vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Rainwater harvesting
In China , Argentina , and Brazil , rooftop rainwater harvesting is being practised for providing drinking water , domestic water , water for livestock , water for small irrigation , and a way to replenish groundwater levels . Gansu province in China and semiarid northeast Brazil have the largest rooftop rainwater harvesting projects going on . Thailand has the largest fraction of the population in the rural area relying on rainwater harvesting ( currently around 40 % ) . Rainwater harvesting was promoted heavily by the government in the 1980s . In the 1990s , after government funding for the collection tanks ran out , the private sector stepped in and provided several million tanks to private households , many of which continue to be used . This is one of the largest examples of self - supply of water worldwide . In Bermuda , the law requires all new construction to include rainwater harvesting adequate for the residents . The U.S. Virgin Islands has a similar law . In Senegal and Guinea - Bissau , the houses of the Diola - people are frequently equipped with homebrew rainwater harvesters made from local , organic materials . In the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar , the groundwater is saline and communities rely on mud - lined rainwater ponds to meet their drinking water needs throughout the dry season . Some of these ponds are centuries old and are treated with great reverence and respect . In the United States , until 2009 in Colorado , water rights laws almost completely restricted rainwater harvesting ; a property owner who captured rainwater was deemed to be stealing it from those who have rights to take water from the watershed . Now , residential well owners who meet certain criteria may obtain a permit to install a rooftop precipitation collection system ( SB 09 - 080 ) . Up to 10 large scale pilot studies may also be permitted ( HB 09 - 1129 ) . The main factor in persuading the Colorado Legislature to change the law was a 2007 study that found that in an average year , 97 % of the precipitation that fell in Douglas County , in the southern suburbs of Denver , never reached a stream -- it was used by plants or evaporated on the ground . In Colorado , one can not even drill a water well on properties less than 35 acres ( 14 ha ) . Rainwater catchment is mandatory for new dwellings in Santa Fe , New Mexico .
Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States
Sanitary sewers were not the only sanitation solution applied . They were particularly useful in high - density urban areas . However , in some newly built lower - density areas , decentralized septic systems were built . They were attractive because they reduced capital expenditures and had fewer operation and maintenance costs compared to wastewater treatment plants .
Mercury in fish
Re-emission , the largest emitter , occurs in a variety of ways . It is possible for mercury that has been deposited in soil to be re-emitted into the mercury cycle via floods . A second example of re-emission is a forest fire ; mercury that has been absorbed into plant life is re-released into the atmosphere . While it is difficult to estimate the exact extent of mercury re-emission , it is an important field of study . Knowing how easily and how often previously emitted mercury can be released helps us learn how long it will take for a reduction in anthropogenic sources to be reflected in the environment . Mercury that has been released can find its way into the oceans . A 2008 model estimated the total amount of deposition into the oceans that year to be 3,700 metric tons . It is estimated that rivers carry as much as 2,420 metric tons . Much of the mercury deposited in the oceans is re-emitted , however ; as much as 300 metric tons is converted into methyl mercury . While only 13 % of this finds its way into the food chain , that is still 40 metric tons a year .
Great Lakes
Several species of exotic water fleas have accidentally been introduced into the Great Lakes , such as the spiny waterflea , Bythotrephes longimanus , and the fishhook waterflea , Cercopagis pengoi , potentially having an effect on the zooplankton population . Several species of crayfish have also been introduced that may contend with native crayfish populations . More recently an electric fence has been set up across the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in order to keep several species of invasive Asian carp out of the area . These fast - growing planktivorous fish have heavily colonized the Mississippi and Illinois river systems . The sea lamprey , which has been particularly damaging to the native lake trout population , is another example of a marine invasive species in the Great Lakes . Invasive species , particularly zebra and quagga mussels , may be at least partially responsible for the collapse of the deepwater demersal fish community in Lake Huron , as well as drastic unprecedented changes in the zooplankton community of the lake .
Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States
Orange County is located in Southern California , USA , and houses a classic example in IPR . A large - scale artificial groundwater recharge scheme exists in the area , providing a much - needed freshwater barrier to intruding seawater . Part of the injected water consists of recycled water , starting as of 1976 with Water Factory 21 , which used RO and high lime to clean the water ( production capacity of 19,000 m per day ) . This plant was de-commissioned in 2004 and has since made place for a new project with a higher capacity ( 265,000 m per day with an ultimate capacity of 492,000 m per day ) , under the name of Groundwater Replenishment System . This newer scheme uses the newer technological combination of RO , MF , and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide . Plans are also underway to further increase the capacity of the system , which already provides up to 20 % of the water used by the country .
Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States
Today cities make significant investments in the control of combined sewer overflows , including through the construction of storage facilities in the sewerage system in order to allow for the subsequent controlled release of sewage into treatment plants .
