Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were sampled from a creek in the western Sierra Nevada, Plumas County, CA, that receives run-off from a 40-ha copper (Cu) tailings pile. Reference sites included a site upstream of the Cu input and another site located on a nearby creek. Hepatic Cu concentrations were significantly elevated in trout from sites with elevated dissolved Cu concentrations compared with concentrations in trout from reference sites. Trout at the Cu-contaminated sites also exhibited decreased hematocrit (Hct), leukocrit (Lct), and percentage of lymphocytes in blood compared to trout from reference sites. The percentage of monocytes in blood and respiratory burst activity were affected by gender and age, respectively. Condition factor, percentage of neutrophils in blood, muscle glycogen and protein, and plasma acetylcholinesterase were not affected by dissolved Cu concentration or gender. Age also did not appear to be a factor. The data from this study support the use of immune system parameters to assess alterations in salmonids experiencing prolonged exposure to low-level Cu contamination and illustrate the variability in physiological responses of wild fish caused by demographic features. Overall, of the parameters measured, Hct, Lct, and percentage of lymphocytes in blood appeared to offer robust measures for assessing effects of metals on wild fish and did not appear affected by select demographic features.

Background: Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from inefficient biomass and coal stoves kills nearly 4 million people every year worldwide. HAP is an environmental risk associated with poverty that affects an estimated 3 billion people mostly in low- and middle-income countries. Objectives: Our goal was to estimate the number of low-income Americans exposed to potentially health-damaging concentrations of HAP. Methods: We mapped county-level data for the percentage of households using wood, coal, and/or coke as their primary heating fuel along with percent of the population below the federal poverty level. Using U.S. Census data and the likelihood of fugitive emissions as reported in the literature, we estimated the number of low-income Americans potentially exposed to HAP. Results: Solid fuel is the primary heating source for > 2.5 million U.S. households, or 6.5 million people. The mapping exercise showed several rural areas, primarily in the northern and western regions, that have high levels of solid-fuel use and poverty. We then identified 117 counties with high co-incident poverty and solid-fuel use as high-priority counties for research into potential health risks from HAP. We estimate that between 500,000 and 600,000 low-income people in the United States are likely exposed to HAP from burning solid fuels within their homes. Conclusion: HAP occurs within the United States and should be further investigated for adverse health risks, especially among those living in areas with rural poverty.

Bibliography: leaves 219-230. / Agroforestry (the incorporation of woody perennials into crop production and animal husbandry systems) is placed within the rural development context at the local and national scales, and its potential role in attaining sustainable rural development evaluated. It is suggested as an appropriate response to social economic and ecological problems in the study area (located in KwaBiyela, a northern part of the former 'homeland' of KwaZulu), with potential applications for South Africa in general. A diagnostic survey of 90 households applying a questionnaire of open-ended design, and conducted within the Diagnosis and Design framework of the International Council for Research in Agroforestry, has established that problems exist in all farm production subsystems (cash, savings/investment, food production, energy, shelter, and raw materials) in the study area. The findings include an overwhelmingly positive response towards agroforestry. Recommendations for agroforestry implementation are formulated based on the results of the diagnostic survey, taking into consideration information relating to the functioning of the local society and economy. Importantly, these recommendations consist of agroforestry components which are flexible, can be combined in a number of ways as extensions of current farming practices, and pay particular attention to the utilisation of locally available resource, familiar to the people of the study area, to solve local problems. In this way, the adaptability and survivability of recommended practices is enhanced. In conclusion the requirements for the development of agroforestry in South Africa are discussed in the light of the structural transition currently under way in the country.

