Washington wildlife mitigation projects. Final programmatic environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-08-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund the portion of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement (Agreement) pertaining to wildlife habitat mitigation projects to be undertaken in a cooperative effort with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). This Agreement serves to establish a monetary budget funded by BPA for projects proposed by Washington Wildlife Coalition members and approved by BPA to protect, mitigate, and improve wildlife and/or wildlife habitat within the State of Washington that has been affected by the construction of Federal dams along the Columbia River. This Environmental Assessment examines the potential environmental effects of acquiring and/or improving wildlife habitat within five different project areas. These project areas are located throughout Grant County and in parts of Okanogan, Douglas, Adams, Franklin, Kittias, Yakima, and Benton Counties. The multiple projects would involve varying combinations of five proposed site-specific activities (habitat improvement, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, access and recreation management, and cultural resource management). All required Federal, State, and tribal coordination, permits and/or approvals would be obtained prior to ground-disturbing activities

Environmental Responses to Carbon Mitigation through Geological Storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cunningham, Alfred [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States); Bromenshenk, Jerry [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)

2013-08-30

In summary, this DOE EPSCoR project is contributing to the study of carbon mitigation through geological storage. Both deep and shallow subsurface research needs are being addressed through research directed at improved understanding of environmental responses associated with large scale injection of CO₂ into geologic formations. The research plan has two interrelated research objectives. Objective 1: Determine the influence of CO₂-related injection of fluids on pore structure, material properties, and microbial activity in rock cores from potential geological carbon sequestration sites. Objective 2: Determine the Effects of CO₂ leakage on shallow subsurface ecosystems (microbial and plant) using field experiments from an outdoor field testing facility.

Multiple-pollutant cost-effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation measures in the UK agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eory, Vera; Topp, Cairistiona F.E.; Moran, Dominic

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Multiple-pollutant marginal abatement cost curves can inform integrated environmental policy. ► We incorporated the co-effects on NH 3 , NO 3 − , P and sediment, as monetary values, into the UK GHG MACC. ► Adding co-effects modifies the GHG MACC, though with little impact unless using high damage values. ► Further research is needed on the co-effects of GHG mitigation measures and on damage values. ► Analysis should focus on the co-effects of measures that are slightly above or below the threshold. -- Abstract: This paper develops multiple-pollutant marginal abatement cost curve analysis to identify an optimal set of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures considering the trade-offs and synergies with other environmental pollutants. The analysis is applied to UK agriculture, a sector expected to make a contribution to the national GHG mitigation effort. Previous analyses using marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) have determined the sector's GHG abatement potential based on the cost-effectiveness of a variety of technically feasible mitigation measures. Most of these measures have external effects on other pollution loads arising from agricultural activities. Here the monetary values of four of the most important impacts to water and air (specifically ammonia, nitrate, phosphorous and sediment) are included in the cost-effectiveness analysis. The resulting multiple-pollutant marginal abatement cost curve (MP MACC) informs the design of sustainable climate change policies by showing how the MP MACC for the UK agriculture can differ from the GHG MACC. The analysis also highlights research gaps, and suggests a need to understand the wider environmental effects of GHG mitigation options and to reduce the uncertainty in pollutant damage cost estimates

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-06-15

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua J LeMonte

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Joseph B; Badrick, Tony

2012-03-24

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

Final environmental impact statement for the Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in the state of Nevada: Mitigation action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-02-01

The DOE Notice of Availability for this environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register on Friday, October 18, 1996 (61 FR 54437). The final environmental impact statement identifies potential adverse effects resulting from the four use alternatives evaluated and discusses measures that DOE considered for the mitigation of these potential adverse effects. The Secretary of Energy signed the Record of Decision on the management and operation of the Nevada Test Site and other DOE sites in the state of Nevada on December 9, 1996. These decisions will result in the continuation of the multipurpose, multi-program use of the Nevada Test Site, under which DOE will pursue a further diversification of interagency, private industry, and public-education uses while meeting its Defense Program, Waste Management, and Environmental Restoration mission requirements at the Nevada Test Site and other Nevada sites, including the Tonopah Test Range, the Project Shoal Site, the Central Nevada Test Area, and on the Nellis Air Force Range Complex. The Record of Decision also identifies specific mitigation actions beyond the routine day-to-day physical and administrative controls needed for implementation of the decisions. These specific mitigation actions are focused on the transportation of waste and on groundwater availability. This Mitigation Action Plan elaborates on these mitigation commitments

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

Conforth Ranch (Wanaket) Wildlife Mitigation Project. Draft Management Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to mitigate for loss of wildlife habitat caused by the development of Columbia River Basin hydroelectric projects, including McNary dam. The proposed wildlife mitigation project involves wildlife conservation on 1140 hectares (ha)(2817 acres) of land (including water rights) in Umatilla County, Oregon. BPA has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA)(DOE/EA- 1016) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required, and BPA is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

Bonneville Power Administration Wildlife Mitigation Program : Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

1996-08-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is responsible for mitigating the loss of wildlife habitat caused by the development of the Federal Columbia River Power System. BPA accomplishes this mitigation by funding projects consistent with those recommended by the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council). The projects are submitted to the Council from Indian Tribes, state agencies, property owners, private conservation groups, and other Federal agencies. Future wildlife mitigation actions with potential environmental impacts are expected to include land acquisition and management, water rights acquisition and management, habitat restoration and enhancement, installation of watering devices, riparian fencing, and similar wildlife conservation actions. BPA needs to ensure that individual wildlife mitigation projects are planned and managed with appropriate consistency across projects, jurisdictions, and ecosystems, as well as across time. BPA proposes to standardize the planning and implementation of individual wildlife mitigation projects funded by BPA. Alternative 1 is the No Action alternative. Five standardizing alternatives are identified to represent the range of possible strategies, goals, and procedural requirements reasonably applicable to BPA-funded projects under a standardized approach to project planning and implementation. All action alternatives are based on a single project planning process designed to resolve site-specific issues in an ecosystem context and to adapt to changing conditions and information.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-06-01

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

Willow Creek Wildlife Mitigation Project. Final environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-04-01

Today's notice announces BPA's proposal to fund land acquisition or acquisition of a conservation easement and a wildlife management plan to protect and enhance wildlife habitat at the Willow Creek Natural Area in Eugene, Oregon. This action would provide partial mitigation for wildlife and wildlife habitat lost by the development of Federal hydroelectric projects in the Willamette River Basin. The project is consistent with BPA's obligations under provisions of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 as outlined by the Northwest Power Planning Council's 1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. BPA has prepared an environmental assessment (DOE/EA-1023) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI

Northeast Oregon Wildlife Mitigation Project. Final environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-08-01

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

Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Compendium

Science.gov (United States)

Meinhold, A.; Greene, B.; Dussich, J.; Sorkin, A.; Olsen, W.

2017-01-01

The Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation (TEERM) Principal Center and its predecessor organization the Acquisition Pollution Prevention Program (AP2) supported the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in identifying technology solutions to risks and costs to NASA programs driven by environmental regulations and requirements. TEERM researched the commercial and government marketplace to locate viable and available technologies that met NASAs needs. TEERM focused on addressing environmentally-driven risks of direct concern to NASA programs and facilities, including hazardous materials in NASA operations and materials that became obsolescent because of environmental regulations. TEERM projects aimed to reduce cost; ensure the health and safety of people, assets, and the environment; promote efficiency; and minimize duplication. Major TEERM and AP2 projects focused on waste minimization and hazardous waste treatment, recycling, corrosion prevention and control, solvent and ozone depleting substances substitution, and aqueous based cleaners. In 2017, NASA made the decision to terminate the TEERM Principal Center. This Compendium Report documents TEERM and AP2 project successes. The Compendium Report traces the evolution of TEERM based on evolving risks and requirements for NASA and its relationship to the Space Shuttle Program, the United States Department of Defense, the European Space Agency, and other public and private stakeholders. This Compendium Report also documents project details from Project Summaries and Joint Test Plans and describes project stakeholders and collaborative effort results.

Willow Creek Wildlife Mitigation Project. Final Environmental Assessment.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-01

Today`s notice announces BPA`s proposal to fund land acquisition or acquisition of a conservation easement and a wildlife management plan to protect and enhance wildlife habitat at the Willow Creek Natural Area in Eugene, Oregon. This action would provide partial mitigation for wildlife and wildlife habitat lost by the development of Federal hydroelectric projects in the Willamette River Basin. The project is consistent with BPA`s obligations under provisions of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 as outlined by the Northwest Power Planning Council`s 1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. BPA has prepared an environmental assessment (DOE/EA-1023) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI.

The effect of bright lines in environmental risk communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, K.N.; Desvousges, W.H.; Smith, K.V.; Payne, J.

1993-01-01

Bright lines in environmental risk communication refer to the specific levels at which an environmental risk becomes a serious health threat and action should be taken to mitigate its effects. This study examined the effect of ''bright lines'' in risk communication by emphasizing the radon exposure threshold level of 4 picocuries per liter. Specifically, the authors developed a computer-assisted interview containing bright-line versions of risk information. The bright-line version contained a range of possible radon levels, the corresponding number of estimated lung cancer cases, the relative health risk from radon compared to other health risks, and the EPA guidelines for mitigating levels above 4 picocuries in the home. The non-bright line version was identical to the bright-line version, except it did not include the EPA's mitigation recommendations. Effect measures included respondents' change in perceived risk after reading their materials, intended testing behavior, and advice to their neighbor for a specified radon level either above or below the 4 picocury threshold level. This paper discusses broader policy implications for designing effective risk communication programs

Mitigation Monitoring Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-09-01

The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) (September 1992) for the Proposed Renewal of the Contract between the United States Department of Energy and The Regents of the University of California for the Operation and Management of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory identifies the environmental impacts associated with renewing the contract and specifies a series of measures designed to mitigate adverse impacts to the environment. This Mitigation Monitoring Plan describes the procedures the University will use to implement the mitigation measures adopted in connection with the approval of the Contract.

Burlington Bottoms Wildlife Mitigation Project. Final Environmental Assessment/Management Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-12-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund wildlife management and enhancement activities for the Burlington bottoms wetlands mitigation site. Acquired by BPA in 1991, wildlife habitat at Burlington bottoms would contribute toward the goal of mitigation for wildlife losses and inundation of wildlife habitat due to the construction of Federal dams in the lower Columbia and Willamette River Basins. Target wildlife species identified for mitigation purposes are yellow warbler, great blue heron, black-capped chickadee, red-tailed hawk, valley quail, spotted sandpiper, wood duck, and beaver. The Draft Management Plan/Environmental Assessment (EA) describes alternatives for managing the Burlington Bottoms area, and evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the alternatives. Included in the Draft Management Plan/EA is an implementation schedule, and a monitoring and evaluation program, both of which are subject to further review pending determination of final ownership of the Burlington Bottoms property.

Burlington Bottoms Wildlife Mitigation Project. Final environmental assessment/management plan and finding of no significant impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-12-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund wildlife management and enhancement activities for the Burlington bottoms wetlands mitigation site. Acquired by BPA in 1991, wildlife habitat at Burlington bottoms would contribute toward the goal of mitigation for wildlife losses and inundation of wildlife habitat due to the construction of Federal dams in the lower Columbia and Willamette River Basins. Target wildlife species identified for mitigation purposes are yellow warbler, great blue heron, black-capped chickadee, red-tailed hawk, valley quail, spotted sandpiper, wood duck, and beaver. The Draft Management Plan/Environmental Assessment (EA) describes alternatives for managing the Burlington Bottoms area, and evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the alternatives. Included in the Draft Management Plan/EA is an implementation schedule, and a monitoring and evaluation program, both of which are subject to further review pending determination of final ownership of the Burlington Bottoms property

Cost-effectiveness in the mitigation of green house gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rey, Francisco Carlos

2009-01-01

This paper analyzes the cost-effectiveness in the mitigation of green house gases from solar, eolic and nuclear energy sources, concluding that nuclear is, not doubt, the mos efficient. On the other hand, nuclear is the unique source that can be installed without limit in magnitude and in the proximity of the demand, and is for all these reasons that several environmental referents in the world have changed their perception on this source and defend it as the unique actual alternative to fight against the emission of green house gases. (author) [es

ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John J. Kilbane II; William Bogan

2004-01-31

The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmentally benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is to develop one or more environmentally benign (a.k.a. ''green'') products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. The technical approach for this quarter included the fractionation of extracts prepared from several varieties of pepper plants, and using several solvents, by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A preliminary determination of antimicrobial activities of the new extracts and fractions using a growth inhibition assay, and evaluation of the extracts ability to inhibit biofilm formation was also performed. The analysis of multiple extracts of pepper plants and fractions of extracts of pepper plants obtained by HPLC illustrated that these extracts and fractions are extremely complex mixtures of chemicals. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify the chemical constituents of these extracts and fractions to the greatest degree possible. Analysis of the chemical composition of various extracts of pepper plants has illustrated the complexity of the chemical mixtures present, and while additional work will be performed to further characterize the extracts to identify bioactive compounds the focus of efforts should now shift to an evaluation of the ability of extracts to inhibit corrosion in mixed culture biofilms, and in pure cultures of bacterial types which are known or believed to be important in corrosion.

Mitigation Action Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

This Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) focuses on mitigation commitments stated in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 (NPR-1). Specific commitments and mitigation implementation actions are listed in Appendix A-Mitigation Actions, and form the central focus of this MAP. They will be updated as needed to allow for organizational, regulatory, or policy changes. It is the intent of DOE to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local environmental, safety, and health laws and regulations. Eighty-six specific commitments were identified in the SEIS and associated ROD which pertain to continued operation of NPR-1 with petroleum production at the Maximum Efficient Rate (MER). The mitigation measures proposed are expected to reduce impacts as much as feasible, however, as experience is gained in actual implementation of these measures, some changes may be warranted.

OEM Emergency Prevention and Mitigation Information

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Office of Emergency Management maintains information relevant to preventing emergencies before they occur, and/or mitigating the effects of emergency when they...

Cost effectiveness of GHG mitigation options and policy implication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, K. S. [Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1998-04-01

This paper represents the summary findings and conclusions of several studies implemented about microeconomics and macroeconomics marginal costs of GHG abatement policies. Financial, economic, and, where possible, environmental microeconomics costs of reducing GHGs are estimated by a World Bank team. Six energy-related CO{sub 2} mitigation policy options are applied to estimate the macroeconomics costs of GHG emission reduction, the macroeconomics impacts on the Chinese economy. In terms of policy, conservation is a better option to cope with a restrictive mitigation constraint, assuming a developing country can achieve planned energy-saving targets. Without a CO{sub 2} emission constraint or with less restrictive CO{sub 2} emission constraints, however, the simulation results indicate that a conservation strategy may be less attractive than fuel substitution in a developing country, mainly due to the economic dampening effect of reduced production in the energy sectors. This finding suggests that an often-cited costless or negative-cost energy conservation policy may not be a better option when a less restrictive mitigation target is in force. This does not mean that the potential for energy efficiency improvements in a developing country is not worthwhile, but that the overall macroeconomics impacts should be considered before implementing the policy option. (author). 9 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Tomographic Environmental Sections for Environmental Mitigation Devices in Historical Centers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Cocci Grifoni

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Urban heat waves and the overall growing trend in the annual global temperature underline the importance of urban/architectural resilience and the need to reduce energy consumption. By designing urban voids, it is possible to create thermodynamic buffers, i.e., bubbles of controlled atmosphere that act as mediators between the natural and built environments, between the human body and the surrounding air, between meteorology and physiology (meteorological architecture. Multiple small actions in the urban fabric’s open spaces, such as replacing dark pavements or inserting vegetation and green spaces, are intended to improve outdoor comfort conditions and therefore the resilience of the city itself. This not only benefits the place’s quality, which is intrinsic to the new project, but also the insulating capacity of buildings, which are relieved of an external heat load. The design emphasis therefore changes from solid structures to the climate and weather conditions, which are invisible but perceivable. To design and control these constructed atmopheres, tomographic sections processed with computational fluid dynamics software (tomographic environmental section, TENS becomes necessary. It allows the effects of an extreme event on an outdoor environment to be evaluated in order to establish the appropriate (adaptive climate mitigation devices, especially in historical centers where energy retrofits are often discouraged. By fixing boundary conditions after a local intervention, the virtual environment can be simulated and then "sliced" to analyze initial values and verify the design improvements.

Water quality management and climate change mitigation: cost-effectiveness of joint implementation in the Baltic Sea region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nainggolan, Doan; Hasler, Berit; Andersen, Hans Estrup

2018-01-01

of contrasting strategies: single environmental objective management versus joint implementation strategy. The results show that implementing land-based measures with a sole focus on water quality (to meet the HELCOM's 2013 Baltic Sea Action Plan nutrient abatement targets) can produce climate change mitigation......This paper explores the scope for simultaneously managing nutrient abatement and climate change mitigation in the Baltic Sea (BS) region through the implementation of a selection of measures. The analysis is undertaken using a cost-minimisation model for the entire BS region, the BALTCOST model....... In the present research, the model has been extended to include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions effects, enabling us to analyse the tradeoffs between cost-effective GHG and nutrient load reductions. We run the model for four different scenarios in order to compare the environmental and economic consequences...

Cuba: mitigation policies and the Environmental Kuznets curve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusimit Betancourt-Alayón

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to determine whether there is for Cuba a growing non-monotonic relationship, known as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, between emissions of CO2, NOx and SO2 in relation to income levels as a measure of the degree of development a basic model from 1970 to 2010. In addition to exploring an extended model involving product structure and trade on emissions. These gases by the importance of the intensification of global warming and therefore in strengthening the climate change are studied. A positive relationship of emissions of the three gases with GDP, although with evidence of an emerging virtuous development path of emissions is obtained, in any case it is possible without a comprehensive development policy which is prioritized design mitigation options.

Mitigating Reptile Road Mortality: Fence Failures Compromise Ecopassage Effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Baxter-Gilbert, James H.; Riley, Julia L.; Lesbarrères, David; Litzgus, Jacqueline D.

2015-01-01

Roadways pose serious threats to animal populations. The installation of roadway mitigation measures is becoming increasingly common, yet studies that rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of these conservation tools remain rare. A highway expansion project in Ontario, Canada included exclusion fencing and ecopassages as mitigation measures designed to offset detrimental effects to one of the most imperial groups of vertebrates, reptiles. Taking a multispecies approach, we used a Before-After-Control-Impact study design to compare reptile abundance on the highway before and after mitigation at an Impact site and a Control site from 1 May to 31 August in 2012 and 2013. During this time, radio telemetry, wildlife cameras, and an automated PIT-tag reading system were used to monitor reptile movements and use of ecopassages. Additionally, a willingness to utilize experiment was conducted to quantify turtle behavioral responses to ecopassages. We found no difference in abundance of turtles on the road between the un-mitigated and mitigated highways, and an increase in the percentage of both snakes and turtles detected dead on the road post-mitigation, suggesting that the fencing was not effective. Although ecopassages were used by reptiles, the number of crossings through ecopassages was lower than road-surface crossings. Furthermore, turtle willingness to use ecopassages was lower than that reported in previous arena studies, suggesting that effectiveness of ecopassages may be compromised when alternative crossing options are available (e.g., through holes in exclusion structures). Our rigorous evaluation of reptile roadway mitigation demonstrated that when exclusion structures fail, the effectiveness of population connectivity structures is compromised. Our project emphasizes the need to design mitigation measures with the biology and behavior of the target species in mind, to implement mitigation designs in a rigorous fashion, and quantitatively evaluate road

Mitigating reptile road mortality: fence failures compromise ecopassage effectiveness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James H Baxter-Gilbert

Full Text Available Roadways pose serious threats to animal populations. The installation of roadway mitigation measures is becoming increasingly common, yet studies that rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of these conservation tools remain rare. A highway expansion project in Ontario, Canada included exclusion fencing and ecopassages as mitigation measures designed to offset detrimental effects to one of the most imperial groups of vertebrates, reptiles. Taking a multispecies approach, we used a Before-After-Control-Impact study design to compare reptile abundance on the highway before and after mitigation at an Impact site and a Control site from 1 May to 31 August in 2012 and 2013. During this time, radio telemetry, wildlife cameras, and an automated PIT-tag reading system were used to monitor reptile movements and use of ecopassages. Additionally, a willingness to utilize experiment was conducted to quantify turtle behavioral responses to ecopassages. We found no difference in abundance of turtles on the road between the un-mitigated and mitigated highways, and an increase in the percentage of both snakes and turtles detected dead on the road post-mitigation, suggesting that the fencing was not effective. Although ecopassages were used by reptiles, the number of crossings through ecopassages was lower than road-surface crossings. Furthermore, turtle willingness to use ecopassages was lower than that reported in previous arena studies, suggesting that effectiveness of ecopassages may be compromised when alternative crossing options are available (e.g., through holes in exclusion structures. Our rigorous evaluation of reptile roadway mitigation demonstrated that when exclusion structures fail, the effectiveness of population connectivity structures is compromised. Our project emphasizes the need to design mitigation measures with the biology and behavior of the target species in mind, to implement mitigation designs in a rigorous fashion, and quantitatively

THEORETICAL ASPECTS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPENDITURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HOLT ALINA GEORGIANA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Air and water quality are vital for human life and our societies devote large sums of money to reduce pollution and conserve a healthy environment. Much of the financial resources mobilized to finance environmental protection come from private sources - entrepreneurs pay to eliminate environmentally harmful waste safely, or to mitigate the effects of polluting production processes. But while technology standards, environmental permits, pollution taxes play an important role in correcting the behavior of society, public expenditure presents also a very important variable in efforts to support the environment.

Economic instruments for environmental mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, A.

1995-01-01

A joint International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)/World Energy Council (WEC) Working Group has been studying a range of policy instruments which are being used or considered for use to address the question of ever increasing energy demand versus environmental protection, and pollution reduction. Economic instruments for such environmental protection include direct regulation, market-based instruments, and voluntary approaches. No single policy or device was likely to suffice in addressing the diversity of environmental problems currently faced. Altering energy prices must be seen in a social context, but some direct regulation may also be inevitable. Generally economic instruments of change were preferred as these were viewed as more flexible and cost-effective. (UK)

Permanent Injury and the Disability-Mitigating Effects of Education

OpenAIRE

Bruce Cater; Sohee Kang; Byron Lew; Marco Pollanen

2013-01-01

Using data from Ontario, we study the extent to which education mitigates the realized work-disabling effects of permanent occupational injury. Focusing first on the rates of post-injury employment, our results suggest that education has a strong disability-mitigating effect in cases of knee and shoulder injuries, but a smaller effect where workers have experienced permanent back or wrist/finger injuries. A comparison of pre- and post-injury occupations then reveals that education mitigates d...

State of the art of mitigation and relation mitigation/adaptation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lenstra, W.J.; Van Doorn, J.; Verheggen, B.; Sahan, E.; Boersma, A.R. [ECN Biomass, Coal and Environment Research, Petten (Netherlands)

2009-04-15

This study has the main purpose to make useful information available for the programming of the Knowledge for Climate (KfC) program. The emphasis has been laid on a broad overview of mitigation options and relations, complemented with more detailed information on new or less known options and insights. The mitigation option biomass gets special attention in this study. The production of biomass has many (positive and negative) relations with other elements of the KfC program like space use and adaptation. Recently a global discussion on biomass usage for biofuels has started (food or fuel). Therefore a separate chapter will be dedicated to the sustainability aspects of biomass. An overview of technical mitigation measures with emphasis on the energy supply side is presented. This overview shows the large number of available and innovative options and the vast potential for reduction of the emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) of these mitigation measures. The effectiveness of many mitigation options is strongly dependent on local conditions and implementation issues. A number of innovative mitigation measures such as aquatic biomass and biomass in combination with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are described in more detail. Biomass for energy has many different forms and applications. It is one of the mitigation options with a high potential, but at the same time it can have negative environmental impacts and might compete with other forms of land use including food production. This makes bio-energy a promising but complex option, which makes careful evaluation necessary. Several examples of multifunctional land use show that by combining functions, synergy can be achieved. This could lead to a reduction of potentially negative impacts and thus easier implementation. Furthermore, novel technologies for reducing or offsetting climate change such as air capture and artificial cooling might have a high potential as mitigation option, but need to be examined before

Experimental and computational approaches to evaluate the environmental mitigation effect in narrow spaces by noble metal chemical addition (NMCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Ryosuke; Ota, Nobuyuki; Nagase, Makoto; Aizawa, Motohiro; Ishida, Kazushige; Wada, Yoichi

2014-01-01

The environmental mitigation effect of NMCA in a narrow space was evaluated by experimental and computational approaches. In the experiment at 8 MPa and 553K, T-tube whose branched line had a narrow space was prepared, and the Zr electrodes were set in the branched line at certain intervals, which were 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15 and 29 cm from the opening section of the branched line. Electrochemical corrosion potential (ECP) at the tip of the branched narrow space varied in response to the water chemistry in the main line which was at right angle with the branched line. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis reproduced the experimental results. It was also confirmed by CFD analysis that the ingress of water from the main line into the narrow space was accelerated by cavity flow and thermal convection. By CFD analysis in a thermal sleeve of actual plant condition, which had a narrow space, the concentration of dissolved oxygen at a tip of the thermal sleeve reached at 250 ppb within 300 sec, which was the same concentration of the main line. Noble metal deposition on the surface of the thermal sleeve was evaluated by mass transfer model. Noble metal deposition was the largest near the opening section of the branched line, and gradually decreased toward the tip section. In light of the consumption of dissolved oxygen in the branched line, noble metal deposition in the thermal sleeve was sufficient to reduce the ECP. It was expected that NMCA could mitigate the corrosion environment in the thermal sleeve. (author)

Environmental Effects of BPA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Canesi

2015-07-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2004-02-01

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

Environmental Enrichment Mitigates Deficits after Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xixia; Qiu, Jianhua; Alcon, Sasha; Hashim, Jumana; Meehan, William P; Mannix, Rebekah

2017-08-15

Although environmental enrichment has been shown to improve functional and histologic outcomes in pre-clinical moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), there are a paucity of pre-clinical data regarding enrichment strategies in the setting of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI). Given the vast numbers of athletes and those in the military who sustain rmTBI, the mounting evidence of the long-term and progressive sequelae of rmTBI, and the lack of targeted therapies to mitigate these sequelae, successful enrichment interventions in rmTBI could have large public health significance. Here, we evaluated enrichment strategies in an established pre-clinical rmTBI model. Seventy-one male C57BL/6 mice were randomized to two different housing conditions, environmental enrichment (EE) or normal condition (NC), then subjected to rmTBI injury (seven injuries in 9 days) or sham injury (anesthesia only). Functional outcomes in all four groups (NC-TBI, EE-TBI, NC-sham, and EE-sham) were assessed by motor, exploratory/anxiety, and mnemonic behavioral tests. At the synaptic level, N-methyl d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunit expression of phosphorylated glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1), phosphorylated Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), and calpain were evaluated by western blot. Compared to injured NC-TBI mice, EE-TBI mice had improved memory and decreased anxiety and exploratory activity post-injury. Treatment with enrichment also corresponded to normal NMDAR subunit expression, decreased GluR1 phosphorylation, decreased phosphorylated CaMKII, and normal calpain expression post-rmTBI. These data suggest that enrichment strategies may improve functional outcomes and mitigate synaptic changes post-rmTBI. Given that enrichment strategies are feasible in the clinical setting, particularly for athletes and soldiers for whom the risk of repetitive injury is greatest, these data suggest that clinical trials may be warranted.

Global Warming Mitigation through the Local Action of Environmental Education in the Plantation Area of Palm Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Badriyah Rushayati

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Oil palm is a strategic mainstay product with a crucial role in the national economy, and it can also be carbon sink to mitigate the negative impact of global warming when managed in environmentally friendly manner. Therefore, management and surrounding community need to have an understanding of the environment, and pro-environmental attitude and behaviour. Action research, which aimed at mitigating global warming through the local action of environmental education (EE, was conducted toward oil palm plantation employee and surrounding community. The EE programme was expected to be able to shape understanding and pro-environmental attitude and behaviour in the target group.  Rapid observation and interview were carried out in collecting data for EE programme development.  A needs assessment was conducted in developing the EE subject; based on local environmental problems and gap of target group’s perception of the problems.  Global warming-related environmental problems found in the location included air temperature increase, drought and difficulty in determining planting season.  Spatial analysis based on 1989 and 2014 satellite imagery showed a decrease of the water body, tree vegetated land and open areas, and an increase in non-tree vegetated land and built land, accompanied by an increase in areas with higher temperature range.  Both employees and the community had a good knowledge of the environment, but less in conservation. The environmental education provided for them had been able to increase their perception on environmental conservation. However, repetition and intensive assistance are still needed to strengthen the perception

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-05-01

An increased uptake of alternative low or non-CO2 emitting energy sources is one of the key priorities for policy makers to mitigate the effects of environmental change. Relatively little work has been undertaken on the mitigation potential of Ground Coupled Heat Pumps (GCHPs) despite the fact that a GCHP could significantly reduce CO2 emissions from heating systems. It is predicted that under climate change the most probable scenario is for UK temperatures to increase and for winter rainfall to become more abundant; the latter is likely to cause a general rise in groundwater levels. Summer rainfall may reduce considerably, while vegetation type and density may change. Furthermore, recent studies underline the likelihood of an increase in the number of heat waves. Under such a scenario, GCHPs will increasingly be used for cooling as well as heating. These factors will affect long-term performance of horizontal GCHP systems and hence their economic viability and mitigation potential during their life span ( 50 years). The seasonal temperature differences encountered in soil are harnessed by GCHPs to provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The performance of a GCHP system will depend on technical factors (heat exchanger (HE) type, length, depth, and spacing of pipes), but also it will be determined to a large extent by interactions between the below-ground parts of the system and the environment (atmospheric conditions, vegetation and soil characteristics). Depending on the balance between extraction and rejection of heat from and to the ground, the soil temperature in the neighbourhood of the HE may fall or rise. The GROMIT project (GROund coupled heat pumps MITigation potential), funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), is a multi-disciplinary research project, in collaboration with EarthEnergy Ltd., which aims to quantify the CO2 mitigation potential of horizontal GCHPs. It considers changing environmental conditions and combines

Development of a Severe Accident Mitigation Support with Speediness and Credibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hur, Sup; Park, Jae Chang; Choi, Jong Gyun; Kim, Jung Taek; Kim, Chang Hwoi

2014-01-01

This study suggests a methodology of severe accident mitigation support with speediness and credibility. Using this methodology, the severe accident is automatically identified based on the information credibility check. And then, proper mitigation function, available mitigation routes, and an optimal mitigation path are automatically suggested. The basic logic of the information credibility is based on environmental evaluation, historical evaluation and some conventional methods such as redundancy and diversity comparison of instruments. To identify the available mitigation routes, availability of paths and components, source status, process limitation, expected adverse effect, and mitigation capability of the path are automatically were evaluated. Among the available routes, the optimal mitigation path was finally suggested based on the path priority criteria and physical relationship

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gulliver, John S. [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

2015-03-01

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

Mitigation effects of radon decay products by air cleaner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazuki Iwaoka; Tetsuo Ishikawa; Hidenori Yonehara; Shinji Tokonami

2013-01-01

One of the most effective methods for reducing exposure is the use of air cleaners. In this study, a dose mitigation of a commonly-used Japanese air cleaner under conditions in which aerosols are continuously supplied was investigated. Although the values of the EERC during an operation of air cleaner decreased, values of the f p increased with the use of air cleaner. An effective dose was calculated on the basis of our experimental results, resulting in the dose mitigation of about 40 % by the air cleaner. Air cleaners can be regarded as an effective tool for the dose mitigation under with conditions in which aerosols are continuously supplied. (author)

Evaluation of strategies for promoting effective radon mitigation. Risk communication and economic research series. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doyle, J.K.; McClelland, G.H.; Schulze, W.D.; Locke, P.A.; Elliott, S.R.

1990-03-01

The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States can be attributed to exposure to radon gas. The report evaluates alternative strategies for motivating people to test for radon gas in their homes and to mitigate if necessary. Specifically, two separate radon information and awareness programs were evaluated, one targeted to the general population in the Washington, D.C. area and the other to home buyers in the Boulder, Colorado area. The results suggest that a home buyer program is likely to be far more effective in terms of effective remediation to reduce home radon levels than a program aimed at the general population. The report discusses the empirical findings and develops a recommendation for increasing the effectiveness of radon awareness and mitigation programs

Wildlife Mitigation Program. Record of Decision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has decided to adopt a set of Descriptions (goals, strategies, and procedural requirements) that apply to future BPA-funded wildlife mitigation projects. Various. sources-including Indian tribes, state agencies, property owners, private conservation groups, or other Federal agencies-propose wildlife mitigation projects to the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council) for BPA funding. Following independent scientific and public reviews, Council then selects projects to recommend for BPA funding. BPA adopts this set of prescriptions to standardize the planning and implementation of individual wildlife mitigation projects. This decision is based on consideration of potential environmental impacts evaluated in BPA's Wildlife Mitigation Program Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0246) published March, 20, 1997, and filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the week of March 24, 1997 (EPA Notice of Availability Published April 4, 1997, 62 FR 65, 16154). BPA will distribute this Record of Decision to all known interested and affected persons, groups, tribes, and agencies

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

Science.gov (United States)

Clarens, Andres F; Peters, Catherine A

2016-10-01

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

Review of mitigation methods for fish passage, instream flows, and water quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Railsback, S.F.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on current environmental mitigation practices at nonfederal hydropower projects. Information was obtained from project operators on dissolved oxygen (DO) mitigation, instream flows, upstream fish passage facilities, and downstream fish passage facilities. The most common method for DO mitigation is the use of spill flows, which are costly because of lost power generation. DO concentrations are commonly monitored, but biological effects of DO mitigation are not. At many projects, instream flow requirements have been set without reference to formalized methods. About half of the projects with instream flow requirements monitor flow rates, but few monitor fish populations to verify that instream flows are effective. Angled bar racks are the most commonly used downstream fish passage devices and fish ladders are the most commonly used upstream fish passage devices. Fish passage rates or populations have been monitored to verify the effectiveness of passage mitigation at few projects. This analysis is the first phase of an evaluation of the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of mitigation measures

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-12-15

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-09-15

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

Radon mitigation in schools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saum, D.; Craig, A.B.; Leovic, K.

1990-01-01

Since 1987, more than 40 schools in Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina were visited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). School characteristics that potentially influence radon entry and impact mitigation system design and performance were identified. Mitigation systems that had proven successful in house mitigation were then installed in several of these schools. Many of the systems were installed by school personnel with some assistance from EPA and an experienced radon diagnostician. This article presents the diagnostic measurements made in the schools and it discusses in detail the specific mitigation systems that were installed in four Maryland schools by the EPA

Blue Creek Winter Range: Wildlife Mitigation Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

This preliminary Environmental Assessment examines the potential environmental effects of securing land and conducting wildlife habitat enhancement and long term management activities within the boundaries of the Spokane Indian Reservation. Four proposed activities are analyzed: Habitat protection; Habitat enhancement; Operation and maintenance; and Monitoring and evaluation. The proposed action is intended to meet the need for mitigation of wildlife and wildlife habitat adversely affected by the construction of Grand Coulee Dam and its reservoir

The Environmental Mitigation Potential of Photovoltaic-Powered Irrigation in the Production of South African Maize

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Wettstein

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Agriculture is under pressure to reduce its environmental impact. The use of renewable energy sources has potential to decrease these impacts. Maize is one of the most significant crops in South Africa and approximately 241,000 hectares are irrigated. This irrigation is most commonly powered by grid electricity generated using coal. However, South Africa has high solar irradiation, which could be used to generate photovoltaic electricity. The aim of this study was to determine the environmental mitigation potential of replacing grid-powered irrigation in South African maize production with photovoltaic irrigation systems using Life Cycle Assessment. The study included the value chain of maize production from cultivation to storage. Replacing grid electricity with photovoltaic-generated electricity leads to a 34% reduction in the global warming potential of maize produced under irrigation, and—applied at a national level—could potentially reduce South Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions by 536,000 t CO2-eq. per year. Non-renewable energy demand, freshwater eutrophication, acidification, and particulate matter emissions are also significantly lowered. Replacing grid electricity with renewable energy in irrigation has been shown to be an effective means of reducing the environmental impacts associated with South African maize production.

2009 review of the Deep Panuke Environmental Effects Monitoring Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The Oceans, Habitat and Species at Risk branch of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada requested an update to the Environmental Management Plan for the construction of the Deep Panuke Project. Specifically, it requested expert advice on the 2009-2010 Drilling Environmental Protection Plan/Environmental Effects Monitoring Plan (EPP/EEMP), which outlines the measures that EnCana proposes take to avoid or minimize the effects of drilling in the marine environment. Although the proposed approach was deemed to be sufficient, the EPP/EEMP did not make reference to the potential effects of noise on marine species. The jack-up rig mobile offshore production unit that is proposed for well drilling and well re-entries was considered to produce lower noise levels than drillships and semi submersibles. It was concluded that jack up drilling at Deep Panuke would not likely require special noise mitigation measures, but more extensive measurement and documentation of acoustic noise levels around active rigs is recommended. The risk of well blowout or collapse was deemed low. Should such an event occur, the impact of the released hydrocarbon condensate would depend on the rate and duration of the release. Under typical conditions, the proponent's models reasonably show the blowout discharge drifting away from Sable Island. However, there is a very low risk that certain weather conditions would result in an oil spill reaching Sable Island. The EPP/EEMP does not address species at risk in any way, and mitigation measures are required and should be detailed in the monitoring plan. It was concluded that the proposed EPP/EEMP is sufficient in many areas, but since most mitigation measures are based on theoretical considerations alone, a plan for field monitoring at the drilling site is needed. 3 refs.

Combating Desertification and Mitigating the Effects of Drought

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Awuondo, C.O

2001-01-01

The paper discusses the effects of desertification and drought on the well-being of humankind and therefore it important for them to be combated and mitigated. Desertification is the process that turns fertile lands into desert; drought is defined as lack of sufficient precipitation to sustain plant and human life. In an effort to discuss how to combat desertification, the author has subdivided the paper into five sections namely; introduction, ecological crisis, strategies for combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought and finally the conclusion

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-03-01

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

Radon mitigation in crawl-space houses in Nashville, Tennessee. Report for October 1987-July 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyle, B.E.; Williamson, A.D.; Fowler, C.S.; Belzer, F.E.; Osborne, M.C.

1988-05-01

Approximately 15% of existing U.S. houses are built over dirt crawl spaces, and little or no data exist relative to radon mitigation techniques for this style of house construction. This paper discusses and Environmental Protection Agency radon mitigation demonstration. A variety of techniques were evaluated to determine the most-effective and least-costly method of radon mitigation

Risk Mitigation Measures: An Important Aspect of the Environmental Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Liebig

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Within EU marketing authorization procedures of human and veterinary medicinal products (HMP and VMP, an environmental risk assessment (ERA has to be performed. In the event that an unacceptable environmental risk is identified, risk mitigation measures (RMM shall be applied in order to reduce environmental exposure to the pharmaceutical. Within the authorization procedures of HMP, no RMM have been applied so far, except for specific precautions for the disposal of the unused medicinal product or waste materials. For VMP, a limited number of RMM do exist. The aim of this study was to develop consistent and efficient RMM. Therefore, existing RMM were compiled from a summary of product characteristics of authorized pharmaceuticals, and new RMM were developed and evaluated. Based on the results, appropriate RMM were applied within the authorization procedures of medicinal products. For HMP, except for the existing precautions for disposal, no further reasonable measures could be developed. For VMP, two specific precautions for disposal and 17 specific precautions for use in animals were proposed as RMM.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-10-06

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

Effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment system in Estonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinma, Kaupo; Poder, Tonis

2010-01-01

To be effective, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system, first, has to minimize the probability that projects with significant environmental effects are implemented without EIA, and second, minimize the number of EIAs, which do not provide decision makers with essential information, so that the decision is improved as a result of EIA. The objective of this study was to find out how frequently in Estonia the projects implemented without EIA have caused significant environmental effects, and to measure the relative frequency of EIAs that have no influence on decision. An extensive survey with e-mail distributed questionnaires was carried out to reveal information from governmental agencies, local self-governments, and developers. There was no evidence that projects authorized without EIA have had environmental impacts, which could have been mitigated as a result of EIA. In contrast, about half of EIAs did not alter the decision of relevant authorities. This proportion was valid to both mandatory EIAs and those initiated on judgement basis. In our view, the proportion of no-influence EIAs was excessive and indicated the need to reconsider the provisions applying to the projects with a mandatory EIA requirement as well as judgements practice.

