Can climate mitigation help the poor? Measuring impacts of the CDM in rural China

This study examines whether investment in climate change mitigation contributes to poverty alleviation. We investigate the impacts of the renewable energy-based clean development mechanism (RE-CDM) projects on rural communities in China. The impacts of RE-CDM projects are estimated by combining propensity score matching with the difference-in-differences approach. We found that the biomass-based CDM projects significantly contribute to income improvement and employment generation in rural communities in China. Our estimation results also reveal that wind energy-based CDM projects have the potential to increase income and the share of labor force in the primary industry in rural areas. These results suggest different channels through which renewable energy sources affect income.     

The ethics of genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation

The ethical issues associated with using genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation are typically described as consisting of risk assessment and management, public engagement and acceptance, opportunity costs, risk and benefit distributions, and oversight. These are important, but the ethical concerns extend beyond them because the use of genetic engineering has the potential to significantly alter the practices, concepts, and value commitments of conservation. I sought to elucidate the broader set of ethical issues connected with a potential genetic engineering turn in conservation and provide an approach to ethical analysis of novel conservation technologies. The primary rationales offered in support of using genetic engineering and gene drives in conservation are efficiency and necessity for achieving conservation goals. The instrumentalist ethical perspective associated with these rationales involves assessing novel technologies as a means to accomplish desired ends. For powerful emerging technologies the instrumentalist perspective needs to be complemented by a form-of-life perspective frequently applied in the philosophy of technology. The form-of-life perspective involves considering how novel technologies restructure the activities into which they are introduced. When the form-of-life perspective is applied to creative genetic engineering in conservation, it brings into focus a set of ethical issues, such as those associated with power, meaning, relationships, and values, that are not captured by the instrumentalist perspective. It also illuminates why the use of gene drives in conservation is so ethically and philosophically interesting.     

Voluntary participation for sustainability transition: experiences from the ‘Commitment to Sustainable Development 2050’

Voluntary and active participation by a wide variety of actors is a prerequisite for successful societal transitions towards sustainability. The ‘Commitment to Sustainable Development 2050’ is a national-level initiative in Finland, aiming to mobilise a large-scale transition involving various societal actors through openly communicated commitments to concrete actions. Each commitment should focus on at least one of the eight nationally defined sustainability objectives connected to the global Sustainable Development Goals. This article assesses the implementation and the development needs of the commitment process based on a range of materials. The results highlight the importance of securing adequate resources for long-term coordination and continuous development of the commitment process, trust creation through long-term and open communication, and flexibility allowing for experimentation aimed at finding new modes of interaction between the public and private sectors.     

人因视角下建筑安全研究现状及发展趋势分析

为了提高建筑安全后续研究的有效性与针对性,从人因视角对其研究现状及发展趋势进行了系统总结。采用定性文献综述的方法从实践需求和理论发展2个维度对国内外人因相关文献资料进行梳理、研判,通过明确焦点领域、核心方向、关键关注点等途径以明晰建筑安全研究现状及发展趋势,确定发展瓶颈,据此介入寻求突破的可能。研究结果表明:建筑工人不安全行为心理研究不足是人因视角下制约建筑安全理论发展的瓶颈,也是提升建筑安全管理应对的关键着力点;同时,从认知过程新视角证实了基于认知神经学范畴的研究是突破上述瓶颈的关键方向,在此基础上结合神经测量技术ERP新工具论证了该论断的可行性,为后续研究提供借鉴。     

基于煤矿安全生产标准化的双控机制APP系统研究

针对我国煤矿安全生产标准化工作中数据采集的时效性差、数据录入工作量繁琐、数据汇总分析不明确的问题,利用易安卓编程语言与SQLite数据库技术,采用瀑布生命周期模型的软件开发方法,以《煤矿安全生产标准化考核定级办法》中双控机制的基本内容为依据,设计包括个人信息管理、法律知识库检索、安全风险分级管控、事故隐患排查治理、数据可视化分析、其他6大功能模块的APP系统。结果表明:该系统可提供适合相关管理人员使用的可视化界面,减少了复杂繁琐的工作量,为标准化工作的定点巡检与数据的完整性提供了良好的技术支持,也为非煤矿山、冶金、石油化工等行业的标准化工作实现信息化管理提供了较好的应用模式。     

运用科学发展观促进人与自然的和谐

科学发展观是一个全新的理念和思维方式，是由旧发展观的扬弃和转换创新的．科学发展观是以人为本作为核心内涵；把握住全面、协调和可持续发展作为本质内涵．运用科学发展观来解救中国生态危机，促进经济社会发展跨越．     

生态建筑及其绿色生态住区环境效益

从生态建筑的内涵出发，以国内外生态建筑实例为理论依据，绿色生态住区为对象性，阐述了绿色生态住区的开发与建设，应遵循生态设计理论和生态美学观念，符合可持续发展规律，并将绿色生态住区的构建视为生态建筑的观察平台，指出生态建筑的规划与设计必须考虑环境的生态、社会及其经济效益的统一。     

Structural change and sustainable development

In this paper, we show that the commonly observed decline in primary (natural resource using) sector output and employment shares, often termed structural change, can be explained as an endogenous response to the presence of nature's constraint. Structural change takes place even if consumer preferences are homothetic, and technological progress does not discriminate against the primary sector. Under certain conditions, structural change allows an open economy to grow with natural resource sustainability. Sustained and environmentally sustainable economic growth is possible even if the natural resource is exploited under open access. Well-defined property rights are neither necessary, nor sufficient for sustainable growth. We show that there is no unique relationship between natural resource endowment and the rate of economic growth over the long run. Resource-rich economies may grow faster or slower than resource-poor ones.     

支持人居环境健康发展的自然调和理论研究

人类聚居的城市环境和建筑环境，与人类自然气象环境之间持续着动态的自然调和作用，当然调和理论是支持人居环境可持续发展的基础理论之一；文中圈定了自然调和理论研究的框架体系；介绍了面向人居环境的可持续发展所进行的自然调和技术研究进展；剖析了自然调和理论问题研究的科学性。     

可持续环境与自然资源发展核算

对自然资源耗减价值的核算范围、核算原理、核算方法及环境污染损失价值时间长度的确定进行了论述。为准确的核算绿色GDP，研究资源、环境与经济发展之间的关系，提供了准确的数量依据。