Judy Smith A guiding hand

Judy Smith lending a guiding hand. Judy Smith though she her self may not be a household name many of the people she has advised and dealt with their crisis are, people such as Monica Lewinsky and Michal Vick. She has worked her way up to being one of the top names and go to people in PR and crisis management. Not just for individual people but for companies as well. Smith was born in Washington D.C. and attended college at Boston College were she earned her bachelors after graduating she then attended American University were she graduated form the Washington College of Law. She was the first African- American female to serve as executive editor for the American University Law Review. After receiving her law degree Smith eventually made her way to the White House were she served as Deputy Press Secretary to President George H.W. Bush. After leaving the White House she struck out on her own and started her own firm Smith & Company. It was there that she faced some of the challenges that she became known for handling such as Monica Lewinsky, Michal Vick and Sony

Mercury Transport and Fluxes in the Lake Ontario Basin

In this dissertation I assess mercury dynamics in the Lake Ontario Basin. In four interrelated phases, ecosystem mercury concentrations and fluxes were analyzed at increasing scales. Each phase is presented in order of increasing scale, starting with a reach-by-reach analysis in the Seneca River in New York, then moving up to an analysis of the Lake Ontario watershed, followed by an assessment of Lake Ontario, and culminating with an estimate of atmospheric mercury exchange for the entire Great Lakes Basin. Phase 1 of my research is a multi-year study exploring mercury (Hg) dynamics in the Three Rivers system, with particular emphasis on the Seneca River in Central New York. In addition to bi-weekly water sampling, additional field investigations were conducted to estimate elemental Hg (Hg0) volatilization rates from the river, and to assess the impacts of zebra mussel metabolism on Hg0 volatilization. Elemental Hg volatilization was estimated at 1.3 ng m-2 hr-1 for the field season, and was positively correlated to incident solar radiation. It appears that the clearing of the water column caused by zebra mussels may increase Hg0 volatilization rates due to subsequent increased penetration of incident solar radiation, though additional limiting factors are apparent. Reach-by-reach Hg mass balances were developed for three river reaches to assess the effects of an intervening hypereutrophic lake, a zone of intense zebra mussel infestation, and contributions from Onondaga Lake which is contaminated with elevated levels of Hg. It was determined that particulate Hg (THgP) is the dominant form of Hg in the Seneca River, and Hg flux in the ecosystem is governed by flow characteristics. Intervening Cross Lake serves an important role for Hg transport in the Seneca River, reducing total Hg (THg) flux in the river by over 65% due to deposition of THgP. Methylmercury (MeHg) concentration increased over the reach of intense zebra mussel infestation, possibly due to support of anaerobic respiration as a result of the zebra mussel oxygen demand. The river reach receiving input from Onondaga Lake shows a 15% increase in THg flux. Net atmospheric Hg exchange is in the direction of deposition. However, direct atmospheric Hg deposition to the water surface plays a minimal role in Seneca River reaches, representing less than 1% of the fluvial Hg flux of the river. Overall, the Seneca River watershed is a sink for inputs of atmospheric Hg at a rate of 42 kg yr-1, and the watershed efficiently retains \u3e85% of this Hg, exporting approximately 5 kg yr-1 to the Three Rivers confluence. For Phase 2, Hg speciation and concentrations were measured near the mouths of nine tributaries to Lake Ontario during two independent field-sampling programs. Among the study tributaries, mean THg ranged from 0.9 to 2.6 ng L-1; mean dissolved Hg (THgD) ranged from 0.5 to 1.5 ng L-1; mean THgP ranged from 0.3 to 2.0 ng L-1; and mean MeHg ranged from 0.05 to 0.14 ng L-1. Watershed land-cover, total suspended solids (TSS), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were evaluated as potential controls of Hg. Significant relationships between THgD and DOC were limited, whereas significant relationships between THgP and TSS were common. Methylmercury was largely associated with the aqueous phase, and MeHg as a fraction of THg was positively correlated to open water land-cover. Wetland cover was positively correlated to THg and MeHg particle associations. A relation was evident between dense urban land-cover and higher THgP fractions. Phase 3 utilized the results of Phase 2 to estimate Hg flux for ten inflowing tributaries and the outlet for Lake Ontario. Total Hg flux for nine study watersheds that directly drain into the lake ranged from 0.2 kg yr-1 to 13 kg yr-1, with the dominant fluvial THg load from the Niagara River at 154 kg yr-1. Total Hg loss at the outlet (St. Lawrence River) was 68 kg yr-1. Fluvial Hg inputs largely (62%) occur in the dissolved fraction and are similar to estimates of atmospheric Hg inputs. Fluvial mass balances suggest strong in-lake retention of THgP inputs (99%), compared to THgD (45%) and MeHg (22%) fractions. Wetland land-cover is a good predictor of MeHg yield for Lake Ontario watersheds. Sediment deposition studies and coupled atmospheric and fluvial Hg fluxes indicate that Lake Ontario is a net sink of Hg inputs and not at steady-state likely due to recent decreases in point source inputs and atmospheric Hg deposition. In Phase 4, rates of surface-air Hg0 fluxes in the literature were synthesized for the Great Lakes Basin (GLB). For the majority of surfaces, fluxes were net positive (evasion). Annual Hg0 evasion for the GLB was estimated at 7.7 Mg yr-1, whereas Hg deposition to the area is estimated at 15.9 Mg yr-1. This analysis therefore suggests the GLB is a net sink for atmospheric Hg. Land-cover types that contributed most to the annual Hg0 evasion for the GLB are agriculture (~55%) and forest (~25%), and the open water of the Great Lakes (~15%). Most land-cover types displayed similar areal evasion rates, with a range of 7.0 to 21.0 µg m-2 yr-1. The highest rates were associated with urban (12.6 µg m-2 yr-1) and agricultural (21.0 µg m-2 yr-1) lands. Considerable uncertainty was noted in estimates of Hg0 evasion. Methods used to estimate Hg0 evasion vary, and results are affected based on the methods applied. A unified methodological approach could partially remedy uncertainty in estimating Hg0 fluxes

