Sustainable development frontiers and divides: Transnational actors and US/China greenhouse gas emissions

Perpetuation of the South-North divide over climate change threatens to undermine the sustainability of the planet's vulnerable ecosystems. The current focus of international attention is on the USA and the PRC since both countries are in a position to negate or clinch the global warming mitigation efforts of the rest of the world community and because the two governments are primarily responsible for the entrenched global impasse over greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement. This contribution illustrates how transnational non-state actors, specifically Chinese American transmigrants, can make a difference in surmounting the US-China divide over GHG emissions, even in a time of state stalemate. Specific opportunities to shape sustainable development outcomes are explored by reference to energy efficiency, renewable energy, transportation, GHG capture, and public education projects. The discussion shows that, by teaming up with the NGOs, universities, foundations and firms engaged in or contemplating involvement in GHG emission mitigation projects in China, Chinese Americans from many walks of life who can manoeuvre skilfully along the climate change frontier occupy a potentially decisive position in terms of supporting sustainable development.     

Strategies to combat desertification for the twenty-first century in China

SUMMARY

During the past half century, China has experienced increasingly severe land degradation, soil erosion, and desert expansion. Desertification is affecting one third of China's total territory and the annual accelerating rate of desertification spread is as high as 2460 km² in China. In 1996, China developed a National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (NAP), which is aimed to apply new legal measures and technical approaches to slow down desertification processes and achieve a long-term goal — control desertification and alleviate poverty through continuous efforts to fight against desertification, stabilize mobile dunes, revegetate degraded rangeland and control soil erosion in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. The long-term and integrated strategies of China's NAP result in encouragement of social participation, legal institutional guarantees, policy making, and establishment of demonstrations/pilot projects to combat desertification at both national and provincial level.     

Evaluation of the sustainable land use status of the North China Plain

The North China Plain is one of the most important production areas for wheat and maize in China, and also has the densest agricultural population in China. How to use and develop the limited land resources reasonably, and improve and protect them, have become issues of major concern. This paper is based on sustainability theory, reviewing the fundamental principles of sustainability, and developing an index system with which to evaluate the sustainability status of land use. We also use this method to evaluate the land-use status of the North China Plain and to analyze current factors affecting sustainable land use in this area. In addition, we propose a specific method for evaluating sustainable land use.     

Incorporating greenhouse gas effects to evaluate energy efficiency in China

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions without hampering economic growth is a significant issue for China. Taking into account environmental sustainability principles, this study analysed the energy efficiency of 30 regions of China for the period 2002–2007. By employing a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, this study included undesirable CO₂ and SO₂ outputs and the desirable GDP output in the model. Empirical outcomes demonstrated that the overall average technical efficiency (TE) of China is 0.843, indicating a 15.70% input inefficiency. Among three geographic areas, the east has the highest technical efficiency, with the highest ability to set up clean-burning power plants based on best technology available. Performance in the west is less good because of much inefficient technology. Finally, the study demonstrates detailed management implications of the BCG matrix. The most important contribution of this paper is a detailed demonstration of an energy performance evaluation mechanism for China. The valuable results and insights gained can be equally effectively applied to studies in other developing countries facing the same gaseous emissions.     

China's dairy crisis: impacts,causes and policy implications for a sustainable dairy industry

The dairy industry is an important part of the global economy, and the rapidly developing dairy enterprises in China have become increasingly important to the rest of the world. Due to increasing demand for dairy products and support from the government, China's dairy industry has thrived in recent decades. But rapid growth has been accompanied by a suite of industry/structural problems associated with raw milk supply, processing enterprises, product retailing and profit allocation. Thus, a major dairy crisis took place in 2008, triggered by a notorious melamine-contaminated milk event. The dairy crisis has had devastating impacts on China's dairy industry, negatively affecting farmers, consumers, processing enterprises and even government agencies. The Chinese government has developed rigorous measures to prevent future incidents of this sort, including the enactment of the Food Safety Law and reinstatement of the no-exemption quality inspection of food products. In this paper, we analyse the wide-ranging impacts and root causes of the recent dairy crisis in China. We also examine how the crisis has been handled and what measures have been put in place in its aftermath. Then we discuss policy implications for promoting the sustainability of China's dairy industry. Lessons learned from this crisis, as well as implications for policy improvements, should be valuable for the development of a sustainable dairy industry in other regions of the world.     

Sources and Distribution of Heavy Metals in East China Sea Surface Sediments

Box cores and surficial sediments collected from the shelf, slope and Okinawa Trough of the East China Sea were analyzed for loss on ignition, and concentration and speciation of Al, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn. in general, concentrations of these metals are higher in the inner shelf and lower in the midshelf, but the highest LOI, Cd and Mn levels are found in the Okinawa Trough. Spatial distributions of these metals in surficial sediments indicate that the Yangtze River is the major source for materials deposited in the inner shelf. the results of a six-stage sequential leaching experiment indicate that the fluvial input includes natural (e.g., Al and Fe) and anthropogenic (e.g., Pb) materials. the depletion concentration of these metals in the midshelf sediments reflects the dominance (～ 70%) of coarse, relict sand, while the enrichments in the inner shelf and the Okinawa Trough sediments are due to the fine grained, organic-rich sediments. the speciation of Mn in the sediments of the Okinawa Trough indicates that its distribution is diagentically or hydrothermally controlled.     

中国黄土高原地区的风蚀灾害及其防治

对我国黄土高原地区的风蚀情况及其严重危害作了简要阐述，指出坚持实施水土保持综合治理是防治风蚀灾害的根本途径，并对防治工作对策提出若干建议．     

中国安全防灾文化建设初探

安全文化是随着社会的繁荣、城乡的发展及科技进步，从工业文明、社会文化衍生而来。本文从国内外事故灾害频发的特点出发，探讨国内提出安全防灾文化建设的概念，并着重分析了拓展安全防灾文化建设的大思路。     

东北地区盐碱泡沼渔业开发技术

盐碱泡沼广泛分布于东北地区的中、西部，是该区域宜渔国土资源的主要类型之一．根据１９８８～１９９５年东北松辽平原农业综合开发的实践，本文以大安市试验示范区为例，初步介绍了盐碱泡沼渔业开发的６项主要技术措施，以供同类地区借鉴。     

Reviews

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