Europe initiatives

Even before the fateful battle in the English Channel, the kings of England recognized the need for hemp if their realm were ever to compete with Europe. Initially, the monarchs tried to coerce their subjects to raise hemp. The first such fiat came in 1533 when King Henry VIII commanded that for every sixty acres of arable land a farmer owned, a quarter acre was to be sown with hemp. The penalty for not doing so was to be three shillings and four pence. 

The practice of othering also had its spatial dimensions. It is illustrated by the evolving ideas concerning the placement of the boundaries between Europe and non-Europe. Initially, with European identity narrowly defined, so were Europe s boundaries. Excluded from Europe were the lands inhabited by Celts, Iberians, Slavs, Sami, Balts, Hungarians, Illyrians, and Hellenic peoples, as well as those who lived in what is now southern Italy (Jordan-Bychkov, 1996 21). Slowly the boundaries of Europe expanded to the Ural Mountains, but the Russians are not wholly embraced as fellow Europeans (Murphy, Jordan-Bychkov, Bychkova Jordan, 2008 1-16). Hence, the previous question, are the Russians Europeans ... 

However, this review will be somewhat different from the others in that geotextile developments in Europe (initially with nonwoven fabrics) will be presented first, with developments in America (initially with woven fabrics) following. The interchange between Europe and America up until 1977 will then be described along with developments in several other countries. Almost immediately after the first international... 

The relative toxicological characteristics of plasticizers have been studied for over 30 years in both the United States and Europe. Initially, the focus was on DOP (DEHP) and DOA (DEHA) because of their historical wide usage in many applications, including flexible PVC food films and medical devices, but this has expanded to several other phthalates. In recent years, a substantial database in this area has been developed for a variety of phthalates. A European trade association, the European Chemical Industry Federation (CEFIC), has summarized the known information, including numerous independent reviews, translating the impact of plasticizers on public health and the environment." Overall, these reviews have found phthalates safe for use as intended. 

Gasoline composition may also be regulated in Europe. A tripartite initiative is being carried out among the European Commission, the oil industry, and the automotive industry. Based on an analysis of the required improvements in air quaUty, new regulations are to be written that control vehicle emissions and fuel composition into the twenty-first century. 

On ornamental plants CCC is appHed to a2aleas, geraniums, and hibiscus (Hibiscus sp] to make compact plants, and to poinsettias to reduce stem height and increase the red color of the bracts. A considerable amount of work has been carried out on cereals with CCC to reduce stem length and inhibit lodging. In Europe, the effect of CCC on shortening the culms of cereals is dependent upon the genotype. It has been demonstrated that the effect is as follows wheat > triticale > durum wheat > rye > oats > barley > corn = millet = rice (37). In barley, culms are initially inhibited but later the plant overcomes the inhibition (37). This has been attributed to poor assimilation, translocation, and rapid breakdown in wheat (38). 

Manufacture. An extensive technology was developed initially ia the 1930s for isolation of ammonium thiocyanate from coke-oven gases, but this technology is no longer practiced ia the United States (372). However, such thiocyanate recovery processes are used iadustrially ia Europe. Likewise, the direct sulfurization of cyanides to thiocyanates is not practiced commercially ia the United States. The principal route used ia the United States is the reaction of carbon disulfide with aqueous ammonia, which proceeds by way of ammonium dithiocarbamate [513-74-6]. Upon heatiag, the ammonium dithiocarbamate decomposes to ammonium thiocyanate and hydrogen sulfide. 

Between the 1920s when the initial commercial development of mbbery elastomers based on 1,3-dienes began (5—7), and 1955 when transition metal catalysts were fkst used to prepare synthetic polyisoprene, researchers in the U.S. and Europe developed emulsion polybutadiene and styrene—butadiene copolymers as substitutes for natural mbber. However, the tire properties of these polymers were inferior to natural mbber compounds. In seeking to improve the synthetic material properties, research was conducted in many laboratories worldwide, especially in the U.S. under the Rubber Reserve Program. 

For many years use of this material was largely confined to America and it was seldom met in Europe because of the cheaper EVA materials available. In 1980, however, BP initiated production of such materials, whilst in the United States the material is produced by Union Carbide. The Dow company, whose product Zetafin was the most well-known grade, no longer supply the copolymer. 

The largest outlet for the bituminous plastics has been for automobile battery boxes. Bituminous battery boxes do, however, have a susceptibility to electrical breakdown between the cells and in Europe their use has been mainly confined to the cheaper batteries installed initially in new cars. Bituminous compositions have also been used for toilet cisterns and to some extent for cheap containers. They are no longer important. 

CAA. Chromic acid anodization [74-76]. was developed initially as a treatment to improve the corrosion resistance of aluminum surfaces, but it is also used as a surface treatment for adhesive bonding especially in Europe where it is used extensively in aerospace applieations [29,77],... 

Many of the building codes used initially in North America were imported from Europe by the early settlers. In 1630, the City of Boston building code stated No man shall build his chimney with wood nor cover his roof with thatch. In 1865, the City of New Orleans adopted an ordinance requiring the inspection of buildings for public use. In 1905 the National Board of Fire Undeiwriters published the first national building code in the United States, the Recommended National Building Code. 

---