Costs of the Wastewater Standard in Pig Production in Mexico

The objective of this article is to address the environmental costs of pig farms in the La Piedad region Mexico, through an analysis of the standard on wastewater discharges to national water bodies. Field work was carried out from April to September 1999; a survey was conducted on 23 farms and samples of wastewater were taken on 11 farms. Pig production is the third most important system in Mexican livestock production. Heterogeneity in production systems, dependence on imported inputs (genetics and feed grains), and weak internalization of environmental costs are the main characteristics of pig production in Mexico. With no specific environmental regulations on intensive livestock activities at the municipal or state levels, Mexican Official Standard 001 on wastewater discharges is the only environmental obligation that pig farms must meet. Standard 001 on wastewater contains the maximum permissible limits for 20 contaminant parameters, and is based on a cost-benefit analysis that points to secondary treatment for the regulation’s economic viability. Investment in treatment systems and the fees that pig producers must pay when they fail to comply with the limits stipulated in the regulation, are estimated assessed as an approach to environmental costs. In order to remain within the limits in the standard, pig farms must invest in tertiary treatment, and that makes meeting the standard unaffordable for this sector.     

分洪区洪灾保险工作初探

本文从洪水过程的随机特点及防洪工作的实际需要等各个方面出发,阐述了在分洪区实行洪灾保险的必要性,结合国内外已有的实践经验,分析了这一工作得以顺利开展的可能性。并在此基础上,提出了二种洪灾保险费用计算方法,实例计算结果表明,这些方法是基本可行的。     

有机氯农药污染土壤的Fenton氧化修复研究

研究了Fenton氧化对某实际有机氯农药污染场地土壤的修复效果。结果显示:Fenton氧化能够快速有效地降解污染土壤中的六氯和DDTs。当Fe2+浓度为80 mmol/L,Fe2+与H2O2的摩尔浓度比为1∶5,水土比10∶1时,反应6 h,土壤中六氯和总DDT的去除率分别为:96.7%和78.2%。每方土的修复成本估算为951元。     

铁氮掺杂碳纳米管/纤维复合物制备及其催化氧还原的效果

阴极催化剂是影响微生物燃料电池(microbial fuel cell,MFC)性能的关键因素.通过研究制备成本低廉、氧还原反应(ORR)催化活性高的阴极催化剂来替代Pt/C对于实现MFC规模化应用具有重大意义.研究采用化学气相沉淀法,以三聚氰胺作为碳氮前驱物、以黑珍珠2000或乙炔炭黑作为碳源,外加醋酸亚铁作为铁前驱物,合成了两种铁氮掺杂碳纳米管/纤维复合物(FeNCB和FeNCC),作为MFC的阴极催化剂.通过循环伏安法和旋转圆盘-环电极分析FeNCB、FeNCC和Pt/C的ORR催化活性的差异,并用MFC验证其差异.结果表明,FeNCB性能与Pt/C相当,优于FeNCC,其催化路径是通过4电子途径催化氧还原反应;MFC-FeNCB性能略优于MFC-Pt/C,显著优于MFC-FeNCB有助于MFC的扩大化,其最大功率密度为1 212.8mW·m~(-2),开路电压为0.875 V,电池稳定电压为(0.500±0.025)V.用X射线衍射、X射线光电子光谱、拉曼光谱等进一步分析显示,复合物中碳纳米管管径的大小、铁氮掺杂的类型和含量以及氧含量是引起制备的复合物催化氧还原性能差异的原因所在.     

基于边际治理成本的环境保护税税率标准探究与政策建议

税负水平是税收调节作用的重要因素,各地区需要科学地制定符合本地区发展水平的环境保护税税率来平衡环境保护与经济发展.基于2016年东北某省14个市的钢铁、电力、化工、水泥行业的排污及治理成本数据,建立污染削减费用函数模型,计算该省大气、水中主要污染物的边际治理成本,并设置不同环境保护税税率的情景方案,以探究环境保护税税率对该省经济发展的影响.结果表明:①SO₂、NO_x、COD、NH₃-N的边际治理成本分别为3.44、5.03、3.81、8.15元/污染当量. ②重点行业主要污染物的边际治理成本不同,钢铁行业主要污染物的边际治理成本较高,其COD、NH₃-N的边际治理成本均高于总体边际治理成本;化工行业的COD边际治理成本高于总体边际治理成本;电力行业的大气主要污染物边际治理成本高于总体边际治理成本;水泥行业的大气主要污染物边际治理成本则相对较低. ③适当提高环境保护税税率对经济发展总体影响不大.研究显示:该省的边际治理成本远高于目前的环境保护税征收标准,若以边际治理成本作为环境保护税税率,不但会增加企业负担,而且会导致不同行业的边际治理成本相差较大,因此,建议提高该省的环境保护税税率标准,即大气污染物征收标准为2.4元/污染当量,水污染物征收标准为2.8元/污染当量,并设置环境保护税税率的行业差异化,将有利于政策功能的发挥.      

