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Will the insurance coverage you have purchased be adequate enough to protect your assets in the event of a loss? If you suffer a loss, are you willing to settle for adequate instead of whole—especially if the loss is your dining hall or camper cabins? How long has it been since you reviewed your coverage with your insurer? Have you built new buildings, renovated, updated old buildings, or replaced your pool with a new one? Each year as you prepare for your insurance renewal, you should be asking yourself these questions.
The American Camp Association's® (ACA) National Insurance Committee hosts an annual roundtable discussion with our insurance business partners and other insurers of camps. The committee has a charge to help educate members in areas related to risk management, and the roundtable provides a starting point for many issues. This article—Part 2 of lessons learned from this important roundtable discussion—features the importance of reviewing your insurance portfolio—before a loss. This review could mean the difference between being able to continue delivering the program you want to offer and delivering what you can with what you have left.
Can You Afford to Be Underinsured?
Sometimes we delude ourselves by thinking that if we purchase insurance it will make us whole again in the event of a loss – and that is what it could and should do—if you have the right coverage. But making sure you have enough coverage is just as much your responsibility as it is your insurance agent or broker. Your agent or broker generally relies on you to give him the information needed to create an insurance package suitable to your needs; unfortunately insurance is an area in which many of us are willing to hedge our bets. Insurance can be expensive if you own a large number of assets or offer high risk programs—but not enough or not having the right coverage can be exponentially more expensive. This basic primer of some coverage available for purchase and some suggestions can help you control potential losses. You should consult with your agent or broker to make sure that you have the coverage you need.
Property, Business Interruption, and Extra Expense Coverage
Hurricanes, raging wildfires, paralyzing snow storms, floods, severe droughts, septic systems backing up, mold, and power losses are just a few of the threats to our facilities and infrastructures. Hurricane Katrina and the wildfires last year were devastating events that caught many camp owners off guard and underinsured. In come cases, along with the property loss came the complete loss of use of their camps. What happens if your camp is not operational for a month or an entire season? How do you cover your expenses and keep your full-time staff on the payroll without an income source?
Property coverage under the basic form covers fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, smoke, sprinkler leakage, vandalism, and more. These are some of the more common losses that camps experience. The broad form coverage includes all that the basic form covers along with damage from falling objects, weight of ice or snow, and water damage. Special form includes losses resulting from theft. Coverage can be further broadened by adding endorsements to the special form. It is very important to read your entire policy as the basic form will include exclusions—some of which can be added back through the broader forms of coverage. Business interruption coverage and extra expense coverage are just two broader forms that can be added by endorsement to the special form.
Business interruption and extra expense endorsements would be used to help keep your camp in operation if damage covered by your policy occurs to your property. This could include such things as loss of use because of property damage, expenses related to hiring extra staff for short-term emergency needs, excess cost of building materials because of supply shortages, building code changes, etc. Not all expenses may be covered, and all potential losses should be considered and discussed with your agent or broker to help ensure that you have broad enough coverage. These special endorsements are often overlooked by camp owners and directors.
Flood and Earthquake Coverage
Other special coverage may be available for flooding and earthquake damage. If you live in a flood zone, you may already have purchased flood insurance. If you have been the owner of your property for a long time and, at the time of purchase it was not considered in a flood zone, you may want to do some research to be sure that the flood risk has not changed over the years. Have you seen growth in the area around your property with new homes, businesses, or roads? Extensive development in what was once considered a nonflood zone could change the conditions for potential flooding. If you live in an area that is susceptible to earthquakes, you may want to consider that coverage, also.
A Special Note About Fire Prevention
Coverage for fire damage can replace your buildings, but it can't replace your forest in the event of a forest fire. While the devastating wild fires of the past few years were at times almost unstoppable by human force, there are ways to help protect your property in the event of a fire—such as selecting building materials that do not burn easily and practicing basic forest management. When building new structures or renovating old ones, consider using some of the available building products that are better able to withstand fire and other natural elements.
Metal roofs and masonry structures help to retard and slow the spread of fire from building to building. If your local fire department response time is more than fifteen minutes, consider having your maintenance staff trained in basic fire fighting and installing hydrants around the camp in key locations. If you own a lake, have a pump installed in it so that the fire department can connect and pump water if needed. Having a basic forest management program will also help to reduce or slow the spread of fire. Trees and growth close to your buildings and along your roadways should be kept trimmed, and vines should be discouraged. Have a registered forester visit your property to give you an assessment of your forest's health and ability to withstand a fire—and implement any recommendations.
There is a wide range of insurance coverage available for purchase. It can be an overwhelming task trying to ensure that you have the right coverage for your program and business. It is up to you to partner with your agent or broker to discuss potential for loss and some of the optional coverage available. Special liability coverage is available, including cyber liability coverage for protection against trademark infringement and secure transference of credit card information or Director's and Officer's Liability (D & O) coverage. You hold the key to the continuance of your camp and program in the event of a loss. Insurance is one of your vehicles—put the key in the ignition, and press the gas.
The insurance committee is pleased to provide members with easily understood and useful educational resources related to risk management and insurance. Questions related to your individual insurance coverage should be directed to your broker or agent. However, if you have an insurance-related question or concern that you would like to dialogue about with an impartial party, feel free to contact one of the insurance committee members. Visit www.ACAcamps.org/volunteers/insurance for committee contact information. For a listing of ACA partners and business affiliates in the insurance industry and other helpful risk management and insurance information, go to www.ACAcamps.org/vendors.
Originally published in the 2007 Fall issue of The CampLine.


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Texas on the Potomac is pleased to launch a new Sunday feature, Driving the Debate.
Each weekend, we will look at a widely used #hashtag and examine which people, media outlets or pundits are driving the social media debate on the issue.
We kicked off our new feature last week with #immigration and took a closer look on #guncontrol Friday.
Today we examine #KeystoneXL. You might be surprised to discover who is driving the debate on the hotly debated pipeline.
Please email us with ideas for future columns.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bon Jovi has officially opened the new stadium for the New York Giants and New York Jets with a rock concert for 65,000 fans.
The New Jersey band launched Wednesday's show at New Meadowlands Stadium with "Blood on Blood," ''We Weren't Born to Follow" and "You Give Love a Bad Name."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Rocker-Turned-Reality Star Bret Michaels Over The Years
U.S. & World
Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi grew up in Sayreville, 30 miles southwest of the East Rutherford stadium. He told the crowd he was "the first guy to get on a big microphone and say welcome to the home of the Super Bowl!"
The NFL announced Tuesday the stadium would host the championship game in 2014.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hair Metal Mania: All The Bands With Big 80's Hair!
The Giants and Jets own the stadium and are looking to cut a naming rights deal. Their previous home was Giants Stadium, where Bruce Springsteen played the last concert in October.
Copyright 2010 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 2010 Winter Olympics: The Closing Ceremony
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Big Game, Big Stars! Hot Shots From Super Bowl XLIV!
PLAY IT NOW: Sheryl Crow On The Rolling Stones 'Late Night' Week: 'It's Fun!'
PLAY IT NOW: 'Stones In Exile' Premiere, New York: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards Go 'Retro'


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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been released from hospital after suffering a broken jaw in a game last weekend.
The Penguins confirmed on their Twitter account that Crosby was released Monday. He will be out of the Penguins' lineup indefinitely.
Crosby suffered the injury in the first period of the Penguins' 2-0 win over the New York Islanders when he was struck in the mouth by a puck from a deflected slapshot.
The injury was as an unfortunate end to an otherwise stellar March for Crosby, who was named the NHL's first star of the month for putting up 25 points during the Penguins' 15-game winning streak. He currently leads the league with 56 points (15 goals, 41 assists).
The Eastern Conference-leading Penguins play their first game without Crosby on Tuesday night at home against Buffalo.