Spider
There are several unusual variants of orb web , many of them convergently evolved , including : attachment of lines to the surface of water , possibly to trap insects in or on the surface ; webs with twigs through their centers , possibly to hide the spiders from predators ; `` ladder - like '' webs that appear most effective in catching moths . However , the significance of many variations is unclear .
Carthage
The habitat is typical , even stereotypical . The street was often used as a storefront / shopfront ; cisterns were installed in basements to collect water for domestic use , and a long corridor on the right side of each residence led to a courtyard containing a sump , around which various other elements may be found . In some places , the ground is covered with mosaics called punica pavement , sometimes using a characteristic red mortar .
Atlantic Ocean
Endangered marine species include the manatee , seals , sea lions , turtles , and whales . Drift net fishing can kill dolphins , albatrosses and other seabirds ( petrels , auks ) , hastening the fish stock decline and contributing to international disputes . Municipal pollution comes from the eastern United States , southern Brazil , and eastern Argentina ; oil pollution in the Caribbean Sea , Gulf of Mexico , Lake Maracaibo , Mediterranean Sea , and North Sea ; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea , North Sea , and Mediterranean Sea .
Environmental issues in India
Trash and garbage is a common sight in urban and rural areas of India . It is a major source of pollution . Indian cities alone generate more than 100 million tons of solid waste a year . Street corners are piled with trash . Public places and sidewalks are despoiled with filth and litter , rivers and canals act as garbage dumps . In part , India 's garbage crisis is from rising constion . India 's waste problem also points to a stunning failure of governance . The tourism regions in the country mainly hill stations are also facing this issue in the recent years .
Recycling
Source separation is the other extreme , where each material is cleaned and sorted prior to collection . This method requires the least post-collection sorting and produces the purest recyclates , but incurs additional operating costs for collection of each separate material . An extensive public education program is also required , which must be successful if recyclate contamination is to be avoided .
United Kingdom
Access to improved water supply and sanitation in the UK is universal . It is estimated that 96.7 % of households are connected to the sewer network . According to the Environment Agency , total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 16,406 megalitres per day in 2007 . In England and Wales the economic regulator of water companies is the Water Services Regulation Authority ( Ofwat ) . The Environment Agency is responsible for environmental regulation , and the Drinking Water Inspectorate for regulating drinking water quality . The economic water industry regulator in Scotland is the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the environmental regulator is the Scottish Environment Protection Agency . Drinking water standards and wastewater discharge standards in the UK , as in other countries of the European Union , are determined by the EU ( see Water supply and sanitation in the European Union ) .
Rainwater harvesting
The South African Water Research Commission has supported research into rainwater harvesting . Reports on this research are available on their ' Knowledge Hub ' . Studies in arid , semiarid , and humid regions have confirmed that techniques such as mulching , pitting , ridging , and modified run - on plots are effective for small - scale crop production .
Recycling
E-waste is a growing problem , accounting for 20 -- 50 million metric tons of global waste per year according to the EPA . It is also the fastest growing waste stream in the EU . Many recyclers do not recycle e-waste responsibly . After the cargo barge Khian Sea dumped 14,000 metric tons of toxic ash in Haiti , the Basel Convention was formed to stem the flow of hazardous substances into poorer countries . They created the e-Stewards certification to ensure that recyclers are held to the highest standards for environmental responsibility and to help consumers identify responsible recyclers . This works alongside other prominent legislation , such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive of the EU the United States National Computer Recycling Act , to prevent poisonous chemicals from entering waterways and the atmosphere .
Seine
The river is a popular site for both suicides and the disposal of bodies of murder victims . In 2007 , 55 bodies were retrieved from its waters ; in February 2008 , the body of supermodel - turned - activist Katoucha Niane was found there .
Dead Sea
An unusual feature of the Dead Sea is its discharge of asphalt . From deep seeps , the Dead Sea constantly spits up small pebbles and blocks of the black substance . Asphalt - coated figurines and bitumen - coated Neolithic skulls from archaeological sites have been found . Egyptian mummification processes used asphalt imported from the Dead Sea region .
Long Island Sound
Nitrogen pollution in the Sound is declining , at the end of 2014 , wastewater treatment facilities reached 94 percent of their nitrogen reduction goal set by Total Maximum Daily Load ( TMDL mentioned above ) . Achieving this goal means 108,000 fewer pounds of nitrogen were discharged into the Sound every day . In 2015 the Long Island Sound Study concluded that the Sound is cleaner and healthier than it has been , but still impaired from pollution and habitat loss . To continue improving the quality of Long Island Sound both ongoing challenges and adapting to new conditions due to climate change need to be addressed .