Mitigation of environmental impacts: a study of the companies that compose the Camaçari Industrial Center (PIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonia Maria da Silva Gomes

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to map the environmental impacts of mitigation actions demonstrated in the sustainability reporting and financial statements of companies that compose the Camaçari Industrial Center (PIC from 2007 to 2013. Data from the Industrial Development Committee of Camaçari was used to survey the companies. The final sample consisted of 14 companies. Content analysis was used to identify the information contained in these reports, based on the model proposed by Nossa (2002 for measuring environmental impacts. The results showed that the subcategory most mentioned in the sustainability reports was wastefulness. It was found in 430 instances, followed by Recycling (157, CO² (129, Contamination and Land Restoration (122, and Conservation of Natural Resources (108. The wastefulness subcategory was also more present in the financial statements, with 77 instances, followed by Contamination and Land Restoration (49 and Recycling (29. There was also a growing trend of disclosure of environmental liabilities. The evidence indicates that the companies are concerned primarily with the treatment and disposal of their waste (solid, liquid and gaseous. The results are restricted to the period and sample investigated. Further research is suggested to broaden the sample and investigate the relationship between disclosure of environmental mitigation actions related to environmental impacts and the financial performance of companies. Additionally, studies could investigate which factors influence the adoption and dissemination of these actions, in the perception of managers of Brazilian companies.

The Effects of Saltwater Intrusion to Flood Mitigation Project

Science.gov (United States)

Azida Abu Bakar, Azinoor; Khairudin Khalil, Muhammad

2018-03-01

The objective of this study is to determine the effects of saltwater intrusion to flood mitigation project located in the flood plains in the district of Muar, Johor. Based on the studies and designs carried out, one of the effective flood mitigation options identified is the Kampung Tanjung Olak bypass and Kampung Belemang bypass at the lower reaches of Sungai Muar. But, the construction of the Kampung Belemang and Tanjung Olak bypass, while speeding up flood discharges, may also increase saltwater intrusion during drought low flows. Establishing the dynamics of flooding, including replicating the existing situation and the performance with prospective flood mitigation interventions, is most effectively accomplished using computer-based modelling tools. The finding of this study shows that to overcome the problem, a barrage should be constructed at Sungai Muar to solve the saltwater intrusion and low yield problem of the river.

Group support system and explanatory feedback: An experimental study of mitigating halo effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Intiyas Utami

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Comprehensive assessment potentially leads to halo effect that will affect accuracy of auditors decision-making process. Biased initial audit decision will potentially influence final audit decision. It is there-fore necessary to mitigate halo effect that is the consequence of auditors good impression on clients initial condition. This re-search aims to empirically show that halo effect can be mitigated by explanatory feedback and Group Support System (GSS. The researchers experimentally mani-pulate explanatory feedback and GSS using online web-site. The subjects are stu-dents who have already taken auditing courses. The results show that: 1 explanato-ry feedback can mitigate halo effect so that audit decision will be more accurate 2 GSS can also mitigate halo effect 3 explanatory feedback and GSS are the best me-thods to mitigate halo effect.

Interactive effects of environmental change and management strategies on regional forest carbon emissions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hudiburg, Tara W.; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Thornton, Peter E.; Law, Beverly E.

2013-01-01

Climate mitigation activities in forests need to be quantified in terms of the long-term effects on forest carbon stocks, accumulation, and emissions. The impacts of future environmental change and bioenergy harvests on regional forest carbon storage have not been quantified. We conducted a

The Effects of Mitigation Measures on Flood Damage Prevention in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheol-Hee Son

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study analyzed the characteristics of flood damages and the effects of structural and non-structural flood damage mitigation measures in Korea. First, a theoretical discussion of the structural and non-structural measures to mitigate flood damages was used to select the variables and devise the hypotheses. An analysis was conducted using the Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving-Average (ARIMA time series methodology, Korean socioeconomic data, and damage characteristics of major flood events. The effects of flood damage mitigation measures on the extent of flood damages were assessed using an intervention time series model. The major findings were that the intervention effects of structural and non-structural measures were statistically significant from 1958 to 2013 (a period of 55 years and that while the former were ineffective at mitigating flood damages, the latter were successful in doing so. Based on the above findings, policy suggestions for future flood damage mitigation measures in Korea were offered. For structural measures, the government should manage its existing facilities, recover ecosystems of damaged rivers, and devise mitigation measures for urban areas. For non-structural measures, the government should enhance its flood forecasting capacity, revise laws related to flood control and prevention, and update and rationalize land-use plans.

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A G; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trina Rytwinski

Full Text Available Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill. For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a

Decarbonising electricity supply: Is climate change mitigation going to be carried out at the expense of other environmental impacts?

OpenAIRE

Kouloumpis, Victor; Stamford, Laurence; Azapagic, Adisa

2015-01-01

As nations face the need to decarbonise their energy supply, there is a risk that attention will be focused solely on carbon and climate change, potentially at the expense of other environmental impacts. To explore the trade-offs between climate change mitigation and other environmental impacts, this work focuses on electricity and considers a number of scenarios up to 2070 in a UK context with different carbon reduction targets and electricity demand to estimate the related life cycle enviro...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-12-01

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

BPA/PGE transmission support project: Final environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-12-01

This Mitigation Action Plan describes the mitigation measures identified in the BPA/PGE Transmission Support Project Environmental Assessment. These measures commit to actions that will reduce the environmental impacts that could occur by constructing, operating and maintaining the transmission line and related facilities. They have been developed in coordination with environmental specialists, design and construction engineers and maintenance personnel. The measures will be written into the construction specifications for the project, which is expected to be constructed by contract personnel. Unless noted in the plan, the construction inspector or the line foreman would be responsible for carrying out the mitigation; environmental staff would also monitor the area for mitigation effectiveness. The right-of-way would be cleared in 1997 or 1998, and construction would begin in the spring of 1998 and be completed later that fall

Automation bias: a systematic review of frequency, effect mediators, and mitigators.

Science.gov (United States)

Goddard, Kate; Roudsari, Abdul; Wyatt, Jeremy C

2012-01-01

Automation bias (AB)--the tendency to over-rely on automation--has been studied in various academic fields. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) aim to benefit the clinical decision-making process. Although most research shows overall improved performance with use, there is often a failure to recognize the new errors that CDSS can introduce. With a focus on healthcare, a systematic review of the literature from a variety of research fields has been carried out, assessing the frequency and severity of AB, the effect mediators, and interventions potentially mitigating this effect. This is discussed alongside automation-induced complacency, or insufficient monitoring of automation output. A mix of subject specific and freetext terms around the themes of automation, human-automation interaction, and task performance and error were used to search article databases. Of 13 821 retrieved papers, 74 met the inclusion criteria. User factors such as cognitive style, decision support systems (DSS), and task specific experience mediated AB, as did attitudinal driving factors such as trust and confidence. Environmental mediators included workload, task complexity, and time constraint, which pressurized cognitive resources. Mitigators of AB included implementation factors such as training and emphasizing user accountability, and DSS design factors such as the position of advice on the screen, updated confidence levels attached to DSS output, and the provision of information versus recommendation. By uncovering the mechanisms by which AB operates, this review aims to help optimize the clinical decision-making process for CDSS developers and healthcare practitioners.

Detection and mitigation of aging effects of nuclear power plant components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pachner, J.

1988-09-01

This paper describes the general principles of the methods for timely detection and mitigation of aging effects. These methods include condition monitoring, failure trending, system reliability monitoring, predictive maintenance and scheduled maintenance. In addition, developments of existing detection and mitigation methods needed to improve the capability for effective managing of nuclear power plant aging are discussed

Radon mitigation experience in difficult-to-mitigate schools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leovic, K.W.; Craig, A.B.

1990-01-01

Initial radon mitigation experience in schools has shown sub-slab depressurization (SSD) to be generally effective in reducing elevated levels of radon in schools that have a continuous layer of clean, coarse aggregate underneath the slab. However, mitigation experience is limited in schools without sub-slab aggregate and in schools with characteristics such as return-air ductwork underneath the slab or unducted return-air plenums in the drop ceiling that are open to the sub-slab area (via open tops of block walls). Mitigation of schools with utility tunnels and of schools constructed over crawl spaces is also limited. Three Maryland schools exhibiting some of the above characteristics are being researched to help understand the mechanisms that control radon entry and mitigation in schools where standard SSD systems are not effective. This paper discusses specific characteristics of potentially difficult-to-mitigate schools and, where applicable, details examples from the three Maryland schools

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-12-15

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

Coal mine subsidence: effects of mitigation on crop yields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darmody, R.G.; Hetzler, R.T.; Simmons, F.W.

1992-01-01

Subsidence from longwall underground coal mining adversely impacts agricultural land by creating wet or ponded areas. While most subsided areas show little impact, some localized places, usually less than 1.5 ha in size, may experience total crop failure. Coal companies mitigate subsidence damaged cropland by installing drainage waterways or by adding fill material to raise the grade. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of mitigation in restoring corn and soybean yields to pre-mined levels. Fourteen sites in southern Illinois were selected for study. Corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) yields from mitigated and nearby undisturbed areas were compared for four years. Results varied due to differing weather and site conditions. Mean corn yields overall, however were significantly (α0.05) lower on mitigated areas. There was no significant difference in overall mean soybean yields. Soil fertility levels were similar and did not account for yield differences. 14 refs., 1 fig., 7 tabs

Combating the effects of climatic change on forests by mitigation strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dieter Matthias

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Forests occur across diverse biomes, each of which shows a specific composition of plant communities associated with the particular climate regimes. Predicted future climate change will have impacts on the vulnerability and productivity of forests; in some regions higher temperatures will extend the growing season and thus improve forest productivity, while changed annual precipitation patterns may show disadvantageous effects in areas, where water availability is restricted. While adaptation of forests to predicted future climate scenarios has been intensively studied, less attention was paid to mitigation strategies such as the introduction of tree species well adapted to changing environmental conditions. Results We simulated the development of managed forest ecosystems in Germany for the time period between 2000 and 2100 under different forest management regimes and climate change scenarios. The management regimes reflect different rotation periods, harvesting intensities and species selection for reforestations. The climate change scenarios were taken from the IPCC's Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES. We used the scenarios A1B (rapid and successful economic development and B1 (high level of environmental and social consciousness combined with a globally coherent approach to a more sustainable development. Our results indicate that the effects of different climate change scenarios on the future productivity and species composition of German forests are minor compared to the effects of forest management. Conclusions The inherent natural adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems to changing environmental conditions is limited by the long life time of trees. Planting of adapted species and forest management will reduce the impact of predicted future climate change on forests.

Lessons learnt from a sectoral analysis of greenhouse gas mitigation potential in the Balkans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgopoulou, E.; Mirasgedis, S.; Sarafidis, Y.; Gakis, N.; Hontou, V.; Lalas, D.P.; Steiner, D.; Tuerk, A.; Fruhmann, C.; Pucker, J.

2015-01-01

Balkan countries in the process of joining the European Union shall adopt greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and implement appropriate mitigation policies and measures. This paper presents a simplified methodological framework based on marginal abatement cost curves for estimating the technical and economic mitigation potential at sectoral level (buildings and road transport) in selected Balkan countries. The results of the analysis provide to decision makers useful information regarding the availability of background data, the potential for setting ambitious mitigation targets, and detailed tools for assisting the selection of policies and measures to meet these targets. The analysis performed shows that a significant part of the greenhouse gas emissions abatement potential can be achieved through win–win measures. The incorporation of environmental externalities associated with these interventions, estimated through benefits transfer, further improves the economic performance of these measures, especially in the buildings sector. Moreover, the implementation of these measures is shown to result in positive macroeconomic effects through increases in GDP (gross domestic product) and creation of new jobs. Finally, the rebound effect may restrict the estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions in the buildings of the countries examined due to the low energy performance of the existing building stock. - Highlights: • Analysis of the technical and economic GHG mitigation potential in western Balkans. • Marginal abatement cost curves highlight several win–win interventions. • Incorporation of environmental benefits improves the performance of measures. • Mitigation measures result in significant positive macroeconomic effects. • The investment costs and the rebound effect may influence measures' effectiveness.

Ammonia emission mitigation in food waste composting: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuguang; Zeng, Yang

2018-01-01

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

Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: Implementation of the Wetland Mitigation Bank Program at the Savannah River Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N/A

1999-04-28

The Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1205) for the proposed implementation of a wetland mitigation bank program at the Savannah River Site (SRS), located near Aiken, South Carolina. Based on the analyses in the EA, DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required, and DOE is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Floodplain Statement of Findings.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Best available technologies (BAT) and... Environmental Effects § 971.604 Best available technologies (BAT) and mitigation. (a) The Administrator shall..., NOAA is unable either to specify particular equipment or procedures comprising BAT or to define...

Trade implications of environmental taxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klepper, G.

1994-01-01

The general equilibrium impact of environmental taxes does not consist simply consist in a reduction of international trade. This rather depends on the particular circumstances in which the tax is imposed. The trade impacts of environmental regulation which have been measured empirically are almost negligable. Even simulation studies predict strong effects only for very few sectors of the economy. Since the environmental taxes are imposed in order to induce a reallocation of the economy away from the polluting towards the less polluting activities, one can not expect that the polluting industries will not need to shrink or need to introduce abatement measures. This internal reallocation will necessarily be accompanied by a restructuring of trade between economies. Hence, mitigating these trade effects is about as meaningful as mitigating the internal restructuring of the economy. (orig./UA)

Incorporating cumulative effects into environmental assessments of mariculture: Limitations and failures of current siting methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, Sarah C.; Pushchak, Ronald

2008-01-01

Assessing and evaluating the cumulative impacts of multiple marine aquaculture facilities has proved difficult in environmental assessment. A retrospective review of 23 existing mariculture farms in southwestern New Brunswick was conducted to determine whether cumulative interactions would have justified site approvals. Based on current scientific evidence of cumulative effects, six new criteria were added to a set of far-field impacts and other existing criteria were expanded to include regional and cumulative environmental impacts in Hargrave's [Hargrave BT. A traffic light decision system for marine finfish aquaculture siting. Ocean Coast Manag 2002; 45:215-35.] Traffic Light Decision Support System (DSS) presently used in Canadian aquaculture environmental assessments. Before mitigation, 19 of the 23 sites failed the amended set of criteria and after considering mitigation, 8 sites failed. Site and ecosystem indices yielded varying site acceptability scores; however, many sites would not have been approved if siting decisions had been made within a regional management framework and cumulative impact criteria were considered in the site evaluation process

Energy and environmental policies relating to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) emissions mitigation and energy conservation in Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, W.T.

2006-01-01

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are becoming significant energy and environmental issues relating to energy consumption in Taiwan. The nation, although not a party to the Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol, has diligently strived to mitigate the emissions and phase out use of the responsible materials. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are now mostly used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems, are the main GHGs associated with strong global warming potential. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the industrial/commercial uses of HFCs in Taiwan. Because of their high impacts on climate change, the description is then centered on estimating the potential emissions of HFCs according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method and the governmental organizations responses to the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The regulatory systems relating to HFCs mitigation and energy conservation and energy policies and promotion measures for providing technological assistances and financial incentives in the energy management, resource recovery and HFCs reduction/recycling technologies are also addressed in the paper

The Economics of Mitigation of Water Pollution Externalities from Biomass Production for Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naveen Adusumilli

2014-12-01

Full Text Available To fulfill the national bioenergy goals of the United States, conversion of marginal lands to intensive biomass crop production and/or application of greater amounts of nutrients to existing cropland could be expected. Such change in agricultural practices could produce unintended environmental consequences such as water quality degradation. Select Best Management Practices (BMPs are evaluated for water quality mitigation effectiveness as well as for their relative cost-effectiveness, issues that are often ignored in evaluation of biofuels as a sustainable solution for energy demand. The water quality impacts of converting pastureland to intensive biomass production for biofuel, evaluated using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT, indicate significant increases in erosion and nutrient loadings to water bodies. Hydrologic and economic evaluation of the BMPs indicate their implementation produced effective water pollution mitigation but at substantial costs, accentuating the sustainability issue related to the economics of renewable fuels. U.S. national energy policy designed around achieving energy independence should also consider environmental and economic trade-offs for biofuels to be an economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of environmental policy in Jordan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adel Yacoub Shamaileh

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This study examines the impact of the environmental policy in Jordan. The article reviews laws, measures, instruments and the implementation process and evaluates their effectiveness in banning, removing and/or reducing negative externalities in Jordan. Data was collected by administration of questionnaires distributed to all key enforcement officials working in the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture, and Health. Additional sources were laws, regulations, official documents and reports issued by the government, international organizations, NGOs and media. The study shows that Jordan’s environmental policy relies solely on the command and control approach to mitigate negative externalities, while completely overlooking price-based and rights -based instruments. Such instruments are widely and increasingly employed in developed countries and have proved their efficiency and effectiveness in protecting the environment. The results of the study reveal that command and control measures are insufficient to achieve effective environmental policy and consequently are incapable of internalizing negative externalities in Jordan. The results may motivate government regulators to endorse price-based and rights-based measures, in addition to command and control measures.

Valuation of climate change mitigation co-benefits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakhtiari, Fatemeh

a broad range of economic or, more likely, environmental and social issues. Examples of positive environmental impacts that may not be the primary outcome of a climate change mitigation policy include reduced local air pollution or restored ecosystem health. Examples of positive social impacts include......This document describes tools for valuating in monetary terms the co-benefits associated with climate change mitigation actions. The term co-benefits refers to outcomes of those actions other than their primary outcome (reducing greenhouse-gas emissions). Such non-primary outcomes can fall under...... improved human health or increased access to clean energy....

Mir Environmental Effects Payload and Returned Mir Solar Panel Cleanliness

Science.gov (United States)

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

2000-01-01

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

Assessing District-Heating Sustainability. Case Studies of CO{sub 2} Mitigation Strategies and Environmental Cost Accounting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fahlen, Elsa

2012-11-01

District heating (DH) may play an important role in achieving the EU goal of a secure, competitive and sustainable energy supply. Integrated energy solutions based on technologies, such as biomass gasification for transport fuel, electricity and heat production and heat-driven absorption cooling, create new optimisation possibilities through the linkage between heat, power, cooling and transport fuel markets which may reduce the global warming contribution of the energy sector. With increasing focus on climate change impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, the environmental effects of other air pollutants should not be neglected. To achieve both a competitive and a sustainable energy supply, it is necessary to integrate environmental considerations into economic policies. Through accounting for external costs of air pollution in energy system modelling and analysis, sustainability aspects may be integrated into DH assessments. The aim of this thesis is to develop, apply and evaluate methodologies for assessing conventional and new technology solutions in a DH system; the assessments are made from a DH perspective with respect to two factors - cost-effectiveness and environmental impacts - which are either assessed separately or integrated through external cost accounting. Various CO{sub 2} mitigation strategies are evaluated with regard to the robustness of the DH system in meeting future developments of energy market prices and policies. The studies are performed using a systems approach by using the simulating DH supply model MARTES as applied to the DH system Sweden. This thesis concludes that the integration of biomass gasification technology and absorption cooling technology in DH systems has the potential for cost-effective CO{sub 2} emission reduction, in line with other EU goals to increase the share of renewable sources in energy use and to increase energy efficiency. Accounting for external costs of not only climate change but also other environmental

Systematic effects in radon mitigation by sump/pump remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groves-Kirkby, C.J.; Denman, A.R.; Groves-Kirkby, C.J.; Woolridge, A.C.; Woolridge, A.C.; Phillips, P.S.; Crockett, R.G.M.; Tornberg, R.

2006-01-01

Sump/Pump remediation is widely used in the United Kingdom to mitigate indoor radon gas levels in residential properties. To quantify the effectiveness of this technology, a study was made of radon concentration data from a set of 173 homes situated in radon Affected Areas in and around Northamptonshire, U.K., re-mediated using conventional sump/pump technology. This approach is characterised by a high incidence of satisfactory mitigation outcomes, with more than 75% of the sample exhibiting mitigation factors (defined as the ratio of radon concentrations following and prior to remediation) of 0.2 or better. There is evidence of a systematic trend, where houses with higher initial radon concentrations have higher mitigation factors, suggesting that the total indoor radon concentration within a dwelling can be represented by two components, one susceptible to mitigation by sump/pump remediation, the other remaining essentially unaffected by these remediation strategies. The first component can be identified with ground-radon emanating from the subsoil and bedrock geologies, percolating through the foundations of the dwelling as a component of the soil-gas, potentially capable of being attenuated by sump/pump or radon-barrier remediation. The second contribution is attributed to radon emanating from materials used in the construction of the dwelling, principally concrete and gypsum plaster-board, with a further small contribution from the natural background level, and is essentially unaffected by ground-level remediation strategies. Modelling of such a two-component radon dependency using realistic ground-radon attenuation factors in conjunction with typical structural-radon levels yields behaviour in good agreement with the observed inverse-power dependence of mitigation factor on initial radon concentration. (authors)

Retrospective examination of geothermal environmental assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Webb, J.W.; Eddlemon, G.K.; Reed, A.W.

1984-03-01

Since 1976, the Department of Energy (DOE) has supported a variety of programs and projects dealing with the exploration, development, and utilization of geothermal energy. This report presents an overview of the environmental impacts associated with these efforts. Impacts that were predicted in the environmental analyses prepared for the programs and projects are reviewed and summarized, along with measures that were recommended to mitigate these impacts. Also, for those projects that have gone forward, actual impacts and implemented mitigation measures are reported, based on telephone interviews with DOE and project personnel. An accident involving spills of geothermal fluids was the major environmental concern associated with geothermal development. Other important considerations included noise from drilling and production, emissions of H/sub 2/S and cooling tower drift, disposal of solid waste (e.g., from H/sub 2/S control), and the cumulative effects of geothermal development on land use and ecosystems. Mitigation measures were frequently recommended and implemented in conjunction with noise reduction; drift elimination; reduction of fugitive dust, erosion, and sedimentation; blowout prevention; and retention of wastes and spills. Monitoring to resolve uncertainties was often implemented to detect induced seismicity and subsidence, noise, drift deposition, concentrations of air and water pollutants, and effects on groundwater. The document contains an appendix, based on these findings, which outlines major environmental concerns, mitigation measures, and monitoring requirements associated with geothermal energy. Sources of information on various potential impacts are also listed.

Application of Clean Water (CWA) Section 404 compensatory wetland mitigation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, D.J.; Straub, C.A.

1994-01-01

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), activities resulting in the discharge of dredge or fill material into waters of the US, including wetlands, require permit authorization from the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). As part of the Section 404 permitting process, compensatory wetland mitigation in the form of wetland enhancement, restoration, or construction may be required to off-set impacts sustained under a Section 404 permit. Under normal circumstances, compensatory mitigation is a relatively straight forward process; however, issues associated with mitigation become more complex at sites undergoing remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), because on-site response/remedial actions involving dredged and fill material are not subject to the formal Section 404 permitting process. These actions are conducted in accordance with the substantive permitting requirements of the ACOE's Nationwide and individual permitting programs. Wetland mitigatory requirements are determined through application of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) 040(b) (1) Guidelines promulgated in 40 CFR Part 230 and are implemented through compliance with substantive permitting requirements during the conduct of response/remedial actions. A programmatic approach for implementing wetland mitigatory requirements is being developed at a former US Department of Energy (DOE) uranium refinery undergoing CERCLA remediation in southwestern Ohio. The approach is designed to define the regulatory mechanism that will be used to integrate CWA driven wetland mitigatory requirements into the CERCLA process

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-15

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

Environmental effects monitoring at Cat Arm Hydraulic Development, Newfoundland, Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, E.L.

1988-01-01

The Cat Arm Dam is located on a plateau of the Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula, and the 127 MW unit uses a 387 m head to produce an average of 676 GWh annually. Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is conducting an environmental effects monitoring program in Cat Arm Reservoir to evaluate environmental impacts of the project. In the addendum to the Environmental Impact Statement of 1981, the utility agreed to a number of actions to mitigate the impacts of construction on fish populations, and to monitor the effects of reservoir creation, including the following. The mercury content of fish flesh, sediments and water would be monitored, and sampling would be undertaken prior to flooding to obtain baseline data, and for at least five years after flooding. The brook trout population would be monitored at various stages in the life of the reservoir in order to detect negative changes for which mitigative strategies could be applied. Alternative spawning habitat would be provided by removing barriers on streams or creating spawning beds if the monitoring program showed that recruitment was falling, and if these methods were ineffective, a compensatory stocking program would be considered. Extensive monitoring would be undertaken of the littoral zones, primary production in the reservoir, and of a number of limnological parameters to document long term changes in the reservoir. Although of academic interest, certain unusual characteristics of the Cat Arm reservoir, such as its low pH and dark colour, reduce its utility as a predictor of changes due to reservoir formation elsewhere in Newfoundland. 15 refs., 1 fig

Vulnerability to Urban Heat Island in São Paulo Municipality: An Approach to Support the Mitigation Measures Implementation in Urban Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Siqueira-Gay

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In the practice of urban and environmental planning, especially in the context of adaptation to environmental changes, there is a demand for studies that integrate social, economic and environmental information of the population and related risk. Particularly in large urban centers, waterproofing and verticalization have the potential to increase local air temperature, triggering the phenomenon of heat islands. Therefore, this phenomenon has side effects such as public health problems, pollution and changes in the air circulation. In view of the risks and consequences of the urban heat islands, this paper aims to analyze the priority areas for implementing measures to mitigate the effects of the urban heat islands phenomenon in São Paulo City (Brazil. A vulnerability index was proposed considering the social and environmental dimensions, relating the capacity of adaptation, sensitivity and exposure to the occurrence of the phenomenon of urban heat islands. Besides that, measures to mitigate the effects associated with heat islands in urban planning were identified. The central regions are critical for exposure and the outskirts, for adaptive capacity and sensitivity, both considered priorities for the implementation of mitigation measures. In addition, strategies such as implementation and conservation of green spaces, preservation of water bodies, urban design change, as well as use of materials with high reflectance are also listed and partially foreseen in the Municipal Strategic Master Plan to mitigate the effects of urban heat island.

Environmentally-friendly practices in hotels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miriam Mbasera

2016-06-01

Research purpose: To determine the environmentally-friendly practices in hotels in Zimbabwe and South Africa and establish the contribution that hotels are making towards mitigation of the negative environmental effects. Motivation for the study: Currently, the world is facing environmental issues, which include global climate change, ozone depletion, pollution, high consumption of resources and increasing amounts of solid waste. Hotels, as part of the tourism industry, exert a significant impact on the environment. While the extent and range of the impact that hotels exert on the environment suggest an urgent need to address this problem, the question that arises is whether hoteliers appreciate the need for environmentally-friendly initiatives in their establishments. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research was carried out in eight hotels that employ the strategy of the case study in the aforementioned countries. Main findings: Currently, no policies for green management exist, although some hotels do engage in some environmentally-friendly practices. Some hotel managers do not implement green management initiatives to mitigate the environmental problems emanating from their hotel operations. Practical and/or managerial implications: This indicates that a gap exists between managers’ awareness of appropriate environmentally-friendly practices for hotels, implying a need for training and increased awareness of green management. Contribution and/or value-add: The results could guide managers in the implementation of environmentally-friendly practices in an effort to mitigate environmental problems facing the present generation.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Technostress : negative effect on performance and possible mitigations

OpenAIRE

Tarafdar, Monideepa; Pullins, Ellen; Ragu-Nathan, T. S

2015-01-01

We investigate the effect of conditions that create technostress, on technology-enabled innovation, technology-enabled performance and overall performance. We further look at the role of technology self-efficacy, organizational mechanisms that inhibit technostress and technology competence as possible mitigations to the effects of technostress creators. Our findings show a negative association between technostress creators and performance. We find that, while traditional effort-based mechanis...

Solar Array Sails: Possible Space Plasma Environmental Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Willie R.

2005-01-01

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

Lucky Mc Uranium Mill. Draft environmental statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-06-01

The Environmental Impact Statement addressed the following: the existing environment; operations; environmental impacts; environmental effects of accidents; monitoring programs and other mitigating measures; unavoidable adverse environmental impacts; relationship between short-term uses of the environment and long-term productivity; irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources; alternatives; and NRC benefit-cost summary for the Lucky Mc Mill

Voluntary climate change mitigation actions of young adults: a classification of mitigators through latent class analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Korkala, Essi A E; Hugg, Timo T; Jaakkola, Jouni J K

2014-01-01

Encouraging individuals to take action is important for the overall success of climate change mitigation. Campaigns promoting climate change mitigation could address particular groups of the population on the basis of what kind of mitigation actions the group is already taking. To increase the knowledge of such groups performing similar mitigation actions we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in Finland. The study population comprised 1623 young adults who returned a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 64%). Our aims were to identify groups of people engaged in similar climate change mitigation actions and to study the gender differences in the grouping. We also determined if socio-demographic characteristics can predict group membership. We performed latent class analysis using 14 mitigation actions as manifest variables. Three classes were identified among men: the Inactive (26%), the Semi-active (63%) and the Active (11%) and two classes among women: the Semi-active (72%) and the Active (28%). The Active among both genders were likely to have mitigated climate change through several actions, such as recycling, using environmentally friendly products, preferring public transport, and conserving energy. The Semi-Active had most probably recycled and preferred public transport because of climate change. The Inactive, a class identified among men only, had very probably done nothing to mitigate climate change. Among males, being single or divorced predicted little involvement in climate change mitigation. Among females, those without tertiary degree and those with annual income €≥16801 were less involved in climate change mitigation. Our results illustrate to what extent young adults are engaged in climate change mitigation, which factors predict little involvement in mitigation and give insight to which segments of the public could be the audiences of targeted mitigation campaigns.

Voluntary climate change mitigation actions of young adults: a classification of mitigators through latent class analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Essi A E Korkala

Full Text Available Encouraging individuals to take action is important for the overall success of climate change mitigation. Campaigns promoting climate change mitigation could address particular groups of the population on the basis of what kind of mitigation actions the group is already taking. To increase the knowledge of such groups performing similar mitigation actions we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in Finland. The study population comprised 1623 young adults who returned a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 64%. Our aims were to identify groups of people engaged in similar climate change mitigation actions and to study the gender differences in the grouping. We also determined if socio-demographic characteristics can predict group membership. We performed latent class analysis using 14 mitigation actions as manifest variables. Three classes were identified among men: the Inactive (26%, the Semi-active (63% and the Active (11% and two classes among women: the Semi-active (72% and the Active (28%. The Active among both genders were likely to have mitigated climate change through several actions, such as recycling, using environmentally friendly products, preferring public transport, and conserving energy. The Semi-Active had most probably recycled and preferred public transport because of climate change. The Inactive, a class identified among men only, had very probably done nothing to mitigate climate change. Among males, being single or divorced predicted little involvement in climate change mitigation. Among females, those without tertiary degree and those with annual income €≥16801 were less involved in climate change mitigation. Our results illustrate to what extent young adults are engaged in climate change mitigation, which factors predict little involvement in mitigation and give insight to which segments of the public could be the audiences of targeted mitigation campaigns.

Mitigation for one & all: An integrated framework for mitigation of development impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tallis, Heather, E-mail: htallis@tnc.org [The Nature Conservancy, 415 Alta Vista Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (United States); Kennedy, Christina M., E-mail: ckennedy@tnc.org [The Nature Conservancy, 117 East Mountain Ave., Ft. Collins, CO 80524 (United States); Ruckelshaus, Mary [The Natural Capital Project, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Goldstein, Joshua; Kiesecker, Joseph M. [The Nature Conservancy, 117 East Mountain Ave., Ft. Collins, CO 80524 (United States)

2015-11-15

Emerging development policies and lending standards call for consideration of ecosystem services when mitigating impacts from development, yet little guidance exists to inform this process. Here we propose a comprehensive framework for advancing both biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. We have clarified a means for choosing representative ecosystem service targets alongside biodiversity targets, identified servicesheds as a useful spatial unit for assessing ecosystem service avoidance, impact, and offset options, and discuss methods for consistent calculation of biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation ratios. We emphasize the need to move away from area- and habitat-based assessment methods for both biodiversity and ecosystem services towards functional assessments at landscape or seascape scales. Such comprehensive assessments more accurately reflect cumulative impacts and variation in environmental quality, social needs and value preferences. The integrated framework builds on the experience of biodiversity mitigation while addressing the unique opportunities and challenges presented by ecosystem service mitigation. These advances contribute to growing potential for economic development planning and execution that will minimize impacts on nature and maximize human wellbeing. - Highlights: • This is the first framework for biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. • Functional, landscape scale assessments are ideal for avoidance and offsets. • Servicesheds define the appropriate spatial extent for ecosystem service mitigation. • Mitigation ratios should be calculated consistently and based on standard factors. • Our framework meets the needs of integrated mitigation assessment requirements.

Mitigation for one & all: An integrated framework for mitigation of development impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tallis, Heather; Kennedy, Christina M.; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Goldstein, Joshua; Kiesecker, Joseph M.

2015-01-01

Emerging development policies and lending standards call for consideration of ecosystem services when mitigating impacts from development, yet little guidance exists to inform this process. Here we propose a comprehensive framework for advancing both biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. We have clarified a means for choosing representative ecosystem service targets alongside biodiversity targets, identified servicesheds as a useful spatial unit for assessing ecosystem service avoidance, impact, and offset options, and discuss methods for consistent calculation of biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation ratios. We emphasize the need to move away from area- and habitat-based assessment methods for both biodiversity and ecosystem services towards functional assessments at landscape or seascape scales. Such comprehensive assessments more accurately reflect cumulative impacts and variation in environmental quality, social needs and value preferences. The integrated framework builds on the experience of biodiversity mitigation while addressing the unique opportunities and challenges presented by ecosystem service mitigation. These advances contribute to growing potential for economic development planning and execution that will minimize impacts on nature and maximize human wellbeing. - Highlights: • This is the first framework for biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. • Functional, landscape scale assessments are ideal for avoidance and offsets. • Servicesheds define the appropriate spatial extent for ecosystem service mitigation. • Mitigation ratios should be calculated consistently and based on standard factors. • Our framework meets the needs of integrated mitigation assessment requirements

Quantitative analysis on the urban flood mitigation effect by the extensive green roof system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.Y.; Moon, H.J.; Kim, T.I.; Kim, H.W.; Han, M.Y.

2013-01-01

Extensive green-roof systems are expected to have a synergetic effect in mitigating urban runoff, decreasing temperature and supplying water to a building. Mitigation of runoff through rainwater retention requires the effective design of a green-roof catchment. This study identified how to improve building runoff mitigation through quantitative analysis of an extensive green-roof system. Quantitative analysis of green-roof runoff characteristics indicated that the extensive green roof has a high water-retaining capacity response to rainfall of less than 20 mm/h. As the rainfall intensity increased, the water-retaining capacity decreased. The catchment efficiency of an extensive green roof ranged from 0.44 to 0.52, indicating reduced runoff comparing with efficiency of 0.9 for a concrete roof. Therefore, extensive green roofs are an effective storm water best-management practice and the proposed parameters can be applied to an algorithm for rainwater-harvesting tank design. -- Highlights: •Urban extensive green roof systems have a synergetic effect in mitigating urban runoff. •These systems are improve runoff mitigation and decentralized urban water management. •These systems have a high water-retaining capacity response to rainfall of less than 20 mm/h. •The catchment efficiency of an extensive green roof ranged from 0.44 to 0.52. -- Extensive green-roofs are an effective storm water best-management practice and the proposed parameters can be applied to mitigate urban runoff

2008 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano

2008-09-30

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

2007 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

K. A. Gano; C. T. Lindsey

2007-09-27

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

Space Environmental Effects on Materials and Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Sabbann, Leslie M.

2009-01-01

The Materials and Processes (M&P) Branch of the Structural Engineering Division at Johnson Space Center (JSC) seeks to uphold the production of dependable space hardware through materials research, which fits into NASA's purpose of advancing human exploration, use, and development of space. The Space Environmental Effects projects fully support these Agency goals. Two tasks were assigned to support M&P. Both assignments were to further the research of material behavior outside of Earth's atmosphere in order to determine which materials are most durable and safe to use in space for mitigating risks. One project, the Materials on International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) task, was to compile data from International Space Station (ISS) experiments to pinpoint beneficial space hardware. The other project was researching the effects on composite materials of exposure to high doses of radiation for a Lunar habitat project.

Modeling the mitigation effect of coastal forests on tsunami

Science.gov (United States)

Kh'ng, Xin Yi; Teh, Su Yean; Koh, Hock Lye

2017-08-01

As we have learned from the 26 Dec 2004 mega Andaman tsunami that killed 250, 000 lives worldwide, tsunami is a devastating natural disaster that can cause severe impacts including immense loss of human lives and extensive destruction of properties. The wave energy can be dissipated by the presence of coastal mangrove forests, which provide some degree of protection against tsunami waves. On the other hand, costly artificial structures such as reinforced walls can substantially diminish the aesthetic value and may cause environmental problems. To quantify the effectiveness of coastal forests in mitigating tsunami waves, an in-house 2-D model TUNA-RP is developed and used to quantify the reduction in wave heights and velocities due to the presence of coastal forests. The degree of reduction varies significantly depending on forest flow-resistant properties such as vegetation characteristics, forest density and forest width. The ability of coastal forest in reducing tsunami wave heights along the west coast of Penang Island is quantified by means of model simulations. Comparison between measured tsunami wave heights for the 2004 Andaman tsunami and 2-D TUNA-RP model simulated values demonstrated good agreement.

Methodologies of environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroll, H.

1994-01-01

This article gives a brief introduction covering the objectives of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and sustainable development, before going on to describe the screening procedure to define the environmental and socio-economic impacts of projects. The EIA procedure outlined encompasses a description of the project, examination of all environmental effects (scoping), identification of existing and predicted environmental conditions and impacts, alternative measures and mitigating measures, co-ordination, with environmental regulations, public participation, and monitoring and approval of the EIA. (UK)

Mitigation measures for the La Grande 1 hydroelectric development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faucher, O.; Gagnon, R.

1992-01-01

Measures to mitigate environmental impacts of the La Grande 1 hydroelectric development are described. An overview is presented of the La Grande 1 project, its surrounding environment, and the principle environmental repercussions of the reservoir, hydrological changes between the dam and river mouth, construction activities and permanent and temporary structures, and presence of workers. Mitigation measures including compensation, corrective measures (deforestation, selective cutting, fish populations, wildlife populations, land rehabilitation, access roads, fisheries, and erosion control), protective measures, enhancement measures, and contract and employment opportunities for the Cree population are described. 10 refs., 2 figs

Expert systems: A new approach to radon mitigation training and quality assurance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brambley, M.R.; Hanlon, R.L.; Parker, G.B.

1990-07-01

Training radon mitigators and ensuring that they provide high-quality work on the scale necessary to reduce radon to acceptable levels in the large number of homes and schools requiring some mitigation is a challenging problem. The US Environmental Protection Agency and several states have made commendable efforts to train mitigators and ensure that they provide quality services to the public. Expert systems could be used to extend and improve the effectiveness of these efforts. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the radon community to this promising new technology. The paper includes a description of a prototype system developed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory that illustrates several of the capabilities that expert systems can provide, a brief explanation of how the prototype works, and a discussion of the potential roles and benefits of fully-developed expert systems for radon mitigation. 4 refs., 3 figs.

Expert systems: A new approach to radon mitigation training and quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brambley, M.R.; Hanlon, R.L.; Parker, G.B.

