Development policy: a driving force of environmental hazard in Russia

Abstract

The scale and severity of environmental deterioration in Russia—and its accompanying hazards—constitute a true environmental crisis. Its characteristic features are a gradual continuing loss of environmental quality accompanied by acute environmental impacts associated with industrial accidents and related emergencies. The underlying causes are a mixture of political and social factors in association with the unbridled technological development. These were along the main driving forces of environmental hazard in the former Soviet Union and they continue to play that role in contemporary Russia. But the current environmental crisis is not only a time of adversity; it also has the potential to provide the necessary conditions for improvements in the economic wellbeing and environmental quality.     

Multi-stakeholder collaboration in community post-disaster reconstruction: case study from the Longmen Shan Fault area in China

While multi-stakeholder collaboration is critical for effective community post-disaster reconstruction (CPDR), it is often very difficult in practice. The Longmen Shan Fault active seismic zone in China has experienced several recent earthquakes with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and 2013 Lushan earthquake, both of which caused extensive and widespread damage to many communities, presenting unprecedented challenges for post-disaster reconstruction. This paper develops a multi-cycle field research method that involves three interconnected cycles: internet research, field visits, and extensive surveys: to examine multi-stakeholder collaboration for the CPDR following the Wenchuan earthquake. It was found that there were 12 types of active stakeholders engaged across four main areas: infrastructure rebuilding, psychological recovery, socio-economic rehabilitation, and ecological restoration. Specifically, local community participation and effective collaboration between the community and the external stakeholders were found to be the most crucial elements for successful reconstruction. Multi-stage field research after the Lushan earthquake verified that CPDR was effective and that multi-stakeholder collaboration had improved from the lessons learnt from the Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction experience. Some advantages and limitations of this research are also given.     

快速真空断路器在限流技术中的应用

针对由于电网规模和单机容量的不断扩大,造成电网短路电流越来越大的问题,采用快速真空断路器技术,快速投入限流电抗器对短路电流进行深度限制,使得电网短路电流大幅度减小。经电网中压系统大量应用和 330 kV 线路安装考核验证,结果表明:采用快速真空断路器技术限制电网短路电流,避免了常规限流技术造成的较大运行损耗,实现了电网限流装置结构轻便、造价低廉、运行可靠、维护方便的目标。     

Stakeholder participation in building resilience to disasters in a changing climate

The resilience perspective has emerged as a plausible approach to confront the increasingly devastating impacts of disasters; and the challenges and uncertainty climate change poses through an expected rise in frequency and magnitude of hazards. Stakeholder participation is posited as pivotal for building resilience, and resilience is not passive; rather, stakeholders are actively involved in the process of building resilience. Who is involved and how they are involved are crucial aspects for developing resilience in practice. Nevertheless, there are few empirical studies available to inform theory or show how these issues are addressed. This study focuses on revealing how practitioners frame the issue of participation in relation to resilience, its relevance to a changing climate and how, in consequence, they construct practices. Using Hajer's [(1995). The politics of environmental discourse: Ecological modernization and the policy process. New York] ‘Social-interactive discourse theory’, in this interdisciplinary research, we study the frames and subsequent practices developed around a disaster management policy initiative in Australia: the Natural Disaster Resilience Program in Queensland. What emerges from the research findings as critical and requiring urgent attention is stakeholder and especially local government and community participation, and for this to become socially relevant, challenges such as meaningful communication and power structures need to be addressed. What is also critical is to move from experiential learning to social learning. Additionally, the results presented here offer empirical evidence on how broadening the pool of actors can be implemented, and the opportunities that this opens up for building resilience.     