Recycling
Paul Calcott and Margaret Walls advocate the second option . A deposit refund scheme and a small refuse charge would encourage recycling but not at the expense of fly - tipping . Thomas C. Kinnaman concludes that a landfill tax would force consumers , companies and councils to recycle more .
Evidence of common descent
While studying guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) in Trinidad , biologist John Endler detected selection at work on the fish populations . To rule out alternative possibilities , Endler set up a highly controlled experiment to mimic the natural habitat by constructing ten ponds within a laboratory greenhouse at Princeton University . Each pond contained gravel to exactly match that of the natural ponds . After capturing a random sample of guppies from ponds in Trinidad , he raised and mixed them to create similar genetically diverse populations and measured each fish ( spot length , spot height , spot area , relative spot length , relative spot height , total patch area , and standard body lengths ) . For the experiment he added Crenicichla alta ( P. reticulata 's main predator ) in four of the ponds , Rivulus hartii ( a non-predator fish ) in four of the ponds , and left the remaining two ponds empty with only the guppies . After 10 generations , comparisons were made between each pond 's guppy populations and measurements were taken again . Endler found that the populations had evolved dramatically different color patterns in the control and non-predator pools and drab color patterns in the predator pool . Predation pressure had caused a selection against standing out from background gravel . Figure
Lake Michigan
Environmental problems can still plague the lake . Steel mills and refineries operate near the Indiana shoreline . The Chicago Tribune reported that BP is a major polluter , dumping thousands of pounds of raw sludge into the lake every day from its Whiting , Indiana , oil refinery . In March 2014 BP 's Whiting refinery was responsible for spilling more than 1,600 US gallons ( 6,100 l ) of oil into the lake .
Bird nest
Nests can become home to many other organisms including parasites and pathogens . The excreta of the fledglings also pose a problem . In most passerines , the adults actively dispose the fecal sacs of young at a distance or consume them . This is believed to help prevent ground predators from detecting nests . Young birds of prey however usually void their excreta beyond the rims of their nests . Blowflies of the genus Protocalliphora have specialized to become obligate nest parasites with the maggots feeding on the blood of nestlings .
Recycling
The City and County of San Francisco 's Department of the Environment is attempting to achieve a citywide goal of generating zero waste by 2020 . San Francisco 's refuse hauler , Recology , operates an effective recyclables sorting facility in San Francisco , which helped San Francisco reach a record - breaking diversion rate of 80 % .
Environmental issues in India
Municipalities in Indian cities and towns have waste collection employees . However , these are unionised government workers and their work performance is neither measured nor monitored .
Great Barrier Reef
The plan specifically targets nutrients , pesticides and sediment that make their way into the reef as a result of agricultural activities . Other non-point sources of pollution that are attributed to urban areas are covered under different legislation . In 2009 , the plan was updated . The updated version states that to date , none of the efforts undertaken to improve the quality of water entering the reef has been successful . The new plan attempts to address this issue by `` targeting priority outcomes , integrating industry and community initiatives and incorporating new policy and regulatory frameworks ( Reef Plan 5 ) '' . This updated version has improved the clarity of the previous plan and targets set by that plan , have improved accountability and further improved monitoring and assessment . The 2009 report found that 41 out of the 65 actions met their original goals , however , 18 were not progressing well according to evaluation criteria as well as 6 were rated as having unsatisfactory levels of progress .
Water in California
Beneficial use is defined as agricultural , industrial , or urban use . Environmental uses , such as maintaining body of water and the wildlife that use it , were not initially regarded as beneficial uses in some states but have been accepted in some areas . Every water right is parameterized by an annual yield and an appropriation date . When a water right is sold , it maintains its original appropriation date . Water
Lead poisoning
However , recent research supports the idea that the lead found in the water came from the supply pipes , rather than another source of contamination . It was not unknown for locals to punch holes in the pipes to draw water off , increasing the number of people exposed to the lead .
Mark and recapture
The literature on the analysis of capture - recapture studies has blossomed since the early 1990s . There are very elaborate statistical models available for the analysis of these experiments . A simple model which easily accommodates the three source , or the three visit study , is to fit a Poisson regression model . Sophisticated mark - recapture models can be fit with several packages for the Open Source R programming language . These include `` Spatially Explicit Capture - Recapture ( secr ) '' , `` Loglinear Models for Capture - Recapture Experiments ( Rcapture ) '' , and `` Mark - Recapture Distance Sampling ( mrds ) '' . Such models can also be fit with specialized programs such as MARK or M - SURGE .
