Difference among the Growth of GDP and Urbanization of the Provinces and the Cities in West China since the Reform and Opening-up

Since the reform and opening-up, the difference between the development of the west region and the other regions in China is increasing. In addition, the condition of the development of cities in west China needs amelioration. Developing conditions of the west provinces and its cities using economic barometers (e.g. gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita GDP) and urban population datum (e.g. urbanization level and city primary degree) have been analyzed in this article. Five indexes have been chosen to work on the development of the provinces, for example, the contribution degree of the increment in GDP, the contribution degree of the increment of per capita GDP, urbanization level, city primary degree, city primacy ratio. Conclusions are as follows. (1) The growth of the GDP and per capita GDP of the western provinces is in a poor way; moreover, it is not steady going. (2) The comparability among the characteristics of the urbanization level growth of the provinces is at a low level. (3) The urbanization levels of Inner Mongolia province and Sinkiang province are more-sensitive responders to the growth of per capita GDP, whereas those of Guangxi province and Tibet province are less-sensitive responders. (4) The urban population in most of the provinces are highly concentrated, which can be shown by city primary degrees and city primacy ratios. While working on these cities in west China, some earlier zone-organic cities are chosen as sample cities, and these cities are also analyzed using economic barometers and population datum. By analyzing the difference among the cities and comparing the research findings of Professor Zhou and the author, the following conclusions are made: (1) the growth of the GDP and per capita GDP of the cities are mostly not steady going; (2) the middle and big cities are more-sensitive responders to the growth of economy, whereas the small and mega cities are less-sensitive responders; (3) the sizes of southwest cities have a higher speed than those of northwest ones, and furthermore, the differences between them are still increasing.     

新生代农民工市民化进程与空间分异研究

农民工市民化问题是当今城市地理学研究的一个重大课题.基于大连市300名新生代农民工的问卷调查,从外部环境和新生代农民工自身情况两方面,构建了市民化指标体系,修正了基于C-D函数的市民化进程模型,采用SPSS软件对问卷结果进行统计分析,定量分析了大连市新生代农民工市民化进程的特点,运用Maplnfo作出空间分异图,得出大连市新生代农民工市民化进程的空间分异特征:①市内四个主城区的市民化水平低于副城区;②市中心及其辐射地带市民化水平较低,城乡结合部市民化水平较高;③市民化指标与市民化水平空间分异不匹配.目前新生代农民工市民化的相关制度环境处于阻碍阶段,城市居民对新生代农民工的社会认同和接纳程度较好,新生代农民工自身已经具备市民化的能力,城乡结合部和副城区(郊区)是其定居城市的最佳区域,农民工市民化进程是一个任重而道远的任务,国家、社会应为新生代农民工提供一个平台,加快农民工到市民的转化进程.     

Sustainable Development and the Role of the Financial World

The incapacity to finance sustainable development through philanthropic official assistance turned the Johannesburg Summit to business world and the financial industry. Pioneering financial institutions – including development banks and private banks – have developed a wide range of innovations that can support sustainable development. This article highlights a few innovative products and markets and focuses on the progress made by financial players on the level of standards, metrics and guidelines to improve sustainability management systems, reporting and accounting practices and the multi-stakeholder dynamic. The role of the socially responsible investing (SRI) community has been underexposed by the Summit. Through its voice and market success, SRI has moved from a green market niche to the mainstream, however not becoming mainstream. The invaluable levering effect of SRI has just been discovered by authorities and market regulators and is becoming instrumental. In order to show the business case of Corporate Social Responsibility and to prove the financial viability of the People, Planet, Prosperity investing approach, the SRI community should critically reflect on its own quality assurance systems, sound disclosure and verification practices.     

Environmental change in and around the Okavango Delta during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Historical data, archival information, in-situ observations and multi-date remotely sensed imagery comprising CORONA photographs of 1967, aerial photographs of 1991 and 2000, and Landsat TM and Landsat ETM images of 1989 and 1994 and 2001, respectively, were used to reconstruct environmental changes in and around the Okavango Delta during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The major changes that emerged from this reconstruction include persistent flood and rainfall failures, sustained contraction of surface and groundwater resources, floodplain desiccation, significant expansion of woody cover and significant decrease in grazing resources. These changes require urgent formulation and immediate adoption of climate smart interventions that can enhance our capacities to cope with the adverse effects deteriorating climatic conditions.     

