Mixed signals: market incentives, recycling, and the price spike of 1995

Environmental economics assumes that reliance on price signals, adjusted for externalities, normally leads to efficient solutions to environmental problems. We explore a limiting case, when market volatility created ‘mixed signals’: prices of waste paper and other recycled materials were suddenly extremely high in 1994–1995, then plummeted back to traditional low levels in 1996. These rapid reversals resulted in substantial economic and political costs. A review of academic and business literature suggests six possible explanations for abrupt price spikes. An econometric analysis of the prices of wood pulp and waste paper shows that factor which explained price changes in 1983–1993 contribute very little to understanding the subsequent price spike. From the econometric analysis and from other sources, we conclude that speculation must have played a major role in the price spike, perhaps in combination with modest effects from changes in government policy and in export demand. If speculatively driven price spikes can disrupt an environmentally important industry such as recycling, what is the appropriate role for public policy? When price volatility is sufficiently disruptive, then measures to control or stabilize prices, rather than interfering with the market, might help to make it more efficient.     

室温平衡顶空气相色谱法测定水中挥发性卤代烃影响因素的研究

对室温下用顶空气相色谱法测定水听军发性卤代烃的影响因素进行了研究，结果表明，随着样品浓度的增高，平衡时间缩短；气液平衡瓶体积增大，平衡时间加长；同一瓶样品重复进样次数不得多于2次；适宜的气液体积比为1：2。室温平衡顶空气相色谱法简单易行。     

长江三角洲2017年机动车IVOCs排放清单构建及其对SOA的生成影响

中等挥发性有机物（IVOCs）对大气中二次有机气溶胶（SOA）的生成有重要贡献,但尚未包括在目前的排放清单中.本研究以长三角地区为研究对象,分别基于排放因子法和IVOCs/POA比例系数法对长三角地区2017年机动车IVOCs的排放量进行估算,构建长三角地区2017年机动车IVOC排放清单,分析其不确定性并估算其对SOA生成潜势的影响.基于排放因子法的结果表明,2017年长三角地区机动车IVOCs排放总量为3.58万t,SOA的生成潜势为695 t,其中载货汽车的IVOCs排放量在长三角大部分城市的占比均超过70%;从燃料类型来看,柴油车的IVOCs排放量远高于汽油车.基于IVOCs/POA比例系数法的结果表明,由不同的IVOCs/POA比例以及不同的POA/PM_2.5占比得到的排放清单结果差别巨大,最大值可达64.2万t,最小仅为5.2万t,造成的SOA生成潜势分别为1.55万t和1032 t.本研究表明基于不同的估算方法构建的IVOCs排放清单结果差别巨大,具有很大的不确定性,将直接影响后续空气质量模型对SOA的模拟结果.因此,需进一步将不同清单结果用于空气质量模型中对SOA进行模拟,通过与观测值的比较,从而获得较为准确的长三角地区机动车IVOCs排放清单.     

持久性有机污染物(POPs)及其归趋研究

介绍了持久性有机污染物的定义、特性和来源 ,研究了它们的全球归趋并探讨了机理。提出了应加强国际合作来研究持久性有机污染物并指出了应重点研究的方向     

煤中微量有害元素的挥发性

利用3 种热解反应装置(密闭模拟下落床、流动气氛模拟下落床和固定床)研究了 6种煤中 As、Pb、Cr、Cd 和 Mn等微量有害元素的挥发性随温度(300～1000℃)的变化规律,同时考察了热解装置的影响.结果表明,这 5 种元素的挥发性均随热解温度的升高而升高;6 种煤中 As、Pb、Cd均表现出与Cr 和 Mn相比具有较强的挥发性,但它们的挥发温度不同,其中 As 的挥发主要发生在 300～700℃,Cd 主要在 500℃以上挥发,Pb 主要在 800℃以上挥发.热解过程中,微量元素在半焦孔道内扩散时产生的反应是影响元素析出的重要因素之一.     

