Goals national

National Research Council (1996) Linking Science and Technology to Society s Environmental Goals, National Academy Press, Washington D.C. 

Starting in the city of Sao Paulo in 1977, and extending to the entire state of Sao Paulo in 1978, a gasohol incorporating 20% ethanol was mandated. Brazil s National Alcohol Program (Proalcool) set an initial goal of providing the 20% fuel mixture nationwide by 1980—1981 and a system of special tax, warranty, and price considerations were enacted to advance the aims of Proalcool. 

Petroleum and its lighter congener, natural gas, are the predominant sources of hydrocarbon raw materials, accounting for over 95% of all such materials. Assuring sources of petroleum and natural gas has become a primary goal of national poHcies all over the world, and undoubtedly was one of the principal justifications for the 1992 Gulf War. 

FoUowiag Monsanto s success, several companies produced membrane systems to treat natural gas streams, particularly the separation of carbon dioxide from methane. The goal is to produce a stream containing less than 2% carbon dioxide to be sent to the national pipeline and a permeate enriched ia carbon dioxide to be flared or reinjected into the ground. CeUulose acetate is the most widely used membrane material for this separation, but because its carbon dioxide—methane selectivity is only 15—20, two-stage systems are often required to achieve a sufficient separation. The membrane process is generally best suited to relatively small streams, but the economics have slowly improved over the years and more than 100 natural gas treatment plants have been installed. 

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which maintains the U.S. National Defense Stockpile (NDS), sold 267 t of stockpiled mercury in 1992 (14). The DLA also sold 103 t of secondary mercury from the Department of Energy (DOE) stocks at Oak Ridge, Teimessee. The DLA accepts bids for prime virgin mercury on a daily basis, and for secondary mercury once a month. Inventories on December 31, 1992 were 4766 t of mercury in the NDS and 121 t of DOE mercury (14). The goal for both is zero. 

National Defense Stockpile Goal for tin at 42,700 metric tons. On January 2, 1980, the Strategic and Critical Materials Transaction Authorization Act became effective. This authorizes the President to dispose of materials determined to be excessive to the current needs of the stockpile. This act provides for the sale of up to 35,600 metric tons of tin, including a contribution of up to 5100 metric tons of tin to the International Tin Council (ITC) buffer stock (see below). The GSA set up a schedule to offer about 500 metric tons of Grade A tin, for domestic sales and consumption only, every other Tuesday beginning July 1, 1980. On December 14, 1981, the restrictions on exporting the GSA tin sold were lifted sales increased immediately. Thus, from July 1, 1980, through December 11, 1981, the total GSA sales were 3170 metric tons. An additional 1815 metric tons were sold soon thereafter, mostiy to traders (10). 

Because of the strategic nature of many of the uses, vanadium is one of the materials designated in the National Defense Stockpile Inventory. The goals for 1980 for vanadium-containing materials was 907 metric tons of contained vanadium in ferrovanadium, and 6985 t of contained vanadium in vanadium pentoxide. As of March 1981, the inventory consisted of 4911 of contained vanadium in vanadium pentoxide there was no ferrovanadium in the inventory (22). 

The goal of filtration in the modem municipal treatment plant is a maximum of 0.1 ntu (nephelometric turbidity unit), which ensures a sparkling, clear water (8). Freedom from disease organisms is associated with freedom from turbidity, and complete freedom from taste and odor requites no less than such clarity. The National Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NIPDWR) requite that the maximum contaminant level for turbidity at the point of entry into the distribution system be 1.0 ntu unless it can be shown that levels up to 5 ntu do not interfere with disinfection, interfere with the maintenance of a chlorine residual in the distribution system, nor interfere with bacteriological analyses. 

All these standards have since been adopted by the member countries as their national standards, fully or in slightly modified forms, to suit their own requirements and working conditions. These standards define and clarify the quality norms and aim at in-house quality disciplines, to automatically and continually produce a product, provide a service or programme to the stipulated specifications, quality norms and customer needs. They guarantee a product or service with a minimum quality. The envisaged quality systems thus aim at a work culture that pervades all those involved in different key activities or processes, to achieve the desired goal through carefully evolved systems. 

The United States Clean Air Act of 1977 set as a national goal the prevention of any future degradation and the reduction of any existing impairment of visibility in mandatory class I federal areas caused by anthropogenic air pollution. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 reinforce the support of these goals. (See Chapter 22 foj a discussion of federal classes of areas.) These areas include most of the major national parks, such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion Park. This portion of the Clean Air Act ad-... 

When the objective of water treatment is to provide drinking water, then we need to select technologies that are not only the best available, but those that will meet local and national quality standards. The primary goals of a water treatment plant... 

The Clean Air Act is the comprehensive Federal law that regulates air en stationary, and mobile sources. This law authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and the environment. The goal of the Act was to set and achieve NAAQS in every state by 1975. This ng of maximum pollutant standards was coupled with directing the states to develop state... 

Congress passed the Occupational and Safety Health Act to ensure worker and workplace safety. Their goal was to make sure employers provide their workers a place of employment free from recognized hazards to safety and health, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions. In order to establish standards for workplace health and safety, the Act also created the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as the research institution for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor which oversees the administration of the Act and enforces Federal standards in all 50 states. 

Directs national efforts to meet air quality goals, particularly for smog, air toxics, carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter (soot and dust), sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The office is responsible for more than half of the guidance documents, regulations, and regulatory activities required by the Clean Air Act Amendments of1990. 

Higher incomes, higher automobile ownership, and a decline in the population and workplaces that can be sciwcd by mass transit has lead to the declining mass transit demand. Criticism of this shift toward the private automobile comes mainly because the individual driver receives the short-term benefits (privacy, comfort, speed, and convenience), while the negative social consequences (air pollution, traffic jams, and resource depletion) are shared by all. Moreover, if people drove less, and drove more-fuel-efficient vehicles, the positive national goal of less dependence on imported oil would be achieved. 

Where regional development is to be undertaken it is reasonable to adopt a positive ecological approach. This can begin with the formulation of a conservation policy with specific goals. These may include the conservation of individual animal/plant species or habitat types which are threatened by development. A program of conservation projects (e.g. the setting up of national parks, country parks or natural reserves) will meet the goals. This positive approach to the ecosystem will not only benefit wildlife but will also create the opportunities for tourism and leisure, which are vital adjuncts to most development projects. 

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