Relations between economic wealth,ecological footprint,and environmental protection depend on climatic demands

It is an incomplete story that richer societies have larger ecological footprints and are more inclined toward environmental protection. Our 116-nation study shows that all countries, but especially richer countries, have larger ecological footprints under more demanding thermal climates. Further, business executives’ ratings of the prevalence of environmental regulations and practices in their country are lowest in poor countries with demanding thermal climates (Armenia, Mongolia), moderate in poor and rich countries with undemanding climates (Mauritius, Nigeria), and highest in rich countries with demanding thermal climates (Canada, Finland). The same holds for efforts to respond to ‘green’ consumer demands. Explanations are sought in livability appraisals and behavioural adaptations to climato-economic environments. Some speculation is offered about the future management of national ecosystems.     

The role of sustainable energy utility,natural resource utilization and waste management in reducing energy poverty: Evidence from South Asian countries

Energy poverty is still viewed as a central global challenge which is risking billions of lives belonging to all economies, particularly, developing and under developing economies. It is subjected that more than 1 billion people are still struggling to have access to electricity and around 2.7 billion burns non-renewable resources to make their daily meals ready. The encourages academia to explore the plausible solutions to alleviate energy poverty. In this regard, the present study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainable energy and utility, natural resource utilization and waste management on energy poverty reduction. The study chose South Asian economies as a sample study and assessed the data from 2011 to 2020. By utilizing MMQR, the obtained results expose that RE output and consumption, natural resource utilization, waste management, inflation, and industrialization are helpful in reducing energy poverty due to their positive linkage. Under the evidence, the study is able to offer empirical baseline for future researchers to address the similar problem in other set of countries.     

External wall structure of green rural houses in Daqing,China, based on life cycle and ecological footprint theories

Daqing is situated in one of the severely cold regions of China. The living environment in this region is extremely poor because of the harsh climate and the backward economy. The external wall is an important component of the external envelope of buildings, and it greatly contributes to the indoor thermal environment. By taking the external wall as the research object, this study summarizes the characteristics of the external wall structure and analyzes the common materials used in existing rural residences. Specifically, we combine life cycle theory and ecological footprint (EF) theory and introduce the green external wall structure, as well as its application in practice, in accordance with the local ecosystem. Results show that anecological residence offers a better environment and greater economic benefits than a traditional residence. The annual energy consumption, CO₂ consumption, and EF of the ecological residence in this study are lower than those of the traditional residence by 69.61%, 17.5 t, and 99.47%, respectively.     

Environmental management: integrating ecological evaluation, remediation, restoration, natural resource damage assessment and long-term stewardship on contaminated lands

Ecological evaluation is essential for remediation, restoration, and Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), and forms the basis for many management practices. These include determining status and trends of biological, physical, or chemical/radiological conditions, conducting environmental impact assessments, performing remedial actions should remediation fail, managing ecosystems and wildlife, and assessing the efficacy of remediation, restoration, and long-term stewardship. The objective of this paper is to explore the meanings of these assessments, examine the relationships among them, and suggest methods of integration that will move environmental management forward. While remediation, restoration, and NRDA, among others, are often conducted separately, it is important to integrate them for contaminated land where the risks to ecoreceptors (including humans) can be high, and the potential damage to functioning ecosystems great. Ecological evaluations can range from inventories of local plants and animals, determinations of reproductive success of particular species, levels of contaminants in organisms, kinds and levels of effects, and environmental impact assessments, to very formal ecological risk assessments for a chemical or other stressor. Such evaluations can range from the individual species to populations, communities, ecosystems or the landscape scale. Ecological evaluations serve as the basis for making decisions about the levels and kinds of remediation, the levels and kinds of restoration possible, and the degree and kinds of natural resource injuries that have occurred because of contamination. Many different disciplines are involved in ecological evaluation, including biologists, conservationists, foresters, restoration ecologists, ecological engineers, economists, hydrologist, and geologists. Since ecological evaluation forms the basis for so many different types of environmental management, it seems reasonable to integrate management options to achieve economies of time, energy, and costs. Integration and iteration among these disciplines is possible only with continued interactions among practitioners, regulators, policy-makers, Native American Tribes, and the general public.     