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Make i.rememberthemilk.com open to all devices
(closed account) says:
This interface (which should work on any webkit browser) is currently blocked to anyone who does not have an iPhone.
rtavadia says:
Seems to work fine on my Galaxy Nexus and HP Touchpad. Resolved?
burnblue says:
Not just webkit. No reason it shouldn't work on IE9 for WP7.
And why is a website pro-only just because it's in a phone layout?
And why is a website pro-only just because it's in a phone layout?
(closed account) says:
I wasn't able to access it on a kindle, which is supposed to be webkit yes? (I know its not a touch screen device, but I want the longer lists (more than 9 items >.<)
Log in to post a reply.


text:
We work hard every day to make sure every customer has the best possible experience. Simply complete the form below and we will send this vehicle straight to your phone.
*Please contact dealer to verify price, options, and other vehicle details.
* The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, other fees required by law or finance charges.
* Images, pricing and options shown are examples, only, and may not reflect exact vehicle color, trim, options, pricing or other specifications.


text:
Used 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan AVP in Chicago, IL
Installed Options
- Price
- $14,900
Vehicle Details
|Stock #
|Exterior Color
|Interior Color
|Gas Mileage
|City:17 Hwy:25
|6 cyl 3.6l Gasoline
|6-Speed Automatic
Currently Viewing
Used 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan AVP
- Price
- $14,900
CARFAX One-Owner. Clean CARFAX. Odometer is 41735 miles below market average! ABS brakes, Electronic Stability Control, Front dual zone A/C, Heated door mirrors, Illuminated entry, Low tire pressure warning, Passenger door bin, Remote keyless entry, Traction control. Black 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan AVP FWD 6-Speed Automatic 3.6L V6 24V VVT
$$$ Priced To Sell Fast!! Call Now before its GONE!!! $$$ Many Cars under $10k and under $5K!!
Welcome to the South Chicago CDJR website, a fast and convenient way to research and find a vehicle that is right for you. Whether you are looking for a new or used Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram car, truck, or SUV you will find it here. We have helped many customers in or near Blue Island, Burbank, Calumet City, Chicago, Cicero, Evergreen Park, Harvey, La Grange, Maple Park, Matteson, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills and Tinley Park find the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram of their dreams! We know that prospective customers are extremely well educated when researching their next vehicle. South Chicago CDJR has made it easy to get all the available vehicle information so you can spend less time researching and more time enjoying your purchase.
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I love my car .
" I went Here 3 months ago wit a open loan and I had no money I was 100% sure they was gonna ask for money.. they did but I had 3 months to pay $500 bucks ..I ain't have none right then and there .. I came there on the bus 73rd western me and my cuddy .. i highly recommend you go there if your credit score is 570 or better and you got a good income it close to it .. l was put you in a car I have a 2017 48,000 miles I was so shocked because I ain't think I'll get a car .. because I had a car from jd byrider and they played me wit that old axx car other story .. but I say go there an ask for rj and tell him Tiffani sent you .. best of luck .. I love my car .. "
Keep up the Good Work
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very knowledgeable
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very informative
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service is wonderful
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" Mr. Darnell Brown helped me get out of my old troublesome car: with bad credit and no money down. He assured me that I would walk out with a nice car and thats just what he did. I am the proud owner of a 2016 Chevy Malibu thanks to Darnell Brown. Please believe me when I tell you all the good reviews you read about him are true!!! "
" I want to thank Gregory Alston for his professional assistance in the referrals, Roberto Saldana & Amelia Madrigal I brought in. They ended up purchasing a new car. And the main reason was because of Mr. Alston professionalism and care in meeting the needs of the Saldanas. Also, I thank him for submitting my name for the $200 Bird Dog Referral. Roberto and Amelia really felt comfortable, along with me in helping them attain their new car. "
Great Customer Service
" I believe Darnell gave great customer service. He was very friendly and helpful. I would recommend him to anybody interested in visiting South Chicago Dodge. "
Great Car Buying Experience
" I had great car buying experience and trust me that is hard to come by. Darnell Brown was a great and recommend them and him highly. "
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*Plus tax, title, license & doc. Pricing includes all applicable factory customer cash available to everyone. Monthly payment calculator is an estimate and does not include tax, title, license or doc fees. Please contact the Dealership for latest pricing and monthly payment. To correct errors or omissions or in the event of inventory fluctuations. Price good for 2 days only, please contact store by email or phone for details.
Based on EPA mileage estimates, reflecting new EPA fuel economy methods beginning with 2008 models. Use for comparison purposes only. Do not compare to models before 2008. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
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|View Poll Results: Steins;Gate - Episode 14 Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 87. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2011-07-06, 01:42
|Link #41
Former NEET.
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: The pile of heatwave
I really just... Holy fuck:
I'm glad they didn't stretch this out too long, just enough times for Okabe to think of something different and to somehow meet up with John Titor/Suzuha.
@creb: Really nice possibilities there, especially about the rooftop.
- I just watched some part of episode 1 again and Kirsu mentions that Okabe was trying to tell her something 15 minutes ago. o______o Oh my god...
|2011-07-06, 02:00
|Link #42
Art Block Specialist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Daru = ダル = 樽 which translates to you know what.
|2011-07-06, 02:24
|Link #43
Awakened One
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Italy
Fantastic episode, I gave it 10/10.
Makise Kurisu is quickly becoming one of my favourite anime girls of all time.
She is intelligent, insightful, supportive, has a sense of humour, has the right amount of "tsun" and "dere", and is as cute as a button when embarassed..
Okarin should have consulted her immediately but I understand why the writers chose not to. It created more drama and reiterated the fact that Mayuri's death is fated.
Question for novel readers: I am curious about the timeline where Mayuri got jellified. How the hell did that happen? (I think you can answer now because the anime clearly skipped that timeline)
|2011-07-06, 02:32
|Link #44
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: America
Age: 34
Spoiler for jelluri:
|2011-07-06, 03:50
|Link #45
I'll end it before April.
Join Date: Jul 2008
I don't understand why some people are saying that Suzuha was originaly a guy because of her being "John Titor". For me, John Titor is only a codename. Nothing more. Suzuha is a girl in every time line you want, she just decided to use the codename "John Titor". And it's the same for Daru (if he's his father). He use Barrel Titor as a codename. That's all.
Also, for me, It's Okarin from the future who sent Suzuha to this timeline. It's the future version of Okarin who developed the timemachine and then asked Suzuha to go back in the past. I'm pratically sure that the future version of Okarin is fithing against the Sern and that Suzuha is one of his soldier. We can even say that Suzuha's father (Daru) is died in the future. That's why she want to meet him.
Another thing, maybe FB is related to Ferrys ? Maybe that's why Mayuri is always killed by the Sern ?
|2011-07-06, 04:47
|Link #47
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Hamburg
Age: 50
|2011-07-06, 05:57
|Link #48
Owe No Favours!
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: UK, Glasgow
Ooo, they knocked up the sympathy points for Okarin pretty well this episode. So well it overshadowed and numbed Mayuri's repeated death scenes at the beginning. You have to wonder whether the writer developed a grudge against Mayuri or not.
I like the rusted and torn fences, lol... I guess you could say it's a metaphor of no matter how Okarin tries to protect Mayuri, he fails.
Like the scene where Kurisu does a mad scientist impression, lol. Kurisu makes everything all better again. Well done for figuring out there is another reason for Mayuri's death and not the attack.
The divergence meter looks a lot smaller in the show but, nice job adding in an analogy with the ropes. A lot clearer than the explanation "John Titor" originally gave on the @Channel. But why isn't Okabe's brain hemorrhaging yet? =P
Just like many other shows that start off by teasing you with a scene from later in the story, Okabe will probably get to that point where he has to choose between Mayuri or Kurisu.
We heard his scream in episode 1 so maybe it's him trying to save Kurisu in the alpha world line but just like his attempts to save Mayuri, he fails and then, the other Okabe ends up finding her dead corpse. Then again, how can there be two Okarins in one world line... One attending the presentation with Mayuri and one where Kurisu was killed if he simply time leaps?
|2011-07-06, 06:15
|Link #50
The Spear of Destiny
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: A place where the stars cross.