Role of Riparian Areas in Atmospheric Pesticide Deposition and Its Potential Effect on Water Quality

Riparian buffers are known to mitigate hydrologic losses of nutrients and other contaminants as they exit agricultural fields. The vegetation of riparian buffers can also trap atmospheric contaminants, and these pollutants can subsequently be delivered via rain to the riparian buffer floor. These processes, however, are poorly understood especially for pesticide residues. Therefore, we conducted a four‐year study examining stemflow and throughfall to a riparian buffer which was adjacent a cultured Zea mays field treated with atrazine and metolachlor. Stemflow is rain contacting the tree canopy traveling down smaller to larger branches and down the tree trunk, whereas throughfall is rain that may or may not contact leaves and branches and reaches the earth. Stemflow concentrations of the herbicides were larger than throughfall concentrations and accounted for 5‐15% of the atrazine and 6‐66% of the metolachlor depositional fluxes under the canopy. Larger depositional fluxes were measured when leaves were more fully emerged and temperatures and humidity were elevated. Rain collected outside the riparian buffer on the field side and on the back side revealed the trees trapped the herbicide residues. Herbicide loading to the riparian buffer stream was found to be linked to tree canopy deposition and subsequent washoff during rain events. These results indicate that in agricultural areas canopy washoff can be an important source of pesticides to surface waters.     

Impact of crude oil price volatility on economic activities: An empirical investigation in the Thai economy

This paper empirically examines the impact of oil price volatility on key macroeconomic indicators of Thailand. Following Andersen et al. [2004. Analytical evaluation of volatility forecasts. International Economic Review 45(4), 1079–1110], quarterly oil price volatility is measured by using the realized volatility (RV). The impact of the oil price volatility is investigated using the vector auto-regression (VAR) system. The Granger causality test, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition show that oil price volatility has significant impact on macroeconomic indicators, such as unemployment and investment, over the period from 1993Q1 to 2006Q4. Perron's [1997. Further evidence on breaking trend functions in macroeconomic variables. Journal of Econometrics 80(2), 355–385] test identifies structural breaks in all the concerned variables during the time of the Asian Financial Crisis (1997–1998). A VAR for the post-crisis period shows that the impact of oil price volatility is transmitted to budget deficit. The floating exchange rate regime introduced after the crisis may be the key contributor to this new channel of impact.     

污泥与煤、木屑燃烧过程中重金属排放特性研究

为了考察燃料燃烧过程中重金属的迁移转化规律，对污泥、煤与木屑及其混合物在不同温度下氧气中燃烧灰渣中的重金属元素进行分析。结果表明，燃料中重金属在高温燃烧时表现出不同的挥发特性，大部分元素随着温度的升高挥发率增加，其中Cd、Pb和Zn元素挥发性较强，Cr、Cu和Ni挥发性较弱。污泥与木屑混合燃烧灰渣仍以污泥灰为主，重金属含量与污泥灰相近，污泥中混入煤后使灰中大部分重金属含量有所降低。燃烧过程会改变重金属存在形态，污泥与煤原料中以酸溶态和可还原态存在的重金属含量较高，具有较强的生物有效性和迁移性，而燃烧灰渣中酸溶态和可还原态含量显著下降，混合燃烧灰渣中除As外的其他重金属几乎全部以残渣态存在，其含量达到90％以上，焚烧过程有效降低了燃料灰渣中重金属的生物毒性。     

关于4-氨基安替比林萃取光度法测定挥发酚的探讨

介绍了在测定挥发酚过程中,对试剂的保存、缓冲溶液pH值的控制、各种试剂的加入顺序及萃取时间等存在的问题,并针对性地提出了解决办法.     

Market imperfections in recycling markets: conceptual issues and empirical study of price volatility in plastics

The effectiveness of recycling depends upon efficient functioning of secondary material markets. This paper focus on the role that price volatility can play in slowing investment and market development. However, a statistical analysis of the relative volatility of secondary and primary material prices does not confirm the widely-held belief that relative price volatility is higher in secondary than in primary materials, at least at national levels.An econometric estimation of the determinants of plastic recovery volumes in Seattle contributes to the literature in four ways: the use of monthly (as opposed to annual) data; the use of local (as opposed to national) data; the use of an explanatory variable to reflect price volatility; and, the focus on plastics, which have not been examined previously. Some tentative conclusions can be made: the results generally support the principal hypothesis that price volatility has a negative effect on recovery of secondary materials; in addition, and consistent with previous studies, price elasticities are low and insignificant; and finally, policy factors are clearly important. The concluding section treats the economic and policy implications of market inefficiency in secondary material markets.