Natural structure in the man-made environment

Summary The paper contains examples of design elements and natural symmetries that have appeared and are now being used in man-made works. The pleasing principles of symmetric structures have been shown in examples of architectural ornament, planning of towns and university campuses. These same symmetries are shown to give coherence to the growth of forms in nature. The paper further discusses how different artists have arrived at their particular choices of natural symmetries to be used whether in planning, architectural structures, town clusters or painting. Dr Arthur L. Loeb was born in The Netherlands and was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, where he took a doctorate in Chemical Physics. Through his research contact with Gyorgy Kepes, M. C. Escher and R. Buckminster Fuller, he has been able to embrace the whole spectrum of design. He is a sculptor and painter, and has great interest in music. His 40 or so publications show his expertize as well as his exceptional ability in combining the compatible aspects of the arts and the sciences. His present position is Head Tutor at the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, and Curator of the Teaching Collection in the Carpenter Center, Harvard University.     

Oil seeds industry emissions: A case study

Summary This study assessed the contribution of an oil seed industry to the organic loadings of an urban atmosphere, so that more realistic strategies can be developed to control such pollution. Emission measurements suggest that fatty acids, aldehydes and solvent related hydrocarbons are emitted in amounts comparable to or even exceeding anthropogenic organics. Technological options for controlling emissions in the context of the local situation with the data presented are discussed.Paolo Battistoni was born in Ancona, Italy in 1951 and received a degree in chemistry in 1974 at Bologna University. He started his activity at Ancona University where he is a permanent professor of waste water treatments. His research interests have centered on monitoring of organics in ambient air and waste streams and method developments in these areas.Gabriele L. Fava was born near Bologna, Italy in 1945 and received his degree in chemistry from the University of Bologna in 1972. He started his research activity at Ancona University where he is a permanent professor of pollution and environmental control. He has spent research terms at the Iowa State University, USA in 1976 and 1979. His main interest is in the environmental behaviour of toxic substances through physicochemical profiles.     

Towards sustainable development? The evolution of environmental policy in Malaysia

Over the last five decades, Malaysia has undergone rapid economic, social and environmental change, a process which is still continuing. The pursuit of socio‐economic progress has been accompanied by an unprecedented rate of change in the natural environment. In parallel to this development, governmental responses have also adapted over time to address emerging environmental situations. This article views the recent history of Malaysia's evolving policy response to development needs and environmental change as consisting of four distinct stages. Despite an impressive array of policy statements and strategies to implement sustainable development, many challenges remain today. A clear articulation of normative principles of sustainable development is of paramount importance, as is the monumental task of policy implementation. The article argues that the trajectory of Malaysia's policy on natural resources and environmental issues bears the characteristics of path‐dependent evolution.     

Environmental accounting: Neo-classical framework or alternative?

Summary Traditional environmental accounting framework is based on a neo-classical economic theory that treats environmental assets and liabilities as if their contribution to economic acitivity were similar to that of conventional, marketed assets and liabilities. The environment is viewed as a producer of outputs consumed by other productive economic sectors. It is proposed in this article that the environment is not only a producer of outputs, but also an output itself. The environment requires not only its protection, but importantly its continual improvement. Under this framework environmental accounting as a discipline is split into two categories: corporate environmental accounting and social environmental accounting. Two information streams exist under this framework: products-oriented information and environment-oriented information.Dr Simon S. Gao is a Senior Lecturer in the Accounting and Finance Division of the Business School at Staffordshire University. He obtained a BA in Economics in 1993, and an MA in Accounting and Finance, in 1987, both from Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics, China. He was recently awarded a PhD from Faculty of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands). His research intersts include among others, environmental accounting and reporting, environmental cost and risk analysis, and environmental asset management. He has published papers widely on accounting and finance issues.     

