ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS ABOUT A CONTAMINATED SITE IN A DENSELY POPULATED SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENT

Considerable attention has been devoted to the concerns and perceptions of people residing around contaminated facilities, both brownfields in urban areas and others located in remote and lightly populated areas. This paper examines the concerns of recreationists and sportsmen residing near the Department of Energys (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in central Long Island, one of the most densely populated regions in the United States, where tourism is of prime importance. On an open-ended question, the greatest concern was pollution, followed by environmental health as a global concern, and human health as a concern for Brookhaven. Accidents/spills, loss of public health, and loss of ecological health were rated highest among a list of concerns, and change in property values was rated lowest. When asked to rank seven concerns, protecting human health was ranked the highest, and economic interests were ranked the lowest. For future land use at Brookhaven, recreational uses were rated the highest, while building houses and factories, and storage of nuclear material were rated the lowest. These data can be used by managers, decision and policy makers, and the general public to assess and manage local and regional environmental concerns and to consider future land uses for decommissioned lands, such as those at Brookhaven.     

Rational forest productivity decline

A whole forest optimisation model was employed to examine economic behaviour as it relates to long term, forest productivity decline in the boreal forests of Ontario, Canada. Our productivity investment model(PIM) incorporated a choice between productivity decline as representedby a drop in forest Site Class, and a fee to 'maintain' site productivity. Sensitivity analysis was used to determine the point at which these fees exceeded the value of the differential in timber volume between upper and lower site classes. By varying discount rate, 'productivity investment frontiers' were constructed, which highlight the effects of the magnitude in productivity decline, maintenance fees, and harvest flow constraints upon the occurrence and schedule of productivity declines. In presenting this simple approach to exploring the effects of economic choice upon forest productivity decline, the phenomena of 'natural capital divestment' within forestry is described.     

Use of Satellite Imagery as Environmental Impact Assessment Tool: A case Study from the Nw Egyptian Red Sea Coastal Zone

Knowledge and detecting impacts of human activities on the coastal ecosystem is an essential management requirement and also very important for future and proper planning of coastal areas. Moreover, documentation of these impacts can help in increasing public awareness about side effects of unsustainable practices. Analysis of multidate remote sensing data can be used as an effective tool in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Being synoptic and frequent in coverage, multidate data from Landsat and other satellites provide a reference record and bird’s eye viewing to the environmental situation of the coastal ecosystem and the associated habitats. Furthermore, integration of satellite data with field observations and background information can help in decision if a certain activity has caused deterioration to a specific habitat or not. The present paper is an attempt to utilize remote sensing data for assessment impacts of some human activities on the major sensitive habitats of the NW Egyptian Red Sea coastal zone, definitely between Ras Gemsha and Safaga. Through multidate change analysis of Landsat data (TM & ETM+ sensors), it was possible to depict some of the human infringements in the area and to provide, in some cases, exclusive evidences for the damaging effect of some developmental activities.     

Leaf area development, dry weight accumulation and solar energy conversion efficiencies of Phaseolus vulgaris L. under different soil moisture levels near Nairobi, Kenya

Leaf area development, dry weight accumulation and solar energy conversion efficiencies of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv GLP-2 under two soil moisture levels in two contrasting seasons near Nairobi, Kenya were investigated. The experiment confirms that dry weights and yields of Phaseolus vulgaris are limited by a drought induced decrease in leaf area, leading to less radiation interception as a source for assimilation. However, photosynthetic efficiency in Phaseolus vulgaris also appears to decrease and to contribute to these effects. Finally, an even larger decreases of economic efficiency as obtained in the second season, where stress lasted much later into the season, reveals that such a drought also limits considerably the partitioning and translocation of assimilates to the seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris. The efficiencies obtained are in line with the better literature data for other crops.     

东北平原西部沙地的气候变异与土地荒漠化

东北平原西部沙地位于欧亚大陆中纬度巨型沙带的东部边缘 ,为我国荒漠化土地的东缘。随着经济的发展 ,生态环境遭到严重破坏 ,荒漠化景观日益明显 ,前景令人堪忧。气候因素是荒漠化发展的一个基本因素 ,东北平原西部沙地是我国北方气候条件最好的沙区 ,但目前对于区域荒漠化驱动因子的气候因素影响方面的研究未开展系统的工作。论文系统分析了东北平原西部沙地影响荒漠化的现代气候因素特点 ,探讨了在较好气候条件下气候变异、人类活动与荒漠化之间的关系 ,并根据气候发展趋势预测了未来在自然因素作用下沙地的可能发展趋势。     

生态系统调节水量的价值评估——兴山实例

根据植被类型、坡度和土壤类型，分析了兴山县集水区内不同植被地块调节水量的能力。并且根据水能学的原理，分析了枯水期和洪峰期葛洲坝水电站的发电量与水流量的关系，建立了水流发电模拟模型。在上述分析的基础上，评估了兴山县境内生态系统调节香溪河等河流的水量，改善长江全年来水的均匀度，提高葛洲坝水电站发电效率的经济价值。     

从可持续发展看地区环境经济核算的必要性

可持续发展这一概念的出现 ,标志着人类对自然资源利用的短期行为和意识正被维护环境的长期概念所取代。在这一概念的内涵中 ,加以维护并长期保持完好的环境不仅是实现自然环境平衡的需要 ,也是自然资源能够持续地应用于人类的保证。环境经济核算就是以货币化的方法揭示自然资源及环境与经济的特定关系 ,并为可持续发展的综合测度提供基本的数据依据。     

指标计算法在环境经济损益分析中的应用

以上海市江桥和闸北2座生活垃圾焚烧厂建设项目为例,采用指标计算法对这2家在不同选址区的建设项目环境经济损益进行了分析。结果表明：江桥生活垃圾焚烧厂项目具有较好的环境经济效益,其环保年净效益为670．69万元,效费比达到1．10。闸北生活垃圾焚烧厂项目的环保年净效益为－764．48万元,效费比为0．64,说明其环境污染控制方案存在明显的不经济性。江桥生活垃圾焚烧厂已投入建设。指标法为2个项目的环境经济损益分析提供了货币量化。     

冬小麦灌溉减损经济效益的初步探讨

灌溉是获取作物高产的主要措施之一,灌溉减损经济效益与农民收入和生产经济效益密切相关.提出了从灌溉次数和灌溉量参数入手,根据灌溉投入和灌溉减损量来分析灌溉减损效益、减灾效益和生产经济效益;以华北冬麦区单点试验和调查结果为例,讨论了该方法在冬小麦减灾评估应用中的普适性和可行性.     

英国石油公司环境与经济协调发展战略

英国石油公司(BP)坚信经济增长与环境保护并行的政策,在过去10年中控制了煤炭业务,加大了对天然气的投资及对可再生能源的开发,不断超越传统的经营理念,并探索新的能源消耗体系。该公司把改善环境作为自己的职责,不断提高产品与环境保护的协调性,积极推行“绿色办公室”计划。在经营业绩和环境保护两方面表现出良好形象,使其品牌价值和公司效益连年增长,成为消费者和投资者都非常青睐的国际知名公司。