Who should prepare environmental impact assessments?

The practice of EIA preparation in a number of states and countries is reviewed in the light of the need to avoid bias, integrate the EIA with project design, and make the proponent pay. It is concluded that the best arrangement may be to make the proponent responsible for EIA preparation and to advise a number of constraints designed to improve the quality of the studies and reduce bias. First, the proponent should be required to select a consultant from a register of those known to be honest, unbiased, technically competent, and capable of working with a design team. Second, two steering committees should be established to identify key issues, specify data collection and modeling programs and methods, and ensure that the study stays on course.     

EFFLUENT FEES,AN ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM FOR ACHIEVING WATER QUALITY: A CASE STUDY1

This paper reports the findings of a case study of the relative costs of a uniform standards system and an effluent fee system of water quality control. A 30-mile stretch of the Black Warrior River in Alabama is considered. The analysis demonstrates that the dischargers could reduce total pollution abatement costs by 33 percent under the suggested effluent fee system.     

牛仔布印染污泥组成特征及资源化途径分析

采用浸出-焙烧-化学分析和显微镜观察等手段查明了牛仔布印染污泥主要由纤维碎和浮石矿物组成。分析了牛仔布印染污泥的浸出物特性及模拟渗滤液的组成。渗滤液含Zn、Pb、Cr等重金属,AS、P和NH3-N超过地表水环境质量Ⅳ类水标准,简易填埋会对环境造成二次污染。分析提出了该类污泥的资源化途径,可用作吸附剂、水泥、轻质陶粒和岩棉的原料。     

北方地区受污染河湖水体潜流湿地净化技术研究与工程应用

结合实验研究和工程应用实践,在湿地填料选择、水力负荷变化、植物特性、结构优化、越冬运行等方面,对我国北方地区潜流人工湿地设计、建设、运行管理中的关键技术问题开展了系统、深入研究.结果表明:石灰石、粗砂等脱氮除磷综合效果较好,且取材方便、价格便宜,应是人工湿地主选填料,钢渣、褐铁矿除磷效果良好、沸石的氨氮吸附能力强,可作为辅助材料;湿地植物对水质净化贡献约为5%～15%,其地上部分的生物量移除贡献不足5%,湿地植物对系统水力负荷维持、冬季保温、生态景观等还具有较大贡献;以植物保温为主,结合冰下取水、水位管理等可实现北方地区潜流湿地冬季正常运行;优化提出了竖向复合流湿地结构,具有节约用地、硝化-反硝化作用效果显著、抗淤堵等特点.研究成果已在工程实践中得到成功应用,对人工湿地在我国北方地区的推广应用具有重要借鉴意义.     

小子样成败型产品可靠性评估方法研究

介绍了一种小子样成败型产品可靠性评估方法。基于"计量评估"理论原则,针对可用于评价产品的特征量的试验数据,依次运用了数据样本子样的概率分布拟合检验方法、样本数据的一致性检验和离群值识别等统计学方法,最终使用经检验的特征量试验数据完成产品的可靠性评估。使用实例数据,应用评估方法,完成了一类典型产品的可靠性评估,其中特别指出的是,在实际应用过程中,应该尤其关注离群值的识别和剔除。实例证明,此方法可用于特征量明确的小子样成败型产品的可靠性评估。     

航空装备腐蚀维护维修新材料研究进展

针对海洋环境下服役航空装备极易发生腐蚀的问题,介绍了清洗剂、去腐蚀产物膏、缓蚀剂等腐蚀维护维修新材料的研究进展,包括功能、分类、技术指标等。清洗剂用于航空装备的日常清洗、维护以及维修,去除油污等污染物,防止腐蚀;去腐蚀产物膏用于外场航空装备腐蚀产物的原位去除;缓蚀剂用于在不能对现役航空装备的防护体系进行大幅改动的情况下,针对海洋环境下航空装备的防腐蚀需求,对航空装备进行附加防护或临时防护。综合运用腐蚀维护维修新材料进行航空装备的腐蚀防护,可以预防和减少腐蚀的发生,及时对腐蚀部位进行修复,保障航空装备的使用性能和战斗力。     

