Archive for the ‘Environmental Economics’ Category
ZERO EMISSION CARBON REFINERY: organic waste added value processing (pyrolysis-biochar-bonecharcoal-biooil-soil biotech)

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The preventive pre-treatment environmental actions are safer, faster, better and in all included less costly versus the “end-of-the-pipe” post treatment solutions.
The “3R” novel indirectly heated rotary kiln pyrolysis and torrefaction technology provides carbonization / pyrolysis added value of carboniferous materials.
The goal of the 3R technology is to provide cost efficient and for long term environmentally sustainable carbon refining solution for energetic, agricultural and environmental applications. The main component of the 3R is a specially designed, indirectly fired, patented rotary reactor in which organics in a reductive environment are carbonised. e.g. gas-out and decomposed, in low vacuum (0-50 Pascal) up to the material core temperature 850°C degrees Celsius (1,562°F, degrees Fahrenheit). The carbonization temperature selection is feed material specific and in most cases temperatures between 450°C to 550°C (842°F – 1022°F) is sufficient for high efficient thermal decomposition under vacuum. The flexible operation provides wide range of 25 % to 125 % of nominal capacities. The basic material with <15 w/w % moisture content is introduced directly into the 3R reactor, or optionally pre dried. By control of the carbonization process, different types of pre-defined carbon end products can be produced, as of commercial production demanded schedule. The volatile HAPs are safely removed in the reduced volume of gas-vapor stream and converted to syngas and turned into surplus electric power. The standard industrial scale is from 30,000 m3/year (4 m3/h) continuous throughput capacity and optional larger capacities are available up to 420,000 m3/year (56 m3/h). Both electric fired and gas fired versions are available in full scale industrial design.
3R PYROLYSIS APPLICATION AREAS:
AGROCARBON: plant and/or animal bone meal basic material biomass carbonization and integrated biotechnological processing for biochar soil applications,
ENERGY clean coal processing: organic Sulphur removal fro coal streams by pyrolysis pre treatment process; bio-oil refinery to transport fuel quality.
WASTE MANAGEMENT: treatment of solid hazardous and/or non hazardous waste streams for environmental purpose with energy recycling;
3R PYROLYSIS Advantages:
Feedstock Flexibility: application of pre-treated multi fuels from wider fuel selection and availability.
Technology Flexibility: The flexible operation provides wide range of 25 % to 125 % of nominal capacities.
Zero Emission: The 3R is closed system, all process streams are recycled and reused for economical production of added value products.
Cost Reduction: decrease of overall production costs when all true value costs are calculated, including the environmental costs as well.
Improved Safety: application of preventive measures and separated downsized treatment of HAPs.
Process limitation: at refined carbon production the high input moisture content of the raw feed material is limiting factor, for waste management there is no limiting factor.
The innovative 3R technology opens new technical, economical and environmental ways to economically convert and valorize organic and/or inorganic by-products and/or waste streams into added value usefully refined products, while zero emission performance achieved. . The 3R inventor is the Swedish environmental engineer Edward Someus. Although the advanced high tech performance of the 3R industrial scaled design, the comprehensive solution does not containing exotic technical solutions and/or construction materials. Available for licensing.
THE “3R” PYROLYSIS TECHNOLOGY: Economical carbon refining of organic byproducts by low temperature carbonization pre-treatment process
The 3R (Recycle–Reduce–Reuse) Low Temperature Carbonization Process technology represents the original solution advanced new generation of solid feedstock-based carbon refining production system. By pre-treatment it breaks down any carbon-based feedstock into its basic constituents and removes contamination by preventive measure. This enables the preventive separation of HAP’s to produce refined carbon and clean syngas for efficient and improved electricity generation. The 3R technology may be applied as vital component for an integrated strategy towards near zero emission targets to combine technologies for environmentally sustainable and economical biochar processing and/or solid fuel power generation, including but not limited to the advantageous interlink to other cost efficient GHG management technologies to decrease or even removal of output green house gases, such as CO2.
