Scale as an 'Active Progenitor' in the Metamorphosis of the Waste Management Hierarchy in Member States: The Case of the Republic of Ireland

In the light of the raft of legislation introduced by the European Commission since the late 1980s, waste management planning in the European Union (EU) is currently undergoing tumultuous restructuring. At the heart of this restructuring is the requirement by member states to formulate waste management plans that embrace the Commission's central concept of the waste management hierarchy. This article begins with the assertion that the grounding of the waste management hierarchy in different European countries reflects members' ongoing difficulties balancing supra-national environmental regulations with the imperatives of national accumulation strategies. Central to negotiating this tightrope has been a tremendous transformation, modification, re-jigging and re-calibration of the hierarchies of waste management planning institutions in member states. The core argument advanced in this article is that far from being a neutral or technical or practical side show, contemporary (re)scalings of waste management planning in Europe must be approached as being centrally implicated in the constitution of forms of environmental controls that serve rather than burden the interests of leading capitals. This argument is illustrated through a detailed case study of recent scalar inventions in waste management planning in the Republic of Ireland.     

COLD NEUTRON PROMPT GAMMA ACTIVATION ANALYSIS—A NON‐DESTRUCTIVE METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH SILICA CONTENT CHIPPED STONE TOOLS AND RAW MATERIALS*

Recently, several archaeometrical projects have been started on the prehistoric collection of the Hungarian National Museum. Among the analytical methods applied, non‐destructive prompt gamma activation analysis has a special importance. We have also tested the potential of this method on chipped stone tools, with the aim of determining their exact provenance. On the basis of major and trace element components, characterizations of stone tools and their raw materials—silicites (flint, chert, radiolarite and hornstone) as well as volcanites (felsitic porphyry and obsidian)—were performed. We discuss some important results concerning each group, as case studies. Compiling the data set of different PGAA analysis series, compositions of 110 samples are reported, including 76 archaeological pieces. In the future, we plan to extend the number of investigated objects in each class.     

THE MESOLITHIC of the CHANNEL ISLANDS: ECONOMY and SETTLEMENT IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE

Summary: Results of recent surveys, combined with a re-evaluation of lithic assemblages from earlier surface collections, suggest the existence of several Mesolithic sites in the Channel Islands. the lithic assemblages from these sites find parallels on the mainland of North-Western France, suggesting that most of the Channel Island sites date to the 'Middle Stage'Mesolithic (c 8500-10,000 BP). the evidence for Mesolithic activity in the island is discussed in the context of the evidence for changing sea-levels and environmental conditions. It is argued that sites were preferentially located at the junction of several ecozones and that, for a short period of time during the 8th & 9th Millennia BP, sea-levels and environmental conditions in the area were particularly favourable for the exploitation of a broad range of resources.     

Shale gas and the revival of American power: debunking decline?

The spectre of American decline is once again animating both observers and practitioners of US foreign policy. The global financial crisis, a faltering American economy and continued costly and controversial military engagements overseas have been presented as conclusive proof that American foreign policy will soon lack the resources needed to sustain its previous international hegemony. Arguments of domestic weakness have been linked to analyses of the economic vitality of America's competitors to demonstrate a seemingly watertight case for relative decline. The inexorable rise of China has been presented from various quarters as evidence that the American era will soon be drawing to a close. Yet, such declinist arguments continue to suffer from fundamental weaknesses, overestimating the likely future strength of America's rivals while concurrently downplaying the capacity of the US to rejuvenate its economy and thus revivify its liberal universalist creed. The most interesting development in this regard has been the sudden resurgence of the US energy sector. Written off less than a decade ago as being in terminal decline, the American oil and gas industry has staged a remarkable recovery. Vast reserves of shale gas and accompanying tight oil offer the potential to aid the revival of the American economy, with some forecasts pointing to US energy self‐sufficiency within two decades. Notions of US relative decline may yet prove premature. The geopolitical impact of American energy self‐sufficiency is likely to be very significant, making an important contribution to a reversal of the US trade deficit, a revival of America's industrial base, and the possibility of a corresponding relative decline in power for conventional fossil fuel exporters.     

THE USE OF SIMPLE PULSES TO ESTIMATE INELASTIC RESPONSE SPECTRA

Inelastic response spectra are estimated for elasto-plastic SDOF systems subjected to strong earthquake ground motions by applying the strength reduction factors determined for a simple pulse to the elastic response spectrum of the ground motion. This approach relies upon similarities in the strength reduction factors computed for earthquake ground motions and for short duration pulses. The accuracy of the estimated inelastic spectra obtained using 24 simple pulse waveforms is assessed in order to identify subsets of just several pulse waveforms that are suited for this purpose. Based upon the ground motions and pulses investigated, this approach appears to be equally applicable to short and long duration ground motions and those having near-fault forward directivity features.     

The Geography of the Anthropocene in New Zealand: Differential River Catchment Response to Human Impact

New Zealand provides a useful environment to test the notion that the Anthropocene is a new geological epoch. There are two well‐dated anthropogenic impact ‘events’: Polynesian settlement c. AD 1280, and European colonisation c. AD 1800. Little attention, however, has been given to regional catchment response to these, although it has been assumed that both Polynesian and European farming and land use management practices significantly increased erosion rates across most of New Zealand. This paper addresses the nature and timing of human impacts on river systems using meta‐analysis of a recently compiled nationwide database of radiocarbon‐dated fluvial deposits. This shows highly variable human impacts on erosion and sedimentation in river systems, which are often difficult to separate from naturally driven river activity. Catchment‐scale data with high resolution dating control record clearer evidence of human disturbance. In Northland, anthropogenic alluviation is recorded from c. AD 1300 linked to early Polynesian settlement, enhanced further in the late 19th and 20th centuries by European land clearance, when sedimentation rates exceeded 25 mm year^?1. This study demonstrates significant geographical variability in the timing of human impact on river dynamics in New Zealand, despite two synchronous phases of human settlement, and highlights the difficulty of formally designating a simple and single ‘Anthropocene Epoch/Age’.     

Constructing Water Shortages on a Huge River: The Case of Shanghai

Shanghai is located on the world's third largest river (by volume). Yet it faces the risk of shortages of drinking water. Many decisions and environmental characteristics have contributed to this threat. First, Shanghai has become dependent on water brought into the municipality by rivers. Second, it has become increasingly reliant on water from the Changjiang (Yangzi River), principally in order to control the levels of pollution in the water that enters its treatment plants. Third, for reasons associated with inter‐provincial administrative arrangements, the city's water intakes are located within the municipality, within the estuary zone and subject to tidal intrusions of salt water. Fourth, at high tide and when the Changjiang's discharge is low, salt intrudes far into the estuary, beyond the current water intakes. If sea levels rise, these intrusions will become more pronounced. Fifth, large‐scale central government infrastructure projects (such as dams and the South‐North Transfer) are altering the hydrological characteristics of the river. Such projects raise the probability of salt water intrusions into the water intake zone. The Shanghai and central governments have thus made a series of decisions that, taken together, have led the municipality to rely on a source of drinking water that is increasingly unreliable and subject to the risk of shortages due to salt water intrusions. Why these decisions have been made – independently – is an important problem for those who would understand the provision of water for cities and the practical efficacy of Chinese governance systems.