NORTH AMERICAN INTERSTATE WEATHER MODIFICATION COUNCIL: NEED,GOALS, PURPOSE,AND ACTIVITIES1

ABSTRACT: A need for the prudent design and critical analysis of all weather modification efforts was expressed by the attendees of the June 1974 Governors' Weather Modification Conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The attendees also expressed a need for an organization to coordinate and cooperate in intrastate, interstate and possible international weather modification activities, particularly in view of the growing importance of agricultural production, energy demand and domestic water supply. The North American Interstate Weather Modification Council (NAIWMC) was ratified on January 17, 1975, in Denver, Colorado, with its main purpose to achieve and maintain state and local control of such activities while endeavoring to attain a high degree of legislative uniformity and an effective information exchange mechanism. The need, goals, and objectives of the newly-created Council are summarized herein. The by-laws of the Council are presented according to the articles adopted at the organizational meeting. Membership in the Council is available to all states of the United States of America, Mexico, and all provinces of Canada. The officers of the Council are elected from its membership according to the regions of weather modification activities. A summary of the Council's progress at performing the purposes is presented in this paper. Definition of the users involved in the North American Interstate Weather Modification Council has been achieved during the early activities of the Council. The Council's views on federal and state weater modification legislation are presented according to position statements that have been adopted by the member states and provinces.     

Structuring cooperative behavior under the National Environmental Policy Act of the United States

A trend is presently under way to streamline the compliance requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of the United States through cooperative assessment procedures. Since the law was enacted in 1970, however, participants in the assessment process have tended to settle disagreements by adversarial rather than cooperative means. This study focuses on a highly acclaimed environmental assessment procedure undertaken by the U.S. Steel Corporation for its proposed $4.0 billion Lakefront Steel Plant. Survey research data were gathered to measure the underlying management philosophy perceived by interorganizational representatives, who attended a series of Technical Team meetings designed to coordinate the assessment effort and to open communication channels. A social psychological scale of behavioral dimensions was adapted from Likert to define the composition and the extent of cooperation at these meetings. A newly constructed scale was used to measure the quantity and quality of representation by each of the major organizations involved. Informal interviews were conducted with project participants to obtain further insight into member interaction. Results indicate that democratic problem solving was in evidence but also suggest a preference by respondents for improved procedures. The paper outlines areas of concern voiced by respondents and offers the means for improving the operating procedures of similar interorganizational environmental assessments.     

Political Economy of Transnational Water Pollution: What Do the LMB Data (1985–2000) Say?

On the basis of the cross-section and time-series data of the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB)—including large sections of Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Cambodia, we find little evidence in support of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Instead, our regressions support the general views that water pollution had been positively related to income level and that, as a result of the end of the Cold War era, it had been significantly reduced in the 1990s vis-à-vis the 1980s. In most circumstances, water resources were more seriously polluted in the transnational border areas than in the other areas. Specifically, the estimated coefficients on the political boundary dummies show that political influence on transnational water pollution was more significant in areas near the international border along which the river runs (denoted by BORDER2) than in places near the international border across which the river runs (denoted by BORDER1). The estimated coefficients on the ASEAN dummy present some information about the positive role of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) membership in the reduction of transnational water pollution. Finally, the country-specific dummies are found to present conflicting information about the transnational differences of water pollution, although Thailand is found to have the least water pollution in the LMB.     

APPLICATION OF MODERN ORGANIZATIONAL CONCEPTS TO A LARGE WATER RESOURCE STUDY1

ABSTRACT: Modem management concepts were used to increase the efficiency and productivity of a large and complex water resource study conducted on two Delaware River components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The study analyzed the hydraulics of a 120 mile reach of the river using Rhodamine WT dye injected under medium-flow, low-flow steady-state, and low-flow-surge wave flow conditions. The study benefited from a decentralized management structure that used informal teams to attain quality control objectives, to overcome study difficulties, to secure substantial interagency cooperation, and to maximize limited financial and staffing resources.     

