我国温室气体排放审计工作的程序和内容及其存在的问题

全球气候变化问题日益严重,走绿色、低碳、环保和可持续发展道路已经成为必然选择。温室气体(GHG)排放审计因其具有帮助企业摸清自身碳资产家底、提供准确的GHG排放数据、为GHG排放设定合理的减排目标等作用越来越受到各方面的重视。本文通过总结参与GHG排放审计工作的实践,详细介绍了GHG排放审计工作的程序和主要内容,并探讨了我国GHG排放审计工作存在的主要问题及解决对策。该研究对抑制全球气候变化具有重要的意义。     

企业清洁生产审计运行机制研究

科学发展观的提出贯彻了协调经济发展与环境保护的理念,清洁生产审计则是控制和防范污染的有效管理措施之一,了解清洁生产审计的运行机制并保证其有效实施对中国可持续发展的战略目标至关重要。首先分析了清洁生产审计在国内外研究、发展现状,在综合考虑相关制约因素的茂盛是构建了企业清洁生产审计的运行机制,最后,为保障清洁生产审计运行机制的有效实施,提出了五点保障措施。     

Current status and trends of the environmental performance in European ports

This paper investigates the current status and trends over time in the environmental performance of European ports. The research is based on the provision of data from 79 European ports on issues related to their environmental management, environmental priorities and current environmental monitoring practices. This study updates previous environmental reviews, so that the trends over time are drawn. For instance, 90% of respondent ports stated that they have an environmental policy and 94% of ports have designated environmental personnel. The percentage of ports that have an Environmental Management System has increased by +33% in the last 9 years. Air quality, port waste and energy consumption emerged as the three major environmental priorities of the European port sector in 2013. The research also reveals the diversity amongst European ports in terms of size and physical surroundings. Some examples are presented on specific initiatives carried out by sector organisations about the Top-10 port priority issues. The future expectations of European ports on data collection and reporting are described.     

Evaluating the impacts of global environmental assessments

There are currently no widely accepted procedures for comparing the performance of global environmental assessments (GEAs) and this may be a barrier to improving their methodology. To encourage greater self-reflection within the GEA community, it is proposed to introduce consistent evaluation approaches. Two elements from current evaluation practice are reviewed here that could be particularly useful for evaluating GEAs. The first are logic models which provide a transparent visual mapping of how activities in a GEA are intended to have impacts on policies. The second are performance metrics. It is proposed that GEAs adopt two kinds of metrics: (i) A common generic set for use in all GEAs to provide a basis for comparing the performance of GEAs, and (ii) a specific set of measureable metrics for each particular GEA derived from/linked to the generic set. Although many issues arise in applying these and other elements from evaluation theory and practice to GEAs, the potential benefits are greater comparability of GEA performance and new knowledge about how to improve them. This Short Communication is part of a Special Issue on solution-oriented GEAs.     

环境因素数据质量审核方法研究

目的 解决大气环境试验站的气象数据报表存在数据缺失、数据超过边界、数据内部不一致、数据时间不一致等问题,采用数据质量审核技术找出缺失、可疑或错误的数据,对科研人员进行警示,使其能够追根溯源,分析存在问题的原因。方法 参照相关规程和标准,建立环境因素数据质量审核算法和审核流程,并使用计算机语言编程固化流程和算法,利用多线程算法对数据进行扫描,实现大批量气象数据的并行审核。结果 利用Python语言设计了环境因素质量控制软件,通过该软件的应用证明了该方法合理、有效,能够快速、准确地标注气象数据报表中存在质量问题的数据。利用软件统计了存在问题数据的数量和正确率。结论 通过加载数据测试,证明了环境因素数据质量审核方法和审核流程合理有效,利用设计的审核软件实现了气象数据报表快速审核,提高了审核效率,减少了科研人员的劳动强度,为进一步填补、修正和利用数据奠定了基础。     

城市能源利用与环境保护的综合管理初探

能源短缺和环境污染已成为中国推行全面协调可持续发展的重要制约因素,作为能源消耗的主体和环境污染的控制重点,在城市层面推动能源发展战略的转变和强化环境保护是发展的基本要求.鉴于能源与环境之间的高度关联性,在管理方面要求对能源发展和环境保护进行统筹考虑和综合管理,充分强调能源经济效率和环境制约因素在能源发展中的作用.通过制定合理的产业能效标准和排放绩效标准,为城市经济、能源和环境的可持续性发展提供科学性、系统性决策支持.     

It’s All in the Numbers: Acreage Tallies and Environmental Program Evaluation

Increasingly, performance measurement is being used to hold federal agencies accountable, represent environmental progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of environmental programs. The need to track measurable outputs has created a tendency to present programmatic progress solely by quantifiable data, despite the inherent complexity of natural resource management. Wetlands and fire management programs are two specific environmental arenas that have come to overemphasize the tracking of acreage numbers to validate existing policy direction. In both of these arenas, we find the definition and categorization of "countable" acres to be inconsistent and unreliable. We explore this systemic flaw for both wetlands and fire programs and describe its implications for environmental policy and natural resource management more broadly. We conclude with recommendations for improved performance measurement in these arenas.     

On-road and simulated driving: concurrent and discriminant validation

Introduction

A converging pair of studies investigated the validity of a simulator for measuring driving performance/skill.

Study 1

A concurrent validity study compared novice driver performance during an on-road driving test with their performance on a comparable simulated driving test.

Results

Results showed a reasonable degree of concordance in terms of the distribution of driving errors on-road and errors on the simulator. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the two when driver performance was rank ordered according to errors, further establishing the relative validity of the simulator. However, specific driving errors on the two tasks were not closely related suggesting that absolute validity could not be established and that overall performance is needed to establish the level of skill.

Study 2

A discriminant validity study compared driving performance on the simulator across three groups of drivers who differ in their level of experience - a group of true beginners who had no driving experience, a group of novice drivers who had completed driver education and had a learner's permit, and a group of fully licensed, experienced drivers.

Results

The findings showed significant differences among the groups in the expected direction -- the various measures of driving errors showed that beginners performed worse than novice drivers and that experienced drivers had the fewest errors. Collectively, the results of the concurrent and discriminant validity studies support the use of the simulator as a valid measure of driving performance for research purposes.

Impact on industry

These findings support the use of a driving simulator as a valid measure of driving performance for research purposes. Future research should continue to examine validity between on-road driving performance and performance on a driving simulator and the use of simulated driving tests in the evaluation of driver education/training programs.     

Anticipated Performance Index of some tree species considered for green belt development in and around an urban area: a case study of Varanasi city, India

It is well established that trees help to reduce air pollution, and there is a growing impetus for green belt expansion in urban areas. Identification of suitable plant species for green belts is very important. In the present study, the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) of many plant species has been evaluated by analyzing important biochemical parameters. The Anticipated Performance Index (API) of these plant species was also calculated by considering their APTI values together with other socio-economic and biological parameters. Based on these two indices, the most suitable plant species for green belt development in urban areas were identified and recommended for long-term air pollution management.