Implementation of the EU environmental noise directive: Lessons from the first phase of strategic noise mapping and action planning in Ireland

The first phase of noise mapping and action planning in Ireland, in accordance with EU Directive 2002/49/EC, is now complete. In total this included one agglomeration, one airport and approximately 600 km of major roads outside the agglomeration. These noise maps describe the level of noise exposure of approximately 1.25 million people. The first phase of noise mapping was dealt with by five noise mapping bodies while 26 action planning authorities were involved in the development of the associated action plans. The second phase of noise mapping, due to be completed in 2012, sees a reduction in the defined thresholds describing the required agglomerations, roads and railways that have to be mapped. This will have a significant impact on the extent of mapping required. In Ireland this will result in an increased number of local authorities being required to develop strategic noise maps for their area along with the further development of associated action plans. It is appropriate at this point to review the work process and results from the first phase of noise mapping in Ireland in order to establish areas that could be improved, throughout the noise mapping project. In this paper a review of the implementation procedures focussing on (dominant) road traffic noise is presented. It is identified that more standardisation is needed and this could be achieved by the establishment of a national expert steering group.     

A Review of the Effects of Aircraft Noise on Wildlife and Humans,Current Control Mechanisms,and the Need for Further Study

Military and civilian aircraft overflights are an issue that may impact the quality of life for millions of United States residents. Aircraft noise annoys many people worldwide and is generally thought to adversely affect some wildlife species. In light of increasing demands being placed on airspace, and because of technological improvements in acoustical testing, there is a need to reexamine the effects of aircraft noise exposure on humans and wildlife. This paper reviews past research, current laws and legislation, and presents an argument for the need to revisit the effects of aircraft noise on humans and wildlife. Some evidence suggests that noise may adversely impact wildlife and humans, however, many of the past studies were inconclusive and based on relatively small sample sizes. Given that aircraft noise abatement legislation has been enacted and because of the recent promulgation of community-based noise awareness programs, future studies should be conducted to resolve public policy problems and debates associated with aircraft noise. The need to further study the effects of aircraft noise on humans and wildlife is critical for creating sustainable land use policies near aircraft installations. Data derived from these studies will be used to create sound public policies that enhance the operational capacity of military and civilian aircraft while reducing the opportunity for human and wildlife exposure to aircraft noise.     

机场噪声污染防治制约因素与对策浅析

随着我国航空运输业的迅速发展,机场噪声问题日益突出。飞机噪声控制标准不完善、机场选址不合理、降噪措施落实不到位等问题,不利于机场的建设和发展。环境影响评价作为控制机场建设项目环境风险重要的前置性的管理手段,对控制机场噪声的不良环境影响具有重要作用,也有利于实现机场选址和建设与当地有关的规划衔接,避免走“城市包围机场”的老路,有利于实现到机场和城市发展的协调。     

A GIS-based approach for the screening assessment of noise and vibration impacts from transit projects

Urban transportation projects are essential in increasing the efficiency of moving people and goods within a city, and between cities. Environmental impacts from such projects must be evaluated and mitigated, as applicable. Spatial modeling is a valuable tool for quantifying the potential level of environmental consequences within the context of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study. This paper presents a GIS-based tool for the assessment of airborne-noise and ground-borne vibration from public transit systems, and its application to an actual project. The tool is based on the US Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) approach, and incorporates spatial information, satellite imaging, geostatistical modeling, and software programming. The tool is applied on a case study of initial environmental evaluation of a light rail transit project in an urban city in the Middle East, to evaluate alternative layouts. The tool readily allowed the alternative evaluation and the results were used as input to a multi-criteria analytic framework.     

