Conjoint analysis for environmental evaluation

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Conjoint analysis and the related choice-modelling methods have been used for many years in marketing research to evaluate consumer behaviour and preferences for different kinds of product attributes. Recently, the number of applications in environmental science and management has started to grow. Conjoint analysis is found in many different forms, and the environmental studies evaluated in this review display the same range of methods as in other fields. The key characteristic of all these methods is that trade-offs are evaluated by jointly considering a number of important attributes. MAIN FEATURES: This paper is a review of the literature on environmental applications of conjoint analysis and assesses in which environmental area conjoint analysis has been most successful. The method and the design of the studies are reviewed as well. RESULTS: A total of 84 studies were found, dealing with environmental issues that were evaluated by conjoint analysis. The studies concern agriculture, ecosystem management, energy, environmental evaluation, forestry, land management, pollution, products, recreation, environmental risk analysis and waste management. DISCUSSION: Choice experiments seem to have a comparatively stronger position in environmental studies than elsewhere. Most of the environmental applications are related to natural resource management. This is somewhat surprising, but a number of reports have appeared also on product evaluation, which could be a key application area in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to marketing and transportation, the number of environmental conjoint studies is rather small but increasing, and the method has proven to work effectively in eliciting preferences on environmental issues. In environmental issues, experimenters often use choice experiments, especially concerning ecosystem management and environmental evaluations. When it comes to evaluating preferences concerning agriculture, forestry, energy and products, a more traditional approach of conjoint analysis is favoured. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: Two new areas of application are identified in this review--environmental communication and expert elicitation. Conjoint analysis can thus be developed into a useful instrument for environmental risk analysis and communication, both of which are necessary for an efficient approach to risk governance.     

环境政策对环境技术创新的影响

环境政策对技术创新具有正负两个方面的影响。本文详细分析了不同类型环境政策的技术效应 ,并阐述了环境政策的未来发展方向及其对技术创新的影响     

环保催化剂在环境保护中的应用研究进展

环境问题是人类不能回避的现实问题 ,以环境保护为目的的催化化学在解决环境保护问题中起着核心作用。本文从狭义上综述了除去SO2 、NOX、CO2 及N2 O等污染物质用的环保催化剂的种类和应用研究进展以及未来环保催化剂的研究发展方向。重点介绍了环保催化剂在脱硫、脱氮及净化汽车尾气方面的应用情况     

环保科技投入与环保产业发展的区域差异研究

采用多维区域差异指数衡量了 1994— 2 0 0 0年间环保科技投入的地区差异和 1996— 2 0 0 0年间环保产业年产值的地区间差异 ,得到了两者的年度变化趋势 ,并分析了近年来环保科技投入地区差异扩大的原因。     

论我国环境侵权救济法律制度的完善

环境侵权是随着工业化和城市化的发展而出现的新型侵权行为之一。随着中国经济的迅速发展，由环境污染和生态破坏造成的环境污染侵权现象及其救济已成为中国的一大社会问题。中国目前尚缺乏对环境侵权救济法律制度的全面深入研究，有关立法也不完善，而西方发达国家有关环境侵权救济法的理论和实践已经较为成熟。拟借鉴西方国家的环境侵权救济法律制度，并立足中国国情，提出了完善中国环境侵权救济法律制度的若干建议。     

A nexus between environmental literacy,environmental attitude and healthy living

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - It has been widely acknowledged that environmental literacy can provide a strong foundation for future environmental responsiveness, as well as help...     

The foundations of environmental decision-making

An account of judgement is developed, which is used to show that deliberative procedures can provide a substantially different input to environmental decision-making from that afforded by cost-benefit analysis and, specifically, by the method of contingent valuation. It is argued that environmental concern typically invokes values, which are in turn formed and expressed through the exercise of judgement – itself the outcome of a deliberative rather than a calculative process. It is concluded that environmental concern is more effectively articulated through deliberative procedures than through the method of cost-benefit analysis.     

Dwindling regional environmental pollution through industrial structure adjustment and higher education development

This paper uses Chinese provincial data from 2006 to 2021 as a sample period to study the relationship between higher education development, industrial structure adjustment, and environmental pollution. Conclusions were as follows: (1) the industry structure adjustment can reduce environmental pollution in Chinese regions except eastern, and the increase in the proportion of the tertiary industry will increase pollution emissions in the eastern region. (2) Although there is a negative correlation between higher education and environmental pollution in China, it is not significant. From different regions, the coefficients in the eastern are positive which means aggravated environmental pollution, and the coefficients in the central region are not significant, but higher education in the western region improves environmental pollution. (3) Urbanization has a significant moderating effect on the national and regional environmental pollution, but in the central and western regions, it is smaller than the eastern region; although environmental regulation has a certain inhibitory effect on environmental pollution, the coefficient in the eastern region is significantly positive, and there is a situation of “more pollution, more control.” Further, the increase of foreign direct investment will aggravate environmental pollution; although the elasticity coefficient in the eastern region is negative, there is a trend of improving environmental pollution, but it is not significant. The study holds promising implications for the development of policies related to education, industry, and the environment. Through the research on the relationship between the three, exploring and improving the regional environmental pollution level from the perspective of higher education and industrial structure have important practical significance for the regional green development.

