Elite cues,media coverage,and public concern: an integrated path analysis of public opinion on climate change, 2001–2013

To analyze the factors affecting US public concern about the threat of climate change between January 2002 and December 2013, data from 74 separate surveys are used to construct quarterly measures of public concern over global climate change. Five factors should account for changes in levels of concern: extreme weather events, public access to accurate scientific information, media coverage, elite cues, and movement/countermovement advocacy. Structural equation modeling indicates that elite cues, movement advocacy efforts, weather, and structural economic factors influence the level of public concern about climate change. While media coverage exerts an important influence, it is itself largely a function of elite cues and economic factors. Promulgation to the public of scientific information on climate change has no effect. Information-based science advocacy has had only a minor effect on public concern, while political mobilization by elites and advocacy groups is critical in influencing climate change concern.     

Why does the United States lack a global warming policy? The corporate inner circle versus public interest sector elites

Why has the United States not adopted global warming policies? Because the inner circle of the corporate elite has opposed these policies despite some corporate support for cap-and-trade and other policies. Pro- and anti-positions taken by think tanks that have led the policy debate in the post-Kyoto period are analyzed in order to demonstrate this. The corporate and upper class social ties of the directors of these pro- and anti-think tanks are examined, revealing a corporate elite split between the inner circle opposing these policies, and a ‘public interest sector’ of corporate law and media corporations along with top executives from higher education and other nonprofits that is supportive of policies addressing global warming. To enable adoption of major global warming policies, the corporate inner circle will need to become supportive and forge a class-wide corporate consensus on the need to address global warming.     

Ambiguity,reasoned determination,and climate-change policy

This paper examines climate-change benefit-cost analysis in the presence of scientific uncertainty in the form of ambiguity. The specific issue addressed is the robustness of benefit-cost analyses of climate-change policy alternatives to relaxation of Savage's original axioms. Two alternatives to subjective expected utility (SEU) are considered: maximin expected utility (MEU) and incomplete expected utility (IEU). Among other results, it is demonstrated that polar opposite recommendations can emerge in an ambiguous decision setting even if all agree on Society's rate of time preference, Society's risk attitudes, the degree of ambiguity faced, and the scientific primitives. We show that, for a simple numerical simulation of our model, an MEU decision maker favors policies which immediately tackle climate change while an IEU decision prefers “business as usual”.“Each agency shall assess the costs and benefits of the intended regulation, and recognizing that some costs and benefits are difficult to quantify, propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its cost.” Executive Order 12866 of the US President.     

Accounting for monogastric livestock as a driver in global land use and cover change assessments

Land systems are described based on various characteristics, including land cover composition and agricultural production. However, it is uncertain to what extent livestock, particularly monogastric livestock, determines land systems. We included monogastrics in a land system classification, and statistically analyzed the land cover composition and agricultural production of otherwise similar land systems with and without monogastric livestock. The results indicate that land systems with monogastrics are statistically different from their counterparts in the classification without monogastrics in terms of grassland area and crop yields, but are less different in terms of tree area, crop area, and ruminant livestock production. We then used a land systems map that includes monogastrics in the classification and a similar map that does not include monogastrics to project future changes in a novel manner that integrates livestock as a determinant of land systems. The results show that including monogastrics in otherwise similar projections yields less cropland intensification and more cropland expansion in several world regions, including Northern Africa and the Middle East. Other regions, such as Europe and Australia, were characterized by less decrease or more increase in tree area in the application with monogastrics, mainly due to the occurrence of open forests with monogastrics. This study prompts a call for improved characterization of land systems for land use and cover change (LUCC) assessments in order to better represent LUCC driven by monogastric livestock.     

