Analysis of the energy demand of the Chilean mining industry and its coverage with solar thermal technologies

The mining industry represents more than half of Chile’s foreign exchange earnings and its increasing expansion will demand a continuous development of its energy supplies. Mostly, all the mines in Chile are located in the desert regions, having a large surface with one of the highest solar radiations levels and clearest skies in the world. Covering the mining industry’s energy demand with solar energy is thus an obvious and promising approach. In this paper, the implementation of solar thermal heating is studied in every mining process and the solar thermal electricity generation for the entire mine demand is considered as well. The work concludes that the installation of flat plate collectors to heat water for mine processes, especially for electrowinning, is strongly recommended. Additionally, the installation of solar thermal power plants can satisfy the mining electricity demand.     

煤炭资源开采环境污染物影子价格的估计——基于安徽煤炭企业的调查数据

环境污染物的影子价格体现了污染物的边际减排成本,是政府制定公共环境政策的重要依据。本文在环境技术的基础上,扩展了传统的产出方向性距离函数方法,进而构建了能够将多种环境污染物的影子价格进行综合估测新的影子价格模型。采用这种新的模型方法和安徽煤炭开采和洗选企业的样本数据,对煤炭资源开采利用过程中排放的三种主要环境污染物——废水、废气和固体废物的影子价格进行了估计。结果发现,2009年,安徽煤炭开采和洗选企业所排放的废水、废气和固体废物的平均影子价格分别为0.021 6万元/t、0.031 37万元/t和0.178 48万元/t。这三种环境污染物的影子价格存在差异,反映出安徽煤炭开采企业处理不同环境污染物所面临的环境成本是不同的。环境行为监管者在做出环境规制决策前要充分考虑到这个前提。     

开放经济、环保财政支出与污染治理——来自中国省级与行业面板数据的经验证据

首先按照各省环保财政支出占GDP比重与按主成分分析法计算的地方环境污染物排放综合指数的排名情况把中国30个省份分成两个区域,区域1环保财政支出污染治理效应较强,区域2环保财政支出污染治理效应较弱。区域1包括北京、海南等14个省市,区域2包括天津、上海等16个省市。其次基于2007—2014年中国省级和行业面板数据,分析开放经济、环保财政支出对污染治理的影响。最后借鉴门限回归模型检验开放经济是否存在环保财政支出与污染治理的门槛效应。结果显示:(1)环境污染物排放存在区域差异和行业差异,区域1呈现出开放程度和污染物排放双低的特征,而区域2则表现为双高特征。制造业、电力、煤气及水的生产和供应业污染物排放较高,采掘业污染物排放年均增长速度最快。(2)样本期内省级和行业面板数据均表明开放经济与环境污染物排放显著负相关,对外开放不是助推环境污染的原因。(3)中国环保财政支出与环境污染物排放显著负相关,环保财政支出具有显著的污染治理效应。(4)开放经济对环保财政支出的污染治理效应具有门槛效应,当进口和出口贸易总额高于门槛值-1.221、-1.016时环保财政支出的污染治理效应很难发挥。(5)以进、出口贸易总额为门槛变量时,有107个观测值低于门槛值,占总观测值的44.58%,其中有59个位于区域1,占55.14%。鉴于此应继续加大环境保护财政支出,进一步提升环保财政专项支出在GDP中所占比重,保持适度的对外开放,优化能源消费结构和实现产业结构升级,全面改善环境质量,提升开放经济下环保财政支出的污染治理效应。     

猫跳河流域开发与环境质量变异

猫跳河流域经过３０多年以水能为先导的开发，已成为贵州经济最发达的区域，但是。由于区内工业集中、人口膨胀等多种因素的影响，也导致环境及生态系统发生变化，出现资源—经济—环境的较大矛盾。本文通过众多的调查研究资料，对猫跳河流域开发所引起的环境问题：人口变化、水利水电引起环境变异、水环境变异、大气环境质量变异、野生生物衰亡及生境变异、土地环境变异作了闸述，并对流域开发的综合效应进行了全面分析。     