1990-07-01

Training radon mitigators and ensuring that they provide high-quality work on the scale necessary to reduce radon to acceptable levels in the large number of homes and schools requiring some mitigation is a challenging problem. The US Environmental Protection Agency and several states have made commendable efforts to train mitigators and ensure that they provide quality services to the public. Expert systems could be used to extend and improve the effectiveness of these efforts. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the radon community to this promising new technology. The paper includes a description of a prototype system developed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory that illustrates several of the capabilities that expert systems can provide, a brief explanation of how the prototype works, and a discussion of the potential roles and benefits of fully-developed expert systems for radon mitigation. 4 refs., 3 figs

Environmental Enrichment Mitigates Detrimental Cognitive Effects of Ketogenic Diet in Weanling Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Scichilone, John M; Yarraguntla, Kalyan; Charalambides, Ana; Harney, Jacob P; Butler, David

2016-09-01

For decades, the ketogenic diet has been an effective treatment of intractable epilepsy in children. Childhood epilepsy is pharmacoresistant in 25-40 % of patients taking the current prescribed medications. Chronic seizure activity has been linked to deficits in cognitive function and behavioral problems which negatively affect the learning abilities of the child. Recent studies suggest the ketogenic diet (KD), a high fat with low carbohydrate and protein diet, has adverse effects on cognition in weanling rats. The diet reduces circulating glucose levels to where energy metabolism is converted from glycolysis to burning fat and generating ketone bodies which has been suggested as a highly efficient source of energy for the brain. In contrast, when weanling rats are placed in an enriched environment, they exhibit increased spatial learning, memory, and neurogenesis. Thus, this study was done to determine if weanling rats being administered a KD in an environmental enrichment (EE) would still exhibit the negative cognitive effects of the diet previously observed. The present study suggests that an altered environment is capable of reducing the cognitive deficits in weanling rats administered a KD. Learning was improved with an EE. The effect of diet and environment on anxiety and depression suggests a significant reduction in anxiety with enrichment rearing. Interestingly, circulating energy substrate levels were increased in the EE groups along with brain-derived neurotrophic factor despite the least changes in weight gain. In light of numerous studies using KDs that seemingly have adverse effects on cognition, KD-induced reductions in excitotoxic events would not necessarily eliminate that negative aspect of seizures.

Efficiency of parks in mitigating urban heat island effect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feyisa, Gudina Legese; Dons, Klaus; Meilby, Henrik

2014-01-01

Urban green infrastructure can to a certain extent mitigate urban warming. However, the cooling effect of plants varies with space, time and plant-specific properties. To contribute to our understanding of the cooling effect of vegetation on urban surface and air temperature, 21 parks in Addis...... and spatial design of green spaces in cooling the environment....

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, J.-K.; Hsu, C.-C.; Liu, S.-Y.; Wu, C.-I.; Gharib, M.; Yeh, N.-C.

2016-01-01

The environmental aging effect of doped graphene is investigated as a function of the organic doping species, humidity, and the number of graphene layers adjacent to the dopant by studies of the Raman spectroscopy, x-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and electrical transport measurements. It is found that higher humidity and structural defects induce faster degradation in doped graphene. Detailed analysis of the spectroscopic data suggest that the physical origin of the aging effect is associated with the continuing reaction of H_2O molecules with the hygroscopic organic dopants, which leads to formation of excess chemical bonds, reduction in the doped graphene carrier density, and proliferation of damages from the graphene grain boundaries. These environmental aging effects are further shown to be significantly mitigated by added graphene layers.

Transforming trash: reuse as a waste management and climate change mitigation strategy

OpenAIRE

Vergara, Sintana Eugenia

2011-01-01

Waste reflects the culture that produces it and affects the health of the people and environment surrounding it. As urbanization and waste production increase on a global scale, cities are faced with the challenge of how to manage their waste effectively to minimize its negative impacts on public and environmental health. Using waste as a resource can offer a variety of environmental benefits, including climate change mitigation, though these benefits are variable and uncertain. My work begin...

Coal mine subsidence: effects of mitigation on crop yields. [USA - Illinois

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darmody, R.G.; Hetzler, R.T.; Simmons, F.W. (Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (USA). Dept. of Agronomy)

1992-01-01

Subsidence from longwall underground coal mining adversely impacts agricultural land by creating wet or ponded areas. While most subsided areas show little impact, some localized places, usually less than 1.5 ha in size, may experience total crop failure. Coal companies mitigate subsidence damaged cropland by installing drainage waterways or by adding fill material to raise the grade. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of mitigation in restoring corn and soybean yields to pre-mined levels. Fourteen sites in southern Illinois were selected for study. Corn ([ital Zea mays] L.) and soybean ([ital Glycine max] L.) yields from mitigated and nearby undisturbed areas were compared for four years. Results varied due to differing weather and site conditions. Mean corn yields overall, however were significantly ([alpha]0.05) lower on mitigated areas. There was no significant difference in overall mean soybean yields. Soil fertility levels were similar and did not account for yield differences. 14 refs., 1 fig., 7 tabs.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Bouraoui, Fayçal; Grizzetti, Bruna

2014-01-15

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

It is a moral issue : The relationship between environmental self-identity, obligation-based intrinsic motivation and pro-environmental behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Werff, Ellen; Steg, Linda; Keizer, Kees

2013-01-01

In order to effectively mitigate climate change, people need to adopt environmentally-friendly actions. We argue that some people act in an environmentally-friendly manner without external incentives to do so, but rather because they are intrinsically motivated to do so. There is some initial

Mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect in Megacity Tehran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahar Sodoudi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cities demonstrate higher nocturnal temperatures than surrounding rural areas, which is called “urban heat island” (UHI effect. Climate change projections also indicate increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves, which will intensify the UHI effect. As megacity Tehran is affected by severe heatwaves in summer, this study investigates its UHI characteristics and suggests some feasible mitigation strategies in order to reduce the air temperature and save energy. Temperature monitoring in Tehran shows clear evidence of the occurrence of the UHI effect, with a peak in July, where the urban area is circa 6 K warmer than the surrounding areas. The mobile measurements show a park cool island of 6-7 K in 2 central parks, which is also confirmed by satellite images. The effectiveness of three UHI mitigation strategies high albedo material (HAM, greenery on the surface and on the roofs (VEG, and a combination of them (HYBRID has been studied using simulation with the microscale model ENVI-met. All three strategies show higher cooling effect in the daytime. The average nocturnal cooling effect of VEG and HYBRID (0.92, 1.10 K is much higher than HAM (0.16 K, although high-density trees show a negative effect on nocturnal cooling.

Drainage filter technologies to mitigate site-specific phosphorus losses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Charlotte; Heckrath, Goswin Johann; Iversen, Bo Vangsø

2014-01-01

-specific nutrient losses in drainage. The “SUPREME-TECH” project (2010-2015), funded by the Danish Strategic Research Council, aims at providing the scientific basis for developing cost-effective drainage filter technologies to retain P in agricultural drainage waters. The project studies different approaches...... high risks areas of P loss and applying site-specific measures therefore seems a more cost-efficient approach. The Danish Commission for Nature and Agriculture has now called for a shift of paradigm towards targeted mitigation and development of new, cost-efficient technologies to mitigate site......-scale surface-flow constructed wetland. In the former, various natural and industrial P filter substrates have been tested for their ability to reduce inlet P concentrations to below environmental threshold values (

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

Science.gov (United States)

Brogan, William R; Relyea, Rick A

2013-03-01

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

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TECHNOLOGIES FOR ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION FROM CONVENTIONAL SOURCES AND MEASURES TO MITIGATE THE PRODUCED IMPACTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PAUL CALANTER

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The electricity sector represents the sector with the greatest impact in terms of producing climate change, mainly due to the greenhouse gas emissions generated through the burning of fossil fuels. It is not however the only negative aspect associated to the classic technologies of electricity production. This paper aims to assess the economic and environmental aspects associated to the technologies for the electricity production from conventional sources and as a conclusion of the research it will also propose certain specific measures designed to mitigate their impacts. Therefore, the analysis will focus on economic issues, such as limited resources of fuels and the significant fluctuation in fuel prices, low energy efficiency, environmental protection expenditures and health issues as a result of the pollution generated by the electricity production and environmental aspects related primarily to the burning of fossil fuels, but also to extraction, transport and storage, aspects concerning the management of waste generated by the energy sector or to the risks associated with the process of producing electricity. In the final part of the paper a few measures will be proposed to mitigate the impact on the environment and economic development of such technologies, as well as increasing energy efficiency, promoting renewable sources of energy, carbon dioxide capture and storage, limiting deforestation, afforestation or the prevention of accidents in the energy sector.

Mitigation of the effects of sulphur pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, B.; Wilson, R.

1976-07-05

As an introduction to the discussion of mitigation of the effects of SO/sub 2/, its health effect on man and the use of sulfates as indicators of the health hazard are first considered. The use of tall chimney stacks and intermittent control and other schemes to reduce the SO/sub 2/ release to the atmosphere are discussed. The problems of administration and forecasting are analyzed and legal problems associated with SO/sub 2/ control are reviewed. In an appendix an analysis of federal jurisdiction over interstate pollution and possible avenues of litigation open to the states is presented. (JSR)

Environmental impact report (draft)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-05-01

The three projects as proposed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the environmental analysis of the projects are discussed. Sections on the natural and social environments of the proposed projects and their surrounding areas consist of descriptions of the setting, discussions of the adverse and beneficial consequences of the project, and potential mitigation measures to reduce the effects of adverse impacts. The Environmental Impact Report includes discussions of unavoidable adverse effects, irreversible changes, long-term and cumulative impacts, growth-inducing effects, and feasible alternatives to the project. (MHR)

Forest and Water Management for Mitigating the effects of Climate ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Forest and Water Management for Mitigating the effects of Climate Change in the ... Internet as a gateway in expanding choices for building adaptive capacity : a case ... L'honorable Chrystia Freeland, ministre du Commerce international, ...

Effect of surfactant in mitigating cadmium oxide nanoparticle toxicity: Implications for mitigating cadmium toxicity in environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balmuri, Sricharani Rao; Selvaraj, Uthra; Kumar, Vadivel Vinod; Anthony, Savarimuthu Philip; Tsatsakis, Aristides Michael; Golokhvast, Kirill Sergeevich; Raman, Thiagarajan

2017-01-01

Cadmium (Cd), classified as human carcinogen, is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant, and there is an increasing environmental concern for cadmium exposure through anthropogenic sources including cigarette smoke. Though Cd based nanoparticles such as cadmium oxide (CdO) are being widely used in a variety of clinical and industrial applications, the toxicity of CdO nanoparticles has not been well characterized. Herein we report the toxicity of CdO nanoparticles employing zebrafish as a model. Two different CdO nanoparticles were prepared, calcination of Cd(OH) 2 without any organic molecule (CdO-1) and calcination of Cd-citrate coordination polymer (CdO-2), to evaluate and compare the toxicity of these two different CdO nanoparticles. Results show that zebrafish exposed to CdO-2 nanoparticles expressed reduced toxicity as judged by lower oxidative stress levels, rescue of liver carboxylesterases and reduction in metallothionein activity compared to CdO-1 nanoparticles. Histopathological observations also support our contention that CdO-1 nanoparticles showed higher toxicity relative to CdO-2 nanoparticles. The organic unit of Cd-citrate coordination polymer might have converted into carbon during calcination that might have covered the surface of CdO nanoparticles. This carbon surface coverage can control the release of Cd 2+ ions in CdO-2 compared to non-covered CdO-1 nanoparticles and hence mitigate the toxicity in the case of CdO-2. This was supported by atomic absorption spectrophotometer analyses of Cd 2+ ions release from CdO-1 and CdO-2 nanoparticles. Thus the present study clearly demonstrates the toxicity of CdO nanoparticles in an aquatic animal and also indicates that the toxicity could be substantially reduced by carbon coverage. This could have important implications in terms of anthropogenic release and environmental pollution caused by Cd and human exposure to Cd 2+ from sources such as cigarette smoke. - Highlights: • Toxicity of Cd

Effect of surfactant in mitigating cadmium oxide nanoparticle toxicity: Implications for mitigating cadmium toxicity in environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balmuri, Sricharani Rao [Department of Bioengineering, School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401 (India); Selvaraj, Uthra [Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401 (India); Kumar, Vadivel Vinod [Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401 (India); Anthony, Savarimuthu Philip, E-mail: philip@biotech.sastra.edu [Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401 (India); Tsatsakis, Aristides Michael [Department of Forensic Sciences and Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003 (Greece); Scientific Educational Center of Nanotechnology, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690990 (Russian Federation); Golokhvast, Kirill Sergeevich [Scientific Educational Center of Nanotechnology, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690990 (Russian Federation); Raman, Thiagarajan, E-mail: raman@biotech.sastra.edu [Department of Bioengineering, School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401 (India); Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401 (India)

2017-01-15

Cadmium (Cd), classified as human carcinogen, is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant, and there is an increasing environmental concern for cadmium exposure through anthropogenic sources including cigarette smoke. Though Cd based nanoparticles such as cadmium oxide (CdO) are being widely used in a variety of clinical and industrial applications, the toxicity of CdO nanoparticles has not been well characterized. Herein we report the toxicity of CdO nanoparticles employing zebrafish as a model. Two different CdO nanoparticles were prepared, calcination of Cd(OH){sub 2} without any organic molecule (CdO-1) and calcination of Cd-citrate coordination polymer (CdO-2), to evaluate and compare the toxicity of these two different CdO nanoparticles. Results show that zebrafish exposed to CdO-2 nanoparticles expressed reduced toxicity as judged by lower oxidative stress levels, rescue of liver carboxylesterases and reduction in metallothionein activity compared to CdO-1 nanoparticles. Histopathological observations also support our contention that CdO-1 nanoparticles showed higher toxicity relative to CdO-2 nanoparticles. The organic unit of Cd-citrate coordination polymer might have converted into carbon during calcination that might have covered the surface of CdO nanoparticles. This carbon surface coverage can control the release of Cd{sup 2+} ions in CdO-2 compared to non-covered CdO-1 nanoparticles and hence mitigate the toxicity in the case of CdO-2. This was supported by atomic absorption spectrophotometer analyses of Cd{sup 2+} ions release from CdO-1 and CdO-2 nanoparticles. Thus the present study clearly demonstrates the toxicity of CdO nanoparticles in an aquatic animal and also indicates that the toxicity could be substantially reduced by carbon coverage. This could have important implications in terms of anthropogenic release and environmental pollution caused by Cd and human exposure to Cd{sup 2+} from sources such as cigarette smoke. - Highlights: �

Cost-effective and robust mitigation of space debris in low earth orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, R.; Martin, C.

It is predicted that the space debris population in low Earth orbit (LEO) will continue to grow and in an exponential manner in the long-term due to an increasing rate of collisions between large objects, unless internationally-accepted space debris mitigation measures are adopted soon. Such measures are aimed at avoiding the future generation of space debris objects and primarily need to be effective in preventing significant long-term growth in the debris population, even in the potential scenario of an increase in future space activity. It is also important that mitigation measures can limit future debris population levels, and therefore the underlying collision risk to space missions, to the lowest extent possible. However, for their wide acceptance, the cost of implementation associated with mitigation measures needs to be minimised as far as possible. Generally, a lower collision risk will cost more to achieve and vice versa, so it is necessary to strike a balance between cost and risk in order to find a cost-effective set of mitigation measures. In this paper, clear criteria are established in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of space debris mitigation measures. A full cost-risk-benefit trade-off analysis of numerous mitigation scenarios is presented. These scenarios consider explosion prevention and post-mission disposal of space systems, including de-orbiting to limited lifetime orbits and re-orbiting above the LEO region. The ESA DELTA model is used to provide long-term debris environment projections for these scenarios as input to the benefit and risk parts of the trade-off analysis. Manoeuvre requirements for the different post-mission disposal scenarios were also calculated in order to define the cost-related element. A 25-year post-mission lifetime de-orbit policy, combined with explosion prevention and mission-related object limitation, was found to be the most cost-effective solution to the space debris problem in LEO. This package would also

2006 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A. L. Johnson; K. A. Gano

2006-10-03

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

Forest and Water Management for Mitigating the effects of Climate ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Forest and Water Management for Mitigating the effects of Climate Change in the ... forest, agriculture and water management strategies play in both adaptation to and ... IDRC joins more than 800 international delegates at the Resilient Cities ...

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

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas C. Brown; Stephan Kroll

2017-01-01

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

Mitigation by design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cairns, W.J.

1992-01-01

Mitigation or 'the act of bringing together' is not to be confused with applied architectural or landscape cosmetics to render development which has been predesigned in terms of engineering parameters to be more 'seemly' or 'attractive'. It is more profoundly an exercise in simultaneous engineering and environmental analysis in which the level of synthesis between the elements of construction and the elements of the physical environment is fundamental to the ultimate design success of projects. This text, having looked firstly at the nature of design and the characteristics of design processes and procedures, considers the linkages and interaction between design and the statutory land use planning system through which major development projects in Scotland are authorised. A case study of the development of the oil handling terminal at Flotta, Orkney, is included to demonstrate the implications of certain problems related to mitigation by design. (author)

Possible environmental effects of increased coal use in California

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, D. L.

1978-01-01

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

An evaluation of environmental effects of the DOE HLW repository siting and characterization program at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winsor, M.F.; Ulland, L.M.

1989-01-01

This paper presents highlights of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office (NWPO) environmental investigations in progress on the environmental effects of past and proposed activities of the Department of Energy (DOE) at the Yucca Mountain repository. The environmental investigations refer to those studies specifically related to resource evaluation, impact assessment and mitigation planning for the repository program; it is defined to exclude consideration of technical suitability determinations, socioeconomics and transportation. This paper addresses the question of what are the disturbances created by past and proposed DOE activities related to repository siting and characterization at Yucca Mountain. It discusses considerations in linking disturbance to the potential for significant adverse environmental impacts

Impact mitigation in EIA

OpenAIRE

Bond, Alan; Cashmore, Matthew; Cobb, Dick; Tinker, Lauren

2005-01-01

This study analysed 40 planning applications in the East of England to investigate the practice of translating paper recommendations in the environmental statement (ES) into legal conditions and obligations. A high proportion (50%) of suggested mitigation measures were not translated into planning conditions or obligations. However, a significant number of additional conditions or obligations, not directly based on the ES, were imposed on developers. The research su...

Environmental Effects of Offshore Wind Development. Fiscal Year 2012 Progress Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Copping, Andrea E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hanna, Luke A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Butner, R. Scott [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carlson, Thomas J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Halvorsen, Michele B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Duberstein, Corey A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Matzner, Shari [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Whiting, Jonathan M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Blake, Kara M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stavole, Jessica [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2012-09-01

Potential environmental effects of offshore wind (OSW) energy projects are not well understood, and regulatory agencies are required to make decisions in spite of substantial uncertainty about environmental impacts and their long-term consequences. An understanding of risks associated with interactions between OSW installations and aquatic receptors, including animals, habitats, and ecosystems, can help define key uncertainties and focus regulatory actions and scientific studies on interactions of most concern. To examine the environmental risks associated with OSW developments in the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) focused on the following four priority research areas in FY 2012: • Environmental Risk Evaluation System (ERES) - Followed project developments on the two OSW projects that PNNL screened in FY 2011 for environmental consequence: Fishermen’s Energy off the coast of Atlantic City, NJ and LEEDCo. near Cleveland, OH in Lake Erie. • Tethys - Developed a smart knowledge base which houses environmental research, data and information pertaining to OSW energy: • Technical Assessment - Produced a new software to create an automated process of identifying and differentiating between flying organism such as birds and bats by using thermal imagery; and • North Atlantic Right Whales - Developed an environmental risk management system to mitigate the impacts on North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) during installation and piledriving stages of OSW developments. By identifying and addressing the highest priority environmental risks for OSW devices and associated installations the ERES process assists project proponents, regulators, and stakeholders to engage in the most efficient and effective siting and permitting pathways.

Optimization Model for Mitigating Global Warming at the Farm Scale: An Application to Japanese Rice Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiyotaka Masuda

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In Japan, greenhouse gas emissions from rice production, especially CH4 emissions in rice paddy fields, are the primary contributors to global warming from agriculture. When prolonged midseason drainage for mitigating CH4 emissions from rice paddy fields is practiced with environmentally friendly rice production based on reduced use of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, Japanese rice farmers can receive an agri-environmental direct payment. This paper examines the economic and environmental effects of the agri-environmental direct payment on the adoption of a measure to mitigate global warming in Japanese rice farms using a combined application of linear programming and life cycle assessment at the farm scale. Eco-efficiency, which is defined as net farm income divided by global warming potential, is used as an integrated indicator for assessing the economic and environmental feasibilities. The results show that under the current direct payment level, the prolonged midseason drainage technique does not improve the eco-efficiency of Japanese rice farms because the practice of this technique in environmentally friendly rice production causes large economic disadvantages in exchange for small environmental advantages. The direct payment rates for agri-environmental measures should be determined based on the condition that environmentally friendly agricultural practices improve eco-efficiency compared with conventional agriculture.

Source-to-sink sediment transfers, environmental engineering and hazard mitigation in the steep Var River catchment, French Riviera, southeastern France

Science.gov (United States)

Anthony, Edward J.; Julian, Maurice

1999-12-01

Steep coastal margins are potentially subject to mass wasting processes involving notable landslide activity and sediment evacuation downstream by steep-gradient streams. Sediment transfer from short source-to-sink segments, coupled with mountain hydrological regimes, regulate patterns of river channel aggradation and coastal sediment supply in such geomorphic settings. On the steep French Riviera margin, sediment transfers from existing landslides or from various minor mass wasting processes to stream channels may result following bursts of heavy, concentrated rainfall. High-magnitude flooding and massive sediment transport downstream are generally related to unpredictable extreme rainfalls. Both mass movements and channel sediment storage pose serious hazards to downvalley settlements and infrastructure. A consideration of channel sediment storage patterns in the Var River catchment, the most important catchment in this area, highlights two important shortcomings relative to environmental engineering and hazard mitigation practices. In the first place, the appreciation of geomorphic processes is rather poor. This is illustrated by the undersized nature of engineering works constructed to mitigate hazards in the upstream bedload-dominated channels, and by the unforeseen effects that ten rock dams, constructed in the early 1970s, have had on downstream and coastal sediment storage and on sediment dispersal patterns and, consequently, valley flooding. Secondly, planners and environmental engineers have lacked foresight in valley and coastal management issues on this steep setting, notably as regards the reclaimed areas of the lower Var channel and delta liable to flooding. Urbanization and transport and environmental engineering works have progressively affected patterns of storage and transport of fine-grained sediments in the lower Var channel and delta. Meanwhile the problems raised by these changes have not been adequately addressed in terms of scientific

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

Science.gov (United States)

Kadri, Usama

2017-01-01

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

The effectiveness of energy service demand reduction: A scenario analysis of global climate change mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimori, S.; Kainuma, M.; Masui, T.; Hasegawa, T.; Dai, H.

2014-01-01

A reduction of energy service demand is a climate mitigation option, but its effectiveness has never been quantified. We quantify the effectiveness of energy service demand reduction in the building, transport, and industry sectors using the Asia-Pacific Integrated Assessment/Computable General Equilibrium (AIM/CGE) model for the period 2015–2050 under various scenarios. There were two major findings. First, a 25% energy service demand reduction in the building, transport, and basic material industry sectors would reduce the GDP loss induced by climate mitigation from 4.0% to 3.0% and from 1.2% to 0.7% in 2050 under the 450 ppm and 550 ppm CO 2 equivalent concentration stabilization scenarios, respectively. Second, the effectiveness of a reduction in the building sector's energy service demand would be higher than those of the other sectors at the same rate of the energy service demand reduction. Furthermore, we also conducted a sensitivity analysis of different socioeconomic conditions, and the climate mitigation target was found to be a key determinant of the effectiveness of energy service demand reduction measures. Therefore, more certain climate mitigation targets would be useful for the decision makers who design energy service demand reduction measures. - Highlights: • The effectiveness of a reduction in energy service demand is quantified. • A 25% reduction in energy service demand would be equivalent to 1% of GDP in 2050. • Stringent mitigation increases the effectiveness of energy service demand reduction. • Effectiveness of a reduction in energy demand service is higher in the building sector

A demonstration of mitigation of environmentally-assisted cracking by the application of a tensile overload

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, L.A.

1997-01-01

Environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) of low-alloy steels in high-temperature aqueous environments typical of those employed in light-water reactor (LWR) systems has been a subject of considerable interest since the pioneering work of Kondo et al demonstrated significantly higher fatigue crack propagation (FCP) rates in water than would be expected in an air environment under similar conditions. Here, environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) of low-alloy steels in elevated temperature aqueous environments is readily observed in many laboratory experiments conducted in autoclaves, yet the observation of EAC in actual components operating in the same environments is quite rare. Mass transport of sulfides from the crack enclave by diffusion and convection occurring in operating components provides one plausible explanation to this apparent paradox. Another contribution to EAC mitigation may also arise from the non-constant stress amplitudes typical for many operating components. This paper provides a demonstration of how a single tensile overload to 40% above a steady-state maximum fatigue stress can retard subsequent crack growth at the steady-state level for a sufficient period of time that diffusion mass transport can reduce the crack-tip sulfide concentration to a level below that necessary to sustain EAC

A demonstration of mitigation of environmentally-assisted cracking by the application of a tensile overload

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, L.A.

1997-02-01

Environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) of low-alloy steels in high-temperature aqueous environments typical of those employed in light-water reactor (LWR) systems has been a subject of considerable interest since the pioneering work of Kondo et al demonstrated significantly higher fatigue crack propagation (FCP) rates in water than would be expected in an air environment under similar conditions. Here, environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) of low-alloy steels in elevated temperature aqueous environments is readily observed in many laboratory experiments conducted in autoclaves, yet the observation of EAC in actual components operating in the same environments is quite rare. Mass transport of sulfides from the crack enclave by diffusion and convection occurring in operating components provides one plausible explanation to this apparent paradox. Another contribution to EAC mitigation may also arise from the non-constant stress amplitudes typical for many operating components. This paper provides a demonstration of how a single tensile overload to 40% above a steady-state maximum fatigue stress can retard subsequent crack growth at the steady-state level for a sufficient period of time that diffusion mass transport can reduce the crack-tip sulfide concentration to a level below that necessary to sustain EAC.

Approach to mitigate intergranular stress corrosion cracking and dose rate reduction rate by water chemistry control in Tokai-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hisamune, Kenji

2015-01-01

The Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) had been working on material replacement and measures to mitigate stress in order to maintain the integrity of the structural material of Tokai-Daini nuclear power plant (Tokai-2, BWR, 1,100 MWe; commercial operation started on November 28, 1978). In addition, as Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) environmental mitigation measures, we have been reducing the sulfate ion concentration in the reactor water by improving the regeneration method of the ion exchange resin at condensate purification system. Furthermore, in conducting the SCC environmental mitigation measures by applying hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) and HWC during start-up (HDS), we have been reducing the oxidizing agent concentration in the reactor water. On the other hand, as a plant that has not installed condensate filters, we have been working on feed water iron concentration reduction measures in Tokai-2 as part of the dose reduction measures. Therefore, we have improved condensate demineralizer's ion exchange resin and the ion exchange resin cleaning method using the ARCS (Advanced Resin Cleaning System) in order to improve the iron removal performance of condensate demineralizer. This document reports the improvement effect of the SCC environmental mitigation measures and the dose reduction measures by water chemistry management at Tokai-2. In addition, the dose reduction effect of the recently applied zinc injection, and the Electrochemical Corrosion Potential (ECP) monitoring plan under the On-Line Noble Chemical Addition (OLNC™) to be implemented later shall be introduced. (author)

Added value. Collaboration on mitigating climate change in coastal towns by community driven processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mechlenborg, Mette; Hansen, Jesper Rohr

2018-01-01

How should the collaborations between private and public landowners be organized and driven in order to make the mitigation of coastal towns and lines more innovative, economic and environmental sustainable?......How should the collaborations between private and public landowners be organized and driven in order to make the mitigation of coastal towns and lines more innovative, economic and environmental sustainable?...

Wetland Mitigation Monitoring at the Fernald Preserve - 13200

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Powell, Jane [Fernald Preserve Site Manager, DOE Office of Legacy Management, Harrison, Ohio (United States); Bien, Stephanie; Decker, Ashlee; Homer, John [Environmental Scientist, S.M. Stoller Corporation, Harrison, Ohio (United States); Wulker, Brian [Intern, S.M. Stoller Corporation, Harrison, Ohio (United States)

2013-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for 7.2 hectares (17.8 acres) of mitigation wetland at the Fernald Preserve, Ohio. Remedial activities affected the wetlands, and mitigation plans were incorporated into site-wide ecological restoration planning. In 2008, the Fernald Natural Resource Trustees developed a comprehensive wetland mitigation monitoring approach to evaluate whether compensatory mitigation requirements have been met. The Fernald Preserve Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Plan provided a guideline for wetland evaluations. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) wetland mitigation monitoring protocols were adopted as the means for compensatory wetland evaluation. Design, hydrologic regime, vegetation, wildlife, and biogeochemistry were evaluated from 2009 to 2011. Evaluations showed mixed results when compared to the Ohio EPA performance standards. Results of vegetation monitoring varied, with the best results occurring in wetlands adjacent to forested areas. Amphibians, particularly ambystomatid salamanders, were observed in two areas adjacent to forested areas. Not all wetlands met vegetation performance standards and amphibian biodiversity metrics. However, Fernald mitigation wetlands showed substantially higher ratings compared to other mitigated wetlands in Ohio. Also, soil sampling results remain consistent with other Ohio mitigated wetlands. The performance standards are not intended to be 'pass/fail' criteria; rather, they are reference points for use in making decisions regarding future monitoring and maintenance. The Trustees approved the Fernald Preserve Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Report with the provision that long-term monitoring of the wetlands continues at the Fernald Preserve. (authors)

Wetland Mitigation Monitoring at the Fernald Preserve - 13200

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, Jane; Bien, Stephanie; Decker, Ashlee; Homer, John; Wulker, Brian

2013-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for 7.2 hectares (17.8 acres) of mitigation wetland at the Fernald Preserve, Ohio. Remedial activities affected the wetlands, and mitigation plans were incorporated into site-wide ecological restoration planning. In 2008, the Fernald Natural Resource Trustees developed a comprehensive wetland mitigation monitoring approach to evaluate whether compensatory mitigation requirements have been met. The Fernald Preserve Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Plan provided a guideline for wetland evaluations. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) wetland mitigation monitoring protocols were adopted as the means for compensatory wetland evaluation. Design, hydrologic regime, vegetation, wildlife, and biogeochemistry were evaluated from 2009 to 2011. Evaluations showed mixed results when compared to the Ohio EPA performance standards. Results of vegetation monitoring varied, with the best results occurring in wetlands adjacent to forested areas. Amphibians, particularly ambystomatid salamanders, were observed in two areas adjacent to forested areas. Not all wetlands met vegetation performance standards and amphibian biodiversity metrics. However, Fernald mitigation wetlands showed substantially higher ratings compared to other mitigated wetlands in Ohio. Also, soil sampling results remain consistent with other Ohio mitigated wetlands. The performance standards are not intended to be 'pass/fail' criteria; rather, they are reference points for use in making decisions regarding future monitoring and maintenance. The Trustees approved the Fernald Preserve Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Report with the provision that long-term monitoring of the wetlands continues at the Fernald Preserve. (authors)

Environmental Assessment of Bus Transport in the Trondheim Region - Evaluation of Relevant Bus and Fuel Technologies and their Potential for Mitigating Emissions from Passenger Transportation

OpenAIRE

Buø, Tonje

2015-01-01

The overall aim of this thesis is to assess the carbon footprint of transport by bus in the Trondheim region. Bus transportation is promoted as a strategy both to combat local pollution problems in urban areas and to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions from passenger transport. Still, the environmental impacts of bus transport have received fairly limited attention in research. The environmental impacts of bus transport are calculated through life cycle assessment. A model is develo...

Mitigation of social and environmental impacts resulting from final closure of uranium mines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cipriani, Moacir

2002-11-01

This thesis focus on the impact of uranium mines in Brazil. It is recent, in the order of the Brazilian mining, the concern with the impact of mining activities. The Federal Constitution of 1988 compels the miner to rehabilitate the degraded environment, in accordance with the technical solution demanded by the competent public agency, which makes use of a system of environmental norms conditioning the mining activity. However, the concern with the closure of mines is in an early stage, for whose achievement the public power still lacks of norms and regulations. The closure of the first uranium mining in Brazil assumes special meaning, because the possible environmental problems related to uranium mines are considered to be serious and the uranium industry is state owned. This thesis is divided in two sections. The first one describes the state of the art of the uranium industry and the rules and management practices regarding the final closure of uranium mining in Brazil and countries like Australia, Canada, USA and France, that have been selected on the basis of the following criteria: production, exportation, control of reserves and final consumption of uranium. In the second part, a case study of Pocos de Caldas mine is presented, with description of historical production, plant waste and the chemical treatment of the ore. This part also presents the research carried out since the beginning of the operations aiming to remedial actions, including the dismantling of surface structures, tailings reclamation, and ground-water restoration, following CNEN (Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission) rules, as well as a survey of local press coverage of the impact of the industry. A final recommendation is made regarding a management model and strategies to mitigate social and environmental impacts resulting from final closure of the CIPC. (author)

Effective use of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for geothermal development projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goff, S.J.

2000-01-01

Both the developed and developing nations of the world would like to move toward a position of sustainable development while paying attention to the restoration of natural resources, improving the environment, and improving the quality of life. The impacts of geothermal development projects are generally positive. It is important, however, that the environmental issues associated with development be addressed in a systematic fashion. Drafted early in the project planning stage, a well-prepared Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) can significantly add to the quality of the overall project. An EIA customarily ends with the decision to proceed with the project. The environmental analysis process could be more effective if regular monitoring, detailed in the EIA, continues during project implementation. Geothermal development EIAs should be analytic rather than encyclopedic, emphasizing the impacts most closely associated with energy sector development. Air quality, water resources and quality, geologic factors, and socioeconomic issues will invariably be the most important factors. The purpose of an EIA should not be to generate paperwork, but to enable superb response. The EIA should be intended to help public officials make decisions that are based on an understanding of environmental consequences and take proper actions. The EIA process has been defined in different ways throughout the world. In fact, it appears that no two countries have defined it in exactly the same way. Going hand in hand with the different approaches to the process is the wide variety of formats available. It is recommended that the world geothermal community work towards the adoption of a standard. The Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)(OLADE, 1993) prepared a guide that presents a comprehensive discussion of the environmental impacts and suggested mitigation alternatives associated with geothermal development projects. The OLADE guide

What factors influence mitigative capacity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkler, Harald; Baumert, Kevin; Blanchard, Odile; Burch, Sarah; Robinson, John

2007-01-01

This article builds on Yohe's seminal piece on mitigative capacity, which elaborates 'determinants' of mitigative capacity, also reflected in the IPCC's third assessment report. We propose a revised definition, where mitigative capacity is a country's ability to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions or enhance natural sinks. By 'ability' we mean skills, competencies, fitness, and proficiencies that a country has attained which can contribute to GHG emissions mitigation. A conceptual framework is proposed, linking mitigative capacity to a country's sustainable development path, and grouping the factors influencing mitigative capacity into three main sets: economic factors, institutional ones, and technology. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis of factors is presented, showing how these factors vary across countries. We suggest that it is the interplay between the three economic factors-income, abatement cost and opportunity cost-that shape mitigative capacity. We find that income is an important economic factor influencing mitigative capacity, while abatement cost is important in turning mitigative capacity into actual mitigation. Technology is a critical mitigative capacity, including the ability to absorb existing climate-friendly technologies or to develop innovative ones. Institutional factors that promote mitigative capacity include the effectiveness of government regulation, clear market rules, a skilled work force and public awareness. We briefly investigate such as high abatement cost or lack of political willingness that prevent mitigative capacity from being translated into mitigation

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-05-28

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

Social and ethical perspectives of landslide risk mitigation measures

Science.gov (United States)

Kalsnes, Bjørn; Vangelsten, Bjørn V.

2015-04-01

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

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

OpenAIRE

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these...

The mitigation effect of configuration and context optimization of urban holdings on heat island

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y P; Yu, D Y; Xun, B

2014-01-01

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has become a serious problem in recent years. It is necessary to study the mitigation methods and quantify their effects on UHI. In this paper, based on the remote sensed data, an empirical model was established as a negative function of land surface temperature (LST) to vegetation coverage. Urban heat island intensity (UHII) was estimated by a robust statistic algorithm. Compared with the current condition (vegetation coverage equaling to 0%), five high vegetation coverage building scenarios (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%) were designed to explore mitigation effects on UHI separately. The results showed that the mean LST increase by about 0.5°C when vegetation coverage decrease by 0.1. UHII has a considerable decrease when the scenarios of vegetation coverage equaling to 20% and 40%, respectively. The reasonable vegetation configuration is the effective UHI mitigation

Effectiveness of water release as mitigation for hydroelectric impacts to fish

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, A.F.; Mitchell, A.C.

1995-01-01

Utility companies release water to mitigate the effects of hydroelectric projects on fish habitats. Utility companies, government agencies, and research communities in Canada, the US, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia were surveyed as part of a Canadian Electrical Association study to evaluate the effectiveness of water release as a mitigation. Respondents identified only 28 projects in which water was released specifically to protect fish habitats. Fewer than half of these projects (12) were judged as being effective. Six case histories with preimpact assessment and postimpact monitoring were reviewed. In four cases fish habitat or fish populations or both were maintained; in two cases they were not. The effectiveness of water release differed among rivers and fish species, and was greatest when designed to meet the habitat requirements of each life-history stage. A review of the literature did not support the theory that a particular fraction of the mean annual flow provides the bet fish habitat. Although smaller changes in the flow regime had smaller effects, increasing minimum flows above those historically observed did not necessarily increase fish production

Cooperative binding mitigates the high-dose hook effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Ranjita Dutta; Rosenmund, Christian; Stefan, Melanie I

2017-08-14

The high-dose hook effect (also called prozone effect) refers to the observation that if a multivalent protein acts as a linker between two parts of a protein complex, then increasing the amount of linker protein in the mixture does not always increase the amount of fully formed complex. On the contrary, at a high enough concentration range the amount of fully formed complex actually decreases. It has been observed that allosterically regulated proteins seem less susceptible to this effect. The aim of this study was two-fold: First, to investigate the mathematical basis of how allostery mitigates the prozone effect. And second, to explore the consequences of allostery and the high-dose hook effect using the example of calmodulin, a calcium-sensing protein that regulates the switch between long-term potentiation and long-term depression in neurons. We use a combinatorial model of a "perfect linker protein" (with infinite binding affinity) to mathematically describe the hook effect and its behaviour under allosteric conditions. We show that allosteric regulation does indeed mitigate the high-dose hook effect. We then turn to calmodulin as a real-life example of an allosteric protein. Using kinetic simulations, we show that calmodulin is indeed subject to a hook effect. We also show that this effect is stronger in the presence of the allosteric activator Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), because it reduces the overall cooperativity of the calcium-calmodulin system. It follows that, surprisingly, there are conditions where increased amounts of allosteric activator actually decrease the activity of a protein. We show that cooperative binding can indeed act as a protective mechanism against the hook effect. This will have implications in vivo where the extent of cooperativity of a protein can be modulated, for instance, by allosteric activators or inhibitors. This can result in counterintuitive effects of decreased activity with increased concentrations of

Environmental assessment of the proposed 7-GeV Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-02-01

The potential environmental impacts of construction and operation of a 6- to 7-GeV synchrotron radiation source known as the 7-GeV Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory were evaluated. Key elements considered include on- and off-site radiological effects; socioeconomic effects; and impacts to aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna, wetlands, water and air quality, cultural resources, and threatened or endangered species. Also incorporated are the effects of decisions made as a result of the preliminary design (Title I) being prepared. Mitigation plans to further reduce impacts are being developed. These plans include coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and other responsible agencies to mitigate potential impacts to wetlands. This mitigation includes providing habitat of comparable ecological value to assure no net loss of wetlands. These mitigation actions would be permitted and monitored by COE. A data recovery plan to protect cultural resources has been developed and approved, pursuant to a Programmatic Agreement among the US Department of Energy, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office. Applications for National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and air emissions permits have been submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), respectively. 71 refs., 10 figs., 11 tabs

Wildlife mitigation and monitoring report Gunnison, Colorado, site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); its purpose is to cleanup uranium mill tailings and other contaminated material at 24 UMTRA Project sites in 10 states. This report summarizes the wildlife mitigation and monitoring program under way at the Gunnison UMTRA Project, Gunnison, Colorado. Remedial action at the Gunnison site was completed in December 1995 and is described in detail in the Gunnison completion report. The impacts of this activity were analyzed in the Gunnison environmental assessment (EA). These impacts included two important game species: the pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americans) and sage grouse (Wentrocerus urophasianus). Haul truck traffic was predicted to limit antelope access to water sources north of the Tenderfoot Mountain haul road and that truck traffic along this and other haul roads could result in antelope road kills. Clearing land at the disposal cell, haul road and borrow site activities, and the associated human activities also were predicted to negatively impact (directly and indirectly) sage grouse breeding, nesting, loafing, and wintering habitat. As a result, an extensive mitigation and monitoring plan began in 1992. Most of the monitoring studies are complete and the results of these studies, written by different authors, appear in numerous reports. This report will: (1) Analyze existing impacts and compare them to predicted impacts. (2) Summarize mitigation measures. (3) Summarize all existing monitoring data in one report. (4) Analyze the effectiveness of the mitigation measures

Decreasing the overall environmental impact of the Dutch diet

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kramer, Gerard F.H.; Tyszler, Marcelo; Veer, van 't Pieter; Blonk, Hans

2017-01-01

Objective: To find diets optimised on nutrition and environmental impact close to the current Dutch diet and to identify the most effective and acceptable options for mitigating environmental impact. Design: Linear programming was used to optimise diets of Dutch men and women aged 9–69 years,

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

1998-01-01

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

Can re-regulation reservoirs and batteries cost-effectively mitigate sub-daily hydropeaking?

