Phony Facts and Eco-media: Fake Nature and the Call for Widespread Media Literacy

ABSTRACT

Mermaids: The Body Found privileges mythologized creatures in a fictional narrative disguised as a documentary film in order to blur the boundaries between fact and fiction. This franchise’s decisions to value factors of entertainment over educational material are not uncommon in our consumer-driven society, but the film's engagement with fake fact media potentially repositions how audiences think about important conservation issues by overshadowing critical oceanic environmental topics with fake facts. Although today’s viewers are adept in interpreting media, the mermaid franchise’s use of screen genres, corporate websites, and social media saturates viewers with fake facts making it difficult to delineate between authentic science and fictional narrative. Not a quantitative reception study of audiences, this critical analysis of multiple genres of eco-media examines the difference between fake nature documentary and other types of animal programming and mockumentaries emphasizing that the issue is not strictly a question of entertainment factors or even of the subversion of fact and fiction, alone, but that the real issue lies in the franchise’s willingness to participate in an ever-growing media moment in which programming based on fake and alternative facts has the potential to impact how the public thinks about key issues in politics and science.     

A carbon footprint analysis in the textile supply chain

This research work focuses on the application of life-cycle assessment methodology to determine the carbon footprint of different players involved in a supply chain of the textile sector. A case study of a product by a textile leader company was carried out. This study demonstrates that, in the textile chain, the main contribution to the greenhouse effect is provided by the electrical and thermal energy used and by the transportation (since different production phases are delocalised in a wide range that goes from South Africa, Italy, Romania and all around the world, from the distribution centre to the stores). The Monte Carlo analysis has been used in order to obtain, for each calculated impact, not only the average value but also the distribution curve of the results characterised by uncertainty parameters. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of management choices such as:

??a change in the transportation modality, from aeroplane to boat;

??a combination of road and rail transportation; and

??a selection among suppliers that allows the firm to cut environmental impacts.     

Scientific Basis and Technological Path of Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment

Abstract

The study tries to set up a system to extract strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in exploitation of regional development based on the present situation of environmental assessment in China. First, the article summarizes the emphasis and deficiency of international academic community’s SEA research in the past 10 years. Based on this, the article puts forward the concept and evaluation principles of regional strategic environmental assessment (RSEA). Then the article expounds the necessity of carrying out RSEA. After that, the article discusses in detail the process of RSEA, which includes defining evaluation scope, describing regional background, combing strategic behavior, designing development scenarios, predicting the pressure on environment, assessing environmental impact, screening alternatives and proposing regulation and control schemes.     

Environmental Capital,Negative Externality and Carbon Finance Innovation

Abstract

In the context of global climate change, the internalization of negative externality, which is brought about by the traditional mode of economic growth, has become an inevitable choice. In order to achieve the internalization, it is necessary to make innovations on the market mechanism and system, find the value of environmental capital, establish a new mode of economic growth based on environmental capital, and then transform the environmental capital, an exogenous factor of economic growth, into an endogenous factor. Of this, the key of market mechanism and system innovation is the financial innovation that is based on environmental capital and negative externality; the government defines the initial property right of environmental resources and establishes environment energy trading market, so as to guide enterprises to trade environmental resources (represented by carbon emission permit trading) based on the Clean Development Mechanism, and to vigorously develop environmental finance and carbon finance.     

环境审计制度选择影响因素的实证分析

随着环境问题的日益严重,污染治理工具的选择和实施成为社会各界普遍关注的焦点.本文选择150个国家的国别数据,采取logit模型对环境审计制度选择的影响因素进行分析.研究结果表明,经济发展水平、环境保护投资和社会信息化程度与一国是否开展环境审计成显著正相关;审计体制对环境审计的开展也具有显著性影响;而污染排放现状、邻国的决策对环境审计制度选择的影响并不显著.本文的研究表明,与传统命令——控制型规制工具的普适性不同,作为一种信息化的污染治理工具,环境审计是经济社会发展到一定阶段国家最高审计机关的选择.进一步,利用我国2007年-2011年的相关数据进行基于主成分回归的符合性检验,结果显示环境审计的概率值p皆高于50％,且逐年递增,表明我国现阶段实施环境审计的条件和时机已经基本成熟.本文的研究发现为我国最高审计机关“十二五”期间将环境审计作为一种独立的审计类型,在全国推行环境审计工作提供了理论依据.     

环境规制、空间溢出与地区产业竞争力

利用1999-2009年中国30个省大中型工业企业数据,考察了产业竞争力的影响因素,特别是环境规制的影响.通过非空间模型和空间Durbin模型检验了产业竞争力和环境规制的关系.在空间模型中,估算了直接和溢出效应.结果发现,环境规制变量的直接和溢出效应分别为-0.17和0.559,且统计上高度显著,进而其总效应也显著为正.这表明,环境规制有较高的正的空间溢出效应,这似乎有可能引发地区间的环境竞次竞争行为;如果忽略污染的空间溢出,将严重低估环境规制的作用.还发现,外商直接投资、科技人员数和产业规模对产业竞争力有显著的正的直接效应.进而提出政府应加快完善环境补偿的制度,一是中央政府应当建立健全环境补偿立法;二是完善环境补偿的管理体制,协调和指导跨地区的环境补偿;三是加大与环境补偿有关的财政转移支付力度.     