Typifying cities to streamline the selection of relevant environmental sustainability indicators for urban water supply and sewage handling systems: a recommendation

Measuring performance and setting targets and benchmarks for the future entail the adoption of metrics or indicators. Sustainability is a multi-pronged objective encompassing social, economic, health, cultural, governance and environmental aspects. Indicators can be grouped under these categories. The selection of environmental sustainability indicators for a water and wastewater utility in a city needs to be based on concerns specific to the utility in question. The authors, in this paper, have recommended the classification of cities into city types based on specific attributes and identification of relevant environmental sustainability indicators, from a pool of 13 indicators, for these different city types. Having selected the relevant indicators, utilities can use them as tools to improve their environmental performance. The purpose is to not facilitate inter-utility comparisons within or across city types. Every utility would compare its environmental performance at a given point in time with what it was in the past. Towards the end, the paper also applies the methodology to nine cities across four continents—Europe (Oslo, Trondheim and Turin), Asia (the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Beijing, Tel Aviv and Male), North America (Sacramento) and South America (São Paulo). In all, 13 environmental sustainability indicators have been identified. Two cities—Oslo and Trondheim (both from Norway) belong to the same city type, while the other seven are different from each other in this regard. The number of relevant indicators ranged from 4 for Trondheim to 11 for Tel Aviv. The methodology is not restricted to urban water supply and sewage handling systems. It can be extended to other infrastructure systems as well—waste management, transportation, etc.     

Untreated abandoned mercury mining works in a scenic area of Asturias (Spain)

Mercury mining was a large and thriving industry during the last century in Asturias (NW Spain). At Bra?alamosa, mining activity introduced significant quantities of wastes in spoil heaps located close to the mining operations. In these mining wastes, in addition to mercury, high concentrations of other potentially dangerous elements like As have been found. As a consequence, pollution and dereliction of the local environment occurred. This paper focuses on the environmental impact of these old mining operations and describes a preliminary assessment of the extent of contamination. This includes analytical data from systematic sampling of soils, stream sediments, wastes from spoil heaps, water and herbaceous plants in areas affected by mining activities. The potential risk that spoil materials imply for human health and the environment is documented on the basis of the application of EPA Risk Assessment methodology.     

中国工业碳排放达峰的情景预测与减排潜力评估

实现2030年碳排放达峰不仅是中国为应对全球气候变化向国际社会做出的郑重承诺,也是中国未来经济结构转型与可持续发展的必然选择。基于中国实现2030年碳排放达到峰值的宏观目标为背景,本文以中国碳排放的主要行业工业为研究对象,首先运用拓展的STIRPAT模型对工业及其9个细分行业的碳排放达峰进行了情景预测,然后基于公平和效率的双重视角对工业细分行业的减排潜力进行评估。研究表明:(1)仅有低碳情景和抑制排放情景2可以实现中国碳排放2030年达峰,低碳情景是实现中国工业碳排放达峰的最佳发展模式,达峰时间最早(2030年),峰值最低(140.43亿t)。激进排放情景则是最差的发展模式,达峰时间最晚(2036年),峰值也最高(150.09亿t)。(2)工业内部各细分行业碳排放的最优达峰情景差别较大。建材和纺织制造业能够实现提前达峰,可以在这类行业率先实施达峰管理措施,使其带动其他行业陆续达峰。(3)最具减排潜力的行业是石油制造业,其次是电力行业,这些减排潜力较大的行业应该成为国家节能减排的重点对象。(4)基于工业各细分行业在减排公平性和效率性上的差异将工业9个细分行业分为四类。其中,石油、钢铁制造业和电力行业属于"高效高公平行业";化工、建材制造业属于"低效高公平行业";采掘业属于"高效不公平行业";纺织、轻工和机电制造业属于"低效不公平行业"。中国应针对不同类型的行业制定出相应的减排战略,将减排重点放在各行业最具潜力的方面。最后,文章对实现中国工业碳排放达峰管理提出了几点政策建议。     

