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.     

Effectiveness of Voluntary Conservation Agreements: Case Study of Endangered Whales and Commercial Whale Watching

Abstract: The use of voluntary approaches to achieve conservation goals is becoming increasingly popular. Nevertheless, few researchers have quantitatively evaluated their efficacy. In 1998 industry, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations established a voluntary conservation program for whale watching in the northeast region of the United States, with the intent to avoid collisions with and harassment of endangered whales by commercial and recreational whale‐watching vessels. One important aspect of the program was the establishment of 3 speed zones within specific distances of whales. We wanted to determine the level of compliance with this aspect of the program to gauge its efficacy and gain insights into the effectiveness of voluntary measures as a conservation tool. Inconspicuous observers accompanied 46 commercial whale‐watching trips from 12 companies in 2003 (n= 35) and 2004 (n= 11). During each trip, vessel position and speed were collected at 5‐second intervals with a GPS receiver. Binoculars with internal laser rangefinders and digital compasses were used to record range and bearing to sighted whales. We mapped whale locations with ArcGIS. We created speed‐zone buffers around sighted whales and overlaid them with vessel‐track and speed data to evaluate compliance. Speeds in excess of those recommended by the program were considered noncompliant. We judged the magnitude of noncompliance by comparing a vessel's maximum speed within a zone to its maximum recorded trip speed. The level of noncompliance was high (mean 0.78; company range 0.74–0.88), some companies were more compliant than others (p= 0.02), noncompliance was significantly higher in zones farther from whales (p < 0.001), and operators approached the maximum speed capabilities of their vessel in all zones. The voluntary conservation program did not achieve the goal of substantially limiting vessel speed near whales. Our results support the need for conservation programs to have quantifiable metrics and frequent evaluation to ensure efficacy.     

Advancing values-based approaches to climate change adaptation: A case study from Australia

Coastal flooding affects physical and social place attachments. Values-based approaches to climate change adaptation examine how risks to place attachments are distributed within and among communities, with a view to informing equitable adaptation policies. In this nascent body of research, divergent theoretical frameworks and empirical approaches to measuring social values are evolving. While some studies explore the things people value about their everyday lives generally—the lived values approach, others locate specific social and cultural values in geographic space—the landscape values mapping approach. This study aims to compare the explanatory value of these two approaches for understanding the social risks of sea-level rise, and appraise whether either or both approaches are likely to meet local adaptation planning needs. It does this by examining the potential social impacts of sea-level rise in Kingston Beach, Australia, informed by a mail-out survey of the community. The lived values approach identified that the natural environment, scenery, relaxed lifestyle and safety are highly important to local residents, while the landscape values mapping approach revealed that Kingston Main Beach is the most highly valued of eight coastal landscape units. Incorporating the landscape values mapping into the lived values cluster analysis revealed that while Kingston Main Beach is highly important for its recreational value to some members of the community, for others manmade features such as community halls or sports ovals may be of higher importance because they facilitate social interactions. There is potential to further integrate these two approaches to better inform adaptation policy about how lived and landscape values are distributed among communities, where they are located in space and whether they change over time. A deeper understanding of such assigned values can lead to improved engagement with coastal residents to inform adaptation policy now and into the future.     

京津冀地区面向人居环境之水安全格局初探

采用文献法对近年京津冀水资源、水环境、水污染、水灾害、水管理等水安全情势进行相关数据分析,从总体上显示出水危机问题和京津冀地区快速城市化发展的关联性.结果表明:1)京津冀城市群必须向节水型社会模式转型;2)建立区域及城市间的协调机制,才能有效克服流域与区域等级的水问题;3)实现京津冀地区水安全格局的治理行动计划网络,提出保护恢复体系、净化循环体系、限制节约体系、调度再造体系、蓄滞防洪减灾体系五大体系.     

Using Sound to Reduce Visual Distraction from In-vehicle Human–Machine Interfaces

Objective: Driver distraction and inattention are the main causes of accidents. The fact that devices such as navigation displays and media players are part of the distraction problem has led to the formulation of guidelines advocating various means for minimizing the visual distraction from such interfaces. However, although design guidelines and recommendations are followed, certain interface interactions, such as menu browsing, still require off-road visual attention that increases crash risk. In this article, we investigate whether adding sound to an in-vehicle user interface can provide the support necessary to create a significant reduction in glances toward a visual display when browsing menus.

Methods: Two sound concepts were developed and studied; spearcons (time-compressed speech sounds) and earcons (musical sounds). A simulator study was conducted in which 14 participants between the ages of 36 and 59 took part. Participants performed 6 different interface tasks while driving along a highway route. A 3 × 6 within-group factorial design was employed with sound (no sound /earcons/spearcons) and task (6 different task types) as factors. Eye glances and corresponding measures were recorded using a head-mounted eye tracker. Participants’ self-assessed driving performance was also collected after each task with a 10-point scale ranging from 1 = very bad to 10 = very good. Separate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted for different eye glance measures and self-rated driving performance.

Results: It was found that the added spearcon sounds significantly reduced total glance time as well as number of glances while retaining task time as compared to the baseline (= no sound) condition (total glance time M = 4.15 for spearcons vs. M = 7.56 for baseline, p =.03). The earcon sounds did not result in such distraction-reducing effects. Furthermore, participants ratings of their driving performance were statistically significantly higher in the spearcon conditions compared to the baseline and earcon conditions (M = 7.08 vs. M = 6.05 and M = 5.99 respectively, p =.035 and p =.002).

