Implementing stricter environmental regulation to enhance eco-efficiency and sustainability: a case study of Shandong Province’s pulp and paper industry, China

There has been much debate on the topic of whether stricter environmental regulations can promote environmental performance and economic performance at the same time. Different researchers have used different indicators to measure environmental performance and economic performance in their empirical studies. However, it is a surprise that few studies have checked the relationship between environmental regulation and eco-efficiency, as the latter is widely regarded as a quite powerful tool of considering ecology and economy together.In this study the background is the implementation in 2003 of the Stricter Discharge Standard (SDS) in Shandong Province’s Pulp and Paper Industry (SPPI), compared to the national standards of China. The stricter regulations were intended to promote corporate change from passive management to active control and from end-of-pipe treatment to cleaner production. This study investigated the eco-efficiency trends of SPPI from 2001 to 2008 in three fields: water efficiency, energy efficiency and environment efficiency. A “de-linking” and “re-linking” tool was used to attain a further evaluation. The study showed that with the implementation of stricter regulation most of the efficiency indicators (except CO₂ emission and energy consumption) had achieved significant improvements, and the overall environmental performance trends of SPPI showed it to be more sustainable. However, the study also found that it was not enough to address a single indicator in the environmental regulation of the pulp and paper industry. More holistic eco-efficiency indicators need to be further considered and introduced to the industry as the next step to create true sustainable development.     

The psychological contracts of violation victims: A post‐violation model

Organizations may fail to keep their commitments to their employees, at times leading to psychological contract violation. Although many victims of violation remain with their employer despite such adverse experiences, little research exists on their responses in the aftermath of violation. This paper develops a post‐violation model to explain systematically how violation victims respond to and cope with violation and the effects this process has on their subsequent psychological contract. Central to post‐violation are the victims' beliefs regarding the likelihood of violation resolution and the factors affecting it. The model specifies how the victim engages in a self‐regulation process that results in an array of potential psychological contract outcomes. Possible outcomes include reactivation of the original pre‐violation contract, the formation of a new contract that may be more or less attractive than the original, or a state of dissolution wherein the victim fails to form a functional psychological contract with the employer. The research and practical implications of this model are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

临海产业用海的海域利用效率测算与分析研究

选取港口工程、船舶、电力、石化工业和其他产业类型为典型产业用海,对中国东部沿海省份产业用海的海域利用效率进行测算,并确定其控制值.结果表明除港口工程外,其他临海产业的用海效率南北和省区差异不明显.港口工程、船舶工业和石化工业的控制值应大于0.65,电力工业不得小于0.55.建设并完善国家、省、市、县四级海域使用动态监视监测体系,健全和规范海域使用权市场流转机制等,有利于提高临海产业部门的海域利用效率.     

Model‐Based Nitrogen and Phosphorus (Nutrient) Criteria for Large Temperate Rivers: 1. Model Development and Application

An initial inquiry into model‐based numeric nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrient) criteria for large rivers is presented. Field data collection and associated modeling were conducted on a segment of the lower Yellowstone River in the northwestern United States to assess the feasibility of deriving numeric nutrient criteria using mechanistic water‐quality models. The steady‐state one‐dimensional model QUAL2K and a transect‐based companion model AT2K were calibrated and confirmed against low‐flow conditions at a time when river loadings, water column chemistry, and diurnal indicators were approximately steady state. Predictive simulation was then implemented via nutrient perturbation to evaluate the steady‐state and diurnal response of the river to incremental nutrient additions. In this first part of a two‐part series, we detail our modeling approach, model selection, calibration and confirmation, sensitivity analysis, model outcomes, and associated uncertainty. In the second part (Suplee et al., 2015) we describe the criteria development process using the tools described herein. Both articles provide a fundamental understanding of the process required to develop site‐specific numeric nutrient criteria using models in applied regulatory settings.     

