Gender Differences in Risk Perception: Effects Differ in Stressed vs. Non-Stressed Environments

Contrary to previous reports that women are more concerned about environmental risks than men, we hypothesized that men and women residing in neighborhoods stressed by multiple hazards would demonstrate similar concerns about local environmental conditions. Analysis of a national data base and an aggregate of ten local data bases found greater female than male concern about local technological, behavioral, and land use hazards in good neighborhoods, but, as expected, not in stressed ones. We urge analysts to conduct more studies in stressed neighborhoods in order to better understand the perspective of those who live with environmental risks.     

燃煤机组退役与技术升级的减排及经济效益研究——基于鲁棒电源规划的方法

火电行业是中国推行节能减排战略所重点关注的行业之一。为了降低高污染燃煤机组对环境的不利影响，中国近年来出台了一系列的能源政策，鼓励淘汰高污染的燃煤机组或者对其进行超低排放改造的技术升级。本文研究了燃煤机组主动退役及超低排放改造升级的环境及经济的双重效益。基于电源投资规划鲁棒优化的方法，考虑了受不确定的环保税、超低排放机组上网电价的补贴及电能需求影响下的发电机组最优配置问题，构建了含两阶段决策的三层鲁棒优化模型。该模型是一类具有多个不确定场景耦合特征的大规模优化问题。为了求解的便利，采用列与约束生成（column and constraint generation，CCG）算法进行求解。算例分析结果显示，当考虑了燃煤机组主动退役及超低排放改造升级的决策时，本文构建模型所提供的最优电源结构方案能够有效地降低各类污染物的排放，同时提升发电企业的经济性。     

Hazard Perception, Risk Perception, and the Need for Decontamination by Residents Exposed to Soil Pollution: The Role of Sustainability and the Limits of Expert Knowledge

This case study examines the hazard and risk perception and the need for decontamination according to people exposed to soil pollution. Using an ecological-symbolic approach (ESA), a multidisciplinary model is developed that draws upon psychological and sociological perspectives on risk perception and includes ecological variables by using data from experts' risk assessments. The results show that hazard perception is best predicted by objective knowledge, subjective knowledge, estimated knowledge of experts, and the assessed risks. However, experts' risk assessments induce an increase in hazard perception only when residents know the urgency of decontamination. Risk perception is best predicted by trust in the risk management. Additionally, need for decontamination relates to hazard perception, risk perception, estimated knowledge of experts, and thoughts about sustainability. In contrast to the knowledge deficit model, objective and subjective knowledge did not significantly relate to risk perception and need for decontamination. The results suggest that residents can make a distinction between hazards in terms of the seriousness of contamination on the one hand, and human health risks on the other hand. Moreover, next to the importance of social determinants of environmental risk perception, this study shows that the output of experts' risk assessments—or the objective risks—can create a hazard awareness rather than an alarming risk consciousness, despite residents' distrust of scientific knowledge.     

Hazardous Factories: Nigerian Evidence

The past 15 years have seen an increasing governmental and corporate concern for the environment worldwide. For governments, information about the environmental performance of the industrial sector is required to inform macro-level decisions about environmental targets such as those required to meet UN directives. However, in many African, Asian, and Latin American countries, researching and reporting company environmental performance is limited. This article serves as a contribution to filling the gap by presenting evidence of physical and chemical risk in Nigerian factories. One hundred and three factories with a total of 5,021 workers were studied. One hundred and twenty physical and chemical hazards were identified and the result shows a high number of workers exposed to such hazards. The study also reveals that workers' awareness level of chemical hazards was high. Yet the danger was perceived in behavioral terms, especially by manufacturing firms, which tend to see environmental investment in an increasingly global economy as detrimental to profitability.     

Concern About Petrochemical Health Risk Before and After a Refinery Explosion

On March 23, 2005, a large explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, Texas caused 15 deaths and approximately 170 injuries. Little is known about how such an industrial accident influences concern about environmental health risks. We used measures of environmental health concern about nearby petrochemical production with a sample of Texas City residents to understand patterns of concern and change in concern after an industrial accident, as well as individual and contextual factors associated with those patterns. Survey interviews with residents of Texas City, Texas ( N = 315) both pre- and postexplosion using a brief Concern About Petrochemical Health Risk Scale (CAPHRS) and other questions were used to collect pertinent predictor information. CAPHRS baseline, postexplosion, and change scores were compared and modeled using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and a mixed model. Higher preexplosion CAPHRS scores were predicted by younger adults, foreign-born Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, lower- and middle-income groups, and those who live with someone who has worked at the petrochemical plants. Higher CAPHRS change scores are predicted by the same variables (except income), as well as proximity to, or perception of, the explosion, and reports of neighborhood damage. Findings suggest these groups' concern scores could indicate a greater vulnerability to psychological and physical harm generated by concern and stress arising from local petrochemical activities. A clearer understanding of concern about actual environmental health risks in exposed populations may enhance the evolving theory of stress and coping and eventually enable public health professionals to develop appropriate mitigation strategies.     

