The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) - formerly the District Department of the Environment - serves as an agency within the Executive Branch of the District of Columbia (DC) government in the United States to consolidate the administration and oversight of environmental and energy programs, services, laws, and regulations. Under the authority of [DC Law 16-51], DOEE was formed[when?] through a merger of the DC Government's Environmental Health Administration, the DC Energy Office, policy functions of the Tree Management Administration and policy functions of the Office of Recycling.DOEE is a "one-stop shop" for programs and services that protect human health and the environment and address energy efficiency issues for all sectors of the city. DOEE programs are designed to facilitate cleaner air and water, green our neighborhoods and building space, and assist with the management of hazardous and toxic waste disposal. Additionally, DOEE conducts community and educational outreach to increase public awareness of environmental and energy related issues.[citation needed].
The increasing demand for sustainable and renewable energy sources has driven significant interest in biomass as a viable alternative source, which also converts waste into energy. The work has focused on designing an experimental setup and then performing the gasification of three agricultural wastes, wheat straw pellets (WSP), rice straw pellets (RSP), and soybean straw pellets (SSP), by forming their pellets. These are then mixed in different proportions as per hypercube sampling data for the gasification process, and pellets are then subjected to elemental analysis, proximate analysis, and calculation of their high heating value. All the pellets are passed through a downdraft gasifier, and the syngas produced is assessed for its properties. After this process, the artificial intelligence (AI) models, like causal discovery networks (CDNs) for correlation study between the input and output parameters, and multiobjective Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) for optimum mix identification, are used. The algorithm predicted that a mixture of 13.3% WSP, 8.0% RSP, and 78.7% SSP in the pellets would produce 18.89% CO in the syngas, having a higher heating value (HHV) of 4.97 MJ/m3. The experimental validation with these mixes found that the algorithm had an error of less than 5% proving its efficiency. These analyses help refine the pellet mix and processing parameters, ensuring improved energy yield and operational efficiency.
Biological invasions by non-native species pose significant threats to agriculture, ecosystems, human health, and economies. Despite the efforts of management agencies, many populations of invasive species continue to persist and spread, necessitating a deeper understanding of the processes influencing their growth and expansion. We investigated the potential for unwanted genetic rescue to increase the population growth rate and spread of invasive European fallow deer (Dama dama) in south-eastern Australia. Using a single nucleotide polymorphism dataset from over 340 individuals, we assessed genetic diversity, levels of inbreeding, and population structure and connectivity. We found low genetic diversity and heightened inbreeding across most fallow deer surveyed, highlighting potential for inbreeding depression. However, a small number of populations had significantly higher diversity and lower inbreeding. We hypothesize that the high diversity populations stem from farmers importing diverse fallow deer lineages for artificial breeding, with some of those animals (or their progeny) subsequently escaping or being released into the wild. We explored the potential for recently imported genetic variants to spread across populations by examining population connectivity. Finally, to demonstrate the risk of unwanted genetic rescue in fallow deer, we simulated population growth under different scenarios and show that reduced inbreeding is expected to substantially increase population growth rates. Our study highlights the importance of integrating genetic considerations into invasive species control. To enhance deer management in Australia we recommend considering migration patterns in control program design, containing high-diversity populations, and strengthening the containment and biosecurity requirements of farmed and imported deer.
Graphite is widely used as a promising anode material for various battery systems because of its low cost, high capacity, and low operation potential. During Li intercalation and deintercalation, graphite undergoes a series of stage transitions, the behavior of which depends on the electrolyte system. However, the Li intercalation/deintercalation behavior of graphite in all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) is not fully understood because previous Raman spectroscopy studies on ASSBs have reported inconsistent stage transition behaviors. Herein, we investigate the Li intercalation/deintercalation behavior of graphite in ASSBs using operando Raman spectroscopy while simultaneously tracking the spatial reaction distribution within the electrode by optical imaging. During the intercalation process, graphite exhibits the same stage transition behavior as in conventional lithium-ion batteries, whereas Li deintercalation follows an apparently irreversible stage transition pathway. This apparent irreversibility originates from an inhomogeneous reaction distribution across the thickness of the graphite electrode rather than the intrinsic staging behavior of graphite. These findings resolve the inconsistencies reported in previous Raman spectroscopy studies and demonstrate that spatial information on the reaction distribution within electrodes is essential for accurately interpreting the stage transition mechanism of graphite in ASSBs.
Initial attack refers to the first set of firefighting actions undertaken at a newly reported fire, with the aim to control the fire’s spread. When multiple fires are reported and resources constrained, decisions need to be made about triaging fires for an escalated response. We developed empirical initial attack models for grass and forest fires for the specific purpose of triaging fires. We aimed to improve on previous models and evaluate the models relative to their intended application. We used a recently developed dataset of spreading fires and tested three statistical modelling techniques to model the probability of unsuccessful initial attack. Our results show that the models have limited skill overall and are unable to distinguish fires where bottlenecks affect the initial attack suppression. The best performance was seen in the case of lightning-ignited forest fires. Our improvements to the approach and validation did not give a reliable model for operational triage of fires, because there are many on-the-ground factors that influence how successful initial attack will be that are difficult to capture in data. This study shows the importance of taking an application specific approach to developing and validating initial attack models. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Safer Together
Although the electrochemical reactions inside battery cells form the foundation of various energy storage and conversion processes, they are invisible because the electrodes facing the separator are pressed and closed in the cell. In this study, an optically transmitted ultra-thin Cu electrode was developed and the Li-metal plating behaviors inside the cells were observed, where a pressed planar interface existed between the electrodes and the electrolyte-soaked separator. The gas evolution at the pressed interface strongly disturbed the Li-metal plating, leading to a porous Li-plating morphology and unstable cycling with low Coulombic efficiency. Visual inspection of the pressed interface revealed the basic mechanisms of and resolved questions regarding Li-metal batteries, as well as various other devices based on closed-cell configurations.
