Minimizing external indirect health costs due to aerosol population exposure: a case study from Northern Italy

Environmental Agencies require Decision Support Systems, in order to plan Air Quality Policies considering the cost of emission reduction measures and the human health effects (with related social costs). The use of Decision Support Systems is also useful to spread information to general public, explaining the effectiveness of proposed air quality plans. In this paper, a multi-objective approach to control PM10 concentration at a regional level is presented. The problem considers both the internal costs (due to the implementation of emission reduction measures) and the external costs (due to population exposure to high PM10 concentrations). To model PM10 concentrations, a single surrogate model is used for the entire domain, allowing the implementation of a very efficient optimization procedure. The surrogate model is derived through a set of 10 simulations, performed using a Chemistry Transport Model fed with different emission reduction scenarios. The methodology is applied to Northern Italy, a region affected by very high PM10 concentrations that exceed the limit values specified by the EU legislation.     

Is a voluntary approach an effective environmental policy instrument?: A case for environmental management systems

Using Japanese facility-level data from an OECD survey, we estimate the effects of implementation of ISO14001 and publication of environmental reports on the facilities’ environmental performance. While most previous studies focused on an index of emissions toxicity, this study examines three areas of impacts, none of which have been explored in the literature: natural resource use, solid waste generation, and wastewater effluent. The study is also unique in that the effectiveness of ISO14001 is considered in relation to environmental regulations. Our findings are summarized as follows. First, both ISO14001 and report publication help reduce all three impacts; the former appears more effective in all areas except wastewater. Second, environmental regulations do not weaken the effect of ISO14001. Third, assistance programs offered by local governments—a voluntary approach—promote facilities’ adoption of ISO14001. These findings suggest that governments can use command-and-control and voluntary approaches concurrently.     

Forging New Directions in Science and Environmental Politics and Policy: How Can Co-operation, Deliberation and Decision be Brought Together?

Science, politics and environmental policy have for several years been encountering social and institutional as well as scientific challenges, national and international. The normative basis of all sciences is pressurised from three sides: by awareness of the public, who claims more transparency and sensibility from the scientific institutions regarding factual or possible impacts of science-based industrial progress; by the industries, which try to speed up and intensify the industrialisation of knowledge; and by the public policies, which want to see the sciences engaged in ways to mitigate unintended consequences of economic, ecological and social developments. At the same time, environmental policy is undergoing a tremendous sea change both in conceptual and practical matters. Since the Brundtland Report in 1987 and accelerated after UNCED 1992, environmental policy has been struggling to become a groundbreaking new paradigm for the capacity of resolving social and political issues as well. Any successful attempt to alter traditional institutional and mental structures in policy-making toward sustainability presupposes a renewed association of co-operation, deliberation and decision making. Results from theory of democracy, studies in science and technology, and evaluation studies in environmental policy and politics can be utilised for this context.     

The regional economic impact of reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Western Australia

This study analyses the general-equilibrium impacts of an international climate change response policy on the economy of Western Australia (WA), one of the most mining-based and energy-intensive states of Australia. It finds that emissions would fall by up to 11% from the base level in WA. However, such environmental benefits emanate at some costs to the state economy; in terms of foregone gross state product, the costs are up to 3% of the base level. Indeed, the actual costs and benefits depend on the precise design of the climate change response policy as well as on the other policies within which it operates. For example, when emission quota permits are sold to industries and no tradeable carbon credits (i.e. credits for the carbon sequestrated in Kyoto forests) are granted, emissions decline by about 8% and GSP falls by about 3% of the base levels. If carbon credits are tradeable, however, the environmental benefits could be increased and the GSP cost could be reduced substantially. Also, the reduced economic activity caused by emission abatement results in a modest fall in net government revenue, despite the additional revenue from permit sales in some cases. Accordingly, government’s fiscal package surrounding the emission permits would influence the emission abatement impacts on the economy. With regard to the effects on the structure of the state economy, the oil and gas industry suffers only a slight contraction but the energy-supplying sector as a whole contracts substantially. It is therefore not surprising that the impacts on the WA economy of curbing emissions by energy and transport industries alone are quite significant when compared to those resulted from all industries’ compliance with the abatement scheme. It needs to be noted that the model projections analysed in the paper are based on simplifying assumptions and tentative scenarios, and hence should be viewed with caution and not be understood as unconditional forecasts.     

Preliminary assessment of indoor industrial noise pollution in Kuwait

Sound is considered as a pollutant when it exceeds undesirable limits for the recipient. One of the significant environmental problems associated with industries is noise pollution generated by machinery. The main objectives of this study were to measure noise levels generated by machinery that the workers were exposed to at five industrial facilities in the State of Kuwait. Also, to assess if these levels were within acceptable standards, for Kuwait lacks environmental standards for such a pollutant. To achieve the objectives of the study two food manufacturing companies, a cement-brick making plant, a furniture factory and a car washing facility were selected for the purpose of the research.The study showed that workers operating machinery at the five facilities were exposed to high noise levels without any kind of ear protection. Noise levels recorded during the study were very high and exceeded the British Noise at Work Regulations of 1989. In Kuwait there are no regulations to abate noise in the working environment and workers are not required to wear ear protective muffs. The results of the study indicate that, the concerned environmental and health organisations in Kuwait should be compelled to establish noise level standards and controls to safeguard the health of workers and the public at large.     

