Robert M. Hordon

Reestablishing Public Health and Land Use Planning to Protect Public Water Supplies

OBJECTIVES This study measured the extent to which land use, design, and engineering practices could reduce contamination of major public water supplies. METHODS Key parcels of land were identified in New Jersey, and the potential uncontrolled loading of contaminants was estimated with the US Environmental Protection Agencys Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment model for a variety of land use, design, and engineering scenarios. RESULTS High-density per-acre development and engineering controls, along with housing and light commercial activity near main railroads, would substantially reduce runoff. CONCLUSIONS In New Jersey, government and purveyor action is being taken as a result of, and in support of, these findings.

Hazardous waste site identification using aerial photography: A pilot study in Burlington County, New Jersey, USA

The objective of the project was to identify all hazardous waste sites in Burlington County, New Jersey that could be detected on existing, medium-scale aerial photographs of the county. The complete set of over 1000 black- and-white stereopairs at a scale of 1:12,000 was carefully examined for initial identification of possible sites. All suspicious sites were examined again on color transparencies of the county at the same 1:12,000 scale. Out of the 1094 black- and-white photos, 250 required further checking on color transparencies using a zoom stereoscope. This examination resulted in a final identification of 67 sites, the locations of which were delineated on 1:24,000 USGS maps. The use of air photo interpretation techniques provided an effective procedure for identifying waste sites quickly as well as providing a useful demonstration program for county and state officials.

Environmental Impact Statements: Some Annoying Questions

Abstract The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) may prove to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it may be of great importance in managing the environment by providing a stimulus to organized, multi-disciplinary research. On the other hand, NEPA opens the door to decisions made with misplaced concreteness and, more importantly, to the false justification of decisions motivated by political concerns and bureaucratic vested interests. The adequacy of the theoretical, data bank, and mathematical underpinnings of the impact studies, and the institutional responses to using and to evaluating the projected environmental impacts are analyzed in the context of the Suburban Action Institute proposal to construct moderate and low income housing in Mahwah, New Jersey.

A Review of “Coastlines: How Mapmakers Frame the World and Chart Environmental Change”: Mark Monmonier. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008. xiii and 228 pp., b/w maps, b/w photos, notes, bibliography, index.

use vector data formats, whereas fields uses raster data format. The key components of the georelational model for vector data are also described. Transformations of geographic representations are introduced and several examples are also given. The third part has three chapters. Chapter 10 focuses on the principles of cartography representation including scale, generalization, classifications, media formats, and cartographic representation types. Essential elements of map design are also described. The illustration of dasymetric mapping is excellent. Chapter 11 discusses the culturally influenced issues inherent in geographic representation and cartographic representation. The chapter considers accuracy as the most important issue, as it questions what and how geographic information and maps represent. Another important issue is that geographic information and maps must be created for some economic and political reasons; the choices people make when creating geographic information and maps should also be linked with cultural aspects. Chapter 12 turns to the administration of spaces, which is implemented through geographic and cartographic representation. Governmental practices include cadastre, and the recent developments of the Multipurpose Land Information System, Spatial Data Infrastructure, digital libraries, and Digital Earth. The fourth part touches on geographic information analysis and discusses the future of GIS. Chapter 13 describes basic types of geographic information analysis and their applications. It is also pointed out that choices made in analysis follow the same convention in geographic or cartographic representation. Present geographic information analyses rely primarily on GIS and they are facilitating the development of each other. Chapter 14 introduces geostatistics analysis. The underlying concepts such as pattern and process and spatial autocorrelation are well explained. The modifiable areal unit problem is also described. Terrain analysis, chi-square analysis, and spatial interpolation, as application techniques of geostatistics, are discussed. Some application examples of geostatistics are also given. Chapter 15 gives some thoughts on the future of GIS. A brief history of GIS is presented. The author points out location-based services (LBS) as the most promising development of GIS for the next few years. Ethical and data issues are challenges for LBS, but other fundamental technical and organizational challenges will still remain. The contents of this book focus on the fundamental geographic and cartographic concepts of GIS. Exercises and questions at the end of each chapter are useful but not adequate. The book can be used for a one-semester introductory GIS course; however, the instructor might have to prepare the computer lab part, which in my opinion is very important for an introductory GIS course, from some other materials.

25.00 cloth (ISBN 0-226-5340300).

Abstract A model is developed that simulates dissolved oxygen values at biweekly intervals for 38 sampling locations in a river system. The model is subsequently used to test and, in turn, to seriously question current water quality planning approaches.