The ethics of genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation

The ethical issues associated with using genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation are typically described as consisting of risk assessment and management, public engagement and acceptance, opportunity costs, risk and benefit distributions, and oversight. These are important, but the ethical concerns extend beyond them because the use of genetic engineering has the potential to significantly alter the practices, concepts, and value commitments of conservation. I sought to elucidate the broader set of ethical issues connected with a potential genetic engineering turn in conservation and provide an approach to ethical analysis of novel conservation technologies. The primary rationales offered in support of using genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation are efficiency and necessity for achieving conservation goals. The instrumentalist ethical perspective associated with these rationales involves assessing novel technologies as a means to accomplish desired ends. For powerful emerging technologies the instrumentalist perspective needs to be complemented by a form-of-life perspective frequently applied in the philosophy of technology. The form-of-life perspective involves considering how novel technologies restructure the activities into which they are introduced. When the form-of-life perspective is applied to creative genetic engineering in conservation, it brings into focus a set of ethical issues, such as those associated with power, meaning, relationships, and values, that are not captured by the instrumentalist perspective. It also illuminates why the use of gene drives in conservation is so ethically and philosophically interesting.     

14个有价值的城市安全系统学理论基础问题

安全系统学是安全科学的核心基础理论,很适用于研究城市系统安全问题。本文从认识论和本体论出发阐述系统发生事故的本质原因,归纳了城市安全需要研究全生命周期与全球视野问题、微系统—中系统—宏系统耦合匹配问题、可持续—智慧—公共服务—多系统—生活生产安全—公共安全协同问题、输入与输入平衡关系、应急与涌现关系、信息与安全情报关系、安全管理与自组织关系、复杂城市与复杂科学关系,简述本质安全并非基础设施安全、风险管理需要精准安全、韧性并非物理性问题,认为使命—人—机—物—管—环—信—文的体系,以及工程—教育—管理—文化等对策应赋予新的安全内涵。上述内容是城市系统安全学的重要理论基础问题。     

浙江省农业自然资源合理利用战略研究

针对浙江省自然资源利用程度高,资源环境压力大,资源浪费和污染等严重问题,根据浙江省资源构成特点,从资源,环境与经济协调发展的观点提出减少非农建设占用耕地,完善基本农田保护工作,绝不以牺牲现有耕地为调整农业产业结构。与此同时,积极开发后备土地资源,补充现有耕地面积;对于水资源必须依法治,管并重,节约与开源相结合,合理利用水资源,着重开发山,海资源和改善农业生态环境等战略措施。     

电力行业水-能耦合关系研究综述

电力行业消耗了全球约8%的水资源,电力生产与输配过程中消耗的能源与水资源之间的相关关系被定义为电力行业水-能耦合关系.本文从电力行业水耗和节水潜力研究、电力生产与水资源空间分布匹配研究、电力行业水-能耦合关系与其他环境问题的关系研究三个角度对国际上相关文献的研究内容、研究方法和主要结论进行梳理.研究结果表明：冷却技术选择对电力行业的水-能耦合关系影响较大,电力生产的需水量与各地水资源禀赋在空间上不匹配,电力行业水-能耦合系统管理体系尚未建立且面临迫切的实际需求.     

清洁发展机制项目运作关键问题分析与管理对策研究

清洁发展机制（CDM）项目要想能够顺利通过一系列审查并最终获得减排量,需要特别重视项目运作流程中的关键环节。针对中国CDM项目审批数量少,通过率低,耗费时间长等问题,本文在分析CDM内涵及项目运作流程的基础上,指出了中国CDM项目运作中面临的主要问题,提出了相应的管理对策与建议,期望能够为中国推进CDM项目实施提供帮助。     

Ingredients in sustainably managing water in semi-arid environments

The lessons learned from CALFED indicate that ingredients important in the long-term resolution of water management issues may not result in short-term “solutions”. The value of this special issue lies in its identification of ingredients that stimulate re-framing of issues, adapting to new knowledge and innovative decisions. But sustainable water management also requires the political patience to sustain those processes as a means of perpetuating the long-term decision-making necessary to anticipate and/or respond to an ever-changing environment.     

Sustainability Appraisal in neighbourhood planning in England

The preparation of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) inclusive sustainability appraisals (SAs) for neighbourhood plans (NPs) in England may be required when significant environmental effects are expected to arise from an NP. In this paper, we report on the result of a Ph.D. project, conducted between 2012 and 2015, in which all 15 NP SEA inclusive SAs that had been completed at the time were evaluated. In this context, the quality of SA practice was found to differ substantially. SAs were prepared either ‘in-house’ (i.e. by neighbourhood planning steering groups) or by consultants. The quality of SAs was found to be associated with their overall perceived degree of influence on the underlying NPs. Whilst the focus of this paper is on practice in England, findings are expected to be of interest to a wider international audience, in particular to those experimenting with voluntary neighbourhood/local level plan SA/SEA.     

Examining strategic sustainability plans and smart-growth land-use measures in California cities

Given many potential obstacles, what types of strategic plans and measures for climate protection and/or energy sustainability are more likely than others to be adopted by cities? What are the key internal and external obstacles to adopting and implementing these plans and measures? Based on data obtained from a survey conducted from 2010 to 2011 and other sources, this paper develops a framework derived from political contracting theory and strategic orientation literature to examine how public management obstacles, socio-economic factors, and political factors influence a city's likelihood of having strategic energy sustainability plans and measures in place. Moreover, this paper finds that many California cities remain reluctant to require residents and businesses to comply with more challenging sustainability measures, such as smart-growth land-use practices, and that those cities with a strategic energy sustainability plan already in place tend to be more willing to adopt smart-growth land-use measures.     

项目环境影响评价与战略环境影响评价比较

战略环境影响评价是更高层次的环境影响评价工作 ,它不仅是对建设项目环境评价工作的拓展、完善和提高 ,而且也是能够贯彻可持续发展原则的可操作的方法之一。在回顾影响评价的发展历程和分析其发展趋势等的基础上。从评价范围、内容、对象、方法、结论、性质及指导思想几个方面对战略环境影响评价与项目环境影响评价进行了比较     

基于共词分析的我国资源环境领域研究热点分析

了解我国资源环境领域的研究热点及走向,可为该领域的论文选题、科研立项和学科规划提供参考信息和决策依据。本文采用共词分析法,Excel、SPSS等软件,对CNKI数据库中的相关文献进行统计。通过分析得出高频关键词并建立共词矩阵,进一步对高频词共词矩阵进行聚类分析和战略坐标图分析,得出资源环境领域的研究热点主要集中在人口资源环境与经济可持续发展、城市化与中国资源环境/水资源环境协调发展、资源环境约束或人地关系视角下的产业结构优化和城镇化发展、资源环境承载力评价指标体系与问题对策、经济增长与生态足迹关系、生态文明视角下的资源环境保护与管理等几大主题上。其中,前两个主题处于整个领域的核心地位,得到较深入的研究,后四个主题研究不够深入,仍有许多值得研究的地方。