Cultural cities,urban economic growth,and regional development: The role of creativity and cosmopolitan identity

Cultural heritage has been recognized as fundamental for local development. In particular, some recent works have highlighted the role of sophisticated transmission channels of this relationship, that is local creativity and cosmopolitan identity. Following a territorial perspective, the present work aims at combining the two approaches, in the belief that there could be a synergic interplay between creativity and cosmopolitan identity, reinforcing their individual effects. Accordingly, an original conceptual and operational taxonomy characterizing cultural cities is put forward. The contribution of the different identified patterns to urban and regional growth is assessed, as well as their capacity to valorize cultural participation.     

The housing and economic development debate revisited: economic significance of housing in developing countries

Should housing improvement be part of economic development strategies? Must housing improvement wait until high-economic growth is attained? How much priority should be given to housing in view of the limited resources in less-developed countries? What are housing benefits in economic development vis-à-vis other economic investments? These questions have generated heated debates, both in the literature on development problems and in planning and practice in the 1950s and 1960s. This paper draws on the accumulated body of knowledge resulting from past experiences in research and policy to revisit the earlier debates, survey the main lines of argument and reassess the economic potential of housing. It then attempts to generate broad policy considerations. The main contention of this paper is that in light of past and present evidence, the housing sector needs to be given serious consideration in economic growth strategies.     

节能、节水、节材、资源综合利用——建筑材料行业面临的机遇和挑战

“节能、节水、节材、资源综合利用”是我国新形势下建筑材料行业面临的机遇和挑战。作者论述了建 筑材料行业中“节能、节水、节材、资源综合利用”的必要性,并提出了具体的措施,对我国建筑材料行业的发展 起到一定的指导作用。     

Waste management,quality of life and natural resources utilization matter for renewable electricity generation: The main and moderate role of environmental policy

Since the last three decades, the world has been facing three consecutive challenges global warming, fuel import dependency, and rising electricity demand, and policymakers have tried their best to meet the standards of the green energy system. However, green electricity generation (REG) for daily use has received an exceptional focus from policy analysts in the development agenda. Similarly, electricity generation from waste management has shocked the world, and most economies are following the same pattern. Therefore, the current study tries to introduce the leading factors of REG: waste management, quality of life, environmental policy (EP), natural resources utilization, and population growth. The current study employs a series of estimation techniques to investigate the desired study's objectives in 15 waste-recycled economies from 2000 to 2020. Investigated outcomes show the significant contribution to REG by population, waste management, and environmental policy. In contrast, the quality of life and natural resource utilization (NRU) do not significantly contribute to renewable electricity generation. Furthermore, the moderate role of EP on waste management, quality of life, and NRU significantly promotes renewable electricity development. On behalf of outcomes, the environmental policy is being suggested as the best policy for electricity generation.     

The built environment,transportation policy,and population health: a comparison of two cities

This preliminary study assesses the relationship between active transportation, the built environment, and population perceived health in two comparable cities in the Southeastern United States at different stages of improving infrastructure for active commuting. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data from 2006 to 2012 were analyzed for Charlotte, NC, and Jacksonville, FL. The annual difference between the percentage of Charlotte respondents rating physical health as good compared to Jacksonville’s increased at a rate of 13% based on an exponential growth regression model (p = 0.02). Supportive urban and transportation policies aimed at facilitating healthy behaviors are associated with healthier communities.     

Spatio-temporal evolution of regional inequality and contribution decomposition of economic growth: A case study of Jiangsu Province,China

Regional inequality in the process of economic growth has recently been a popular topic. This paper creatively proposes contribution decomposition methods to divide various regions' contributions into economic contribution and population contribution. The methods consider not only economic growth but also population change, which may be more effective than the traditional method that uses the per capita GDP (gross domestic product) as its single measurement indicator. Moreover, the objective is to take a step forward and reveal the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of regional disparities by integrating barycentre model and economic development equilibrium model. Lastly, the applicability of the research method proposed in this paper is verified by a case study of Jiangsu province, China; the results show a new regional economic pattern in Jiangsu province.     

