Environmental quality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, searchEnvironmental quality is a set of properties and characteristics of the environment, either generalized or local, as they impinge on human beings and other organisms.
Environmental quality is a general term which can refer to varied characteristics that relate to the natural environment as well as the built environment, such as air and water purity or pollution, noise and the potential effects which such characteristics may have on physical and mental health caused by human activities.[1]
In the USA the term is applied with a body of federal and state standards and regulations that are monitored by regulatory agencies. All states in the U.S. have some form of a department or commission[2] that is responsible for a variety of activities such as monitoring quality, responding to citizen complaints, and enforcing environmental regulations. The agency with the lead implementation responsibility for most major federal environmental laws (e.g. Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act) is the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other federal agencies with significant oversight roles include the Council on Environmental Quality, Department of the Interior and the Army Corps of Engineers.
In the UK environment has been the primary responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Predecessor bodies were merged in 2001 to create this department with a broader remit to link rural activities to the natural environment. Some responsibilities are devolved to the Scottish Government and the National Assembly for Wales, while delivery of environmental initiatives often use partners, including: British Waterways, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, and Natural England. DEFRA also has a remit to oversee impacts of activities within the built environment and the United Kingdom Climate Change Programme.
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[edit] See also
2009年10月19日 星期一
Environmental quality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
via en.wikipedia.org
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2009年10月18日 星期日
不是人為破壞 你的車被隕石砸中了-真像JOJO的劇情呀
不是人為破壞 你的車被隕石砸中了
更新日期:2009/10/17 08:01（中央社記者張若霆多倫多16日專電）加拿大新聞社報導，安大略省西南部一戶人家停車道停放的卡車，9月25日晚，被天外飛來隕石砸中，穿透了卡車的擋風玻璃。
車主賈金斯基（Tony Garchinski）表示，當時他們以為有人惡意破壞，用石頭砸破他停在車道上的卡車擋風玻璃。他於是將石頭收藏好當證物，準備找到破壞者打官司。
上周，西安大略大學研究人員呼籲住在西南安省格林斯比（Grimsby）地區的民眾，注意自家附近有無發現不尋常石頭。因為研究人員正在尋找9月25日夜晚，落在這個地區的隕石。
賈金斯金聽到這項呼籲後，便與西安大略大學研究人員聯絡。研究人員前來查看後，鑑定砸破賈金斯基車窗的石頭，就是隕石。
賈金斯基表示，他沒想到，這塊天外飛來、已有46億年歷史的石頭，竟會落在他家車窗上。
限量款藍寶堅尼撞毀 掛試車牌違規上國道-有名車在台灣特別容易撞毀或火燒的八卦嗎？
限量款藍寶堅尼撞毀 掛試車牌違規上國道
更新日期:2009/10/18 11:35 社會中心／台北報導北二高南下32.2公里、靠近安坑交流道旁，一輛藍寶堅尼跑車今天(18日)清晨疑似失控打滑撞毀，出事的這輛藍寶堅尼LP710市價至少2000多萬元，車身還有彩繪，由於油耗量太大，在台灣只能掛試車牌，不能開上高速公路，不過駕駛不但酒駕，還違規開上高速公路。
藍寶堅尼成了一堆爛鐵，安全氣囊就像破布一樣，掛在方向盤上，不但車門飛了、內裝外露，就連後面兩個輪胎都不見了，拖吊人員超小心，這輛車隨便一個零件飛走，可能都要好幾萬元，因為它是最新款的藍寶堅尼LP710。
出事的這款藍寶堅尼LP710俗稱「蠻牛」，它有超強的710匹馬力，從0加速到100公里只要3.2秒，再加上車身限量彩繪，售價至少要2000萬元。撞得稀爛的名車，荊棘圖案的彩繪圖騰還在車身上，不過另外一半畫有骷髏頭的車門早已經被撞飛，車身躺在另一輛吊車上，零件支離破碎，而特殊材質的膠合玻璃，經過這麼猛烈的撞擊，也只有裂痕，沒有傷到車主。
因為這輛跑車油耗量太大，CC數達到6000，在台灣只能掛試車牌，並不能開上高速公路，但車主不但酒駕，還違反規定開上高速公路，今年8月才申請的試車牌，開不到2個月，就把整輛名車撞爛，讓人看了也心疼。(新聞來源：東森新聞記者謝家璇、黃淳璟)
2009年10月17日 星期六
A Limit to Globalization? Fuzzy Chaos Modelling in Ecology and Economics - a knol by Klaus Rohde
Limit to Globalization? Fuzzy Chaos Modelling in Ecology and Economics
Keeping national economies segregated may dampen excessive fluctuations in the global economy
Chaotic fluctuations in population sizes are reduced in metapopulations consisting of several largely independent subpopulations with different reproductive rates.This may suggest that chaotic fluctuations are much stronger in single large economies, or a single completely globalized economy, than in the world economy consisting of national economies that are to a degree separated.
