Cancer risks from exposure to vehicular air pollution: a household level analysis of intra-ethnic heterogeneity in Miami,Florida

Quantitative environmental justice (EJ) research has relied on aggregated data from census units to determine disproportionate hazard exposure. Additionally, variables typically used to analyze ethnic inequities in exposure (e.g., percent Hispanic) are too broad and assume a degree of homogeneity that may not exist, given the diversity of ethnic minority populations. We address these limitations through a study that utilizes primary household level survey data and cancer risk estimates from the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) to analyze intra-ethnic inequities in exposure to vehicular air pollutants in the Miami metropolitan area, Florida. Our analysis disaggregates the Hispanic category based on five characteristics (language proficiency, U.S. citizenship, nativity, unemployment status, and national origin) and finds that risk burdens are significantly higher for Hispanic respondents who are foreign-born, unemployed, and of Cuban origin. Findings highlight the advantages of downscaling EJ analyses to the household level and considering intra-ethnic heterogeneity in EJ research and policy.     

黄土高原植被恢复潜力研究

黄土高原从1999年开始大规模退耕还林（草）,植被覆盖发生了较大变化,对黄土高原植被恢复现状和恢复潜力进行评估具有重要意义。本文使用1999-2013年SPOT VEG NDVI数据,采用线性回归、Hurst指数分析法、统计学方法以及地理空间分析技术,对黄土高原植被恢复状况和潜力进行了探讨。结论主要为：① 1999年退耕还林（草）以来,黄土高原植被覆盖度呈显著上升趋势,黄土高原三分之二地区的植被将会持续改善;② 植被响应曲线分析表明,黄土区植被覆盖度和干旱指数呈显著的指数关系,且缓坡相关性大于陡坡。土石山区植被响应函数为线性函数,相关系数下降;③ 整个黄土高原地区平均植被恢复潜力为69.75%。植被恢复潜力值东南高而西北低,黄土高原东南地区植被恢复状况较好,其植被恢复潜力指数较小,而植被恢复潜力指数较高的地区主要为北方风沙区及西部丘陵沟壑区;④ 不同降水量条件下,植被恢复速度差别显著,其中降水量在375~575 mm之间的地区,植被恢复最快。植被恢复措施应该“因水制宜”,避免因造林带来的土壤干化加剧。研究结果以期为黄土高原生态文明建设提供科学支撑。     

亚洲中部干旱区丝绸之路沿线环境演化与东西方文化交流

基于环境记录、考古发现,以及同位素资料,对亚洲中部干旱区丝绸之路沿线的全新世以来的环境变化和东西方文化交流进行了梳理。结果表明,研究区独特的地理环境和环境变化过程,深刻地影响着文化的发展和传播。河西走廊受季风影响,表现出季风—西风过渡带干湿变化的模式,晚全新世气候趋向干旱;从新疆到中亚的丝绸之路沿线的环境变化比较一致：在早全新世（BC 6000以前）主要为干旱环境,植被以荒漠类型占优势;中晚全新世,湿润程度增加,草原植被扩展。新疆和中亚全新世中晚期较为湿润的环境为东西文化交流提供了较适宜的环境基础。得益于环境条件的改善,东西方文化交流融合的进程在BC 2000以后明显加速。在BC 2500-2000期间,东西方农业文化在丝绸之路沿线接触融合,是史前丝绸之路的首次贯通;在BC 2000-1000期间,丝绸之路沿线绿洲地带形成了以小麦—/大麦—粟黍—畜牧为特征的混合型经济特征,并扩散到欧亚草原带,和周围的畜牧业形成鲜明的对照,并持续到历史时期。这种空间分异,是地理环境和东西方文化交流共同作用的结果。在史前时期,东西方农业的相向传播和融合,基本沿着山前地带的绿洲蛙跳式前进。到了历史时期,政治版图的变化是影响丝绸之路的首要因素,但环境变化仍然是不可忽略的因素。     

政府调控对华北平原农户抗旱行为的影响及效应

气候变化背景下干旱等极端天气事件频发给农业生产带来巨大挑战,明确农户是否采取相关应对措施及政府对其采取措施的影响,是进一步完善相关政策和引导农户增强自身响应能力建设的基础和关键。以华北平原为例,基于农户问卷调查数据,运用计量经济学方法,分析气候变化导致干旱频发背景下微观农户的响应行为,评估政府预警和政策支持是否影响农户响应行为以及其他因素如何影响其响应行为。结果表明：① 农户响应干旱态度积极,随干旱程度加深,农户选择采取响应措施的可能性增大。② 政府调控影响农户响应行为,但仅部分调控手段效果显著。政府提供预警信息能增加农户采取响应措施的可能性,然而只有当灾前及灾中、灾后同时预警时效果才显著;电视是目前最主要的预警媒介,但其并不显著改变农户响应行为,通过两种及以上形式的媒介传播预警信息效果最显著。此外,政府（尤其是乡镇及村级机构）的政策支持对农户旱灾响应行为有一定影响,但其效果在灾害年不如正常年明显;资金补贴的调控手段能明显促进农户采取响应措施的积极性,但绝大多数农户未获得任何机构支持。政府调控的结构及力度均有待提升及完善。③ 不同特质农户的响应行为不同。灌区内的农户,家庭耕地细碎度越小的农户,家庭农业成员越多的农户,更倾向于采取响应措施。本研究可为干旱化背景下制定相关调控政策提供科学参考。     