Age: 28
Since Kurisu's death took place in a timeline past the 1% divergence, I believe the story will go this way: Okabe through some means will pass the 1% divergence and save Mayuri. Saving Mayuri will however sacrifice Kurisu's life. Suzuha did appear in episode 1 so maybe Okabe makes contact with Suzuha and uses her time machine to try and save Kurisu from her death in episode 1. This will explain how we hear Okabe's yelling voice in episode 1. It was his attempt to save Kurisu.
What we still don't know however is why Suzuha was present in episode 1 in the first place. What is her mission? Is SERN still gonna turn the world into a dystopia? Or is there something else sinister going to happen in the future?
|2011-07-06, 06:37
|Link #51
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Quote from /a/ lol.
Daru is indeed Suzuha's father. She's John Titor after all. I mean, Daru was supposed to go to that online meeting for time machines (episode 10), and Suzuha was also going to that exact same meeting because she thought she'd had a good chance of meeting her father (Daru) there. But in the end, Daru missed the meeting because Okarin made him come back, to eat "Feyris-tan's cooking". And because Daru couldn't go to the meeting, Suzuha couldn't meet with her father and she then disappeared the next day. Then Okarin sent her the D-mail to ensure that she stays no matter what. If Okarin never made Daru stay, Suzuha and Daru would've met.
|2011-07-06, 06:49
|Link #52
It's yuri, bitches
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Israel
Age: 24
Awesome episode. No wasting time on pointless things, and setting straight into what's interesting and important - that's what I call story telling!
Also, Suzuha=awesomeness.
What's personal fork and spoon?
Last edited by ninryu; 2011-07-06 at 07:06.
|2011-07-06, 08:09
|Link #53
Test Drive
|2011-07-06, 08:26
|Link #54
Explodes when thrown
IT Support
Join Date: Jan 2009
Age: 33
I'm wondering, if the Mayuri vs Kurisu choice gets set up, it gets further complicated by one side being associated with dystopian future where Suzuha comes from and the other being 'normal', for lack of a better word.
Meaning, naturally, Okabe needs to break the 1% barrier twice to Take the Third Option and save them both.
|2011-07-06, 08:29
|Link #55
I'll end it before April.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Also, if Daru is Suzuha's father, it means that Daru is dead in 2036. Since Suzuha is at least 18years old we can even say that Daru was already dead around 2018-2024.
|2011-07-06, 09:00
|Link #56
Join Date: Feb 2010
Just some rumbling.
Why at the time like this there is person who stubborn enough to argument about John Titor voice. When revealed John is Suzuha, he make a fuss why not using female voice from the beginning. I already said, "Hey John only exist in BBS. Actually its really doesn't matter. That voice only for helping viewer to understand rather than read all the message of @chan thread." In the end he still didn't accept this explanation. Or is anyone have better explanation?
Nah don't worry, he is not in this forum.
If John Titor voiced by female in the beginning, when he/she narrated on @chan, will you guessing John Titor is Suzuha.
|2011-07-06, 09:20
|Link #57
I'll end it before April.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Uh, it's more a digital voice than anything for me. Futhermore her codename is John Titor which is a male codename. Suzuha chose it because like that everyone will think she's a guy. That's why when they were voicing her, they used a digital "male" voice.
|2011-07-06, 09:57
|Link #58
The Colour of Magic
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: England
Age: 28
The same was done to great effect in Durarara!! (english dub) - with all the chatter between 'Setton', 'Taro Tanaka' and 'Kanra' on the forum being done using the same voice actor. Naturally, it becomes difficult to tell who the username (or the moniker 'John Titor' in S;G) relates to - and that is part of the mystery, in my opinion.
|2011-07-06, 12:53
|Link #60
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Real world
Great voice acting by Miyano this episode
His voice definately matched how Okarin feel in this episode:sadness,rage,desperate,regretfulness
Okarin almost suffered a mental breakdown when he felt he was powerless and watched Mayuri died countless times.Luckily,Kurisu cheered him up with the mad scientist pose (I liked it) and lent her hand of help.
And finally it was revealed that Suzuha=John Titor and the world line theory was briefly explained.
Actually,I dislike some people who branded Okarin as idiotic or annoying just because he did not enlist the help of others when he was trying to save Mayuri.Like I said in the last episode discussion,Okarin was deeply traumatised by Mayuri's first death and after that trying to save Mayuri himself and not getting others involved in the matter.He became more and more desperate each time she died in front of his eyes.How can a desperate person think properly in this kind of situation?Can you think out of box when your emotions have overcome rationality?What he need is just someone who can pull him out of his own trap and calm him down so that they can devise out a plan properly.
The brief explaination of world line theory in the anime is good enough.We now understand that there are multiple world lines which the two out of many world lines are described as Alpha and Beta world lines and the number appeared each time Okarin triggered his Reading Steiner is called the World Line Divergence Rate that can be traced up to 6 decimal points.The current divergence rate shown in the divergence meter is 0.337187% and Suzuha explained that the world will enter into Beta world line which will lead to a different future if 1% divergence rate is passed.We also knew that there were major events in the past which caused big changes in divergence rate depending on choices such as Millenium Bug event,Gulf War and this time in 2010 is the invention of first incomplete time machine.However,there is one more theory that the anime did not clearly explained though and that there should be a more appropiate name to the so called Alpha and Beta "world lines" (a bundle of world lines should not be called world lines anymore).I do hope that the next episode will finish off all the explainations.
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- Code: Select all
Cannot create folder Wrong input XML
The box.net backup window shows:
- Code: Select all
Box.net login OK
Login: email@example.com
Email: email@example.com
User ID: 863515
Box.net capacity: 15360 MB
Space used: 9962.88 MB
Space available: 5397.120000000001 MB
Max upload size: 2048 MB
Uploading all files in: W:\Backups\Firefox\FEBE 2009 11-10 22.40.25
MAYBE IMPORTANT: This is similar to an error I have been getting from Fireuploader (which is a FTP style interface to upload/download files to box.net, picasa, rapidshare and other file storage utilities.) The problem with Fireuploader started all of a sudden also about 2-3 months ago. I reported this to Fireuploader developers several times, but never heard any reply, and they are on a updatefrequency=wheneverbutnotsoon schedule. The exact error they give is:
- Code: Select all
Failed getting token! Wrong input XML
I have two systems side by side, one WinXP mature and stable. One Vista, fairly new, as unstable as Vista is.
The FEBE problem occurs only on the Vista system, the Fireuploader problem consistently occurs on both systems. Actually I would have sworn that the FEBE problem occurred on both systems, but it worked tonight on the WinXP as I was going through double checking before submitting this thread.
Ok, so after looking at all that, I figured that the problem was probably box.net had changed something, so I contacted them first. Well after multiple interactions with a first line support typist who could not read and comprehend, I finally explained it with color coding back to the original email and they finally said:
"Ok we passed this on to the developers and they will contact FEBE and Fireuploader"
So this is a forewarning they might contact you about the problem. Tell me what info you need or if you want me to try it with the debug extension and I'll be happy to do that. Hopefully the email forum notification is working with phpbb3
And finally, if you do know what the problem is, suggestions are welcome.


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Pyrometric investigates fire and wildfires through the lenses of art and ecology, highlighting human contributions to recurring natural processes that are at once destructive and transformative. The exhibit includes ceramics such as hand-thrown fire cones placed in a controlled burn with the aid of Ventura County Firefighters. Artists Amiko Matsuo and Brad Monsma work with […]Find out more »
A still-life is a timeless way to capture home and hearth in art. This open show is anything and everything about food. Think modern still-life. Rembrandt did it, Renoir did it, and yes even O'keefe did it. The art will be inspired by the palette, the tasting kind, where artists create their own masterpiece of […]Find out more »


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Aurora Colorado Police Chief Dan Oates provides an update on the investigation into Friday's deadly movie theater shootings.