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, J.; Nowak, W.; Anindito, Y.; Olivares, M. A.

2017-12-01

To compensate for mismatches between generation and load, hydropower plants frequently operate in strong hydropeaking schemes, which is harmful to the downstream ecosystem. Furthermore, new power market structures and variable renewable systems may exacerbate this behavior. Ecological constraints (minimum flows, maximum ramps) are frequently used to mitigate hydropeaking, but these stand in direct tradeoff with the operational flexibility required for integrating renewable technologies. Fortunately, there are also physical methods (i.e. re-regulation reservoirs and batteries) but to date, there are no studies about their cost-effectiveness for hydropeaking mitigation. This study aims to fill that gap. For this, we formulate an hourly mixed-integer linear optimization model to plan the weekly operation of a hydro-thermal-renewable power system from southern Chile. The opportunity cost of water (needed for this weekly scheduling) is obtained from a mid-term programming solved with dynamic programming. We compare the current (unconstrained) hydropower operation with an ecologically constrained operation. The resulting cost increase is then contrasted with the annual payments necessary for the physical hydropeaking mitigation options. For highly constrained operations, both re-regulation reservoirs and batteries show to be economically attractive for hydropeaking mitigation. For intermediate constrained scenarios, re-regulation reservoirs are still economic, whereas batteries can be a viable solution only if they become cheaper in future. Given current cost projections, their break-even point (for hydropeaking mitigation) is expected within the next ten years. Finally, less stringent hydropeaking constraints do not justify physical mitigation measures, as the necessary flexibility can be provided by other power plants of the system.

Evaluation of mitigation effect of the upland field on the regional environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuge, K.; Oohira, Y.; Hao, A.; Nakano, Y.

2005-01-01

The objective of this study is the evaluation of the mitigation effect of the upland field on the regional intrinsic environment, considering the crop growth stages. FAO Penman-Monteith method is introduced for calculation of the reference evapotranspiration. The crop transpiration and the soil surface evaporation in the upland fields are separately estimated using the crop coefficients, considering the crop growth stages. The ratios of the crop transpiration and the soil surface evaporation in the water consumption change drastically with the crop growth stages. To evaluate the mitigation, effect of the upland field, the latent heat fluxes in the sugar cane field and bare field are estimated during the crop growth period. The deference of the latent heat fluxes in the sugar cane field and the bare field is not marked in the initial crop growth stages. However, in the sugar cane field, the latent heat flux increases drastically, with the sugar cane growing. In the mid-season stage, the latent heat flux is larger than the net radiation. These results indicate that the crop field has the large mitigation effect on the environment, and the efficiency changes with the various factors, including the crop types, the crop growth stages, the cultivation condition, and so on

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2009-05-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2009-05-01

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

Quantitative analysis on the urban flood mitigation effect by the extensive green roof system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, J Y; Moon, H J; Kim, T I; Kim, H W; Han, M Y

2013-10-01

Extensive green-roof systems are expected to have a synergetic effect in mitigating urban runoff, decreasing temperature and supplying water to a building. Mitigation of runoff through rainwater retention requires the effective design of a green-roof catchment. This study identified how to improve building runoff mitigation through quantitative analysis of an extensive green-roof system. Quantitative analysis of green-roof runoff characteristics indicated that the extensive green roof has a high water-retaining capacity response to rainfall of less than 20 mm/h. As the rainfall intensity increased, the water-retaining capacity decreased. The catchment efficiency of an extensive green roof ranged from 0.44 to 0.52, indicating reduced runoff comparing with efficiency of 0.9 for a concrete roof. Therefore, extensive green roofs are an effective storm water best-management practice and the proposed parameters can be applied to an algorithm for rainwater-harvesting tank design. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate change mitigation options in the rural land use sector: Stakeholders’ perspectives on barriers, enablers and the role of policy in North East Scotland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feliciano, Diana; Hunter, Colin; Slee, Bill; Smith, Pete

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Farmers are mainly willing to expand the uptake of mitigation practices they already implement. • Main barriers and enablers to uptake are physical–environmental constraints and personal values. • Farmers consider that agriculture is a “special case” because their function is to produce food. • Lack of incentives is not the main barrier to the uptake of mitigation practices. • Policies should allow differentiation, and mitigation measures should be integrated with other mechanisms. - Abstract: The rural land use sector could potentially mitigate a large amount of GHG emissions. Implementation requires the engagement of farmers and other land managers. Understanding the barriers and enablers for the uptake of these practices is essential both to inform policy-makers and to achieve effective policy outreach. In Scotland, the rural land use sector is subject to a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target of 21% by 2020 relative to 1990 levels. This study contributes to the body of research on stakeholders’ perspectives about suitability of climate change mitigation practices at the regional level. Mixed-methods were used to collect the data, namely participatory workshops with scientists and relevant stakeholders, a farmer questionnaire, and focus groups with farmers. Findings show that farmers were mainly willing to expand the uptake of mitigation practices they were already implementing because they consider these are the most cost-effective. Barriers to the implementation of mitigation practices are mainly related to physical–environmental constraints, lack of information and education and personal interests and values. Similarly, enablers are also related to physical–environmental factors and personal interests and values. Economic incentives, voluntary approaches and provision of information have been identified by workshop participants as the most favourable approaches needed to promote the uptake of technically feasible

Mitigation effectiveness for improving nesting success of greater sage-grouse influenced by energy development

Science.gov (United States)

Kirol, Christopher P.; Sutphin, Andrew L.; Bond, Laura S.; Fuller, Mark R.; Maechtle, Thomas L.

2015-01-01

Sagebrush Artemisia spp. habitats being developed for oil and gas reserves are inhabited by sagebrush obligate species — including the greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus (sage-grouse) that is currently being considered for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Numerous studies suggest increasing oil and gas development may exacerbate species extinction risks. Therefore, there is a great need for effective on-site mitigation to reduce impacts to co-occurring wildlife such as sage-grouse. Nesting success is a primary factor in avian productivity and declines in nesting success are also thought to be an important contributor to population declines in sage-grouse. From 2008 to 2011 we monitored 296 nests of radio-marked female sage-grouse in a natural gas (NG) field in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, and compared nest survival in mitigated and non-mitigated development areas and relatively unaltered areas to determine if specific mitigation practices were enhancing nest survival. Nest survival was highest in relatively unaltered habitats followed by mitigated, and then non-mitigated NG areas. Reservoirs used for holding NG discharge water had the greatest support as having a direct relationship to nest survival. Within a 5-km2 area surrounding a nest, the probability of nest failure increased by about 15% for every 1.5 km increase in reservoir water edge. Reducing reservoirs was a mitigation focus and sage-grouse nesting in mitigated areas were exposed to almost half of the amount of water edge compared to those in non-mitigated areas. Further, we found that an increase in sagebrush cover was positively related to nest survival. Consequently, mitigation efforts focused on reducing reservoir construction and reducing surface disturbance, especially when the surface disturbance results in sagebrush removal, are important to enhancing sage-grouse nesting success.

Resolving Environmental Effects of Wind Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinclair, Karin C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); DeGeorge, Elise M [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Copping, Andrea E. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; May, Roel [Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; Bennet, Finlay [Marine Scotland Science; Warnas, Marijke [Rijkswaterstaat; Perron, Muriel [nateco AG; Elmqvist, Asa [Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

2018-04-25

Concerns for potential wildlife impacts resulting from land-based and offshore wind energy have created challenges for wind project development. Research is not always adequately supported, results are neither always readily accessible nor are they satisfactorily disseminated, and so decisions are often made based on the best available information, which may be missing key findings. The potential for high impacts to avian and bat species and marine mammals have been used by wind project opponents to stop, downsize, or severely delay project development. The global nature of the wind industry - combined with the understanding that many affected species cross-national boundaries, and in many cases migrate between continents - also points to the need to collaborate on an international level. The International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Technology Collaborative Programs facilitates coordination on key research issues. IEA Wind Task 34 - WREN: Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy-is a collaborative forum to share lessons gained from field research and modeling, including management methods, wildlife monitoring methods, best practices, study results, and successful approaches to mitigating impacts and addressing the cumulative effects of wind energy on wildlife.

Parental care mitigates carry-over effects of poor early conditions on offspring growth

Science.gov (United States)

Auer, Sonya K.; Martin, Thomas E.

2017-01-01

Poor developmental conditions can have long-lasting negative effects on offspring phenotypes, but impacts often differ among species. Contrasting responses may reflect disparities in experimental protocols among single-species studies or inherent differences among species in their sensitivity to early conditions and/or ability to mitigate negative impacts. We used a common experimental protocol to assess and compare the role of parental care in mitigating effects of poor early conditions on offspring among 4 sympatric bird species in the wild. We experimentally induced low incubation temperatures and examined effects on embryonic developmental rates, hatching success, nestling growth rates, and parental responses. We examined the generality of these effects across 4 species that differ in their phylogenetic history, breeding ecology, and life histories. We found that cooling led to delayed hatching in all species, but carry-over effects on offspring differed among species. Parents of some but not all species increased their offspring provisioning rates in response to experimental cooling with critical benefits for offspring growth rates. Our study shows for the first time that species exhibit clear differences in the degree to which they are affected by poor early conditions. Observed differences among species demonstrate that parental care is a critical mechanism for mitigating potential negative effects on offspring and suggest that parental responses may be constrained to varying degrees by ecology and life histories.

A decision model to allocate protective safety barriers and mitigate domino effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janssens, Jochen; Talarico, Luca; Reniers, Genserik; Sörensen, Kenneth

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present a model to support decision-makers about where to locate safety barriers and mitigate the consequences of an accident triggering domino effects. Based on the features of an industrial area that may be affected by domino accidents, and knowing the characteristics of the safety barriers that can be installed to stall the fire propagation between installations, the decision model can help practitioners in their decision-making. The model can be effectively used to decide how to allocate a limited budget in terms of safety barriers. The goal is to maximize the time-to-failure of a chemical installation ensuring a worst case scenario approach. The model is mathematically stated and a flexible and effective solution approach, based on metaheuristics, is developed and tested on an illustrative case study representing a tank storage area of a chemical company. We show that a myopic optimization approach, which does not take into account knock-on effects possibly triggered by an accident, can lead to a distribution of safety barriers that are not effective in mitigating the consequences of a domino accident. Moreover, the optimal allocation of safety barriers, when domino effects are considered, may depend on the so-called cardinality of the domino effects. - Highlights: • A model to allocate safety barriers and mitigate domino effects is proposed. • The goal is to maximize the escalation time of the worst case scenario. • The model provides useful recommendations for decision makers. • A fast metaheuristic approach is proposed to solve such a complex problem. • Numerical simulations on a realistic case study are shown

Modeling Effectiveness of Gradual Increases in Source Level to Mitigate Effects of Sonar on Marine Mammals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benda-Beckmann, A.M. von; Wensveen, P.J.; Kvadsheim, P.H.; Lam, F.P.A.; Miller, P.J.O.; Tyack, P.L.; Ainslie, M.A.

2013-01-01

Ramp-up or soft-start procedures (i.e., gradual increase in the source level) are used to mitigate the effect of sonar sound on marine mammals, although no one to date has tested whether ramp-up procedures are effective at reducing the effect of sound on marine mammals. We investigated the

Functionalizable Sol-Gel Silica Coatings for Corrosion Mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-01-01

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

Functionalizable Sol-Gel Silica Coatings for Corrosion Mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-01-26

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

The Effect of Mitigation Policy on Regional Climate Impacts on the U.S. Electric Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, S. M.; Sun, Y.; Strzepek, K.; McFarland, J.; Boehlert, B.; Fant, C.

2017-12-01

Climate change can influence the U.S. electricity sector in many ways, the nature of which can be shaped by energy and environmental policy choices. Changing temperatures affect electricity demand largely through heating and cooling needs, and temperatures also affect generation and transmission system performance. Altered precipitation patterns affect the regional and seasonal distribution of surface water runoff, which changes hydropower operation and thermal cooling water availability. The extent to which these stimuli influence U.S. power sector operation and planning will depend to some extent on whether or not proactive policies are enacted to mitigate these impacts. Mitigation policies such as CO2 emissions limits or technology restrictions can change the makeup of the electricity system while reducing the extent of climate change itself. We use the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS), a U.S. electric sector capacity expansion model, to explore electric sector evolution through 2050 under alternative climate and policy assumptions. The model endogenously represents climate impacts on load, power system performance, cooling water availability, and hydropower, allowing internally consistent system responses to climate change along with projected technology, market, and policy conditions. We compare climate impacts across 5 global circulation models for a 8.5 W/m2 representative concentration pathway (RCP) without a climate mitigation policy and a 4.5 W/m2 RCP with climate mitigation. Climate drivers affect the capacity and generation mix at the national and regional levels, with relative growth of wind, solar, and natural gas-based technologies depending on local electricity system characteristics. These differences affect regional economic impacts, measured here as changes to electricity price and system costs. Mitigation policy reduces the economic and system impacts of climate change largely by moderating

Selection of appropriate greenhouse gas mitigation options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramanathan, R. [Indira Ghandi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai (India)

1999-10-01

Greenhouse gas mitigation options help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions so as to avoid the adverse environmental impacts due to global warming/climate change. They have different characteristics when evaluated using different criteria. For example, some options may be very cost effective, while some may have an additional advantage of reducing local pollution. Hence, selection of these options, for consideration by a national government or by a funding agency, has to incorporate multiple criteria. In this paper, some important criteria relevant to the selection are discussed, and a multi-criteria methodology is suggested for making appropriate selection. The methodology, called the Analytic Hierarchy Process, is described using two illustrations. (author)

Short Review: Mitigation of Current Environmental Concerns from Methanol Synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Young

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Methanol has become a widely used and globally distributed product. Methanol is very important due to the current depletion of fossil fuels. Industrially, methanol produced from the catalytic reaction of synthetic gas composed of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Methanol production has brought great attention due to carbon dioxide as the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. Combined of reducing CO2 emissions and supplying an alternative fuel source has created the idea of a carbon neutral cycle called “the methanol economy”. The best catalyst for the methanol economy would show a high CO2 conversion and high selectivity for methanol production. This paper investigates research focused on catalyst development for efficient methanol synthesis from hydrogenation of carbon dioxide through added various supports and additives such as silica, zirconium, and palladium. Catalysts that displayed the highest activity included a zirconia and silicon-titanium oxide promoted Cu/Zn/Al2O3 catalyst. Alternative method of catalyst preparation, include the oxalate-gel, solid-state reaction, co-precipitation and combustion method also investigated.  © 2013 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 10th October 2012; Revised: 7th February 2012; Accepted: 10th February 2013[How to Cite: Young, A., Lesmana, D., Dai, D.J., Wu, H.S. (2013. Short Review: Mitigation of Current En-vironmental Concerns from Methanol Synthesis. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 8 (1: 1-13. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.8.1.4055.1-13][Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.8.1.4055.1-13] | View in  |

Cost-effectiveness of nitrogen mitigation by alternative household wastewater management technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Alison; Blackhurst, Michael; Hawkins, Troy; Xue, Xiaobo; Ashbolt, Nicholas; Garland, Jay

2015-03-01

Household wastewater, especially from conventional septic systems, is a major contributor to nitrogen pollution. Alternative household wastewater management technologies provide similar sewerage management services but their life cycle costs and nitrogen flow implications remain uncertain. This paper addresses two key questions: (1) what are the total costs, nitrogen mitigation potential, and cost-effectiveness of a range of conventional and alternative municipal wastewater treatment technologies, and (2) what uncertainties influence these outcomes and how can we improve our understanding of these technologies? We estimate a household nitrogen mass balance for various household wastewater treatment systems and combine this mass balance with life cycle cost assessment to calculate the cost-effectiveness of nitrogen mitigation, which we define as nitrogen removed from the local watershed. We apply our methods to Falmouth, MA, where failing septic systems have caused heightened eutrophication in local receiving water bodies. We find that flushing and dry (composting) urine-diversion toilets paired with conventional septic systems for greywater management demonstrate the lowest life cycle cost and highest cost-effectiveness (dollars per kilogram of nitrogen removed from the watershed). Composting toilets are also attractive options in some cases, particularly best-case nitrogen mitigation. Innovative/advanced septic systems designed for high-level nitrogen removal are cost-competitive options for newly constructed homes, except at their most expensive. A centralized wastewater treatment plant is the most expensive and least cost-effective option in all cases. Using a greywater recycling system with any treatment technology increases the cost without adding any nitrogen removal benefits. Sensitivity analysis shows that these results are robust considering a range of cases and uncertainties. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Superconducting Super Collider: Final environmental impact statement: Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-12-01

This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) provides as much information as possible at this stage of the project development regarding the potential environmental impacts of the proposed construction and operation of a Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) at each of the site alternatives. However, the DOE recognizes that further review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is required prior to construction and operation of the proposed SSC project at the selected site based on more detailed design and to identify specific mitigation measures which can be incorporated into final design. Accordingly, following selection of a site for the proposed SSC, the DOE will prepare a Supplemental EIS to address in more detail the impacts of constructing and operating the proposed SSC at the selected site and alternatives for mitigating those impacts. To measure the effects of constructing the SSC at any of the seven alternative sites, the DOE determined which aspects of the human environment would be significantly affected. The EIS describes the baseline conditions at each of the seven site alternatives, the trends underway resulting in changes, the potential environmental impacts expected if the SSC were sited, possible mitigations of adverse impacts, and resulting residual adverse impacts

Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plan for site characterization:

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The DOE is committed to conduct its operations in an environmentally safe and sound manner, and will comply with the letter and the spirit of applicable environmental statues and regulations. This document - the NNWSI Project's Environmental Regulatory Compliance Plan (ERCP) - is one means of implementing the policy. The ERCP describes the plan by which the NNWSI Project Office will comply with applicable environmental statutes and regulations. The ERCP also discusses how DOE will address State and local environmental statues and regulations. To achieve the goals of DOE, the ERCP will be developed in phases. This version of the ERCP is the first phase in this development. It represents the NNWSI Project's understanding of environmental regulatory requirements for site characterization of Yucca Mountain. After consultation with appropriate Federal and State agencies, the ERCP will be updated to reflect the results of these consultations. 29 figs., 1 tab

75 FR 26270 - Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Compliance Costs Policy; Environmental Planning...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-11

...] Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Compliance Costs Policy; Environmental Planning and Historic... draft Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Compliance Costs policy and a draft Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Mitigation policy. DATES: Comments must be received by June 10, 2010...

Timing anthropogenic stressors to mitigate their impact on marine ecosystem resilience

OpenAIRE

Wu, Paul Pao-Yen; Mengersen, Kerrie; McMahon, Kathryn; Kendrick, Gary A.; Chartrand, Kathryn; York, Paul H.; Rasheed, Michael A.; Caley, M. Julian

2017-01-01

Better mitigation of anthropogenic stressors on marine ecosystems is urgently needed to address increasing biodiversity losses worldwide. We explore opportunities for stressor mitigation using whole-of-systems modelling of ecological resilience, accounting for complex interactions between stressors, their timing and duration, background environmental conditions and biological processes. We then search for ecological windows, times when stressors minimally impact ecological resilience, defined...

Strategies, Protections and Mitigations for Electric Grid from Electromagnetic Pulse Effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foster, Rita Ann [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Frickey, Steven Jay [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-01-01

The mission of DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is to lead national efforts to modernize the electricity delivery system, enhance the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply. One of the threats OE is concerned about is a high-altitude electro-magnetic pulse (HEMP) from a nuclear explosion and eletro-magnetic pulse (EMP) or E1 pulse can be generated by EMP weapons. DOE-OE provides federal leadership and technical guidance in addressing electric grid issues. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was chosen to conduct the EMP study for DOE-OE due to its capabilities and experience in setting up EMP experiments on the electric grid and conducting vulnerability assessments and developing innovative technology to increase infrastructure resiliency. This report identifies known impacts to EMP threats, known mitigations and effectiveness of mitigations, potential cost of mitigation, areas for government and private partnerships in protecting the electric grid to EMP, and identifying gaps in our knowledge and protection strategies.

The mitigation effect of sheared axial flow on the rayleigh-taylor instability in Z-pinch plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yang

2005-01-01

A magnetohydrodynamic formulation is derived to investigate the mitigation effects of the sheared axial flow on the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in Z-pinch plasma. The dispersion relation of the compressible model is given. The mitigation effects of sheared axial flow on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of Z-pinch plasma in the compressible and incompressible models are compared respectively, and the effect of compressible on the instability of system with sheared axial flow is discussed. It is found that, compressibility effects can stabilize the Rayleigh-Taylor/Kelvin-Helmholtz (RT/KH) instability, and this allows the sheared axial flow mitigate the RT instability far more effectively. The authors also find that, at the early stage of the implosion, if the temperature of the plasma is not very high, the compressible model is much more suitable to describing the state of system than the incompressible one. (author)

The Effect of Urban Green Infrastructure on Disaster Mitigation in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

So Yoon Kim

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Increasing precipitation by climate change and the growing number of impervious areas present greater risk of disaster damage in urban areas. Urban green infrastructure can be an effective mitigation alternative in highly developed and concentrated area. This study investigates the effect of various types of urban green infrastructure on mitigating disaster damage in Korea. Tobit model is used to analyze the factors that determine disaster damage. Damage variation is predicted with scenarios of RCP 8.5 and urban green spaces. Seventy-four districts and counties in seven metropolitan areas are defined as the unit and the period from 2005 to 2013 is considered in the analysis. The results indicate that higher urban green ratio, sewer length, financial independence rate, and local government’s budget are relating to lower disaster damage. Based on a precipitation level of RCP 8.5 scenario in 2050, an increase in economic damage is expected to range from 262 to 1086%. However, with an increase in urban green ratio by 10%, increased economic damage is only expected to range from 217 to 1013%. The results suggest that green spaces play important role to mitigate precipitation related disasters. Highly concentrated urban areas need to consider various types of urban green infrastructure to prepare for an increase in precipitation due to climate change.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shaoqing; Chen, Bin; Su, Meirong

2015-10-06

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

Interventions to Mitigate the Psychological Effects of Media Violence on Aggressive Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Eron, Leonard D.

1986-01-01

Describes and evaluates attempts to mitigate effect that watching television violence has on young children. Most relevant studies have been laboratory experiments, and there is no reported evidence that any intervention has been effective over long-term. Concludes that interventions combining cognitive and behavioral approaches have most promise,…

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-10-01

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2014-01-01

Globally, urban areas are expanding, and their regional, spatially cumulative, environmental impacts from transportation projects are not typically assessed. However, incorporation of a Regional Advance Mitigation Planning (RAMP) framework can promote more effective, ecologically sound, and less expensive environmental mitigation. As a demonstration of the first phase of the RAMP framework, we assessed environmental impacts from 181 planned transportation projects in the 19 368 km 2 San Francisco Bay Area. We found that 107 road and railroad projects will impact 2411–3490 ha of habitat supporting 30–43 threatened or endangered species. In addition, 1175 ha of impacts to agriculture and native vegetation are expected, as well as 125 crossings of waterways supporting anadromous fish species. The extent of these spatially cumulative impacts shows the need for a regional approach to associated environmental offsets. Many of the impacts were comprised of numerous small projects, where project-by-project mitigation would result in increased transaction costs, land costs, and lost project time. Ecological gains can be made if a regional approach is taken through the avoidance of small-sized reserves and the ability to target parcels for acquisition that fit within conservation planning designs. The methods are straightforward, and can be used in other metropolitan areas. (papers)

Fish passage mitigation of impacts from hydroelectric power projects in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cada, G.F.

1996-01-01

Obstruction of fish movements by dams continues to be the major environmental issue facing the hydropower industry in the US. Dams block upstream migrations, which can cut off adult fish form their historical spawning grounds and severely curtail reproduction. Conversely, downstream-migrating fish may be entrained into the turbine intake flow and suffer turbine-passage injury or mortality. Hydroelectric projects can interfere with the migrations of a wide variety of fish. Maintenance, restoration or enhancement of populations of these species may require the construction of facilities to allow for upstream and downstream fish passage. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), by law, must give fish and wildlife resources equal consideration with power production in its licensing decisions, must be satisfied that a project is consistent with comprehensive plans for a waterway (including fisheries management plans), and must consider all federal and state resource agency terms and conditions for the protection of fish and wildlife. As a consequence, FERC often requires fish passage mitigation measures as a condition of the hydropower license when such measures are deemed necessary for the protection of fish. Much of the recent research and development efforts of the US Department of Energy's Hydropower Program have focused on the mitigation of impacts to upstream and downstream fish passage. This paper descries three components of that effort: (1) a survey of environmental mitigation measures at hydropower sites across the country; (2) a critical review of the effectiveness of fish passage mitigation measures at 16 case study sites; and (3) ongoing efforts to develop new turbine designs that minimize turbine-passage mortality

Destructive Interactions Between Mitigation Strategies and the Causes of Unexpected Failures in Natural Hazard Mitigation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Day, S. J.; Fearnley, C. J.

2013-12-01

Large investments in the mitigation of natural hazards, using a variety of technology-based mitigation strategies, have proven to be surprisingly ineffective in some recent natural disasters. These failures reveal a need for a systematic classification of mitigation strategies; an understanding of the scientific uncertainties that affect the effectiveness of such strategies; and an understanding of how the different types of strategy within an overall mitigation system interact destructively to reduce the effectiveness of the overall mitigation system. We classify mitigation strategies into permanent, responsive and anticipatory. Permanent mitigation strategies such as flood and tsunami defenses or land use restrictions, are both costly and 'brittle': when they malfunction they can increase mortality. Such strategies critically depend on the accuracy of the estimates of expected hazard intensity in the hazard assessments that underpin their design. Responsive mitigation strategies such as tsunami and lahar warning systems rely on capacities to detect and quantify the hazard source events and to transmit warnings fast enough to enable at risk populations to decide and act effectively. Self-warning and voluntary evacuation is also usually a responsive mitigation strategy. Uncertainty in the nature and magnitude of the detected hazard source event is often the key scientific obstacle to responsive mitigation; public understanding of both the hazard and the warnings, to enable decision making, can also be a critical obstacle. Anticipatory mitigation strategies use interpretation of precursors to hazard source events and are used widely in mitigation of volcanic hazards. Their critical limitations are due to uncertainties in time, space and magnitude relationships between precursors and hazard events. Examples of destructive interaction between different mitigation strategies are provided by the Tohoku 2011 earthquake and tsunami; recent earthquakes that have impacted

Organizing Environmental Flow Frameworks to Meet Hydropower Mitigation Needs

Science.gov (United States)

McManamay, Ryan A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Jager, Henriette I.; Troia, Matthew J.

2016-09-01

The global recognition of the importance of natural flow regimes to sustain the ecological integrity of river systems has led to increased societal pressure on the hydropower industry to change plant operations to improve downstream aquatic ecosystems. However, a complete reinstatement of natural flow regimes is often unrealistic when balancing water needs for ecosystems, energy production, and other human uses. Thus, stakeholders must identify a prioritized subset of flow prescriptions that meet ecological objectives in light of realistic constraints. Yet, isolating aspects of flow regimes to restore downstream of hydropower facilities is among the greatest challenges of environmental flow science due, in part, to the sheer volume of available environmental flow tools in conjunction with complex negotiation-based regulatory procedures. Herein, we propose an organizational framework that structures information and existing flow paradigms into a staged process that assists stakeholders in implementing environmental flows for hydropower facilities. The framework identifies areas where regulations fall short of the needed scientific process, and provide suggestions for stakeholders to ameliorate those situations through advanced preparation. We highlight the strengths of existing flow paradigms in their application to hydropower settings and suggest when and where tools are most applicable. Our suggested framework increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-flow implementation process by rapidly establishing a knowledge base and decreasing uncertainty so more time can be devoted to filling knowledge gaps. Lastly, the framework provides the structure for a coordinated research agenda to further the science of environmental flows related to hydropower environments.

Natural-basement ventilation as a radon-mitigation technique. Final report Jun 89-Feb 91

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavallo, A.; Gadsby, K.; Reddy, T.A.

1992-04-01

The report documents a study of natural basement ventilation in two research houses during both the summer cooling season and the winter heating season. (NOTE: Natural basement ventilation has always been recommended as a way to reduce radon levels in houses. However, its efficacy has never been documented. It has generally been assumed to be a very inefficient mitigation strategy since it was believed that dilution was the mechanism by which radon levels were reduced.) Ventilation rates, environmental and house operating parameters, and radon levels have been monitored; it can be concluded that natural ventilation can reduce radon levels two ways: (1) by simple dilution, and (2) although less obvious, by providing a pressure break that reduces basement depressurization and thus the amount of radon-contaminated soil gas drawn into the house. Thus, basement ventilation can be a much more effective mitigation strategy than was previously believed. It might be especially useful in houses with low radon concentrations (of the order of 10 pCi/L) or those with low levels that cannot be mitigated cost-effectively with conventional technology

Experimental research of the effects of different shields on power frequency electric field mitigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nahman Jovan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes experimental research on the effects of different shields on power frequency electric field mitigation. This research was performed in order to determine those materials that may be used for electric field mitigation in cases where the reference level is exceeded. Using measured results, the value of the shielding factor has been calculated for all tested shields and the most efficient shields were determined.

10 CFR 51.30 - Environmental assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... consideration of the costs and benefits of severe accident mitigation design alternatives and the bases for not incorporating severe accident mitigation design alternatives in the design certification. An environmental... design change which is the subject of the proposed amendment renders a severe accident mitigation design...

2011 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2011-11-14

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

Mitigation options for the industrial sector in Egypt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gelil, I.A.; El-Touny, S.; Korkor, H. [Organization for Energy Conservation and Planning (OECP), Cairo (Egypt)

1996-12-31

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-07-01

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

Comparative advantage strategy for rapid pollution mitigation in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yuan

2013-09-03

Due to its sheer size and growth trend, no other country is facing more daunting challenges than China in reducing its pollutant emissions. A critical but inadequately addressed question is how rapidly China could feasibly achieve such mitigation. The stake is high not only about how much worse China's environmental quality could become but also about how the world can prevent catastrophic climate change. Through examining sulfur dioxide (SO2) mitigation in coal-fired power plants and wind energy development for carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation, this article proposes a comparative advantage strategy for overcoming high barriers to fast pollution mitigation. On the demand side, China could first make progress in the deployment of more pollution control facilities and then improve their operational performance. The resulting low technological market entry barriers could help to build enough industrial capacity to meet the huge demand with prices under control. The strategy in the current practice could be improved to establish not only a large supply industry but also a strong one to enable other countries to move more rapidly in pollution mitigation.

Interrogation and mitigation of polarization effects for standard and birefringent FBGs

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Selwan K.; Van Roosbroeck, Jan; O'Dowd, John A.; Van Hoe, Bram; Lindner, Eric; Vlekken, Johan; Farnan, Martin; Karabacak, Devrez M.; Singer, Johannes M.

2016-05-01

Optical sensors based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) are used in several applications and industries. Several inscription techniques and type of fibers can be used. However, depending on the writing process, type of fiber used and the packaging of the sensor a Polarization Dependent Frequency Shift (PDFS) can often be observed with polarized tunable laser based optical interrogators. Here we study the PDFS of the FBG peak for the different FBG types. A PDFS of 20pm was observed across the FBGs. To mitigate and reduce this effect we propose a polarization mitigation technique which relies on a synchronous polarization switch to reduce the effect typically by a factor greater than 4. In other scenarios the sensor itself is designed to be birefringent (Bi-FBG) to allow pressure and/or simultaneous temperature and strain measurements. Using the same polarization switch we demonstrate how we can interrogate the Bi-FBGs with high accuracy to enable high performance of such sensors to be achievable.

Private Environmental Governance in the Ethiopian Pesticide Supply Chain: Importation, Distribution and Use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mengistie, B.T.; Mol, A.P.J.; Oosterveer, P.J.M.

2016-01-01

Agricultural pesticides are important chemicals that are used to mitigate crop damage or loss and improve productivity. However, pesticides may cause negative environmental and human health effects depending on their specific distribution and use. Securing environmental safety and sustainability of

Submerged macrophytes mitigate direct and indirect insecticide effects in freshwater communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Brogan, William R; Relyea, Rick A

2015-01-01

Understanding how ecological interactions mitigate the impacts of perturbations such as pesticides in biological communities is an important basic and applied question for ecologists. In aquatic ecosystems, new evidence from microcosm experiments suggests that submerged macrophytes can buffer cladocerans from pulse exposures to the widely used insecticide malathion, and that mitigation increases with macrophyte density. However, whether these results scale up to more complex aquatic communities where ecological interactions such as competition can alter toxicity is unknown. Further, macrophyte abilities to mitigate different insecticide exposure scenarios (i.e. single versus repeated pulses) have never been tested. To address these gaps, we performed a factorial mesocosm experiment examining the influence of four macrophyte treatments (0, 10, 50, or 100 Elodea Canadensis shoots planted per mesocosm) crossed with three malathion exposure scenarios (no insecticide, single pulse, repeated pulses) on aquatic communities containing zooplankton, phytoplankton, periphyton, two snail species, and larval amphibians. In the absence of macrophytes, single malathion pulses caused short-term declines in cladoceran abundance followed by their rapid recovery, which precluded any indirect effects (i.e. trophic cascades). However, repeated malathion pulses caused cladoceran extinctions, resulting in persistent phytoplankton blooms and reduced abundance of one snail species. In contrast, with macrophytes present, even at low density, malathion had no effect on any taxa. We also discovered novel effects of macrophytes on the benthic food web. In the two highest macrophyte treatments, we observed trends of reduced periphyton biomass, decreased abundance of one snail species, and decreased amphibian time to and mass at metamorphosis. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of negative submerged macrophyte effects on amphibians, a taxa of global conservation concern. Our findings

Submerged Macrophytes Mitigate Direct and Indirect Insecticide Effects in Freshwater Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Brogan, William R.; Relyea, Rick A.

2015-01-01

Understanding how ecological interactions mitigate the impacts of perturbations such as pesticides in biological communities is an important basic and applied question for ecologists. In aquatic ecosystems, new evidence from microcosm experiments suggests that submerged macrophytes can buffer cladocerans from pulse exposures to the widely used insecticide malathion, and that mitigation increases with macrophyte density. However, whether these results scale up to more complex aquatic communities where ecological interactions such as competition can alter toxicity is unknown. Further, macrophyte abilities to mitigate different insecticide exposure scenarios (i.e. single versus repeated pulses) have never been tested. To address these gaps, we performed a factorial mesocosm experiment examining the influence of four macrophyte treatments (0, 10, 50, or 100 Elodea Canadensis shoots planted per mesocosm) crossed with three malathion exposure scenarios (no insecticide, single pulse, repeated pulses) on aquatic communities containing zooplankton, phytoplankton, periphyton, two snail species, and larval amphibians. In the absence of macrophytes, single malathion pulses caused short-term declines in cladoceran abundance followed by their rapid recovery, which precluded any indirect effects (i.e. trophic cascades). However, repeated malathion pulses caused cladoceran extinctions, resulting in persistent phytoplankton blooms and reduced abundance of one snail species. In contrast, with macrophytes present, even at low density, malathion had no effect on any taxa. We also discovered novel effects of macrophytes on the benthic food web. In the two highest macrophyte treatments, we observed trends of reduced periphyton biomass, decreased abundance of one snail species, and decreased amphibian time to and mass at metamorphosis. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of negative submerged macrophyte effects on amphibians, a taxa of global conservation concern. Our findings

Submerged macrophytes mitigate direct and indirect insecticide effects in freshwater communities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William R Brogan

Full Text Available Understanding how ecological interactions mitigate the impacts of perturbations such as pesticides in biological communities is an important basic and applied question for ecologists. In aquatic ecosystems, new evidence from microcosm experiments suggests that submerged macrophytes can buffer cladocerans from pulse exposures to the widely used insecticide malathion, and that mitigation increases with macrophyte density. However, whether these results scale up to more complex aquatic communities where ecological interactions such as competition can alter toxicity is unknown. Further, macrophyte abilities to mitigate different insecticide exposure scenarios (i.e. single versus repeated pulses have never been tested. To address these gaps, we performed a factorial mesocosm experiment examining the influence of four macrophyte treatments (0, 10, 50, or 100 Elodea Canadensis shoots planted per mesocosm crossed with three malathion exposure scenarios (no insecticide, single pulse, repeated pulses on aquatic communities containing zooplankton, phytoplankton, periphyton, two snail species, and larval amphibians. In the absence of macrophytes, single malathion pulses caused short-term declines in cladoceran abundance followed by their rapid recovery, which precluded any indirect effects (i.e. trophic cascades. However, repeated malathion pulses caused cladoceran extinctions, resulting in persistent phytoplankton blooms and reduced abundance of one snail species. In contrast, with macrophytes present, even at low density, malathion had no effect on any taxa. We also discovered novel effects of macrophytes on the benthic food web. In the two highest macrophyte treatments, we observed trends of reduced periphyton biomass, decreased abundance of one snail species, and decreased amphibian time to and mass at metamorphosis. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of negative submerged macrophyte effects on amphibians, a taxa of global conservation concern

Choosing organic pesticides over synthetic pesticides may not effectively mitigate environmental risk in soybeans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine A Bahlai

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Selection of pesticides with small ecological footprints is a key factor in developing sustainable agricultural systems. Policy guiding the selection of pesticides often emphasizes natural products and organic-certified pesticides to increase sustainability, because of the prevailing public opinion that natural products are uniformly safer, and thus more environmentally friendly, than synthetic chemicals. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report the results of a study examining the environmental impact of several new synthetic and certified organic insecticides under consideration as reduced-risk insecticides for soybean aphid (Aphis glycines control, using established and novel methodologies to directly quantify pesticide impact in terms of biocontrol services. We found that in addition to reduced efficacy against aphids compared to novel synthetic insecticides, organic approved insecticides had a similar or even greater negative impact on several natural enemy species in lab studies, were more detrimental to biological control organisms in field experiments, and had higher Environmental Impact Quotients at field use rates. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data bring into caution the widely held assumption that organic pesticides are more environmentally benign than synthetic ones. All pesticides must be evaluated using an empirically-based risk assessment, because generalizations based on chemical origin do not hold true in all cases.

Urban forests and pollution mitigation: Analyzing ecosystem services and disservices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escobedo, Francisco J.; Kroeger, Timm; Wagner, John E.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to integrate the concepts of ecosystem services and disservices when assessing the efficacy of using urban forests for mitigating pollution. A brief review of the literature identifies some pollution mitigation ecosystem services provided by urban forests. Existing ecosystem services definitions and typologies from the economics and ecological literature are adapted and applied to urban forest management and the concepts of ecosystem disservices from natural and semi-natural systems are discussed. Examples of the urban forest ecosystem services of air quality and carbon dioxide sequestration are used to illustrate issues associated with assessing their efficacy in mitigating urban pollution. Development of urban forest management alternatives that mitigate pollution should consider scale, contexts, heterogeneity, management intensities and other social and economic co-benefits, tradeoffs, and costs affecting stakeholders and urban sustainability goals. - Environmental managers should analyze ecosystem services and disservices when developing urban forest management alternatives for mitigating urban pollution.

Environmental assessment for geothermal loan guarantee: South Brawley geothermal exploration project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-11-01

The foregoing analysis indicates that the proposed geothermal field experiment could result in several adverse environmental effects. Such effects would lie primarily in the areas of air quality, noise, aesthetics, land use, and water consumption. However, for the most part, mitigating measures have been, or easily could be, included in project plans to reduce these adverse effects to insignificant levels. Those aspects of the project which are not completely amenable to mitigation by any reasonable means include air quality, noise, aesthetics, land use and water use.

NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Remediation Technology Collaboration Development

Science.gov (United States)

Romeo, James

2013-01-01

NASA is committed to finding solutions to agency cleanup problems that are better, cheaper, and more effective than the status quo. Unfortunately, some potential solutions involve innovative technologies for which NASA remediation managers may not have a high level of understanding or confidence. Since 2004, NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Mississippi has been pumping groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other halogenated volatile organic compounds (HVOC) from their cleanup location designated "Area G" through extraction wells to an aboveground treatment system. Over time, however, the effectiveness of this treatment strategy has diminished and an alternative approach is needed. In 2012, professionals from NASA's Principal Center for Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation (TEERM) introduced SSC managers to an innovative technology for enhancing the performance of SSC's existing pump and treat system. The technology, generally referred to as in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), involves slowly and continuously injecting a strong but safe chemical oxidant into the groundwater. Treatment is enhanced by a "surfactant-type effect" which causes residual contamination from saturated soil to be released into the dissolved-phase where it can be readily oxidized. Any dissolved-phase contamination that was not oxidized can be collected by the extraction well network and treated aboveground. SSC was not familiar with the technology so to increase their confidence, TEERM identified a contractor who was willing to demonstrate their product and process at a significantly reduced price. An initial, small-scale demonstration of ISCO began at sse in March 2012 and completed in August 2012. This successful demonstration was followed by three larger-scale ISCO demonstrations between August and December 2012. The contractor's innovative Continuous Injection System (CIS) incorporated "green" and sustainable technologies and practices. A slow

Strategies for successful mitigation of socioeconomic impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, R.C.

1987-01-01

The successful mitigation of socioeconomic impacts requires careful planning for project inception through project completion. Although mitigation of socioeconomic impacts imposes additional responsibilities on project sponsors, benefits derived through increased productivity of the work force can offset costs involved. Cost effective impact mitigation plans can be developed which are flexible to respond to changing circumstances and which focus on prevention of adverse effects. Mitigation plans must, by necessity, begin with proper project planning. Project location and the schedule for various construction activities can have significant effect on impacts. Particular attention should be given to labor requirements, contracting procedures and hiring practices. The effects of layoffs at project completion should also be considered. Accurate forecasts of revenues available to local governments are essential to the development of fair mitigation programs. Increased revenues created as a result of proposed projects should be the basis for mitigation planning. Housing and worker transportation issues should be considered jointly. Depending upon the proximity of a proposed site to different communities, impacts can be radically different given different housing and transportation plans. Housing requirements should be considered by type and location. Per diem and other allowances can be utilized to influence the housing choices made by workers

Environmental mitigation at hydroelectric projects. Volume 2, Benefits and costs of fish passage and protection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Francfort, J.E.; Rinehart, B.N.; Sommers, G.L. [EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Cada, G.F.; Jones, D.W. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Dauble, D.D. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Hunt, R.T. [Hunt (Richard) Associates, Inc., Concord, NH (United States); Costello, R.J. [Northwest Water Resources Advisory Services (United States)

1994-01-01

This study examines envirorunental mitigation practices that provide upstream and downstream fish passage and protection at hydroelectric projects. The study includes a survey of fish passage and protection mitigation practices at 1,825 hydroelectric plants regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to determine frequencies of occurrence, temporal trends, and regional practices based on FERC regions. The study also describes, in general terms, the fish passage/protection mitigation costs at 50 non-Federal hydroelectric projects. Sixteen case studies are used to examine in detail the benefits and costs of fish passage and protection. The 16 case studies include 15 FERC licensed or exempted hydroelectric projects and one Federally-owned and-operated hydroelectric project. The 16 hydroelectric projects are located in 12 states and range in capacity from 400 kilowatts to 840 megawatts. The fish passage and protection mitigation methods at the case studies include fish ladders and lifts, an Eicher screen, spill flows, airburst-cleaned inclined and cylindrical wedgewire screens, vertical barrier screens, and submerged traveling screens. The costs, benefits, monitoring methods, and operating characteristics of these and other mitigation methods used at the 16 case studies are examined.

Mitigation - how to buy time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunasekera, D.

2007-01-01

Full text: Full text: There is growing consensus in the global scientific community that human induced greenhouse gas emissions have increased the atmospheric concentration of these gases which has led, and will continue to lead to changes in regional and global climate. Climate change is projected to impact on Australian and global economic, biophysical, social and environmental systems. The impacts of climate change can be reduced by implementing a range of mitigation and adaptation strategies. The optimal policy response will depend on the relative costs and benefits of climate change impacts, and mitigation and adaptation responses. The focus in this presentation is to identify the key determinants that can reduce the cost of international mitigation responses. It is important to recognise that since cumulative emissions are the primary driver of atmospheric concentrations, mitigation policies should be assessed against their capacity to reduce cumulative emissions overtime, rather than at given time points only. If global greenhouse gas abatement costs are to be minimised, it is desirable that the coverage of countries, emission sources and technologies that are a part of any multilateral effort be as wide as possible. In this context the development and diffusion of clean technologies globally can play a key role in the future reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to scenarios analysed by ABARE. Furthermore, technology 'push' (for example, research and development policies) and 'pull' (for example, emission trading) policies will be required to achieve such an outcome

Vulnerability Factors and Effectiveness of Disaster Mitigation Measures in the Bangladesh Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Md. Nazir; Paul, Shitangsu Kumar

2018-05-01

The major objective of this paper is to identify the vulnerability factors and examine the effectiveness of disaster mitigation measures undertaken by individuals, government and non-government organisations to mitigate the impacts of cyclones in the Bangladesh coast experiencing from Cyclone Aila. The primary data were collected from two villages of southwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh using questionnaire survey and interviews of the key informants. The data were analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics. This paper reveals that the disaster management measures have a significant role to lessen the impacts of the cyclonic event, especially in pre-disaster preparedness, cyclone warning message dissemination, evacuation and post-disaster rehabilitation. The households, who have access to shelter, find weather forecast regularly and adopted pre-disaster awareness measures are relatively less susceptible to hazard's impacts. The disaster management measures undertaken by individuals and GOs and NGOs help coastal people to save their lives and property from the negative impacts of cyclones. The analysis shows that the NGOs' role is more effective and efficient than the GOs in cyclone disaster management. This paper identifies distance to shelter, participation in disaster training, efficient warning, etc. as the influential factors of vulnerability cyclones. The analysis finds the households as less affected who have adopted disaster preparedness measures. However, this paper concludes that the effective and proper disaster management and mitigation measures are very crucial to shield the lives and properties of the Bangladeshi coastal people.

Vulnerability Factors and Effectiveness of Disaster Mitigation Measures in the Bangladesh Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Md. Nazir; Paul, Shitangsu Kumar

2018-01-01

The major objective of this paper is to identify the vulnerability factors and examine the effectiveness of disaster mitigation measures undertaken by individuals, government and non-government organisations to mitigate the impacts of cyclones in the Bangladesh coast experiencing from Cyclone Aila. The primary data were collected from two villages of southwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh using questionnaire survey and interviews of the key informants. The data were analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics. This paper reveals that the disaster management measures have a significant role to lessen the impacts of the cyclonic event, especially in pre-disaster preparedness, cyclone warning message dissemination, evacuation and post-disaster rehabilitation. The households, who have access to shelter, find weather forecast regularly and adopted pre-disaster awareness measures are relatively less susceptible to hazard's impacts. The disaster management measures undertaken by individuals and GOs and NGOs help coastal people to save their lives and property from the negative impacts of cyclones. The analysis shows that the NGOs' role is more effective and efficient than the GOs in cyclone disaster management. This paper identifies distance to shelter, participation in disaster training, efficient warning, etc. as the influential factors of vulnerability cyclones. The analysis finds the households as less affected who have adopted disaster preparedness measures. However, this paper concludes that the effective and proper disaster management and mitigation measures are very crucial to shield the lives and properties of the Bangladeshi coastal people.

Bio-prospectus of cadmium bioadsorption by lactic acid bacteria to mitigate health and environmental impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Narendra; Kumari, Vandna; Ram, Chand; Thakur, Kiran; Tomar, Sudhir Kumar

2018-02-01

Foodstuffs and water are the key sources of cadmium biomagnifiaction. The available strategies to mitigate this problem are unproductive and expensive for practical large-scale use. Biological decontamination of metals through environmental microbes has been known since long time, whereas lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have not been extensively studied for this purpose. The LAB are known for maintaining homeostasis and suppression of pathogens in humans and animals. They also play a vital role in bioremediation of certain heavy metals. Recently in-vivo research findings strongly complement the in-vitro results in relation to decreased total body cadmium burden in animal model. This review summarizes the currently available information on impact of toxic metal (Cd) on human and animal health as well as cadmium sequestration through microbes placed broadly, whereas preeminent attention grabbed on LAB-cadmium interaction to explore their possible role in bioremediation of cadmium from foods and environment to safeguard human as well as environment health.

Pressurized fluidized-bed hydroretorting of eastern oil shales. Volume 4, Task 5, Operation of PFH on beneficiated shale, Task 6, Environmental data and mitigation analyses and Task 7, Sample procurement, preparation, and characterization: Final report, September 1987--May 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-03-01

The objective of Task 5 (Operation of Pressurized Fluidized-Bed Hydro-Retorting (PFH) on Beneficiated Shale) was to modify the PFH process to facilitate its use for fine-sized, beneficiated Eastern shales. This task was divided into 3 subtasks: Non-Reactive Testing, Reactive Testing, and Data Analysis and Correlations. The potential environment impacts of PFH processing of oil shale must be assessed throughout the development program to ensure that the appropriate technologies are in place to mitigate any adverse effects. The overall objectives of Task 6 (Environmental Data and Mitigation Analyses) were to obtain environmental data relating to PFH and shale beneficiation and to analyze the potential environmental impacts of the integrated PFH process. The task was divided into the following four subtasks. Characterization of Processed Shales (IGT), 6.2. Water Availability and Treatment Studies, 6.3. Heavy Metals Removal and 6.4. PFH Systems Analysis. The objective of Task 7 (Sample Procurement, Preparation, and Characterization) was to procure, prepare, and characterize raw and beneficiated bulk samples of Eastern oil shale for all of the experimental tasks in the program. Accomplishments for these tasks are presented.

Potential Environmental Impacts of Oil Spills in Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This report analyses information status and research needs in relation to potential environmental impacts of oil spills (offshore and onshore) in Greenland. The report assesses potential effects and potential mitigation and monitoring measures. Information gaps are identified and a number...

Environmental problems associated with floods due to abundant rains in the Veguita People's Council: Proposal for a mitigation strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alianna Corona-Rodríguez

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to elaborate a strategy of prevention-mitigation-preparation in the floods caused by the overflow of the River Buey due to the occurrence of intensive rains in the municipality Yara (Granma province. The methodologies used were based on the historical-trend analysis of the main elements of the study area, systematic and participatory scientific observation, statistical analysis, and the evaluation of risk, vulnerability and hazard studies. These elements served as a basis for designing a strategy based on forestry, land use and environmental education guidelines, mainly aimed at the conservation of non-structural means affected by floods.

Extreme weather-year sequences have nonadditive effects on environmental nitrogen losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, Javed; Necpalova, Magdalena; Archontoulis, Sotirios V; Anex, Robert P; Bourguignon, Marie; Herzmann, Daryl; Mitchell, David C; Sawyer, John E; Zhu, Qing; Castellano, Michael J

2018-01-01

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather years, characterized by abnormal precipitation and temperature, are increasing. In isolation, these years have disproportionately large effects on environmental N losses. However, the sequence of extreme weather years (e.g., wet-dry vs. dry-wet) may affect cumulative N losses. We calibrated and validated the DAYCENT ecosystem process model with a comprehensive set of biogeophysical measurements from a corn-soybean rotation managed at three N fertilizer inputs with and without a winter cover crop in Iowa, USA. Our objectives were to determine: (i) how 2-year sequences of extreme weather affect 2-year cumulative N losses across the crop rotation, and (ii) if N fertilizer management and the inclusion of a winter cover crop between corn and soybean mitigate the effect of extreme weather on N losses. Using historical weather (1951-2013), we created nine 2-year scenarios with all possible combinations of the driest ("dry"), wettest ("wet"), and average ("normal") weather years. We analyzed the effects of these scenarios following several consecutive years of relatively normal weather. Compared with the normal-normal 2-year weather scenario, 2-year extreme weather scenarios affected 2-year cumulative NO 3 - leaching (range: -93 to +290%) more than N 2 O emissions (range: -49 to +18%). The 2-year weather scenarios had nonadditive effects on N losses: compared with the normal-normal scenario, the dry-wet sequence decreased 2-year cumulative N 2 O emissions while the wet-dry sequence increased 2-year cumulative N 2 O emissions. Although dry weather decreased NO 3 - leaching and N 2 O emissions in isolation, 2-year cumulative N losses from the wet-dry scenario were greater than the dry-wet scenario. Cover crops reduced the effects of extreme weather on NO 3 - leaching but had a lesser effect on N 2 O emissions. As the frequency of extreme weather is expected to increase, these data suggest that the sequence of interannual weather

Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases - Data Annexes

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Marginal abatement curves (MAC) can be downloaded as data annexes to the Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases report. This data allows for improved...

Economic and environmental gains of China's fossil energy subsidies reform: A rebound effect case study with EIMO model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Li; Liang, Dong; Di, Wang

2013-01-01

Energy consumption and efficiency emerged as the hottest topic in the context of China's sustainable development. Energy subsidies and “rebound effect” were closely related to this topic while few combinative studies on them with a focus on China. This paper employed a co-thinking approach, focusing on how the energy subsidies reform could mitigate the rebound effect in China, and how to achieve an “economic and environmental gains” that reduced pecuniary spending, improved the distorted energy market and reduced energy consumption simultaneously. Firstly, with price-gap approach we calculated the total energy subsidies scale of China in 2007, which amounted to582.0 billion CNY; then we detected and identified rebound effect of China energy consumption with the features. Furthermore, based on China 2007 monetary input–output table and energy flow analysis, we compiled a hybrid physical energy input and monetary output model (EIMO) to simulate the mitigation effect of subsidies reform. Results showed that removing energy subsidies would decrease ultimate demand of different economy sectors and reduce the accumulatively physical consumption of coal, oil, natural gas and electricity by 17.74, 13.47, 3.64 and 15.82 million tce, respectively. Finally we discussed relevant policy issues on China's energy subsidies reform in depth. - Highlights: ► Analyze the economic and environmental gains of fossil energy subsidies reform in China. ► Energy input and monetary output model was applied for analysis. ► Subsidies reform would help to reduce the rebound effect. ► The benefits of money saving, energy saving and CO 2 mitigation were achieved

Compensatory mechanisms mitigate the effect of warming and drought on wood formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Balducci, Lorena; Cuny, Henri E; Rathgeber, Cyrille B K; Deslauriers, Annie; Giovannelli, Alessio; Rossi, Sergio

2016-06-01

Because of global warming, high-latitude ecosystems are expected to experience increases in temperature and drought events. Wood formation will have to adjust to these new climatic constraints to maintain tree mechanical stability and long-distance water transport. The aim of this study is to understand the dynamic processes involved in wood formation under warming and drought. Xylogenesis, gas exchange, water relations and wood anatomy of black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.] saplings were monitored during a greenhouse experiment where temperature was increased during daytime or night-time (+6 °C) combined with a drought period. The kinetics of tracheid development expressed as rate and duration of the xylogenesis sub-processes were quantified using generalized additive models. Drought and warming had a strong influence on cell production, but little effect on wood anatomy. The increase in cell production rate under warmer temperatures, and especially during the night-time warming at the end of the growing season, resulted in wider tree-rings. However, the strong compensation between rates and durations of cell differentiation processes mitigates warming and drought effects on tree-ring structure. Our results allowed quantification of how wood formation kinetics is regulated when water and heat stress increase, allowing trees to adapt to future environmental conditions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Integration of Regional Mitigation Assessment and Conservation Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James H. Thorne

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Government agencies that develop infrastructure such as roads, waterworks, and energy delivery often impact natural ecosystems, but they also have unique opportunities to contribute to the conservation of regional natural resources through compensatory mitigation. Infrastructure development requires a planning, funding, and implementation cycle that can frequently take a decade or longer, but biological mitigation is often planned and implemented late in this process, in a project-by-project piecemeal manner. By adopting early regional mitigation needs assessment and planning for habitat-level impacts from multiple infrastructure projects, agencies could secure time needed to proactively integrate these obligations into regional conservation objectives. Such practice can be financially and ecologically beneficial due to economies of scale, and because earlier mitigation implementation means potentially developable critical parcels may still be available for conservation. Here, we compare the integration of regional conservation designs, termed greenprints, with early multi-project mitigation assessment for two areas in California, USA. The expected spatial extent of habitat impacts and associated mitigation requirements from multiple projects were identified for each area. We used the reserve-selection algorithm MARXAN to identify a regional greenprint for each site and to seek mitigation solutions through parcel acquisition that would contribute to the greenprint, as well as meet agency obligations. The two areas differed in the amount of input data available, the types of conservation objectives identified, and local land-management capacity. They are representative of the range of conditions that conservation practitioners may encounter, so contrasting the two illustrates how regional advanced mitigation can be generalized for use in a wide variety of settings. Environmental organizations can benefit from this approach because it provides a

Annual Adaptive Management Report for Compensatory Mitigation at Keyport Lagoon: Mitigation of Pier B Development at the Bremerton Naval Facilities - Compensatory Mitigation at Keyport Lagoon - Naval Underwater Warfare Center Division - Keyport, Washington

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vavrinec, John; Borde, Amy B.; Woodruff, Dana L.; Brandenberger, Jill M.; Thom, Ronald M.; Wright, Cynthia L.; Cullinan, Valerie I.

2012-06-01

Unites States Navy capital improvement projects are designed to modernize and improve mission capacity. Such capital improvement projects often result in unavoidable environmental impacts by increasing over-water structures, which results in a loss of subtidal habitat within industrial areas of Navy bases. In the Pacific Northwest, compensatory mitigation often targets alleviating impacts to Endangered Species Act-listed salmon species. The complexity of restoring large systems requires limited resources to target successful and more coordinated mitigation efforts to address habitat loss and improvements in water quality that will clearly contribute to an improvement at the site scale and can then be linked to a cumulative net ecosystem improvement.

Ownership and environmental regulation: Evidence from the European electricity industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clò, Stefano; Ferraris, Matteo; Florio, Massimo

2017-01-01

The paper investigates how ownership affects the environmental performance in developed countries where environmental regulation is introduced in the form of market-based instrument. By looking at a cross-country panel dataset of 29 power markets around Europe over the period 1990–2012, we find empirical evidence that an increase of public ownership, as measured by the OECD ETCR index, is associated with a reduction of both greenhouse gas emissions and carbon intensity. We also find that the implementation of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) had a limited impact on emissions' reduction due to lax allocation of allowances. The positive effect of public ownership on environmental performance has been significant even after the introduction of the ETS, giving additional incentives to mitigate emissions when the ETS cap was not stringent enough. This evidence suggests that government control over power companies in Europe can has created idiosyncratic incentives to improve environmental quality, complementing environmental regulation in the achievement of environmental goals when the latter was absent or sub-optimal. - Highlights: • We analyse the power industry's environmental performance in 29 European countries. • Public ownership is associated with lower emissions than private ownership. • Mixed oligopoly is superior to private oligopoly in environmental terms. • The ETS had a limited impact on emissions' reduction due to over-allocation. • Public ownership mitigates the effects of sub-optimal environmental regulation.

Functionalizable Sol-Gel Silica Coatings for Corrosion Mitigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Gąsiorek

2018-01-01

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

Agricultural opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Jane M.-F.; Franzluebbers, Alan J.; Weyers, Sharon Lachnicht; Reicosky, Donald C.

2007-01-01

Agriculture is a source for three primary greenhouse gases (GHGs): CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O. It can also be a sink for CO 2 through C sequestration into biomass products and soil organic matter. We summarized the literature on GHG emissions and C sequestration, providing a perspective on how agriculture can reduce its GHG burden and how it can help to mitigate GHG emissions through conservation measures. Impacts of agricultural practices and systems on GHG emission are reviewed and potential trade-offs among potential mitigation options are discussed. Conservation practices that help prevent soil erosion, may also sequester soil C and enhance CH 4 consumption. Managing N to match crop needs can reduce N 2 O emission and avoid adverse impacts on water quality. Manipulating animal diet and manure management can reduce CH 4 and N 2 O emission from animal agriculture. All segments of agriculture have management options that can reduce agriculture's environmental footprint. - Management options can be used to reduce agriculture's environmental impacts

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravindranath, N.H.; Murthy, I.K.; Sudha, P.; Ramprasad, V.; Nagendra, M.D.V.; Sahana, C.A.; Srivathsa, K.G.; Khan, H.

2007-06-01

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

Effect of farming practices for greenhouse gas mitigation and subsequent alternative land use on environmental impacts of beef cattle production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, T T H; Doreau, M; Eugène, M; Corson, M S; Garcia-Launay, F; Chesneau, G; van der Werf, H M G

2013-05-01

This study evaluated effects of farming practice scenarios aiming to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and subsequent alternative land use on environmental impacts of a beef cattle production system using the life cycle assessment approach. The baseline scenario includes a standard cow-calf herd with finishing heifers based on grazing, and a standard bull-fattening herd using a diet mainly based on maize silage, corresponding to current farm characteristics and management by beef farmers in France. Alternative scenarios were developed with changes in farming practices. Some scenarios modified grassland management (S1: decreasing mineral N fertiliser on permanent grassland; S2: decreasing grass losses during grazing) or herd management (S3: underfeeding of heifers in winter; S4: fattening female calves instead of being reared at a moderate growth rate; S5: increasing longevity of cows from 7 to 9 years; S6: advancing first calving age from 3 to 2 years). Other scenarios replaced protein sources (S7: partially replacing a protein supplement by lucerne hay for the cow-calf herd; S8: replacing soya bean meal with rapeseed meal for the fattening herd) or increased n-3 fatty acid content using extruded linseed (S9). The combination of compatible scenarios S1, S2, S5, S6 and S8 was also studied (S10). The impacts, such as climate change (CC, not including CO2 emissions/sequestration of land use and land-use change, LULUC), CC/LULUC (including CO2 emissions of LULUC), cumulative energy demand, eutrophication (EP), acidification and land occupation (LO) were expressed per kg of carcass mass and per ha of land occupied. Compared with the baseline, the most promising practice to reduce impacts per kg carcass mass was S10 (all reduced by 13% to 28%), followed by S6 (by 8% to 10%). For other scenarios, impact reduction did not exceed 5%, except for EP (up to 11%) and LO (up to 10%). Effects of changes in farming practices (the scenarios) on environmental impacts varied

Radon mitigation in schools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leovic, K.W.; Craig, A.B.; Saum, D.W.

1990-01-01

This article reports on radon mitigation in school buildings. Subslab depressurization (SSD) has been the most successful and widely used radon reduction method in houses. Thus far, it has also substantially reduced radon levels in a number of schools. Schools often have interior footings or thickened slabs that may create barriers for subslab air flow if a SSD system is the mitigation option. Review of foundation plans and subslab air flow testing will help to determine the presence and effect of such barriers. HVAC systems in schools vary considerable and tend to have a greater influence on pressure differentials (and consequently radon levels) than do heating and air-conditioning systems encountered in the radon mitigation of houses. As part of any radon mitigation method, ASHRAE Standard 62-1989 should be consulted to determine if the installed HVAC system is designed and operated to achieve minimum ventilation standards for indoor air quality

Irradiation embrittlement mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torronen, K; Pelli, R; Planman, T; Valo, M [Technical Research Centre of Finland, Jyvaeskylae (Finland). Combustion and Thermal Engineering Lab.

1994-12-31

Mitigation methods for reducing the irradiation damage on pressure vessel materials are reviewed: load leakage loading schemes are commonly used in PWRs to mitigate reactor pressure vessel embrittlement; dummy assemblies have been applied in WWER 440-type and in some old western power plants, when exceptional fast embrittlement has been encountered; shielding of the pressure vessel has been developed, but is not in common use; pre-stressing the pressure vessel has been proposed for preventing PTS failures, but its applicability is not yet demonstrated. The large number of successful annealing treatments performed in WWER 440 type reactors as well as research on the effects of annealing treatments suggest applications for western PWRs. The emergency core cooling systems have been modified in WWER 440-type reactors in connection with other mitigation measures. (authors). 37 refs., 18 figs., 2 tabs.

Irradiation embrittlement mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torronen, K.; Pelli, R.; Planman, T.; Valo, M.

1993-01-01

Mitigation methods for reducing the irradiation damage on pressure vessel materials are reviewed: load leakage loading schemes are commonly used in PWRs to mitigate reactor pressure vessel embrittlement; dummy assemblies have been applied in WWER 440-type and in some old western power plants, when exceptional fast embrittlement has been encountered; shielding of the pressure vessel has been developed, but is not in common use; pre-stressing the pressure vessel has been proposed for preventing PTS failures, but its applicability is not yet demonstrated. The large number of successful annealing treatments performed in WWER 440 type reactors as well as research on the effects of annealing treatments suggest applications for western PWRs. The emergency core cooling systems have been modified in WWER 440-type reactors in connection with other mitigation measures. (authors). 37 refs., 18 figs., 2 tabs

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-01-01

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

Symbiodinium mitigate the combined effects of hypoxia and acidification on a noncalcifying cnidarian

KAUST Repository

Klein, Shannon G.

2017-04-08

Anthropogenic nutrient inputs enhance microbial respiration within many coastal ecosystems, driving concurrent hypoxia and acidification. During photosynthesis, Symbiodinium spp., the microalgal endosymbionts of cnidarians and other marine phyla, produce O and assimilate CO and thus potentially mitigate the exposure of the host to these stresses. However, such a role for Symbiodinium remains untested for noncalcifying cnidarians. We therefore contrasted the fitness of symbiotic and aposymbiotic polyps of a model host jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) under reduced O (~2.09 mg/L) and pH (~ 7.63) scenarios in a full-factorial experiment. Host fitness was characterized as asexual reproduction and their ability to regulate internal pH and Symbiodinium performance characterized by maximum photochemical efficiency, chla content and cell density. Acidification alone resulted in 58% more asexual reproduction of symbiotic polyps than aposymbiotic polyps (and enhanced Symbiodinium cell density) suggesting Cassiopea sp. fitness was enhanced by CO-stimulated Symbiodinium photosynthetic activity. Indeed, greater CO drawdown (elevated pH) was observed within host tissues of symbiotic polyps under acidification regardless of O conditions. Hypoxia alone produced 22% fewer polyps than ambient conditions regardless of acidification and symbiont status, suggesting Symbiodinium photosynthetic activity did not mitigate its effects. Combined hypoxia and acidification, however, produced similar numbers of symbiotic polyps compared with aposymbiotic kept under ambient conditions, demonstrating that the presence of Symbiodinium was key for mitigating the combined effects of hypoxia and acidification on asexual reproduction. We hypothesize that this mitigation occurred because of reduced photorespiration under elevated CO conditions where increased net O production ameliorates oxygen debt. We show that Symbiodinium play an important role in facilitating enhanced fitness of Cassiopea sp. polyps, and

Method of approximating the effects of blast mitigation materials on particulate-containing clouds formed by explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyckes, G.W.

1983-09-01

A numerical model was developed for predicting the effect of blast mitigation materials on the rise and entrainment rate of explosively driven buoyant clouds containing radiotoxic particles. Model predictions for clouds from unmitigated explosions agree with published observations. More experimental data are needed to assess the validity of predictions for clouds from mitigated explosions

Cost-effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation in transport: A review of methodological approaches and their impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kok, Robert; Annema, Jan Anne; Wee, Bert van

2011-01-01

A review is given of methodological practices for ex ante cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of transport greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures, e.g. fuel economy and CO 2 standards for road vehicles in the US and EU. Besides the fundamental differences between different types of policies and abatement options which inherently result in different CEA outcomes, differences in methodological choices and assumptions are another important source of variation in CEA outcomes. Fourteen methodological issues clustered into six groups are identified on which thirty-three selected studies are systematically reviewed. The potential variation between lower and upper cost-effectiveness estimates for GHG mitigation measures in transport, resulting from different methodological choices and assumptions, lies in the order of $400 per tonne CO 2 -eq. The practise of using CEA for policy-making could improve considerably by clearly indicating the specific purpose of the CEA and its strengths and limitations for policy decisions. Another improvement is related to the dominant approach in transport GHG mitigation studies: the bottom-up financial technical approach which assesses isolated effects, implying considerable limitations for policy-making. A shift to welfare-economic approaches using a hybrid model has the potential to establish an improved assessment of transport GHG mitigation measures based on realistic market responses and behavioural change. - Highlights: ► We identify fourteen important methodological issues clustered into six groups. ► We systematically review thirty-three selected transport GHG mitigation studies. ► Methodological choices can lead to a difference by up to $400 per tonne CO 2 -eq. ► The dominant bottom-up approach has limitations for policy-making. ► Welfare-economic approaches could improve cost-effectiveness analysis.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-12-01

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

Considering only first-order effects? How simplifications lead to unrealistic technology optimism in climate change mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arvesen, Anders, E-mail: anders.arvesen@ntnu.no [Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491 (Norway); Bright, Ryan M.; Hertwich, Edgar G. [Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491 (Norway)

2011-11-15

This article challenges the notion that energy efficiency and 'clean' energy technologies can deliver sufficient degrees of climate change mitigation. By six arguments not widely recognized in the climate policy arena, we argue that unrealistic technology optimism exists in current climate change mitigation assessments, and, consequently, world energy and climate policy. The overarching theme of the arguments is that incomplete knowledge of indirect effects, and neglect of interactions between parts of physical and social sub-systems, systematically leads to overly optimistic assessments. Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to preserve the climatic conditions to which the human civilization is adapted. We call for priority to be given to research evaluating aspects of mitigation in a broad, system-wide perspective. - Highlights: > We highlight some of the simplifying assumptions in climate change mitigation scenarios. > Mitigation assessments are the basis of unfounded technology optimism in climate policy. > Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to stabilize climate.

Considering only first-order effects? How simplifications lead to unrealistic technology optimism in climate change mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arvesen, Anders; Bright, Ryan M.; Hertwich, Edgar G.

2011-01-01

This article challenges the notion that energy efficiency and 'clean' energy technologies can deliver sufficient degrees of climate change mitigation. By six arguments not widely recognized in the climate policy arena, we argue that unrealistic technology optimism exists in current climate change mitigation assessments, and, consequently, world energy and climate policy. The overarching theme of the arguments is that incomplete knowledge of indirect effects, and neglect of interactions between parts of physical and social sub-systems, systematically leads to overly optimistic assessments. Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to preserve the climatic conditions to which the human civilization is adapted. We call for priority to be given to research evaluating aspects of mitigation in a broad, system-wide perspective. - Highlights: → We highlight some of the simplifying assumptions in climate change mitigation scenarios. → Mitigation assessments are the basis of unfounded technology optimism in climate policy. → Society must likely seek deeper changes in social and economic structures to stabilize climate.

Assessment of Dissolved Oxygen Mitigation at Hydropower Dams Using an Integrated Hydrodynamic/Water Quality/Fish Growth Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bevelhimer, Mark S [ORNL; Coutant, Charles C [ORNL

2006-07-01

Dissolved oxygen (DO) in rivers is a common environmental problem associated with hydropower projects. Approximately 40% of all FERC-licensed projects have requirements to monitor and/or mitigate downstream DO conditions. Most forms of mitigation for increasing DO in dam tailwaters are fairly expensive. One area of research of the Department of Energy's Hydropower Program is the development of advanced turbines that improve downstream water quality and have other environmental benefits. There is great interest in being able to predict the benefits of these modifications prior to committing to the cost of new equipment. In the case of turbine replacement or modification, there is a need for methods that allow us to accurately extrapolate the benefits derived from one or two turbines with better design to the replacement or modification of all turbines at a site. The main objective of our study was to demonstrate a modeling approach that integrates the effects of flow and water quality dynamics with fish bioenergetics to predict DO mitigation effectiveness over long river segments downstream of hydropower dams. We were particularly interested in demonstrating the incremental value of including a fish growth model as a measure of biological response. The models applied are a suite of tools (RMS4 modeling system) originally developed by the Tennessee Valley Authority for simulating hydrodynamics (ADYN model), water quality (RQUAL model), and fish growth (FISH model) as influenced by DO, temperature, and available food base. We parameterized a model for a 26-mile reach of the Caney Fork River (Tennessee) below Center Hill Dam to assess how improvements in DO at the dam discharge would affect water quality and fish growth throughout the river. We simulated different types of mitigation (i.e., at the turbine and in the reservoir forebay) and different levels of improvement. The model application successfully demonstrates how a modeling approach like this one can be

L-Reactor Habitat Mitigation Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-02-01

The L-Reactor Fish and Wildlife Resource Mitigation Study was conducted to quantify the effects on habitat of the L-Reactor restart and to identify the appropriate mitigation for these impacts. The completed project evaluated in this study includes construction of a 1000 acre reactor cooling reservoir formed by damming Steel Creek. Habitat impacts identified include a loss of approximately 3,700 average annual habitat units. This report presents a mitigation plan, Plan A, to offset these habitat losses. Plan A will offset losses for all species studied, except whitetailed deer. The South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department strongly recommends creation of a game management area to provide realistic mitigation for loss of deer habitats. 10 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

Mitigation win-win

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Dominic; Lucas, Amanda; Barnes, Andrew

2013-07-01

Win-win messages regarding climate change mitigation policies in agriculture tend to oversimplify farmer motivation. Contributions from psychology, cultural evolution and behavioural economics should help to design more effective policy.

Environmental Research Program. 1994 annual report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, N.J.

1995-04-01

The objective of the Environmental Research Program is to enhance the understanding of, and mitigate the effects of pollutants on health, ecological systems, global and regional climate, and air quality. The program is multi-disciplinary and includes fundamental research and development in efficient and environmentally-benign combustion, pollutant abatement and destruction, and novel methods of detection and analysis of criteria and non-criteria pollutants. This diverse group conducts investigations in combustion, atmospheric and marine processes, flue-gas chemistry, and ecological systems.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beranich, S.J.

1994-01-01

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

Environmental effects of information and communications technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Eric

2011-11-16

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irving, Paul; Moncrieff, Ian

2004-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

Environmental radon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majumdar, S.K.; Schmalz, R.F.; Miller, E.W.

1990-01-01

This book covers many aspects of environmental radon, including: historical perspectives; occurrence and properties; detection, measurement, and mitigation, radon and health; and political, economic, and legislative impacts

Environmental agency in read-alouds

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-06-01

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

12 CFR 702.108 - Risk mitigation credit.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Risk mitigation credit. 702.108 Section 702.108... CORRECTIVE ACTION Net Worth Classification § 702.108 Risk mitigation credit. (a) Who may apply. A credit union may apply for a risk mitigation credit if on any of the current or three preceding effective dates...

A tale of two fires: The relative effectiveness of past wildfires in mitigating wildfire behavior and effects

Science.gov (United States)

Robert W. Gray; Susan J. Prichard

2015-01-01

The incidence of large, costly landscape-scale fires in western North America is increasing. To combat these fires, researchers and managers have expressed increased interest in investigating the effectiveness of past, stand-replacing wildfires as bottom-up controls on fire spread and severity. Specifically, how effective are past wildfires in mitigating the behavior...

The effectiveness of cool and green roofs as urban heat island mitigation strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Dan; Bou-Zeid, Elie; Oppenheimer, Michael

2014-01-01

Mitigation of the urban heat island (UHI) effect at the city-scale is investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in conjunction with the Princeton Urban Canopy Model (PUCM). Specifically, the cooling impacts of green roof and cool (white/high-albedo) roof strategies over the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area during a heat wave period (7 June–10 June 2008) are assessed using the optimal set-up of WRF-PUCM described in the companion paper by Li and Bou-Zeid (2014). Results indicate that the surface UHI effect (defined based on the urban–rural surface temperature difference) is reduced significantly more than the near-surface UHI effect (defined based on urban–rural 2 m air temperature difference) when these mitigation strategies are adopted. In addition, as the green and cool roof fractions increase, the surface and near-surface UHIs are reduced almost linearly. Green roofs with relatively abundant soil moisture have comparable effect in reducing the surface and near-surface UHIs to cool roofs with an albedo value of 0.7. Significant indirect effects are also observed for both green and cool roof strategies; mainly, the low-level advection of atmospheric moisture from rural areas into urban terrain is enhanced when the fraction of these roofs increases, thus increasing the humidity in urban areas. The additional benefits or penalties associated with modifications of the main physical determinants of green or cool roof performance are also investigated. For green roofs, when the soil moisture is increased by irrigation, additional cooling effect is obtained, especially when the ‘unmanaged’ soil moisture is low. The effects of changing the albedo of cool roofs are also substantial. These results also underline the capabilities of the WRF-PUCM framework to support detailed analysis and diagnosis of the UHI phenomenon, and of its different mitigation strategies. (letter)

Modeling the Heterogeneous Effects of GHG Mitigation Policies on Global Agriculture and Forestry

Science.gov (United States)

Golub, A.; Henderson, B.; Hertel, T. W.; Rose, S. K.; Sohngen, B.

2010-12-01

agriculture and timber products. We analyze regional changes in land use, output, competitiveness, and food consumption under climate change mitigation policy regimes which differ by participation/exclusion of agricultural sectors and non-Annex I countries, as well as policy instruments. While responsible for only a third of global GHG emissions, under the global carbon tax the land using sectors could contribute half of all economically efficient mitigation in the near term, at modest carbon prices. The imposition of a carbon tax in agriculture, however, has adverse effects on food consumption, especially in developing countries. These effects are much smaller if an agricultural producer subsidy is introduced to compensate for carbon tax the producers pay. The global forest carbon sequestration subsidy effectively controls emission leakage when the carbon tax is imposed only in Annex I regions, since the sequestration subsidy bids land away from agriculture in non-Annex I regions. Though the sequestration subsidy yields GHG abatement benefit, the policy may adversely affect food security and agricultural development in developing countries.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Roux, Izak Johannes, III

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

Environmental effects from the nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Since 1969 several meetings have been convened to study the possibility of using high-level radiation in waste treatment. It was agreed that ionizing radiation offered some compromise as a feasible technology for a certain unique purpose, but economic considerations mitigated any overwhelming enthusiasm for early industrial realization. Recently a significant change has taken place in the world energy supply picture, and the expanded projection of nuclear power generation affects the analysis of comparative economic feasibility of ionizing radiation treatment of wastes. In addition, increased consideration of environmental quality not only calls for the re-evaluation of conventional waste treatment technologies, but also the development of more effective means where conventional methods might be unsatisfactory. As a result of several allied considerations, it was thought necessary and timely to review the status of research and development in the application of ionizing radiation to waste treatment and to consider the environmental implication of the proposed technology. Accordingly, the Symposium on the Use of High-Level Radiation in Waste Treatment - Status and Prospects was convened by the IAEA, in co-operation with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bayerische Landesanstalt fur Bodenkultur und Pflanzenbau. Forty-eight papers were presented in eight sessions covering the current technology of waste-water treatment and re-use, radiosensitivity of micro-organisms, disinfection and microbiological control, physical and chemical modification of aqueous pollutants, technological and economic considerations, pilot-plant design and operating experiences, and radiation treatment of gaseous and solid wastes

Environmental impacts of rapid water level changes; Miljoekonsekvenser av raske vannstandsendringer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arnekleiv, Jo Vegar; Bakken, Tor Haakon; Bogen, Jim; Boensnes, Truls Erik; Elster, Margrethe; Harby, Atle; Kutznetsova, Yulia; Saltveit, Svein Jakob; Sauterleute, Julian; Stickler, Morten; Sundt, Haakon; Tjomsland, Torulv; Ugedal, Ola

2012-07-01

This report summarizes the state of knowledge of the environmental impacts of power driving and rapid water level changes and describes possible mitigation measures. The report assesses the environmental effects of possible increased power installation in Mauranger and Tonstad power plants, based on existing data and knowledge. At Straumsmo plants in Barduelva there are collected some physical data and the environmental impact of existing power driving is considered. (eb)

Strategies to mitigate dissociative and psychotomimetic effects of ketamine in the treatment of major depressive episodes: a narrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Matthew D; Rosenblat, Joshua D; Cha, Danielle S; Lee, Yena; Kakar, Ron; McIntyre, Roger S

2017-09-01

Objectives Replicated evidence has demonstrated that ketamine exerts rapid-acting and potent antidepressant effects. Notwithstanding, its promise to mitigate depressive symptoms and suicidality in antidepressant-resistant populations, several limitations and safety concerns accompany ketamine including, but not limited to, the potential for abuse and psychotomimetic/dissociative experiences. The focus of the current narrative review is to synthesise available evidence of strategies that may mitigate and fully prevent treatment-emergent psychotomimetic and dissociative effects associated with ketamine administration. Methods PubMed, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for relevant articles. Results Potential avenues investigated to minimise psychotomimetic effects associated with ketamine administration include the following: (1) altering dosing and infusion rates; (2) route of administration; (3) enantiomer choice; (4) co-administration with mood stabilisers of antipsychotics; and (5) use of alternative N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-modulating agents. Emerging evidence indicates that dissociative experiences can be significantly mitigated by using an intranasal route of administration, lower dosages, or use of alternative NMDA-modulating agents, namely lanicemine (AZD6765) and GLYX-13. Conclusions Currently, intranasal administration presents as the most promising strategy to mitigate dissociative and psychotomimetic effects; however, studies of strategies to mitigate the adverse events of ketamine are limited in number and quality and thus further investigation is still needed.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-01-01

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

Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Poore, J; Nemecek, T

2018-06-01

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

Soil bioengineering for risk mitigation and environmental restoration in a humid tropical area

Science.gov (United States)

Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

2010-02-01

The use of soil bio-engineering techniques in developing countries is a relevant issue for disaster mitigation, environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Research on the autochthonal plants suitable for these kinds of interventions and on the economic efficiency of the interventions is essential for the dissemination of such techniques. The present paper is focused on these two issues as related to the realization of various typologies of soil bioengineering works in the humid tropics of Nicaragua. In the area of Río Blanco, located in the Department of Matagalpa, soil bioengineering installations were built in several sites. The particular structures built were: drainages with live fascine mattress, a live palisade, a vegetated live crib wall for riverbank protection, a vegetative covering made of a metallic net and biotextile coupled with a live palisade made of bamboo. In order to evaluate the suitability of the various plants used in these works, monitoring was performed, one on the live palisade alongside an unpaved road and the other on the live crib wall along a riverbank, by collecting data on survival rate and morphological parameters. Concerning economic efficiency, we proceeded to a financial analysis of the works. Once the unit price was obtained, we converted the amount into EPP Dollars (Equal Purchasing Power) in order to compare the Nicaraguan context with the European one. Among the species used we found that Gliricidia sepium (local common name: Madero negro) and Tabebuia rosea (local common name: Roble macuelizo) are adequate for soil bioengineering measures on slopes, while Erythrina fusca (local common name: Helequeme) resulted in successful behaviour only in the crib wall for riverbank protection. In comparing costs in Nicaragua and in Italy, the unit price reduction for Nicaragua ranges from 1.5 times (for the vegetative covering) to almost 4 times (for the fascine mattress), using the EPP dollar exchange rate. Our conclusions with

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, H.

