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The article presents a reprint of a planning document for the 2008 Olympic Games on energy consumption and environmental protection jointly issued by the Beijing, China city government and the Beijiing Olympic Games Organizing Committee and posted on the latter's Web site on October 19, 2002. Plans to reduce the city's energy consumption, particularly its use of coal, to meet environmental standards for conducting the Olympics are outlined.

The article presents a reprint of a planning document on environmental engineering and pollution control for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China posted on the host city organizing committee's Web site on July 13, 2002. Overall goals for the reduction of water and air pollution in the city are stated. Standards for automobile emissions are set. Plans by major industries to reduce pollutant output are cited.

The article presents a reprint of the environmental regulations issued by Beijing, China to meet environmental standards needed for the city's hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games. The city's commitment to a "green" Olympics is stressed. A broad overview of environmental conditions is given. Goals for reduction in air and water pollution are set, and plans for the reduction of automobile emissions and industrial pollutants before and during the Games are announced.

The article focuses on the views of transportation planning practitioners, and stakeholders on environmental justice in transportation planning and policy in the Baltimore-Washington region in Washington D.C. It mentions that examination of the practitioners' views on the issue is important since policy makers are struggling to balance humanistic, and environmental issues of transportation planning, and policy. It presents an overview of the evolution of equity, and public participation in planning, and policy, and the analyzes the remarks of group of stakeholders on the issue.

Human-wildlife interactions occur regularly at the fringes of urban development. These encounters are meaningful experiences for humans, who react in a variety of ways. The encounters tend to have an impact on the individual animal, as well. The natural resources administrative community in Los Angeles works constantly on several different aspects of controlling this interaction, but often the encounters spill over into residential neighborhoods. People living near the urban/wildlife boundaries often appreciate the opportunity for encounters but also the management techniques that promote safety. This article explores the developing administrative knowledge and theory of human-wildlife interactions on the urban fringe, blending in a discussion of the mythic understandings of human-wildlife encounters. The aim is to add a dimension to our understanding of a phenomenon of increasing frequency and concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the environmental conditions of the river communities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He states that the rivers were the back alleys of big industrial plants for so long that people moved as far from the riverbanks as they could. He adds that despite the improvement of water quality in the area in the late 1970s and 1980s with the closing of steel mills, the city still faces problems when it rains hard since its sewer pipes cannot hold both waste and storm water.

