Present Risk, Future Risk Or No Risk - Measuring and Predicting Perceptions of Health Risks of a Hazardous Waste Landfill

Given that perceived risk is multidimensional, the authors seek better understanding by focusing on health risks and, more particularly, on their temporality. In this way, they attempt to measure more meaningfully psychological influences on risk perceptions

Researchers’ opinions about ethically sound dissemination of BCI research to the public media

BCI research and (future) applications raise ethical questions. A websurvey among 144 BCI researchers identified disseminating BCI research to the public media as a central topic. Most researchers felt that BCI scientists must responsibly communicate with the media and that general ethical guidelines on BCI research and application are needed within the next 5 years. We recommend further debate on ethical aspects related to BCI and the development of guidelines

Buildings behaving badly:A behavioral experiment on how different motivational frames influence residential energy label adoption in the Netherlands

Heating buildings contributes to approximately 36% of Europe’s energy demand and several EU member states have adopted mandatory energy labels to improve energy efficiency by promoting home weatherization investments. This paper focuses on the perception of the energy label for residential buildings in the Netherlands and the role of different frames (egoistic, biospheric and social norms and neutral frames) in motivating adoption of energy labels for housing. We used a behavioral email experiment and an online survey to investigate these motivational factors. We find that biospheric frames are weaker than the other three motivational frames in terms of engaging interest in the energy label, but that the biospheric frame results in higher willingness to pay (WTP) for the energy label. We also find that age (rather than income) correlates with higher willingness to pay for home energy labels

British surfers and their attitudes and values toward the environment

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of British surfers toward their environment. Eight surfers were interviewed and their views analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis to explore their perceptions of the factors that have influenced their engagement in proenvironmental behaviors. The findings suggest that surfers (in this sample), while motivated to engage in proenvironmental behaviors, are also influenced by a range of factors and appear to be primarily motivated by their identification and a need to maintain their experience of that sport. This reveals an inherent dilemma. Through their sport surfers are able to observe the effects of environmental degradation on the environment (e.g., polluted water), the ecosystem, and on their personal health. However, they are also aware of the trade-offs required in pursuing their sport that may damage the environment (e.g., toxic material involved in sport kit manufacture). When questioned, surfers stated they would be unwilling to give up their sport even at the cost of the environment in which those activities are experienced. This highlights a possibly common problem among environmentally minded outdoor enthusiasts: when do personal benefits outweigh the responsibilities of environmental stewardship? The value of these findings is discussed in relation to the promotion of proenvironmental behaviors and engagement with proenvironmental groups

Comparison of bioassessment results and costs between preserved and unpreserved macroinvertebrate samples from streams

The choice to use or not use a preservative before sorting macroinvertebrate samples (i.e., dead specimens vs. living specimens) is based on studies not solely focused on the effects of preservation. Using identical sample processing protocols, we compared preserved and unpreserved samples for the following parameters: (1) the number of taxa and individuals for each major macroinvertebrate group, (2) ecological quality classes calculated with a multimetric index developed for the assessment of small Dutch lowland streams, and (3) costs of sample processing. We collected macroinvertebrate samples from three lowland streams in the Netherlands. At each site, we collected six replicate samples, of which three samples were preserved and three were not. Significantly different numbers of Ephemeroptera individuals and Hydracarina taxa and individuals were collected from preserved samples compared to unpreserved samples. In assessments based on these individual metrics, standardization of sample processing will be required. In streams with Ephemeroptera, the preservation of samples is necessary to optimize the number of Ephemeroptera individuals collected. In streams that contain Hydracarina, the preservation of samples will result in an underestimation of the number of Hydracarina taxa and individuals present. In only one instance there was a difference in ecological quality between preserved and unpreserved samples, indicating that assessing small Dutch lowland streams does not require standardization of sample preservation as part of the sample processing protocol. We detected no significant differences in sample processing costs between preserved and unpreserved samples

Infiltration and short-term movement of nitrogen in a silt-loam soil typical of rice cultivation in Arkansas

Rice production in Arkansas is one of the top three crop commodities in terms of cash receipts. Researchers and farmers report that nitrogen (N) needs to be managed according to a variety of factors with two important ones being soil and fertilizer type. The objectives of this experiment were to determine: 1) the degree to which floodwater-incorporated N applied as urea or as ammonium sulfate infiltrates intact cores (7.2-cm dia., 10-cm depth) containing DeWitt siltloam soil, and 2) the distribution of N during 12 h of ponding. Inorganic-N concentrations were analyzed at 2-cm depth intervals in cores following removal of the flood. Nitrogen from applied fertilizer was recovered as ammonium. Ammonium sulfate-N remained in the top 4 cm of soil with concentrations of 375 µg N g-1 in the surface 2 cm and 300 µg N g-1 at the 2 - 4 cm depth after 12 hr of ponding. At all depth intervals below 4 cm, ammonium sulfate-N remained below 30 µg N g-1. In contrast, after 12 h of ponding, N in soil receiving urea was 105 µg N g-1 in the top 2 cm and 173 µg N g-1 at 2-4 cm. At 4-6, 6-8, and 8-10 cm, N was 109, 108, and 35 µg N g-1, respectively, after 12 h of ponding. These results demonstrate immediate and deeper movement of ammonium into silt loam soil receiving urea as compared to ammonium sulfate, demonstrating how the form of N in fertilizer affects its movement into the soil profile

Estimating the environmental impact of home energy visits and extent of behaviour change

The objective of this study was to estimate the environmental impact of a home energy visit programme, known as RE:NEW, that was delivered in London, in the United Kingdom. These home energy visits intended to encourage reductions in household carbon emissions and water consumption through the installation of small energy saving measures (such as radiator panels, in-home energy displays and low-flow shower heads), further significant energy saving measures (loft and cavity wall insulation) and behaviour change advice. The environmental impact of the programme was estimated in terms of carbon emissions abated and on average, for each household in the study, a visit led to an average carbon abatement of 146 kgCO2. The majority of this was achieved through the installation of small energy saving measures. The impact of the visits on the installation of significant measures was negligible, as was the impact on behaviour change. Therefore, these visits did not overcome the barriers required to generate behaviour change or the barriers to the installation of more significant energy saving measures. Given this, a number of recommendations are proposed in this paper, which could increase the efficacy of these home energy visits

Crop and soil organic matter simulation models – A brief review of their basic features and application in sub-Saharan Africa

Over the past decades, numerous crop-soil models have been developed to represent dynamic processes in cropland systems, including soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics (Campbell and Paustian, 2015). These models use mathematical equations that determine carbon allocation in the vegetation and biomass and soils to represent biogeochemical processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition. Furthermore, a range of crop management practices are represented in most of the models, enabling an assessment of their impacts on SOC in agricultural systems. Although models were initially developed for research purposes, they are increasingly becoming important in many aspects of environmental policies (Manlay et al., 2007). Extensively tested models provide effective tools that can be used in identifying sustainable land management practices across different agroecological conditions. Compared to field experiments, which are time and resource consuming, models are more effective for making predictions and understanding crop and SOC dynamics on large scales and different time scales. However, the choice of the model depends on the ability of the model to simulate key processes in the region of interest. We conducted a survey to identify the features of the commonly used crop-soil models in order to inform the choices for application in sub-Saharan Africa. The survey was administered online to the model developers. In addition, we also conducted a literature search to assess the usage of the different models in different parts of sub-Saharan. In this brief, we provide a basic summary of the information from the survey and literature review