中央环保督察促进重污染企业绿色创新了吗？——来自上市企业绿色专利数据的证据

作为中国环境治理领域的重大制度革新,中央环保督察能否促进重污染企业绿色创新对未来中国深化环境治理体系和推动工业绿色转型具有重要参考意义。本文基于2007—2018年中国A股上市工业企业的绿色专利数据,采用双重差分模型（DID）考察中央环保督察对重污染企业绿色创新的影响。研究发现,中央环保督察显著提升了重污染企业的绿色创新水平,且该结论在一系列稳健性检验后依然成立。研究表明,中央环保督察通过提高地方环境执法力度促进企业绿色创新,并且这种促进作用只在非国有企业样本和高环境规制水平地区样本中显著。相较于数量,绿色创新质量的提升对于绿色转型更为关键。在高环境规制水平地区,中央环保督察还带来了当地重污染企业绿色创新质量的显著提升。本文为中央环保督察的绿色创新效应评估提供了基于企业层面的经验证据,并据此提出政策建议。     

市场分割对长江经济带能源环境效率影响研究

基于要素资源配置效应、技术创新效应和竞争效应,本文梳理了市场分割对长江经济带能源环境效率的影响机制,基于省际面板数据实证检验,发现:长江经济带能源环境效率随着市场分割程度存在显著倒"U"形关系;在规模报酬递减作用下,市场分割对长江经济带能源环境效率的影响从提升转变为抑制。未来破除长江经济带能源环境效率提升瓶颈的关键在于研发投入、对外开放水平以及市场融合。另外,分样本回归表明市场分割导致长江经济带中游地区能源环境效率存在"中部塌陷"的风险。由此,加强研发资金的精准投入、提升对外开放度和中游地区支撑力,以及增强长江经济带生态协同是长江经济带提升能源环境效率的重要突破口。     

环境规制对城市生态技术扩散效率的影响研究

生态技术扩散是长江经济带生态文明建设的必要环节,也是企业履行环保责任的有效措施。本文以长江经济带110个地级及以上城市为研究对象,采用非径向方向距离函数对城市工业企业生态技术扩散效率进行测算,分别从整体和区域异质性角度实证分析环境规制对城市工业企业生态技术扩散效率的影响及内在机理。结果表明：长江经济带城市环境规制与生态技术扩散效率存在倒“U”形关系,环境规制对生态技术扩散效率还存在多重影响路径,外商直接投资和工业集聚在影响路径中分别起着中介作用,且外商直接投资和工业集聚的链式中介显著。在异质性分析中,发现环境规制、外商直接投资、工业集聚和生态技术扩散效率之间的关系因区域位置不同而存在差异性。为此,依据研究结论及环境规制实施现状提出相应的政策建议,实现长江经济带经济永续绿色发展目标。     

环境规制视角下中国海洋产业转型研究

环境规制和创新直接决定了我国产业结构转型的速度和方向。基于我国沿海11省市2006—2014年面板数据,采用产业结构超前系数、More值和门槛回归模型,从方向和速度两个维度对我国海洋产业转型升级水平进行测度。结果表明:在产业转型方向上,沿海地区正向第三产业转型,2010年以后1/2省份的产业转型速度加快。在此基础上,构建门槛回归模型检验技术创新在环境规制促进海洋产业转型的中介作用。结果显示,在海洋技术创新水平制约下环境规制对海洋产业转型升级存在倒"U"型双重门槛效应。因此,政府在制定环境规制政策提升海洋产业转型水平时,应充分考虑海洋技术创新水平对环境规制效果的影响。     

长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率的时空演变及其影响因素研究

本文选取1998—2015年30个省份数据,采用超效率SBM模型测算全国、长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率;采用门槛效应模型研判长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率的影响因素.研究发现:1998—2015年长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率大于全国工业废气污染治理效率;长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率与全国工业废气污染治理效率的演变轨迹相似;长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率空间格局从"两极分化型"向"过渡型"演变;长江经济带沿线11省份工业废气污染治理效率与重工业占比呈负相关;当人均GDP较小时,长江经济带工业废气污染治理效率与工业化率、地方法规颁布件数、环境污染与破坏总次数呈负相关,与群众因污染来信数呈正相关;当人均GDP跨过门槛阈值拐点后,相关关系反之.为进一步推动长江经济带高质量发展,应加强中央与地方政府合作共促工业污染防控治理,推动重化工业绿色发展,加强媒体对废气污染的长期有效监督,推动建立科学有效的"三方共治"体系.     

