环境科学交叉学科原理 英文版第十二.doc

第一章1. Describe why finding solutions to environmental problems is so difficult. Do you think it has always been as complicated? Environmental science involves science, economics,ethics, and politics in arriving at solutions to environmental problems. Artificial political boundaries create difficulties in managing environmental problems because most environmental unit, or ecosystems do not coincide with political boundaries.Its gettin more complicated as the globalization accelerates and the scale of environmental problems expands and requires better governance to ensure sustainable developments.环境科学涉及科学、经济学、伦理学和政治学来解决环境问题。人为的政治边界在管理环境问题上造成困难，因为大多数环境单元或生态系统与政治边界不一致。随着全球化进程的加快，环境问题的规模不断扩大，需要更好的治理来确保可持续发展，这一过程变得更加复杂。2. Describe what is meant by an ecosystem approach to environmental problem solving. Is this the right approach?The ecosystem approach is the comprehensive and integrated management of human activities, based on the scientific knowledge about ecosystem and its dynamics, and achieve sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services and maintenance of ecosystem integrity.It is the right approach because an ecosystem involves not only all organisms but also the abiotic environment, and they form a complex network of interrelationships. Only by thinking systematically, can we understand the dynamics of the ecosystem and take the right action which satisfies human needs while preserving health of the ecosystem.生态系统方法是在对生态系统及其动态的科学认识的基础上，对人类活动进行全面、综合的管理，实现生态系统商品和服务的可持续利用和生态系统完整性的维护。这是正确的方法，因为一个生态系统不仅涉及所有生物，而且还涉及非生物环境，它们形成了一个复杂的相互关系网络。只有系统地思考，才能了解生态系统的动态，在保持生态系统健康的同时，采取符合人类需要的正确行动。3. Define environment and existence and provide examples of these terms for your region. Environment is everything that affects an organism during its lifetime. Ecosystem is a region in which the organisms and the physical environment form an interating unit. for example the wetlands in Chongming Island.环境是生命中影响生物体的一切因素。生态系统是生物体与物理环境相互作用的区域。例如崇明岛的湿地4. Describe how environmental conflicts are resolved.In resolving environmental conflicts, we need to take the ecosystem approach, call for better governance, involve related political jurisdictions to arrive at the best available compromise-the sustainable development strategies.在解决环境冲突时，我们需要采取生态系统方法，呼吁更好的治理，让相关的政治管辖区参与进来，以达成最佳的妥协可持续发展战略。第二章 Ethics is one branch of philosophy.Ethics seeks to define what is right and what is wrong.1. Why does the environment crisis demand a new ethic? The rate, scale and complexity of interactions between people and environment have seen unprecedented increases. We are beginning to realize our interrelatedness with our environment, as the environmental changes becomes obvious due to technology advance and the public awareness increased in the importance of natural environment. Therefore a new ethic is called for to meet the challenges.人与环境相互作用的速度、规模和复杂性都有了前所未有的增长。随着科技的进步和公众对自然环境重要性的认识的提高，环境的变化越来越明显，我们开始认识到我们与环境的相互关系。因此，需要一种新的伦理来迎接挑战。2. What is the relationship between ethics and law?Ideally, the laws of a particular nation or community should match the ethical commitments of those living there, but it may take a long period of struggle and debate in reality, as the abolition of slavery, womens equality with men.However, not every ethically right action has a supporting law. In case of environmental issues, sometimes is appropriate is legislate something, like emission of pollutants, while sometimes action should be left up to the personal ethical commitment, which is determined by certain social/economic pressures and works better on the individual level. On these issues, individual environmental action tends to be determined more by custom, habit ,and certain social and economy pressures. In addition to these factors, a strong personal ethical commitment can help guide behavior in the absence of supporting laws.理想情况下，一个特定国家或社区的法律应与居住在那里的人的道德承诺相匹配，但在现实中，可能需要长期的斗争和辩论，如废除奴隶制、妇女与男子平等。然而，并非每一个道德上正确的行为都有一个支持法律。在环境问题上，有时适当的做法是立法，例如排放污染物，而有时行动应取决于个人的道德承诺，这是由某些社会/经济压力决定的，在个人层面上工作得更好。3. Describe three types of environmental ethics developed by philosophers.Anthropocentrism (human centered ethic) is the view that all environmental responsibility is derived from human interests alone.Biocentrism (life-centered ethic) is that all forms of life have an inherent right to exist.Ecocentrism maintains the environment deserves direct moral consideration, instead of what is merely derived from human/animal interests. The environment itself has moral worth.