No description available.

No description available.

A unique characteristic of Earth is that it is the only planet in the solar system where water is known to exist. Seventy one percent of the earth is comprised of water with the largest body of water being the ocean. Everyone is very dependent on this water source and therefore, it becomes important, if not vital, to protect the ocean from unnecessary pollutants. Unfortunately, as the presence of manmade vessels in the ocean has increased it has become very difficult and costly to protect the ocean and prevent it from becoming polluted. One particular industry that has been heavily criticized for their disposal of waste into the ocean is the cruise ship industry. Although, there are many vessels that dispose of waste into the ocean this is an industry that has been surrounded by a lot of controversy regarding this issue. This may be attributed to the vast number of cruise vessels traveling in the ocean, making this industry a very visible one to the public. This thesis will examine the effect of the cruise ship industry on the ocean and if current laws are regulating this industry in a sufficient manner. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze these regulations in order to determine whether the government must place more stringent regulations on the cruise ship industry. It will examine the growth of the cruise ship industry in relation to the implementation of new guidelines to keep up with this growth. It will also analyze the current enforcement of these regulations to determine if the cruise ship industry is complying with current laws. This thesis will explain whether the government is doing all it can to protect the ocean or if the government needs to take a more active role in implementing new regulations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:53:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 QUEREN HAAMONAI SANTOS DA SILVA.pdf: 1839585 bytes, checksum: e87373a19afc13fac0e6123bdb351583 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-21 / This study analyzed the quality of the water consumed by the population of the 18 municipalities that make up the northern region of the state of Goiás, Brazil. Chemical analyzes were performed multielement (ICP-OES method) of the material collected in the Water Treatment Plants (WTP). From the results, we constructed a correlation matrix defining the geochemical associations. The analysis of integrated data revealed the presence of high concentrations (1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd order) of chemical elements and chemical compounds, respectively, Ba, Ca, Cl, Fe, Mg, Mn, Sr, Zn, SO4 and NO3. Visits were carried out in the cities studied ETAs, to check the type of water treatment, and evaluate possible environmental exposure. We stress the importance of this study as multielement disclosure about the quality of drinking water in the state of Goiás, emphasizing the multistakeholder nature of government agencies, civil society, in order to guide policy strategies to promote the quality of drinking water, as well as the preservation of water sources. / O presente trabalho analisou-se a qualidade da água consumida pela população dos 18 municípios que compõem a região norte do Estado de Goiás, Brasil. O objetivo atingido foi a classificação dos elementos químicos segundo a ordem de significância e o seu potencial de toxicidade. Pelas análises químicas multielementares (método ICP- OES) do material coletado nas Estações de Tratamento de Água (ETAs). A partir dos resultados, foi construída uma matriz de correlação definindo as associações geoquímicas. A analise integrada dos dados revelou a presença de altas concentrações (1º, 2º e 3º ordem) dos elementos químicos e compostos químicos, respectivamente, Ba, Ca, Cl, Fe, Mg, Mn, Sr, Zn, SO4 e NO3. Foram realizadas visitas nas ETAs dos municípios estudados, para verificação do tipo de tratamento da água, e avaliar uma possível exposição ambiental. Ressalta-se a importância deste estudo como divulgação sobre a qualidade multielementar da água potável, no Estado de Goiás, enfatizando o caráter multiparticipativo de órgãos governamentais, sociedade civil, de modo a orientar as estratégias políticas a fim de promover a qualidade da água potável, assim como a preservação dos mananciais.

Water quality issues in the Leon River watershed in Texas exemplify the challenges water resource managers and the public face in the ongoing effort to improve water quality in our nation’s water bodies. Some pollutant sources are difficult to regulate and likely managed through non-regulatory means, such as voluntary action. The Leon River challenge is how to go beyond regulations to address the concerns of citizens and produce options they want to develop and implement voluntarily that address a common good. This dissertation argues that voluntary measures work only if those who must take action support the action, otherwise conflict can occur. Thus, it is critical to learn what people are willing to do to promote the public good (e.g., swimmable streams). This can be achieved through an effective public process. Public participation processes may have barriers that impede success, such as inadequate access, intimidation, competing interests, limited accountability, and scientific mistrust. This dissertation developed process enhancements to overcome these barriers based on documented public participation principles. This research tested whether specific enhancements can improve the quality of a public process and achieve desired process outcomes. This dissertation reports on quasi-experiments with stakeholders making actual environmental decisions. The findings suggest that these enhancements are capable of reducing conflict and reducing the time to produce environmental policy. Five process enhancements (representation, film, narratives, deliberative decision-making, and decision support) were put into operation to provide options for government agencies and stakeholders to consider when undertaking public participation processes. The lack of access can be avoided by giving stakeholders voice with representation through different types of meetings levels (e.g., focus groups and town hall meetings). Films, when captured, edited, and shown to others, can remove the mechanisms typically associated with the intimidation perceived by speakers during discussions. Narratives were used to collect information about stakeholders to develop a deeper understanding of the diversity of interests affected by a policy, avoiding gridlock from positional bargaining. Deliberative decision-making (no voting) can assure stakeholders have real and equitable decision-making power, with scenarios collaboratively developed that address the common good. Application of a decision support system (DSS) as an overlay to a scientific model can provide stakeholders direct access to science so they can develop scenarios, evaluate alternatives, and choose solutions. / text

