環境資訊中心外電；姜唯 翻譯；林大利 審校；稿源：ENS

美國杜克大學（Duke University）開發出一款可以讀取和分析黑犀牛（Black rhinoceros，學名：Diceros bicornis）腳印的互動軟體，能用來監視瀕危動物的野外活動，阻絕盜獵者下手機會。

這套「」（Footprint Identification Technique, FIT）軟體可在美國分析軟體公司SAS的JMP統計軟體上運作，使用高階演算法分析100多頭犀牛腳印的特徵測量值。

納米比亞黑犀牛。照片來源： （CC BY-NC-ND 2.0）

FIT可避免人與犀牛接觸  保護雙方免於病毒感染

犀牛的腳印跟人類的指紋一樣獨特，因此可將分析後的圖像儲存在過去收集的全球腳印資料庫中進行比對。

「比對成功便能識別出留下腳印的動物，並把牠的腳印出現處畫成分布圖，追蹤其移動路徑，不需打擾牠或與之接觸。」杜克大學尼古拉斯環境學院兼任副教授說，接觸可能會導致動物將病毒傳播給人類。

傑威爾也是SAS研究所JMP部門的首席研究員，這項研究的共同主持人，FIT的共同開發者。傑威爾說：「這個方法經濟有效，不僅可以保護犀牛和人類的健康，還可以將具有數百年歷史的追蹤技術帶進21世紀。」

傑威爾和同事現在正與納米比亞環境、林業和旅遊部合作，培訓野生動物保護工作者、土地管理人員、當地嚮導和反盜獵人員使用FIT。這份同儕審查研究於8月14日發表於開放期刊《》。

犀牛腳印獨特，可透過演算法個別分析追蹤。照片來源： （CC BY-NC-ND 2.0）

納米比亞2000頭黑犀牛  每年約有50頭遭盜獵

納米比亞大約有2000頭黑犀牛，約佔該物種總個體數的90%。雖然這些動物屬於政府所有，但牠們分散在全國的私人土地上。

納米比亞埃托沙國家公園（Etosha National Park）的工作人員解釋，納米比亞的黑犀牛是獨一無二的，即使在惡劣的沙漠景觀中也能繁殖。牠們已經進化成可以在沒有水的情況下存活數天。在長期乾旱時，牠們所食用的植物會產生有毒化學物質，而黑犀牛對此竟也產生抵抗力。納米比亞黑犀牛的出沒範圍也比其他黑犀牛物種大得多。

近年來政府加強警務，已經降低了因盜獵所致的黑犀牛消失速度，但每年仍有30至50頭黑犀牛被殺。

納米比亞埃托沙國家公園一頭黑犀牛。照片來源： （CC BY-ND 2.0）

由角蛋白製成的犀牛角成分跟人的頭髮和指甲無異，沒有藥效，但它們在亞洲黑市上的售價為每公斤超過6萬美元，被當作傳統醫學材料，或財富和成功的象徵。

「黑犀牛的角價值超過10萬美元。當牠們進入納米比亞的偏遠地區，便成為盜獵者難以抗拒的目標。當局常常要在發現黑犀牛的骨頭或屍體，才知道被盜獵了。」傑威爾說。

FIT能估算區域內犀牛數量  節省巡邏車資源

非洲黑犀牛分布在非洲東部沿海與納米比亞。圖片來源：

傑威爾說，FIT可以用3種不同的方式監測動物，讓科學家、管理人員、嚮導或反盜獵巡邏隊都可以依自身需求使用。FIT的簡配可以用來將野外發現的腳印時與FIT資料庫比對。

FIT還可以調查整個保護區的腳印，並從每張腳印圖片中進行測量，以估算該區域內的犀牛數量。這對於計算巡邏車等資源需求來說相當實用。

FIT全配版可以追蹤特定犀牛個體，將個體與其獨特的腳印配對。反盜獵巡邏隊可以用這個互動的資料庫搜索風險最高的個體，像是經常出沒危險地區或是好幾年都沒看到的個體。

黑犀牛（Black rhinoceros）

黑犀牛是犀科黑犀屬的唯一一種，原生於非洲肯亞、坦尚尼亞、喀麥隆、南非、納米比亞和辛巴威，最重可達1820公斤。黑犀牛目前包括4個亞種，被國際自然保護聯盟（IUCN）列爲「極危」（Critically Endangered）。 黑犀牛在20世紀曾是所有犀牛中數量最多的一種，但由於辛巴威盜獵嚴重，在20世紀後半葉，黑犀的數量急遽下降，從7萬頭下降到1981年的1萬到1萬5000頭。1990年左右數量又降到2500頭以下。根據2003年資料顯示，黑犀牛的數量已有回升，約3610頭。黑犀牛減少的原因主要是盜獵和棲息地破壞。 資料來源： Software Foils Poachers With Rare Rhinos’ Footprints DURHAM, North Carolina, September 14, 2020 (ENS)