Policy-makers are increasingly interested in the wider ramifications of sporting events, including the environmental impacts of event visitation. This paper demonstrates how two separate though related methodologies were used to inform conclusions on the economic and environmental impacts related to event visitation. The approaches used to assess the case event were environmental input-output tables and ecological footprint analysis. Combining these tools provided valuable insights into a series of economic and environmental impacts, together with an appreciation of the global significance of average visitor consumption patterns associated with a high profile event, the 2004 Football Association (FA) Cup Final. The paper demonstrates how these tools can be used to provide valuable intelligence for policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal comfort of people in naturally ventilated environments was examined in a field study in Shanghai, China, in which over 1814 office workers responded to a questionnaire while simultaneous physical measurements were taken. The paper explores whether it is justifiable to use the predicted mean vote (PMV) model to predict inhabitants' thermal sensations. Participants cast votes on standard subjective thermal rating scales and these were correlated with temperature indices that variously account for the thermal impacts of humidity, radiant temperature, air velocity and clothing levels. It was found that the actual mean thermal sensation is lower than the PMV, i.e. about 0.64PMV. The upper boundary of operative temperature is about 29°C which is outside of the current American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard comfort zone (ASHRAE 55-2004), but lower than the temperature of the upper 80% acceptable limit calculated using an adaptive model (30.1°C). This suggests that people residing in this hot area have adapted to its climate and their expectations for comfort allow them to endure heat better than expected. Le confort thermique des personnes travaillant et vivant dans des environnements ventilés naturellement a été examiné dans le cadre d'une étude de terrain menée à Shanghai (Chine). Mille huit cent quatorze employés de bureau ont répondu à un questionnaire pendant que dans le même temps on relevait des mesures physiques. L'auteur de cet article se demande s'il est justifié d'utiliser le modèle du vote moyen prévisible (PMV) pour prévoir les sensations thermiques des habitants. Les participants ont voté sur la base d'échelles de classement thermique subjectives standard et les résultats ont été comparés aux indices thermiques qui, de manière variable, entrent en ligne de compte dans l'impact thermique de l'humidité, de la température rayonnante, de la vitesse de l'air et des niveaux d'habillement. Il s'est avéré que la sensation thermique moyenne réelle est inférieure au PMV, c'est-à-dire environ 0,64 PMV. La limite supérieure de la température opérative est d'environ 29°C, c'est-à-dire en dehors de la zone de confort standard de la norme de l'American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE 55-2004), mais inférieure à la température de la limite supérieure acceptable à 80% calculée au moyen d'un modèle d'adaptation (30,1°C). Cela laisse à penser que les personnes résidant dans une région chaude s'adaptent au climat et que leurs attentes en matière de confort leur permettent de mieux résister que prévu à la chaleur. Mots-clés : comportement adaptatif, attente, ventilation naturelle, vote moyen prévisible (PMV), confort thermique [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among industrialized countries, Japan still maintains an old set of guidelines for particulate matter (PM); therefore, we assessed the public health impacts of PM exposure in various situations using data from the Tokyo metropolitan area. Subjects were 7.8 million people aged older than 30 years. Based on a linear relationship between exposure and health effects, we estimated attributable cases of mortality caused by PM. Even at the recent exposure level, the number of deaths will occur after both short- and long-term exposure. When the guideline for PM2.5 (particles <2.5 μm in diameter) long-term exposure was set at 12 μg/m3, we could prevent 8% of all causes mortality or 6,700 deaths in the Tokyo metropolitan area per year. This assessment shows that guidelines for long-term exposure, especially for PM2.5, should be recommended in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicine employs an approach to diagnose, give a prognosis, and develop a treatment for human patients. Specific signs and symptoms determined from medical examinations, laboratory tests, and patient history are utilized to predict the outcome of a potential pathological disorder. Utilizing a strategy similar to the medical examination, the status of ecosystems can be examined. To demonstrate this concept a “patient” case study of the Gulf of Mexico is described. The diagnosis of potential abnormalities within the Gulf of Mexico was conducted by examining field indicators including sediment chemistry and tissue chemistry (field examinations), sediment toxicity (laboratory testing), and a benthic index (patient history and existing symptoms). Based on the diagnosis (ecological assessment), a prognosis for the Gulf of Mexico was determined and specific areas that are impacted by stressors were identified for more detailed assessments. Pensacola Bay was identified as such an area impacted by stressors. The case study example demonstrates that a medical approach of “diagnosis and prognosis” can be utilized as a strategy to help identify stressors, develop a successful treatment plan, and prevent future ecosystem degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental inequities discerned on the basis of cross-sectional analysis are often portrayed as an outcome of inconsiderate or outright malicious facility-siting. However, a discussion of the evolution of spatial proximity between noxious facilities and residential areas suggests such proximity is an outcome of more complex processes-though often unrecognised in time. By analysing the pattern of environmental conflicts in the Tel-Aviv metropolitan region and following the evolution of five of them, it is shown that many conflicts arise from encroachment of residential development upon facilities originally sited in remote areas. In the past, this has led to the exit of some of the more noxious facilities. However, this option is becoming obsolete as a result of changes in social and political arrays. Thus, the real concerns are over future siting decisions rather than past practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on pollution control of small-scale industries (SSI) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Reasons why SSIs have little opportunity to install waste treatment facilities; How environmental authorities of Ho Chi Minh City embarked on a program to relocate polluting enterprises towards industrial zones on the outskirts of the city.

Investigates the impacts of climate variability and change on the New York City metropolitan region. Regional climate and potential change; Barriers to climate change responses; Linking future climate change to present-day urban environmental management. INSET: Coastal Communities and Ecosystems in 2050.

