Groundwater: mere bureaucracy or appropriate know-how?

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A Report of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources National Science and Technology Council

This national scientific assessment integrates and interprets the findings of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and synthesizes findings from previous assessments, including reports and products by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It analyzes current natural and human-induced trends in global change, and projects future trends impacting the natural environment, agriculture, water resources, social systems, energy production and use, transportation, and human health. It is intended to help inform discussion of the relevant issues by decisionmakers, stakeholders, and the public. As such, this report addresses the requirements for assessment in the Global Change Research Act of 1990.

Science and Technology to Support Fresh Water Availability in the United States

This report describes issues regarding water use, conservation, and management. Many parts of the United States are expected to face water shortages in the near future

DSTS and Modeling Tools Report

MK16 Fostering Evidence-Based IWRM in the Stung Pursat Catchment (Tonle Sap Great Lake) CambodiaDecision Support Tools (DSTs) have been developed by various organisations (government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, universities, consultancy companies and think tanks) to facilitate decision making around a number of issues, including water governance and management. There are arange of DSTs, distinguished by their function, quality of services (accuracy and precision), ease of use, time of application (project planning, implementation, monitoring, etc.), data requirements, data generated and other factors. The main objective of this analysis is to assess currently available and relevant decision support tools (DSTs), and to highlight the method of selecting most appropriate tool

Working Paper on Population Growth and Natural Resource Pressures in Pursat Catchment

MK16 Fostering Evidence-based IWRM in Stung Pursat Catchment (Tonle Sap Great Lake)This project examined the linkages between population and demand for food and water. Cambodia, in general, and Pursat Province in particular, have a complex and interesting mosaic of demographic attributes and development issues. The Tonle Sap basin and Pursat catchment possess the country’s largest potential water resources. These resources have the ability to support on-going economic development, including irrigation and agricultural production, fisheries and aquaculture, energy and forest products, navigation and other modes of transport, domestic and industrial water use and tourism

Report on Conflict Analysis and Power Relations in Pursat Catchment

MK16: Fostering Evidence-Based IWRM in the Stung Pursat Catchment (Tonle Sap Great Lake) CambodiaThe MK16 report analyses stakeholder roles, relationships, and views on water resources management in Cambodia in general, and Pursat specifically, for developing good IWRM structures that incorporates a shared understanding of the reality and complexity of different stakeholder interests and relationships. The analysis is designed to examine the degree of consistency or disparity between different stakeholders, and between formal stakeholder roles and actual practices.The Conflict/Difference and Power Relation Analysis in Pursat Catchment addresses the following research questions: 1. What are the key stakeholder roles, relationships, and perceptions in existing water governance arrangements, and how consistent are these perceptions among different stakeholders at different levels? 2. What are the consistencies and inconsistencies

Multi-stakeholder Platform: An innovative mechanism for promoting integrated decision making in the Stung Pursat catchment

MK16: Fostering Evidence-Based IWRM in the Stung Pursat Catchment (Tonle Sap Great Lake) CambodiaIntroduced as an innovation in the Stung Pursat catchment of Cambodia, a MSP was piloted to promote integrated water resource management (IWRM). The “Fostering-Evidence-based IWRM in Stung Pursat catchment, Cambodia project1 (MK 16)” supported three MSP sessions in Pursat, and brought-together over 40 participants from government (national, provincial, and municipal), civil society organizations (including academic institutions), and community-based natural resource communities

The effect of seamustard on blood lipid profiles and glucose level of rats fed diet with different energy composition

