New research aimed to identify the factors that lead to the success of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. The study analysed 40 different schemes in Latin America to identify factors related to success. The researchers identified four such factors, which could inform policy and aid decision makers in designing PES initiatives with increased chances of success.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) and other regulatory influences are essential to battery recycling in Finland, a new study finds. The researchers compare this with the situation in Chile, where a lack of appropriate legislation prevents recycling companies from overcoming the technical and financial challenges of battery recycling. The study helps policymakers understand how political, social, and cultural factors can support companies in their move towards circular-economy business models.

To better understand the social and ecological implications of the non- food sector of the EU’s expanding bioeconomy, an economy which is based on the production and conversion of renewable biological resources into products and energy, a study has assessed the global cropland footprint of the region’s non-food products. The results show that the EU was the world’s biggest consumer and importer of these products from 1995 to 2010: two-thirds of the cropland required to satisfy the EU’s non-food consumption is located elsewhere in regions including China, the USA and Indonesia, bringing potential impacts for distant ecosystems. These findings can inform EU policymaking and support the EU Bioeconomy Strategy.

The German Renewable Energy Sources Act was introduced in 2001 to encourage an increase in renewable energy supply. Since then, supply has increased from 7% (in 2001) to 37% (in 2017. Wind energy is an important part of Germany’s renewable energy production — but deploying sufficient turbines to achieve the climate goals requires a large amount of raw materials, many of which are metals in limited supply. This study found copper and dysprosium to be the most critical of these metals, as they could face future bottlenecks and are essential elements in present and future turbine design.

A review of research into surface water runoff from agricultural land has found that less intensive management leads to more predictable runoff generation over the course of a year. The review also identified several gaps in our understanding, which need to be better represented in hydrological models if the environmental impact of runoff is to be reduced.

Soil conditions play a crucial role in determining water runoff and retention in forested sites, according to new research. Soil characteristics, such as compaction, play a greater role than forest type in determining water dynamics.

Factors influencing people’s decisions about how they travel to work are highlighted in a new study on commuting in Europe. Key findings include: cycling rates increase with the length of a city’s bicycle network and public transport use rises with a city’s population and GDP per capita. Based on the findings, the researchers propose policy measures for reducing the number of car journeys.

How do we safeguard both water quality and quantity? This brief looks at the best ways to recycle and re-use water, the latest water treatment technologies, and innovation within water governance itself.

Constructed wetlands can remove disease-causing bacteria from wastewater, but their performance is highly dependent on the systems they use, a new study shows. Researchers reviewed results from a wide range of studies on constructed wetlands and found that combining different approaches increased removal of bacteria. However, further research and improvement of wetland systems is required to produce water that is safe for reuse.

The integrated database on infrastructure projects can be accessed to study & analyse trends in the sector almost on real-time basis.

Privacy activists said a diverse group of organisations and individuals had endorsed a representation to the Prime Minister's Office and various central government ministries opposing the mandatory use of Aarogya Setu.

While Edge data centers will be providing an array of services independently, a more centralized data center can be backing them up with cloud services and analytics.

India has tried its hands out in 4.0 technologies to pace up with the rapidly changing retail landscape. The use of AI, ML and data analytics has increased which are being used in functions like BOPIS, Click & Collect and Self-Kiosk.

Ravinder Pal Singh, Chief Information and Innovation Officer at Vistara is leveraging the power of multiple technologies ranging from AI, Robotics, SATCOM, Bigdata (Science) and Blockchain to enhance the airline's critical business functions.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) in which fishing is prohibited contain substantially more fish, including commercially valuable species, than either partially protected or unenforced MPAs, according to a recent survey of rocky reef fish in the Mediterranean Sea. This suggests that MPAs need to be highly protected to offer the best chance of recovery for fish stocks, say the researchers.

