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There has been increasing recognition of the important role that aerosols such as black carbon (BC) play in influencing net climate forcing, in particular the high rates of warming in the Arctic, and there is significant interest in reducing BC emissions. In order to assess mitigation options, there is a need for a better understanding of how current air quality policies designed for particulate matter reductions affect BC emissions and for the development of improved BC specific marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves. Using data from the United States (US), we assess the effects of existing air quality regulations on projected BC emissions (diesel fuel regulations in particular are already having significant effects). We also identify key US-specific abatement strategies and present MAC curves for further reducing BC emissions from two key US sources. This analysis may serve to inform similar research on BC mitigation in other regions and sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on natural resource management in the Russian Far North. The Russian Far North has very harsh climatic conditions and is relatively sparsely settled. Sustainable economic development in this region depends largely on the production and consumption of electricity and the production and processing of natural gas, oil, coal, gold, diamonds, and so on. With a reliable fuel and energy base and a socioeconomic return on measures that are carried out, it makes sense to invest resources in developing the region's industrial sector to create a habitat more suitable for human life. Federal and regional decisions concerning natural resource development in the Far North should be based on a thorough analysis of regional ecological conditions in order to minimize the anthropogenic environmental load and to seek efficient ways of managing mineral resources.