Sustainability: a Dissent

Abstract:  Broadly conceived and considered in its many usages, sustainability has grave defects as a planning goal, particularly when used by conservationists: it confuses means and ends; it is vague about what is being sustained and who or what is doing the sustaining; it is uninspiring; it is little more than Pinchot-era conservation (and thus ignores the many lessons learned since then); it need not be linked to land, to the land's functioning, or to any ecological science; it need not include a moral component; it is consistent with the view of humans as all-powerful manipulators of the planet; and, in general, it is such a malleable term that its popularity provides only a facade of consensus. When sustainability is defined broadly to include the full range of economic and social aspirations, it poses the particular risk that ecological and biodiversity concerns will be cast aside in favor of more pressing human wants. Given these many defects, the conservation movement should discard the term in favor of a more alluring goal, attentive to nature and its ecological functioning. A sound goal would incorporate and distill the considerable ecological and moral wisdom accumulated since Pinchot's day while giving conservationists the rhetorical tools needed to defend the land against competing pressures. In our view, conservation would be well served by an updated variant of "land health," Aldo Leopold's ecologically grounded goal from the 1940s. Land health as an independent understanding should set the essential terms of how we live and enjoy the earth, providing the framework within which we pursue our many social and economic aims.     

Land User Participation in Developing a Computerised Decision Support System for Combating Desertification

Combating desertification in natural rangelands has recently become a priority in large parts of southern Africa. Rangeland managers, farmers, scientists, conservationists and land users have been applying a variety of restoration technologies to address this problem. Bush encroachment, as part of the desertification process, involves the natural replacement of the herbaceous plant cover by undesirable problem woody species. The active and passive restoration technologies that are applied, are mainly based on indigenous knowledge and include the chemical, mechanical or manual reclamation of unproductive rangelands, as well as the combating of woody and alien species encroachment. Indigenous practices and knowledge play a major role in the effectiveness and success rate of these technologies. This project faces the challenge of bringing together both local and scientific knowledge in a single user-friendly, computerised Decision Support System (DSS) which is directly accessible by land users to support them in the process of decision making, concerning the combating of desertification. Case studies from central and northern Namibia were used to combine qualitative and quantitative data to develop this Decision Support System. The DSS currently consists of two databases and an expert system, which evaluates the results of land users’ management practices, and provides easily accessible information and advice for participants in the system, based on the incorporated data. The DSS is also linked to national and international web sites and databases to offer a wider range of information on technologies concerning agricultural and conservation practices.     

知识经济对云南环境科技的影响

知识经济对环境保护产生正面和负面方面的影响。对云南环境科技的影响，表现在思想观念的解放、思维方式的转变、科技方法的创新、常规技术升华、科技成果转化、环保产业结构调整等方面。我们应从不断总结、发展知识经济型环保产业、培养和储备人才等方面抓住机遇，实现云南环境科技的跨越。     

汽车覆盖件冲压工艺设计KBE系统中的知识表示技术

根据汽车覆盖件冲压工艺设计的特点 ,阐述了与汽车覆盖件冲压工艺设计有关的不同类型知识的表示方法 ,主要有一阶谓词逻辑、语义网络、产生式规则、框架和剧本、可视化文本和图象 ,以及面向对象的方法等 ,并比较了各种方法的优缺点。面向对象的集成知识表示等方法成功地应用于汽车覆盖件冲压工艺设计KBE系统的知识表示     

安全工程专业本科教育培养模式的探讨

本文分析了当前安全工程专业本科教育存在的一些问题，如本科基础知识教育欠系统和规范，知识结构的行业限制性过重，课程设置不甚合理等，这些问题对培养高素质安全科学人才及本专业自身的发展不利，笔者就合理的培养模式作了探讨，提出本科教育应有明确的目标，业务能力应有具体要求，专业知识结构应划分为四个层次。     

基于特征和知识的自由锻CAPP系统

建立了基于特征和知识的自由锻CAPP系统模型 ,论述了特征、基于知识的工艺决策等有关问题。通过总结几年来开发该系统的经验 ,从系统原理、专家系统等方面探讨了该系统的开发研制 ,并简单介绍了该系统的主要功能和特色     

多目标决策-理想点法综合评价淮北市地下水环境质量

运用多目标决策-理想点法对淮北市地下水质量进行评价,结果表明淮北市地下水质量达到了Ⅱ类水质标准以上,能够达到当地地下水环境功能区划要求.评价结果与实际情况一致,评价方法较精确,具有一定科学性.