The spillover of race and racial attitudes into public opinion about climate change

The relationship between racial attitudes and public opinion about climate change is examined. Public opinion data from Pew and American National Election Studies surveys are used to show that racial identification and prejudices are increasingly correlated with opinions about climate change during the Obama presidency. Results show that racial identification became a significant predictor of climate change concern following Obama’s election in 2008, and that high levels of racial resentment are strongly correlated with reduced agreement with the scientific consensus on climate change. These results offer evidence for an effect termed the spillover of racialization. This helps further explain why the public remains so polarized on climate change, given the extent to which racial grievances and identities have become entangled with elite communication about climate change and its related policies today.     

A mixed method study of hurricane evacuation: demographic predictors for stated compliance to voluntary and mandatory orders

The present paper examines the role of several demographic indicators on stated hurricane evacuation thresholds, or the lowest category storm for which participants indicated they would evacuate, for mandatory and voluntary orders. Quantitative analyses reveal that race was significantly associated with a lower stated evacuation threshold in both the bivariate and multivariate models and that previous refusal to comply with evacuation orders was associated with higher stated evacuation thresholds. Qualitative analyses reveal two key findings: (1) wind is perceived as more dangerous than water (rain and storm surge) associated with hurricanes; (2) traffic concerns were the most frequently cited reason listed for possible refusal to comply with evacuation orders. Implications of the findings include the value of future evaluations of race and trust, storm characteristics and threat perception, and other practical considerations for improving evacuation compliance such as the amelioration of traffic concerns. Findings also lead to the discussion of the social complexities of race and hurricane vulnerability as a key finding.     

Asian Americans and workplace discrimination: The interplay between sex of evaluators and the perception of social skills

In two role‐playing scenarios, we investigate how White male and female evaluators perceive an Asian American versus White job candidate on the dimensions of competence and social skills and how these perceptions affect evaluators' decisions in hiring and promotion. Specifically, Study 1 examines how the perceptions of competence and social skills affect Asian (versus White) college graduates' chance of obtaining a non‐technical (versus technical) position, and Study 2 tests how these perceptions affect Asians' probability of promotion relative to Whites'. Our findings suggest that female evaluators were less likely to select Asian than White candidates into positions involving social skills and were less likely to promote Asian than White candidates into these types of positions. Furthermore, female evaluators' perception that Asians were less socially skilled than Whites mediated both of these decisions. This paper contributes to the understanding of workplace discrimination of Asian Americans. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shaped by race: why “race” still matters in the challenges facing biodiversity conservation in Africa

This article uses experiences from South Africa to argue that, despite progress made in making biodiversity conservation compatible with social, political and economic changes, progress could still be limited by reluctance of social actors to acknowledge and engage with the issue of race. The article argues that acknowledging the history of conservation in Africa, including close ties to racially charged colonialism, could be a positive impetus in the transformation of conservation to make it more socially, economically and politically justifiable.     

Anti-predation behaviour of red colobus monkeys in the presence of chimpanzees

Predator-prey interactions are usually regarded as evolutionary “arms races”, but evidence is still scarce. We examined whether the anti-predation strategies of red colobus monkeys (Procolobus badius) are adapted to the hunting strategies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Taï chimpanzees search for red colobus groups, approach them silently and hunt co-operatively. Our playback experiments and observations of natural encounters revealed that red colobus hid higher up the trees in positions where exposure to the forest floor is minimal and became silent, when chimpanzees were close. They moved away silently through the canopy, when chimpanzees were still at some distance. However, if a group of diana monkeys was nearby in the latter situation, red colobus sought their presence even if they had to move towards the chimpanzees. Chimpanzees refrained from hunting associated red colobus groups, probably because diana monkeys are excellent sentinels for predators approaching over the forest floor. Thus several elements of both the predator's and the prey's strategies correspond to each other. Finally, we compared the interactions between the two species in Taï and in Gombe, Tanzania. We suggest that the difference in size ratio between the two species at the two sites and adaptation of hunting techniques and of escape modes to different forest structures can explain why Gombe red colobus attack chimpanzees while Taï red colobus try to escape. We conclude that predator-prey interactions can indeed lead to evolutionary arms races, with the specific form of co-adaptations depending on environmental factors.     

Environmental ascription in Worcester County,MA: toxic pollution and education outcomes

This paper argues that important issues of sustainable development have been addressed through single-issue landscape plans, and that these plans have carried little weight within the land use decision-making process. A more consolidated approach, based on multi-function landscape plans, is proposed. After reviewing the range of plans which, in the UK, cover woodland, farmscapes, visual amenity, coasts, catchments and biodiversity, the case is made for an integrative plan capable of addressing natural resource issues at the landscape scale. The preliminary character of an integrative plan is outlined. Whilst landscape plans have a relatively weak basis for implementation, it is concluded that a sufficient range of powers is available to ensure some progress.     

On the effect of climate on the morphological structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alnus hirsuta</Emphasis> (Betulaceae)

An analysis of correlations between metric leaf characters and climatic parameters of habitats in the Siberian alder (Alnus hirsuta) has shown that phenotypic variation in this species depends on the gradient of climatic factors and that the morphological structure of the species is largely determined by variation in climatic conditions within the species range.     

Planning for environmental justice in an urban national park

Urban national parks were designed in the 1970s to bring nature and recreational opportunities to socio-economically disadvantaged communities in the USA. Using the theoretical frame of environmental justice, this paper discusses findings of a recent survey of visitors to Los Angeles' Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area – the United States' largest urban national park. Findings show park visitors were predominantly white, affluent, and lived nearby. People of colour travelled further, were significantly less likely to be return visitors, and were less inclined to use the park for active recreation. Seemingly, this park fails to meet the needs of the disadvantaged urban communities for whom it was created, a problem that may also affect other parks in the United States and potentially parks in other countries. Park planners and managers can take practical steps to increase accessibility to this park for people of colour and low-income earners, and should monitor other parks for patterns of ethno-racially differentiated access and utilisation.     

塑胶运动场有机污染与热污染分析

本研究选择了合肥市有代表性的塑胶跑道和运动场,用GC-MS监测分析了塑胶跑道周围空气中刺激性气体的主要污染物成分;在不同天气条件下,对不同类型运动场地的热污染进行了对比测量分析;最后在上述研究分析的基础上对塑胶运动场的建设、使用提出了对策和建议。