Autoridade ambiental: transformações e relocações na modernidade global

As a public good, the environment has traditionally been handled by public authorities. However, withglobalization conventional state environmental authority is transformed, relocated and deterritorialized.New non-state environmental authorities emerge. This paper conceptualizes the shifts in and relocation ofenvironmental authority structures and illustrates this with examples from the fields of certification andlabeling and environmental partnerships. While relocation does take place, new environmental authoritystructures are often mixes of state and non-state authorities. The paper finally assesses these developments,reflecting on the conventional criticism of the poor environmental and democratic potentials ofsuch new non-state environmental authorities.Como um bem público, o meio ambiente tem sido tradicionalmente controlado pelo poder público.Contudo, com a globalização, a autoridade convencional do Estado em lidar com as questões ambientaisé transformada, transferida e desterritorializada. Novas autoridades ambientais não estatais emergem.Este artigo conceitua as mudanças e relocações nas estruturas do poder ligado às questões ambientais,ilustrando com exemplos dos campos da certificação e rotulagem e parcerias ambientais. Enquantoocorre essa relocação, novas estruturas de poder ambiental se formam da mescla de autoridades estataise não estatais. Por último, é feita uma avaliação desses desenvolvimentos, ponderando sobre a críticaconvencional que faz emergir os limitados potenciais democráticos e ambientais dessas novas autoridades não estatais

Healthcare waste management as a tool for human health protection: a mini review

Healthcare wastes are generated by human or animal healthcare facilities. A small portion of these wastes are considered dangerous. However, accidents generated by incorrect waste management is a reality around the world. Accidents happen in different management stages, from the waste generation to its final destination, if waste is not properly managed. Therefore, this work aimed to discuss the possible problems related to the incorrect healthcare waste management, focusing on public health. This mini-review discussed some of the ways in which waste management can favor the preservation of public health and the environment, through steps such as minimization, segregation and recycling.Resíduos de serviços de saúde são gerados por estabelecimentos de atendimento à saúde humana ou animal. Uma pequena parte desses resíduos é considerada perigosa. No entanto, acidentes decorrentes do gerenciamento incorreto destes resíduos são uma realidade em todo o mundo. Os acidentes acontecem em diferentes etapas do gerenciamento, desde a geração dos resíduos até sua destinação final, caso não sejam gerenciados adequadamente. Portanto, o presente trabalho discutiu os problemas relacionados com a gestão incorreta dos resíduos de serviços de saúde, focando nas implicações à saúde pública. Essa mini revisão discutiu algumas das formas pelas quais o gerenciamento de resíduos pode favorecer a preservação da saúde pública e do meio ambiente, por meio de etapas como minimização, segregação e reciclagem.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Infrarenal Aortic Coarctation as a Cause for Hypertension

In the Russian Arctic, nature protection is important to preserve valuable ecosystems and indigenous lifestyles against the rapidly expanding oil and gas activities. In this regard, zoning legitimately balances influential stakeholders versus weak ones, and can leverage stakeholders to exercise their rights. This study explores how various stakeholders employ zoning in the Numto Nature Park in the oil-rich Russian Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra to advance their interests and how they use scientific information to achieve this. Through stakeholder interviews, analysis of electronic media and literature review, we conclude that a participatory and science-based zoning exercise stimulates the necessary deliberation. However, legal ambiguity, deficient law implementation and informal practices limit the zoning's potential to balance stakeholders’ interests. All the stakeholders calculatingly used scientific information to legitimize their own ambitions, activities and claims. Hence, zoning and the underlying information claims should be interpreted as both a resource and a battleground in nature-use conflicts

What drives public acceptance of chemical industrial park policy and project in China?

