“We can keep the fire burning”: building action competence through environmental justice education in Uganda and Germany

The global dimensions of climate change necessitate a response that takes national differences – social, economic, geographic, and cultural – into account. Action-oriented education has a key role to play in advancing citizen engagement in a culture of sustainability. This paper describes research conducted with one such education programme, Youth Leading Environmental Change (YLEC), which operates in six countries and engages university-aged youth in discussion and practice related to global sustainability, systems thinking, and environmental justice. YLEC aims to advance four key competencies; this paper focuses on the goal of action competence, which involves acquiring knowledge, reflecting on experience in the context of one’s values, envisioning alternative futures, and acting individually and collectively to advance those alternatives. The present article examines the impacts of YLEC on environmental action competence in two of the countries involved in this research: Uganda and Germany. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants in both countries to examine the development of action competence during and after the programme. Findings suggest that outcomes differed in each country, reflective of participants’ different lived experiences. YLEC effectively built on the conditions faced in each country to accompany youth to a higher level of awareness and action. These findings have implications for environmental education programmes striving to work with multiple nations and diverse participants.     

Engagement with climate change and the environment: a review of the role of relationships to place

A growing body of literature examines how human bonds with place influence engagement with climate change and other environmental issues. Yet, studies in this vein derive from a number of disconnected literatures with a variety of place concepts employed. We set out to assess the current state of knowledge in this field and provide a framework for analysing dimensions of relations to place and their links with environmental engagement. We systematically analysed the characteristics of 66 studies identified for: focus of research, location, methods, and findings, particularly whether relationships to place aided in environmental engagement. We also categorised the studies according to our dimensions of place relations framework, cultural and environmental contexts, and intensity of climate impacts experienced. The answer to our guiding research question – whether place attachment was an effective way to communicate with people about climate change and get them actively engaged with it – was yes (74.2%), but with considerable variation according to these characteristics and dimensions. Based on this analysis, we identify gaps in current research and suggest critical paths for future research, especially in terms of geography and demography because of their implications for justice and equity in the processes of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Needed future research includes studies of place relations in regards to climate change specifically, studies in the Global South, of minority populations, beyond rural areas, and qualitative or mixed-method studies able to draw out the complexities of relations to place.     

可溶性有机质生物改性介导17β-雌二醇生物降解作用

利用元素分析、紫外-可见光谱、三维荧光指数对经过15d生物改性前后腐殖酸的组分和结构进行表征,并比较了生物改性前后3种腐殖酸对17β-雌二醇(E2)的结合作用;而且研究了结合后的腐殖酸介导微生物降解E2的影响.结果表明:经过元素分析后,生物改性前的腐殖酸OLHA、OLFA、OSHA和生物改性后的腐殖酸BLHA、BLFA、BSHA的(N+O)/C值分别为0.801、1.214、0.820和0.629、1.080、0.797;紫外-可见光谱分析生物改性前后的SUVA_(254)指数分别为0.146、0.023、0.073和0.179、0.036、0.011;生物改性前后荧光指数(FI)分别为:0.723、3.385、2.757和0.681、3.017、1.702.上述3种表征手段分析得出腐殖酸的极性是一致的,即改性后的腐殖酸要比改性前的腐殖酸极性小.此外,在30h内5mgC/L的腐殖酸生物改性前后对3mg/L的E2的结合效率分别为31.37%、4.96%、25.86%和37.78%、6.03%、29.92%,明显发现改性后的腐殖酸对E2的结合作用增强;5 mgC/L的腐殖酸生物改性前后对3mg/L的E2的30h内的生物降解效率分别为46.28%、15.96%、38.76%和51.11%、17.30%、44.33%,而且同等浓度下的腐殖酸对E2的结合作用越大其介导微生物降解E2的效果越好.     

