Prospects for Reconciling the Conflict between Economic Growth and Biodiversity Conservation with Technological Progress

Abstract: The conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is understood in portions of academia and sometimes acknowledged in political circles. Nevertheless, there is not a unified response. In political and policy circles, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is posited to solve the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection. In academia, however, the EKC has been deemed fallacious in macroeconomic scenarios and largely irrelevant to biodiversity. A more compelling response to the conflict is that it may be resolved with technological progress. Herein I review the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation in the absence of technological progress, explore the prospects for technological progress to reconcile that conflict, and provide linguistic suggestions for describing the relationships among economic growth, technological progress, and biodiversity conservation. The conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is based on the first two laws of thermodynamics and principles of ecology such as trophic levels and competitive exclusion. In this biophysical context, the human economy grows at the competitive exclusion of nonhuman species in the aggregate. Reconciling the conflict via technological progress has not occurred and is infeasible because of the tight linkage between technological progress and economic growth at current levels of technology. Surplus production in existing economic sectors is required for conducting the research and development necessary for bringing new technologies to market. Technological regimes also reflect macroeconomic goals, and if the goal is economic growth, reconciliatory technologies are less likely to be developed. As the economy grows, the loss of biodiversity may be partly mitigated with end‐use innovation that increases technical efficiency, but this type of technological progress requires policies that are unlikely if the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation (and other aspects of environmental protection) is not acknowledged.     

森林资源经济利用的政策模拟模型应用研究

林业政策在对森林资源的培育、保护和利用方面起相当大的作用.在市场机制作用的框架下林业政策的作用更多的是通过影响市场机制传递的产品和生产要素的价格信号,进而影响生产经营主体的收益成本预期及其决策行为,最终影响到对森林资源的培育、保护和利用的效果,因此分析和认清林业政策对林业发展的作用机制和影响效果有重要的意义.本文基于市场机制.以林业经济福利为目标,把森林资源培育的第一产业环节和以森林资源为原料的第二产业发展结合一起作为完整的产业链,构建一个林业的政策模拟模型.利用该模型,对木材价格、林业税费、信贷利率和采伐限额等林业经济政策的影响进行了定量分析,着重比较了林业产权制度改革前后政策变化所产生的效应,以及所具有的激励效果,从而认识林业政策的变动和调整如何影响政策目标,为政策的制定和对合理政策进行选择提供参考的依据.     

The global partnership for sustainable development

This paper examines whether foreign aid, together with other economic, social and environmental factors, contributes to sustainable development. It starts with an illustrative theoretical growth model where foreign aid promotes sustainable development by protecting the environment. Using factor analysis and newly developed estimation methods for a dynamic panel data model with endogenous regressors, the empirical section of the paper finds evidence that foreign aid has had a significantly positive influence on sustainable development in aid recipient countries. This effect is very likely to go through channels related to growth and resources as well as a technology channel with respect to energy intensity. This research has important implications for a post‐2015 development framework on international collective action with regard to a sustainable future.     

Rider preferences and economic values for equestrian trails

Recreational horseback riding is an important, but less studied, component of human interaction with the natural environment and often occurs alongside other outdoor recreational activities. Using choice experiment data collected from a survey conducted in Kentucky, this study assesses rider preferences and economic values associated with various equestrian trail attributes for daylong horseback riding trips in rural trail systems. Results indicate that while individuals have different opinions, trail attributes such as length of trail, scenic views, and travel distance from home all have significant economic implications. In addition, riders prefer trails that are restricted for horse riding only. Willingness to pay estimates of all attributes increase substantially when the travel cost to reach the trail is also considered. Policy implications on maintaining current and creating new trails in a multi-user setting are given, such as the opportunities for separating horseback riders from other users while still providing other beneficial attributes like options for longer trails and scenic views to all groups.     

Resolution and Analysis of Spatial Variations and Patterns in an Urban Lake with Rapid Profiling Instrumentation

Rapid response vertical profiling instrumentation was used to document spatial variability and patterns in a small urban lake, Onondaga Lake, associated with multiple drivers. Paired profiles of temperature, specific conductance (SC), turbidity (T_n), fluorometric chlorophyll a (Chl_f), and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^?) were collected at >30 fixed locations (a “gridding”) weekly, over the spring to fall interval of several years. These gridding data are analyzed (1) to characterize phytoplankton (Chl_f) patchiness in the lake's upper waters, (2) to establish the representativeness of a single long‐term site for monitoring lake‐wide conditions, and (3) to resolve spatial patterns of multiple tracers imparted by buoyancy effects of inflows. Multiple buoyancy signatures were resolved, including overflows from less dense inflows, and interflows to metalimnetic depths and underflows to the bottom from the plunging of more dense inputs. Three different metrics had utility as tracers in depicting the buoyancy signatures as follows: (1) SC, for salinity‐enriched tributaries and the more dilute river that receives the lake's outflow, (2) T_n, for the tributaries during runoff events, and (3) NO₃^?, for the effluent of a domestic waste treatment facility and from the addition of NO₃^? solution to control methyl mercury. The plunging inflow phenomenon, which frequently prevailed, has important management implications.     

