Environmental pollution,hydropower and nuclear energy generation before and after catastrophe: Bathtub-Weibull curve and MS-VECM methods

In this paper, the life span of hydro and nuclear energy generations and the relationship between hydro and nuclear energy generations, environmental pollution, and economic growth were investigated for Japan covering the period of 1960–2018 by employing the Bathtub-Weibull curve and Markov switching-vector error correcting (MSVEC) method, respectively. According to the Bathtub-Weibull curve analysis, a rising failure rate for nuclear energy was found, indicating that the life of nuclear energy has expired, but a decreasing failure rate for hydroelectric energy has been detected. Then two different MSVEC models were used. The MSVEC method, unlike traditional approaches, determines the relationship between variables under different regimes. The results of MSVEC methods indicate three important points. First, regime-dependent asymmetry and regime changes are crucial for policy recommendations. Second, the shocks to hydropower and nuclear energy generations cause temporary deviations from the long-run growth path in both regimes. Lastly, the increase in hydropower generation leads to a decrease in environmental pollution and an increase in GDP, and an increase in nuclear power generation increases pollution and growth in both regimes.     

Forest resources and household welfare: Empirical evidence from North Central Vietnam

Using secondary data from a socio-economic quantitative household survey of the North Central region of Vietnam, the main aim of our study is to analyze the causal effect of forest resources on household income and poverty. Based on the observed characteristics of a forest-based livelihood and forest-related activities, we use a propensity score matching (PSM) method to control for potential bias arising from self-selection. The PSM results indicate that households with a forest-based livelihood had a higher level of income and lower poverty rates than did those without. Interestingly, our findings confirm that a forest-based livelihood offers much higher income than any other type of livelihood adopted by local households. Also, the poverty rate among households with a forest-based livelihood is lower than those earning non-labor income or engaged in wage/crop and crop livelihoods. Among households and provinces, we find varying opportunities deriving from forest resources, suggesting that there are potential barriers hindering local households from pursuing a forest livelihood or participating in some forest activities. Therefore, government policy and regulations on forest management should focus on improving the access of households to forest resources, while enhancing the sustainability of these resources.     

"十三五"国家自然科学基金对能源环境管理领域的资助状况和趋势

能源环境管理是各界关注的热点话题,也是科学研究的重要方向.以国家自然科学基金资助能源环境管理领域的科研项目为基础数据信息,本文重点分析了"十三五"期间国家自然科学基金在该领域资助项目的总体特征、研究主题和热点变化,并结合新时代科学基金资助导向提出了可能的发展趋势.主要结论包括:①能源环境管理领域面上、青年、地区等自由探索类项目的立项绝对数和学科占比均呈上升趋势,并更多向青年学者倾斜,资助强度保持稳定;②碳、能源和环境是自由探索项目中出现频率最高的热词,与之相关的研究主题随着政策等调整具有动态变化特征;③能源环境管理领域重点、重大等引导类项目和优青、杰青、创新研究群体等人才类项目不断实现突破,增速明显,学科占比优势突出;④问题导向与本土情景、理论体系和一般规律、学科交叉融合,以及市场和微观主体作用是研究选题确立与项目申请时可能需要重点关注的方向.     

生活垃圾强制分类形势下的多源废荧光灯管回收管理机制建议

废荧光灯管的来源广泛,包括工业来源和社会来源,社会来源又包括居民来源,企业事业单位、公共场所等机构来源,具有多来源的特性。废荧光灯管中含有汞,若不经过妥善处理,会造成环境污染,对人的身体健康造成危害。随着国内生活垃圾分类的开展,废荧光灯管作为生活垃圾中有害垃圾的典型类别被强制分类,但仍存在很多问题。本文梳理了我国废荧光灯管的产生情况、LED灯替代情况,并对美国、欧盟、日本和我国国内典型城市的废荧光管理情况进行了总结。针对我国废荧光灯管的回收现状,从责任主体、责任划分、收集渠道、资金机制等角度提出了相关的管理建议,为推动我国废荧光灯管的管理提供借鉴。     

整合消费与增加值视角的中国行业碳排放变动分解研究

在研究影响我国CO 2排放因素领域,基于投入产出技术的分解模型已成为主要的分析工具,现有研究多分别基于消费视角或收益视角展开分析。为全面评估各行业收益与消费对其上游、下游行业碳排放的综合影响,整合基于收益与基于消费两个视角,运用2012年与2015年我国投入产出表,构建两层嵌套式结构分解分析模型(SDA),比较分析消费规模效应、收益规模效应、行业流入、流出增加值变动效应、增加值结构变动效应等14个影响各行业碳排放变动的关键因素,并借助对消费者原则碳排放估算公式的重构,更准确地实现从增加值视角对各行业消费者原则碳排放变动的关键影响因素分析。研究发现:①研究期内,我国在总产出增长29.14%的同时碳排放量上升1.46%,各行业碳排放强度下降是主要的减排因素,其中建筑业减排贡献最大。②增排效应方面,影响从大到小依次为消费规模、收益规模、完全投入结构与完全消费结构四项效应,且前两个规模效应的影响是后两个结构效应的2倍以上,尤其建筑业消费规模效应、煤炭采选产品业收益规模效应增排较大。③消费规模扩大导致增排的原因并非行业本身生产规模扩大,而主要在于建筑业、服务业等行业规模扩张时吸收其他行业流入的增加值量增多。④收益规模扩大导致的增排效应方面,细分来说从大到小依次为劳动者报酬、生产税净额、固定资产折旧、营业盈余四项效应,且行业差异显著,如煤炭采选产品业的劳动者报酬效应,石油、炼焦产品和核燃料加工品业的生产税净额效应以及电力、热力生产和供应业的营业盈余效应增排贡献较大,而煤炭采选产品业的营业盈余效应、批发、零售业和住宿、餐饮业的生产税净额效应则减排贡献较大。     

