Questioning the local: environmental regulation,shale gas extraction,and the politics of scale

ABSTRACT

The exploration and potential extraction of shale gas – better known as fracking – has emerged as one of the most contentious dimensions to local environmental politics in the UK. Local residents and environmental activists have raised concerns about health, noise, ground water contamination, seismicity, environmental amenity, and other impacts of the industry on communities. Despite the complexities of shale gas extraction, an emphasis on the local has shaped key dimensions of the debate around the appropriate location for well pads to the relative exclusion of other issues. This paper draws on fieldwork in Lancashire, UK, to reflect on the political construction of scale in order to explore how an emphasis on “the local” can restrict political debate over shale gas to narrow concerns with land-use planning thereby obviating a fuller engagement with wider questions concerning risk, energy policy, and climate change. It is concluded that a more nuanced conception of scale is necessary for understanding how concerns with shale gas are diminished rather than strengthened through the current planning policy and regulatory regime operating in the UK.     

Opening up the “local” to analysis: exploring the spatiality of UK urban decentralised energy initiatives

Debates surrounding the decarbonisation of energy systems in developed societies have been overlaid with controversy about the merits of decentralised or “community” energy. These are ambiguous concepts, implicating energy generation or demand reduction activities carried out in buildings or across neighbourhood or urban areas, as well as social and political aspects such as trust and communitarian relations amongst participating actors. This research was based on the criticism that most existing advocacy for, and research into decentralised energy (DE) has neglected the spatiality of such initiatives. In particular, the concept of “local” has been largely presumed to be self-evident and unproblematic. Drawing on the analysis of primary and secondary data from nine UK case studies, this study reveals the different degrees to which DE initiatives are locally embedded, dependent upon the sector of the instigating actors. Findings also reveal the multi-dimensionality of discourses of DE, going beyond purely physical or technical aspects to encompass social, spatial and political issues that are intertwined in complex patterns. In particular, it reveals how aspirations to “roll out” successful DE initiatives, consistent with broader policy goals for carbon reduction, are challenged by discourses of local uniqueness and “bottom-up” engagement. Future research is required to investigate the generalisability of the patterns observed.     

Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders,Job Stressors and Gender Responses in Foundry Industry

The main aim of this paper was to identify job stressors, gender responses and association of psychosocial work stressors with prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among foundry workers. The data were obtained with ergonomics checklist using Likert scale. The results of this study showed a high prevalence of MSDs among workers. The male workers were more prone to pain in neck while the female workers were more prone to MSDs in upper back and shoulders. Correlation analysis showed significant relationship of dimensions of work aspects with pain and discomfort. It proved that the work-related MSDs are the results of interaction of multiple stressors associated with work and work environment, and other personal factors. ANOVA indicated that the perception of work aspects as stressors differed significantly between male and female workers.     

Modulated microwave effects on individuals with depressive disorder

This study was aimed to evaluate differences in the effect of microwave exposure on patients with depressive disorder and healthy subjects. Our experiments were carried out on a group of depressive patients (women, 18 subjects) and comparison group of healthy volunteers (women, 18 subjects) exposed during 30 min to 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated at 1,000 Hz frequency. The field power density at the scalp was 0.9 mW/cm². As a subjective criteria of microwave effect, the Brief Affect Scale (BAS) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after each exposure procedure were used. The analysis of EEG was performed and ratio of the EEG beta and theta power was selected as a measure for evaluation of the microwave effect. The BAS and VAS revealed rather improvement in subjective mood score after exposure for majority of depressive subjects (11) and no changes for others (7). The EEG analysis detected differences between calculated parameters for exposed and sham recordings in depression as well as healthy group. Statistically significant changes were introduced by microwave for five patients with depressive disorder and for one healthy subject. The rate of subjects affected by microwave in depression group (28%) was five times higher compared to that rate in healthy group (5.6%).     