基于环境同位素的鄱阳湖与长江关系变化解析

在气候变化和三峡工程调节的双重影响下,长江中下游通江湖泊江湖关系发生显著改变,而最大的通江湖泊—鄱阳湖—水情的变化及其引发的一系列生态和环境问题受到了高度重视和关注。为了揭示不同时期鄱阳湖与长江间的江湖关系,并初步分析三峡运行对鄱阳湖水情的影响,通过对鄱阳湖北部通江水道湖水、降水和九江段长江干流水同位素特征进行调查并探讨长江水与湖水同位素联系。结果表明:湖水、降水和长江水中δ~(18)O和δ~2H值存在明显的季节和空间变化,可用于揭示湖泊与长江间的关系。在三峡调洪削峰期(7月)湖水δ~(18)O和δ~2H值明显要高于长江水,且湖水主要以外排形式补给长江为主,其比例达75%;在三峡蓄水期(10月)长江水位高于湖口水位,从鄱阳湖出口到老爷庙湖水与长江水同位素值具有较高的相似性,表明了此水域受长江水倒灌影响;而在三峡蓄水期(11和12月)湖水同位素值偏大说明了其受到一定较强的蒸发富集影响。三峡水库运行明显改变了长江水位和流量,进而影响了鄱阳湖与长江的补排关系,调洪削峰调度阶段,较高的长江水位对鄱阳湖存在一定的顶托作用,导致湖水难以排泄。因此,三峡水库的调度需要考虑到鄱阳湖流域水情,以免加重该流域丰水期的洪涝灾害和枯水期的水资源短缺。     

Public Discourse and the Rhetorical Construction of the Technospecter

Modern technological disasters and their human and environmental consequences often defy the imagination in their immensity and complexity. As such, their rhetorical constructions often lack tangibility and a sense of material reality for those not directly involved. These amorphous constructions are consolidated into a view of technological disaster and threats of disaster in which the rhetorical dimensions are analogous to those of ghosts portrayed in popular literature and film—a view the author terms the “technospecter.” Drawing on the public discourse surrounding a tragic pipeline explosion near Carlsbad, New Mexico, this study identifies the rhetorical dimensions of the technospecter and discusses how the construction of the specter reinforces the meta-narratives that constrain pro-environmental action.     

The Country,the City,and the Corporation: Rio Tinto Kennecott and the Materiality of Corporate Rhetoric

Contributing to extant discourses about corporate environmental advocacy, this paper argues that corporations can embed discursive rhetorical strategies in material places and spaces. This argument contributes to environmental communication by bridging divisions between discursive and materialist approaches to corporate rhetoric. Corporate materiality is realized in the study of Rio Tinto Kennecott (RTK) at places of corporate community where RTK enunciates a dominant environmental discourse about the necessity of the Bingham Canyon Mine through strategies such as the technological shell game, the hypocrite's trap, and corporate heterotopia, which are made manifest materially alongside cultural values such as epistemic trust, technological progress, community, and home. Using participatory critical rhetoric as a methodology, I analyse RTK's material rhetoric at the Natural History Museum of Utah, the Rio Tinto Soccer Stadium, and the Daybreak suburban community. This case study reveals that corporations are assemblages that assert many different, and sometimes competing, arguments that can deflect environmental criticism, materially.     

Perception of the effects of climate change in winter and summer tourist areas: the Pyrenees and the Catalan and Balearic coasts,Spain

In this study, we compare the perception of climate change in two different tourist settings of northeastern Spain: the Catalan Pyrenees and the Catalan Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands. We carried out a survey of 906 cases (506 in the coastal areas of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands and 400 in the Catalan Pyrenees) asking residents on those areas to assess the possible effects of climate change on tourist-related activities. While the existence of climate change and of its estimated impacts is widely accepted, we observe statistically significant differences in most of the questions between residents in the coastal areas and residents in the Pyrenees. In general terms, respondents from the Pyrenees display a much higher concern regarding the economic impacts of climate change on tourism. On the other hand, the results also show that some demographic groups, such as women, members of large households, or unemployed, tend to present higher levels of concern. This study may give new hints on which tourist modalities and which groups are more concerned for the impacts of climate change in Mediterranean tourist environments and could translate into more targeted adaptive and mitigation practices.     

