ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING: An Approach for Characterizing Tropospheric Ozone Risk to Forests

/ The risk tropospheric ozone poses to forests in the United States is dependent on the variation in ozone exposure across the distribution of the forests in question and the various environmental and climate factors predominant in the region. All these factors have a spatial nature, and consequently an approach to characterization of ozone risk is presented that places ozone exposure-response functions for species as seedlings and model-simulated tree and stand responses in a spatial context using a geographical information systems (GIS). The GIS is used to aggregate factors considered important in a risk characterization, including: (1) estimated ozone exposures over forested regions, (2) measures of ozone effects on species' and stand growth, and (3) spatially distributed environmental, genetic, and exposure influences on species' response to ozone. The GIS-based risk characterization provides an estimation of the extent and magnitude of the potential ozone impact on forests. A preliminary risk characterization demonstrating this approach considered only the eastern United States and only the limited empirical data quantifying the effect of ozone exposures on forest tree species as seedlings. The area-weighted response of the annual seedling biomass loss formed the basis for a sensitivity ranking: sensitive-aspen and black cherry (14%-33% biomass loss over 50% of their distribution); moderately sensitive-tulip popular, loblolly pine, eastern white pine, and sugar maple (5%-13% biomass loss); insensitive-Virginia pine and red maple (0%-1% loss). In the future, the GIS-based risk characterization will include process-based model simulations of the three- to 5-year growth response of individual species as large trees with relevant environmental interactions and model simulated response of mixed stands. The interactive nature of GIS provides a tool to explore consequences of the range of climate conditions across a species' distribution, forest management practices, changing ozone precursors, regulatory control strategies, and other factors influencing the spatial distribution of ozone over time as more information becomes available.KEY WORDS: Ecological risk assessment; GIS; Ozone; Risk characterization; Forests; Trees     

考虑不同合作模式和多方奖惩的绿色信贷风险优化控制研究

绿色信贷风险的优化控制,有利于推动绿色信贷的稳定、可持续发展,实现环境效益、经济效益和社会效益的共赢。本研究将政府部门、环保部门、金融机构和企业的行为纳入同一个理论体系中,充分考虑影响参与主体最优努力水平和绿色信贷风险最优轨迹的环境因素、经济因素和社会因素。在此基础上,构建不同合作模式下的绿色信贷风险优化控制模型,分析不同情境下参与主体的努力水平,比较绿色信贷风险的最优轨迹,找出绿色信贷风险优化控制存在的问题及原因。研究结果表明：第一,四方合作模式对绿色信贷风险的优化控制具有明显的优势。第二,政府的参与能够有效带动其余合作者的积极性。第三,金融机构和企业之间,存在明显的利益共存和投入互动关系。第四,补贴和惩罚措施在合作过程中能够产生激励和约束作用,但在非合作模式下发挥的作用比较有限。第五,参与主体的协同水平越高,越有利于绿色信贷风险的优化控制。因此,需要灵活运用行政、经济或法律等多种干预手段,并对补贴用途进行考评和增强舆论监督,防止金融机构和企业将绿色补贴挪作他用。同时,建立符合国内绿色信贷发展特点的风险标准,统一绿色信贷风险的评判和管控依据。     

“互联网+”时代的环境风险评估探讨

环境风险评估是环境管理的前提和依据。目前比较成熟的方法分为项目"事先"环评和健康"事后"风险评估。以上两种风险评估方法由于多种原因制约,无法提供给环境管理部门实时在线的环境风险结果。实际上,环境风险评估方法在不断完善中,随着互联网、物联网、云计算、三网融合等IT与通信技术的迅猛发展,环境保护领域也迎来了大数据时代,风险评估也将逐渐步入"互联网+"时代。新型环境风险评估更具系统性,将以数字化的形式体现环境(E)—污染物(M)—人为因素(H)的风险耦合度。虽然数字化环境风险评估在相关风险因子和风险评估方法上仍处于起步阶段,但它是新形势下环境风险管理的一个全新方向,其应用将对环境管理领域产生巨大影响。本文将分析传统环境风险评估与"互联网+"时代的环境风险评估差异,探讨新型数字化环境风险评估需要的支撑硬件与平台,并对数字化环境风险评估的发展趋势与挑战做出展望。     

Understanding Managers’ Views of Global Environmental Risk

This research investigated managers’ views of two global environmental risks: climate change and loss of biodiversity. The intent was to understand why different managers place varying levels of attention and priority on these issues. The data came from in-depth interviews with 28 senior corporate managers across Canada and a range of sectors, although most were employed in the energy sector. Approximately half had direct environmental responsibilities and half had other management duties. Grounded theory was used to collect and analyze the data. From the results, a theoretical framework was constructed to explain important factors that can influence managers’ mental models of environmental risk. Four factors relevant to managers’ appraisal of the threat of environmental risk include: (1) salience, (2) intrinsic value of nature, (3) knowledge, and (4) perceived resilience of nature. In addition, four factors relevant to managers’ view of the appeal of a particular response strategy were: (1) avoidability, (2) perceived costs and benefits, (3) fairness and equity, and (4) effectiveness. The time horizon for decision making was seen as being important in both portions of the mental model.     

