ISO 14 001 at the farm level: analysis of five methods for evaluating the environmental impact of agricultural practices

Faced with society's increasing expectations, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review considers environmental management to be an ever more critical criterion in the allocation of farm subsidies. With the goal of evaluating the environmental friendliness of farm practices, France's agricultural research and extension services have built a range of agricultural/environmental diagnostic tools over recent years. The objective of the present paper is to compare the five tools most frequently used in France: IDEA, DIAGE, DIALECTE, DIALOGUE and INDIGO. All the tools have the same purpose: evaluation of the impact of farm practices on the environment via indicators and monitoring of farm management practices. When tested on a sample of large-scale farms in Picardie, the five tools sometimes produced completely different results: for a given farm, the most supposedly significant environmental impacts depend on the tool used. These results lead to differing environmental management plans and raise the question of the methods' pertinence. An analysis grid of diagnostic tools aimed at specifying their field of validity, limits and relevance was drawn up. The resulting comparative analysis enables to define each tool's domain of validity and allows to suggest lines of thought for developing more relevant tools for (i) evaluating a farm's environmental performance and (ii) helping farmers to develop a plan for improving practices within the framework of an environmental management system.     

侵彻引信用磁电传感器的输出特性仿真分析

目的 解决侵彻引信用磁电传感器在不同侵彻环境下输出特性难以预知的问题,掌握不同结构参数对传感器输出的影响。方法 基于一种新型磁电传感器的结构原理,提出一种联合仿真研究方法,研究过程分为2部分,一部分是利用ADAMS软件进行磁电传感器惯性系统的力学特性仿真,另一部分是利用COMSOL软件进行传感器机电转换元件的磁电特性仿真,仿真模型的输入是战斗部在穿靶过程中的过载信息。通过磁电传感器在多次冲击加载试验中获取的实测数据,对仿真模型的仿真结果进行验证。改变仿真模型的相关参数,模拟并分析传感器结构对仿真输出特性的影响。结果 仿真穿靶时间的平均绝对误差约为138 μs,穿靶时刻仿真电压值的平均相对误差约为5.9%。在给定力学环境的前提下,侵彻引信用磁电传感器中的线圈与磁铁的相对高度会影响输出信号的正负、幅值以及波峰出现的时间,线圈匝数、线圈与磁铁之间的间隔仅对信号的幅值产生影响。结论 仿真误差在可控范围内,验证了联合仿真模型的正确性与该研究方法的可行性。该仿真模型可以为侵彻引信用磁电传感器的设计提供指导,并为后续进一步验证侵彻引信起爆控制系统的性能工作提供了新的思路。     

基于结构方程的旅游环境承载系统耦合关联与作用机理

构建旅游环境承载力评价体系,运用耦合度指数和结构方程模型揭示山东半岛蓝色经济区旅游环境承载系统的耦合演化规律和动态关联特征.研究表明,半岛蓝色经济区7市各子系统的承载指数均呈增长态势,各承载子系统之间存在耦合作用,协调发展水平均稳步上升,生态承载子系统对经济承载子系统产生正影响,社会承载子系统可通过生态承载子系统对经济承载子系统产生正向影响力.     

高危作业有害因素预防控制水平预警模型

针对职业卫生领域出现的急慢性职业病及突发性化学中毒等事件，本文采用预防控制水平指标体系，用因子分析法构建了单项有害因素的预警模型。在此基础上，利用加权平均法给出了多项有害因素的综合预警模型，其中，应用层次分析法确定各个有害因素的权重。高危作业有害因素预警模型的提出为高危作业有害因素防治提供了量化的科学依据。     

光伏企业低碳发展目标指标和实施路径研究

企业低碳发展是实现低碳经济的重要途径，有助于企业降低生产和运营成本，提升企业竞争力。结合国内外企业低碳发展经验和国内低碳发展政策背景，以光伏企业为案例，通过调查企业碳排放数据，建立企业低碳发展目标和关键目标指标体系，研究了企业低碳发展的实施路径，并提出企业低碳发展的建议和思考。     