基于二分图理论的产业环境资源竞争网络模型研究——以广州开发区为例

采用二分图理论来研究区域内不同产业部门或排污企业之间对于环境容量的竞争关系,建立产业环境资源竞争网络模型,并从点权分布和加权集聚系数等方面加以分析,依据强关联矩阵来确定排污企业对于区域环境容量需求强度的聚类情况.在此基础上,进一步依据2010年广州开发区的排污企业数据进行了实证研究,分析了开发区产业现状,并对未来生态工业园区建设中产业的发展提出了指导性建议.采用复杂网络模型来分析企业环境外部性的方法,不仅较传统的经济度量方式有理论上创新,而且根据区域不同情况来构建模型,从复杂系统视角对环境管理体系进行分析,有利于改进环境管理方式.     

中国西部城镇化可持续发展路径的探讨

基于对中国西部地区城镇化进程的调研,本文探讨了西部地区城镇化可持续发展的路径,结合西部地区的现状与西部地区城镇发展的历史趋势,分析了中国西部地区城镇化发展的需求,阐析了其城镇化进程中的环境压力与阻力,提出了促进中国西部城镇化可持续发展的政策建议.目前,西部地区整体城镇化水平滞后,各省(区)间的城镇化发展水平极不均衡.而社会经济发展水平对于城镇化具有很大的促进作用,故未来相当一段时间内,西部地区社会经济发展是其区域城镇化进程的主要动力,同时西部地区尚处于城镇化与工业化发展的正相关期,工业化水平的提升对西部地区城镇化进程的推动作用不容小觑.城镇化进程的不断加快和工业化的快速推进过程中,西部地区本就脆弱的生态环境存在进一步遭受损失与破坏的威胁.这些将会导致西部地区生态环境状况的恶化转而成为其城市化的严重制约,给当地经济可持续发展造成一定程度的影响.据此,文中提出建议,未来西部城镇化建设过程中,应推行“二元”城镇化发展战略,增强中心城镇的辐射带动作用,培育中小城市和特色鲜明的小城镇;进一步完善西部城镇基础设施水平,以各级政府支持管理为先导和主导,尝试采用“公私营合作”(PPP)融资模式,重点推进交通及通讯设施建设;构建长期稳定的绿色城镇发展战略,推进城市绿色文化、建设绿色城市,筹措西部地区绿色城镇发展基金、发展城市绿色产业;立足功能分区并结合城镇化战略格局优化城镇化发展,依托国家主体功能区划优化城镇化发展格局,结合“两横三纵”城镇化战略格局推进城市群建设.     

中国西部环境政策回顾及建议

西部生态环境脆弱而屏障作用显著.在新一轮西部大开发的背景下,对过去西部地区生态环境保护与管理政策进行回顾和总结,辨析其实施成效与存在的问题,并进一步提出相关政策建议,对今后西部国土开发和生态环境保护具有重要意义.本文通过对我国西部生态环境政策进行梳理和分析,发现:①西部地区的生态环境政策在不同阶段具有不同特征,改革开放以前(1949-1977年)主要是开发带动治理,改革开放-西部大开发之前(1978-1999年)逐渐由开发转变为以保护为主,西部大开发十年期间(2000-2010年)开始全面实施生态环境保护和建设;②在空间上,通过自然保护区设置、生态移民、财政转移支付和差别化的生态环境政策,在一定程度上促进了生态、社会、经济的协调发展;③在各项政策和工程实施下,西部生态环境退化趋势得到明显缓解,同时,农牧民的生活条件和经济收入得到较大提高,在生态环境治理、全社会参与、环保投资等方面探索出诸多成功经验;④生态环境政策还存在一些亟待解决的问题,如生态环境建设多以各个部门主导,缺乏统一规划和政策协调,有些政策缺乏充足的科学依据,生态补偿政策缺乏总体还需进一步完善,环境政策实施效果评估,反馈环节还较薄弱等.针对这些问题,本文最后提出建议.     

Relations between Environmental Right for Citizens and the Right to Use Environmental Resources owned by Company and Enterprise

Abstract

From angles of administrative law and private law, the article analyzes relations between environmental right for citizens and the right to use environmental resources owned by company and enterprise and points out three principles to balancing two relations: A principle of equal protection, a principle that general interest is superior to special interest as well as taking an account for special interest, in specific circumstances, for example, in the circumstance that clashes between environmental and economic interests can not be avoided, policy makers can put an emphasis on more important social interest according after considering weight of each interest. Finally, the article reaches a conclusion that China should establish system of environmental right for citizens from legislative and administrative levels so that a harmonious society can be constructed with guarantee.