Economic Growth,Climate Change,Biodiversity Loss: Distributive Justice for the Global North and South

Abstract: Economic growth‐the increase in production and consumption of goods and services‐must be considered within its biophysical context. Economic growth is fueled by biophysical inputs and its outputs degrade ecological processes, such as the global climate system. Economic growth is currently the principal cause of increased climate change, and climate change is a primary mechanism of biodiversity loss. Therefore, economic growth is a prime catalyst of biodiversity loss. Because people desire economic growth for dissimilar reasons‐some for the increased accumulation of wealth, others for basic needs‐how we limit economic growth becomes an ethical problem. Principles of distributive justice can help construct an international climate‐change regime based on principles of equity. An equity‐based framework that caps economic growth in the most polluting economies will lessen human impact on biodiversity. When coupled with a cap‐and‐trade mechanism, the framework can also provide a powerful tool for redistribution of wealth. Such an equity‐based framework promises to be more inclusive and therefore more effective because it accounts for the disparate developmental conditions of the global north and south.     

长江经济带生态系统格局特征及其驱动力分析

为了分析长江经济带生态系统的变化及其驱动力,采用生态系统年变化率、动态度、景观格局指数研究2000—2015年长江经济带生态系统格局特征,并分析城镇化、生态保护与修复等驱动力的贡献.结果表明:①长江经济带生态系统以林地、农田和草地为主,三者共占92.63%;上、中游以林地为主;下游城镇化率最高,分布着全区60.47%的城镇用地、39.85%的湿地和28.62%的农田.②长江经济带生态系统年变化以江苏省、上海市和浙江省为代表,快速城镇化特征显著;贵州省、江西省、云南省林地和草地的年变化较显著.③长江经济带生态系统生境破碎化和景观多样性指数均上升.④长江经济带上中下游均表现为建设用地增幅最大,农田减幅最多.⑤快速城镇化是长江经济带生态系统格局变化的首要驱动力,贡献率为65.49%,表现出“下游为重心,向中上游蔓延”的特征,下游贡献率为77.51%,但上游在2010—2015年的扩张速率远超过中游和下游;生态保护与恢复政策为第二大驱动力,贡献率为17.64%,上游贡献为25.90%.研究显示,保障长江经济带生态可持续发展需要优化国土空间结构、控制开发强度、加强生态环境保护联防联治.      

微环境新风量的检测原理及方法研究

新风量是评价室内微环境空气卫生质量的主要卫生指标之一,也是计算室内某种气体单位时间排放量的重要参数。以CO2作为示踪气体,利用于冰升华和人体呼吸产生CO2示踪气体两种测量方法对室内和车内微环境进行了检测,并考虑室内人呼出CO2量的影响,运用箱子模式的各种推导公式（稳态法、解析解法和差分法）对新风量进行了计算,并对结果进行了讨论。结果表明,没有人存在下,用箱子模式的解析解法和差分法计算的新风量值没有明显的统计差异;微环境内有人时必须考虑人释放的影响,这样箱子模式的各种推导公式都可以计算新风量值,且结果准确,准确度高。利用人体呼吸产生CO2示踪气体法,用差分法计算结果不理想,偏差很大;用稳态法计算重现性高,结果可靠。     

环境试验与可靠性试验技术的发展

在总结过去、现在产品环境试验基础上,提出以激发试验为主的今后发展方向,并提出“健壮工程”的理念。“健壮工程”是在原有的健壮设计的基础上,充实了可靠性与环境工程的成功技术,并体现设计、制造、试验可靠性3要素,加入了可靠性强化试验,构成完整的工程技术路线。     

Protective shade, tree diversity and soil properties in coffee agroforestry systems in the Atlantic Rainforest biome

Sustainable production and biodiversity conservation can be mutually supportive in providing multiple ecosystem services to farmers and society. This study aimed to determine the contribution of agroforestry systems, as tested by family farmers in the Brazilian Rainforest region since 1993, to tree biodiversity and evaluated farmers’ criteria for tree species selection. In addition, long-term effects on microclimatic temperature conditions for coffee production and chemical and biological soil characteristics at the field scale were compared to full-sun coffee systems. A floristic inventory of 8 agroforests and 4 reference forest sites identified 231 tree species in total. Seventy-eight percent of the tree species found in agroforests were native. The variation in species composition among agroforests contributed to a greater γ-diversity than α-diversity. Monthly average maximum temperatures were approximately 6 °C higher in full-sun coffee than in agroforests and forests. Total soil organic C, N mineralization and soil microbial activity were higher in forests than in coffee systems, whereas the chemical and biological soil quality in agroforests did not differ significantly from full-sun coffee after 13 years. Given its contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and its capacity to adapt coffee production to future climate change, coffee agroforestry offers a promising strategy for the area.     