Contents
Background
Chaos theory applied to ecology has shown that chaotic fluctuations in population sizes occur when a population exceeds a certain rate of intrinsic population growth. In nature, populations (metapopulations) are often composed of several to many subpopulations, which are largely (not necessarily completely) segregated from each other. Fuzzy chaos modelling, which considers the dynamics of a metapopulation comprised of many subpopulations, shows that the amplitude of chaotic oscillations is reduced in the metapopulation, even though each subpopulation retains the “normal” degree of chaos. Generally, the greater the number of subpopulations, the smaller the oscillations in the metapopulation. Here we examine whether these findings can be applied to economics. Is a single completely globalized economy perhaps more liable to undergo violent market upheavals than a world economy in which national economies have retained some degree of independence?Chaos theory in biology
May (e.g. 1975 [1]) and others after him, using the apparently simple nonlinear equation for population growth xt+1= rxt (1- xt ) (where xt = size of population of generation t, xt+1= size of population of generation t+1, r = intrinsic rate of population growth), have shown that chaotic fluctuations in the size of populations arise due to high intrinsic (not affected by environmental influences) rates of population growth r. When population growth is low, populations are at equilibrium, reaching a steady-state with a single value of population size. When reproductive rates exceed 3, there are at first 2 quasi-equilibrium values, followed (with increasing reproductive rates) by 4, 8 and 16 quasi-equilibrium points. At rates exceeding r=3.57, population sizes fluctuate chaotically (Figures 1 and 2). These fluctuations seem to be random, but are in fact strictly deterministic. The fluctuations are highly sensitive to initial conditions, i.e. small differences in the initial population size lead to very large differences in future fluctuations, which makes predictions about the future impossible.Figure 1: Bifurcation diagram for a single population, showing population sizes x (as the proportion of the crowding level 1) plotted against reproductive rates r. Insets show changes of population sizes of populations with selected reproductive rates plotted against time. Note: the population size is at a stable equilibrium with single values of x until a certain value of r (larger than 3) is reached. Beyond this, populations first alternate between two quasi-equilibrium points, then between 4, 8 and 16. At r=3.57 fluctuations in population size become chaotic. Note: x never exceeds the crowding level 1.Figure 2. As Figure 1, but shown only for r-values above 3.50.Fuzzy chaos in ecology
Rohde and Rohde (2001 [2]), using fuzzy chaos modelling, which sums all values of subpopulation sizes at each particular reproductive rate, have shown that chaotic fluctuations are reduced in metapopulations consisting of several largely independent subpopulations with different reproductive rates, although each single subpopulation still undergoes chaotic fluctuations. Reduction generally increases with increasing numbers of subpopulations. It decreases when subpopulations are selectively weighted, because a few large subpopulations outweigh a large number of smaller ones. The fact that chaos is reduced in the metapopulation is the effect of how chaos is measured: in the metapopulation, individual values are added and chaos in the resulting net population is necessarily suppressed, in spite of the fact that each subpopulation retains the chaos pattern of a single population. The resulting compression of the chaotic band in the metapopulation is entirely a consequence of the fact that fluctuations in the size of subpopulations are out of phase with each other. An example is given in Figure 3, which shows a bifurcation diagram for a metapopulation consisting of 5000 subpopulations (illustrated only for reproductive rates of r=3.50 and larger). Note that the width (amplitude) of the fluctuations, compared with Figures 1 and 2, is significantly reduced except for a few r-values.Figure 3. Bifurcation diagram for a metapopulation consisting of 5000 subpopulations shown only for r-values above 3.50. Note: chaotic fluctuations above r=3.57 are still apparent, but much compressed. Strong fluctuations are largely restricted to a few values of r (3.63, 3.74, 3.84).Application of fuzzy chaos modelling to economics
