MITIGATING IMPACTS OF A SEVERE SUSTAINED DROUGHT ON COLORADO RWER WATER RESOURCES1

ABSTRACT: We evaluated the effects of institutional responses developed for coping with a severe sustained drought (SSD) in the Colorado River Basin on selected system variables using a SSD inflow hydrology derived from the drought which occurred in the Colorado River basin from 1579–1616. Institutional responses considered are reverse equalization, salinity reduction, minimum flow requirements, and temporary suspension of the delivery obligation of the Colorado River Compact. Selected system variables (reservoir contents, streamflows, consumptive uses, salinity, and power generation) from scenarios incorporating the drought-coping responses were compared to those from Baseline conditions using the current operating criteria. The coping responses successfully mitigated some impacts of the SSD on consumptive uses in the Upper Basin with only slight impacts on consumptive uses in the Lower Basin, and successfully maintained specified minimum streamflows throughout the drought with no apparent effect on consumptive uses. The impacts of the coping responses on other system variables were not as clear cut. We also assessed the effects of the drought-coping responses to normal and wet hydrologic conditions to determine if they were overly conservative. The results show that the rules would have inconsequential effects on the system during normal and wet years.     

Glocalization of COVID-19 responses and management of the pandemic in Africa

ABSTRACT

The study explores how glocalization of COVID-19 responses affects the management of the pandemic in Africa. Using data from 20 selected African countries, the study found that the reliance on local medicines alongside other salient global initiatives for containment of COVID-19 is effective in managing the pandemic in Africa. It concluded that despite the high vulnerabilities of African countries to COVID-19, the glocal approach has yielded positive outcomes by increasing the number of patients that recover from COVID-19 and scaling down the fatalities compared with the other regions.     

我国农业自然灾害与农业政策性保险

在详细分析了我国当前主要农业自然灾害情况的基础上,探讨了通过建立农业政策性保险来应对自然灾害风险的必要性以及我国农业保险目前面临的问题,提出了加大政府支持力度、加快农业保险立法、提高保险意识、加强保险人才培养等方面的政策建议。     

Will Consumers Save The World? The Framing of Political Consumerism

An active ethically conscious consumer has been acclaimed as the new hero and hope for an ethically improved capitalism. Through consumers’ “voting” at the checkout, corporations are supposed to be held accountable for their conduct. In the literature on political consumerism, this has mainly been approached as political participation and governance. In this article, we do a critical review of this literature. We do so by questioning the existence of what we call a “generic active consumer model.” At the core of this position, there is a belief that the active consumer is a universal entity, available across nations and time. Instead we call for an approach that takes accord of the ways consumers and consumer roles are framed in interactive processes in markets, governance structures, and everyday life. Consumers in different countries assess their responsibilities and their powers as consumers differently due to different institutionalizations within distinctive contexts. We also must take into account how the inertia of ordinary consumption and the moral complexities of everyday life restrict the adoption of an active consumerist role. Hence, the debate on political consumerism should make for a more realistic notion of ethical consumer-sovereignty and its role in improving the workings of capitalism. In our view, these findings have severe implications for understanding both theories of political consumption and the dynamics of political consumption per se.     

Organizational and Political Considerations in the Municipal Development of Small Hydropower1

ABSTRACT: The potential for hydroelectric power development at existing dams is great in oil dependent New England where there are over 10,000 dams presently in existence. Over 400 developments have been proposed in the region, the majority of which are small scale, and do not have major environmental impacts. Nevertheless, a variety of constraints may hinder development. A study of three efforts by municipalities in unique positions to develop hydropower reveals that organizational and political considerations are significant factors affecting development. Successful hydropower development requires: (1) the cooperation and interaction of citizens, government, and the private sector; (2) community interest and education; and (3) strong resolve.     

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND WATER RATES: A REPLY1

ABSTRACT: Mercer and Morgan provide several valid criticisms of a previous analysis on political influence and water rates. More sophisticated statistical analyses may be justified given the high degree of interdependence among regulated firm variables. Theoretically, there are numerous measures of political activity superior to the one employed in the original analysis; however, data unavailability precludes their use. A better (and yet practical) measure of consumer leverage may be relative dominance by a specific political party. Until relatively easy access is obtained to municipal election data, the possible political variables that can be employed in more elegant analyses are few in number, and each has theoretical limitations.     

高职院校思想政治理论课实践教学探究

2011年教育部一号文件明确规定要把思想政治理论课（以下简称＂思政课＂）实践教学纳入正式教学环节。只有对思政课实践教学进行科学定义,厘清思政课实践教学与其他教学的区别和联系,找准当前存在的问题和不足,提炼出思政课实践教学的特点,进而建立科学规范的教学内容、教学方法、教学形式和考评机制,才能使其落到实处。     

Gathering “wild” food in the city: rethinking the role of foraging in urban ecosystem planning and management

Recent “green” planning initiatives envision food production, including urban agriculture and livestock production, as desirable elements of sustainable cities. We use an integrated urban political ecology and human–plant geographies framework to explore how foraging for “wild” foods in cities, a subversive practice that challenges prevailing views about the roles of humans in urban green spaces, has potential to also support sustainability goals. Drawing on research from Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle, we show that foraging is a vibrant and ongoing practice among diverse urban residents in the USA. At the same time, as reflected in regulations, planning practices, and attitudes of conservation practitioners, it is conceptualised as out of place in urban landscapes and an activity to be discouraged. We discuss how paying attention to urban foraging spaces and practices can strengthen green space planning and summarise opportunities for and challenges associated with including foragers and their concerns.     

CITIZEN INFLUENCE IN WATER POLICY DECISIONS: CONTEXT, CONSTRAINTS, AND ALTERNATIVES

ABSTRACT: The desirable proportion of citizen input into policy making and the proper mechanism for that input engender substantial conflict in the water resources arena. Nevertheless, discussions of citizen participation in water policy formation generally occur within narrow perspectives both with regard to the issues involved and the alternative mechanisms by which that participation can be realized. This paper examines the historical and current contexts of the controversies and presents a discussion of the alternative processes for citizen influence - called linkage. The linkage processes discussed include direct participation, citizen advisory committees, the pressure group model, the electoral model and the bureaucratic model. Each linkage process is discussed in terms of who is considered the public, how the public influence works, the limitations of the process, and what available water policy-related data suggest regarding the adequacy of the process.