The four weapons that authorities say were used in the massacre at a Colorado theater showing of the latest Batman movie included a popular semiautomatic rifle, a .223-caliber assault-style rifle with a 100-round drum magazine.
The suspect also had two .40-caliber Glock handguns and a 12-gauge Remington Model 870 pump shotgun.
In the past 60 days, police said, Holmes bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition, at gun shops and over the Internet, including:
- 3,000 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition for the rifle. It was described as an AR-15-type weapon built by Smith and Wesson.
- 3,000 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition for the Glock handguns.
- 300 rounds for the shotgun.
AR-15 is a Colt trademark, but similar weapons are built by other manufacturers. It typically fires a .223-caliber round and can accommodate large ammunition clips. The rifle is the semiautomatic civilian version of the U.S. military's M-16, which first came into wide use during the Vietnam War.
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Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said a 100-round drum magazine was recovered at the shooting scene. He said that it could have been used to fire up to 60 shots in a minute. On Friday, 12 people were killed, and another 58 injured, all but a few by gunfire, he said.
Officials told NBC News that all four were purchased legally, beginning in May, from two national chain stores: Gander Mountain Guns and Bass Pro Shops.
Related content from NBCNews.com:
- Man calling himself the Joker kills 12, wounds 59 at 'Dark Knight Rises' premiere
- Families, friends anxiously await word of missing moviegoers
- Waking up to sickenly familiar horror
- Tragedy in Colorado: 'We've had our share
- Suspect was buying guns, dropping out of neuroscience program
- Police: 'Sophisticated' booby-trap in suspect's apartment
Bass Pro Shops released a statement saying that employees at a Denver store followed all laws when they sold two weapons to Holmes. "We want to offer our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families," said Larry Whiteley, manager of communications for the company. "This is an unspeakable tragedy, and we join with all Americans in offering our prayerful support. Based on the records we have reviewed, personnel in our Denver store correctly and fully followed all Federal requirements with respect to the sale of one shotgun and one handgun to the individual identified in this incident. Background checks, as required by Federal law, were properly conducted, and he was approved. Again, our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We also offer our support and appreciation to the law enforcement and emergency response professionals and all others who responded to give aid to these innocent victims."
Several politicians and a coalition of gun-control groups called for new restraints on guns.
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A statement by the coalition read in part: "Gun violence is preventable. It is long past time for policymakers at all levels to act. Americans have a right to feel safe in their communities--in schools, restaurants, movie theaters, and all public places. Using the cynical desires of the gun lobby and firearms industry as an excuse for inaction is shameful."
Suspect James Eagan Holmes reportedly never said a word while allegedly shooting 71 people and killing 12 in a sold-out showing for Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said it was "the act of a very deranged mind." NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., issued a statement saying: "Our hearts are filled with sadness for the 12 people killed and the dozens wounded in this senseless act. We have to face the reality that these types of tragedies will continue to occur unless we do something about our nation's lax gun laws."
According to the Brady Campaign/Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Colorado ranks among states with weaker gun laws. On Brady's 100-point scorecard, Colorado scored 15. The states with the lowest ranking, 0, were Alaska, Arizona and Utah. California had the highest score, 81. According to the Brady Center, the score is based on laws that can prevent gun violence, such as background checks on all guns sales, permit-to-purchase requirements, limiting handgun purchases to one a month, and retention of sales records.
A spokesman for the National Rifle Association issued a short statement on the incident.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and the community. NRA will not have any further comment until all the facts are known," said Andrew Arulanandam, NRA director of public affairs.
More related content from NBCNews.com:
- Raw audio documents eerie first moments of Colo. theater shooting
- Mass murderers often not mentally ill, but seeking revenge, experts say
- Woman who died in rampage narrowly escaped being shot last month
- Security at movie theaters comes into focus in wake of shootings
- People with same name as suspect hounded on social media
- Witnesses react online to 'Dark Knight' theater shooting
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South African Journal of Science
On-line version ISSN 1996-7489
Print version ISSN 0038-2353
S. Afr. j. sci. vol.104 n.9-10 Pretoria Sep./Oct. 2008
Application of active biomonitoring within an integrated water resources management framework in South Africa
V. Wepener
Centre for Aquatic Research, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Because waste water and runoff from surrounding catchments are a main source of direct and continuous input of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, the study of the effects of in-stream exposure on organisms has a high ecological relevance. However, correlating observed effects with specific pollutants or even classes of pollutants remains difficult, due to the usually unknown, complex and often highly variable composition of these source waters. By integrating multiple endpoints at different ecologically relevant levels of organization within one test organism, it is possible to gain an understanding of how different levels of organization within this organism respond to toxic exposure, and how responses at these different levels are interrelated. The use of biological markers in transplanted organisms, referred to as active biomonitoring (ABM), is demonstrated in this paper. The correct choice of bioindicator organism and suite of biomarkers makes it possible to assess the effects of wastewater and runoff water in terms of known environmental effects (such as effluents containing endocrine-disrupting chemicals or pulp mill effluent) as well as runoff water with an uncharacterized composition of contaminants (for instance storm-water runoff from industrial complexes). The applicability of ABM as a causeeffect assessment protocol is demonstrated through a case study in South Africa that relates to stressor identification within a system exposed to urban and industrial waste water. This paper proposes a multi-tiered framework that allows for the incorporation of ABM within the existing South African integrated water resources management framework.
Because water is the basis for all organisms and ecosystems, the protection of aquatic resources is essential in preserving entire ecosystems.1 The original environmental problems that influenced the development of aquatic toxicology were relatively simple and involved pollutants such as uncharacterized organic matter, hazardous metals, other chemical species and pesticides.2 Regulatory goals, which generally drive the development of toxicological monitoring methods, have thus been initially reactive, affording assessment tools for the restoration of aquatic ecosystems. The toxicity tests were primarily based on a single-component, chemistry-based approach. Aquatic contamination problems have now become more complex, involving pollutant compositions in one or more environmental matrices (involving, for example, water, sediment, and living organisms).3 Effects can thus be more insidious than assessed when the endpoint of measurement is simply mortality. When effects are detected, the causative agent(s) might not be readily apparent. It is becoming more evident that effluents are a main source of direct and continuous pollutant input in aquatic ecosystems and represent a major threat to communities in receiving aquatic ecosystems. This is especially the case in densely populated and industrial areas where point and diffuse sources of xenobiotics pollute aquatic ecosystems with complex mixtures of problem chemicals, and are associated with other anthropogenic perturbations (such as habitat modification and/or loss) that have impacted severely on the integrity of ecosystems.4,5 Regulatory goals have consequently shifted from reactive treatments to pre-emptive approaches that are aimed at protecting, enhancing and preserving the ecosystem. This has necessitated a shift away from isolated surrogate methods, based on single-species toxicity tests and chemical measurements, to a more integrated and holistic exposure assessment, to reflect the total health status of ecosystems. This holistic approach draws physico-chemical, toxicological and ecological lines of evidence into an integrated assessment of aquatic ecosystem health.6
Ecosystem health assessment in South Africa
The realization in South Africa of an integrated procedure has brought about two divergent approaches to ecosystem health assessment. The concept of ecosystem health as an acceptable and meaningful term has elicited much debate7 in itself. It is a truism to state that for an ecosystem to be healthythat is, to function optimallythe constituent biota (both fauna and flora) comprising it also have to be healthy. The two approaches adopted to assess aquatic health have been in response to specific information needs. The first involves biomonitoring, which has been used initially in the South African River Health Programme (RHP), which was developed to assess the ecological status of riverine ecosystems in relation to all the anthropogenic disturbances affecting them. It was never intended to assess site-specific impacts or conditions. It is a screening-level monitoring programme that uses a low sampling frequency and a low resolution of sites scattered semi-randomly across catchments.8 The RHP assessment is based on the concept of biological integrity, and makes use of identified biological indices (fish, invertebrates, riparian vegetation), as well as other measures for evaluating in-stream and riparian habitats. The biological responses, as indicators of an ecosystem, are recorded in terms of a river health classification scheme that allocates a specific category of health to each river reach. The health categories used by the RHP are simply termed natural, good, fair, and poor.8 This classification system provides an elementary 'front end' to a much more intricate assessment process, and is depicted by colour-coded icons for each of the applied indices (Fig. 1).
