• Title/Summary/Keyword: states of water

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Setting a Direction for United States Water Policy

  • Reid, Kenneth D.;Engberg, Richard A.
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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    • 2010.05a
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    • pp.121-121
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    • 2010
  • The water resources of the United States are increasingly at risk and the nation's water policy is in serious difficulty. Water resources protection laws primarily passed since 1950 often contradict water resources development laws passed before 1950. These contradictions complicate efficient and effective responses to the nation's water resources challenges including climate change, our aging infrastructures, changing population dynamics, drought, floods, wetlands and aquatic species loss, ecosystem restoration and many others. In addition, water law and policy determination, management and enforcement are so broadly distributed between, local, state and federal responsibilities that effective responses again are difficult. For example, at the national level alone, more than a dozen federal agencies have water resources responsibilities including resource development, resource assessment, and resource protection. They are presided over by six cabinet (Ministerial) departments, at least 13 congressional (parliamentarian) committees and 23 subcommittees, and are funded by five appropriations subcommittees. Lastly, good science and the public accountability associated with it are often overshadowed by political considerations at local, state and federal levels. The United States approach to solving water resources challenges is ad hoc - we address problems as they appear or as they merit political support rather than using good science to address our long term water resources needs.

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A Study on the Structural Problems and Global Development Model and Policy of the Distant-water Fisheries, Korea (원양어업의 경영구조적 문제와 글로벌 발전모델 및 정책에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Sang-Go
    • Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.85-97
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    • 2006
  • With extension of national jurisdiction over coastal living resources, new dimensions and objectives should be added to international cooperation in distant-water fisheries concepts. For distant-water fishing nations, Korea, joint exploitation of these resources is today considered not only as a way of producing additional income opportunities, but first of all as at least a partial solution to neutralization of harvesting limitations imposed on them in traditionally exploited fishing grounds.This paper explores the development of Korean distant-water fisheries agreements and reviews the various types of agreements currently in place and discusses the future of Korean distant-water fisheries agreements with third countries. The relationship between coastal States and fishing fleets from non-adjacent countries has been transformed since the 1980s. This was primarily a result of the declaration of Exclusive Economic Zones(EEZs) by many coastal states in the years leading up to the close of the negotiations of the UNCLOS in 1982. Significantly, by recognizing the right of coastal states to determine how their waters were to be exploited, UNCLOS provided a legal basis and economic motivation for the negotiation of access agreements between coastal states and distant-water fishing nations, KoreaThere is a real danger that Korean distant-water fisheries agreements could and do result in the adverse environmental impacts experienced in Korean coastal waters being transferred to third country water and consequently creating socio-economic problems for these third countries. Korean distant-water fisheries agreements with third countries have the potential to be a force for good if they are well managed and if the principals that will be applied within Korean coastal waters, through the reform of the distant-water fisheries policy, are applied equally upon third country waters.

Development of Water Quality Modeling in the United States

  • Ambrose, Robert B;Wool, Tim A;Barnwell, Thomas O.
    • Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.200-210
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    • 2009
  • The modern era of water quality modeling in the United States began in the 1960s. Pushed by advances in computer technology as well as environmental sciences, water quality modeling evolved through five broad periods: (1) initial model development with mainframe computers (1960s - mid 1970s), (2) model refinement and generalization with minicomputers (mid 1970s - mid 1980s), (3) model standardization and support with microcomputers (mid 1980s - mid 1990s), (4) better model access and performance with faster desktop computers running Windows and local area networks linked to the Internet (mid 1990s - early 2000s), and (5) model integration and widespread use of the Internet (early 2000s - present). Improved computer technology continues to drive improvements in water quality models, including more detailed environmental analysis (spatially and temporally), better user interfaces and GIS software, more accessibility to environmental data from on-line repositories, and more robust modeling frameworks linking hydrodynamics, water quality, watershed and atmospheric models. Driven by regulatory needs and advancing technology, water quality modeling will continue to improve to better address more complicated water bodies and pollutant types, and more complicated management questions. This manuscript describes historical trends in water quality model development in the United States, reviews current efforts, and projects promising future directions.

Drivers of Crop Productivity and Resource Use Efficiencies in Apple between Western and Eastern States in the US

  • Kim, Soo-Hyung
    • Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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    • 2015.08a
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    • pp.18-28
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    • 2015
  • Apple is cultivated under various climatic conditions in many parts of the world. Better understanding of how climate, genotype, soil, and management factors interact to determine crop productivity will improve our ability to optimize crop selection, management strategies, and resource use efficiencies. We developed and applied a physiology-based apple canopy model to evaluate how climatic factors and crop phenotypes interact to determine biomass accumulation, radiation use efficiency (RUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) at multiple production sites between western and eastern states of the US including WA, CA, NY, WV, and PA. Our results indicate that solar radiation is a dominant factor limiting biomass production in the eastern states while VPD is the primary factor governing crop water use across eastern and western states during the peak growing season. Crop RUE and WUE were strongly correlated in the western states but not in the eastern states while VPD showed highly negative correlation with both RUE and WUE across all locations. The RUE improved with increasing fraction of diffuse radiation ($f_{df}$) and the $RUE-f_{df}$ relationships revealed distinctive responses between western and eastern states. Overall, the eastern locations exhibited slightly higher RUE and WUE than the western locations. However, overall productivity and total water use were greater in the western states. A clear decline of productivity with increasing temperature and afternoon VPD past an optimum was predicted in the western locations but this pattern was less clear in the eastern locations. We also discuss potential phenotypes with specific physiological and morphological traits that are differentially suitable for western and eastern locations. Our results provide plausible, spatially explicit explanations and insights to disentangle the complex relationships between crop productivity, resource use efficiencies, phenotype, and climate drivers in apple grown in the US.