排污权交易政策对绿色创新效率的影响研究

在现有环境污染严重的背景下绿色转型成为经济发展的必要,为解决发展中的污染问题政府采取环境规制政策进行干预,环境规制政策的评价标准不仅要保护环境同时也要兼顾经济发展。目前关于检验排污权交易政策对绿色发展的影响研究较少。本文基于中国2004—2018年30个省份面板数据,通过双重差分法（DID）等实证检验排污权交易政策的实施效果和作用机制,并且采用PSM-DID等方法进行稳健性检验。研究发现：排污权交易政策的实施不仅减少了污染物SO₂的排放,而且对工业绿色创新效率具有显著促进作用,有效推动经济可持续发展;通过作用机制分析可知,排污权交易政策提高绿色创新效率的作用途径是加大研发投入,并没有通过调整产业结构提高绿色创新效率;异质性分析表明在强环境规制下排污权政策的实施效果更好。中国政府有必要继续推动建设排污权交易政策的全国化,发挥政府激励作用,促使企业加大研发投入,提升绿色创新效率,推动经济可持续发展。本文从绿色创新效率的新视角检验了排污权交易政策的实施效果,有助于区域绿色发展的同时也为制定和完善排污权交易政策提供借鉴和参考。     

基于EBM模型的长江经济带工业用水效率时空差异及影响因素分析

工业化进程的加快使得工业水资源需求不断增加,工业废水排放量也越来越大,如何提高工业用水效率从而缓解水资源压力成为日益严峻的问题。本文选取工业用水量、工业就业人数、工业固定资本和工业废水治理费用作为投入指标,以工业增加值与工业废水排放量作为期望与非期望产出指标。首先利用EBM模型计算长江经济带2008—2017年工业用水效率,其次利用泰尔指数来分析工业用水效率的区域差距,最后利用面板Tobit模型来分析影响不同地区工业用水效率的驱动因素。结果显示,近年来长江经济带的工业用水效率呈波动下降趋势,不同地区效率差异明显;经济发展水平、工业化程度、技术水平、水资源禀赋和政府环境管制力度对长江经济带的工业用水效率都有一定影响,但存在地区差异。     

空间溢出视角下的环境规制与绿色发展——困境还是协调？

绿色发展是未来经济发展的必然趋势，提升绿色全要素生产率是实现绿色发展的重要途径，环境规制是解决环境问题的有效保障。本文采用2004—2019年30个省级面板数据，构建动态空间杜宾模型，实证研究了环境总体规制、工业废气规制、工业废水规制、工业固体废物规制和光污染规制对绿色全要素生产率的空间溢出影响。研究发现，环境总体规制对本地绿色全要素生产率的影响呈U形，工业废气规制、工业废水规制和工业固体废物规制的研究结果存在同一规律，而光污染规制起抑制作用。总体规制对邻地绿色全要素生产率的影响呈倒U形，具体规制的影响各不相同，工业废气规制与总体规制的结果类似，而工业废水规制的空间溢出效应表现为负，工业固体废物规制和光污染规制的空间溢出效应不显著。本文从实证角度验证了“绿水青山”和“金山银山”的兼容性，环境规制和效率提升并不矛盾。在制定环境政策时，需考虑区域间的相互协调和实际产业情况。     

环境规制、技术创新与企业绩效——基于石化行业VOCs排污收费政策的准自然实验

文章以2015—2019年中国石化行业337家上市公司为研究样本,运用双重差分模型验证了当期环境规制对后一期企业绩效的正向影响。进一步的中介效应检验发现,环境规制主要通过技术创新促进企业绩效的提高,从而验证了中国石化行业“波特假说”的存在。此外文章还发现环境规制影响企业绩效的效果及作用机制存在显著的区域差异,东、中部地区表现出显著正向影响,均支持“波特假说”,西部地区则影响不明显。基于上述研究,文章认为促进石化行业的绿色低碳发展,需进一步加大石化行业生态环境保护的政策实施力度、促进石化行业企业的科技投入并注重区域差异。     

