日本海底地震观测现状与进展

详细介绍了日本在本世纪70 年代～90 年代初的三个海底地震仪观测系统,和日本政府在1995 年阪神大震后投巨资兴建海底地震监测网络的情况。并就上述内容的国际研究现状,提出了存在问题和未来海洋地震观测研究的设想     

日本的城市环境问题及其改善过程：政策和规划视角研究

日本是亚洲最先城市化的国家,目前已有86%的人口生活在城市行政区范围内。在城市化的进程中,日本曾出现过各种各样的环境问题,经过半个多世纪的努力,现在的城市生活环境不仅得到根本改善,而且在资源循环利用和低碳社会建设等方面也做出引人注目的成绩。本文从日本城市规划制度和环境政策演变角度,分阶段介绍自1950年以来的城市环境问题、环境法律和有关城市规划建设的政策,逐步展开日本改善城市生活环境、保护地球自然环境的过程,尤其注重从生态城市到低碳社会转型发展的最近政策动向。     

Atmospheric mercury over the marine boundary layer observed during the third China Arctic Research Expedition

TGM measurements on board ships have proved to provide valuable complementary information to measurements by a ground based monitoring network. During the third China Arctic Research Expedition (from July 11 to September 24, 2008), TGM concentrations over the marine boundary layer along the cruise path were in-situ measured using an automatic mercury vapor analyzer. Here we firstly reported the results in Japan Sea, North Western Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, where there are rare reports. The value ranged between 0.30 and 6.02 ng/m³ with an average of (1.52 ± 0.68) ng/m³, being slightly lower than the background value of Northern Hemisphere (1.7 ng/m³). Notably TGM showed considerably spatial and temporal variation. Geographically, the average value of TGM in Bering Sea was higher than those observed in Japan Sea and North Western Pacific Ocean. In the north of Japan Sea TGM levels were found to be lower than 0.5 ng/m³ during forward cruise and displayed obviously diurnal cycle, indicating potential oxidation of gaseous mercury in the atmosphere. The pronounced episode was recorded as well. Enhanced levels of TGM were observed in the coastal regions of southern Japan Sea during backward cruise due primarily to air masses transported from the adjacent mainland reflecting the contribution from anthropogenic sources. When ship returned back and passed through Kamchatka Peninsula TGM increased by the potential contamination from volcano emissions.     

Rapid Evolution in the Wild: Changes in Body Size, Life-History Traits, and Behavior in Hunted Populations of the Japanese Mamushi Snake

Abstract:  Rapid evolution caused by human exploitation of wildlife is not usually addressed in studies of the impacts of such exploitation despite its direct relevance to population persistence. Japanese mamushi ( Gloydius blomhoffii ), an endemic venomous snake of the Japanese archipelago, has been heavily hunted by humans, and many populations appear to be declining or are already extirpated. We compared local populations that have been hunted regularly with populations that have not been hunted. Mamushi in hunted populations were smaller, had fewer vertebrae, produced more and smaller offspring, had increased reproductive effort among smaller females, and in nature fled at greater distances from an approaching human and were less defensive than mamushi in unhunted populations, as predicted from life-history theory. Heritability estimates for body size, number of vertebrae, and antipredator behavior were statistically significant, and neonates from hunted sites showed the same distribution of altered characters (compared with those from unhunted sites) as adults. Thus, distribution of the divergent trait between hunted and unhunted sites appeared in part to be genetically based, which suggests rapid evolution to human predation pressures. Trait distributions in hunted populations probably deviate from naturally (as opposed to anthropogenically) selected optima and, therefore, may have long-term negative repercussions on population persistence. Because rapid evolution affects a suite of parameters that characterize exploited populations, accurate understanding of the impacts of exploitation and effective resource management and conservation can only be achieved if evolutionary consequences are considered explicitly.     

