What should be done with the revenues from a carbon cap and auction system?

In this article the author discusses the use of the revenues which can be generated from a carbon cap and auction system in the U.S. They believe that auction system will be politically feasible if all individuals share generated revenues equally. A significant fraction from the revenue should pay for related projects like researching and developing renewable energy in developing countries. The shareholders in this atmospheric commons should be both the current and future generations

Resilient Soils for Resilient Farms: An Integrative Approach to Assess, Promote and Value Soil Health for Small- and Medium-Size Farms

Our team was a collaborative group of academic, extension and doctoral student researchers who met internally and conducted an IRB-approved survey that engaged with myriad stakeholders. The result was a clear trifecta on relative timing of soil health initiatives: 1) Stakeholders (91%) embrace soil health and believe soil health should be the top priority for UVM research and outreach. 2) Existing policy demands farmers assess elements of soil health every two years for nutrient management plans. 3) Only a subset of desired metrics is available at commercial laboratories, most soil analyses are sent out of state to Maine or New York, and most data are privately held instead of deposited into public databases. Together, these three findings indicate that soil health be a central focus of UVM\u27s ARS program. Yet, due to attrition, there are no longer any UVM faculty dedicated to updating the 30-year-old soil recommendations upon which regulations rely. There is opportunity for university-government-community partnerships and expanded employment opportunities in Vermont if collaborative resources were assigned to soil health

Building a sustainable and desirable economy-in-society-in-nature

This report is a synthesis of ideas about what this new economy-in-society-innature could look like and how we might get there. Most of the ideas presented here are not new. The coauthors of this report have published them in various forms over the last several decades, and many others have expressed similar ideas in venues too numerous to mention. What is new is the timing and the situation. The time has come when we must make a transition. We have no choice. Our present path is clearly unsustainable. As Paul Raskin has said, Contrary to the conventional wisdom, it is business as usual that is the utopian fantasy; forging a new vision is the pragmatic necessity [10]. But we do have a choice about how to make the transition and what the new state of the world will be. We can engage in a global dialogue to envision the future we want, the theme of Rio+20, and then devise an adaptive strategy to get us there, or we can allow the current system to collapse and rebuild from a much worse starting point. We obviously argue for the former strategy. In this report, we discuss the need to focus more directly on the goal of sustainable human well-being rather than merely GDP growth. This includes protecting and restoring nature, achieving social and intergenerational fairness (including poverty alleviation), stabilizing population, and recognizing the significant nonmarket contributions to human well-being from natural and social capital. To do this, we need to develop better measures of progress that go well beyond GDP and begin to measure human well-being and its sustainability more directly

Land use and land cover mapping in detailed scale: A case study in santa rosa de Lima-SC

It is challenging to reconcile large scale data with the dynamic characteristics present in land use. Such dynamism requires data with a high repetition of sampling. An alternative is the integration of data of high spatial resolution and low temporal resolution, with that of high temporal resolution and low spatial resolution. The aim addressed in this article is related to the integration of aerial photographs and temporal series for land use and land cover mapping in high detail scale. We conducted a case study in Santa Rosa de Lima-SC. The main data used was the aerial survey that overlaid the state of Santa Catarina, executed in 2010/2011. The interpretation key included typical elements of photointerpretation (color, texture, size, shape), aiming to classify the land use and land cover classes. The mapping evaluation resulted in 75.6% global accuracy, ranging from 54% (Grassland and Wetlands) to 96% (Water Bodies and Rocks). Such results are considered satisfactory. The integration of high-resolution images with high temporal resolution data has enabled the discrimination between classes that present great difficulties of separability. Such discrimination is essential in the territorial management processes of Encosta da Serra and the municipality of Santa Rosa de Lima

Multifaceted value profiles of forest owner categories in South Sweden: The river helge å catchment as a case study

Forest landscapes provide benefits from a wide range of goods, function and intangible values. But what are different forest owner categories\u27 profiles of economic use and non-use values? This study focuses on the complex forest ownership pattern of the River Helge å catchment including the Kristianstad Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve in southern Sweden. We made 89 telephone interviews with informants representing the four main forest owner categories. Our mapping included consumptive and non-consumptive direct use values, indirect use values, and non-use values such as natural and cultural heritage. While the value profiles of non-industrial forest land owners and municipalities included all value categories, the forest companies focused on wood production, and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on nature protection. We discuss the challenges of communicating different forest owners\u27 economic value profiles among stakeholders, the need for a broader suite of forest management systems, and fora for collaborative planning. © 2013 The Author(s)

The Menin Tumor Suppressor Protein Is Phosphorylated in Response to DNA Damage

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a heritable cancer syndrome characterized by tumors of the pituitary, pancreas and parathyroid. Menin, the product of the MEN1 gene, is a tumor suppressor protein that functions in part through the regulation of transcription mediated by interactions with chromatin modifying enzymes.Here we show menin association with the 5' regions of DNA damage response genes increases after DNA damage and is correlated with RNA polymerase II association but not with changes in histone methylation. Furthermore, we were able to detect significant levels of menin at the 3' regions of CDKN1A and GADD45A under conditions of enhanced transcription following DNA damage. We also demonstrate that menin is specifically phosphorylated at Ser394 in response to several forms of DNA damage, Ser487 is dynamically phosphorylated and Ser543 is constitutively phosphorylated. Phosphorylation at these sites however does not influence the ability to interact with histone methyltransferase activity. In contrast, the interaction between menin and RNA polymerase II is influenced by phosphorylation, whereby a phospho-deficient mutant had a higher affinity for the elongating form of RNA polymerase compared to wild type. Additionally, a subset of MEN1-associated missense point mutants, fail to undergo DNA damage dependent phosphorylation.Together, our findings suggest that the menin tumor suppressor protein undergoes DNA damage induced phosphorylation and participates in the DNA damage transcriptional response

