Some potential uses of nuclear explosives in the conservation and development of water resources.

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Sustainable water provision : challenges, alternative strategies and sources in the era of climate change

As a result of rapid urbanisation, population growth, changes in lifestyle, pollution and the impacts of climate change, water provision has become a critical challenge for planners and policy-makers. In the wake of increasingly difficult water provision and drought, the notion that freshwater is a finite and vulnerable resource is increasingly being realised. Many city administrations around the world are struggling to provide water security for their residents to maintain lifestyle and economic growth. This chapter reviews the global challenge of providing freshwater to sustain lifestyles and economic growth, and the contributing challenges of climate change, urbanisation, population growth and problems in rainfall distribution. The chapter proceeds to evaluate major alternatives to current water sources such as conservation, recycling and reclamation, and desalination. Integrated water resource management is briefly looked at to explore its role in complementing water provision. A comparative study on alternative resources is undertaken to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and constraints, and the results are discussed.

Dry tropics water smart : a community based approach to residential outdoor water consumption

This paper discusses the Townsville City Council Dry Tropics Water Smart (DTWS) initiative, developed by TCC Integrated Sustainability Services (ISS) and Townsville Water, and informed by The University of Adelaide. The program draws on many years of experience by the TCC team to blend key community-based research approaches in order to develop this residential outdoor water conservation program. Several community pilots have been conducted to test different behaviour change strategies and messages. This paper outlines recent steps taken to develop the community trials, as guided by a combination of behaviour change theories including community-based social marketing and thematic communications methods. Some preliminary results are outlined focused on community uptake of different strategies, community perceptions of communication materials, and some insights into the effectiveness of outdoor water hardware.

Learning about and taking action for the environment : child and teacher experiences in a preschool water education program

Water education and conservation programs have grown exponentially in Australian primary and secondary schools and, although early childhood services have been slower to respond to the challenges of sustainability, they are catching up fast. One early program targeted at preschools was the Water Aware Centre Program in northern New South Wales developed by the local water supply authority. This paper reports on a qualitative study of children’s and teachers’ experiences of the program in three preschools. The study’s aim was to identify program attributes and pedagogies that supported learning and action taking for water conservation, and to investigate if and how the program influenced children’s and teachers’practices. Data were collected through an interview with the program designer, conversations with child participants of the program, and a qualitative survey with early childhood staff. A three-step thematic analysis was conducted on the children’s and teachers’ data. Findings revealed that the program expanded children and teachers’ ideas about water conservation and increased their water conservation practices. The children were found to influence the water conservation practices of the adults around them, thus changing practices at school and at home.

The commodification and exploitation of fresh water: Property, human rights and green criminology

In recent years, both developing and industrialised societies have experienced riots and civil unrest over the corporate exploitation of fresh water. Water conflicts increase as water scarcity rises and the unsustainable use of fresh water will continue to have profound implications for sustainable development and the realisation of human rights. Rather than states adopting more costly water conservation strategies or implementing efficient water technologies, corporations are exploiting natural resources in what has been described as the “privatization of water”. By using legal doctrines, states and corporations construct fresh water sources as something that can be owned or leased. For some regions, the privatization of water has enabled corporations and corrupt states to exploit a fundamental human right. Arguing that such matters are of relevance to criminology, which should be concerned with fundamental environmental and human rights, this article adopts a green criminological perspective and draws upon Treadmill of Production theory.

Cutaneous Resistance to Evaporative Water Loss in Brazilian Rhinella (Anura: Bufonidae) from Contrasting Environments

Influenced by taxonomic position. For example, bufonids are regarded as exhibiting a permeable skin that seems typical for terrestrial anurans. However, this assumption is supported by information on only four bufonid species; therefore, the enormous ecological diversity of the family remains poorly Investigated. To assess whether variation in R(s) within related bufonids correlates with environmental aridity, we measured area-specific rates of EWL of two Brazilian populations of Rhinella granulosa (previously Bufo granulosus), one from the Atlantic Forest and other from the semi-arid Caatinga, and compared both with the forest species R. ornato. Rhinella granulosa from the Atlantic Forest had higher cutaneous resistance than conspecifics from Caatinga and R. ornata. Rhinella ornato presented the lowest cutaneous resistance values. However, Rs were very close to zero In all three populations. We conclude that enhanced Rs is not part of the suite of traits allowing R. granulosa to exploit the Caatinga, and that variation in R(s) within bufonids may relate to traits other than water conservation. Some Information on microhabitat occupation and ventral skin morphology supports the idea that exceptional abilities for detecting and taking up water may be the key factors enhancing the survival of R. granulosa, and possibly other bufonids, in xeric environments.

