A decomposition analysis of CO2 emissions: evidence from Malaysia’s tourism industry

The most important question raised from issues of environmental degradation is how economic activities bring about changes that will result in pollution. In the pursuit of tourism economy, contrary to popular interest, the travel and tourism (T&T) industry may cause environmental damages through the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from energy consumption in areas such as transportation and delivery of amenities. Given this major concern, this paper attempts to investigate the linkage between tourism and CO₂ emissions in Malaysia between 1981 and 2011. In particular, this study fills the knowledge gap by taking a closer look at the impact of international tourist arrivals on CO₂ emissions by sector – electricity and heat generation and transport. Results from the bound test method suggest that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables under consideration when CO₂ emissions become the dependent variable. The original result is similarly robust to alternatives, which are CO₂ emissions from sectors of electricity and heat generation and transport. Furthermore, the vector error correction model causality analysis indicates a causal relationship between tourism and CO₂ emissions by transport and electricity and heat generation. Subsequently, several tourism-related policies are drawn from these findings.     

Impacts of mussel dredging on sediment phosphorus dynamics in a eutrophic Danish fjord

Effects of mussel dredging on sediment metabolism (oxygen uptake and sulfate reduction rates) and phosphorus dynamics (flux across sediment-water interface and sequential extraction) were examined in Limfjorden (Denmark) during spring (May) and summer (August). Sediment samples were taken during mussel dredging and in addition an experimental simulation of the dredging was performed to investigate short-term changes in phosphorus (P) dynamics. Iron-bound P was reduced by up to 2/3 in the surface layer in the dredging track (from 31 to 8?mmol?P?m^?2), whereas the dissolved P-pools and less reactive particulate pools were not affected by dredging. Sediment oxygen consumption was enhanced immediately after dredging, but returned to the initial level after 4 days (20–40?mmol?m^?2?d^?1). The enhanced consumption was attributed to reoxidation of reduced compounds released during dredging. Sulfate reduction rates were high in the area (13–15?mmol?m^?2?d^?1) and sulfides competed with P for oxidized iron resulting in low iron-bound pools in the area (<4% of total P pools). Sulfate reduction rates were stimulated by the resuspension of sediments, especially in August, where a subsurface maximum was found, possibly due to a mixing of labile organic matter into these layers. In contrast sulfate reduction rates were reduced in the dredging track due to removal of labile organic matter from the surface layers. The loss of P during dredging was to some extent counteracted by regeneration of iron-bound P pools in the surface layers. The release of P due to mussel dredging was estimated to be in the same order of magnitude as the annual loading from the catchments and point sources to Limfjorden.     

Post-Sidr public housing assistance in Bangladesh: a case study

Housing is not only a structure, but also a process tied up with social, cultural, psychological and economic attributes. Following Cyclone Sidr, the Government of Bangladesh has been using ‘build back better’ as a colloquial slogan to push forward the idea of resilience in post-disaster interventions, especially with regard to rebuilding houses. This paper examines how and whether the idea is reflected through the government's post-Sidr housing project at Gabtola. It problematizes the slogan from the accounts of community participation, local practicalities, culture, weather and potential future risks. Based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork at Gabtola, this research found that the basic attributes of the ‘build back better’ slogan are absent with regard to the housing scheme's cost efficiency, management, livelihoods, public health aspects and tolerance against a super-cyclone. These findings will provide valuable insights into the problems associated with the implementation of post-cyclone public housing programmes in Bangladesh. Such insights can assist public authorities and other relevant organizations and donor agencies in revising and improving their post-disaster housing programmes in the wake of future disasters.     

不同曝气能耗对水蚯蚓原位消解污泥的影响

水蚯蚓原位消解污泥过程中,曝气参数的设定十分重要。为评价曝气能耗对水蚯蚓消解污泥的影响并设定适宜的曝气量,研究污水处理系统耦合水蚯蚓后不同曝气梯度下的运行情况,并对耦合水蚯蚓前后的系统进行比较。结果表明:溶解氧最适范围为2～3 mg/L,曝气能耗约为0.19 kW.h/t;溶解氧高于3 mg/L时系统能效并无提高,且能耗增大。     

西安城区大气中多氯联苯的气粒分配研究

为了解西安城区大气中多氯联苯(PCBs)的气粒分配规律,于2012年春季对西安城区大气中气态和颗粒态样品进行每周一次的主动采样.结果表明,西安城区大气中PCBs的总浓度(气态和颗粒态)为62.05~454.18pg/m3,主要以气态为主.由Clausius-Clapeyron方程得到的斜率较陡(-5193.24),表明春季大气中的PCBs主要受西安城区附近地面挥发释放的影响.PCBs的气粒分配系数(KP)与过冷饱和蒸汽压(PoL)高度相关,由logKP和logPoL线性回归得到的斜率mr(-0.46~-0.37)均高于平衡状态理论值-1,说明西安城区大气中的PCBs气粒分配尚未达到平衡状态.采用Junge-Pankow吸附模型和Harner-Bidleman吸收模型对PCBs颗粒态百分比(φ)及KP进行了模拟,结果显示两种模型均较好地预测了PCBs的气粒分配行为,但与实验测得的值相比,两种模型均高估了φ值及KP值.     

