The Role of Cancer Risk in the Regulation of Industrial Pollution

The extent of carcinogen regulation under existing U.S. environmental statutes is assessed by developing measures of the scope and stringency of regulation. While concern about cancer risk has played an important political role in obtaining support for pollution control programs, it has not provided the predominant rationale for most regulatory actions taken to date. Less than 20% of all standards established to limit concentrations of chemicals in various media address carcinogens. Restrictions on chemical use are more frequently based on concerns about noncancer human health or ecological effects. Of the chemicals in commercial use which have been identified as potential human carcinogens on the basis of rodent bioassays, only a small proportion are regulated. There is an inverse relationship between the scope of regulatory coverage and the stringency of regulatory requirements: the largest percentages of identified carcinogens are affected by the least stringent requirements, such as information disclosure. Standards based on de minimis cancer risk levels have been established for only 10% of identified carcinogens and are restricted to one medium: water. Complete bans on use have affected very few chemicals. The general role that carcinogenicity now plays in the regulatory process is not dramatically different from that of other adverse human health effects: if a substance is identified as a hazard, it may eventually be subject to economically achievable and technically feasible restrictions.     

Trauma Events, Residence in Refugee Camps, and Educational Attainment as Predictors of Trauma Symptoms of Albanian Refugees in Macedonia

Adult members of 79 Albanian families who had fled from Kosovo to Macedonia during the immediate postwar period (June–August 1999) were interviewed. In conjunction with therapeutic intervention, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GTQ) were administered. Trauma symptoms as measured by the HTQ and psychological distress as measured by the GHQ were highly correlated. The best predictor of psychological distress was severity of the trauma experienced. Refugees with high educational attainment had fewer trauma symptoms than those with lower educational attainment. Refugees who lived with host families in towns showed fewer trauma symptoms than those who lived in camps, but they were also more highly educated. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggested that educational attainment may mediate the effect of place of residence. Educational attainment may be an indicator of resourceful and effective coping strategies that ameliorate the effects of trauma.     

环境税初探

环境税是解决环境问题的一种重要经济手段。我国环境税收制度在保护环境方面虽然发挥了一定作用，但仍存在不少弊端。为有效发挥环境税的作用，应当在我国现行环境税费制度的基础上，依法确定环境税的纳税人、征税范围、税率、税收优惠等问题，进一步完善我国的环境税收法律制度。     

考虑环境因素下的上海世博会经济影响评价

通过对环境生态成本的分析，根据上海市2002年的投入产出表，建立了基于资源一经济一环境绿色投入产出表的绿色GDP核算方法。利用这一方法对2010年上海世博会对上海经济一环境影响进行分析研究，结果反映了上海世博会对上海的综合影响。     

我国环境影响评价公众参与制度中若干问题之评析

环境影响评价是预防环境污染和生态破坏的重要法律制度,公众参与是国内外环境保护领域的一项基本法律原则,对于环境影响评价制度的有效推行以及公共环境纠纷的防范具有重要意义。我国现有立法难以有效保障公众对环境影响评价的参与权的实现。因此,需要进一步明确参与环境影响评价的公众的范围和类型,扩大公众参与环境影响评价的范围,完善公众参与环境影响评价的方式,提高公众参与环境影响评价的效力。     

Origins and destinies: Immigration to the United States since World War II

Contemporary immigration to the United States and the formation of new ethnic groups are the complex and unintended social consequences of the expansion of the nation to its post-World War II position of global hegemony. Immigrant communities in the United States today are related to a history of American military, political, economic, and cultural involvement and intervention in the sending countries, especially in Asia and the Caribbean Basin, and to the linkages that are formed in the process that open a variety of legal and illegal migration pathways. The 19.8 million foreign-born persons counted in the 1990 U.S. census formed the largest immigrant population in the world, though in relative terms, only 7.9% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, a lower proportion than earlier in this century. Today's immigrants are extraordinarily diverse, a reflection of polar-opposite types of migrations embedded in very different historical and structural contexts. Also, unlike the expanding economy that absorbed earlier flows from Europe, since the 1970s new immigrants have entered an hourglass economy with reduced opportunities for social mobility, particularly among the less educated, and new waves of refugees have entered a welfare state with expanded opportunities for public assistance. This paper seeks to make sense of the new diversity. A typology of contemporary immigrants is presented, and their patterns of settlement, their distinctive social and economic characteristics compared to major native-born racial-ethnic groups, and their different modes of incorporation in—and consequences for—American society are considered.     

Examining Localized Patterns of Air Quality Perception in Texas: A Spatial and Statistical Analysis

Environmental and human health issues associated with outdoor air pollution, such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants in metropolitan regions, are an area of growing concern for both policy officials and the general public. Increasing attention from the news media, new health data, and public debate over the effectiveness of clean air regulations have raised the importance of air quality in the public consciousness. While public perceptions of air quality have been studied thoroughly dating back to the 1960s, little empirical research has been conducted to explain the spatial aspects of these perceptions, particularly at the local level. Although recent studies suggest characteristics of local setting are important in shaping perceptions of air quality, the roles of proximity, neighborhood characteristics, and location have not been clarified. This study seeks to improve understanding of the major factors shaping public perceptions of air quality by examining the spatial pattern of local risk perception, the role of socioeconomic characteristics in forming these perceptions, and the relationship between perceived and scientifically measured air pollution. First, we map the spatial pattern of local air quality perceptions using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across the Dallas and Houston metropolitan areas. Next, we explain these perceptions through local contextual factors using both bivariate correlations and multivariate regression analysis. Results indicate that perceptions of air quality in the study areas are not significantly correlated with air quality based on readings of air monitoring stations. Instead, perceptions appear to be influenced by setting (urban vs. rural), state identification, access to information, and socioeconomic characteristics such as age, race, and political identification. We discuss the implications of the findings and provide direction on how further research can provide a deeper understanding of the local contextual factors influencing public perceptions.     

论绿色食品与农业环境保护

本文在分析了绿色食品产生的生态环境背景的基础上,阐明了发展绿色食品与农业生态环境保护之间的辩证关系,并提出了保护和改善农业生态环境、促进绿色食品发展的对策思考     

The Quality of Urban Environments in the Brazilian Amazon

In the Brazilian Amazon during the 1980s,urban population growth outstripped rural growth, andby 1991, most of the region's population resided inurban areas. Much of this urban growth involvedestablishment of unplanned housing with inadequateinfrastructure, which resulted in rising pollution. This paper compares indicators of environmentalquality in urban populations of the Amazon in 1980 and1991, and among different kinds of urban populationsin 1991. The results show that environmental qualityin the region deteriorated during the 1980s as theproduction of and exposure to environmental hazardsrose while resources to ward off hazards eroded. Thefindings also show that environmental quality wasparticularly poor in more rapidly growing urbancenters. The urban Amazon may not afford an adequatestandard of living and this may generate out-migrationfrom the region.     

国际互联网上环境科学与环境教育分类信息资源

分类介绍了国际互联网上与环境科学和环境教育有关的33个网点的主页、网址、主要信息类型和内容提要等情况。