Antibiotic resistant bacteria/genes dissemination in lacustrine sediments highly increased following cultural eutrophication of Lake Geneva (Switzerland)

This study investigates faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), multiple antibiotic resistant (MAR), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), of sediment profiles from different parts of Lake Geneva (Switzerland) over the last decades. MARs consist to expose culturable Escherichia coli (EC) and Enterococcus (ENT) to mixed five antibiotics including Ampicillin, Tetracycline, Amoxicillin, Chloramphenicol and Erythromycin. Culture-independent is performed to assess the distribution of ARGs responsible for, β-lactams (blaTEM; Amoxicillin/Ampicillin), Streptomycin/Spectinomycin (aadA), Tetracycline (tet) Chloramphenicol (cmlA) and Vancomycin (van). Bacterial cultures reveal that in the sediments deposited following eutrophication of Lake Geneva in the 1970s, the percentage of MARs to five antibiotics varied from 0.12% to 4.6% and 0.016% to 11.6% of total culturable EC and ENT, respectively. In these organic-rich bacteria-contaminated sediments, the blaTEM resistant of FIB varied from 22% to 48% and 16% to 37% for EC and ENT respectively, whereas the positive PCR assays responsible for tested ARGs were observed for EC, ENT, and total DNA from all samples. The aadA resistance gene was amplified for all the sediment samples, including those not influenced by WWTP effluent water. Our results demonstrate that bacteria MARs and ARGs highly increased in the sediments contaminated with WWTP effluent following the cultural eutrophication of Lake Geneva. Hence, the human-induced changing limnological conditions highly enhanced the sediment microbial activity, and therein the spreading of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes in this aquatic environment used to supply drinking water in a highly populated area. Furthermore, the presence of the antibiotic resistance gene aadA in all the studied samples points out a regional dissemination of this emerging contaminant in freshwater sediments since at least the late nineteenth century.     

Contamination of nonylphenolic compounds in creek water, wastewater treatment plant effluents, and sediments from Lake Shihwa and vicinity, Korea: comparison with fecal pollution

Nonylphenolic compounds (NPs), coprostanol (COP), and cholestanol, major contaminants in industrial and domestic wastewaters, were analyzed in creek water, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, and sediment samples from artificial Lake Shihwa and its vicinity, one of the most industrialized regions in Korea. We also determined mass discharge of NPs and COP, a fecal sterol, into the lake, to understand the linkage between discharge and sediment contamination. Total NP (the sum of nonylphenol, and nonylphenol mono- and di-ethoxylates) were 0.32-875 μg L⁻¹ in creeks, 0.61-87.0 μg L⁻¹ in WWTP effluents, and 29.3-230 μg g⁻¹ TOC in sediments. Concentrations of COP were 0.09-19.0 μg L⁻¹ in creeks, 0.11-44.0 μg L⁻¹ in WWTP effluents, and 2.51-438 μg g⁻¹ TOC in sediments. The spatial distributions of NPs in creeks and sediments from the inshore region were different from those of COP, suggesting that Lake Shihwa contamination patterns from industrial effluents differ from those from domestic effluents. The mass discharge from the combined outfall of the WWTPs, located in the offshore region, was 2.27 kg d⁻¹ for NPs and 1.00 kg d⁻¹ for COP, accounting for 91% and 95% of the total discharge into Lake Shihwa, respectively. The highest concentrations of NPs and COP in sediments were found in samples at sites near the submarine outfall of the WWTPs, indicating that the submarine outfall is an important point source of wastewater pollution in Lake Shihwa.     