Subject indicators to present the nature and limit of environmental studies in US graduate schools

Summary The purpose of this paper is to examine subjects to show the nature and limit of interdisciplinary communication in existing environmental programmes in US graduate schools. Ultimately, this analysis may provide more effective communication with the general public. Following comparative historical reviews of both the sciences and the human activity for environmental protection, and a content analysis of empirical documents used by the public, a mushroom computer model has been produced. This model is based on organizational behaviour theory and contains the following 15 subjects which were originally introduced before the lack of communication resulting from curriculum failure in the 19th century: philosophy, politics, economics, architecture, sociology, biology, medicine, agriculture, ecology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, statistics. The subjects should foster effective communication with the general public, leading to more effective environmental protection.Dr Hong S. Kim is at the Environmental Studies Program, California State University, Fullerton, USA. He received a PhD from the Administration and Management Program at Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. His numerous papers are focused on environmental pollution analysis, environmental impact assessment, environmental management, and environmental law. He has written a book entitledEnvironmentology which is forthcoming.Dr James P. Dixon is the Chairperson of Health Services at Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401, USA. He was recently Professor of the Department of Policy and Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. He was also past President of Antioch College (1959–1975). His many publications are concentrated in the areas of organizational development, public health and preventive medicine, and administration of human service organizations.     

Education on environmental law

Summary The current views on whether environmental law is a subject of study at the Universities is discussed in this paper. The author traces the development of environmental law, and maintains that legal science is one, and that it has been grounded into branches for teaching and research purposes. A case for the teaching of environmental law at the universities is made. A teaching programme is suggested which brings out the relationships of environmental law with ecology, social science, economics, management science, technology and other branches of legal science.Born in Argentina, with a Doctor of Law from the University of Buenos Aires. Has held professorships in Water and Mining Laws, Agrarian and Mining Law, Natural Resources Law, in several universities in Argentina. He was a visiting professor in the period 1967–71, at Delft Technological Institute, The Netherlands.From 1969–70, he was Secretary of State for Water Resources of Argentina, and in 1970, Vice-Chairman of the UN Committee on Natural Resources. Consultant on Environmental Law for FAO in 1970. He is at present (1980–82) President of the International Water Resources Association.He has been a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Policy, Law and Administration since 1978, is President of the Inter American Commission on Environmental Law and Administration, and Regional Governor (Latin America) of the International Council on Environmental Law.In 1978 he was awarded the Elizabeth Haub Prix on Environmental law.He is author of several books and papers on environmental, natural resources and water laws. These include Code on Natural Resources (Province of Corrientes Argentina, 1980) and co-author of Code on the Renewable Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Colombia, 1974.     

Impact of nigerian agricultural policies on crop production and the environment

Summary Nigerian efforts in agricultural development over the past three decades have failed to improve the country's economy. A review of the sector depicts a gloomy picture. Performance is reflected in environmental degradation, mounting food deficits, and decline in both gross domestic product and export earnings, while retail food prices and import bills have been increasing. These effects have further impoverished the smallholder farmers, locking them into a poverty web. The Government must seek to establish agricultural strategies which promote political stability, self reliance, public participation, sustained production and environmental security.Dr Gbadebo J. Osemeobo is a land use and conservation specialist working for the Nigerian Tropical Forestry Action Programme. He received from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a BSc in 1976, an MSc in 1982 and a PhD in 1985. His research interests are in rural land use, habitat/biotic preservation, and environmental conservation. He has worked in various capacities with the Federal Department of Forestry; as Head of the Zugurma Sector of Kainji Lake National Park, 1978–1980; as Head, Regional Offices of the Federal Department of Forestry in Benin and Abeokuta, 1981–1989; and as a specialist in the Tropical Forestry Action Programme from 1990 to the present time.     

