The victims of unsustainability: a challenge to sustainable development goals

Environmental unsustainability is due to both structural features and historically specific characteristics of industrial capitalism resulting in specific patterns of production and consumption, as well as population growth. Sustainability literature criticises the established corporate and political power hegemonies, interested in maintaining economic growth, as well as inability or unwillingness of citizen-consumers to counteract these hegemonic tendencies. Yet, official policies are still targeted at social and economic ‘development’ as a panacea for unsustainability challenges. Instead, renewed accent on social and economic objectives are outlined by a set of sustainable development goals (SDG) that include objectives of fighting poverty, promoting better health, reducing mortality, and stimulating equitable economic growth. What is less commonly critiqued is the underlying morality of unsustainability and ethical questions concerned with the ‘victims of unsustainability’ outside of socioeconomic discourse. The achievement of SDG goals, as will be further elaborated on in this article, is unlikely to lead to greater social equality and economic prosperity, but to a greater spread of unsustainable production and consumption, continuous economic as well as population growth that has caused environmental problems in the first place and further objectification of environment and its elements. This article argues that an invocation of ethical duty toward environment and its elements is required in order to move beyond the current status quo. Such ethical approach to unsustainability can effectively address the shortcomings of the mainstream sustainability discourse that is mainly anthropocentric and therefore fails to identify the correct locus of unsustainability.     

Approaches and terminology for causal analysis in land systems science

Research into land and social-ecological systems science could benefit from improved clarity in the terminology used for causal analysis and a structured way to make causal inferences. Here I identify two aspects of causality, i.e. causal effects and causal mechanisms, and discuss explanation in historical sciences. I then propose definitions for the major terms used for causal relations, including driver, (spatial) determinant, location and contextual factor, proximate and underlying factors. Finally, I discuss the contribution of various operational approaches, including time series and counterfactual approaches for assessing causal effects and process-tracing approaches for establishing causal mechanisms. Having a coherent concept of causality, agreeing on a precise vocabulary and harnessing our tools with the clear purpose of establishing both causal effects and causal mechanisms should strengthen causal explanations for single cases, for drawing policy-relevant lessons and for theoretical development in relation to land and, more broadly, social-ecological systems processes.     

土地资源空间异质性与经济发展水平的关系研究——以武汉城市圈为例

从土地资源属性出发,采用主成分分析法综合测度武汉城市圈土地资源空间异质性,利用Tobit 模型对土地资源空间异质性与经济发展水平的关系进行分析。研究表明:城市圈土地资源空间异质性是土地质量、结构、数量和禀赋等特征异质的综合反映,其中土地质量和结构异质是主因;城市圈土地资源空间异质性指数区间为[0.015, 0.737],可分为高异质区、中高异质区、一般异质区、中低异质区、低异质区5 个梯度区;城市圈土地资源空间异质性呈现出“中心高、边缘低”的分布特征,各异质梯度区内研究单元数量和面积差异明显;城市化水平和人均GDP对土地资源空间异质性具有显著的正向影响,第三产业比重具有显著的负向影响,提高第三产业比重能够降低城市圈土地资源异质性。     

治霾背景下浅层地温能产业规模化发展研究

为了实现治霾目标,国家大力推广可再生能源应用,《关于促进地热能开发利用的指导意见》(国能新能[2013]48号),明确提出将积极推广浅层地温能,扩大其在城镇建筑用能中的比例。我国浅层地温能产业发展面临一系列障碍,为了克服市场调节失灵问题,借助事物发展动力原则,结合全寿命周期理论,依托层次分析法,推导能源发展的核心影响因素,据此提出了浅层地温能产业规模化发展的关键路径,构建了浅层地温能开发利用的长效管理体系。     

沈阳市经济发展演变与碳排放效应研究

正确认识城市碳排放状况,研究确保城市经济快速发展的碳减排有效措施,对促进城市经济的可持续发展、制定各种环境经济政策、确保环境社会协调发展起到至关重要的作用。论文基于热红外遥感、GIS 和大气扩散模型技术,提高了城市碳排放空间分布的模拟精度。在此基础上,分别采用环境库兹涅茨曲线（EKC）、迪氏对数指标分解法（LMDI）和系统动力学（SD）模型,分析城市经济发展与碳排放之间的耦合关系和演变态势,通过碳排放分解分析研究影响碳排放浓度变化的因素,以及城市三次产业对碳排放的生产效应、结构效应和强度效应,模拟自然发展模式和调控发展模式两种情景下城市经济发展与碳排放的发展演变趋势。研究结果表明：1989—2008 年期间沈阳市碳排放与人均GDP拟合曲线符合N型特征,沈阳市的年均碳排放已经跨过了转折点。经济增长是导致沈阳碳排放增长的主要因素。1999—2010 年沈阳市第二产业碳排放的生产效应最大,三次产业的强度效应对城市碳排放都有抑制作用。2013—2020 年调控发展模式下的城市碳排放呈下降趋势。调控管理在保证经济稳步增长的同时将有利于沈阳市碳排放的有效抑制。     