Hydrochemical evaluation of the Voltaian system--the Afram Plains area, Ghana

Inverse geochemical modeling from PHREEQC, and multivariate statistical methods were jointly used to define the genetic origin of chemical parameters of groundwater from the Voltaian aquifers in the Afram Plains area. The study finds, from hierarchical cluster analysis that there are two main hydrochemical facies namely the calcium-sodium-chloride-bicarbonate waters and the magnesium-potassium-sulfate-nitrate waters in the northern and southern sections, respectively, of the Afram Plains area. This facies differentiation is confirmed by the distribution of the SO(4)(2-)/Cl(-) ratio, which associates groundwater from the northern and southern sections to areas influenced by contact with evaporites and seawater, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation using the Kaiser criterion identifies four principal sources of variation in the hydrochemistry. Mineral saturation indices calculated from both major ions and trace elements, indicate saturation-supersaturation with respect to calcite, aragonite, k-mica, chlorite, rhodochrosite, kaolinite, sepiolite, and talc, and undersaturation with respect to albite, anorthite, and gypsum in the area. Inverse geochemical modeling along groundwater flowpaths indicates the dissolution of albite, anorthite and gypsum and the precipitation of kaolinite, k-mica, talc, and quartz. Both the PCA and inverse geochemical modeling identify the incongruent weathering of feldspars as the principal factors controlling the hydrochemistry in the Afram Plains area. General phase transfer equations have been developed to characterize the geochemical evolution of groundwater in the area. A very good relationship has been established between calcite and aragonite saturation indices in the Afram Plains area, with R(2)=1.00.     

Environmental Equity and the Role of Public Policy: Experiences in the Rijnmond Region

This Φ Ψ study of environmental equity uses secondary quantitative data to analyze socioeconomic disparities in environmental conditions in the Rijnmond region of the Netherlands. The disparities of selected environmental indicators—exposure to traffic noise (road, rail, and air), NO₂, external safety risks, and the availability of public green space—are analyzed both separately and in combination. Not only exposures to environmental burdens (“bads”) were investigated, but also access to environmental benefits (“goods”). Additionally, we held interviews and reviewed documents to grasp the mechanisms underlying the environmental equity situation, with an emphasis on the role of public policy. Environmental equity is not a priority in public policy for the greater Rotterdam region known as the Rijnmond region, yet environmental standards have been established to provide a minimum environmental quality to all local residents. In general, environmental quality has improved in this region, and the accumulation of negative environmental outcomes (“bads”) has been limited. However, environmental standards for road traffic noise and NO₂ are being exceeded, probably because of the pressure on space and the traffic intensity. We found an association of environmental “bads” with income for rail traffic noise and availability of public green space. In the absence of regulation, positive environmental outcomes (“goods”) are mainly left up to market forces. Consequently, higher-income groups generally have more access to environmental “goods” than lower-income groups.     

Policy Windows, Policy Change, and Organizational Learning: Watersheds in the Evolution of Watershed Management

Employing in-depth, elite interviews, this empirical research contributes to understanding the dynamics among policy windows, policy change, and organizational learning. First, although much of the research on agenda setting—how issues attract enough attention that action is taken to address them—has been conducted at the national scale, this work explores the subnational, regional scale. With decentralization, regional-scale environmental decision-making has become increasingly important. Second, this research highlights the role of policy windows and instances of related organizational learning identified by natural resources managers. Having practitioners identify focusing events contrasts with the more typical approach of the researcher identifying a particular focusing event or events to investigate. A focusing event is a sudden, exceptional experience that, because of how it leads to harm or exposes the prospect for great devastation, is perceived as the impetus for policy change.     

流域管理与开发利用中主要问题的博弈分析

本文从博弈论的角度,通过构造博弈模型对流域管理中诸问题进行分析,旨在完善政府及流域内各理性行为个体的策略,为提高流域水资源开发利用效率提供理论依据。     

Use of agricultural land evaluation and site assessment in Whitman County,Washington, USA

Whitman County, Washington, USA, one of the largest wheat producing counties in the country, developed a land evaluation and site assessment system for evaluating proposed conversions of agricultural land to heavy commercial uses. The system uses soil potential indices to determine a land evaluation score and a nine-factor site assessment system to weigh suitability for development. Details on each of these are provided along with results for four sample sites.Scientific Paper no. 7165, College of Argiculture and Home Economics Research Paper, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, project no. 0010.     