Forecasting environmental equity: air quality responses to road user charging in Leeds, UK

Sustainable development requires that the goals of economic development, environmental protection and social justice are considered collectively when formulating development strategies. In the context of planning sustainable transport systems, trade-offs between the economy and the environment, and between the economy and social justice have received considerable attention. In contrast, much less attention has been paid to environmental equity, the trade-off between environmental and social justice goals, a significant omission given the growing attention to environmental justice by policy makers in the EU and elsewhere. In many countries, considerable effort has been made to develop clean transport systems by using, for example, technical, economic and planning instruments. However, little effort has been made to understand the distributive and environmental justice implications of these measures. This paper investigates the relationship between urban air quality (as NO2) and social deprivation for the city of Leeds, UK. Through application of a series of linked dynamic models of traffic simulation and assignment, vehicle emission, and pollutant dispersion, the environmental equity implications of a series of urban transport strategies, including road user cordon and distance-based charging, road network development, and emission control are assessed. Results indicate a significant degree of environmental inequity exists in Leeds. Analysis of the transport strategies indicates that this inequity will be reduced through natural fleet renewal, and, perhaps contrary to expectations, road user charging is also capable of promoting environmental equity. The environmental equity response is, however, sensitive to road pricing scheme design.     

“Coal is in our food,coal is in our blood”: everyday environmental injustices of rural community gardening in Central Appalachia

ABSTRACT

Central Appalachia's historical dependence on natural resource extraction industries has contributed to a long history of under- and uneven development, including trends of persistent poverty, cycles of unemployment, weakened local governance, environmental degradation, and severe social inequalities relative to the rest of the nation. Though these trends have been well documented at structural and community-levels, scholarship is more limited in assessing how the conditions of natural resource dependency may shape the everyday experiences of those who live in such regions and how those everyday experiences may illuminate challenges for future development. Employing an embedded case study design, this study examines how everyday environmental injustices may be experienced via community gardening activities, a sustainable development-oriented activity celebrated in urban locations but largely unexplored in rural environments. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 43 gardening programme coordinators and participants, the findings demonstrate that everyday environmental injustices are experienced across four distinct, yet overlapping and mutually reinforcing, dimensions: natural, built, human health, and socioeconomic environments. These factors in turn constrain programme participation and beneficial programme outcomes, particularly for more disadvantaged households that are affected by chronic illness, geographic isolation, and environmental hazards. Although the interviewees viewed many of these challenges as further justification for pursuing grassroots initiatives like community gardening programmes, these constraints also interacted in a way that limited the success of these locally-oriented sustainable development efforts, particularly for individuals who are the most socially, economically, and environmentally marginalised.     

Strategies for combating urban flooding in a developing nation: A case study from Ondo,Nigeria

Summary Flooding has become an inherent problem in most urban centres close to the Nigerian coast. In the last decade it has extended to large settlements in the interior of the country where rainfall is more sporadic. This study has revealed that various socio-cultural activities have promoted flooding in many of these Nigerian urban environments. These activities are characterised by stream or river channel encroachment and abuse, increased paved surfaces and poor solid waste disposal techniques, due to a high level of illiteracy, a low degree of community awareness, poor environmental education, ineffective town planning laws and poor environmental management. Govenment, at various levels, needs to address these issues.His special field of interest is in natural resource management, focusing on the implications of environmental degradation and sustainable development.     

Assessing and managing the sociocultural impacts of ecotourism: revisiting the Santa Elena rainforest project

Summary This paper outlines the second phase of an ecotourism project undertaken in the Santa Elena community, in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica. The community originally established a rainforest reserve with the help of Youth Challenge International in an attempt to provide a wider economic base and employment for the area. The project has been successful in the first phase in that it is now drawing an annual income of US$40 000 and it employs guides and management from the local community. In terms of the underlying principles usually aligned with ecotourism it has been successful but it is now necessary to evaluate the impacts this project is having on the community. The second phase of the project was to assess the sociocultural impacts of ecotourism on that community and the paper outlines this phase.Stephen Wearing is a lecturer in the School of Leisure and Tourism Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. He lectures and consults in the area of tourism and environmental planning, and parks and protected area management. His particular interest is in ecotourism projects with local communities and he has spent much of the last 4 years working on the Santa Elena Project. He is linked with Youth Challenge International and people interested in becoming involved or looking for assistance with community projects of this nature can contact him at the above address. Libby Larson recently graduated with a BA in Leisure Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, focusing on social sciences in natural resource management. She has also worked in Costa Rica with Youth Challenge International and is particularly interested in ecotourism.     

