COSTS AND BENEFITS OF POLLUTION CONTROL IN PENNSYLVANIA,NEW YORK,AND NEW JERSEY, 1840–1906

ABSTRACT. Judges in Pennsylvania saw the costs and benefits of protecting people from industrial pollution quite differently from judges in New York and New Jersey between 1840 and 1906. Not only did they invoke balancing doctrine more than did judges in New York and New Jersey; but when costs and benefits were considered, Pennsylvania judges almost always concluded that the price of pollution abatement was too high to justify enjoining polluting industries. New York and New Jersey judges commonly did the reverse, acknowledging great social value and little cost to making businesses alleviate pollution. Judicial interpretation of the notions of cost and benefit mirrored the political, economic, and social conditions in each state, conditions that differed across time and place.     

Cost-Benefit Assessment of Inspection and Repair Planning for Ship Structures Considering Corrosion Model Uncertainty

Owing to high costs and unnecessary inspections necessitated by the traditional inspection planning for ship structures, the risk-based inspection and repair planning should be investigated for the most cost-effective inspection. This paper aims to propose a cost-benefit assessment model of risk-based inspection and repair planning for ship structures subjected to corrosion deterioration. Then, the benefit-cost ratio is taken to be an index for the selection of the optimal inspection and repair strategy. The planning problem is formulated as an optimization problem where the benefit-cost ratio for the expected lifetime is maximized with a constraint on the minimum acceptalbe reliability index. To account for the effect of corrosion model uncertainty on the cost-benefit assessment, two corrosion models, namgly, Paik＇ s model and Guedes Soares＇ model, are adopted for analysis. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the proposed method. Sensitivity studies are also providet. The results indicate that the proposed method of risk-based cost-benefit analysis can effectively integrate the economy with reliability of the inspection and repair planning. A balance can be achieved between the risk cost and total expected inspection and repair costs with the proposed method, which is very. effective in selecting the optimal inspection and repair strategy. It is pointed out that the corrosion model uncertainty and parametric uncertaintg have a significant impact on the cost-benefit assessment of inspection and repair planning.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books reviewed in this article: USA, Eine Geographische Landeskunde , Vol. I, Der Grossraum in Strukturellem, Wandel, 3rd Ed. Helmut Blume . Introduction to Remote Sensing . James B. Campbell . The Sounds of People and Places: Readings in the Geography of American Folk and Popular Music . George O. Carney , ED. Development and Underdevelopment . John Cole . Mobility and Employment in Urban Southeast Asia: Example from Indonesia and the Philippines . Michael A. Costello , Thomas R. Leinbach , AND Richard Ulack . Soviet Asia: Economic Development and National Policy Choices . Leslie Dienes . The Third World City . David Drakakis -Smith . Scholars' Guide to Washington, DC for Cartography and Remote Sensing Imagery (maps, charts, aerial photographs, satellite images, cartographic literature and geographic information systems). Ralph E. Ehrenberg . Population and Development in the Third World . Allan AND Anne Findlay . The Early Mapping of Hawaii . Gary L. Fitzpatrick . Energetics of Physical Environment: Energetic Approaches to Physical Geography . K. J. Gregory , ED. Wildland Recreation: Ecology and Management . William E. Hammitt and David N. Cole . Agricultural Commercialization and Government Policy in Africa . J. Hinderink AND J. J. Sterkenburg . The Dynamics of American Housing . James W. Hughes AND George Sternlieb . Thailand: Buddhist Kingdom as Modern Nation State . Charles F. Keyes . Resolving Locational Conflict . Robert W. Lake , ED. Lands at Risk in the Third World: Local-level Perspectives . Peter D. Little and Michael M. Horowitz , EDS. Nathaniel Southgate Shaler and the Culture of American Science . David N. Livingstone . Regions: The Economics and Politics of Territory . Ann R. Markusen . Wetlands . William J. Mitsch and James G. Gosselink . Historical Geography: Progress and Prospect . Michael Pacione , ED. Loess and Periglacial Phenomena . Marton P$eacsi and Hugh M. French , EDS. Regional Management of Metropolitan Floodplains, Experience in the United States and Abroad . Rutherford H. Platt , ED. Human Cartography: Mapping the World of Man . Janos Szegö . Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History . Helen H. Tanner , ED. The Botany of Mangroves . P. B. Tomlinson . Urban Spatial Traffic Patterns . Rodney Vaughan . The Night After … Climatic and Biological Consequences of a Nuclear War . Yevgeni Velikhov , ED. Industrial Geography . H. D. Watts . Dictionary of Quotations in Geography . James O. Wheeler and Francis M. Sibley . Vermont Townscape . Norman Wiliams , Jr. , Edmund K. Kellogg and Peter M. Lavigne .     

