Emissions associated with meeting the future global wheat demand: A case study of UK production under climate change constraints

Climate change, population growth and socio-structural changes will make meeting future food demands extremely challenging. As wheat is a globally traded food commodity central to the food security of many nations, this paper uses it as an example to explore the impact of climate change on global food supply and quantify the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. Published data on projected wheat production is used to analyse how global production can be increased to match projected demand. The results show that the largest projected wheat demand increases are in areas most likely to suffer severe climate change impacts, but that global demand could be met if northern hemisphere producers exploit climate change benefits to increase production and narrow their yield gaps. Life cycle assessment of different climate change scenarios shows that in the case of one of the most important wheat producers (the UK) it may be possible to improve yields with an increase of only 0.6% in the emission intensity per unit of wheat produced in a 2 °C scenario. However, UK production would need to rise substantially, increasing total UK wheat production emissions by 26%. This demonstrates how national emission inventories and associated targets do not incentivise minimisation of global greenhouse gas emissions while meeting increased food demands, highlighting a triad of challenges: meeting the rising demand for food, adapting to climate change and reducing emissions.     

Variability of tropospheric hydroperoxides at a coastal surface site in Antarctica

The annual cycles of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and methylhydroperoxide (MHP) have been investigated at a remote site in Antarctica in order to study seasonal variations as well as chemical processes in the troposphere. The measurements have been performed from March 1997 to January 1998 and in February 1999 at the German Antarctic research station Neumayer which is located at 70°39′S, 8°15′W. The obtained time series for hydrogen peroxide and methylhydroperoxide in near-surface air represents the first all-year measurements in Antarctica and indicates clearly the occurrence of seasonal variations. During polar night mean values of 0.054±0.046 ppbv (range<0.03–0.11 ppbv) for hydrogen peroxide and 0.089±0.052 ppbv (range<0.05–0.14 ppbv) for methylhydroperoxide were detected. At the sunlit period higher Mixing ratios were found, 0.20±0.13 ppbv (range<0.03–0.91 ppbv) for hydrogen peroxide and 0.19±0.10 ppbv (range<0.05–0.89 ppbv) for methylhydroperoxide. Occasional long-range transport of air masses from mid-latitudes caused enhanced peroxide concentrations at polar night. During the period of stratospheric ozone depletion we observed peroxide mixing ratios comparable to typical winter levels.     

可持续发展中的清洁生产

传统工业生产方式在可持续发展背景下面临严峻挑战，清洁生产应而生，它是持续利用资源，减少工业污染，保护环境的根本措施，本文就清洁生产在中国示范推广所产生的经济，社会及环境效益进行了综合论述。     

Impacts of agri-environmental policy on land use and nitrogen leaching in Finland

Agri-environmental policies are challenging to be evaluated since they are often implemented in combination with other policies and regulations affecting agriculture. Also input and output markets affect agriculture. We provide impact assessment of agri-environmental scheme implemented in Finland 2007–2013 based on integrated economic and hydrological modelling and counterfactual scenarios. Development of crop specific fertilisation and land use changes, simulated using a multi-regional economic sector model, is included in a nutrient leaching model implemented in a typical agricultural region. Our results on agricultural production, land use, and nitrogen leaching show that the agri-environmental policy successfully mitigates nutrient leaching in intensive production regions but some mitigation potential is lost in less intensive regions.     

A “measurable” definition of sustainable development based on closed cycles of resources and its application to energy systems

Human society consumes resources that it is not able to reproduce. Human activities are still based on “open cycles,” starting from a condition of natural environmental balance and reaching an environmental imbalance. The challenging scope of scientific and technological research towards sustainability appears clear if it is based on this analysis: to find development systems based on “closed cycles” of resources. The challenging objective of realizing closed cycles leads to a definition of sustainability that indicates the path to sustainable development, as well as stating the general principle. It also provides a key to the qualitative measurement of sustainability. This means that the sustainability level of a system can be measured by measuring its capacity to avoid the consumption of resources. Zero consumption is a necessary condition for sustainability, and brings about as a side effect the highly desired “zero-waste” result. Materials entering the proposed endless scheme pass through the process of usefulness without losing their capacity to feed the system again after being used. Thus, the concept of “consumption” itself is replaced by one of “use” when resources are inserted into closed loops capable of feeding human development. The application of the closed cycle sustainability criterion particularly displays its feasibility, and a theoretical guiding role, in the energy sector. Energy vectors such as hydrogen and electricity enable the closure of the energy resources loop by effectively approaching the objective of “zero consumption” (and the side result of “zero waste”) through already demonstrated technological solutions.     