Biochemical Cooperation Between Klebsiella oxytoca Sc and Methylobacterium mesophilium Sr for Complete Degradation of Dimethyl Isophthalate

Klebsiella oxytoca Sc and Methylobacterium mesophilicum Sr were isolated from enrichment cultures using dimethyl isophthalate (DMI) as the sole carbon and energy source and mangrove sediment as an inoculum. Complete degradation of DMI required both species of bacteria at different biochemical transformation steps. The biochemical degradation pathway was DMI to monomethyl isophthalate (MMI) by K. oxytoca Sc, MMI to isophthalate (IPA) by M. mesophilium Sr, and IPA by both K. oxytoca Sc and M. mesophilium Sr sequentially. The consortium comprising of K. oxytoca Sc and M. mesophilicum Sr was effective in complete degradation of DMI in eight days. Our results suggest that a consortium of microorganisms indigenous to the mangrove environment is responsible for mineralization of environmental pollutant DMI through biochemical cooperation.     

环境治理中府际合作的逻辑

公共事务的积累只是为制度化解决提供了必要性,当政者维护政权的根本利益需要决定了公共事务处理的优先序列。客观问题的属性和解决的迫切程度只有在政府最高层统治集团认为维系权力存续的手段具备充分的支撑条件时,才会愿意在正式制度上进行调整,为解决问题提供制度供给。新中国成立后很长一段时间内,我国环境问题并不突出,中央政府根据社会主要矛盾需要制定了以发展经济为重心的制度体系。这种制度结构使地方政府和辖区企业形成了利益共容关系。为适应竞争的需要,地方政府庇护辖区企业环境行为,机会主义地执行环境管理制度,使环境问题积累成为影响安全价值的显著因素。在国内外政治压力下,中央政府最终做出了战略调整,地方政府在中央政府制度调控下,自发地合作治理环境问题。     

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.     

一种部分碳税机制的经济分析

基于目前全球气候变化谈判的困境提出一种部分碳税机制,这种机制与1997年12月缔约国大会第三次会议所形成的京都议定书第12条确立的清洁发展机制（CDM）的雏形清洁发展基金（CDF）有相似的特征,即要求附件Ｉ缔约方为实现公约的目的和体现公约有区别的责任原则,通过实行统一的税收机制并将税收收入转移到发展中国家作为他们在历史过程中过多排放温室气体的自然债务的补偿     

The role of local governments before and during chemical accidents,focusing on changes in hazardous chemical management systems

ABSTRACT

Disaster management spans actions before, during, and after disaster events. Changes in the roles and functions of local governments before a disaster can influence other stages of disaster management. After a chemical spill in 2012, South Korean hazardous chemical management tasks were returned to the central government and local governments’ roles and functions were reduced. To identify associated issues and enhance the hazardous chemical management system, this study analyzed changes in laws and policies and conducted interviews with stakeholders. While the changes helped with centralization, reinforcement, and specification, some loopholes were discovered. The information and human resource capacities of local governments and intra – and intergovernmental relations issues have hindered their active participation before and during chemical disasters. These loopholes can be addressed through institutional enhancements for local governments, such as including them in monitoring hazardous chemical handling facilities, developing codes articulating the division of tasks among departments within them, and providing adequate incentives for them to increase their personnel. This study provides empirical data that informs ongoing debates about the centralization and devolution of disaster management by linking local governments’ ordinary management systems to their disaster management activities.     

基于知识图谱的国际工程安全管理科研合作研究

为了研究国际工程安全管理在国家（地区）、研究人员的合作现状,基于研究热点与研究前沿的分析结果,对工程安全管理科研合作研究未来的发展趋势进行预测,利用CiteSpace的可视化与统计功能对工程安全管理领域展开研究,得到可视化知识图谱。研究结果表明:国际上关于工程安全管理的研究主要集中在欧美等发达国家,许多国家均与美国建立了合作,而其他国家间的合作较为分散,呈现明显的“无标度”现象; 2003—2017年国际工程安全管理研究的热点领域集中在文化和技术层面; 2003—2017年工程安全管理的研究热点可以分为5个阶段分析,当前的研究热点为施工现场的安全管理及施工前的风险管控。