环渤海地区2,4,4''-三氯联苯的多介质归趋模拟

为探究多氯联苯(PCBs)在环渤海地区的环境多介质迁移和归趋行为,本研究以2,4,4′-三氯联苯(PCB28)为目标污染物,基于区域尺度多介质城乡逸度模型,模拟了稳态条件下PCB28在各环境相中的浓度分布、总量分配以及相间迁移过程,并对模型的输入参数和输出结果分别进行了敏感性和不确定性分析.结果表明,PCB28在淡水、农村土壤、城市土壤和沉积物中的模拟浓度与实测浓度吻合较好,验证了模型的可靠性.PCB28在城市土壤中的浓度最大,浓度均值为5.26×10~(-6) mol·m~(-3),在农村大气中的浓度最小,浓度均值为5.79×10~(-14) mol·m~(-3).当环境系统达到平衡时,土壤是PCB28最主要的"汇",占其在环境中总储量的96.45%.大气相与其他环境相间的相互迁移过程是PCB28在环渤海地区进行空间迁移的主导过程.大气传输是PCB28最主要的入海途径,从农村大气到海水的迁移通量占总入海通量的97.22%.参数敏感性分析结果表明PCB28排放速率、栅格规模及与迁移速率相关的参数是影响大气相中PCB28浓度的关键参数.不确定性分析结果表明PCB28在农村大气和城市大气中的浓度分布都符合对数正态分布,其变异系数分别为0.44和0.41.     

3-甲基喹啉的微生物降解

从处理油制气废水的活性污泥中分离得到一株菌种Q10，经16SrDNA序列分析鉴定为睾丸酮丛毛单胞菌，该菌可以利用3-甲基喹啉作为唯一碳源和能源生长。着重研究了该菌在好氧条件下利用3-甲基喹啉作为唯一碳源和能源的降解特性．并初步分析了3-甲基喹啉的降解中间产物。实验结果表明：菌种Q10对3-甲基喹啉具有较高的降解性能．3-甲基喹啉降解的主要途径是首先生成单羟基化合物、多羟基化合物，然后主要在苯环上发生开环反应进一步降解。     

Valuation of human health: An integrated model of willingness to pay for mortality and morbidity risk reductions

This paper develops and applies an integrated model of mortality and morbidity valuation that is consistent with the principles of welfare economics. To obtain the integrated model, the standard one-period expected utility model of one person facing the prospect of either being alive or dead is extended to incorporate (1) a third health state (sick) with a utility level that is intermediate to utility if healthy and utility if dead, (2) a family perspective in which a parent makes choices about risk exposure both for herself and for a child, and (3) a multi-period framework that allows for possible parent/child differences in illness latency. Monetary benefits of health risk reduction obtained from the integrated model are compared with those that would be computed using the standard model. The integrated model then is applied using data obtained from two field studies of skin cancer and leukemia to demonstrate how it can be used to estimate health benefits of reduced illness and death risks.     

Reforming small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa: Political and ideological challenges to a Fair Trade gold initiative

In sub-Saharan Africa, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has caused a range of environmental, social and economic problems. Most of the donor support pledged to improve conditions in the sector to date, however, has failed to facilitate marked improvements, in large part because emphasis has been placed on technical interventions; at the same time, impoverished miners’ needs and concerns have been seriously overlooked. It is against this background that this paper critically examines the underpinnings and potential of “Fair Trade gold” as a solution to many of the problems plaguing the ASM sector and a mechanism for alleviating the hardships of its operators. Unlike the majority of ASM-support support measures implemented in the past, “Fair Trade gold” is entrenched in the discourse of “partnership” and “participation”. To ensure its effectiveness initiatives must be adapted according to the specificities of ASM.     

An uncertainty based multi-criteria ranking system for open pit mining cut-off grade strategy selection

