Indicators of sustainable production: framework and methodology

This paper presents a new tool for promoting business sustainability — indicators of sustainable production. It first introduces the concept of sustainable production as defined by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Indicators of sustainable production are discussed next, including their dimensions and desirable qualities. Based on the Lowell Center Indicator Framework, the authors suggest a new methodology of core and supplemental indicators for raising companies' awareness and measuring their progress toward sustainable production systems. Twenty-two core indicators are proposed and a detailed guidance for their application is included. An eight-step model provides a context for indicator implementation. The paper concludes with a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology as well as recommendations for testing the indicators.     

试论地震台站的组织结构和激励机制建设

本文对地震台站在新时期的台站管理进行了论述。指出在防震减灾基础建设的重要时期,地震台站的管理,首先需要转变管理理念,同时应完善组织结构建设,建立激励机制。这是完成中国地震局确定的《与时俱进、开拓创新,为全面实现地震台站的现代化而奋斗》重要工作之一。     

有关《环境保护法》的思考

本文综合分析了以环境保护法为基本法的环境保护法律的体系，试图从环境法律关系和法律责任等方面对环境法进行法律属性的分析，得学我国环境管理体制实质上就是环境行政管理体制的结论，环境行政管理必须在法制的轨道上运行，这样才会从根本上解决环境保护的问题，才会使我们的生存环境更加美好。     

环境税法律问题研究

在市场经济条件下，环境保护有必要更好地运用经济手段。环境税是一项重要的经济激励制度，但在我国仍是个新概念。探讨了环境税的概念特征、理论依据、税种和税制设计。     

浅谈我国农村环保法制建设

就我国现行的环保法律法规存在问题，以及对农村环保事业发展的影响进行了探讨，提出了健全和完善我国农村环保法制的设想．以促进农村环境保护的可持续发展。     

试论地震台站的组织结构和激励机制建设

本文对地震台站在新时期的台站管理进行了论述。指出在防震减灾基础建设的重要时期，地震台站的管理，首先需要转变管理理念，同时应完善组织结构建设，建立激励机制。这是完成中国地震局确定的《与时俱进、开拓创新，为全面实现地震台站的现代化而奋斗》重要工作之一。     

耕地转用许可证制度探讨

目前耕地“占用”严重，有必要从法律上界定耕地“转用”，建立耕地转用许可法律制度，按合法，公开，效率，合理原则和法定程序确定耕地转用。     

污染环境的刑事责任问题探讨

根据一些发达国家的法律实践和我国环境保护工作的实际需要,探讨了对环境造成严重恶果的行为,应设立“污染环境罪”来调整人们行为的最后法律手段的必要性,并就污染环境罪的基本特征及与其它法律责任的区别作了分析和阐述,提出在我国刑法中应专条补充设立“污染环境罪”规定的建议。     

A New Modus Operandi for the Agricultural Economics Profession

Agricultural economics has, until the 1990s, enjoyeda reputation for relevance and usefulness to theagri-food industry and policy-makers. Thatreputation has been jeopardized by a growinginfatuation with models and quantification, and aconcomitant underemphasis placed on many complexproblems and issues of society. An illustrativeexample is explored, using agriculturalactivity-related damage to the natural resourcebase, environment and ecology. Agriculturaleconomists are urged to respond by broadening theirterms of reference and joining forces with otherdisciplines.     

Specific Contributions of Politics,Economics, and Toxicology in Setting Socially Consensual Limit Values

/ Limit values are legal limits for the concentrations of substances in the environment. They must be agreed upon in a consensual procedure between science, economics/technology, and political forces. This is a crucial political precondition for their social acceptance. The arguments put forward to justify their expediency and numerical level are based not only on risk-benefit considerations but also on the aspect of the technical avoidability of direct and indirect exposure. The critical assessment of the direct benefit of specified exposures falls within the responsibility of economics/technology, whereas criteria for their potential adverse effects (direct and indirect) are provided by medicine/biochemistry and/or ecology. Within this concept, the avoidance of nonbeneficial-even if not openly adverse-exposure is the essential aim of environmental hygiene and should be promoted by politics/science. In general, society or segments thereof reject adverse, accept beneficial, and tolerate unavoidable exposure. Conflicts of interest arise when different groups of society simultaneously define a given exposure as being adverse, beneficial, and unavoidable. Therefore, from the viewpoint of society as a whole, an optimal exposure lies as far as reasonably achievable at a level lower than known or plausible adverse effect thresholds (as defined by toxicology or ecology). This optimal level of exposure must be determined using a transparent and, hence, public procedure.KEY WORDS: Legal limit values; Benefit threshold; Social acceptance; Social tolerability; Adverse effect threshold; Avoidable exposure; Tolerance threshold; Environmental hygiene