Large carnivores play important roles in ecosystems by regulating populations of herbivores and other species. Understanding how human activities affect the role of predators, particularly within human-modified systems such as agricultural landscapes, is therefore important. This study investigated how predator and prey populations were distributed in Transylvania, Romania, and assessed them in relation to human activities. The research highlights how relationships between large carnivores and people need to be considered as part of biodiversity conservation efforts, especially considering the successful recovery of several large carnivore populations within the EU.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a sustainable approach to reduce pesticide use and risks of adverse effects on human health and the environment. However, its adoption by European farmers cannot be based only on mandatory regulation by the European Union, a new study suggests. The research identified four key factors driving IPM adoption; including market forces, policy instruments and farmers’ attitudes to the environment.

Up to 90% of consumed drugs enter the environment. This may have negative effects on wildlife, especially when the drugs take long periods to break down. This study assessed the breakdown of sulphonamides — a class of antibacterials — in samples from two rivers in Poland. The results showed that sulphamethoxazole, a common veterinary antibiotic, was the most persistent and that various factors inhibit degradation, including low temperatures, heavy metal pollution and low pH.

The majority of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) identified until now are banned or restricted around the world owing to concerns about their harm to ecosystems and human health. However, this is not the end of the story; even long-banned POPs still linger in the environment; others are still in use and are being directly emitted; and new POPs may be identified for which we have limited information. This Future Brief from Science for Environment Policy presents recent research into POPs’ potential impacts, the levels and future outlook for POPs in the environment and humans, and how we can reduce our use of POPs.

The presence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water is an emerging health concern. DBPs come in many classes and are chemically diverse, making them challenging to monitor. Swedish researchers have evaluated a new method for the simultaneous determination of a broader range of DBPs than typically possible using other available techniques. The method uses gas chromatography (a laboratory technique that separates and analyses vaporisable compounds in a mixture), together with a halogen-specific detector (XSD). Having been tested in real water samples from two municipal waterworks in Sweden, the method has been optimised for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of neutral DBPs.

Emissions of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) tetrafluoromethane (TFM) and hexafluoroethane (HFE) reported by industry accounted for only around half actual levels measured in the atmosphere between 2002 and 2010, new research reveals. The semiconductor and aluminium production industries, the two main sources of these gases, have reported success in their voluntary efforts to control these emissions. However, this does not match ‘top-down’ atmospheric monitoring, the researchers say.

Subjective perception of air pollution can have important implications in terms of health-protective behaviours and citizen and stakeholder engagement in cleaner-air policies. A recent study, conducted under the EU-funded PASTA¹ project, has analysed the link between level of concern over health effects of air pollution and personal and environmental factors in seven European cities. Overall, 58% of participants were worried over health effects of air pollution, with large differences between cities. On a city scale, average levels of concern over health effects of air pollution had a good correlation with average NO₂ levels and a lower correlation with average PM_2.5 levels. Individual level of concern was found to be linked to gender, having children in the household, levels of physical activity, and NO₂ levels at the home address. These findings can be used to inform future policymaking.

Australian Federal Police National Headquarters in Canberra will be bathed in blue from this evening (Thursday, 30 April) to honour the four Victorian and one South Australian police officer who tragically lost their lives last week.

The Kings Langley Players continues its 95th anniversary celebrations with a popular black comedy.

CULPEPER — The bridge on Route 250 (Ivy Road) over Little Ivy Creek near Ivy west of Charlottesville is open to traffic, one day ahead of its scheduled reopening. Crews are now working to remove signs and other detour indicators along Route 250 and Interstate 64.

BRISTOL – In an effort to keep motorists informed, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) provides weekly information about highway...

BRISTOL – In an effort to keep motorists informed, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) provides weekly information about highway...

BRISTOL – In an effort to keep motorists informed, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) provides weekly information about highway...

BRISTOL – The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will hold a design public hearing tomorrow to show plans for the widening of a half-mile section of Business Route 23 in the Town of Wise.

BRISTOL – In conjunction with the regularly scheduled fall transportation meeting for the Bristol District, the third and final meeting in the series to receive input on the I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan will be held on October 22 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center located at One Partnership Circle in Abingdon.

BRISTOL – In an effort to keep motorists informed, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) provides weekly information about highway...