Speciation and transport of arsenic in an acid sulfate soil-dominated catchment, eastern Australia

Factors controlling the transport of geogenically-derived arsenic from a coastal acid sulfate soil into downstream sediments are identified in this study with both solid-phase associations and aqueous speciation clearly critical to the mobility and toxicity of arsenic. The data from both sequential extractions and X-ray adsorption spectroscopy indicate that arsenic in the unoxidised Holocene acid sulfate soils is essentially non-labile in the absence of prolonged oxidation, existing primarily as arsenopyrite or as an arsenopyrite-like species, likely arsenian pyrite. Anthropogenically-accelerated pedogenic processes, which have oxidised this material over time, have greatly enhanced the potential bioavailability of arsenic, with solid-phase arsenic almost solely present as As(V) associated with secondary Fe(III) minerals present. Analyses of downstream sediments reveal that a portion of the arsenic is retained as a mixed As(III)/As(V) solid-phase, though not at levels considered to be environmentally deleterious. Determination of arsenic speciation in pore waters using high performance liquid chromatography/Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry shows a dominance of As(III) in upstream pore waters whilst an unidentified As species reaches comparative levels within the downstream, estuarine locations. Pore water As(V) was detected at trace concentrations only. The results demonstrate the importance of landscape processes to arsenic transport and availability within acid sulfate soil environments.     

Population Trends in Pacific Oceanic Sharks and the Utility of Regulations on Shark Finning

Accurate assessment of shark population status is essential for conservation but is often constrained by limited and unreliable data. To provide a basis for improved management of shark resources, we analyzed a long‐term record of species‐specific catches, sizes, and sexes of sharks collected by onboard observers in the western and central Pacific Ocean from 1995 to 2010. Using generalized linear models, we estimated population‐status indicators on the basis of catch rate and biological indicators of fishing pressure on the basis of median size to identify trends for blue (Prionace glauca), mako (Isurus spp.), oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus), and silky (Carcharhinus falciformis) sharks. Standardized catch rates of longline fleets declined significantly for blue sharks in the North Pacific (by 5% per year [CI 2% to 8%]), for mako sharks in the North Pacific (by 7% per year [CI 3% to 11%]), and for oceanic whitetip sharks in tropical waters (by 17% per year [CI 14% to 20%]). Median lengths of silky and oceanic whitetip sharks decreased significantly in their core habitat, and almost all sampled silky sharks were immature. Our results are consistent with results of analyses of similar data sets. Combined, these results and evidence of targeted fishing for sharks in some regional fisheries heighten concerns for sustainable utilization, particularly for oceanic whitetip and North Pacific blue sharks. Regional regulations that prohibit shark finning (removal of fins and discarding of the carcass) were enacted in 2007 and are in many cases the only form of control on shark catches. However, there is little evidence of a reduction of finning in longline fisheries. In addition, silky and oceanic whitetip sharks are more frequently retained than finned, which suggests that even full implementation of and adherence to a finning prohibition may not substantially reduce mortality rates for these species. We argue that finning prohibitions divert attention from assessing whether catch levels are sustainable and that the need for management of sharks should not be addressed by measures that are simple to implement but complex to enforce and evaluate. Tendencias Poblacionales de Tiburones del Océano Pacífico y la Utilidad de Regulaciones sobre Cercenamiento de Aletas     

A Cumulative Energy Demand indicator (CED), life cycle based,for industrial waste management decision making

Life cycle thinking is a good approach to be used for environmental decision-support, although the complexity of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies sometimes prevents their wide use. The purpose of this paper is to show how LCA methodology can be simplified to be more useful for certain applications.In order to improve waste management in Catalonia (Spain), a Cumulative Energy Demand indicator (LCA-based) has been used to obtain four mathematical models to help the government in the decision of preventing or allowing a specific waste from going out of the borders. The conceptual equations and all the subsequent developments and assumptions made to obtain the simplified models are presented.One of the four models is discussed in detail, presenting the final simplified equation to be subsequently used by the government in decision making.The resulting model has been found to be scientifically robust, simple to implement and, above all, fulfilling its purpose: the limitation of waste transport out of Catalonia unless the waste recovery operations are significantly better and justify this transport.