On the integration of science and management in coastal management research

This contribution presents an introduction to a series of papers on integrated scientific approaches presented at the San Feliu Euroconference on transdisciplinary coastal management research. Coastal management is a challenging area for the integration of social and natural sciences. The papers provide a basis for ongoing cross-disciplinary research.     

Sustaining recycling: identification and application of limiting factors in kerbside recycling areas

SUMMARY

Levels of recycling in the UK are substantially poorer than other European countries and American states. One explanation for low participation rates, has been the failure by some local authorities to bridge the gap between people's attitudes and behaviour. Research has shown that a gap exists between people's environmental attitudes and action. Previous experiments have employed antecedent and consequence conditions to influence the factors that limit environmental action, in an attempt to close the gap between attitudes and behaviour. This paper reports on the research carried out by Cardiff University and De Montfort University, which has attempted to identify and manipulate the factors that influence whether or not someone recycles in the Cities of Cardiff and Leicester. Different experiments were applied to different socio-demographic groups. Questionnaires were used to assess attitudes and behaviour before and after the implementation of a series of experiments. The research indicated that the interventions were more effective at increasing levels of recycling among existing recyclers rather than prompting non-recyclers to start recycling. The interventions differed in terms of their effect upon participation in particular sociodemographic groups. Key factors identified from the research could be equally applicable to other contexts of individual environmental action.     

Text analysis tools for identification of emerging topics and research gaps in conservation science

Keeping track of conceptual and methodological developments is a critical skill for research scientists, but this task is increasingly difficult due to the high rate of academic publication. As a crisis discipline, conservation science is particularly in need of tools that facilitate rapid yet insightful synthesis. We show how a common text‐mining method (latent Dirichlet allocation, or topic modeling) and statistical tests familiar to ecologists (cluster analysis, regression, and network analysis) can be used to investigate trends and identify potential research gaps in the scientific literature. We tested these methods on the literature on ecological surrogates and indicators. Analysis of topic popularity within this corpus showed a strong emphasis on monitoring and management of fragmented ecosystems, while analysis of research gaps suggested a greater role for genetic surrogates and indicators. Our results show that automated text analysis methods need to be used with care, but can provide information that is complementary to that given by systematic reviews and meta‐analyses, increasing scientists’ capacity for research synthesis.     

Resource extraction and recycling with environmental costs

Extraction and use of a natural resource is assumed to affect the environment adversely. A perfect substitute for the resource can be supplied through a recycling process. Recycling may also have harmful effects on the environment, but to a smaller extent than extraction. The optimal path of extraction and recycling is studied under various assumptions about the environmental effects of recycling and the assimilative capacity of the environment. In particular, it is shown how the cost of recycling will affect initial resource extraction as well as the environmental quality at the time of resource exhaustion and in the long-run stationary state.     

水循环经济与水资源合理开发利用研究

在分析水循环经济的概念和基本特征、回顾国内外水循环经济与水资源合理开发利用历史演进和研究进程的基础上,陈述了可持续发展理论、物质代谢理论和产业生态学理论是水循环经济研究的三大新理论支柱。从现代水资源合理开发利用研究必须从系统定量的角度研究水资源系统与水社会经济系统的整体行为、演化规律及其相互作用的角度,指出了物质流分析技术(MFA)与投入产出分析技术(I/O)是水循环经济研究的主流方法。分别阐明了水循环经济理论体系构建的研究、水循环经济技术创新问题的研究、水循环经济发展模式选择问题的研究、水循环经济管理体制及经济机制问题的研究是当前水循环经济研究的四项重点内容。     

Review of fly ash inertisation treatments and recycling

Fly ash (FA) is a by-product of power, and incineration plants operated either on coal and biomass, or on municipal solid waste. FA can be divided into coal fly ash, obtained from power plant burning coal, flue gas desulphurisation FA, that is, the by-product generated by the air pollution control equipment in coal-fired power plants to reduce the release of SO₂, biomass FA produced in the plants for thermal conversion of biomass and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) FA, that is, the finest residue obtained from the scrubber system in a MSWI plant. Because of the large amount produced in the world, fly ash is now considered the world’s fifth largest material resource. The composition of FA is very variable, depending on its origins; then, also pollutants can be very different. In this frame, it is fundamental to exploit the chemical or physical potentials of FA constituents, thus rendering them second-life functionality. This review paper is addressed to FA typology, composition, treatment, recycling, functional reuse and metal and organic pollutants abatement. Because of the general growing of environmental awareness and increasing energy and material demand, it is expected that increasing recycling rates will reduce the pressure on demand for primary raw materials, help to reuse valuable materials which would otherwise be wasted and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from extraction and processing.     

Fixism and conservation science

The field of biodiversity conservation has recently been criticized as relying on a fixist view of the living world in which existing species constitute at the same time targets of conservation efforts and static states of reference, which is in apparent disagreement with evolutionary dynamics. We reviewed the prominent role of species as conservation units and the common benchmark approach to conservation that aims to use past biodiversity as a reference to conserve current biodiversity. We found that the species approach is justified by the discrepancy between the time scales of macroevolution and human influence and that biodiversity benchmarks are based on reference processes rather than fixed reference states. Overall, we argue that the ethical and theoretical frameworks underlying conservation research are based on macroevolutionary processes, such as extinction dynamics. Current species, phylogenetic, community, and functional conservation approaches constitute short‐term responses to short‐term human effects on these reference processes, and these approaches are consistent with evolutionary principles.     