A “RATIONAL” POLICY FOR THE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES1

ABSTRACT: The present energy and environmental crises are due to increasing per capita demands as well as increasing populations. The role that traditional pricing policies have played in promoting these demands is discussed. The reduction or stabilizing of per capita demands is advocated through the use of Conservational Pricing mechanisms which charge higher average prices for high consumption. An example of the effect of Conservational Pricing in the water supply industry is given.     

经济发展成本分析:可持续发展经济学的理论基础

可持续发展战略存在着理论与实践上的严重反差，其主要原因是可持续发展经济缺乏统一的理论基础，本文通过对经济学不同流派关于可持续发展问题研究的评析，认为可持续发展经济学需要建立一个统一的理论基础，并提出经济发展成本分析是可持续发展经济学的理论基础，围绕这一理论基础对可持续发展的概念进行了重新界定，并主张要把制度的激励与约束以及政策的引导纳入可持续发展经济途径研究的视野之中。     

基于成本收益分析的油气管道风险控制决策过程

为实现对油气管道风险的有效控制,结合油气管道的特点,基于成本收益分析方法改进风险控制决策过程。首先,确定风险控制目标,对所建议的措施进行初步筛选,并根据行业现状确定基线场景;之后,量化筛选后的措施的成本与收益,通过计算成本收益率(CBR)或规避事故隐含成本(ICAF)来确定相应措施的合理性;最后,依据上述分析制定风险控制决策。结果表明:不同措施的CBR或ICAF值不同,CBR或ICAF值较低的措施应被优先实施;而当CBR或ICAF值超过标准值时,相应措施是不合理的,应不予以实施。     

Cumulative carbon emissions and economic policy: In search of general principles

We exploit recent advances in climate science to develop a physically consistent, yet surprisingly simple, model of climate policy. It seems that key economic models have greatly overestimated the delay between carbon emissions and warming, and ignored the saturation of carbon sinks that takes place when the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide rises. This has important implications for climate policy. If carbon emissions are abated, damages are avoided almost immediately. Therefore it is optimal to reduce emissions significantly in the near term and bring about a slow transition to optimal peak warming, even if optimal steady-state/peak warming is high. The optimal carbon price should start relatively high and grow relatively fast.     

Spatial cost–benefit analysis of blue restoration and factors driving net benefits globally

Marine coastal ecosystems, commonly referred to as blue ecosystems, provide valuable services to society but are under increasing threat worldwide due to a variety of drivers, including eutrophication, development, land-use change, land reclamation, and climate change. Ecological restoration is sometimes necessary to facilitate recovery in coastal ecosystems. Blue restoration (i.e., in marine coastal systems) is a developing field, and projects to date have been small scale and expensive, leading to the perception that restoration may not be economically viable. We conducted a global cost–benefit analysis to determine the net benefits of restoring coral reef, mangrove, saltmarsh, and seagrass ecosystems, where the benefit is defined as the monetary value of ecosystem services. We estimated costs from published restoration case studies and used an adjusted-value-transfer method to assign benefit values to these case studies. Benefit values were estimated as the monetary value provided by ecosystem services of the restored habitats. Benefits outweighed costs (i.e., there were positive net benefits) for restoration of all blue ecosystems. Mean benefit:cost ratios for ecosystem restoration were eight to 10 times higher than prior studies of coral reef and seagrass restoration, most likely due to the more recent lower cost estimates we used. Among ecosystems, saltmarsh had the greatest net benefits followed by mangrove; coral reef and seagrass ecosystems had lower net benefits. In general, restoration in nations with middle incomes had higher (eight times higher in coral reefs and 40 times higher in mangroves) net benefits than those with high incomes. Within an ecosystem type, net benefit varied with restoration technique (coral reef and saltmarsh), ecosystem service produced (mangrove and saltmarsh), and project duration (seagrass). These results challenge the perceptions of the low economic viability of blue restoration and should encourage further targeted investment in this field.