Does social justice knowledge matter? Education for sustainable development and student attitudes

Recent conjecture on the potential primacy of physical environmental components in education for sustainable development (ESD) efforts serves to question the centrality of social justice education as a component of ESD. This research explores a sustainable development student’s basic knowledge of social justice conditions in their country of residence and its relationships to policy attitudes that should be of importance to ESD, including beliefs about the importance of corporate social responsibility, their endorsement of gross national product as an effective measure of progress, their overall assessment of the social fairness of current national social justice policy, and their endorsement of the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Results obtained using path-model hypothesis testing indicate that accuracy of knowledge of US standing on social justice issues is significantly related to these policy attitudes, providing support for social justice content in ESD endeavors to create students empowered for engagement in broader policy goals.     

Engaged Communication Scholarship for Environmental Justice: A Research Agenda

ABSTRACT

As a discipline of crisis and care, environmental communication needs to address questions of environmental justice. This article argues that the most appropriate approach to studying environmental justice communication is engaged scholarship, in which academics collaborate with community partners, advocates, and others to conduct research. The article reviews prior engaged communication scholarship on environmental justice, and proposes four streams of future research, focused on news and information, deliberation and participation, campaigns and movements, and education and literacy.     

Evaluating education for sustainable development (ESD): using Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale

With the emergence of education for sustainable development (ESD), robust literature on ethics and ESD has emerged; however, ecocentric perspective developed within environmental ethics is marginalized in current ESDebate. The questions discussed in this article are as follows: Why is the distinction between anthropocentric and ecocentric view of environment salient to ESD? How can this distinction be operationalized and measured? Until now, little has been done to address complement quantitative studies of environmental attitudes by qualitative studies, exploring the sociocultural context in which ecocentric or anthropocentric attitudes are being formed. Neither of existing scales engaged with the interface between environmental ethics and sustainable development. This article will discuss ESD in the context of environmental ethics and present the results of the case study conducted with the Dutch Bachelor-level students. Results of qualitative evaluation of the scale measuring ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes will be presented, and the new Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale will be proposed.     

Shifting role of ecology in solving global environmental problems: selected practical tools

As environmental issues changed its focus from pollution and endangered species to fulfilling basic human needs, such as health, education, shelter, sanitation, hygiene, on the one hand and social justice on the other hand, it widened in its scope. People questioned about adequacy of ecological knowledge in solving daily questions in their life, and also contribution of their values, objective life situations and idea of quality of life for ecological well-being. Two core and complimentary values strongly emerged from the concept of sustainable development; namely environmental protection and justice. Unfortunately, there is lack of awareness on dimensions of human life and its linkages with the wider environment. To combine the values, dimensions of human life and its linkages with external environment, fundamental changes in human behaviour for human development is required. Present article reflects on dimensions of life, essential skills and practical tools for environmental protection and human development.     

Ecological economics: themes, approaches, and differences with environmental economics

This article provides a short overview of the main themes of ecological economics (EE). It is argued that EE provides a platform that fosters multidisciplinary environmental research by bringing together the core contributing disciplines – economics and ecology. In addition, EE is regarded as a pluralistic approach to environmental research that can be set opposite to, and has indeed developed as a response to, traditional environmental and resource economics. A comparison of the two fields is presented to clarify the essential differences between them. In addition, specific themes are examined in more detail. These include: sustainable development; the growth debate; international trade; dynamic processes; and behaviour and policy. Electronic Publication     

Reform,Justice, and Sovereignty: A Food Systems Agenda for Environmental Communication

Food ecologies and economies are vital to the survival of communities, non-human species, and our planet. While environmental communication scholars have legitimated food as a topic of inquiry, the entangled ecological, cultural, economic, racial, colonial, and alimentary relations that sustain food systems demand greater attention. In this essay, we review literature within and beyond environmental communication, charting the landscape of critical food work in our field. We then illustrate how environmental justice commitments can invigorate interdisciplinary food systems-focused communication scholarship articulating issues of, and critical responses to, injustice and inequity across the food chain. We stake an agenda for food systems communication by mapping three orientations—food system reform, justice, and sovereignty—that can assist in our critical engagements with and interventions into the food system. Ultimately, we entreat environmental communication scholars to attend to the bends, textures, and confluences of these orientations so that we may deepen our future food-related inquiries.     

