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Over the coming decades, new energy production technologies and the policies that oversee them will affect human health, the vitality of our ecosystems, and the stability of the global climate. The GLIMPSE decision model framework provides insights about the implications of technology and policy decisions on these outcomes. Using GLIMPSE, decision makers can identify alternative techno-policy futures, examining their air quality, health, and short- and long-term climate impacts. Ultimately, GLIMPSE will support the identification of cost-effective strategies for simultaneously achieving performance goals for these metrics. Here, we demonstrate the utility of GLIMPSE by analyzing several future energy scenarios under existing air quality regulations and potential CO2 emission reduction policies. We find opportunities for substantial cobenefits in setting both climate change mitigation and health-benefit based air quality improvement targets. Though current policies which prioritize public health protection increase near-term warming, establishing policies that also reduce greenhouse gas emissions may offset warming in the near-term and lead to significant reductions in long-term warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries there are policies in place that impact on soils, but very few legislative or policy tools specifically for the protection of soil. Recent EU legislative proposals on soil protection have been met with opposition on the grounds of excessive cost and resource demands. With the need for evidence based policy, and recognition that involving the public in environmental monitoring is an effective way of increasing understanding and commitment, there has been growing interest in soil surveys. In addition, it is accepted that the success of environmental policies depends greatly on how effectively scientists, regulators, stakeholders, and society communicate. This paper presents the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Soil and Earthworm Survey as an example of public participation in soil surveys that aims to integrate the above. It is demonstrated how such surveys generate data that can be used to prioritise soil assesment, in order to address some of the concerns and objections to soil protection policies. Lessons from this pilot study in England highlight that with strategic planning of civic participation activities, this approach can deliver improvements in the quality of the evidence collected and allow for effective public involvement in policymaking and implementation, on top of direct educational benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For obtaining type approval in the European Union, light-duty vehicles have to comply with emission limits during standardized laboratory emissions testing. Although emission limits have become more stringent in past decades, light-duty vehicles remain an important source of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide emissions in Europe. Furthermore, persisting air quality problems in many urban areas suggest that laboratory emissions testing may not accurately capture the on-road emissions of light-duty vehicles. To address this issue, we conduct the first comprehensive on-road emissions test of light-duty vehicles with state-of-the-art Portable Emission Measurement Systems. We find that nitrogen oxides emissions of gasoline vehicles as well as carbon monoxide and total hydrocarbon emissions of both diesel and gasoline vehicles generally remain below the respective emission limits. By contrast, nitrogen oxides emissions of diesel vehicles (0.93 ± 0.39 grams per kilometer [g/km]), including modern Euro 5 diesel vehicles (0.62 ± 0.19 g/km), exceed emission limits by 320 ± 90%. On-road carbon dioxide emissions surpass laboratory emission levels by 21 ± 9%, suggesting that the current laboratory emissions testing fails to accurately capture the on-road emissions of light-duty vehicles. Our findings provide the empirical foundation for the European Commission to establish a complementary emissions test procedure for light-duty vehicles. This procedure could be implemented together with more stringent Euro 6 emission limits in 2014. The envisaged measures should improve urban air quality and provide incentive for innovation in the automotive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle replacement schemes such as the "cash for clunkers" program in the U.S. and the "scrappage scheme" in the UK have featured prominently in the economic stimulation packages initiated by many governments to cope with the global economic crisis. While these schemes were designed as economic instruments to support the vehicle production industry, governments have also claimed that these programs have environmental benefits such as reducing CO2 emissions by bringing more fuel-efficient vehicles onto the roads. However, little evidence is available to support this claim as current energy and environmental accounting models are inadequate for comprehensively capturing the economic and environmental trade-offs associated with changes in product life and product use, We therefore developed a new dynamic model to quantify the carbon emissions due to changes in product life and consumer behavior related to product use. Based on a case study of Japanese vehicle use during the 1990-2000 period, we found that extending, not shortening, the lifetime of a vehicle helps to reduce life-cycle CO2 emissions throughout the supply chain. Empirical results also revealed that even if the fuel economy of less fuel-efficient ordinary passenger vehicles were improved to levels comparable with those of the best available technology, i.e. hybrid passenger cars currently being produced in Japan, total CO2 emissions would decrease by only 0.2%. On the other hand, we also find that extending the lifetime of a vehicle contributed to a moderate increase in emissions of health-relevant air pollutants (NOx HC, and CO) during the use phase. From the results, this study concludes that the effects of global warming and air pollution can be somewhat moderated and that these problems can be addressed through specific policy instruments directed at increasing the market for hybrid cars as well as extending lifetime of automobiles, which is contrary to the current wisdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern conventional farming provides Western Europe and North America with reliable, high quality, and relatively cheap supplies of food and fiber, increasingly viewed as a