中国环境污染密集型产业脱钩的异质性及产业转型

根据现有文献,研究中国的经济增长与环境污染的脱钩,需要将不同环境密集型产业与经济增长的关系分别测算,然后进行比较。本文选取了工业污染的三大来源——废水、废气和固体废物,每种污染源对应着一类环境密集型产业。这三种产业密集排放的污染物的量与经济增长之间的脱钩关系及其内在机制,这是本文研究的重点。本文借鉴Tapio弹性分析模型构建了我国经济增长与不同环境密集型产业之间的脱钩状态的分析模型,并对脱钩状态和程度的判定标准做了规定。随后,对2001-2009年四个时期的经济增长与不同环境密集型产业集中排放的污染物的量之间的脱钩指数进行了测算,同时测算了各产业污染的工业产值弹性及其工业产值的GDP弹性,并对脱钩状态和程度做了判定。结果表明:三类产业的脱钩程度各不相同,其动力机制与发展前景也有所不同,因而需要有针对性地采取规制和治理措施。     

Coordinated management of energy and mineral resources development and control of pollution in Western China

Natural environment is fragile and harsh in Western China where rich energy and mineral resources are endowed,enabling energy and mining development to become a pillar industry of the regions socioeconomic development This paper identified the key issues and challenges faced by eco-environment as a result of energy and mining development in Western China.We argued mat mining and energy development have caused various environmental problems,and that environmental degradation is increasingly prominent in Western China,hence,we request coordinated resource development and environmental protection for sustainable development in this region.Based on the above recognitions,this paper put forward relevant policy recommendations:promoting green development vigorously and developing new green energy;formulating and enforcing environmental protection laws and regulations,improving ecological compensation mechanism;establishing green threshold;strengthening integration between western resource-based cities and coastal region to get rid of the"resource curse";improving energy and mineral resources development stakeholders’involvement;coordinating resource taxes and local development funds;and strengthening independent third-party supervision in the whole process of energy and mining development     

Value in sustainability: the process industry perspective

The most important driver for management is successful business that increases its value to shareholders. The adoption of environmentally responsible business practices can open up an additional range of opportunities for companies, for example by improving material efficiency. The choice to improve environmental performance of a company tends to also improve its financial performance. In this paper, our aim is to study the value of sustainability in process and mining industry from the perspective of interest groups such as investors, customers and the public, by using case examples. Interviews and workshops were employed to investigate whether or not investors and customers are interested in sustainability in the process and mining industries. We also illustrate how easy it can be to jeopardize corporate reputation through. The present situation and challenges faced in bringing sustainability into everyday business practices are summarized and proposals made concerning ways to achieve increased sustainability.     

The flow/fund model of Conga: exploring the anatomy of environmental conflicts at the Andes–Amazon commodity frontier

This paper aims to contribute toward improved understanding of complex ecological distribution conflicts at the commodity frontiers, where increasing metabolism in industrial societies is leading to increased environmental destruction in resource-rich countries throughout the world. The focus of this paper is the Conga gold mine project in northern Peru, where there have been violent clashes between the Minera Yanacocha mining company and the local population, represented mainly by campesinos that live in the highlands of the Andes–Amazon region. We do this by using the flow/fund model developed by Georgescu-Roegen and extended by Giampietro and Mayumi, to help us trace the anatomy of this conflict, using simplified representations of the central economic processes involved: gold mining and milk production. By complementing the concept of Ricardian land—an indestructible fund—with the concept of land materials, which is susceptible to qualitative change, and therefore can be either a fund or a flow element of the economic process, we illustrate that the gold extraction process, which treats this land material as a flow, stands in conflict with the milk production process, at least in part, because that process is using these land materials as a fund, i.e., in order to make production possible. The paper employs the concept of environmental valuation triadics, developed by Farrell, in order to explore how the boundaries—physical frontiers and temporal durations—of a specified economic process are related to flow/fund element identities. We conclude with some reflections on potential future applications for the methods employed and on the implications of our analytical results.     

