that, biofilters and packed bed wet scrubbers are the most applicable odour control technologies for use in organics processing faculties. A life cycle assessment was then done to compare the environmental impacts of the packed-bed wet scrubber system, organic (wood-chip media) bio-filter and inorganic (synthetic media) bio-filter systems. Twelve impact categories were assessed; cumulative energy demand (CED), climate change, human toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, metal depletion, fossil depletion, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, terrestrial eco-toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity and marine eco-toxicity. The results showed that for all impact categories the synthetic media biofilter had the highest environmental impact, followed by the wood chip media bio-filter system. The packed-bed system had the lowest environmental impact for all categories. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling the impact of transport energy consumption on CO2 emission in Pakistan: Evidence from ARDL approach.

PubMed

Danish; Baloch, Muhammad Awais; Suad, Shah

2018-04-01

The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between transport energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emission (CO 2 ) from transport sector incorporating foreign direct investment and urbanization. This study is carried out in Pakistan by applying autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM) over 1990-2015. The empirical results indicate a strong significant impact of transport energy consumption on CO 2 emissions from the transportation sector. Furthermore, foreign direct investment also contributes to CO 2 emission. Interestingly, the impact of economic growth and urbanization on transport CO 2 emission is statistically insignificant. Overall, transport energy consumption and foreign direct investment are not environmentally friendly. The new empirical evidence from this study provides a complete picture of the determinants of emissions from the transport sector and these novel findings not only help to advance the existing literature but also can be of special interest to the country's policymakers. So, we urge that government needs to focus on promoting the energy efficient means of transportation to improve environmental quality with less adverse influence on economic growth.

40 CFR 227.4 - Criteria for evaluating environmental impact.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... impact. 227.4 Section 227.4 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN... Impact § 227.4 Criteria for evaluating environmental impact. This subpart B sets specific environmental... of direct environmental impact. ...

10 CFR 51.74 - Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact statement; news releases. 51.74 Section 51.74 Energy NUCLEAR... environmental impact statement; news releases. (a) A copy of the draft environmental impact statement will be...

10 CFR 51.74 - Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact statement; news releases. 51.74 Section 51.74 Energy NUCLEAR... environmental impact statement; news releases. (a) A copy of the draft environmental impact statement will be...

10 CFR 51.74 - Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact statement; news releases. 51.74 Section 51.74 Energy NUCLEAR... environmental impact statement; news releases. (a) A copy of the draft environmental impact statement will be...

10 CFR 51.74 - Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact statement; news releases. 51.74 Section 51.74 Energy NUCLEAR... environmental impact statement; news releases. (a) A copy of the draft environmental impact statement will be...

10 CFR 51.74 - Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Distribution of draft environmental impact statement and supplement to draft environmental impact statement; news releases. 51.74 Section 51.74 Energy NUCLEAR... environmental impact statement; news releases. (a) A copy of the draft environmental impact statement will be...

Building a comprehensive mill-level database for the Industrial Sectors Integrated Solutions (ISIS) model of the U.S. pulp and paper sector.

PubMed

Modak, Nabanita; Spence, Kelley; Sood, Saloni; Rosati, Jacky Ann

2015-01-01

Air emissions from the U.S. pulp and paper sector have been federally regulated since 1978; however, regulations are periodically reviewed and revised to improve efficiency and effectiveness of existing emission standards. The Industrial Sectors Integrated Solutions (ISIS) model for the pulp and paper sector is currently under development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and can be utilized to facilitate multi-pollutant, sector-based analyses that are performed in conjunction with regulatory development. The model utilizes a multi-sector, multi-product dynamic linear modeling framework that evaluates the economic impact of emission reduction strategies for multiple air pollutants. The ISIS model considers facility-level economic, environmental, and technical parameters, as well as sector-level market data, to estimate the impacts of environmental regulations on the pulp and paper industry. Specifically, the model can be used to estimate U.S. and global market impacts of new or more stringent air regulations, such as impacts on product price, exports and imports, market demands, capital investment, and mill closures. One major challenge to developing a representative model is the need for an extensive amount of data. This article discusses the collection and processing of data for use in the model, as well as the methods used for building the ISIS pulp and paper database that facilitates the required analyses to support the air quality management of the pulp and paper sector.

