Political ideology and views about climate change in the European Union

There is a strong political divide on climate change in the US general public, with Liberals and Democrats expressing greater belief in and concern about climate change than Conservatives and Republicans. Recent studies find a similar though less pronounced divide in other countries. Its leadership in international climate policy making warrants extending this line of research to the European Union (EU). The extent of a left–right ideological divide on climate change views is examined via Eurobarometer survey data on the publics of 25 EU countries before the 2008 global financial crisis, the 2009 ‘climategate’ controversy and COP-15 in Copenhagen, and an increase in organized climate change denial campaigns. Citizens on the left consistently reported stronger belief in climate change and support for action to mitigate it than did citizens on the right in 14 Western European countries. There was no such ideological divide in 11 former Communist countries, likely due to the low political salience of climate change and the differing meaning of left–right identification in these countries.     

论生态文明视角下的城市环境管理制度

随着城市化步伐不断加快,城市环境问题日趋复杂和多元,环境管理成为城市这一复杂系统处于最优运行状态的重要保障。当代环境管理的实质,是将人与自然的关系协调到有利于人类生存与发展的和谐状态,环境管理创新是生态文明建设的根本保障。针对城市环境管理存在着环境法规不完善、行政管理制度不健全、缺乏经济手段和公众参与程度低等问题,本文从环境立法、行政管理制度、环境经济政策与公众参与机制等方面提出了若干对策建议,为完善城市环境管理制度提供参考。     

Beyond the conventional: Meeting the challenges of landscape governance within the European Landscape Convention?

Academics and policy makers seeking to deconstruct landscape face major challenges conceptually, methodologically and institutionally. The meaning(s), identity(ies) and management of landscape are controversial and contested. The European Landscape Convention provides an opportunity for action and change set within new governance agendas addressing interdisciplinarity and spatial planning. This paper critically reviews the complex web of conceptual and methodological frameworks that characterise landscape planning and management and then focuses on emerging landscape governance in Scotland within a mixed method approach involving policy analyses, semi-structured interviews and best practice case studies. Using Dower's (2008) criteria from the Articles of the European Landscape Convention, the results show that whilst some progress has been made in landscape policy and practice, largely through the actions of key individuals and champions, there are significant institutional hurdles and resource limitations to overcome. The need to mainstream positive landscape outcomes requires a significant culture change where a one-size-fits-all approach does not work.     

欧盟土壤环境评价监测项目及其对我国农用地质量监测的启示

＂十二五＂期间,我国国土资源调查评价的重点任务之一是建立农用地质量监测体系。当前我国农用地质量变化监测技术仍然处于研究探索阶段,欧盟土壤环境评价监测项目是较为成熟的监测项目,可为中国农用地质量监测工作提供借鉴。文章分别就欧盟土壤环境评价监测的相关研究和国内学者对农用地质量监测的研究进行了综述,认为欧盟土壤环境评价监测项目在指标选取、监测网络建立、数据更新技术等方面建立了较为成功的机制。未来中国农用地质量监测工作可在关注土壤环境质量、分类土壤退化原因、针对性地选取指标、应用DPSIR模型、确定监测点的方法、充分利用原有监测网络和监测数据等方面借鉴欧盟经验。     

欧盟针对农药对水生生物的初级风险评价——标准物种不确定因子法

建立适宜的农药环境风险评价体系,有利于评价农药对环境的影响,控制农药带来的环境污染.欧盟具有丰富的农药风险评价经验和完善的评价体系,论文针对欧盟的初级风险评价工作中水生生物风险评价的标准物种不确定因子法进行了综述,阐述了其评价原则与方法,总结了预测环境浓度(predicted environmental concent...     

Small Business Owners’ Knowledge of Their Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Legislative Responsibilities

This article reports the results of a study investigating the nature and extent of small manufacturing business owners’ knowledge of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues. Interviews were conducted with 33 owners of small manufacturing businesses in Sydney, Australia. Results showed that whereas the majority of owners had basic awareness of the existence of OHS legislation, they were often unaware about the extent of their legal OHS responsibilities. Owners were found to have minimal OHS training and practical OHS expertise. Lack of appropriate industry specific OHS information was found to be a major factor that inhibited the owners’ ability to deal with OHS issues effectively.     

Application of a Screening Method in Assessing Occupational Safety and Health of Computer Workstations

Employers and workers need concrete guidance to plan and implement changes in the ergonomics of computer workstations. The Näppärä method is a screening tool for identifying problems requiring further assessment and corrective actions. The aim of this study was to assess the work of occupational safety and health (OSH) government inspectors who used Näppärä as part of their OSH enforcement inspections (430 assessments) related to computer work. The modifications in workstation ergonomics involved mainly adjustments to the screen, mouse, keyboard, forearm supports, and chair. One output of the assessment is an index indicating the percentage of compliance items. This method can be considered as exposure assessment and ergonomics intervention used as a benchmark for the level of ergonomics. Future research can examine whether the effectiveness of participatory ergonomics interventions should be investigated with Näppärä.     

Local Dirt,Global Dreams: Mining investment and land use change in Arizona

A central problematic for researchers working at the interface of economic and environmental change is the development of research designs and methodologies that can satisfactorily link economic processes of global reach (such as direct investment) to environmental change at local and regional scales. This article reviews recent efforts to couple economic and environmental change and finds that relatively little effort has been made to use the direct investment process as a means of linking industrial restructuring to land use change. The article argues that direct investment, when conceptualised as a political-economic process involving the assemblage of a package of rights (to land, water, pollution permits etc), can be an effective vehicle for tracing through the impacts of industrial restructuring on local environments. To develop this analytical approach, an empirical case of mineral investment in the Gila Valley of eastern Arizona is presented. The case study identifies the acquisition of land and water rights as central strategic issues for mineral firms seeking to make investment, and traces through the impact of these acquisition strategies on existing patterns of land ownership and land use.     

欧洲污染物排放与转移登记制度简介

污染物排放与转移登记制度（简称PRTR制度）,是发达国家为了对化学污染物质进行更严格的管理而实行的一种管理制度。该制度起源于1984年,最早实行的是荷兰,其后美国、欧盟、澳大利亚、加拿大、韩国、日本等国家也相继实施了PRTR制度。本文着重介绍了欧盟污染物排放与转移登记制度的发展历史,并就EPER和E—PRTR进行了简单的比较。     

欧盟温室气体排放交易实践对我国的借鉴

基于欧盟温室气体排放交易体系的建立与特点,概述了欧盟温室气体排放交易第一阶段的市场运行效果,分析了该阶段取得的经验与教训,主要包括管制范围、历史数据获取与分配方法等方面,在此基础上提出我国应加紧制定温室气体排放交易法律法规、建立国际化碳交易所,并以电力行业为试点探索建立我国碳排放贸易体系。