Regional Risk Assessment for Point Source Pollution Based on a Water Quality Model of the Taipu River,China

Point source pollution is one of the main threats to regional environmental health. Based on a water quality model, a methodology to assess the regional risk of point source pollution is proposed. The assessment procedure includes five parts: (1) identifying risk source units and estimating source emissions using Monte Carlo algorithms; (2) observing hydrological and water quality data of the assessed area, and evaluating the selected water quality model; (3) screening out the assessment endpoints and analyzing receptor vulnerability with the Choquet fuzzy integral algorithm; (4) using the water quality model introduced in the second step to predict pollutant concentrations for various source emission scenarios and analyzing hazards of risk sources; and finally, (5) using the source hazard values and receptor vulnerability scores to estimate overall regional risk. The proposed method, based on the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP), was applied in the region of the Taipu River, which is in the Taihu Basin, China. Results of source hazard and receptor vulnerability analysis allowed us to describe aquatic ecological, human health, and socioeconomic risks individually, and also integrated risks in the Taipu region, from a series of risk curves. Risk contributions of sources to receptors were ranked, and the spatial distribution of risk levels was presented. By changing the input conditions, we were able to estimate risks for a range of scenarios. Thus, the proposed procedure may also be used by decisionmakers for long‐term dynamic risk prediction.     

回收竞争下考虑CSR行为的闭环供应链定价决策及协调

研究考虑企业社会责任(CSR)行为的闭环供应链定价决策及协调问题,分别构建了单个第三方回收及两个第三方回收竞争下的闭环供应链博弈模型,分别从企业与消费者两个视角分析了CSR投入对供应链成员的定价策略及系统总收益的影响,并建立了基于“收益共享”与“回收成本共担”相结合的契约协调模型。研究表明,两个第三方回收商间的适度竞争不仅可以降低产品价格、提升废旧产品回收效率,同时对提高企业的CSR投入水平以及收益水平也起到积极的促进作用。最后,在契约参数的可行性范围内,“收益共享-成本共担”契约在使供应链总收益达到最大的同时,还成功改善了每个成员企业的收益。     

How Reassuring are Risk Comparisons to Pollution Standards and Emission Limits?

Pollutant emissions or ambient levels are often justified by reference to a higher benchmark, such as a public health standard or permit limit. However, does this risk comparison persuade the public audiences to whom it is frequently directed that such pollution levels are “acceptable”? A substantial proportion of people living within one mile of New Jersey's industrial facilities, perhaps as much as half, is indeed reassured by a comparison to such benchmarks. Positive attitudes toward discharge limits were linked to speaking English at home; positive attitudes toward drinking water standards were associated with seeing local benefits of industry as outweighing its risks, not speaking English, and relative youth (49 years old or less). Three scenarios involving drinking water contamination varied pre‐ and post‐treatment levels of the pollutant, though all post‐treatment levels were below the standard. In all cases great concern was expressed, with no significant differences across scenarios; net benefits, being white, and non‐English speaking were linked to lower concern. Relative trust seems a better explanation of different attitudes toward benchmark comparisons than varying levels of knowledge, but both hypotheses have drawbacks that merit further testing. These results imply that people with negative views of industry or government, the ones officials might most wish to reassure, will tend to doubt that regulatory benchmarks offer a valid risk comparison.     

Risk-Based Approaches to Deal with Uncertainty in a Data-Poor System: Stakeholder Involvement in Hazard Identification for Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries in Victoria, Australia

Management responsibilities for the system of marine national parks and sanctuaries declared in Victoria, Australia in 2002 have created imperatives for robust, scientifically defendable approaches to identifying threats to valued ecological attributes of the parks, setting management priorities, and developing monitoring systems. We are developing a protocol for ecological risk assessment in the parks that has due regard for the perception of risks by individuals, and ensures that stakeholder values are an intrinsic part of decision making. The inclusive and transparent protocol provides an opportunity for stakeholder involvement in the identification of valued attributes, as well as in the assessment of associated risks. Our approach brings together ideas about how science enters the community engagement domain in ways that promote collaboration and transparency in decision making. A series of stakeholder workshops across the state drew on the expertise of agency staff, community groups, fishers, industry representatives, academics, and knowledgeable park neighbors to identify hazards of major concern in the parks. Many hazards involved predictable, tangible threats like pollution and exotic species, but the approach also identified a number of less obvious threats related to governance issues and the knowledge-base for the parks. Importantly, the workshops with their broad range of stakeholders identified threats not previously considered by the management agency in its internal assessments, and several of these "new" threats are already the subject of action by the agency. The deliberate incorporation of local knowledge and local networks in the risk assessment process also provided opportunities for greater engagement of stakeholders with the management agency.     

