The Great Lake’s future at a cross road

Some argue that a collective vision for the future of the Laurentian Great Lakes is embodied in the␣Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). The GLWQA is a binational agreement, first signed in 1972 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon, wherein the two countries (the Parties) commit to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.” Article X of the Agreement states that the Parties shall conduct a comprehensive review of the operation and effectiveness of this Agreement following every third biennial report of the [International Joint] Commission (IJC). The IJC’s 12th Biennial Report, released in 2004, triggered this important science, program, and policy review which commenced May 2006. This essay makes the case for a rigorous review, that explores deliberately the future scope of the Agreement to protect the world’s largest surface freshwater resource, and calls for innovation in the governance regime of this binational ecosystem.     

Implementing SDG 15: Can large‐scale public programs help deliver biodiversity conservation,restoration and management,while assisting human development?

Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the proposed SDG 15 promotes activities that, inter alia, “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems”. An important potential contribution in achieving SDG 15 is through public programmes designed to jointly promote human development through poverty alleviation and improvement of human livelihoods and biodiversity conservation/management/restoration. An analysis of twenty public programmes with such joint objectives yielded twelve lessons learned. In addition to financial commitments, government and intergovernmental agency input for such public programmes includes ensuring political will and appropriate legal frameworks. Local communities and civil society provide input through traditional and indigenous ecological knowledge and stewardship. Appropriate shared inputs in development and the implementation of such public programmes, with communication between local community, broader civil society, the scientific community and governments will result in: better use and management of biodiversity; alleviation of poverty; security of livelihoods and better governance systems. The Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity provides an ideal framework when planning and implementing new programmes. Application of the lessons learned to new public programmes will ensure that the answer to the question posed in the title is an emphatic “Yes”, and assist with the achievement of SDG 15.     

Understanding farmer intentions to connect to a modernised delivery system in an Australian irrigation district: a reasoned action approach

Australian governments have sought to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of water delivery to rural properties and improve water supply and on-farm efficiency. A programme of rationalising irrigation infrastructure has attracted criticism and doubts about its likely success. Attitude theory in the form of the Reasoned Action Model was applied to understand the intentions of landowners to connect to a ‘modernised’ irrigation system. Attitudes towards connecting to the system, social norms and perceptions of control over the behaviour provided an explanation of intentions to connect. Actual financial capability and other variables were important in discriminating a group of landowners who had already connected to the modernised system from farmers who had not.     

水电厂设备设施风险的动态分级研究

为保障水电厂安全运行,根据水电厂设备设施构成要素,系统分析其风险,建立涵盖水轮机及其辅助设备、发电机及其辅助设备、计算机监控系统及自动装置、电气一次设备、电气二次设备、水工建筑物及金属结构、机具与防护设施等因素在内的评价指标体系。采用欧氏距离定义样本差异,标准化处理属性特征值,通过聚类迭代,开发水电厂设备设施风险的动态分级方法。研究结果表明:水电厂设备设施故障风险在每年的第2,3季度明显大于第1,4季度,并且随着时间推移,各季度设备设施故障风险同比有增加的趋势,风险分级结果与设备设施故障的变化趋势基本吻合。     

The Effect of Local Biomass Projects on Energy Balance and GHG Emission: A Life Cycle Approach

Emerging attention has been given to the use of biomass in local areas for its contribution to reducing fossil fuel dependence and mitigating global warming. The objective of the present study is to develop a method that quantitatively assesses the effects of local biomass projects on fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. A practical method based on a life cycle approach is proposed and applied to a case of bioethanol project in Miyako Islands of Japan. The project is aiming to produce bioethanol from molasses within the islands, and to replace the entire gasoline consumed in the islands to E3 fuel (i.e., a mixture of 3% ethanol and 97% gasoline by volume). The assessment using the developed method revealed that, first, the complete shift from gasoline to E3 fuel allows for decreases in fossil fuel consumption and GHG emission. Second, the performance of the project is improved by the integration of the ethanol plant and the sugar factory. Moreover, the assessment found that, in small-scale bioethanol projects, the contribution of capital goods to life cycle fuel consumption and GHG emission is not negligible.     

