Could we remain simply applying discount rate to evaluate the life quality of our future generations?

When we try to estimate future environmental costs resulting from our current economic activities,we usually calculate the present value of the consequences for our future generations by utilizing a discount rate as a standard economic procedure.The popularity of this procedure is solely supported by its simplicity which assumes:(1)a perfect financial market over even 100 years,and(2)existence of a stable time preference between two consecutive periods for an individual consumer.An apparent deficiency of this approach is that the present value of life quality of future generations varies to a large extent along an arbitrarily chosen discount rate.As a matter of fact,the discount rate,which could reflect the time preference as2%or 5%,matters when we predict current strategies of environmental protection for future generations.Simply applying a discount rate to evaluate the quality of our future generation,without clarifying the actual production mechanism behind this,is almost to the same as ignoring the fact that all of the goods are produced through an actual production process and that environmental degradation reduces the efficiency of that process.The greatest concern for our future generations should not be given by an assumed discount rate,since the discount rate itself is determined by financial market conditions at certain points in time.     

The Comparative Approach on Outdoor Leisure Behavior of Urban Elderly People: A Case Study in Beijing

Abstract

With the income increase of elderly people in Beijing and the improvement of leisure facilities since 2000, the quality of elderly people leisure life in Beijing has obviously increased compared to ten years ago. According to the investigation and comparative analysis on more than 900 elderly people, who usually exercise in public parks in Beijing City, we have found out several new features of elderly people’s outdoor recreation in Beijing: the increase of the leisure time, the expansion of leisure space, the individuation of interest and the diversification of consumption. The leisure life quality evaluation index system of urban elderly people can be built based on these analyses. In order to accommodate the development tendency of elderly people’s demand for leisure diversification, we should strengthen the organization and management of elderly people’s leisure activity in urban construction, and pay more attention to function complementation between communities and parks.     

一种新型泡沫凝胶成胶时间及灭火特性的实验研究

为研究新型无氨泡沫凝胶的胶凝特性和灭火特点,采用倾斜试管法分别测试了不同反应物浓度、温度、pH值和发泡剂浓度等参数对新型泡沫凝胶成胶时间的影响,同时通过灭火实验对泡沫凝胶的消防特性进行了研究。结果显示：当水玻璃与促凝剂的质量比在1．33—4．0时材料成胶时间满足煤矿灭火要求;pH值在6．9—8．5时成胶最快;成胶时间随温度升高而减小;发泡剂浓度对成胶时间影响不大;泡沫凝胶灭火效果良好且有效延长了复燃周期。因此泡沫凝胶在矿井消防中有很强的实用价值,并且可通过限制反应物浓度、pH值、温度等参数,更高效的控制成胶时间。     

Computer Usage With Cold Hands; An Experiment With Pointing Devices

Computers are used in the outdoors and in connection with cold store work. Cold hand and fingers limit data input, as studied here. Six input devices; trackballs, pens, and a mouse were tested by 19 participants in a Fitts’ target acquisition task with 2 target sizes under 2 experimental conditions; warm and cold right hand. Measures were acquisition times, number of errors, participant’s preferences, and observed handling of the devices. Effects of device, target size, and cold were significant. Learning and attempts to improve handgrip were confirmed. Large enough targets, a thick pen, and a mouse make computer work practicable in the cold. Direct visual feedback, as with pen on template with target images, shortened acquisition times by half a second.     

Resistance of Medical Gloves to Permeation by Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), Ethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-Butanediol Dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA)

Gloves afford hand protection by minimizing skin contact. The effectiveness of medical gloves to protect against permeation of the monomers, methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA), was assessed focusing on permeation rates and degradation of glove materials caused by monomer contact. Fifteen different brands of gloves were tested using a European Standard procedure. Surface images of glove materials before and after exposure to the monomer mixture were obtained using a scanning electron microscope. The standard is not applicable as the only method for estimating the safety of gloves, but it is useful as guideline together with the cumulative permeation of acrylic monomers. Monomer contact on the outside resulted in substantial swelling of most glove materials, and structure changes of the inside surface.     

