Proposing of new building scheme and composite towards global warming mitigation for Malaysia

The building sector has been regarded as a potential sector where there is large capacity to reduce the climate change effect. This study has proposed solutions to mitigate environmental impacts and achieve low CO₂ emission from residential sector. Therefore, full life cycle assessment (LCA) has been run to assess the CO₂ emission and its effect on the atmosphere and climate change. Based on the result, timber scheme is the best choice due to releasing less CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. However, house builders in Malaysia have almost completely neglected timber as a building material, with timber use as building components reduced to 5%. In this study, LCA Software was used to assess CO₂ emissions from different wall construction. The alternative building scheme has been made by reinforce steel stud, wooden beam and timber wall (S8) to improve the scheme deficiency while releasing less CO₂ emissions compared to other schemes. Therefore, S8 has a decreased CO₂ effect by 85% less than precast concrete frame and 90% less than brick over their lifetime. (S8) increased the load bearing compared to conventional timber beam. Thus, new scheme S8 could be replaced by current scheme and promote more adjustable scheme for Malaysian housing.     

科尔沁沙地生态系统服务价值变化研究

研究土地利用变化引起的区域生态系统服务价值的改变。可定量评价土地利用活动对区域生态环境的影响。基于1995年和2000年的土地利用数据．应用谢高地等人制定的中国陆地生态系统单位面积服务价值表．估算了科尔沁沙地土地利用变化引起的生态系统服务价值的改变。结果表明。从1995—2000年5年间。科尔沁沙地的耕地增加4．87％。林地减少2．25％。草地减少0．03％．水域减少1．32％．湿地增加0．54％，城乡工矿居民用地减少3．21％。未利用地减少8．83％；研究区内土地利用变化的区域差异性很大．表现为大部分旗县仍维持着毁林毁草开荒的不合理土地利用活动。科尔沁沙地生态系统服务价值从1995年的1463．67亿元增加到2000年的1467．36亿元。净增加值为3．69亿元，增幅为0．25％；其增加值并非因耕地面积增大所产生．而是个别旗县的大面积沙荒地得到有效治理所致。     

Global climate change and the politics of disaster

The paper explores the potential political impact of global climate change and, more generally, of natural disaster. Because the affluent West has largely tamed the natural and the social domains, popular clamor for government to anticipate, prevent, and redress disaster increases. I delineate several consequences of the new politics of disaster.     

经济快速发展地区土地利用结构的时空演变——以苏锡常地区为例

利用1996～2007年苏锡常地区土地利用变更数据,从土地利用变化幅度、动态度、变化强度、相对变化率及景观生态学角度,对区域土地利用结构的动态变化及区域差异进行分析。研究结果表明：近十多年来,由于区域经济快速发展,工业用地扩展迅猛,城镇加速蔓延,从而导致区内耕地面积锐减,居民点及工矿用地、交通用地所占比例则逐年上升,交通用地的变化幅度及动态度最大;各用地类型的变化强度在此期间呈一定波动,除牧草地外,交通用地历年的变化强度之和最大,其次为园地、居民点及工矿用地、水利设施用地、耕地、其他农用地、林地、未利用地;区域土地利用结构逐渐向均衡状态发展,用地结构的均质性逐渐增强,地区土地利用结构渐趋稳定;各市耕地、居民点及工矿用地、其他农用地的变化幅度及相对变化率差别不大,而园地、林地、牧草地、交通用地、水利设施用地及未利用地的变化幅度及相对变化率区域差异较大,且三市园地、牧草地及未利用地的变化方向不一致。     

Technological Progress, Structural Change and China＇s Energy Efficiency

China has witnessed rapid economic development since 1978, and during the time, energy production and consumption developed at a tremendous speed as well. Energy efficiency which can be measured by energy consumption per unit of GDP, however, experienced continuous decrease. Theoretically, the change of energy efficiency can be attributed to industry structural change and technological change. In order to explain the transformation of Chinese energy efficiency, we adopt logarithmic mean Divisia index techniques to decompose changes in energy intensity in the period of 1994-2005. We find that technological change is the dominant contributor in the decline of energy intensity, but the contribution has declined since 2001. The change in industry structure has decreased the energy intensity before 1998, but raised the intensity after 1998. Decomposed technological effects for all sectors indicate that technological progresses in high energy consuming industries such as raw chemical materials and chemical products, smelting and pressing of ferrous metals, manufacture of non-metallic mineral products and household contribute are the principal drivers of China＇s declining energy intensity.     