Competitive sorbtion of metals in water repellent soils: implications for irrigation recycled water

Australia is a water-stressed nation and demand on potable water supply is increasing. Consequently water conservation and reuse are increasingly becoming important. Irrigation of recycled wastewater on water repellent soils is a technology that is being trialled as a means of improving crop production and conserving potable supply. However, recycled water contains potentially harmful heavy metals. This paper reports the competitive sorption and desorption of several common heavy metals found in soils collected from a farm located in the south-east of South Australia. The soil from this location is severely water repellent, but some sites were amended with kaolinite clay (Si₄Al₄O₁₀(OH)₈) about 7 and 15 years ago. The metals studied were Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn. Competitive sorption of the metals was distinctly observed. For all heavy metals, the quantity of metal sorbed was higher in amended soil, and there was a strong correlation between the specific sorption to total sorption ratio and the amount of clay in the soil. The sorption intensities varied with metal, Cr, Pb, and Cu having a high sorption tendencies and Zn, Cd, and Ni having comparatively low sorption tendencies. The total sorption capacity for all metals increased in clay-treated soils compared with non-treated soils. On average, clay-amended water repellent soils had a 20–40% increased capacity to adsorb total metals; however, this increase was largely caused by the increased capacities to adsorb Zn, Cd, and Ni. The effect of clay treatment largely enhanced the sorption capacity of relatively weakly adsorbing heavy metals. The implications for using recycled wastewater on the long-term sustainable agro-environmental management of these soils are discussed.

Household water use behavior : an integrated model

Water authorities are dealing with the challenge of ensuring that there is enough water to meet demand in the face of drought, population growth and predictions of reduced supply due to climate change. In order to develop  effective household demand management programs, water managers need to understand the factors that influence household water use. Following an examination and re-analysis of current water consumption behavioral models we propose a new model for understanding household water consumption. We argue that trust plays a role in household water consumption, since people will not save water if they feel others are not minimizing their water use (inter-personal trust). Furthermore, people are less likely to save water if they do not trust the water authority (institutional trust). This paper proposes that to fully understand the factors involved in determining household water use the impact of trust on water consumption needs investigation.

Incorporation of a hybrid cooling system in water cooled power stations to reduce water and energy consumptions

Water shortage is a major problem facing the power industry in many nations around the world. The largest consumer of water in most power plants is the wet cooling tower. To assist water and energy saving for thermal power stations using conventional evaporative wet cooling towers, a hybrid cooling system is proposed in this paper. The hybrid cooling system may consists of all or some of an air pre-cooler, heat pump, heat exchangers, and adsorption chillers together with the existing cooling tower. The hybrid cooling system described in the paper, consisting of a metal hydride heat pump operating in conjunction with the existing wet cooling tower, is capable of achieving water saving by reducing the temperature of warm water entering the cooling tower. Cooler inlet water temperatures effectively reduce the cooling load on existing towers. This will ultimately reduce the amount of water lost to the air by evaporation whilst still achieving the same cooling output. At the same time, the low grade waste energy upgraded by the metal hydride heat pump, in the process of cooling the water, can be used to replace the bleed of steam for the lower stage feed heaters which will increase overall cycle efficiency.

Application of novel technologies in water reclamation, reuse and recycle

Water reuse has become an integral element of the "total water resources planning and management" along with the other elements such as water conservation, water use efficiency and management of the allocation of existing water sources. Researchers are working actively on the following aspects of water reuse: identification and characterization of different wastewaters that could be reclaimed, development of treatment technologies and effluent standards, quantification of potential gains due to recycling and risk management. The wastewaters that can be reclaimed are domestic and industrial wastewaters, grey water, black water, stormwater and rain water and their potential reuse lies in agriculture, aquaculture, industries, non-potable use in residential and community fronts and indirect and direct potable use. The treatment of wastewater ranges from secondary treatment to advanced treatment, which produces different "Classes" of reclaimed water. This paper evaluates the current status of the research on the above-mentioned important aspects of water reuse with relevant case studies and the future demand for reuse water. The direction in which the future-reuse schemes should be formulated so that they are safe, environmentally sustainable and cost effective are also discussed.

Physiological diversity in tolerance to water deprivation among species of South American desert rodents

Rodents from and and semi-arid deserts are faced with the problem of water conservation. The physiological responses of small rodents to such conditions have been intensively investigated over broad geographically disjunct areas. Despite the presence of xeric habitats in South America since the late Tertiary, some studies suggest that sigmodontine South-American desert rodents do not display the same diversity of physiological responses at the species level as those observed in other desert-dwelling species of rodents. In this paper, we analyzed the physiological responses to water deprivation, at the interespecific and interindividual level, among eight species of sigmodontine desert-dwelling rodents from different geographical areas within South-American deserts. Using randomization tests, we found no significant phylogenetic signal for resistance to water deprivation or for individual variability in this response. Contrary to our initial predictions, we observed that sigmodontine rodents from arid/semi-arid habitats (Monte Desert) had significantly lower rates of body mass loss per day (higher tolerances to water deprivation) than species from the hyperarid deserts. We showed that sigmodontine rodents from South America showed a remarkable diversity of physiological mechanisms for coping with water shortage resulting from different evolutionary adaptive strategies. This diversity, however, displays a rather unexpected pattern in terms of its geographical distribution. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The first Brazilian municipal initiative of payments for environmental services and its potential for soil conservation