The consequences of poor water quality on urban aquatic ecosystems have been well established by researchers worldwide. Stormwater management in the urban areas of South Africa predominately focuses on the collection and diversion of runoff into the nearest receiving water body, with little acknowledgement of the impacts on the environment. The City of Cape Town Metropolitan municipality is an authoritative entity on Cape Town pollution and has acknowledged that polluted stormwater is a significant contributor to the deterioration of its' urban aquatic ecosystems due to the persistence of conventional drainage systems. Small urban wetlands are often overwhelmed by the quality of stormwater and urban runoff. Thus water bodies receiving urban stormwater runoff often have elevated loadings of pollutants. In theory wetlands are capable of treating these pollutants and improving water quality through various ecosystem services, but understanding the performance of wetlands under varying conditions is difficult to determine. In South Africa, there is a paucity of studies focussing on the impacts of urban development on small, urban wetlands and thus their ability to provide ecosystem services. This study aimed to identify the surface water quality of Princess Vlei, a small urban wetland, over the past 8 years, and establish the ingress and outflow of the wetland. The pollutant concentrations within the wetland were best explained by the predictor variables of total rainfall and progression of time. Impacts of total rainfall differed with various parameters resulting in larger volumes of water entering the wetland either diluting pollutant concentrations or elevating pollutant concentrations. These inverse trends were proved through the significant correlations found between total rainfall and COD and total rainfall and EC, while the variable of time influenced the wetland's ability to provide ecosystem services, either through the accumulation, retention or flushing of pollutants. The accumulation of pollutants over time was identified through the increasing concentrations off COD and PO₄³⁻, with the exception of NH₃-N that decreased over time. This implies that the wetland was able to assimilate the NH₃-N but not the COD and PO₄³⁻. The results did not suggest that the wetland was able to treat the water, as the literature emphasises, rather, confirmed the pervasive impacts of the urban catchment on the ability of ecosystem services to treat water quality in the wetland.

Includes bibliographical references. / There are neither historical nor current baseline information relating to the productivity of the OFCA veld and a definite link between the current crisis and the possibly that it is suffering from the effects of having farmed the OFCA veld into a state of durable suboptimal productivity remains to be conclusively established. This current study has been undertaken in order to investigate such a possible link, and to reach a more definite conclusion with regards to the contribution of negative environmental feedback which may have arisen from commercial farming. Specifically, the study investigates the relationship between commercial livestock grazing regimes, possible associated resource degradation (losses in veld productivity and adverse structuring of botanical communities due to livestock grazing effects), and the current productive crisis within the sector.

Bibliography: leaves 23-27.

Includes bibliographical references. / The precipitation of iron from aquifer water in boreholes is a problem in the Klein Karoo region of South Africa. The precipitation causes boreholes to clog and limits full use of well fields in the area. The iron is naturally occurring and this project sets out to identify the lithological source of the iron and in what form the iron is presented. The Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifer is a fractured rock aquifer situated in the TMG and rock samples were taken from the various lithologies in the area.

Includes bibliographical references. / This dissertation evaluates the current array of [market-based instruments] MBIs that use existing markets to promote industrial energy efficiency in South Africa. The MBIs identified in this regard are the additional investment and energy efficiency allowances available under s12I and s12L of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, the electricity levy implemented under the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, Eskom's Demand Side Management (DSM) programme and NERSA's proposed Cogeneration Feed-in Tariff (COFIT) programme. The latter three MBIS are incorporated into the recent attempt to make electricity prices more 'cost reflective' along with Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) costs and the cost of capital to fund the new build programme.

Includes bibliographical references. / Since the end of white minority rule in southern Africa in the 1990s, transfrontier conservation initiatives have become the dominant conservation strategy in the region and have received international support. This dissertation focuses on the Kavango Zambezi TFCA involving Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The general objectives of TFCAs - conservation of biodiversity, socio-economic and tourism development and peaceful political cooperation - have been under scrutiny. Literature has paid attention to these TFCAs because of the promises made by supporters of these initiatives on the one hand, and reports and experiences on the ground that suggests that there are political and economic interests in TFCAs, on the other hand. Critical literature has highlighted the effects of TFCAs on local populations. This dissertation addresses two research questions, the first being the rationale for Angola's involvement in the Kavango Zambezi TFCA initiative and the country's modes of participation. Second, it seeks to highlight the place of local communities in this initiative and how it affects these populations.

Bibliography: leaves 63-66. / This paper reports on a literature-based survey of the theory and practise of life-cycle assessment (LCA) in the car manufacturing industry. Three levels of investigation were conducted, ranging from a broad industry scan, to a focus on four exemplary practitioners of LCA: DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, Volvo and BMW who becomes the subject of a detailed scan. Only 4 of the 21 companies surveyed in the broad scan are practising LCA. A greater proportion of car manufacturers must practise LCA if the industry hopes to achieve the UNEP challenge of enhancing car life-cycle ecoefficieny.