Learning for social-ecological change: a qualitative review of outcomes across empirical literature in natural resource management

Learning is considered as a promising mechanism to cope with rapid environmental change. The implications of learning for natural resource management (NRM) have not been explored in-depth and the evidence on the topic is scattered across multiple sources. We provide a qualitative review of types of learning outcomes and consider their manifestations in NRM across selected empirical literature. We conducted a systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature (N = 1,223) and a qualitative meta-synthesis of included articles, with an explicit focus on learning outcomes and NRM changes (N = 53). Besides social learning, we found several learning concepts used, including policy and transformative learning, and multiple links between learning and NRM reported. We observe that the development of skills, together with a system approach involving multi-level capacities, is decisive for implications of learning for NRM. Future reviews could systematically compare how primary research applies different learning concepts and discusses links between learning and NRM changes.     

The evolution of regional cross-border water regimes,the case of Deltarhine

In this study, we look at the evolution of a cooperative water regime in the delta of the Rhine catchment. In a Dutch–German case study, we focus on cross-border cooperation on the local and regional scale, describing and analyzing how a remarkably resilient and robust transboundary water regime has evolved over the course of 50 years. Context-, interest- and knowledge-based explanations contribute important insights into the evolution of the Deltarhine regime, and it is shown that the legal, institutional and socio-economic context shapes and constrains regional cross-border cooperation. Surprisingly in this regard, we find that European water directives have not yet played a decisive, catalyzing role for policy harmonization across borders. Finally, we show that key individuals play a crucial role in regime formation and development. We suggest that the presence of entrepreneurs and leaders adds explanatory power to current conceptual frameworks in international river basin management, thus meriting further research.     

江苏省声环境质量二十年演变规律及污染防治措施

综合分析1991年至2010年声环境质量二十年演变规律,得出环境噪声在污染治理方面所采取和措施     

领结图分析法在组织变更中的应用

介绍了领结图分析方法的分析过程及在组织变更中的应用。应用于组织变更过程时,识别变更带来的风险及需要制定的控制措施,并结合检查和差距分析手段,确定组织的关键安全岗位,以保障组织的安全管理水平不会因变更的原因而降低。     

近五十年来赤峰气候变化及其对生态环境的影响

利用赤峰地区近五十年来气温、降水等资料,分析了赤峰地区近五十年来气候的变化趋势,探讨气候变化带来的生态影响。结果表明:赤峰地区20世纪80年代以来进入变暖期,强对流天气频率加大,多暴雨暴雪,出现气候的不稳定性。年平均气温有所上升,主要表现为冬季平均气温上升。从不同层面分析气温、降水、日最高温度、最低气温、平均温度的变化,以及它们对水资源、土壤、植被、农业生产等生态环境的影响。为实施宏观决策、保护环境、利用气候资源等提供科学依据。     

烟台市大气臭氧近地面分布特征初探

利用2008年7月-2009年6月烟台市11个子站的大气臭氧自动连续监测数据,时臭氧浓度的区域分布、季节变化、日变化、与二氧化氮浓度相关性等特征进行分析．结果表明：①郊区臭氧浓度高于市中心区;②臭氧浓度季节变化明显,其大小依次排排列为春季、夏季、秋季和冬季;③臭氧浓度具有明显的日变化,一般在午后浓度较高。夜晚较低,早晨...     

Atmospheric Change and Biodiversity

Strategies to conserve biodiversity need to include the monitoring, modelling, adaptation and regulation of the composition of the atmosphere. Atmospheric issues include climate variability and extremes; climate change; stratospheric ozone depletion; acid deposition; photochemical pollution; suspended particulate matter; and hazardous air pollutants. Coarse filter and fine filter approaches have been used to understand the complexity of the interactions between the atmosphere and biodiversity. In the first approach, climate-based models, using GIS technology, helped create future biodiversity scenarios under a 2 × CO₂ atmosphere. In the second approach, the SI/MAB forest biodiversity monitoring protocols helped calibrate the climate-forest biodiversity baseline and, as global diagnostics, helped identify where the biodiversity was in equilibrium with the present climate. Forest climate monitoring, an enhancing protocol, was used in a co-location approach to define the thermal buffering capacity of forest ecosystems and their ability to reduce and ameliorate global climate variability, extremes and change.