Carbon emission analysis of a residential building in China through life cycle assessment

In this paper, a quantitative life cycle model for carbon emission accounting was developed based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) theory. A residential building in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (Tianjin, China) was selected as a sample, which had been constructed according to the concept of green environmental protection and sustainable development. In the scenario of this research, material production, construction, use and maintenance, and demolition phases were assessed by building carbon emission models. Results show that use and maintenance phase and material production phase are the most significant contributors to the life cycle carbon emissions of a building. We also analyzed some factor influences in LCA, including the thickness of the insulating layer and the length of building service life. The analysis suggest that thicker insulating layer does not necessarily produce less carbon emissions in the light of LCA, and if service life of a building increases, its carbon emissions during the whole life cycle will rise as well but its unit carbon emission will decrease inversely. Some advices on controlling carbon emissions from buildings are also provided.     

好氧颗粒污泥形成的影响因素及其应用

结合近年来国内外学者关于好氧污泥颗粒化的研究成果,对影响好氧污泥颗粒化的影响因素进行了较为深入系统的分析,提出了适宜的运行控制条件及所需注意的问题。     

西南山地丘陵区典型乡镇环境因素对农村新建居民点布局与复垦的影响差异分析

农村居民点作为中国城乡二元化的重要体现形式,是农村人地关系问题产生的主导因素和农村社会的基本单元。该文以重庆市石柱县临溪镇2010~2014年的新建居民点和复垦数据为主要数据源,采用偏离度和空间变异系数分析各环境因素对居民点新建与复垦分布的影响,并利用极值法对新建居民适宜区域和居民点复垦重点区域进行选择。结果表明:不同环境因素对新建居民点与居民点复垦的空间分布影响差异性明显,道路和场镇因素对2类居民点空间数量分布的影响最大。居民点复垦在道路与耕地2影响因素的偏离度最大值分别为0.69和–0.503,这2类因素是影响居民点复垦的主要因素。新建居民点在道路和坡度的偏离度值分别为–0.742和–0.106,该2类因素是影响新建居民点的关键因素。居民点复垦总体偏离度绝对值为1.53,对居民点总体布局的影响比新建居民点大。环境因素分级因子对新建与居民点复垦影响差异突出,新建居民点靠近城镇、道路、河流以及分布于6°~15°缓坡的趋向明显;居民点复垦远离城镇、道路及分布于陡坡的趋势突出。利用极值法研究发现,道路0~10 m和坡度6°~15°的分级因子组合为最适宜的新建居民点区域,道路大于40 m和耕地70~10 m的分级因子组合为居民点复垦的重点区域。该研究对典型山地丘陵区的新建农村居民点选址及复垦重点区域选择具有理论意义与实践价值。     

A methodology to model causal relationships on offshore safety assessment focusing on human and organizational factors

INTRODUCTION: Focusing on people and organizations, this paper aims to contribute to offshore safety assessment by proposing a methodology to model causal relationships. METHOD: The methodology is proposed in a general sense that it will be capable of accommodating modeling of multiple risk factors considered in offshore operations and will have the ability to deal with different types of data that may come from different resources. Reason's "Swiss cheese" model is used to form a generic offshore safety assessment framework, and Bayesian Network (BN) is tailored to fit into the framework to construct a causal relationship model. The proposed framework uses a five-level-structure model to address latent failures within the causal sequence of events. The five levels include Root causes level, Trigger events level, Incidents level, Accidents level, and Consequences level. To analyze and model a specified offshore installation safety, a BN model was established following the guideline of the proposed five-level framework. A range of events was specified, and the related prior and conditional probabilities regarding the BN model were assigned based on the inherent characteristics of each event. RESULTS: This paper shows that Reason's "Swiss cheese" model and BN can be jointly used in offshore safety assessment. On the one hand, the five-level conceptual model is enhanced by BNs that are capable of providing graphical demonstration of inter-relationships as well as calculating numerical values of occurrence likelihood for each failure event. Bayesian inference mechanism also makes it possible to monitor how a safety situation changes when information flow travel forwards and backwards within the networks. On the other hand, BN modeling relies heavily on experts' personal experiences and is therefore highly domain specific. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: "Swiss cheese" model is such a theoretic framework that it is based on solid behavioral theory and therefore can be used to provide industry with a roadmap for BN modeling and implications. A case study of the collision risk between a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit and authorized vessels caused by human and organizational factors (HOFs) during operations is used to illustrate an industrial application of the proposed methodology.     

What room for politics and change in global climate governance? Addressing gender in co-benefits and safeguards

Questions of equity, gender, power and rights are central to environmental justice in climate mitigation schemes such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Degradation). Drawing on the ideas of co-benefits and safeguards, the strategies for challenging mainstream discourse on gender in REDD+ – from the outside and within – are examined of two organisations that have attempted to bring a political concept – gender – into the largely technical discourse of climate policy. The analysis points to the risks of co-option that women’s organisations face, trying to challenge and change the mainstream discourse on gender in climate policy-making. The need for diverse and flexible strategies for resistance and influence in order to seize opportunities that may arise in countering the depoliticising force of global climate governance are highlighted.     