Is there a role for potential supervised injection facilities in Victoria,British Columbia,Canada?

Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) are medical facilities where injection drug users can inject their illicit drugs under the supervision of nurses and doctors. Currently, there is only one legal SIF in operation in North America and it has been operating in Vancouver, British Columbia for over a decade. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the current facility needs to be expanded to other locations in British Columbia, Canada. We employ mathematical modeling to estimate the number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C infections prevented based on the available secondary data. Additionally, we also estimate the number of prevented overdose deaths attributable to the SIF. With very conservative estimates, it is predicted that establishing two SIFs locations outside Vancouver in British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria, is cost-effective, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.25:1. It appears that expanding SIFs to Victoria could offer significant savings for local health care institutions.     

船体结构腐蚀检测规划的成本及效益分析

建立了基于风险的船体结构腐蚀优化检测规划的成本-效益分析模型。以费效比作为选择最优检测策略的标准,最优的检测策略是在保证结构设计工作寿命期内的可靠指标大于最低可靠指标的基础上,使得结构生命周期内总的费效比最大。在此基础上,以受点腐蚀损伤的船体构件为例,对其检测策略进行了成本-效益评估,并对计算结果进行了敏感性分析。结果表明,基于风险的成本及效益分析方法可以将检测规划的经济性和可靠性有效地结合起来,能够在风险与成本之间达到一种平衡,它在优化检测策略时是有效的。     

基于成本—收益的长三角地方政府的区域合作行为机制案例分析

在全球化和区域一体化背景下,区域合作已成为各地区应对全球化、增强竞争力的重要手段,政府又在促进区域合作中扮演着至关重要的角色。本文以博弈论和政府行为理论为基础,结合利益相关者和成本收益分析法,提出共享型、损益型、比较利益型三种地方政府合作模式及其成本—收益分析框架,并据此考察中国区域合作典范长三角地区的旅游、交通、环境三个关键领域的合作博弈案例,深入阐释基于成本—收益的政府不同合作模式的合作动力、行为及其策略等,使之丰富区域一体化和城市政府合作等研究,也为进一步推动长三角一体化提供科学参考。     

The Socio-Economic Costs and Benefits of Coastal Habitat Rehabilitation and Creation

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the merits and limitations of using an economics based approach to assess and implement initiatives for coastal habitat rehabilitation and creation. A review of the literature indicates that habitat rehabilitation/creation costs vary widely between and within ecosystems. For coral reefs, costs range from US$ 10,000 to 6.5 million/hectare (ha);¹ for mangroves US$ 3000–510,000/ha; for seagrasses US$ 9000–680,000/ha and for saltmarshes US$ 2000–160,000/ha. A review of the economic benefits derived from various coastal habitats based on a ‘Total Economic Value’ approach (i.e. accounting for direct and indirect uses, and ‘non-uses’) reveals that many thousands of US$ per hectare could ultimately accrue from their rehabilitation/creation. The paper concludes that despite its limitations, the ‘benefit-cost analysis’ framework can play an important role both in assessing the justification of coastal habitat rehabilitation/creation initiatives, and by helping to improve the overall effectiveness of such initiatives.     

基于供水风险分析的汛限水位控制范围研究

以大连市碧流河水库为例,根据大连市供用水系统的风险及其变化过程,分析超蓄洪水资源的利用情况及其效益,并在对抬高水库汛限水位造成的淹没损失分析的基础上,利用边际成本分析方法确定控制的范围。计算结果表明,随着大连市用水量的增加,碧流河水库汛限水位可适当抬高。