烟台市生态经济系统的能值分析

利用能值分析方法分析了2013年烟台市生态经济系统的能值流动状况,并提出了相应的能值利用调控对策。2013年烟台市生态经济系统的能值总用量为2.630×1023 sej,人均能值用量为4.044×10^16 sej,能值自给率为22.6%,能值密度为19.14×10^12sej/m^2,能值货币比率为2.848×10^12sej/,电力能值占能值总用量的比例为5.6%,由可更新资源及其产品支持的人口承载力为16.19×10^4人,由可更新资源及其产品、进口产品及技术共同支持的人口承载量为518.6×10^4人,能值可持续指标值为4.986。将上述计算结果与其它国家和地区进行比较表明：虽然目前烟台市经济较发达,能值利用效率和人民生活水平较高,生态经济系统的能值使用总体上符合区域可持续发展的要求,但系统能值自给率较低,生态环境比较脆弱,经济增长对外部输入的能源和资源依赖性较强。据此,提出了调整产业结构、转变经济增长方式、加强电力资源开发、发展科学教育事业等能值利用的调控对策。     

深圳市滨海湿地两个观光农业系统的能值整合研究

应用能值研究方法对深圳市海上田园旅游区的芦花湖和农家小院两个观光农业系统进行了生态经济分析.从系统和子系统两个层面,进行了能值产出、环境负载、可持续发展能力的评价与比较;与珠三角另一个观光农业系统(百万葵园)、两个基塘农业系统(菜-鱼、菜-猪-鱼)和一个巴西基塘系统(谷-猪-鱼)进行了横向比较.从货币收益的角度看,农家小院系统的费用使用效率、商品生产获利能力要优于芦花湖系统.但能值整合分析却显示出不一样的结果:两系统内旅游业子系统的能值交换率较高,而二者的农牧业子系统及农家小院系统的水产业子系统的能值交换率均较低,其生产效率仍有待提高.芦花湖系统的环境负载率为7.31,能值可持续发展指标为0.255,分别是农家小院的0.25倍和2.26倍,因而更具长远发展优势.与传统农业相比,观光农业的能值交换率和环境负载率整体偏高,表明其在经济效益创造上优于传统农业,但在自然资源利用和环境压力,以及可持续发展能力等方面与传统农业尚存在差距,在今后的发展中需借鉴传统农业的经验并加以改善,防止观光农业发展中绿色产业褐色化现象的发生.     

产业生态系统多尺度能值整合评价方法

能值分析方法为自然环境资源与人类社会、经济的统一评价提供了新的思路,但面对当今产业生态学发展的实践需求,在多尺度整合分析、动态模型构建等方面仍显薄弱,需要与经济学等其他学科相对成熟的分析方法与模型加以整合。文章以能值综合方法为核心介质,从成本分析与效果分析的整合、能值分析与区域经济分析的整合,以及能值分析表与投入-产出矩阵模型的整合三个方面进行了产业生态学的能值整合研究方法的具体构建,以促进能值理论方法与产业生态学研究需求的进一步耦合。     

四种岭南水果种植系统的能值、经济与土壤整合分析

综合运用能值、经济与土壤生态学分析方法,定量研究了番石榴(Psidium guajava Linn)、黄皮(Clausena lansium Skeels)、枇杷(Eriobotrya japonica Lindl)、葡萄柚(Citrus paradisi Maef)4种岭南水果种植系统的物质流、能最流和货币流,综合分析其自然资源基础、经济发展状况及可持续发展程度,并将土壤有机质的消耗纳入不可更新自然资源能值投人分析,为岭南水果业的可持续发展提供科学依据.能值分析表明,4个水果种植系统的可持续发展能力依次为:葡萄柚(0.94)>枇杷(0.15)>番石榴(0.14)>黄皮(0.10).土壤有机质分布与变化分析表明,4种水果种植系统的土壤有机质消耗量依次为:葡萄柚>黄皮>枇杷>番石榴.经济分析表明,4个水果种植系统的经济效益依次为:葡萄柚>番石榴>枇杷>黄皮.综合分析表明,番石榴、黄皮、枇杷三个系统的水果生产效率有待进一步提高;葡萄柚种植系统的水果生产效率、可持续发展能力和经济效益较高,但其对土壤有机质的消耗强度在四个系统中是最高的,这一点在水土流失严重的丘陵地区显然是不容忽视的.同时,如何降低系统在市场交换中的交换性资产流失是四个系统共同面对的问题.     