Environmental tipping points significantly affect the cost-benefit assessment of climate policies.

PubMed

Cai, Yongyang; Judd, Kenneth L; Lenton, Timothy M; Lontzek, Thomas S; Narita, Daiju

2015-04-14

Most current cost-benefit analyses of climate change policies suggest an optimal global climate policy that is significantly less stringent than the level required to meet the internationally agreed 2 °C target. This is partly because the sum of estimated economic damage of climate change across various sectors, such as energy use and changes in agricultural production, results in only a small economic loss or even a small economic gain in the gross world product under predicted levels of climate change. However, those cost-benefit analyses rarely take account of environmental tipping points leading to abrupt and irreversible impacts on market and nonmarket goods and services, including those provided by the climate and by ecosystems. Here we show that including environmental tipping point impacts in a stochastic dynamic integrated assessment model profoundly alters cost-benefit assessment of global climate policy. The risk of a tipping point, even if it only has nonmarket impacts, could substantially increase the present optimal carbon tax. For example, a risk of only 5% loss in nonmarket goods that occurs with a 5% annual probability at 4 °C increase of the global surface temperature causes an immediate two-thirds increase in optimal carbon tax. If the tipping point also has a 5% impact on market goods, the optimal carbon tax increases by more than a factor of 3. Hence existing cost-benefit assessments of global climate policy may be significantly underestimating the needs for controlling climate change.

Environmental tipping points significantly affect the cost−benefit assessment of climate policies

PubMed Central

Cai, Yongyang; Judd, Kenneth L.; Lenton, Timothy M.; Lontzek, Thomas S.; Narita, Daiju

2015-01-01

Most current cost−benefit analyses of climate change policies suggest an optimal global climate policy that is significantly less stringent than the level required to meet the internationally agreed 2 °C target. This is partly because the sum of estimated economic damage of climate change across various sectors, such as energy use and changes in agricultural production, results in only a small economic loss or even a small economic gain in the gross world product under predicted levels of climate change. However, those cost−benefit analyses rarely take account of environmental tipping points leading to abrupt and irreversible impacts on market and nonmarket goods and services, including those provided by the climate and by ecosystems. Here we show that including environmental tipping point impacts in a stochastic dynamic integrated assessment model profoundly alters cost−benefit assessment of global climate policy. The risk of a tipping point, even if it only has nonmarket impacts, could substantially increase the present optimal carbon tax. For example, a risk of only 5% loss in nonmarket goods that occurs with a 5% annual probability at 4 °C increase of the global surface temperature causes an immediate two-thirds increase in optimal carbon tax. If the tipping point also has a 5% impact on market goods, the optimal carbon tax increases by more than a factor of 3. Hence existing cost−benefit assessments of global climate policy may be significantly underestimating the needs for controlling climate change. PMID:25825719

Building a Comprehensive Mill-Level Database for the Industrial Sectors Integrated Solutions (ISIS) Model of the U.S. Pulp and Paper Sector

PubMed Central

Modak, Nabanita; Spence, Kelley; Sood, Saloni; Rosati, Jacky Ann

2015-01-01

Air emissions from the U.S. pulp and paper sector have been federally regulated since 1978; however, regulations are periodically reviewed and revised to improve efficiency and effectiveness of existing emission standards. The Industrial Sectors Integrated Solutions (ISIS) model for the pulp and paper sector is currently under development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and can be utilized to facilitate multi-pollutant, sector-based analyses that are performed in conjunction with regulatory development. The model utilizes a multi-sector, multi-product dynamic linear modeling framework that evaluates the economic impact of emission reduction strategies for multiple air pollutants. The ISIS model considers facility-level economic, environmental, and technical parameters, as well as sector-level market data, to estimate the impacts of environmental regulations on the pulp and paper industry. Specifically, the model can be used to estimate U.S. and global market impacts of new or more stringent air regulations, such as impacts on product price, exports and imports, market demands, capital investment, and mill closures. One major challenge to developing a representative model is the need for an extensive amount of data. This article discusses the collection and processing of data for use in the model, as well as the methods used for building the ISIS pulp and paper database that facilitates the required analyses to support the air quality management of the pulp and paper sector. PMID:25806516

43 CFR 46.400 - Timing of environmental impact statement development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Timing of environmental impact statement... IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969 Environmental Impact Statements § 46.400 Timing of environmental impact statement development. The bureau must prepare an environmental impact...