However, these biological responses deal only with indistinct causeeffect relationships between environmental drivers and consequential biological responses. Should the biological integrity indicate the likelihood of unacceptable conditions, then there should be a process to assess these conditions and responses in a critical manner. The biological indices that are applied in the RHP were expanded upon as part of the Ecological Reserve process, and have given rise to the development of the EcoClassification indicators. These measures [e.g. the macroinvertebrate response assessment index (MIRAI) and fish response assessment index (FRAI)] interpret the biophysical components of a river in terms of drivers and biological responses and endpoints in an integrated way, thereby deriving a realistic and reproducible conclusion as to the EcoStatus of the river.9 The EcoStatus in this case can be defined as the totality of the features and characteristics of the river and its riparian areas that bear upon its ability to support an appropriate natural floral and faunal biome.9
The second water quality assessment approach has been to adopt whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing as a tool, to evaluate the acceptability of potentially hazardous effluents for discharge into receiving waters.10 The WET testing approach is an integrative tool that measures the toxic effect of an effluent mixture as a whole, and assesses uncharacterized sources of toxicity and for toxic interactions (such as synergism and antagonism).6 The methods used in WET focus on acute and chronic toxicity testing using standardized laboratory-based bioassays involving laboratory-reared organisms.10 These WET methods have been incorporated into the Direct Estimation of Ecological Effects Potential (DEEEP) toxicity tests,11 the current application of choice within the National Toxicity Monitoring Programme.
Smolders et al.6 proposed that a more ecologically sound approach would be to use the WET concept within an in situ environment to assess in-stream toxicity, rather than conducting laboratory toxicity tests on water samples collected from the environment. Table 1 shows the advantages of using in-stream toxicity testing over the traditional WET approach. The difference between the two approaches is that WET predominantly uses mortality to describe toxicity whereas in-stream toxicity assessment makes use of assessment endpoints that measure biological responses, which in turn can provide a measure of exposure, and sometimes also of toxic effect.6 These biological responses are termed biomarkers and the fundamental assumption upon which they are based centres on some biochemical process (biomarker) being compromised as a result of pollutant exposure.11,12 However, the use of biomarkers in resident organisms is severely constrained by a substantial variability in endpoints, as prolonged pre-exposure to any ambient environmental condition can drastically alter the 'normal' range of a biomarker response. The use of caged organisms has been successful in reducing this degree of variability.13 Active biomonitoring (ABM) is thus conducted within this context.
Active biomonitoring
An ABM approach uses organisms that are collected from a (generally) unstressed, unpolluted population. They are then translocated to selected polluted sites, for instance, along a pollution gradient, or at regular intervals downstream from known pollution sources.14 The chemical and biological consequences of this translocation, which usually involves caging of the organisms, can then be monitored in space and time, to assess the effects of exposure on selected endpoints.6,14,15 The deployment period ranges between 4 and 6 weeks, which allows sufficient time for organisms to recover from any stress incurred as a consequence of the translocation process, as well as a period to react to the environmental conditions that are being monitored.15 The mainstay of the ABM procedure is that transplanted organisms can respond to ambient environmental conditions at an earlier stage and to a greater degree than resident species.
The second approach in which organisms are used to evaluate environmental health is passive biomonitoring (PBM), which involves 'the collection of organisms from their habitats at sites where a natural population exists'.2,6 Although PBM is the most frequently used method in aquatic health assessment, ABM has a number of features that favour its use in aquatic health monitoring.
Smolders et al.6 list the advantages of ABM for biomonitoring as follows:
There will only be a limited effect of field exposure through, for instance, climatological shock, as the transplanted organisms are adapted to changing environmental conditions, compared to organisms that are cultured in a stable laboratory setting.
The test exposure period is exactly known in the case of organisms from laboratory sources.
Laboratory-cultured organisms have a complete record of conditions (usually standardized) under which they were bred and maintained.
Results from different sites are comparable (constancy of the test organism) even if the test organisms are not normally present at the exposure locations.
A comparison between transplanted and resident organisms can indicate to what extent the indigenous organisms have adapted to the location. This can also give information about the uptake kinetics of pollutants.
Resident (site-specific) species can be 'genetically protected' through adaptive change. Use of transplanted organisms can exclude adaptive factors, making the comparison between different sites more valid. The use of non-adapted species can raise the sensitivity of the method.
Although these features favour the use of ABM under field conditions, there are also drawbacks that have to be considered when evaluating and interpreting the results of ABM studies:6
Food availability at the test site may skew results, either overor underestimating the in-stream toxicity. For example, mussels depend mainly on algae as a food source. Exposure to nutrient-poor but clean water may induce stressful conditions that are unrelated to pollutants, the real reason being inferior quality of food resources.17 On the other hand, enhanced amounts of food in eutrophic streams may mitigate the impact of pollutant exposure on aquatic organisms. Several authors have demonstrated that even though there are adverse effects associated with eutrophication, certain non-negative responses by test organisms may be due to abundant food, actually promoting growth and reproduction of the pollutant-exposed organisms.18
The loss of cages by theft and vandalism can destroy the value of work done. The problem is widespread in South Africa.
ABM is regarded to give a worst-case scenario, as prolonged exposure to low levels of contamination can lead to genetic or physiological adaptation of caged organisms. ABM does not take account of adaptation processes of this kind.
Selection of bioindicator organisms for use in ABM
Organisms selected for both ABM and PBM purposes have generally differed from those used in standardized laboratory toxicity tests because of the required assessment outcomes involving vastly differing endpoints. PBM is often selected for higher sensitivity, whereas ABM needs to be able to tolerate and reflect responses to a relatively wide range of pollutant conditions. The choice of the organism will impact on the relevance, success and interpretability of the test results. The organisms should fulfil a number of the following criteria to be recognized as suitable bioindicators, bearing in mind the objectives of the particular transplantation study:19
They should be representative of the water body or aquatic environment, that is, species indigenous to the region.
They should be confined in a suitable cage.
They should be easy to collect, identify and handle.
They should be relatively long-lived so that longer-term exposure assessment can be carried out.
They should be of a reasonable size to provide adequate tissue samples for analyses.
They should be easily cultivated and maintained in the laboratory, as instances may arise where there are no 'unpolluted' species available from a reference site. It would then require the use of indigenous species, cultured under laboratory conditions, for transplantation purposes.
They should accumulate the pollutant of interest at levels present in the environment without lethal toxic effects and should be relatively tolerant to pollutant exposure.
They should give a rapid response to an early exposure of various pollutants.
Several bioindicator species indigenous to South Africa have been used in ABM and ABM-related studies. These include indigenous riverine freshwater insect larvae, e.g. Ephemeroptera species, freshwater gastropods, for example: Burnupia stenochoria20 and Melanoides tuberculata,21 crustaceans, e.g. Caradina nilotica,20 and indigenous fish species, e.g. Oreochromis mossambicus.21 Other, unpublished ABM studies conducted throughout South Africa by students from the Ecotoxicology laboratory at the University of Johannesburg, have made use of additional freshwater insect larvae (Chironomus sp.), freshwater molluscs (Corbicula africana, Physa acuta), marine molluscs (Perna perna) and freshwater fish species (Barbus argenteus and Barbus trimaculatus) as bioindicator organisms.