How dynamics and drivers of land use/land cover change impact elephant conservation and agricultural livelihood development in Rombo,Tanzania

Land use/land cover (LULC) change affects the provision of ecosystem services for humans and habitat for wildlife. Hence, it is crucial to monitor LULC particularly adjacent to protected areas. In this study, we measured LULC change in Rombo, Tanzania, an area with high-potential agro-ecological zones that is dominated by human–elephant conflicts (HECs). We used remote sensing and geographical information system techniques, questionnaires and village meetings to assess spatio-temporal patterns of the LULC changes in the study area. Using Landsat imagery, digital elevation model (DEM) and ground truthing, we classified and monitored changes in LULC from the years 1987 to 2015. We found that within Rombo, settlements were increasing, while agricultural and agroforestry lands were decreasing and respondents’ perceptions varied along the altitudinal gradient. Patterns of HEC and LULC were observed to change along the gradient and the later threatened the agricultural land and ecological integrity for elephant habitat, leading to high tension and competition between elephants and people. This research offers baseline information for land use planning to balance wildlife conservation with livelihood development in Rombo and highlights that managing the impacts of LULC changes on HEC and elephant habitat loss is a matter of urgency.     

Local air pollution and global climate change taxes: a distributional analysis for the case of Spain

Global climate change measures are difficult to implement. In this context, local air pollution measures may play an important role in the political agenda since their effects are felt more immediately by citizens. Distributional implications are one of the main barriers for implementing environmental policies. This paper explores the distributional implications of air pollution taxes and compares them to climate change taxes. For the comparison, both tax schemes were set to yield the same revenue. Methodologically, the study uses a top–down approach linking a macro model to a micro model. We find that taxes on local air pollutants are more regressive than those levied on CO₂. This is because the goods implicitly taxed have a greater weight in the consumer basket of low-income groups, even if the tax revenues are recycled. Furthermore, the revenue-neutral recycle scheme increases both taxes efficiency, but, at the same time, can increase regressivity.     

连片生态浮床对微污染河水的净化效果

选取漕桥河的支流庙尖浜作为实验河段,以睡莲(Nymphaea alba)、菖蒲(Acorus calamus Linn)和水芹(Oenan-the javanica(Blume)DC)作为微污染水体净化的浮床植物,研究连片生态浮床的净化能力随季节的变化和浮床面积对连片生态浮床净化能力的影响。结果显示,秋-冬-春季节内植物的净化能力随季节变化呈"U"型,相应的河水水质的变化呈一个倒置的"U"型;在一定营养负荷和植物正常生长状况下,沿水流方向,氮、磷含量随浮床面积的增加而降低——春季时,随浮床面积增加,菖蒲区对TN的去除率由8.6%增加到26.7%,TP的去除率由17.1%增加到58.2%,水芹区对TN和TP的去除率最高可达22.0%和28.0%。研究表明连片生态浮床是河道水质改善的有效可行的方法之一,可为太湖入湖河流的营养物质控制提供科学依据。     

结构红利与资源诅咒——西部大开发以来内蒙古产业结构变迁绩效评价

统计分析表明,西部大开发以来内蒙古经济存在越来越严重的就业-产值结构偏离趋势。采用shilt—share方法分别对西部大开以来内蒙古、西部和全国的劳动生产率进行分解和比较分析发现,内蒙古的结构红利不显著。因此,近年来内蒙古经济虽有良好的增长绩效,但其资源依赖型增长正通过价格机制和制度效率两个途径制约着产业结构的高级化与合理化变迁,即存在潜在的资源诅咒问题。     

高加速应力试验装置技术参数的测量

气锤驱动的高加速应力试验装置,能产生温度和非高斯随机振动应力,其中振动应力是由多个气锤作六自由度运动产生的。一般用来进行高温步进、低温步进、快速温度变化、振动、快速温变和振动复合试验。目前国家标准和校准规程中均无关于该试验装置的技术参数的校准方法。本文结合试验装置的技术特点,提出了几个关于温度和振动技术参数的测量方法,如:温度偏差、温度波动度、温度均匀度、温度过冲量、温度变化速率、均方根加速度、横向振动比、功率谱密度等。     

基于RS和GIS的山东省17城市生态环境质量动态变化研究

运用遥感动态监测与地理信息系统技术相结合的方法,以2005年和2009年遥感解译数据、土地侵蚀数据及环境统计数据为数据源,依据《生态环境状况评价技术规范(试行)》(HJ/T192-2006),对山东省17个城市生态环境质量现状及动态变化趋势进行了评价。结果表明:2009年17个城市生态环境状况指数在59.81～78.08之间,生态环境质量状况总体良好;2005-2009年17城市生态环境状况指数变化值在0.06～3.5之间,生态环境质量状况基本稳定。