The hazards of one's faith: hazard perceptions of South Carolina Christian clergy

Abstract

Hazards take place in multiple contexts, contributing to the decisions we make in the face of a threat. Religious belief is considered an important contextual factor in how people understand and respond to environmental hazards. The objective of this paper is to examine one aspect of religious affiliation, biblical orientation, for its influence on the perception of hazard events. Using a survey of individual Christian clergy in South Carolina, the variation in hazard perception and anticipated mitigation responses among the clergy are explored. Geographic location and past hazard experience were found to be strong indicators of hazard concern, while an adherence to a particular theological doctrine was much less conclusive. The hazard mitigation choices voiced by the clergy were also consistent with little variation across the denominations investigated. While considerable differences were noted between the clergy regarding their view of hazard frequency, hazards and the second coming, and biblical orientation, few connections were established between these variables, hazard perception, and future mitigation behavior. Although past research has established that religious orientation influences one's view of their environment, this study demonstrates that this viewpoint is not necessarily extended to environmental extremes. Future opportunities to investigate the complexity of the religion-hazard nexus, such as whether the same results would have occurred in a different geographic region or if these results of individual clergy perceptions can shed light on larger religious attitudes toward hazards, are also discussed.     

The secret history of natural disaster

Abstract

This paper explores the failure of historians to properly engage the study of natural hazards. It argues that by focusing mainly on individual calamities, historians have overlooked the larger social and economic forces that have shaped the response to natural disaster over the last century. Two important trends, real estate capitalism and the entry of the state into the political economy of hazards after World War II, are singled out as crucial for understanding US society's response to natural disaster. As a result of these historical forces, risk became a commodity, with harmful environmental consequences.     

Public involvement in the Red River Basin management decisions and preparedness for the next flood

Abstract

The focus of this study is public participation in the water resource and associated hazards management decision-making processes. It explores the importance, feasibility, and effectiveness of public participation in the flood management, decision-making process, with particular attention to the case of the Red River Basin of Manitoba, Canada. The nature and efficacy of public participation in the hearings conducted by the International Joint Commission (IJC) in the aftermath of the 1997 Red River flood are critically reviewed. The results of the analysis suggest that the IJC has been more sensitive to the views of the public and concerned stakeholders than the Red River Basin Task Force. The IJC incorporated a substantial portion of the opinions, suggestions, and concerns expressed by the public into the final recommendations produced by the commission for the Canadian and American federal governments. Public participation was an integral component of the IJC hearings, and was expected to contribute to flood preparedness in the future. The reasons for such accommodation of public and the stakeholders' views in decision-makingare primarily attributed to making the proposed projects and programs socio-economically and politically feasible. Because of their general characteristics, the lessons from the case of the Red River Basin could be used as an effective tool in other resource and environmental hazard management areas.     

Securing our energy future: three international perspectives on microgrids and distributed renewables as a path toward resilient communities

ABSTRACT

This paper will examine three diverse microgrid cases in the US, Canada, and the European Union. The paper will explore how microgrids can help build resilient communities, facilitate distributed renewable energy, and ultimately lead to a secure energy future. The cases will include both urban and remote settings and compare the social, legal, and policy lessons learned from these cases to advance microgrid policy for long-term community resilience.     

How does living with a disability affect resident worry about environmental contamination? A study of a long-term pervasive hazard

ABSTRACT

While a growing body of research within the environmental hazards scholarship examines how disability affects human responses to major, sudden-onset environmental disasters, little attention has been given to understanding how disability affects responses to long-term, pervasive environmental hazards. Research analysing human responses to land and groundwater legacy contamination in residential areas has identified the significance of demographic and psychosocial determinants of worry, however the question of how living with a disability affects resident worry about contamination remains unanswered. This article provides a cornerstone study for exploring the relation between worry about environmental contamination and disability. A study of 486 adults living in 13 urban residential areas in Australia affected by a range of contaminants was undertaken in 2014. Ordinal logistic regression analysis found respondents with a disability were significantly more likely to worry about contamination than those without. People living with a disability had significantly higher amounts of worry about the contamination than those living without. Changes to residents’ daily habits in response to the contamination and perceptions of personal control over exposure to the contamination present important considerations for understanding the implications of worry for people living with and without a disability in the environmental contamination context.     

