A recursive ecological indicator system for the supply chain of a company

This paper proposes the concept of cumulative eco-intensity with which environmental or sustainability indicators are related to the added value of economic activities. The intensities are passed on recursively from supplier to supplier and thus make it possible to include upstream and downstream effects along the supply and waste disposal chain. The process is applied to whole companies and (by contrast with LCA) not to individual products. At comparatively low expenditure for the individual companies, it allows vertical comparisons along the value-adding chain and horizontal comparisons among companies or production locations. This provides a decision-making aid for a company seeking to fulfil its ecological or sustainability responsibility in the entire production and supply chains.     

Safety and associated parameters influencing performance of rail road grade crossings: A critical review of state of the art

Introduction: Railroad grade crossings (RRGCs) have emerged as critical transportation infrastructures from the point of safety and operational aspects because two modes of transportation intermingle at the intersecting zone; the understanding of safety and traffic operation at RRGC is of prime concern while planning and designing this transportation facility. Method: In this context, this work tries to comprehend RRGC performance-related parameters from published literature and figure out critical gaps. An international synthesis on the identified potential parameters influencing the RRGC performance (i.e., safety, driver behavior, and operational impact) was carried out by critically reviewing the articles published worldwide. Furthermore, key findings, used variables, analysis methods, research gaps, and recommendations were studied. Results: The review revealed that many researchers had explored the driver behavior and safety aspect based on past crash data and violations prevailing at RRGC. However, little research has been done to evaluate the effect of highways' operational characteristics on the performance of RRGC. Moreover, limited investigation has been carried out to understand the dilemma of drivers and the proactive safety evaluation of pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles at RRGC. A total of seven critical research gaps concerning parameters are recognized, facilitating a clear agenda for further research pertaining to RRGC performance.     

煤化工废水中硝基苯胺类污染物的HPLC测定

通过试验建立了工业废水中苯胺类污染物的液相色谱测定方法,优化了试验条件.该方法吸收值与基质质量浓度之间的线性关系非常显著,苯胺和6种硝基苯胺类成分的检出限在0.000 1～0.000 3 mg/L之间,空白加标试验的相对标准偏差(RSD)在1.8％～4.8％之间,基质加标回收率在58.6％～93.8％之间.对煤化工园排...     

基于DEA的江苏省环境效率研究

运用DEA方法中SBM模型对江苏省13个地级市2001～2007年间环境效率及其变化率进行分析.结果显示江苏省各地级市间环境效率差异明显,苏州、无锡、常州、盐城和宿迁5市处于前沿面上,其他市均是DEA非有效或弱有效.Mahnquist指数计算显示各地级市在研究期内变化率不大,但扬州市近年来环境效率持续降低.综合经济产出...     

山西地区气溶胶垂直分布特征与光学特性的飞机观测研究

利用2013年8月,以Y-12飞机为空中观测平台,搭载PCASP、SMPS、AMS、CCN200、TSI-3563型积分浊度仪和美国MAAP-5012型多角度吸收光度计等多种气溶胶观测仪器,首次对黄土高原大气气溶胶特性开展联合观测的资料,对大气气溶胶粒度,散射和颗粒吸收特性进行了分析,研究了区域气溶胶的空间分布及理化特征.结果表明黄土高原特殊地形区域气溶胶的微物理特性较稳定,但随探测时气象条件的变化,散射系数仍然出现波动;区域气溶胶中以细粒子为主;三个波长散射系数变化趋势非常一致,可以认为探测过程中气溶胶的微物理特性基本不变,而仅仅是浓度在改变;散射系数的变化趋势与体积浓度的变化趋势基本一致;其高值区与大气高湿区的正相关性比较明显;四次探测过程中小尺度粒径的气溶胶粒子为优势粒子;后向轨迹分析可知研究区域大部分气溶胶粒子都来源于高空,由蒙古、内蒙、甘肃、陕西等地远距离输送而来.     

