International Journal of Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacturing 

Volume 10, Number 3, 2001 - 2002

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Contents
Contents 

The Nopaline Synthase Promoter as a Model System for Studying Plant Response to UV-B, by G.H. YU AND G. AN

    The destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer, which is mainly caused by humanproduced
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), has strikingly raised the level of ultraviolet B (UV-B)
radiation on the surface of earth. Plants on earth perceive and respond to UV-B present in
sunlight. Consequently, increase in the level of UV-B radiation affects plant growth due to
genetic alteration. Therefore, the interaction between the perception of UV-B and the
alteration of gene expression is of ecological significance. In this paper we discuss the
utilization of the nopaline synthase (nos) promoter as a model system on the effect of UV-B
on plant genes.

Integrating Eco-Compass Concept into Integrated Product and Process Development, by P. YAN, M. ZHOU, D. SEBASTIAN AND R. CAUDILL

    Our previous work introduced an integrated product and process development (IPPD)
methodology. Different product development issues are formally described as constrained
optimization problems that are solved using a life locus tree. This paper proposes to
integrate the concept of eco-compass into the methodology. Eco-compass evaluates
environmental impact using six indices: mass intensity, energy intensity, health and
environmental potential risk, revalorization, resource conservation, and service extension.
Plus cost and benefit, an eight-index vector is set up to evaluate the performance of
processes, life phases, and a product’s different life loci. As an example, we consider the
development of a business telephone. By applying the proposed approach and eco-compass
life cycle assessment data provided by NJIT’s LCA research group, we can select the optimal
telephone design and its associated production, usage, and recovery processes.

Determining the Feasibility of Using a Standardized Inventory Database for Calculating Environmental Impact of Products, by J.D. LINTON

    A study environmental impact data for metals and polymers is conducted to consider the
stability of the data. It was found that the variation in environmental impacts for materials
data may vary by orders of magnitude. Therefore, academe, policy makers, industry, and
other interested parties must calculate impacts for the entire lifecycle of a product for
decision making purposes. If environmental impacts are based on average data or other data
that is not specific to the product under question for most purposes the tremendous
variability will leave the calculation meaningless. Variables considered in this analysis
include: time, process variability, input variability, recycling of materials, product design,
and location.