Detection of Multi-dimensional Driving Forces of Public Environmental Concern in China:Based on Spatial Heterogeneity Perspectives

Public environmental concern(PEC)is an important bottom-up force in building an environmentally sustainable society.Guided by attitude theory,this paper innovatively constructed a PEC evaluation index system,while introducing entropy weighted-TOPSIS(Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution)to realize the assessment of PEC.Exploratory spatial data analysis was used to portray the spatio-temporal evolution patterns of PEC in 362 Chinese cities at prefecture-level and above from 2011 to 2018.Furthermore,the Geodetector model was performed to identify the multi-dimensional determinants of PEC from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity.The results indicated that:1)PEC in China exhibited a fluctuating upward trend,consistent with the spatial distribution law of‘Heihe-Tengchong Line’and‘Bole-Taipei Line’;2)the driving effect of each factor varied dynamically,but in general,economic development level,population size,industrial wastewater,and education level were the dominant driving factors explaining the spatial variation of PEC;3)risk detection revealed that four factors,government environmental regulations,PM_(2.5),vegetation coverage,and natural resource endowment,had nonlinear effects on PEC;4)the interactions between factors all demonstrated an enhancement in explaining the spatial differentiation of PEC.PEC was driven by the comprehensive interaction of four-dimensional factors of economy,society,pollutant emissions,and ecology.Among them,population agglomeration accompanied by a high level of regional economy and information technology can explain the increase in PEC to the greatest extent.

Motives Underlying Organic Food Consumption in Turkey： Impact of Health, Environment, and Consumer Values on Purchase Intentions

Raising ecological awareness and health concerns create question marks about healthiness and sustainability of conventional foods in customers＇ minds. Due to augmented mass media coverage of environmental problems, health concerns related to consumption of genetically modified food and/or chemical contaminants in food, and consumers＇ increasing interest in healthy nutrition and environmental protection, there is a growing interest for organic foods in all over the world. Growing interest for organic foods, and increasing production and demand in organic food market has made organic food consumption a significant topic of research. Although organic food market and demand for organic foods have also been growing in Turkey, literature regarding organic food consumption is not very extensive. Therefore, this study aims to understand the underlying motives for organic food consumption in Turkey, and to explore the factors affecting Turkish consumers＇ attitudes towards organic foods and the behavioral intention of Turkish consumers to purchase organic food by the help of the theory of reasoned action （TRA）. The results of 622 successful surveys used for this empirical research indicate that Turkish consumers＇ attitudes towards organic foods are determined by perception of organic foods, consumer values, and price perception, while their purchase intention is determined by health consciousness, perception of organic foods, consumer values, price perception, and environmental concerns.

Current status and strategy of hazardous waste management in China

This paper deals briefly with the pollution caused by hazardous wastes in China, the hazardous waste management at present and the strategy that should be taken for hazardous waste management in the future. Hazardous waste problem has become one of the important environmental concerns in China. Hazardous waste have resulted in ecological and environmental destruction, caused damage to human health, and restricted economic development. Although a great effort has been devoted to the management of hazardous wastes, there remain many issues in legislation, experience, technology and finance to be solved. Some recommendations are made on the strategic measures for improving the hazardous waste management in China, particularly relating to legislation, technical development and international cooperation.

Harvard’s Professor McElroy Stirs Environmental Concerns in Tsinghua Forum Lecture

Harvard University＇s Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies, Michael B. McElroy, delivered a stirring talk in the Tsinghua Forum Lecture Series in the Main Building on April 14, 2009, on the global challenges facing a low-carbon energy future and its potential benefits for air quality and public health. From Professor McElroy＇s lecture, the audience gradually developed a more tangible understanding of the seri- ousness of the global warming problem and the importance of replacing fossil fuels like coal,

The International Conference on Environmental Concerns and Emerging Abatement Technologies

"The International Conference on Environmental Concerns and Emerging Abatement Technologies" co-sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Netherlands Organization for

How does environmental concern influence public acceptability of congestion charging?Evidence from Beijing

As a market-based instrument of transportation demand management,congestion charge can not only effectively reduce traffic congestion,but also improve air quality.However,due to its low public acceptability,this policy only has a few urban practices.As one of the fast-growing metropolises in emerging economies that are facing both traffic congestion and industrial pollution problems,Beijing is now considering the feasibility of implementing congestion charging.Some researchers address that though people with strong environmental concerns are more prone to support congestion charges,the associations between environmental concerns and support for congestion charges are context-dependent.A survey was conducted in Beijing in 2016 to understand how the pollution context in cities of emerging economies affects these associations.We find that the acceptability in Beijing is 33%,and expected policy effects and environmental concerns are the most important impact factors.Due to the influence of the regional industrial pollution context,most residents in Beijing do not consider congestion charge to be an effective way to tackle air pollution.Under these circumstances,even if the public environmental concerns,in general,are high and congestion charges are“marketed”as environmental policies,there is no guarantee that policy support will rise.

Review of Sustainable Agriculture: Promotion, Its Challenges and Opportunities in Japan

Agricultural ecosystems are the largest managed ecosystem in the world.The sustainable development of agriculture is significant to the reversion of dramatic loss of biological diversity in the world.Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） project launched by Food and Agriculture Organization （FAO） of the United Nations is among the global efforts to conserve and dynamically manage the specific agricultural knowledge system and landscapes.Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries （MAFF）,Japan stressed the environmental concern of conventional farming practices in Japan in 1992.Noto Peninsula and Sado City were designated as two new GIAHS pilot sites in Japan as part of local level initiative to preserve the traditional agricultural systems in 2011.This paper reviewed the development process of sustainable farming in Japan and analyzed the challenges and new possibilities to its further extension.The current situation of various sustainable farming practices：such as farming with reduced input of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to conserve rich biodiversity,and organic farming,were reviewed.Emphasis was given to the sustainable farming practices in Hokuriku region,in particular,Ishikawa Prefecture and Sado City in Niigata Prefecture.Based on the recent official documents,reports and research papers,policy implication was brought forward.The challenges of sustainable farming practices and market valuation of sustainable farming products were analyzed.It was concluded that the environmental concerns of farmers and consumers are key to extend the sustainable farming practice in Japan.Conversion to bottom up policy making process paying attention to farmers＇interest with involvement of multi stakeholders including government,researchers and private sectors is effective for sustainable farming extension.

Desulphurization of Hot Metal and Ferronickel With Calcium Aluminate Fluxes

Traditionally, fluxes containing calcium fluoride and other additives are used for the treatment of hot metal and molten steel. Recently, magnesium powder or lime-Mg mixture is used more popularly in hot metal desulphurization. However, the use of calcium fluoride has been restricted due to environmental concerns, and the supply of magnesium is uncertain for the countries, which are short of magnesium resource. For those reasons, calcium aluminate fluxes are a possible alternative to replace slags containing calcium fluoride or magnesium. Calcium aluminate fluxes can be produced from three different raw materials: (1) high-quality bauxite, (2) residuals from aluminum dross treatment processes and (3) waste products from alumina production. Due to the limited amount and high cost associated with high-quality bauxite, the other two sources are preferred based on both economic and environmental considerations. The objective of this paper is to examine the use of waste slags and by-products from the aluminum industry as potential refining fluxes for the steel industry so that waste disposal from the aluminum industry can be reduced with economical and environmental benefits for both industrial sectors.