Recycling – the importance of understanding the complexity of the issue

Natural resources and raw materials such as metals and minerals are often taken for granted in today’s society. Without them, the offerings of an enormous variety of modern conveniences, including computers and mobile phones, would not be possible. The production of these everyday items depends on a secure, sustainable, and reliable supply of critical raw materials. In addition, product development also requires new hybrid materials when targeting lightweight structures, etc. However, the mandatory recyclability of new products or materials is not obligatory or even prevailing practice in present manufacturing business. Therefore, the main research question in this article is: “how to solve the challenge of recycling in industrial system?” In this article, a comprehensive approach to recycling based on the findings of research projects is presented. Simplified, this involves moving the challenge from the end of the product’s life cycle to the beginning, to the design or even to material development phases. Life cycle and system thinking and material know-how in the design phase are found to be essential elements of a new approach to recycling. This approach stems from the material development and market economy perspectives. Furthermore, the vulnerability of the industrial system to create uncertainty to recycling is also demonstrated.     

Coastal vulnerability assessment of the predicted sea level rise in the coastal zone of Krishna–Godavari delta region,Andhra Pradesh,east coast of India

The Krishna–Godavari coastal region in east coast of India has a 525.15-km-long coastline with low-lying tidal mudflats, beaches, mangrove swamp, creek and tidal channels. Recently, the increasing frequency of tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, i.e., Phylin and Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh coast, and the devastating impact of the 2004 tsunami in India increased the significance in assessing the vulnerability of the coastal lands to inundation and flooding, notably in the context of climate change-induced sea level rise. This study aims to estimate a coastal vulnerability index (CVI) for the coastal subregion of Krishna–Godavari delta and to use the calculated index to evaluate the vulnerability of 14 coastal talukas of the Krishna–Godavari delta region. This CVI is calculated by using four geological and three physical parameters characterizing the vulnerability of the study coastal region, including regional slope, coastal elevation, geomorphology, significant wave height, mean tidal range and relative sea level using different conventional and remotely sensed data. Using a composite coastal vulnerability index based on the relative risk rating of those parameters, each of the 14 coastal talukas was classified according to their vulnerability. The CVI results depict that coasts are least and most vulnerable to inundation, flooding and erosion of coastal lands where geological parameters are more efficient to CVI. The paper alerts to decision makers and planners to mitigate the natural disaster and manage the coastal zone and is a primary step toward prioritizing coastal lands for climate change adaptation strategies in the view of increased storminess and projected sea level rise.     

Uncertainty,Irreversibility and the Timing Problems of Environmental Policy

Most environmental issues and policy designing are uncertain and irreversible;therefore,the timing of environmental policy implementation becomes especially important.This paper establishes a random dynamic programming model and analyzes the optimal timing problems in environmental policy under uncertain variables.This model results indicate that two variables have a significant impact on the timing of environmental policy implementation and they work in opposite directions:on one hand,the more uncertain the economy is,the higher the cost of policies implementation will be,and consequently the incentive to immediately adopt the policy will be stronger.On the other hand,the higher the uncertainty of the environment is,the stronger the irreversibility of ecological harm caused by pollutants per unit will be.Therefore,the government should implement new environmental policies as early as possible in order to gain more ecological benefits.     

The contribution of the sciences,technology and innovation to sustainable development: the application of sustainability science from the perspective of UNESCO’s experience

The contribution of scientific knowledge and innovation to sustainability is demonstrated. Theory, discoveries, programmes and activities in both the natural as well as social sciences fields have greatly helped with the environmental, economic and social challenges of the past and current centuries, especially in the past 50 years or so. Nowadays, we increasingly realize the intimate link between science and society, and the need not only for science to inform policy but also to address requests by governments and the multiple stakeholders confronted with the challenge to achieve sustainable development. Current barriers to how science is conceived and related education is delivered hamper true interdisciplinarity, and the emerging field of sustainability science attempts inter alia to clarify how ‘a new generation of science’ can be designed so as to promote more integrated thinking to tackle complex societal issues. At the international level, and more specifically in the context of the United Nations, the practice of science has always entailed the need to solve problems such as climate change, ozone depletion, disaster risk, lack of food security, biodiversity loss, social instability and ineffective governance—to cite a few. In this regard, science in an intergovernmental context is by definition science that has to assist with the struggle for sustainability. Yet, a higher level of integration and cross-fertilization among disciplines as well as of participation among concerned stakeholders in the design and implementation of science-based programmes and activities carried out by the United Nations (and, in this article, the specific case of its Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization—UNESCO—is presented) seems to be needed. The debate on sustainability science carried out in the academic circle and the experience of UNESCO in this area can be mutually supportive in further elucidating how, practically, the approach of sustainability science can enhance the achievement of sustainable development at multiple scales.     

Analysis of the Difference of the Basic Pension by Regions

Nowadays, the disparity of the basic pension in local regions of China can be described as follows: the low level of the unification of the basic pension systems, the large disparity of the level of the basic pension, and unfairness of the enterprises’ payment for the basic pension in different local regions in China. These have already brought many negative influences, which have greatly held back the development of the society and national economy. We should build the basic pension system in all local regions of China as a whole, which can cover all people and decrease the disparity in different local regions in China.     

