A new market instrument for sustainable economic and environmental development

The regenerative capacity of ecosystems provides a regulatory basis for sustainable economic growth and development. A natural valuation of an ecosystem's services will arise in a market for developmental rights in the ecosystem using a unit of tradable 'right': E-Scrip. The amount of e-scrip needed for a development may be set by Environmental Assessment. The capacity of the ecosystem to regenerate with developmental pressure may be represented by an independent trader or Factor Proxy for the Environment who provides e-scrip to the market.     

面向可持续城市生态系统管理的资源环境承载力评价方法与实践应用——以烟台市为例

全面科学的资源环境承载力评价是国土空间规划编制的前提。面向可持续生态系统管理视角,提出了由“潜在”和“现实”资源环境承载力构成的资源环境承载力评价框架和理论模型,并以烟台为案例进行应用,分析了“潜在”和“现实”资源环境承载指数的相互关系。结果表明：（1）烟台市“潜在”资源环境承载指数总体偏高,“现实”资源环境承载指数总体中等,各区（县）空间差异较大。（2）水资源短缺与环境污染问题是未来影响烟台市可持续发展的瓶颈,资源环境禀赋的限制和经济发展对城市生态系统服务弱供给区域影响较大,对“潜在”资源环境承载指数的影响在城市边缘区域较大。（3）所提出的评价逻辑框架和理论模型应用效果良好,丰富和完善了资源环境承载力评价理论方法。     

我国农用地土壤环境基准与标准制定研究

在分析我国现行土壤环境质量标准不足的基础上,综述了国外制定农用地土壤环境筛选值的现状,在此基础上提出我国农用地土壤环境基准制定方法学的建议以及我国农用地土壤环境标准体系的框架建议,服务于我国农用地土壤的污染预防、风险筛选和污染农用地的安全利用、修复和风险管控。     

基于风险指引的核电厂设计改进评价研究

核电厂概率安全评价(PSA)可以论证核电厂的风险满足安全目标,也是对运行核电厂进行风险管理的有效工具,例如核电厂的在役检查、安全分级、技术规格书优化等。核电厂的风险指引管理是在确定论的基础上,充分利用概率安全评价的结果进行风险影响评价,以此来论证决策的合理性。核电厂的重要设计改进通常基于传统的工程分析结果,没有分析其对核电厂整体风险的影响。重点探讨风险指引决策的基本原则以及方法,以核电厂设计改进实例探讨如何在分析时引入风险指引方法,并提出相关建议。     

An empirical analysis of green switching intentions in the airline industry

The purpose of this research is to gain an empirical understanding of airline passengers’ green switching intentions. A conceptual research model is used as a framework to examine the relationships among the experiential quality dimensions, green perceived value, green corporate image, green experiential satisfaction, green corporate reputation, green experiential loyalty and green switching intentions for the airline industry. The data used in this paper were based on a sample of 615 passengers who experienced the eco-friendly services of China Airlines, indicating that the proposed model fitted the data. The study's result will assist airline management to develop and implement market-orientated service strategies to increase the experiential quality dimensions, green perceived value, green corporate image, green experiential satisfaction, green corporate reputation and green experiential loyalty in order to decrease passengers’ green switching intentions.     

Sustainable design for automotive products: Dismantling and recycling of end-of-life vehicles

The growth in automotive production has increased the number of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) annually. The traditional approach ELV processing involves dismantling, shredding, and landfill disposal. The “3R” (i.e., reduce, reuse, and recycle) principle has been increasingly employed in processing ELVs, particularly ELV parts, to promote sustainable development. The first step in processing ELVs is dismantling. However, certain parts of the vehicle are difficult to disassemble and use in practice. The extended producer responsibility policy requires carmakers to contribute in the processing of scrap cars either for their own developmental needs or for social responsibility. The design for dismantling approach can be an effective solution to the existing difficulties in dismantling ELVs. This approach can also provide guidelines in the design of automotive products. This paper illustrates the difficulty of handling polymers in dashboards. The physical properties of polymers prevent easy separation and recycling by using mechanical methods. Thus, dealers have to rely on chemical methods such as pyrolysis. Therefore, car designers should use a single material to benefit dealers. The use of materials for effective end-of-life processing without sacrificing the original performance requirements of the vehicle should be explored.     