Seawater
The ocean has a long history of human waste disposal on the assumption that its vast size makes it capable of absorbing and diluting all noxious material . While this may be true on a small scale , the large amounts of sewage routinely dumped has damaged many coastal ecosystems , and rendered them life - threatening . Pathogenic viruses and bacteria occur in such waters , such as Escherichia coli , Vibrio cholerae the cause of cholera , hepatitis A , hepatitis E and polio , along with protozoans causing giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis . These pathogens are routinely present in the ballast water of large vessels , and are widely spread when the ballast is discharged .
Long Island Sound
Federal officials have said sediment from Bridgeport Harbor is too contaminated for disposal in the Sound , and in 2007 state Department of Environmental Protection officials required Norwalk , Connecticut to `` cap '' 350,000 cubic yards ( 270,000 m ) of dumped sediment from a planned Norwalk Harbor dredging project with 75,000 cubic yards ( 57,000 m ) of material . Silt and sediment from the harbor contains heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , according to DEP officials .
Flint water crisis
In the aftermath of the water crisis , it was noted that elevated blood - lead levels in children are found in many cities across Michigan , including Detroit , Grand Rapids , Muskegon , and Adrian . Although statewide childhood lead - poisoning rates have dramatically declined since the removal of lead from gasoline , certain areas of the state ( particularly low - income areas with older housing stock ) continue to experience lead poisoning , mostly from lead paint in homes built before 1978 and lead residue in dust and soil . Lead abatement efforts are slow .
Mark and recapture
Typically a researcher visits a study area and uses traps to capture a group of individuals alive . Each of these individuals is marked with a unique identifier ( e.g. , a numbered tag or band ) , and then is released unharmed back into the environment . A mark recapture method was first used for ecological study in 1896 by C.G. Johannes Petersen to estimate plaice , Pleuronectes platessa , populations .
Venus flytrap
A 2009 study presented evidence for the evolution of snap traps of Dionaea and Aldrovanda from a flypaper trap like Drosera regia , based on molecular data . The molecular and physiological data imply that Dionaea and Aldrovanda snap traps evolved from the flypaper traps of a common ancestor with Drosera . Pre-adaptations to the evolution of snap traps were identified in several species of Drosera , such as rapid leaf and tentacle movement . The model proposes that plant carnivory by snap trap evolved from the flypaper traps , driven by increasing prey size . Bigger prey provides greater nutritional value , but large insects can easily escape the sticky mucilage of flypaper traps ; the evolution of snap traps would therefore prevent escape and kleptoparasitism ( theft of prey captured by the plant before it can derive benefit from it ) , and would also permit a more complete digestion .
Flint water crisis
In a new report released March 1 , 2016 , 37 of the 423 recently tested sentinel sites had results above the 15 ppb limit . Eight of the samples exceeded 100 ppb . A recent study however showed that significantly more samples exceeded the 15 ppb limit in the voluntary or homeowner - driven sampling program whereby concerned citizens decided to acquire a testing kit and conduct sampling on their own ( non-sentinel sites ) .
Great Barrier Reef
The unsustainable overfishing of keystone species , such as the Giant Triton , can disrupt food chains vital to reef life . Fishing also impacts the reef through increased water pollution from boats , by - catch of unwanted species ( such as dolphins and turtles ) and habitat destruction from trawling , anchors and nets . As of the middle of 2004 , approximately one - third of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is protected from species removal of any kind , including fishing , without written permission . The
Great Barrier Reef
The runoff problem is exacerbated by the loss of coastal wetlands which act as a natural filter for toxins and help deposit sediment . It is thought that the poor water quality is due to increased light and oxygen competition from algae . Eutrophication
Recycling
A number of different systems have been implemented to collect recyclates from the general waste stream . These systems lie along the spectrum of trade - off between public convenience and government ease and expense . The three main categories of collection are `` drop - off centers , '' `` buy - back centers '' , and `` curbside collection . '' Curbside
Long Island Sound
Polluted sediment from harbor , river and waterway dredging has been dumped in four sites in the Sound , although in late 2007 two of them at the eastern end of the Sound were scheduled to be closed at some future date . A dumping site near Stamford , Connecticut and another near New Haven , Connecticut were expected to remain open . In 2007 , the U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a five - to seven - year , $16 million study on more environmentally friendly ways to dredge harbors in the Sound . Dumping the sediment in the Sound is considerably less expensive than other options , according to Connecticut harbor officials and state and federal environmental officials .
Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States
Distributional losses in the U.S. are typically 10 -- 15 % of total withdrawals , although they can exceed 25 % of total water use in older systems . According to another source unaccounted - for water ( UFW ) -- which includes system losses , water used for firefighting and water used in the treatment process -- was estimated to be only 8 % in systems with more than 500,000 connections in 2000 . In comparison , the level of water losses is 7 % in Germany , 19 % in England and Wales , and 26 % in France . Together with Germany water losses in the U.S. are thus among the lowest in 16 industrial countries .