第四次工业革命对环境治理体系建设的影响与挑战

以人工智能为代表的第四次工业革命发展迅速,特别是能源和新材料技术的突破,极大可能改变人类现有能源格局,并对建立在化石能源思维下的传统环境治理体系带来巨大影响。为此,本文梳理了第四次工业革命代表性的科技进展,分析了其对国家环境治理体系的积极影响:(1)将改变建立在化石能源基础上的工业、农业和城市形态,打破经济发展对资源、能源和土地的高度依赖,彻底告别环境污染和生态破坏;(2)将真正实现面向现在和未来的数据精准决策,显著改善人类应对不确定性环境风险能力。另一方面,由于人工智能会极大提升公民个体对复杂科学技术和社会规则的掌握能力,会改变传统治理结构中政府—市场—社会三元力量对比,给政府在环境治理领域的政策制定和执行带来新的挑战:(1)公众的能力足以使得他们对政府做出的任何不利于自己的政策提出挑战,政府信息公开和透明决策压力空前;(2)社交媒体使得公众对政府及主流媒体信息的关注大大下降,对政府如何利用新型社交媒体进行环境保护宣传教育提出了新的挑战,同时也对社会管理部门如何培育环保社会组织,弥补政府影响力下降所产生的空白提出了新的课题;(3)个体可以同时具有律师、会计、记者等处理复杂社会问题的能力,挑战政府维护社会公平稳定的利益裁量权,对环境司法公正提出更高要求。当前,中国正在进行环境体制改革创新,追求环境治理体系和治理能力现代化,如何关注、分析并积极适应由于技术变革引起的经济基础和上层建筑变化,避免制度资源错配,对于我们这样一个正在进行工业化的后发型国家尤为重要。文章最后建议,要高度关注这个领域的研究前沿进展,在制定发展规划与改革措施过程中,以未来的技术环境为出发点;要加强治理创新,引导技术朝着有利环境保护的方向发展;要加强技术对国家治理体系和治理能力双向影响研究,推进政府改革与创新,为人民提供更好的公共产品。     

基于环境责任保险的动态环境侵权救济体系研究

通过对环境责任保险的定义和特点的总结,以及对其环境侵权救济功能的探讨,得出结论:社会从矫正的正义观到分配的正义观的转变,是推动环境责任保险制度发展的根本原因;赋予第三人直接请求权是环境责任保险制度的重要组成部分;公共补偿制度的建立和发展是对环境责任保险制度的必要补充。在此结论的基础上,以环境侵权受害者能够得到及时有效的救济为出发点,构建了以环境责任保险制度为核心的动态侵权救济体系:民事救济作为第一层次,通过法律程序来确认侵权行为、责任主体以及赔偿额度等事项;环境责任保险作为第二层次,用来分散被保险人的污染损害赔偿责任,补偿受害者损失;公共补偿制度作为第三层次,用来补充民事救济和环境责任保险所未能覆盖到的受害者的人身、财产损失。三个层次联动配合、相互补充,从而在我国面临日益增多的环境污染事故的情况下,为受害者、企业和国家开辟了一条新的环境侵权救济之路。     

Preserving Wilderness or Protecting Homelands? Intersections and Divergences in Activist Discourses About Mining in Ontario’s Far North

Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire/Wawangajing controversy constitutes a complex site of debate about the risks and benefits of mining in an area of major ecological significance that is also the ancestral territory of nine First Nation communities. This paper investigates the rhetorical alignments and divergences in public calls by Matawa First Nations tribal council and the Ontario Wildlands League for stronger environmental assessment of mining projects than that favoured by the Canadian government. Tracing the terminologies each group uses to describe the affected region and its inhabitants in its activist rhetoric about EA offers insight into the contingent, shifting ways in which wilderness advocacy and Indigenous justice discourses may speak together yet distinctly within contemporary environmental-natural resource disputes.     