Unravelling the Threads: Discourses of Sustainability and Consumption in an Online Forum

This article analyzes an online discussion that followed an article published by UK environmental activist and journalist George Monbiot in The Guardian online newspaper. The analysis addresses the ways in which participants in an online forum debate responded to the tensions and contradictions between lifestyle, consumption, and sustainability highlighted in the original article. The discursive construction of class, green political orientations, and identities; visions of “the good life”; and appeals to religion and science are highlighted throughout the analysis—as are the discursive strategies for positioning self, other, and audience in the debate. The argument emphasizes the heterogeneity of discursive positioning and reflects on the role of social media in the politics of consumption and sustainability, especially given the inherent reflexivity of web forums as online communicative forms.     

铜陵地区矿山生态环境综合治理途径

分析了铜陵地区矿山生态环境存在的主要问题,将其分为矿山“三废”排放与污染。矿山生态环境破坏和矿山地质灾害等三类。在此基础上,提出矿山生态环境整治必须从管理制度、经济和技术方面寻找综合治理途径。其中,管理制度方面：完善矿山生态环境保护的法规体系,实施矿山环境准入制度,确立科学合理的矿山生态环境保护目标和评价标准;经济方面：建立明晰的矿山环境资产产权制度,建立经济激励机制,建立多元化、多渠道投资机制,发展矿山生态环境保护整治产业;技术方面：开发矿业清洁生产技术,矿区土地复垦和生态重建技术,矿山水均衡破坏防治工程技术,开展矿山环境保护的科学技术研究与国际合作。     

以多联产为支撑点的"合成气城市"规划 --煤炭城市的可持续发展

目前,中国煤炭城市普遍面临城市产业结构迫切需要转型、城市生态环境问题严重、城市人口就业形势严重等挑战。在低价高硫煤资源丰富、石油和天然气资源缺乏、经济发展水平适中、产业结构亟待调整的典型地区实施以多联产为支撑点的“合成气城市”规划,是这类煤炭城市实现经济、社会、环境、资源相互协调的可持续发展之路。本文初步探讨了“合成气城市”规划研究的内容,并以山东省济宁市是为例分析了实施“合成气城市规划”的收益。     

淮南市持续发展的生态安全评价

淮南市是一所典型的煤炭资源型城市。是建立在资源、环境、经济和社会等子系统上的复杂系统。是城市发展与资源和环境保护之间矛盾较为突出的区域。主要表现在：城市布局不合理。城市整体结构不完善；人类进行煤炭资源开发利用过程中对生态和景观产生了干扰和破坏。从而造成其生态结构、功能的破坏以及量观的破碎化。本研究从压力-状态-响应三方面构建了淮南市生态安全评价指标体系。指标体系包括目标层、系统层、要素层和指标层。并给出了计算各评价指标值之闻均衡度的模型。量后结合RS、GIS技术实施该评价模型。对淮南市为实例进行了分析和评价。评价结果与实际情况基本符合。     

Shifting sands: changes in community perceptions of mining in Ghana

The contribution of mining to the Ghanaian economy has been substantial. The mining sector is currently a major foreign exchange earner and contributes to long-term capital formation and fiscal payment to the state. However, the industry continues to have adverse consequences on the lives of local community dwellers, most of whom are often unprepared to deal with these impacts. Often, new mining exploration takes place on land that provides land-based livelihood to many rural people. Ironically, compensation payments seem to worsen poverty in the mining communities and bring about the social conflicts. Hence, whilst communities are highly welcoming of mining companies during exploration, they become resentful during operation of the mine. Using two communities in the Asutifi District of Ghana as case studies, this paper presents a candid assessment of the changes that occur in respondents’ perception of mining during, before and after the inception of mining. It also examines the gender dimensions of the impacts of mining activities as well as the communities’ sources of information. Since public participation is an integral part of the environmental assessment process in Ghana, the paper concludes by recommending among others, precise channels of communication and dialogue before mining begins and during the operation of the mine, to increase awareness among community members.     

