Search

Purpose |!|#8211; The purpose of this paper is to attempt, from the perspective of governance, to approach and analyze the cooperation mechanisms as were shown in the case of the Hebei Spirit oil spill disaster management. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The paper described the structure of that governance and examines the relations between actors. On the basis of this information the inner dynamics within their interactions were investigated and key factors for and hindrances to the success were identified. Findings |!|#8211; Solidarity culture, personal communication media and a wide participation of private actors turned out to be helpful to cooperative mechanisms, whereas the lack of responsiveness of government and the unclear boundary of responsibilities between public organizations stood in the way of harmonious and effective governance. Practical implications |!|#8211; The paper shows that it is a requisite to have a comprehensive approach and pragmatic policies as well as their implementation mechanisms. There is also a requirement for effective consultation, collaboration and coordination, progress monitoring and above all, the will. Originality/value |!|#8211; The research leads to the conclusion that the cooperation between public and private sectors in the case of that oil spill disaster shows a possibility of a new paradigm of interactive dialog within the society and thus can be interpreted as governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We calculated carbon sequestration/emissions in agroecosystems in Hebei, China. • We measured agricultural production efficiency considering an undesirable output. • The annual average low-carbon agriculture production efficiency increased by 3.03%. • There were disparities of efficiency among cities owing to increased carbon emission. • Climate change had complex effects on low-carbon agricultural production. With the increase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere, global greenhouse effects have intensified, thereby contributing to climate change. Agriculture contributes to climate change by increasing GHG emissions, and climate change in turn affects agricultural production. In this paper, we calculated carbon emissions and sequestration of agriculture in the 142 counties of Hebei Province, China, and analyzed their spatiotemporal distributions during 2000–2010. Considering net carbon emissions as an undesirable output, we then measured low-carbon agricultural production efficiency using a stochastic directional distance function. We further explored the impacts of climate change on low-carbon agricultural production. We found that carbon emissions in agriculture increased by 15.85% (650 million tons) during 2000–2010, while carbon sequestration in agroecosystems increased by 33.82% (13.8 million tons). The annual average low-carbon agricultural production efficiency increased by 3.03%. There were distinct disparities of efficiency among cities, with the highest efficiency in Chengde and Shijiazhuang. The efficiency in southeastern areas was lower than that in the northwest, owing to the increased carbon emissions. Temperature and precipitation had a positive effect on efficiency in Hebei, whereas extreme weather events caused lower efficiency. The results provide valuable references for developing sustainable, climate-resilient and adaptive agriculture under changing climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of alluvial-pluvial fan depositional systems makes the detailed characterization of their heterogeneity difficult, yet such a detailed characterization is commonly needed for construction of reliable groundwater models. Traditional models mainly focus on using a single aquifer property to qualitatively or semi-quantitatively characterize the heterogeneity of aquifer, so that they are unable to quantitatively reflect the synthetic heterogeneity of all aquifer properties. In this paper, we propose the heterogeneity synthetic index (HSI) for quantitative characterization of synthetic heterogeneity of an aquifer. The proposed calculation process involves four steps: (1) estimation of the hydraulic conductivity of a sediment sample using the cloud-Markov model, (2) establishment of the sedimentary microfacies distribution model through the Markov chain, (3) characterization of the distribution model of hydrogeological parameters using the improved sequential simulation method according to the 'facies-controlled modeling' technique, and (4) application of the entropy weight method to calculate the weight coefficient of the above aquifer properties. The HSI of an aquifer is calculated by superposition of these models according to the corresponding weight coefficient. This approach was applied to the Luancheng aquifer deposit in the southeast Hutuo River alluvial-pluvial fan in the North China Plain (NCP). The results have demonstrated that aquifer 3 which was formed in the middle Pleistocene has the strongest heterogeneity, with an HSI of 0.25-0.75. Aquifer 4 formed in the early Pleistocene shows an intermediate heterogeneity, with the HSI ranging 0.35-0.75. The weakest heterogeneity was found in aquifers 1 and 2 formed in the Holocene and late Pleistocene, with HSI values of 0.40-0.75 and 0.40-0.80, respectively. The heterogeneity of all the four aquifers is relatively strong in the radial direction of the Huai River alluvial-pluvial fan due to the abrupt change of microfacies. In contrast, in the radial direction of the Hutuo River alluvial-pluvial fan, the microfacies change mildly, and the continuity of hydrogeological parameters is better, which has resulted in weaker heterogeneity of the four aquifers in this direction. Findings suggest that the sedimentary environment has significant effects on the aquifer heterogeneity. Considering that there arc many aquifer properties, HSI can quantitatively characterize the synthetic heterogeneity of the aquifer and describe the influence of each aquifer property on the synthetic heterogeneity of the aquifer according to its weight coefficient. Thus the HSI approach can be successfully used to deal