气候正义视域下的气候变化损失与损害救济路径分析

气候变化对生态环境和人类健康造成的影响一直受科学家和国际组织的广泛关注。在现有的科学技术无法确切论证气候变化对环境的总体影响及对小岛和低地国家带来损害情况下,该议题自提出至今的进展都举步维艰。本文对议题谈判进展及各方立场进行梳理,提出未来谈判和规则的制定应以全球气候正义为价值衡量标准,树立整体观上的气候正义理念。并对气候正义内涵进行具体解读:一是以人权保护为维度,指出保护小岛和低地国家的基本人权是实现气候正义的逻辑前提;二是指出应当基于分配正义与矫正正义的传统分析视角,将共同但有区别责任原则作为设定权利与义务分配机制时的基础标准;三是气候正义要求一国在行使权利时应遵循领土无害使用原则,负有不污染和破坏他国环境和生态的义务,如违反便可能引发国家责任或惩戒。本文进而以气候正义为价值指引提出三种救济路径:一是国家责任路径,以国际人权法、国际环境法的规则或原则为法律依据,根据一定的规则,来判断当事国的损害行为或结果是否构成国际法上的国家责任;二是国际环境规制路径,即在《联合国气候变化框架公约》(以下简称《公约》)所确立的遵约与履约机制下解决问题,利用市场机制和激励手段如基金和保险支持制度来救济或补偿损失与损害;三是国际环境争端解决路径,主要以磋商、协商、和解、谈判等非强制性方式及国际仲裁、国际司法的法律手段解决气候争端。在救济路径上,应以全球规制路径为主,以国家责任路径为补充,以环境争端解决方式为程序性保障。中国基于全球气候治理的积极推动者,应表明立场,以共同但有区别责任原则为谈判基础,加强南南合作,履行国际气候承诺,发展低碳经济,积极推进该议题的国际谈判。     

The Dakota Access Pipeline and the Breakdown of Participatory Processes in Environmental Decision-Making

This article employs a close reading of documents related to the permitting process for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and ensuing legal battle in order to argue that extant regulatory frameworks for environmental decision-making are insufficient to promote environmental justice outcomes. By analyzing the US Army Corps of Engineer's responses to comments made during the public comment phase of the NEPA evaluation of the DAPL, I argue that regulatory frameworks may exacerbate environmental justice concerns by incentivizing decision makers to prioritize justification for their decisions and avoiding legal battles over meaningfully engaging with communities. This finding leads me to call for more engagement with energy democracy's orientation toward community-led processes as a corrective to current regulatory systems. This article expands on extant work in environmental communication by more thoroughly investigating the flaws in extant regulatory frameworks and calling for a perspectival shift in environmental decision-making.     