Determining the effects of local development regulations on landscape structure: Comparison of The Woodlands and North Houston, TX

The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between ecological landscape structure and local development regulations over time. Comparison analysis was conducted between two areas that had similar pre-development ecological conditions but were developed under vastly different regulatory environments. The Woodlands (regulated to protect ecological condition) and the North Houston area (which followed traditional subdivision regulations) were examined at three different developmental time periods: pre-development, early development (after 10 years), and matured development (after 30 years). Aerial photos of each site from the three time periods were classified into forested and non-forested classes and the landscape structure was quantified with a number of landscape metrics related to fragmentation – an indicator of habitat degradation. Two factors, the ecological approach to landscape planning and the adoption of more restrictive landscape regulations and guidelines, are discussed on the premise that they exert influence in developing and maintaining the long-term sustainability of ecosystems.This study provides quantified landscape configuration and composition of the effects of development regulations on landscape structure. The ecologically planned community shows that a less fragmented forest pattern and more restrictive development guidelines result in more ecologically structured environments. Understanding how elements of local development regulations affect ecological landscape patterns is important for landscape architects, planners, and administrators because it can lead to better strategies for planning and designing sustainable communities.     

国家发改委：工业经济运行态势良好 继续遏制高耗能高排放行业过快增长

今年以来,国民经济实现持续平稳快速发展,工业经济运行的质量持续改善,结构调整进一步推进,产业竞争力继续提高。     

Heterogeneous analysis of energy consumption,financial development,and pollution in Africa: The relevance of regulatory quality

The need to examine the effects of energy and financial development on pollution reduction via the channel of regulation necessitates this study. The study analyses data from 18 African nations between 1996 and 2017 using the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) approach. We employ panel data from energy use, regulatory quality, financial development, investment, trade, urbanisation, and CO2 emissions. Empirical findings show that energy use negatively but insignificantly impacts pollution over the short run while positively and significantly in the long run. For financial development, the impact is positive in the short run and negative in the long run. Most strikingly, regulatory quality exerts a negative and significant impact on pollution in both the short and long terms, while its interactive effects with energy use and financial development may significantly reduce short-run and long-run pollution. The study is original by examining the mediating role of regulatory quality in the effects of energy and financial development on pollution, with findings confirming regulatory quality as a crucial channel for enhancing the capacity of both sectors in improving Africa's environmental pollution.     

Impact of wind-driven rain on historic brick wall buildings in a moderately cold and humid climate: Numerical analyses of mould growth risk, indoor climate and energy consumption

This paper gives an onset to whole building hygrothermal modelling in which the interaction between interior and exterior climates via building enclosures is simulated under a moderately cold and humid climate. The focus is particularly on the impact of wind-driven rain (WDR) on the hygrothermal response, mould growth at interior wall surfaces, indoor climate and energy consumption. First the WDR load on the facades of a 4 m × 4 m × 10 m tower is determined. Then the hygrothermal behaviour of the brick walls is analysed on a horizontal slice through the tower. The simulations demonstrate that the impact of WDR loads on the moisture contents in the walls is much larger near the edges of the walls than at the centre. The obtained relative humidity and temperature at the interior wall surfaces are combined with isopleths of generalised spore germination time of fungus mould. The results show that WDR loads can have a significant impact on mould growth especially at the edges of the walls. Finally, for the case analysed, the WDR load causes a significant increase of indoor relative humidity and energy consumption for heating.     

A critical review of Korea's long-term contract for renewable energy auctions: The relationship between the import price of liquefied natural gas and system marginal price

The aim of Korea's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and newly adopted auction system with a long-term fixed-price renewable contract was to support renewable energy providers in hedging electricity and Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) price risks. This study found a long-run positive relationship between the import price of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and System Marginal Price (SMP) in Korea, demonstrating that the fluctuations in global fuel prices are likely to increase uncertainties in renewable investments. The fixed-price contract, which cannot be revised once determined, encourages renewable energy providers' speculative decision-making, and the uncertainty caused by the contract system may discourage investment decision-making.