Group items tagged

"hot spots" of contaminated sediment.

Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, which are often presentin urban runoff, can pose public health problems.

Drains Versus 400 or More Yards Away Found On Hard Copy-Storm Drain Runoff," Epidemiology, July 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4.Metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in urban runoffcan present a threat to aquatic life.

proved to betoxic to sea urchin fertilization in the Santa Monica Bay, anddissolved zinc and copper were determined to be contributors tothis toxicity. -Brown bullheads (a bottom-dwelling catfish) inthe Anacostia River developed tumors that were believed to becaused by PAHs associated in part with urban runoff. High PAHand heavy metal concentrations were found in crayfish tissuesamples from several urban streams in Milwaukee. The studyassociated these contaminants with storm water runoff.

The three primaryactivities used in these programs include efforts to characterizestorm water runoff; BMPs aimed at reducing pollutants in stormwater runoff to the maximum extent practicable; and reportingprogram activities, monitoring results, and costs of implementingthe program. Some BMPs are structural-meaning that they aredesigned to trap and detain runoff until constituents settle orare filtered out.

-good housekeeping" practices by the local government, such asoil collection and recycling, spill response, household andhazardous waste collection, pesticide controls, flood controlmanagement, and street sweeping; -public education programs, suchas storm-drain stenciling, to remind the public that trash, motoroil, and other pollutants thrown into storm drains end up innearby receiving waters;' -new ordinances to control pollutionsources, such as prohibiting the disposal of lawn clippings instorm drains and requiring pet owners to clean up after theirpets;" requirements that developers comply with storm waterregulations and incorporate erosion and sediment controls at allnew development sites; -requirements that runoff from propertiesowned or activities sponsored by the municipality be properlycontrolled; and -efforts to identify and eliminate illicitconnections and illegal discharges to the storm sewer systems,such as those from pipes carrying sewage.

Several officials in the cities we visited said that their annualcosts are likely to increase. A number of factors could affectthe costs. For example, a Baltimore City official explained thatthe anticipated, future program costs depend on several factors,including (1) requirements in watershed- management planscurrently being developed, (2) pollution-reduction goals the citywill be required to achieve, (3) requirements of the stateregulatory agency in future permits, and (4) requirements thecity may have to meet if TMDLs or numeric effluent limits areincorporated into NPDES storm water permits. Other city officialsalso expressed concern about the extent to which TMDLs couldaffect their future costs. These city officials are concernedthat when and if TMDLs are established, their future storm waterpermits may require that storm water runoff meet specific waterquality standards. For example, Los Angeles County's trash TMDLcould potentially drive the county's storm water management costsupward, and the county expects additional TMDLs to be imposed. Onthe other hand, Worcester officials estimated that their futurestorm water costs would be about the same as they were at thetime of our review-about $4.5 million per year.

The burakumin (people of the village) are ethnically the same as the majority of Japanese. However, their ancestors were members of the former outcast class. The burakumin are often treated unfairly.

Shinto is based on the worship of local spirits in nature.

Japan has a rich and complex culture. Native Japanese traditions have been mixed with cultural styles adapted from China and, later, from the West. Japanese culture and art emphasize understated simplicity, elegance, and grace. For example, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, flower arranging, and garden design are highly stylized and refined. On the other hand, contemporary Japanese society fully embraces Western-style popular culture—influenced by television, motion pictures, and advertising.

modern Japanese writers include Soseki Natsume, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, and Yukio Mishima.

Poetry plays a central role in Japanese culture.

The carefully composed paintings used few brush strokes to suggest a scene in nature.

Japanese No plays are generally short, stylized, and heroic.

Today the martial arts are more important as competitive sports and as aids to physical and mental fitness.

The Japanese economy grew remarkably throughout the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.

Historical records, however, show that Japan was not united as one state until the late 4th or early 5th century AD. It was ruled by the Yamato dynasty.

Meanwhile, Japan was developing trade contacts with the outside world.

By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate was unable to keep European and United States traders away.

A new government was established under the young emperor Mutsuhito, who took the name of Meiji, meaning “enlightened government.”

Japan soon sought to build an empire. It successfully fought a war with China (1894–95) and with Russia (1904–05).

The Japanese government believed that expansion through military conquest would help the economy.

Under the terms of surrender, Japan had to give up all the territory it had acquired since 1895.

Japan rebuilt its ruined economy, using new technology in every major industry.

cannot be reversed to regenerate the original fuel mass

a fuel problem does exist

If the supply of fuel is finite, not only will there be no energy supply when the fuel is exhausted

all other processes that depend on it will cease

Several factors combine to make the problem an urgent one

World population

demand for energy will also increase

coal, oil (petroleum), natural gas, uranium, and fuel wood—is limited and insufficient to sustain rapid rates of development.

debate about the exact length of time available before the effects of a worldwide shortage become apparent

shortage will occur.

geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, peat, ocean thermal energy, solar energy, tidal energy, wind power, and fuel wood.

replenish themselves naturally in a relatively short time and will therefore always be available.

Renewable energy resources

indirectly responsible for many other renewable energy sources.

ocean currents and winds are results of the uneven distribution of solar radiation over the Earth's surface

winds in turn produce waves whose energy can be utilized

windmills and wind power

ocean thermal energy, solar heating of the upper layers of the ocean produces temperature gradients that can be harnessed to generate electricity

Sun also powers the hydrologic cycle, in which ocean water is evaporated, transported over the continents, and precipitated as rain or snow to form rivers

flow energy produces hydroelectric power.

energy locked in such renewable fuel sources as wood and peat is derived from the Sun by the process of photosynthesis.

renewable energy source is geothermal energy

arises through the leakage of heat from the Earth's interior to the surface

over the entire surface of the Earth at a very low average rate, leakage is much higher in certain locations.

Yellowstone National Park

Iceland, Italy, and New Zealand.

possible to tap the heat and use it for human purposes.

Nonrenewable resources originate from two processes: (1) photosynthesis, which occurred many millions of years ago, followed by the fossilization of the plant and animal life that resulted, and (2) the formation of the Earth itself.

fossil fuels—coal, oil (petroleum), and natural gas;

produced the fuels for nuclear energy, such as uranium for fission and lighter elements for fusion

irreplaceable fuels represent an energy capital that must be invested wisely.

A cleaner-burning fuel than oil, natural gas seemed to be in abundant supply at the turn of the 21st century and, with the greatly enlarged network of gas pipelines, was rapidly growing in use.

nearly total dependence on fossil fuels and hydroelectricity ensures that efforts to solve energy problems by switching to alternative sources will have to overcome a great deal of inertia, both economic and psychological.

sources as solar power, wind power, and synthetic fuels suffer from the serious drawback that few major installations now exist.

handicapped by the engineering problems of converting the energy to a form useful to human beings.

solar energy reaches the top of the atmosphere in amounts 10,000 times greater than all human production of energy, it reaches the Earth's surface at rates of only about 80 to 250 W/m2, and considerably less on cloudy days.

arge-scale system based on solar-collector panels will be physically huge, causing problems of maintenance and land use

Wind power, wave power, and ocean-thermal-generation sources suffer from similar difficulties