This article analyzes the environmental crisis in Ghana and what contributions religious resources from the intellectual traditions of African Traditional Religion can make towards addressing it. This study was based on an extensive review and interpretation of existing textual materials on the subject matter, supplemented by general field observations. It identified the following: the environmental problem in Ghana has national and international root causes; the modern environmental management model employed in Ghana lacks resources, in terms of finance, personnel, and other associated logistics, rendering it inefficient. This article warns that the cumulative effect of environmental degradation is a boomerang, and suggests that the modern and traditional methods of environmental conservation be merged to form a more efficient system. This research is important because its findings may contribute to the development of a more efficient model for conserving and protecting Ghana’s environment. It also contributes to local and global cultural theories on the conservation and protection of the environment.

Environmental Practice 18: 137–147 (2016)

This study employed deductive content analysis how hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in online versions of elite American newspapers. The media sources The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post were chosen as the best outlets to analyze to gain insight into the print and digital media that influence public opinion in the United States. A total of 349 articles published from 1851 to May 2014 were included in this study. The study instrument was based on previous media framing studies, including those on hydraulic fracturing and climate change communication, in addition to observations of patterns noted by the authors during an initial round of coding in the interest of relevance. This study examined the tone in which media coverage portrays hydraulic fracturing, thereby influencing social perceptions of the practice. Significant findings from the study are (a) hydraulic fracturing is presented by elite news outlets through conflict, responsibility (blame), and environmental concerns; and (b) water pollution was the main concern portrayed in the articles, which presents hydraulic fracturing mostly as a water-related issue while leaving out other important aspects of natural gas extraction.

Environmental Practice 18: 83–93 (2016)

We removed plastic meso- and macro-litter (PML) during a beach clean-up practice on a protected Mediterranean sandy beach in central Italy from the high tide line to a berm half-way up the beach and from the berm to a sand dune the rest of the way up the beach. Plastic fragments, cotton buds, and expanded polystyrene (EPS) fragments were the most common categories constituting about 90% of total abundance. We separated sand from PML and found that the weight of the sand was about 14% of the total weight removed. Although our data may be affected by local factors, they have general implications for management actions. Environmental practitioners who develop projects in beach cleaning should pay attention when removing PML since a significant amount of sand could be unintentionally removed resulting in unnecessary material in landfills or other disposal, and over time potentially could significantly affect sandy beaches.

Environmental Practice 18: 242–246 (2016)

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of South Texas contains an extensive stormwater conveyance canal system supported by culverts and crossings. This project examined representative canal segments in this system to determine the effects of stormwater conveyance structures and crossings as well as surrounding land use on water quality and the ability of the canal system to meet Texas freshwater surface water standards. Data collected for 18 physiochemical and nutrient parameters was used to generate summary statistics and perform analyses of variance and correlation analyses. The results of the analyses suggested that conveyance structures and crossings and land use significantly affected 12–13 water quality parameters. Box culverts in the canal system are more likely to affect water quality than bridge crossings or culverts placed above and below the water surface. Agricultural and residential land, roads, and trees and bushes planted on the canal boundaries effected water quality similarly, whereas the maintained, vegetated edges of canals had the greatest influences on water quality. Overall, water quality in the LRGV canal system meets federal and state standards and aquatic life criteria. The findings of our water quality survey provide significant information that could assist with municipal, county, and regional environmental compliance management.

Environmental Practice 18: 6–17 (2016)

Eastern hemlock [Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière] is a valuable component of Allegheny Plateau forests in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. Since the 1950s, hemlock forests throughout the Central Appalachians have been under threat from a nonnative forest insect pest, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). In 2012, to address this threat at the most meaningful scale, the United States Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy organized a diverse partnership to develop a strategy for landscape-level conservation of hemlock on the High Allegheny Unglaciated Plateau. The main goal of the partnership was to locate hemlock across the landscape regardless of land ownership and prioritize the hemlock for monitoring and protection from the adelgid. The priority Hemlock Conservation Areas that were identified by this partnership provide a guide for focusing limited financial and personnel resources, with the goal of protecting at least a portion of these areas from the impacts of the adelgid until more long-term management techniques are identified. To protect the important hemlock forests identified in this prioritization, a partnership of private and public land managers are forming a Cooperative Pest Management Area to continue this important collaboration, allocate scarce resources across the area, and allow private partners access to public funding for protection of priority hemlock on their lands.

Environmental Practice 18: 94–105 (2016)

A flow and mass transport model simulated two low-energy groundwater remediation strategies: 1) a permeable reactive barrier and 2) non-pumped wells with filter cartridges in a backfilled trench. Both structures occupied a linear transect 5 m downgradient of the leading tip of a contaminant plume and perpendicular to the local hydraulic gradient. In each of four simulated homogeneous and heterogeneous settings, models identified the shortest permeable reactive barrier (measured lengthwise, normal to the ambient hydraulic gradient) or locations of the smallest number of non-pumped wells necessary to contain and remove a contaminant plume. Results suggest that non-pumped wells emplaced in trenches backfilled with aquifer material (when allowed from a regulatory perspective) may be a viable alternative to more costly permeable reactive barriers in some settings.

Environmental Practice 18: 247–252 (2016)

This article is about socio-cultural expertise and knowledge in the context of environmental hearings in Alberta, Canada, to determine whether or not new oil sands projects should be approved. It identifies serious problems with cultural assessments about potential impacts on Aboriginal peoples done by consultants for oil sands hearings in Alberta and proposes that consultants doing cultural assessments should have qualifications equivalent to those of expert witnesses for the courts. It also raises the concern that the review panel members who preside over such hearings and their staffs may also lack expertise in socio-cultural matters concerning Aboriginal people. Both gaps impact directly on the recommendations made by review panels to the governments that make final decisions.