Molecular identification of a retinal cell type that responds to upward motion

The retina contains complex circuits of neurons that extract salient information from visual inputs. Signals from photoreceptors are processed by retinal interneurons, integrated by retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and sent to the brain by RGC axons. Distinct types of RGC respond to different visual features, such as increases or decreases in light intensity (ON and OFF cells, respectively), colour or moving objects1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Thus, RGCs comprise a set of parallel pathways from the eye to the brain. The identification of molecular markers for RGC subsets will facilitate attempts to correlate their structure with their function, assess their synaptic inputs and targets, and study their diversification. Here we show, by means of a transgenic marking method, that junctional adhesion molecule B (JAM-B) marks a previously unrecognized class of OFF RGCs in mice. These cells have asymmetric dendritic arbors aligned in a dorsal-to-ventral direction across the retina. Their receptive fields are also asymmetric and respond selectively to stimuli moving in a soma-to-dendrite direction; because the lens reverses the image of the world on the retina, these cells detect upward motion in the visual field. Thus, JAM-B identifies a unique population of RGCs in which structure corresponds remarkably to function

Aqueous alteration processes in Jezero crater, Mars—implications for organic geochemistry

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, in February 2021. We used the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument to perform deep-ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy of three rocks within the crater. We identify evidence for two distinct ancient aqueous environments at different times. Reactions with liquid water formed carbonates in an olivine-rich igneous rock. A sulfate-perchlorate mixture is present in the rocks, which probably formed by later modifications of the rocks by brine. Fluorescence signatures consistent with aromatic organic compounds occur throughout these rocks and are preserved in minerals related to both aqueous environments

Preserving land within Riley County and Manhattan, Kansas: conservationist and developer approaches to land planning

Master of Landscape ArchitectureDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community PlanningLaurence A. Clement, Jr.Increasing population in Manhattan, Kansas and rising enrollment at Kansas State University have increased the interest in establishing new residences and commercial businesses within the city limits. Locations for development include the revitalization of Manhattan’s south end and sites adjacent to Seth Child Road, US Highway 24, and K-177. Recent development patterns in Manhattan, such as residential development near Wildcat Creek, have resulted in severe environmental impacts. While most development enhances existing land use patterns, undeveloped natural areas along K-177 present several environmental opportunities and restraints that must be assessed and well-planned for to accommodate projected growth in a sustainable way. Topography, existing vegetation, drainage networks, wildlife habitats, and proximity to the Kansas River contribute to limitations in development along and extending from K-177. This proximity and resulting development could reduce existing wildlife habitat, plant species, and the overall health of Manhattan’s and the surrounding area’s air, soil and water quality. Developmental strategies are needed to ensure the conservation of sensitive ecosystems and to direct development to the most suitable areas. After conducting an inventory of the land’s natural resources and land use patterns, two suitability models were created to express areas most suitable for development based on two sets of values; conservation-minded and developer-minded. As sites for development were located and assessed, a trail suitability model was then created to express potential connections between new and old development and to show links to other significant destinations. This trail system also establishes greenway selection criteria, aiming to further protect remaining natural areas while providing a public amenity. Fulfillment of the goals and objectives of the Gateway to Manhattan Plan (GMP), establishes development suitability through a conservationist approach to ensure significant preservation of land. Such an approach and related conservation strategies are then discussed to act as a platform for decision making as lands along K-177 are developed. The trail suitability study and proposed greenway network provide solutions for meeting the GMP’s goals of establishing multi-modal connectivity along and across K-177 while conserving environmental resources. In addition to controlling development patterns, these greenways will act as conduits for wildlife, help maintain or enhance air, soil and water quality, protect endangered flora and fauna, and provide recreational amenities while minimizing overall negative environmental impacts

La pesca de langosta y tendencias poblacionales en la costa pacífica de Costa Rica(ING)

Se realizo un censo y se estimaron los tamaños de poblaciones de la langosta espinosa del Pacífico Panulirus gracilis en una zona protectora en el parque nacional Manuel Antonio, y una zona adyacente de tipo rocoso, que se extiende desde el parque al puerto de Quepos, Costa Rica. Para el censo se utilizó una técnica visual rápida. También se realizaron entrevistas con los pescadores de la langosta del puerto de Puntarenas para obtener información sobre técnicas, captura y antecedentes de estas poblaciones. Las langostas se agruparon en 6 clases de tamaño dentro y fuera del parque y se hizo un análisis para determinar diferencia en la distribución de tamaño de los individuos por área. Se encontró un mayor número de langostas (33%) dentro del parque que fuera de este. Además, la distribución en tamaños fue semejante en las dos áreas. Se observó que los pescadores explotan tanto las langostas de un tamaño menor al límite legal como las hembras con huevos, lo cual indica la irracionalidad o mal manejo de la pesca y el peligro en le preservación del stock, ya que parece darse un aumento en el número de pescadores.Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.Escuela de Ciencias Biológica