bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Environmental Implications of Oil-shale Development
Authors: Kilburn Paul D. 
Published: August 2009

Certain areas of the Piceance Creek Basin are important, not only for their beauty and other amenities but also for their unusual ecosystems. Stoecker (1974) has suggested maintaining one of the larger boxcanyons in the southern portion as a nature reserve. Knutson & Boardman (1973) have suggested preserving a ‘green belt’ to involve the magnificient bluffs adjacent to the Colorado River. Preservation of the Cathedral Bluffs running north and south in the western portion has also been suggested. It is clear that a movement is growing to provide a system of natural areas throughout the Basin. Such a system would maintain important examples of representative vegetation types, wildlife habitat, geological and archaeological features, and other areas of particular ecological interest. This preserve system would maintain natural (or semi-natural) areas both as ecological baselines and as nuclei for obtaining biological ‘seed’ for rehabilitation of disturbed areas. A study to delineate suitable areas that could be included in such a system is surely needed.Man is viewing vast resources in the Piceance Creek Basin, which probably has the world's largest known hydrocarbon deposit, and his use thereof seems inevitable. The magnitude of the deposit certainly demands a major planning effort. One can even speculate into the future, as Knutson & Boardman (1973) have done, to visualize a concerted or systems approach to obtaining and processing this resource.Nevertheless, until commercial activity begins and monitoring procures actual data, predictions will remain speculative. Operation of a few commercial plants, mines, and rehabilitation activities, is needed in order that precise predictions can be made for better delineation and quantification of the environmental impacts of a major shale-oil industry.
The Hong Kong Sea-shore — an Environment in Crisis
Authors: Morton Brian S. 
Published: August 2009

Hong Kong comprises an area of some 400 square miles (1,036 km2) and a population of 4.5 million people largely living in an urban and city complex centred around a magnificent natural harbour. Such an urbanized community, hemmed in by mountains, is separate from the hitherto rural remainder of Hong Kong.The geographical position of Hong Kong, lying as it does on the borders of the temperate and tropical zoogeographic regions, when correlated with a local diversity of geomorphological and hydrological eccentricities, creates a fascinating assemblage of littoral biotic communities within a small area. The expanding urban area, however, resulting from a population growth that is confidently expected to reach 5.5–6.5 millions by 1991, is encroaching into the rural and coastal areas.The demand for low-lying flat land has resulted in official and unofficial reclamations, initially of soft shores which are of significant archaeological and ethnological interest. The same shores constitute Hong Kong's countryside, but people bathe in waters that are grossly polluted by human and agricultural effluents, so that coliform bacterial counts in excess of 106 per 100 ml have been recorded. Squatter huts still dot Hong Kong's coastline despite massive rehousing projects, and shellfish are widely collected. Moreover, oysters are cultivated and not cleansed prior to resale.No coastal parks, conservation areas, reserves, or even a coastal code, actually exists. The sea-shore is not used as an ‘open-air laboratory’, nor as an educational tool except at the tertiary level.In such a community the sea-shore demands special attention, and in a world that is approaching urbanization as a way of life, Hong Kong, as a microcosm of south-east Asia, offers a case in point and a lesson in survival.
The Regional Seas Programme of UNEP
Authors: Bliss-Guest Patricia A. , Keckes Stjepan 
Published: August 2009

Regional marine programmes are by no means a new phenomenon, the first such activity (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES) having been in operation since 1902. While in most cases early regional activities began as research programmes, they frequently provided a foundation for the management of marine living resources and, approaching the 1970s, for the control of marine pollution.The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm) outlined a ‘master-plan’ for protecting the world's environment which linked environmental assessment, environmental management, and supporting measures, as basic and inseparable elements—also recognizing the advantages of a regional approach in contributing to the solution of global problems. The development of UNEP's Regional Seas Programme, since the Action Plan for the Mediterranean was adopted in 1975, demonstrates that the basic concepts formulated at Stockholm can effectively foster regional cooperation among interested States, and that such cooperation can and does benefit greatly from the support of the United Nations system as a whole.The viability of any long-term regional programme lies with the political and financial commitment of the Governments concerned. Within the UNEP Regional Seas Programme this commitment is usually formalized through binding regional legal agreements, and is manifested concretely through an agreed set of activities that are revised periodically by the Governments involved. It is expected that these activities will be adequately supported by financial resources put at the disposal of each of the regional programmes primarily by the Governments concerned.Although the degree of coordination and cooperation achieved generally within the regional programmes reviewed in this paper appears to be satisfactory, it would be surprising if some difficulties did not arise. This is especially true because of the complexity of the venture and the fact that, in many cases, an entirely new type of cooperation is called for and new activities are required in geographical areas with often little experience, limited facilities, and weak infrastructures. For the most part the Governments, their national institutions, and the international, intergovernmental, and regional, organizations involved, are doing their best to work together effectively. Their resources are, however, often very limited, and so it is essential that they be utilized to the best possible advantage.UNEP, as the major financial contributor to the initial phases of the action plans developed in the framework of the Regional Seas Programme, and as their overall coordinator, has a difficult task to perform if it is to see its early successes in the Mediterranean Region matched elsewhere with real action and positive results.
Solutions to the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’: Sea-urchin Management in St Lucia, West Indies
Authors: Smith Allan H. , Berkes Fikret 
Published: August 2009