西藏生态经济系统的能值分析与可持续发展的政策建议

运用生态经济学的能值理论与方法，以能值作为价值的度量单位，对西藏主要自然资源的状况、可开发利用潜力及其与外界的交流进行了系统的分析，对能值用量、环境负菏率、能值/货币比率、能值自给率、能值功率密度等种指标，与其他国家或地区进行了比较研究，最后就西藏资源的合理开发和可持续发展问题，提出了一些政策建议。     

能值理论研究中存在的几个问题探讨

能值理论与研究方法是当前生态经济学研究中的一个热点问题.被认为是连接生态学与经济学的桥梁,具有重大的理论和实践意义.尽管能值分析有效的将自然环境的价值纳入了产品的生产,更能真实地揭示产品的真实价值,从而克服了传统能量分析和经济分析的诸多缺陷.但其在理论和研究方法仍存在一些不足之处.综合国内外有关能值理论与研究方法的相关文献,对当前能值理论研究中能值转化率的计算问题、多产品或复合产品系统的能值流计算问题、能值价值论与市场价值论结合问题、能值与可持续发展研究问题等几个方面进行了探讨.     

基于能值方法的广东省农业系统分析

采用能值理论和方法对广东省农业系统的能值投入结构和产出特征进行分析,以期弥补单纯经济分析中出现的自然环境投入价值缺失的不足,并尝试加入农业基本建设投资和农业保险的计量,完善系统投入结构的能值计算。同时,引入Y*/Y指标使广东省农业系统的生产水平与全球平均水平相比较,以利于评价广东省农业系统的生产力及其发展水平,并为其优化发展提供理论依据和现实指导。研究结果:广东省农业系统2003年的能值投资率(3.12)、环境负载率(1.70)、能值/货币比率(4.26E 12sej.$-1)、净能值产出率(1.25)和Y*/Y(0.96)。上述结果与中国平均水平、中国其他省份以及一些发达国家(如意大利和日本)的相应指标比较,表明广东农业系统发展水平高于全国平均水平,低于发达国家。系统能值投入产出结构分析发现,不可更新的工业辅助能值占系统投入总能值的61.92%。为此,应进一步提高农业的可更新能值投入和优化投入结构。     

华北平原集约农区种植业生态经济系统的能值分析——以河北沧州为例

从能值的角度出发,以华北平原代表区域——河北省沧州地区2003年统计数据和调查数据为基础,对该地区种植业生态经济系统的能值投入和产出进行首次分析。结果显示:该地区不可更新的工业辅助能占总能值投入的78.5%,可更新的能值投入仅占21.4%(可更新环境资源8.79%、可更新有机12.68%),说明农业生产过渡依赖于外源不可更新辅助能的投入;此外,高系统太阳能值转换率、低净能值产出率和高环境负荷率的特点,表明该地区种植业的科技发展水平比较高,对环境的压力相当大。综合结果说明种植业系统对环境资源的过度利用必然会引起生态环境的破坏。基于此,提出华北平原集约农区种植业生态经济系统可持续发展对策:以优化施肥为基础,合理减少化肥投入为代表,适当降低工业辅助能投入;调整农业增产投入战略,努力解决该地区以水资源短缺为主的作物增产限制因子;改变农业生产中有机能值与无机能值的投入比例,降低系统环境负荷率。     

广州与上海城市生态系统能值的分析比较

利用能值分析理论和方法,从自然—社会—经济复合生态观角度对广州和上海的各种生态流进行比较研究。结果表明上海的经济发达程度、居民的能值福利和环境压力都比广州的高,广州在自然可更新资源和人口承载量方面明显优于上海,具有更大的可持续发展潜力。从能值理论和可持续发展角度分析,广州应加强科技力量和提高自然资源的利用效率,上海应在控制人口的基础上探讨更合理的发展模式。     

宁夏人地系统的物质代谢和生态效率研究——基于能值分析理论

以能值分析理论为基础,对宁夏回族自治区1985-2005年人地系统的物质代谢和生态效率(即可持续性状态)进行了定量分析研究.结果表明:近21年来,宁夏地区的产出效率不断降低,经济发展水平较低;能值废弃率、环境负荷率均呈持续增长趋势;人口与环境的矛盾不断激化,可持续发展能力不断降低.最后,文章在定量分析评价的基础上对宁夏人地系统演变的趋势进行了简要预测及分析,并针对存在的问题,提出了相应的优化方向和措施.     

