Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance in China: In Need of Strong Government Backing

Environmental pollution liability insurance was officially introduced in China only in 2006, as part of new market-based approaches for managing environmental risks. By 2012, trial applications of pollution insurance had been launched in 14 provinces and cities. More than ten insurance companies have entered the pollution insurance market with their own products and contracts. Companies in environmentally sensitive sectors and high-risk industries bought pollution insurance, and a few successful compensation cases have been reported. Still, pollution insurance faces a number of challenges in China. The absence of a national law weakens the legal basis of pollution insurance, and poor technical support stagnates further implementation. Moreover, current pollution insurance products have limited risk coverage, high premium rates, and low loss ratios, which make them fairly unattractive to polluters. Meanwhile, low awareness of environmental and social liabilities leads to limited demand for pollution insurance products by industrial companies. Hence, the pollution insurance market is not yet flourishing in China. To improve this situation, this economic instrument needs stronger backing by the Chinese state.     

Positive Interactions Between Irrawaddy Dolphins and Artisanal Fishers in the Chilika Lagoon of Eastern India are Driven by Ecology,Socioeconomics, and Culture

In human-dominated landscapes, interactions and perceptions towards wildlife are influenced by multidimensional drivers. Understanding these drivers could prove useful for wildlife conservation. We surveyed the attitudes and perceptions of fishers towards threatened Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) at Chilika Lagoon India. To validate the drivers of fisher perceptions, we : (1) observed dolphin foraging behavior at stake nets, and (2) compared catch per unit effort (CPUE) and catch income of fishers from stake nets in the presence and absence of foraging dolphins. We found that fishers were mostly positive towards dolphins, believing that dolphins augmented their fish catch and using culture to express their perceptions. Foraging dolphins were observed spending half their time at stake nets and were associated with significantly higher catch income and CPUE of mullet (Liza sp.), a locally preferred food fish species. Wildlife conservation efforts should use the multidimensional drivers of human–wildlife interactions to involve local stakeholders in management.     

Electrochemical incineration of indigo. A comparative study between 2D (plate) and 3D (mesh) BDD anodes fitted into a filter-press reactor

This paper compares the performance of 2D (plate) and 3D (mesh) boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes, fitted into a filter-press reactor, during the electrochemical incineration of indigo textile dye as a model organic compound in chloride medium. The electrolyses were carried out in the FM01-LC reactor at mean fluid velocities between 0.9?≤?u?≤?10.4 and 1.2?≤?u?≤?13.9 cm s^?1 for the 2D BDD and the 3D BDD electrodes, respectively, at current densities of 5.63 and 15 mA cm^?2. The oxidation of the organic matter was promoted, on the one hand, via the physisorbed hydroxyl radicals (BDD(^●OH)) formed from water oxidation at the BDD surface and, on the other hand, via active chlorine formed from the oxidation of chloride ions on BDD. The performance of 2D BDD and 3D BDD electrodes in terms of current efficiency, energy consumption, and charge passage during the treatments is discussed.     

Evaluation of the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative Soil Moisture Product over China Using Variance Reduction Factor

In this study, we evaluated the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative soil moisture product v02.1 (ESA CCI SM v02.1) using in situ observations collected at 547 stations in China from 1991 to 2013. A conventional validation was first conducted, and the triple collocation errors of ESA CCI SM and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting reanalysis data were approximately 0.053 and 0.050 m³/m³, respectively. To obtain more reliable validation results, the average soil moisture of the in situ observations per ESA CCI SM pixel was also used as the validation sites. Variance reduction factor (VRF) was adopted to quantify the accuracy of the soil moisture validation sites, and the average VRF was estimated at 4.88%. The validation results were enhanced by excluding validation sites with VRF errors greater than 5% from the statistical analysis. Although the ESA CCI SM underestimated the in situ observations with a Bias of 0.05 m³/m³, a moderately high correlation coefficient of 0.44 and a relatively small unbiased root‐mean‐square difference of 0.05 m³/m³ were observed. This study provides information on the utilization of ESA CCI SM for ecological protection, climate change, and hydrological forecasting. It also suggests the adoption of VRF for future error corrections of satellite‐based products.     

History of Efforts at Incineration in the Los Angeles Area

The history of incineration in Los Angeles from 1943 to the present is reviewed as representative of all southern California areas.     

A Study of Sulfur Dioxide in Photochemical Smog I. Effect of SO2 and Water Vapor Concentration in the 1-Butene/NOx/SO2 System

There is an appreciable chemical interaction between SO₂ and photochemical smog which depends on the concentration of SO₂ and water vapor. The rate of decay of SO₂ concentration is greatly increased in the presence of photochemical smog. With 0.75 ppm SO₂, a light-scattering aerosol is produced in dry systems and systems at 22 and 55% relative humidity (RH). Aerosol is not observed until after the NO₂ peak has been reached and the NO concentration has fallen to a very low value. The formation of aerosol corresponds in time to the region of most rapid decrease in the SO₂ profile. In systems at 65% RH or with smaller amounts of SO₂, no light scattering is observed, but the percentage of SO₂ disappearing is greater. In relatively dry systems the presence of SO₂ results in a general slowing down of the photochemical smog reactions. In systems containing water vapor concentrations comparable to those found in the atmosphere, the inhibiting influence of SO₂ on the smog reaction is less pronounced. However, the maximum concentration of oxidant produced by the photochemical smog reactions is significantly lower when SO₂ is present.