基于耦合协调度模型的河西走廊生态环境质量时空格局演化

以“丝绸之路”经济带上的河西走廊地区为研究对象,采用耦合分析法,构建环境承载力与生态弹性限度的耦合协调模型,在分析2001—2016年河西走廊生态环境承载力和生态弹性限度的基础上,探析河西走廊生态环境承载力与弹性限度的耦合协调度,评价生态环境承载力和生态弹性限度耦合协调阶段及区域生态环境质量水平,从区域和城市两个空间尺度分析生态环境耦合协调类型,为探索河西走廊生态环境可持续发展道路提供科学依据。结果表明:①2001—2016年,河西走廊生态环境承载力和生态弹性限度均呈现东南高、西北低的空间格局和缓慢波动上升趋势。②河西走廊生态环境耦合协调度呈现“东南高西北低,优劣破碎穿插”的空间格局特征,耦合协调度在0~0.5之间,生态系统处于低水平和拮抗耦合阶段,生态环境质量处于濒临失调阶段。③河西走廊生态环境承载力与生态弹性限度耦合协调度存在明显区域差异。河西走廊生态环境耦合协调度共分9个等级3个层次3个耦合协调阶段:高水平-磨合阶段区(良好协调、中度协调和初级协调区);中等水平-拮抗耦合阶段区(勉强协调、濒临失调和轻度失调区)和低水平区-低水平耦合阶段区(极度失调、严重失调和中度失调区)。④根据2001—2016年生态环境耦合协调状况将河西走廊五市分为4种耦合协调类型:高耦合协调增长型(张掖市、金昌市)、高耦合协调减少型(武威市)、中耦合协调增长型(嘉峪关市)和低耦合协调增长型(酒泉市)。各地区应因地制宜地制定发展战略,提高生态环境质量,推进生态环境持续协调发展。     

海岛居民环境友好行为及其影响因素研究--以长岛县为例

海岛是海洋生态系统的重要组成部分,保护海岛生态环境是推进海洋生态文明建设、保护海洋生态环境的重要方面。海岛居民是保护海岛生态环境的主体之一,研究海岛居民环境友好行为的影响因素,引导和鼓励海岛居民主动采取环境友好行为是改善海岛生态环境的有效途径。本研究在梳理国内外相关文献的基础上,对海岛居民环境友好行为的概念、类型及影响因素进行理论分析,建立包含生态管理行为、消费行为、说服行为、公民行为四个环境友好行为变量,环境态度、环境保护知识、环境经历、社会政策、行为约束五个影响因素变量在内的理论模型。结合海岛生态环境和海岛居民的特点,设计海岛居民版环境友好行为测量量表,并在长岛县进行问卷调查,运用描述性统计分析、结构方程模型分析探究海岛居民环境友好行为的影响因素及影响因素间的内在关系。研究发现:①海岛居民环境友好行为总体水平差异较大,难度较低的环境友好行为实施较好,而难度较高的实施较差;影响因素变量中,环境态度积极,环境经历丰富,环境保护知识掌握较好,相关社会政策较为不利,行为约束偏中性。②环境态度、环境经历、社会政策对海岛居民环境友好行为具有显著正向影响。③环境保护知识对环境态度具有显著正向影响,但对海岛居民环境友好行为无显著影响,存在“知易行难”现象。行为约束对海岛居民环境友好行为无显著影响。④环境经历不仅直接影响海岛居民环境友好行为,而且通过环境态度对海岛居民环境友好行为施加间接影响。基于研究结论,提出了改善海岛居民环境友好行为的对策建议。     

生态环境损害责任确立的理论基础研究——以马克思主义生态文明观为视角

中共中央办公厅和国务院办公厅印发的《生态环境损害赔偿制度改革试点方案》已经明确提出了生态环境损害的赔偿问题,对生态环境本身造成损害需要承担责任将成为中国法治时代又一个崭新的命题,对生态环境造成损害担责因何而生、又因何而立?生态环境损害责任确立的理论根据到底是什么?笔者认为只有明确生态环境损害责任确立的理论基础,才能促进生态损害赔偿制度的有效构建与救济机制的健康运行,才能为"美丽中国"建设提供法治保障。本文以马克思主义生态文明观为研究视角,探讨了生态文明观作为中国生态环境损害责任确立的理论基础之科学性与合理性。本文研究发现,马克思主义生态文明观不仅扫清了环境损害责任确立的思想和认识障碍,而且回应了个别学者对环境损害责任成立的质疑,为环境损害责任的确立奠定了思想和理论基础;不仅如此,生态文明观还为环境损害责任的实施提供了政治、经济、文化、技术和法治保障,是生态文明观孕育了环境损害责任。本文进一步分析了生态文明观之所以能够孕育环境损害责任制度的原因,是因为生态文明观与环境损害责任有诸多内在的共同性:生态文明观与环境损害责任之间同根同源,都起源于生态环境危机的时代背景,直接目的就是为了实现环境保护,共同的手段就是环境法治,最深层次的共同价值追求是实现人与自然的和谐共生。中国未来生态环境损害责任制度的建立与运行,应当自觉坚持以马克思主义生态文明观为指导,自觉将马克思主义生态文明观作为思想指南和理论渊源。     

