Use of value functions in environmental decisions

Value functions are devices that allow discrete analyses of environmental impacts to be reconciled to a single quantitative scale of preference. The values obtained can then be weighted and combined into measures of the relative desirability of policy alternatives. However, for this methodology to be valid, the set of impacts used must satisfy a number of conditions; and whether or not these are met depends on how the impacts are selected and characterized. This paper generalizes instances where the conditions may be violated and how they may be resolved, and concludes with a few thoughts on how the methodology might be adapted to the routine of bureaucracy.This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory under Contract W-7405-ENG-48.     

Participatory Development of No-tillage Systems without Herbicides for Family Farming: The Experience of the Center-South Region of Paraná

It is currently estimated that 40 million hectares worldwide are cultivated through no-tillage systems (Derpsh, 1998). Small family farms account for less than 50,000ha, half of them located in South America's Southern Cone (Wall, 1998). Many hypotheses have been offered to explain why so few small farmers have adapted to this method. The most simplistic ones relate this limited adoption to small farmers' traditionalism and to their rejection of innovation. Others point to the low technological development of animal-drawn equipment needed for this technology or the low educational level of family farmers.Results of work done in the Center-South of Paraná, Southern Brazil, by AS-PTA¹ in partnership with the region's Forum of Family Farmers Organizations, challenge these hypotheses and draw attention to the need for new approaches and processes of research and extension if the goal is to disseminate and implement appropriate no-tillage systems among family farmers. One requisite is to lower production costs of this method through elimination of herbicides and using green manure and cover crops that shift the crop-weed balance in favor of crops.     

灾害中的家庭——家庭与灾害相互关系的社会学考察

灾害对家庭的冲击表现在许多方面，它既对家庭的生存条件构成威胁，又会冲击和影响到家庭的组织结构，关系状态和基本功能。     

Threats to beach resources and park boundaries caused by shoreline migration in an urban estuarine park

An evaluation of coastal processes, shoreline erosion, and shore management options for Conference House Park, New York, USA, reveals the problems associated with lack of congruence between jurisdictional boundaries and boundaries required for maintenance of beaches and shorefront park land. Rates of shoreline change are high despite low wave energies because bay beaches contain small amounts of sand. The park is so narrow in places that the shoreline will soon move out of park boundaries. This condition will eliminate natural beach resources, restrict access, and create political and administrative problems. Management strategies include revetment construction, beach nourishment, and acquisition of additional land. Obtaining the maximum length of shorefront to create a park may be less cost effective in maintaining natural beach resources than obtaining a shorter frontage and more compact shape that allows for shoreline movement. The problems of managing eroding shorelines in urban estuaries are acute because space is lacking, the cost of land is high, and the critical nature of shoreline erosion is disguised by low wave energies and lack of daily beach change.     

Metamodelling-based Product Family Design of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is stimulated by the need to replace non-renewable energies with sustainable and more environment-friendly new energy types. PHEVs benefit from a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor with a rechargeable and larger battery pack than conventional hybrid vehicles. In order to maximise customer satisfaction and motivate replacement of the conventional vehicles with this new technology, the design of PHEVs requires sufficient differentiation in the product specifications for diverse market segments. The added set-up time, processes, costs and longer lead time for designing and manufacturing a diverse range of such vehicles is a hurdle towards increasing their diversity. This study proposes an efficient product family design (PFD) method for mass customisation of the PHEV powertrains. The methodology is less dependent on expensive simulations due to use of metamodelling and non-conventional sensitivity analysis. The PFD concept and its implications to a family of five PHEVs are investigated, and benefits as well as limitations of a sustainable development for this complex product are discussed.     

比色法快速测定室内空气甲醛含量

室内空气甲醛的现场快速监测技术已成为环境监测的热点研究领域,旨在为普通家庭提供室内空气甲醛现场监测方法。优化了甲醛吸收液用量、自然吸收时间及吸收液与空气接触面积对监测方法的影响,制作了用于目测室内空气中甲醛含量的标准比色卡,方法简便、快速、经济、实用,可望在普通家庭中得到广泛应用。     

香蕉MaPFK基因家族鉴定、MaPFK3克隆和表达

为研究香蕉中MaPFK基因的功能和生物学特性,采用生物信息学分析法对香蕉A基因组的MaPFK基因家族成员进行鉴定、蛋白特性分析、分子进化树分析、FPKM值分析,同时以'天宝蕉'为材料,通过RT-PCR技术克隆MaPFK3基因,进行生物信息学分析;采用qRT-PCR技术进行低温胁迫下的表达分析.结果表明,MaPFK家族包...     

龙眼miR167家族分子特性及其潜在靶标在体胚发生早期的表达模式

为了解miR167家族成员的分子特性及其可能互作的靶标在龙眼体胚发生早期的调控机制,采用生物信息学分析方法进行龙眼miR167基因家族序列分析、二级结构预测、分子进化树分析、靶基因预测及其靶标特异表达的FPKM值分析,并采用实时荧光定量PCR技术(quantitave real-time PCR,qPCR)检测miR1...     

退耕还林工程经济补偿机制研究——以雅安市雨城区为例

本文通过对4个乡镇8个村,120户农户的调查,取得第一手资料,分析退耕还林对退耕农户利益的影响,针对西部退耕还林经济补偿机制运行中存在的问题进行了初步探讨,并提出了建立和完善西部退耕还林经济补偿机制的建议,从而对进一步调动农户参与生态建设的积极性,巩固还林成果,持续开展退耕还林工程具有重要意义。     

Does an energy efficiency label alter consumers' purchasing decisions? A latent class approach based on a stated choice experiment in Shanghai

In this paper we conducted a hypothetical choice experiment in Shanghai, China, to examine whether the China Energy Efficiency Label influences consumers' choices of air conditioners and refrigerators. A latent class approach was applied to observe both heterogeneities among the respondents and product brands. Our results suggested that consumers in Shanghai were well aware of the China Energy Efficiency Label and tended to pay more attention to products with such labels. In addition, air conditioners and refrigerators affixed with a hypothetical label that indicates saving in electricity bills compared with a standard model received significant preferences, which suggested that the more information manufacturers provide, the more their products would be preferred by consumers. Finally, weighted by class probability, the willingness to pay values for more energy efficient refrigerators were higher than those for more energy efficient air conditioners, implying that Shanghai consumers have greater incentive to pay more for appliances they use more frequently.