On the Law Right of the Gas Water of Water Resources

With the development of science and technology, the researches and application of water resources including the gas water have been constantly developed. Through an analysis on the flaws of the water right theory, and by executing reconstruction and renewal of the theory and system of water right in modem society, the water right position of the gas water will be established, leading to the maturity of the whole law effectiveness and substantial results of water right.     

Reproduction of the Siberian spruce in the timberline ecotone of the Iremel’ Massif

Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of cones and seeds and the emergence and survival of seedlings in the Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) were studied in different parts of the timberline ecotone on the Iremel’ Massif, the Southern Urals, from 2003 to 2006. In the productive year 2003, a decrease in the number of cones (from 110000 to 3000 per hectare), the yield of seeds (from 13 × 10⁶ to 0.09 × 10⁶ per hectare), and their laboratory germination rate (from 34 to 14%) with an increase in elevation above sea level was recorded. In 2004, significant differences in the number of seedlings per hectare were revealed between the lower, middle, and upper parts of the ecotone (85 200, 19 800, and 0–400 ind., respectively). It has been shown that the greater part of seedlings (76–96%) perish during the first cold period. New generations of spruce trees are formed only after productive years. Seed production and seedling mortality in spruce apparently depend not only on air temperature and soil moistening but also on snow depth and soil temperature, which change more abruptly along the altitudinal gradient.     

Decomposition of factors influencing carbon emissions in the region of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei,based on the perspective of terminal energy consumption

In order to analyze the factors influencing carbon emissions in the region of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei and to explore the pathways to developing a low-carbon economy, this paper begins with the terminal energy consumption of three industries and residential consumption, and constructs an identical equation which is composed of population size, level of economic development, energy intensity, the proportion of energy consumption, energy structure, and the coefficient of carbon emissions. Based on the data of terminal energy consumption during 2000–2012, various factors are analyzed and their contribution is measured by Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI). The results show that the levels of population and economy have a positive driving effect while energy intensity, energy structure, and carbon intensity have a negative driving effect; the proportion of energy consumption had a negative driving effect prior to 2006, then changed to positive. Among suggestions for a low-carbon economy are controlling population size, improving the quality of economic development, supporting research into new energy technology, accelerating regional integration and optimizing industrial structure, and enhancing environmental protection and spreading the concept of a low-carbon economy.     

The recovery of the lower montane cloud forest in the Mucujún watershed, Mérida, Venezuela

High deforestation rates in tropical countries continue to reduce forest cover and thereby habitat quantity and quality. However, in some places the forest is recovering and expanding thus offsetting the biodiversity and ecosystem service losses. In order to characterize the forest recovery, land use and land cover (LUC) changes were analyzed using aerial photographs, taken between 1952 and 2009, of a peri-urban watershed in the Andes region of Venezuela. The qualities of the changes were assessed using landscape indices and hemeroby indicators. In that period, the forest cover increased about 18 %, mainly due to abandoned pastures on steep slopes. At the same time, the urban area expanded about 4 % on valley bottoms, while pastures and crop fields were reduced about 20 %. The results also showed that forest patches were aggregating, whereas pastures were fragmenting. A reduction in direct human impacts on forests growing on abandoned pastures resulted in a slight recovery of the lower montane cloud forest structure and plant composition. But non-native species were found in all LUC categories. During the study period, we documented not only forest recovery, but also urban area growth, intensified land use and invasions by non-native species all of which could partially counterbalance the positives of forest recovery.     

Sustainability assessment in the Brazilian Amazon: the municipalities of the state of Amapá

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Although sustainability assessment is widely discussed at Brazil, in Brazilian Amazon its use is still little applied, considering this territory is...     

Evolution and interaction of ecological civilization construction pattern from the perspective of path dependence–based on the panel data of Jiangsu Province,China

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Ecological civilization is an advanced form after industrial civilization. Improving China's ecological civilization system will provide developing...     

Migration of radium from the thorium ore deposit of Morro do Ferro,Poços de Caldas,Brazil

A large thorium ore deposit is located in Morro do Ferro, a hill in the Poços de Caldas Plateau, Minas Gerais, Brazil, which contains an estimated 30 000 t of Th and 100 t of U in a highly weathered matrix exposed to erosion and leaching. ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁶Ra were analyzed in surface waters collected at various points in the drainage basin and in groundwaters from wells drilled through and around the ore body. The concentrations in groundwater demonstrated that radium is markedly leached by rainwater percolating through the ore body. In its transit underground, radium is removed from groundwater by sorption on soil particles and this natural process greatly reduces the radium discharged to the environment. In dry weather, the concentration of dissolved ²²⁸Ra in the main stream draining the Morro do Ferro is 7·0 ± 1·1 mBq litre⁻¹ and in a control stream 1·6 ± 0·3 mBq litre⁻¹. The estimated ²²⁸Ra mobilization rate by solubilizations is of the order of 10⁻⁷ y⁻¹.     

