Integration of ecological–biological thresholds in conservation decision making

In the Anthropocene, coupled human and natural systems dominate and only a few natural systems remain relatively unaffected by human influence. On the one hand, conservation criteria based on areas of minimal human impact are not relevant to much of the biosphere. On the other hand, conservation criteria based on economic factors are problematic with respect to their ability to arrive at operational indicators of well‐being that can be applied in practice over multiple generations. Coupled human and natural systems are subject to economic development which, under current management structures, tends to affect natural systems and cross planetary boundaries. Hence, designing and applying conservation criteria applicable in real‐world systems where human and natural systems need to interact and sustainably coexist is essential. By recognizing the criticality of satisfying basic needs as well as the great uncertainty over the needs and preferences of future generations, we sought to incorporate conservation criteria based on minimal human impact into economic evaluation. These criteria require the conservation of environmental conditions such that the opportunity for intergenerational welfare optimization is maintained. Toward this end, we propose the integration of ecological–biological thresholds into decision making and use as an example the planetary‐boundaries approach. Both conservation scientists and economists must be involved in defining operational ecological–biological thresholds that can be incorporated into economic thinking and reflect the objectives of conservation, sustainability, and intergenerational welfare optimization.     

Environmental cost of using poor decision metrics to prioritize environmental projects

Conservation decision makers commonly use project‐scoring metrics that are inconsistent with theory on optimal ranking of projects. As a result, there may often be a loss of environmental benefits. We estimated the magnitudes of these losses for various metrics that deviate from theory in ways that are common in practice. These metrics included cases where relevant variables were omitted from the benefits metric, project costs were omitted, and benefits were calculated using a faulty functional form. We estimated distributions of parameters from 129 environmental projects from Australia, New Zealand, and Italy for which detailed analyses had been completed previously. The cost of using poor prioritization metrics (in terms of lost environmental values) was often high—up to 80% in the scenarios we examined. The cost in percentage terms was greater when the budget was smaller. The most costly errors were omitting information about environmental values (up to 31% loss of environmental values), omitting project costs (up to 35% loss), omitting the effectiveness of management actions (up to 9% loss), and using a weighted‐additive decision metric for variables that should be multiplied (up to 23% loss). The latter 3 are errors that occur commonly in real‐world decision metrics, in combination often reducing potential benefits from conservation investments by 30–50%. Uncertainty about parameter values also reduced the benefits from investments in conservation projects but often not by as much as faulty prioritization metrics.     

Defining the Impact of Non‐Native Species

Non‐native species cause changes in the ecosystems to which they are introduced. These changes, or some of them, are usually termed impacts; they can be manifold and potentially damaging to ecosystems and biodiversity. However, the impacts of most non‐native species are poorly understood, and a synthesis of available information is being hindered because authors often do not clearly define impact. We argue that explicitly defining the impact of non‐native species will promote progress toward a better understanding of the implications of changes to biodiversity and ecosystems caused by non‐native species; help disentangle which aspects of scientific debates about non‐native species are due to disparate definitions and which represent true scientific discord; and improve communication between scientists from different research disciplines and between scientists, managers, and policy makers. For these reasons and based on examples from the literature, we devised seven key questions that fall into 4 categories: directionality, classification and measurement, ecological or socio‐economic changes, and scale. These questions should help in formulating clear and practical definitions of impact to suit specific scientific, stakeholder, or legislative contexts. Definiendo el Impacto de las Especies No‐Nativas     