Citizens’ perceptions of trust relationships in the environmental management process in North Lebanon

This research investigates how trust plays a role in environmental management in North Lebanon, which has suffered repeated episodes of armed conflict in recent times. Previous studies have shown that environmental problems have increased and that the government has been unable to address these, even during periods of relative peace. We examined trust as a factor that contributes to, or hampers, environmental management. Our analysis drew on a survey in 2011 involving 499 citizens. The results demonstrated that, according to citizens, the lack of trust between citizens, and between citizens and the public sector, is a key factor obstructing effective environmental management. The results indicate the level of correlation between how trusting people are; how citizens participate; and how people perceive government legitimacy.     

论美国能源监管立法与能源管理体制

美国联邦政府从20世纪30年代开始制定能源监管立法。依据集中程度和立法主题,美国能源监管立法可分为电力管控、核能监管、能源安全、放松管制等4个发展时期。根据现行美国能源立法．美国能源管理体制分为联邦和州两个层次。在联邦层次,对能源进行监管的部门有美国能源部、联邦能源监管委员会、核能监管署、环境保护署、国会内政部等。其中,能源部主要负责能源发展和安全的大政方针的制定,联邦能源监管委员会的使命在于通过管制和市场的手段执行能源立法及能源政策。在州层次,一般由州能源委员会、州公用事业委员会以及州环保局负责州的能源监管。     

群体细胞间空隙在微囊藻水华形成过程中的浮力调节作用

伪空胞一直被认为是蓝藻水华形成过程中的主要浮力提供者,但是否是唯一的浮力提供者还不清楚.本研究利用室内蓝藻水华形成模拟实验和野外验相结合的方法,从生理生态学角度探讨细胞间空隙对蓝藻水华形成的影响.室内蓝藻水华形成模拟实验表明,蓝藻在上浮过程中以单细胞形态存在,但在水柱培养器取样口6开始形成小群体;通过对细胞镇重物(胞外...     

政府跨区域突发事件应急管理能力评估研究

给出了跨区域突发事件的基本内涵。通过界定跨区域突发事件应急管理能力内涵,运用多因素评估理论,建立了一套用于评估跨区域应急管理能力的指标体系,并采用定性与定量相结合的改进的层次分析法计算各指标权重,提出了多级模糊综合评价法对跨区域应急管理能力进行综合评估。通过实例操作,表明该评估法可行性较好,效果较佳,能够为各级政府跨区域应急管理活动提供决策依据。     

Consumer Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Indicative, Legitimation, and Regulatory Role in Agricultural and Food Ethics

Disputes over agriculture and foodproduction have occurred against a background ofdisputed authority with regard to governments,experts, and single issue pressure groups. Consumershave intervened in quite significant ways with manyaltering their buying patterns. The conventionalassessment of consumer ``preferences' throughaggregated purchases fails to reflect the ethicalnature of significant numbers of purchase decisions.Nevertheless, consumers seem to offer a wider basis onwhich to consider ethical issues. The author proposesthat a valuable inclusion of consumer opinion in thedebates would require a move away from neo-classicaleconomics and the selective inclusion of consumeropinion to unravel the complexity of (aggregated)consumer behavior. It is argued that Hirschman'sframework of ``exit, voice, and loyalty' is a moreappropriate tool for the understanding of ethics infood consumption.     

Exploring the Links Between Science, Risk, Uncertainty, and Ethics in Regulatory Controversies About Genetically Modified Crops

Just as a stream of genetically modifiedcrops looked set to be approved for commercialproduction in the European Union, the approvalprocedure appears to have become bogged down onceagain by disagreements among and within member states.Old controversies have resurfaced in new forms. Theintractability of the issues suggests that theregulatory procedure has had too narrow a focus,leaving outside its boundary many of the morefundamental aspects that cause people in the EuropeanUnion most concern. Regulators have come underconsiderable pressure to ensure their risk assessmentdecisions are soundly science-based. Ethical issueshave been deemed to lie beyond the scope of theregulatory procedure, as a matter to be consideredseparately by professional ethicists. Yet it has beensuggested that all environmental controversies at rootinvolve disputes about fundamental ethical principles.This paper examines how the ethical issues arecurrently suppressed or sidelined. It discusses how anappreciation of systems thinking and a check on thevalues that underpin decisions, using boundary testingquestions, might contribute to a more constructiveregulatory dialogue, with ethical issues considered asintegral in a way that takes better account ofpeople's concerns.