Analysis of hazardous material releases due to natural hazards in the United States

Natural hazards were the cause of approximately 16,600 hazardous material (hazmat) releases reported to the National Response Center (NRC) between 1990 and 2008-three per cent of all reported hazmat releases. Rain-induced releases were most numerous (26 per cent of the total), followed by those associated with hurricanes (20 per cent), many of which resulted from major episodes in 2005 and 2008. Winds, storms or other weather-related phenomena were responsible for another 25 per cent of hazmat releases. Large releases were most frequently due to major natural disasters. For instance, hurricane-induced releases of petroleum from storage tanks account for a large fraction of the total volume of petroleum released during 'natechs' (understood here as a natural hazard and the hazardous materials release that results). Among the most commonly released chemicals were nitrogen oxides, benzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Three deaths, 52 injuries, and the evacuation of at least 5,000 persons were recorded as a consequence of natech events. Overall, results suggest that the number of natechs increased over the study period (1990-2008) with potential for serious human and environmental impacts.     

基于机组受扰轨迹同调分群的实际电网解列配置

针对大型电网中区域性电网失稳的失步振荡问题,以华北2020年规划电网和东北电网2013年500 kV线路相间短路故障为研究对象,根据同调分群解列原理,提出了基于机组受扰轨迹同调分群的解列配置流程。结果表明:基于机组受扰轨迹同调分群的解列配置方法与常规解列配置方法相比,解列断面的设置思路更加清晰,并且,可以有效地解决多群振荡问题。     

Travelling without a helmet: tourists' vulnerabilities and responses to disasters in Indonesia

Tourists are particularly vulnerable when natural disasters occur in regions that they are visiting. It is assumed that they lack awareness and understanding of the actions that they need to take in such circumstances. This study examines the responses of tourists in times of disaster, building on empirical data collected through large‐scale surveys conducted in Bali and Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2015. Both are important tourist destinations in the country that have suffered major disasters in recent years. The different types of responses to these events are framed using a grid/group analysis stemming from cultural theory. The study resulted in three key findings: (i) current disaster management planning largely follows a single rationale; (ii) tourists are not a homogeneous group, but rather a complex, diverse, and dynamic body of stakeholders; and (iii) the focus of disaster management planning should shift from a single rationale to a polyrational methodology. Disaster managers need to consider, therefore, these different aspects in the context of preparedness.     

Environmental damage: distinguishing human from geophysical causes

Abstract

During the past two decades it has become increasingly common to attribute “naturala” disasters and other damaging environmental events to proximate or underlying causes that are socially produced. Through an examination of three cases, two of them historical, this paper demonstrates that underlying causes within the geophysical domain are also important. Few types of environmental damage or disaster stem from unalloyed human causes or geophysical ones; complex intermixtures are the rule.     

Use of computer models of flood inundation to facilitate communication in flood risk management

It is now widely recognised that good communication between multi-disciplinary stakeholders is central to effective flood risk management. Recent developments in Geographical Information Systems, increased availability of accurate digital terrain models from remotely sensed data sources and improved graphical computer interfaces have made the outputs from computer models of flood inundation easily accessible to the stakeholder community. As a consequence, predictions from such models are now being used routinely as a means of communication between engineers and other stakeholders in flood risk management. This paper provides a review of the modelling methods most appropriate for flood risk communication. These are one-dimensional models which are suitable for simulating flood risk at a catchment or sub-catchment scale and appropriate for communicating the impact of strategic flood management decisions and two-dimensional models which can be applied across a range of scales but, are now being regularly applied at the relatively small scale, less than 10 km², where they have the potential to inform and communicate disaster management decisions. The role of such models in communicating between modellers and non-modellers by providing a means for immediate visualisation of “the future” is discussed and illustrated by application to two case studies.     