阜新市空气监测点位优化的聚类分析

基于聚类分析法利用数据之间距离系数进行分类的原理,建立空气监测点位聚类分析优化模型,结合阜新市地形、气象及历史监测数据,进行阜新市空气监测点位布设优化应用,优化结果表明:距离相似水平取d=0.3时,环保局(B点)与人民公园(C点)监测点空气污染物浓度分布相似性最高,合并为1点,增设气象台监测点位作为清洁背景点,4个点位构成阜新市空气监测新网络;利用CALPUFF模型模拟对优化后监测点位进行相关性检验。检验结果表明:监测点位优化后SO2浓度与实测值相关系数为0.984,PM10相关系数为0.968,NO2相关系数为0.973。CALPUFF模型模拟值与实际监测值之间相关系数均大于0.75,表明优化后的阜新市空气监测点位具有客观环境代表性;监测点位优化与检验方法具有一定应用价值。     

城市大气污染治理方法研究——城市新风系统

城市大气污染治理研究多年来未见突破,为了解决城市大气污染给人们生活带来的危害,利用提高生态修复主体利用率的方法,研究出一种新的城市大气污染治理方法——“城市新风系统”,这种方法理论上可以快速有效改善城市区域内大气环境.该研究以南京为例进行模拟计算,并建立了理论模型的雏形.理论模型预期可在数周内改善城市大气环境,并通过污染与新风总量的科学控制实现范围内的全优环境,这是一个具有可复制性,并有极强的推广意义的方法.     

Inclusion of people with disabilities,their needs and participation,into disaster management: a comparative perspective

In the field of disaster management, not many have considered the role and needs of people with disabilities despite their number and condition. The purpose of this paper is to push for specific inclusion of people with disabilities, their needs and participation, into disaster management by studying relevant cases from Indonesia, Korea, and the USA. Qualitative content analysis was used as a major methodology by comparing three factors identified in these nations: government policies, schools and advocacy groups’ efforts, and families and local communities’ awareness. Three models, one from each country, were considered major takeaways from this study: the Indonesian moral inclusion, the Korean medical treatment without exclusion, and the US’ extending social inclusion. In addressing the needs and participation of people with disabilities in disaster management, the following recommendations are put forward: for Indonesia, a move away from olden beliefs and misconceptions on disability (e.g. as a punishment) is imperative. In Korea, relevant fundamental laws (e.g. the Basic Act on Emergency and Safety Management) need to be revised while also studying advanced laws on the subject. For the USA, though the country is already advanced, overall improvement is still needed in terms of association with international non-governmental organizations, increase in the number of (emergency or disaster) response officials, and provision of better medical treatment.     

深圳市工业区VOCs污染特征与臭氧生成敏感性

于2020年9~10月在深圳北部典型工业区开展在线观测以分析该地VOCs污染状况,并使用基于观测的模型(OBM)研究臭氧生成敏感性.观测期间VOCs的总浓度为48.5×10^-9,浓度水平上烷烃>含氧有机物(OVOCs)>卤代烃>芳香烃>烯烃>乙炔>乙腈.臭氧生成潜势(OFP)为320μg/m³,其中芳香烃、OVOCs以及烷烃贡献最大,这3类物种OFP贡献总和超过90%.乙烯与苯呈现“两峰一谷”的日变化特征,主要受到机动车排放的贡献.相对增量反应性(RIR)分析表明,削减人为源VOCs对控制当地臭氧生成最为有效,当中又应优先控制芳香烃;经典动力学曲线(EKMA)分析表明该片区臭氧生成处于过渡区,在开展VOCs区域联防联控的同时,需要在当地进行有力的NOx控制以强化该地区臭氧污染长期管控.     

Atmospheric fate of non-volatile and ionizable compounds

A modified version of the Multimedia Activity Model for Ionics MAMI, including two-layered atmosphere, air-water interface partitioning, intermittent rainfall and variable cloud coverage was developed to simulate the atmospheric fate of ten low volatility or ionizable organic chemicals. Probabilistic simulations describing the uncertainty of substance and environmental input properties were run to evaluate the impact of atmospheric parameters, ionization and air-water (or air-ice) interface enrichment.The rate of degradation and the concentration of OH radicals, the duration of dry and wet periods, and the parameters describing air-water partitioning (K_AW and temperature) and ionization (pK_a and pH) are the key parameters determining the potential for long range transport. Wet deposition is an important removal process, but its efficiency is limited, primarily by the duration of the dry period between precipitation events.Given the underlying model assumptions, the presence of clouds contributes to the higher persistence in the troposphere because of the capacity of cloud water to accumulate and transport non-volatile (e.g. 2,4-D) and surface-active chemicals (e.g. PFOA). This limits the efficiency of wet deposition from the troposphere enhancing long-range transport.