Heavy metal contamination of brown seaweed and sediments from the UK coastline between the Wear river and the Tees river

The concentration of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, and Ag were determined in the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus and intertidal surface sediments from coastal locations of northeast England. Levels of heavy metals similar to those of polluted areas of the British coastline were detected. There is evidence of contamination (especially with Zn and Pb) in sediments from sites affected by colliery spoil and from the Wear estuary. The pelitic fraction ( < 63 microm) is usually more enriched in heavy metals, but it represents a very small percentage of the bulk samples. The fine-grained sand is a very important repository of contaminants especially where particles of colliery spoil, secondary mineral, and amorphous phases are present. Aqua regia-extracted Zn, Cu, and Pb in sediments are significantly correlated with those in seaweed. Despite the closure of all base metal and coal mines, and the cessation of many industrial activities in the region, sediments and brown algae are contaminated with heavy metals. The control site (Holy Island) and the Tees estuary appear to be the least affected.     

三峡水库运行下长江与洞庭湖交汇区水情态势及相互顶托作用

基于1990～2017年监利、城陵矶、螺山3站水位及流量数据,采用差值法、流量距平法、相关系数分析法,分析三峡水库运行下长江与洞庭湖交汇区的水情态势及相互顶托作用。与三峡水库运行前比较:(1)三峡水库不同调度方式运行后在不同流量、水位下江湖交汇区的监利、城陵矶、螺山3站水位流量均有所变化,调洪期3站在不同流量下水位降幅均大于0.50 m,不同水位下流量减幅均超过2 000 m~3/s,补水期流量增加幅度均在1 000 m~3/s以上,水位上升幅度都在0.50～1.00 m之间;(2)三峡水库全程调度运行后监利、城陵矶、螺山3站之间的水位流量相关系数在0.50～0.96之间,相关系数提升0.1～0.35,表明交汇区水位流量相互顶托作用均呈减弱状态;(3)三峡水库在预泄、调洪、蓄水、补水4个调度时段中,监利、城陵矶、螺山3站调洪期和补水期相关系数变动幅度分别为0.04～0.35和0.1～0.39,预泄期和蓄水期的相关系数变动幅度分别为0.01～0.1和0.005～0.4,总体上江湖交汇区的水文相互顶托强度有所减弱。     

Energy conservation and waste utilization in the cement industry serve the green technology and environment

The cement industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries consuming 4 GJ/ton of cement, i.e. 12–15% of the energy use in total industry. Energy cost accounts for 30% of the total cost of cement production. Seventy-five per cent of this energy is due to the thermal energy for clinker production. It is also found that 35% of this supplied thermal energy is lost in flue gas streams. Most modern kilns use pet coke or coal as their primary fuel. Instead, the municipal waste in landfills offer a cheap source of energy and reduce the environmental effects of dumping solid waste. The calcination and drying processes and the kiln need large quantities of thermal energy. About 40% of the total energy input is lost in the hot flue gases and cooling the stack plus the kiln shell. Hence, it is suitable to use an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to recover the exhaust energy from the kiln. Alternatively, a 15 MW gas turbine engine combined with a steam turbine could be utilized. It was found that ORC produces 5 MW with a capital cost recovery period of 1.26 years. However, the gas turbine combined system produces 21.45 MW with a maximum recovery period of 2.66 years.     

Formation and degradation of meadows under the impact of hay harvesting and grazing in the Vychegda and Pechora floodplains

Transformation of meadow communities under the impact of hay harvesting and livestock grazing has been studied in the floodplains of the Vychegda and Pechora rivers. Changes in the floristic composition, structure, and productivity of meadows have been evaluated using synanthropization and adventization indices. On this basis, meadow phytocenoses at three different stages of pasture digression have been distinguished.     