An emission inventory based on GIS technology was developed in this study, and used to estimate the spatial distribution of the stationary and mobile sources in the urban area of Beijing. The stationary sources were divided into various types of finer classes depending on different usage, stack height and emission factors. The mobile sources were treated as both line sources and area sources. It was shown that total anthropogenic CO and NO[SUBx] emissions had reached 1.4 million and 233 thousand tons, respectively, and vehicle sources emissions of CO and NO[SUBx] accounted for 76.8% and 40.2%, respectively, of the total emissions in 1995. ISCST3, a Gaussian dispersion air quality model, was modified at low wind speed condition, and then used to facilitate the study of source contributions to ambient concentrations of CO and NO[SUBx] in Beijing. The simulation results showed that emissions from the vehicle sources had contributed 76.5% and 68.4% of the total CO and NO[SUBx] concentrations in urban atmosphere of Beijing in 1995, and were even higher in the city core (86.3% of the CO and 72.0% of the NO[SUBx]). Therefore, strategies for CO and NO[SUBx] pollution control will of necessity need to focus on the vehicle sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The scope for compensating for environmental loss or degradation with some form of balancing environmental gain (such as habitat creation) has attracted critical attention from conservationists and policy makers. However, it is increasingly apparent that concentrating on technical skills, and adopting a linear analytical framework, disguise the range of social processes at work. Engaging in environmental compensation is, almost inevitably, a process of considerable ecological, evaluative and institutional transformation. Moreover, taking increasing control of this process through detailed management may accelerate the transformation of nature into 'capital'. These arguments are developed through a case-study of Cardiff Bay, where the implementation of habitat creation compensating for the loss of inter-tidal mud flats became linked to the implementation of the European Habitats Directive, a policy lever which served to both intensify and rationalize these transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For political reasons Spain’s Costa del Sol had until recently presented a classic example of reactive coastal management. The 1988 Coasts Act introduced a more proactive approach, but its management still lacks a scientific classification of the coastline upon which to base coastal policy. Such an overgeneralized delineation of the coastal domain generally ignores the variations in physical and socioeconomic variables and is likely to lead to oversimplified management practices. Against the background of the policies adopted over the past 50 years, this article presents an index that delineates different degrees of sensitivity of the coastline of the Costa del Sol. A geographical information system (GIS) approach is adopted in the construction of the index that recognizes that coastal vulnerability is equally a function of physical processes and human activities. Four physical (lithology, landforms, river discharge, marine processes) and two anthropomorphic (population growth, urbanization) components are incorporated, and the results are applied to produce a broadly based measure for policy making in southern Spain that also has applicability in other coastal situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the impact of wastedump resulting from the phosphate ore dressing near the Mahamead Village in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt, on the surrounding environment. Study site; Characterization of the wastedump ecosystem; Effect on the surrounding soil; Effect on groundwater quality; Metal solubility in the sediment, soil and phosphate ore samples.

Shows that the effects of poverty are the chief cause of environmental degradation. Relationship between national income and urban environmental indicators; Examination of conditions in the households and neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana, Jakarta, Indonesia and Sao Paolo, Brazil. INSETS: Comparing household water quality in Accra, Jakarta, and Sao..;Community organizations and local environmental management in...

Presents several news briefs about the environment as of October 1987. Community effort to reclaim land damaged by logging and mining in Sudbury, Ontario; A dragonfly sanctuary in Japan; Salmon net-pens spawn revolt in Washington State. More briefs.

Examines the interaction between public, press and local government in relation to a decision to pump sewage out to sea in Durban, South Africa. Controversy over the issue; Concerns raised by environmentalists and residents; Role of the press in catalyzing and maintaining public concern over the sludge pumping experiment.

Forecasts to the end of the century on the future use of resources and the future generation of various pollutants as a result of different proportions of the use of private automobiles and public transportation are made. The effects are extended to supporting industries such as steel, cement and coal. Relative transportation pollution costs for an urban area are modelled. It is shown that even a 50% diversion of automobile commuting to bus commuting would not have a dramatic effect on overall resource utilization and pollution, but would have a marked effect on the heavy pollution costs of central cities. A system of road-use charges is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented which discusses reports on thermal comfort in high-density cities, local urban ventilation, and urban geometry.