Environmental Practice 18: 148–165 (2016)

This report describes the field demonstration of a near-remote sensing method to measure water turbidity over large areas, in a high-resolution, spatial context. Our interdisciplinary method used a novel multispectral imaging sensor deployed by a hand-launched small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS). The measurement of turbidity is a useful indicator of water quality. Current turbidity measurement tools, such as the Secchi disc, are labor-intensive and often limit coverage such that available samples are extrapolated unrealistically when representing large water resources. This handicaps computer models’ ability to predict run-off, and these models produce the best results if supplied with high-resolution, fine time-increment measurements. This first study of the method developed operated the sUAS below 200 m over the surface of a 9.3-ha lake, capturing visible and near-infrared imagery at resolutions of ~0.2 m/pixel and capturing spectral bands matching those captured by the Landsat 4-5 satellites. The study established the spectral sensitivity and spatial coverage of the instrumentation and correlated turbidity estimates against traditional Secchi disc readings taken across the lake. This study also differentiated turbidity contribution from suspended organics vs. suspended sediments. To manage glare, this new technique required strategically positioned sunlight, thus sharing some operational limitations with the Secchi disc method. Plans have been made to extend the technique to be suitable for deeper, clearer lakes. The technique represents an improved monitoring tool for environmental scientists, watershed managers, and civil engineers.

Environmental Practice 18: 18–31 (2016)

Several United States (US) federal agencies have developed visual resource inventory (VRI) and management systems that reflect specific agency missions and visual resource management objectives. These programs have varied in the degree to which they incorporate historic and cultural elements and values into the scenic inventory process. The recent nationwide expansion of renewable energy and associated transmission development is causing an increase in visual impacts on both scenic and historic/cultural resources. This increase has highlighted the need for better integration of visual and historic/cultural resource assessment and management activities for land use planning purposes. The US Department of the Interior National Park Service (NPS), in response to concerns arising from potential scenic impacts from renewable energy, electric transmission, and other types of development on lands and waters near NPS units, has developed a VRI process for high-value views both within and outside NPS unit boundaries. The NPS VRI incorporates historic and cultural elements and values into the scenic resource inventory process and provides practical guidance and metrics for successfully integrating historic and cultural concerns into the NPS’s scenic resource conservation efforts. This article describes the NPS VRI process and compares it with the VRI processes of the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management and the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, with respect to the incorporation of historic and cultural values. The article discusses why a scenic inventory approach that more robustly integrates the historic and cultural values of the landscape is essential for NPS landscapes, and for fulfillment of NPS’s mission. Inventories are underway at many NPS units, and the results indicate that the VRI process can be used successfully to capture important historic and cultural resource information and incorporate that information into the assessment of the scenic values of views within and outside NPS units.

Environmental Practice 18: 166–179 (2016)

Industrial symbiosis (IS) aims to couple industrial development and environmental protection through the conservation of energy and resources. Conservation of resources is achieved through synergies with industries, which mainly occur through the reuse of waste and water. The promotion and implementation of IS highly depends on the policies adopted at the national and European Union levels. The present study explores the adequacy of the current institutional framework applied in Greece for the practical implementation of IS and highlights its strengths and weaknesses. Despite providing some opportunities for attaining eco-industry, the legislation also imposes restrictions. Specifically, the absence of a comprehensive and specialized legislation and the difficulty of implementing the current regulations effectively pose barriers towards the adoption of the IS model. Considering this, the present legislative and institutional framework needs to be further integrated, while coordination among stakeholders and simplified procedures should be applied so as to realize IS in Greece.

Environmental Practice 18: 253–259 (2016)

The majority of humans now live in cities where access to usable open space is often limited, causing a reexamination of current practices and values related to reuse of available urban lands. Closed landfills offer an unprecedented opportunity to convert large underutilized land into usable urban open space, as well as habitat for multiple species. However, existing landfill regulations and closure practices do not allow optimal ecological restoration designs for these underutilized properties to be realized, because current regulations focus on methods that protect required caps and prevent water infiltration. Through the exploration of two design case studies, the authors illustrate the opportunities to increase habitat diversity on closed landfills and to more closely approximate a natural topographic/vegetation interaction. Although initially a more costly restoration, unique restoration design elements enhance both long-term environmental and socio-economic values associated with the reuse of closed urban landfills, which are currently underutilized.

Environmental Practice 18: 106–115 (2016)

Public participation is commonly advocated for as part of policy responses to climate change. This study examines the prospects for inclusive approaches to climate change adaptation, drawing particularly on studies of long-term climate change adaptation in a coastal region in Bangladesh. It has been suggested that public perception, knowledge, and participation are important goals in the process of formulating response to climate change risks. This study found that local people as well as other stakeholders who participated in the study were more or less familiar with the term “climate change.” However, the participants’ understanding of what the term means and climate change’s causes varied widely. The results also showed that a large number of the participants were uncertain about the solution to the climate change problems they are already experiencing, due to lack of accessible information from different governmental and non-governmental sources. It is notable that, despite being a country with a high level of political commitment to dealing with climate change, supported by plans, programs, and interventions, the people of Bangladesh are largely unaware of these efforts. This study explores the Social Ecological Inventory (SEI) tool as a means of managing the governance system for climate change adaptation in order to explore the public’s perception of, knowledge about, and participation in developing adaptation plans. In this study, we used the SEI tool to systemically map the values, motives, activities, knowledge, and experiences of different actors over time and in different networks in order to prepare the ground for participation in developing climate change adaptation plans by helping identify and select the most appropriate set of actors to work with; build trust between these different actors; and, finally, reach a consensus among actors on how to enhance a region’s sustainability and resilience.

Environmental Practice 18: 32–43 (2016)