Justice in sustainability indicators and indexes

At least since the Brundtland Report, technical assessments of what can be sustained and values about what is desirable to sustain, for whom, and for how long have been intertwined. This intersection is particularly evident in the assumption that justice among people living today and between present and future generations is a key part of sustainability. In official international policy documents and academic studies of sustainability, this justice may include the equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, distributive justice, or the ability of people to meaningfully contribute to decisions that affect their lives, participatory justice. Yet, the process of developing indicators and indexes to track movement toward or away from sustainability has been dominated by technical, economic, and environmental assessments. This raises questions about whether or not indexes align with and thus will monitor and encourage progress toward sustainability in a technically possible and desirable way. To begin to answer this question, this paper identifies definitions of justice used in sustainability discourse and evaluates the degree to which sustainability indicators and indexes align with these concepts. The 2010 Environmental Performance Index, Eurostat's Sustainable Development Indicators, and a group of local indicators and indexes are examined. It is found that the indicators embody various aspects of justice, though they are still significantly limited by the available data, especially as they generally cannot monitor inequities between subpopulations and have a limited capacity to monitor progress toward participatory justice.     

Environmental knowledge memory: Contribution of the DIK model

A company does not only generate goods and services which meet the requirements in terms of deadlines, costs, quality and environment, but it also generates knowledge that must be capitalized. In order for a company to benefit from the skills and competences acquired during the realization of a project, some processes of memorization prove to be necessary. This article fits in this context and aims at suggesting a knowledge capitalization model in order to create a capital of environmental knowledge.To illustrate our suggestion, we have chosen an Environmental Performance Contract (EPC) signed by tens of Algerian companies which are reputed for their pollution of the environment. Capitalizing this knowledge allows these companies to anticipate on their environmental management and to guarantee the success of the EPC.     

Prevalence-adjusted optimisation of fuzzy models for species distribution

Most performance criteria which have been applied to train ecological models focus on the accuracy of the model predictions. However, these criteria depend on the prevalence of the training set and often do not take into account ecological issues such as the distinction between omission and commission errors. Moreover, a previous study indicated that model training based on different performance criteria results in different optimised models. Therefore, model developers should train models based on different performance criteria and select the most appropriate model depending on the modelling objective. This paper presents a new approach to train fuzzy models based on an adjustable performance criterion, called the adjusted average deviation (aAD). This criterion was applied to develop a species distribution model for spawning grayling in the Aare River near Thun, Switzerland. To analyse the strengths and weaknesses of this approach, it was compared to model training based on other performance criteria. The results suggest that model training based on accuracy-based performance criteria may produce unrealistic models at extreme prevalences of the training set, whereas the aAD allows for the identification of more accurate and more reliable models. Moreover, the adjustable parameter in this criterion enables modellers to situate the optimised models in the search space and thus provides an indication of the ecological model relevance. Consequently, it may support modellers and river managers in the decision making process by improving model reliability and insight into the modelling process. Due to the universality and the flexibility of the approach, it could be applied to any other ecosystem or species, and may therefore be valuable to ecological modelling and ecosystem management in general.     

大型环境监测实验室分析仪器绩效评估指标体系探索

大型环境监测实验室分析仪器是环境监测单位综合实力的集中体现,在环境监测工作中发挥着巨大作用。简述了仪器设备绩效评估研究现状,尝试构建大型环境监测实验室分析仪器绩效评估指标体系,并通过德尔菲法确定各项评价指标的权重值,最终计算绩效评估综合指数。在此基础上,对某省级环境监测机构的部分大型实验室分析仪器进行分析,提出,需合理配置仪器、加强日常维护管理以及开放共享等建议,为提高大型环境监测实验室分析仪器的精细化管理提供了科学依据。     

A wind resource assessment around large mountain masses: The speed-up effect

The wind potential around an intensely mountainous area has been studied and an experimental analysis is presented the output of which could be used in the wind farm planning procedure aiming at maximization of the wind power production output of an area. The wind speed of a chosen site of Central Greece was studied based on field measurements around a large mountainous area of Central Greece. Understanding flow in the foothills and the wider area of the mountains is of great importance for estimating wind resource in rough terrain. In this article, special focus was given to the speed-up effect and forced air flow around mountainous masses.