污染排放对经济发展的负面影响研究

以1998—2009 年各地区的数据为样本,利用联立方程模型检验污染排放对经济发展的负面影响,以及宏观经济结构对这种影响的调节作用.研究发现,经济发展与污染排放之间存在相互影响的关系,经济结构与污染排放之间也存在相互影响的关系.当期经济发展水平的提高必然会引起污染排放的增加,但当期污染排放的增加会对今后经济发展产生滞后的负面效应.投资和出口对污染排放的负面影响存在调节作用,即投资比重越高,出口比重越低,当期经济增长引起的污染排放越少,污染排放的负面影响也越小.不过,消费比重对污染排放负面影响不存在调节作用.     

赤潮灾害经济损失评估技术方法

为有效应对赤潮灾害防灾减灾、灾后救援及管理的需求,在综合分析前人提出的赤潮灾害损失评估技术方法的基础上,参考赤潮灾害对受灾体的危害特点,结合实际工作的需求及在实际中可获取的业务数据,提出了赤潮灾害经济损失评估指标体系;根据灾害经济学理论,借鉴其他自然灾害经济损失评估的先进思想,采用市场价格法,分别建立了包括海水养殖业经济损失、滨海旅游业经济损失、赤潮灾害业务与应急监测费用和赤潮灾害处置费用的赤潮灾害经济损失评估模型;最后,提出了赤潮灾害损失评估的技术流程。     

基于改进灰色关联分析法在居民环境消费结构中的研究

依据平顶山市2005年-2012年的统计年鉴,平顶山市居民环境人均消费性数据,选取食品、衣着、居住、家庭设备用品及服务、医疗保健、交通和通信、教育文化娱乐服务、杂项商品及服务八大类,将改进的灰色关联度分析方法和综合评价模型相结合,建立灰色关联度分析模型,对平顶山市居民环境结构关系进行分析.结果表明:教育文化娱乐环境服务的关联性最高,食品、交通通信、居住医疗保健、衣着、家庭设备用品及服务、杂项商品和服务环境位居其后.     

济宁南部区域耕作层土壤有机碳密度及储量研究

济宁市南部区域是著名的国家商品粮、优质大蒜、优质稻米和有机蔬菜生产基地,由于土壤有机碳作为农田生态系统中土壤肥力的重要组成成分之一,在土壤改良、作物质量和产量提高等方面都有十分重要的作用,因此,对济宁南部区域耕作层土壤有机碳密度及储量的研究具有十分重要的意义。本文以济宁南部煤田地区作为典型区域,以耕作层土壤(0~20cm)为研究对象,采集了79件耕作层土壤样品,利用元素分析仪测定了土壤样品中有机碳含量。经统计分析发现,各类型土壤有机碳密度介于1.92~4.83kg/m2之间,有机碳密度的加权平均值为4.03kg/m2,高于中国表层土壤有机碳密度的平均值2.97kg/m2;通过壤质类型分类而估算的有机碳总储量为4.57×109 kg,通过土壤利用方式分类而估算的有机碳总储量为4.53×109 kg,二者基本吻合;济宁南部区域耕作层土壤有机碳富集程度受人类活动影响较大,耕作层土壤中氮含量与有机碳的线性相关系数为0.924 9;另外,有机碳富集程度与秸秆返田规模也有着一定的关联。研究结果不仅为研究区今后开展耕作层土壤环境质量评价提供依据,也为区域生态平衡研究奠定了基础。     

基于灰色关联度的平顶山市耕地面积变化与经济增长关系分析研究

依据平顶山市1988年－2012年公布的耕地面积与经济增长关系数据,选取平顶山市耕地面积,人均生产总值,第一产业在生产总值中的比重,第二产业在生产总值中的比重,第三产业在生产总值中的比重作为分析因子,将灰色关联度分析方法和综合评价模型相结合,建立灰色关联度分析模型,对平顶山市耕地面积变化与经济增长关系分析。结果显示：第三产业最为影响耕地面积的变化,第二产业次之,第一产业再次之,人均GDP最小。能为区域土地利用的长期战略和短期规划提供依据。