后代人权利理论批判

当今世界环境学科领域存在着具有广泛影响的“后代人权利”理论。但后代人权利论者用以支持后代人权利的各种证据都无法在逻辑上必然推出后代人享有权利的结论。后代人权利理论赖以成立的预设性前提也是虚构的客观事实。虽然近代以来，传统权利的主体范围确实有所扩展，但这种扩展并非是随意的。权利不可能扩展到后代人权利论者所说的“后代人”身上。环境义务是后代人权利理论的本质，也是后代人权利理论的正确出路和归宿。     

循环经济发展中的公众参与:问题与思考

循环经济的发展离不开公众的参与。但是,我国公众在参与意识和参与理念上与循环经济发展的要求仍有很大差距;在参与主体上相对单一,民间环保组织参与不足;在参与内容上过于狭窄,公众参与权有限;在参与方式和参与途径上亦难以有效满足公众参与的要求。因此,亟需加强对公众参与意识和环境保护理念的培养和教育,促进民间环保组织的发展并充分发挥其在公众参与中的积极作用,扩大公众参与的权利,并不断拓展公众参与的方式与途径。     

Competition and cooperative practices in Sino-Japanese energy and environmental relations: towards an energy security ‘risk community’?

Abstract

This article reexamines the conventional wisdom that characterizes Sino-Japanese energy relations as predominantly competitive, but views Sino-Japanese environmental relations as essentially cooperative. Using sociological theories of risk, it is argued that Sino-Japanese cooperation is more likely in both the energy and environmental areas when common risks are perceived and relative gains are minimized. Despite their many conflicting strategic, political, and economic interests, as energy importers who are vulnerable to supply interruptions in the Middle East and competitors for global energy supplies, China and Japan share common risks to their energy security. Consequently, there actually may be increasing opportunities for China and Japan to address their common concerns through bilateral and multilateral cooperative practices, such as common positions on pricing or energy conservation initiatives. Although one would expect China and Japan to highlight their mutual interests in tackling environmental problems such as air pollution, in fact relative gains often impede cooperation. Japan increasingly views China as an economic competitor and is reducing environmental aid, while China continues to set a priority on economic growth, which sets limits on the use of costlier Japanese green technologies. By examining a selection of scholarly articles, reports and newspaper articles by Chinese and Japanese analysts, as well as material from interviews in Beijing and Tokyo in May–June 2007, the paper shows how environmental and energy issues in Sino-Japanese relations may be framed as threats, requiring counter-measures, or common risks, which can be addressed through cooperative practices. Lastly, the paper discusses the possibility of the development of an energy security ‘risk community’ as cooperative practices develop between China and Japan. Nonetheless, conflicting political interests, strategies, and self-images, accentuating relative gains, may provide obstacles to their cooperation in both energy security and environmental protection.     

Comment on Dowell Myers and Elizabeth Gearin's “current preferences and future demand for denser residential environments”

Abstract

New construction reflects demand for housing that cannot be met by existing stock. Although a change in the overall preference for denser residential environments could have a disproportionate impact on the characteristics of new homes, it is not clear that changing demographics or changing tastes will call for such a change.     

The myth of social capital in community development

Abstract

This article argues that contemporary interest in social capital by community development theorists, funders, and practitioners is misguided and needs to be thoroughly rethought. It argues that social capital, as understood by Robert Putnam and people influenced by his work, is a fundamentally flawed concept because it fails to understand issues of power in the production of communities and because it is divorced from economic capital. Therefore, community development practice based on this understanding of social capital is, and will continue to be, similarly flawed.

The article further argues that instead of Putnam's understanding of social capital, community development practice would be better served by returning to the way the concept was used by Glenn Loury and Pierre Bourdieu and concludes with a discussion of how these alternative theories of social capital can be realized in community development practice.     

俄罗斯太平洋石油管道建设的地缘政治分析

随着中俄原油管道建成投入运营,东北亚地区的石油管道之争似乎告一段落。解读管道之争背后真正在起决定作用的地缘因素,对一个国家的能源安全和能源战略更有借鉴意义。从地理学空间关系的相互依赖性、干扰因素、距离、运输方式等视角对俄罗斯太平洋管道之争的始末波折及未来可能出现的问题进行分析,可探究地缘环境要素及空间关系的各个方面是如何影响到一个国家对能源安全的控制权、如何影响对本国战略利益的保障等地缘纷争的核心内容。     

Upset over Air Pollution: Analyzing Upset Event Emissions at Petroleum Refineries

The Clean Air Act (CAA) controls routine emissions at petroleum refineries, by creating limits and penalties for excess emissions. The CAA offers provisions for upset events, air emissions released because of unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances, if companies report the emissions and take corrective action. States enforce upset event rules and many states provide exemptions for a variety of circumstances, which may allow upset emissions to become a substantial, yet mostly unregulated source of emissions. We catalog the quantity and type of emissions generated during upset events at 18 Texas petroleum refineries from 2003 to 2008. We find that upset events occur frequently at these facilities and are collectively large in magnitude, emitting a combined total of 75 million lbs of emissions. In a select number of cases, single upset events exceeded annual emissions reported to the Toxics Release Inventory. Future research should assess the accuracy of upset event reporting and impact of upset events on environmental health.     

我国青年群体创业态势研究

推进青年创业是解决我国当今青年就业问题的有效途径。近年来,在相关政策措施的扶持下,我国青年创业态势良好,活力明显,活动规范,但仍存在资源不足、能力较低和环境不良等问题,这些问题主要体现在创业资金缺乏、知识欠缺和社会经验不足几个方面。经济的发展为创业提供了更大的舞台,但需要加强青年的创业培训,改善社会心理环境,健全创业教育体系。     

Measuring State Environmental Policy

Studies of environmental policy employ various empirical strategies for measuring state environmental effort. The majority of these strategies can be divided into four categories: indices of state programmatic indicators, government expenditures, pollution abatement costs, and regulatory enforcement actions. In this article, we argue that these measures are empirically distinct, capture different attributes of state environmental policy, and are correlated with different intrastate factors. Thus, the choice among environmental policy measures is substantively important for researchers to consider, and we conclude by providing advice to scholars concerning choosing among these measures.     

The Shale Gas Revolution: U.S. and EU Policy and Research Agendas

The “shale gas revolution” raises a host of questions for policy makers and researchers on both sides of the Atlantic. We provide a brief overview of the regulatory environment as it relates to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the United States and the European Union. We then pose a set of open questions, which we believe should shape policy and research agendas surrounding shale gas wherever the development of this resource is being pursued or considered.