Selection of assessment endpoints in ABM
It is essential to define clearly what is meant by assessment endpoints, as they will be used to define those ecological attributes (that is, different levels of biological organization) that are assessed in an explicit manner and provide a focus for assessments such as ecological risk assessments (ERAs).22 The assessment endpoints used in ABM are aimed at different levels of biological organization and range between sub-organism and ecosystem level (Fig. 2). Owing to the level of complexity in responses and experimental procedure experienced at population level and higher, ABM studies concentrate mainly on sub-organism and organism levels. The ABM approach does not exclude other forms of biomonitoring and is therefore also combined with PBM (e.g. EcoClassification procedures) and traditional laboratory-based WET to provide an integrated and holistic overview on how waste water, runoff and effluents affect receiving water bodies. An assessment of responses at higher levels of biological organization to effluent can be obtained by including PBM. However, this paper focuses primarily on the assessment endpoints applied in ABM.
When aquatic organisms are exposed to pollutants, a cascade of biological events takes place, if the concentration is high enough and/or the duration of exposure is sufficiently long to induce adverse effects. The general physiological basis of stress responses of organisms is usually referred to as the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).23 In this concept, there are three distinct phases in the stress response: alarm, compensation, and exhaustion. These three phases are placed in an ecological context by identifying three sequences of alteration: 1) primary alterations at a biochemical level, accompanied by, for example, the release of 'stress hormones'; 2) secondary alterations on a physiological level, and 3) tertiary effects on the whole animal level.6 It becomes clear that these three sequences in GAS are a function of exposure duration, external and internal concentration of potentially harmful substances, and biological organization.
Wu et al.13 reviewed the variability in responses and have come to the conclusion that many biomarkers may show adaptation to pollution following long-term exposure to pollution, or may quickly recover in the face of decreasing levels of contaminants in the environment. A generalized representation of biomarker responses is given in Fig. 3. It is essential to have an understanding of the temporal changes of biomarker responses before applying them in environmental management.13 Primary responses are rapid and reversible at a (intra)cellular biochemical level. Secondary responses are generally physiological changes that take more time to occur in organisms, and they can also be reversible. Tertiary responses (at both individual and population level) are the least reversible, occur at the highest level of biological organization, and have the longest-lasting effect.6,24
A number of different methods have been proposed to select the most suitable biomarkers for environmental monitoring. To obtain a holistic and integrative overview of how instream effluent exposure affects bioindicator organization, it has been proposed that a link be established between different levels of biological organization within the same organism.6 The reasoning is that a unit with higher ecological relevance is attained with an increase from one hierarchical level of biological organization to the next (e.g. from sub-organism to organism). However, responses at lower levels of biological organization can usually be detected much earlier and could ultimately affect higher levels. Thus, to extrapolate between different levels of organization, a common parameter has to be found that allows for the linking between the different levels. Energy budgets have been proposed as one such parameter, not only because these budgets can be determined at different levels of biological organization, but also because they can provide a causal relationship between the different levels, potentially relating cellular effects to reproduction.6,24
A number of approaches have been applied to analyse large biomarker data sets. These data sets often consist of biomarker responses covering all the levels of biological organization in a vast array of bioindicator organisms representing different trophic levels. The most promising application involves multivariate statistical techniques, which also identify those biomarkers that are responsible for clearly distinguishing contaminated sites from clean sites.21,25 The biomarkers selected for implementation in this particular study on the Rietvlei wetland system have been based on the most commonly used suites of markers that are currently used in this field of study.12,13
Generalized ABM deployment protocol
Bioindicator organisms may be collected from a variety of reference (clean or non-contaminated) sources. These sources may include laboratory or hatchery-reared organisms,20,21 from reference sites within the catchment of the system to be monitored20 or even from a non-impacted site within the same system. A sufficient number of bioindicator organisms are then deployed, depending on the experimental design (e.g. 10 organisms in duplicate or triplicate exposure cages) at the selected sampling sites in polyethylene cages, with polyethylene mesh screens that allow for free water movement through the cage. The cages are firmly anchored at the sites to prevent their displacement. Food is initially placed in the cage so that the bioindicator organisms undergo minimized stress from lack of feeding during the first week of exposure. This is only applicable to bioindicators that do not filter feed.
The period during which the bioindicators are exposed to the ambient conditions at the sampling site will depend on the specific organismfor instance, the exposure period for bivalves and fish can be up to eight weeks, whereas for aquatic insect larvae up to one week. The frequency at which cages may be checked depends on several factors such as species used, type of pollutant, and rate of biological response. Samples can be collected during this period for biomarker analyses and verification of food availability. Supplementary food is given where there is inadequate algal growth, e.g. for the grazing group of bioindicators. Water and/or sediment samples are taken for physico-chemical analyses. This is repeated for the remainder of the exposure period.
Case study illustrating the application of ABM in South Africa: industrial and urban run-off in a peri-urban river
An urban nature reserve near Pretoria, which covers an area of about 3500 ha, arose from what was named the Rietvlei Water Scheme. A dam within the reserve and its environs provide about 27% of the city's water requirement. The catchment area receives effluent from industries, agricultural activity, informal settlements and municipal sewage treatment plants. Increased housing and industrial developments are considered to be the biggest threats to the water quality of this reserve.26 A study of the dam indicated that there are endocrine-disrupting pollutants present. This was not confirmed as present in the streams leading to and flowing from the dam.26 A biological assessment of the stream that flows into the dam was carried out using standardized PBM protocols. This assessment led to the conclusion that the health of this riverine system is in a severely degraded condition.27 No toxicity was observed when WET testing (using fish, daphnid and algal growth inhibition tests) was conducted under laboratory conditions on water from the stream above and below the dam.21 The water quality parameters under scrutiny were not deemed in terms of the test to be of such a poor quality that it would lead to mortalities of aquatic organisms. The poor health-status of the riverine area was then ascribed, for the most part, to habitat destruction, subject to any additional test indicating otherwise.
Wepener et al.21 initiated an ABM study of this system. Summarized findings are reported here. An aquatic mollusc species (M. tuberculata) and fish species (O. mossambicus) were used at three locations on stream flowing through the reserve and retrieved after a 6-week exposure period. Effects of field exposure were determined using a range of cellular and biochemical biomarkers that are both indicators of exposure and effect [that is, DNA damage, heat shock protein (HSP 70), metallothionein (MT), acetylcholine esterase (AChE), lactate dehydrogenase, catalase (CAT), cellular energy allocation (CEA) and ethoxyresorufin-o-diethylase activity (EROD)].20 The results clearly indicate that although the conventional mortality-based whole-effluent toxicity testing did not reveal toxicity, all the biomarker responses showed changes from the norm, indicating that the in situ exposed organisms were stressed. A multivariate statistical approach provided an interpretation of the biomarker responses, and highlighted sites at which more detailed analysis of pollution would be useful. Based on the contribution of the individual biomarker results towards the distinct groupings, we concluded that the site upstream of the impoundment complexes in the nature reserve receives organic pollutants, whereas the sites directly upstream and directly downstream of the main dam undergo the effects of a combination of metallic and organic pollutant stressors. The specific stressors and their concentrations in the two dams have been confirmed by independent chemical analyses that were undertaken during a separate but associated research project on the endocrine disruptive activity in this system.28 These two forms of stressors result in anti-oxidant and genotoxic symptoms.
Two important aspects were highlighted in this study and their effect on the use of ABM. The first is that the two bioindicator organisms used gave different biomarker responses. These differences were in terms of the intensity of response from differences in exposure routes and trophic levels. Nevertheless, the general nature of the response is common, both species showing the same site-specific trend described. These results support the findings of Wu et al.13 showing that there is no bioindicator species group that is notably more sensitive than another. All groups (whether crustaceans, molluscs or fish) show similar patterns of induction and recovery. We have conducted the same biomarker analyses on the test organisms that were subjected to the traditional laboratory-based WET bioassays (author's unpublished data). Although the objective of the WET bioassay was to monitor lethality (but not shown to be evident), the bioindicators gave the same response trends as was found in the in situ ABM bioindicators. The repeatability of this finding is currently being assessed through further work.