Will the application of Ammonium-Ferric-Hexacyano-Ferrate enhance the vertical migration of radiocaesium?

The consideration of a possible enhanced vertical migration of radiocaesium with the application of ammonium-ferric-hexacyano-ferrate (AFCF) as countermeasure, due to the colloidal nature of AFCF, made us set up a series of migration experiments. For the study two soil types were considered, which were either left unplanted or cultivated with ryegrass. Two AFCF concentrations, 1 and 10 g m^-2, and an untreated control were applied. A simple diffusion–convection model was fitted to the data.The application of AFCF did not enhance the downward migration of radiocaesium in the profile. Moreover, for an unplanted sandy soil the application of AFCF significantly retarded the migration: 10 g AFCF m^-2 decreased the convection term, V, from 0·78 to 0·42 cm a^-1 and the diffusion component, D, from 0·21 to 0·09 cm² a^-1. For all other experimental conditions (unplanted loamy soil, ryegrass cultivated sandy and loamy soil), the application of AFCF did not have any effect on radiocaesium migration. Since AFCF does not promote the vertical migration of radiocaesium, enhanced groundwater contamination is improbable.     

“Single-minded,compelling, and unique”: Visual Communications,Landscape, and the Calculated Aesthetic of Place Branding

Place branding strategies play a significant role in the professional composition of landscape imagery, including the depiction of “natural” landscapes. In this paper, Brand Blue Mountains, a brand currently implemented in the Blue Mountains region (Australia), is discursively analyzed. The brand sets out an all-encompassing “Vision” defining the identity, values and personality of the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains landscape, summarized in the tagline Elevate Your Senses. This “vision” is visually translated into a strictly coordinated and copyrighted suite of logos, graphic design, color, fonts and various photographic styles. Analysis reveals that the degree of control that place brand strategists seek to exert over the visual expression of landscape identity is significant. A highly selective narrative of positive nature-based sensory experience is constructed through the holistic application of contemporary visual media. The brands' communications strategy naturalizes and reinforces a particular market-friendly version of place. The framework that brands set for the representation of landscapes overall amounts to an exercise in calculated aesthetics, whereby the form and content of landscape images of various kinds is measured to achieve the greatest market differentiation and impact which technologies allow. The result of this calculated aesthetic system, with its taglines, saturated color, careful composition and magazine-format brevity, is a reduction in the complexity of landscape representations and a perpetuation of nature stereotypes.     

Development of the Greening of Industrial Firms in the Cities along Taihu Lake： A Case Study in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province

Under the globalization, the coastal China becomes a hot area of the international manufacturing investment due to its priority location, excellent environment, lower labor and land costs, etc. However, the fast industrialization has aroused the great demolishment to the local ecological environment. For example, the heavy water eutrophication in Taihu Lake has affected the source of drinking water for the cities around the lake. Anyway, in order to keep the economic increase and reduce the resource ex- pense and pollution at the same time, it is necessary to encourage the greening of industrial enterprises actively for sustainable de- velopment. On the basis of the investigation of industrial enter- prises in Wuxi city within Taihu Basin, the relatively developed region in coastal China, this paper analyzed the development process of green industry. This article concluded that governmen- tal principal is the main pressure for enterprises to protect envi- ronment while the market factor plays a part role. Moreover, en- terprises in the high technology development zone work better in environmental protection than those in the villages and towns, while the large enterprises work better than those small enterprises.     

Reintroduction of the european bison into the forest ecosystem of the Orlovskoe Poles’e National Park

The forest ecosystem of the Orlovskoe Polese National Park has been studied in reference to the reintroduction of a rare species: the European bison (Bison bonasus L.). Preliminary data characterizing the state of forest resources and the populations of ungulates living in the forests, as well as the genetic problems associated with maintaining a viable population of the European bison, are considered.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 2, 2005, pp. 132–137.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Belousova, Smirnov, Kazmin, Kudrjavtsev.     

Moving beyond the linear model of expertise? IPCC and the test of adaptation

In early 2009, few would have expected that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would come under such massive attack. The IPCC had enjoyed a pristine reputation and had even advanced to become a role model for biodiversity and food security assessments (Loreau et al. 2006; Watson 2005). However, public trust and, with it, the organization’s credibility eroded dramatically after November 2009 with the events that became known as ‘climategate’. This article seeks to contribute to current debates about how to reform the IPCC. It argues that there are major flaws in the design of the IPCC which are rooted in the linear model of expertise and which are helping to stoke the backlash against the IPCC. The article analyzes the ways in which the IPCC’s activities conform to the linear model of expertise and considers the consequences of this for integrating adaptation into the IPCC assessments. It explains why adaptation played only a marginal role up until the IPCC Third Assessment Report. It then demonstrates why the use of the linear model of expertise constrains the scientific and political debate about adaptation and leads to proxy debates about scientific evidence, which result in depoliticizing the politics of adaptation and politicizing science. Finally, the article calls for the debate to be opened up to accommodate alternatives that are both politically more feasible and at the same time more appropriate to the specific needs of adaptation policies at different levels of decision-making.