The hearth of the 3R technology is the unique pyrolysis rotary kiln original and innovative solution design, which makes viable the reductive thermal decomposition – low temperature carbonization – of any organic feed material under stable conditions in reduced process streams.
The prime environmental aspects of the 3R technology are the safety, prevention and comprehensive treatment. The 3R technology meets the EU and the U.S. environmental norms and standards for long term, including the U.S. RCRA Miscellaneous Units 40 CFR 264 Subpart X with the following main characteristics for the 3R thermal treatment unit:
Thermal Desorption Chamber: indirect-fired heat source used for primary desorption chamber, relatively low operating temperature.
Air Pollution Control Devices “APCD”: non-destructive APCD used.
Waste Residual Management: treatment of residuals is separate from the desorber,
whereas the (1) primary desorption chamber, (2) condensation or burning of pyrolysis gas vapours and (3) non destructive APCD off gas scrubber are separate devices, whereas (a) treated solids, (b) condensate residuals, (c) APCD residuals, (d) organic air emission, (e) metal air emission, and the (f) acid gas emission treatment are according to all the relevant comprehensive U.S. regulatory requirements for Operational Control, Residuals and Air Emission Parameters. The environmental purpose of 3R thermal desorption is to volatilize contaminant streams in small process gas volumes and to remove them from the treatment chamber for subsequent treatment. From permit legislative point of view it should be noted that the treatment standards in the U.S. relevant legislation Sec. 268.45 for thermal destruction specifically exclude thermal desorbers.
3R pilot plant with industrial like performance has been built in Hungary under the EU FP5 NNNE5/363/2001 project (2001-2005). The pilot plant has a throughput capacity of up to 265 kg/h feed material and includes all vital components for the technology, such as indirectly heated rotary kiln, post burner, off gas scrubber, heat exchangers and process control electronics with software. Further agro industrial application has been developed under large scale European Union development programme EU FP6 514082 project (2005-2008), where comprehensive scientific and industrial scale up “biochar to soil” technology has been developed and tested in seven EU countries and Israel.
For pre-treatment a specific purpose designed, developed and patented pyrolysis technology used, “3R”, consisting of a horizontally arranged externally heated rotary kiln, where the contaminated feed material is carbonized and decomposed in true reductive environment under less than 850°C material temperature and vacuum. Specific pyrolysis gas-vapor post burner, multi venturi off-gas treatment scrubber and carbon heat exchanger used, which makes the 3R technology comprehensive and complete solutions. The flexible operation provides wide range of 25 % to 125 % of nominal capacities. The volatile HAPs are safely removed in the reduced volume of gas-vapor stream and converted to syngas, while the refined Clean Coal solid end product is utilized. “Product like” pilot plant has been built and successfully tested under semi industrial conditions in Hungary since 2005. Nine different types of feed materials (three types of brown coals with different S and ash content, hard coal, four types of biomass – straw, grain, wood chip, sawdust, animal bone meal), totally 111 tons, have been tested with up to 265 kg/h throughput capacity under 1779 hrs, incl. 594 hrs continuous run. The technical viability of the comprehensive 3R technology is demonstrated, including EU compatible industrial permitting from ten different Authorities and certification of ISO 9001 and 14001. Full scale application is designed with modular installation up to 420,000 m3/year solid fuel throughput.
The strategic aspect of the overall 3R technology development scientific/technological objectives is to develop highly flexible solid fuel pretreatment option to be developed and applied to achieve comprehensive benefits as follows:
Feedstock Flexibility: flexible choice by multi feed.
Technology Flexibility: The flexible operation provides wide range of 25 % to 125 % of nominal capacities.
Zero Pollutants: removed environmental impacts (HAP, GHG).The 3R is closed system, all process streams are recycled and reused for economical production of added value products.