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Overcoming Negotiation Asymmetry in Transboundary Water Relations: The Rhine River Basin Case

  • Rho, Helen Hyun
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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    • 2015.05a
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    • pp.230-230
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    • 2015
  • When and why do states cooperate in international basins? In recent years, there have been increasing attempts to apply international relations theories such as realism and neo-liberal institutionalism in understanding prospect of cooperation among sovereign states over shared rivers. Realists of hydropolitics argue that fate of cooperation resides in hands of hegemons and distribution of aggregate power among riparian states. Such pessimistic contention has been challenged by neo-liberal institutionalists, especially through regime theory. However, regime theory barely explains why and how cooperation emerges in the first place prior to regime formation. Therefore, the research suggests the game theory from neo-liberal institutionalism as an alternative theoretic approach. The accountability of Oye (1986)'s theoretical framework is illustrated through the case of cooperation in the Rhine River Basin.

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Hydropower Development and Sustainability in the Mekong River Basin

  • Lee, Seung-Ho
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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    • 2012.05a
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    • pp.37-37
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    • 2012
  • The study aims to evaluate the complexity of relationships between the riparian states - China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia - in the Mekong River Basin since the mid-1990s with special reference to the discourse on hydropower development. A special emphasis will be put on the influence of China on hydropower development. Although a variety of issues on the river basin have been discussed among the riparian states, none of them has been effectively implemented owing to the lack of China's commitment to the discussions for sustainable water management. Now, a new turning point is observed in the region with emergence of the issue on hydropower development, not only in the upper basin but also in the lower basin. The discourse on hydropower in Mekong has quickly drawn attention of the public, accelerated by the onset of construction of the Xayabury Dam in Laos since November 2010. The influence of China as the upstream country with its political, economic, and military power has increasingly grown in the region over the last few decades, and such trend recently intensifies together with an expansion of Chinese commercial interests in the region. Since the establishment of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in 1995, the four MRC members have striven to push forward a sustainable use of water resources in the basin. But the legitimacy of the MRC system has been eroded due to the lack of participation by Myanmar and China, and in particular, the Chinese absence has made the four riparian states blind about the change of water regime due to the Chinese dams upstream. Environmental damages due to hydropower development might be possible, including a drop of fish yields, crop production, and damages to the river's ecosystems. Vietnam and Cambodia have already expressed their concerns over the dam construction towards China as well as Laos by pointing out detrimental impacts of the dams to their economies. China's move to collaborate with the other riparian states since 2010 has given a positive signal in terms of sustainable water management in the river. However, this phenomenon never confirms China's proactive contribution to the cooperative activities within the framework of the MRC system. Laos' initiative to build a new dam in the lower basin alarms those who are opposed to dam construction in the fear of its far-reaching damages to the environment. The question goes back to the year-long debate on policy priorities given to economic growth or the environment. The riparian states require wisdom based on a consensus about sustainable water use rather than hydropower development based on individual growth dreams.

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A Comparison Study on Fire Water Supply Duration and Capacity of Water Based Fire Suppression System of the United States, Japan, China and Korea (우리나라, 중국, 일본, 미국 수계소화설비 소화수 공급시간 및 소화수원에 대한 비교 연구)

  • Min, Se-Hong;Nam, Yu-Hyun
    • Fire Science and Engineering
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.13-20
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    • 2013
  • Buildings in Korea have been getting higher recently and been being changed environmentally since the Korean fire standard was released in 1968. It should be established to make a appropriate correspondence of fire fighting against the those environmental changes. Most of all, fire water capacity which is basis of fire fighting service is a very significant factor. In this paper, the Korean fire water capacity and fire water duration were compared with China, Japan and the United states. Furthermore, fire water capacity, fire water duration, flow rate were compared by hazard classification, occupant use, number of floor and area with water based fire suppression system. This study has been surveyed to show what are difference, similarity, advantage and disadvantage on fire water capacity in the Korean standard comparing with neighboring countries like China, Japan as well as the United states. This study could be found what level the Korean fire water capacity is. So it suggests about more developed standard on fire water capacity with the result of analysis and comparison.

International Comparison of National Elementary Science Curriculum and Science Textbook on Introduction of Particulate Concept (물질의 입자적 관점 도입에 대한 초등과학 교육과정 및 교과서 국제 비교)

  • Sim, Byeongju;Yoon, Heesook
    • Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.147-160
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study is to compare the elementary science curriculum and textbooks of Korea, the United States, Japan, and Singapore to know how the contents on particulate concept of matter is introduced and expressed. In Korea, particulate concept of matter was adopted as a term for 'molecules' in the 3rd through 6th curriculum, and the term for 'particles' was adopted in the 2009 revised curriculum. In the United States, NGSS adopted the term 'particle' in fifth grade. Japan presented the concept of 'particle' as a core concept of matter in the commentary, and the expressions 'particles' were being introduced in the textbooks. But it did not cover particulate nature of matter at the elementary school level in Singapore. An analysis of elementary textbooks in Korea, the United States and Japan except Singapore showed particulate expressions in 'dissolution', 'state change of water', 'gas pressure and volume', 'combustion and extinguishment' units. Korean textbook was only being introduced in 'dissolution' and 'gas pressure and volume', but in the textbooks of Japan and the United States, water was expressed as particles in 'state change of water' unit. Discussion and implication on the introduction of particulate concept to elementary science curriculum and textbooks were suggested based on the results.