Possible solutions to the commons problem have rarely been investigated systematically by the use of biological data on the status and sustainability of the resource. The edible White-spined Sea-urchin (Tripneustes ventricosus) resource of St Lucia, West Indies, is highly prized and vulnerable to exploitation, as is indicated by recent declines in its stocks. In the south-east of St Lucia the resource was almost entirely depleted in an area in which access was free and open. It was not depleted in the other two areas in which there were access controls. In one case, the area was under government control as a marine reserve; in the other, there was a locally practised ‘closed season’ and community-based management of access into a bay.The results of our study indicated that both government controls and informal, community-level controls can lead to successful resource-management outcomes. These findings challenge the ‘conventional wisdom’ that commonly-owned resources are destined to be overexploited.
Solar–Hydrogen Energy System: The Choice of the Future
Authors: Veziroglu T. Nejat , Barbir Frano 
Published: August 2009

As a result of the foregoing study, the following conclusions are reached: (A) The solar–hydrogen energy system is environmentally far more compatible than the fossil-fuel system; it is actually the only solution for the carbon-dioxide-induced ‘greenhouse’ effect and its threatening consequences. (B) The utilization efficiencies of hydrogen are greater than those of fossil and synthetic fossil fuels; therefore, in the hydrogen-energy system, less energy will be required to perform the same services. (C) The solar-hydrogen energy system is the most cost-effective system if effective costs (the costs which society pays for the energy services) are taken into account. It is not only more cost-effective than the synthetic fossil-fuel system—it is even more cost-effective than the present fossil-fuel system. (D) Clean coal technologies could be used for thermal-energy generation, satisfying approximately 30% of the world's total energy needs. Such a system, which employs coal for thermal-energy generation, and hydrogen from renewable energy sources in electricity generation and transportation sectors, would be the least-cost energy system for the transition period. (E) Transition to the solar–hydrogen energy system could help to save our economy and our planet.The fuels that are being most favourably considered for the post-petroleum and natural-gas era, namely hydrogen (both gaseous and liquid) and coal and coal-derived synthetic fluid fossil-fuels, have been compared in this paper by taking into account production costs, external costs, and utilization efficiencies. The results show that hydrogen is a much more cost-effective energy carrier than coal or synthetic fossil-fuels. At the same time, and most importantly by far from our viewpoint, it is the most environmentally compatible of all.
Variations in Reproduction Parameters of Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) Living in Different Conditions in the Czech and Slovak Republics
Authors: Guthová Zuzana 
Published: August 2009

Significant differences in embryonic mortality and occurrence of structural developmental defects between three separated populations of the Black-headed Gull were examined. Growth retardation was not studied.Population ‘C’ (average 2.78 eggs per nest), living in Western Slovakia, exhibits in three-egg clutches relatively low mortality (7%) as well as a low occurrence of developmental defects (2.8%). In population ‘B’ (2.6 eggs per nest, living in Southern Moravia), breeding in a region that is intensively exploited for agriculture, the mortality is still very low (3%) but the proportion of malformed embryos increases to 15%. In population ‘A’ (2.6 eggs per nest, living in Southern Bohemia) the highest mortality was found (13%) but only 4.3% of embryos were malformed, though there was a broader spectrum of developmental defects. In this population the eggs were significantly smaller and had thinner shells.In all the populations which were examined, the mortality and occurrence of developmental defects were higher in one-egg clutches, which were more frequent in populations ‘B’ and ‘A’ than in ‘C’.Except for mercury, it does not seem that concentration of toxic substances in eggs could be responsible for the observed differences in reproductive success. An increase in embryonic mortality at locality ‘C’ is probably evoked by malnutrition in garbage specialists.
The Design of an Urban Open-space Network for the City of Durban (South Africa)
Authors: Roberts Debra C. 
Published: August 2009