2007-12-01

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

Workshop in adaptation and mitigation strategies - approaching global warming: A review of the adaptation and mitigation perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrisette, P.M.

1992-01-01

The debate within the scientific, policy, and environmental communities on what, if anything, to do about global warming appears to be focused on whether to adapt to climate change in the future or to mitigate climate change in the present. As the issue has become increasingly politicized, the debate over these two approaches has become polarized. The two approaches, however, are not mutually exclusive; in fact, there is much common ground between them. But differences can be found in how proponents of each approach view the risks of global climate change and the values that underpin these perceptions of risk. In this paper, the author will briefly outline the progression of global warming from an obscure scientific concern into a leading international political issue. The author will also review some previous efforts by social scientists to assess attitudes and positions on global warming. He will then examine in detail the adaptation and mitigation perspectives and assess how they differ on the basis of different conceptions of uncertainty and risk, equity, and technology. Finally, he will examine the adaptation and mitigation approaches from the perspective of developing countries

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

Drainage filters and constructed wetlands to mitigate sitespecific nutrient losses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Charlotte; Canga, Eriona; Heckrath, Goswin Johann

2012-01-01

Research Council, aims at providing the scientific basis for developing cost-effective filter technologies targeting P-retention and N-removal in agricultural subsurface drainage. The project studies different approaches of implementing the filter technologies including drainage well filters as well...... typically applied to point sources. This calls for a shift of paradigm towards the development of new, cost-efficient technologies to mitigate site-specific nutrient losses in drainage. A newly launched Danish research project “SUPREME-TECH” (2010-2015) (www.supreme-tech.dk) funded by the Danish Strategic...... in drainage water to below environmental threshold values (

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Åsa Holmner

2012-06-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-01-01

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

Radon diagnostics and mitigation in two public schools in Nashville, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, A.B.; Leovic, K.W.; Harris, D.B.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on diagnostic measurements and mitigation studies that were carried out in two schools in Nashville, Tennessee, as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs) School Radon Mitigation Development/Demonstration Program. Diagnostic studies included architectural plans and building examination, sub-slab radon concentrations, sub-slab communications measurements, and detailed classroom radon measurements using 2-day charcoal canisters, electret ion chambers, and continuous monitors. Although sub-slab communications varied significantly between the two schools, both were amenable to mitigation using sub-slab suction. Average premitigation levels of 39.5 and 29.7 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) were reduced to 0.78 and 1.7 pCi/L in the two schools

Value/impact analysis for evaluating alternative mitigation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kastenberg, W.E.; Catton, I.; Castle, J.N.; Dooley, J.L.; Hammond, R.P.

1988-01-01

Methods are developed for assessing the cost effectiveness of proposed systems and strategies for mitigating the consequences of severe nuclear accidents. Such mitigation systems consist mostly of devices for improving the ability of a reactor containment to survive such an accident and retain all radioactive materials. Value/impact analysis is applied to the system with and without mitigation, using the population dose averted by mitigation as the value of benefit, and the dollar cost of the containment improvements as the impact. Other considerations affecting such analyses include ways of monetizing public health risk, economic discounting, and the effect of interdiction policy and other post-accident recovery costs

Environmental assessment report to BEPCo Canada Company on exploratory drilling on EL2407

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-19

BEPCo. Canada Company (BEPCo) is planning to drill exploratory deepwater wells offshore from Nova Scotia. This environmental assessment report was prepared to satisfy regulatory requirements associated with offshore drilling. It focuses on valued environmental components chosen during a scoping process. This report evaluated the potential project-related effects on marine benthos, marine fish, marine mammals, marine turtles, marine birds, special areas, and other ocean users. Discharges and emissions from the project include drilling mud and rock cuttings, small amounts of produced water, ship discharges and atmospheric emissions. This report includes oceanographic plume modelling for allowable discharges of mud and cuttings at sea. The report predicts that the potential adverse effects of the valued environmental components will be short term and highly localized around the drilling rigs. It was suggested that any adverse effects could be mitigated through the use of technically feasible mitigation and standard offshore oil and gas industry procedures for environmental health and safety. It was concluded that BEPCo's proposed drilling program for EL-2407 can be conducted without any significant adverse effects on Nova Scotia's offshore environment. 121 refs., 27 tabs., 24 figs.

CO2 mitigation scenarios in China's road transport sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Can; Cai, Wenjia; Lu, Xuedu; Chen, Jining

2007-01-01

China is the world's second largest greenhouse gas emitter, and emissions from the road transport sector represent one of the fastest growing GHG sources in China. Taking previous research on China's projected future vehicle ownership and future CO 2 emissions in the transport sector as a starting point, this paper reviews all recent environmental policies relating to the automobile industry and employs a scenario analysis to estimate different emissions inventories for different development strategies. The new policy scenario considers all possible mitigation options available to the road transport sector from a bottom up perspective and examines the effects for fuel efficiency improvement and the cost of these mitigation options - vehicle technology improvement, bus rapid transit system and fuel switching, through which the carbon dioxide emissions reduction potential is estimated. Not only does this paper indicate that a large emissions reduction potential exists in China's road transport sector, but it implies that vehicle technology improvement, especially engine technology is likely to be the most effective means to meet emissions reduction targets. This paper concludes by identifying key barriers to implementing those options in China and deduces the technical, financial and institutional aspects of the demand in China for national capacity building and international aid in order to achieve the emissions reduction goals

Multiple mitigation mechanisms: Effects of submerged plants on the toxicity of nine insecticides to aquatic animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Brogan, William R; Relyea, Rick A

2017-01-01

Understanding the processes that regulate contaminant impacts in nature is an increasingly important challenge. For insecticides in surface waters, the ability of aquatic plants to sorb, or bind, hydrophobic compounds has been identified as a primary mechanism by which toxicity can be mitigated (i.e. the sorption-based model). However, recent research shows that submerged plants can also rapidly mitigate the toxicity of the less hydrophobic insecticide malathion via alkaline hydrolysis (i.e. the hydrolysis-based model) driven by increased water pH resulting from photosynthesis. However, it is still unknown how generalizable these mitigation mechanisms are across the wide variety of insecticides applied today, and whether any general rules can be ascertained about which types of chemicals may be mitigated by each mechanism. We quantified the degree to which the submerged plant Elodea canadensis mitigated acute (48-h) toxicity to Daphnia magna using nine commonly applied insecticides spanning three chemical classes (carbamates: aldicarb, carbaryl, carbofuran; organophosphates: malathion, diazinon, chlorpyrifos; pyrethroids: permethrin, bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin). We found that insecticides possessing either high octanol-water partition coefficients (log K ow ) values (i.e. pyrethroids) or high susceptibility to alkaline hydrolysis (i.e. carbamates and malathion) were all mitigated to some degree by E. canadensis, while the plant had no effect on insecticides possessing intermediate log K ow values and low susceptibility to hydrolysis (i.e. chlorpyrifos and diazinon). Our results provide the first general insights into which types of insecticides are likely to be mitigated by different mechanisms based on known chemical properties. We suggest that current models and mitigation strategies would be improved by the consideration of both mitigation models. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-04-27

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

Assessment of alternative mitigation concepts for Hanford flammable gas tanks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, C.W.; Schienbein, L.A.; Hudson, J.D.; Eschbach, E.J.; Lessor, D.L.

1994-09-01

This report provides a review and assessment of four selected mitigation concepts: pump jet mixing, sonic vibration, dilution, and heating. Though the relative levels of development of these concepts are quite different, some definite conclusions are made on their comparative feasibility. Key findings of this report are as follows. A mixer pump has proven to be a safe and effective active mitigation method in Tank 241-SY-101, and the authors are confident that mixer pumps will effectively mitigate other tanks with comparable waste configurations and properties. Low-frequency sonic vibration is also predicted to be effective for mitigation. Existing data cannot prove that dilution can mitigate gas release event (GRE) behavior. However, dilution is the only concept of the four that potentially offers passive mitigation. Like dilution, heating the waste cannot be proven with available information to mitigate GRE behavior. The designs, analyses, and data from which these conclusions are derived are presented along with recommendations.

Assessment of alternative mitigation concepts for Hanford flammable gas tanks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, C.W.; Schienbein, L.A.; Hudson, J.D.; Eschbach, E.J.; Lessor, D.L.

1994-09-01

This report provides a review and assessment of four selected mitigation concepts: pump jet mixing, sonic vibration, dilution, and heating. Though the relative levels of development of these concepts are quite different, some definite conclusions are made on their comparative feasibility. Key findings of this report are as follows. A mixer pump has proven to be a safe and effective active mitigation method in Tank 241-SY-101, and the authors are confident that mixer pumps will effectively mitigate other tanks with comparable waste configurations and properties. Low-frequency sonic vibration is also predicted to be effective for mitigation. Existing data cannot prove that dilution can mitigate gas release event (GRE) behavior. However, dilution is the only concept of the four that potentially offers passive mitigation. Like dilution, heating the waste cannot be proven with available information to mitigate GRE behavior. The designs, analyses, and data from which these conclusions are derived are presented along with recommendations

Mitigating Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Science.gov (United States)

Davey, Victoria

The emergence of new, transmissible infections poses a significant threat to human populations. As the 2009 novel influenza A/H1N1 pandemic and the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic demonstrate, we have observed the effects of rapid spread of illness in non-immune populations and experienced disturbing uncertainty about future potential for human suffering and societal disruption. Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of a newly emerged infectious organism are usually gathered in retrospect as the outbreak evolves and affects populations. Knowledge of potential effects of outbreaks and epidemics and most importantly, mitigation at community, regional, national and global levels is needed to inform policy that will prepare and protect people. Study of possible outcomes of evolving epidemics and application of mitigation strategies is not possible in observational or experimental research designs, but computational modeling allows conduct of `virtual' experiments. Results of well-designed computer simulations can aid in the selection and implementation of strategies that limit illness and death, and maintain systems of healthcare and other critical resources that are vital to public protection. Mitigating Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

Modeling the Effects of Harvest Alternatives on Mitigating Oak Decline in a Central Hardwood Forest Landscape.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen J Wang

Full Text Available Oak decline is a process induced by complex interactions of predisposing factors, inciting factors, and contributing factors operating at tree, stand, and landscape scales. It has greatly altered species composition and stand structure in affected areas. Thinning, clearcutting, and group selection are widely adopted harvest alternatives for reducing forest vulnerability to oak decline by removing susceptible species and declining trees. However, the long-term, landscape-scale effects of these different harvest alternatives are not well studied because of the limited availability of experimental data. In this study, we applied a forest landscape model in combination with field studies to evaluate the effects of the three harvest alternatives on mitigating oak decline in a Central Hardwood Forest landscape. Results showed that the potential oak decline in high risk sites decreased strongly in the next five decades irrespective of harvest alternatives. This is because oak decline is a natural process and forest succession (e.g., high tree mortality resulting from intense competition would eventually lead to the decrease in oak decline in this area. However, forest harvesting did play a role in mitigating oak decline and the effectiveness varied among the three harvest alternatives. The group selection and clearcutting alternatives were most effective in mitigating oak decline in the short and medium terms, respectively. The long-term effects of the three harvest alternatives on mitigating oak decline became less discernible as the role of succession increased. The thinning alternative had the highest biomass retention over time, followed by the group selection and clearcutting alternatives. The group selection alternative that balanced treatment effects and retaining biomass was the most viable alternative for managing oak decline. Insights from this study may be useful in developing effective and informed forest harvesting plans for managing oak

Strategies for Mitigation of Flood Risk in the Niger Delta, Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Strategies for Mitigation of Flood Risk in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. ... Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management ... a false sense of security to flood plain dwellers and thereby encouraging investments in flood prone areas.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Adanza, Jonathan R.

2016-01-01

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

Environmental and Social Impact Study: Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-04-01

The tsetse control project (commonly known as tsetse flies) is an initiative of the Directorate of Livestock (project coordinating institution) and the ISRA (Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute) Accompaniment and diagnosis of the project. It is part of the cooperation between Senegal and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).The method of control that will be applied is the technique of sterile males.This technique of sterile males, however, is coupled with the use of deltamethrin (D6), a neurotoxic chemical (in adult insects) that is fast and fairly rapidly biodegradable in the environment.This study is carried out with the aim of taking good account of the environmental impacts of the various activities envisaged by the project. Its objective is to assess the biophysical, social and economic impacts of the project and to propose measures to mitigate or compensate for negative impacts and to reinforce positive impacts within the framework of an Environmental Management Plan and (ESMP). It also presents an environmental and social monitoring and monitoring plan to assess the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures.

Detection and mitigation of aging and service wear effects of nuclear power plant components in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pachner, J.

1987-07-01

In Canada, the operational safety management of nuclear power plants employs methods which are intended to prevent, detect, correct and mitigate system and component failures from any cause, including the effects of aging and service wear degradation. The paper gives an overview of the application of these methods in the detection and mitigation of aging effects before they impact on plant safety and production reliability. Regulatory audits of these methods, to ensure that an acceptable level of plant safety is maintained by the nuclear power plant licensees, are also described. The methods are: a preventive maintenance program, Significant Event Reporting system, and a reliability based assessment of performance of safety related systems. The above methods are discussed and illustrated by examples. The soundness of the approach has been proven by the results achieved in 163 reactor-years of operation. Present and future developments include reviews of current monitoring, testing and inspection methods to ensure that appropriate time variant parameters (capable of revealing aging degradation before loss of functional capability) are monitored, and reviews of the effectiveness of existing maintenance programs and methods in mitigating aging and service wear effects

Development of a harmonized risk mitigation toolbox dedicated to environmental risks of pesticides in farmland in Europe: outcome of the MAgPIE workshop

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alix, A.

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Risk mitigation measures are a key component in designing conditions of use of pesticides in crop protection. A 2-step workshop was organized under the auspices of SETAC and the European Commission and gathered risk assessors and risk managers of 21 European countries, industry, academia and agronomical advisors/extension services, in order to provide European regulatory authorities with a toolbox of risk mitigation measures designed to reduce environmental risks of pesticides used in agriculture, and thus contribute to a better harmonization within Europe in the area. The workshop gathered an inventory of the risk mitigation tools for pesticides being implemented or in development in European countries. The inventory was discussed in order to identify the most promising tools for a harmonized toolbox in the European area. The discussions concerned the level of confidence in the technical data on which the tools identified rely, possible regulatory hurdles, expectations as regards the implementation of these tools by farmers and links with risk assessment. Finally, this workshop was a first step towards a network gathering all stakeholders, i.e. experts from national authorities, research sector, industry and farmers, to share information and further develop this toolbox. This paper presents an outline of the content of the toolbox with an emphasis on spray drift reducing techniques, in line with the discussions ongoing in the SPISE workshop.

Effective mitigation of debris flows at Lemon Dam, La Plata County, Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

deWolfe, V.G.; Santi, P.M.; Ey, J.; Gartner, J.E.

2008-01-01

To reduce the hazards from debris flows in drainage basins burned by wildfire, erosion control measures such as construction of check dams, installation of log erosion barriers (LEBs), and spreading of straw mulch and seed are common practice. After the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire in southwest Colorado, these measures were implemented at Knight Canyon above Lemon Dam to protect the intake structures of the dam from being filled with sediment. Hillslope erosion protection measures included LEBs at concentrations of 220-620/ha (200-600% of typical densities), straw mulch was hand spread at concentrations up to 5.6??metric tons/hectare (125% of typical densities), and seeds were hand spread at 67-84??kg/ha (150% of typical values). The mulch was carefully crimped into the soil to keep it in place. In addition, 13 check dams and 3 debris racks were installed in the main drainage channel of the basin. The technical literature shows that each mitigation method working alone, or improperly constructed or applied, was inconsistent in its ability to reduce erosion and sedimentation. At Lemon Dam, however, these methods were effective in virtually eliminating sedimentation into the reservoir, which can be attributed to a number of factors: the density of application of each mitigation method, the enhancement of methods working in concert, the quality of installation, and rehabilitation of mitigation features to extend their useful life. The check dams effectively trapped the sediment mobilized during rainstorms, and only a few cubic meters of debris traveled downchannel, where it was intercepted by debris racks. Using a debris volume-prediction model developed for use in burned basins in the Western U.S., recorded rainfall events following the Missionary Ridge Fire should have produced a debris flow of approximately 10,000??m3 at Knight Canyon. The mitigation measures, therefore, reduced the debris volume by several orders of magnitude. For comparison, rainstorm

Environmental research program. 1992 annual report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-07-01

The objective of the Environmental Research Program is to contribute to the understanding of the formation, mitigation, transport, transformation, and ecological effects of energy-related pollutants on the environment. The program is multidisciplinary and includes fundamental and applied research in chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, and ecology. The program undertakes research and development in efficient and environmentally benign combustion, pollution abatement and destruction, and novel methods of detection and analysis of criteria and non-criteria pollutants. This diverse group investigates combustion, atmospheric processes, flue-gas chemistry, and ecological systems.

Competitiveness effects of environmental tax reforms (COMETR). Final report to the European Commission, DG Research and DG TAXUD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skou Andersen, M.; Speck, S. (Univ. of Aarhus, National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Policy Analysis (Denmark)); Barker, T.; Junankar, S.; Pollitt, H. (Cambridge Econometrics (United Kingdom)); Fitz Gerald, J.; Scott, S. (Economic and Social Research Institute (Ireland)); Jilkova, J. (Univ. of Economics Prague, Institute for Economic and Environmental Policy (Czech Republic)); Salmons, R.; Ekins, P. (Policy Studies Institute (United Kingdom)); Christie, E.; Michael Landesmann, M. (Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (Austria))

2007-12-15

COMETR provides an ex-post assessment of experiences and competitiveness impacts of using carbon-energy taxes as an instrument of an Environmental Tax Reform (ETR), which shifts the tax burden and helps reduce the carbon emissions that cause global warming. COMETR: reviews the experience in ETR in seven EU Member States (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Slovenia, Sweden and UK); analyses world market conditions for a set of energy-intensive sectors, as a framework for considering competitiveness effects; analyses the effects of ETR on sector-specific energy usage and carbon emissions in Member States with carbon-energy taxes introduced on industry; presents a macroeconomic analysis of the competitiveness effects of ETR for individual Member States as well as for the EU as a whole; provides ex-post figures for environmental decoupling and assesses carbon leakage; reviews mitigation and compensation mechanisms for energy-intensive industries. (au)

Mitigation of pollutants for clean environment: proceedings of the fifteenth national symposium on environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puranik, V.D.; Pandit, G.G.; Ramachandran, T.V.; Tripathi, R.M.; Saradhi, I.V.; Hegde, A.G.

2007-01-01

The main theme of this volume is mitigation of pollutants for clean environment. The topics covered are technologies for clean environment, monitoring and modeling of pollutants and their transport, environmental radioactivity, environmental awareness, education and regulatory aspects. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-06-06

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

Implications of Climate Mitigation for Future Agricultural Production

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Christoph; Elliott, Joshua; Chryssanthacopoulos, James; Deryng, Delphine; Folberth, Christian; Pugh, Thomas A. M.; Schmid, Erwin

2015-01-01

Climate change is projected to negatively impact biophysical agricultural productivity in much of the world. Actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate future climate changes, are thus of central importance for agricultural production. Climate impacts are, however, not unidirectional; some crops in some regions (primarily higher latitudes) are projected to benefit, particularly if increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is assumed to strongly increase crop productivity at large spatial and temporal scales. Climate mitigation measures that are implemented by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations lead to reductions both in the strength of climate change and in the benefits of carbon dioxide fertilization. Consequently, analysis of the effects of climate mitigation on agricultural productivity must address not only regions for which mitigation is likely to reduce or even reverse climate damages. There are also regions that are likely to see increased crop yields due to climate change, which may lose these added potentials under mitigation action. Comparing data from the most comprehensive archive of crop yield projections publicly available, we find that climate mitigation leads to overall benefits from avoided damages at the global scale and especially in many regions that are already at risk of food insecurity today. Ignoring controversial carbon dioxide fertilization effects on crop productivity, we find that for the median projection aggressive mitigation could eliminate approximately 81% of the negative impacts of climate change on biophysical agricultural productivity globally by the end of the century. In this case, the benefits of mitigation typically extend well into temperate regions, but vary by crop and underlying climate model projections. Should large benefits to crop yields from carbon dioxide fertilization be realized, the effects of mitigation become much more mixed, though still positive globally and beneficial in many

Implications of climate mitigation for future agricultural production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Müller, Christoph; Elliott, Joshua; Chryssanthacopoulos, James; Deryng, Delphine; Folberth, Christian; Pugh, Thomas A M; Schmid, Erwin

2015-01-01

Climate change is projected to negatively impact biophysical agricultural productivity in much of the world. Actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate future climate changes, are thus of central importance for agricultural production. Climate impacts are, however, not unidirectional; some crops in some regions (primarily higher latitudes) are projected to benefit, particularly if increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is assumed to strongly increase crop productivity at large spatial and temporal scales. Climate mitigation measures that are implemented by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations lead to reductions both in the strength of climate change and in the benefits of carbon dioxide fertilization. Consequently, analysis of the effects of climate mitigation on agricultural productivity must address not only regions for which mitigation is likely to reduce or even reverse climate damages. There are also regions that are likely to see increased crop yields due to climate change, which may lose these added potentials under mitigation action. Comparing data from the most comprehensive archive of crop yield projections publicly available, we find that climate mitigation leads to overall benefits from avoided damages at the global scale and especially in many regions that are already at risk of food insecurity today. Ignoring controversial carbon dioxide fertilization effects on crop productivity, we find that for the median projection aggressive mitigation could eliminate ∼81% of the negative impacts of climate change on biophysical agricultural productivity globally by the end of the century. In this case, the benefits of mitigation typically extend well into temperate regions, but vary by crop and underlying climate model projections. Should large benefits to crop yields from carbon dioxide fertilization be realized, the effects of mitigation become much more mixed, though still positive globally and beneficial in many food insecure

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

Science.gov (United States)

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 issues and solutions for exploratory drilling in sensitive areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, R.M.

1995-01-01

Chevron USA Production Company (CPDN), the National Forest Service (FS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) successfully utilized a multi-disciplinary team approach to design and implement innovative environmental solutions to drill the 8,000 foot deep, Hunter Creek exploratory well. The project was located in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, less than 20 miles from Grand Teton National Park. Acquiring permission from the FS, the BLM, and ultimately, the public to drill the Hunter Creek well involved substantial teamwork in identifying many potential, environmental pitfalls. Creative, workable and cost-effective mitigation measures employed at Hunter Creek included: utilizing a helicopter and limiting vehicle use of an existing road, conducting environmental and safety training, an erosion control and reclamation plan, designing an environmentally friendly, near-zero-discharge drilling location, initiating a water quality monitoring program to establish baseline data and to ensure protection of surface and ground water, designing a waste minimization plan, identifying threatened and endangered and special status species possibly affected by project activities, and ensuring compliance with all mitigation measures and Federal and State regulations. The Hunter Creek project successfully demonstrates that oil and gas exploration can be conducted with a soft footprint in environmentally sensitive areas if mitigation measures are front-end loaded in the project and honored by all personnel involved. Teamwork, training and communication were found to be indispensable components of achieving success at Hunter Creek

10 CFR 51.55 - Environmental report-standard design certification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... costs and benefits of severe accident mitigation design alternatives, and the bases for not incorporating severe accident mitigation design alternatives in the design to be certified. (b) Each applicant... either renders a severe accident mitigation design alternative previously rejected in an environmental...

10 CFR 51.31 - Determinations based on environmental assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... staff director will determine the costs and benefits of severe accident mitigation design alternatives and the bases for not incorporating severe accident mitigation design alternatives in the design of... environmental assessment will be limited to the consideration of severe accident mitigation design alternatives...

Soft error mechanisms, modeling and mitigation

CERN Document Server

Sayil, Selahattin

2016-01-01

This book introduces readers to various radiation soft-error mechanisms such as soft delays, radiation induced clock jitter and pulses, and single event (SE) coupling induced effects. In addition to discussing various radiation hardening techniques for combinational logic, the author also describes new mitigation strategies targeting commercial designs. Coverage includes novel soft error mitigation techniques such as the Dynamic Threshold Technique and Soft Error Filtering based on Transmission gate with varied gate and body bias. The discussion also includes modeling of SE crosstalk noise, delay and speed-up effects. Various mitigation strategies to eliminate SE coupling effects are also introduced. Coverage also includes the reliability of low power energy-efficient designs and the impact of leakage power consumption optimizations on soft error robustness. The author presents an analysis of various power optimization techniques, enabling readers to make design choices that reduce static power consumption an...

Mechanical and environmental effects on stress corrosion cracking of low carbon pipeline steel in a soil solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contreras, A.; Hernández, S.L.; Orozco-Cruz, R.; Galvan-Martínez, R.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Mechanical and environmental effects on SCC of X52 steel were investigated. ► Slow strain rate tests (SSRT) were performed in a soil solution (NS4). ► Different levels of polarization potentials were applied to mitigating SCC. ► SSRT results indicate that X52 pipeline steel was susceptible to SCC. ► SCC susceptibility increase as the yielding and ultimate tensile stress increase. -- Abstract: Mechanical and environmental effects on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of X52 pipeline steel were investigated using slow strain rate tests (SSRT) performed in a glass autoclave containing a soil solution at strain rate of 1 × 10 −6 in./s at room temperature. Polarization potentials of −100, −200 and −400 mV referred to open circuit potential (OCP) was applied in order to establish the effectiveness of cathodic protection in mitigating SCC of X52 pipeline steel. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations were done in order to analyze the SCC process. SSRT results indicate that X52 pipeline steel was susceptible to SCC. Susceptibility to SCC increase as the yielding stress (YS) and ultimate tensile stress (UTS) increase. The EIS results showed that the highest corrosion of the steel sample was obtained when the highest cathodic over potential was applied. SEM observations of these specimens showed a brittle type of fracture with transgranular appearance. The failure and SCC of X52 steel in soil solution was explained by hydrogen mechanism.

Enteric methane mitigation technologies for ruminant livestock: a synthesis of current research and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, Amlan Kumar

2012-04-01

Enteric methane (CH(4)) emission in ruminants, which is produced via fermentation of feeds in the rumen and lower digestive tract by methanogenic archaea, represents a loss of 2% to 12% of gross energy of feeds and contributes to global greenhouse effects. Globally, about 80 million tonnes of CH(4) is produced annually from enteric fermentation mainly from ruminants. Therefore, CH(4) mitigation strategies in ruminants have focused to obtain economic as well as environmental benefits. Some mitigation options such as chemical inhibitors, defaunation, and ionophores inhibit methanogenesis directly or indirectly in the rumen, but they have not confirmed consistent effects for practical use. A variety of nutritional amendments such as increasing the amount of grains, inclusion of some leguminous forages containing condensed tannins and ionophore compounds in diets, supplementation of low-quality roughages with protein and readily fermentable carbohydrates, and addition of fats show promise for CH(4) mitigation. These nutritional amendments also increase the efficiency of feed utilization and, therefore, are most likely to be adopted by farmers. Several new potential technologies such as use of plant secondary metabolites, probiotics and propionate enhancers, stimulation of acetogens, immunization, CH(4) oxidation by methylotrophs, and genetic selection of low CH(4)-producing animals have emerged to decrease CH(4) production, but these require extensive research before they can be recommended to livestock producers. The use of bacteriocins, bacteriophages, and development of recombinant vaccines targeting archaeal-specific genes and cell surface proteins may be areas worthy of investigation for CH(4) mitigation as well. A combination of different CH(4) mitigation strategies should be adopted in farm levels to substantially decrease methane emission from ruminants. Evidently, comprehensive research is needed to explore proven and reliable CH(4) mitigation technologies

39 CFR 775.9 - Environmental evaluation process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... related to it. The assessment may be included in the finding if it is short, in which case the discussion in the assessment need not be repeated in the finding. The FONSI may be a mitigated FONSI in which... environmental effect, or (iii) The action is a type that is not a major federal action with a significant impact...

Program and abstracts of the offshore oil and gas environmental effects monitoring workshop : approaches and technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The offshore petroleum industry in eastern Canada has expanded rapidly, with exploration and production activities taking place over a wide range of oceanographic conditions. This workshop, hosted by Canada's largest marine research institute, was held to advance the understanding of environmental impacts from offshore oil and gas activity. In particular, it examined how information derived from environmental effects monitoring (EEM) programs contribute to improved drilling and production operations, mitigation measures, and the revision of regulations for waste treatment. The workshop examined if EEM programs are providing valuable information, and how they can be improved. The themes of the 3 sessions which focused on ways to carry out EEM were: (1) EEM and environmental management, (2) EEM methodologies and lessons learned, and (3) EEM methodologies and technologies. Participants form around the world identified priority research needs and coordinated collaborative research efforts. Approximately 70 papers and posters were presented at the workshop, of which 19 have been indexed separately for inclusion in this database (Author)

MISSIONS: The Mobile-Based Disaster Mitigation System in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Passarella, Rossi; Putri Raflesia, Sarifah; Lestarini, Dinda; Rifai, Ahmad; Veny, Harumi

2018-04-01

Disaster mitigation is essential to minimize the effects of disasters. Indonesia is one of the disaster prone areas in Asia and the government explores the usage of Information technology (IT) to aid its mitigation efforts. Currently, there are Indonesian websites which hold information regarding the weather monitoring, climate conditions, and geophysics. But, there is no clear indicator of mitigation efforts or things to do during an emergency. Therefore, this research proposed MISSIONS, a disaster mitigation model using geo-fencing technique to detect the location of the users through their mobile devices. MISSIONS uses mobile-based disaster mitigation system as a way to disseminate critical information to victims during emergency when they are in disaster zones using virtual fences. It aims to help the government to reduce the effects of disaster and aid in the mitigation efforts. The implementation result shows that MISSIONS have a high accuracy in detecting user whereabouts.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Barraza

2016-04-01

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

Comparison of turbulence mitigation algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Kozacik, Stephen T.; Paolini, Aaron; Sherman, Ariel; Bonnett, James; Kelmelis, Eric

2017-07-01

When capturing imagery over long distances, atmospheric turbulence often degrades the data, especially when observation paths are close to the ground or in hot environments. These issues manifest as time-varying scintillation and warping effects that decrease the effective resolution of the sensor and reduce actionable intelligence. In recent years, several image processing approaches to turbulence mitigation have shown promise. Each of these algorithms has different computational requirements, usability demands, and degrees of independence from camera sensors. They also produce different degrees of enhancement when applied to turbulent imagery. Additionally, some of these algorithms are applicable to real-time operational scenarios while others may only be suitable for postprocessing workflows. EM Photonics has been developing image-processing-based turbulence mitigation technology since 2005. We will compare techniques from the literature with our commercially available, real-time, GPU-accelerated turbulence mitigation software. These comparisons will be made using real (not synthetic), experimentally obtained data for a variety of conditions, including varying optical hardware, imaging range, subjects, and turbulence conditions. Comparison metrics will include image quality, video latency, computational complexity, and potential for real-time operation. Additionally, we will present a technique for quantitatively comparing turbulence mitigation algorithms using real images of radial resolution targets.

The Forgotten Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation. Innovation, Technological Leapfrogging, Employment, and Sustainable Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jochem, E. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung ISI, Karlsruhe (Germany); Madlener, R. [Centre for Energy Policy and Economics CEPE, ETH Zentrum, WEC, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2003-07-01

Traditional concepts for ancillary benefit/co-benefit frameworks reflect a macro and welfare economics perspective. They are often designed to serve certain modelling requirements, and typically focus primarily on avoided environmental damages and/or on induced net employment. This paper presents a conceptual framework that is extended to non-environmental and non-climate-change externalities. It not only includes the net ancillary and co-benefits that accrue from the dynamics of technological innovation and market diffusion, but also those from spillover effects that arise from global trade, communications, and technology transfer, which can all have important impacts on both the business economics and the macroeconomic level. We show that multi-functionality of energy-efficient technologies at the useful energy level, in contrast to mono-functionality of energy conversion technologies, leads to net ancillary benefits/co-benefits of GHG mitigation that may go far beyond fossil energy savings and emission mitigation, and that are in many cases not (or at least not sufficiently) accounted for in investment decision-making and policy-making processes. Several illustrative examples are provided to underline the points that are made.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2005-07-01

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

The Effect of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation on Drought Impacts in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

In this paper, we present a methodology for analyzing the economic benefits in the U.S. of changes in drought frequency and severity due to global greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. We construct reduced-form models of the effect of drought on agriculture and reservoir recreation i...

EO2HEAVEN: mitigating environmental health risks

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Le Rouw, Wouter J

2013-01-01

Full Text Available EO2HEAVEN has the primary objective to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between environmental changes and their impact on human health. To achieve this, the project followed a multidisciplinary and user...

Environmental Impact Analysis Process. Final Environmental Assessment Construction and Operation of Revised PACBAR III Radar Station Saipan, CNMI

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1987-01-01

...). Many project design features have already incorporated environmental concerns. In addition, discussions with Saipan environmental agencies have resulted in mitigation measures, which have been added to the design...

Soil bioengineering for risk mitigation and environmental restoration in a humid tropical area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Petrone

2010-02-01

Full Text Available The use of soil bio-engineering techniques in developing countries is a relevant issue for disaster mitigation, environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Research on the autochthonal plants suitable for these kinds of interventions and on the economic efficiency of the interventions is essential for the dissemination of such techniques. The present paper is focused on these two issues as related to the realization of various typologies of soil bioengineering works in the humid tropics of Nicaragua.

In the area of Río Blanco, located in the Department of Matagalpa, soil bioengineering installations were built in several sites. The particular structures built were: drainages with live fascine mattress, a live palisade, a vegetated live crib wall for riverbank protection, a vegetative covering made of a metallic net and biotextile coupled with a live palisade made of bamboo. In order to evaluate the suitability of the various plants used in these works, monitoring was performed, one on the live palisade alongside an unpaved road and the other on the live crib wall along a riverbank, by collecting data on survival rate and morphological parameters. Concerning economic efficiency, we proceeded to a financial analysis of the works. Once the unit price was obtained, we converted the amount into EPP Dollars (Equal Purchasing Power in order to compare the Nicaraguan context with the European one.

Among the species used we found that Gliricidia sepium (local common name: Madero negro and Tabebuia rosea (local common name: Roble macuelizo are adequate for soil bioengineering measures on slopes, while Erythrina fusca (local common name: Helequeme resulted in successful behaviour only in the crib wall for riverbank protection.

In comparing costs in Nicaragua and in Italy, the unit price reduction for Nicaragua ranges from 1.5 times (for the vegetative covering to almost 4 times (for the fascine mattress

Fraser Valley System Reinforcement Project: Environmental planning and assessment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-06-01

Transmission facilities in the south central Fraser Valley, British Columbia, need reinforcement in order to meet anticipated growth in power demand. This objective could be met by reinforcing substation facilities (adding 500-kV equipment and connection to transmission line 5L41) at the McLellan Substation in Surrey, at the Clayburn Substation in Matsqui, or at the Atchelitz Substation in Chilliwack. An assessment is provided of the environmental evaluation criteria applied to these potential sites for substation reinforcement and the rationale for selection of the Clayburn site as the environmentally most effective alternative. The Clayburn site is already cleared and managed for a 230-kV substation; environmental, land use, and socioeconomic impacts are considered manageable. The existing right-of-way for the 500-kV loop in to the substation can be utilized. In addition, the results of an environmental assessment and mitigation plan for the Clayburn substation reinforcement are described. The most significant factors that will require possible mitigative measures include fisheries, water quality, floodplain management, visual and recreational aspects, and heritage resources. 16 figs., 5 tabs

Socio-demographic predictors of health and environmental co-benefit behaviours for climate change mitigation in urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Emily Ying Yang; Wang, Susan Shuxin; Ho, Janice Ying-En; Huang, Zhe; Liu, Sida; Guo, Chunlan

2017-01-01

This study aims to examine the patterns and socio-demographic predictors of health and environmental co-benefit behaviours that support climate change mitigation in a densely populated Asian metropolis-Hong Kong. A population-based, stratified and cross-sectional random digit dialling telephone survey study was conducted between January and February 2016, among the Cantonese-speaking population aged 15 and above in Hong Kong. Socio-demographic data and the self-reported practice of 10 different co-benefit behaviours were solicited. Ethics approval and participant's verbal consent were sought. The study sample consisted of 1,017 respondents (response rate: 63.6%) were comparable to the age, gender and geographical distributions of the Hong Kong population found in the latest 2011 Hong Kong Population Census. Among the co-benefit behaviours, using less packaging and disposable shopping bags were practiced in the highest frequency (70.1%). However, four behaviours were found to have never been practiced by more than half of the respondents, including bringing personal eating utensils when dining in restaurants or small eateries, showering less than five minutes, having one vegetarian meal a week, and buying more organic food. Results of multivariable logistic regression showed that frequency of practicing co-benefit behaviours were consistently associated with gender and age. Urban residents in Hong Kong do not engage in the practice of co-benefit behaviours in a uniform way. In general, females and older people are more likely to adopt co-benefit behaviours in their daily lives. Further research to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the population towards these co-benefit behaviours will provide support to relevant climate change mitigation policies and education programmes.

Biomass energy development and carbon dioxide mitigation options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, D.O.; House, J.I.