The Dominican Republic–Central American Free Trade Agreement’s Symbolic Nod to Environmental Protection: Legal Perspectives on the Citizen Submission Process

The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) contains a chapter on the environment, ostensibly included to mitigate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) environmental oversights. The environment chapter created a citizen submission process designed to foster public participation in supporting each participating nation’s environmental laws. This article examines the outcomes to date of the citizen submission process, based on an analysis of the articles of the agreement and an examination of the rulings made on each case submitted under the citizen submission process. The analysis shows that CAFTA poses significant obstacles to citizen participation and has made minimal, if any, contributions to environmental law enforcement among the Parties to the agreement.     

Mitigating Risks From Fracking-Related Earthquakes: Assessing State Regulatory Decisions

Public concern about earthquakes linked to wastewater injection from fracking operations is rising. However, few have examined how “induced seismicity” is acted upon by state officials. For some, an incremental response to smaller quakes can be viewed as an acceptable risk policy orientation because of the sizeable economic benefits that accompany drilling activities while others prefer risk mitigation policies (such as the use of “threshold policies”) as a better way to address quake-related problems. To account for state response to induced seismicity impacts, we examine three factors: the emergence of quakes as focusing events, the economic importance of oil and gas to state jobs and revenue, and selected characteristics of earthquakes as a policy issue, i.e., complexity and categorical precedence. Using information drawn from documentary sources, we consider which factors are most helpful in accounting for agency decisions aimed at reducing seismic risks linked to nearby injection wells.     

Political Alienation,Rurality and the Symbolic Role of Swedish Wolf Policy

Attitudes towards wolf policy are likely to be driven by perceived differences in political power between urban and rural groups. Using Swedish survey data collected in 2014 and structural equation modeling, I evaluated the effects of political alienation. Political alienation mediated the effect of having an urban or rural place of residence on attitudes towards wolf policy. Politically alienated individuals also preferred more extreme policy options than other respondents, while being less likely to approve of the current wolf policy in Sweden. These findings suggest that political alienation drives attitude polarization in wolf related social conflicts. Awareness of these underlying power asymmetries could possibly increase both policy legitimacy and management efficiency. This highlights the importance of accounting for social context in relation to policy-making and conservation efforts related to wolves.     

环境约束下中国工业化与城镇化的关系演变——效率分析视角

将工业化视为投入,城镇化视为产出,基于中国各省份2001~2012年的工业化、城镇化和污染物排放数据,测算了传统效率值、环境效率值及效率指数,据此分析各省份工业化与城镇化的关系及其演变。研究发现：全国总体层面的城镇化传统效率值和环境效率值均在下降。分地区来看,东部地区通过工业化来推进城镇化的实施空间有限,中部地区需要调整发展方式,西部地区尚有一定余地。在城镇化过程中,工业化存在前期“负向规律机制”和后期“正向反馈机制”两种作用。为实现城镇化低碳发展,需要转变工业和经济发展方式,改善对外贸易结构,同时提高环境污染治理投资效果。     

泰山旅游环境承载力及其时空分异特征与利用强度研究

旅游环境承载力作为一种稀缺性非实物资源具有空间分异和时间变化规律;文章采取静态的模型研究方法,对泰山主景区的旅游环境承载力作出了系统测算,揭示了其时空分异规律,剖析了旅游环境承载力资源的利用强度,提出了旅游调控策略。     

环境约束下中国城市土地利用效率演变特征分析

在经济高质量发展和区域协调发展的背景下,考虑非期望性产出(环境污染),本文利用SBM-undesirable模型测算了中国275个地级市2003–2016年的城市土地利用效率,并通过核密度估计、空间自相关分析探索了城市土地利用效率的时空演变规律。结果表明:(1)2003–2016年间,中国城市土地利用效率整体呈波动上升趋势,但仍处于较低水平,城市土地利用效率均值呈现东、西、中逐渐降低的分布格局;(2)在全国和东中西三大区域,区域差异均不断增大,全国尺度上和东部地区效率值出现了极化趋势;(3)城市土地利用效率呈现较弱的空间正相关,但空间集聚程度不断增强。高-高集聚型区域多分布在东南沿海地区,且不断向中部地区延伸;高-低极化型区域多为中西部地区的省会城市,低-高凹陷型区域零星分布于高值聚集区周边,部分在研究期内转为高值聚集区域;低-低均质型区域主要分布在中西部及东北地区。研究结果认为应加强对城市存量土地的内涵挖潜,强化区域合作机制,因地制宜制定提升土地利用效率的政策是促进城市土地集约节约利用和区域协调发展的有效路径。