Exploring guerrilla gardening: gauging public views on the grassroots activity

The literature on guerrilla gardening is developing rapidly. The majority of these accounts currently derive from North America, with little academic exploration apparent beyond this context: they focus explicitly on the grass-roots gardeners and show little regard for those surrounding the action's location. Guerrilla gardeners often colonise land not only without the permission from authorities, but also with little regard for those who surround the space; transforming areas without consulting with the local communities. This paper explores those affected by guerrilla gardening; grounding our argument in evidence gathered from the activities of three guerrilla groups. In doing so, we investigate the public's views of several informal gardening projects, questioning their value and impact on the surrounding areas. The emerging responses are very mixed, ranging from positive comments about improving aesthetics, to negative remarks surrounding the practices of some groups. Ultimately, this paper demonstrates how, although often promoted and perceived to be a constructive activity, guerrilla gardening can result in adverse impacts on those who surround colonised sites.     

安徽沿江地带生态农业可持续发展的实证考察——以芜湖一市三县为例

伴随工业化而出现的现代“石油农业”,在200年的时间里,严重破坏了人类赖以生存的自然生态环境,农业污染带来的食品污染直接危害着人类的健康,从而迫使各国转而研究可以替代“石油农业”的可持续农业发展模式。生态农业由此应运而生。中国改革开放以来,因为工业化和农业现代化的快速推进,已经造成国土环境的严重污染,而中部地区都是农业大省,在人口压力必须自我消化的背景下,唯有大力发展生态农业才可能步入经济社会可持续发展的正常轨道。本课题是基于安徽沿江地带芜湖市及所辖三县的实证调研,试图通过对芜湖地区生态现状和生态农业发展的制度环境分析,为安徽农业可持续发展提供一个可资借鉴的参照样本。     

吉林省循环农业发展的研究

吉林省是农业大省,农业要实现持续发展,很重要的是资源的可持续利用,发展循环农业能以最小的成本获得最大的经济效益和生态效益,对于吉林省改善农村生产、生活、生态环境有着非常重要的作用和意义。本文阐述了循环农业的概念及基本原则,分析了吉林省农业经济现状,并根据吉林省自身农业特点,并从推进工农业复合循环经济、发展生态农业、建设农业循环经济示范园区等三方面提出吉林省循环农业发展的方向,最后提出发展循环农业相关建议。     

发展有机农业 控制农业污染

有机农业（organicfarming）是指在动植物生产过程中不使用化学合成的农药、化肥、生产调节剂、饲料添加剂等物质,以及基因工程生物及其产物的一种农业生产方式。有机农业产生于上世纪30年代,其发展历程分为产生、扩展和增长3个阶段。中国的有机农业兴起于20世纪80年代,是在生态农业的基础上发展起来的。黑龙江省于1995年开始发展有机农业,实施有机产品开发,目前有机产业已成为黑龙江省的第6大产业。本文论述了发展有机产业对控制农业污染的意义,以及黑龙江省有机农业、有机产业发展现状和存在的问题,并对其发展提出了对策建议。     

稻田综合种养土地利用的生态—经济效果——以湖北省稻虾共作为例

关注以稻虾共作为代表的稻田综合种养土地利用新型模式,基于在湖北省潜江市和荆州市的实地调研数据,运用非期望产出的SBM模型和投入导向DEA方法,测算和比较了稻虾共作户和水稻单作户土地利用的生态—经济效果。研究发现：与水稻单作相比,稻虾共作能够改善土地利用的生态—经济效果;但调研区一半以上的共作农户仍然延续着传统粗放的生产模式,生产中存在严重的过量投入,阻碍了其土地利用生态—经济效果的进一步优化。此外,若忽略环境污染,只考虑经济效果,将导致稻虾共作的土地利用效率被高估45.28%。目前,稻虾共作提高土地利用效率的功能未能充分发挥,亟需把环境影响纳入土地利用效率评估中,贯彻“双水双绿”的发展理念,引导农户合理安排各项生产投入,切实优化稻虾共作的生态—经济效果,促进土地可持续利用。     

Sheep's wool insulation: A sustainable alternative use for a renewable resource?