Herbicide Transport in Goodwater Creek ExperimentalWatershed: I. Long‐Term Research on Atrazine1

Lerch, R.N., E.J. Sadler, K.A. Sudduth, C. Baffaut, and N.R. Kitchen, 2010. Herbicide Transport in Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed: I. Long‐Term Research on Atrazine. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐15. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00503.x Abstract: Atrazine continues to be the herbicide of greatest concern relative to contamination of surface waters in the United States (U.S.). The objectives of this study were to analyze trends in atrazine concentration and load in Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW) from 1992 to 2006, and to conduct a retrospective assessment of the potential aquatic ecosystem impacts caused by atrazine contamination. Located within the Central Claypan Region of northeastern Missouri, GCEW encompasses 72.5 km² of predominantly agricultural land uses, with an average of 21% of the watershed in corn and sorghum. Flow‐weighted runoff and weekly base‐flow grab samples were collected at the outlet to GCEW and analyzed for atrazine. Cumulative frequency diagrams and linear regression analyses generally showed no significant time trends for atrazine concentration or load. Relative annual loads varied from 0.56 to 14% of the applied atrazine, with a median of 5.9%. A cumulative vulnerability index, which takes into account the interactions between herbicide application, surface runoff events, and atrazine dissipation kinetics, explained 63% of the variation in annual atrazine loads. Based on criteria established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, atrazine reached concentrations considered harmful to aquatic ecosystems in 10 of 15 years. Because of its vulnerability, atrazine registrants will be required to work with farmers in GCEW to implement practices that reduce atrazine transport.     

边坡工程集成式智能辅助决策系统研究

以智能决策支持系统（ＩＳＳ）的理论与方法为基础，以事务处理专家系统系统开发具ＧＵＲＵ为开发环境，将多种评价与决策模型和方法相结合，形成了一个应用于边坡工程的集成式智能辅助决策系统（ＩＩＡＤＳＳＥ），本文讨论了ＩＩＡＤＳＳＥ的设计思想，介绍了ＩＩＡＤＳＳＥ的基本结构模式，各部分的功能及其实现方法，ＩＩＡＤＳＳＥ具有定性与定量分析相结合的特征，可较好地处理边坡工程稳定性评价与加固方案决策分析问题。     

Bridging the gap between ecosystem service assessments and land-use planning through Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)

Land-use planning is an important determinant for green space policy in cities. It defines land covers and hence the structure and function of urban ecosystems and the benefits these provide to humans, such as air purification, urban cooling, runoff mitigation, and recreation. The ecosystem service approach has helped to attract policy attention to these benefits but the concept remains poorly implemented in urban policy and governance. To address this gap, we advance a framework to bridge ecosystem services into policy processes through Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) as decision support tool. The paper is organized in three main parts. First, we conduct a systematic literature review to assess state-of-the-art knowledge on ecosystem service assessments through MCDA. Next, we build on insights from the literature review to develop the ‘ecosystem services policy-cycle’, a conceptual framework that merges the ‘ecosystem service cascade’ and ‘policy cycle’ models to reinforce the link between ecosystem service assessments and practical applications in urban policy and governance. Next, we illustrate the applicability of the proposed framework along an example about conflicting interests on land use and green space planning following the closure of the Airport Tempelhof in Berlin, Germany. Our results highlight the scope of MCDA as a decision support tool for integrating ecosystem service assessments in green space governance. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of different methodological choices in the use of MCDA in ecosystem service assessments and note that a key strength of this tool in informing green space policies lies in its capacity to accommodate conflicting stakeholder perspectives and to address trade-offs between ecological, social and economic values.     

Ecosystem services provided by urban gardens in Barcelona,Spain: Insights for policy and planning

In many European cities, urban gardens are seen as increasingly important components of urban green space networks. We adopt an ecosystem services framework to assess contributions of urban gardens to the quality of of their users. First, we identify and characterize ecosystem services provided by urban gardens. Secondly, we assess the demographic and socioeconomic profile of its beneficiaries and the relative importance they attribute to different ecosystem services. Next we discuss the relevance of our results in relation to critical policy challenges, such as the promotion of societal cohesion and healthy lifestyles. Data were collected through 44 semi-structured interviews and a survey among 201 users of 27 urban gardens in Barcelona, Spain, as well as from consultation meetings with local planners. We identified 20 ecosystem services, ranging from food production over pollination to social cohesion and environmental learning. Among them, cultural ecosystem services (non-material benefits people derive from their interaction with nature) ​ stand out as the most widely perceived and as the most highly valued. The main beneficiaries of ecosystem services from urban gardens are elder, low-middle income, and migrant people. Our results about the societal importance of urban gardens ​were deemed highly relevant by the interviewed green space planners in Barcelona, who noted that our data can provide basis to support or expand existing gardening programs in the city. Our research further suggests that ecosystem services from urban gardens can play an important role in addressing several urban policy challenges in cities, such as promoting stewardship of urban ecosystems, providing opportunities for recreation and healthy lifestyles, and promoting social cohesion. We conclude that urban gardens and associated ecosystem services can play an important ​ in urban policies aimed at enhancing quality of life in cities, particularly if access to their benefits is expanded to larger segments of the population.