potential source of fuel. One of the costs is continued widespread pollution of rivers and groundwater—predominantly by nutrients. In 1970, in both the United States and UK, farming was focused on maximizing yield and management practices were rapidly modernizing. Little attention was paid to the external impacts of farming. In 2010, diffuse pollution from agriculture is being seriously addressed by both voluntary and statutory means in an attempt to balance environmental costs with the continued benefits of agricultural production. In this paper we consider long-term changes in the concentration and flux of nitrate in five rural UK rivers to demonstrate the impact of agricultural intensification and subsequent policies to reduce diffuse pollution on river water quality between 1970 and 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing, the capital of China, has experienced rapid motorization since 1990; a trend that is likely to continue. The growth in vehicles and the corresponding emissions create challenges to improving the urban air quality. In an effort to reduce the impact of vehicle emissions on urban air quality, Beijing has adopted a number of vehicle emission control strategies and policies since the mid 1990s. These are classified into seven categories: (1) emission control on new vehicles; (2) emission control on in-use vehicles; (3) fuel quality improvements; (4) alternative-fuel and advanced vehicles; (5) economic policies; (6) public transport; and (7) temporal traffic control measures. Many have proven to be successful, such as the Euro emission standards, unleaded gasoline and low sulfur fuel, temporal traffic control measures during the Beijing Olympic Games, etc. Some, however, have been failures, such as the gasoline-to-LPG taxi retrofit program. Thanks to the emission standards for new vehicles as well as other controls, the fleet-average emission rates of CO, HC, NOX, and PM10 by each major vehicle category are decreasing over time. For example, gasoline cars decreased fleet-average emission factors by 12.5% for CO, 10.0% for HC, 5.8% for NOX, and 13.0% for PM10 annually since 1995, and such a trend is likely to continue. Total emissions for Beijing's vehicle fleet increased from 1995 to 1998. However, they show a clear and steady decrease between 1999 and 2009. In 2009, total emissions of CO, HC, NOX, and PM10 were 845000 t, 121000 t, 84000 t, and 3700 t, respectively; with reductions of 47%, 49%, 47%, and 42%, relative to 1998. Beijing has been considered a pioneer in controlling vehicle emissions within China, similar to the role of California to the U.S. The continued rapid growth of vehicles, however, is challenging Beijing's policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by displacing petroleum in the transportation sector, by displacing fossil-based electricity, and by sequestering atmospheric carbon. Which use mitigates the most emissions depends on market and regulatory contexts outside the scope of attributional life cycle assessments. We show that bioelectricity's advantage over liquid biofuels depends on the GHG intensity of the electricity displaced. Bioelectricity that displaces coal-fired electricity could reduce GHG emissions, but bioelectricity that displaces wind electricity could increase GHG emissions. The electricity displaced depends upon existing infrastructure and policies affecting the electric grid. These findings demonstrate how model assumptions about whether the vehicle fleet and bioenergy use are fixed or free parameters constrain the policy questions an analysis can inform. Our bioenergy life cycle assessment can inform questions about a bioenergy mandate's optimal allocation between liquid fuels and electricity generation, but questions about the optimal level of bioenergy use require analyses with different assumptions about fixed and free parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic waste (e-waste) has emerged as a new policy priority around the world. Motivations to address e-waste include rapidly growing waste streams, concern over the environmental fate of heavy metals and other substances in e-waste, and impacts of informal recycling in developing countries. Policy responses to global e-waste focus on banning international trade in end-of-life electronics, the premise being that e-waste is mainly generated in the developed world and then exported to the developing world. Sales of electronics have, however, been growing rapidly in developing nations, raising the question of whether informal recycling in developing countries driven by international trade or domestic generation. This paper addresses this question by forecasting the global generation of obsolete personal computers (PCs) using the logistic model and material flow analysis. Results show that the volume of obsolete PCs generated in developing regions will exceed that of developed regions by 2016-2018. By 2030, the obsolete PCs from developing regions will reach 400-700 million units, far more than from developed regions at 200-300 million units. Future policies to mitigate the impacts of informal recycling should address the domestic situation in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite sharp differences in government policy, the views of the U.S. public on energy and global warming are remarkably similar to those in Sweden, Britain, and Japan. Americans do exhibit some differences, placing lower priority on the environment and global warming, and with fewer believing that "global warming has been established as a serious problem and immediate action is necessary". There also remains a small hard core of skeptics (<10%) who do not believe in the science of climate change and the need for action, a group that is much smaller in the other countries surveyed. The similarities are, however, pervasive. Similar preferences are manifest across a wide range of technology and fuel choices, in support of renewables, in research priorities, in a basic understanding of which technologies produce or reduce carbon dioxide (or misunderstandings in the case of nuclear power), and in willingness to pay for solving global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents news items related to environmental policies in the United States and Europe as of January 1, 2002. Debate of European lawmakers on the ban of polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants; Amendment of the hard rock mining riles by the administration of President George W. Bush; Proposal of the European Commission for a carbon dioxide emissions trading scheme.

