Assessing Washington State Landowners\u27 Interest and Concerns Regarding Growing Bioenergy Crops

Bioenergy industries will depend, in part, on interested and informed landowners who are willing to grow bioenergy crops. We surveyed landowners in Washington State to gain insight into their knowledge and interest regarding bioenergy crops and the importance of various cropping decision factors. The majority of landowners surveyed were not familiar with bioenergy crops and/or were unlikely to grow them. They indicated that profit, soil and land preservation, and water quality are all important factors to consider when making cropping decisions. Our results provide Extension professionals with an enhanced understanding of perceived challenges and advantages related to growing bioenergy crops

On-Orbit Teflon(trademark) FEP Degradation

During the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Second Servicing Mission (SM2), degradation of unsupported Teflon(trademark) FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene), used as the outer layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, was evident as large cracks on the telescope light shield. A sample of the degraded outer layer was retrieved during the mission and returned to Earth for ground testing and evaluation. The results of the Teflon(trademark) FEP sample evaluation and additional testing of pristine Teflon FEP led the investigative team to theorize that the HST damage was caused by thermal cycling with deep-layer damage from electron and proton radiation which allowed the propagation of cracks along stress concentrations, and that the damage increased with the combined total dose of electrons, protons, UV and x-rays along with thermal cycling. This paper discusses the testing and evaluation of the Teflon(trademark) FEP

Genetic Variation and Differentiation in Mexican Populations of Common Bush-Tanagers and Chestnut-Capped Brush-Finches

Genetic differentiation among four Mexican populations each of Common Bush-tanagers (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus) and Chestnut-capped Brush-finches (Atlapetes brunneinucha) was evaluated using allozyme electrophoresis. In both species, although levels of within-population variation are moderate, among-population variation is extreme, including fixed differences among populations. Genetic variation is significantly reduced in some populations on the smallest habitat islands. Differentiation is apparently unrelated to geographic distance among populations, and effects of habitat island size and isolation on genetic differentiation are not clear. Populations of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas in Veracruz, however, are strongly differentiated in both species

Economic Feasibility of Mixed Plastic Waste Pyrolysis Using Twin Reactor System in Northwest Arkansas

Plastic waste generation is increasing at an unsustainable rate while recycling solutions remain stagnant. As a chemical means of recycling, mixed plastic waste pyrolysis can generate synthetic oil appropriate for use as fuel in power generation from plastic waste that otherwise accumulates in landfills. With the scaling of a commercial plastic pyrolysis process in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) modeled after an operational sawdust pyrolysis unit in Huntsville, Arkansas, economic analysis resulted in 26.3% internal rate of return. Therefore, construction of a commercial mixed plastic-to-fuel pyrolysis plant is economically justified and should be pursued. To effectively implement the proposed design, NWA must utilize involvement from political leaders and the community to effectively make changes to current recycling collection and sortation procedures. Environmental benefits from the implementation of a commercial pyrolysis process for mixed plastics, such as reduction of plastic waste in landfills and oceans, must be emphasized to rally public sentiment to recycle

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program

Over the past two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program has evolved from a ground-based integration program to a space-based science-sustaining program. On-orbit, the telescope s primary contamination requirement was maintaining a low contamination flux in the telescope s optical path. In addition, to maintain the scientific capability of the telescope, the contamination requirements and specific contamination controls from the second- and third-generation Scientific Instruments and Orbital Replacement Units were captured within the HST Contamination Control Program. Contamination controls were developed for on-orbit operations and four Servicing Missions (Orbiter, Astronauts, and mission). Long-term on-orbit scientific data has shown that these contamination controls successfully protected the HST from contamination

Tools for Assessing Climate Impacts on Fish and Wildlife

Climate change is already affecting many fish and wildlife populations. Managing these populations requires an understanding of the nature, magnitude, and distribution of current and future climate impacts. Scientists and managers have at their disposal a wide array of models for projecting climate impacts that can be used to build such an understanding. Here, we provide a broad overview of the types of models available for forecasting the effects of climate change on key processes that affect fish and wildlife habitat (hydrology, fire, and vegetation), as well as on individual species distributions and populations. We present a framework for how climate-impacts modeling can be used to address management concerns, providing examples of model-based assessments of climate impacts on salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest, fire regimes in the boreal region of Canada, prairies and savannas in the Willamette Valley-Puget Sound Trough-Georgia Basin ecoregion, and marten Martes americana populations in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. We also highlight some key limitations of these models and discuss how such limitations should be managed. We conclude with a general discussion of how these models can be integrated into fish and wildlife management