Contrasting visions of food and farming sustainability: NGOs versus the UK Labour government

In a previous issue of the International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology I described how competing visions of sustainable agriculture are currently battling for hegemonic status (Johnson 2006). One vision seeks to break the hegemony of productionism and the other seeks to continue down its path with a greater emphasis on biotechnology. In this paper, I wish to explore these visions further as they apply to actual existing strategies for sustainable farming and food in the UK. This paper uses discourse analysis to compare the UK government's vision for sustainable farming and food sectors with that of two NGOs: Friends of the Earth and Corporate Watch. The language and discourse in the government's and NGOs' strategy documents is examined for evidence indicating their ideological conception of agricultural sustainability. The paper concludes that, whilst the NGOs are pursuing a strong vision of sustainability, seeking to break productionism's hegemony, the UK government is pursuing an ideologically weak-tomoderate conceptualisation of sustainability, pursuing the high-technology modified version of agricultural productionism.     

VFP编程在计算总悬浮颗粒物采样浓度中的应用

本文简要论述了VFP编程语言在TSP浓度计算中的具体应用,内容包括计算程序的主体内容、含义以及程序当中的难点及亮点。     

Heavy metals and couple fecundity, the LIFE Study

The effect of heavy metals at environmentally relevant concentrations on couple fecundity has received limited study despite ubiquitous exposure. In 2005-2009, couples (n = 501) desiring pregnancy and discontinuing contraception were recruited and asked to complete interviews and to provide blood specimens for the quantification of cadmium (μg L⁻¹), lead (μg dL⁻¹) and mercury (μg L⁻¹) using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Couples completed daily journals on lifestyle and intercourse along with menstruation and pregnancy testing for women. Couples were followed for 12 months or until pregnant. Fecundability odds ratios (FORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated adjusting for age, body mass index, cotinine, and serum lipids in relation to female then male exposures. FORs <1 denote a longer time to pregnancy. In adjusted models, reduced FORs were observed for both female cadmium (0.78; 95% CI 0.63-0.97) and male lead (0.85; 95% CI 0.73-0.98) concentrations. When jointly modeling couples’ exposures, only male lead concentration significantly reduced the FOR (0.82; 95% CI 0.68, 0.97), though the FOR remained <1 for female cadmium (0.80; 95% CI 0.64, 1.00). This prospective couple based cohort with longitudinal capture of time to pregnancy is suggestive of cadmium and lead’s reproductive toxicity at environmentally relevant concentrations.     

基于ARCGIS API FOR FLEX的污染源WEBGIS研究

本文引入了基于ARCGIS API FOR FLEX的WebGIS技术,介绍了污染源网络地理信息系统的研究思路与方法,在分析系统总体结构、功能模块的基础上提出了三层模型架构、分布式数据库、分布式服务器和富客户端等技术,并最终设计和实现了污染源网络管理信息系统。该系统能够有效地实现污染源空间信息共享,同时为污染源信息管理和环境保护辅助决策提供强有力的技术支持。