PROCEDURES FOR THE EVALUATION OF ENGINEERING ALTERNATIVES1

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a method of analyzing the nonquantifiable parameters which should be considered in the evaluation of engineering alternatives. The nonquantifiable parameters can include environmental impact, feasibility of implementation, and performance. The method considers rating all the alternatives on the basis of a set of criteria which reflect these parameters. A procedure is discussed for obtaining review and guidance in the evaluation of engineering alternatives from the local elected officials or governing bodies and for obtaining the views and desires of the local communities. This is achieved through the formation of project review committees and an evaluation procedure which allows for the technical rating of alternatives by the engineer and the weighing of the evaluation criteria by the political and social groups. With the growing environmental concern and the high cost of engineering projects, the involvement of the public during the evaluation of engineering projects is becoming increasingly important to the final success of the project.     

Prospects for Reconciling the Conflict between Economic Growth and Biodiversity Conservation with Technological Progress

Abstract: The conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is understood in portions of academia and sometimes acknowledged in political circles. Nevertheless, there is not a unified response. In political and policy circles, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is posited to solve the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection. In academia, however, the EKC has been deemed fallacious in macroeconomic scenarios and largely irrelevant to biodiversity. A more compelling response to the conflict is that it may be resolved with technological progress. Herein I review the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation in the absence of technological progress, explore the prospects for technological progress to reconcile that conflict, and provide linguistic suggestions for describing the relationships among economic growth, technological progress, and biodiversity conservation. The conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is based on the first two laws of thermodynamics and principles of ecology such as trophic levels and competitive exclusion. In this biophysical context, the human economy grows at the competitive exclusion of nonhuman species in the aggregate. Reconciling the conflict via technological progress has not occurred and is infeasible because of the tight linkage between technological progress and economic growth at current levels of technology. Surplus production in existing economic sectors is required for conducting the research and development necessary for bringing new technologies to market. Technological regimes also reflect macroeconomic goals, and if the goal is economic growth, reconciliatory technologies are less likely to be developed. As the economy grows, the loss of biodiversity may be partly mitigated with end‐use innovation that increases technical efficiency, but this type of technological progress requires policies that are unlikely if the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation (and other aspects of environmental protection) is not acknowledged.     

毕节喀斯特石漠化治理生态农业模式构建

喀斯特石漠化已成为岩溶山区生态建设和社会经济可持续发展的重大障碍，受到各级政府、专家学者的高度重视和广泛关注。以贵州省毕节市老街村喀斯特石漠化土地利用为例，采用实地调查的方法获取研究数据，分析了研究区石漠化土地利用存在问题。在此基础上，遵循石漠化治理与产业化相结合原则、市场导向原则、替代产业培育原则、适地适种原则等喀斯特石漠化治理的一般原则；优化土地利用格局，设计由坡地保土耕作、桑草养殖、桑药种植、乡土廊道树篱、封山育林多种技术措施配套集成的综合治理方案，并通过与农村能源建设结合，构建桑草药粮种植＋蚕猪养殖＋沼气的生态农业发展模式，探索喀斯特石漠化区生态修复的有效途径。     

Deflagration to detonation transition in a vapour cloud explosion in open but congested space: Large scale test

The paper reviews large scale experiments with various fuels in air where successful deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) took place. This includes a recent experiment disclosed in the Buncefield R&D program, where DDT developed in the propane/air mixture. The DDT occurred in branches of deciduous trees in a premixed stagnant mixture. An internal R&D investigation programme was initiated to better understand the phenomena. A large scale experiment in an open space with ethane air mixture is presented in the paper. The premixed mixture was ignited at the edge of the congested three-dimensional rigs which consisted of vertical and horizontal pipes. After ignition, the flame accelerated in the congestion and transitioned to detonation at the end of congestion. Stable detonation propagated through the remaining open and uncongested space.The flame acceleration process leading to DDT is scale dependent. It also depends on many parameters leading to a large investigation array and, significant cost. However, such R&D efforts aimed toward a safer plant design, i.e. the prevention of occurrence of a major accident, are a small fraction of a real accident cost.     

Impact of leakage location and downwind storage tank on the gas dispersion in a typical chemical tank storage area

Toxic gas leakage in a tank area can have catastrophic consequences. Storage tank leakage location (particularly for high leakage) and downwind storage tanks potentially influence gas diffusion in tank areas. In this study, we developed a numerical and experimental method to investigate the impact of a high leakage location and downwind storage tank on gas diffusion based on three (1.05H, 0.90H, and 0.77H, H was the tank height, 22m) leakage field experiments on the leeward side of storage tank, which have been not conducted before. The experiments revealed an unexpected phenomenon: the maximum ground concentration first decreased and then increased with increasing leakage height. The simulations illustrated that the differences in micrometeorological conditions caused the maximum ground concentration of gas emitted from the roof to be higher than that emitted from the tank wall near the storage tank height. The downwind storage tank 1) had little influence on the entire diffusion direction but altered the local diffusion pattern; 2) reduced the maximum ground concentration (∼18.7%) and the distance from the emission source (approximately a storage tank diameter); and 3) had strong influences on the concentration, velocity, turbulence, and pressure on the leeward side. The concentration negatively correlated with the velocity, pressure, and turbulence in the middle of the two storage tanks on wind centerline. Our results can improve understanding of gas dispersion in tank areas and provide references for mitigating loss and protecting lives during emergency response processes.     

