Planetary Boundaries

Dow TNC Collaboration

Dow TNC Collaboration

Dow TNC CollaborationDow Texas Operations: Non attainment zone for ozone pollution

Ozone forms from precursor pollutants: NOx, VOCsProspect of tightened standards in future

Emissions Abatement through Reforestation?

Dow TNC Collaboration

1000 acre project

$470,000

122-202 tons NOx

removed over 30 years

Cost competitive andadditional benefits:

Other health effectsHabitat creationCarbon credits

Dow TNC CollaborationAnalysis: What Is the Value of Water — for Today and Tomorrow?

So how can companies such as Dow account for the value of water and the role that marshes, forests and other ecosystems play in maintaining water flow?

And how can those companies use this understanding to plan for current and future availability of water from the Brazos to both its operations and stakeholders in the area — including nature?

Dow TNC CollaborationAnalysis: What Is the Value of Water — for Today and Tomorrow?

-Brazos River demand exceeds supply for 10 to 20% of year; Demand will increase over 50% in next 50 years

-Used demand, climate change model to predict water availability; synergistic effects apparent

-Identifying "green" and "gray" infrastructure options that could help maintain flow in the river; and

-Analyzing the economics of those options to understand which ones will produce the most value for water users, including Dow, and the environment.

Dow TNC Collaboration

Strategy:

Intersex

Hermes Aphrodite

Hermaphrodite

Dissection and Histology

Ovary Testis

Dissection and Histology

Dissection and Histology

Frequency of Intersex in Green Frogs

Prevalence of ‘Intersex Ponds’

Category Intersex in :

Undeveloped 0 of 2 PondsAgriculture 4 of 11Suburban 5 of 6Urban 3 of 4

Focus on the Suburbs:The Ponds of Avon

Follow Up Study Using 28 Ponds in One Suburban Town:

Intersex Incidence: 18% of IndividualsIntersex Prevalence: 94% of PondsCaffeine: 71% of Ponds

Next Step: What’s in the water?

Larry Barber, USGS

Geoff Giller, Yale Max Lambert, Yale

Water Sampling

• 6 bottles (three each, surface and groundwater)

• Field Measurements– Conductivity, TDS,

DO, Temperature, Depth

Frog Collection

• Green metamorphs• 20 - 50 per pond

Conductivity and Development Intensity

Contaminants: Preliminary Results

• Lithium• Carbamazepine (anticonvulsant/mood

disorders)• Sulfamethoxazole (antibiotic)• Gadolinium (Sewer Adjacent Ponds)• Atrazine not detected

Estrogens in Forested, Sewer, and Septic Ponds

Landscape Influences

Landscape Influences

Sex Ratio and Development Intensity

Sex Ratio and Development Intensity

What do we do?

Household Scale Septic Filter?

Conclusions- Intersex Frogs Common, Sex Ratio Variable

- Land Cover Strongly Predictive (Suburbs)

- Contamination Diverse, Pervasive; Implies Domestic Origin

- Implications for Sex Determination