     

Foreign direct investment,environmental regulation,and environmental pollution: an empirical study based on threshold effects for different Chinese regions

On the basis of previous studies on the relations among foreign direct investment (FDI), environmental regulation, and environmental pollution, this work uses provincial panel data from 2000 to 2014 to study the effects of FDI and environmental regulation on environmental pollution by applying the panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) method. This paper then utilizes environmental regulation as the threshold variable to estimate the threshold effects of environmental regulation on FDI’s influence on environmental pollution in a threshold regression model for the eastern, central, and western regions of China. The results show that stricter environmental regulation can substantially reduce the pollution in each region. FDI can decrease environmental pollution in the eastern and central regions, but it can increase pollution in the western region. There are double-threshold effects of environmental regulation on the effects of FDI on environmental pollution in each region. When the environmental regulation level is between the first threshold and the second threshold, FDI can decrease environmental pollution much more in the eastern and central regions and increase environmental pollution much less in the western region.

     

Would environmental pollution affect home prices? An empirical study based on China’s key cities

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the development of China’s economy, the problem of environmental pollution has become increasingly more serious, affecting the sustained...     

北京和上海典型复合包装废物处置环境影响比较

采用生命周期评价法研究比较了北京和上海两地纸塑铝复合包装处置阶段的环境影响。通过现场和资料调研的方式获得此阶段的能量物质的输入输出和环境外排数据。结果表明:北京和上海两地纸塑铝复合包装处置阶段的环境影响潜值分别为-0.428 Pt和9.776 Pt,其主要集中在气候变化、土地占用和无机物对健康的损害三方面;每提高10%的回收率,其环境影响潜值北京和上海可分别降低5.446 Pt和5.799 Pt;上海地区纸塑铝复合包装处置阶段对环境的影响在任何同回收率的情况都要高于北京地区,其主要原因是上海地区填埋产生的温室气体释放量过大和再生企业距离打包点较远。     

Meta-analysis of environmental contamination by alkylphenols

Alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APE) are toxics classified as endocrine-disrupting compounds; they are used in detergents, paints, herbicides, pesticides, emulsifiers, wetting and dispersing agents, antistatic agents, demulsifiers, and solubilizers. Many studies have reported the occurrence of alkylphenols in different environmental matrices, though none of these studies have yet to establish a comprehensive overview of such compounds in the water cycle within an urban environment. This review summarizes APE concentrations for all environmental media throughout the water cycle, from the atmosphere to receiving waters. Once the occurrence of compounds has been assessed for each environmental compartment (urban wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [WWTP], atmosphere, and the natural environment), data are examined in order to understand the fate of APE in the environment and establish their geographical and historical trends. From this database, it is clear that the environment in Europe is much more contaminated by APE compared to North America and developing countries, although these APE levels have been decreasing in the last decade. APE concentrations in the WWTP effluent of developed countries have decreased by a factor of 100 over the past 30?years. This study is aimed at identifying both the correlations existing between environmental compartments and the processes that influence the fate and transport of these contaminants in the environment. In industrial countries, the concentrations observed in waterways now represent the background level of contamination, which provides evidence of a past diffuse pollution in these countries, whereas sediment analyses conducted in developing countries show an increase in APE content over the last several years. Finally, similar trends have been observed in samples drawn from Europe and North America.     

The environmental impact of changing consumption patterns: a survey

How does environmental impact change when national income increases? So far, this question has been mainly discussed from the point of view of production, but in recent years several studies have dealt with the question of decoupling from the point of view of consumption. The optimistic subscribers to decoupling argue that, with increasing income, the composition of consumption changes in the direction of more environment-friendly goods and services. This paper discusses this hypothesis critically on the basis of several studies dealing with historical experience. First, it is argued that an overall assessment of the environmental impact is most appropriately based on an input approach. Then data on input intensities for different categories of consumption goods are combined with data on changes in consumption patterns, and it is concluded that the historical changes in the composition of consumption seem to have done little to counterbalance the environmental effects of growth.     

Evaluation of environmental monitoring strategies

In environmental monitoring, it is important that the monitoring system should emit early warnings when undesired events occur. These events may be sudden or of a more subtle nature. In the design of such monitoring systems, a proper balance between cost and risk must be achieved. There are 2 classic types of risk connected with early warning systems, namely the risk of not detecting significant changes and the risk of false alarms. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method for comparing the performance of different monitoring systems, considering the classic types of risk and cost. The method is applied to the monitoring of the lichen cover as a test case. The expected utility has been used as a measure of performance. When estimating the probabilities of the events, spatial microsimulation and Monte-Carlo simulation techniques have been used. The monitoring programs studied are based on satellite images, aerial photos, field samples, and land-cover maps. The major conclusions of this study are that standardized quality measures are extremely useful for evaluating the usability of environmental monitoring methods. In addition, when estimating gains and costs, spatial microsimulation techniques are useful. To improve the method, however, macroconstraints should also be used for aligning the simulation model.     