挣扎与妥协:农村家庭缘何陷入能源贫困“陷阱”

生活能源改进是实现农村低收入家庭福利提升的关键环节之一,而资产的贫困为能源的消费造成了约束,使低收入农户难以实现能源的改进以脱离贫困现状。该文借助"贫困陷阱"的定义,将这种受制于资产贫困的能源使用困境称为能源贫困"陷阱",并从农户心理视角考察了低收入家庭更容易陷入能源贫困的原因。基于2015年中国综合社会调查(CGSS)数据,对能源贫困线进行了重新计算,认为我国现阶段农村能源贫困线应为户均600 kgce/a,并发现不论在任何能源贫困线下,收入偏低农户的能源贫困发生率、能源贫困深度和强度均远高于中高收入农户。基于此,该文同时从消费量和消费倾向两个方面估计了家庭经济状况对能源贫困的影响,结果表明:相对于中高收入农户,收入偏低农户的能源消费呈现出"既未省钱又未增效"的非经济理性特征,其能源消费负担实际更重,而消费结构却更为低效。进一步地,运用中介效应模型对这一非经济理性决策进行了解释,考察了心理因素在能源贫困"陷阱"形成中的作用,结果发现:收入偏低农户更容易表现出消极心理状态,负面的情绪和对未来的悲观预期使其在能源决策中更倾向于选择传统能源,而不愿做出能源改进的尝试。这种消极心理在一定程度上反映了收入偏低农户在能源改进中主观能动性的缺乏。正如"扶贫先扶志",政府在推行因地制宜的能源政策、开展能源基础设施建设的同时,也应该加强对贫困农户的情感帮扶,以使其产生尝试改进能源的内生动力。     

上海市能耗与GDP大气污染的协整关系研究

采用计量经济学中的协整理论考察上海市能源消费量与经济增长、废气排放量、二氧化硫排放量之间的关系。结果显示,上海市能源消费只与经济增长、废气排放量之间存在长期协整关系,并建立了相应的长期均衡方程及误差修正模型。另外,对1978～2003年的能源消费与经济增长之间进行Granger因果关系检验,提出实现上海市经济-能源-环境和谐发展的措施。     

西藏农村能源消费及环境影响研究

西藏农村人口现有220多万,占全区总人口80％以上,农村经济落后,城乡差距很大。西藏农村能源资源主要有水力、地热、太阳能、风力、林木和畜粪等,煤炭、石油、天然气等高热值的优质能源很少。在这种经济发展水平及能源资源基础条件下,农村能源消费中高热值的现代能源比重很低,主要以生物质能如薪柴、牛粪、草皮等为主。这种低水平的能源消费结构已经对西藏脆弱的生态环境造成了巨大的破坏,西藏未来的能源发展战略迫切需要改变农村目前的消费结构,应发展太阳能、风能、农村小水电及输入高热值的化石能源替代目前生物质能的消费,减少因能源消费对西藏生态环境的破坏。     

三峡库区典型流域水华暴发评价函数模型研究

藻类在光照充足时将无机磷酸和ADP转化为ATP以储备能量,外部条件改变时,则ATP可逆转换为ADP以释放能量.在此理论框架下根据三峡库区典型流域水华暴发时的现场监测数据研究了绿藻光合磷酸化的活化能ΔE、计算了库区流域中若干水系在不同水文条件下提供的有效能量Δe和综合营养指数TLI(Σ),并以ΔE、Δe和TLI(Σ)为参数构建了预测和判断不同水域环境中水华是否暴发的水华暴发评价函数F,在考虑外部因素和内部因素对水华暴发影响程度的大量计算和分析的基础上,确定了ΔE、Δe和TLI(Σ)的相关权重分别为a₁=0.3,a₂=0.3,a₃=0.4.模型计算和实地验证表明:F比单纯的TLI(Σ)作为水华暴发或者水体富营养化的判据更合理,更有说服力和更具普适性.     

Towards a Paradigmatic Shift in Sustainability Studies: A Systematic Review of Peer Reviewed Literature and Future Agenda Setting to Consider Environmental (Un)sustainability of Digital Communication

The materiality of digital communication inflicts substantial environmental damage: the extraction of resources needed to produce digital devices; the toxicity of e-waste; and the rapidly increasing energy demands required to sustain data generated by digital communication. This damage, however, is paradoxically under-theorized in scholarship on environmental sustainability. Despite the existing critique of the “techno-fix” approach in sustainability studies, digitization – and digital communication in particular – continue to be celebrated as the tool for environmental sustainability; an approach we coin “digital solutionism.” The article presents the first systematic review of the literature to map the implicit assumptions about the relationships between digital communications and environmental sustainability, in order to examine how digital solutionism manifests, and why it persists. We propose a concept matrix that identifies the key blind spots with regards to environmental damages of the digital, and call for a paradigmatic shift in environmental sustainability studies. An agenda for future research is put forward that advocates for the following: (1) a systematic account of material damages of devices, platforms and data systems adopted into sustainability research and practice, resulting in changes in both research framing and methodological foundations; (2) a reconceptualization and denaturalization of the digital itself as a promising solution; (3) a theoretical dialogue between sustainability studies and environmental communication. (4) an expansion of environmental communication as a field, from focusing on the communication aspect of environmental change to include the environmental footprint of communication itself.