Can these findings be applied to economics? They certainly suggest that chaotic fluctuations, because they are all in phase (i.e., all troughs occur together, as do the peaks), are much stronger in single large economies or in one completely globalized economy, than in the world economy consisting of national economies that are, to a degree, separated. Because “peaks” and “troughs” of the fluctuations of individual economies are out of phase in the latter case, resources - on a world-wide basis - during a recession (bust) would not be devastated to the same degree as they would be in a single global economy, at least not at the same particular point in time. In a nutshell: imagine a world economy which is completely globalized, without any economic boundaries, and imagine a world-wide economic collapse caused by excessive debts (or some other factors) at the centre of that economy, for example the United States. The social consequences may be disastrous, in particular for poorer countries, much more so than in a situation where national economies would have retained some degree of independence and are therefore less affected by a simultaneous collapse. Naturally, booms in a fragmented world economy also would be reduced relative to those in a single globalized economy.Of course, one can only speculate how such segregation could be maintained. Would the existence of different financial systems in the world (such as the traditional Western capitalist system and the Islamic finance system) perhaps be useful? After all, during the Asian financial crisis in the 1990's Malaysia escaped the worst consequences of the collapse because it sought refuge in Islamic financing, thus isolating itself from the Western banking system and particular the IMF. Reasons inherent in the philosophy behind Islamic financing may be partly responsible, but in our context it is important that two different systems existed which were responsible for a "decoupling" of the economies.- On a smaller scale: would the breaking up of the few oversized financial institutions (banks) into smaller units, as recently suggested by Paul Volcker, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, perhaps help in avoiding future large-scale collapses ? Serious errors committed by managers of one bank would not affect other banks, at least if the break-up would go hand in hand with the introduction of regulations that ensures a certain degree of segregation in the banks' practices. After all, larger is not always better. Perhaps it is time to have another look at Schumacher's (1973) classic: Small is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered [3].Possible objections
It is important to note that in the fuzzy chaos model, individual subpopulations (or national economies) still exhibit the usual degree of chaos, even though the metapopulation (or world economy) shows reduced chaos. This raises the question as to whether the chaos exhibited by the net world economy is a valid metric to use. One could argue that what matters to the individual in the world economy is not how chaotic the sum of all economies is, but how much chaos they are subjected to. - An objection to this objection is: it all depends on the mechanisms available for transferring funds ("help") from one economy to another. In a single globalized economy all individual economies would be in a bust (and boom) at the same point of time, and transfer between economies in a bust would be severely limited. In economies at different stages of the cycle, transfer should at least in principle be possible, if appropriate mechanisms were developed. - This corresponds to what we find in nature. In species of animals and plants threatened by extinction, those consisting of metapopulations with many subpopulations have a greater chance of survival than species with a single population. In times of severe crisis, some subpopulations of the former will disappear, but their habitats can be resettled by a few individuals from other habitats, because subpopulations are never completely isolated from each other. In the latter, once the population is gone, it cannot recover. Another possible objection is that all this is an exercise in theory, but that it will be impossible to change the world's economic system in such a way that effective interactions between economies will be, to a degree, prevented. However, there may be cultural and environmental reasons in addition to economic ones, which may make it desirable to maintain a certain degree of separation between national identities, enhancing our motivation for introducing appropriate measures. At this stage we do not know how a total globalization would affect cultural diversity and the environment, both essential for humanity's survival. South Korea's plan to lease 1 1/2 million hectares of land in Madagascar for growing corn to be exported to South Korea, may be an indication of things to come. Madagaskar has one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and the consequences of such huge monocultures would be disastrous. Other examples, already existent now, are the vast palmoil plantations in Borneo and the huge cattle ranches in the Amazon. Borneo and the Amazon have the Earth's richest and second richest tropical rainforests, respectively.Conclusion
I realize that this approach is highly unconventional and may not be applicable to economics. Nevertheless, it may induce people to think the problem over, perhaps initiating a discussion on this site.Acknowledgement
I thank Peter Rohde for many very helpful comments. Peter was involved in developing the fuzzy chaos model and wrote all the programs for it.References
- May, R.M. 1975. Deterministic models with chaotic dynamics. Nature 261, 903-910.