Development of heat transfer and evaporation model of LNG covered by Hi-Ex foam

Natural gas is a kind of clean, efficient green energy source, which is used widely. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is produced by cooling natural gas to −161 °C, at which it becomes the liquid. Once LNG was released, fire or explosion would happen when ignition source existed nearby. The high expansion foam (Hi-Ex foam) is believed to quickly blanket on the top of LNG spillage pool and warm the LNG vapor to lower the vapor cloud density at the ground level and raising vapor buoyancy. To identify the physical structure after it contacted with LN₂ and to develop heat transfer model, the small-scale field test with liquid nitrogen (LN₂) was designed. In experiment, three layers including frozen ice layer, frozen Hi-Ex layer and soft layer of Hi-Ex foam were observed at the steady state. By characterizing physical structure of the foam, formulas for calculating the surface of single foam bubble and counting foam film thickness were deduced. The micro heat transfer and evaporation model between cryogenic liquid and Hi-Ex foam was established. Indicating the physical structure of the frozen ice layer, there were a certain number of icicles below it. The heat transfer and evaporation mathematical model between the frozen ice layer and LNG was derived. Combining models above with the heat transfer between LNG, ground and cofferdam, the heat transfer and evaporation mathematical model of LNG covered by Hi-Ex foam was developed eventually. Finally, LN₂ evaporation rate calculated by this model was compared with the measured evaporation rate. The calculated results are 1.2–2.1 times of experimental results, which were acceptable in engineering and proved the model was reliable.     

济南市环境与经济协调发展评价及对策研究

以济南市为研究对象,通过构建环境与经济协调发展指标体系,分析了济南市生态环境和经济发展状况,评价了环境与经济协调发展水平,结果表明:2011年-2014年济南市经济发展呈逐年上升趋势;生态环境质量出现下降态势;环境与经济协调发展水平也出现了明显下滑.根据评价结果,探讨了该市在产业能源结构、机动车控制及农业生产方面存在的问题,由此提出了调整产业结构、优化能源结构、完善机动车管理、加强生态农业建设、建立环境和经济发展综合决策和激励机制等对策.     

哈尔滨市环境空气质量评价与经济增长关系研究

以PM10、SO2和NO2作为空气质量的评价对象,采用空气综合污染指数法研究了哈尔滨市2001年到2015年的环境空气质量变化趋势.以空气综合污染指数作为因变量,哈尔滨市人均GDP作为自变量,来探讨哈尔滨环境空气质量与经济增长之间的关系.得出2001年到2015年期间,哈尔滨环境空气质量呈现先变好又变差再变好的趋势,哈尔滨环境空气质量与经济增长之间呈现近似三次方函数关系,且部分呈现到"U"型曲线关系.     

昆钢制氢站二次净化系统的优化改进

针对昆钢动力能源分公司制氢站建成投产后出现的环保污染和所带来的生产运行问题,对制氢系统原装置技术存在问题进行分析,提出优化改进方案,并对实施后的效果、环境效益、经济效益等进行分析。优化方案的实施彻底解决了制氢站建成后产生的环保污染问题。     

氨法脱硫生产氨肥的清洁生产研究

我国因燃煤导致的SO2污染危害十分严重。从清洁生产角度出发,通过比较锅炉烟气脱硫各种方法的优缺点,确定氨法脱硫作为化工企业处理锅炉烟气的工艺。介绍了氨法脱硫机理,工艺各系统结构组成,进行了经济及社会效益分析。氨法脱硫工艺可以去除93％的SO2,处理后的烟气达到了国家排放标准,脱硫副产品硫酸铵可以转交给同区域的企业,深加工为优质化肥。说明发展清洁生产和循环经济是企业预防和控制污染的有效途径,是实现可持续发展战略的必然选择,有利于企业技术进步,提高管理水平,增强综合竞争能力。     

辽宁省经济发展与环境关系的实证研究

维持经济的持续稳定增长是我国的重要政策目标,然而面对日趋严峻的资源、环境制约,大力推进生态文明建设已刻不容缓。相应地,在理论方面,研究经济增长与环境污染的双向作用机制也非常必要。利用VAR模型,研究了辽宁省经济发展与环境之间的关系,发现两者之间的关系并不是EKC理论中所说的倒u型曲线,而是呈现w型、N型等更加复杂的曲线形状。实验结果也表明辽宁省环境与经济存在双向作用机制,其中,废气与废水对辽宁省经济增长影响最大。     

从经济学角度对比中国与美国的能源消费

分析了中关两国能源消费总量和能源结构的差异,探讨了中关两国能源消费差异的经济学内涵,认为经济指标GDP并不能完全反映人们生活水平的提高,而其带来的环境问题却很可能影响后续的经济发展。因此,在发展经济的同时,应该充分考虑能源需求给环境带来的压力。适当调整能源结构、提高能源效率和发展替代能源是未来能源消费战略的重中之重,也是经济、环境和社会协调发展的重要保障。