Practices,attitudes and motives for domestic waste recycling

SUMMARY

Solid household waste management in Malaysia has reached a critical stage. Increasing population, urbanization and changing patterns of lifestyle have instigated the phenomenon. The 15 000 tonnes of garbage produced daily are thrown into 230 landfills nationwide, where 80% of them have only two years of life span left. Although recycling programmes were launched as early as 1990, only 5% of the wastes are recycled. The purpose of the present research was to ascertain the current management of household solid waste, attitude and motivational factors towards recycling. Data were collected using interview survey on 150 households in an urban residential area. The findings demonstrated that the respondents had very low awareness and knowledge regarding local domestic waste management. Separation of organic and non-organic wastes was rarely practised by 76% of the respondents. Most waste was thrown away, except for newspaper and aluminium cans which were regularly recycled, while furniture, and electrical items were reused by giving away or trading-in. The attitude of the respondents towards recycling was modest. Of the five motivational factors, intrinsic satisfaction and individual commitment were more important reasons for recycling than convenience, economic motivation and societal commitment. The results of the study indicated that, in order to overcome the solid waste crisis, the conscience of the individual needs to be raised through environmental awareness and concern, inculcation of sustainable consumption practices and education on waste management.     

从SCI论文看中国黄土研究的发展

中国的黄土研究处于世界领先地位.利用文献计量学,对SCI收录的有关中国黄土研究方面的论文进行统计和分析,考查了1989-2008年近20 a中国黄土研究的SCI论文产出、研究力量、以及论文影响力等方面的情况.研究结果表明,20 a来我国关于中国黄土的研究论文的产出数量持续高速增长,已居世界前列;SCI论文发文的高峰一般发生在国际第四纪联合会(INQUA)大会召开之后;主要研究机构集中于中国科学院、兰州大学、南京大学、我国台湾中央研究院和北京师范大学;从论文被引用情况看,我国学者在黄土研究方面的论文已颇具影响力.揭示了我国黄土研究科研论文总体发展的趋势.     

中国土壤科学战略发展研究的新思路——土壤学战略发展研究的顶层设计与路线图

土壤科学在国家农业可持续发展和生态环境建设中具有重要的战略地位。文章论述了当前新形势下,土壤科学战略发展的新思路和新目标,从科学目标和国家需求方面阐述了未来土壤科学战略发展的新方向,构建了土壤科学战略发展的顶层设计图,提出了我国2020-2050年土壤科学战略发展总思路,并对此进行了综合提示与深入思考。     

Evaluation of recycling waste materials and by-products in highway construction

SUMMARY

The generation, handling, and safe disposal of waste materials has become a major concern in North America. Approval of facilities for waste processing and proper disposal is becoming more difficult to obtain. Furthermore, there is a growing public awareness of the importance of conserving and preserving our valuable natural resources. This expanding awareness has given rise to the trend towards recycling or reuse of awide variety of solid wastes. Experiences with using waste materials in highway construction can vary considerably, depending on material characteristics, construction processes, and climatic differences. A number of waste materials may be suitable for use in highway construction, but others may not. The objective of this paper is introduced in two tasks. The first is to include a survey of the waste materials and by-products that have been used successfully, or may be used, as materials for highway construction or maintenance work. This also includes determination of the state of practice concerning economic and technical factors for these wastes. The second is to rank these materials based on three criteria: number of uses by State agencies, economic uses and performance aspects.     

Anaerobic digestion and recycling of kitchen waste: a review

About 1.6 billion tons of food are wasted worldwide annually, calling for advanced methods to recycle food waste into energy and materials. Anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste allows the efficient recovery of energy, and induces low-carbon emissions. Nonetheless, digestion stability and biogas production are variables, due to dietary habits and seasonal diet variations that modify the components of kitchen waste. Another challenge is the recycling of the digestate, which could be partly solved by more efficient reactors of anaerobic digestion. Here, we review the bottlenecks of anaerobic digestion treatment of kitchen waste, with focus on components inhibition, and energy recovery from biogas slurry and residue. We provide rules for the optimal treatment of the organic fraction of kitchen waste, and guidelines to upgrade the anaerobic digestion processes. We propose a strategy using an anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor to improve anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste, and a model for the complete transformation and recycling of kitchen waste, based on component properties.