Severe environmental effects of Chicxulub impact imply key role in end-Cretaceous mass extinction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brugger, Julia; Feulner, Georg; Petri, Stefan

2017-04-01

66 million years ago, during the most recent of the five severe mass extinctions in Earth's history, non-avian dinosaurs and many other organisms became extinct. The cause of this end-Cretaceous mass extinction is seen in either flood-basalt eruptions or an asteroid impact. Modeling the climatic changes after the Chicxulub asteroid impact allow to assess its contribution to the extinction event and to analyze the short-term and long-term response of the climate and the biosphere to the impact. Existing studies either investigated the effect of dust, which is now believed to play a minor role, or used one-dimensional, non-coupled models. In contrast, we use a coupled climate model to explore the longer lasting cooling due to sulfate aerosols. Based on data from geophysical impact modeling, we set up simulations with different stratospheric residence times for sulfate aerosols. Depending on this residence time, global surface air temperature decreased by at least 26°C, with 3 to 16 years subfreezing temperatures and a recovery time larger than 30 years. Vigorous ocean mixing, caused by the fast cooling of the surface ocean, might have perturbed marine ecosystems by the upwelling of nutrients. The dramatic climatic changes seen in our simulations imply severe environmental effects and therefore a significant contribution of the impact in the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

10 CFR 51.29 - Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to environmental impact statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to environmental impact statement. 51.29 Section 51.29 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED... Environmental Policy Act-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) Scoping § 51.29 Scoping-environmental impact...

24 CFR 58.60 - Preparation and filing of environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... environmental impact statements. 58.60 Section 58.60 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary... Environmental Impact Statements § 58.60 Preparation and filing of environmental impact statements. (a) The responsible entity must prepare the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and the final environmental...

23 CFR 771.125 - Final environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Final environmental impact statements. 771.125 Section... ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND RELATED PROCEDURES § 771.125 Final environmental impact statements. (a)(1..., economic, or environmental impacts of the action may need to be more fully explored; (iii) the impacts of...

Stakeholder participation within the public environmental system in Chile: major gaps between theory and practice.

PubMed

Lostarnau, Carla; Oyarzún, Jorge; Maturana, Hugo; Soto, Guido; Señoret, Michelle; Soto, Manuel; Rötting, Tobias S; Amezaga, Jaime M; Oyarzún, Ricardo

2011-10-01

The main objective of this paper is to present a critical analysis of the stakeholder participation process within the Environmental Impact Assessment System in Chile, after ca. 14 years of being enforced. This analysis is sustained by the description and analysis of the stakeholder participation possibilities in a representative rural area of North-Central Chile. The Environmental Basis Act 19300, enacted in 1994, considers the participation of the local community in the environmental impact assessment of new projects. However, this possibility is very limited and difficult to exert, often resulting in frustration for the participants. This is due to a number of reasons, such as the imbalance of resources and knowledge among the majority of participating communities and project proponents, the complexity and administrative and legal constraints to participation, and the dominant interest of the Central Government in approving investments, specifically in energy and natural resources related projects, which generate wealth and jobs. Also, the State's rush to develop Internet-based communication and management systems has built a barrier for poor, traditional communities. This factor is clearly reflected in the case study considered. Results show that there is generally a significant lack of knowledge about institutions and participation tools. From this base, we intend to raise concern on these selected aspects that could be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the existing framework, both in Chile and in other developing countries, where immature environmental impact assessment and public management systems face similar pressures in relation to the sustainable use of their natural resources. Finally, some basic steps are proposed in order to make the community participation an effective tool for sustainable development. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information requirements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's safety, environmental health, and occupational medicine programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whyte, A. A.