The article discusses the reformation of the industrial pollution control through interdisciplinary collaboration in China. Topics discussed include the regulatory obligations for the environmental departments, the establishment of standardized market that trade industrial pollution control services, and the improvement of efficient facilities and plant operation.

The authors discuss the policy experiment conducted in China for transprovincial watershed protection. The authors say that the policy experiment was intended for addressing conditionality and distribution issues through the integration of Polluter Pays Principle and Beneficiary Pays Principle. The authors are critical to the policy in which some issues have not been recognized by policy makers such as water quality standards, in connection to climate change.

The author discusses China's government and its decision making, opining on changes that could improve the country's control of environmental problems. The author believes that China's focus on short-term political and economic goals is incompatible with longer-term thinking that is needed to address environmental degradation. The author describes China's Grain for Green Project that subsidizes farmers who abandon their livelihood, if unsustainable, but offers no optional vocational guidance.

Highlights the United States Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Significant New Use Rule, which puts restrictions on fluorinated organic surfactant known as perfluorooctyl sulfonates. Limitation to chemicals that Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. intends to voluntarily phase out; Toxic effects at low levels of exposure.

Reports on actions taken and rulings issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as of May 1999. Civil rights investigation into the environmental and health concerns of African-American and Hispanic communities in New York City; Proposal of the relaxation of dumping rules for lead paint debris; Plan to focus more on `inert' ingredients in pesticides.

Reports on the petition filed by state governments and mine workers in the United States for a judicial review of a regulation placing nitrogen oxide emissions caps on 22 states. United Mine Workers of America's criticism against eight-hour ozone standard rule; Environmental Protection Agency's plan to review the emissions from other states.

A list of top 10 environmental policies of President George Bush's administration which are considered to be stupid is presented. Topping the list is the barring of environmental scientists from speaking freely followed by the bureaucrats revising reports after peer review. The new source review and corporate average fuel efficiency standards are also in the list.

The article reports that environmental scientists have applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) request to eight manufacturers to voluntary eliminate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and related chemicals, as a regulatory breakthrough. EPA will eventually classify PFOA and associated compounds as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic when they are added to the Toxics Release Inventory. Companies were requested to submit their 2000 baseline numbers for emissions and product content by October 31, 2006.

The article reveals that the report entitled "Vulnerability of Concentrated Critical Infrastructure: Background and Policy Options," from the U.S. Congressional Research Service has shown that critical U.S. infrastructure may be at risk for devastating, long-term impact from natural or anthropogenic causes. The report notes that environmental regulations have concentrated critical infrastructure along the coastlines of the country. The Bush Administration observes that the problem is complex in nature because many of the facilities are managed by the private sector.

This article reports that the transportation bills under negotiation in the U.S. Congress would undermine environmental laws and programs. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and the road-building industry, however, maintain that changes are necessary to cut back on the red tape that hinders road building. The Senate bill, in particular, would substantially weaken the role of environmental agencies, local elected officials, and the public in the planning process. Additionally, both bills would streamline the environmental review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act by cutting state and local resource agencies out of the process, shortening the time for legal challenges, and reducing the number of alternatives for consideration. The two bills include funding for mass transit and the construction of bike and pedestrian projects. And the Senate bill offers an amendment that would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revise its fuel-economy tests to give a more accurate reflection of real-world driving conditions.

Reports on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's launch of the initiative called USTfields which provide grant money for cleaning up abandoned underground oil storage tanks. Budget allocated for the project; Planned awarding of grants to ten community pilot projects on November.

Reports on Denmark's plan to implement lead ban by March 2001. Estimated lead consumption in the country; Expected decrease in lead consumption by 2003; Negative health impacts of lead exposure.

Reports on the European Commission's extension of its 'emergency' ban on several phthalate softeners used in children's toys to December 5, 2000. Migration tests confirming leaching of phthalate from polyvinyl toys into saliva; Proposal to permanently ban phthalates in toys for children under three years old.

Focuses on a report by the Center for European Policy Studies predicting that the cost of bringing East European industrial facilities in line with environmental standards in the European Union will be much lower than anticipated. Problems with public infrastructure investments in water and waste management.

Focuses on a directive agreed upon by the European Parliament and the European Union's (EU) Council of Ministers, aiming to unify surface and groundwater protection across the EU. Key provisions of the directive; Requirements set for EU member countries by 2015.

Reports on the listing of the number of chemicals regulated by the Toxic Release Inventory under the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Regulations for the new reporting requirements.