The process and mechanism of urban environmental change: an evolutionary view

This paper discusses how an evolutionary viewpoint can contribute to the understanding of the processes and mechanisms of urban environmental change. There are four major components in the urban environmental evolution concept: (a) cities can be viewed as complex systems that are subject to constant change, which constitutes a dynamic evolutionary process; (b) urban environmental profiles of cities are diverse, but there are certain commonalities in the longitudinal dynamics among different cities; (c) nevertheless, there is a strong non-linearity in the trajectories of the environmental evolution of cities, rather than there being a fixed common pattern; (d) the trajectory is shaped by a unique combination of endogenous and exogenous forces, reflecting both the outer pressures and the responses within the city. The evolutionary perspective has important policy implications by emphasising the possibility for cities in developing countries to follow a more environmentally sound pathway to sustainable development.     

环境影响后评价的最新进展与建议

结合《中华人民共和国环境影响评价法》的有关条款,探讨了环境影响后评价的概念、分类、适用对象、意义和内容,提出了环境影响后评价的管理和实施程序.结合多年的实践,分析了目前环境影响后评价工作在理论、方法和管理上存在的问题,提出了改进和完善的建议.案例实践表明,开展环境影响后评价有助于提高环境影响评价制度的有效性.     

环境科研论文撰写与发表的方法和策略

概要地介绍了中文环境科技核心期刊、美国《工程索引》（EI）和《科学引文索引》（SCI）收录中国科研论文的情况，以及两份知名英文环境期刊的论文评审标准。EI和SCI收录其来源期刊中英文摘要符合要求的论文。一篇好英文摘要有助于论文被国际环境期刊录用和增加论文的影响力。基于目前EI及SCI的来源期刊中缺少中文专业期刊，国内的环境科研人员可以先将其重要研发成果陆续在中文环境核心期刊上发表，形成系列文章，然后再融合这些文章，投寄英文国际环境期刊。这个策略可及时将研发成果公开发表，提高论文被国际期刊录用的几率，并增加中文环境核心期刊的知名度和声望。     

Integrated approach of environmental impact and risk assessment of Rosia Montana Mining Area, Romania

The environmental impact assessment of mining sites represents nowadays a large interest topic in Romania. Historical pollution in the Rosia Montana mining area of Romania caused extensive damage to environmental media. This paper has two goals: to investigate the environmental pollution induced by mining activities in the Rosia Montana area and to quantify the environmental impacts and associated risks by means of an integrated approach. Thus, a new method was developed and applied for quantifying the impact of mining activities, taking account of the quality of environmental media in the mining area, and used as case study in the present paper. The associated risks are a function of the environmental impacts and the probability of their occurrence. The results show that the environmental impacts and quantified risks, based on quality indicators to characterize the environmental quality, are of a higher order, and thus measures for pollution remediation and control need to be considered in the investigated area. The conclusion drawn is that an integrated approach for the assessment of environmental impact and associated risks is a valuable and more objective method, and is an important tool that can be applied in the decision-making process for national authorities in the prioritization of emergency action.     

Substance-related environmental monitoring

Background  Due to the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive and other legal regulations (e.g., national laws like the German Federal Soil Protection Act), but also due to the implementation of the new EU chemicals management system REACH, environmental monitoring will gain increasing importance for the surveillance of environmental quality as well as for the assessment of chemicals. Against this background, the Work Group on ‘Environmental Monitoring’ of the Division of ‘Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology’ within the German Chemical Society has compiled a position paper on substance-related environmental monitoring. Scope  Core elements of this position paper are the definitions of important terms like monitoring, exposure monitoring, effect monitoring, and integrated monitoring. Moreover, temporal and spatial aspects (monitoring of spatial distributions, trend monitoring, and retrospective monitoring) and their applications are discussed. The main focus of this position paper is the coverage of aspects which have to be observed for the preparation and implementation of a monitoring program. Essential is the clear specification of the targets of the monitoring which determine the development of the monitoring concept and its realization, e.g., if environmental media (compartments) or organisms are most appropriate as samples for the aim of the study. Of course, also the properties of the target substances are important (e.g., lipophilicity/bioaccumulation as pre-requisite for an exposure monitoring with organisms). Finally, the monitoring phases of sample planning, sampling, storage and transport of samples, selection of analytical methods, quality assurance measures as well as reporting are discussed. Perspectives  An important issue for the future is to link the quantification of chemicals in environmental compartments (exposure and pollution monitoring) more closely to the study of biological effects (effect monitoring) than has been the case up to now. Furthermore, by inclusion of a spatial differentiation, a comprehensive evaluation of the state of an ecosystem can be obtained and the relevance of the results improved. Practical examples of monitoring studies which illustrate various aspects covered in this position paper will be presented in a series of publications by members of the Work Group in the following issues of this journal.