中国环境教育研究的历史与未来趋势分析

通过对1979年以来中国环境教育学术文章在数量、内容和研究方法等方面的分析。发现中国环境教育研究自1994年开始持续升温。2000年开始从文章内容和研究方法上明显显示出转向可持续发展教育方向的趋势，2004年开始从文章数量上也显示出转向可持续发展教育的方向o20多年来的环境教育研究中。对环境教育意义的阐述和国外环境教育动态的研究分量最重，研究方法的探讨和研究则表现出对主流教育领域的影响敏感且响应及时。但这些文章显示出的环境教育研究方法绝大多数以思辨为主。实证研究、质的研究缺乏。对文章作者分析结果显示。中国环境教育研究队伍很不稳定。缺乏基本的研究经费支持是研究队伍不能保持稳定并缺乏在本土开展的实证和质的研究的根本制约因素。怎样协调因资源禀赋和发展程度不同而导致各国在开展环境教育时出现环境价值观和环境立场产生差异甚至对立的现象。是未来环境教育研究不可回避的任务。     

基于DEA模型的区域生态环境建设绩效评价——以江苏省苏州市为例 

选取生态系统服务价值、生态绿当量、人均生态足迹赤字和环境质量综合指数作为区域生态环境质量表征指标，借助DEA模型对区域生态环境建设过程中劳动力投入、资金投入、技术投入和资源投入的绩效进行评价，结果表明：（1）苏州市10年来生态环境建设总体而言绩效良好，DEA有效年份占30％，弱有效年份占20％，无效年份占50％，并且无效年份的效率指数都在0.97以上；（2）导致苏州市最近5年生态环境建设DEA无效的原因主要是资源投入不足，生态用地成为区域生态环境建设刚性约束；（3）通过调整生态环境建设要素投入比例，各种生态环境指标值都将有所提高，区域生态环境质量也将显著改善；（4）地区生态环境建设绩效下降还受地区人口数量增加、人均生态占用增长、生态环境累积效应影响。最后从促进区域社会经济与生态环境协调发展的角度提出相关建议。     

Review,assessment and recommendations on environmental policies in Western China

Reviewing the existing environmental policies in Western China,we find that:in time sequence,the characteristics of China's western environmental policies shift from"development drive governance"to the full implementation of environmental protection and construction;and in spatial sequence,the ecological,social,and economic development of Western China reach to coordination through the nature reserve setting,ecological migrants,fiscal transfer payment and differentiated ecological environmental policies.Due to the implementation of the policies and projects,environmental degradation trends in the western ecological environment were alleviated significantly,the living conditions of farmers and herdsmen were improved,and many successful experiences were explored.However,future ecological environmental construction in Western China requires further improvement in integrated planning,eco-compensation mechanism,and policy assessment.This paper concludes with specific recommendations such as drawing up ecological environment construction planning,strengthening environmental law enforcement and incentive mechanisms,improving policy assessment and scientific support,enhancing environmental protection capacity,improving eco-compensation mechanism,and refining the environmental policies for key areas.     