Replacement Decisions for Potentially Hazardous Substances

As public awareness of environmental hazards increases, a growing concern for corporations is the potential negative environmental impact of their products and the chemicals these products contain. In this study, we analyze the optimal decisions of a firm when a substance within its product is identified as potentially hazardous. Although the substance is not currently regulated, regulation may occur in the future. Therefore, the firm must devise a strategy for the development and implementation of a replacement substance. In an environment where replacement costs can be millions of dollars, regulation is uncertain, and both consumer and non‐governmental organization pressures exist, a carefully developed plan that balances costs and risks is critical for a firm. Our results demonstrate that as long as a threat of regulation exists, a firm should always dedicate resources toward developing a replacement substance. However, it is not always optimal for a firm to implement a developed replacement. Regarding competitive dynamics, we find that competition between firms can offset a low chance of a shift in consumer perception about a substance and compel firms to replace; however, competition can lead to inefficient outcomes in which firms incur avoidable costs to implement ahead of potential regulation.     

What Risks Are People Concerned About

An unusual questionnaire was used to explore what risks concern laypeople. It asked respondents to list, in their own words, as many risks of personal concern as they could. They then selected the five risks of greatest concern and answered a set of specific questions about each. A coding scheme was developed for categorizing these responses and was shown to have good reliability. The questionnaire was administered to a heterogeneous convenience sample of subjects. They reported a very broad range of risks of concern, which differed in plausible ways as a function of their gender and age. Females and student-age subjects were generally more concerned about the environment, whereas males and older subjects were more likely to mention health and safety risks. Both the extent of the risk-reduction actions that they reported and their expressed willingness to pay for future risk reductions were greater for risk that presented a direct personal threat (e.g., health risks) than for risks that posed a diffuse threat to the environment or to people in general (e.g., pollution). Respondents perceived themselves as bearing primary responsibility for managing threats to their own health, but generally saw government as bearing a heavier responsibility for managing environmental risks (especially for pollutants) and war. The questionnaire instrument and coding structure developed for this work are well-suited to a variety of future research applications. They provide a way to identify the risks that concern lay groups, as well as to track the evolution of those concerns over time.     

The Risk Screening for Indoor Air Pollution Chemicals in Japan

In recent years, public health problems caused by indoor air pollution have been drawing strong public concern in Japan. After conducting extensive exposure assessment, governmental agencies have taken effective measures to solve the problem; for instance, "Guidelines for indoor air quality (IAQ)" of 13 chemicals, for example, formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene, has been established. Thousands of chemicals have been identified in the indoor environment. Priority rating of those chemicals, however, was not based on the health risk level. We developed a risk-screening scheme for indoor air pollution chemicals and analyzed the current status of the risk levels of those chemicals in Japan. We researched scientific knowledge of health hazards and exposure surveys of indoor air pollution chemicals in Japan, and classified those chemicals based on the health risk level estimated from the scheme. The risk levels of 93 chemicals were characterized and six chemicals (formaldehyde, acrolein, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, benzene, tetrachloroethylene, and benzo(a)pyrene) were classified in the highest risk category.     

跨国公司的跨境环境管理及其对中国的启示

随着跨国公司海外子公司数量的增加,其跨境环境管理对东道国环境的影响与日俱增.通过回顾相关文献,本文全面剖析了跨境环境管理的含义与类型划分、战略动力机制及其对公司绩效的影响.在此基础上,结合跨国公司目前在华的环境管理实践,提出了我国政府的对策,即提高环境标准、加强环境执行力和对环境战略转型者提供必要支持.     

