„Natural Attenuation“ und Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz

Natürlich ablaufende Schadstoffabbauvorgänge (Natural Attenuation, NA) können die Verminderung schädlicher Schadstoffkonzentrationen in Boden und Grundwasser bewirken. Die Einbeziehung der NA in die Bodensanierung an Stelle von oder neben klassischen Sanierungsmaßnahmen kann einen wertvollen wirtschaftlichen und ökologischen Beitrag zur Wiederherstellung der Bodenqualität darstellen. Schwierigkeiten der rechtlichen Einordnung behindern heute die Nutzbarmachung der NA. Hierzu soll ein klärender Beitrag geleistet werden. ¹ 1) Der Verfasser dankt Herrn Rechtsanwalt Dr. Sondermann (Sondermann Rechtsanwälte, Essen) sowie Herrn Rechtsanwalt Dr. Kunert (Schindhelm Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft, Hamburg) für zahlreiche Anregungen und Hinweise.     

Artenschutzrechtiche Differenzierungen

Zusammenfassung  Im Hinblick auf das Erste Gesetz zur ?nderung des BNatSchG, die h?chstrichterliche Rechtsprechung sowie die N?te der Praxis sind artenschutzrechtliche Differenzierungen bzw. Pr?zisierungen geboten, die einerseits den strengen Anforderungen des Gemeinschaftsrechts, andererseits aber auch praktischen Erleichterungen, die der Bundesgesetzgeber anstrebt, Rechnung tragen. Der nachstehende Artikel will dazu einen Beitrag leisten.     

Perceived justice of ecological policy and proenvironmental commitments

A model was outlined (i) to explain readiness to proenvironmental commitments and decisions in everyday life by six categories of predictor variables, including justice appraisals of pollution control, basic rights, appraisals of pollution, of pollution causation, of the efficacy of pollution control measures, and of ecological responsibility, and (ii) to generate hypotheses on the relationships between the predictor variables. Model variables were assessed by a questionnaire study (N=518) referring to the problem of air pollution. Proenvironmental commitments and decisions could be well predicted by morally relevant appraisals, especially by justice appraisals (e.g., approving proenvirommental laws, taxes, and subsidies, rejecting the justice of the current environmental policy and of mere appeals), whereas predictors representing self-protective motivations remained insignificant. Justice appraisals are in line with the “causation principle of justice”: Those who caused the pollution are made responsible for its reduction and should pay the costs for the pollution control. Results demonstrate that justice appraisals are essential determinants of people's ecologically relevant emotions, cognitions, and engagements. Moreover, they reveal that the responsibility for pollution control is not left with state and economy but is also regarded as a matter that concerns the citizens.     

K?nig/Roeser/Stock: Baunutzungsverordnung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Thermal shrinkage of small single acrylic fibers — A technique of forensic potential

Single fibers less than 1 mm long of nine types of acrylic fibers were thermally shrunk from 85°C to 285°C by hot stage optical microscopy. A surprisingly wide variety of behavior was observed. The temperature for the onset of shrinkage ranged from 105°C to 190°C; total contraction ranged from 2% to 64%; and some fibers contracted rather steadily, whereas others contracted abruptly. Reproducibility of shrinkage was excellent for most monocomponent fibers but was less reproducible for bicomponent fibers. In general, it was found that the technique may be used to discriminate among fiber types within a single fiber generic class using submicrogram sized samples.     

Innovative economic development: The Georgia Environmental Technology Consortium

Case studies demonstrate how the Georgia Environmental Technology Consortium (GETC), a partnership between the research universities, the business community, and the state government, fosters economic development in Georgia. The technology managers, scientists, and engineers in the GETC provide environmentally sound, innovative solutions to complex industry problems improving economic development in the state. Gifts that people took for granted for centuries are clean air, water, and soil. These are now threatened. There are also dangers in the workplace. Employees are faced with workplaces which can be hazardous. In this paper we see the GETC dedicating substantial resources to natural and workplace environmental health issues. The cases cited demonstrate the technology transfer of university research into industry applications. The resulting environmentally responsible products and processes improve the general public health and the competitive position of Georgia firms, insuring more jobs and a better quality of life.     

Is technological innovativeness one behavior or many?

A major criticism of research on technological innovation is the inconsistency of findings across studies. One explanation for this inconsistency may be the multiple conceptualizations of innovation used in the literature. In this study, four behaviors of innovativeness are reviewed. Factors affecting each behavior are then empirically examined indicating that the behaviors result from different factors. To ensure that future research does not simply create mini-theories of different aspects of innovation, a schema for integrating the different conceptualizations is proposed. Results of an illustrative analysis using this schema is then presented.