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Refutes the impact of policy changes on lowering levels of carbon dioxide

The consequences of affluence: Consumption of large amounts of material goods places an unfair environmental burden on less developed areas

Michael Paolisso is pursuing a mixed-method project, funded by NOAA through the University of New Hampshire, to examine the socio-ecological system of the Deal Island peninsula in Maryland

Assistant Professor Jennifer Roberts will be a presenter for the University of Washington's Nature and Health Spring Talk series

Faculty Associate Michael Paolisso and colleagues examine how diverse communities under severe threat from climate change impacts view climate change

More effort needed to promote true Maryland crab at local restaurants and retailers

Agricultural water withdrawals account for the largest proportion of global freshwater use. Increasing municipal water demands and droughts are straining agricultural water supplies. Therefore, alternative solutions to agricultural water crises are urgently needed, including the use of nontraditional water sources such as advanced treated wastewater or reclaimed water, brackish water, return flows, and effluent from produce processing facilities. However, it is critical to ensure that such usage does not compromise soil, crop, and public health. Here, we characterized five different nontraditional water types (n = 357 samples) for the presence of pharmaceuticals, herbicides, and disinfectants using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry based method (UPLC-MS/MS). We then evaluated whether the levels of these contaminants were influenced by season. The highest level of herbicides (atrazine) was detected in untreated pond water (median concentration 135.9 ng/L). Reclaimed water had the highest levels of antibiotics and stimulants including azithromycin (215 ng/L), sulfamethoxazole (232.1 ng/L), and caffeine (89.4 ng/L). Produce processing plant water also tended to have high levels of atrazine (102.7 ng/L) and ciprofloxacin (80.1 ng/L). In addition, we observed seasonal variability across water types, with the highest atrazine concentrations observed during summer months, while the highest median azithromycin concentrations were observed in reclaimed water during the winter season. Further studies are needed to evaluate if economically feasible on-farm water treatment technologies can effectively remove such contaminants from nontraditional irrigation water sources.

To support the African ChemObs project (the Integrated Health and Environment Observatories and Legal and Institutional Strengthening for the Sound Management of Chemicals in Africa), we provide a critical review of methodologies for valuing the health damages from policy inaction associated with chemical exposures. In particular, we discuss how disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and IQ loss should be valued. We conclude by providing advice on communicating the costs of inaction and the benefits and costs of action to policymakers. By the social costs of inaction, we mean the private or market costs, as well as the external costs, from pollution exposures compared with no exposure. Knowledge of these damages can then lead to policies designed to force investment and operating decisions in the market to account for (internalize) such costs/damages. The costs of inaction can be distinguished from the benefits and costs of action. The benefits of action are the value of, for example, the health improvements from regulations or other forms of action. These actions usually come with a cost of resources to bring about such actions. The net benefits to society of an action are the benefits minus the costs of action. In general, as regulations of chemicals rarely eliminate all exposures, the costs of inaction generally exceed (in absolute terms) the benefits of action.

Bill would require diverse representation on the committee

Sacoby Wilson is Co-Investigator on an EPA-funded regional project focused on increasing Best Management Practices in a sensitive ecological zone