Emergy and emergy algebra explained by means of ingenuous set theory

Emergy is an important concept that has originated several effects in ecology, systems ecology and sustainability science. Its communication, however, has always presented several problems, since it does not follow the same rules of conservation as other energy-based approaches. Attempts have been made to clarify emergy by means of more formal/mathematical approaches, but the problem persists. In this paper, we have introduced a view of emergy and of its algebra based on ingenuous set theory. By means of this simple tool, emergy can be defined as the set of solar exergy that is directly and indirectly necessary to make a product. The operation that correctly sums the emergy “carried” by the inputs to a process is the union. This definition and the operation of union are able to account for all the rules of emergy algebra.     

Emergy analysis of the urban metabolism of Beijing

Cities can be modeled as if they were superorganisms with a range of metabolic processes. Research on this urban metabolism can contribute to solving urban environmental problems by revealing details of the metabolic throughput of the system. A key issue is how to find a common basis for measuring the environmental and economic values. By providing a single unified unit, emergy theory integrates the natural and socioeconomic systems and thoroughly evaluates a system's metabolism. We analyzed Beijing's urban metabolic system using emergy synthesis to evaluate its environmental resources, economy, and environmental and economic relations with the regions outside the city during 14 years of development. We compared Beijing's emergy indices with those of five other Chinese cities and of China as a whole to assess Beijing's relative development status. These indices are the emergy self-support ratio (metabolic dependence), the environmental load ratio (metabolic loading), empower density (metabolic pressure), emergy used per person (metabolic intensity per capita), and the monetary equivalent of emergy (emdollars; metabolic intensity). Based on our emergy analysis, Beijing's socioeconomic system is not self-sufficient, and depends greatly on external environmental resources. Its GDP is supported by a high percentage of emergy purchased from outside the city. During the study period, Beijing's urban system showed an increasing dependence on external resources for its economic development. Beijing's loading and pressure on the ecological environment is continuously increasing, accompanied by continuously increasing human emergy consumption. In the future, it will become increasingly necessary to improve Beijing's metabolic efficiency.     

Assessing geobiosphere work of generating global reserves of coal, crude oil, and natural gas

A teacher of ours used to say, “Like ice in a fire, something for nothing you will never acquire”, which is a poetic equivalent of “there is no such a thing as a free lunch”. Human economies are dependent on high quality fossil fuels and will likely continue depending on them for some time to come. Value of a resource is not only what one pays for it, or what can be extracted from it, but also value can be attributed to the “effort” required in its production. In this analysis we apply the emergy synthesis method to evaluate the work invested by the geobiosphere to generate the global storages of fossil energy resources. The upgrading of raw resources to secondary fuels is also evaluated. The analysis relies on published estimates of historic, global net primary production (NPP) on land and oceans, published preservation and conversion factors of organic matter, and assessments of the present total global storages of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Results show that the production of coal resources over geologic time required between 6.63E4 (±0.51E4) seJ/J and 9.71E4 (±0.79E4) seJ/J, while, oil and natural gas resources required about 1.48E5 (±0.07 E5) seJ/J and 1.70E5 (±0.06E5) seJ/J, respectively. These values are between 1.5 and 2.5 times larger than previous estimates and acknowledge a far greater power of fossil fuels in driving and shaping modern society.     

Human transformities in a global hierarchy: Emergy and scale in the production of people and culture

In emergy research, transformities are of fundamental importance. They are factors that are used to convert the inputs to a process into emergy. Once placed in emergy units, the inputs to any process can then be added together or compared. Furthermore, as a product of an emergy analysis, new transformities for outputs can be used in other analyses. By this process the collection of known transformities grows, and subsequent emergy analyses become more accurate. Human labor is often a critical input to an emergy analysis. Transformities for humans have only been roughly estimated based on education level, and should be judged as first approximations. This paper refines the existing values for human services, using similar techniques, but with some different assumptions. The result is a larger range of human transformities, expanded at both lower and upper ends that range from 7.53E4 to 7.53E13. There are many applications of this knowledge, from improving empirical studies to expositions of hierarchy that more reliably “locate” humans, economic production, and information within energy transformation hierarchies.     