Recently, Korean people are consuming seaweeds almost 3.5 times more now than three decades ago. It is well known that seaweeds contain lots of soluble dietary fiber in addition to micronutrients such as β-carotene, iodine and some bioactive components. Seaweeds are considered to be effective for preventing chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cancer or constipation. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of seamustard intake on body weight gain, blood glucose level and lipid profiles in rats fed diets with different energy nutrient composition. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (average initial weight 103.7 g) were divided into groups for two experiments as follows; Control, M2.5 & M5 groups (Exp. I) and M5, M10, HCM5, HCM10, HFM5 & HFM10 groups (Exp. II). The rats were fed diet and water ad libitum for 4 weeks. In general, there was no significant difference in blood glucose and triglyceride concentration among groups. In Exp. I, serum LDL-cholesterol level of rats fed diet with 5% seamustard powder (M5) was significantly lower than that of control group, while HDL-cholesterol level, TC/LDL ratio and weight of adrenal gland were higher. In Exp. II, food intake, body weight gain and EER of high fat diet with 10% seamustard group (HFM10) were the lowest among groups. Except gastrocnemius muscle, all organ weights of HFM10 group were the lowest. Fecal cholesterol excretion and serum LDL-cholesterol concentration of HFM10 group were the highest, while serum HDL-cholesterol level was the lowest among groups. Interestingly, HDL-cholesterol concentration was the highest in HCM5 group among groups. From these results, it was suggested that seamustard intake might be more effective for body weight control, but not for improving blood lipid profiles in high fat diet than in high carbohydrate diet

Our Changing Planet

This document, which is produced annually, describes the activities and plans of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which was established in 1989 and authorized by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Strong bipartisan support for this inter-agency program has resulted in more than a decade's worth of scientific accomplishment. "Because there is considerable uncertainty in current understanding of how the climate system varies naturally and reacts to emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, current estimates of the magnitude of future warming should be regarded as tentative and subject to future adjustments (either upward or downward). Reducing the wide range of uncertainty inherent in current model predictions of global climate change will require major advances in understanding and modeling of both (1) the factors that determine atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, and (2) the so-called 'feedbacks' that determine the sensitivity of the climate system to a prescribed increase in greenhouse gases. There is also a pressing need for a global system designed for monitoring climate. Climate projections will always be far from perfect. Confidence limits and probabilistic information, with their basis, should always be considered as an integral part of the information that climate scientists provide to policy- and decision-makers. Without them, the IPCC SPM [Summary for Policymakers] could give the impression that the science of global warming is 'settled,' even though many uncertainties still remain. The emission scenarios used by the IPCC provide a good example. Human dimensions will almost certainly alter emissions over the next century. Because we cannot predict either the course of human populations, technology, or societal transitions with any clarity, the actual greenhouse gas emissions could either be greater or less than the IPCC scenarios. Without an understanding of the sources and degree of uncertainty, decision makers could fail to define the best ways to deal with the serious issue of global warming

Moderate beer consumption does not change early or mature atherosclerosis in mice

BACKGROUND: Although the consumption of wine in particular has been associated with a lower risk of atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease, systematic reviews differ as to the relative protective effect of beer, wine and spirits. Two previous studies showed that red wine reduces fatty streak formation (early atherosclerosis) but not mature atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice. AIM OF THE STUDY: To determine whether a moderate beer intake would affect early and mature atherosclerotic lesion formation using control C57BL/6 and apoE-/- mice, respectively, as models. METHODS: Control C57BL/6 and apoE-/- mice were randomized to receive either water, ethanol, mild beer, dark beer or ethanol-free beer. The level of beer was designed to approximate the alcohol intake currently believed to be beneficial in reducing human vascular risk. Control C57BL/6 mice were fed a Western diet for 24 weeks, and apoE-/- mice a chow diet for 12 weeks. At the end of the trial period, mice were euthanized and atherosclerotic lesions quantified. Plasma lipid concentrations were also measured. RESULTS: The amount of atherosclerosis and average number of lesions in the proximal aortic region did not differ among groups in control C57BL/6 mice (p = 0.32 and p = 0.29, respectively) and apoE-/- mice (p = 0.19 and p = 0.59, respectively). No consistent differences were observed in plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations among water, ethanol and beer groups. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate beer consumption does not change the development of early or mature atherosclerosis in mice. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of an anti-atherogenic effect of beer. Other potential protective actions of moderate beer consumption such as plaque stabilization, a reduction in plaque intrinsic thrombogenicity, or a reduction in the systemic propensity to thrombosis, remain to be studied