Managing Technological and Environmental Risks in Japan

This paper is primarily concerned with environmental risks arising from utilizing modern technology. Our attention focuses on the interface between policy decisions and regulatory measures. The interface involves not only science and technology but also politics and social values, and perceptions which are deeply rooted in the industrial countries. A case of setting air quality standards and regulatory practices in Japan is studied on the basis of scientific and technological knowledge, economic cost, and subjective judgment of what constitutes an acceptable level of risk or health hazard.     

Environmental markets in the year 2000

This article examines the prospects for marketable emissions permits in the coming decade. We identify both the reasons that politicians are reluctant to embrace marketable emissions permits as a solution to environmental problems and also changes in the political landscape that could lead to the increased use of this approach. Over the next decade, we believe there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. Selective experimentation with market-based approaches is likely to continue; however, we are not optimistic about the prospects for widespread application of this tool. Moreover, applications of this tool will necessarily reflect important political constraints, thus rendering the tool substantially less effective than the textbook applications examined by economists. An important intellectual challenge is to work on the design of market-based approaches that address political concerns, enhance efficiency, and promote innovation, so that it will be easier to meet the environmental challenges that lie ahead.Mr. Hahn is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Noll is a Professor of Economics at Stanford University. Hahn's research was supported by a grant from the Decision, Risk and Management Science Program at the National Science Foundation. Noll's research is supported by a grant from the Smith-Richardson Foundation. The authors would like to thank Kip Viscusi for helpful comments on an earlier draft.     

Stepping Out of Your Own Shadow: A Didactic Example of How Facing Uncertainty Can Improve Decision-Making

Advocates of quantitative uncertainty analysis (QUA) have invested substantial effort in explaining why uncertainty is a crucial aspect of risk and yet have devoted much less effort to explaining how QUA can improve the risk manager's performance. This paper develops a teaching example, using a personal decision problem with subtle parallels to societal risk management, to show how choices made with increasing appreciation of uncertainty are superior ones. In the hypothetical, five analysts explain the same uncertain prospect (whether to invest in a volatile stock issue), with increasing attention to the nuances of uncertainty. The path through these different perspectives on the decision demonstrates four general points applicable to environmental risk management: (1) Various point estimates with equal claim to being "best estimates" can differ markedly from each other and lead to diametrically different choices; (2) "conservatism" has both relative and absolute meanings, with different implications for decision-making; (3) both inattention to and fixation on "outliers" in the uncertainty distribution can lead the manager astray; and (4) the best QUA is one that helps discriminate among real options, that points to optimum pathways toward new information, and that spurs on the iterative search for new decision options that may outperform any of the initial ones offered.     

社区视野中的环境问题与环保社会力之建构

从社会学角度,透视社区视野中的环境问题及其成因,探讨社区可持续发展的社会意涵及其延伸为环保社会力的观念,并依此提出了建构社区环保社会力的策略。     

Urban forest and environmental inequality in Campos dos Goytacazes,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Social and spatial inequality regarding environmental resources and services is one of most complex issues affecting contemporary urban life. The objective of this research is to study the spatial distribution of trees in public areas in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This research presents data gathered in ten neighborhoods in Campos. These neighborhoods were split into three distinct groups using wealth levels. Data obtained include the number of trees and private gardens and tree species diversity per neighborhood street. Our results demonstrate that the wealthier neighborhoods have both the highest tree biodiversity and number of trees. In contrast, the poorer neighborhoods present a low biodiversity level and fewer tree species. Our results also showed that age of the neighborhoods was not a factor in explaining the number of trees in public spaces. Socioeconomic and education levels of the population seem to play a more causal on tree quantity and species diversity. This inequality stresses a problem with environmental justice, a characteristic of Brazilian cities intrinsically connected to urban sustainability.     

公共政策:可持续发展的基石

可持续发展的目的是发展 ,关键是可持续。公共政策是政府的行为规范 ,它具有合法性、强制性、系统性、稳定性等特征。因而要将可持续发展战略由思想变为现实 ,必须以公共政策为基石作保障。各国保障可持续发展战略顺利实施的公共政策 ,既有丰富的国际经验可以学习 ,也有沉痛的教训可供借鉴。中国在可持续发展的道路上既面临着沉重的人口压力 ,又面临着经济发展和环境保护的双重任务 ,因此必须重视对可持续发展公共政策的制定和实施。     

论环境法公众参与制度

公众参与制度是国际环境法的一项基本原则，各国立法都比较重视，并建立一系列制度加以保障。而我国公众参与制度大多是些原则性的规定，存在不少缺陷。本从我国公众参与制度的现状入手，分析目前存在的诸多问题，并提出几点建议。     

福克纳小说《熊》中的生态伦理观

在生态伦理的视阈下,重新透视福克纳的中篇小说《熊》中主人公艾萨克的成长经历和荒野狩猎的内涵,从中剖析大自然所承载的固有价值、荒野自然与技术文明之间的冲突及“回归荒野”的含义,可以阐释其中折射出的美国经济发展、文明进步的“拓荒史”,以及存在与占有、和谐与对峙的人与自然的生态伦理史的嬗变。《熊》所透露出的作者的生态忧患意识及其前瞻性的生态伦理观值得我们关注和深思。     

建立适应中国可持续发展战略的环境政策

环境政策是协调发展与资源环境之间矛盾的手段,同时也是可持续发展战略的延伸和实现其目标的重要调控手段。回顾80年代以来我国环境政策的演进,可以看出环境政策体系是否完善对实现我国可持续发展战略目标有重要的影响。为建立适应我国可持续发展的环境政策体系,应该做到:(1)正确把握环境政策全息性的理论支撑;(2)采用战略、政策、法规三位一体化的双向调控模式;(3)遵循设计环境政策体系过程中的三大原则;(4)借助定性、定量分析相结合的方法;(5)作出理性、非理性以及综合性的决策。