Application in integrated water resources management
The contemporary approach to water resource management recognizes that legislative procedures cannot focus on chemical criteria alone, as they are inadequate for the protection of ecosystems that are exposed to multiple impacts.29 The 'weight of evidence' characteristics that biomarker results provide make this form of biomonitoring ideal within a risk assessment scenario.30 The general application of standard chemical quality guidelines (e.g. in the case of South Africa the water quality guidelines for the aquatic environment) becomes problematic as they do not take into consideration site-specific chemical and biological tolerances.12 Internationally, there is a greater awareness of the development of cohesive methods of determining environmental quality by considering biological, ecological, physico-chemical and hydrological criteria.25 Implicit in the risk-based monitoring approach that is currently being practised in South Africa is the requirement to classify and protect the 'ecological health' of rivers and streams in a transparent and integrated manner.
The question that arises is where ABM fits into the integrated water resources management (IWRM) framework of South Africa. The ABM approach seems to be the appropriate choice when relevant toxicity test methods have been selected for the National Toxicity Monitoring Programme (NTMP) (surface water status and trends monitoring) of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. The choices relating to toxicity testing were made at a workshop attended by local aquatic toxicologists, ecotoxicologists and water resources managers who would be responsible for implementing the NTMP. Notwithstanding the advantages, the resolution was to defer the ABM approach. The constraints identified by the workshop participants were vandalism of monitoring equipment (a problem that exists internationally); choice of organism and biomarker; what can be done during 'no-water' months?; the lack of clear links to the ecological relevance of the ensuing results; the limited number of laboratories that are able to carry out biomarker analyses; and the capacity within the water resource management structures to interpret biomarker results. A conservative approach was followed by selecting the following laboratory tests: semi-static zebrafish development test; the daphnid (Daphnia pulex) reproduction test; the 24-well microplate algal growth inhibition test; and a recombinant yeast test for oestrogenicity.31 The drawback here remains that these protocols are laboratory-based and may not take site-specific factors into account.
ABM within the National Water Act (NWA, No. 36 of 1998) has, however, been identified as having application value within the context of water resource management, such as the 'Classification and Resource Quality Objectives' and 'Monitoring Ecosystem Health' requirements stipulated by the act. The aforementioned contexts in the act do not specifically require legally defensible test methods at this stage31 as is required for the standard toxicity tests that are used for effluent discharge permitting processes. It therefore stands to reason that these NWA contexts could serve as an ideal platform to evaluate the as yet untested ABM protocols within South African IWRM.
Although ABM has the potential for being an excellent tool to monitor and therefore manage ambient water quality, the approach is still largely used for research purposes. In cases where it is applied on a routine basis, the emphasis is on data compilation and not on management and control of pollutants (that is, as the chemical criteria or guideline value may be applied), primarily due to its not forming part of any regulatory requirement. Given the wealth of information validating biomarker responses both in the laboratory and the field, the application of biomarker and ABM within a regulatory framework is long overdue.12
Handy et al.12 have identified a number of important steps that need to be followed within the European regulatory environment to bridge the divide that exists between research and development, and the policy-management framework. These are:
agreement between participating member states on how biomarkers should be incorporated into a regulatory framework;
the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs);
inter-laboratory testing and validation of SOPs in the same manner that has been done to validate acute toxicity protocols; and
the modification of legislation to include biomarkers as one of the environmental monitoring tools. We are in a fortunate position in South Africa as we have the provision within the NWA to develop and adopt innovative monitoring techniques such as ABM and biomarkers within the aquatic health assessment framework.
Until such time as internationally acceptable and validated SOPs exist, ABM can be applied within the current South African IWRM context through the ERA framework. Jooste and Claassen32 indicate that the nature of the ERA framework addresses the requirements of the NWA, and takes into account the inherent characteristics of aquatic ecosystems and the diverse nature of stressors affecting them. By integrating ABM with other existing monitoring protocols through a multi-tiered guidance framework, it should be possible to define whether an effect is present, whether it is related to a particular activity and whether the organism's responses are characteristic of a particular stressor agent (Fig. 4). The multi-tiered framework follows the same approach as the Environmental Effects Monitoring framework that was developed for the Canadian pulp and paper and metal mining industries.33 The framework consists of multiple tiers of progressive assessment from the identification of a problem (Tier 1) through to identification of the specific pollutant species responsible for the observed effects.
Tier 1 identifies whether a potential quality-related problem or even quality-related effects exist in the receiving water body and is based on, and uses, existing national monitoring programmes such as the Chemical Monitoring Programme (in the case of water quality issues) or RHP (in the case of aquatic health-related issues). If no effects are detectable (i.e. the monitoring programme identifies whether a problem is evident or not) then the routine monitoring frequency will be adhered to, without initiating any of the following tiers. The second tier (Tier 2) comprises the traditional mortality-based protocols and bioassay (that is, NTMP protocols); testing that results in fail or pass. This identifies whether, for instance, in the case of the RHP, the ecological effects observed during Tier 1 are related to a specific activity. Based on these results, the Tier 3 assessment would be conducted to determine whether the aquatic ecosystem response patterns are characteristic of a particular type of stressor. These first three tiers are focused on the receiving water body, that is, in the mixing zones beyond any 'end-of-pipeline' conditions. Further tiered investigations could be carried out within the boundaries of the activity to identify the particular contributor responsible for the stressors, characterizing the chemical classes and identifying the specific chemicals responsible for the responses. Thus, within the existing South African water resources monitoring framework, biomarkers and ABM could potentially be of value within Tier 3 and the later tier structures, which could be related to water licensing applications. Within the current South African monitoring structures, Tier 1 would constitute routine chemical and biological monitoring through the existing monitoring programmes (i.e. Chemical Monitoring Programme and RHP), and Tier 2 would be represented by more specialized monitoring programmes (e.g. NTMP). Where these two tiers are inconclusive in identifying aquatic health impacts in a particular water body, the ABM protocol of Tier 3 can be applied.
The case study that has been presented demonstrates that ABM and biomarkers can be used successfully to indicate sub-lethal exposure and effect responses to low levels of toxicants when the traditional approaches of PBM and mortality-based bioassays do not reveal any specific stressor-based responses. A total of 27 different biomarkers was assessed during the course of the case studies in this project, and other ABM studies conducted by the Centre for Aquatic Research at the University of Johannesburg. It now remains to select the most appropriate suite of biomarkers that could be applied in ABM studies on a wider scale and form part of routine monitoring initiatives in a similar manner to the ECOMAN programme in the United Kingdom.30
The research projects from which ABM-based data were generated were primarily funded by the National Research Foundation, THRIP and the Water Research Fund of Southern Africa. I wish to thank the following postgraduate students for their contributions to the formulation of these ideas: Gordon O'Brien, Martin Ferreira, Wynand Malherbe, Zvegerei Mbizi, Sibonani Mlambo, Fungayai Chatiza, Kerry Mills, Kristin Schüring and Sabine Schwientek.
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Received 11 April 2007. Accepted 3 September 2008.


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In agriculture, a shepherd, sheperdess, or herder, was someone who tended to and guarded flocks of sheep. The term could also be used to describe someone tending to and guiding a group of people.
When Apollo first greeted the crew of the USS Enterprise, he announced how long he had awaited that moment, and reminisced of "lush and beautiful Earth, the green fields and blue skies, the simple shepherds and their flocks."
Doctor McCoy later theorized that Apollo and his people would have been gods "to the simple shepherds and tribesmen of early Greece", when they visited Earth centuries earlier.
Later, when Carolyn Palamas betrayed Apollo and his love, she told him, "Love you? Be logical. I'm not some simple shepherdess you can awe. Why, I could no more love you than I could love a new species of bacteria." (TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais?")