     

论现代科学技术中的"生态化"

对现代科学技术所出现的“生态化”现象进行了初步探讨。首先，对生态学涵义的扩展和生态化研究方法进行了研究，认为其涵义已从生态学的生物学含义发展到现代生态学的新涵义，其方法就是研究在科学技术中的“对象”与“环境”的关系问题；在此基础上，对科学技术研究目标作了生态化表述，即要建设生态-经济-社会优质复合群；然后，对科学技术所出现的生态化理论与方法进行了初步研究，并对建设普遍优质的生态-经济-社会复合群理论及其应用进行了分析；最后，对生态化的研究方法进行了总结。     

Environmental and economic analysis of aluminium recycling through life cycle assessment

Aluminium is the most-used metal in the world after steel, with a wide range of applications in the industrial field owing to its physical and mechanical properties. The aim of this study was environmental and economic analysis of secondary aluminium. In particular, this study demonstrated that aluminium recycling offers many advantages to both consumers and industry:

• Increased energy savings compared to primary aluminium production;

• Recovery and reuse of raw materials for future production avoids consumption of non-renewable resources;

• Reduction in landfill waste and consequent environmental damage;

• Reduction in bauxite mining which, in turn, will reduce the socio-economic impact on populations of those countries, mainly underdeveloped, that contain mines;

• Economic advantages for Italy, the first European producer of secondary aluminium, which lacks bauxite mines and has high energy costs.

This study used the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, the modified Eco-indicator 99 method for damage calculation, and the SimaPro calculation code. The study examined secondary aluminium production by ICMET, based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The economic and environmental evaluation utilised environmental information supplied by the company.     

Lead pollution in East Trinidad resulting from lead recycling and smelting activities

Several problems of acute lead poisoning in children have been identified over the past three years in Trinidad. In all cases investigated so far, continual exposure to lead from battery recycling or from lead-smelter wastes have been found responsible. In East Trinidad, illicit dumping of lead wastes from such sources has resulted in several sites becoming heavily contaminated. Some of these sites are in environmentally sensitive areas, including rivers and wetlands, and require urgent remedial action. Results of monitoring studies at several of these sites show lead levels as high as 75% by weight. The potential for surface and ground water contamination exists, as evidenced by leaching of lead into surrounding areas.     

Seasonality of polypide recycling and sexual reproduction in some erect Antarctic bryozoans

The seasonality of polypide cycling has been investigated for three species of erect bryozoans from Antarctica: Isoseculiflustra rubefacta (Kluge, 1914), Nematoflustra flagellata (Waters, 1904) and Himantozoum antarcticum (Calvet, 1905). Approximately ten colonies of each species were collected monthly by SCUBA divers over a 14 mo period during 1992/1993, and the status of each individual zooid was classified as differentiating/regenerating, active (feeding autozooids), degenerate (brown body) or sexually reproductive (ovicells present, or zooid containing a larva). Polypide cycling in all three species was distinctly seasonal. New zooids formed at the growth margin and typically contained actively feeding polypides for ≃9 mo before these polypides degenerated into brown bodies in the austral winter (June). Very few polypides were active in the period from June to August, when water-column food levels were at their lowest; after this period new polypides differentiated. Individual zooids typically underwent a total of five (I. rubefacta and N. flagellata), or at least four (H. antarcticum) complete polypide cycles before becoming senescent. Polypide lifetimes generally became shorter as the age of the zooid increased. Sexual reproduction was also distinctly seasonal in these species, with bands of ovicells or sexually reproductive zooids being formed each year in late summer once a given colony had grown to a threshold size (or age). Larvae were then brooded for ≃10 mo before being released in January/February (N. flagellata) or February/March (H. antarcticum). The seasonal patterns of polypide cycling are related clearly to the variations in food availability, and these species appear to have the longest zooid lifetime (≃5 yr) and the slowest polypide cycling (once per year with polypide lifetimes up to 10 mo) reported for any bryozoan so far. Received: 7 May 1995 / Accepted: 19 November 1997     

Optimal environmental policy for waste disposal and recycling when firms are not compliant

We investigate a model that considers disposal and recycling activities after the consumption of products. In the field, the deposit–refund (D–R) policy has been considered as an ideal policy for internalizing disposal costs, which can result in the realization of the first-best policy. However, the possibility of firms' illegal disposal has been neglected. We introduce a monitoring cost to prevent firms from disposing of collected residuals illegally and induce the second-best D–R policy. We find that the relation between the monitoring problem for firms and the price of the recycling market brings about a variation in the optimal level of the refunds (which is typically smaller than the first-best level). Further, we investigate an alternative policy that requires producers to take-back residuals and show how this policy works equivalently to the second-best D–R policy by applying the theory of the tradable rights market.     

贵屿电子垃圾处理对河流底泥及土壤重金属污染

以广东省汕头市贵屿镇电子垃圾处理场为对象,主要研究了电子垃圾场附近河流的底泥和农田土壤中重金属形态分布特征。结果表明,底泥中Cd、Cr、Cu、Pb、Zn质量分数分别为52.9-67.1、309-359、79.2-1485、391-449、37.5-111 mg.kg^-1;土壤中Cd、Cr、Cu、Pb、Zn的平均质量分数分别是54.1-57.1、278-320、93.5-116、382-415、46.2-68.1 mg.kg^-1。底泥和土壤中Cd、Cr、Cu、Pb均超过《土壤环境质量标准》（GB15618—1995）二级标准,其中以Cd和Cu污染最为严重。底泥及土壤中重金属的地球化学形态分布规律基本一致。重金属具有较高迁移性,重金属的迁移性为Cd〉Cr〉Pb〉Zn〉Cu。