Climate change,natural hazards,and risk perception: the role of proximity and personal experience

Understanding public risk perception related to possible consequences of climate change is of paramount importance. Not only does risk perception have an important role in shaping climate policy, it is also central in generating support for initiatives for adaptation and mitigation. In order to influence public knowledge and opinion, there is a need to know more about why people have diverging attitudes and perceptions related to climate change and its possible consequences. By using representative survey data for Norway and multivariate analysis, the authors of this article show that differences in attitudes and perceptions are partially explained by factors such as gender, educational background, and people's political preferences. However, an important factor explaining people's perception of climate change and its possible consequences is their direct personal experience of damage caused by climate-related events such as flooding or landslide. Furthermore, the results show that personal experience of damage has the largest impact on the respondents' belief that there will be more natural-resource hazards locally than in Norway or globally. The results also show that merely living in a more exposed area but not having a personal experience of damage does not affect the respondents' concern towards climate change.     

Examining the agricultural producer identity: utilising the collective occupational identity construct to create a typology and profile of rural landholders in Victoria,Australia

Multifunctional rural landscapes are often characterised by contrasting values, land uses and land management practices of rural property owners. It seems these trends are, in part, an expression of rural landholder's identification as farmers. Existing typologies of rural landholders seldom take into account occupational identity. Research discussed in this paper addresses that gap. The objective was to apply the collective occupational identity construct to address the challenges of profiling rural landholders and test its effectiveness at distinguishing between different types of landholders. A 12-item scale was used to explore the extent rural landholders in south-eastern Australia held an agricultural producer identity. Cluster analysis resulted in the creation of four clusters of rural landholders with distinctive characteristics, suggesting the approach can provide researchers with a theoretically sound construct and practitioners with a useful tool as they attempt to better understand and engage rural landholders in sustainable agriculture.     

新乡市声环境质量现状及其改善对策研究

以中原城市群强市-新乡市为例,介绍城市环境噪声的声源构成主要以工业噪声和社会生活噪声为主。随着城镇化规模的扩大,近年来的噪声监测值总体呈下降趋势,但道路交通噪声和社会生活噪声有增高趋势。结合声环境质量现状,提出了合理规划功能区布局、加强声环境管理、利用城市绿地降低噪声、提高单体建筑规划设计水平等改善对策措施。     

Urban Australians using recycled water for domestic non-potable use--an evaluation of the attributes price, saltiness, colour and odour using conjoint analysis

Recycled water use in urban areas is viewed as one part of the solution to Australia's water shortage. The effectiveness of policies designed to promote recycled water systems depends on the acceptance by the community of the price, colour, odour and salt content of the recycled water. In Australia and other countries, limited research has been conducted that investigates community attitudes to and willingness to pay for recycled water, especially in urban settings. Community acceptance of recycled water and the economic feasibility of such projects have not been widely evaluated, even though the long-term feasibility of many projects is dependent on such information. This paper examines the attitudes of an urban Australian community living at Mawson Lakes in South Australia, to using recycled water for non-potable domestic purposes. Conjoint analysis (CA) was used to evaluate participant's (n=136) preferences for various attributes of recycled water (colour, odour, salt content and price) for various uses (garden watering, toilet flushing and clothes washing). The analysis was used to estimate the respondent's willingness to pay (WTP) for quality increases for each of the attributes. Differences in WTP were investigated according to various demographic variables including income and education. Results indicate that for garden watering having 'low salt levels' is the most important attribute of recycled water, for clothes washing 'colourless' is the most important attribute, and for toilet flushing a 'low price' was the most important attribute. Respondents were willing to pay for increases in the quality of recycled water. The amount they were willing to pay varied depending on applied use and the attribute in question. Respondents were most willing to pay for an increase in quality of recycled water when used for clothes washing (willing to pay Australian dollars (A$) 0.07/cubic meter (m(3)) for removal of colour, A$0.065 per cubic meter for an increase in quality of recycled water from 'salty' to 'low salt,' and A$ 0.06/m(3) for removal of odour (1A$=0.75 US $ and 0.62 euro, August 24, 2005)). Segmentation of the price attribute by demographic sectors reveals that those in the higher income bracket, higher education sector, middle age group, and who are male, had a higher marginal valuation on price. The results of this study provide important information for recycled water retailers and water policy developers, helping achieve greater economic feasibility for future recycled water projects, to the satisfaction of the communities involved.     