Cut-off grade strategy (COGS) is a concept that directly influences the financial, technical, economical, and environmental issues in relation to the exploitation of a mineral resource. Despite the simple definition of cut-off grade, the COGS problem is one of the complex and complicated problems in the mine planning process. From the optimization point of view, the COGS with an objective of maximizing the present value of future cash flows is a non-linear and a non-convex problem that even in its deterministic form can be solved using approximate optimization methods. This optimization problem will also be more complex and complicated under uncertainty conditions. This paper proposes an uncertainty based multi-criteria ranking system to investigate the problem of COGS selection considering metal price and geological uncertainties. The proposed system aims at selection of the best COGS among technically feasible alternative COGSs under uncertainty circumstances. Our developed system is based on integrating metal price and geological uncertainties as well as operating flexibility to close the mine early. We incorporate this operating flexibility into the proposed system using a Monte Carlo based real options (RO) valuation model. For this purpose, in addition to the expected value, other risk criteria are considered to rank the alternatives. These risk criteria include abilities of strategies in producing extra profits, minimizing losses, and achieving the predefined goals of the production. In this study, the technically possible COGSs are generated using the Lane comprehensive algorithm. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system, we utilize data of an Iranian gold mine. Results show that the proposed system outperforms conventional methods in the sense that it shows significantly lower average mis-ranking than the other methods and also selects a strategy with a higher value. The sensitivity analysis of the proposed system relative to the gold price shows that the system is highly dependent on the parameters of the stochastic process used to model the evolution of the metal price. Therefore, special consideration should be given in estimating stochastic process parameters.     

A sceptical vision of the environmental Kuznets curve: The case of sulfur dioxide

The aim of this paper is to check the hypothesis for the environmental Kuznets curve for sulfur dioxide. This involved analysis of: 1. the theoretical basis of the model; 2. the technical problem of SO2 generation; 3 the kind of information used in the estimations; 4. changes in the structure of electric energy production; 5. improvements in energy efficiency; and 6. the recent introduction of cleaning mechanisms in a favourable political context. The conclusion is that, if it is possible to prove the existence of environmental Kuznets curve models, their utility as instruments of economic policy is debatable.     

European aggregates production: Drivers,correlations and trends

Aggregates constitute the biggest branch of mining by production volume and the second in value, after the sector of fossil fuels. Their close connection with the construction industry places them among the most used materials worldwide, second only to water. Despite its significance, the sector suffers from the non-systematic register of production data, resulting in weakness to study the main features affecting the sector’s structure and future capacity. The paper focuses on the aggregates production in 26 European countries. Data from available sources are gathered and combined for a 10-year period (1997–2006), as an effort to provide a clear view of the major attributes of this vital industrial sector. Through a thorough analysis, the main drivers in aggregates production are revealed and existing correlations and trends are identified. New findings are also presented, for example the significance of GDP from construction and the strong connection of aggregates production per capita with the residential building sector.     

Climate policies and skill-biased employment dynamics: Evidence from EU countries

The political acceptability of climate policies is undermined by job-killing arguments, especially for the least-skilled workers. However, evidence of the distributional impacts for different workers remains scant. We examine the associations between climate policies, proxied by energy prices, and workforce skills for 14 European countries and 15 industrial sectors over the period 1995–2011. Using a shift-share instrumental variable estimator and controlling for the influence of automation and globalization, we find that climate policies have been skill biased against manual workers and have favoured technicians. The long-term change in energy prices accounted for between 9.2% and 17.5% (resp. 4.2% and 8.0%) of the increase (resp. decrease) in the share of technicians (resp. manual workers).     

Long-term impacts of exposure to high temperatures on human capital and economic productivity

Weather anomalies have a range of adverse contemporaneous impacts on health and socio-economic outcomes. This paper tests if temperature anomalies around the time of birth can have long-term impacts on individuals' economic productivity. Using unique data sets on historical weather and earnings, place and date of birth of all 1.5 million formal employees in Ecuador, we find that individuals who have experienced in-utero temperatures that are 1 °C above average are less educated and earn about 0.7% less as adults. Results are robust to alternative specifications and falsification tests and suggest that warming may have already caused adverse long-term economic impacts.     

Price perceptions in water demand

Economists advocate for using the price mechanism to manage water scarcity, but complex nonlinear rate structures prevalent in markets for municipal water obscure price signals. We conduct a randomized field experiment that jointly elicits knowledge about the cost of water and examines the impact of improved information on demand by linking a survey to water billing records. Half of our sample of 30,000 single family homeowners are randomly sent an invitation to a survey that asks questions about the water bill and the costs of water-use activities (e.g. the cost of taking a shower), and subsequently provides personalized accurate information. Results show that consumers have poor information about the marginal price of water and overestimate the costs of using water. Respondents are relatively better informed about their total bill and water consumption. In aggregate, respondents increase water use in response to the survey, potentially due to learning that water is cheaper than they previously thought. Increased consumption is concentrated among low users who are more likely to over-estimate the costs of using water.