scholarly journals Risk and Impact Assessment of Dams in the Contiguous United States Using the 2018 National Inventory of Dams Database

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1066
Author(s):  
Junho Song ◽  
Madden Sciubba ◽  
Jonghun Kam
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽  
Dam Failure ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Hazard Potential ◽  
Significant Potential ◽  
National Inventory

Aging water infrastructure in the United States (U.S.) is a growing concern. In the U.S., over 90,000 dams were registered in the 2018 National Inventory of Dams (NID) database, and their average age was 57 years old. Here, we aim to assess spatiotemporal patterns of the growth of artificial water storage of the existing dams and their hazard potential and potential economic benefit. In this study, we use more than 70,000 NID-registered dams to assess the cumulative hazard potential of dam failure in terms of the total number and the cumulative maximum storage of dams over the 12 National Weather Service River Forecast Center (RFC) regions. In addition, we also estimate potential economic benefits of the existing dams based on their cumulative storage capacity. Results show that the ratios of the cumulative storage capacity to the long-term averaged precipitation range from 8% (Mid-Atlantic) to 50% (Colorado), indicating the significant anthropogenic contribution to the land surface water budget. We also find that the cumulative storage capacity of the dams with high (probable loss of human life is if the dam fails) and significant (potential economic loss and environmental damage with no probable casualty) hazard potential ranges from 50% (North Central) to 98% (Missouri and Colorado) of the total storage capacity within the corresponding region. Surprisingly, 43% of the dams with either high or significant potential hazards have no Emergency Action Plan. Potential economic benefits from the existing dams range from $0.7 billion (Mid Atlantic) to $15.4 billion (West Gulf). Spatiotemporal patterns of hazard potential and economic benefits from the NID-registered dams indicate a need for the development of region-specific preparation, emergency, and recovery plans for dam failure. This study provides an insight about how big data, such as the NID database, can provide actionable information for community resilience toward a safer and more sustainable environment.

All Things Harmless, Useful, and Ornamental

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete Minard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Local Species

Species acclimatization--the organized introduction of organisms to a new region--is much maligned in the present day. However, colonization depended on moving people, plants, and animals from place to place, and in centuries past, scientists, landowners, and philanthropists formed acclimatization societies to study local species and conditions, form networks of supporters, and exchange supposedly useful local and exotic organisms across the globe. Pete Minard tells the story of this movement, arguing that the colonies, not the imperial centers, led the movement for species acclimatization. Far from attempting to re-create London or Paris, settlers sought to combine plants and animals to correct earlier environmental damage and to populate forests, farms, and streams to make them healthier and more productive. By focusing particularly on the Australian colony of Victoria, Minard reveals a global network of would-be acclimatizers, from Britain and France to Russia and the United States. Although the movement was short-lived, the long reach of nineteenth-century acclimatization societies continues to be felt today, from choked waterways to the uncontrollable expansion of European pests in former colonies.

scholarly journals Exploring Higher Rates of Breastfeeding Among Civilian Military Wives: A Mixed Methods Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Ringo ◽  
Sheila M. Gephart
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Short Form ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Military Wives ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
The Military

Abstract Background: As compared to the United States general postpartum population, civilian military wives encounter unique challenges that can impede their ability to breastfeed, including geographic replacement and physical and emotional challenges. Yet despite these challenges, civilian military wives demonstrate higher rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration in the United States postpartum population as a whole. The purpose of this study was to explore factors contributing to the high rate of breastfeeding initiation and duration among civilian military wives and to determine what might be learned from these factors for intervention design for the broader population of postpartum mothers. Methods: The sample consisted of 28 civilian military wives whose ages ranged from 18-45. The study was conducted online using a concurrent mixed-methods design. Results: Seven main themes with 16 subthemes emerged from the descriptions of the semi-structured interviews. The results of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form score was 55.2 (SD = 5.73). The results of the integrative analysis revealed that factors within the military environment influence a sense of community, thus supporting their breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSE). Additionally, supportive and pro-breastfeeding healthcare facilitators (especially lactation consultants) throughout the prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum periods described by civilian military wives were associated with high levels of breastfeeding self-efficacy among civilian military wives. Moreover, high levels of breastfeeding self-efficacy related to breastfeeding skills and duration were associated with the accessibility of resources within the military environment, breastfeeding health and economic benefits, and setting of a breastfeeding goal. Conclusions: Using a concurrent mixed-methods design, this study identified facilitators from the descriptions of civilian military wives that they believed promote their higher rates of breastfeeding initiation and continuation, quantified their high level of breastfeeding self-efficacy, and identified descriptive factors that contributed to both areas lacking in the literature among this population.

scholarly journals The Plight of Women in Positions of Corporate Leadership in the United States, the European Union, and Japan: Differing Laws and Cultures, Similar Issues

2020 ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Bettina Binder ◽  
Terry Morehead Dworkin ◽  
Niculina Nae ◽  
Cindy Schipani ◽  
Irina Averianova
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Status

Gender diversity in corporate governance is a highly debated issue worldwide. National campaigns such as “2020 Women on Boards” in the United States and “Women on the Board Pledge for Europe” are examples of just two initiatives aimed at increasing female representation in the corporate boardroom. Several European countries have adopted board quotas as a means toward achieving gender diversity. Japan has passed an Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace to lay a foundation for establishing targets for promoting women. This Article examines the status of women in positions of leadership in the United States, several major countries in the European Union, and Japan. We focus on the legal backdrop in each jurisdiction regarding gender discrimination and studies tending to demonstrate the economic benefits of gender diversity. We conclude that although important steps have been taken in the direction of narrowing the gender gap in all jurisdictions examined, progress has been slow and difficult across the board. The issue of too few women at the top will not be resolved until there is a wider acceptance that female leaders can benefit their organizations and contribute to social and economic progress. Moreover, the presence of women on corporate boards is valuable in and of itself and the status quo ought to be further challenged in international business.

Chinese Contractors in the United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Catherine Yap CO
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Exciting Opportunity ◽  
Engineering Firms ◽  
American Society ◽  
Civil Engineers

A 2009 American Society of Civil Engineers report indicates significant underinvestment in the maintenance and upgrading of US infrastructure. The group estimates a five-year investment of US$2.2 trillion is required. This presents an exciting opportunity for Chinese construction and engineering firms. Because infrastructure work provides long-term economic benefits, if done without controversy, they might generate goodwill towards China and may even help advance Chinese commercial interests in the United States.

AHMED GALAL AND ROBERT Z. LAWRENCE, ED., Building Bridges: An Egypt–US Free Trade Agreement (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998). Pp. 121. $29.95 cloth.

2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Salem
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Brookings Institution ◽  
Optimal Form

Has the time come for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Egypt and the United States? According to the contributors to Building Bridges, an FTA is the logical next step in the Egypt–U.S. relationship. This policy-oriented volume explores the conditions under which the benefits of an FTA between the parties would be maximized. Although the contributors reach different conclusions regarding the optimal form of the Egypt–U.S. FTA, consensus is reached on one point: an FTA between Egypt and the United States will produce economic benefits for both nations.

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