The article focuses on articles published in different journals that deal with different subjects such as city planning and land use. It states that in an article that deals with the topic of city planning asserts that a city should not be compared to an organism with a predictable rate of growth. It also implies that urban evolution is a combination of tradition and innovation which continuously takes place in the development of a city. It tells that the bus rapid transit (BRT) system known as TransMilenio has been effective towards the creation of a suitable traffic system in Bogota, Colombia. Moreover, another article on the topic of land use says that environmental sustainability is evident in the well-defined zoning ordinance of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The article discusses the situation of Ellicott City in Maryland which has suffered and been devastated in the hands of storms and flash floods several times since 1768 with most recent rainfall and flooding cases occurring on July 2016 and May 27, 2018. Topics discussed include the city being named "Flood City, USA", details regarding flash floods and their occurrence and meteorological aspects of the city.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles within the issue on topics including mesoscale weather forecasting, natural disaster relief efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and volunteers and efforts to address air pollution problems in Beijing, China.

The article offers several information related to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is located in the Delaware Valley, at the juncture of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania. Topics include humid subtropical conditions and distinct seasons experienced by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; information on rainfall as well as snowfall in Philadelphia; and an information that the U.S. met in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Acne is one complex skin disorders, which can lead to adverse psychological effects. Multiple factors are correlated with risk of acne and several treatments have been explored. The prevalence and risk factors are suspected to be varied in different populations with different genetic backgrounds and lifestyle. Therefore, this study investigated the risk factors, psychological impacts and current treatments of acne in Shanghai area of China by a retrospective questionnaire study. This study showed that the subjects with family history (especially paternal history) were prone to develop severe acne (p < 0.001). Besides, patients with severe acne might exhibit more severe psychological disorders (p < 0.001). The most frequently used methods were pharmacological treatments. These results indicate that acne is prone to induce severe psychological disorders, and could be affected by multiple factors. Furthermore, these results provide valuable reference for exploring the preventive measures and treatments of acne in Shanghai area of China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the concept of low-cost best practices for adapting to climate change in communities along the U.S. east coast following major storms. The article discusses information generation, prevention strategies, and the strategy known as retreat in communities such as Lewes, Delaware, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Hampton, New Hampshire. The article states that plans and land use regulations are cost-efficient methods that can be rapidly implemented following a storm.

The article focuses on the weather condition in Seattle, Washington. It states that the city is located in western Washington State and is bounded by the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound, that generate a huge amount of precipitation while bodies of water surrounding the city such as Lake Washington and Puget Sound cause mild summer days and cloudy winters in the city. It adds that only an average of 37 inches of rain fall on the city every year, which is less compared to other cities.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to a series of papers on cities and oil vulnerability in vol. 4, no. 4 issue.

Provides insights into the chemical hazards in Canada brought about by a wreck of a train with a chemical cargo in Mississauga, Ontario. Chemicals that were contained in the train; Impact of the train mishap on the residents of Mississauga; Examination of the extent to which hazardous chemicals affect the society.

Numerous health complaints occur with respect to indoor air quality and scanty information is available on the air flora, particularly with respect to bio-aerosols in India. This paper reports a study which examined air quality in a prominent temple in the city of Mumbai. It was found that the indoor microbial load was significantly higher probably because appropriate ventilation systems were lacking. In the festive month of September, the highest bacterial counts (13.98 × 104 CFU/m3) and fungal counts (9.22 × 104 CFU/m3) were observed. Pseudomonas spp. and Aspergillus spp. were found to be predominant in the air microflora sampled. Correlation analysis with meteorological factors such as temperature, relative humidity and wind speed showed that these were non-significant. The study indicated that poor ventilation, number of occupants and their activities in a given area are largely responsible for the variation in microbial loads observed. The data generated underline the question of monitoring crowded areas including places of religious importance. Some remedial measures are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a study conducted in London, England, which found that riders of London taxis are exposed to more particulate air pollution than in other modes of transportation, such as buses, bicycles and ordinary automobiles. Walking made for the lowest exposure to pollutants. Several factors caused taxis to be ranked as the worst polluters. Scientists pointed out that taxis are on the road much longer than average cars and that exposure comes from sitting in the cabs while stuck in traffic. The study was conducted by scientists from Imperial College, London.

Reports that Favini, an Italian paper manufacturer, is using the algae asphyxiating Venice's lagoon to produce an environmentally friendly paper called alga carta. Purpose of the company's move; Qualities of the paper produced by the company.

The article discusses fungal contamination of 18th and 19th century Spanish easel paintings present in the S. Pío V Museum in Valencia, Spain. Topics discussed include the role of humidity in the presence of fungi, the testing of paintings by artists including Muñoz Degrain, and the environmental conditions of Valencia, Spain.