Arthropods and birds in the forest–tundra of Western Siberia and the edge effect

Over 2500 species of invertebrate macrofauna and over 177 species of avifauna live in the forest–tundra of the Lower Ob region and adjacent areas of the northern taiga and shrub tundra. About half of the invertebrate species of the study area are northern—mostly hypo- and hemiarctic—tundra species; the rest are boreal and arctomontane-boreal Holarctic and trans-Palearctic species. The anthophilic and aerobiont insect assemblages include many boreal forest forms. A total of 153 species have been observed nesting at the taiga–foresttundra boundary; 81 species have been observed nesting at the tundra–forest-tundra boundary. The avifauna of the forest–tundra becomes enriched with taiga species in floodplain forests and with tundra species on the flat interfluve, in areas of tundra and tundra-like wetlands. The forest–tundra of the Lower Ob region has no avifauna and entomofauna of its own and contains a mixture of taiga and tundra faunas. It has been found that the ecotone effect is not pronounced in the taxonomic composition of birds and insects in the forest–tundra, where only some particular groups (such as amphibiont insects) have increased abundance.     

秦岭-淮河南北高温高湿天气时空演变分析

基于1960~2017年秦岭-淮河196个气象站点逐日最高温、最低温、相对湿度数据，以表观温度指数为基础,采用极点对称模态分解（ESMD）及专用气象要素空间插值软件ANUSPLIN，对秦岭-淮河南北高温高湿天气时空变化特征进行分析，进而利用小波相干方法探讨该区高温高湿天气与赤道东太平洋海温异常的多时间尺度响应关系。结果表明：(1) 以20世纪80年代中期及2010年为时间节点，秦岭-淮河以北及秦巴山区高温高湿天气日数呈“下降-缓慢上升-快速上升”阶段性变化特征，秦岭-淮河以南及淮河平原呈“下降-缓慢上升-下降”趋势；(2) 秦岭-淮河南北高温高湿天气呈“东多西少、南多北少”的空间分布特征，且影响范围向北扩大；(3)赤道东太平洋东部地区海温异常对秦岭-淮河南北各区高温高湿天气的影响比西部地区更显著且长时间周期尺度比短时间周期尺度更稳定。     

汉江下游鱼类早期资源及梯级联合生态调度对鱼类繁殖影响的初步分析

汉江是长江一级支流，鱼类资源较为丰富。目前汉江中下游建有4座水利枢纽工程，对鱼类洄游和繁殖产生较大影响。在鱼类繁殖季节，为促进汉江中下游鱼类繁殖，2018年6月汉江中下游首次实施梯级联合生态调度。该研究在汉江下游汉川段设置监测断面，采集鱼类早期资源，以分析汉江下游鱼类早期资源多样性，及生态调度对促进汉江下游鱼类繁殖的效果。监测结果表明汉江下游卵苗种类共有36种（属），其中22种为产漂流性卵鱼类。监测期间卵苗总径流量为118.78亿尾（粒），其中四大家鱼卵苗为0.87亿尾（粒），占0.73%，其中鱼卵0.69亿粒，推测汉江下游有4处四大家鱼产卵场。梯级联合生态调度期间，汉川江段出现一次鱼类产卵高峰，鱼卵径流量占总径流量的34.1%，其中四大家鱼鱼卵占家鱼卵总径流量的85.5%，表明梯级联合生态调度对汉江下游鱼类，特别是四大家鱼的繁殖具有积极的作用。建议今后继续开展生态调度，并加强监测和分析工作。     

Composition and quantification of the anthropogenic and natural fractions of wastes collected from the stormwater drainage system for discussions about the waste management and people behavior

A study was made of the composition of wastes collected from the pipes of the stormwater drainage system of Sorocaba, SP, Brazil (600 thousand inhabitants). A total of 10 samples weighing at least 100 kg each were sorted into 19 items to determine the fraction that can be considered natural (earth/sand, stones, organic matter, and water, the latter determined after oven-drying the samples) and the anthropogenic fraction (the remaining 15 items, especially construction and demolition wastes and packaging). Soil/sand was found to be the main item collected (52.5 % dry weight), followed by the water soaked into the waste (24.3 %), which meant that all the other wastes were saturated in mud, whose contents varied from 6.4 % (glass) to 87.2 % (metalized plastics packaging). In general, 83 % of the collected wastes can be classified as “natural,” but the remaining 17 % represent 2,000 kg of the most varied types of wastes discarded improperly every day on the streets of the city. This is an alarming amount of wastes that may clog parts of the drainage systems, causing troubles for all the population (like flooding) and must be strongly considered in municipal solid wastes management and in environmental education programs.     