依托清洁生产促进环保产业良性发展

清洁生产作为一种全新的发展战略,借助各种相关理论和技术,在产品的整个生命周期的各个环节采取预防措施,通过将生产技术、生产过程、经营管理及产品等方面与物流、能量、信息等要素有机结合起来,优化运行凡事,实现最小的环境影响、最少的资源、能源使用,最佳的管理模式以及最优化的经济增长水平。结合现代环保意识的源起与企业实施清洁生产的成功案例,阐述人类要保护赖以生存的地球环境,推动环保产业良性健康发展,为社会经济活动提供必要的资源和能源,实现可持续发展,实施清洁生产是必由之路。     

Reducing the risk level for pipelines transporting carbon dioxide and hydrogen by means of optimal safety valves spacing

In many countries where electricity generation is based on their natural resources of fossil fuels a need arises to implement new power engineering technologies that allow carbon dioxide capture. Simultaneously, efforts are made to find new energy carriers which, if fired, do not involve carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen is one of such fuels with this future potential which is now becoming increasingly popular. Obviously, this means that the two gases mentioned above – carbon dioxide and hydrogen – will be produced in large quantities in future, which in many cases will necessitate their transport over considerable distances. If a pipeline failure occurs, the transport of the gases may pose a serious hazard to people in the immediate vicinity of the leakage site. This paper presents an analysis of the possibility of reducing the level of risk related to pipelines transporting CO₂ and H₂ by means of safety valves. It is shown that for a 50 km long and a 0.4 m diameter pipeline transporting gas with the pressure of 15 MPa the individual risk level can be reduced from 1·10⁻⁴ to 6.5·10⁻⁷ for CO₂ and from 1·10⁻⁶ to 6·10⁻¹⁰ for H₂. The social risk can be diminished in similar proportions.     

基于综采面产尘分布与扩散分析的粉尘防治研究

在对W3709综采工作面产尘特点分析的基础上,将工作面产尘源分为落煤扬尘、落煤冲击产尘及割煤产尘3类。对采煤机顺风割煤与逆风割煤时粉尘运动规律进行了详细的分析,根据工作面产尘特点与粉尘运动规律,提出了包括煤层注水、采煤机割煤产尘治理与控制以及支架处粉尘治理一套完整的综合防尘系统。通过现场应用,工作面粉尘在原有设施降尘基础上降低86%以上,降尘效果良好,有效地解决了该工作面粉尘污染严重的难题。     

基于ARIMA的安全生产事故预测与实证研究

为了减少企业安全管理者在生产作业中由于不确定性导致错误决策所产生的风险,在企业历年安全生产事故数据基础上进行预测具有一定的现实意义。以某企业2008年至2011年的安全生产事故次数时序数据,采用EViews 5统计分析软件,基于ARIMA时间序列预测模型更加关注对事故发生是否平稳而相对于其他预测模型更关注于趋势研究的良好特点,建立安全生产事故ARIMA时序预测模型,并对2012年的安全生产事故发生次数进行预测,通过效果检验发现该模型预测结果基本上能够反映该企业安全生产事故发生的实际情况。通过ARIMA方法在某企业安全生产事故预测具体案例的实现,是对现有安全生产事故预测方法的补充和完善,可为企业安全管理和决策提供一定的指导。     

施工现场安全生产人员聚集性活动安全专项管理

施工安全生产风险是由风险事件概率和风险后果2个要素决定的。从施工安全风险后果,即潜在安全风险后果影响的人员角度,介绍了施工现场安全生产人员聚集性活动安全专项的系统管理方法。施工安全风险跟踪监控实践,表明该方法对促进安全生产绩效具有重要意义。