Vulnerability of agro-ecological zones in India under the earth system climate model scenarios

India being a developing economy dependent on climate-sensitive sector like agriculture is highly vulnerable to impacts of global climate change. Vulnerability to climate change, however, differs spatially within the country owing to regional differences in exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The study uses the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2-Earth System (HadGEM-ES) climate projections to assess the dynamics in vulnerability across four climate change exposure scenarios developed using Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). The analysis was carried out at subnational (district) level; the results were interpreted and reported for their corresponding agro-ecological zones. Vulnerability of each district was quantified using indicators capturing climatic variability, ecological and demographic sensitivity, and socio-economic capacity. Our analysis further assigns probabilities to vulnerability classes of all the 579 districts falling under different agro-ecological zones. The results of the vulnerability profile show that Western plains, Northern plains, and central highlands of the arid and semi-arid agro-ecological zones are the most vulnerable regions in the current scenario (1950–2000). In the future scenario (2050), it extends along districts falling within Deccan plateau and Central (Malwa) highlands, lying in the arid and semi-arid zones, along with regions vulnerable in the current scenario, recording the highest vulnerability score across all exposure scenarios. These regions exhibit highest degree of variation in climatic parameters, ecological fragility, socio-economic marginality, and limited accessibility to resources, generating conditions of high vulnerability. The study emphasizes on the priority to take up adaptive management actions in the identified vulnerable districts to not only reduce risks of climate change, but also enhance their inherent capacity to withstand any future changes in climate. It provides a systematic approach to explicitly identify vulnerable regions, where regional planners and policy makers can build on existing adaptation decision-making by utilizing an interdisciplinary approach in the context of global change scenario.     

An approach to cleaner production: from hair burning to hair saving using a lime-free unhairing system

One of the methods to decrease the pollution of tanneries' wastewater is hair saving unhairing of hides. An investigation of proteolytic activity of enzymatic preparation (EP) has shown that some EPs have high stability in strong alkaline solutions and can be used for the hair saving process.Based on this investigation, a new hair saving unhairing method using a system containing EP, sodium hydroxide, sodium sulphide, and disodium hydrophosphate was developed. The method results in a high quality pelt suitable for leather manufacturing, decreases the pollution caused by sodium sulphide and the other products of hair degradation and avoids the pollution caused by calcium compounds.     

From cleaner production to sustainable production and consumption in Australia and New Zealand: achievements,challenges, and opportunities

The objective of this special issue is to showcase what Cleaner Production (CP) practitioners and scholars in Australia and New Zealand have accomplished to date, and how they hope to progress in the coming decades. The contributions to this special issue have been grouped under three main categories: sectoral, regional, and CP methods and tools. These contributions suggest that the CP debate has moved on from anecdotal justification of CP through case studies to diffusing and broadening CP practices so that they fulfil their role as effective components of a viable, sustainable society. The continued evolution of CP methods and tools in Australia and New Zealand is a good indicator of such a trend. Papers in all three categories identify and present responses to the challenges faced in ensuring that CP activities are both linked to and informed by policy-making and that they support and enhance decisions made in pursuit of sustainable production.     

Sustainability of seafood production and consumption: an introduction to the special issue

This paper provides an introduction to the special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “The Sustainability of Seafood Production and Consumption”. The purpose of the special issue is to bring together a series of papers that will form a nucleus for the growth of an emerging area of scholarship. Overfishing and marine habitat damage have generated a global crisis in the production of seafood. In order to respond to this crisis we need systems for the management of seafood production and consumption that will comprehensively reduce and eventually eliminate wastefulness in both capture fisheries and aquaculture systems. Thirteen papers address these issues, with focuses on: seafood harvesting practices, fish processing, life cycle assessment, eco-efficiency, management of wastes, seafood distribution and consumption, total energy costs, eco-labeling, and the conservation of resources and biodiversity. We conclude that major changes are required in our approaches to the management of both the marine environment and our seafood capture and production systems. We also conclude that steps have been taken in this direction, but there is still far to go.     

