Graduated stringency within collective incentives for group environmental compliance: Building coordination in field-lab experiments with artisanal gold miners in Colombia

Small-scale gold mining is important to rural livelihoods in the developing world but also a source of environmental externalities. Incentives for individual producers are the classic policy response for a socially efficient balance between livelihoods and the environment. Yet monitoring individual miners is ineffective, or it is very costly, especially on frontiers with scattered small-scale miners. We ask whether monitoring at a group level effectively incentivizes cleaner artisanal mining by combining lower-cost external monitoring with local collective action. We employ a mining-framed, threshold-public-goods experiment in Colombia's Pacific region, with 640 participants from frontier mining communities. To study compliance with collective environmental targets, we vary the target stringency, including to compare increases over time in the stringency versus decreases. We find that collective incentives can induce efficient equilibria, with group compliance – and even inefficient overcompliance – despite the existence of equilibria with zero contributions. Yet, for demanding targets in which the reward for compliance barely outweighs the cost, compliance can collapse. Those outcomes improve with past successes for easier targets, however, so our results suggest gain from building coordination via graduated stringency.     

过量无机氮造成的富营养化对孔石莼存在下海水无机碳体系的影响

通过室内模拟培养,研究了孔石莼存在下过量无机氮对水体无机碳体系变化的影响及其机制.结果表明,无机氮的添加均会导致水体DIC、HCO^-₃和P(CO₂)的减少,pH和CO^2-₃的增加.当NO^-₃-N和NH⁺₄-N浓度分别低于71 μmol·L^-1和49.7 μmol·L^-1时,随着营养盐浓度的增加,水体无机碳体系各组分的变化幅度增大,其中以NO₃-3和NH₄-3组变化最为明显,至实验结束DIC分别较空白组下降了151 μmol·L^-1和232 μmol·L^-1;当NO^-₃-N和NH⁺₄-N浓度分别高于355 μmol·L^-1和248.5 μmol·L^-1时,则随着浓度的增加无机碳各组分的变化幅度减小.对无机碳的减少与孔石莼的生长(Δm)做相关性分析发现,二者密切相关(R=-0.91, P<0.000 1,n=11),当营养盐浓度促进孔石莼的生长时,水体DIC浓度下降,孔石莼干重增加;反之,当营养盐过量时,则会对其产生毒性作用,抑制其对无机碳的吸收.NH⁺₄-N对海水无机碳体系的影响较NO^-₃-N明显.     

An experimental analysis of compliance in dynamic emissions markets

Two important design elements for emission trading programs are whether and to what extent firms are able to bank emissions permits, and how these programs are to be enforced. In this paper we present results from laboratory emissions markets designed to investigate enforcement and compliance when these markets allow permit banking. Banking is motivated by a decrease in the aggregate permit supply in the middle of multi-period trading sessions. Consistent with theoretical insights, our experiments suggest that high permit violation penalties have little deterrence value in dynamic emissions markets, and that the main challenge of enforcing these programs is to motivate truthful self-reports of emissions.     

Workspace design for crane cabins applying a combined traditional approach and the Taguchi method for design of experiments

Procedures in the development process of crane cabins are arbitrary and subjective. Since approximately 42% of incidents in the construction industry are linked to them, there is a need to collect fresh anthropometric data and provide additional recommendations for design. In this paper, dimensioning of the crane cabin interior space was carried out using a sample of 64 crane operators’ anthropometric measurements, in the Republic of Serbia, by measuring workspace with 10 parameters using nine measured anthropometric data from each crane operator. This paper applies experiments run via full factorial designs using a combined traditional and Taguchi approach. The experiments indicated which design parameters are influenced by which anthropometric measurements and to what degree. The results are expected to be of use for crane cabin designers and should assist them to design a cabin that may lead to less strenuous sitting postures and fatigue for operators, thus improving safety and accident prevention.     

Modeling of explosion dynamics in vessel-pipe systems to evaluate the performance of explosion isolation systems

Explosion isolation systems provide critical protection for interconnected vessels and work areas, preventing the spread of explosions through interconnecting pipes and ducts. These systems not only prevent propagating events, but also mitigate the elevated explosion hazards of interconnected vessels, related to pressure piling and enhanced turbulence. Explosion isolation systems can, however, fail catastrophically when they are not properly designed for a use case.Evaluating the performance of explosion isolation systems includes assessing their pressure resistance, flame-barrier efficacy, and determining appropriate installation distances, which typically requires extensive testing. To predict the performance of a system for use cases outside the tested conditions, models are needed to reliably predict both the explosion dynamics and the isolation system response.In this study, a physics-based model for explosion dynamics in vented vessel-pipe systems is developed and validated. An extensive series of large-scale validation experiments were conducted, including tests using an 8 m³ vessel with attached pipes, varying the pipe dimensions, ignition location, and mixture reactivity. The model accurately captures the effects of experimental parameters and predicts the time available for isolation systems to form a flame barrier. This model can help to predict installation distances and reduce the number of tests needed to comprehensively evaluate explosion isolation systems and their use cases.     