Chemical industrial park (CIP) policy is becoming a vital national strategy of circular economy in China and a means to enhance energy and resource efficiency, environmental performance, and economic competitiveness. It also aims to avoid environmental risks of the decentralized chemical plants that have been a subject of public protests as local citizens’ fear for chemical pollution and human's health. Public acceptance is therefore a major factor determining the success of CIP policy and project. This paper aims to investigate what drives public acceptance and rejection of chemical industrial park policies and projects in China. Our focus is on citizens in three coastal cities located in high environmental and risk sensitive areas: Dalian at Liaoning Province, Maoming at Guangdong Province, and Xiamen at Fujian Province. This is where several chemical industrial parks are (proposed) located. Based on surveys in these three representative cities, we have examined the nature and level of public acceptance towards chemical industrial park policies and projects. Results show that respondents were more positive towards the national policy, but more negative of CIP policy at the city and project level. Public acceptance of CIP policy and project was significantly influenced by factors including income, environmental value, perceived risks, procedural justice, distributive justice, benefits of CIP, and the residential distance to a CIP project. The identified factors provide a basis for anticipating and understanding likely public acceptance and should be considered in decision-making of CIP policy and project.</p

Revealing Curitiba's flawed sustainability : How discourse can prevent institutional change

The city of Curitiba, Brazil, is considered an exceptional model of sustainable urban planning. It has received praise for its invention of the Bus Rapid Transit System and numerous awards identify Curitiba as one of the world's greenest cities. Controversial elements have, however, been left out of this hegemonic city discourse, along with inevitable new challenges. The aim of this article is two-fold. First, we assess whether Curitiba is living up to its reputation as a leading sustainable city by analyzing three areas of urban sustainable development: green spaces, water bodies and public transportation. We show how Curitiba experiences problems ranging from social exclusion resulting from green space policies, to polluted water bodies and hampered planning in the area of public transportation. Second, we examine how the Curitiba discourse as a leading sustainable city is able to endure in this changed material context. We demonstrate how this hegemonic discourse prevents institutional transformations: the discourse becomes reproduced by powerful networks and propaganda, masking new unsustainable realities and by the same token preventing fast and successful institutional renewal.</p

Comparing centralized and decentralized bio-energy systems in rural China

Biomass energy development has become part of the national energy strategy in China. The dis-/advantages of decentralized and centralized bio-energy systems are evaluated. Bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances. a r t i c l e i n f o t r a c t Under the dual pressures of an energy crisis and rising greenhouse gas emissions, biomass energy development and utilisation has become part of the national energy strategy in China. The last decade has witnessed a strong promotion of both centralised and decentralised bio-energy systems in rural China. The government seems to have a strong preference for centralised (village-based) bio-energy systems in recent years. However, these government-driven systems have not worked without difficulties, particularly regarding economic and technological viability and maintenance. Studies on the advantages and disadvantages of decentralised and centralised bio-energy systems are rare. This study aims to shed light on the performances of these two systems in terms of social, economic and environmental effects. Through interviewing local officials and village leaders and surveying farmers in 12 villages in Shandong Province, it was found that bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances. The diversity of the local natural, economic and social situations determines the size, place, technology and organisational model of the bio-energy system

Development of a Dynamic Web Mapping Service for Vegetation Productivity Using Earth Observation and in situ Sensors in a Sensor Web Based Approach

This paper describes the development of a sensor web based approach which combines earth observation and in situ sensor data to derive typical information offered by a dynamic web mapping service (WMS). A prototype has been developed which provides daily maps of vegetation productivity for the Netherlands with a spatial resolution of 250 m. Daily available MODIS surface reflectance products and meteorological parameters obtained through a Sensor Observation Service (SOS) were used as input for a vegetation productivity model. This paper presents the vegetation productivity model, the sensor data sources and the implementation of the automated processing facility. Finally, an evaluation is made of the opportunities and limitations of sensor web based approaches for the development of web services which combine both satellite and in situ sensor sources

Neglected environmental health impacts of China's supply-side structural reform

“Supply-side structural reform” (SSSR) has been the most important ongoing economic reform in China since 2015, but its important environmental health effects have not been properly assessed. The present study addresses that gap by focusing on reduction of overcapacity in the coal, steel, and iron sectors, combined with reduction of emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and projecting resultant effects on air quality and public health across cities and regions in China. Modeling results indicate that effects on air quality and public health are visible and distributed unevenly across the country. This assessment provides quantitative evidence supporting projections of the transregional distribution of such effects. Such uneven transregional distribution complicates management of air quality and health risks in China. The results challenge approaches that rely solely on cities to improve air quality. The article concludes with suggestions on how to integrate SSSR measures with cities’ air quality improvement attainment planning and management performance evaluation