Species Listing under Canada's Species at Risk Act

Abstract: In a preliminary analysis of listing decisions under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA), Mooers et al. (2007) demonstrated an apparent bias against marine and northern species. As a follow‐up, we expanded the set of potential explanatory variables, including information on jurisdictional and administrative elements of the listing process, and considered an additional 16 species recommended for listing by SARA's scientific advisory committee as of 15 August 2006. Logistic model selection based on Akaike differences suggested that species were less likely to be listed if they were harvested or had commercial or subsistence harvesting as an explicitly identified threat; had Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) as a responsible authority (RA); were located in Canada's north generally, and especially in Nunavut; or were found mostly or entirely within Canada. Subsequent model validation with an independent set of 50 species for which a listing decision was handed down in December 2007 showed an overall misclassification rate of <0.10, indicating reasonable predictive power. In light of these results, we recommend that RAs under SARA adopt a two‐track listing approach to address problems of delays arising from extended consultations and the inconsistent use by the RAs of socioeconomic analysis; consider revising SARA so that socioeconomic analysis occurs during decisions about protecting species and their habitats rather than at the listing stage; and maintain an integrated database with information on species’ biology, threats, and agency actions to enable future evaluation of SARA's impact.     

Effects of Dram Shop,Responsible Beverage Service Training,and State Alcohol Control Laws on Underage Drinking Driver Fatal Crash Ratios

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine whether three minimum legal drinking age 21 (MLDA-21) laws—dram shop liability, responsible beverage service (RBS) training, and state control of alcohol sales—have had an impact on underage drinking and driving fatal crashes using annual state-level data, and compared states with strong laws to those with weak laws to examine their effect on beer consumption and fatal crash ratios.

Methods: Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we calculated the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes as our key outcome measure. We used structural equation modeling to evaluate the three MLDA-21 laws. We controlled for covariates known to impact fatal crashes including: 17 additional MLDA-21 laws; administrative license revocation; blood alcohol concentration limits of.08 and.10 for driving; seat belt laws; sobriety checkpoint frequency; unemployment rates; and vehicle miles traveled. Outcome variables, in addition to the fatal crash ratios of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 included state per capita beer consumption.

Results: Dram shop liability laws were associated with a 2.4% total effect decrease (direct effects: β =.019, p =.018). Similarly, RBS training laws were associated with a 3.6% total effect decrease (direct effect: β =.048, p =.001) in the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes. There was a significant relationship between dram shop liability law strength and per capita beer consumption, F (4, 1528) = 24.32, p <.001, partial η² =.016, showing states with strong dram shop liability laws (Mean (M) = 1.276) averaging significantly lower per capita beer consumption than states with weak laws (M = 1.340).

Conclusions: Dram shop liability laws and RBS laws were both associated with significantly reduced per capita beer consumption and fatal crash ratios. In practical terms, this means that dram shop liability laws are currently associated with saving an estimated 64 lives in the 45 jurisdictions that currently have the law. If the remaining 6 states adopted the dram shop law, an additional 9 lives could potentially be saved annually. Similarly, RBS training laws are associated with saving an estimated 83 lives in the 37 jurisdictions that currently have the laws. If the remaining 14 states adopted these RBS training laws, we estimate that an additional 28 lives could potentially be saved.     

酸沉降的控制及投资效益分析

本文提出控制酸雨的关键是二氧化硫总量控制。以四面山、南山、缙云山森林生态为重点保护对象,建立了临界负荷。提出了分两步削减硫排放的方案,并进行了方案技术措施的投资效益分析。     

Shareholder activism on environmental issues: A study of proposals at large US corporations (2000–2003)

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has carved out a niche in the financial world, and each year a large number of shareholder proposals are filed at public companies in the US related to issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR). While the primary interests of CSR activists remain distinct from those of traditional corporate governance (CG) activists, the two groups do share an interest in minimizing the risk of negative environmental or social impacts from the operations of the corporation. They also share the objective of achieving transparency and accountability in corporate decision‐making. In relation to this latter objective, they both face similar challenges concerning conflicts of interest among key institutional shareholders. This article examines the record of shareholder proposal filing and voting from 2000–2003 for 81 large US public corporations to determine the relative prominence of CSR shareholder activism and the prospects for effective CSR shareholder activism on key environmental issues. The analysis of these data finds that nearly half (45%) of all shareholder resolutions are related to CSR, and that those resolutions which combine issues of CSR with traditional CG activism appeal to slightly more shareholders than issues of CSR alone. The article also examines shareholder activism at the micro level with a case study of the voting record at ExxonMobil. The article finds that CSR‐related shareholder activism represents the majority of shareholder activism within that firm and that resolutions targeted at climate change are particularly well supported. These resolutions draw a connection between environmental risk and risk to shareholder value. While numerous challenges remain for both CG and CSR activists, the article concludes that reforms that strengthen shareholder rights and corporate governance more generally will also benefit CSR activists and the environmental policies they promote in particular. The article ends with some proposed solutions for addressing the perceived conflicts of interest in corporate governance and the shareholder voting process.     