大气中PAN的测定及其与前体物的关系

对北京中关村地区大气ＰＡＮ的监测结果表明：在强日照条件下，ＰＡＮ浓度随汽车等排放和ＮＯ２浓度的增加而增加，高ＰＡＮ浓度水平与高Ｏ３浓度相关联；夏季的ＰＡＮ浓度明显高于春季。模拟实验的结果证实：Ｃ３Ｈ６是大气中重要的ＰＡＮ前体物，在一定范围内，其浓度越高，ＰＡＮ浓度越大；Ｃ２Ｈ４生成ＰＡＮ是困难的，Ｈ２Ｏ２的存在对Ｃ２Ｈ４反应生成ＰＡＮ有促进作用；大气中ＳＯ２的存在可降低ＰＡＮ的生成速率。在〈４００     

煤矸石堆积下多环芳烃的淋溶污染特征

淋溶是使有害物质析出的主要途径之一。为查明煤矸石堆放淋溶造成的有机污染效应,对不同风化强度煤矸石进行了动态淋溶模拟实验,系统研究了煤矸石中US EPA优先控制的16种多环芳烃（PAH16）的析出规律和迁移方式。获得煤矸石中多环芳烃（PAHs）淋溶特征如下：煤矸石堆积期遭受短期降雨（500~1 600 mm）作用后,煤矸石溶出的PAH16总质量浓度达125.6~451.2 ng/L。PAH16溶出量初期较高,在一定降雨期后又达到峰值,酸雨条件下,煤矸石山淋溶出的PAH16可由线性累加转为指数快速累加的趋势。淋溶液中优势组分为萘、二氢苊、芴和菲,4种组分之和占所测PAHs总量的80%~90%。煤矸石溶出的PAHs环数分布为2环〉3环〉4环〉5环、6环。迁移方式上,2环PAHs多以溶解相迁移,3环PAHs主要以颗粒态迁移,存在少量溶解形式,而4环以上PAHs则以颗粒相形式迁移。     

The lack of microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from coal-rich soils

Analytical techniques used to assess the environmental risk of contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) typically consider only abiotic sample parameters. Supercritical fluid extraction and sorption enthalpy experiments previously suggested slow desorption rates for PAH compounds in two coal-contaminated floodplain soils. In this study, the actual PAH availability for aerobic soil microorganisms was tested in two series of soil-slurry experiments. The experimental conditions supported microbial degradation of phenanthrene if it was weakly sorbed onto silica gel. Native coals and coal-derived particles in two soils effectively acted as very strong sorbents and prevented microbial PAH degradation. The long history of PAH exposure and degree of coal contamination apparently had no influence on the capability of the microbial soil community to overcome constraints of PAH availability. Within the context of the experimental conditions and the compounds chosen, our results confirm that coal-bound PAHs are not bioavailable and hence of low environmental concern.     

活性炭吸附有机蒸气性能的研究

吸附法在油气回收技术中运用很广泛.吸附剂的选择对吸附分离效果起到了决定性作用.选用3种商用活性炭,以正己烷和正庚烷为吸附质,在温度为293.15 K下进行了静态和动态吸附实验,并研究了活性炭孔结构对其吸附性能和吸附能的影响,同时利用Logistic模型的回归公式对活性炭的吸附穿透曲线进行拟合.结果表明,活性炭的比表面积和孔容是其吸附性能主要影响因素;正己烷和正庚烷的吸附行均符合Langmuir吸附等温模型;3种活性炭对正己烷和正庚烷的吸附能都随其比表面积变大而变大;Logistic模型拟合曲线与实验结果具有高度相似性,可用于活性炭吸附穿透曲线的预测.     

堆置法处理油污土壤参数的优化

为了探究堆置法处理油污土壤的作用效果,采用单因素实验确定石油初始浓度、温度、土壤含水量、有机质含量、土壤C/N、菌剂浓度相关因素的水平取值范围。以石油烃降解率为评价指标,再通过正交实验进一步优化相关参数,确定最佳条件。结果表明：以石油初始浓度2%、温度35℃、土壤C/N 10∶1为控制变量;以菌剂浓度（X）、有机质含量（Y）、土壤含水量（Z）为变化因素设计正交实验组合L9（34）。可以得出,堆置法处理油污土壤的最佳水平组合为X2Y2Z3,即菌剂浓度5×109 cfu·kg-1,有机质含量为5%,土壤含水量为60%。