Evaluation of the california environmental quality act

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has evolved from a mini-NEPA, first enacted in 1970, into a procedural act that affects the approval process of all large developments in California. In 1990, California local governments produced over 1600 environmental impact reports and 30,000 initial studies under CEQA. Because of its widespread use, CEQA has periodically drawn the attention of the state legislature, most recently in 1993, when over 60 CEQA reform bills were introduced. This paper describes the CEQA process and evaluates its success at meeting its explicit and implicit goals. The research includes a statewide survey of CEQA practice, sent to the planning departments of all 513 local governments in California in 1991. Survey respondents agreed that CEQA helps in evaluating environmental impacts, reducing impacts, informing the public, and coordinating public agency review. It is effective in reducing the environmental impacts of individual projects, but is not as effective in improving environmental quality on an areawide scale. This research concludes that CEQA has led to positive outcomes and is not as deeply flawed as many of its critics claim. Still, CEQA as currently designed may not be the optimal vehicle for ensuring environmental quality.     

WASTE LOADINGS FROM A FRESHWATER ATLANTIC SALMON FARM IN SCOTLAND1

ABSTRACT: Recent studies suggest that waste generation from the freshwater phase of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) production varies considerably on an annual basis. A fish farm on the West Coast of Scotland was visited regularly during a two-year period to determine inflow and outflow water quality. Waste output budgets of suspended solids (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN = NH₃+NH₄⁺), dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total phosphorus (TP) were produced. The annual waste loadings obtained were 71 kg TN t fish^?1 yr^?1 (one year of data only), 10.9–11.1 kg TP t fish^?1 yr^?1, 1.2–2.1 kg DRP t fish^?1 yr^?1, 422–485 kg BOD₅ t fish^?1 yr^?1, 327–337 kg SS t fish^?1 yr^?1, and 30–35 kg TAN-N t fish^?1 yr^?1. Simple linear regression models relating waste parameter production to water temperature and feeding regime were developed. When compared to existing data for other salmonid production systems, greater ranges of daily waste loadings were observed. Wide variations in concentrations of these parameters during a daily cycle were also observed, suggesting that mass balance estimates of waste production will provide more robust estimates of waste output than frequent monitoring of outflow water quality.     

政策干预对提高煤矿职工素质影响探讨

煤矿井下作业人员素质低,是煤矿事故多发的重要原因之一.建议从大幅度提高煤矿井下人员工资待遇,吸引高素质人才从事煤矿工作;全方位开展煤矿职业培训工作,坚持先培训后就业,实行煤矿从业准入制;对现在岗的煤矿从业人员分期分批进行培训,实现煤矿从业人员持证上岗;政府出台政策,强制煤矿企业开展职工岗位技术培训和安全培训等4个方面着手,切实提高煤矿从业人员的整体素质,减少煤矿事故的发生.     

深圳地铁施工影响区环境安全与第三方监测

在讨论如何确保地铁施工影响区环境安全的基础上 ,给出了深圳地铁土建施工第三方监测的概念 ,详细阐述了第三方监测的目的、作用、管理体系、实施内容和工作程序 ,论述了第三方监测与业主、承包商、监理之间的关系。深圳地铁建设的实践表明 ,第三方监测是业主确保地铁施工影响区环境安全的有效管理模式 ,在地铁建设中极有推广价值。     

关于区域环境保护政策的思考

本文从通过分析我国环境保护政策存在的缺口和目前对这种理念的研究进展,并根据环境问题本身的特性以及环境问题产生的背景差异提出重新确立环境保护政策的调控范围的观点,并提出了这种观点对于对我国环境保护政策以及环境保护工作的重要意义。     

除湿机的冷凝水化学成分与空气环境质量的关系

本文采用家用除湿机作为空气水溶性物质采样器方法，并验证了该方法作为空气水溶性物质采样嚣的可行性。本文通过空气冷凝水化学成分与空气总悬浮微粒(TSP)可溶性化学成分的对比，得到水汽中大部分阴阳离子的含量只比TSP低1个数量级，而水汽中的微量元素含量与各种碳的浓度不都比TSP低，TSP中一般检测不出亚硝酸根，而水汽中则检出大量亚硝酸根。     

珠江三角洲经济区污水系统设计原则

分析了珠江三角洲经济区水环境现状；阐述了城市污水分散处理与集中处理的利弊；指出污水深度处理与回用是形成良性水循环的有效途径，更是经济可持续发展的必然要求；通过对已建排水系统存在问题的分析，探讨了珠江三角洲经济开发区污水系统的设计原则，认为污水系统规划要改变传统设计方法，应方便再生水回用，由经济、技术、地理等综合因素确定排水分区、污水厂厂址与数量，选择适合各排水区域水质水量的工艺流程，预留污水厂与再生水回用管线分期发展的空间，应优先选用国产污水处理设备，尽可能维持城市河涌自然生态。     

Significant developments in sustainable development law and governance: A proposal

This article develops a practical proposal for progress on sustainable development law. It examines the prospects for an international sustainable development law to provide a framework for more effective, coherent governance. Sustainable development law is briefly defined and an analytical framework is provided. Different degrees of integration between economic, social and environmental law are described. Certain principles of international law related to sustainable development are also highlighted. It is argued that these principles may serve to guide law‐makers and jurists where social, economic and environmental law and policy conflict or overlap. Continuing, underlying questions of sustainable development governance are addressed and its global frameworks analysed. The article also focuses on the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in August‐September 2002, and its specific mandate for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to take related legal developments into account. The article advances a proposal: that governments, economic, social and environmental intergovernmental organizations and other actors establish a ‘network of inquiry’ with members from relevant groups, including legal and academic organizations, and other expert groups, in order to follow, research, analyse and debate legal developments in a balanced way.