用环境圆桌对话搭建绿色社区公众参与环保平台

社区环境圆桌对话会议已从最初的简单的会议模式,逐步转变成解决社区实际环境问题、改善社区环境质量的重要手段。它促进了社区、社会的和谐,增强了政府职能部门的环境管理能力,是环境行政管理的延伸和有益补充。同时,它促进了企业改善环境行为,提高了居民参与环保的热情和动力,实现了个人、单位、社会的三赢,成为解决当前环境问题的新途径、新思路。     

2007中国环保汽车年

火辣辣的玫瑰,火辣辣的开。众观2007年汽车业,回望2007各地汽车展,概念车成为车展的闪亮点,绿色环保车又成为概念车的主旋律。绿色环保车像火辣辣的玫瑰一样在全国盛开。12月23日,由中国青年报社发起的“2007年度中国绿色环保汽车”评选结果在京揭晓。普锐斯、凯旋、思域、荣威、迈腾、飞度、明锐、景程、锐欧和迪比亚F3白金版10款车型荣获“2007年度中国绿色环保汽车”。     

认识地球 和谐发展——第39个世界地球日

4月22日,是第39个“世界地球日”。值此纪念活动,编辑此版,向大家提醒地球日趋严重的生态危机,宣传普及相关地球知识,目的在于呼吁大家行动起来,善待地球、保护资源环境,走和谐发展的道路,更加珍爱这个我们繁衍生息的星球,珍爱我们共同的家园。     

我国部分地区环境健康教育现状及其需求调查

2007年下半年启动的《国家环境与腱康行动计划》明确规定,到2015年要完善环境与健康风险评估和风险预测、预警工作,实现环境污染突发公共事件的多部门协同应急处置;基本实现社会各方面参与环境与健康工作的良好局面。应《国家环境与健康行动计划》要求,环境保护部科技司委托北京大学公共卫生学院等,对我国部分地区环境与健康现状进行了实地调查,本刊就此次调查所发现的问题和结果公布如下。     

Sorption of imidazolium-based ionic liquids to aquatic sediments

Ionic liquids (ILs) have received much attention as "green" alternatives to traditional solvents because they do not evaporate, eliminating concerns over fugitive emissions. However, if ionic liquids are used in industrial applications, they may enter aquatic systems via effluent, and their fate and transport may be influenced by sorption to sediments. In this study, we conducted batch mixing experiments with four alkylmethylimidizolium-based ILs and four types of aquatic sediments to asses the capacity for natural aquatic sediments to remove these chemicals from the water column. The concentration isotherms were non linear with point estimates of the distribution coefficient (K(d)) decreasing with increasing concentration. Apparent distribution coefficients ranged from 7.9 to 95.7l kg(-1) at an initial concentration of 0.5mM and were positively related to sediment organic matter (SOM) content. These K(d) values indicate that the ILs did not sorb strongly to the tested sediments. Increased alkyl chain length did not lead to increased sorption suggesting that hydrophobic interactions were not the most important sorption mechanism. We conclude that aquatic sediments have a limited capacity to sorb alkylmethylimidazolium ILs and that the transport of these contaminants in aquatic systems will not be strongly attenuated by sediments.     

Influence of clay minerals on the reduction of Cr6+ by citric acid

The influence of clay minerals on the reduction of Cr6+ by citric acid was investigated at pH values 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 at 25 degrees C. The results indicate that montmorillonite and illite greatly accelerate the reduction reactions at pH 4.0 and 4.5, but their effects are dramatically reduced at pH 5.0. The role of clay minerals in accelerating the reactions is in the order: illite>montmorillonite>kaolinite, which has a positive correlation with the amount of Mn2+ adsorbed on the surfaces of these minerals. With light, Fe(3+) also significantly increases reaction rates. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) greatly suppresses the acceleration of the reduction reactions by these minerals, indicating that EDTA competes with citric acid for Mn2+. Thus, the formation of complexes between Mn(2+) and citric acid could be a prerequisite for the acceleration of the reductions of Cr6+ by clay minerals. In addition, there is no relationship between the specific surface area of clay minerals and the reduction rate of Cr6+ by citric acid.     

Short- and medium-term effects of experimental nitrogen fertilization on arthropods associated with Calluna vulgaris heathlands in north-west Spain

We studied the short- and medium-term effects of experimental nitrogen fertilization (3 and 15 months after the treatment) on the arthropods of Calluna vulgaris heathlands in NW Spain. Three heathland sites were selected with two permanent plots per site: control and fertilized. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer (56 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1)) was applied monthly and insects were caught using pitfall traps. We found mainly species-level responses to nitrogen addition. Seven species (e.g. Lochmaea suturalis) showed a consistent trend (benefited or harmed) in both periods and were proposed as possible reliable indicators of the effects of nitrogen deposition in these ecosystems. We also found variable arthropod trophic-group responses: (a) herbivores (leaf beetles, true bugs) increased in abundance on a short-term scale; (b) predators (carabid beetles, true bugs) showed opposite and less clear responses in both periods. Further long-term studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying the observed arthropod responses.     

Trends in airborne particulates in Stuttgart, Germany: 1972-2005

Since 1972, at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, airborne particulate matter (PM12 and then PM10) was continuously collected on filters and analyzed for environmentally relevant elements by X-ray fluorescence analysis. The resulting long-term time series are suitable for the investigation of trends and of seasonal variation. For the period 1972-2005, monthly and annual concentration mean values of 13 elements (Br, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Ti, V, and Zn) in the air are presented. Trend curves were fitted and the mean yearly variation of the concentration for these elements was calculated and represented graphically. All trend curves show a diminution of the air pollution during this period, but to different extents. Mean trends in percent per year were calculated for each element both for the entire investigation period and for three data subsets of 10-11 years. Possible explanations are discussed in detail.     

Physiological responses to atmospheric fluorine pollution in transplants of Pseudoscleropodium purum

Transplants of the moss Pseudoscleropodium purum were placed under shade, and with an auto irrigation system, at five sites in the surroundings of an aluminium smelter to enable study of the possible effects of F on different physiological parameters after exposure periods of 28 and 56 days. Reference thresholds for the content of Chl a+b and for the pigment indexes of Chl a/b and D665/D665a were established with the data corresponding to 22 transplants of each duration of exposure, at seven sites where there was little or no contamination by F. The highest determination coefficients for the levels of F in moss were those obtained for chlorophyll content (Chl a+b) and the D665/D665a pigment index, with the effects being most evident in the transplants exposed to the contamination for 56 days.     

Seasonal concentrations and partitioning of PAHs in a suburban site of Bursa, Turkey

Effects of space heating on atmospheric concentrations and gas-particle partitioning of PAHs were investigated in a suburban site of Bursa, Turkey. The average concentrations of ∑₁₅-PAHs in heating season samples were approximately 10 times higher than those of non-heating season samples. The plot of log K_p versus log P_L⁰ for all the data set gave significantly different slopes. The slope for the heating season (−0.75) samples was steeper than the one for the non-heating season (−0.64) samples. It was also observed that partitioning of PAHs for the non-heating season samples showed different characteristics depending on air parcel trajectories. Generally steeper slopes were obtained for the air parcels traveled across the Black sea and arrived to the sampling site from northern sector. On the other hand, the variations in slopes according to air mass origin were insignificant for the heating season samples. Local contributions from space heating are the reason for this observation.