Conclusions: The spearcon sounds seem to efficiently reduce visual distraction, whereas the earcon sounds did not reduce distraction measures or increase subjective driving performance. An aspect that must be further investigated is how well spearcons and other types of auditory displays are accepted by drivers in general and how they work in real traffic.     

Understanding farmer intentions to connect to a modernised delivery system in an Australian irrigation district: a reasoned action approach

Australian governments have sought to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of water delivery to rural properties and improve water supply and on-farm efficiency. A programme of rationalising irrigation infrastructure has attracted criticism and doubts about its likely success. Attitude theory in the form of the Reasoned Action Model was applied to understand the intentions of landowners to connect to a ‘modernised’ irrigation system. Attitudes towards connecting to the system, social norms and perceptions of control over the behaviour provided an explanation of intentions to connect. Actual financial capability and other variables were important in discriminating a group of landowners who had already connected to the modernised system from farmers who had not.     

Numerical simulation of premixed methane–air deflagration in a semi-confined obstructed chamber

In this paper, large eddy simulation coupled with a turbulent flame speed cloure (TFC) subgrid combustion model has been utilized to simulate premixed methane–air deflagration in a semi-confined chamber with three obstacles mounted inside.The computational results are in good agreement with published experimental data, including flame structures, pressure time history and flame speed. The attention is focused on the flame flow field interaction, pressure dynamics, as well as the mechanism of obstacle-induced deflagration. It is found that there is a positive feedback mechanism established between the flame propagation and the flow field. The pressure time history can be divided into four stages and the pseudo-combustion concept is proposed to explain the pressure oscillation phenomenon. The obstacle-induction mechanism includes direct effect and indirect effect, but do not always occur at the same time.     

The Effect of Local Biomass Projects on Energy Balance and GHG Emission: A Life Cycle Approach

Emerging attention has been given to the use of biomass in local areas for its contribution to reducing fossil fuel dependence and mitigating global warming. The objective of the present study is to develop a method that quantitatively assesses the effects of local biomass projects on fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. A practical method based on a life cycle approach is proposed and applied to a case of bioethanol project in Miyako Islands of Japan. The project is aiming to produce bioethanol from molasses within the islands, and to replace the entire gasoline consumed in the islands to E3 fuel (i.e., a mixture of 3% ethanol and 97% gasoline by volume). The assessment using the developed method revealed that, first, the complete shift from gasoline to E3 fuel allows for decreases in fossil fuel consumption and GHG emission. Second, the performance of the project is improved by the integration of the ethanol plant and the sugar factory. Moreover, the assessment found that, in small-scale bioethanol projects, the contribution of capital goods to life cycle fuel consumption and GHG emission is not negligible.     

超高压工程电缆绝缘油对海洋生物的生态毒性效应

随着超高压联网工程建设项目不断增多,取得巨大经济效益的同时,其电缆安全性日益受到关注。采用标准实验方法,研究电缆绝缘油对8种占据不同生态位的海洋生物(费氏弧菌(Vibrio fischeri)、牟氏角毛藻(Chaetoceros mueleri)、卤虫(Artemia sp.)、蒙古裸腹溞(Moina mongolica)、凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus vannamei)、裸项栉鰕虎鱼(Ctenogobius gymnauchen)、双齿围沙蚕(Perinereis aibuhitensis)、菲律宾蛤仔(Ruditapes philippinarum))的急性毒性,同时进行了电缆绝缘油对裸项栉鰕虎鱼14 d延长毒性实验和电缆绝缘油对蒙古裸腹溞的慢性毒性。结果表明,电缆绝缘油在50%饱和溶解浓度下未对费氏弧菌产生明显的发光抑制作用;对牟氏角毛藻、凡纳滨对虾、裸项栉鰕虎鱼、双齿围沙蚕和菲律宾蛤仔等5种生物未表现出急性毒性影响,其LC50均大于饱和浓度;对卤虫的96 h-LC50为17.07%,LOEC为12.5%,NOEC为6.25%;对蒙古裸腹溞96 h-LC50为29.75%,LOEC为25.0%,NOEC为12.5%;电缆绝缘油对卤虫和蒙古裸腹溞有剧毒。对裸项栉鰕虎鱼成鱼14 d延长毒性LC50大于500 000 mg·L~(-1);对蒙古裸腹溞母溞存活数的NOEC为625μg·L~(-1),LOEC为1 250μg·L~(-1);对母溞存活期的NOEC为312μg·L~(-1),LOEC为625μg·L~(-1);对产胎数的NOEC为625μg·L~(-1),LOEC为1 250μg·L~(-1);对产幼溞数的NOEC为625μg·L~(-1),LOEC为1 250μg·L~(-1)。     

Application of an odd/even predominance of n-alkanes in oil–source rock correlation: taking the lower Paleozoic strata of the Tarim Basin as an example

The composition and distribution of n-alkanes carbon numbers reflect the source of kerogenic organic matter, sedimentary environment, and maturity of the rocks. The comparison results of the n-alkanes GC (gas chromatography) chromatograms in the Tazhong Low Uplift show that the n-alkanes of the source rocks in Upper Ordovician display an odd carbon number predominance. At the same time, Cambrian–Lower Ordovician exhibit an even carbon number predominance. The correlation between oil and source rock illustrates that crude oils in the fields of well TZ10-12 and well TZ24 stem from the Upper Ordovician source rocks. The origins of the crude oils in the fields of well TZ161-162 and well TZ45 are Cambrian–Lower Ordovician. The strata corresponding to the crude oils with odd/even carbon number predominance match the oil–source rock correlation. Thus, the characteristics of odd/even carbon number predominance in n-alkane compounds are effective for oil–source rock correlation in the Tazhong Low Uplift, Tarim Basin.