The integrated project AquaTerra of the EU sixth framework lays foundations for better understanding of river-sediment-soil-groundwater systems

The integrated project "AquaTerra" with the full title "integrated modeling of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system; advanced tools for the management of catchment areas and river basins in the context of global change" is among the first environmental projects within the sixth Framework Program of the European Union. Commencing in June 2004, it brought together a multidisciplinary team of 45 partner organizations from 12 EU countries, Romania, Switzerland, Serbia and Montenegro. AquaTerra is an ambitious project with the primary objective of laying the foundations for a better understanding of the behavior of environmental pollutants and their fluxes in the soil-sediment-water system with respect to climate and land use changes. The project performs research as well as modeling on river-sediment-soil-groundwater systems through quantification of deposition, sorption and turnover rates and the development of numerical models to reveal fluxes and trends in soil and sediment functioning. Scales ranging from the laboratory to river basins are addressed with the potential to provide improved river basin management, enhanced soil and groundwater monitoring as well as the early identification and forecasting of impacts on water quantity and quality. Study areas are the catchments of the Ebro, Meuse, Elbe and Danube Rivers and the Brévilles Spring. Here we outline the general structure of the project and the activities conducted within eleven existing sub-projects of AquaTerra.     

作物种植专业化与化肥减量来源——兼顾经营规模的影响

以作物种植横向专业化和纵向专业化为切入点,运用中国13个粮食主产省份1980—2018年的面板数据,考察了作物种植专业化对农业化肥减量的影响及其作用机制。研究主要发现：（1）基础回归分析表明,作物种植横向专业化和纵向专业化均对化肥施用强度具有显著的削减效应,对化肥的利用效率有显著的增效作用。且作物种植纵向专业化或社会化服务卷入程度加深,能够增强横向专业化对化肥的减量增效作用。（2）影响路径分析表明,作物种植横向专业化通过扩大农地经营规模,进而增强了作物种植纵向专业化对化肥施用强度的削减效应和利用效率的增效作用。但也应警惕,通过扩大农地经营规模以增强作物种植纵向专业化的减量效应可能存在临界水平。此外,当作物种植横向专业化和纵向专业化积极配合时,可能推移临界点的到来。据此,通过发展作物种植横向专业化,鼓励农户通过服务外包卷入农业的纵向专业化分工以及发展农业适度规模经营,进而实现农业领域化肥的减量增效。     

城乡空置住房的识别、特征与成因——基于华北平原X县用电量等多源数据

对空置住房进行精准感知在国土空间规划中具有重要意义。基于华北X县2019年全县居民用电大数据构建了一种精准的空置识别和空置率计算模型。结果显示：该县出现过空置的住房占比高达33.81%,年空置率为21.64%;月空置率在一年中随月份小幅规律波动,波谷出现在2月和8月,波峰出现在5月和11月;村空置率具有空间自相关属性,县城为空置率高值集聚区;全年性空置为1931种空置节律模式中最主要的一种。将空置成因归纳为举家迁移和入城团聚等新流动模式促使全年空置和春节空置增多;扩展家庭内部住房过滤引发老旧住房空置;县城住房城镇化导致中心城区出现空置。应重视空置识别在国土空间规划中的基础作用,客观看待乡村住房空置现象,高度警惕县城的高空置率问题。     

聚落“双修”视角下乡村振兴路径——以祁东县沙井村为例

在快速城镇化进程中,乡村凋敝对城乡协调和区域可持续发展构成严峻挑战。寻求乡村发展路径是落实乡村振兴战略的重要举措,也是迫在眉睫的核心任务。在厘清乡村聚落物质要素修补与非物质要素修复的聚落“双修”内涵基础上,针对乡村发展面临的系列难题,通过“生态”和“历史文化”资源整合、“人口”“土地”“产业”和“配套设施”的转移及建设,来探究根治“乡村病”的科学模式与振兴路径：对标双修、绿色发展以振兴乡村生态;六位一体、文化繁荣以振兴乡村文化;高效输出、对口回流以振兴乡村人才;横向联合、纵向推进以振兴乡村产业;三治融合、多元共建以振兴乡村组织。以祁东县沙井村规划实践为例,从人、生、文、地、产、设等六方面提出修复修补策略与措施,以达到修复乡村生态、培育乡村文化、恢复乡村社会朝气、振兴乡村产业经济、提升乡村人居环境的目的。