基于结构方程模型的环境风险接受度影响因素分析

随着社会经济的发展和城市化进程的推进,我国环境风险事故频发。与此同时,公众对于美好环境的需求日益提升,公众与专家和政府之间的风险判断差异是不同规模的群体性事件发生的主要诱因。为识别公众环境风险接受度的影响因素,本研究基于结构方程模型分析了11种环境风险的客观风险水平和公众感知到的风险影响度、场域了解度、政府信任度、社会经济水平等因素对公众风险接受度的影响。研究结果显示,社会经济水平、风险影响度、场域了解度、政府信任度均直接影响公众的风险接受度;客观风险水平则通过风险影响度的中介作用间接影响风险接受度。因此,为在经济发展过程中降低公众风险感知偏差对生产生活的影响,我国除了通过更严格的风险管控手段降低风险事故发生概率和影响范围外,还需要通过信息公开、公众参与和生态科普等方式增强公众对风险场域的了解度和对政府的信任度以提升风险接受能力。     

The study of a method of regional environmental risk assessment

Regional environmental risk assessment can be defined as risk assessment which deals with a spatial scale that contains multiple habitats with multiple sources of many stressors affecting multiple endpoints. The characteristics of the landscape also affect the estimated risk. In this paper, an information diffusion method based on a grid system is proposed to assess regional environmental risk. The risk information on a single environmental risk source can be diffused effectively by using fuzzy set theory. Regional environmental risk values obtained from information diffusion can be clustered on classification criteria and different environmental risk levels can be depicted in a spatial partition map. Huangge Town and Nansha Town located in the Nansha Area of Guangzhou City in China were selected as model cases. The results derived from this information diffusion method will help the local government to optimize the distribution of industrial areas and establish risk prevention measurements and emergency management procedures.     

Homesickness,health and efficiency in first year students

The investigation is concerned with the reported incidence and frequency of homesickness following an environmental transition to university in a group of 101 first year university students. Definitions provided by students indicated that homesickness is a collective term for a number of cognitive and emotional/motivational experiences primarily associated with missing home and wanting to visit it. 60% reported homesickness. Geographical distance of the move and relative lack of satisfaction with features of the psychosocial and physical environment in the new place were found to be associated with homesickness reporting. Personality and circumstantial factors such as decisional control over the move and cognitive failure levels were also associated with homesickness reporting. A two-stage risk model is proposed in which an environmental relocation is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for homesickness; features of the new place combine with personality factors to precipitate the experience.     

Estimation of terrestrial chemical spill risk factors using a modified Delphi approach

The large number of chemical spills each year in the United States presents a potentially significant risk to human health and the environment. In an effort to manage this risk, the authors are developing a screening tool to assess the immediate threat to human and environmental receptors from land-based chemical spills. As part of this development effort, a modified Delphi survey was employed to determine the most important factors governing this risk and the relative importance of these factors. Results of the survey indicate that accounting for the attributes of the spilled chemical as well as the characteristics of the surrounding environment is imperative in making informed decisions regarding spill planning and mitigation. Survey results further indicate the greatest concern during spill events to be the risk to human health, which must be considered directly as well as factored into decisions concerning the protection of environmental receptors.     

基于大数据的“邻避”设施环境社会风险评估方法研究

着力防范化解环境社会风险是社会和谐稳定的重要前提。本文基于国内全网2019—2020年关于“垃圾焚烧”的网络舆情数据,通过情感词典、TF-IDF关键词提取和人工识别方法进行“邻避”冲突的原因分析,在此基础上构建本土化的“邻避”设施环境社会风险指标体系和评估方法,结合环境、人口和社会等多源大数据,基于自然断点法对风险等级进行分类,以全国生活垃圾焚烧发电设施的重点区域为案例开展环境社会风险的分析评估。结果表明,担忧破坏生态环境、反对选址位置、担忧排放物有毒是贯穿2019—2020年两年的主要反对原因,占据反对原因的50%以上。之后,本文对各项反对因素进行归纳汇总,构建了12项指标的风险评价指标体系,其中环境因素、人口因素和社会因素为一级指标,其权重分别达到0.33、0.49和0.18,人口因素是影响程度最大的因素;对案例风险评估结果表明全国范围和六大重点区域的大多数设施拟建设于重大风险或特大风险地区,需着重关注这些地区的生活垃圾焚烧发电项目规划布局和风险防控问题。     