Water quality has been an issue of concern since the settlement of man and continues to be of great concern today in many locations around the world. In the United States, to address the issues of water pollution, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972. This study examines the implementation and prioritization of impaired water bodies listed on the Illinois CWA section 303(d) list between 1992 and 2004. This study used the Delphi survey method to obtain opinions from water quality/management experts that reside in the state of Illinois. The goal of this study was to determine if a consensus could be reached amongst water quality experts on the severity of individual water pollutants for a given designated use of a water body by assigning weights, determining if any prioritization trends exist within the current Illinois 303(d) process, as well as identifying any shortcomings of the process and suggesting possible modes of improvement. The survey identified four major shortcomings of Illinois' current approach to water quality management: 1) limited funding and manpower, 2) lack of coordination/monitoring, 3) failure to regulate point sources, and 4) lack of biological monitoring. The survey respondents indicated that the entire state needs attention in terms of water quality improvement and that agriculture and urban runoff are the most important sources of water pollution and water body impairment. They rated the current prioritization system as being between "average" and "good" and identified that development of a weighting scheme could be feasible as long as it received adequate funding and adequate stakeholder support. The measure of consensus among respondents regarding weights for individual pollutants and designated uses varied significantly; however, the overwhelming majority of consensus values improved after participants were asked to revise their original responses in an effort to move towards central tendency in the distribution of assigned ranks.

付記する学位プログラム名: グローバル生存学大学院連携プログラム / 京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第21057号 / 工博第4421号 / 新制||工||1687(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 寶 馨, 教授 田中 茂信, 准教授 佐山 敬洋 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires thermal power generating facilities to minimize adverse environmental impact resulting from the operation of cooling water intake structures (CWIS). Adverse environmental impact can occur when aquatic organisms are impinged on traveling water screens. Modified traveling screens were developed to improve the post-impingement survival of organisms. These screens have been used at a few power plants and are now being considered at additional facilities to reduce the mortality of juvenile and adult fish. Existing biological efficacy data show that post-impingement survival is highly variable by species. The majority of previous installations are at estuarine facilities. As such, there is a lack of biological efficacy data with many of the freshwater species commonly impinged at CWIS. In addition, most of the existing modified screen installations were installed prior to 1990. Since that time, improvements in screen designs have increased survival. For these reasons, the existing biological efficacy of the new screen designs was limited and largely unknown for many freshwater species. The mortality, injury, and scale loss rates of 10 species of freshwater fish impinged and recovered with a modified traveling screen were evaluated in the laboratory. Species tested included: golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas); fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas); white sucker (Catostomus commersoni); bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus); channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus); hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis); bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus); largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides); yellow perch (Perca flavescens); and freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens). Fish were impinged at 0.3, 0.6, or 0.9 m•s-1 velocity. Mortality, injury, and scale loss rates were generally low. Mortality rates did not exceed 5% for any species and velocity tested, indicating that this technology has potential to substantially reduce impingement mortality at CWIS. Despite a general trend toward increasing mortality at higher velocities, velocity was only a significant factor in the mortality of bluegill (P=0.0005). Injury and scale loss rates were low for most species tested, although they were more variable than observed rates of mortality. There was a trend toward lower mortality, injury, and scale loss in larger fish. In all cases where fish length was a significant factor (P<0.05), the pattern of decreasing mortality, injury, and scale loss as fish increased in length was constantly observed. Additional tests were undertaken with channel catfish, fathead minnow, and golden shiner to assess the effect of duration of impingement on mortality, injury, and scale loss. Longer durations of impingement appeared to result in higher mortality, injury, and scale loss, especially at durations of impingement greater than 6 minutes. However, longer durations of impingement could be avoided at most cooling water intake structures by continuously rotating screens.

No description available.

No description available.