人类中心主义（以人为中心的伦理）认为所有的环境责任都是从人类的利益中产生的。生物中心主义（以生命为中心的伦理）是指所有形式的生命都具有固有的生存权。生态中心主义认为环境应该得到直接的道德考虑，而不仅仅是从人类/动物的利益中得到的。环境本身具有道德价值。4. Describe three common attitudes towards the environment found in modern society.The development approach assumes that human race is and should be master of nature and that the Earth and its resources exist solely for our benefit and pleasure. It thinks highly of human creativity and ingenuity and holds that continual economic growth is a moral ideal for society.The preservationist approach strives to keep large portions of nature intact because nature is regarded to have intrinsic value apart from human uses. Nature is not a resource but a refuge from economic activity.The conservationist approach strikes the balance between unrestrained development andpreservationism. Conservationists tend to consider a wide range of long-term human goods in their about environmental management.5. Why is environmental justice part of the environment movement?Environmental justice is a critical component of environmental protection.It is closely related to civil rights, and no group of people, including racial, ethnic or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from various programs or policies. EJ signifies that the participants of environment movement has shift from middle-class and affluent white people in America to minorities and indigenous people.环境正义是环境保护的一个重要组成部分，它与公民权利密切相关，任何一个群体，包括种族、民族或社会经济群体，都不应承担由各种计划或政策造成的负面环境后果的不相称份额。EJ意味着环境运动的参与者已经从美国中产阶级和富裕的白人转向少数民族和土著人。6. What are the conflicts between corporate behavior and environmental ethics?Corporations are designed to operate at a profit, and in order to maximize its profit margin, corporation tends to cut investments in dealing with waste disposal and pollution. In this way, corporate behavior donttake public and environmental well-being into considerations, often violating the environmental ethics.Some companies may publicly address their concerns for environment to the purpose of social marketing(called greenwashing). But they actually make no attempt to lower the environmental impact of its production.公司被设计为以利润为目的经营，为了最大限度地提高利润率，公司倾向于削减在处理废物处理和污染方面的投资。这样一来，企业行为就不能兼顾公众和环境福祉，常常违背环境伦理。一些公司可能会公开表达他们对环境的关注，以达到社会营销的目的（称为绿色洗涤）。但他们实际上并没有试图降低其生产对环境的影响。7. How can individuals direct business towards better environmental practices？个人如何引导企业走向更好的环境实践。Individuals, as shareholders can demand the directors of corporation to run it ethically. As executives,they can wield massive corporate power and guide the corporation to adopt a better environmental approach.Whats more, the ethic of consumption can also affect the corporate behaviors.个人，作为股东，可以要求公司董事在道德上管理公司。作为管理者，他们可以运用巨大的企业权力，引导企业采取更好的环境方式，而且消费伦理也会影响企业行为。8. How can individuals inplement environmental ethics in their own lives?By choosing food that is produced locally, low in food chain and grown with least chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Buying durable consumer and reusing products. Conserving energy etc. 9. Where does global environmental ethics fit in the broad scheme of environmental protection?Global environmental ethics address the widening gap between rich and poor countries, and call for them to set aside political differences to promote global action on environment. It also convince everyone of us that we have an obligation to minimize the harm we cause to ecological systems and the Earth. 全球环境伦理解决了富国和穷国之间日益扩大的差距，并呼吁它们抛开政治分歧，推动全球环境行动。它也让我们每个人相信，我们有义务将对生态系统和地球造成的伤害降到最低。第三章 1. How is risk assessment used in environmental decision making?Environmental risk assessment is the use of factors or assumptions to estimate the probability of harm to human health or the environment that may result from particular management decisions. An environmental risk assessment could provide an orderly, clearly stated and consistent way to deal with scientific issues 1)whether a risk exists, 2)the magnitude of the risk and 3)the consequences of the negative outcome when accepting the risk.It can also state the uncertainty associated with alternative approaches to dealing with environmental issues, which helps institutions decide research priorities and plan in the way that protects environment and bureaus to set regulatory priorities and support regulatory action.Some tools are used to calculate the risks which is often hard to attain: estimations based on past experience or establish model for novel risk by laboratory studies (experimenting on other species e.g. rabbits) or computer stimulations. 