IMPROVING WATER RESOURCE ALLOCATION THROUGH DEMAND-ORIENTED WATER POLICY1

ABSTRACT. In the arid and semi-arid regions of the Western United States the water problem is generally perceived as one of “inadequate” supply. This conception of the problem engenders supply-oriented water policy, or policy focusing exclusively upon a single class of solutions–the various schemes for augmenting an area's water supply. In a more complete or balanced conceptualization, the water problem is viewed as one of “inadequate” supply and/or “excessive” demand. When the water problem is so conceived, water policy is broadened to include demand-oriented water policy, or policy aimed at reducing the quantity of water demanded in an area. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain demand-oriented water policy. Basically it consists of changing the set of commodities produced by the economy, cutting back and/or eliminating goods requiring large quantities of water in their production and introducing and/or expanding goods which require little water. This paper also reports briefly on research undertaken to test demand-oriented policy in Arizona. Results indicate that such a policy can be extremely efficacious in solving a region's water problem.     

2005～2009年南京市二氧化碳排放特征研究

采用IPCC报告(2006版)提供的计量方法与碳含量缺省值,对南京市能源消费碳排放进行了计量研究.结果表明:从2005～2009年,CO2排放总量从8.05×107t增加到1.02×108t,人均CO2排放量从11.7 t/a增加到13.2 t/a,但CO2排放强度持续降低,从3.34 t/万元下降到2.41 t/万元...     

Assessing the dynamic efficiency of internal mitigation projects. An evolutionary perspective

Internal mitigation projects have recently been proposed as an additional flexibility mechanism, particularly in the context of the European Union. Their main objective is to engage sectors not included in the European Union emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) in cost-effective emissions reductions. However, in this paper it is argued that, when assessed in terms of dynamic efficiency, the instrument is likely to be, at best, irrelevant to induce the scale of systemic technological changes which are required to tackle the climate change problem and, at worst, detrimental for this task. Insights from the Evolutionary Economics of technological change complemented with political economy considerations are used to support this claim.

Formal and informal material aid following the 2010 Haiti earthquake as reported by camp dwellers

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, more than two million people moved to temporary camps, most of which arose spontaneously in the days after the earthquake. This study focuses on the material assistance people in five Port‐au‐Prince camps reported receiving, noting the differences between assistance from formal aid agencies and from ‘informal’ sources such as family. Seven weeks after the earthquake, 32% of camp dwellers reported receiving no assistance whatsoever; 55% had received formal aid, typically a tent or tarpaulins; and 40% had received informal aid, usually in the form of cash transfers from family living abroad. While people were grateful for any material aid, cash was more frequently considered timely and more effective than aid‐in‐kind. Should this study be indicative of the greater displaced population, aid agencies should consider how they might make better use of cash transfers as an aid modality.     

Emissions cap or emissions tax? A multi-sector business cycle analysis

We develop a multi-sector business cycle model to analyze stochastic implications of reducing CO₂ emissions with carbon permits or with carbon taxes in the presence of multiple sources of macroeconomic uncertainty. The model is calibrated to reflect the U.S. experience. As in previous studies, using a single-sector version of our model, we find that the cap regime generates lower volatility of real variables than the tax regime, but the latter may be preferable from the welfare perspective. Still, our multi-sector analysis points to the importance of the origin of the shocks in the ranking of the two instruments and to the desirability of going beyond a single-sector analysis in evaluating their merits. We find no significant difference between the cap and the tax regimes when shocks come from non-energy sectors. In contrast, the cap has lower volatility but higher welfare costs than the tax for the shocks to energy production.     

Pollution characteristics of particulate matters emitted from outdoor barbecue cooking in urban Jinan in eastern China

To understand the pollution characteristics of particulate matter emitted from outdoor barbecue cooking in eastern China, measurements of the PM_2.5 mass concentration, the number concentration of particles with a diameter of 0.01 to 1.0 μm, and the particle size distribution from 0.3 to 25 μm were carried out at seven barbecue restaurants in urban Jinan. The average PM_2.5 mass concentration and sub-micron particle number concentrations at a distance of 1 m from the grills were 250 to 1083 μg/m³ and 0.90 × 10⁵ to 2.23 × 10⁵ cm^–3, respectively, which were much higher than those in the ambient air of the urban area. Compared to the ambient atmosphere, barbecue cooking emitted very high levels of particles with a larger increase in the concentrations of super-micron particles than that of sub-micron particles. The super-micron particle number concentrations at the barbecue restaurants were 10 to 100 times higher than those observed in the ambient urban atmosphere. The barbecue smoke had a significant effect on the particle concentrations in the surrounding region. Both mass and number concentrations of particles exhibited maximum values immediately near the barbecue grills and often reached a peak at a distance of 10 to 15 m. The removal efficiency of a range hood for the cooking particles was tested in an indoor kitchen. The range hood effectively cleaned the particulate matter pollution caused by cooking with a removal efficiency larger than 80%. Therefore, the use of a range hood is recommended for outdoor barbecue restaurants coupled with a smoke purifier to clean the emitted high concentrations of particles.

