Empowerment through emotional connection and capacity building: Public participation through environmental non-governmental organizations

Environmental non-governmental organization (ENGO) plays an important role in promoting public participation in environmental governance. By semi-structural interviews and participant observations, this paper examines a local ENGO in China to explore how the organization can mobilize and organize the local public to participate in environmental governance. The research finds that mobilizing public participation in local environmental governance is a continuous process in which ENGO needs to continuously enable, empower and emotionally invest in the public. Through emotion construction and capacity building, environmental organizations have been empowering the public to participate and play a major role in local environmental governance. Mobilizing public participation in environmental governance can promote the improvement of local environmental problems, but mobilizing and organizing public participation requires sufficient political opportunity space, sufficient funds, and a culture of public participation.     

Modeling long-term attainable soil organic carbon sequestration across the highlands of Ethiopia

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The objectives of this study across the highlands of Ethiopia were: (i) to characterize the association between soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and...     

气候对河南省小麦产量的影响及其变化研究

河南省位于亚热带与温带的气候过渡带 ,小麦产量对气候变化非常敏感 ,气候对小麦产量影响的南北过渡性很明显。文中用正交多项式的方法分离小麦产量 ;用积分回归的方法分析气候对小麦产量的影响。在此基础上 ,首先根据降水量、温度和日照时数对小麦产量影响的区域分布 ,分别把河南省分为4个降水量影响区、4个温度影响区、5个日照影响区 ;然后 ,采用滑动积分回归的方法 ,分别分析了亚热带和温带3个影响因子对小麦产量影响的变化 ;最后 ,讨论了未来气候变化的可能影响。     

中国表层土壤中239+240Pu的空间分布与变异性研究

为了解中国表层土壤中^239+240Pu比活度和²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu的范围、空间分布以及变异性,利用统计分析和数学模型的方法,定量分析了1991~2019年中国表层土壤^239+240Pu比活度和²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu的范围,空间分布以及产生空间变异性的原因.结果表明：中国表层土壤中²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu比值集中在0.18的概率为99%,全球大气核试验沉降是中国表层土壤中^239+240Pu的主要来源;表层土壤中^239+240Pu比活度处于低放射水平（£1Bq/kg的概率为94%）,西北和东北地区的表层土壤中^239+240Pu比活度有较高的空间变异性.^239+240Pu分布的空间变异性受到大气混合、冠层效应、土壤粒度、有机质和迁移（横向迁移和纵向迁移）的影响.同时,本文系统梳理了计算表层土壤中^239+240Pu空间变异的数学模型,为定量评估^239+240Pu的环境水平提供有效的方法.     

Generation of Priority Research Questions to Inform Conservation Policy and Management at a National Level

Abstract: Integrating knowledge from across the natural and social sciences is necessary to effectively address societal tradeoffs between human use of biological diversity and its preservation. Collaborative processes can change the ways decision makers think about scientific evidence, enhance levels of mutual trust and credibility, and advance the conservation policy discourse. Canada has responsibility for a large fraction of some major ecosystems, such as boreal forests, Arctic tundra, wetlands, and temperate and Arctic oceans. Stressors to biological diversity within these ecosystems arise from activities of the country's resource‐based economy, as well as external drivers of environmental change. Effective management is complicated by incongruence between ecological and political boundaries and conflicting perspectives on social and economic goals. Many knowledge gaps about stressors and their management might be reduced through targeted, timely research. We identify 40 questions that, if addressed or answered, would advance research that has a high probability of supporting development of effective policies and management strategies for species, ecosystems, and ecological processes in Canada. A total of 396 candidate questions drawn from natural and social science disciplines were contributed by individuals with diverse organizational affiliations. These were collaboratively winnowed to 40 by our team of collaborators. The questions emphasize understanding ecosystems, the effects and mitigation of climate change, coordinating governance and management efforts across multiple jurisdictions, and examining relations between conservation policy and the social and economic well‐being of Aboriginal peoples. The questions we identified provide potential links between evidence from the conservation sciences and formulation of policies for conservation and resource management. Our collaborative process of communication and engagement between scientists and decision makers for generating and prioritizing research questions at a national level could be a model for similar efforts beyond Canada.     

Large-scale renewable energy project barriers: Environmental impact assessment streamlining efforts in Japan and the EU

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures have been identified as a major barrier to renewable energy (RE) development with regards to large-scale projects (LS-RE). However EIA laws have also been neglected by many decision-makers who have been underestimating its impact on RE development and the stifling potential they possess. As a consequence, apart from acknowledging the shortcomings of the systems currently in place, few governments momentarily have concrete plans to reform their EIA laws. By looking at recent EIA streamlining efforts in two industrialized regions that underwent major transformations in their energy sectors, this paper attempts to assess how such reform efforts can act as a means to support the balancing of environmental protection and climate change mitigation with socio-economic challenges. Thereby this paper fills this intellectual void by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese EIA law by contrasting it with the recently revised EIA Directive of the European Union (EU). This enables the identification of the regulatory provisions that impact RE development the most and the determination of how structured EIA law reforms would affect domestic RE project development. The main focus lies on the evaluation of regulatory streamlining efforts in the Japanese and EU contexts through the application of a mixed-methods approach, consisting of in-depth literary and legal reviews, followed by a comparative analysis and a series of semi-structured interviews. Highlighting several legal inconsistencies in combination with the views of EIA professionals, academics and law- and policymakers, allowed for a more comprehensive assessment of what streamlining elements of the reformed EU EIA Directive and the proposed Japanese EIA framework modifications could either promote or stifle further RE deployment.     