Sustainable management of demolition waste—an integrated model for the evaluation of environmental, economic and social aspects

A model is presented for evaluating waste management systems for their contribution to a sustainable development, including environmental, economic and social aspects. The model was tested in a case-study, where groups of long-term unemployed people were offered both education on environmental issues and practical work with the recovery and recycling of building and demolition waste as a form of vocational development. Application of the suggested model revealed the overall effects on sustainability of different methods of waste management. In addition, negative aspects of the systems analysed were identified, which led to discussions about possible improved practices within the waste management systems. Two of the waste management systems investigated (the recycling of steel and re-use of sanitary porcelain) showed a potential contribution to sustainable development in all of the aspects studied. Preparing bricks for re-use showed the largest potential for eco-efficiency, but had negative effects on sustainability from the social perspective of health and the working environment. The possibility of further use of the model and the remaining obstacles to such analyses are discussed. One observation is that the data collection needed to perform this kind of sustainability analysis is resource-demanding, and that it would therefore be better to identify a smaller number of key indicators.     

Socio-environmental conflict in the construction of a power plant in Spain's Basque Country: strategies,expertise and certifications

Social and anthropological studies show a growing number of conflicts surrounding energy projects, as governments and companies insist on their implementation despite the concerns of local actors about their perceived socio-environmental risks. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the politicisation of expertise and certifications in a conflict over the construction of a combined cycle power plant by linking strategic assumptions from two particular sociological approaches. The first approach is based on the study of frame alignment in social movement organisations and the second on the translating interests in actor–network theory. These linked premises are examined in the conflict arising from the construction of a combined cycle natural gas plant in Boroa, in the Basque Country of Spain. This case study brings to light interesting findings on the strategies of the different agencies, certifications, politicisation of expertise and the increasing hostility in local conflicts.     

Emergy evaluation and economic analysis of three wetland fish farming systems in Nansi Lake area,China

Emergy and economic methods were used to evaluate and compare three fish production models, i.e., cage fish farming system, pond intensive fish rearing system and semi-natural extensive pond fish rearing system, in Nansi Lake area in China in the year 2007. The goal of this study was to understand the benefits and driving forces of selected fish production models from ecological and economic points of view. The study considered input structure, production efficiency, environmental impacts, economic viability and sustainability. Results show that the main difference among the three production systems was the emergy cost for fish feed associated with their feeding system, i.e., feeding on natural biomass such as plankton and grass or on commercial feedstock. As indicated by EYR, ELR and ESI, it can be clearly shown that the intensive production model with commercial feed is not a sustainable pattern. However, the point is that more environmentally sound patterns do not seem able to provide a competitive net profit in the short run. The intensive pond fish farming system had a net profit of 2.57E+03 $/ha, much higher than 1.27E+03 $/ha for cage fish farming system and slightly higher than 2.37E+03 $/ha for semi-natural fish farming system. With regard to the drivers of local farmer’s decisions, the accessibility of land for the required use and investment ability determine the farmer’s choice of the production model and the scale of operation, while other factors seem to have little effect. Theoretically, the development of environmentally sustainable production patterns, namely water and land conservation measures, greener feed as well as low waste systems is urgently needed, to keep production activities within the carrying capacity of ecosystems. Coupled emergy and economic analyses can provide better insight into the environmental and economic benefits of fish production systems and help solve the problems encountered during policy making.     

