Resource Base of Peasants in the Brazilian Amazon: Planning Solutions for Current Problems of Sustainability

Abstract — This is the second paper of a series following a study carried out in the Brazilian Amazon region of peasant livelihoods, their current character and problems of sustainability. It analyses how different people might be affected by environmental degradation in the region by looking at their social and economic activities, the degree of dependency on wild resources, land ownership and the social relations underpinning the structure of the labour force. The study covers three districts within the ecological system of terra firme. Extractivist activities generate income and contribute considerably to food supplies throughout the year. Access to these resources is not generally tied to ownership. Environmental degradation may reduce the future availability of resources or, alternatively, attack health directly. Peasants exposure to these risks is assessed and the long-term sustainability of their livelihoods examined. Possible planning solutions to problems are presented and the more recent debate on the creation of conservation units (SNUC) in Brazil is discussed.     

试论我国海洋污染刑事立法

海洋污染严重地威胁着人类的生存环境 ,也给 2 1世纪开发与利用海洋蒙上了一层阴影。全球已充分认识到维护海洋、保护海洋的重要性 ,在海洋环境污染防治上实行广泛、有效的国际合作已成为必要。借鉴国外发达国家对海洋污染的刑事规定 ,结合我国的污染现状 ,及早在我国的刑法体系中确立污染海洋罪是非常必要的。     

重大环境污染事故罪防控分析

重大环境污染事故罪具有隐蔽性、复杂性、反复性等特性,结合该罪的构成要件认为,要加强其防控需树立新的刑法价值理念;完善立法;强化司法实践工作能力,做好司法解释工作,加强环保行政执法部门和司法机关协作,在举证责任承担上引入责任倒置或责任转移原则;同时要加大社会综合治理力度,加强环境执法机关的基础工作,发挥非政府组织、新闻媒体的作用,在畅通公众参与举报,揭发环境资源犯罪的渠道等方面作出相应的努力。     

试论国际航空承运人对旅客的赔偿制度及我国立法对策

1929年以来,世界各国在民用航空领域相继达成了一系列国际条约或协定,其中以1929年华沙公约为主轴,因此,这一系列条约所形成的国际航空承运人赔偿制度,被国际民航界称之为“华沙体系”。2003年正式生效的1999年蒙特利尔公约对“华沙体系”进行了修改,形成了新的国际承运人责任赔偿制度,我国应当与蒙特利尔公约接轨,进一步完善有关的国内立法。     

Suicide by Intentional Air embolism

Venous air embolism occurs when air enters the venous system. The main causes of venous air embolism include medical procedures, neck and head trauma, and injuries of the genitals. Self‐induced suicidal (and intentional) air embolism is extremely rare. The authors report a rare case of a suicidal air embolism committed using a self‐made tool composed of a plastic bottle and an infusion set, injecting nearly 2000 mL of air into the cubital vein. The toxicological analysis suggested that midazolam, together with air, was also injected into the circulation using the same bottle and infusion set.     

外国土壤污染防治立法之比较研究

当前,世界各国采取了独立的立法模式和附属性立法模式规范土壤污染防治制度。在土壤污染防治立法上,采取独立的立法模式更有利于系统规制土壤污染防治制度,实现有效预防和治理被污染土壤之目的,这种立法模式是土壤污染防治立法的发展趋势。因此,为应对我国土壤污染问题,我国应该采取独立的立法模式,尽快制定《土壤污染防治法》。     

Transitions from dirty to clean energy in low-income countries: insights from Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACT

Air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels in developing counties is a global challenge due its climate change and health effects. Dirty fuel and air pollution have become a serious issue in many Central Asian countries. This article studies the factors that affect household decisions to transition from dirty energy to clean modern fuels using panel data from Kyrgyzstan. The article argues that the choice of fuel depends on a number of endogenous and exogenous factors. Contrary to the conventional wisdom of the ‘energy ladder’ hypothesis, high income does not lead to a full switch to modern fuel, but rather facilitates the transition to consumption of energy from multiple fuel sources. Factors that increase the chances of full fuel transition are education and access to gas. By contrast, the number of elderly family members and size of the house negatively affect the transition to clean energy use.     

论我国水环境与水资源行政管理体制的改革

水对人类的重要性不言而喻,我国将水资源与水环境分别交由水利部门及环境保护部门管理,同时其他相关政府部门在各自的职责范围内配合水利部门和环境保护部门对水环境与水资源进行管理,流域管理机构虽然已经建立,但流域管理机构的作用并没有完全发挥出来。为实现保护水资源和水环境,有必要改革现行的双重管理体制,建立水环境与水资源综合管理体制,完善各部门之间的协调机制,增强流域管理机构的作用。     

Community Privilege and Environmental Justice: An Agent‐Based Analysis

Several theories compete to explain observed race‐ and ethnicity‐based environmental injustice in society. This paper focuses on analyzing the extent to which firms' siting decisions based on community privilege can explain this outcome. A unique feature of this analysis is that we include analysis of both unwanted land uses (disamenity firms) and desired land uses (amenity firms). The environmental justice analysis of amenities other than green spaces is rare, but amenities are crucial components of urban areas to which environmental justice studies must attend. We use an agent‐based model to explore community outcomes when environmental disamenities choose locations based on low community privilege, and compare this with scenarios in which disamenities only seek to minimize the cost of land. We also assess differences in environmental justice outcomes when amenities choose locations in areas with high community privilege. While disamenities' focus on locating in areas with low community privilege indeed affects environmental equity, the effect of amenity location is also important, and there are powerful interaction effects. The importance of privilege‐based location is found in these simulations regardless of which social group—majority or minority—is assumed to be the privileged group. This study suggests a limitation of EJ policies and models that focus on the politics of disamenity siting without considering the politics of amenity siting.     

Front‐line Regulators and their Approach to Environmental Regulation in Southwest Ohio

Regulatory approaches and strategies are frequently the subject of study in various literatures, but that examination focuses on practices rather than looking more deeply at the nature of regulatory interactions. Also missing is a more thorough look at what it is front‐line regulators—in this case, environmental inspectors and site coordinators—desire in their interactions and how they perceive their regulatory counterparts. Interviews with regulators in Southwest Ohio reveal that 82 percent of them think the regulated community intends to comply with regulations. Additionally, 71 percent of regulators say that their interactions are positive with the regulated community with three‐quarters indicating that trust plays a role in these interactions. Only 36 percent of interviewees prefer a clear cut and consistent approach while the rest favor a collaborative approach or some combination thereof. These findings should impact discussions concerning regulatory approaches in environmental policy, particularly conversations concerning next‐generation policies.