1978-01-01

A survey of the internal and external reporting and recordkeeping procedures of these programs was conducted and the major problems associated with them are outlined. The impact of probable future requirements on existing information systems is evaluated. This report also presents the benefits of combining the safety and health information systems into one computerized system and recommendations for the development and scope of that system.

Analysis of the Impacts of the Clean Power Plan

EIA Publications

2015-01-01

This report responds to an August 2014 request to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) from Representative Lamar Smith, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for an analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan under which states would be required to develop plans to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rates from existing fossil-fired electricity generating units.

Final Environmental Impact Statement for Oil Refinery, Georgetown, South Carolina. Volume 2.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-09-01

at gauging and pumping stations. _adio and telephone communication exists between gaugers and pumping stations or vessels. 2. Describe secondary...thickness gauging . 4. Internal heatingO coil leakage is controlled by one or more of the following control factors: (a) M onitoring the steam return...behavior of sediment and oil emulsions. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 47(2):671-677. Beam, H.W., South Carolina Coastal Council. [Letter to J.E. Jenkins

A Teacher's Guide for the Environmental Impact of Electrical Power Generation: Nuclear and Fossil. A Minicourse for Secondary Schools and Adult Education. Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDermott, John J., Ed.

According to this guide, the major goal of this minicourse, developed for secondary and adult education, is to have the student gather pertinent information relative to the generation of electrical energy and to draw his own conclusions concerning the need for this energy supply. If in his mind such a need exists, he should make a judgment as to…

Carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, energy use, and urbanization in Saudi Arabia: evidence from the ARDL approach and impulse saturation break tests.

PubMed

Raggad, Bechir

2018-05-01

This study investigates the existence of long-run relationship between CO 2 emissions, economic growth, energy use, and urbanization in Saudi Arabia over the period 1971-2014. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach with structural breaks, where structural breaks are identified with the recently impulse saturation break tests, is applied to conduct the analysis. The bounds test result supports the existence of long-run relationship among the variables. The existence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis has also been tested. The results reveal the non-validity of the EKC hypothesis for Saudi Arabia as the relationship between GDP and pollution is positive in both the short and the long run. Moreover, energy use increases pollution both in short and long run in the country. On the contrary, the results show a negative and significant impact of urbanization on carbon emissions in Saudi Arabia, which means that urban development is not an obstacle to the improvement of environmental quality. Consequently, policy-makers in Saudi Arabia should consider the efficiency enhancement, frugality in energy consumption, and especially increase the share of renewable energies in the total energy mix.

Five potential consequences of climate change for invasive species.

PubMed

Hellmann, Jessica J; Byers, James E; Bierwagen, Britta G; Dukes, Jeffrey S

2008-06-01

Scientific and societal unknowns make it difficult to predict how global environmental changes such as climate change and biological invasions will affect ecological systems. In the long term, these changes may have interacting effects and compound the uncertainty associated with each individual driver. Nonetheless, invasive species are likely to respond in ways that should be qualitatively predictable, and some of these responses will be distinct from those of native counterparts. We used the stages of invasion known as the "invasion pathway" to identify 5 nonexclusive consequences of climate change for invasive species: (1) altered transport and introduction mechanisms, (2) establishment of new invasive species, (3) altered impact of existing invasive species, (4) altered distribution of existing invasive species, and (5) altered effectiveness of control strategies. We then used these consequences to identify testable hypotheses about the responses of invasive species to climate change and provide suggestions for invasive-species management plans. The 5 consequences also emphasize the need for enhanced environmental monitoring and expanded coordination among entities involved in invasive-species management.

A Network Approach to Environmental Impact in Psychotic Disorder: Brief Theoretical Framework.