with the spatial heterogeneity of aquifer and provide a foundation for studies on contaminant transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of distributive justice with regard to energy hold that every household has the right to affordable access to energy. However, when passively participating in clean energy reform policies, households, and especially low-income households, are often forced to use energy beyond the scope of affordability, resulting in distributive injustice. However, research on the quantitative estimation of injustice in energy distribution is still rare. In this paper, an evaluation model of energy vulnerability and distributive justice is established through the "reverse deduction method," and the change value of energy vulnerability before and after energy reform is used to calculate the loss value of distributive justice, which is used as the basis for energy policy evaluation. Taking the policy of replacing coal with natural gas for rural heating in Gaocheng District, Hebei Province, China as a case study, the value of lost distributive justice is calculated. The results show that 34.51% of households experienced distributive injustice after the energy reform, while 19.34% of households improved their energy vulnerability and achieved energy justice through energy subsidy policies. However, 46.15% of households were able to adapt to the energy reform independently without subsidies, which indicates a waste of resources in the energy subsidy policy. The policy implication of these results is that differentiated energy subsidy policies should be implemented according to household energy vulnerability, so as to maximize the policy benefits on the premise of ensuring justice in household energy distribution and minimizing injustice. The empirical study proves that the method of assessing injustice in energy distribution based on the "reverse deduction method" of energy vulnerability is feasible and a new attempt. • The passive participation of low-income households in clean energy reform policies results in distributive injustice. • Apply the vulnerability framework to calculate energy distribution injustice. • The implementation of differentiated subsidies can effectively improve the vulnerability of rural households energy poverty. • It is feasible and a new attempt to measure energy distributive injustice by using the "reverse deduction method". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Soil wind erosion in northern China has become a serious environmental problem, especially on cultivated soil, but data on soil loss by wind erosion are scarce due to limitation in effective measurement methods. The objective of this study is to introduce differential global positioning system (GPS) measurements into studies of wind erosion and obtain field measured data of soil wind erosion rates during previous decades in Kangbao County, a representative area suffering from serious farmland wind erosion in northern China. Vegetative banks that were maintained between farmland plots after the original grassland had been cultivated into stripped farmland were assumed to have experienced little erosion or deposition. As a result, these banks offer a useful reference for GPS measurements in estimations of soil loss by wind erosion in the adjacent farmland plots. Differential GPS and real-time kinematic (RTK) measurement show that almost a half centimetre of top soil has been blown away in this area every year since the soil had been cultivated in the early twentieth century. To examine the reliability of the GPS measurements, average wind erosion rate in this area was derived from the 137Cs model in 30 farmland plots, which was 0.55cma−1 or 89.5tha−1 a−1. Results of both methods show the study area has been experiencing severe wind erosion, which has caused serious local environmental problems and made this area an important source of blown sand and dust that threatens the Beijing and the Tianjin metropolitan area. Both methods have advantages and limitations and generally each of them cannot be replaced by another; however, this paper presents an example that a combination of applying RTK GPS measurements in special plots with using 137Cs techniques on the regional scale produces very helpful results of regional wind erosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Hebei province was selected to evaluate energy flows between interregional trade. • The energy flows among provinces and industrial sectors were analyzed. • The direct flows and embodied energy flows increased and then decreased. • The direct and embodied energy flows related to industrial activity dominated. The energy consumed by regions in China may have a huge gap after considering "embodied" energy due to interregional trade, and therefore impact the proposal of energy conservation. The aim of this research is to differentiate the effects from direct and indirect flows, which comprise embodied energy consumption, at provincial and sectoral scales through introducing the theory of interdependence of organisms from ecology. In this paper, Hebei province in China has been selected as a case study. Based on national multiregional input-output tables from 2002, 2007, and 2012, as well as energy input data, "direct energy flows" and "embodied energy" were used to investigate the energy consumption between Hebei and 29 other provinces. The results showed that the direct flows and embodied energy consumption of Hebei province increased and then decreased from 2002 to 2012. Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Jilin provinces were providers with to Hebei Province through both direct flows and embodied consumption. On the supply side, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong were the top three provinces receiving the most from Hebei. By sector, direct flows and embodied consumption related to industrial activity were dominant. This research identified the energy unitization characteristics within one province, and meanwhile shed light on the actors of different provinces due to interregional trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]