1995-01-01

Studies on climate change and energy production increasingly recognize the crucial role of biological systems. Carbon sinks in forests (above and below ground), CO 2 emissions from deforestation, planting trees for carbon storage, and biomass as a substitute for fossil fuels are some of the key issues which arise. Halting deforestation is of paramount importance, but there is also great potential for reforestation of degraded lands, agroforestry and improved forest management. We conclude that biomass energy plantations and other types of energy cropping could be a more effective strategy for carbon mitigation than simply growing trees as a carbon store. Using the biomass for production of modern energy carriers such as electricity, and liquid and gaseous fuels also has a wide range of other environmental, social and economic benefits. In order for biomass projects to succeed, it is necessary to ensure that these benefits are felt locally as well as nationally, furthermore, environmental sustainability of bioenergy projects is an essential requirement. The constraints to achieving environmentally-acceptable biomass production are not insurmountable. Rather they should be seen as scientific and entrepreneurial opportunities which will yield numerous advantages at local, national and international levels in the long term. (au) 76 refs

Soil bio-engineering for risk mitigation and environmental restoration in a humid tropical area

Science.gov (United States)

Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

2009-07-01

The use of soil bio-engineering techniques in developing countries is a relevant issue for disaster mitigation, environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Research on authochtonal plants suitable for this kind of works and on economic efficiency is essential for the divulgation of such techniques. The present paper is focused on this two issues related to the realization of various typologies of soil bio-engineering works in the humid tropic of Nicaragua. In the area of Río Blanco, located in the Department of Matagalpa, soil bio-engineering installations were built in several sites. The particular structures built were: drainages with live fascine mattress, a live palisade, a vegetated live crib wall for riverbank protection, a vegetative covering made of a metallic net and biotextile coupled with a live palisade made of bamboo. In order to evaluate the suitability of the various plants used in the works, monitorings were performed, one in the live palisade alongside an unpaved road and the other on the live crib wall along a riverbank, collecting survival rate and morphological parameters data. Concerning the economic efficiency we proceed to a financial analysis of the works and once the unit price was obtained, we converted the amount in EPP Dollars (Equal Purchasing Power) in order to compare the Nicaraguan context with the Italian one. Among the used species we found that Madero negro (Gliricidia sepium) and Roble macuelizo (Tabebuia rosea) are adequate for soil-bioengineering measure on slopes while Helequeme (Erythrina fusca) reported a successful behaviour only in the crib wall for riverbank protection. In the comparison of the costs in Nicaragua and in Italy, the unit price reduction for the Central American country ranges between 1.5 times (for the vegetative covering) and almost 4 times (for the fascine mattress) if it's used the EPP dollar exchange rate. Conclusions are reached with regard to hydrological-risk mitigating actions performed on a

Bio-inspired heterogeneous composites for broadband vibration mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yanyu; Wang, Lifeng

2015-12-08

Structural biological materials have developed heterogeneous and hierarchical architectures that are responsible for the outstanding performance to provide protection against environmental threats including static and dynamic loading. Inspired by this observation, this research aims to develop new material and structural concepts for broadband vibration mitigation. The proposed composite materials possess a two-layered heterogeneous architecture where both layers consist of high-volume platelet-shape reinforcements and low-volume matrix, similar to the well-known "brick and mortar" microstructure of biological composites. Using finite element method, we numerically demonstrated that broadband wave attenuation zones can be achieved by tailoring the geometric features of the heterogeneous architecture. We reveal that the resulting broadband attenuation zones are gained by directly superimposing the attenuation zones in each constituent layer. This mechanism is further confirmed by the investigation into the phonon dispersion relation of each layer. Importantly, the broadband wave attenuation capability will be maintained when the mineral platelet orientation is locally manipulated, yet a contrast between the mineral platelet concentrations of the two constituent layers is essential. The findings of this work will provide new opportunities to design heterogeneous composites for broadband vibration mitigation and impact resistance under mechanically challenging environmental conditions.

Methods of Mitigating Double Taxation

OpenAIRE

Lindhe, Tobias

2002-01-01

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of existing methods of mitigating double taxation of corporate income within a standard cost of capital model. Two of the most well-known and most utilized methods, the imputation and the split rate systems, do not mitigate double taxation in corporations where the marginal investment is financed with retained earnings. However, all methods are effective when the marginal investment is financed with new share issues. The corporate tax rate, fiscal ...

Fatigue Analysis of Tubesheet/Shell Juncture Applying the Mitigation Factor for Over-conservatism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Deog Ji; Kim, Kyu Hyoung; Lee, Jae Gon

2009-01-01

If the environmental fatigue requirements are applied to the primary components of a nuclear power plant, to which the present ASME Code fatigue curves are applied, some locations with high level CUF (Cumulative Usage Factor) are anticipated not to meet the code criteria. The application of environmental fatigue damage is still particularly controversial for plants with 60-year design lives. Therefore, it is need to develop a detailed fatigue analysis procedure to identify the conservatisms in the procedure and to lower the cumulative usage factor. Several factors are being considered to mitigate the conservatism such as three-dimensional finite element modeling. In the present analysis, actual pressure transient data instead of conservative maximum and minimum pressure data was applied as one of mitigation factors. Unlike in the general method, individual transient events were considered instead of the grouped transient events. The tubesheet/shell juncture in the steam generator assembly is the one of the weak locations and was, therefore, selected as a target to evaluate the mitigation factor in the present analysis

Implementation and effectiveness of sound mitigation measures on Texas highways (HB 790) : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-10-01

The 84th Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 790 directing the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to perform a study on the implementation and effectiveness of sound mitigation measures on the state highway system and certain toll roads an...

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Data

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — This dataset contains closed and obligated projects funded under the following Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs: Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA)....

Long term performance of radon mitigation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prill, R.; Fisk, W.J.

2002-01-01

Researchers installed radon mitigation systems in 12 houses in Spokane, Washington and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho during the heating season 1985--1986 and continued to monitor indoor radon quarterly and annually for ten years. The mitigation systems included active sub-slab ventilation, basement over-pressurization, and crawlspace isolation and ventilation. The occupants reported various operational problems with these early mitigation systems. The long-term radon measurements were essential to track the effectiveness of the mitigation systems over time. All 12 homes were visited during the second year of the study, while a second set 5 homes was visited during the fifth year to determine the cause(s) of increased radon in the homes. During these visits, the mitigation systems were inspected and measurements of system performance were made. Maintenance and modifications were performed to improve system performance in these homes

10 CFR 960.3-4 - Environmental impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 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...

Energy efficiency, rebound effects and the environmental Kuznets Curve

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, Karen, E-mail: karen.turner@stir.ac.uk; Hanley, Nick

2011-09-15

Technological change is one factor used to justify the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve, and technological improvements have been argued to be a key factor in mitigating the impacts of economic growth on environmental quality. In this paper we use a CGE model of the Scottish economy to consider the factors influencing the impacts of one form of technological change-improvements in energy efficiency-on absolute levels of CO2 emissions, on the carbon intensity of the economy (CO2 emissions relative to real GDP), and the per capita EKC relationship. These factors include the elasticity of substitution between energy and non-energy inputs, responses in the labour market and the structure of the economy. Our results demonstrate the key role played by the general equilibrium price elasticity of demand for energy, and the relative influence of different factors on this parameter.

Energy efficiency, rebound effects and the environmental Kuznets Curve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, Karen; Hanley, Nick

2011-01-01

Technological change is one factor used to justify the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve, and technological improvements have been argued to be a key factor in mitigating the impacts of economic growth on environmental quality. In this paper we use a CGE model of the Scottish economy to consider the factors influencing the impacts of one form of technological change-improvements in energy efficiency-on absolute levels of CO2 emissions, on the carbon intensity of the economy (CO2 emissions relative to real GDP), and the per capita EKC relationship. These factors include the elasticity of substitution between energy and non-energy inputs, responses in the labour market and the structure of the economy. Our results demonstrate the key role played by the general equilibrium price elasticity of demand for energy, and the relative influence of different factors on this parameter.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Yong Seung; Ha, Jongsik

2012-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Yong Seung

2012-01-01

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

A conceptual framework to analyze and mitigate aging effects of a system in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, S.

1985-01-01

A conceptual framework is developed to analyze, characterize, and mitigate the degradation of a system in a nuclear power plant due to aging. The system is evaluated, based on an aging-specific system decision model, to understand and implement decisions pertaining to surveillance, maintenance, and replacement. Decisions on other corrective measures to mitigate the effects of aging of a number of equipment items, interconnections (relationships with other systems), and interfaces (relationships within the system) can also be made based on the proposed approach

Environmental improvement with additional instruments for environmental protection in port areas

OpenAIRE

MARINSKI, Jordan; FLOQI, Tania; DROUMEVA, Gergana; BRANCA, Tatiana; VATRALOVA, Albena

2012-01-01

Abstract1. The context analysis of environmental situation in Corridor8 ports shows growing sensibility of the management authorities to the environmental issues and objective difficulties for development of appropriate environmental policies due to the following reasons: the complex legislation which has not found yet the balance between the business interests in sea transport and the environment protection and poor enforcement of the regulations. In order to mitigate the negative impact of ...

GO/NO-GO - When is medical hazard mitigation acceptable for launch?

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Douglas R.; Polk, James D.

2005-01-01

Medical support of spaceflight missions is composed of complex tasks and decisions that dedicated to maintaining the health and performance of the crew and the completion of mission objectives. Spacecraft represent one of the most complex vehicles built by humans, and are built to very rigorous design specifications. In the course of a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) or a mission itself, the flight surgeon must be able to understand the impact of hazards and risks that may not be completely mitigated by design alone. Some hazards are not mitigated because they are never actually identified. When a hazard is identified, it must be reduced or waivered. Hazards that cannot be designed out of the vehicle or mission, are usually mitigated through other means to bring the residual risk to an acceptable level. This is possible in most engineered systems because failure modes are usually predictable and analysis can include taking these systems to failure. Medical support of space missions is complicated by the inability of flight surgeons to provide "exact" hazard and risk numbers to the NASA engineering community. Taking humans to failure is not an option. Furthermore, medical dogma is mostly comprised of "medical prevention" strategies that mitigate risk by examining the behaviour of a cohort of humans similar to astronauts. Unfortunately, this approach does not lend itself well for predicting the effect of a hazard in the unique environment of space. This presentation will discuss how Medical Operations uses an evidence-based approach to decide if hazard mitigation strategies are adequate to reduce mission risk to acceptable levels. Case studies to be discussed will include: 1. Risk of electrocution risk during EVA 2. Risk of cardiac event risk during long and short duration missions 3. Degraded cabin environmental monitoring on the ISS. Learning Objectives 1.) The audience will understand the challenges of mitigating medical risk caused by nominal and off

Environmentally Clean Mitigation of Undesirable Plant Life Using Lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rubenchik, A M; McGrann, T J; Yamamoto, R M; Parker, J M

2009-07-01

This concept comprises a method for environmentally clean destruction of undesirable plant life using visible or infrared radiation. We believe that during the blossom stage, plant life is very sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, with an enhanced sensitivity to specific spectral ranges. Small doses of irradiation can arrest further plant growth, cause flower destruction or promote plant death. Surrounding plants, which are not in the blossoming stage, should not be affected. Our proposed mechanism to initiate this effect is radiation produced by a laser. Tender parts of the blossom possess enhanced absorptivity in some spectral ranges. This absorption can increase the local tissue temperature by several degrees, which is sufficient to induce bio-tissue damage. In some instances, the radiation may actually stimulate plant growth, as an alternative for use in increased crop production. This would be dependent on factors such as plant type, the wavelength of the laser radiation being used and the amount of the radiation dose. Practical, economically viable realization of this concept is possible today with the advent of high efficiency, compact and powerful laser diodes. The laser diodes provide an efficient, environmentally clean source of radiation at a variety of power levels and radiation wavelengths. Figure 1 shows the overall concept, with the laser diodes mounted on a movable platform, traversing and directing the laser radiation over a field of opium poppies.

Feeding strategies and manure management for cost-effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms in Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutreuil, M; Wattiaux, M; Hardie, C A; Cabrera, V E

2014-09-01

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farms are a major concern. Our objectives were to assess the effect of mitigation strategies on GHG emissions and net return to management on 3 distinct farm production systems of Wisconsin. A survey was conducted on 27 conventional farms, 30 grazing farms, and 69 organic farms. The data collected were used to characterize 3 feeding systems scaled to the average farm (85 cows and 127ha). The Integrated Farm System Model was used to simulate the economic and environmental impacts of altering feeding and manure management in those 3 farms. Results showed that incorporation of grazing practices for lactating cows in the conventional farm led to a 27.6% decrease in total GHG emissions [-0.16kg of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq)/kg of energy corrected milk (ECM)] and a 29.3% increase in net return to management (+$7,005/yr) when milk production was assumed constant. For the grazing and organic farms, decreasing the forage-to-concentrate ratio in the diet decreased GHG emissions when milk production was increased by 5 or 10%. The 5% increase in milk production was not sufficient to maintain the net return; however, the 10% increase in milk production increased net return in the organic farm but not on the grazing farm. A 13.7% decrease in GHG emissions (-0.08kg of CO2eq/kg of ECM) was observed on the conventional farm when incorporating manure the day of application and adding a 12-mo covered storage unit. However, those same changes led to a 6.1% (+0.04kg of CO2eq/kg of ECM) and a 6.9% (+0.06kg of CO2eq/kg of ECM) increase in GHG emissions in the grazing and the organic farms, respectively. For the 3 farms, manure management changes led to a decrease in net return to management. Simulation results suggested that the same feeding and manure management mitigation strategies led to different outcomes depending on the farm system, and furthermore, effective mitigation strategies were used to reduce GHG emissions while maintaining

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

Science.gov (United States)

Calfapietra, Carlo; Peñuelas, Josep; Niinemets, Ülo

2015-02-01

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

Beyond Science and Technology: The need to incorporate Environmental Ethics to solve Environmental Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fesseha Mulu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The emergence and development of science and technology has been critical in improving the lives of mankind. It helps mankind to cope with a number of manmade and natural challenges and disasters. Science cannot totally diminish the level of human dependency on nature; but, with the existing availability of natural resources, science has increased our productivity. However, science and technology can also have its own negative impacts on the natural environment. For the purpose of increasing productivity and satisfying human needs, humans have been egoistically exploiting nature but disregarding the effects of their activities on nature. Science has also been trying its level best to mitigate the negative effects that results from mankind’s exploitation of nature. However, science alone is incapable of solving all environmental problems. This desk research employs secondary sources of data, and argues that environmental ethics should come to the fore in order to address the gap left by science with regard to resolving environmental problems that mankind faces today.

Thailand's Low-Carbon Scenario 2050: The AIM/CGE analyses of CO2 mitigation measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thepkhun, Panida; Limmeechokchai, Bundit; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Masui, Toshihiko; Shrestha, Ram M.

2013-01-01

Climate change and CO 2 mitigation have become increasingly important environmental issues. Recently Thailand has proposed policies on GHG mitigation such as Thailand’s Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA), which aims at GHG mitigation in the energy sector. This study used the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, called “AIM/CGE” model, to analyse GHG mitigation measures under emission trading and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in Thailand. Results show that the international free emission trading policy can drive more GHG reduction by decreasing energy supply and demand, and increasing prices of emissions. The CCS technologies would balance emission reduction but they would reduce energy efficiency improvement and renewable energy utilization. In the energy security aspect, the policy options in this study would improve energy security, energy import dependency, and co-benefits of GHG mitigation in forms of improving local air quality. Results are also helpful to GHG mitigation policy in developing countries. -- Highlights: •A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was used to analyze GHG mitigation policies in Thailand. •The CCS and emission trading will increase GHG mitigation in Thailand. •The 30% GHG mitigation target with 50% emission trading will give the best result in GDP. •The share of biomass resource and energy efficiency will decrease with CCS. •The emission trading will play an important role in decreasing fossil consumption and increasing renewable energy utilization

Resource programs: Draft Environmental Impact Statement Resource Programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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 adding thirteen alternative combinations of resources to the existing power system. This report contains the appendices to the RPEIS

Climate change impacts and greenhouse gas mitigation effects on U.S. hydropower generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehlert, Brent; Strzepek, Kenneth M.; Gebretsadik, Yohannes; Swanson, Richard; McCluskey, Alyssa; Neumann, James E.; McFarland, James; Martinich, Jeremy

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Analyze contiguous U.S. hydropower generation under various emissions scenarios. • Employ systems model that allocates water to competing uses in 2119 river basins. • Average U.S. generation increases under climate change, but falls under low flows. • Mitigation benefits are $2-$4 billion/year due to high values of carbon-free energy. - Abstract: Climate change will have potentially significant effects on hydropower generation due to changes in the magnitude and seasonality of river runoff and increases in reservoir evaporation. These physical impacts will in turn have economic consequences through both producer revenues and consumer expenditures. We analyze the physical and economic effects of changes in hydropower generation for the contiguous U.S. in futures with and without global-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, and across patterns from 18 General Circulation Models. Using a monthly water resources systems model of 2119 river basins that routes simulated river runoff through reservoirs, and allocates water to potentially conflicting and climate dependent demands, we provide a first-order estimate of the impacts of various projected emissions outcomes on hydropower generation, and monetize these impacts using outputs from an electric sector planning model for over 500 of the largest U.S. hydropower facilities. We find that, due to generally increasing river runoff under higher emissions scenarios in the Pacific Northwest, climate change tends to increase overall hydropower generation in the contiguous U.S. During low flow months, generation tends to fall with increasing emissions, potentially threatening the estimated low flow, firm energy from hydropower. Although global GHG mitigation slows the growth in hydropower generation, the higher value placed on carbon-free hydropower leads to annual economic benefits ranging from $1.8 billion to $4.3 billion. The present value of these benefits to the U.S. from global greenhouse gas

The Role Of Urban Forestry In Mitigating Climate Change And ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The possibility of global climate change, due to increasing levels of CO2 concentrations is one of the key environmental concerns today, and the role of terrestrial vegetation management has received attention as a means of mitigating carbon emissions and climate change. In this study tree dimensions and assessment of ...

Drainage filter technologies to mitigate site-specific phosphorus losses in agricultural drainage discharge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Charlotte; Heckrath, Goswin Johann; Canga, Eriona

in drainage. The Danish “SUPREME-TECH” project (2010-2016) (www.supreme-tech.dk) aims at providing the scientific basis for developing cost-effective filter technologies for P in agricultural drainage waters. The project studies different approaches of implementing filter technologies including drainage well....... Targeting high risk areas of P loss and applying site-specific measures promises to be a cost-efficient approach. The Danish Commission for Nature and Agriculture has, therefore, now called for a paradigm shift towards targeted, cost-efficient technologies to mitigate site-specific nutrient losses...... environmental threshold values (

Pesticide mixtures in the Swedish streams: Environmental risks, contributions of individual compounds and consequences of single-substance oriented risk mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustavsson, Mikael; Kreuger, Jenny; Bundschuh, Mirco; Backhaus, Thomas

2017-11-15

This paper presents the ecotoxicological assessment and environmental risk evaluation of complex pesticide mixtures occurring in freshwater ecosystems in southern Sweden. The evaluation is based on exposure data collected between 2002 and 2013 by the Swedish pesticide monitoring program and includes 1308 individual samples, detecting mixtures of up to 53 pesticides (modal=8). Pesticide mixture risks were evaluated using three different scenarios for non-detects (best-case, worst-case and using the Kaplan-Meier method). The risk of each scenario was analyzed using Swedish Water Quality Objectives (WQO) and trophic-level specific environmental thresholds. Using the Kaplan-Meier method the environmental risk of 73% of the samples exceeded acceptable levels, based on an assessment using Concentration-Addition and WQOs for the individual pesticides. Algae were the most sensitive organism group. However, analytical detection limits, especially for insecticides, were insufficient to analyze concentrations at or near their WQO's. Thus, the risk of the analyzed pesticide mixtures to crustaceans and fish is systematically underestimated. Treating non-detects as being present at their individual limit of detection increased the estimated risk by a factor 100 or more, compared to the best-case or the Kaplan-Meier scenario. Pesticide mixture risks are often driven by only 1-3 compounds. However, the risk-drivers (i.e., individual pesticides explaining the largest share of potential effects) differ substantially between sites and samples, and 83 of the 141 monitored pesticides need to be included in the assessment to account for 95% of the risk at all sites and years. Single-substance oriented risk mitigation measures that would ensure that each individual pesticide is present at a maximum of 95% of its individual WQO, would also reduce the mixture risk, but only from a median risk quotient of 2.1 to a median risk quotient of 1.8. Also, acceptable total risk levels would still

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

Science.gov (United States)

Brogan, William R; Relyea, Rick A

2014-08-01

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

Mitigating tin whisker risks theory and practice

CERN Document Server

Handwerker, Carol A; Bath, Jasbir

2016-01-01

Discusses the growth mechanisms of tin whiskers and the effective mitigation strategies necessary to reduce whisker growth risks. This book covers key tin whisker topics, ranging from fundamental science to practical mitigation strategies. The text begins with a review of the characteristic properties of local microstructures around whisker and hillock grains to identify why these particular grains and locations become predisposed to forming whiskers and hillocks. The book discusses the basic properties of tin-based alloy finishes and the effects of various alloying elements on whisker formation, with a focus on potential mechanisms for whisker suppression or enhancement for each element. Tin whisker risk mitigation strategies for each tier of the supply chain for high reliability electronic systems are also described.

Disruption mitigation studies in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, P.L.; Kellman, A.G.; Evans, T.E.

1999-01-01

Data on the discharge behavior, thermal loads, halo currents, and runaway electrons have been obtained in disruptions on the DIII-D tokamak. These experiments have also evaluated techniques to mitigate the disruptions while minimizing runaway electron production. Experiments injecting cryogenic impurity killer pellets of neon and argon and massive amounts of helium gas have successfully reduced these disruption effects. The halo current generation, scaling, and mitigation are understood and are in good agreement with predictions of a semianalytic model. Results from killer pellet injection have been used to benchmark theoretical models of the pellet ablation and energy loss. Runaway electrons are often generated by the pellets and new runaway generation mechanisms, modifications of the standard Dreicer process, have been found to explain the runaways. Experiments with the massive helium gas puff have also effectively mitigated disruptions without the formation of runaway electrons that can occur with killer pellets

Fish habitat mitigation measures for hydrotechnical projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McPhail, G.D.; MacMillan, D.B.; Katopodis, C.

1992-01-01

In recent years, the identification and mitigation of environmental impacts of hydrotechnical projects, particularly on fish and fish habitats, have become a major component of project planning and design. Potential impacts to fish and fish habitat may include increased fish mortality, decreased species diversity, and loss or decreases in fish production due to loss of habitat or alteration of its suitability. These impacts arise from flooding of riverine habitat, alteration of flow quantity and distribution, changes in morphology, and alteration of water quality, including suspended sediments, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and mercury. The results of a study for the Canadian Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Central and Arctic Region, examining fish habitat mitigation techniques for their applicability to hydrotechnical projects in Canada are summarized. The requirements for achievement and verification of the no net loss policy for a project are discussed. 10 refs., 2 tabs

Biomass opportunities in the United States to mitigate the effects of global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sampson, R.N.

1991-01-01

The increased interest in the global warming threat has caused a great deal of attention to be paid to the value of forests as a mitigating strategy. This paper is a preliminary report on efforts by a number of investigators to document the opportunities for improving the forests of the United States, and the effect that those improvements might have on global warming. In the process, major interest is on the amount of biomass that can be produced - particularly opportunities to increase the amount of biomass that can be produced annually in relatively stable forms - woody plant structures, woody roots, soil carbon, and long-lived wood products - or burned as a substitute for fossil fuels. While it is readily recognized that growing additional forest products is not a way out of avoiding other issues such as energy conservation and reduction of industrial emissions, forestry opportunities provide an excellent bridging strategy that may buy a few decades of time on the problem of carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, while at the same time providing a host of other economic and environmental benefits. In other words, at reasonable levels, implementing forestry opportunities is a global warming strategy that does not cost, it pays. The current state of the study leads us to believe that those opportunities can offset somewhere in the neighborhood of half of the current net fossil fuel carbon emissions produced by the United States, with changes that are economically sound for other reasons - mainly in terms of forest products produced, or energy expenditures avoided. In the process, there are substantial collateral environmental benefits that will be realized. It seems clear, however, that we can increase forest acreage, and forest productivity, more than current markets for forest products can absorb. Thus, new markets will need to be established. 36 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs

Current-use pesticides in stream water and suspended particles following runoff: exposure, effects, and mitigation requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

Bereswill, Renja; Streloke, Martin; Schulz, Ralf

2013-06-01

The European Union's directive for sustainable use of pesticides requires implementing risk mitigation measures at streams threatened by pesticide entries. The need for mitigation measures was investigated at 10 stream sites within an intensively used arable region in central Germany by characterizing pesticide exposure following edge-of-field runoff and effects on the aquatic macroinvertebrates. Moreover, the influence of riparian buffer strip width (as a mitigation measure) at the sampling sites was considered. Generally, invertebrate fauna was dominated by pesticide-tolerant species, suggesting a high pesticide exposure at almost all sites. This result is also reflected by the elevated levels of suspended particle contamination in terms of toxic units (logTUMax  > -2), corresponding to one-hundredth of the median lethal concentration (LC50) to Daphnia magna. At two sites that received high aqueous-phase entries of the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin (logTUMax  > -0.6), the abundance and number of sensitive species in terms of the species at risk index decreased during the pesticide application period. In contrast, no acute significant negative effects on macroinvertebrates were observed at sites characterised by low water-phase toxicity (logTUMax  < -3.5). An influence of riparian buffer strip width on pesticide exposure was not observed, supposedly because of the presence of erosion rills and ephemeral ditches. In conclusion, results show that mitigation measures (such as the improvement of currently present riparian buffer strips) are needed in the study area. Copyright © 2013 SETAC.

Libby Mitigation Program, 2007 Annual Progress Report: Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunnigan, James; DeShazer, J.; Garrow, L.

2009-05-26

Libby Reservoir was created under an International Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada for cooperative water development of the Columbia River Basin (Columbia River Treaty 1964). Libby Reservoir inundated 109 stream miles of the mainstem Kootenai River in the United States and Canada, and 40 miles of tributary streams in the U.S. that provided habitat for spawning, juvenile rearing, and migratory passage (Figure 1). The authorized purpose of the dam is to provide power (91.5%), flood control (8.3%), and navigation and other benefits (0.2%; Storm et al. 1982). The Pacific Northwest Power Act of 1980 recognized possible conflicts stemming from hydroelectric projects in the northwest and directed Bonneville Power Administration to 'protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife to the extent affected by the development and operation of any hydroelectric project of the Columbia River and its tributaries' (4(h)(10)(A)). Under the Act, the Northwest Power Planning Council was created and recommendations for a comprehensive fish and wildlife program were solicited from the region's federal, state, and tribal fish and wildlife agencies. Among Montana's recommendations was the proposal that research be initiated to quantify acceptable seasonal minimum pool elevations to maintain or enhance the existing fisheries (Graham et al. 1982). Research to determine how operations of Libby Dam affect the reservoir and river fishery and to suggest ways to lessen these effects began in May 1983. The framework for the Libby Reservoir Model (LRMOD) was completed in 1989. Development of Integrated Rule Curves (IRCs) for Libby Dam operation was completed in 1996 (Marotz et al. 1996). The Libby Reservoir Model and the IRCs continue to be refined (Marotz et al 1999). Initiation of mitigation projects such as lake rehabilitation and stream restoration began in 1996. The primary focus of the Libby Mitigation project now is to restore the fisheries

A TN adaptive ray effect mitigation for Styx 3D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aussourd, Ch.

2003-01-01

Ray effect (RE) is a non-physical flaw of discrete ordinate methods characterized by spurious rays becoming sharper when small bright neutron sources radiate through low scattering media. While this effect has low impact on integral parameters (α and K eff ), it can ruin simulations of diagnostic problem in terms of neutron dose received by a detector. 3 cumulative factors may affect the RE intensity: the source size, the scattering cross-sections, and the mesh size. We introduce an adaptive Ray Effect Mitigation (REM) aimed at locally improving the angular accuracy of the 3 dimension AMR (adaptive mesh refinement) deterministic neutron transport code Styx. Promising preliminary results have been obtained using a recursively refined octahedron based sphere tessellation in place of the standard S N quadrature. This angular mesh, referred to as T N , has valuable features for local refinement

Spray drift of pesticides and stream macroinvertebrates: Experimental evidence of impacts and effectiveness of mitigation measures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maltby, Lorraine [Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN (United Kingdom)], E-mail: l.maltby@sheffield.ac.uk; Hills, Louise [Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN (United Kingdom)

2008-12-15

Impoverished stream communities in agricultural landscapes have been associated with pesticide contamination, but conclusive evidence of causality is rare. We address this deficiency by adopting an experimental approach to investigate the effects of the insecticides cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos on benthic macroinvertebrates. Three treatments were established and a combination of biomarker, bioassay and biomonitoring approaches was employed to investigate, individual, population and community-level effects. Animals deployed during pesticide application had altered enzyme activity, depressed feeding rate and reduced survival, but these effects were only observed where pesticide was sprayed to the stream edge. There were no clear pesticide-related effects on macroinvertebrate community structure or on the population densities of individual species. Hence, short-term pesticide exposure did cause individual-level effects in stream macroinvertebrates, but these were not translated to effects at the population or community-level and were effectively mitigated by the adoption of a no-spray buffer zone. - Pulsed pesticide exposures via spray drift adversely affected stream invertebrates but did not cause population or community-level effects and were mitigated by no-spray buffer zones.

Public perceptions about climate change mitigation in British Columbia's forest sector

Science.gov (United States)

Hagerman, Shannon; Kozak, Robert; Hoberg, George

2018-01-01

The role of forest management in mitigating climate change is a central concern for the Canadian province of British Columbia. The successful implementation of forest management activities to achieve climate change mitigation in British Columbia will be strongly influenced by public support or opposition. While we now have increasingly clear ideas of the management opportunities associated with forest mitigation and some insight into public support for climate change mitigation in the context of sustainable forest management, very little is known with respect to the levels and basis of public support for potential forest management strategies to mitigate climate change. This paper, by describing the results of a web-based survey, documents levels of public support for the implementation of eight forest carbon mitigation strategies in British Columbia’s forest sector, and examines and quantifies the influence of the factors that shape this support. Overall, respondents ascribed a high level of importance to forest carbon mitigation and supported all of the eight proposed strategies, indicating that the British Columbia public is inclined to consider alternative practices in managing forests and wood products to mitigate climate change. That said, we found differences in levels of support for the mitigation strategies. In general, we found greater levels of support for a rehabilitation strategy (e.g. reforestation of unproductive forest land), and to a lesser extent for conservation strategies (e.g. old growth conservation, reduced harvest) over enhanced forest management strategies (e.g. improved harvesting and silvicultural techniques). We also highlighted multiple variables within the British Columbia population that appear to play a role in predicting levels of support for conservation and/or enhanced forest management strategies, including environmental values, risk perception, trust in groups of actors, prioritized objectives of forest management and socio

Irradiation effects and mitigation. Proceedings of the IAEA Specialists Meeting. Working material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The IAEA Specialists Meeting on Irradiation Effects and Mitigation organised in co-operation with the Russian Research Centre 'Kurchatov Institute' was held at Vladimir, Russian Federation from 15 to 19 September 1997. Topics of the Meeting covered a number of problems including mechanisms of radiation damage, results of surveillance programmes and their analysis, effects of operating parameters, fracture mechanics tests and evaluation, annealing and optimisation of the process and reembrittlement after annealing. Specialists from 17 countries presented 31 paper, published in this proceedings each with a separate abstract

Parents' experience of unintended childbearing: A qualitative study of factors that mitigate or exacerbate effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Kavanaugh, Megan L; Kost, Kathryn; Frohwirth, Lori; Maddow-Zimet, Isaac; Gor, Vivian

2017-02-01

Births resulting from an unintended pregnancy affect individuals differentially, and some may experience more negative consequences than others. In this study, we sought to describe the mechanisms through which the severity of effects may be mitigated or exacerbated. We conducted in-depth interviews with 35 women and 30 men, all with a youngest child born resulting from an unintended pregnancy, in two urban sites in the United States. Respondents described both negative and positive effects of the child's birth in the areas of school; work and finances; partner relationships; personal health and outlook on life trajectories. Mechanisms through which unintended pregnancies mitigated or exacerbated certain effects fell at the individual (e.g. lifestyle modification), interpersonal (e.g. partner support) and structural (e.g. workplace flexibility) levels. These qualitative findings deepen understanding of the impact of unintended childbearing on the lives of women, men and families. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The delusion of decoupling, and policy options for mitigating the rebound effect and the environmental impact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Jørgen

reduce, or at least limit, ‘P’ and ‘A’, including their rebound growth from the ‘T’ decrease. The paper suggest this to be achievable in affluent countries, by letting ‘P’ decline through low birth rates, and encouraging ‘A’ to decline in exchange for lowering labor input to the economy, partly......When analyzing environmental problems, it is useful to apply the following simple equation for the environmental impact ‘I’, (here representing energy consumption): I = P·A·T, With ‘P’ representing population, ‘A’ affluence per capita, and ‘T’ resource intensity, i.e. energy per affluence unit ‘A......’. All three factors are through the equation coupled to ‘I’, and in general we should avoid using the misleading terminology of decoupling environmental impact (energy consumption) from the economy, represented by ‘P·A’. So far essentially all policies towards lowering ‘I’ has been devoted towards...

Vegetated Ditches for the Mitigation of Pesticides Runoff in the Po Valley.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Otto

Full Text Available In intensive agricultural systems runoff is one of the major potential diffuse pollution pathways for pesticides and poses a risk to surface water. Ditches are common in the Po Valley and can potentially provide runoff mitigation for the protection of watercourses. The effectiveness depends on ditch characteristics, so there is an urgent need for site-specific field trials. The use of a fugacity model (multimedia model can allows recognition of the mitigation main processes. A field experiment was conducted in order to evaluate the mitigation capacity of a typical vegetated ditch, and results were compared with predictions by a fugacity model. To evaluate herbicide mitigation after an extreme runoff, the ditch was flooded with water containing mesotrione, S-metolachlor and terbuthylazine. Two other subsequent floods with uncontaminated water were applied 27 and 82 days later to evaluate herbicides release. Results show that the ditch can immediately reduce runoff concentration of herbicides by at least 50% even in extreme flooding conditions. The half-distances were about 250 m. As a general rule, a runoff of 1 mm from 5 ha is mitigated by 99% in 100 m of vegetated ditch. Herbicides retention in the vegetated ditch was reversible, and the second flood mobilized 0.03-0.2% of the previous one, with a concentration below the drinking water limit of 0.1 μg L(-1. No herbicide was detected in the third flood, because the residual amount in the ditch was too low. Fugacity model results show that specific physical-chemical parameters may be used and a specific soil-sediment-plant compartment included for modelling herbicides behaviour in a vegetated ditch, and confirm that accumulation is low or negligible for herbicides with a half-life of 40 days or less. Shallow vegetated ditches can thus be included in a general agri-environment scheme for the mitigation of pesticides runoff together with wetlands and linear buffer strips. These structures are

Vegetated Ditches for the Mitigation of Pesticides Runoff in the Po Valley.

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, Stefan; Pappalardo, Salvatore E; Cardinali, Alessandra; Masin, Roberta; Zanin, Giuseppe; Borin, Maurizio

2016-01-01

In intensive agricultural systems runoff is one of the major potential diffuse pollution pathways for pesticides and poses a risk to surface water. Ditches are common in the Po Valley and can potentially provide runoff mitigation for the protection of watercourses. The effectiveness depends on ditch characteristics, so there is an urgent need for site-specific field trials. The use of a fugacity model (multimedia model) can allows recognition of the mitigation main processes. A field experiment was conducted in order to evaluate the mitigation capacity of a typical vegetated ditch, and results were compared with predictions by a fugacity model. To evaluate herbicide mitigation after an extreme runoff, the ditch was flooded with water containing mesotrione, S-metolachlor and terbuthylazine. Two other subsequent floods with uncontaminated water were applied 27 and 82 days later to evaluate herbicides release. Results show that the ditch can immediately reduce runoff concentration of herbicides by at least 50% even in extreme flooding conditions. The half-distances were about 250 m. As a general rule, a runoff of 1 mm from 5 ha is mitigated by 99% in 100 m of vegetated ditch. Herbicides retention in the vegetated ditch was reversible, and the second flood mobilized 0.03-0.2% of the previous one, with a concentration below the drinking water limit of 0.1 μg L(-1). No herbicide was detected in the third flood, because the residual amount in the ditch was too low. Fugacity model results show that specific physical-chemical parameters may be used and a specific soil-sediment-plant compartment included for modelling herbicides behaviour in a vegetated ditch, and confirm that accumulation is low or negligible for herbicides with a half-life of 40 days or less. Shallow vegetated ditches can thus be included in a general agri-environment scheme for the mitigation of pesticides runoff together with wetlands and linear buffer strips. These structures are present in the

Mitigation of multipath effect in GNSS short baseline positioning by the multipath hemispherical map

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, D.; Wang, M.; Chen, W.; Zeng, Z.; Song, L.; Zhang, Q.; Cai, M.; Cheng, Y.; Lv, J.

2016-03-01

Multipath is one major error source in high-accuracy GNSS positioning. Various hardware and software approaches are developed to mitigate the multipath effect. Among them the MHM (multipath hemispherical map) and sidereal filtering (SF)/advanced SF (ASF) approaches utilize the spatiotemporal repeatability of multipath effect under static environment, hence they can be implemented to generate multipath correction model for real-time GNSS data processing. We focus on the spatial-temporal repeatability-based MHM and SF/ASF approaches and compare their performances for multipath reduction. Comparisons indicate that both MHM and ASF approaches perform well with residual variance reduction (50 %) for short span (next 5 days) and maintains roughly 45 % reduction level for longer span (next 6-25 days). The ASF model is more suitable for high frequency multipath reduction, such as high-rate GNSS applications. The MHM model is easier to implement for real-time multipath mitigation when the overall multipath regime is medium to low frequency.

Coordination Polymer Modified Separator for Mitigating Polysulfide Shuttle Effect in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

KAUST Repository

Wan, Yi

2017-11-19

The development of the new cathode and anode materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) with high energy density and outstanding electrochemical performance is of substantial technological importance due to the ever-increasing demand for economic and efficient energy storage system. Because of the abundance of element sulfur and high theoretical energy density, Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries have become one of the most promising candidates for the next-generation energy storage system. However, the shuttling effect of electrolyte-soluble polysulfides severely impedes the cell performance and commercialization of Li-S batteries, and significant progress have been made to mitigate this shuttle effect in the past two decades. Coordination polymers (CPs) or Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) have been attracted much attention by virtue of their controllable porosity, nanometer cavity sizes and high surface areas, which supposed to be an available material in suppressing polysulfide migration. In this thesis, we investigate different mechanisms of mitigating polysulfide diffusion by applying a layer of MOFs (including Y-FTZB, ZIF-7, ZIF-8, and HKUST-1) on a separator. We also fabricate a new free-standing 2D coordination polymer Zn2(Benzimidazolate)2(OH)2 with rich hydroxyl (OH-) groups by using a simple, scalable and low cost method at air/water surface. Our results suggest that the chemical stability, the cluster morphology and the surface function groups of MOFs shows a greater impact on minimizing the shuttling effect in Li-S batteries, other than the internal cavity size in MOFs. Meanwhile, the new design of 2D coordination polymer efficiently mitigate the shuttling effect in Li-S battery resulting in a largely promotion of the battery capacity to 1407 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C and excellent cycling performance (capacity retention of 98% after 200 cycles at 0.25C). Such excellent cell performance is mainly owing to the fancying physical and chemical structure controllability

Prosocial Behavior Mitigates the Negative Effects of Stress in Everyday Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Raposa, Elizabeth B; Laws, Holly B; Ansell, Emily B

2016-07-01

Recent theories of stress reactivity posit that, when stressed, individuals tend to seek out opportunities to affiliate with and nurture others in order to prevent or mitigate the negative effects of stress. However, few studies have tested empirically the role of prosocial behavior in reducing negative emotional responses to stress. The current analyses used daily diary data to investigate whether engaging in prosocial behavior buffered the negative effects of naturally-occurring stressors on emotional well-being. Results showed that on a given day, prosocial behavior moderated the effects of stress on positive affect, negative affect, and overall mental health. Findings suggest that affiliative behavior may be an important component of coping with stress, and indicate that engaging in prosocial behavior might be an effective strategy for reducing the impact of stress on emotional functioning.