农地流转、农户兼业程度与生产效率的关系

以中部地区142个村1 370户农户的调查结果为基础,运用统计分析法、DEA分析法研究农地流转前后转入户和转出户的农业生产效率变化,进一步采用Tobit回归分析方法探究不同农户兼业程度对两类农户的农业生产效率的影响,为保障国家粮食安全、制定相关政策提供理论依据。研究发现:(1)从综合生产效率来看,中部地区参与农地流转的农户生产效率均较低,仅有0.204,农地流转使转入户提高了1.1%,转出户降低了15.7%;从技术效率和规模效率来看,流转后转出户的技术效率低于转入户1.8%、规模效率与转入户扩大为10.4%,说明农地流转促使土地由转出户向生产技术更高、经营规模更集中的转入户家庭转移。(2)在其他条件不变的情况下,兼业分化会显著提高转入户的生产效率,显著降低转出土地农户的生产效率,且兼业程度越强兼业分化的正方向影响作用越弱。(3)在其他变量中,受教育程度、农业补贴政策的落实和农业技能培训对农业生产效率均有正向影响。研究结论:在农地流转中,建议政府应考虑流转农户的差异化以及兼业程度的影响,针对转入户和转出户分别制定相应的土地政策,一要对兼业程度较高的转出户实行农民身份退出机制,在城乡居民福利和公共服务均等化水平逐渐提高的基础下,稳步推进农民市民化进程,促使土地要素向高生产效率的农户转移。二要从农地的承包经营权中分离出经营权,对土地经营权予以登记,让真正种地的农民得到农业补贴政策的实惠;适度降低转入户的兼业化水平,促进农民职业化,鼓励规模化经营。     

压煤村庄搬迁对农业生产的影响——以兖州市为例

我国的煤炭资源开采大部分都是采取井下开采的方式,该种开采方式在进行过程中容易引起覆岩层的原始平衡状态遭受破坏,同时伴随冒落、断裂或者弯曲等移动变形的情况出现,并最终涉及地表。到目前为止,由采矿引起的地面塌陷和地表开裂,已经导致了大量建筑物被破坏,给农民的生产生活带来了极大的不便,对农业生产的发展造成了极大的阻扰,减少了耕地,形成了社会的不稳定因素,严重影响地区的社会的发展与稳定。压煤村庄搬迁能改善矿区居民的生活环境和基础设施建设,加快小城镇建设和城乡一体化发展的进程,但是由于村庄搬迁引起的耕作半径增加,改变了从居住区到田地的距离,引起机械化程度、耕种方式和农业劳动力需求等变化,从而将在一定程度上影响本地区的社会稳定性,也会增加整个社会的就业压力。山东省是重要的产煤发展基地,村庄搬迁后远离耕地,为农民的往返与出入带来了不便。本文以兖州市已搬迁的八个村庄为研究对象,采取调查问卷的形式进行了实地调研,并将调查后的数据进行了分类统计与回归分析,运用SPSS软件进行Logit模型回归分析,最终确定主要生活来源和田间道路修建两个因子与农民从事农业生产的意愿存在密切的相关性,交通工具的变更与大型机械的配备对其也有较大的影响作用,研究结果可为该政府相关部门制定村庄搬迁和农业生产有着重要的理论指导意义。     

污泥热解气化技术的研究进展

通过热解气化等热化学转化方式将污泥转变为液体或气体燃料是极具前景的污泥利用方式之一。从污泥的资源化利用方面着手,阐述了污泥热解气化技术的研究进展,分析了现有污泥热解气化工艺的优缺点和主要影响因素,并对该技术的发展趋势进行了展望。指出:高湿污泥与生物质混合进行共热解可以提高原料的转化率和整个系统的热效率;高效污泥热解气化装置的研发是目前污泥热解气化技术领域亟待解决的问题。     

水电工程开发与生态环境保护

水电工程在发挥巨大效益的同时,也不同程度地破坏了原有生态环境的平衡.以水电工程开发与生态环境的关系为切入点,分析了水电工程开发对生态环境的正面影响和负面影响,并提出了几点生态环境的保护对策及措施,通过人力与自然力的共同作用达到改善生态环境的目的,实现水电工程开发经济效益、社会效益、生态环境效益的共同提高.     

三峡水库泄水期香溪河库湾营养盐动态及干流逆向影响

为了研究水库干流对支流库湾营养盐动态的影响,于2009年春季三峡水库汛前泄水期,通过监测分析了库湾水流特点及叶绿素a、总氮、总磷和溶解性硅酸盐的时空动态。研究发现:三峡水库汛前泄水期,库湾水体表现为分层异向流动,干流水体以异重流形式倒灌入库湾;特定的水流特性为泄水期库湾营养物质运移提供了水动力基础,水库干流对库湾营养盐的补给及水华暴发范围有明显逆向作用;受干流影响,氮和硅自河口至回水末端呈递减趋势,磷主要受上游来水影响,空间分布趋势与氮、硅相反;叶绿素a浓度峰值向上游移动,水华范围向上游收缩,河口处叶绿素a浓度的时间均值明显低于回水末端,表明三峡水库泄水期香溪河库湾下游水体水华受到干流逆向影响的抑制。