Effects of zooplankton diel vertical migration on a phytoplankton community: A scenario analysis of the underlying mechanisms

A mechanistic model was applied to study the influence of diurnal vertical migration (DVM) of planktonic crustaceans on the succession and composition of the phytoplankton community. While zooplankton was restricted to only one functional group, the phytoplankton community was divided into two functional groups which are distinguished by their maximum growth rates and vulnerability to zooplankton grazing. DVM causes a pulsed grazing regime and may also entail a corresponding reduction of the cumulative daily rates of ingestion and losses of zooplankton. To study the relative importance of these two mechanisms of DVM to phytoplankton we performed a scenario analysis consisting of 5 different scenarios. The results show that DVM has a strong influence on the phytoplankton community. Well edible algae benefit during the first 3–4 weeks of summer stratification by reduced daily grazing. The typical shift from small, well edible algae to larger, poorly or non-edible phytoplankton is distinctly delayed. Under the assumption of unchanged daily grazing, however, a pulsed grazing regime has nearly no influence on the resulting phytoplankton composition. As similar effects are also found for completely non-edible phytoplankton, indirect effects via phosphorus availability must be assumed. Thus, the scenario analysis reveals that the observed effects of DVM on phytoplankton can be explained by a combination of two mechanisms: (1) reduction of the daily zooplankton grazing, and (2) changed assimilation and remineralisation of phosphorus. Surprisingly and in contradiction to earlier reports there is almost no DVM effect on phytoplankton due to the sole action of a pulsed grazing regime.     

A review of waste management practices and their impact on human health

This work reviews (i) the most recent information on waste arisings and waste disposal options in the world, in the European Union (EU), in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC) countries, and in some developing countries (notably China) and (ii) the potential direct and indirect impact of waste management activities on health. Though the main focus is primarily on municipal solid waste (MSW), exposure to bioaerosols from composting facilities and to pathogens from sewage treatment plants are considered. The reported effects of radioactive waste are also briefly reviewed. Hundreds of epidemiological studies reported on the incidence of a wide range of possible illnesses on employees of waste facilities and on the resident population. The main conclusion of the overall assessment of the literature is that the evidence of adverse health outcomes for the general population living near landfill sites, incinerators, composting facilities and nuclear installations is usually insufficient and inconclusive. There is convincing evidence of a high risk of gastrointestinal problems associated with pathogens originating at sewage treatment plants. In order to improve the quality and usefulness of epidemiological studies applied to populations residing in areas where waste management facilities are located or planned, preference should be given to prospective cohort studies of sufficient statistical power, with access to direct human exposure measurements, and supported by data on health effect biomarkers and susceptibility biomarkers.     

Traffic-related air pollution and hyperactivity/inattention,dyslexia and dyscalculia in adolescents of the German GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts

BackgroundFew studies have examined the link between air pollution exposure and behavioural problems and learning disorders during late childhood and adolescence.ObjectivesTo determine whether traffic-related air pollution exposure is associated with hyperactivity/inattention, dyslexia and dyscalculia up to age 15 years using the German GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts (recruitment 1995–1999).MethodsHyperactivity/inattention was assessed using the German parent-completed (10 years) and self-completed (15 years) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Responses were categorized into normal versus borderline/abnormal. Parent-reported dyslexia and dyscalculia (yes/no) at age 10 and 15 years were defined using parent-completed questionnaires. Individual-level annual average estimates of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), particulate matter (PM)₁₀ mass, PM_2.5 mass and PM_2.5 absorbance concentrations were assigned to each participant's birth, 10 year and 15 year home address. Longitudinal associations between the air pollutants and the neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed using generalized estimation equations, separately for both study areas, and combined in a random-effects meta-analysis. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals are given per interquartile range increase in pollutant concentration.ResultsThe prevalence of abnormal/borderline hyperactivity/inattention scores and parental-reported dyslexia and dyscalculia at 15 years of age was 12.9%, 10.5% and 3.4%, respectively, in the combined population (N = 4745). In the meta- analysis, hyperactivity/inattention was associated with PM_2.5 mass estimated to the 10 and 15 year addresses (1.12 [1.01, 1.23] and 1.11 [1.01, 1.22]) and PM_2.5 absorbance estimated to the 10 and 15 year addresses (1.14 [1.05, 1.25] and 1.13 [1.04, 1.23], respectively).ConclusionsWe report associations suggesting a potential link between air pollution exposure and hyperactivity/inattention scores, although these findings require replication.     

Comparing exposure metrics for classifying ‘dangerous heat’ in heat wave and health warning systems

Heat waves have been linked to excess mortality and morbidity, and are projected to increase in frequency and intensity with a warming climate. This study compares exposure metrics to trigger heat wave and health warning systems (HHWS), and introduces a novel multi-level hybrid clustering method to identify potential dangerously hot days. Two-level and three-level hybrid clustering analysis as well as common indices used to trigger HHWS, including spatial synoptic classification (SSC), and the 90th, 95th, and 99th percentiles of minimum and relative minimum temperature (using a 10 day reference period), were calculated using a summertime weather dataset in Detroit from 1976 to 2006. The days classified as ‘hot’ with hybrid clustering analysis, SSC, minimum and relative minimum temperature methods differed by method type. SSC tended to include the days with, on average, 2.5 °C lower daily minimum temperature and 5.3 °C lower dew point than days identified by other methods. These metrics were evaluated by comparing their performance in predicting excess daily mortality. The 99th percentile of minimum temperature was generally the most predictive, followed by the three-level hybrid clustering method, the 95th percentile of minimum temperature, SSC and others. Our proposed clustering framework has more flexibility and requires less substantial meteorological prior information than the synoptic classification methods. Comparison of these metrics in predicting excess daily mortality suggests that metrics thought to better characterize physiological heat stress by considering several weather conditions simultaneously may not be the same metrics that are better at predicting heat-related mortality, which has significant implications in HHWSs.