Interactive software that reads and analyzes footprints left by black rhinoceroses can be used to monitor the movements of the critically endangered animals in the wild, giving conservationists a new way to keep watch on the species and help keep them safe from poachers, according to a new Duke University-led study.

The software called the Footprint Identification Technique, or FIT, runs on JMP software from SAS Institute. JMP is a suite of computer programs for statistical analysis developed by the JMP business unit of the SAS Institute, an American multinational developer of analytics software based in Cary, North Carolina.

The software uses advanced algorithms to analyze more than 100 measurements of a rhino’s footprint.

Because each rhino’s footprint is as distinctive as a human fingerprint, the analyzed images can be archived electronically in a global database of previously collected footprint images for matching.

“If you find a match, you can identify the individual animal who left the mark and, by plotting the locations of all the other places that mark has been seen, track its movements without disturbing it or coming into close enough contact with it for there to be a risk of animal-to-human viral transmissions,” said Zoe Jewell, adjunct associate professor at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

Jewell is also a principal research associate at the JMP Division of the SAS Institute. She co-led the study and is co-creator of the Footprint Identification Technique.

“It’s a cost-effective approach that not only protects the health of the rhino and the human but also brings a centuries-old tracking skill into the 21st Century,” she said.

Jewell and her colleagues are now working with Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to train wildlife conservationists, land managers, local guides and anti-poaching agents how to use FIT.

The scientists published their peer-reviewed study describing the technology’s effectiveness for monitoring the endangered rhinos on August 14 in the open-access journal “PeerJ.”

Namibia is home to an estimated 2,000 black rhinos or about 90 percent of the species’ total population worldwide. Though legally owned by the government, the animals are dispersed geographically on private lands across the country.

The black rhinos of Namibia are unique, thriving even in a harsh, desert-like landscape, explain staff members at Namibia’s Etosha National Park. They have evolved to survive without water for several days and have even developed a resistance to the toxic chemicals in the plants that they depend on for survival during long droughts. They also have much bigger ranges than other species of black rhino.

Stepped up government policing in recent years has slowed the rate of loss due to poaching, but between 30 and 50 rhinos are still slain each year for their horns.

Rhino horns, made of keratin like human hair and fingernails, have no medicinal powers but they can sell for more than US$60,000 a kilogram on the Asian black market, where they are used in traditional medicine or displayed as a symbol of wealth and success.

“You essentially have these animals with horns worth $100,000 or more that disappear from sight into the Namibian backcountry, making them an almost irresistible target for poachers. Authorities often don’t know a missing rhino has been poached until they find its bones or carcass,” said Jewell.

FIT allows the animals to be monitored three different ways, allowing scientists, managers, guides or anti-poaching patrols to use the software as best meets their individual needs and constraints, she said.

In the simplest option, the heel pattern on a digital image of the footprint is compared to images already in the FIT database to search for a match. This use is well-suited to situations where a random footprint is found in the wild.

The FIT software can also do a survey of footprints throughout the protected area and take measurements from each print to estimate the number of rhinos in that area. This can be useful information for calculating resource needs, the number of patrol vehicles, for instance, to monitor the animals effectively.

In the most advanced option, each individual rhino can be tracked and matched to its unique footprint using both FIT and heel-patterns. This creates an interactive library that anti-poaching patrols can use to search for animals at the highest risk, including those known to frequent areas under threat from poachers or those whose footprints haven’t been showing up in recent years.