组态视角下减污降碳政策工具对环境规制效率的驱动机制——基于中国30个省份的fsQCA实证分析

减污降碳是环境规制效率提升的标志,是实现污染控制和环境质量改善的重要抓手和突破口,探究减污降碳政策工具驱动环境规制效率提升的内在机理,对于推进“双碳”目标实现具有重要意义。以2012—2022年中国30个省份数据为研究对象,借助模糊集定性比较分析法（fsQCA）探析命令控制型、市场激励型和自愿参与型政策工具促进环境规制效率提升的多元路径组合。结果发现：减污降碳政策工具在提升全国环境规制效率方面呈现4种组合模式,且分别与中国东、中、西部地区的实施效果相匹配,未来将呈现多元政策工具组合协同发力的态势;命令控制型政策工具在提升中西部地区环境规制效率中发挥主导作用,中部地区尤为明显;自愿参与型工具则更多依赖命令控制型、市场激励型工具发挥政策组合作用,在西部地区发挥效力较弱。不同的环境规制效率驱动效果会带来差异化的政策工具组合,以此为不同地区提供政策建议。     

AN APPLICATION RUNOFF MODEL STRATEGY FOR UNGAGED WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: Mathematical models for predicting watershed surface flow responses are available, most of which are elaborate nonlinear numerical surface and channel flow models linked with infiltration models. Such models may be used to make predictions for ungaged areas, assuming an acceptable fitting of the model to the topography and roughness of the real system. For some application purposes, these models are impractical because of their complexity and expensive computer solutions. A procedure is developed that uses a complex model of an ungaged area to derive a simpler parametric nonlinear system model for repetitious simulation with input sequences. The predicted flow outputs are obtained with the simpler model at significant savings of money and time. The procedures for constructing a complex kinematic model of a 40 acre (161,880 m²) reference watershed and deriving the simpler system model are outlined. The results of predictions from both models are compared with a selected set of measured events, all having essentially the same initial conditions. Peak discharges ranged from 3 to 118 ft³/sec (0.085 to 3.34 m³/sec), which includes the largest event of record. The inherent limitations of lumped systems models are demonstrated, including the bias caused by their inability to model infiltration losses after rainfall ceases. Computer costs and times for the models were compared. The derived simple model has a cost advantage when repeated use of a model is required. Such an applications hydrologic model has an engineering tradeoff of reduced accuracy, and lumping bias, but is more economical for certain design purposes.     

Conversion of temperate forests into heaths: Role of ecosystem disturbance and ericaceous plants

Fire and logging in nutrient-poor temperate forests with certain ericaceous understory plants may convert the forests into heaths. The process of disturbance-induced heath formation is documented by using examples ofCalluna in western Europe,Kalmia in Newfoundland, andGaultheria (salal) in coastal British Columbia. In a cool, temperate climate, rapid vegetative growth ofCalluna, Kalmia, and salal following disturbance results in increasing organic accumulation (paludification), nutrient sequestration, soil acidification, and allelochemicals. These are thought to be the main reasons to conifer regeneration failure in disturbed habitats. If continuation in forest is a land-use objective, then temperate forests with an ericaceous understory should not be logged unless effective silvicultural methods are devised to control the ericaceous plants and restore forest regeneration. Preharvest vegetation control may be considered as an option. Failure to control the understory plants may lead to a long-term vegetation shift, from forest to heathland, particularly in nutrient-poor sites. Successful methods of controllingKalmia andGaultheria, however, have yet to be developed. While theKalmia- andGaultheria- dominated heathlands are undesirable in Canada and the Pacific Northwest, a wide range ofCalluna heathlands of western Europe are being conserved as natural and seminatural vegetation.     

BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ESTUARINE/COASTAL POLLUTION1

ABSTRACT: Sustained interest in and concern about the health status of the aquatic environment has resulted in extensive research focused on (1) effects of pollution on survival, growth, and reproduction of resource species at all life stages; (2) diseases of fish and shellfish, as they may be related to pollution and as they may serve as indicators of environmental stress; and (3) contaminant body burdens in fish and shellfish - their effects on the aquatic animals and their potential effects on humans. Effects, lethal and sublethal, of pollutants on life history stages of fish and shellfish have been documented, as have impacts on local stocks in badly degraded habitats, but as yet there has been no adequate quantitative demonstration of effects on entire aquatic species - probably because of the difficulty in sorting out relative effects of the many environmental factors that influence abundance. Sublethal effects, especially those that result in disease, have been examined intensively, and some diseases and disease syndromes have been associated statistically with pollution. Other pollution indicators (biochemical, physiological, genetic, behavioral, and ecological) have also received some attention, as have body burdens of contaminants in aquatic species. Research, especially that conducted during the past decade, has done much to clarify the many pathways and toxic effects of contaminants on aquatic animals, and has also helped to identify mechanisms for survival of fish and shellfish in the presence of environmental changes caused by human activities.     

Using Paleo Reconstructions to Improve Streamflow Forecast Lead Time in the Western United States

In water stressed regions, water managers are exploring new horizons that would help in long‐range streamflow forecasts. Oceanic‐atmospheric oscillations have been shown to influence streamflow variability. In this study, long‐lead time streamflow forecasts are made using a multiclass kernel‐based data‐driven support vector machine (SVM) model. The extended streamflow records based on tree ring reconstructions were used to provide a longer time series data. Reconstructed data were used from 1658 to 1952 and the instrumental record was used from 1953 to 2007. Reconstructions for oceanic‐atmospheric oscillations included the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and North Atlantic Oscillation. Streamflow forecasts using all four oscillations were made with one‐year to five‐year lead times for 21 gages in the western United States. This is the first study that uses both instrumental and reconstructed data of oscillations in SVM model to improve streamflow forecast lead time. SVM model was able to provide “satisfactory” to “very good” forecasts with one‐ to five‐year lead time for the selected gages. The use of all the oscillation indices helped in achieving better predictability compared to using individual oscillations. The SVM modeling results are better when compared with multiple linear regression model forecasts. The findings are statistical in nature and are expected to be useful for long‐term water resources planning and management.     

Journalists' views of advertiser pressures on agricultural news

All major journalism ethical codes explicitly state that journalists should protect editorial copy from undue influence by outside sources. However, much of the previous research on agricultural information has concentrated on what information various media communicate (gatekeeping studies) or communication's role in increasing innovation adoption (diffusion studies). Few studies have concentrated specifically on organizational and structural constraints that might adversely affect agricultural journalists' ethical standards; those that have, focus largely on farm magazines. A study of newspaper reporters who cover agricultural news found that the most pressing ethical concern is the effect of advertiser (agri-business) pressure on editorial copy, and that their concerns in general parallel those of farm magazine writers and editors. The majority reported being in situations in which they might be exposed to advertiser pressure, including pressures to change or withhold editorial copy. Large minorities suggested that advertising pressures affect the overall environment in which agricultural journalists work, and more than one in ten said they allow advertiser pressures to influence editorial decisions. The newspaper reporters who cover agricultural beats showed slightly more resistance to advertiser pressure than did farm magazine editors in a parallel study.     

Definition Procedures Have Little Effect on Performance of Environmental Classifications of Streams and Rivers

Mapped environmental classifications are defined using various procedures, but there has been little evaluation of the differences in their ability to discriminate variation in independent ecological characteristics. We tested the performance of environmental classifications of the streams and rivers of France that had been defined from the same environmental data using geographic regionalization and numerical classification of individual river valley segments. Test data comprised invertebrate assemblages, water chemistry, and hydrological indexes obtained from sites throughout France. Classification performance was measured by analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Geometric regions defined by a regular grid and without regard to environmental variables and a posteriori classifications based on clustering the test datasets defined lower and upper bounds of performance for a given number of classes. Differences in classification performances were generally small. The ANOSIM statistics for the a posteriori classifications were around twice that of all environmental classifications, including geometrically defined regions. The hydro-ecoregions performed slightly better for the invertebrate data and the network classification performed slightly better for the chemistry and hydrological data. Our results indicate that environmental classifications that are defined using different procedures can be comparable in terms of their ability to discriminate variation of ecological characteristics and that alleged differences in performance arising from different classification procedures can be small relative to unexplained variation. We conclude that definition procedures might have little effect on the performance of large-scale environmental classifications and decisions over which procedures to use should be based primarily on pragmatic considerations.     