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Influence of various emission scenarios on ozone in Europe

In this study, we investigated the effect of numerous regulations enforced since 1985 to improve air quality on ozone in Europe with the focus on Switzerland, using the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) for a specific summer period. Several emission scenarios for the year 2010 were also considered. The model results suggest that the emission reductions of ozone precursors should have been effective to reduce ozone production between 1985 and 2000 in northern Switzerland. However, observations do not indicate any significant change in surface ozone levels since early 1990s, except in the region of Zurich where there is a small negative trend. On the other hand, the model predictions match very well the spatial variability of the trends but the calculated trends are around 0.5 ppb year⁻¹ lower than those observed. This difference is similar to the background ozone increase as suggested by the long-term observations at the high Alpine station Jungfraujoch. These results support the hypothesis that the decrease in local ozone production due to emission reductions might have been partly or completely compensated by the simultaneous increase in the background ozone. In 2010, a strict application of the Gothenburg Protocol in Europe would lead to a decrease in peak ozone concentrations by about 5% in Switzerland under the meteorological conditions applied. Our calculations also indicated that emission controls only in Switzerland would not be very effective to improve the air quality in the future. The further development of the background ozone will in any case be very important for the tropospheric ozone levels.     

江苏省化工行业LDAR逸散量占比核定方法研究

以江苏省为例,针对化工企业装置泄漏检测与修复(LDAR)逸散量和挥发性有机物(VOCs)排放总量定量分析,提出了一种核定典型化工行业LDAR逸散量占比的方法。结果表明:以间歇性生产为特点的有机化工类企业和以连续化生产为特点的石化类企业LDAR逸散量和VOCs排放总量均呈下降趋势;石化类企业LDAR逸散量占比呈下降趋势,有机化工类企业LDAR逸散量占比呈上升趋势;石化类企业LDAR逸散量占比远大于有机化工类企业,是无组织排放管控的重点;有机化工类企业LDAR逸散量占比虽然低,但对VOCs排放的贡献逐渐提高。     

Heterogeneous firms and the environment: a cap-and-trade program

Currently, cap-and-trade programs are a cornerstone of many countries' climate change policies and proposals. This paper investigates the economic and environmental effects of different climate change policy designs in a general equilibrium setting with heterogeneous firms and monopolistic competition. The analysis predicts that the cap on emissions perfectly defines the environmental quality but has no effect on firms' profits, or decisions to enter or exit the market. In contrast, increasing the share of free allocations of emission allowances, as opposed to auctions, has no effect on environmental quality but reallocates resources among firms toward the most productive ones which has an impact on firms' entry and exit decisions, the mass of firms, and the composition of the market. Firm heterogeneity magnifies these economic effects of changes in the initial allocation of allowances. The paper provides a decomposition of the change in aggregate emissions which takes account of the changes at sector level, across the firms within a sector, and at the firm level.     

Changes in the Chemistry of Small Irish lakes

A re-survey of acid-sensitive lakes in Ireland (initial survey 1997) was carried out during spring 2007 (n = 60). Since 1997, atmospheric emissions of sulfur dioxide and deposition of non-marine sulfate (SO₄ ²⁻) in Ireland have decreased by ~63 and 36%, respectively. Comparison of water chemistry between surveys showed significant decreases in the concentration of SO₄ ²⁻, non-marine SO₄ ²⁻, and non-marine base cations. In concert, alkalinity increased significantly; however, no change was observed in surface water pH and total aluminum. High inter-annual variability in sea salt inputs and increasing (albeit non-significant) dissolved organic carbon may have influenced the response of pH and total aluminum (as ~70% is organic aluminum). Despite their location on the western periphery of Europe, and dominant influence from Atlantic air masses, the repeat survey suggests that the chemistry of small Irish lakes has shown a significant response to reductions in air pollution driven primarily by the implementation of the Gothenburg Protocol under the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution.