消费者与环境:满足需要,改变生活方式

消费者与环境：满足需要,改变生活方式根据消费者国际主席ＥｒｎａＷｉｔｏｅｌａｒ１９９７年２月４日在肯尼亚内罗毕联合环境署理事会议上的发言整理消费者国际（前消费者联盟国际组织,即ＩＯＣＵ）是大约９２个国家中约２１４个消费者组织的一个世界性联合会．在消费...     

Territorial defense in a group-living solitary forager: who,where, against whom?

Territoriality is of great significance for many species and a characteristic of most group-living animals. Territoriality is thought to lead to increased reproductive success by defending a particular area containing critical resources. I describe several factors that influence territorial aggression in free-ranging striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), a group-living solitary forager. I induced territorial aggression by attracting mice of different groups using bait either at territory boundaries or in front of nests. Striped mice are territorial and make decisions about whether or not to attack a mouse from another group based upon several factors: (1) the sex of the opponent: males are much more likely to attack strange males than strange females, whereas no sex specific aggression was observed in females; (2) the body size of the opponent: striped mice are much more likely to attack a strange mouse that is lighter than themselves; and (3) the location of encounters: striped mice are much more likely to attack strangers, even those significantly heavier than themselves, in front of the nest than at territory boundaries. These variations in territorial responses between different types of individuals may be due to the different ultimate consequences of territorial aggression for different animals.Communicated by S. Alberts     

Coevolution,communication, and host chick mimicry in parasitic finches: who mimics whom?

Why do brood parasitic Vidua nestlings mimic the intricate gape patterns of their hosts’ young so precisely? The classic explanation is that mimicry is the outcome of a coevolutionary arms race, driven by host rejection of odd-looking offspring. Selection favors parasitic nestlings that converge on the host young’s mouth markings, and simultaneously benefits hosts whose mouth markings diverge from those of the parasite. The outcome is highly elaborate mouth markings in host young that are accurately mimicked by parasite nestlings. Our review of recent work provides mixed support for this traditional view and, instead suggest that complex mouth markings function to stimulate adequate provisioning, rather than to signal species identity. Thus, similarly elaborate gape morphologies in hosts and parasites could have evolved through nestling competition for parental care. According to this view, and in contrast with existing hypotheses, it is host young that mimic parasitic offspring, in order to compete effectively for food.     

Trade, technology, and the environment: Does access to technology promote environmental regulation?

Focusing specifically on regulation of coal-fired power plants, we examine how technological innovation by early adopters influences the timing of new environmental regulation in non-innovating countries. We build a general equilibrium model of an open economy to identify the political-economy determinants of regulation. With a newly created dataset of SO₂ and NO_x regulations for coal-fired power plants and a patent-based measure of the technology frontier, we estimate the determinants of environmental regulation diffusion. Our findings support the hypothesis that international economic integration eases access to environmentally friendly technologies and leads to earlier adoption, ceteris paribus, of regulation in non-innovating countries. However, we also find evidence that domestic trade protection promotes earlier adoption allowing shifts of regulatory costs to domestic consumers. Furthermore, international market power permits large countries to shift costs to foreign consumers. Other political economy factors, such as the quality of domestic coal, are also important determinants.     

Growth rates, seed size, and physiology: do small-seeded species really grow faster?

Relative growth rate (RGR) is currently the most commonly used method for measuring and comparing species' intrinsic growth potential. Comparative studies have, for example, revealed that small-seeded species have higher RGR, leading to the common belief that small-seeded species possess physiological adaptations for rapid growth that would allow them to outgrow large-seeded species, given sufficient time. We show that, because RGR declines as individual plants grow, it is heavily biased by initial size and does not measure the size-corrected growth potential that determines the outcome of competition in the long-term. We develop a daily growth model that includes a simple mechanistic representation of aboveground and belowground growth and its dependency on plant size and environmental factors. Intrinsic growth potential is encapsulated by the size-independent growth coefficient, G. We parameterized the model using repeated-harvest data from 1724 plants of nine species growing in contrasting nutrient and temperature regimes. Using information-theoretic criteria, we found evidence for interspecific differences in only three of nine model parameters: G, aboveground allocation, and frost damage. With other parameters shared between species, the model accurately reproduced above- and belowground biomass trajectories for all nine species in each set of environmental conditions. In contrast to conventional wisdom, the relationship between G and seed size was positive, despite a strong negative correlation between seed size and average RGR, meaning that large-seeded rather than small-seeded species have higher size-corrected growth potential. Further, we found a significant positive correlation between G and frost damage that, according to simulations, causes rank reversals in final biomass under daily temperature changes of +/- 5 degrees C. We recommend the wider use of this new kind of plant growth analysis as a better way of understanding underlying differences in species' physiology; but we recognize that RGR is still a useful metric if considering the potential rate of population increase in empty habitats.     

Tourism,an ecological approach in protected areas: Karagöl-Sahara National Park,Turkey

Protected areas are important potential areas from the point of view of ecological tourism because of their natural, historical and cultural richness. In this study, the environmental sustainability of protected areas has been investigated within a sample of the Karagöl-Sahara National Park in Turkey. This national park has, so far, had little exposure to recreational and tourism activities. However, an increase in the number of tourists visiting the park has been observed as a result of the demands of ecological tourism. This area was investigated with respect to ecological planning to prevent intensive usage from causing future damage, as a result of human thoughtlessness, and to protect the park. Additionally, the aim was to determine the usage potential using ecological planning and to propose variations of ecotourism thought to be helpful for the public. The Karagöl-Sahara National Park has valuable natural and cultural resources, and is an area whose recreation-tourism potential has been strongly protected. The national park also has major economic potential for ecotourism.     

社论 清洁生产:第7次国际高级研讨会,布拉格

KlausTpferKlausTpfer联合国副秘书长兼联合国环境规划署执行主任联合国环境署第7次国际清洁生产高级研讨会(CP7)传达了一个明确的信息:进一步把清洁生产与可持续消费结合起来至关重要.来自政府和工商业的350多位高级决策人在布拉格参加了2002年4月举行的第7次国际清洁生产高级研讨会,他们强调无论是作为个体的公民还是我们机构的成员,每个人都应该通过改变生产和消费方式来促进可持续发展.CP7的中心内容是对已经实现的任务进行评估,确立把清洁生产与可持续消费联系起来的重要性,为8月和9月在约翰内斯堡举行的可持续发展世界峰会(WSSD)…     

导言 清洁生产:第7次国际高级研讨会,布拉格

这期《产业与环境》中讲述的国际清洁生产高级研讨会是自1989年以来联合国环境署组织的第七次此类研讨会.1989年我们发起清洁生产方案的目的是宣传预防比补救成本低这一看似简单的观念.从1990年在坎特伯雷举行的第一次研讨会开始,我们的目标一直是提供一个全球性论坛致力于重新引导工作方案、建立促进行动的合作关系、重新审视已经取得的进步和仍需采取的行动.在坎特伯雷高级研讨会上“清洁生产”这一术语被正式采纳.它被定义为“在生产、产品和服务中持续采用综合性预防环境战略以便提高总体效益、减少对人类和环境的威胁”,并且可以被应用…     

Market interactions,farmers' choices,and the sustainability of growing advanced biofuels: a missing perspective?

Advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol are of great interest in the USA. With agriculture being the major source of feedstock for advanced biofuels, how farmers would respond to markets and policy incentives in providing such feedstock can directly affect sufficient and sustainable supply of advanced biofuels and their environmental sustainability. In this study, we developed an economic model to examine farmers' production choices in a context where agricultural markets are linked to energy markets. We identified the economic conditions under which farmers could maximize their profits by converting current grain cropland to grow cellulosic biomass crops. An empirical illustration showed that with current technology, farmers are unlikely to grow switchgrass as a dedicated energy crop instead of corn on cropland. The biofuel incentives in the 2008 Farm Bill can improve the competitiveness of switchgrass, but may stimulate corn production as well, with corn residues as an alternative feedstock for advanced biofuels. The continuous, possibly expanding, corn production in future raises the same issues for advanced biofuels as for corn grain-based ethanol. To assure the environmental sustainability of advanced biofuel production, further research is needed to help design environmental policies alongside existing biofuel initiatives.     

End-users’ knowledge,attitude, and behavior towards safe use of pesticides: a case study in the Guanting Reservoir area,China

Pesticides are widely used in China for crop protection. However, the use of some highly toxic and accumulative pesticides has led to serious pollution to the environment. The knowledge that end-users of pesticides have about hazards is important for the prevention of acute poisoning. Moreover, farmers, especially those who purchase and use pesticides, often make important and long-standing impacts on the local ecosystem and environment. In this study, a specially designed questionnaire was used to collect information on their knowledge, attitude, and behavior related to pesticides in the Guanting Reservoir area, north of China. Most pesticide end-users reported that they took incomplete preventive measures for lack of extensive pesticide knowledge and information. Pesticide information, instruction, and training among farmers should be promoted, and governmental intervention is needed to ensure proper management regarding public health risks and environmental hazards.     