Urban ecological systems: scientific foundations and a decade of progress

Urban ecological studies, including focus on cities, suburbs, and exurbs, while having deep roots in the early to mid 20th century, have burgeoned in the last several decades. We use the state factor approach to highlight the role of important aspects of climate, substrate, organisms, relief, and time in differentiating urban from non-urban areas, and for determining heterogeneity within spatially extensive metropolitan areas. In addition to reviewing key findings relevant to each state factor, we note the emergence of tentative "urban syndromes" concerning soils, streams, wildlife and plants, and homogenization of certain ecosystem functions, such as soil organic carbon dynamics. We note the utility of the ecosystem approach, the human ecosystem framework, and watersheds as integrative tools to tie information about multiple state factors together. The organismal component of urban complexes includes the social organization of the human population, and we review key modes by which human populations within urban areas are differentiated, and how such differentiation affects environmentally relevant actions. Emerging syntheses in land change science and ecological urban design are also summarized. The multifaceted frameworks and the growing urban knowledge base do however identify some pressing research needs.     

Neighbourhood characteristics and urban gardens in the Toledo metropolitan area: staffing and voluntarism,food production,infrastructure, and sustainability practices

Urban gardens are important sources of sustenance for communities with limited access to food. Hence, this study focuses on food production in gardens in the Toledo metropolitan area in Northwest Ohio. We administered surveys to 150 garden managers from November 2014 to February 2015 in our attempt to better understand how neighbourhood racial composition and poverty levels are related to staffing and voluntarism, food production and distribution, the development of infrastructure, and the adoption of sustainability practices in urban gardens. The results from 30 gardens are presented in this paper. We used Geographic Information Systems to map the gardens and overlay the map with 2010 census data so that we could conduct demographic analyses of the neighbourhoods in which the gardens were located. Though the gardens were small – two acres or less – up to 46 varieties of food were grown in a single garden. Gardens also operated on small budgets. Food from the gardens was gifted or shared with friends, family, and neighbourhood residents. Gardens in predominantly minority neighbourhoods tended to have fewer institutional partners, less garden infrastructure, and had adopted fewer sustainable practices than gardens in predominantly White neighbourhoods. Nonetheless, residents of predominantly minority and high-poverty neighbourhoods participated in garden activities and influenced garden operations. Volunteering and staffing were racialised and gendered.     

Predicting deer-vehicle collisions in an urban area

Collisions with deer and other large animals are increasing, and the resulting economic costs and risks to public safety have made mitigation measures a priority for both city and wildlife managers. We created landscape models to describe and predict deer-vehicle collision (DVCs) within the City of Edmonton, Alberta. Models based on roadside characteristics revealed that DVCs occurred frequently where roadside vegetation was both denser and more diverse, and that DVCs were more likely to occur when the groomed width of roadside right-of-ways was smaller. No DVCs occurred where the width of the vegetation-free or manicured roadside buffer was greater than 40 m. Landscape-based models showed that DVCs were more likely in more heterogeneous landscapes where road densities were lower and speed limits were higher, and where non-forested vegetation such as farmland was in closer proximity to larger tracts of forest. These models can help wildlife and transportation managers to identify locations of high collision frequency for mitigation. Modifying certain landscape and roadside habitats can be an effective way to reduce deer-vehicle collisions.     

Biodiversity and biotechnology

The maintenance of biodiversity is urged from many quarters and on grounds ranging from aesthetic considerations to its usefulness, particularly for biotechnology. But regardless of the grounds for preserving biodiversity, writers are generally in agreement that it should be preserved. But, in examining the various references biodiversity, such as species diversity, genetic diversity, and habitat diversity, it is apparent that we cannot aim to preserve biodiversityas such, since there are a number of conflicts in any such undertaking. In preserving one aspect of biodiversity, we damage another aspect. Five arguments which attempt to ground our moral concern for biodiversity are reviewed and critiqued, not only for their consistency but also for their power to move us to action. The final section of the paper shows how conflicts in the values of personal and environmental health can impair ethical action and especially policy formation.An earlier version of this paper was read at the conference on Agriculture, Food, and Human Values: Tradition and Change, Orlando, Florida, October 7–9, 1987.