Is software sustainability considered in the CSR of software industry?

Software is a key factor in the functioning of today’s world. Software is supposed to have some characteristics such as: reliability, security, etc., but it is not at all easy to find energy efficiency considered as being one of software’s most important features. Aspects related to Green Software have begun to be considered vital and basic, due to pressure from a society which is becoming more and more aware of environmental problems. In this paper we want to explore whether software companies, responsible for developing software, are aligning their strategies with environmental concerns. To do so, we have checked the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies of the ten most important software companies and looked at these documents with reference to the UN’s sustainable development goals. A well-defined method for carrying out the analysis of the CSR policies led the authors to identify which of the sustainability actions proposed can be classified within any of the software sustainability dimensions. The analysis of these actions shows that sustainability is considered in most of the companies; nonetheless, most attention is currently devoted to hardware-based initiatives intended to reduce the carbon footprint of the hardware resources of the companies. In addition, green software initiatives are still not the priority, despite the influence of software on energy consumption, and in spite of its impact on the environment. Using the set of actions selected, a set of specific actions for software sustainability, to be included in the CSR of software companies, has been defined.     

江西省矿产资源开发与环境保护

江西省矿产资源丰富,其开发利用有了很大发展,建成了具有一定生产规模和技术水平的有色金属、黑色金属、化工、建材、盐业、稀土稀有金属、煤炭等矿业体系.当前,由于多种因素的影响,导致矿山开采环境不断恶化,矿山地质灾害问题日趋严重,造成人员伤亡、环境破坏、矿产资源严重浪费.因此,我们应遵循"矿产资源开发利用与生态环境保护并重,预防为主与防治结合"的方针和"谁开发谁保护、谁污染谁治理、谁破坏谁恢复"的原则,强化矿山生态环境保护和恢复治理,走一条资源开发与环境保护相协调的矿业发展道路.     

Participatory Development of No-tillage Systems without Herbicides for Family Farming: The Experience of the Center-South Region of Paraná

It is currently estimated that 40 million hectares worldwide are cultivated through no-tillage systems (Derpsh, 1998). Small family farms account for less than 50,000ha, half of them located in South America's Southern Cone (Wall, 1998). Many hypotheses have been offered to explain why so few small farmers have adapted to this method. The most simplistic ones relate this limited adoption to small farmers' traditionalism and to their rejection of innovation. Others point to the low technological development of animal-drawn equipment needed for this technology or the low educational level of family farmers.Results of work done in the Center-South of Paraná, Southern Brazil, by AS-PTA¹ in partnership with the region's Forum of Family Farmers Organizations, challenge these hypotheses and draw attention to the need for new approaches and processes of research and extension if the goal is to disseminate and implement appropriate no-tillage systems among family farmers. One requisite is to lower production costs of this method through elimination of herbicides and using green manure and cover crops that shift the crop-weed balance in favor of crops.     

MISSOURI RIVER FLOOD OF 1993: ROLE OF WOODY CORRIDOR WIDTH IN LEVEE PROTECTION1

ABSTRACT. We investigated the relationships between levee damage and woody corridor along a 353‐mile segment of the Missouri River in Missouri during the flood of 1993. Results indicated that woody corridors between riverbanks and primary levees played a significant role in the reduction or prevention of flood related damage to levees. Forty‐one percent of levee failures in this segment occurred in areas with no woody corridor, while 74 percent and 83 percent of failures occurred where woody corridor widths were less than 300 feet and less than 500 feet, respectively. Median failure lengths with a woody corridor present were 50.3 percent shorter than median failure lengths with no woody corridor present. Levees without failures had significantly wider median woody corridor widths than levees that failed. Eligibility for the Corps of Engineers levee maintenance program was not a significant factor in the reduction of levee damage. Discontinuities in woody corridors played a role in 27.5 percent of the levee failures in the study segment. Smaller segments of the river valley were studied to determine if geomorphic differences influenced variations in the protective value of woody corridors.     

直面绿色壁垒,寻求“破壁”对策——加入WTO年看山东苍山蔬菜产品出口

我国加入WTO后,绿色壁垒和技术壁垒制约着我国农产品的出口贸易。通过对山东省苍山县入世第一年蔬菜产品出口的分析,论述了绿色壁垒的涵义、对我国农产品出口的影响、蔬菜出口面临的形势、存在的问题及冲破绿色壁垒的对策。     

缓解城市环境问题的有效途径

从区域环境和城市环境的角度出发，介绍了城市绿地系统在维护城市生态平衡、保护城市环境中的重要作用，揭示了在城市可持续发展战略中，加强城市绿地系统规划与建设的重要性。     

城市绿化规划研究初探--以长沙市雨花区为例

城市绿化规划是城市生态规划的基本内容。本文以长沙市雨花区为例，运用景观生态学原理，分析了城市绿地系统建设存在的问题，提出了城市生态绿地系统规划的基本内容和生态对策，可为一些城市的生态建设提供参考依据。     

Target and nontarget discrimination of herbicides applied to vegetation in a power-line corridor

We tested two cutting regimens (cut/spray and cut/delay spray) and four radiarc-applied herbicides (Garlon + Tordon, Accord, Accord + Escort, and Krenite) in an Ohio power-line corridor to determine which management combination best eliminated target species (i.e., trees) and preserved nontarget species (i.e., low shrubs, vines, perennial herbs, and grasses). When spraying was delayed after cutting, the herbicide with the least impact on nontarget species (Krenite) also was least efficient at killing target trees. Spraying soon after cutting improved tree-killing efficiency of several herbicides, but it also increased the negative impact on nontarget species. The herbicide with the most consistent tree-killing ability (Accord + Escort) had the most impact on nontarget species. Because none of the herbicide/cutting treatments performed ideally, resource managers must decide the acceptable impact on nontarget species when considering herbicide use. Future success of herbicides as part of an integrated succession management approach requires more selective application methods and formulations so that target effects can be maximized and nontarget effects can be minimized.     

近10年长三角城际运输联系初步研究

通过对长三角地区1994—2003年各个城市客运量、货运量的分析,总结出近10年来该区域城际运输联系的基本特征。长三角客运量向交通轴线集中,交通走廊经济效应日益突现,货运量多中心分布,极化效应明显。长三角地区经济的快速发展是城际运输联系增强的推进器,区内交通轴线成为重要经济增长轴,南翼浙江借助于港口优势,其经济高速发展态势直逼北翼的苏南地区。