Optimal Pollution Trading Without Pollution Reductions: A Note1

García, Jorge H., Matthew T. Heberling, and Hale W. Thurston, 2011. Optimal Pollution Trading Without Pollution Reductions: A Note. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):52‐58. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00476.x Abstract: Various kinds of water pollution occur in pulses (e.g., agricultural and urban runoff). Ecosystems, such as wetlands, can serve to regulate these pulses and smooth pollution distributions over time. This smoothing reduces total environmental damages when “instantaneous” damages are marginally increasing. This paper introduces a water quality trading model between a farm (a pulse‐pollution source) and a firm (a more steady pollution source) where the object of exchange is the “temporary” retention of runoff as opposed to total runoff reductions. The optimal trading ratio requires firm emissions to be offset by more than a proportional retention of the initial agricultural runoff pulse. The reason is twofold: (1) emissions are steady or constant over time and, in this sense, have relatively larger environmental impact; and (2) certain kinds of runoff management cause delayed environmental damages.     

城市公园湖泊污染治理实践

城市公园湖泊水体保护和水污染治理越来越受到人们的重视。公园内水体往往补充水源不足,自净能力脆弱,当受到污染,湖水会变黑发臭,破坏公园美景。深圳市东湖公园人工湖污染治理过程中结合了水利防洪、环境保护、园林绿化等措施进行综合治理,通过截污、清淤、补充水、湖泊堤岸及拦水橡胶坝的恢复等措施,使湖泊水质得到彻底改善。合理的设计使人工湖具有滞洪防洪功能,还可对公园内地下水起到调节和补充作用,清澈的湖水又使人工湖成为公园内秀丽的景点。该项目为城市公园湖泊污染综合治理进行了一次探索和实践。     

Pollution Control Policies and Natural Resource Dynamics: A Theoretical Analysis

Policies for the management of natural resources and the resources themselves interact to form complex systems. In this paper, we present a highly simplified model that can be used to study the general features of those systems. The model has three state variables, the abundance of the resource, environmental pollution, and the capital devoted to pollution control. We analyse it graphically using the singular perturbation approach. Two modes of behavior are possible; stationary and cyclic. When the abundance of the resources varies cyclically, the length of the period of resource scarcity depends on population size, economic activity, pollution per unit of output, and policy constraints. We distinguish between two classes of policies, one in which decision-makers base their investments in pollution control capital on the abundance of the resource, and another in which those decisions depend on the amount of pollution. We show that policies based on the observation of pollution are safer than those based on resource abundance, because in the latter case, small changes in policy variables can lead much more easily to a collapse of the resource. Increases in population size, even when accompanied by an equiproportional increase in the pollution control budget can lead to a change from stationary to cyclic behavior, especially where policies are based on resource abundance.     

Reducing Air Pollution from Urban Passenger Transport: A Framework for Policy Analysis

Air quality is declining in urban areas, in part because of the rapid motorization of societies world-wide. To combat the problem, various pollution control strategies have been used or proposed for urban passenger transport. This paper develops a simple framework to analyse the impact of these strategies. The paper examines the point of impact of different policy levers and categorizes different instruments in a way that should help policy makers choose between them. The framework explicitly recognizes behavioural incentives, especially the fact that offsetting changes in consumer behaviour can often undermine the original intent of particular policies. The paper concludes that policies aimed at improving transport efficiency often improve air quality at the same time. However, supply side policies to relieve traffic congestion can conflict with the objective of controlling air pollution. It is hence vital that policy makers are aware of the incentives created by different interventions and weigh the impact of these incentives on subsidiary objectives before adoption of particular policies.     

Landscape Planning for Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction I: A Geographical Allocation Framework

Agricultural nonpoint source pollution remains a persistent environmental problem, despite the large amount of money that has been spent on its abatement. At local scales, agricultural best management practices (BMPs) have been shown to be effective at reducing nutrient and sediment inputs to surface waters. However, these effects have rarely been found to act in concert to produce measurable, broad-scale improvements in water quality. We investigated potential causes for this failure through an effort to develop recommendations for the use of riparian buffers in addressing nonpoint source pollution in Wisconsin. We used frequency distributions of phosphorus pollution at two spatial scales (watershed and field), along with typical stream phosphorus (P) concentration variability, to simulate benefit/cost curves for four approaches to geographically allocating conservation effort. The approaches differ in two ways: (1) whether effort is aggregated within certain watersheds or distributed without regard to watershed boundaries (dispersed), and (2) whether effort is targeted toward the most highly P-polluting fields or is distributed randomly with regard to field-scale P pollution levels. In realistic implementation scenarios, the aggregated and targeted approach most efficiently improves water quality. For example, with effort on only 10% of a model landscape, 26% of the total P load is retained and 25% of watersheds significantly improve. Our results indicate that agricultural conservation can be more efficient if it accounts for the uneven spatial distribution of potential pollution sources and the cumulative aspects of environmental benefits.     