Global urbanization is proceeding at an alarming rate and is threatening the long-term survival of many important biological resources. Planners in the City of Durban (South Africa), cognizant of this impending environmental crisis, have designed an urban open-space network aimed at preserving a representative and functional example of the previous indigenous landscapes now under threat as a result of development.Biogeographical principles have been used to produce for Durban a system characterized by maximized reserve size, continuity, and overall minimized system linearity with the lowest edge-to-area ratio possible. Emphasis has also been placed on economic viability and on the importance of community acceptance and participation within the system.
Conservation in the Sikkim Himalaya: Traditional Knowledge and Land-use of the Mamlay Watershed
Authors: Rai Suresh Chand , Sharma Eklabya , Sundriyal Rakesh Chandra 
Published: August 2009

The ecological problems, including degradation of fragile ecosystems, of the Himalaya are quite conspicuous. A rapid depletion of forest resources is the main cause of environmental degradation and economic deterioration. Watersheds are considered as a unit for natural resource management and development in hilly areas; therefore a case-study of Mamlay watershed of Sikkim is presented in this paper.The Mamley watershed presents a viable system having a gradient of altitude where almost all types of land-uses that are common in the eastern Himalaya are found. All the ethno-cultural groups of Sikkim are present in this watershed, although the agricultural sector provides the main land-use, followed by forestry. Most of the forested areas in the Himalaya have been purportedly destroyed for the expansion of agricultural land. A similar situation was experienced in the Mamlay watershed, where an increase of 12.79% of the land-area used for agriculture has been recorded in the past 40 years. The watershed being fragile, 62% of the area is under intensive agricultural practice. Land-use and spatial relationships in the perspective of conservation are presented in this paper.Great genetic diversity of agricultural crops and trees has been recorded in this small watershed. Conservation ethics of optimum utilization/production of the resources, following traditional practices without much degrading of the system which is believed to be sustainable, was practised earlier in the watershed. But recently, due to population pressure and fragmentation of farm-owning families, the balance of land-use, natural resource utilization, and conservation, has become perturbed. Examples of traditional adaptation, indigenous knowledge, and perception of conservation amongst farm-owning families, are also presented in the paper.
Some Perspectives on Land Restoration in the United States
Authors: Liverman James L. 
Published: August 2009

Rapid achievement of energy independence has become an urgent national goal in the United States. However public opinion, reinforced by general environmental legislation and specific energy-related legislation, demands that the development of energy alternatives will not be at the expense of the environment. One area of strong concern regards landscape restoration.This subject is highly controversial, and responsibility for research and regulation is currently scattered among a number of Federal and state agencies and bureaux. Examination at the programme level indicates that many groups are working in closely related scientific areas. The Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) is making a detailed project and task analysis to determine whether true duplication rather than complementation of effort exists. From this analysis and a subsequent interagency effort, an integrated and fully coordinated restoration research programme can be designed. The size of this programme will need to be commensurate with the size of the problem. Hence, reclamation activities must be geared to the great diversity of ecological systems that are present in the United States, with due consideration of the full array of alternative energy-development possibilities.Clearly, energy development involves a process of trade-offs. Thus it is the responsibility of ERDA to ensure that energy options, proposed for the future, are accompanied by a complete assessment of environmental costs—so that energy-environmental tradeoff decisions can be made early in the development of the technology, and can be based on a solid foundation of ecological knowledge. In order to carry out this mandate we shall need to establish sites for longterm energy impact research (in every major ecosystem), help design a coherent national land-reclamation programme, support an adequate amount of basic and imaginative applied research, and develop public demonstration areas where citizens, industrialists, and professional specialists, can observe longterm results of energy-environmental effects.Prompt action demands that we capitalize upon past studies and develop a programme to learn as rapidly as possible about basic reclamation processes, so as to provide the best available knowledge to society's decision-makers. Follow-on studies must be conducted to validate and improve our reclamation predictions and management activities. The Argonne National Laboratory, which will provide a central focus for the ERDA land-reclamation research, will gather and collate all pertinent data, so that models and generic statements regarding reclamation techniques can be developed to guide us.In order to have an adequate supply of clean, safe, and environmentally accepted energy, we will need the full cooperation of all. Only by moving together can we ensure for posterity an environmental heritage as rich as that which we ourselves have enjoyed.
Systems Analysis Applied to Water Management in Developing Countries: Problems and Prospects
Authors: Biswas Asit K. 
Published: August 2009