三峡水库春季浮游植物群落特征及影响因素

浮游植物群落特征是水域生态系统的一个基础信息,三峡水库作为长江经济带环境保护的重要区域,而关于三峡水库全水域浮游植物群落特征及其影响因素的研究报道仍不多见。为了解三峡水库浮游植物群落特征差异及影响因素等一系列基础信息,于2015年4月对三峡水库进行了大范围的调查,调查范围包括17个长江断面(共51个样点)及22条支流库湾(共122个样点)。结果显示:共采集到浮游植物7门39属61种,以绿藻门、硅藻门、甲藻门为主,其中绿藻门有26种,占据总种数的42.62%;硅藻门有16种,占据总种数的26.23%;甲藻门有7种,占据总种数的11.48%。丰度方面,硅藻门占绝对优势,比例为34.26%,其次是隐藻门(23.72%)、蓝藻门(20.96%)。生物量方面,则是甲藻门占绝对优势,其比例达到了44.18%,随后是隐藻门(29.92%)、硅藻门(14.32%)。丰度和生物量分别变化在2.22×10~4～5.12×10~(7 )cells/L和0.001 8～120.99 mg/L之间,且存在一致的趋势,从三峡大坝往长江上游,丰度值和生物量值逐渐增加。支流库湾浮游植物Shannon-Wiener多样性指数显著高于长江干流(Mann-Whitney U检验,P0.001)。冗余分析(Redundancy Analysis,RDA)表明,在长江干流中,水温(WT)、可溶性硅酸盐(DSi)是影响浮游植物群落结构的主要环境因子(P0.001);在支流库湾中,硝态氮(NO~-_3-N)、水温(WT)是影响浮游植物群落结构的主要环境因子(P=0.002)。该研究的成果有助于全面认识了解三峡水库长江干流和支流库湾春季浮游植物种类组成和影响因子,同时对三峡水库水资源管理和水生态保护具有一定参考价值。     

Heavy Metals in the Environment of the Middle Urals and Their Effects on the Organism

The kinetics of accumulation of essential and toxic trace elements (TE) in vitally important organs were studied in small mammals typical of the Middle and Southern Ural fauna. The results revealed a discrepancy between the increased uptake of Cd, Zn, Pb, and Cu by animals and the virtually constant concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in their organs, which could be explained by the existence of special elimination systems activated upon excessive HM uptake. It is shown that HM accumulation in animal tissues is energy-dependent and species-specific, and the effects of highly toxic TE correlate with physiological processes.     

洞庭湖通江水道鱼类资源周年动态及其洄游特征研究

为了解洞庭湖通江水道鱼类资源的周年动态及其洄游特征,2017年5月～2018年6月,对洞庭湖通江水道的仔鱼和幼鱼、成鱼进行了逐月调查。(1)共采集仔鱼19种,数量以■(Hemiculter leucisculus)最多(占总数的76. 6%),其次为子陵吻虾虎鱼(Rhinogobius giurinus)(占8. 8%)和似鳊(Pseudobrama simoni)(占4. 3%);仔鱼主要出现在4～9月,密度以6月最高(848. 8 Ind./1 000 m~3)。(2)采集幼鱼、成鱼42种,数量以短颌鲚(Coilia brachygnathus)(占总数的30. 3%)最多,其次为贝氏■(Hemiculter bleekeri)(占15. 3%)和■(占12. 2%);幼鱼、成鱼丰度以8月最高(为729尾/船/日)。(3) 4～7月,江湖洄游型鱼类的运动指数在0. 1～0. 7之间,呈现入湖趋势; 9～次年3月,江湖洄游型鱼类的运动指数在-0. 4～-0. 1之间,呈现出湖趋势;径流量是幼鱼、成鱼出、入湖的主要驱动因子。