Gender and Race in Beliefs about Outdoor Air Pollution

Universal need for, or reactions to, risk communications should not be assumed; potential differences across demographic groups in environmental risk beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors could affect risk levels or opportunities for risk reduction. This article reports relevant findings from a survey experiment involving 1,100 potential jurors in Philadelphia concerning public responses to outdoor air pollution and air quality information. Flynn et al. (1994) and Finucane et al. (2000) found significant differences in risk ratings for multiple hazards, and in generic risk beliefs, between white men (or a subset) and all others (white women, nonwhite men, and nonwhite women). This study examined whether white men had significantly different responses to air pollution and air pollution information. An opportunity sample of volunteers from those awaiting potential jury duty in city courts (matching census estimates for white versus nonwhite proportions, but more female than the city's adult population and more likely to have children) filled out questionnaires distributed quasi-randomly. On most measures there were no statistically significant differences among white men (N = 192), white women (N = 269), nonwhite men (N = 165), and nonwhite women (N = 272). Nonwhites overall (particularly women) reported more concern about and sensitivity to air pollution than whites, and were more concerned by (even overly sensitive to) air pollution information provided as part of the experiment. Nonwhites also were more likely (within-gender comparisons) to report being active outdoors for at least four hours a day, a measure of potential exposure to air pollution, and to report intentions to reduce such outdoor activity after reading air pollution information. Differences between men and women were less frequent than between whites and nonwhites; the most distinctive group was nonwhite women, followed by white men. Flynn et al. (1994) and Finucane et al. (2000) found a far larger proportion of significant differences, with white men as most distinctive, probably due to use of different measures, study design, and population samples. However, all three studies broadly confirm the existence of gender and race interactions in risk beliefs and attitudes (particularly for white men and nonwhite women) that deserve more attention from researchers.     

物流业能源消费的替代效用和城镇化效用研究

在探讨城镇化进程及物流业能源消费现状的基础上,根据柯布——道格拉斯生产函数,将能源要素进行单列,提出了物流业能源需求理论,对物流业能源消费的替代效用和城镇化效用进行了理论分析。然后,建立计量方程并进行了参数估计。实证结果表明,物流业电力消费能显著替代汽柴油消费,减轻了其对汽柴油的依赖。城镇化、物流路网增长、内贸发展也显著地促进了物流业汽柴油消费。案例研究表明,鉴于客户对于物流环保与低碳的高要求,杭州汤氏物流有限公司总部2014年初以来就全部使用电动叉车替代柴油叉车,较好地实现了电力消费替代柴油消费,即环保又节省了成本。建议政府：改善物流业能源消费结构,走低能耗之路;建议大力推广电动车辆应用于物流业中;建议合理推进城镇化的发展并加强内外贸与物流业的协同发展。     

产能过剩偏向性与环境污染——基于中介效应的检验

如何从矫正制度性缺失来破解我国环境污染较难根治且易于反复之谜是我国当前亟待解决的问题之一。本文尝试从行业和企业两个维度,基于中介效应模型,以产能过剩偏向性为视角来廓清中国环境污染治理之殇,并以顶层设计为抓手来明晰环境污染治理之道。研究发现:(1)产能过剩与环境污染的关系依赖于产能过剩在行业和企业维度上的偏向性,产能过剩是影响我国环境污染的重要原因,不同维度产能过剩的偏向性能够对环境污染产生较为显著的影响;(2)产能过剩偏向于污染密集型行业主要通过能源结构锁定效应和产业结构固化效应而加剧环境污染,产能过剩偏向于国有企业主要通过技术结构低端化效应而影响环境污染;(3)产能过剩偏向性作用于环境污染的路径不仅存在显著的市场化程度的调节效应,还存在着严重的区域异质性、水平异质性和阶段异质性。文章为推进制度变革、优化存量产能和有效治理环境污染提供了理论支持。     

资源政策调整对减排和环境福利影响——以煤炭资源税改革为例

随着环境污染加剧,我国减排形势日益严峻,但目前资源政策设计过度关注社会经济影响,较少涉及减排和环境福利,不利于生态文明建设和社会可持续发展.本文构建动态可计算一般均衡模型(dynamic computable general equilibrium,简称动态CGE模型),以煤炭资源税改革为研究对象模拟资源政策调整的长期影响,分别采用煤炭资源税率调整和资源价值补偿政策场景,探索资源政策调整对促进减排和改善环境福利的作用.研究表明:总体而言,资源政策调整有利于促进减排和环境福利,但不同政策方案设计产生的影响差异性较大;煤炭资源税率提高会在一定程度上抑制资源消费,提高资源利用效率和人均资源盈余,降低环境损失;而资源价值补偿政策实施将对我国环境质量改善产生积极作用,可以有效提高环境福利;因此,在减排和环境福利综合视角下,煤炭资源税改革必须注重资源政策方案设计的协调性和完整性,才能有效发挥资源政策对环境系统的有效引导和激励作用.