风险评估如何用于环境决策？环境风险评估是利用因素或假设来估计特定管理决策可能对人类健康或环境造成损害的可能性。环境风险评估可以提供一种有序、明确和一致的方式来处理科学问题：1）风险是否存在；2）风险的大小；3）接受风险时负面结果的后果。它还可以说明与处理环境问题的替代方法相关的不确定性，这有助于机构以保护环境的方式决定研究优先事项和计划，以及局制定监管优先事项和支持监管行动。一些工具被用来计算通常难以达到的风险：根据过去的经验进行估计，或通过实验室研究（实验其他物种，如兔子）或计算机刺激建立新的风险模型。2. What is incorporated in a cost-benefit analysis? Cost benefit analysis is a formal quantitative method of assessing the costs and benefits a fit of competing use of resources or solutions to a problem and deciding which is the most effective.economic costs and benefits environmental costs and benefitsFour steps to take: identification of the project to be evaluated; determination of all impacts, favorable and unfavorable, present and future, on all of society; determination of the value of those impacts, by direct market values or indirect price estimates; calculation of the net benefits, which is the total value of positive impacts minus the total value of negative impacts.成本效益分析是一种正式的定量方法，它是评估成本效益的一种方法，适用于对资源或解决方案进行竞争性使用，并决定哪一种方法最有效。经济成本效益环境成本效益要采取的四个步骤：识别待评估项目；确定所有对社会有利和不利、当前和未来的影响；通过直接市场价值或间接价格估计确定这些影响的价值；计算净效益，即正面影响的总价值减去负面影响的总价值。3. What are some of the concerns about the use of cost benefit analysis in environmental decision making?Some doubt if everything can be analyzed from an economic point of view, they fear if the economic value becomes the only criteria, many noneconomic values such as beauty and cleanliness cannot be justified if they are not assigned to economic value.But difficulties exist when assigning specific value to environmental resources, while cultural and socioeconomic differences could cause the less developed country to opt for more jobs than less pollution.Moreover, it is crucial to decide during the process which preferences are most important, but sometimes it is neglected when cost is spread over a large population and when it concerned the benefits and costs for future generations. 在环境决策中使用成本效益分析有哪些问题？有些人怀疑一切是否都能从经济的角度进行分析，他们担心如果经济价值成为唯一的标准，那么许多不经济的价值，如美丽和清洁，如果没有被赋予经济价值，就不能被证明是合理的。但在赋予环境资源特定价值时存在困难，而文化和社会经济差异可能导致欠发达国家选择更多的工作而不是更少的污染。此外，在这一过程中，决定哪种偏好最为重要是至关重要的，但有时，当成本在大量人口中传播时，以及当它涉及到后代的利益和成本时，就忽略了这一点。4. What concerns are associated with sustainable development?According to its definition, sustainable development reflects the objectives of economic development and environmental stewardship. It is composed of five characteristics: renewability, substitution, interdependence, adaptability and institutional commitment.While debates go over whether economic growth must be sacrificed in order to prevent further deterioration of environment, we should transform the approach to economic policy, and promote the transfer of modern and environmentally sound technology to developing countries. Another obstacle is the disparities of rich and poor people in a nation as well as rich and poor nations. Therefore, developed nations should act as pioneers: invest in related research and apply new techniques which promote sustainable development. 与可持续发展相关的问题有哪些？根据其定义，可持续发展反映了经济发展和环境管理的目标。它由五个特征组成：可再生性、替代性、相互依存性、适应性和制度承诺。在讨论是否必须牺牲经济增长以防止环境进一步恶化的同时，我们应该改变经济政策的方法，促进现代和无害环境技术向发展中国家的转让。另一个障碍是一个国家的贫富差距，以及贫富差距。因此，发达国家应发挥先锋作用：投资相关研究，应用促进可持续发展的新技术。5. What are some examples of external environment cost?Firstly, the logging operation may remove so many trees from hillside that runoff destroys streams and cause mudslides, but the cost is transferred to the public.Secondly, industries that no longer exist left thousands of hazardous waste sites, and the responsibility of cleanup fell on the government and the taxpayers.Strip mining is typical for the variety of external environmental costs.外部环境成本的一些例子是什么？首先，伐木作业可能会从山坡上砍伐大量树木，导致径流破坏溪流，造成泥石流，但成本却转移到了公众身上。第二，不再存在的行业留下了数千个危险废物处理场，清理责任落在政府和纳税人身上。露天开采是典型的各种外部环境成本。6. Define what is meant by pollution prevention cost?Pollution-prevention costs, one part of pollution control costs, are those incurred in private sector or by government to entirely or partially prevent the pollution that would otherwise result from production or consumption.定义什么是污染预防成本？污染防治费用，是污染控制费用的一部分，是指私营部门或政府为了完全或部分防止生产或消费所产生的污染而产生的费用。