The main character of the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf was a young boy who was a shepherd. He would falsely tell nearby villagers that a wolf was threatening his sheep, but when they arrived to help him he said that it left. After doing this repeatedly the villagers knew he was lying and did nothing when he did tell the truth. He ended up being eaten by the wolf. (DS9: "Improbable Cause")
In 2372, the Ferengi imposed an six percent tariff on woolen goods they traded with the Karemma, claiming that the tax was added to help offset the "lost income of Tarkalean sheep herders." According to Quark, they were hardworking people, "You have to feel for them". (DS9: "Starship Down")
Kathryn Janeway once compared taking four inefficient officers on an away mission to a shepherd tending to a flock. At the conclusion of the mission, she said "The good shepherd went after some lost sheep... and ran into a wolf." (VOY: "Good Shepherd")


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|Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll
Agnes Jekyll (1860-1937) was the supreme hostess: her house was described as "the apogee of opulent comfort and order without grandeur, smelling of pot-pouri, furniture polish and wood smoke". Lady Jekyll, as she became, first published Kitchen Essays in The Times "in which she was persuaded to pass on some of the wit and wisdom of her rare gift for clever and imaginative housekeeping".
"Le Mot Juste" in Food
Finding the appropriate dish at the right time for your guest, be he a jaded Cabinet Minister or a depressed financier, can be taxing. Agnes Jeykyll has just the recipe.
For the Too Thin
Advice and recipes for flesh-making dishes for those below weight - albeit for reasons of fashion, principle or as a result of influenza. Sardines à la Sackville and Potage Tapioca Mousseux may do the trick..
For the Too Fat
In the battle against avoirdupoids, Lady Jekyll tackles the insidious enemy soup and replaces it with a wonderfully delicate Consommé à l'Estragon. Other recipes and words of wit and wisdom follow.
Extracts from Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll published by Persephone Books Ltd
More readings Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll No.2
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Watching the melee of microphones and voice recorders clustered far away, in somebody else's face, blocking someone else's view, Jarome Iginla can empathize.
"It's not as if I'm like 'Oh God, I'm glad THAT's over,' " protests the former Calgary Flames' captain. "So it's a tricky question. I don't want to sound like I'm whining or I didn't enjoy it. Because I enjoyed being captain in Calgary. Very much. It's not as if it got to be a burden or anything.
"I considered it an honour.
"Coming here, though, it's a different situation.
"After practice I see that every day Sid is one of the last guys out of the locker-room because the media want to talk to him. A big part of that is because he's Sidney Crosby, but part of it is because he's captain, and that's what captains do — they speak for the group, they answer questions.
"But yeah, I don't mind not having to do that, as a daily requirement. It's not to say I didn't enjoy it back then. I'm just enjoying what comes. Playing. When you're captain, there's more responsibility. You're thinking 'How's this guy feeling?', 'Where's the coach at?'
"Most of my focus is on just playing now, on myself, on being ready. And, yeah, that is a nice change."
Iginla, of course, is intimately familiar with Captain Crosby's plight. Here, for so long, his stall was Grand Central Station at rush hour, his take on things the one everyone simply had to have. Just as No. 87's is on the banks of the Allegheny. His was the face of the Calgary Flames' franchise, his the voice of authority on the (occasional) good times and the (mostly) disappointing ones.
Well, the Penguins already possess a symbol, a superstar, a face, a voice. In Pittsburgh, there's no shortage of other high-voltage personages to troll for quotes. Evgeni Malkin, if he happens to be in the mood. Kris Letang. Chris Kunitz. James Neal. Pascal Dupuis. Brenden Morrow, another captain conscripted from elsewhere for this playoff run.
So Jarome Iginla is, comparatively speaking, anyway, being left alone. Been there, done that, nice to take a break and pass the mike to someone else. And in this unclaustrophobic climate he finds himself currently seated third position in post-season scoring (2G, 8A).
"It's exciting to be back in the playoffs," he's saying on the phone, between Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal. "A thrill, for sure. It's great. I definitely appreciate it. This is the most fun time of the year. You miss it.
"When you're younger you just believe it's going to happen all the time. You never give up hope. Every year (in Calgary), even when people weren't picking us to be in the playoffs, we honestly believed we could still make it. And then when it doesn't happen . . .
"This year was tough. Hard on everyone, once we started falling out, knowing that changes were coming. The unknown. It wears on everybody. I mean, it's still fun. It's still hockey. Still the NHL. But when you're trying, you're pushing, and you're still not meeting expectations . . ."
The Penguins, to the shock of virtually no one, are meeting expectations. Into the second round, ahead 1-0 on the Ottawa Senators heading into tonight's game at Consol Energy Center. They've yet to really hit top gear and yet are 5-2 so far this springtime.
Iginla, too, is starting to feel as if he's ready to hit his stride.
"The first week here, nothing seemed to go right. I was a little anxious. I'd try to stickhandle with the puck and it'd dribble off into a corner. It was as if I was in a cloud. But it has gotten better and better."
Watching Crosby, as an on-ice force and an in-the-room, has been a joy for someone who performed the same functions for so long in a different venue.
"I've seen so many different types of leaders, of captains, over the years. Sid's definitely a good captain. He works very hard on his game. He analyzes it all the time, literally shift to shift. From the outside, he's so talented, people just assume it must come so easy. But he's worked his whole life to get here. And he doesn't stop. He's very driven. Very focused. Never satisfied. And that rubs off on the group.
"On the ice, what really stands out is that he can do everything at top speed. A lot of players, a lot of us, when we get into traffic we stop moving our feet, or our hands, but he keeps the same speed. I noticed that the Olympics. I noticed it at practice. I notice it in games here now. He never slows down.
"He's going at an incredible speed on the ice, but in his head, he's relaxed."
As to his future, Iginla is relaxed. He remains an unrestricted free agent July 1st, and nothing, he stresses, is set in stone.
"My wife and I talk about it all the time. This is a unique life situation for us, in our experiences. I really have no idea what's ahead. Truly. We don't know what's going to happen and we're fine with that. You saw we sold our house in Calgary. That doesn't mean we'll never live in Calgary again, we just want to be prepared. A lot of questions but, like I said, no real answers.
"The focus right now is on trying to win here, now."
What Jarome Iginla does know is that, whatever happens, Stanley Cup or no, he'll be playing next season. Somewhere. There'll be no teary Ray Bourque-like goodbye should the dream at long last come to fruition.
"I had one fan come up to me in a restaurant the other night," he laughs, "just to say 'Good luck, Friday.' And I'm like 'Thank you.' And then, out of the blue, he says: 'If you guys win it, are you going to retire?' He must've thought I said yes, because he was like 'C'mon? No! No!'
"But, no, I don't plan on retiring.
"I still feel good. I still love the game. God willing, I'd love to win the Cup this year. But, regardless, I plan on playing for a while longer."
George Johnson is the Herald's sports columnist. E-mail him at firstname.lastname@example.com
Follow George Johnson on Twitter/GeorgejohnsonCH


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NEEDHAM — A pair of moms have received a $15,000 grant from the Needham Education Foundation for a social media program to educate middle school students about constructive ways to use the medium, as well as creating empathy around digital communication.
Carolyn Crotty Guttilla and Martha Cohen Barrett worked with Pollard Middle School Principal Tamatha Bibbo to ensure implementation of their approach would work within the school.
The program will be offered this fall at the middle school to more than 900 students, their parents and faculty members.
"Improving Digital Communication: Helping Pollard Students Better Understand How Social Media Communication Can Be Misinterpreted" will focus on professional development for teachers, parent meetings that will discuss goals and provide practical tips, and an interactive workshop for students.
The program is designed to increase awareness on how digital communication can be misinterpreted and to help students develop personal strategies and healthy boundaries for dealing with online communication, while also decreasing stress around digital communication and social media. It was created and will be led by Jill Walsh, a Boston University sociologist and expert on adolescent social media use.