Updated evaluation of exergy and emergy driving the geobiosphere: A review and refinement of the emergy baseline

Crucial to the method of emergy synthesis are the main driving emergy flows of the geobiosphere to which all other flows are referenced. They form the baseline for the construction of tables of Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) to be used in emergy evaluations. We provide here an updated calculation of the geobiosphere emergy baseline and UEVs for tidal and geothermal flows. First, we recalculate the flows using more recent values that have resulted from satellite measurements and generally better measurement techniques. Second, we have recalculated these global flows according to their available energy content (exergy) in order to be consistent with Odum's (1996) definition of emergy. Finally, we have reinterpreted the interaction of geothermal energy with biosphere processes thus changing the relationship between geothermal energy and the emergy baseline. In this analysis we also acknowledge the significant uncertainties related to most estimates of global data. In all, these modifications to the methodology have resulted in changes in the transformities for tidal momentum and geothermal energy and a minor change in the emergy baseline from 15.8E24 seJ/J to 15.2E24 seJ/J. As in all fields of science basic constants and standards are not really constant but change according to new knowledge. This is especially true of earth and ecological sciences where a large uncertainty is also to be found. As a consequence, while these are the most updated values today, they may change as better understanding is gained and uncertainties are reduced.     

Emergy analysis using US economic input-output models with applications to life cycles of gasoline and corn ethanol

A commonly encountered challenge in emergy analysis is the lack of transformity data for many economic products and services. To overcome this challenge, emergy analysts approximate the emergy input from the economy via a single emergy/money ratio for the country and the monetary price of economic inputs. This amounts to assuming homogeneity in the entire economy, and can introduce serious uncertainties in the results. This paper proposes and demonstrates the use of a thermodynamically augmented economic input-output model of the US economy for obtaining sector-specific emergy to money ratios that can be used instead of a single ratio. These ratios at the economy scale are more accurate than a single economy-wide emergy/money ratio, and can be obtained quickly for hundreds of economic products and services. Comparing sector-specific emergy/money ratios with those from conventional emergy studies indicates that the input-output model can provide reasonable estimates of transformities at least as a stop-gap measure until more detailed analysis is completed. A hybrid approach to emergy analysis is introduced and compared with conventional emergy analysis using life cycles of corn ethanol and gasoline as examples. Emergy and transformity data from the hybrid approach are similar to those from conventional emergy analysis, indicating the usefulness of the proposed approach. In addition, this work proposes the metric of return on emergy investment for assessing product alternatives with the same utility such as transportation fuels. The proposed approach and data may be used easily via web-based software.     

Assessment of a large watershed in Brazil using Emergy Evaluation and Geographical Information System

Humanity's future depends on the preservation of natural ecosystems that supply resources and absorb pollutants. Rural and urban productions are currently based on chemical products made from petroleum, which are responsible for high negative impacts on the Biosphere. In order to prevent those impacts, efficient public policies seeking for sustainable development are necessary. Aiming to assess the load on the environment (considering the gratuitous contributions of natural systems—a donor's perspective) due to human-dominated process, a scientific tool called Emergy Evaluation has been applied in different production systems, including crops and farms. However, there is still a lack of emergy studies in the context of watersheds, probably due to the difficulty of collecting raw data. The present work aims to carry out an assessment of Mogi-Guaçu and Pardo watershed, through the combined use of Emergy Evaluation and Geographical Information System. The agricultural and natural land uses were considered, while urban areas were excluded. Emergy flows (expressed in seJ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) obtained for all agricultural and natural land uses were expanded for the whole watershed and the emergy indices were calculated. The results show that the watershed has: low renewability (%R = 32%); low capture of natural resources through high external economic investment (EYR = 1.86); low dependence on natural resources (EIR = 1.16); and moderate load on the environment (ELR = 2.08). Considering a scenario where sugar-cane crops, orchards and pasture areas are converted from conventional to organic management, watershed's emergy performance improved, reaching a new renewability of 38%, but it is still not enough to be considered sustainable.