※ 全文及圖片詳見：

作者

如果有一件事是重要的，如果能為孩子實現一個願望，那就是人類與大自然和諧共存。

於特有生物研究保育中心服務，小鳥和棲地是主要的研究對象。是龜毛的讀者，認為龜毛是探索世界的美德。

延伸閱讀

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環境資訊中心外電；姜唯 翻譯；林大利 審校；稿源：ENS

美國和加州政府與德國汽車大廠戴姆勒及其美國子公司美國賓士達成和解，戴姆勒與美國賓士因出廠柴油車在排放測試上作弊，違反《乾淨空氣法（Clean Air Act）》和加州法律，必須支付8.75億美元的民事賠償金，以及大約7,030萬美元的其他罰金，創下《乾淨空氣法》生效以來第二高的民事賠償金額。若再加上召回計畫和聯邦補救措施，戴姆勒總共要付出約15億美元（約新台幣438億元）來達成此次和解。

戴姆勒與美國賓士因出廠柴油車在排放測試上作弊，違反《乾淨空氣法（Clean Air Act）》和加州法律，需支付高額賠償金。照片來源：Alesha（CC BY-NC 2.0）

達成和解後 戴姆勒須召回2009至2016年的賓士柴油車

美國環保署、司法部和加州空氣資源委員會（CARB）於9月14日在華盛頓特區美國哥倫比亞特區地方法院遞交和解協議，戴姆勒必須召回2009年至2016年間在美國銷售的所有賓士柴油車，修理其排放系統，涉及約25萬輛輕型和中型柴油車，即2009-2016年款的小客車和Sprinter廂型車。

戴姆勒也必須延長這些車輛中某些零件的保修期限，設法使車輛減少排放會產生過量臭氧的氮氧化物（NOx），並實施可防堵排放作弊的新內部稽核流程。

環保署表示，車輛排放的氮氧化物是地面臭氧產生的關鍵，損害人體健康。吸入臭氧會損害肺組織，加重心臟病和肺部疾病，如氣喘、肺氣腫和支氣管炎。

此次召回計畫和聯邦補救措施預計將使戴姆勒花費約4.36億美元。戴姆勒將再出1.1億美元資助加州的補救措施。也就是說，為達成此次和解，戴姆勒總共要付出約15億美元（約新台幣438億元）。

「我們傳達出明確的訊息，環保署會落實執法、保護環境和公共健康。若試圖欺騙體制、誤導大眾，將會被逮到。」美國環保署官員惠勒（Andrew Wheeler）說，「為了追求利潤而背叛大眾信任者將兩者盡失。」

2010年賓士Sprinter2500型廂型車。照片來源： （CC BY-SA 2.0）

戴姆勒聲明 公司是為了避免冗長的訴訟才和解

戴姆勒否認當局的指控以及原告的集體訴訟，也不承認對美國、加州、原告或其他任何一方負有責任。

該和解協議解決了戴姆勒正在與美國當局進行的民事訴訟，但未針對戴姆勒柴油車是否有減效裝置做出任何判決。戴姆勒的聲明指出，該公司結束訴訟程序，是為了避免冗長的訴訟，並承擔相應的法律和財務風險。

《乾淨空氣法》和聯邦法規要求車輛製造商在美國銷售新型號的車輛之前，必須向EPA申請並獲得合格證書。製造商必須證明車輛符合排放標準，並向EPA揭露所有輔助排放控制裝置（AECD）以及車輛中安裝的所有減效裝置。

美國和CARB在2020年9月14日分別提起民事訴訟指控，2009年至2016年期間，戴姆勒製造、進口和銷售了超過25萬輛柴油廂型車和小客車，但未揭露AECD和減效裝置。

減效裝置使車輛在排放測試期間可產生合格的結果。但是在一般使用時，減效裝置的效率可能會變差，導致NOx排放量增加到容許水準以上。

戴姆勒步入福斯汽車的作弊醜聞後塵

繼福斯汽車的測試作弊醜聞之後，聯邦和州政府在密西根州安娜堡國家車輛和燃油排放實驗室和加州埃爾蒙特CARB測試實驗室發現了戴姆勒汽車中的減效裝置。

2017年4月，美國聯邦法官判福斯汽車公司因操弄柴油動力汽車，欺騙政府的排放測試，必須賠償28億美元。截至2020年6月1日，這起醜聞共使福斯汽車繳出333億美元的罰金、罰款、財務和解和回購成本。

依照和解協議，戴姆勒必須實施召回和維修計畫，幫消費者免費清除受影響車輛中的減效裝置，並使車輛符合《乾淨空氣法》規定的排放標準。

為避免受到嚴厲的處罰，戴姆勒必須在兩年內修理好至少85％的受影響小客車，三年內至少85％的廂型車。

此外，戴姆勒還必須用污染更低的新發動機替換掉15台發動機，以抵消其車輛排放的過量氮氧化物。

Daimler to Pay $1.5 Billion for Fake Emissions Tests WASHINGTON, DC, September 15, 2020 (ENS)

The U.S. and California governments have proposed a settlement with German automaker Daimler AG and its American subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA that would resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and California law associated with diesel emissions cheating in about 250,000 cars and vans.

