Environmental federalism and environmental liability

Environmental federalism considers what level of government should optimally regulate pollution. This paper addresses this question for accidental pollution, which government regulates through the ex post liability regimes of either negligence or strict liability. We find that decentralizing the choice between these regimes does not, in general, induce the socially optimal outcome. When firms can pay all damages, all regions may choose negligence and impose an overly strict standard of due care. When firms may be bankrupted by damages, all regions may choose strict liability, which induces too little care. In addition, asymmetric equilibria are possible in which some regions choose negligence, others strict liability. Combining negligence with a Pigovian tax, or strict liability with a bonding requirement can align regional authorities' incentives with those of a central government.     

Corporate environmental responsibility in the supply chain

A continuing trend in outsourcing increases the complexity of supply chains. Global supply chains extend over numerous echelons of countless companies. In parallel, the company-internal view on corporate environmental responsibility is being challenged as customers and legislation alike broaden a company's environmental responsibility to include organisations' upstream as well as downstream in the supply chain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine corporate environmental responsibility beyond corporate boundaries, i.e. in the supply chain. A cross-industrial study based on 16 case studies in Finnish trans-national corporations sheds light on various dimensions of corporate environmental responsibility upstream and downstream of product and process supply chains. Conclusions were drawn for corporate environmental responsibility as well as for the role of supply chain management in extending environmental demand over several echelons and diverse industries.     

Mountains and Handrails: Risk,Meaning, and Responsibility in Three National Parks

Where we live, the relationships we maintain, or the experiences we have can tell us about the way we perceive risk and the responsibility for its management. Perceptions of risk and responsibility are particularly relevant in US national parks, where unintentional injury is prevalent, yet support exists for allowing risk exposure. If experiencing risk may be both desirable (e.g., self-affirming) and undesirable (e.g., injury-causing), what is its role in a national park? Moreover, what are the expectations for visitors to encounter or to avoid it? In-depth interviews with National Park Service employees suggest that desired risk is contingent upon the circumstances in which it is encountered, and the values and prior experience of individuals. Employees perceive visitors as responsible for avoiding undesirable risk through information seeking and awareness, but also recognize considerable barriers to doing so. Theoretical and practical implications and avenues for future research are presented.     

Education for sustainable development – an inter‐disciplinary pilot module for undergraduate engineers and scientists

The coming together of a number of initiatives provided a springboard for an innovative pilot programme in education for sustainable development. For some time problem‐based learning has gathered momentum as an approach to educating professionals. More recently, there has been a burgeoning interest in inter‐disciplinary approaches to the complex societal and environmental issues that face the world as a whole. At the same time, professional engineering institutions have been reflecting on appropriate approaches to the education and development of future engineers. Building on work already undertaken by some of the authors, the Royal Academy of Engineering sponsored an inter‐disciplinary pilot programme in sustainable development for undergraduate engineers and scientists in the University of Manchester. The pilot was innovative not only in its inter‐disciplinary approach to sustainable development but also in its approach to the development of the curriculum. Inter‐disciplinary exercises were designed that enabled a contextual, active, collaborative and cumulative approach to learning. The assessment was also designed to align to the learning approach. Evaluation of the pilot programme suggests that it was well received by the students, and the post‐doctoral researchers who acted as facilitators, and also that there were gains in both understanding of the issues and also in approaches to learning.     

Carbon Embodied in International Trade of China and Its Emission Responsibility

Abstract

Carbon emissions embodied in international trade of China during 1997–2007 are accounted by input–output method based on Chinese input–output table and global trade analysis project database. It is revealed that carbon emissions embodied in imports and exports both increased during 1997–2007, but carbon emissions embodied in exports are greater than those embodied in imports, China is a net export nation in embodied carbon. The net exports of embodied carbon account for about 10.82% of the total carbon emissions in 1997, dropped to 7.15% in 2002, increased to 13.13% in 2006, and slightly dropped to 12.64% in 2007. Low-end position of international industry division is an objective factor of being a net exporter of embodied carbon for China, and usage of a large amount of obsolete energy-using equipments wasted much energy and increased carbon emissions embodied in exports. Importers should take more responsibilities for carbon emissions embodied in trade, and China should take a certain responsibility for unreasonable energy dissipations too.     

机器人在人机交互过程中的安全性研究进展

为全面准确地掌握人机交互作业过程中人与机器人在安全性方面的研究进展,把提高机器人安全性的策略归纳为3种方法,分别称为事前预防主动控制、关节柔顺设计和用黏弹性材料包裹连杆,阐述了每种方法评价机器人安全性的主要性能指标。通过对比各种实现方法的设计思想和结构组成方案,总结出各种方法的优缺点和存在的主要问题。事前控制的关键在于信息的全面性和控制的实时性;事后控制方法的主要问题则只能在一定程度上减缓撞击的伤害程度,而无法从根本上保证人的安全性。结果表明,到目前为止仅靠单一手段和方法还不能彻底解决机器人安全性问题,要多种手段相结合,高度重视影响安全性的主客观因素,把提高机器人安全性的理念贯穿于机器人设计的各个环节。     

普光气田集输管网系统安全运行实践

针对普光气田地理环境现状,从地质灾害、焊口缺陷、管道腐蚀等方面对集输管网安全隐患进行了分析,结合现有风险防控措施,对下一步工作进行了展望,提出应加强硫化氢泄漏扩散机理研究及环焊缝失效机理研究。     

发烟硫酸贮罐清洗安全技术

根据事故隐患分析 ,采取安全措施 ,成功地用中和法清洗发烟硫酸贮罐 ,并提出了贮罐的改进措施。     

马钢煤焦化公司开展危险源(点)辨识与分级控制管理的经验

通过对煤焦化生产企业中危险源 (点 )的确定和辨识依据进行阐述和分析 ,采用定量统计方法 ,并结合生产实际情况将所有危险源 (点 )分成三级 (公司或厂级、车间或部门科室级、班组或岗位级 )控制管理 ;从而实现贯彻企业安全管理工作“全员参与、全面管理”的方针 ,预防和避免各类事故的发生 ,使安全工作步入科学化、规范化轨道 ,为企业生产经营创造一个健康和稳定的环境。     

试论安全与事故的决定因素

通过对生产中能决定安全与事故因素的探索,揭示了安全与事故运动规律和预防、控制事故的规律,确认了安全、陷患、事故的概念及其自各的构成因素,同时认定了安全管理对象与安全管理要素的区别。这不仅在认识上是一次理性飞跃,而且对如何征服事故也是一次重大突破。