PubMed

Isvoranu, Adela-Maria; Borsboom, Denny; van Os, Jim; Guloksuz, Sinan

2016-07-01

The spectrum of psychotic disorder represents a multifactorial and heterogeneous condition and is thought to result from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. In the current paper, we analyze this interplay using network analysis, which has been recently proposed as a novel psychometric framework for the study of mental disorders. Using general population data, we construct network models for the relation between 3 environmental risk factors (cannabis use, developmental trauma, and urban environment), dimensional measures of psychopathology (anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobic anxiety, somatizations, and hostility), and a composite measure of psychosis expression. Results indicate the existence of specific paths between environmental factors and symptoms. These paths most often involve cannabis use. In addition, the analyses suggest that symptom networks are more strongly connected for people exposed to environmental risk factors, implying that environmental exposure may lead to less resilient symptom networks. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Debris Detector Verification by Hvi-Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, Waldemar; Drolshagen, Gerhard; Vörsmann, Peter; Romberg, Oliver; Putzar, Robin

Information regarding Space Debris (SD) or Micrometeoroids (MM) impacting on spacecraft (S/C) or payloads (P/L) can be obtained by using environmental models e.g. MASTER (ESA) or ORDEM (NASA). The validation of such models is performed by comparison of simulated results with measured or orbital observed data. The latter is utilised for large particles and can be obtained from ground based or space based radars or telescopes. Data regarding very small but abundant particles can also be gained by analysis of retrieved hardware (e.g. Hubble Space Telescope, Space Shuttle Windows), which are brought from orbit back to Earth. Furthermore, in-situ impact detectors are an essential source for information on small size meteoroids and space debris. These kind of detectors are placed in orbit and collect impact data regarding SD and MM, sending data near real time via telemetry. Compared to the impact data which is gained by analysis of retrieved surfaces, the detected data comprise additional information regarding exact impact time and, depending on the type of detector, on the orbit and particles composition. Nevertheless, existing detectors have limitations. Since the detection area is small, statistically meaningful number of impacts are obtained for very small particles only. Measurements of particles in the size range of hundreds of microns to mm which are potentially damaging to S/C require larger sensor areas. To make use of the advantages of in-situ impact detectors and to increase the amount of impact data an innovative impact detector concept is currently under development at DLR in Bremen. Different to all previous impact detectors the Solar Generator based Impact Detector (SOLID) is not an add-on component on the S/C. SOLID makes use of existing subsystems of the S/C and adopts them for impact detection purposes. Since the number of impacts on a target in space depends linearly on the exposed area, the S/C solar panels offer a unique opportunity to use them for impact detection. Considering that the SOLID method could be applied to several S/Cs in different orbits, the spatial coverage in space concerning SD and MM can be significantly increased. In this way the method allows to generate large amount of impact data, which can be used for environmental model validation. This paper focuses on the verification of the SOLID method by Hypervelocity Impact (HVI) tests performed at Fraunhofer EMI. The test set-up as well as achieved results are presented and discussed.

Application of a forest-simulation model to assess the energy yield and ecological impact of forest utilization for energy

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

Doyle, T W; Shugart, H H; West, D C

1981-01-01

This study examines the utilization and management of natural forest lands to meet growing wood-energy demands. An application of a forest simulation model is described for assessing energy returns and long-term ecological impacts of wood-energy harvesting under four general silvicultural practices. Results indicate that moderate energy yields could be expected from mild cutting operations which would significantly effect neither the commercial timber market nor the composition, structure, or diversity of these forests. Forest models can provide an effective tool for determining optimal management strategies that maximize energy returns, minimize environmental detriment, and complement existing land-use plans.

10 CFR 51.85 - Draft environmental impact statement-rulemaking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Draft environmental impact statement-rulemaking. 51.85... Implementing Section 102(2) Draft Environmental Impact Statements-Rulemaking § 51.85 Draft environmental impact... Commission has determined to prepare an environmental impact statement. ...

Preliminary assessment of the aquatic impacts of a proposed defense waste processing facility at the Savannah River Plant

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

Mackey, H.E. Jr.

1979-01-01

A review of the literature indicates that a significant body of descriptive information exists concerning the aquatic ecology of Upper Three Runs Creek and Four Mile Creek of the Savannah River Plant south of Aiken, South Carolina. This information is adequate for preparation of an environmental document evaluating these streams. These streams will be impacted by construction and operation of a proposed Defense Waste Processing Facility for solidification of high level defense waste. Potential impacts include (1) construction runoff, erosion, and siltation, (2) effluents from a chemical and industrial waste treatment facility, and (3) radionuclide releases. In order to bettermore » evaluate potential impacts, recommend mitigation methods, and comply with NEPA requirements, additional quantitative biological information should be obtained through implementation of an aquatic baseline program.« less