The proposed settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was lodged on September 14 in Washington, DC with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It requires Daimler to recall and repair the emissions systems in Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles sold in the United States between 2009 and 2016.

The settlement covers approximately 250,000 light- and medium-duty diesel vehicles; these are passenger cars and Sprinter vans from model years 2009-2016.

Daimler and Mercedes-Benz must pay $875 million in civil penalties and roughly $70.3 million in other penalties. The civil penalty of $875 million is the second-largest civil penalty in the history of the Clean Air Act.

The company will also extend the warranty period for certain parts in the repaired vehicles, perform projects to mitigate excess ozone-creating nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from the vehicles, and implement new internal audit procedures designed to prevent future emissions cheating.

NOx emissions from vehicles play a key role in ground-level ozone production and negatively impact human health, the EPA said. Breathing ozone can damage lung tissue, worsen heart disease and lung conditions like asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis.

The recall program and federal mitigation project are expected to cost Daimler about $436 million. The company will pay another $110 million to fund mitigation projects in California. Altogether, the settlement is valued at about $1.5 billion (€1.27 billion).

“The message we are sending today is clear. We will enforce the law. We will protect the environment and public health. And if you try to cheat the system and mislead the public, you will be caught,” said U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Those that violate public trust in pursuit of profits will forfeit both.”

Daimler denies the authorities’ allegations as well as the class action plaintiffs’ claims and does not admit any liability to the United States, California, plaintiffs, or otherwise.

The settlement resolves the company’s pending civil proceedings with the U.S. authorities without reaching any determinations as to whether functionalities in Daimler’s vehicles are defeat devices. By concluding the proceedings, Daimler said in a statement, the company “avoids lengthy court actions with respective legal and financial risks.”

Vehicle manufacturers are required by the Clean Air Act and federal regulations to apply for and receive a certificate of conformity from EPA before selling a new model year vehicle in the United States. Manufacturers must demonstrate that a vehicle meets emissions standards and disclose to EPA all auxiliary emission control devices (AECDs) and any defeat devices installed in the vehicle.

This settlement addresses allegations made in separate civil complaints filed by the United States and CARB on September 14, 2020, that, from 2009 to 2016, Daimler manufactured, imported, and sold more than 250,000 diesel Sprinter vans and passenger cars with undisclosed AECDs and defeat devices programmed into the vehicles’ complex emissions control software.

The defeat devices cause vehicles to produce compliant results during emissions testing. But when not being tested, the emissions controls can perform less effectively, resulting in an increase in NOx emissions above compliant levels.

The federal and state agencies discovered the defeat devices in Daimler’s vehicles in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal through testing conducted at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan and at CARB’s testing laboratory in El Monte, California.

In April 2017, a U.S. federal judge ordered Volkswagen to pay a $2.8 billion criminal fine for “rigging diesel-powered vehicles to cheat on government emissions tests.” As of June 1, 2020, the scandal had cost VW $33.3 billion in fines, penalties, financial settlements and buyback costs.

The Daimler settlement requires the company to implement a recall and repair program to remove all defeat devices from the affected vehicles at no cost to consumers and bring the vehicles into compliance with emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.

CARB Chair Mary Nichols said, “Californians live with some of the worst air in the country, air that adversely impacts public health causing or contributing to asthma, respiratory disease, and premature death. It also costs the economy through medical costs as well as lost work and school days.”

“Automakers must learn that in this state,” said Nichols, “CARB will continue to use the very latest and most sophisticated science and technology to catch cheating and violations that impact our air and health.”

To avoid stiff penalties, Daimler must repair at least 85 percent of the affected passenger cars within two years and at least 85 percent of the vans within three years.

Daimler must also replace 15 old locomotive engines with new, less-polluting engines to offset the excess NOx emitted from its vehicles.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. Copies of the consent decree lodged with the court are online here.

※ 全文及圖片詳見：

作者

如果有一件事是重要的，如果能為孩子實現一個願望，那就是人類與大自然和諧共存。

於特有生物研究保育中心服務，小鳥和棲地是主要的研究對象。是龜毛的讀者，認為龜毛是探索世界的美德。

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