Environmental risk perception, environmental concern and propensity to participate in organic farming programmes

This paper aims to identify the factors underlying farmers' propensity to participate in organic farming programmes in a Romanian rural region that confronts non-point source pollution. For this, we employ structural equation modelling with latent variables using a specific data set collected through an agri-environmental farm survey in 2001. The model includes one 'behavioural intention' latent variable ('propensity to participate in organic farming programmes') and five 'attitude' and 'socio-economic' latent variables ('socio-demographic characteristics', 'economic characteristics', 'agri-environmental information access', 'environmental risk perception' and 'general environmental concern'). The results indicate that, overall, the model has an adequate fit to the data. All loadings are statistically significant, supporting the theoretical basis for assignment of indicators for each latent variable. The significance tests for the structural model parameters show 'environmental risk perception' as the strongest determinant of farmers' propensity to participate in organic farming programmes.     

环境风险预测数学模型

本文基于环境风险预测分析的基本思想,应用模糊图、灰色系统、非线性回归、随机过程和可靠性系统工程理论和方法,探讨了环境风险预测的数学模型。给出了环境风险预测的双向模糊图模型、灰色马尔夫预测模型及非线性回归模型,这些模型的应用为环境风险评价和环境风险管理提供了科学依据。     

Risk management: Time for innovative approaches

Risk management practices under the current environmental regulations is a long, complex process that considers scientific, technologic, and management factors to develop various regulatory standards and pollution control measures. Using the mandatory enforcement approach, sometimes referred to as “command-and-control”, a set of preliminary environmental goals, such as better air and water qualities, were achieved. However, the information-intensive nature of the risk management process and the lack of flexibility in conventional regulatory methods to changing economic and technologic realities of the decade has created interest among risk managers to examine some innovative management approaches. Above all, environmental problems of a global scale require novel management methods while striving to achieve the desired environmental goals. As the principal analytical tool in risk management, quantitative risk assessment exerts considerable influence on the risk management process. Therefore, advances in risk management are closely associated with scientific developments that enhance the risk assessment process, particularly those efforts aimed at improving human exposure and toxicity assessments. Market incentives, information dissemination, creative enforcement practices, and interagency and intergovernmental interactions were identified as the key elements of innovative environmental risk management practices. This paper will present an overview of the emerging innovative risk management approaches.     

基于大数据的水环境风险业务化评估与预警研究

随着生态环境大数据的不断建设,国家级、流域级和行政区级别的大数据中心相继产生。快速、高效地分析和利用实时产生、类型多样的环境大数据,提取环境大数据在风险评估与预警的价值,具有重要的意义,也充满挑战。本文基于环境大数据的数据特点和不同层次的组织管理特征以及环境风险评估预警的业务化需求,构建基于大数据的流域环境风险评估与预警技术及其业务化系统的体系、分析环境风险智能识别模式、研究环境风险高效模拟预测和评估的方法,并提出一套满足各级管理部门需求,高效利用环境大数据的多中心业务化系统。     

Environmental Security: A Geographic Information System Analysis Approach—The Case of Kenya

Studies into the relationships between environmental factors and violence or conflicts constitute a very debated research field called environmental security. Several authors think that environmental scarcity, which is scarcity of renewable resources, can contribute to generate violence or social unrest, particularly within states scarcely endowed with technical know-how and social structures, such as developing countries. In this work, we referred to the theoretical model developed by the Environmental Change and Acute Conflict Project. Our goal was to use easily available spatial databases to map the various sources of environmental scarcity through geographic information systems, in order to locate the areas apparently most at risk of suffering negative social effects and their consequences in terms of internal security. The analysis was carried out at a subnational level and applied to the case of Kenya. A first phase of the work included a careful selection of databases relative to renewable resources. Spatial operations among these data allowed us to obtain new information on the availability of renewable resources (cropland, forests, water), on the present and foreseen demographic pressure, as well as on the social and technical ingenuity. The results made it possible to identify areas suffering from scarcity of one or more renewable resources, indicating different levels of gravity. Accounts from Kenya seem to confirm our results, reporting clashes between tribal groups over the access to scarce resources in areas that our work showed to be at high risk.     