The behavioral component in the meaning of places

How do people think about the physical setting in the world around them? Part of the answer to this question may be in terms of the behaviors that occur there. To explore people's knowledge of behavior—place associations, twenty places (shown via color photographs) were assessed in five ways: (a) ratings of the place's suitability for each of eleven behaviors, (b) ratings of the expected frequency of occurrence of the eleven behaviors, (c) free listings of reasons for going to each place, (d) free listings of activities-while-there and (e) free listings of activities associated with the place. Results showed that people can distinguish places on the basis of behaviors, that the behavioral component of place meaning is composed of distinct aspects, and that knowledge of behavior is related to a global, overall representation of a place.     

Connecticut statewide sTEP wave evaluation

INTRODUCTION: Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs (sTEPs) are a proven method to change motorists' behavior. Since 1997, the Connecticut DOT's Division of Highway Safety has organized a statewide seat belt enforcement program, with sTEP waves every three or four months. To date, 28 waves have been implemented. METHOD: Pre-wave and post-wave seat belt observation surveys are conducted by both state and municipal police across the state. Survey results, as well as a summary of all enforcement activity during the wave, are submitted for evaluation. RESULTS: Connecticut seat belt use has continued to rise from one wave to the next in a predictable "saw blade" pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The data clearly demonstrate that agencies that have participated in a greater number of waves have experienced the greatest increase in belt use. Belt use has not yet plateaued and additional sTEP enforcement seems indicated. However, evidence from other states suggests that a plateau may occur somewhere in the mid 80% range. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Should this occur, Connecticut will work toward strengthening the round the clock model, emphasizing the importance of aggressive primary enforcement.     

“三线一单”对重构环境准入体系的意义及关键环节

“放管服”背景下以环评为核心的环境准入体系面临工作周期长、制度效率低、结论可验证性差、社会认可度不高等诸多挑战。本文针对“三线一单”具有的早期介入和共享区域基础信息的工作特征,认为将“三线一单”纳入环境准入体系后可以更好地发挥系统性预防作用,提升政府的决策能力和环评工作效率,实现环境准入体系的高质量和高效率。在重构环境准入体系方面,提出了“三线一单”与规划环评和项目环评制度衔接的关键环节:明确三项制度不同的职责定位和责任主体、厘清三项制度的衔接环节,以及完善三项制度间的信息交互。     

Assessing ecological function in the context of species recovery

Species interactions matter to conservation. Setting an ambitious recovery target for a species requires considering the size, density, and demographic structure of its populations such that they fulfill the interactions, roles, and functions of the species in the ecosystems in which they are embedded. A recently proposed framework for an International Union for Conservation of Nature Green List of Species formalizes this requirement by defining a fully recovered species in terms of representation, viability, and functionality. Defining and quantifying ecological function from the viewpoint of species recovery is challenging in concept and application, but also an opportunity to insert ecological theory into conservation practice. We propose 2 complementary approaches to assessing a species’ ecological functions: confirmation (listing interactions of the species, identifying ecological processes and other species involved in these interactions, and quantifying the extent to which the species contributes to the identified ecological process) and elimination (inferring functionality by ruling out symptoms of reduced functionality, analogous to the red-list approach that focuses on symptoms of reduced viability). Despite the challenges, incorporation of functionality into species recovery planning is possible in most cases and it is essential to a conservation vision that goes beyond preventing extinctions and aims to restore a species to levels beyond what is required for its viability. This vision focuses on conservation and recovery at the species level and sees species as embedded in ecosystems, influencing and being influenced by the processes in those ecosystems. Thus, it connects and integrates conservation at the species and ecosystem levels.