Impacts of software and its engineering on the carbon footprint of ICT

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

Kern, Eva, E-mail: e.kern@umwelt-campus.de; Dick, Markus, E-mail: sustainablesoftwareblog@gmail.com; Naumann, Stefan, E-mail: s.naumann@umwelt-campus.de

2015-04-15

The energy consumption of information and communication technology (ICT) is still increasing. Even though several solutions regarding the hardware side of Green IT exist, the software contribution to Green IT is not well investigated. The carbon footprint is one way to rate the environmental impacts of ICT. In order to get an impression of the induced CO{sub 2} emissions of software, we will present a calculation method for the carbon footprint of a software product over its life cycle. We also offer an approach on how to integrate some aspects of carbon footprint calculation into software development processes and discussmore » impacts and tools regarding this calculation method. We thus show the relevance of energy measurements and the attention to impacts on the carbon footprint by software within Green Software Engineering.« less

Navigating a sea of values: Understanding public attitudes toward the ocean and ocean energy resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lilley, Jonathan Charles

In examining ocean values and beliefs, this study investigates the moral and ethical aspects of the relationships that exist between humans and the marine environment. In short, this dissertation explores what the American public thinks of the ocean. The study places a specific focus upon attitudes to ocean energy development. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research: elicits mental models that exist in society regarding the ocean; unearths what philosophies underpin people's attitudes toward the ocean and offshore energy development; assesses whether these views have any bearing on pro-environmental behavior; and gauges support for offshore drilling and offshore wind development. Despite the fact that the ocean is frequently ranked as a second-tier environmental issue, Americans are concerned about the state of the marine environment. Additionally, the data show that lack of knowledge, rather than apathy, prevents people from undertaking pro-environmental action. With regard to philosophical beliefs, Americans hold slightly more nonanthropocentric than anthropocentric views toward the environment. Neither anthropocentrism nor nonanthropocentrism has any real impact on pro-environmental behavior, although nonanthropocentric attitudes reduce support for offshore wind. This research also uncovers two gaps between scientific and public perceptions of offshore wind power with respect to: 1) overall environmental effects; and 2) the size of the resource. Providing better information to the public in the first area may lead to a shift toward offshore wind support among opponents with nonanthropocentric attitudes, and in both areas, is likely to increase offshore wind support.

Monitored retrievable storage submission to Congress: Volume 2, Environmental assessment for a monitored retrievable storage facility. [Contains glossary

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

None

1986-02-01

This Environmental Assessment (EA) supports the DOE proposal to Congress to construct and operate a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS) of spent fuel at a site on the Clinch River in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The first part of this document is an assessment of the value of, need for, and feasibility of an MRS facility as an integral component of the waste management system. The second part is an assessment and comparison of the potential environmental impacts projected for each of six site-design combinations. The MRS facility would be centrally located with respect tomore » existing reactors, and would receive and canister spent fuel in preparation for shipment to and disposal in a geologic repository. 207 refs., 57 figs., 132 tabs.« less

The impact of background radiation, illumination and temperature on EMF-induced changes of aqua medium properties.

PubMed

Naira, Baghdasaryan; Yerazik, Mikayelyan; Anna, Nikoghosyan; Sinerik, Ayrapetyan

2013-09-01

The effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF) on physicochemical properties of physiological solution at different environmental media were studied. The existence of frequency "windows" at 4 and 8 Hz frequencies of ELF EMF having effects on heat fusion period, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) formation and oxygen (O2) content of water solution and different dependency on temperature, background radiation and illumination was shown. Obtained data allow us to suggest that EMF-induced effect on water physicochemical properties depends on abovementioned environmental factors. As cell bathing medium is a target for biological effects of ELF EMF, the variability of experimental data on biological effects of EMF, obtained in different laboratories, can be explained by different environmental conditions of experiments, which very often are not considered adequately.

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...

10 CFR 51.94 - Requirement to consider final environmental impact statement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Requirement to consider final environmental impact...-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) Final Environmental Impact Statements-General Requirements § 51.94 Requirement to consider final environmental impact statement. The final environmental impact statement...