水上溢油环境风险源确定研究

依据泄漏进水域的最大油品量、水域环境敏感性等两个主要因素,研究确定了江苏油田水上(临水)设施环境风险源等级,并针对不同的风险源阐述了降低风险等级的技术方法和预防措施,为加强江苏油田环境风险防患、提高应急处理能力提供了依据。     

高含硫天然气钻井环境风险评价及防范措施

天然气钻井作业由于地下情况复杂隐藏着多种不安全因素,存在着较大的环境风险。要真正减少钻井施工现场的安全事故,必须充分了解影响钻井施工安全的风险源,评估风险的危害性的大小及范围,通过抓好安全生产管理,对风险进行控制,达到安全生产施工的目标。文章分析了天然气钻井中可能出现的环境风险因素,提出预防或减缓事故的对策和措施,为钻井行业提供安全可靠的参考。     

A life cycle based multi-objective optimization model for the management of computer waste

The accelerating pace of waste generation from used electrical and electronic equipment is of growing global concern. Within this waste stream, computer hardware is quite significant in terms of both volume and risk to the environment because of the hazardous materials within it. The waste management hierarchy of prevention, reuse, recycle, treatment and disposal in landfill is accepted as a universal guideline for waste management. The contemporary concept of integrated solid waste management is very complex comprising of not only the environmental aspects or the technical aspects of the waste management hierarchy, but also incorporating economic, institutional, perceived risk and social issues in the context of complete life cycle of waste. Moreover, when to shift from one stage of hierarchy to another, is an involved decision warranting inclusion of several case specific issues. This paper presents a life cycle based multi-objective model that can help decision makers in integrated waste management. The proposed model has been applied to a case study of computer waste scenario in Delhi, India, which apart from having computer waste from its native population receives large quantities of imported second hand computers. The model has been used to evaluate management cost and reuse time span or life cycle of various streams of computer waste for different objectives of economy, perceived risk and environmental impact. The model results for different scenarios of waste generation have been analyzed to understand the tradeoffs between cost, perceived risk and environmental impact. The optimum life cycle of a computer desktop was observed to be shorter by 25% while optimizing cost than while optimizing impact to the environment or risk perceived by public. Proposed integrated approach can be useful for determining the optimum life cycle of computer waste, as well as optimum configuration of waste management facilities, for urban centers where computer waste related issues are of growing concern.     

Environmental Management: Testing the Win‐Win Model

The debate over the possibility of seeking competitive advantages through greener strategies versus the scarcity of such opportunities is not yet resolved. This study is an attempt to test the win-win model. The role of the variables at the core of the win-win model, such as the regulatory factors, environmental strategy and environmental innovativeness, was examined. The results validated the positive competitive and financial impact of progressive environmental strategies contingent upon the presence of favourable external and internal conditions. From purely a profitability standpoint, it is important to seek a balance between the environmental measures and market expectations. Comprehensive superiority in relative environmental performance will not necessarily lead to environmental competitive advantage.     

A life cycle based multi-objective optimization model for the management of computer waste

The accelerating pace of waste generation from used electrical and electronic equipment is of growing global concern. Within this waste stream, computer hardware is quite significant in terms of both volume and risk to the environment because of the hazardous materials within it. The waste management hierarchy of prevention, reuse, recycle, treatment and disposal in landfill is accepted as a universal guideline for waste management. The contemporary concept of integrated solid waste management is very complex comprising of not only the environmental aspects or the technical aspects of the waste management hierarchy, but also incorporating economic, institutional, perceived risk and social issues in the context of complete life cycle of waste. Moreover, when to shift from one stage of hierarchy to another, is an involved decision warranting inclusion of several case specific issues. This paper presents a life cycle based multi-objective model that can help decision makers in integrated waste management. The proposed model has been applied to a case study of computer waste scenario in Delhi, India, which apart from having computer waste from its native population receives large quantities of imported second hand computers. The model has been used to evaluate management cost and reuse time span or life cycle of various streams of computer waste for different objectives of economy, perceived risk and environmental impact. The model results for different scenarios of waste generation have been analyzed to understand the tradeoffs between cost, perceived risk and environmental impact. The optimum life cycle of a computer desktop was observed to be shorter by 25% while optimizing cost than while optimizing impact to the environment or risk perceived by public. Proposed integrated approach can be useful for determining the optimum life cycle of computer waste, as well as optimum configuration of waste management facilities, for urban centers where computer waste related issues are of growing concern.