It has become evident that policies aimed at mitigating the growing water resources and water use conflicts in Brazil are crucial. The municipality of Extrema in Minas Gerais state in Brazil pioneered the first Brazilian municipal PES initiative (Conservador das Aguas program), based on the relationship between forests and the benefits they provide. This study aimed to assess soil loss in the Posses sub-basin, where the Conservador das Aguas program began. Additionally, we aimed to determine the potential that this PES initiative has for soil conservation, as well as to minimize the soil losses as a function of forest area size and location in order to propose a technical approach for implementing PES. In this sense, considering the prescribed conservation practices, land use situation, and soil cover in the Posses sub-basin, we analyzed the effectiveness of the Conservador das Aguas program before and after implementation in relation to reduced soil loss under 36 different land use and soil cover scenarios. We used a geographic information system (GIS) for spatializing and producing different information plans and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) for estimating soil loss. As a result, we found that minimization of soil loss may be obtained by adopting pasture conservation practices. Additionally the expected average soil loss in the Posses sub-basin under conditions of land use and soil cover, before and after implementing the water conservation program was 30.63 and 7.06 Mg ha(-1) year(-1), respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban water demand model: the case study of Emilia Romagna (Italy)

Water is the driving force in nature. We use water for washing cars, doing laundry, cooking, taking a shower, but also to generate energy and electricity. Therefore water is a necessary product in our daily lives (USGS. Howard Perlman, 2013). The model that we created is based on the urban water demand computer model from the Pacific Institute (California). With this model we will forecast the future urban water use of Emilia Romagna up to the year of 2030. We will analyze the urban water demand in Emilia Romagna that includes the 9 provinces: Bologna, Ferrara, Forli-Cesena, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia and Rimini. The term urban water refers to the water used in cities and suburbs and in homes in the rural areas. This will include the residential, commercial, institutional and the industrial use. In this research, we will cover the water saving technologies that can help to save water for daily use. We will project what influence these technologies have to the urban water demand, and what it can mean for future urban water demands. The ongoing climate change can reduce the snowpack, and extreme floods or droughts in Italy. The changing climate and development patterns are expected to have a significant impact on water demand in the future. We will do this by conducting different scenario analyses, by combining different population projections, climate influence and water saving technologies. In addition, we will also conduct a sensitivity analyses. The several analyses will show us how future urban water demand is likely respond to changes in water conservation technologies, population, climate, water price and consumption. I hope the research can contribute to the insight of the reader’s thoughts and opinion.

Geographic information system-based decision support for soil conservation planning in Tajikistan

Soil erosion on sloping agricultural land poses a serious problem for the environment, as well as for production. In areas with highly erodible soils, such as those in loess zones, application of soil and water conservation measures is crucial to sustain agricultural yields and to prevent or reduce land degradation. The present study, carried out in Faizabad, Tajikistan, was designed to evaluate the potential of local conservation measures on cropland using a spatial modelling approach to provide decision-making support for the planning of spatially explicit sustainable land use. A sampling design to support comparative analysis between well-conserved units and other field units was established in order to estimate factors that determine water erosion, according to the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). Such factor-based approaches allow ready application using a geographic information system (GIS) and facilitate straightforward scenario modelling in areas with limited data resources. The study showed first that assessment of erosion and conservation in an area with inhomogeneous vegetation cover requires the integration of plot-based cover. Plot-based vegetation cover can be effectively derived from high-resolution satellite imagery, providing a useful basis for plot-wise conservation planning. Furthermore, thorough field assessments showed that 25.7% of current total cropland is covered by conservation measures (terracing, agroforestry and perennial herbaceous fodder). Assessment of the effectiveness of these local measures, combined with the RUSLE calculations, revealed that current average soil loss could be reduced through low-cost measures such as contouring (by 11%), fodder plants (by 16%), and drainage ditches (by 53%). More expensive measures such as terracing and agroforestry can reduce erosion by as much as 63% (for agroforestry) and 93% (for agroforestry combined with terracing). Indeed, scenario runs for different levels of tolerable erosion rates showed that more cost-intensive and technologically advanced measures would lead to greater reduction of soil loss. However, given economic conditions in Tajikistan, it seems advisable to support the spread of low-cost and labourextensive measures.

Land Management in the Central Highlands of Eritrea: A Participatory Appraisal of Conservation Measures and Soils in Afdeyu and its Vicinity

A comprehensive inventory of local and introduced soil and water conservation (SWC) measures presented in standardized fact sheets and completed with a special focus on the underlying reasons (problems) of acceptance / rejection. Different approaches are analysed and measures identified which are adapted to the specific local context. Second part of the study: soil assessment resulting in a consistent local classification of soil types and soil fertility, comparison with scientific classifications. Different topical maps show the spatial distribution of SWC measures, their condition, degradation hotspots, soil types, soil fertility and interrelations between these parameters. Based on the conclusions and the outcome of a stakeholder workshop recommendations are given for further activities in research and implementation of SWC in the Central Highlands of Eritrea.