四川省环境污染经济损失与污染治理投资比例探讨

环境保护同经济建设和社会发展相协调,是我国环境保护的基本原则。本文从环境保护与经济发展的相互关系出发,比较实际地估计了我省各种污染排放物及造成的经济损失,探讨了环保治理资金社会投入的比例问题。     

全民行动,打一场治理污染的攻坚战

2014年“6·5”世界环境日中国主题为“向污染宣战”,旨在体现我们党和国家对治理污染紧迫性和艰巨性的清醒认识,彰显以人为本、执政为民的宗旨情怀和强烈的责任担当精神,倡导全社会共同行动,打一场治理污染的攻坚战,努力改善环境质量,保卫我们赖以生存的共同家园。     

Processes in Pollution Management: An Australian Model

/ This paper describes a model of the social and institutional processes involved in the solution of major pollution problems from the time they are first identified until they are resolved. The model is empirically demonstrated using four case studies of water and air pollution problems from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Each process of the model is quantified by the use of an indicator, e.g., number of articles in newspapers to measure the process "publicconcern," number of pages of text devoted to parliamentary debates to measure the process "political action." The case study data are presented on a time-line graph that shows the duration and magnitude of each process. The paper illustrates three aspects of the solution of major pollution problems: the long time frames involved, the importance of public opinion in initiating the solution process, and the partial nature of solutions-problems may be politically resolved but often a complete solution is not achieved. An understanding of social and institutional processes and time frames will enable planners and policy makers to communicate to the public and politicians the consequences of delay in acting to solve pollution and to direct attention to critical areas to expedite solutions.KEY WORDS: Pollution problems; Management process model; Performance indicators; Air pollution; Water pollution     

Air Pollution Potential: Regional Study in Argentina

/ Air pollution potential is a measure of the atmospheric conditions that are unable to transport and dilute pollutants into the air, independently of the existence of sources. This potential can be determined from two atmospheric parameters: mixing height and transport wind. In this paper a statistical analysis of the mixing height and transport wind, in order to determine the areas with high or poor atmospheric ventilation in Argentina, is presented. In order to achieve this, meteorological data registered during 1979-1982 at eight meteorological stations were used. Daily values of the maximum mixing height were calculated from observations of daily temperatures at different heights and maximum surface temperature. At the same time as the maximum mixing height, the values of the transport wind were determined from the surface windspeed and the characteristics of the ground in the surroundings of each meteorological station. The mean seasonal values for both parameters were obtained. Isopleths of the mean seasonal of the maximum mixing heights were drawn. The percentage of seasonal frequencies of poor ventilation conditions were calculated and the frequency isopleths were also drawn to determine areas with minor and major relative frequencies. It was found that the northeastern and central-eastern regions of Argentina had a high air pollution potential during the whole year. Unfavorable atmospheric ventilation conditions were also found in the central-western side of the country during the cold seasons (37.5% in autumn and 56.9% in winter). The region with the greatest atmospheric ventilation is located south of 40 degrees S, where the frequency of poor ventilation varies between 8.0% in summer and 10.8% in winter.     

环境污染成本计量方法探讨

文章介绍了目前环境经济学对环境污染成本计量方法的分类情况及6种常用的计量方法。     

Reducing car-based journeys to work: What potential is there and whose responsibility is it?

To date the transport solutions seeking to reduce traffic impacts have tended to focus on city/town centres. There has, however, been a substantial increase in traffic levels both in and to suburban areas and the location of large employment sites in such areas has had a significant impact. The typical policy response to traffic in these areas has been the introduction of traffic calming measures and residents' parking but such policies do not address the fundamental issue of travel generation and its consequences (including parking). Major employers should have an important role to play in the consideration of more sensible and sustainable uses of the car including the promotion of alternatives to car use. Using a case study at a large institution in Oxford this paper examines findings from a survey into staff travel behaviour in order to identify how staff currently behave. It explores the potential for transport and non-transport solutions to reduce car-based journeys to work and concludes that there is real potential to encourage a reduction in car-based travel. The paper seeks to widen the debate about who should take responsibility for achieving such a reduction. It argues that whilst travel awareness campaigns primarily push responsibility onto individuals an 'integrated package' is required with employers also assuming responsibility and thereby enabling individuals to adapt.     

Using the guild concept in the assessment of tree harvesting effects on understory herbs: A cautionary note

To help determine whether plants should be grouped into guilds for environmental impact assessment, the responses of six members of a guild of deciduous forest herbs to selective tree harvesting were compared. Harvesting operations themselves (tree cutting and skidding) had little effect on five of the six species but the sixth species decreased more in cut plots than in uncut plots. Subsequent microclimatic changes, resulting from tree cutting, also affected guild members differently. In the first year after cutting, two species increased more in cut plots than in uncut plots, while three other species did not change in frequency of occurrence and the sixth species decreased more in cut plots than in uncut plots. This inconsistent response of guild members to tree harvesting suggests that caution should be exercised in using guilds to assess plant response to environmental change.