A Report on the International Conference on Climate Policy after Marrakech: Towards Global Participation

The East-West Center convened the international conference on climate policy in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 4–6, 2003. Sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, Industrial Technology Research Institute (Taiwan), and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (Japan), this major event covered almost every important issue and featured perspectives from the most important parties and stakeholders in formulating and implementing climate policies and taking international climate negotiations further. It brought together a remarkable cross-section of world opinion on climate policy after Kyoto. This report provides a summary of each presentation and highlights discussions organized under the following six session headings: Session 1: Climate Change in Focus – From Science to Policy; Session 2: U.S. Climate Policy and Perspectives; Session 3: European Union Climate Policy and Perspectives; Session 4: Challenges for other Major Industrialized Countries; Session 5: Issues Related to Developing Countries; and Session 6: Panel Discussions: Where Do We Go from Here?.     

Temporal trends in organophosphorus pesticides use and concentrations in river water in Japan, and risk assessment

We reviewed organophosphorus pesticide use in Japan between 1982 and 2016 using data from the National Institute of Environmental Studies. Organophosphorus pesticide concentrations in river water throughout Japan were taken from the literature, and risk assessments were performed for some organophosphorus pesticides based on risk quotients and hazard quotients. Assessments were performed for 20 common pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. The amounts used decreased in the order: insecticides?>?herbicides?>?fungicides. Organophosphorus insecticide and fungicide use have decreased over the last four decades, but organophosphorus herbicide use has increased. During this period, annual organophosphorus pesticide use was the highest for chlorpyrifos (105,263?tons/year) and the lowest for glyphosate-sodium (8?tons/year). The ecotoxicological risk assessment indicated that diazinon and fenitrothion posed strong risks to the Japanese aquatic environment, and chlorpyrifos and malathion have moderate risks. None of the pesticides that were assessed posed significant risks to humans. Continued use of organophosphorus pesticides in Japan may cause strong risks to aquatic environments. These risks should be reassessed periodically.     

日本道路交通噪声监测体系与借鉴

系统介绍了日本环保部门每年在全国范围内开展的道路交通噪声普查性监测工作及评价体系,分析了中日两国监测与评价方法的异同和优缺点,提出在点位布设、评价方法、信息公开等方面的改进建议,以推进中国道路交通噪声监测工作向科学化、精细化、定量化转变。     

日本大气和水污染物排放标准探析

较详细地介绍了日本大气和水污染物排放标准的有关内容。在探讨日本大气和水污染物控制策略与法律的基础上,系统分析了相应的标准体系,归纳了日本推行、实施大气和水污染物排放标准的特点与经验。尽管中日两国存在体制与国情方面的差异,但日本污染物排放标准的一些特点仍值得借鉴。特别是各个击破,在不同阶段重点控制主要污染物的策略;发挥地方政府在排放标准制定、实施方面的作用;实施总量控制的成功经验等,对研究并改进中国的排放标准体系,均有一定的启示作用。     

德日静脉产业发展经验及对中国的借鉴

随着人类发展理念的革新,“资源-产品-再生资源”的经济发展模式已在全世界取得普遍认同,实践循环经济已成为国际社会的重要发展趋势。文章详细分析总结了德日在发展静脉产业方面的经验,结合中国现阶段的国情,提出中国发展静脉产业主要依赖与法律体系的健全、政策体系的完善、多层面多渠道的宣传教育的开展、政府绿色采购的大力推行和社会回收组织的催生,并特别强调了宣传教育的重要性,以期对中国静脉产业的良性发展提供借鉴。     

Greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and Japan: sector-specific estimates and managerial and economic implications

Many firms generate large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when they burn fossil fuels in their production processes. In addition, production of raw materials and other inputs the firms procure for their operations also generates greenhouse gases indirectly. These direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions occur in many sectors of our economies. In this paper, we first present sector-specific estimates for such greenhouse gas emissions. We then show that estimates for such sector-specific greenhouse gas emissions are often required for various types of corporate as well as public policy analyses in both domestic and international contexts. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions resulting from firms' multi-stage production processes in a multi-sector context is relevant for policies related to the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement to limit global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, since the protocol allows firms to engage in trading and offsetting of their greenhouse gas emissions across national borders, provided that emissions are correctly measured, the firms can take advantage of such trading schemes by placing their energy-intensive production facilities globally and strategically. We present several case studies which illustrate the importance of this and other aspects of greenhouse gas emissions in firms' environmental management. We also argue that our modeling and estimation methods based on input-output analyses are suitable for the types of research goals we have in this paper. Our methods are applied to data for Canada and Japan in a variety of environmental management circumstances.