Sustainability through system transformation: lessons from Finnish efforts

This special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production addresses system transformation by examining progress, stumbling blocks and opportunities for sustainable consumption and production in a specific country, Finland, set within a global context. The articles present and analyse top-down policy efforts, bottom-up efforts by municipalities, activities by companies and actions by consumers. They provide material for discussions on the shift from sustainability planning to enhancing system transformation, on the implications of globalisation for system boundaries, on the transformation of complex systems, on learning processes and on methods of assessing transitions. Without providing a singular solution, the articles show that issues of sustainability should be explored in different ways within different contexts, and experimented with. There is a continuous need for transformations and reflexive learning, since conditions are likely to become very different, not least due to climate change. The notion of change and transformation will be high on the agenda of the Rio+20 conference, as will similar efforts to promote large-scale transformations of consumption and production.     

Damos: Twenty Years of Dredged Material Disposal Site Monitoring. Isn'st That Enough?

Since 1977, the US Army Corps of Engineers Disposal Area Monitoring System (DAMOS) has monitored New England's offshore dredged material disposal sites. DAMOS has shown that by using monitoring information to make management decisions, open water disposal of dredged sediments is possible with minimal environmental impact. Over the past two decades, DAMOS has answered many of the key questions about dredged material impacts. Yet the need for such a programme remains strong from both the technical and public interest perspectives. the programme continues to monitor projects that are extending our knowledge in the areas of deeper water capping, geotechnical behaviour of capping and capped materials, and biological response to contaminants. These investigations, along with the need for specific disposal site surveys, will continue to provide valuable technical information needed by the public, policy makers, and regulators to make critical decisions on dredged sediment management.     

基于20 L球罐的多相混合物扩散模拟

为更好地探索多相混合物的爆炸特性，以铝粉、乙醚、空气为研究对象，基于20 L球型爆炸罐建立三维计算模型，对气固两相和气液固三相混合物的分散过程进行数值模拟，以分析不同多相混合物分散过程的差异，并为测量多相混合物爆炸下限时的点火延迟时间设定提供参考。监测分析铝粉浓度粒子分布、流场内部湍流动能以及液相体积百分数等的演化过程，讨论混合物分散效果的差异，并确定测量爆炸下限的点火延迟时间。研究结果表明:实验工况下，液相的存在会降低粉尘云团的湍流动能、降低其扩散速度，并使粉尘云内部浓度更均匀。测量多相混合物爆炸下限时，三相混合物的最佳点火延迟时间早于气固两相混合物10~20 ms。     

Synthesis,separation and structure determination of 2,3,3'‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB 20)† and 3,3’,4‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB35)†

The combined synthesis and spectrometric characterization of 2,3,3'‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB 20) and 3,3’,4‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB 35) is described for the first time. By a combination of highly efficient column distillation and repeated recrystallizations it was possible to isolate the two products as reference materials with a purity exceeding 99%. X‐ray analysis of crystals of 2,3,3'‐trichlorobiphenyl positively identified the substitution pattern of the biphenyl moiety by chlorine atoms. The two phenyl rings are at an angle of 52°, while the relative disposition of the chlorine atoms on both rings is closer to anti than to syn.     

Prenatal foetal diagnosis of partial trisomy 3q and monosomy 13p due to a maternal balanced rearrangement

The authors describe a case of a male foetus whose ultrasound at 20 weeks' gestation revealed cystic hygroma, cleft lip and ventricular septal defect. Amniotic fluid cytogenetics using GTG banding showed a 46,XY,der(13)t(3;13)(q12;p11.1) rearrangement, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) delineated the relevant breakpoints. Familial studies identified a maternal balanced translocation involving chromosomes 3 and 13. The post-mortem examination confirmed the prenatal ultrasound findings. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maternal UPD 20 in an infant from a pregnancy with mosaic trisomy 20

Maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) 20 was found in a 35-month-old girl, the product of a pregnancy complicated by a prenatal diagnosis of mosaic trisomy 20. Phenotypic abnormalities included pre- and postnatal growth failure, microcephaly, minor dysmorphic features and psychomotor developmental delay. Chromosomal analysis on cord blood revealed only a normal 46,XX karyotype. Microsatellite analysis of 27 chromosome 20 loci confirmed maternal UPD for all 11 informative markers. Maternal heterodisomy was detected in two and maternal isodisomy in three loci. In the remaining six loci, a non-informative maternal UPD pattern was displayed, as mother and proband are homozygous for the same allele. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of maternal disomy 20 with normal karyotype ascertained by a mosaic trisomy 20 pregnancy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global sustainable development report: background,progress, and recommendations

Formulating the GSDR Formulating the GSDR (global sustainable development report) is one of the important achievements initiated by the “Rio +20” summit, and it has received worldwide attention. Nowadays, the international community has made a preliminary consensus on the orientation, key focuses, frameworks, and time schedule of GSDR. But, there are still great divergences in the relationship between GSDR and SDGs/post-MDGs (sustainable development goals/post-2015 development agenda), the GSDR organizational model, and whether countries writing their own national sustainable development report or not. After reviewing the whole process of formulating GSDR, some recommendations for writing GSDR from the Chinese perspective are proposed. The GSDR report should be a science-based and policy-making-oriented assessment report. The GSDR should focus on the priority areas that SDGs/post-MDGs have already identified as core fields. “Limited in number, easy to quantify, and universally applicable” comprehensive assessment indices of sustainable development should be proposed. A GSDR international working group of experts should be established. Countries should be encouraged to formulate the “National Sustainable Development Report” according to their own domestic practices. GSDR should be integrated with the high-level political forum (HLPF). Meanwhile, some suggestions on China’s participation in the GSDR process are also proposed. China’s 2030 mid-term and long-term national sustainable development goals (CSDGs) based on both the SDGs/post-MDGs and domestic practice are proposed. According to the implementation of national sustainable development goals, China should start the appropriate assessment of the progress and regularly report on the national sustainable development. Chinese scientists should be encouraged to actively participate in the process of GSDR.