Tessaria absinthioides: a possible bio‐monitor for Cd,Pb, and Cu,in the middle and lower basin of the loa river,North Chile

Some ecotoxic metals such as Cd, Pb, and Cu in Tessaria absinthioides were quantified to study its possible use as a bio‐indicator and/or bio‐monitor of these metals. This plant was chosen for its abundance in the area under study, along Chile and even in southern Latin America. For Cd, Pb, and Cu in all three parts of the plant (leaves, stems and roots) a different concentration pattern in each sampling areas was observed. In sampling areas Coya Sur and La Cascada copper and cadmium concentration decrease in order: leaves > roots > stems. In samples collected in Xalquincha the lowest concentrations of Cd and Pb were observed in stems. A maximum of cadmium concentration (9ug/gd.w. in leaves) was found in samples from La Cascada, a inflow to river Loa in Calama. High concentrations of lead were found in roots and leaves. Collected data demonstrate that the main pathway for cadmium is from ground water via roots into the plant. Some data obtained for lead and copper indicate that the influence of dust particles adsorbed on leaves and stems can be higher than uptake from ground water.     

Horizontal transport,mixing and retention in a large,shallow estuary: Río de la Plata

We use field data and a high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic numerical model to investigate the horizontal transport and dispersion characteristics in the upper reaches of the shallow Río de la Plata estuary, located between the Argentinean and Uruguayan coasts, with the objective of relating the mixing characteristics to the likelihood of algal bloom formation. The 3D hydrodynamic model was validated with an extensive field experiment including both, synoptic profiling and in situ data, and then used to quantify the geographic variability of the local residence time and rate of dispersion. We show that during a high inflow regime, the aquatic environment near the Uruguayan coast, stretching almost to the middle of the estuary, had short residence time and horizontal dispersion coefficient of around 77 \(\mathrm {m}^{2}\,\mathrm {s}^{-1}\) , compared to the conditions along the Argentinean coastal regime where the residence time was much longer and the dispersion coefficient (40 \(\mathrm {m}^{2}\,\mathrm {s}^{-1}\) ) much smaller, making the Argentinian coastal margin more susceptible for algae blooms.     

Nanoconfinement engineering for enchanced adsorption of carbon materials,metal–organic frameworks,mesoporous silica,MXenes and porous organic polymers: a review

In material synthesis, nanoconfinement acts both as a physical reactor to tune the shape and size of nanomaterials, and as a chemical microenvironment for the nucleation and growth of nanoconfined substances, resulting in unique material properties. This nanoconfinement effect has been extensively applied to synthesize materials for hydrogen storage, catalysis and separation for environmental protection. Here, we review methods to construct nanoconfined space in carbon materials, metal–organic frameworks, mesoporous silica, porous organic polymers and MXenes, a class of two-dimensional inorganic compounds. We discuss nanoconfinement for enhanced adsorption with focus on covering size and dispersion, crystallization and stability, confined water and coordination.

     

Amelioration of acute mercury toxicity by a novel,non-toxic lipid soluble chelator N,N′bis-(2-mercaptoethyl)isophthalamide: effect on animal survival,health, mercury excretion,and organ accumulation

The toxic effects of mercury are known to be complex with specific enzyme inhibitions and subsequent oxidative stress adding to the damaging effects. There are likely other factors involved, such as the development of impaired metal ion homeostasis and depletion of thiol- and selenium-based metabolites such as cysteine and selenium. Much of the toxicity of mercury occurs at the intracellular level via binding of Hg²⁺ to thiol groups in specific proteins. Therefore, amelioration of mercury toxicity by the use of chelation would likely be enhanced by the use of a chelator that could cross the cell membrane and the blood brain barrier. It would be most favorable if this compound was of low toxicity, had appropriate pharmacokinetics, bound and rendered mercury cation non-toxic and had antioxidant properties. Herein we report on such a chelator, N,N′-bis(2-mercaptoethyl)isophthalamide (NBMI), and, using an animal model, show that it prevented the toxic effects associated with acute exposure induced by injected mercury chloride.