智能电网——大规模风、光电并网瓶颈问题的解决方案

针对大规模风、光发电集中接入电网后产生的负荷波动性及电能质量较差,给电网带来的安全性和稳定性问题,通过分析对比发现,智能电网具有很好的智能性、灵活性和兼容性,不但成功地解决了上述问题还可以适应多种形式的电源接入并能将其成功消纳。研究表明:发展智能电网是解决大规模风、光发电并网瓶颈问题的最佳方案。     

Use of computer models of flood inundation to facilitate communication in flood risk management

It is now widely recognised that good communication between multi-disciplinary stakeholders is central to effective flood risk management. Recent developments in Geographical Information Systems, increased availability of accurate digital terrain models from remotely sensed data sources and improved graphical computer interfaces have made the outputs from computer models of flood inundation easily accessible to the stakeholder community. As a consequence, predictions from such models are now being used routinely as a means of communication between engineers and other stakeholders in flood risk management. This paper provides a review of the modelling methods most appropriate for flood risk communication. These are one-dimensional models which are suitable for simulating flood risk at a catchment or sub-catchment scale and appropriate for communicating the impact of strategic flood management decisions and two-dimensional models which can be applied across a range of scales but, are now being regularly applied at the relatively small scale, less than 10 km², where they have the potential to inform and communicate disaster management decisions. The role of such models in communicating between modellers and non-modellers by providing a means for immediate visualisation of “the future” is discussed and illustrated by application to two case studies.     

利用人工降雨手段化汛期特大暴雨灾害为可利用水资源

利用美国1979-1995年NCEP/NCAR再分析及其它格点资料进行分析。发现汛期影响我国特大暴雨及洪涝灾害的，是一支存在于南，北两半球之间的非亚支“宏观气流系统”，它的气流运行具有一定的规律性，因而，对我国的特大暴雨和洪涝灾害，不但可以进行及时的监测和预报，而且可以在这支宏观气流系统的上游地带施行人工影响云雨工程，把空中丰沛水分降到需要雨水的地区，化洪涝灾害为宝贵的水资源。     

考虑渗滤液作用的填埋场边坡组合破坏稳定分析

随着宁夏三回送端直流群形成，电网交直流耦合特性进一步加强，直流故障后引起暂态电压升高，容易引起近区风电机组大规模脱网。通过利用机电－电磁混合仿真方法对宁夏电网三回直流闭锁故障后的暂态过电压进行仿真分析，并与暂态过电压定量评估方法进行对比。仿真与评估结果均表明，三回直流分别闭锁故障后，暂态电压均会显著抬升，抬升程度与闭锁容量、系统强度相关。     

Environmental knowledge and human experience: using a historical analysis of flooding in Ireland to challenge contemporary risk narratives and develop creative policy alternatives

Focusing on three of the largest coastal cities in the Republic of Ireland, this paper highlights the importance of a historical analysis of flood hazards in contextualising current events and potential future risks. Over the last decade, the cities of Dublin, Cork and Galway have experienced several major coastal, river and pluvial floods. In the aftermath of these floods, two distinct but related narratives have dominated public discourse and official responses. The first narrative presents recent floods as unprecedented and as possible evidence of climate change. The second constructs floods primarily as natural events and assumes that the optimal means of reducing flood losses is to prevent flood events. In this paper, I suggest that these narratives are not supported by a historical analysis of exposure and vulnerability to flood hazards in Irish cities. This paper draws primarily on newspaper archives to construct a record of past flooding that challenges these narratives in several ways and in doing so offers lessons for similar cities in other countries. I contend that these narratives are perpetuated by a narrow form of knowledge production (quantitative risk assessment) and a narrow range of data (numeric instrumental records). Incorporating a broader range of sources and data types into risk and vulnerability assessments may illuminate more creative strategies for reducing both contemporary and future flood losses.     

江西崩滑流灾害的诱发条件与预测初探

通过统计和分析产生滑坡、崩塌、泥石流等地质灾害的地形、地质和、降水条件，发现地质环境决定了地质灾害的可能发生区域、规模和强度，而降水则决定了滑坡、崩塌、泥石流等地质灾害发生的时段、可能区域和强度。同时，还提出了一个用日综合雨量预测地质灾害的概念模型。