Water pollution footprints induced by industrial import and export in China

With the rapid development of foreign trade in China, industrial import and export has been an absolute subject in recent years. The huge trade surplus of import and export trade of industrial products brings not only high profits, but also pollution costs as well. Based on the concept of water pollution footprints (WPFs), this study applies the input-output method and calculates pollutant-producing coefficients of 20 major industrial sectors in China and investigates the WPFs caused by the import and export trades of these industrial sectors. The research results show that WPF resulting from exports exceeds that of imports from 2011 to 2015 in China. The net inflow of pollution footprint is mainly from paper mills, printing and stationery manufacturing, and textile industry; whereas a great number of WPFs are transferred to other countries by these sectors, such as metal mining and dressing industry and oil and natural gas exploitation industry.     

江苏省第三产业发展中的资源环境问题

运用比较分析法指出江苏省在第三产业高度发展的同时主要存在的资源环境问题。在对资源环境问题的特点及原因分析的基础上以餐饮业为例进行进一步说明,最终提高人们对第三产业资源环境问题的重视。     

Contribution of the sugar cane industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector: the case of Mauritius

The aim of this paper was to present the contribution of the sugar cane industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector. Mauritius is taken as a case study. Sugar cane was introduced in Mauritius during the seventeenth century and production of sugar started around 60 years later. Since then, the cane industry has been one of the economic pillars of the country. Bagasse, a by-product of sugar cane, is used as fuel in cogeneration power plants to produce process heat and electricity. This process heat and the generated electricity are used by an annexed sugar mills for the production of sugar, while the remaining electricity is exported to the national grid. In fact, Mauritius is a pioneer in the field of bagasse-based cogeneration power plant; the first bagasse-based cogeneration power plant that was commissioned in the world was in Mauritius in 1957. The contribution of the cane industry in the electricity sector has been vital for the economic development of Mauritius and also in terms of mitigating carbon dioxide emissions by displacing fossil fuels in electricity generation, as bagasse is classified as a renewable source. Data obtained from Statistics Mauritius on electricity production for the past 45 years were analysed, and carbon dioxide emissions were calculated based on international norms. It is estimated that savings on heavy fuel oil importation were by 1.5 million tons of oil—representing a value of 2.9 billion dollars—thus avoiding 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This figure can be further increased if molasses, a by-product of sugar cane juice, is used to produce bio-ethanol to be used as fuel in vehicles.     

Factor input structure,environmental policies,and the export quality upgrade: a perspective of heterogeneity

In the analysis of how environmental regulation affects the comparative advantage of trade, existing literature ignores industry’s inherent heterogeneity, which draws remarkably different conclusions. In view of this, the paper analyzed the mechanism of environmental regulation on the export quality of different industries from the perspective of factor input structure heterogeneity. Based on the panel data of China’s manufacturing industry, the paper used the system generalized method of moments method to examine the heterogeneity influence of environmental regulation on manufacturing export quality. The study found that, first, environmental regulation affected the export quality upgrade of the manufacturing sector through offset effect and compensation effect, and the direction of the impact would mainly depend on the industry’s factor input structure. Second, for industries with larger fixed-asset investment (FAI) ratio in the factor input structure, the current environmental regulation policy was not conducive to the export quality upgrading of the industries. However, there was a significant U-shaped dynamic relationship between them. As environmental regulations became stricter, when regulatory stringency went beyond the inflection point, the policy would promote the upgrading of export quality. But for industries with smaller proportion of FAI, environmental regulation exerted a favorable impact on the export quality upgrade, following a J-shaped marginal growth curve. Third, for industries with different factor input structure, their export quality had been effectively upgraded as expected by factors like human capital investment, independent R&D, technology introduction, and foreign direct investment; but raising per capita capital stock and expanding enterprise size did not produce significant direct impact on export quality upgrade. These conclusions remained robust after using different measurement methods and replacing with other variables. Therefore, this paper suggests that governments should take industry heterogeneity into consideration and formulate differentiated hierarchical environmental policies. Besides, they should strengthen the enforcement of the current environmental regulation policies. By doing so, enterprises are forced to improve their technology and product quality so that they can better cope with rising compliance costs, eliminate backward industries, and resolve excess capacity. In this way, the economic structure would be transformed and upgraded from the supply side.