Institutional constraints to adaptive capacity: adaptability to climate change in the Norwegian electricity sector

This article contributes to the understanding of adaptive capacity within national sectors by utilising two perspectives from institutional theory. Resting on data from 21 interviews the paper analyses the Norwegian electricity sector and the influence on adaptive capacity to climate change from changes in formal structure and institutional culture. The sector underwent transformational change between the beginning of the 1980s and mid-2000s, with the reform from 1991 as a watershed, and gradual consolidation from about 2000. From a self-regulated vertically integrated sector with an emphasis on robustness of supply the sector changed into a liberalised and unbundled structure, with economic efficiency as the guiding principle. These changes reduced adaptive capacity to climate change. After 2000, gradually adaptive capacity has increased somewhat. The paper argues that also social contextual factors need to be taken account of, both to understand adaptive capacity to climate change and to provide practitioners with an ability to increase it.     

基于土地利用变化的生态服务价值损益估算--以大庆市为例

土地利用／覆盖变化遥感研究表明，大庆市自1988年以来土地利用状态变化很大，由此引起了该区域生态环境的一系列响应及其生态系统服务价值的变化。以大庆市1988年和2001年的Landsat TM图像解译数据为基础，应用Costanza等人对全球生态系统服务价值的测算方法，分析了该市土地利用变化及其所引起的生态系统服务价值的变化。研究结果表明，13年间，大庆市土地利用的变化损害了该区域生态系统的生态服务功能，使生态系统服务价值损失了20．76％-24．01％。     

A MERGE Model with Endogenous Technological Progress

We have developed a new version of the MERGE model, called MERGE-ETL, to analyse the dynamics of endogenous technological learning (ETL) in the energy system. This paper describes the basic formulation of MERGE-ETL, the solving techniques used for this model and some first numerical results in the context of policies designed to mitigate global climate changes.     

Risk and Responsibility in Public Engagement by Climate Scientists: Reconsidering Advocacy During the Trump Era

The election as US President of Donald J Trump, who denies the scientific consensus on climate change, raises questions about the role of scientists in public discourse. How far should scientists wade into the waters of advocacy before risking their credibility of fair arbiters of knowledge? The new study by Kotcher, Myers, Vraga, Stenhouse, and Maibach [2017. Does engagement in advocacy hurt the credibility of scientists? Results from a randomized national survey experiment. Environmental Communication. doi:10.1080/17524032.2016.1275736] is a reminder that scientists are among the most trusted people in public life and have some freedom to engage publicly without harming their reputation. However, with the power to influence public debate comes the responsibility to carefully consider the impact of statements and actions. This commentary discusses the challenges facing scientists at a time of great potential for public engagement, and for a gap between perceived and actual intent of public statements.     

洪泽湖流域洪涝灾害演变趋势及其与El Nio事件关系

为分析洪泽湖流域洪涝灾害在千年尺度序列上的演变趋势,采用统计历史洪涝记录的方法,分析了气候变化背景下洪涝灾害的响应过程,探讨了洪泽湖流域洪涝灾害同El Nio事件的关系。结果表明：近1 000 a来洪泽湖流域洪涝灾害的频度总体是趋于上升的,这种变化趋势同气候变化的趋势是一致的。研究结果显示：公元1000~1400年洪涝记录偏少,同我国东部地区尤其是中世纪暖期出现的一次200 a以上的干旱化过程有较好的对应性。1400~1800年是洪泽湖流域洪涝的多发期,这一事实同我国东部1550~1850年小冰期期间总体偏湿的环境特征相一致。分析洪涝灾害变化同El Nio事件对应性关系表明：在El Nio事件年及其次年是洪泽湖流域洪涝的多发年份。这可能是由于El Nio事件通过改变西太平洋副高的强度与位置,以及大气环流形势而引起的降水异常所致。了解洪泽湖流域洪涝的演变趋势及其同El Nio的关系对于长期防灾减灾策略具有重要的参考意义。