城市生活垃圾填埋场的物质存量特征及其环境影响:以粤港澳大湾区为例

填埋场中的生活垃圾成分复杂,即使在封场后其存量垃圾仍将持续产生温室气体、恶臭、地下水污染等环境问题,是城市生态环境修复的重点领域之一.生活垃圾填埋场物质存量、组成成分和理化特征是掌握其潜在环境影响的关键.但是目前关于填埋场物质存量及其环境影响的研究还不多见.本研究以我国城市化程度最高、人口最为密集的粤港澳大湾区城市群为例,基于国内外报道的科技信息和统计数据,对11个城市的生活垃圾产生量、处理量、组成成分、填埋场存量及关键元素碳存量进行分析.结果表明:①粤港澳大湾区2017年生活垃圾产生量为26. 4 Tg,平均每年增长0. 8 Tg,其中卫生填埋处置占58. 9%;②总生活垃圾填埋处置量为230. 1 Tg,其中食物、塑料和纸类垃圾的累计填埋处置量最多,分别为109. 6、38. 9和29. 6 Tg;③2001～2017年,大湾区城市生活垃圾填埋场总碳输入量为50. 0 Tg,通过填埋气排放的碳为7. 1 Tg,通过渗滤液排放的碳为1. 5 Tg,累积碳存量为41. 4 Tg.本研究可为研究城市生活垃圾填埋场的环境影响提供基础数据,为大湾区城市生态环境修复提供科学依据.     

Sensitivity of stand dynamics to grazing in mixed Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pubescens forests: A modelling study

Only recently, studies of forest succession have started to include the effects of browsing by wild or domestic ungulates. We aim to contribute to this topic by analysing the influence of goat grazing on the long-term coexistence of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) in the low-elevation forests of an inner-Alpine dry valley. The forest gap model ForClim was first adapted to these site conditions by examining the site-dependent sensitivity of the model with regard to the species-specific parameterisation of the drought tolerance as well as the light demand of establishing and adult trees. In a second step, the behaviour of the model was investigated with respect to different grazing intensities and species-specific browsing susceptibilities. The last step was the application of a grazing scenario based on forest history, with 150 years of heavy browsing (by goats) at the beginning of the simulated forest succession, followed by less intensive grazing pressure.     

Ecological service assessment of human-dominated freshwater ecosystem with a case study in Yangzhou Prefecture, China

Freshwater ecosystems provide a host of services to humanity. These services are now rapidly being lost, not least because of the inability of making the impacts measurable. To overcome this obstacle, assessment frameworks for freshwater ecosystem services are needed. A simple water equivalent framework to assess the ecological services provided by freshwater ecosystems was developed in this study. It translated the occupation of freshwater ecosystem services into biologically freshwater volumes and then compares this consumption to the freshwater throughput, that is, the ecological capacity available in this region. In this way, we use the example of Yangzhou Prefecture, to account the main categories of human occupation of water ecosystem services. The result showed that there is a huge gap between the consumption and the supply of freshwater ecosystem services. This must encourage local government to make land-use and water management decisions both economically rational and environmentally sound.     

近10年流域江湖关系变化作用下鄱阳湖水动力及水质特征模拟

鄱阳湖水文情势受流域来水及长江共同影响,近10年流域、长江和鄱阳湖间关系发生了较大变化,导致了新的水文节律调整,进一步使得湖区水质环境发生变化.对近10年序列(2003—2012年)和1956—2002年序列的多年平均的日水文过程进行对比,分析了鄱阳湖的流域入流、湖口出流及湖区水位的年内变化过程;近10年鄱阳湖最高水位降低,湖相时间变短,河相时间增长;通过构建鄱阳湖的二维水动力水质模型,并采用实测2010年湖区水动力及水质数据对模型进行率定验证,在此基础上着重研究流域、江湖水文情势变化条件下,湖区的水动力和水质发生的变化.模拟结果显示,由于4—6月间湖区丰水期滞后13 d,8—10月间枯水期提前21 d,导致TN浓度在两个时间段内分别上升10.6%和12.4%,TP浓度在两期间内分别升高11.7%和13.6%.在8—10月期间,湖区水位下降速率增加,南部与西部的碟型湖提前与主湖区分离,形成相对静水的水塘,加剧了碟型湖的富营养化风险.     

旅游环境影响研究进展与启示

旅游环境影响是旅游环境和旅游影响研究中的重要内容,可为旅游区环境资源保护与管理提供基本依据,对生态旅游及可持续旅游的发展具有重要意义。为探讨旅游环境影响研究中存在的问题及发展方向,在参阅大量研究文献的基础上,从研究进程、研究内容、研究方法和研究结果等方面论述了国外旅游环境影响研究进展,对国内旅游环境影响研究按时间进展进行了评述。从旅游环境影响发展及研究现状来看,丰富和深化研究内容、扩展研究尺度、改进研究方法与技术,加强应用性研究等将是未来一定时期内旅游环境影响研究的主题;国内旅游环境影响研究应在借鉴国外先进研究方法与研究成果的基础上,结合国内实际,扩展研究领域,改进研究方法、加强实证研究和管理应用研究。