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If you choose to follow any links to the complete text of articles listed below, you will be leaving the Strategian Web site. If you wish to return to this page from the Web page you are sent to, please use the Back option of your browser. Feature Articles: National Assessment Synthesis Team, U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, United States Global Change Research Program Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. (... The United States Global Change Research Program [USGCRP] began in 1990 with the charge to provide for development and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change [from the text of the law that established the program]. In 1997, the U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change was begun--as part of the USGCRP--to assist in combining and analyzing the findings of the research carried out under the auspices of the USGCRP and others to date and to discuss how any possible changes to the Earth's climate and environment may impact the natural resources and society of the United States in the foreseeable future. The National Assessment Synthesis Team [NAST]--a group of 14 scientists from United States government agencies, state and private universities, private industry, independent organizations, and international organizations--was also established to assist in this effort by putting together in the context of the United States as a whole the results of over 2 years [begun in 1997] of intensive research, discussion, and analysis regarding the impact of climate change on distinct regions of the U.S. and sectors of the U.S. economy and natural resources. After extensive review by hundreds of experts and researchers and participants in the regional discussions, NAST has issued 2 documents--a more concise, more easily-understood and viewed Overview and a longer, more scientific and technical Foundation. Other keywords and phrases -- global warming, greenhouse effect -- from information and text taken from the Web site listed immediately below) (November 2000) **The complete text of the 2 documents plus additional information is currently available through the Web site Climate Change Impacts on the United States** Other Articles of Note: S. Milius Bt Corn Variety OK for Black Swallowtails. (... in comparison to a study done in the laboratory and published in May 1999 [see Losey, Rayor, and Carter -- Transgenic Pollen Harms Monarch Larvae], a new study done in the field by C. Lydia Wraight, May R. Berenbaum, and others finds that the pattern of pollen wafting from Bt [bacillus thuringiensis] corn variety Pioneer 34R07 showed no relationship to the pattern of deaths among black swallowtail caterpillars on nearby wild plants. The caterpillars did experience increased levels of mortality, however, when eating nearby wild plants dusted with pollen from another Bt corn variety, Novartis Max 454. Other ongoing research with genetically modified Bt corn seems to support the idea that there appears to be differences among Bt corn varieties in their effects on nontarget insects and animals. Other keywords and phrases -- butterflies, butterfly, field studies, field study, genetic engineering, gm, pesticide, toxic, toxin -- from the text of the article; for the scientific information behind this article, please see: C. L. Wraight, A. R. Zangerl, M. J. Carroll, and M. R. Berenbaum Absence of Toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis Pollen to Black Swallowtails Under Field Conditions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume 97, Number 14 (July 5, 2000): 7700-7703) Science News Volume 157, Number 24 (June 10, 2000): 372. **The complete text of the article is currently available through the Web site of Science News** **The complete text of the scholarly article is currently available through the Web site of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America** K. N. Yu, R. V. Balendran, S. Y. Koo, and T. Cheung Silica Fume as a Radon Retardant from Concrete. (... the main source of radon gas [which if inhaled or injested in quantity and over time can potentially lead to cancer--especially lung cancer--in humans] that may leak into the indoor spaces of high rise buildings comes from the concrete used to construct the buildings. Most radon gas that is emitted by concrete comes from the aggregates [especially granite] from which the concrete is made. The authors report that the use of silica fume [or micro silica] in concrete is a simple and economical material to reduce [by about half] the indoor radon concentrations and the corresponding radiation dose from radon being exhaled by concrete. The use of silica fume also happens to improve the strength of the concrete. Other keywords and phrases -- exhalation rate, radioactive -- from the text of the article) Environmental Science & Technology Volume 34, Number 11 (June 1, 2000): 2284-2287. Committee on Risk Assessment of Exposure to Radon in Drinking Water, National Research Council Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water. (... a report issued to assist the U.S. EPA [United States Environmental Protection Agency] to set a new standard for the maximum allowable amount of radon [acknowledged as a cancer-causing substance] in drinking water. Among many interesting findings, the Committee reports that there is always radon in indoor air from the penetration of soil gas into homes, so only very high concentrations of radon in water will make an important contribution to the airborne concentration. And, that most of the cancer risk posed by radon in drinking water arises from the transfer of radon into indoor air and the subsequent inhalation of the radon decay products, and not from the ingestion of the water. The report also emphasizes that stopping smoking is the most effective way to reduce the risk of lung cancer and reduce the risks associated with radon as radon substantially increases the lung-cancer risk for smokers. Other keywords and phrases -- mitigation -- from the text of the book) Publisher: National Academy Press Washington, D.C.: 1999 [296 pages]. **The complete text of this book and a summary of the book are currently available through the Web site of National Academy Press -- look for the Open Book icon** How to find the above journals, magazines, and other publications? See Step 3: Locate of the Information Strategy for details. Questions about any or all of the above? Please let me know. |
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