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.     

Microwave digestion method in environmental analysis

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In vitro characteristics of human fetal cells obtained from chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis

In vitro characteristics of human fetal cells have been investigated after chorionic villus sampling at the first trimester and amniocentesis at the second trimester of pregnancy. Light microscopy revealed heterogeneous morphology of cell types in both the chorionic villus culture and the amniotic fluid cultures. Based on the experiments performed, chorionic villus cells are more sensitive to pronase, trypsin, and versene during subculture and have a higher DNA content per single cell and release more [¹²⁵I]-Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin into culture medium than those found in amniotic fluid cells. The practical applications of this study are discussed.     

上海市绿色食品的发展前景与策略

为更好地协调环境、资源、食品、健康的关系,适应人们对农产品需求的变化及社会可持续发展的需要,世界各国纷纷提出了发展无污染农产品的设想。我国亦于1990年推出了“绿色食品”活动。该文在综观国内外绿色食品研究和发展概况的基础上,分析了上海市发展绿色食品的有利条件,并提出了发展对策和建议。     

秦皇岛市水环境现状与恢复

秦皇岛地区原始自然环境优越,多年来,不正当的人为活动、环境恶化趋势明显,也直接干扰与影响着水的良性循环。现状水环境:河流基流渐小,并季节性断流,坑塘减少,湿地萎缩水土流失,洪径增大。地下水位下降,水量减少,承压水无序开采,污净比失衡,河流承栽力降低。地下水垂直污染面扩大,点、面、垃圾污染源趋重。联通青一洋、石一起,实施水资源再分配。优化配置城乡用水。重视地下水源地建设,联合调度地表、地下水源。谨慎开发承压水。植树造林、涵养水分。注重防风林带建设,改善田间小气候。严控地下水采量,防止土壤旱化。搞好坑塘建设,解决乡镇污水出路与净化。保护湿地,促进水的良性循环。深度处理废污水.使之资源化。从源头抓好城市三大水源地污染源.察勘储备新地下水源地。改良恢复水环境,保障水资源循环利用。     

炼油厂"三泥"离心脱水处理研究

通过对目前炼油厂“三泥”性状的调查，利用已有污泥处理设施进行了炼油厂“三泥”离心分离的现场试验，并分析了影响“三泥”离心分离处理工艺的主要因素，发现了离心机转速和絮凝剂投加量对“三泥”离心分离的有关规律和最佳操作条件，在此基础上，提出了适合炼油厂“三泥”处理系统的优化方案。     

高等工程教育与工程技术人员的安全文化素质的培养

从现代生产体系的特点以及产品设计缺陷对人的危害等方面阐述了提高工程技术人员安全文化素质的必要性。进而讨论了我国高等工程教育与安全文化素质培养相脱节的表现和原因。在此基础上，提出了改进高等工程教育，促进工程技术人员安全文化素质提高的一些设想     

OPTIMIZATION MODELING OF A NEW FACILITY FOR THE CALIFORNIA STATE WATER PROJECT1

ABSTRACT: A non-linear optimization model is applied to the California State Water Project (SWP) and portions of the Central Valley Project (CVP). The model accounts for the major hydrologic, regulatory, and operational features of both projects. The model maximizes long-term SWP yields over a 70-year period, using a quarterly time step. The potential for increased yield associated with a proposed facility improvement is evaluated with the model. The proposed facility is an extension of the Folsom-South Canal, which would allow water to be conveyed from the American River below Folsom Reservoir into New Melones Reservoir on the Stanislaus River or into the California Aqueduct. Model results indicate that extension of the Folsom-South Canal has the potential to increase SWP yields by 13 percent.     

自然灾害不同灾情的比较方法探讨

用计算自然灾害不同灾情的灰色关联度的方法，来对不同灾情进行比较分析。该方法不仅能够比较同一灾级中不同的灾情，也能够对不同灾级的灾情差异程度作比较分析，因而它与现有的不同灾情的比较方法相比，更科学合理。     

施工企业安全文化的核心——保护员工的安全与健康

分析了企业安全文化的发展和施工安全的特点，围绕企业目标、市场占有率、生产成本、企业形象、经济效益等内容，论述了保护员工安全与健康是施工企业安全文化的核心