活性炭复合床层对动活性的影响试验

本文通过对KZ1床层、KZ2床层、KZ1和KZ2复合床层在不同床层厚度条件下,对氯化氰蒸气的动活性进行对比试验,并对试验结果进行分析,得出了后者并非前两者之和,而有了大幅提高的结论。     

Historical Groundwater Trends in Northern New England and Relations with Streamflow and Climatic Variables

Water‐level trends spanning 20, 30, 40, and 50 years were tested using month‐end groundwater levels in 26, 12, 10, and 3 wells in northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont), respectively. Groundwater levels for 77 wells were used in interannual correlations with meteorological and hydrologic variables related to groundwater. Trends in the contemporary groundwater record (20 and 30 years) indicate increases (rises) or no substantial change in groundwater levels in all months for most wells throughout northern New England. The highest percentage of increasing 20‐year trends was in February through March, May through August, and October through November. Forty‐year trend results were mixed, whereas 50‐year trends indicated increasing groundwater levels. Whereas most monthly groundwater levels correlate strongly with the previous month's level, monthly levels also correlate strongly with monthly streamflows in the same month; correlations of levels with monthly precipitation are less frequent and weaker than those with streamflow. Groundwater levels in May through August correlate strongly with annual (water year) streamflow. Correlations of groundwater levels with streamflow data and the relative richness of 50‐ to 100‐year historical streamflow data suggest useful proxies for quantifying historical groundwater levels in light of the relatively short and fragmented groundwater data records presently available.     

Development and Application of an Agricultural Intensity Index to Invertebrate and Algal Metrics from Streams at Two Scales

Research was conducted at 28‐30 sites within eight study areas across the United States along a gradient of nutrient enrichment/agricultural land use between 2003 and 2007. Objectives were to test the application of an agricultural intensity index (AG‐Index) and compare among various invertebrate and algal metrics to determine indicators of nutrient enrichment nationally and within three regions. The agricultural index was based on total nitrogen and phosphorus input to the watershed, percent watershed agriculture, and percent riparian agriculture. Among data sources, agriculture within riparian zone showed significant differences among values generated from remote sensing or from higher resolution orthophotography; median values dropped significantly when estimated by orthophotography. Percent agriculture in the watershed consistently had lower correlations to invertebrate and algal metrics than the developed AG‐Index across all regions. Percent agriculture showed fewer pairwise comparisons that were significant than the same comparisons using the AG‐Index. Highest correlations to the AG‐Index regionally were ?0.75 for Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera richness (EPTR) and ?0.70 for algae Observed/Expected (O/E), nationally the highest was ?0.43 for EPTR vs. total nitrogen and ?0.62 for algae O/E vs. AG‐Index. Results suggest that analysis of metrics at national scale can often detect large differences in disturbance, but more detail and specificity is obtained by analyzing data at regional scales.     

Disconnected futures: exploring notions of ethical responsibility in energy practices

This article aims to explore people's connections to or disconnections from the future and the implications of this for their perspectives on equity, justice and ethical issues related to energy consumption. Everything people do is embedded and extended in time across the modalities of past, present and future, making time an inescapable aspect of our existence, yet one that often remains invisible and intangible. Debates about energy and environmental equity have raised questions about the extent to which people today should bear responsibility for the consequences of their behaviour for future generations. Seemingly intractable difficulties have been identified, however, in people's abilities to connect their present actions with their potential future consequences and thus take on such responsibilities. Drawing on data from interviews about energy consumption practices, this article explores whether people's living temporal extensions through younger generations of their families influence their views and practices around energy use in both the present and anticipated future. Through exploring these issues we offer a contribution to the ethical debate around responsibility for future generations.     

基于心理感知的铁路综合客运枢纽客流疏解预警研究*

为解决铁路综合客运枢纽客流疏解预警忽略旅客心理感知与焦虑问题,基于状态焦虑问卷,定量描述旅客焦虑状态,通过引入心理测量学中积极率划分客流疏解等级阈值,确定枢纽客流疏解预警等级,构建以旅客感知疏解时间为预警指标的回归预测模型。研究结果表明:模型可定量预测枢纽站各种交通接驳方式客流的感知疏解时间,准确描述枢纽站预警等级,研究结果可为管理人员选择相应疏解措施提供依据。