Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
This is a special supplement to Earthlink. Due to the unusually high numbers of articles on Climate Change leading up to the Kyoto Summit, INFOTERRA decided to produce the November/December Earthlink as usual and then add a supplementary section shortly thereafter.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Environmental Liability
“Justices Decide Fate of Environmental Liability,” Chemical Week 159, no. 45 (19/26 November 1997):52
The Supreme Court currently reviews fewer cases involving environmental liability than it did in the mid-1980s. The Court issued a precedent last June on suits “seeking compensation for plaintiffs who suffer no physical injury.” Justices are more hesitant to deal with cases in which plaintiffs blame toxic substances encountered in work situations for diseases developed later in life.
Hazardous Waste
“GAO Says RCRA is Broken.” Chemical Week, November 12, 1997.
A new report released by the General Accounting Office intimates that site cleanup has been delayed and costs have been increased by complex rules. This backs industry complaints about the “negative impact of RCRA on remediation.” These complaints have sparked interest from members of Congress and plans for action include the restructuring of the RCRA laws. However, the Environmental Defense Fund and other such environmental groups are concerned that changes in RCRA could free highly contaminated wastes from national standards.
Climate Change
Hasselmann, Klaus “Climate-change Research After Kyoto” Nature, 20 November 1997, 225.
This article examines the role that climate scientists can play in contributing to a solution to climate change. One way is to keep the public and policy-makers informed about their research (as they did via the IPPC), another is to constantly work to improve models and the reliability of predictions, thirdly, scientists can “study the complex link between pure research and policy making.” The present advances in climate research must be maintained so that scientists can provide better, more reliable forecasts “on a time-scale compatible with the gradual implementation of policy.” Although modeling should never used to replace international negotiations, it can assist the negotiators in formulating an effective climate mitigation strategy.
“A Cooling Off Period,” The Economist, 29 November 1997, 83.
There is no debate that the greenhouse effect does exist, and that man-made emissions play a role. However the debate is over how serious the threat is and how much of a sacrifice should be made today, to protect those who will inhabit the world in the future. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2 drastically over a short period of time, could have drastic economic implications for developed and developing nations alike. The article suggests that rather than “over react” certain measures, such as road-pricing schemes, and a carbon tax (taxing fuels according to their CO2-generating potential) could reduce emissions and stabilize CO2 levels now. In the meantime, better models and knowledge about how the climate functions could bring better understanding of how real the threat is, and how bad things will get, when. If action needs to be taken, better technology should be able to provide ways to reduce emissions more effectively in the future.
Lehman, Scott, “Sudden End of an Interglacial,” Nature 390, no.6656 (13 November 1997): 117-119.
Scientists are researching the stability of the interglacial and working to determine the processes contributing to its termination. The scientists are hoping to find answers by studying ocean circulation, the sediment core from the Bermuda Rise in the western North Atlantic and glacier ice. The Holocene interglacial period was a 9,000 year period of mild global climate. Using geochemical sediment dating, researchers found that this period ended with the “onset of ice growth...was accompanied by a sudden reduction in conveyor circulation, which carries heat from the tropics and warms much of Europe.”
“General Policy: Companies Going Beyond Compliance, Investing in Energy-Efficient Technology.” International Environmental Reporter, 12 November 1997: 1061.
Major corporations appear to be taking the threat of global climate change seriously and on a large scale are investing in energy-efficient technologies. It is beneficial for most companies to invest this way for several reasons. Companies are looking for more efficient uses of energy and ways to recycle solid waste. The International Standards Organization’s ISO 14000 is having a big effect on companies. “ISO 14000 is a series of environmental management systems standards, some of which are already in use and some still under development.”
Overpeck, J., et al., “Arctic Environmental Change of the Last Four Centuries,” Science 278, no.5341 (14 November 1997): 1251-1256.
Combined records from lake sediments, trees, glaciers and marine sediments provides insight into the environmental variability of the Arctic region over the last 400 years. Between 1840 and the mid-20th century, the Arctic warmed to the highest temperatures in four centuries. This warming ended the Little Ice Age in the Arctic and has caused the retreat of glaciers, the melting of permafrost and sea ice, and changes in terrestrial and lake ecosystems. Though warming after 1920 was likely caused by increases in atmospheric trace gases, the initiation of the warming in the mid-19th century suggests that increased solar irradiance, decreasedvolcanic activity, and feedbacks internal to the climate system played roles.
Broecker, W.S., “Thermohaline Circulation, the Achilles Heel of Our Climate System: Will Man-Made CO2 Upset the Current Balance?” Science 278, no. 5343 (28 November 1997): 1582-1588.
During the last glacial period, the Earth’s climate experienced great and sudden global changes. Ocean thermohaline circulation appears to take on multiple functions. The record in the ancient sedimentary rocks suggests that similar abrupt changes plagued the Earth at other times. What may have triggered these changes was the antiphasing of polar insolation associated with orbital cycles. If the constant increase in CO2 levels caused another such reorganization, the Earth would no longer be able to meet the demands for food for a population of 11-16 billion.
Biodiversity
McGrady-Steed, J., et. al., “Biodiversity Regulates Ecosystem Predictability,” Nature 390, no. 6656 (13 November 1997): 162-165.
Consistency and stability in an ecosystem is directly linked to its biodiversity. “By manipulating biodiversity in aquatic microbial communities one process, ecosystem respiration, is shown to become more predictable as biodiversity increases. Nonlinear effects of biodiversity on the decomposition of particulate organic matter and resistance of communities to invasion indicate that different species have redundant functions...”
Liability
Mitchell, Elizabeth A. “Analysis and Perspective: Liability for Contaminated Land.” International Environmental Reporter, 12 November 1997: 1062-1064.
This article discusses the powers of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gained under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to enforce clean up of contaminated areas. It looks at the different clean up efforts employed in Europe, Central and South America, and Asia-Pacific Regions. Most seem to favor the “polluter pays” principle, but none seem to be as strict as CERCLA.
Test Methods
“Tracing Organic Contaminants in Groundwater: A New Methodology Using Compound-Specific Isotopic Analysis.” Environmental Science & Technology 31, No.11 (November 1997):3193-3197.
The low concentrations (ppm to ppb) typical of organic pollutants dissolved in groundwater have been a major factor limiting the application of stable isotope tracing techniques atcontaminated field sites. In this study, pentane extraction of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and the xylene isomers (BTEX) from water is shown to be an excellent means of resolving this problem and preparing low concentration samples for carbon isotope analysis using high sensitivity gas chromatograph/combustion/isotope ration mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS). The results of the study suggest that isotope analysis may be a valuable tool for identification of contaminant origin in well-constrained field situations.