During the last decade or so, the use of systems analysis and the application of computer technology for planning water resources development and management processes have increased significantly in many developed countries. The progress in most Third World countries, however, has not been commensurate and leaves much to be desired. Water management in recent years has become increasingly complex, and there is every indication that it will continue to do so in the future. Therefore, it is essential to utilize all the techniques which are available in order that the appropriate strategies and viable alternatives can be properly analysed, and the consequences of possible policy-decisions can be evaluated.Systems analysis, if used properly, can significantly improve the management process; but whether, in spite of its great potential, it will actually be used for these purposes in Third-World countries, is another question, though it seems more likely to be adopted in those that are really developing than in the others.Few models fail because technical expertise or state-of-the-art computer technology is inadequate, of because they are improperly implemented from a technical standpoint; they fail more often because too much concentration is placed on the technical issues and not enough on the managerial ones.There seems no room for doubt that systems analysis has now advanced sufficiently to be of decisive use in water management for developing countries. This paper outlines the principal reasons as to why such a situation has developed, and what steps can be taken to increase the use of systems analysis for more rational and effective management of the often limited water resources that are available to Third World countries. Admittedly, some of our current models in this field are rather crude and liable to be dependent on the experience and judgement of the analysts; but in the final analysis, the issue is very definitely on the side of having a model—even a crude one—rather than on having no model at all.
Environmental Impact of Nuclear Warfare
Authors: Westing Arthur H. 
Published: August 2009

Uncertainty may exist about the future likelihood of nuclear war. On the other hand, no doubt exists that nuclear weapons must be eliminated from the arsenals of the world. Even the most modest and restrained nuclear initiative by one belligerent could well be countered in kind, this in turn perhaps leading to an escalating exchange. Even the very limited attacks by the USA during World War II had a profound impact on the enmeshed humans and their artefacts, the medical and social ramifications of which continue to haunt the survivors and their offspring. However, the present paper does not dwell on the effects of nuclear weapons on humans*, but rather upon the natural environment. It summarizes the foreseeable environmental impact in quantitative terms with respect to damage from the blast-wave, the thermal pulse, and the nuclear radiation—doing so, by way of example, for a 20-kiloton atomic bomb and a 1-megaton hydrogen bomb (and also with passing mention for a 1-kiloton neutron bomb).The effects of a nuclear war—a war in which scores to hundreds, if not thousands, of nuclear bombs might be expended—is summarized in relation to affected portions of the geosphere, the atmosphere, and the Biosphere. A nuclear attack would kill wildlife and destroy the vegetation over a large area through a combination of blast, heat, and nuclear radiation. Wildfires could well extend the zone of immediate destruction. Surface disruption and the loss of vegetation would lead to greatly accelerated wind and water erosion and ‘nutrient dumping’.It is concluded nevertheless that an area devastated by nuclear warfare would in time recover by the natural processes of ecological succession, but far more slowly and more unpredictably than following other forms of ecological disruption.
Foreseeable Effects of CO2-induced Climatic Change: Freshwater Concerns
Authors: Coutant Charles C. 
Published: August 2009

Freshwater environments are expected to be particularly responsive to temperature rises and changed precipitation régimes that are anticipated to result from progressive increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel combustion. Recognition of potential impacts on aquatic systems should strengthen research and management planning for the future, and provide more confident estimates of the risks from CO2elevation than those at present available. This report briefly evaluates those aquatic impacts that are believed to be important and worthy of investigation and quantitative forecasting.Priorities for additional research have been suggested for the issues discussed herein. These priorities vary according to the use of pertinent data, the credibility of presumed risk (which may change as, for example, climatic models are better refined), the timing in relation to prerequisite information, current efforts already under way, and the feasibility of obtaining the desired data. The ranking remains subjective, however, and debatable.