- Rohde, K. and Rohde, P.P. 2001. Fuzzy chaos: reduced chaos in the combined dynamics of several independently chaotic populations. American Naturalist 158, 553-556.
- Schumacher, E. F. 1973. Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered. Harper & Row. N.Y.
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交通罰鍰逾期金 不再加倍罰-Yahoo!奇摩新聞
交通罰鍰逾期金 不再加倍罰
更新日期:2009/10/16 17:28 賴宥霖【台灣醒報記者賴宥霖報導】交通部昨天修正罰單逾期繳納的裁罰基準，將分成三級，未來民眾輕微違規逾期最高只罰到30%，但較為嚴重違規仍可能超過30%，目前細節還在研議中，最快明年上半年公告。對此，學者肯定表示，逾期罰款罰的是逾期行為，而非違規行為，若一律罰鍰加倍相當不合理。
過去民眾交通違規罰單，如果超過繳納期限，最多可以累積到三倍，還有可能被移送法辦。交通部昨天指出，未來將會按照情節嚴重程度分級。
如違規行為罰鍰在一千二以下，例如未帶行照、駕照等輕微違規行為，罰鍰僅三百元，加罰金額頂多一、兩成；一千二至四千八，逾期以三成為限；四千八以上如闖紅燈、無照駕駛，則可能加罰四、五成。至於酒醉駕車、使用註銷執照等嚴重違規，會直接以三倍直接開罰，不會有逾期繳納問題。
中央警察大學交通系教授蔡中志表示，過去逾期罰款加倍本來就不合理，因為逾期罰款處罰的是逾期行為，並非違規本身，「就好像跟人借錢，利息金額卻變成本金兩倍一樣。」
交通部官員表示，交通部將在月底前研擬草案初稿，就細節部分訂出標準，預計明年上半年度完成修訂公告。
2009年10月16日 星期五
吳揆保證 中科廢水不排入雲林 － 那就是舊濁水溪跟彰化縣中獎囉？！
吳揆保證 中科廢水不排入雲林
更新日期:2009/10/17 03:23 許素惠／雲林報導中國時報【許素惠／雲林報導】
中科四期廢水排放問題，讓雲林、彰化兩縣吵得沸沸揚揚，先前邀中科管理局長楊文科蒞縣承諾，排除排入雲林縣轄案的立委張嘉郡，十六日在立院總質詢，又獲行政院長吳敦義保證絕不排入雲林縣，她強調吳院長的承諾有立院錄音錄影為證與正式公文書，要鄉親放心。
張嘉郡上月七日邀請楊文科在雲林縣議會召開中科四期廢水排放說明會，楊當場承諾會撤銷廢水排入濁水溪案。
排入濁水溪提案 縣民不滿
未料，日前在環保署召開的第五次環評小組初審會議還是把該案列入討論議案，而且還做出有條件通過決議，任由開發單位決定放流地點；換言之，中科局極有可能將廢水沿濁水溪畔埋設的管線排入濁水溪，引起縣民強烈不滿，怒斥楊文科欺騙立委，並將雲林縣民「莊孝維」。
對彰化縣爭取到中科四期，張嘉郡給予祝福，「但是，天底下哪有又要發展、增加就業率，卻將汙染丟給鄰縣的，這樣雲林人簡直比三等公民都不如！」她堅決反對中科四期廢水放流雲林縣。
吳敦義：將採海洋放流模式
吳敦義答詢保證，中科四期廢水絕對不會排放在雲林縣，而會採取海洋放流模式，提高汙染物管制標準，以最佳方案將排放水透過國光石化的用水需求，接收十三萬噸水（前處理過的廢水，重金屬含量較高），做為為國光石化半數冷卻水的用途。
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