Quantifying and mapping species threat abatement opportunities to support national target setting

The successful implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will rely on effective translation of targets from global to national level and increased engagement across diverse sectors of society. Species conservation targets require policy support measures that can be applied to a diversity of taxonomic groups, that link action targets to outcome goals, and that can be applied to both global and national data sets to account for national context, which the species threat abatement and restoration (STAR) metric does. To test the flexibility of STAR, we applied the metric to vascular plants listed on national red lists of Brazil, Norway, and South Africa. The STAR metric uses data on species’ extinction risk, distributions, and threats, which we obtained from national red lists to quantify the contribution that threat abatement and habitat restoration activities could make to reducing species’ extinction risk. Across all 3 countries, the greatest opportunity for reducing plant species’ extinction risk was from abating threats from agricultural activities, which could reduce species’ extinction risk by 54% in Norway, 36% in South Africa, and 29% in Brazil. Species extinction risk could be reduced by a further 21% in South Africa by abating threats from invasive species and by 21% in Brazil by abating threats from urban expansion. Even with different approaches to red-listing among countries, the STAR metric yielded informative results that identified where the greatest conservation gains could be made for species through threat-abatement and restoration activities. Quantifiably linking local taxonomic coverage and data collection to global processes with STAR would allow national target setting to align with global targets and enable state and nonstate actors to measure and report on their potential contributions to species conservation.     

Environmental and public health co-benefits of consumer switches to immunity-supporting food

During COVID-19, there has been a surge in public interest for information on immunity-boosting foods. There is little scientific support for immunity-supporting properties of specific foods, but strong evidence for food choice impacts on other health outcomes (e.g. risk of non-communicable disease) and environmental sustainability. Here, we relate online recommendations for “immunity-boosting” foods across five continents to their environmental and human health impacts. More frequently recommended food items and groups are plant based and have lower land use and greenhouse gas emission impacts plus more positive health outcomes (reducing relative risks of mortality or chronic diet-related diseases) per serving of food. We identify trade-offs between environmental outcomes of increasing consumption of recommended food items, with aquatic environment impacts increasing with food recommendation frequency. People’s reliance on the Internet for health information creates an opportunity to consolidate behaviour change towards consuming foods with multiple co-benefits. Our study identifies win–win options for nudging online information-seeking behaviour towards more sustainable choices for terrestrial biodiversity conservation and human health.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01693-w.     

云南省某绿色公共建筑全生命周期能耗量化分析

选取已通过云南省三星级绿色建筑运行标识的某公共建筑,收集其建造阶段实际材料使用量并计算出能耗.模拟运行期间的能耗数据,预估其拆除和建筑垃圾处理阶段耗能量,进行全生命周期的能耗计算.并根据案例项目实际采取的节能策略计算节能量,进一步分析得出云南省绿色公共建筑在保持良好运行状态的前提下,采取较低成本节能策略产生的全生命周期...     

基于相似理论的飞机实际着陆距离预测方法

为防止飞机着陆时冲出跑道事件的发生,提出一种基于相似理论的飞机实际着陆距离预测方法.首先,通过量纲分析法结合影响飞机实际着陆距离的主要因素,推导出表征实际着陆距离的无量纲方程;然后,利用真实飞行数据,得出不同接地俯仰角条件下飞机实际着陆距离的预测方程;最后,对比分析方程预测结果与由真实数据所得的飞机实际着陆距离.结果 ...     

基于改进YOLOX的变电站工人防护设备检测研究

为解决电气工人防护设备检测问题,通过改进YOLOX算法,提出检测工作人员防护设备的模型。首先在预测部分改进损失函数,为解决损失函数计算存在的缺陷,对IOU损失的计算方法进行改进,根据防护设备任务特性,通过调整各种类型损失函数的权重,增加对模型误判的惩罚,对模型进行优化;其次在算法主干网络中引入CBAM注意力模块提高神经网络对工人防护设备的感知能力;最后在算法Neck部分,将UpSample结构用于多尺度特征融合,加强网络的细节表达能力,从而提升对小目标困难样本的检测精度。研究结果表明：改进后的YOLOX模型平均精度均值达到87.24%,与已有YOLOX模型相比提升2.46%,具备有效性,适用于变电站工人防护设备检测。研究结果可为电气工人提供更高的防护装备检测精度。