Dilemmas and advances in corporate social responsibility in Brazil. The work of the Ethos Institute

This article discusses the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Brazil from the perspective of the Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility. The Institute is a not‐for‐profit, non‐governmental organization, that has played a leading role in the Brazilian CSR effort. In Brazil, CSR initiatives have a long tradition of philanthropy, a consequence of the country's great social inequalities. The increased attention to corporate social responsibility has paralleled growing concern about sustainable development and the intensifying activities of pressure groups (consumers, customers, investors, NGOs, labour unions, the media, among others) that have been increasing since the 1990s as natural resources are progressively becoming exhausted, social tensions rising and environmental conditions deteriorating worldwide. This article identifies problems and obstacles to the growth of corporate social responsibility in Brazil, as well as advances and alternatives for CSR and towards creating conditions for the country to be internationally competitive and sustainable in the financial, social and environmental areas.     

Modelling environmental concern: Theory and application

Summary Human concern for the quality and protection of the natural environment forms the basis of successful environmental conservation activities. The social sciences have considered this concern as an area of research activity. In the present paper environmental concern research is considered and emphasis is placed upon studies which have depicted it in multiple dimensions. The results are then presented from research which has attempted to ask What are the dimensions of this concern? These findings suggest that individuals perceive different environmental issues differentially using multiple concurrent dimensions of evaluation. In general, issues are ascribed to a series of different categories which embody evaluations of; type (or referent) of issue, issue scale, environmental importance and personal importance of the issue.Dr Paul Hackett was until recently a staff member in the Consumer Research Unit of the Department of commerce at the University of Birmingham Business School. He is now on the staff of the Department of General Practice, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff.     

Pleas,plights and environment: Part I

Summary The depletion of the world's natural resources continues relentlessly. Plants and animals alike are being trapped into ever more numerous shrinking pockets, as man advances to incorporate virgin estates into areas of productivity. The immediate consequence of such an all-out attack in the tropical areas of under-developed countries is the destruction of habitats and the likely break-up of food webs. The attendant disastrous effects on the reproduction of species, hence, puts natural selection at a premium. This scenario has distinctly impressed different people in different places. This suggests diverse sensitivity even for causes voiced in public as matters of sheer truism. The study concentrates on the examination of the dialectic nature/nurture controversy to see whether this may account for the state of disharmony recorded between man and nature. Conversion of nature is traditionally considered a realm of the scientific establishment. The study tries to suggest that the humanities cannot be left out in any debate on the interpretation of the environment. The synthesis reveals a blatant refusal of social determinism as causal agent and, with some reservation, projects biological determinism into sharp focus for pertinent consideration. The cautious reconciliation with parts of sociobiological tenets was regarded as inevitable once grasped that will, knowledge, and sensitivity, were interpreted as the foundation of the main teleological argument.Dr Antonio Allem is trained as a plant taxonomist. His research has focused on the collection of plant genetic resources germ plasm. He has recently written (with J.F.M. Valls) a book entitledRecursos Forrageiros Nativos do Pantanal Mato-Grossense, published by the Departamento de Difusão de Tecnologia, EMBRAPA, Brasilia. He has an interest in the taxonomy of cultivated plants and has recently solved the origin of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta, Euphorbiaceae). Dr Allem is a member of staff of thein situ conservation unit at Centro Nacional de Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia da Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária.     

BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: A PERSONAL REFLECTION1

ABSTRACT: A forester shares personal reflections on biodiversity, finding he must deal with the question of “What is biodiversity?” before dealing with “What is biodiversity good for?” Even before that, the complexity of the scientific and social aspects of biodiversity must be looked at to set a context. The author believes that biodiversity has scientific, recreational, wildness, natural history, and spiritual values and contributes to sustainability and productivity. Aesthetic values also are found to be very important, and the author concludes “that biodiversity has values that are worth protecting, even in the face of scientific uncertainty.” Personal reflection on environmental issues is necessary to fully understand what one believes, and to be an active participant in issues of environmental ethics.     