BRISTOL – In an effort to keep motorists informed, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) provides weekly information about highway...

“Brexit is costing us lives”

Club doctors are reported to have expressed concerns about the Premier League's Project Restart proposals, which aim to have clubs back training in small groups within the next two weeks.

MANTUA – Glenbrook Road between Little River Turnpike (Route 236) and Denise Lane will be closed to through traffic from 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29 to 5...

President’s Cup Semi-Final

Watford are out of the relegation zone tonight after storming to a stunning 3-0 victory over champions elect Liverpool in a result that will reverberate around the football world.

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This file is in PDF format, requiring the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.

This file is in PDF format, requiring the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.

SALEM – In conjunction with the regularly scheduled fall transportation meeting for the Salem District, the third and final meeting in the series to receive input on the I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan will be held on October 25 at the Holiday Inn Valley View located at 3315 Ordway Drive NW in Roanoke. Prior to the Interstate 81 meeting, the fall transportation meeting will start at 2 p.m.  Attendees can view displays to learn about transportation planning, interact with subject matter experts, and review the proposed local and regional projects that have been submitted for scoring through SMART SCALE, an objective, data-driven prioritization process to score projects according to critical transportation needs. The Interstate 81 meeting will begin at approximately 3 p.m. and will focus on recommended projects and funding sources.   Following a presentation, there will be an opportunity for the public to provide comments about the I-81 study. Individual formal comment will be limited to three minutes. Feedback will be considered as team members finalize the I-81 corridor study and prepare a draft plan report in the fall.  Recommendations will be presented to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) for adoption prior to the opening of the 2019 General Assembly session. For those who cannot attend the meeting, comments can be submitted as follows:  Fall Transportation Meeting I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan Meeting Meeting materials will be available October 15 at www.ctb.virginia.gov/planning/fallmeetings/   The comment period ends on December 13.   Highway Comments VDOT Infrastructure Investment Director, Mail :  1401 East Broad Street, Richmond VA, 23219 Email :  Six-YearProgram@VDOT.Virginia.gov   Rail and Public Transit Comments DRPT Public Information Officer Mail :  600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA 23219 Email :  DRPTPR@DRPT.Virginia.gov   Meeting materials will be available October 18 at www.VA81Corridor.org      The comment period ends on November 30   Send comments to Ben Mannell at   Mail :  1401 East Broad Street, Richmond VA, 23219   Email :  VA81CorridorPlan@OIPI.Virginia.gov        

STAUNTON – The following is a list of highway work that may affect traffic in the Staunton transportation district during the coming weeks. The Staunton district consists of 11 counties from the Alleghany Highlands to the northern Shenandoah Valley:  Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke and Warren. Scheduled work is subject to change due to inclement weather and material supplies. Motorists are advised to watch for slow-moving tractors during mowing operations. When traveling through a work zone, be alert to periodic changes in traffic patterns and lane closures.

The on-ramp and off-ramp between northbound Interstate 81 and Route 262 (Woodrow Wilson Parkway) at exit 220 in Augusta County are scheduled for overnight closures and detours during the week of October 21-25, 2018. A northbound I-81 right-lane closure will also be in place during this time period. These traffic restrictions allow milling and paving of existing ramps, and an extension of the acceleration lane from Route 262 to northbound I-81.

 A portion of Route 602 (Walkers Creek Road) in Rockbridge County will be closed for bridge work at a tributary to Walkers Creek.  The closure begins on October 29 at 8 a.m. and lasts until November 9 at 5 p.m. 

The following is a list of highway work that may affect traffic in the Staunton transportation district during the coming weeks. The Staunton district consists of 11 counties from the Alleghany Highlands to the northern Shenandoah Valley:  Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke and Warren.

This week motorists should expect delays in the vicinity of Interstate 64 exit 87 westbound at Interstate 81 exit 221 southbound in Augusta County. There will be bridge deck work on the southbound ramp bridge from I-64 westbound to I-81 southbound. The right lane will be closed.