荒漠化程度遥感定量化评价中的尺度问题

基于遥感手段的荒漠化程度定量化评价是当前遥感应用研究中的一个热点问题。在荒漠化评价中应当坚持主导性、综合性等原则。传统的荒漠化自动评价都是在离散的像元的尺度上进行的，未能综合考虑像元所处的环境，使得评价结果带有一定的片面性，评价结果图像中出现大量的噪音。若直接采用滤波方法消除这些噪音，则又会使评价结果偏离真实值。以地学原则为指导，在前人研究的基础上，探讨了以植被盖度和空间信息确定地理单元，提出了以地理单元为尺度进行荒漠化评价的方法。实践证明，基于地理单元的荒漠化定量化评价克服了传统方法的缺陷，评价结果更接近于地理事实。     

适用于弱碱性条件下使用的防垢剂研究

在防垢剂防垢性能测评中,对适于弱碱性条件下的防垢剂进行了实验研究。研究结果表明,在pH值为8时,有机膦酸、膦羧酸类防垢剂均具有很好的防垢性能;加入量为5mg/L时,对碳酸钙的防垢率可达95%以上。在pH值为9时,复配防垢剂有较好的防垢效果。例如FG-01与HPAA按1∶1复配后,加入量为5mg/L时,防垢率可达71.3%;加入量为10mg/L时,防垢率可达78.1%。     

含膦磺酸基共聚物PAMPS的合成及阻垢性能研究

利用实验方法合成了含膦磺酸基共聚物PAMPS,通过正交试验评价优选出最佳合成条件,对其阻垢性能进行了评价。将含膦磺酸基共聚物PAMPS与HEDP和含膦基共聚物PCA进行了比较,结果表明,当PAMPS用量为10mg/L时,阻止碳酸钙结垢率达到83.73%,优于同等条件下HEDP与PCA阻止碳酸钙结垢率;当PAMPS用量达到3mg/L时,阻垢率达到98.32%,对硫酸钙的阻垢性能优于HEDP和PCA。同时还可看出,含膦磺酸基共聚物PAMPS对阻止碳酸钙结垢具有低剂量效应,对阻止硫酸钙结垢具有低剂量效应和溶限效应。这说明PAMPS是一种优良的阻垢分散剂。     

水喷淋控制烟气输运的大涡模拟研究

本文采用大涡模拟方法研究了烟气输运和水喷淋之间的相互作用问题。研究目的是探讨水喷淋（或细水雾）对烟气输运的控制和抑制的有效性和要行性。为了有效地模拟烟气输运过程，本文采用了低马赫数近似下的三维可压缩滤波形式的Navier-Stokes方程进行有限差分法数值求解。烟气的生成和运动采用携带燃烧反应热的Lagrangian粒子（热元模型）来模拟，同时喷淋器喷出的细水雾也采用模型模拟。在本文的研究中，烟气由一个独立的火池产生并且被一股来流（或风）驱动，从而在一个方形槽道里形成烟气输运，在火池下游槽道的顶部布置若干个喷淋器并喷出水雾，以便探讨水雾对烟气输运的控制作用。本文着重分析讨论了不同喷淋角和水雾半径下水雾对烟气输运的控制和抑制效果。     

在我国中小企业推广PDM时机尚未成熟

目前我国CAD的初步应用(绘图、工艺设计)在机械行业大部分企业已基本普及。在甩图板——集成化产品信息管理——网络系统集成——CIMS的技术路径上,PDM(产品数据管理)技术已进入大力推广阶段。然而,就我国目前的实际情况来看,PDM在中小企业的普及尚有一定难度。其原因在于PDM具有较高的技术成分,涉及部门范围广,从现行管理系统过渡到该方案所需时间较长,以致于其中不确定因素多,风险大,初期投资大而短期收益少。而大多数中小企业在市场竞争中处于劣势,盈利水平和流动资金有限,人才流动性大,并且难以承受长时间的二次开发过程。     

Remotely Sensed Data for Ecosystem Analyses: Combining Hierarchy Theory and Scene Models

Remotely sensed data have been used extensively for environmental monitoring and modeling at a number of spatial scales; however, a limited range of satellite imaging systems often constrained the scales of these analyses. A wider variety of data sets is now available, allowing image data to be selected to match the scale of environmental structure(s) or process(es) being examined. A framework is presented for use by environmental scientists and managers, enabling their spatial data collection needs to be linked to a suitable form of remotely sensed data. A six-step approach is used, combining image spatial analysis and scaling tools, within the context of hierarchy theory. The main steps involved are: (1) identification of information requirements for the monitoring or management problem; (2) development of ideal image dimensions (scene model), (3) exploratory analysis of existing remotely sensed data using scaling techniques, (4) selection and evaluation of suitable remotely sensed data based on the scene model, (5) selection of suitable spatial analytic techniques to meet information requirements, and (6) cost–benefit analysis. Results from a case study show that the framework provided an objective mechanism to identify relevant aspects of the monitoring problem and environmental characteristics for selecting remotely sensed data and analysis techniques.