论佛教折射的环保理念与环保实践

综观人类历史，宗教与现实生活联系紧密，在各类社会问题的解释与解决中一直发挥着不可小觑的作用。随着全球环境问题的日益突出，佛教中所体现的环保理念日益引起人们的重视。本文试从佛教环保理念的思想渊源入手，围绕自然观、生命观和理想观等内容来探讨佛教与其环保实践问题。     

我国环境影响评价与社会稳定风险评估制度关系的思考

环境影响评价制度和社会稳定风险评估制度作为预防和控制环境影响、创新社会风险管理的重要制度,实施以来发挥了重要作用,但也出现了工作边界和内容范围交叉的问题。尤其是近年来,环境污染焦虑引发社会风险事件的建设项目不断增多,导致两者的"天然联系"愈发紧密,工作存在模糊地带的问题愈发凸显,致使建设项目行政审批繁复、执行力差。在梳理环评、稳评的发展历程和存在问题的基础上,深入分析了环评和稳评的法律地位、适用范围、评价目标、评价内容、实施主体和程序上的异同,剖析了两者在制度设计和内容衔接方面的关系,并从理清工作边界职责、环境社会风险评估结果共享、强化稳评公众参与等方面提出了环评和稳评政策衔接的建议,为政府有效实施建设项目环境、社会监管提供决策参考。     

Demand and supply considerations for evaluating a new distance education program in natural resources planning and management in North America

Summary This paper describes the demand and supply information requirements to determine whether a curriculum for a new program, Natural Resources Planning and Management (NRPM), should be developed by Athabasca University (AU). Demand considerations assist in determining forecasted job opportunities and student needs. Supply considerations, including the type and location of existing natural resource programs and their student enrollment levels, assist in determining the enrollment level, the type of degree program, and that the student profile of AU's NRPM graduates will be high, particularly in western Canada. AU has, therefore, been advised to offer an undergraduate bachelor's degree in NRPM. This paper also serves as a model, for organizing demand and supply information for any new university or college program.Fred Curtis, is Professor and Co-ordinator of Regional Systems Engineering, at the University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His teaching and research areas include environmental and behavioural systems engineering. His recent publications focus on environmental impact assessment procedures, environmental mediation, natural resources planning and management, energy conservation and land use planning and distance education.     

Sustainable Development: A Transdisciplinary Overview of the Literature

The literature on sustainable development has burgeoned. Over the past decade, concern about sustainability has been raised within such a wide range of social and natural science discourses that a comprehensive overview of this work is hard to find. Literature reviews that are available typically have a disciplinary focus-such as ecological economics or environmental science-or they have an applied social science/ policy emphasis. This paper bridges the multiple discourses by arraying them as interlocked parts of a grand puzzle. Ten fields of discourse are identified and conceptually mapped. The review is critical, yet constructive. It outlines a political ecology of sustainable development by articulating four key challenges concerning: (1) holism and co-evolution; (2) social justice and equity; (3) empowerment and community building; and (4) sustainable production and reproduction.     

Ideology and environmental risk management

Summary Although risk management is interdisciplinary in nature, in practice it is excessively compartmentalized. For instance, two quite different orientations to risk management are commonly seen, the relationship between them being one of suspicious rivalry rather than cooperation. Thus, anyone interested in developing a more integrated form of risk management is faced with the problem of trying to understand why these opposed factions have developed and what sustains their mutual antagonism. Hopefully, this paper makes a contribution in this regard by discussing the psychological and socio-political roots of environmental ideology.Dr Alan Miller is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of New Brunswick. He received his early training in biology (in England) and ecology (in Canada). He subsequently spent several years pursuing research at the Northwest Institute for Medical Research in Chicago, USA. A growing interest in the human aspects of environmental and medical problems led to a further graduate study in psychology, followed by teaching positions in Ireland and Canada. His current interests include: the education of environmental professionals; the psychosocial problems involved in environmental management, and the problems inherent in interdisciplinary project groups.