Step and shoot IMRT to mobile targets and techniques to mitigate the interplay effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehler, Eric D; Tome, Wolfgang A

2009-01-01

The purpose of this work is to evaluate a method to mitigate temporal dose variation due to the interplay effect as well as investigate the effect of randomly varying motion patterns. The multi-leaf collimator (MLC) settings from 5, 9 and 11 field step and shoot intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment plans with tumor motion of 1.53, 1.03 and 1.95 cm, respectively, were used. Static planar dose distributions were determined for each treatment field using the Planar Dose Module in the Pinnacle 3 treatment planning system. The MotionSIM XY/4D robotic diode array was used to recreate the tumor motion orthogonal to each treatment beam. Dose rate modulation was investigated as a method to mitigate temporal dose variation due to the interplay effect. Computer simulation was able to identify individual fields where interplay effects are greatest. Computer simulation and physical measurement have shown that temporal dose variation can be mitigated by the selection of the dose rate or by selective dose rate modulation within a given IMRT treatment field. Selective dose rate modulation within a given IMRT treatment field reduced temporal dose variation to levels comparable to whole field dose rate reduction, while also producing shorter radiation delivery times in six of the seven cases investigated. For the cases considered, the interplay effect did not appear to have a greater effect on hypofractionation compared to traditional fractionation even though fewer fractions were delivered. Randomized motion kernel variation was also considered. For this portion of the study, a nine field step and shoot IMRT configuration was considered with a 1.03 cm tumor motion rather than the five field case. In general, if the extent of the variant motion pattern was mostly contained within the target volume, limited impact on the temporal dose variation was observed. In cases where the variant motion kernels increasingly exceeded the

Comprehensive mitigation assessment process (COMAP) - Description and instruction manual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makundi, Willy; Sathaye, Jayant

2001-11-09

In order to prepare policies and plans to reduce GHG emissions, national policy-makers need information on the costs and benefits of different mitigation options in addition to their carbon implications. Policy-makers must weigh the costs, benefits, and impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation options, in the face of competition for limited resources. The policy goal for mitigation options in the land use sector is to identify which mix of options is likely to best achieve the desired forestry service and production objectives at the least cost, while attempting to maximize economic and social benefits, and minimize negative environmental and social impacts. Improved national-level cost estimates of response options in the land use sector can be generated by estimating the costs and benefits of different forest management practices appropriate for specific country conditions which can be undertaken within the constraint of land availability and its opportunity cost. These co st and land use estimates can be combined to develop cost curves, which would assist policy-makers in constructing policies and programs to implement forest responses.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-07-01

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

Technology diffusion, product differentiation and environmental subsidies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McGinty, M. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States). Dept. of Economics; Vries, F.P. de [Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands). Dept. of Law and Economics

2007-07-01

Technological change is often seen as the promising device that will mitigate or solve environmental problems. Policy intervention that spurs the development, adoption and diffusion of new, environmentally benign technologies therefore holds great appear for environmental authorities. Policymakers have various instruments at their disposal to affect technological diffusion, ranging from direct regulation (command-and-control strategies) to market-based instruments, such as taxes, subsidies and tradable pollution permits. This paper examines environmental subsidies as a technology diffusion policy. The authors apply evolutionary game theory to explore the relationship between subsidies for clean technology, the diffusion of that technology and the degree of product differentiation in an imperfectly competitive market. They show that the subsidy succeeds in reducing environmental damage only when the substitution effect (the reduction in pollution associated with the clean technology) exceeds the output effect (the extent that the subsidy increases output). When the substitution effect does dominate, environmental damage decreases monotonically during the diffusion process. The extent of diffusion (the degree to which clean technolgy replaces dirty) and the likelihood that the substitution effect will dominate both decrease with the extent of product differentiation. Finally, the subsidy for clean technology will spill over to the remaining dirty producers increasing their profit as well.

Environmental Effects Of Ecotourism In Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Butarbutar

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The ecotourism is global issues who most talked lately in Indonesia, it is one of the activities special tourist interest which low impacts on natural tourism.The presence of ecotourism in the era of sustainable and tourism development mission should be minimum negative impacts, both on the environment resources and on socio-cultural local values.  Ecotourism activities were more oriented on the utilization of natural resources, the natural ecosystems and have not been polluted yet.  However, when all of tourism development can not be separated from the negative impacts, such as ecosystem distress in ecotourism object when visited by large number of tourists, there are many conflicts of interest between the ecotourism management with local communities, especially regarding the benefits sharing and its accessibilities.  The purpose of this paper is to identify the environmental impacts arising as a result of ecotourism activities and to find out alternative efforts in mitigating the environmental impact of ecotourism activities. Carrying capacity of ecotourism is not just limited to the number of visits, but also covers other aspects, such as: (1 ecological capacity that is ability of natural environment in providing the needs of tourists, (2 physical capacity, that is ability of facilities and infrastructure in providing the needs of tourists,  (3 social capacity, that is ability to absorb tourism activities without the negative impacts on the local communities, (4 the economic capacity, that is ability to absorb destination commercial efforts and accommodateany interests of the local economy. Keywords: Ecotourism, environmental impacts, carrying capacity.

Simulations and measurements on muzzle blast mitigation with sound absorbing barriers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eerden, F.J.M. van der; Berg, F.H.A. van den

2012-01-01

Environmental research is ongoing to predict and to mitigate the noise impact of heavy weapons or explosives. In the densely populated area of the Netherlands this is of particular interest for the Ministry of Defence as the shock waves can propagate over large distances. In this research program

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-02-01

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

How to deal with the rebound effect? A policy-oriented approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Font Vivanco, David; Kemp, René; Voet, Ester van der

2016-01-01

Policy makers and environmental agencies have echoed concerns brought forward by academics about the need to address the rebound effect for achieving absolute energy and environmental decoupling. However, such concerns have generally not been translated into tangible policy action. The reasons behind this inaction are not fully understood, and much remains unknown about the status of the rebound effect issue on the policy agenda and policy pathways available. Such knowledge gaps may hamper the development of effective policies to address this issue. In this paper, we examine the extent to and ways in which the rebound effect is considered in policy documents and analyse thirteen specific policy pathways for rebound mitigation. The effectiveness of the pathways is scrutinised and conclusions are offered to mitigate rebound effects. The main policy conclusions of the paper are that an appropriate policy design and policy mix are key to avoiding undesired outcomes, such as the creation of additional rebound effects and environmental trade-offs. From the discussion, economy-wide cap-and-trade systems as well as energy and carbon taxes, when designed appropriately, emerge as the most effective policies in setting a ceiling for emissions and addressing energy use across the economy. - Highlights: •Policy inaction on the rebound effect issue is investigated for the case of Europe. •Rebound mitigation strategies and policy pathways are proposed and analysed. •Policy inaction is partly explained by the unsuccessful push from academics. •The importance of policy design and policy mix for rebound mitigation is revealed. •Economic instruments stand out in terms of rebound mitigation potential.

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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 adding thirteen alternative combinations of resources to the existing power system. This report contains the appendices to the RPEIS.

Energy mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity: Synergies and antagonisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, P M; Paterson, J S

2009-01-01

In this paper we review the current impacts of different energy producers (and energy conservation) on biodiversity and investigate the potential for achieving positive biodiversity effects along with mitigation and adaptation objectives. Very few energy producers achieve all three aims - although it may be possible with careful choice of location and management. In some instances, energy conservation can provide mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity benefits. There is still a gap in knowledge regarding the effects of newer energy technologies on biodiversity. There is an additional concern that many supposedly 'green' renewable energy projects may actually harm biodiversity to such a degree that their overall human benefits are negated. The increasing understanding that ecosystem services are vital for human well-being though means that attempting positive mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity conservation in the energy sector should be an imperative goal for international policy. Whilst research into synergies between mitigation and adaptation is established, there has been very little that has examined the impacts on biodiversity as well. Further work is required to identify and provide evidence of the best ways of optimising mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity in the energy sector.

Environmental assessment, continual improvement and adaptive management within the AREVA sustainable development framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosaasen, A.; Frostad, S.

2006-01-01

COGEMA Resources Inc. (which is part of the AREVA Group) is a Canadian company with its head office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It owns and operates mining and milling facilities in northern Saskatchewan, which produce uranium concentrate. The McClean Lake Operation commenced production in 1999 and its environmental management system represents an integrated approach to environmental assessment, continual improvement and adaptive management based on operational results. In Canada, sustainable development is promoted through the application of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). Environmental Assessment (EA) is a planning tool, which incorporates environmental considerations before irrevocable decisions are taken. The basic tenet of the Act is the determination of whether the potential environmental effects of a project are adverse, significant and likely, taking into consideration mitigation measures. Thus, project planning and design entails an iterative process that incorporates mitigation measures to minimize potentially significant adverse effects. As part of the EA process conservative approaches are taken to predict potential effects. Several important elements are generated through the EA process including: a set of environmental effects predictions, a compliance and environmental effects monitoring program, a follow-up program to address uncertainties in the prediction of environmental effects, and the identification of contingency measures that could be implemented should non-conservative assumptions be identified in the original assessment framework. The challenge is to integrate each of these elements into the environmental management framework of the operating facility and develop an iterative mechanism to evaluate operational performance relative to what was originally predicted. In Saskatchewan, a requirement of operational licenses is the periodic evaluation of the 'Status of the Environment' surrounding operational facilities. These

The use of a transport simulation system (AIMSUN to determine the environmental effects of pedestrianization and traffic management in the center of Thessaloniki

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evangelos Mintsis

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Traffic congestion in urban areas results in increased energy consumption and vehicle emissions. Traffic management that alleviates traffic congestion also mitigates the environmental effects of vehicular traffic. This study uses the transport simulation model AIMSUN to evaluate the environmental effect of a set of traffic management and pedestrianization schemes. The effects of the pedestrianization of specific sections of roads, converting two-way roads into one-way roads for traffic and changing the direction of flow of traffic along one-way roads were simulated for different areas of Thessaloniki’s city centre network. The assessment of the environmental effect was done by determining the predicted fuel consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG and air pollutants. Fuel consumption and the environmental indicators were quantified directly using the fuel consumption and emissions model in AIMSUN. A typical weekday morning peak period, between 09:00am–10:00am, was simulated and the demand data obtained using a macroscopic traffic assignment model previously developed for the wider area of Thessaloniki. The results presented in this paper are for network-wide simulation statistics (i.e. fuel consumed, carbon dioxide (CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx and particulate matter (PM.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shaoqing; Chen, Bin; Song, Dan

2012-06-01

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

Small-scale electricity generating facilities from natural gas : a measure to mitigate the greenhouse effect; Microgeneracion de energia con gas natural: una medida efectiva para mitigar el cambio climatico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gutierrez, A. M.

2002-07-01

The forthcoming liberalization of the gas and electricity markets in Europe, in conjunction with the increase of the global energy consumption in the near future are enabling the development of natural gas alternatives to traditional large-scale centralized power plants. They emerged from research suggesting that the use of small-scale electricity generating facilities dispersed throughout the electrical network, provides the electricity system with measurable technical, economic and environmental benefits. In this sense, the distributed generation powered by cogeneration systems offers the biggest measure to mitigate the greenhouse effect due to the carbon dioxide. (Author)

Life sciences and environmental sciences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-02-01

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

Life sciences and environmental sciences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-02-01

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

Distance learning education for mitigation/adaptation policy: a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Slini, T.; Giama, E.; Papadopoulou, Ch.-O.

2016-02-01

The efficient training of young environmental scientists has proven to be a challenging goal over the last years, while several dynamic initiatives have been developed aiming to provide complete and consistent education. A successful example is the e-learning course for participants mainly coming from emerging economy countries 'Development of mitigation/adaptation policy portfolios' organised in the frame of the project Promitheas4: Knowledge transfer and research needs for preparing mitigation/adaptation policy portfolios, aiming to provide knowledge transfer, enhance new skills and competencies, using modern didactic approaches and learning technologies. The present paper addresses the experience and the results of these actions, which seem promising and encouraging and were broadly welcomed by the participants.

International approaches to the hydraulic control of surface water runoff in mitigating flood and environmental risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ballard Bridget Woods

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper compares and contrasts a number of international approaches to the hydraulic control of surface water runoff from new development and redevelopment, known as sustainable drainage systems (SuDS or low impact development (LID. The paper provides a commentary on the progress and current status of national standards for SuDS in the UK to control the frequency, flow rate and volume of runoff from both frequent and extreme rainfall events, and the best practice design criteria presented in the revised UK CIRIA SuDS Manual, published in November 2015. The paper then compares these design criteria and standards with those developed and applied in China, USA, France and Germany and also looks at the drivers behind their development. The benefits of these different approaches are assessed in the context of flood risk mitigation, climate resilience and wider environmental protection objectives, including water quality, morphology and ecology. The paper also reviews the design approaches promoted by the new SuDS Manual and internationally for delivering additional benefits for urban spaces (such as recreation, visual character, education and economic growth through multi-functional urban design.

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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)

Evaluating the environmental criticality of massive objects in LEO for debris mitigation and remediation

Science.gov (United States)

Pardini, Carmen; Anselmo, Luciano

2018-04-01

Approximately 95% of the mass in Earth orbit is currently concentrated in about 6700 intact objects, of which nearly 80% are abandoned and more than 90% cannot be maneuvered. The intact objects abandoned in low Earth orbit (LEO) above 650 km, i.e. with an average residual lifetime of more than 25 years, represent the main potential mass reservoir for the generation of new detrimental orbital debris in case of mutual collisions with the existing debris environment, taking into account that an 800 g impactor may be sufficient, in principle, to shatter a 1000 kg spacecraft or rocket stage. Since the 1980's, several mitigation measures were promoted and agreed at the international level in order to prevent the occurrence of new breakups in space and put under control the accumulation of mass abandoned in orbit, but unfortunately the level of compliance with such guidelines, requirements or standards is still far from satisfactory. Moreover, the appearance on the scene of space activity of new private and government actors from a growing number of countries makes the proper management of the circumterrestrial space a task of increasing complexity, taking also into account the rapid emerging of new potential applications, disrupting technologies and operational approaches quite different from the past. In this rapidly evolving environment, it might be useful to have a simple and flexible instrument for evaluating the potential criticality for the environment of massive objects placed or abandoned in LEO. With this goal, in the last few years, a particular effort was devoted to the development of various "criticality indexes", then applied for evaluating many families of rocket bodies and selected spacecraft. In this paper, with the underlining ambition to be simple, intuitive and relevant, from an environmental point of view, a couple of the most complete indexes were coherently applied in order to assess the potential criticality of the most massive objects abandoned in

Air quality and health effects of biogenic volatile organic compounds emissions from urban green spaces and the mitigation strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Yuan; Qu, Zelong; Du, Yuanyuan; Xu, Ronghua; Ma, Danping; Yang, Guofu; Shi, Yan; Fan, Xing; Tani, Akira; Guo, Peipei; Ge, Ying; Chang, Jie

2017-11-01

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emissions lead to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and ground-level ozone pollution, and are harmful to human health, especially in urban areas. However, most BVOCs estimations ignored the emissions from urban green spaces, causing inaccuracies in the understanding of regional BVOCs emissions and their environmental and health effects. In this study, we used the latest local vegetation datasets from our field survey and applied an estimation model to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns, air quality impacts, health damage and mitigating strategies of BVOCs emissions in the Greater Beijing Area. Results showed that: (1) the urban core was the hotspot of regional BVOCs emissions for the highest region-based emission intensity (3.0 g C m -2 yr -1 ) among the 11 sub-regions; (2) urban green spaces played much more important roles (account for 62% of total health damage) than rural forests in threating human health; (3) BVOCs emissions from green spaces will more than triple by 2050 due to urban area expansion, tree growth and environmental changes; and (4) adopting proactive management (e.g. adjusting tree species composition) can reduce 61% of the BVOCs emissions and 50% of the health damage related to BVOCs emissions by 2050. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Environmental Effects of Noise Pollution in Auchi, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oyati E.N.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available It is obvious that we are living in a noise-polluted environment. This pollution has been linked to a number of health related ailments such as depression, anger, weak concentration and hearing defects. Growing global population, increase in technological advancement and some human activities are major causes of this noise-related pollution. This study investigates environmental effects of noise pollution on man for possible mitigation strategies. Sound level meter (SLM was used to obtain the level of noise pollution in decibel (dB. Selected noisegenerating centres were used such as mosques, churches, markets, schools and household appliance-loudspeakers. Noise pollution variables (NPV were mathematically-modelled and analysed using statistical metrics. Sound powers (SP, total power level (SPL and total sound pressure level (SPL were computed using empirical relationship. Reference power (RF and pressure (RFP values of 10 -12 watt and 2.0 * 10 -5 N/M 2 were computed. 230.65dB and 106.3 dB values of SWL were obtained. These values indicate serious health hazard because it is far above acceptable standard. The output of the resultant mathematical iterations indicates that the impact of noise pollution is a cumulative function of population increase, human activity and technological advancement at 1% and 5% level of significance. Generally, obtained results showed that the impacts noise pollution on man and his entire environment are obviously on the negative side. Hence, possible mitigation measures such as noise pollution regulatory policy enactment and design of noise absorbing structures are strongly recommended.

Economic and Environmental Performances of Small-Scale Rural PV Solar Projects under the Clean Development Mechanism: The Case of Cambodia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellen De Schepper

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The two core objectives of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM are cost-effective emission reduction and sustainable development. Despite the potential to contribute to both objectives, solar projects play a negligible role under the CDM. In this research, the greenhouse gas mitigation cost is used to evaluate the economic and environmental performances of small-scale rural photovoltaic solar projects. In particular, we compare the use of absolute and relative mitigation costs to evaluate the attractiveness of these projects under the CDM. We encourage the use of relative mitigation costs, implying consideration of baseline costs that render the projects profitable. Results of the mitigation cost analysis are dependent on the baseline chosen. To overcome this drawback, we complement the analysis with a multi-objective optimization approach, which allows quantifying the trade-off between economic and environmental performances of the optimal technologies without requiring a baseline.

The effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies without compromising yield by early-season drainage.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Syed Faiz-Ul; van Groenigen, Jan Willem; Jensen, Lars Stoumann; Sander, Bjoern Ole; de Neergaard, Andreas

2018-01-15

Global rice production systems face two opposing challenges: the need to increase production to accommodate the world's growing population while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Adaptations to drainage regimes are one of the most promising options for methane mitigation in rice production. Whereas several studies have focused on mid-season drainage (MD) to mitigate GHG emissions, early-season drainage (ED) varying in timing and duration has not been extensively studied. However, such ED periods could potentially be very effective since initial available C levels (and thereby the potential for methanogenesis) can be very high in paddy systems with rice straw incorporation. This study tested the effectiveness of seven drainage regimes varying in their timing and duration (combinations of ED and MD) to mitigate CH 4 and N 2 O emissions in a 101-day growth chamber experiment. Emissions were considerably reduced by early-season drainage compared to both conventional continuous flooding (CF) and the MD drainage regime. The results suggest that ED+MD drainage may have the potential to reduce CH 4 emissions and yield-scaled GWP by 85-90% compared to CF and by 75-77% compared to MD only. A combination of (short or long) ED drainage and one MD drainage episode was found to be the most effective in mitigating CH 4 emissions without negatively affecting yield. In particular, compared with CF, the long early-season drainage treatments LE+SM and LE+LM significantly (pemissions were small and not significantly affected by ED. It is concluded that ED+MD drainage might be an effective low-tech option for small-scale farmers to reduce GHG emissions and save water while maintaining yield. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Minimalist fault-tolerance techniques for mitigating single-event effects in non-radiation-hardened microcontrollers

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Douglas Wyche

Commercial microcontrollers--monolithic integrated circuits containing microprocessor, memory and various peripheral functions--such as are used in industrial, automotive and military applications, present spacecraft avionics system designers an appealing mix of higher performance and lower power together with faster system-development time and lower unit costs. However, these parts are not radiation-hardened for application in the space environment and Single-Event Effects (SEE) caused by high-energy, ionizing radiation present a significant challenge. Mitigating these effects with techniques which require minimal additional support logic, and thereby preserve the high functional density of these devices, can allow their benefits to be realized. This dissertation uses fault-tolerance to mitigate the transient errors and occasional latchups that non-hardened microcontrollers can experience in the space radiation environment. Space systems requirements and the historical use of fault-tolerant computers in spacecraft provide context. Space radiation and its effects in semiconductors define the fault environment. A reference architecture is presented which uses two or three microcontrollers with a combination of hardware and software voting techniques to mitigate SEE. A prototypical spacecraft function (an inertial measurement unit) is used to illustrate the techniques and to explore how real application requirements impact the fault-tolerance approach. Low-cost approaches which leverage features of existing commercial microcontrollers are analyzed. A high-speed serial bus is used for voting among redundant devices and a novel wire-OR output voting scheme exploits the bidirectional controls of I/O pins. A hardware testbed and prototype software were constructed to evaluate two- and three-processor configurations. Simulated Single-Event Upsets (SEUs) were injected at high rates and the response of the system monitored. The resulting statistics were used to evaluate

Effectiveness of Different Urban Heat Island Mitigation Methods and Their Regional Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, N.

2017-12-01

Cool roofs and green roofs are two popular methods to mitigate urban heat island and improve urban climate. The effectiveness of different urban heat island mitigation strategies in the summer of 2013 in the Yangtze River Delta, China is investigated using the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model coupled with a physically based urban canopy model. The modifications to the roof surface changed the urban surface radiation balance and then modified the local surface energy budget. Both cool roofs and green roofs led to lower surface skin temperature and near-surface air temperature. Increasing the roof albedo to 0.5 caused a similar effectiveness as covering 25% of urban roofs with vegetation; increasing roof albedo to 0.7 caused a similar near-surface air temperature decrease as 75% green roof coverage. The near-surface relative humidity increased in both cool roof and green roof experiments because of the combination of the impacts of increases in specific humidity and decreases in air temperature. The regional impacts of cool roofs and green roofs were evaluated using the regional effect index. The regional effect could be found in both near-surface air temperature and surface specific/relative humidity when the percentage of roofs covered with high albedo materials or green roofs reached a higher fraction (greater than 50%). The changes in the vertical profiles of temperature cause a more stable atmospheric boundary layer over the urban area; at the same time, the crossover phenomena occurred above the boundary layer due to the decrease in vertical wind speed.

Environmental physics as a teaching concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boeker, Egbert; Grondelle, Rienk van; Blankert, Piet

2003-01-01

Environmental physics is understood as the physics connected with analysing and mitigating environmental problems. It draws on most sub-disciplines of physics and provides a way of making physics relevant. In this paper the motivation of teaching environmental physics is discussed and examples of course content and supporting student work are given, based on work in the authors' department

Development of environmental risk assessment framework using index method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, M.W.; Wu, Y.

2000-01-01

This paper presents a newly developed framework for assessing the risk from events which are considered to be major accidents to the environment according to the classifications by the United Kingdom Department of Environment (DoE). The application of an environmental risk assessment framework using the newly developed index method is demonstrated by means of a case study. The framework makes use of Environmental Hazard Index (EHI) method by the United Kingdom AEA Technology for releases to river, but improves it by taking account to toxic dose rather than concentration; taking account of long-term effects including persistence and bio accumulation, not just short term effects; extending the method to all aspects of environment, not just rivers; and allowing account to be taken of design changes to mitigate the risk. The development of the framework has also led to a revision of the tolerability criteria to be used with the framework proposed earlier by weakness and recommend further work to improve this newly proposed environmental risk assessment framework. From the study, it is recommended that the environmental risk assessment framework be applied to a wide range of other case studies in order to further improve it. The framework should be modified to maintain consistency when the DoE revises its definitions of major accidents to the environment. Ease-of-use of the framework (and any other environmental framework) would be aided by the compilation of databases for environmental toxicity, river data and available consequence models. Further work could also be done to suggest methods of mitigating the risk and including them as numerical factors within method. (author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-29

..., with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Tribe), the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), the... III gaming would be conducted inside the existing clubhouse until the new casino is built. The FEIS..., environmental justice, cumulative effects, indirect effects and mitigation. The BIA has afforded other...

Cascade Heritage Power Project assessment and screening report[With respect to review of the application for an environmental assessment certificate pursuant to the British Columbia Environmental Assessement Act, SBC 2002, c. 43 and with respect to the requirements of a screening pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, SC 1992, c. 37 as amended

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-12

In 1999, Powerhouse Development Inc. submitted an application to the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) for its proposed Cascade Heritage Power Project, a 25-megawatt run-of-the-river hydroelectric facility that consists of a weir, an intake structure, an underground tunnel, a power plant, a substation and a transmission line. The proposed site is on the Kettle River near Grand Forks, British Columbia in the unique recreational area of the Cascade Canyon and Falls. The project is also situated within Okanagan First Nations territory. In 2002, the proponent redesigned its application to address public concerns regarding the potential impacts on recreation and tourism, water availability, water quality, fish, land use and energy policy. The proponent agreed to continue consulting with local residents and community groups about the project. Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) consultation opportunities were provided by EAO during the assessment of the project. ONA issues of concern included potential adverse effects on water quantity and quality, fish, wildlife, vegetation, and archaeological sites, including a sacred spiritual site. The ONA were also concerned about restrictions on access to the area for traditional use. This paper summarized issues regarding the following potential project effects: the various elements of the redesigned project, intended to mitigate the potential adverse effects of the original proposal; the location of project components and how the project will operate; the potential environmental effects and proposed mitigation measures; and, the potential socio-economic effects and proposed mitigation measures. With reference to environmental effects, it was determined that fish habitat information requirements for the project have been addressed satisfactorily along with terrestrial biodiversity issues related to 11 wildlife species that are listed as endangered. Natural Resources Canada concluded that the proponent adequately

Constructed wetlands targeting nitrogen removal in agricultural drainage discharge – a subcatchment scale mitigation strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Charlotte; Hoffmann, Carl Christian; Bruun, Jacob Druedahl

analysis of variable mitigation strategies and cost-efficiency analysis reveals that even at low to moderate yearly N removal efficiencies (20-25% N removal efficiency) CWs targeting drainage water are highly efficient and cost-efficient measures. Thus, although challenges remain regarding site......-specific documentations, CWs targeting drainage discharge has been included as new mitigation strategy in the Danish environmental regulation....... of recipients, drainage water nutrient loads have a major impact on water quality, and end-of-pipe drainage filter solution may offer the benefits of a targeted measure. This calls for a paradigm shift towards the development of new, cost-efficient technologies to mitigate site-specific nutrient losses...

15 CFR 971.406 - Environmental effects.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Environmental effects. 971.406 Section... ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE DEEP SEABED MINING REGULATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL RECOVERY PERMITS Issuance/Transfer....406 Environmental effects. Before issuing or transferring a commercial recovery permit, the...

Developments in SCC Mitigation by Electrocatalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Andresen, Peter L.; Kim, Young J.

SCC is strongly influenced by water chemistry parameters, especially when crack chemistry can be concentrated from differential aeration or thermal gradients or boiling. Mitigation of the effects of the high corrosion potential associated with oxidants is markedly and efficiently accomplished by electrocatalysis, which requires that there be a stoichiometric excess of reductants over oxidants. Mechanisms and criteria for effective SCC mitigation are summarized, with particular focus on the critical location for the catalyst in a crack and experimental support for these concepts. Optimization of electrocatalysis by OnLine NobleChem- is described, for example where Pt is injected at levels of 0.002 to 0.05 ppb in the reactor water.

Nanotechnology for environmentally sustainable electromobility

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-12-01

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

Resource Programs: Final Environmental Impact Statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-02-01

Every two years, BA prepares a Resource Program, which identifies the resource actions BA will take to meet its obligation to serve the forecasted power requirements of its customers. The Resource Programs Environmental Impact Statement (RPEIS) is a programmatic environmental document that will support decisions made in several future Resource Programs. Environmental documents tiered to this 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 adding thirteen alternative combinations of resources to the existing power system. The alternatives represent the range of actions BA could take to meet its load obligations. Each of the alternatives allows BA to meet the almost 5,000 average megawatt load increase that could occur with high load growth, or an equivalent need for resources caused by a combination of load growth and any future loss of resources

Environmental impacts of utility-scale solar energy

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-01-01

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

Sediment processes modelling below hydraulic mining: towards environmental impact mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Chalov, Sergey R.

2010-05-01

Placer mining sites are located in the river valleys so the rivers are influenced by mining operations. Frequently the existing mining sites are characterized by low contribution to the environmental technologies. Therefore hydraulic mining alters stream hydrology and sediment processes and increases water turbidity. The most serious environmental sequences of the sediment yield increase occur in the rivers populated by salmon fish community because salmon species prefer clean water with low turbidity. For instance, the placer mining in Kamchatka peninsula (Far East of Russia) which is regarded to be the last global gene pool of wild salmon Oncorhynchus threatens the rivers ecosystems. System of man-made impact mitigation could be done through the exact recognition of the human role in hydrological processes and sediment transport especially. Sediment budget of rivers below mining sites is transformed according to the appearance of the man-made non-point and point sediment sources. Non-point source pollution occurs due to soil erosion on the exposed hillsides and erosion in the channel diversions. Slope wash on the hillsides is absent during summer days without rainfalls and is many times increased during rainfalls and snow melting. The nearness of the sources of material and the rivers leads to the small time of suspended load increase after rainfalls. The average time of material intake from exposed hillsides to the rivers is less than 1 hour. The main reason of the incision in the channel diversion is river-channel straightening. The increase of channel slopes and transport capacity leads to the intensive incision of flow. Point source pollution is performed by effluents both from mining site (mainly brief effluents) and from settling ponds (permanent effluents), groundwater seepage from tailing pits or from quarries. High rate of groundwater runoff is the main reason of the technological ponds overfilling. Intensive filtration from channel to ponds because of

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zheng, C.; Liu, Y.; Bluemling, B.; Mol, A.P.J.; Chen, J.

2015-01-01

To minimize negative environmental impact of livestock production, policy-makers face a challenge to design and implement more effective policy instruments for livestock farmers at different scales. This research builds an assessment framework on the basis of an agent-based model, named ANEM, to

Large-scale assessment of flood risk and the effects of mitigation measures along the Elbe River

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Kok, Jean-Luc; Grossmann, M.

2010-01-01

The downstream effects of flood risk mitigation measures and the necessity to develop flood risk management strategies that are effective on a basin scale call for a flood risk assessment methodology that can be applied at the scale of a large river. We present an example of a rapid flood risk

A Study on improvement of environmental assessment system in social, economic, and environmental sectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nam, Young Sook; Koo, Doh Wan; Keum, Kee Yong [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1998-12-01

The environmental assessment system is assessed as a mechanism that can achieve the goal for environmental policy in 21st century. As it can evaluate social and economic feasibility of large-scale development program, this system can achieve a sustainable society by mitigating social conflicts arising from environmental problems. For making the environmental assessment system substantial, this study was implemented by the need of improvement of the system, by analyzing problems of social, economic, and environmental evaluation, which is implemented under the present system. 44 refs., 1 fig., 25 tabs.

Evaluation of the wind pumped hydropower storage integrated flood mitigation system

Science.gov (United States)

Safi, Aishah; Basrawi, Firdaus

2018-04-01

As Wind Pumped Hydropower Storage (WPHS) need high cost to construct, it is important to study their impacts on economic and environmental aspects. Thus, this research aims to evaluate their economic and environmental performances. First, Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) was used to simulate power generation system with and without the flood reservoir. Next, the total amount of emitted air pollutant was used to evaluate the environmental impacts. It was found the wind-diesel with reservoir storage system (A-III) will have much lower NPC than other systems that do not include reservoir for flood mitigation when the cost of flood losses are included in the total Net Present Cost (NPC). The NPC for system A-III was RM 1.52 million and for diesel standalone system (A-I) is RM 10.8 million when the cost of flood losses are included in the total NPC. Between both energy systems, the amount of pollutants emitted by the A-III system was only 408 kg-CO2/year which is much less than the A-I system which is 99, 754 kg of carbon dioxide per year. To conclude, the WPHS integrated with flood mitigation system seems promising in the aspects of economic and environment.

Mechanism of floating body effect mitigation via cutting off source injection in a fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Pengcheng; Chen Shuming; Chen Jianjun

2016-01-01

In this paper, the effect of floating body effect (FBE) on a single event transient generation mechanism in fully depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is investigated using three-dimensional technology computer-aided design (3D-TCAD) numerical simulation. The results indicate that the main SET generation mechanism is not carrier drift/diffusion but floating body effect (FBE) whether for positive or negative channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS or NMOS). Two stacking layout designs mitigating FBE are investigated as well, and the results indicate that the in-line stacking (IS) layout can mitigate FBE completely and is area penalty saving compared with the conventional stacking layout. (paper)

Low-Level Exploitation Mitigation by Diverse Microservices

OpenAIRE

Otterstad , Christian; Yarygina , Tetiana

2017-01-01

Part 2: Microservices and Containers; International audience; This paper discusses a combination of isolatable microservices and software diversity as a mitigation technique against low-level exploitation; the effectiveness and benefits of such an architecture are substantiated. We argue that the core security benefit of microservices with diversity is increased control flow isolation. Additionally, a new microservices mitigation technique leveraging a security monitor service is introduced t...

Environmental and regulatory considerations when planning a geophysical program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Down-Cicoria, C.

1999-01-01

Public concerns regarding the environmental impact of geophysical programs have resulted in more pressure on the federal and provincial governments to regulate and protect unique ecosites. In the past decade, about 1 million kilometres of seismic have been shot by the petroleum industry in Alberta alone, representing about 70,000 hectares of land base. This paper reviewed how a preliminary assessment of any geophysical project should consider the effects of all projects on the terrain, climate, vegetation, soils, fisheries, wildlife, aquatic ecosystems, heritage resources, and timber dispositions. Geo-administrative boundaries, field assessments, environmental assessments and mitigation measures such as low impact line cutting methods, timing methods, and heli-portable operations must also be considered. Special considerations when planning a three-dimensional program were highlighted. Certain equipment suitable as mitigation measures such as mulchers, hydro-axes, enviro-drills, biodegradable lathes, tracked/low PSI equipment, and doglegs were also reviewed. 15 refs., 2 tabs., 18 figs

Mitigation of ground motion effects in linear accelerators via feed-forward control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Pfingstner

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Ground motion is a severe problem for many particle accelerators, since it excites beam oscillations, which decrease the beam quality and create beam-beam offset (at colliders. Orbit feedback systems can only compensate ground motion effects at frequencies significantly smaller than the beam repetition rate. In linear colliders, where the repetition rate is low, additional counter measures have to be put in place. For this reason, a ground motion mitigation method based on feed-forward control is presented in this paper. It has several advantages compared to other techniques (stabilization systems and intratrain feedback systems such as cost reduction and potential performance improvement. An analytical model is presented that allows the derivation of hardware specification and performance estimates for a specific accelerator and ground motion model. At the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF2, ground motion sensors have been installed to verify the feasibility of important parts of the mitigation strategy. In experimental studies, it has been shown that beam excitations due to ground motion can be predicted from ground motion measurements on a pulse-to-pulse basis. Correlations of up to 80% between the estimated and measured orbit jitter have been observed. Additionally, an orbit jitter source was identified and has been removed, which halved the orbit jitter power at ATF2 and shows that the feed-forward scheme is also very useful for the detection of installation issues. We believe that the presented mitigation method has the potential to reduce costs and improve the performance of linear colliders and potentially other linear accelerators.

DAC to Mitigate the Effect of Periodic Disturbances on Drive Train using Collective Pitch for Variable Speed Wind Turbine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Imran, Raja Muhammad; Hussain, Dil Muhammad Akbar; Soltani, Mohsen

2015-01-01

scheme to mitigate the effect of 3p flicker on drive train. 5MW wind turbine of the National Renewable Laboratories (NREL) is used as research object and results are simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. We designed the controller based on linearized model of the wind turbine generated for above rated wind speed...... and then tested its performance on the nonlinear model of wind turbine. We have shown a comparison of the results for proportional-integral(PI) and proposed DAC controller tested on nonlinear model of wind turbine. Result shows that our proposed controller shows better mitigation of flicker generated due to 3p......DAC is a linear control technique used to mitigate the effect of disturbance on the plant. It is a superposition of full state feedback and disturbance feedback. This paper presents a control technique based on Disturbance Accommodation Control (DAC) to reduce fatigue on drive train generated...

Environmental performance, 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

Report describes Ontario Hydro's environmental objectives, results, and initiatives during the year. It attempts to measure how far the corporation has advanced in its understanding and mitigation of environmental concerns. The report should be placed against the backdrop of the transition occurring at Hydro as the corporation moves toward sustainable energy development (SED) practices. The report discusses corporate restructuring, the regulatory framework, and environmental spending. Then it looks at environmental initiatives (SED; environmental management system; environmental audits; environmental assessment process; emissions trading; toxic substance elimination); environmental approvals (demand-supply plan; assessments and approvals; environmental effects monitoring); energy management; non-utility generation; alternative energy technologies (solar; wind energy; fuel cells); international activities; material and waste management (solid non-hazardous wastes, reduction, recycling, reuse; hazardous materials, chemical, oils, and liquid waste, polychlorinated biphenyls -- PCBs, and wood pole preservatives); fossil combustion by-products, coal ash or oil ash, flue gas desulfurization by-product gypsum; mercury in the environment; radioactive materials and wastes, radioactive liquid chemical waste, low and intermediate-level radioactive solid waste, nuclear used fuel, tritiated heavy water; ozone-depleting substances; spills management; water management (chemical emissions, MISA; fish management; radioactive effluents; thermal effluents; zebra mussels); air management (acid gas management; greenhouse gas reductions; chemical emissions to air; ground-level ozone, NO x /VOC emissions; noise and odor complaints; particulate emissions; radioactive emissions; integrated air management); land management; and social, economic, and cultural environment

Mitigation of socio-economic impacts due to the construction of energy projects in rural communities: an evaluation of the Hartsville nuclear power plant transportation-mitigation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitney, T.C.

1982-01-01

This study analyzes the effects of a commuter ride-sharing program in mitigating the harmful socio-economic impacts of a short-term, labor-intensive nuclear-power-plant construction project. The major hypothesis is that transportation-mitigation programs are more cost-effective in reducing the undesirable socio-economic impacts of large-scale construction projects than programs designed to mitigate impacts through the provision of public services for migrating workers. The dissertation begins by delineating the socio-economic effects of large-scale construction projects in rural areas. It proceeds to show how some of the deleterious impacts were mitigated using a commuter ride-sharing program. After the range of potential socio-economic impacts was established, a framework was developed to evaluate the effects of the transportation-mitigation program in mediating the harmful impacts. The framework involved the integration of the cost-benefit technique with social-impact assessment. The evaluation was grounded in a comparative framework whereby the Hartsville project community was compared with a similar community undergoing the construction of a nuclear power plant but without a commuter ride-sharing program, and a community not experiencing a major construction project. The research findings indicated that the transportation-mitigation program substantially reduced the in-migration of construction workers into the Hartsville-Trousdale County area. Further, the program was cost effective, with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.5 and net benefits totalling 28 million dollars

The effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies without compromising yield by early-season drainage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Islam, Syed Faiz-Ul; van Groenigen, Jan Willem; Jensen, Lars Stoumann

2018-01-01

Global rice production systems face two opposing challenges: the need to increase production to accommodate the world's growing population while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Adaptations to drainage regimes are one of the most promising options for methane mitigation...... only. A combination of (short or long) ED drainage and one MD drainage episode was found to be the most effective in mitigating CH4 emissions without negatively affecting yield. In particular, compared with CF, the long early-season drainage treatments LE+SM and LE+LM significantly (p

Modeling skin temperature to assess the effect of air velocity to mitigate heat stress among growing pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerg, Bjarne; Pedersen, Poul; Morsing, Svend

2017-01-01

It is generally accepted that increased air velocity can help to mitigate heat stress in livestock housing, however, it is not fully clear how much it helps and significant uncertainties exists when the air temperature approaches the animal body temperature. This study aims to develop a skin...... temperature model to generated data for determining the potential effect of air velocity to mitigate heat stress among growing pigs housed in warm environment. The model calculates the skin temperature as function of body temperature, air temperature and the resistances for heat transfer from the body...

Mitigating oil spills in the water column

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barry, Edward; Libera, Joseph A.; Mane, Anil University; Avila, Jason R.; DeVitis, David

2017-01-01

The scale and scope of uncontrolled oil spills can be devastating. Diverse marine environments and fragile ecologies are some of the most susceptible to the many ill effects, while the economic costs can be crippling. A notoriously difficult challenge with no known technological solution is the successful removal of oil dispersed in the water column. Here, we address this problem through cheap and reusable oil sorbents based on the chemical modification of polymer foams. Interfacial chemistry was optimized and subsequently tested in a simulated marine environment at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility, Ohmsett. We find favorable performance for surface oil mitigation and, for the first time, demonstrate the advanced sorbent's efficiency and efficacy at pilot scale in extraction of crude oil and refined petroleum products dispersed in the water column. As a result, this is a potentially disruptive technology, opening a new field of environmental science focused on sub-surface pollutant sequestration.

Effects of road mortality and mitigation measures on amphibian populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Beebee, Trevor J C