环境行政责任缺失纵深分析——为建立环境行政执法责任制所进行的环境行政责任缺失调研报告

首先明确指出"环境行政执法难"的根本原因是环境行政责任追究缺失.通过对企业各类违法排污现象的列举、归纳,由表及里、纵深分析,指出环境行政责任缺失存在四个层面:普遍性责任缺失--违法排污企业行政责任追究缺失,显性责任缺失--环保局监督管理责任追究缺失,隐性责任缺失--"政府对环境质量负责"责任追究缺失和根本性责任缺失--环境保护行政主管部门"统一监督管理"责任追究缺失.强调解决环境行政责任追究缺失的根本措施是依法建立环境行政责任追究制度,提升环境保护行政主管部门的地位,将国家环境保护总局升格为国家环境保护部(或国家环境资源保护委员会),地方政府环境保护行政主管部门负责人由地方政府行政副首长兼任.     

Proactive limit values for responsible management of chemicals

Limit values (LVs) are legal concentration limits for constituents, residues and contaminants in consumer products or for emissions from production processes into environmental compartments. They are a traditional regulatory aid to manage chemicals in human environments. To make them proactive, LVs should become enforced by means of a transparent and informed decision process whose starting point is the Basic Rule of Environmental Hygiene, BREH:Avoid useless exposure as far as possible, minimize useful exposure in a reasonable manner, and prevent that exposure which is dangerous. The BREH calls upon minimizing exposure not only according toon site risk potentials and acceptance, but also tooff site avoidability and acceptability.     

中国自然保护区投资现状及其分析

经费问题是多年来－直困扰我国自然保护区建设与管理的难题。笔者在对４０多个自然保护区调查的基础上，阐述了目前我国自然保护区的经费渠道和投资水平，分析了全国自然保护区投资现状和特点，探讨了开辟自然保护区经费渠道的举措。     

Re-education of young driving offenders; Effects on self-reports of driver behavior

Introduction

Offending drivers are often re-educated, but these courses have seldom been shown to have any safety effects.

Method

An on-line improvement course for offending drivers below the age of 25 was evaluated with several driver inventories.

Results

The drivers reported higher levels of aggression, stress, sensation seeking, drunk driving, and driving violations, six months after the course than before. However, these levels were lower than those of controls, indicating that the initially low levels for the education group were due to socially desirable responding, as measured by a lie scale, an effect that waned after the course.

Discussion

The results can be interpreted as a positive effect of the education, although this conclusion is tentative and not in agreement with all effects in the data.

Impact on industry

The results are in disagreement with previous evaluation studies using the same or similar instruments, and show the need to include controls for social desirability in self-report studies.     

从法学视角论地方政府环境质量负责制——兼评《环境保护法修正案草案》三审稿第六条第二款

环保法修正案三审稿,对政府环境责任予以高度关注,在总则中规定“地方各级人民政府对本行政区域的环境质量负责”,并规定相关配套制度保障落实该条款。通过对三审稿关于政府环境责任条款的分析、解读,可以明确地方政府环境质量负责制的含义,明晰该制度在总则中规定的意义。三审稿从地方政府行使环境职权和承担环境责任两方面对地方政府环境质量负责制予以制度保障和落实,但其制度保障仍不充分,仍需从制度自身完善、事前监督机制以及外部问责机制三个方面使地方政府环境质量负责制进一步落实,使地方政府环境质量负责制得到真正实施。     

私人直接投资环境服务业的路径研究

环境服务业中有很多内容都具有不同程度的公共物品性、自然垄断性或社会公益性,这些特殊属性对私人直接投资者造成了收费困难、进入壁垒和高政策风险等阻碍。论文研究通过排他性的制度设计、创造有效竞争模式、推行多样化的公私伙伴关系来分别解决上述困难。论文的研究成果为私人直接投资环境服务业创建了一个现实可行的路径体系。