7. Define the problem of common property resource ownership . provide some examples.When everyone shares ownership of a resource, there is a strong tendency to overexploit and misuse that resource. The common property resource has literally no owner, and if you do not use it, someone else would, therefore, even though everyone knows the eventual result, they all choose to make use of it as much as possible.The ecosphere is one big commons stocked with air, water and irreplaceable mineral resources, and each nation attempts to exploit and extract as much from “commons” as possible regardless of other nations.Another example is the shared fishing in Great Lakes region. Commercial fisheries, recreational fishers, Native American tribal fishing and regulatory agencies have tried hard to halt the overexploitation of fishery resources. Worse still, the fishing zones are often not designed from an ecosystem approach.On an individual level, people are fully aware of air pollution, yet they continue to drive automobiles and dont mind switching to bigger cars or purchasing more cars.定义公共财产资源所有权问题。提供一些例子。当每个人都共享一种资源的所有权时，就会有过度开发和滥用这种资源的强烈趋势。公共财产资源实际上没有所有者，如果你不使用它，其他人会，因此，即使每个人都知道最终的结果，他们都选择尽可能多地利用它。生态圈是一个拥有空气、水和不可替代的矿产资源的大公地，无论其他国家如何，每个国家都试图尽可能多地开发和开采“公地”。另一个例子是五大湖地区的共同捕鱼。商业渔业、休闲渔业、美洲土著部落渔业和管理机构都在努力阻止渔业资源的过度开发。更糟糕的是，渔区往往不是从生态系统的方法设计的。在个人层面上，人们完全意识到空气污染，但他们仍然继续驾驶汽车，并不介意转向更大的汽车或购买更多的汽车。8. Describe the concept of debt for nature exchanges. Debt-for-nature exchanges are an innovative mechanism for addressing the debt issue while encouraging investment in conservation and sustainable development. It works like this: the conservation organization buys the debt from the creditor at a discount; although the creditor receives only partial payment of the initial loan, some return is better than a total loss; the debtor country has the debt removed and is relieved of the huge burden of paying interest on the debt; in exchange, the conservation organization requires the debtor country to spend money on appropriate conservation and sustainable development projects.描述自然交换债务的概念。债换自然是解决债务问题的创新机制，同时鼓励对保护和可持续发展的投资。它的工作原理是：保护组织以折价的方式从债权人那里购买债务；虽然债权人只得到最初的部分贷款，但有些回报比全部损失要好；债务国免除了债务支付利息的巨大负担；作为交换，保护组织以折价的方式从债权人那里购买债务。组织要求债务国将资金用于适当的保护和可持续发展项目。9. Give examples of sunsidies, market- based instrument, and life cycle analysis.Subsidies include consumer rebates for purchases of environmentally friendly goods, loans for businesses planning to implement environmental products.Government can pay farmers to encourage them to permanently take highly erodable land from production and reduce the erosion and build up sediment in local streams. The same is with purchasing fishermens fishing boats. However, some agricultural subsidies may distort the price of food and lead to overproduction.Market-based instruments include information programs (example: information tags on electric appliances that inform the public about the energy efficiency of the product) tradable emission permits, emission fees and taxes (the pollution tax system in China that imposes noncompliance fees on discharge that exceed standards and assesses fines and other charges on violations of regulations)deposit-refund programs and performance bonds.Life cycle analysis is to assess the environmental effects during all stages in product chain: acquisition of raw material, manufacturing processes, transportation, consumer use, disposal. Its extension is extended product responsibility, and the Responsible Care program is one of the best examples.举例说明补贴、基于市场的工具和生命周期分析。补贴包括消费者购买环保产品的回扣、企业计划实施环保产品的贷款。政府可以付钱给农民，鼓励他们永久性地从生产中夺走高度侵蚀的土地，减少侵蚀，并在当地河流中沉积沉积物。购买渔民渔船也是如此。然而，一些农业补贴可能会扭曲食品价格，导致生产过剩。以市场为基础的工具包括信息程序（例如：告知公众产品能效的电器信息标签）、可交易排放许可证、排放费用和税收（中国的污染税制度，对超过标准的排放征收不符合性费用，并对罚款和营业税进行评估）。她对违规行为的指控）存款退款计划和履约保证金。生命周期分析旨在评估产品链各个阶段的环境影响：原材料采购、制造工艺、运输、消费者使用、处置。它的扩展是扩展产品责任，责任护理计划是最好的例子之一。10. What kinds of risks are willingly accepted by people?People are often willing to accept risk from familiar death causes such as car accidents and flu than those dramatic and sensational causes. They tend to accept voluntary risks like drinking alcohol than involuntary ones like nuclear weapons, familiar technologies like dams than newer ones like genetic engineering.人们愿意接受什么样的风险？人们往往愿意接受来自常见死亡原因的风险，如车祸和流感，而不是那些戏剧性和耸人听闻的原因。他们倾向于接受自愿的风险，比如喝酒，而不是非自愿的风险，比如核武器，熟悉的技术，比如水坝，而不是新的技术，比如基因工程。11. Give examples of renewable and nonrenewable resources Renewable resources include soil, vegetation, animals, air and water. Nonrenewable resources include iron ore, fossil fuels and mountainous lan