Material selection in manufacturing may be characterized as a series of trade-offs between characteristics, properties, environmental impacts, sustainability, availability, and economics. Societal concerns about the environmental impacts of construction practices and materials have been expressed through an increase in the demand, production and use of “green” building products. This, combined with a desire to integrate more bioproducts and natural and renewable resources into the construction industry, has extended to the production and promotion of insulation made from sheep's wool.Although substantial literature exists on the insulation properties and other benefits of wool, less is known about the economics and manufacturing processes of sheep's wool insulation at varying scales of production. This paper contributes to this field of enquiry through presentation of the preliminary results of a wool insulation manufacturing pilot project, in which the scale and economics of the production of sheep's wool insulation were considered. Processing techniques, the impact of sheep breed, yield, energy use, and manufacturing costs were also examined. The results of the pilot project indicate that, while sheep's wool insulation produced at a smaller, or artisanal scale shows some potential, scale of operation and volume of production need to be carefully considered in order to ensure long-term sustainability of the operation. Using the least expensive sheep's wool available for the manufacture of wool batt insulation (and thereby reducing production costs) did not, in this pilot study, have a negative impact on productivity or product performance. Diversion of this waste stream of currently less marketable, and consequently less valuable wool, into the production of a green building material may offer small but significant benefit to sheep producers and the broader agricultural community, as well as consumers.     

Myanmar under reform: Emerging pressures on water,energy and food security

Myanmar's water‐related sectors are subject to intensive changes, as the country's abundant land and water resources provide substantial scope for development. Recent steps towards economic reform in Myanmar have led to a surge of foreign investment directed towards intensified natural resource extraction. Both the agricultural and the energy sector are increasingly affected by foreign investments that will impact the status of water, energy and food security in the country. With these on‐going developments, Myanmar's future is largely dependent on how its natural resources are managed and how the benefits from the resource extraction are shared. With various institutional changes and new actors welcomed to the sectors, existing livelihoods and ecosystems dependent on the land and water resources are to face increasing competition for the shared resources, while lacking secured access to them. There are increasing concerns that this sectoral development is occurring at the expense of environmental and social sustainability. As one way to tackle these challenges, the water‐energy‐food nexus approach could help in finding synergies and co‐benefits across sectors by addressing the imbalances along the nexus and externalities derived from the on‐going intensification.     

实施农业清洁生产势在必行

从农业生产及农业污染的特点入手，借鉴工业清洁生产的基本理念，初步界定了农业清洁生产的内涵。从农业可持续发展战略的高度，论述了实施农业清洁生产战略的必要性和可能性，并就全面推行农业清洁生产战略提出建议。     

Can home gardens scale up into movements for social change? The role of home gardens in providing food security and community change in San Jose,California

Urban policymakers and sustainable food activists have identified urban agriculture as an important strategy for confronting a host of urban problems, including food insecurity, health disparities, access to urban green space and community economic revitalisation. Much recent work on urban agriculture has examined community and school gardens, but little research has been undertaken on home gardens as a solution to urban problems. This article examines a home-gardening programme in San Jose, California, La Mesa Verde, asking whether some of the benefits found in community gardens can be found in home gardens. Specifically, we look at financial, health and community benefits, examining the potential of home gardens to become forces for broader social change. We ask whether gardens can become agents of cultural preservation, self-determination, particularly for recent immigrants who use these spaces to build identities and work towards collective action and self-determination.     

“Nutrient Inputs to the Laurentian Great Lakes by Source and Watershed Estimated Using SPARROW Watershed Models” by Dale M. Robertson and David A. Saad2

Richards, R. Peter, Ibrahim Alameddine, J. David Allan, David B. Baker, Nathan S. Bosch, Remegio Confesor, Joseph V. DePinto, David M. Dolan, Jeffrey M. Reutter, and Donald Scavia, 2012. Discussion –“Nutrient Inputs to the Laurentian Great Lakes by Source and Watershed Estimated Using SPARROW Watershed Models” by Dale M. Robertson and David A. Saad. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐10. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12006 Abstract: Results from the Upper Midwest Major River Basin (MRB3) SPARROW model and underlying Fluxmaster load estimates were compared with detailed data available in the Lake Erie and Ohio River watersheds. Fluxmaster and SPARROW estimates of tributary loads tend to be biased low for total phosphorus and high for total nitrogen. These and other limitations of the application led to an overestimation of the relative contribution of point sources vs. nonpoint sources of phosphorus to eutrophication conditions in Lake Erie, when compared with direct estimates for data‐rich Ohio tributaries. These limitations include the use of a decade‐old reference point (2002), lack of modeling of dissolved phosphorus, lack of inclusion of inputs from the Canadian Lake Erie watersheds and from Lake Huron, and the choice to summarize results for the entire United States Lake Erie watershed, as opposed to the key Western and Central Basin watersheds that drive Lake Erie’s eutrophication processes. Although the MRB3 SPARROW model helps to meet a critical need by modeling unmonitored watersheds and ranking rivers by their estimated relative contributions, we recommend caution in use of the MRB3 SPARRROW model for Lake Erie management, and argue that the management of agricultural nonpoint sources should continue to be the primary focus for the Western and Central Basins of Lake Erie.