Coal fires in China

Coal fires have a very long history in China; the oldest coal fires have being burning for many million years. Up to now more than 56 coal fires spots were distin-guished. They mainly locate in West-North of China, North of China and East-North of China. About millions of tons of coal have been burned in fires every year. Xinjiang Autonomy is the most serious region in coal fires as it has 38 coal fires spots and about 6.85 million tons of coal was burned every year. Coal fires in China ignited by wildfires, spontaneous combustion and human being during mining activities. These fires have re-leased about 0.9 million tons of gasses (including CO, CO2, SO2, NO2 CH4, CO2, H2S etc.) into the atmosphere every year, most of which are brought to the east by wind and result-ing more heavier air pollution in northern China.

Waste Minimization Practices at the National University of Costa Rica

In order to determine the quantity of laboratories doing waste minimization practice related with the USEPA （United State Environmental Protection Agency） pollution hierarchy, an initial diagnostic about waste management at laboratories was conducted. The data gathered were used to start a training to laboratory personnel training about EPA-PH （Environmental Protection Agency-Pollution Hierarchy）. After training new diagnostics were performed. The applications of waste minimization practices in the laboratories were analyzed before and after the training. The most poorly practices performed year by year during the study period were ＂substitute nonhazardous materials＂, ＂chemical treatment＂ and ＂distillation＂. ＂Redistribute surplus chemical＂ was performed in 22 labs, 30 labs and 48 labs during years 2010, 2011 and 2013 respectively as the most common practice. This study showed that training about pollution prevention hierarchy increased the number of laboratories doing waste minimization practices, prioritizing reduction and prevention from the source.

Quantificational Study on Carrying Capacity of the Regional Environment-Taking the City of Dalian as an Example

With the analysis of the connotation and charter of the regional environment＇s carrying capacity, this paper, firstly, establishes the index system on the base of the affecting factors. Secondly, this paper discusses the methods of the quantization of the environment＇s carrying capacity of Dalian. Finaly; this paper predicts the changing tendency of the environment＇s carrying capacity.

Ecology, Environment, Sustainability： The Development of the Environmental Movement in Israel

The article surveys the development of the environmental movement in Israel from the establishment of the state through the present day. Based on trends and transformations in the institutional planning system, it appears that activism by environmental movement organizations in Israel can be divided into three sub-periods： the establishment period, marked by the Sharon Plan, the founding of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and MALRAZ--Council for the Prevention of Noise and Air Pollution in Israel, and the enactment of the Kanovitch Law and the National Parks and Nature Reserves Law （1963）. The next phase of institutionalization is characterized by the establishment of designated institutional bodies--the Nature Reserves Authority, the National Parks Authority and the Environmental Protection Service, and their integration into the national planning system. The institutionalization period concludes with the establishment of the Ministry of the Environment （1989） and the transition to the third period, sustainability. Prominent during this period is a trend toward multidimensional proactive environmental planning and policymaking, reaching across many areas and including extensive regulation As far as environmental organizations are concerned, these three periods comprised a framework of cultural action in which they developed, acted and shaped environmental discourse and practice in Israel. Based on other studies, the article offers a model that illustrates the development of the environmental movement while emphasizing the interaction between individual actors, local organizing and national organizations. Finally, some characteristics and insights regarding activism by environmental organizations in Israel are suggested.

后冷战时代日本环境外交战略研究

冷战结束后,环境议题成为日本谋求"政治大国"地位的重要手段,其纳入日本对外战略框架有着深刻的国内社会背景和国际政治环境,以对外输出资本和环保技术为主要内容的日本环境外交战略在树立环保大国形象及提高国际声誉方面取得了一定成绩,但公益性的实施方式并没有改变其作为一国外交政策的利益性本质。

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Growth of Wheat Cultivated in Soil Amended with Digestate from Biogas Production

Digestate, the product obtained after anaerobic digestion of organic waste for biogas production, is rich in plant nutrients and might be used to fertilize crops. Wheat （Triticum spp. L.） was fertilized with digestate, urea, or left unfertilized and cultivated in the greenhouse for 120 d. Emissions of greenhouse gasses （carbon dioxide （CO2）, methane （CH4）, and nitrous oxide （N20）） were monitored and plant growth characteristics were determined at harvest. The digestate was characterized for heavy metals, pathogens, and C and N mineralization potential in an aerobic incubation experiment. No Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., or viable eggs of helminths were detected in the digested pig slurry, but the number of faecal coliforms was as high as 3.6 ~ 104 colony-forming units （CFU） g-1 dry digestate. The concentrations of heavy metals did not surpass the upper limits established by US Environmental Protection Agency （EPA）. After 28 d, 17% of the organic C （436 g kg-1 dry digestate） and 8% of the organic N （6.92 g kg-1 dry digestate） were mineralized. Emissions of CO2 and CH4 were not significantly affected by fertilization in the wheat-cultivated soil, but digestate significantly increased the cumulative N20 emission by 5 times compared to the urea-amended soil and 63 times compared to the uncultivated unfertilized soil. It could be concluded that digestate was nutrient rich and low in heavy metals and pathogens, and did not affect emissions of CH4 and CO2 when applied to a soil cultivated with wheat, but increased emission of N20. Key Words： biodigester, C and N mineralization potential, faecal coliform, heavy metal, pathogen, pig slurry