Aligning Executive Incentives Global Public Health Goals

International audienceIntroduction: The World Health Organization (WHO)estimates that together tobacco and alcohol kill about 9 million people annually despite aggressive and widespread public health controls. These legal industries persist because of the demand for their products and their substantial economic influence, which is magnified by the concentration of wealth in the executives of leading corporations that profit from increased legal drug sales.Materials and methods: This preliminary study quantifies the link between global premature deaths from these legal addictive drugs as a function of executive compensation in order to provide the necessary data to make more effective policy recommendations for preventing legal drug-related deaths.Results: The results indicate a need to incentivize chief executive officers(CEOs), such that they have a constant marginal utility per life saved.Conclusions: An executive compensation incentive that moves to eliminate tobacco use is achieved by a pay structure that increases exponentially with the number of lives saved

Expanded microchannel heat exchanger: design, fabrication and preliminary experimental test

This paper first reviews non-traditional heat exchanger geometry, laser welding, practical issues with microchannel heat exchangers, and high effectiveness heat exchangers. Existing microchannel heat exchangers have low material costs, but high manufacturing costs. This paper presents a new expanded microchannel heat exchanger design and accompanying continuous manufacturing technique for potential low-cost production. Polymer heat exchangers have the potential for high effectiveness. The paper discusses one possible joining method - a new type of laser welding named "forward conduction welding," used to fabricate the prototype. The expanded heat exchanger has the potential to have counter-flow, cross-flow, or parallel-flow configurations, be used for all types of fluids, and be made of polymers, metals, or polymer-ceramic precursors. The cost and ineffectiveness reduction may be an order of magnitude or more, saving a large fraction of primary energy. The measured effectiveness of the prototype with 28 micron thick black low density polyethylene walls and counterflow, water-to-water heat transfer in 2 mm channels was 72%, but multiple low-cost stages could realize the potential of higher effectiveness

Global transformer overheating from geomagnetic storms

Geomagnetic storms occurring due to sustained, high-speed solar winds are known to induce currents in power distribution networks. These geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) can cause high voltage transformers (HVT) to overheat, thus resulting in a catastrophic electricity loss event (CELE). Since significant portions of infrastructures around the world rely heavily on access to electric power, it is essential to estimate the risks associated with GICs on a global scale. We assemble multiple methodologies across various scientific disciplines to develop a framework assessing the probability of a severe geomagnetic storm causing a long-term, widespread power outage. Our model incorporates thermal models of HVT tie bar hot spots, historical geoelectric field estimates, and a global conductivity model to estimate the risk of long-term power outage for regions between -70 degrees and 80 degrees geomagnetic latitude due to transformer overheating failure. Assuming a uniform 33% HVT spare capacity, our analysis indicates that a 1 in 10,000 year storm would result in approximately 1% of the population in Europe and North America experiencing a long-term (months to years) electricity loss

Alternative Foods as a Solution to Global Food Supply Catastrophes

International audienceAnalysis of future food security typically focuses on managing gradual trends such as population growth, natural resource depletion, and environmental degradation. However, several risks threaten to cause large and abrupt declines in food security. For example, nuclear war, volcanic eruptions, and asteroid impact events can block sunlight, causing abrupt global cooling. In extreme but entirely possible cases, these events could make agriculture infeasible worldwide for several years, creating a food supply catastrophe of historic proportions. This paper describes alternative foods that use non-solar energy inputs as a solution for these catastrophes. For example, trees can be used to grow mushrooms; natural gas can feed certain edible bacteria. Alternative foods are already in production today, but would need to be dramatically scaled up to become the primary food source during a global food supply catastrophe. Scale-up would require extensive depletion of natural resources and difficult social coordination. For these reasons, large-scale use of alternative foods should be considered only for desperate circumstances of food supply catastrophes. During a catastrophe, alternative foods may be the only solution capable of preventing massive famine and maintaining human civilization. Furthermore, elements of alternative foods may be applicable to non-catastrophe times, such growing mushrooms on logging residues. Society should include alternative foods as part of its contingency planning for food supply catastrophes and possibly during normal times as well

Preliminary automated determination of edibility of alternative foods: Non-targeted screening for toxins in red maple leaf concentrate

Alternative food supplies could maintain humanity despite sun-blocking global catastrophic risks (GCRs) that eliminate conventional agriculture. A promising alternative food is making leaf concentrate. However, the edibility of tree leaves is largely uncertain. To overcome this challenge, this study provides the methods for obtaining rapid toxics screening of common leaf concentrates. The investigation begins with a non-targeted approach using an ultra-high-resolution hybrid ion trap orbitrap mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled to an ultra-high pressure two-dimensional liquid chromatograph system on the most common North American leaf: the red maple. Identified chemicals from this non-targeted approach are then cross-referenced with the OpenFoodTox database to identify toxic chemicals. Identified toxins are then screened for formula validation and evaluated for risk as a food. The results after screening show that red maple leaf concentrate contains at least eight toxic chemicals, which upon analysis do not present substantial risks unless consumed in abundance. This indicates that red maple leaf is still a potential alternative food. The results are discussed in the context of expanding the analysis with open science and using leaf extract from other plants that are not traditionally used as foods to offset current global hunger challenges, and move to a more sustainable food system while also preparing for GCRs