Two decades,three WEEE systems: How far did EPR evolve in Korea's resource circulation policy?

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has become a dominant policy paradigm for the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the last two decades. In South Korea the principle has guided the evolution of the resource circulation policy even before its official introduction through a revision of the recycling law in 2002. Elements of producer responsibilities could be found in the producer-based deposit refund system (DRS) a decade earlier and they were strengthened through the enactment of a new resource circulation law in 2008. This article reviews the policy changes in South Korea for the management of WEEE during the past 20 years. The focus of the analysis is on the impacts of EPR and the producers’ responses that were expressed through the quantity and the quality of material flows in the society. The findings are discussed in light of international experiences in order to outline measures to improve the effectiveness of the EPR-based resource circulation policy that could have broader implications beyond the case study.     

四川省农业循环经济发展状况评估

通过构建以经济社会发展、资源物资投入、资源循环利用以及资源环境安全四大类指标构成的农业循环经济综合评价指标体系,运用层次分析法,采用综合评价指数及障碍度对四川省2006年~2011年的农业循环经济发展状态进行了评价。结果表明:四川省农业循环经济发展总体状况逐年趋好,对农业循环经济发展的影响程度从大到小的因素是资源物资投入、经济社会发展、资源环境安全及物质循环利用。     

低碳经济视角下的城市圈土地节约集约利用评价研究——基于遗传算法的投影寻踪模型

从低碳经济视角出发,运用基于遗传算法的投影寻踪模型对武汉城市圈低碳土地节约基于利用水平进行了评价研究.结果显示,各市低碳土地节约集约利用水平差异较大,发展极不协调,难以有效地实现城市圈协同发展.武汉城市圈应以整体效益最大化为目标,注重保护环境与经济增长相结合,大力发展低碳经济,以协同发展促进低碳土地利用.     

基于负产品投入产出分析的循环经济定量化评价及实证研究

借用投入产出法的矩阵思想，构建了一个部门间以负产品关联的投入产出分析模型。基于此模型建立了衡量研究区域循环经济模式下的各生产部门的收益与贡献以及区域整体的环境效益和经济效益的评价指标。实证研究中，应用上述指标对深圳市南山区月亮湾循环经济产业示范园区进行了相关评价与分析，同时指出了该评价方法的优点与不足。     

祁东经济开发区生态工业园建设探讨

生态工业园是最具环保意义和绿色概念的工业园区,是我国继经济技术开发区、高新技术开发区之后第三代工业园区的主要发展形式。基于祁东经济开发区的实际情况,概述了其构建生态工业园的背景,并对其建设生态工业园的优势条件和模式进行了分析与探讨,同时提出了相应的环境管理对策,以利于经济开发区的可持续发展。     

环境经济问题的哲学思考——生态经济系统的基本矛盾及其解决途径（接续）

本文从阐述生态经济系统、生态经济平衡和生态经济效益等生态经济学的基本范围入手，揭示生态经济问题产生和演变的内在机理——生态经济系统的基本矛盾；从经济发展、人口增长、生产力进步而与资源缺口、环境容量、生态平衡等的相互关系，分析生态经济基本矛盾的种种表现；从原始社会、农业社会的工业社会等几个主要阶段，阐明生态经济基本矛盾产生和发展的一般过程；并从自然生态系统与社会经济系统在运动周期性、有序性、运行路线与运行机制等方面异同，着重论述产生生态经济基本矛盾的原因，进一步阐明生态问题演变的规律性。探讨解决生态经济基本矛盾的途径，即通过控制人口，转变经济增长方式，实施资源替代战略和地域优势互补，建立生态化的产业和区域发展模式，进行环境与资源市场化的制度创新，实现人口、资源、环境与经济的协调发展。     

水环境监测信息化新技术的应用分析

随着国民经济的快速发展,我国人民的生活水平和质量也随之而提高,对于生态环境以及居住环境的要求也相应提升。水是万物之源,是保障人们生产生活的基本要素之一,为了有效提升水环境质量,先进的水环境监测技术必不可少。随着科学技术的飞速发展,水环境监测技术也在不断调整和优化,逐渐向信息化方向发展,在生态环境保护工作中发挥着不可替代的作用。本文将详细阐述现阶段我国在水环境监测工作中实施的信息化新技术,希望能为相关研究人员提供参考和借鉴。     

走出环境污染的怪圈——就环境论环境不能解决环境问题

历史的经验告诉我们，就环境论环境不能解决环境问题。本文从分析当今时代的特点出发，剖析了我国环境污染形势，最后论述如何走出环境污染的怪圈．经济增长不等于经济发展，但可持续发展却是永恒的主题．解决环境问题必须改变传统发展战略，发展是硬道理，但我们讲的发展是全社会的持续、协调、全面发展。解振华局长说：“工业污染是环境污染的主要来源”。经济增长的源泉在企业，经济增长的动力是企业利益，经济增长的压力是市场的竞争，经济增长的持续是协调发展。只顾产值不讲效益的观念必须改变，环境问题的解决必须和国家的经济发展、科学技术、社会稳定统一考虑，必须纳入国家整体战略，环境问题才能进步解决。     

Carbon emission reduction and cost–benefit of methane digester systems on hog farms in China

Three different sizes of hog farms were selected to analyze the carbon emissions reduction and the cost–benefit of three methane digester systems. The sizes of the digesters are 2,200, 2,200 and 800 m³, respectively. The sales of slaughter hogs from them are 50,000, 35,000 and 10,000 head, respectively. The carbon emissions reductions were 5,237, 4,017, and 1,334 tons, respectively. The results show that while the methane digester systems have a significant effect on carbon emissions reduction, it is difficult to operate the systems sustainably. If the carbon emissions reduction can be traded at high enough prices in the carbon offset markets, then the systems will be profitable and sustainable. Newly established China's domestic carbon offset market could provide this possibility, but more government support is needed. In addition, this study shows that scale economies make the digester adoption relatively more profitable for larger farms than smaller ones.     

Embodied energy and emergy evaluation of a typical biodiesel production chain in China

Biodiesel from non-grain feedstock has been considered as one of the proper substitutes for fossil fuels associated with a series of activities emerging in China in order to meet the resource shortage and develop the energy crops. This paper presents an ecological accounting framework based on embodied energy, emergy, and CO₂ emission for the whole production chain of biodiesel made from Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) oil. The energy and materials invested in and CO₂ emission from the whole process, including cropping, transportation, extraction, and production, are accounted and calculated. Also, E_mCO₂, the ratio of real CO₂ released to the emergy-based sustainability indicator per joule biodiesel, is proposed in this paper to present a new goal function for low-carbon system optimization. Finally, the results are compared with those of the bioethanol (wheat) production in Henan Province, China, and bioethanol (corn) production in Italy in view of the indices of embodied energy, emergy and CO₂ emissions and E_mCO₂.