Nature Articulations in Norwegian Advertising Discourse: A Depoliticized Discourse of Climate Change

This article deals with how nature is articulated in public discourse and more specifically how humans’ relationship to nature is constructed via such articulations. Based on critical cultural analyses of ads presented in a Norwegian context, the article claims articulations of nature serve to a depoliticization of nature, which silence social differences and reduce environmental politics to individual moral action. Several rhetorical patterns of particular relevance to the articulation of nature are discussed, pointing out how disparate, sometimes conflicting, understandings of nature are rhetorically configured and aligned in ways that benefit a global market economy. There is a discursive distancing of nature and everyday life, even as nature remains valorized and very much central to national identity. This constrains citizens’ political engagement and undermines understandings of how to govern nature.     

气候变化对洪湖湿地的影响

气候变化影响着湿地生态系统。在全球气候变化的背景下,洪湖湿地区域气候也发生了明显变化。通过对洪湖周边4个站点1961~2004年的气象数据分析,从气象学和生态学的角度探讨了气候变化对洪湖湿地的影响。结果表明20世纪60年代以来,洪湖湿地区域气温有显著升高趋势,气温增加倾向率为0264℃/10 a;年降水量有微弱升高趋势,增加倾向率为49964 mm/10 a;降水量夏季和冬季有升高趋势,但是春季和秋季有减弱趋势。气候要素的综合变化使洪湖湿地区域湿润系数具有降低趋势。气候变化造成洪湖湿地面积萎缩、水位降低,同时造成了生物多样性降低和生物入侵,降水格局的变化改变了湿地水文状况,加剧了湿地的生态不稳定性。研究结果为湿地恢复重建和本区湿地生态安全提供了科学依据.     

昆山市生态系统服务价值变化研究

在Constanza的生态系统服务价值理论的基础上,计算了1994－2002年昆山市生态系统服务价值的变化。建设用地对耕地和水域面积的占用,引起了昆山市的生态系统服务价值逐渐下降： 9年间生态系统服务价值（ESV）总量下降了8.9%,人均占有量（Ave(ESV)）下降了13.0%。各种土地利用方式的生态系统服务价值的弹性系数都小于1。水域面积的变化则对生态系统服务价值变化起到放大作用。耕地面积的变化主要是影响昆山市的粮食安全问题,而水域的变化则在更大程度上影响生态系统服务功能方面。     

三峡库区耕地利用变化及其对策研究 --以重庆市忠县为例

在分析忠县近55年来耕地数量动态变化的基础上,着重对三峡二期施工以来1996～2003年忠县耕地资源数量增减状况及构成进行了详尽的剖析,揭示了忠县耕地利用变化的主要原因,提出了耕地保护开发的对策。分析表明,忠县耕地数量变化有一定增减波动,但整体呈明显减少之势。农业结构调整占地占耕地总减少量的82.25 ％,是忠县耕地减少的主要原因;其次是非农建设占地和水域淹没,分别占总减少量的4.32 ％和\{13.22\} ％;新增加的耕地构成中,开荒仍是目前耕地增加的主要来源,其次是农业结构调整,二者分别占耕地总增加量的71.92 ％和21.88 ％。严格控制非农建设占用耕地,提高耕地的比较经济效益,加强耕地的整理、复垦和开发工作,加强以农田水利基本建设为重点的综合治理,严格控制人口数量,提高人口素质等是耕地保护开发的主要对策。     

三峡库区雷暴气候变化特征分析

利用长江三峡库区及其周边地区38个气象站1961～2001年的逐日雷暴资料,统计、分析了三峡库区雷暴日数及其初、终日的时空分布特征。结果表明：41年来,长江三峡库区年平均雷暴日数较多,一般为34～45 d,其中库区西北部和中南部为多雷区;年际变化大,最多年比最少年一般偏多27～61 d;整个库区年雷暴日数的变化均存在不同程度的减少趋势,气候倾向率为 1～7 d/10 a;雷暴出现的季节变化很明显,4～8月为多发时段;雷暴初日库区东部早于西部,终日东西段差别不大;雷暴持续期普遍在195～239 d之间,其中西部持续时间短,东部长;大部地区雷暴初日有推后的变化趋势,推迟速率约2～6 d/10 a;终日有提前的变化趋势,且提前速率为2～4 d/10 a;库区大部雷暴期呈缩短的变化趋势,缩短速率为2～8 d/10 a。