The feasibility of concentrated rural settlement in a context of post‐disaster reconstruction: a study of China

There is growing appreciation of the use of concentrated rural settlement as an effective means of implementing infrastructure projects and helping to achieve sustainable development in rural areas. This occurs in China through the exchange of rural residential land for urban construction. However, this policy has not been effective under normal circumstances (called development‐driven conditions) as frequently farmers are reluctant to accept such an exchange. By contrast, in a time of disaster, such as after the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China, rural victims have accepted this policy of rural residential land exchange. Employing game theory, this paper identifies the reasons for the different outcomes and it contends that the implementation of concentrated rural settlement practice under disaster‐induced conditions is more effective than its introduction under development‐driven conditions. The results of the analysis indicate that, in China, concentrated rural settlement is feasible in a context of post‐disaster reconstruction.     

Sustainable development in the BRICS countries: an efficiency analysis by data envelopment

There is much concern about the social and environmental impacts caused by the economic growth of nations. Thus, to evaluate the socio-economic performance of nations, economists have increasingly addressed matters related to social welfare and the environment. It is within the scope of this context that this work discusses the performance of countries in the BRICS group regarding sustainable development. The objective of this study regards evaluating the efficiency of these countries in transforming productive resources and technological innovation into sustainable development. The proposed objective was achieved by using econometric tools as well as the data envelopment analysis method to then create economic, environmental, and social efficiency rankings for the BRICS countries, which enabled to carry out comparative analyses on the sustainable development of those countries. The results of such assessments can be of interest for more specific scientific explorations.     

林业发展新模式:智慧林业的评述(Ⅱ)

介绍了智慧林业的概念、基本特征及形成背景、新观念,分析了数字林业、智慧林业与泛在林业的关系,阐述了中国及智慧林业发展战略,建议深入研究智慧林业定义、内涵、外延、特征、观点、问题及对策,以便形成一门崭新的科学——智慧林业科学.     

敌百虫对中国林蛙蝌蚪生长发育的毒性效应

为评价水域环境中敌百虫(trichlorfon)污染对两栖类幼体的急性毒性,将中国林蛙(Rana chensinensis)28～29期(Gos-ner)蝌蚪分别暴露于10～30 mg· L-1敌百虫5个不同浓度的水体中,分别在24、48、72和96 h统计蝌蚪的死亡率,计算半致死浓度(LC50).结果显示,暴露24、48、72和96 h,敌百虫对蝌蚪的LC50分别为14250±3.23、49.19±128、25.68±2.04、1555±1.93 mg·L-1,安全浓度(SC)为156±0.19 mg· L-1.蝌蚪中毒后尾部多呈弯曲状,仰翻,外观浮肿.对死亡蝌蚪的解剖表明,其鳃腔内充水,内鳃萎缩,肝脏、肠管和肾脏呈灰白色.另外,将28～29期蝌蚪分别暴露于0.2 ～ 2.0 mg·L-1敌百虫4个不同浓度的水体中进行慢性暴露实验,检测蝌蚪暴露28和42 d时的体重和体长以及75％个体变态所需的时间.结果表明,蝌蚪在低剂量敌百虫水体中持续暴露,其生长发育受到明显抑制,并可导致蝌蚪身体扭曲、尾部强直性弯曲等畸型发生,蝌蚪的死亡率显著增高,作用强度呈现剂量和时间的累积效应.慢性暴露实验证明SC以下的敌百虫水体仍威胁着蝌蚪的生存.     

城市重大危险源分布合理性与可持续发展

可持续发展是世界各国积极采用的一种发展生产和经济建设的社会模式,它在谋求人类社会全面进步的同时,更注重经济、社会和环境的协调发展。以南京市为研究对象,分析评价了城市重大危险源的分布合理性,目的是能够为有效地预防和控制南京市的重大灾害,提供可行的建设性方案,使经济损失和对社会心理创伤降低到最低限度,有力地推动南京市可持续发展。