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This thesis studies the issues on sustainability with nonrenewable resources and on practical problem with environment: regulation to control pollution. The first essay proves the converse of Hartwick's rule with general production function. Hartwick's rule shows that if one reinvests all the rents from nonrenewable resource, then constant sustainable consumption can be maintained. This ensures intergenerational equity. The converse of Hartwick's rule is proved by directly solving ordinary differential equations. It means the constant consumption must imply the total reinvesting of the rents from the exhaustible resource, and so the Hartwick's rule prescribes the unique sustainable policy. / In the second essay, Rawls' "just saving principle" is fonnulated with a model for constant utility in an intergenerational allocation framework. A term comparing consumption of adjacent generations is added to the utility function. The model is analyzed in the context of optimal control theory. In a two-sector economy, consumption growth is incorporated with equity. This property removes the disadvantage that a society starting out poor will be in such poverty forever, which is inherent in the model of constant consumption with nonrenewable resources. Different forms of generalized Hartwick's Rule are obtained. Optimal consumption path is characterized to achieve the highest utility. / The third essay investigates the optimal emission tax schemes for oligopolistic firms with differentiated goods. In the model, pollution stock creates disutility on social welfare. Firms play dynamic games against themselves, trying to maximize the long-run profit given the tax rules and their opponents' behavior. Open-loop and Markov Nash Equilibria are studied. The model is analyzed with optimal control theory and differential game theory. Time-independent tax rules are shown to exist that guide polluting oligopolists to produce along socially optimum path. For linear market demand and quadratic damage function, the tax rules are shown to be linear in the pollution stock. Numerical examples show that even the polluting firm can receive subsidy at the periods when initial pollution stock is low. The optimal tax in general is dependent on the current pollutant stock. The results shed a light on policy making of the related market structure.

No description available.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000

This study aimed to investigate various aspects of cyclist exposure to common urban air pollutants, including CO, PM10, PM2.5, PM1.0 and UFPs. The initial part of the study compared cyclist exposure to that of other transport modes, while the second part addressed the implications of route choice. The final part analysed the effect of proximity to traffic. Data was collected in Christchurch and Auckland cities over a nine week period, with a total of 53 inter-modal and 7 separate cyclist sampling runs completed. Mobile sampling was conducted using a collection of instruments in four portable kits. Fixed-site meteorological data was used to find associations between pollutants and temperature and wind speed. Spatial patterns were also considered by means of time-series comparative graphs and colour-coded pollutant concentration GPS mapping. The cyclist mode was up to 61% less exposed than the car for primary pollutants (CO and UFPs), but up to 26% more exposed for PM1.0-10. The bus was generally the most exposed for all pollutants apart from CO. The effect of route choice was substantial, with the off-road cyclist route recording a reduction of 31% for CO and PM1.0, and 53% for UFPs while PM10 was 6%. At a distance of 7 m from traffic, exposure dropped by 30% (UFPs), 22% (CO) and 14% (PM2.5). At 19 m, concentrations decreased a further 17%, 13% and 8%, respectively. When moving much further away from traffic (~700 m), the effect was far less pronounced and no difference was observed for CO past 19 m. Conclusions suggest that for most pollutants studied, the cyclist mode faces much lower exposure than other modes, especially when traveling through backstreets and cycle tracks. Significant exposure reductions can also be made when only a very small distance away from traffic emissions. This has positive implications for health, sustainable city planning and active-mode transport promotion.

Exposure to traffic pollution has become an increasing concern to public health. A number of studies have demonstrated that the air people breathe in while in transportation is particularly unsafe due to the high concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), suspended particles (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1) and ultrafine particles (UFPs). Some studies have suggested that peak exposures of approximately one hour- a typical time spent in a transport micro-environment- may have more damaging health effects than the 24- hour sampling times current standards apply to Despite the widespread interest in health effects from exposure to traffic pollutants, there is a distinct lack of research of this kind in New Zealand. The research presented in this thesis was designed to assess the effect of traffic emissions on personal exposure. More specifically, this project intended to examine how exposures differed on different modes of transport and also to investigate the extent to which transport micro-environments such as car parks, bus stops and metro stations contributed to personal exposure levels. This study is the first of its type in New Zealand, which simultaneously monitored CO, PM and UFP concentrations in the transport micro-environment. Vehicular traffic emissions were shown to be a significant source of air pollution in populated urban areas, especially in the transport microenvironment. This results of this study showed that the mode of transport is a significant determinant of personal exposure to pollutants. The information gathered indicated slightly different results for Christchurch and Auckland, possibly due to variations in background levels, traffic counts and meteorological conditions at the time of monitoring. Results from the research also showed that built transport microenvironments could experience extremely high levels of pollutant exposures. Although commuters spend a relatively short time in such environments, such short-term peak exposures could contribute significantly to adverse health effects. The results presented here have relevance for both public health and for policies aimed at reducing human exposures to traffic-related air pollution. It is imperative to incorporate policies which ensure that such built environments are as safe as possible in terms of keeping exposure levels at a minimum.

Australia has a widespread and significant incidence of land and water contamination, which can lead to economic, trade, ecosystem and human health impacts. Over the past 20 years the problem has been growing and there is also a growing realization of the extent of the problem. The installation of monitoring network is pivotal for understanding the groundwater hydraulics and subsurface contamination. At the same time the process is expensive. The systematic study of the subsurface system with the available scanty data regarding the groundwater flow and the subsurface contamination can help us to arrive at the optimum monitoring network design for effective site characterization.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2007. / Bibliography: leaves 172-182.

Thesis (M.S. - Hydrology and Water Resources)--University of Arizona, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-55).