A Novel Application of a Cryosectioning Technique to Aid Scat Hair Microanalysis

Scat hair presents a diverse profile of hairs for morphological assessment that may find versatile applications in wildlife forensic investigations. Successful morphological assessment of scat hair microstructure, however, depends on a robust sectioning methodology. We assessed the feasibility and efficacy of a cryosectioning technique compared to that of a gold standard hand‐sectioning technique. Scat hairs were embedded in paraffin wax and hand‐sectioned, while cryopreserved scat hairs were sectioned with a cryostat. The results showed that cryosectioning preserved the pristine morphology of the scat hair and provided cross sections more amenable to high‐resolution imaging of hair internal microstructure than hand‐sectioning. The cryosectioning technique may find novel applications as a more reliable and robust technique to aid (i) scat hair internal microstructure analysis for cross‐referencing with species identification keys in wildlife forensic studies and (ii) downstream toxicological analysis in wildlife forensic studies as hair biochemistry is not altered during cryopreservation.     

Community‐Based Organizations and Institutional Work in the Remote Rural West

The institutional landscape for public land management in the U.S. West underwent a seismic shift in the 1990s as the long‐dominant resource extraction paradigm was replaced by the ecosystem management paradigm. Here we analyze the efforts of community‐based organizations (CBOs), entities that emerged in some locations across the West to help their respective communities navigate the transition from resource extraction to environmental stewardship. Despite their formal status as civil society actors, in practice CBOs came to fill various institutional gaps by taking on roles traditionally assigned to both the state and the private sector. We use a case study approach to examine how the Hayfork, California–based Watershed Research and Training Center engages in institutional work within a setting that is at once both open and constrained, as the rural community within which it operates lacks strong state‐ or industry‐led development trajectories while remaining constrained by the legacies of past institutions.     

Windows of opportunity: Lead poisoning prevention,housing affordability,and energy conservation

Abstract

We used housing demolition and window replacement rates to forecast prevalence trends for childhood lead poisoning and lead paint hazards from 1990 to 2010 for the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. The mid‐point of that forecast has now been validated by national blood lead data and the 1998–2000 National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Housing.

The validation of the task force model and new analysis of these survey data indicate that window replacement explains a large part of the substantial reduction in lead poisoning that occurred from 1990 to 2000. A public‐private effort to increase window replacement rates could help eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010. This effort would also improve home energy efficiency and affordability, in addition to reducing air pollution from power plants, and a broader initiative could reduce other housing‐related health risks as well.     

黄蓝国家战略背景下东营转变经济发展方式的思考

东营市是建设黄河三角洲高效生态经济区的中心城市和开发建设主战场,是建设山东半岛蓝色经济区的重要前沿城市,加快经济发展方式转变,对于推进黄蓝国家战略的实施,“两个率先”的实现意义重大。加快转变经济发展方式的主攻方向是推动经济结构战略性调整,突破口是促进节能减排,中心环节是实施创新驱动战略,根本保障是加快体制机制建设。     

建立国家生态原产地产品保护制度的意义与对策研究

生态产品是生态文明的物质载体。建立国家生态原产地产品保护制度是在微观领域落实生态文明建设的具体举措,是践行科学发展观,加快转变经济发展方式的重要推手,是促进对外贸易转型,破解技术性贸易壁垒尤其是绿色贸易壁垒的迫切需要。国家生态原产地产品保护有助于加快企业出口通关速度、有助于进口国对配额及设限进口产品的快速识别、有助于产品销售等。当前加强国家生态原产地产品保护工作的重点是积极开展生态原产地产品保护的相关理论研究,将国家生态原产地产品保护纳入各省市战略规划,加快推进PEOP的国家品牌化。     

The illegal trade of raptors in the Russian Federation

Wildlife trafficking, along with other green crimes, receives little attention from the criminological community. This study provides further knowledge of this black market, and exposes the structural harms that are associated with it, by examining the illegal trade in falcons in Russian Far East. The structural harms proposed here are that wildlife trafficking, and the illegal raptor trade in particular endangers the environment, is cruel to animals, and threatens national and human security because of its connection to other dangerous illicit activities. Through semi‐structured interviews, trade statistics, and online news sources, a framework is developed as to who is involved, how it is occurring, and where it is taking place as well as possible ways in which to curb this activity.     

Developing Countries and the Implementation of CITES: The Mexican Experience

A key issue for the success of international conventions regulating biodiversity conservation is to understand the different philosophical positions of each party for initially acceding to that convention, and for the measures each party takes to implement that convention. This paper documents policies for wildlife trade regulation in Mexico from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, with emphasis on the process of CITES implementation. Mexico was slow to adopt environmental policies, but when Mexico did recognize wider environmental concerns, the prospect of acceding to CITES was not considered because of existing bans on all wildlife trade in native species. However, Mexico could not control the illegal trade of wild species during the 1980s. Mexico acceded to CITES in 1991 mainly in response to international pressure and to bilateral pressure while seeking to join a free trade agreement. The step of joining CITES was taken without clear analysis about the consequences of being a party to the Convention. Between 1992 and 1996, Mexico had no clear policy about its role within CITES. The period from 1997 to 2001 witnessed an improved legal and administrative structure and a greater internal coordination between the institutions involved with CITES. Mexico has now improved its policy toward international wildlife trade.