Energy sector reform in Eritrea: initiatives and implications

The Government of Eritrea gave priority status to the energy sector immediately after the country's independence in May 1991, as manifested by the rapid improvement in electricity and oil supplies. Electricity generation capacity has increased from a total of 30 MW in 1991 to over 130 MW at present. The lengths of transmission and distribution lines have similarly increased from 150 km to 400 km and from 800 to 1300 km respectively. However, as in most Sub-Saharan Africa, this public utility is characterised by inefficient managerial, technical and financial performances, an inability to mobilize the funds needed for expansion, low repair and maintenance capacity, inappropriate tariff rates, and inadequate revenue collection mechanisms. This has led the government to take appropriate reform measures in recent years, including the restructuring of the Eritrea Electric Corporation (EEC) to operate on commercial principles, setting tariffs based on real costs and reasonable profits, effective collection of revenues, the minimization of wastage and loss in the delivery of energy services, facilitating the private sector participation, and ring-fencing the interests of the poor by setting up a Rural Electrification Fund. A Regulatory body has been established to enforce these reform measures. Recognising the role of modern energy in poverty reduction and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Government with the support of its development partners is expanding energy services to rural areas in an innovative manner. The Government's commitment to diversify energy sources is exemplified by its agreement with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to share the costs of an on-going pilot wind energy project. It has also established an Energy Research and Training Centre to promote the application of renewable energies and improved biomass stoves throughout Eritrea.     

从第31届国际地质大会命题看：地球科学研究的热点和趋势

本文论述了第 31届国际地质大会学科和专题命题情况 ,统计了大会收到的论文和摘要数并将各命题重新排序。将位于前 12位的学科和前 5位的专题命题进一步列出重点讨论题目和摘要数。通过与第 30届国际地质大会命题的比较 ,试图大致了解国际地球科学研究的热点和趋势 ;通过上述分析和了解 ,就地球科学与可持续发展阐述了笔者的认识 ,提出了地球科学基础性研究和应用基础研究的重点领域     

Mapping the movement to achieve sustainable production and consumption in North America

The paper reviews some of the many initiatives and efforts to build networks and institute policies promoting sustainable production and consumption (SPAC) values and practices in North America since the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. It analyzes a selection of SPAC initiatives in Canada and USA from the NASCA/CEC database, drawing also on interviews with representatives from government, businesess, consumer and environmental organizations on their experience and efforts to “take the lead” in influencing public opinion and behavior as well as government and corporate policy towards SPAC.     

Barriers to the implementation of cleaner production in Chinese SMEs: government,industry and expert stakeholders' perspectives

This paper applies an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to examine and prioritize underlying barriers to adoption of cleaner production (CP) by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China from the perspectives of government, industry and expert stakeholder groups. First, on the basis of the findings of previous research and literature review, 20 barriers are identified and grouped into four categories: (1) policy and market barriers; (2) financial and economic barriers; (3) technical and information barriers; and (4) managerial and organizational barriers. Second, an AHP model is developed and a survey questionnaire was designed, tested, and refined. Third, the questionnaire was distributed to the representatives of three stakeholders of CP, i.e. enterprise managers, government officials, and experts. The returned questionnaires were validated in terms of consistency and in some cases followed up for verification. Fourth, the 20 barriers were rated by analyzing the valid questionnaires through the AHP model. The top three barriers to CP adoption by Chinese SMEs were found to be: (a) lack of economic incentive policies; (b) lax environmental enforcement, and (c) high initial capital cost. The researches conclude that current governmental policy should give higher priority to lessening those external policy and financial barriers rather than internal technical and managerial barriers. The findings shed some new light on readjusting public policy in order to help to facilitate widespread CP implementation in SMEs in China.     

Benchmarking to trigger cleaner production in small businesses: drycleaning case study

This paper reports on research that investigated and implemented benchmarking as a trigger for cleaner production in the drycleaning industry in Western Australia and applies this knowledge to the small business sector. The critical success factors for environmental benchmarking are: identifying cleaner production gaps in areas important to the long-term future of the businesses, promoting the drivers to close the performance gaps, and ensuring managers possess the correct skills to close these gaps. The participants accepted the benchmarks as suitable targets and committed their businesses to achieving these targets in their action plans. Economic benefits and maintaining their licence to operate were found to be the important drivers. Program participants on average reduced hazardous waste generation by 48%, perchlorethylene consumption by 30% and improved their energy efficiency by 9%. Furthermore, managers involved in the program had a significantly higher uptake of cleaner production than the general small business community in Western Australia.     

A new approach to predicting the maximum temperature in dry drilling based on a finite element model

A new analysis approach is developed to predict the temperature in dry drilling. The working rake angle and the working relief angle which the effect of feed is considered at an arbitrary point in the leading cutting edge of a twist drill are developed for the equivalent model. Then finite element models are developed to predict the drilling temperature based on the equivalent model. Commercial finite element codes Abaqus, Deform 2D and Third Wave Systems AdvantEdge have been used. In simulations, different chip separation models and material models are applied in the three codes. And the effect of the laws of drilling velocities and feed rates on the temperature are investigated by the finite element method. Predicted results of the maximum temperatures by three codes are compared with experiments, respectively. Results indicate that the drilling temperature results of simulations have good agreement to the experimental ones, and the errors are all less than 15%.