省以下生态转移支付制度环境保护激励效应

现有文献认为生态转移支付具有基本公共服务均等化与提升地方生态环境质量双目标,而目标的多样性会影响地方财政转移支付资金效果及目标的实现。文章基于环保支出和农林水支出的中介与调节效应,对生态转移支付的生态环境目标进行了理论分析,利用2010—2018年甘肃、贵州、湖北及河南四省的199个县的面板数据进行实证检验。实证研究表明:在样本期内,生态转移支付促进了地方生态环境质量的提升,中介效应和调节效应模型的结果表明,中国地方生态转移支付资金对辖区环境保护效果中,环境保护支出起到部分中介效应,农林水支出不仅调节了生态转移支付的地方环境保护支出效果,而且调节了环境保护支出对地方环境质量的影响。因此,由于地方政府具有环境治理信息优势,省以下制度目标更能体现辖区生态需求,省对县生态转移支付制度会有效促进地方生态环境质量的改善,环保激励效应较为明显。同时,县级地方政府应该逐步摆脱"先污染后治理"的路径依赖,逐步转向经济与环境"双目标协同发展"模式。为了协同生态转移支付的双目标,"自下而上参与式决策"可以作为环境治理的有益补充,通过地方政府多元化实践改善环境质量。     

基于DEA模型的区域生态环境建设绩效评价——以江苏省苏州市为例

选取生态系统服务价值、生态绿当量、人均生态足迹赤字和环境质量综合指数作为区域生态环境质量表征指标,借助DEA模型对区域生态环境建设过程中劳动力投入、资金投入、技术投入和资源投入的绩效进行评价,结果表明:(1)苏州市10年来生态环境建设总体而言绩效良好,DEA有效年份占30%,弱有效年份占20%,无效年份占50%,并且无效年份的效率指数都在0.97以上;(2)导致苏州市最近5年生态环境建设DEA无效的原因主要是乔资源投入不足,生态用地成为区域生态环境建设刚性约束;(3)通过调整生态环境建设要素投入比例,各种生态环境指标值都将有所提高,区域生态环境质量也将显著改善;(4)地区生态环境建设绩效下降还受地区人口数量增加、人均生态占用增长、生态环境累积效应影响.最后从促进区域社会经济与生态环境协调发展的角度提出相关建议.     

Remedies for loss and damage caused by climate change from the dimension of climate justice

Adverse consequences to the ecological system and human health caused by impacts potentially attributable to climate change have already drawn great and widespread concern of many scientists and international organizations. However, we still have a hard time determining exactly the impact of climate change on the environment or the damage that climate change inflicts on countries comprising small islands or low-lying lands in light of today’s science and technology. The progress for dealing with the issue of loss and damage has been struggling for a long time from the beginning to the present. In this paper, the author begins by summarizing talks on the concept and the positions of commentators. The author is proposing that the development of future climate negotiations and rule-making process be based on global climate justice as a standard for measuring value. Also, the author proposes that a holistic view of climate justice be established. Generally, three aspects of climate justice can be derived. First, the dimension of human rights protection shows that protection of fundamental human rights is a logical precondition if small-island and low-lying countries are able to achieve climate justice. Second, the definite and traditional concepts of distributive justice and corrective justice hold the view that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should be upheld as a basic standard of allocating rights and duties associated with climate change. Third, climate justice requires that any state follow the “no-harm principle,” which is regarded as an international customary rule. According to the principle, the obligation of states to prevent the use of their territory for causing trans-boundary harm to the environment shall be a violation of state responsibility, which incurs international punishment. Then we put forward three remedial approaches in light of climate justice, including the approach of State Responsibility (SR) based on the principles and rules of international human rights law and international environmental law. Based on clear rules, the judge can determine whether the damaging behavior or the damage perpetrated by a state party constitutes a state responsibility. The International Environmental Regulation (IEB), which means solving the problems within the framework established by the Conventions on Climate Change, takes advantage of the market mechanisms and incentives such as fund and insurance support system to relieve or compensate the loss and damage. International Environmental Dispute Settlement Mechanism (IEDSM), which includes the means such as consultations, negotiations, nonmandatory ways and international arbitration, international judicial ways to solve these disputes, functions as a procedural safeguard. As an active promoter of global climate governance, China should no doubt stand by the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR) and take it as a basis for negotiations, actively strengthen the work of South-South cooperation, fulfill her international climate commitments without reservation, vigorously develop a low-carbon economy, and actively promote international negotiations on the subject of loss and damage.