Development of synthetic criteria for the ecological evaluation of woodlots and woodlot units

Different criteria have been proposed for the rapid ecological evaluation of wooded areas. It is difficult, however, to determine the criteria most likely to yield results similar to those that would be obtained through detailed surveys and exhaustive evaluation. In order to identify such synthetic criteria, data from a detailed evaluation of Montreal Urban Community woodlots were studied with the help of multivariate analysis. This detailed evaluation was undertaken at two levels—woodlot unit and the woodlots themselves—using 16 different criteria.At the woodlot unit level, area and abundance indices of shade intolerant species in the tree layer could be used as synthetic criteria, while at the woodlot level the ecological value of the constituent units stand out as the first synthetic criterion. These results are compared with criteria proposed in the literature, and the use of multivariate analysis in ecological evaluation is briefly discussed.     

The Impact of Policy and Institutional Environment on Costs and Benefits of Sustainable Agricultural Land Uses: The Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts,Bangladesh

As in other mountain regions of Asia, agricultural lands in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh are undergoing degradation due primarily to environmentally incompatible land-use systems such as shifting cultivation (jhum) and annual cash crops. The suitable land-use systems such as agroforestry and timber tree plantation provide benefit to the society at large, but they might not provide attractive economic benefits to farmers, eventually constraining a wide-scale adoption of such land-use systems. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate agricultural land-use systems from both societal and private perspectives in the pursuit of promoting particularly environmentally sustainable systems. This article evaluated five major land-use systems being practiced in CHT, namely jhum, annual cash crops, horticulture, agroforestry, and timber plantation. The results of the financial analysis revealed the annual cash crops as the most attractive land use and jhum as the least attractive of the five land-use systems considered under the study. Horticulture, timber plantation, and agroforestry, considered to be suitable land-use systems particularly for mountainous areas, held the middle ground between these two systems. Annual cash crops provided the highest financial return at the cost of a very high rate of soil erosion. When the societal cost of soil erosion is considered, annual cash crops appear to be the most costly land-use system, followed by jhum and horticulture. Although financially less attractive compared to annual cash crops and horticulture, agroforestry and timber plantation are the socially most beneficial land-use systems. Findings of the alternative policy analyses indicate that there is a good prospect for making environmentally sustainable land-use systems, such as agroforestry and timber plantation, attractive for the farmers by eliminating existing legal and institutional barriers, combined with the provision of necessary support services and facilities.

基于典型相关分析的电子类生活垃圾回收政策及其效果关系研究

本文围绕以手机为主的电子类生活垃圾回收环节,基于EPR电子生活垃圾回收实验及目前电子类生活垃圾的回收激励政策和效果,运用典型相关分析方法确定激励政策及政策效果的主要影响变量,研究以手机为主的电子类生活垃圾回收的激励政策与政策效果之间的关系,强化电子类生活垃圾回收的政策措施,扩大政策效果,促进资源的回收及再利用。本文设定的回收激励政策包括政府对废旧手机回收率的最低要求、优惠力度以及获得高优惠的最低回收率要求,政策效果包括废旧手机实际回收率、销售市场营业额以及生产者补贴总额等方面。研究结果表明,电子类生活垃圾回收激励政策与政策效果之间存在着显著的相关关系,其中,获得高优惠的最低回收率对废旧手机实际回收率有显著抑制作用,废旧手机回收率的最低要求对销售市场营业额有显著抑制作用。本文在此基础上给出了政策建议。     

Landscape design,planning, and management: An approach to the analysis of vegetation

The process of analyzing vegetation in terms of its suitability for various non-consumptive uses is primitive in comparison with systems for evaluating other resources such as soil and topography. This paper proposes a framework for developing a standardized, quantitative vegetation analysis system based on plant ecology methods. A tentative scheme under study in Wisconsin is presented for discussion purposes.