Total Cost Reduction: ecrease of overall production costs when all true value costs are calculated, including
Incoming search terms:
Glossary Of Environmental Science

www.cites.org)
Corporate Social Responsibility integration of social and environmental policies into day-to-day corporate business.
covenants formal agreements or contracts, often between government and industry sectors. The national packaging covenant and sustainability covenants are examples of voluntary covenants with a regulatory underpinning. Land covenants protect land for wildlife into the future.
crop coefficient (Kc) (water management) a variable used to calculate the evapotranspiration of a plant crop based on that of a reference crop.
crop evapotranspiration (ETc) (water management) is the crop water use the daily water withdrawal.
crop rotation (crop sequencing) the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped.
crude oil naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons under normal temperature and pressure.
cullet the term used to describe crushed glass that is suitable for recycling by glass manufacturers.
cultural eutrophication – the process that speeds up natural eutrophication because of human activity.
cultural services the non-material benefits of ecosystems including refreshment, spiritual enrichment, knowledge, artistic satisfaction.
culture jamming altering existing mass media to criticise itself (e.g. defacing advertisements with an alternative message). Public activism opposing commercialism as little more than propaganda for established interests, and the attempt to find alternative expression.
culvert drain that passes under a road or pathway, may be a pipe or other conduit.
cut and fill removing earth from one place to another, usually mechanically.
cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta or blue-green algae) a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis.
cyclone intense low pressure weather systems; mid-latitude cyclones are atmospheric circulations that rotate clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and are generally associated with stronger winds, unsettled conditions, cloudiness and rainfall. Tropical cyclones (which are called hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere) cause cause storm surges in coastal areas.
D
DDT – a chlorinated hydrocarbon used as a pesticide that is a persistent organic pollutant.
debt-for-Nature Swap – a financial transaction in which a portion of a developing nation’s foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in conservation measures.
decomposers consumers, mostly microbial, that change dead organic matter into minerals and heat.
deforestation – the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for agriculture, urban use, development, or wasteland.
dematerialisation decreasing the consumption of materials and resources while maintaining quality of life.
desalination producing potable or recyclable water by removing salts from salty or brackish water. This is done by three methods: distillation/freezing; reverse osmosis using membranes and electrodialysis; ion exchange. At present, all these methods are energy intensive.
desert an area that receives an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (10 in) or an area in which more water is lost than falls as precipitation.
desertification – the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities.
detritivore (detritus feeder) – animals and plants that consume detritus (decomposing organic material), and in doing so contribute to decomposition and the recycling of nutrients.
detritus – non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material).
developing countries development of a country is measured using a mix of economic factors (income per capita, GDP, degree of modern infrastructure (both physical and institutional), degree of industrialisation, proportion of economy devoted to agriculture and natural resource extraction) and social factors (life expectancy, the rate of literacy, poverty). The UN-produced Human Development Index (HDI) is a compound indicator of the above statistics. There is a strong correlation between low income and high population growth, both within and between countries. In developing countries, there is low per capita income, widespread poverty, and low capital formation. In developed countries there is continuous economic growth and a relatively high standard of living. The term is rather value-laden and prescriptive as it implies a natural transition from ndeveloped to eveloped. Although poverty and physical deprivation are clearly undesirable, it does not follow that it is therefore desirable for ndeveloped economies to move towards affluent Western-style eveloped free market economies. We have tended to use the terms ndustrialised and on-industrialised although these too can be misleading.
dfE design for the environment; dfE considers ‘cradle to grave’ costs and benefits associated with material acquisition, manufacture, use, and disposal.
dfM design for manufacturing; designing products in such a way that they are easy to manufacture.
dfS design for sustainability; an integrated design approach aiming to achieve both environmental quality and economic efficiency through the redesign of industrial systems.
dfX design for assembly/disassembly, re-use. recycle.
dieback (arboriculture) a condition in trees or woody plants in which peripheral parts are killed, either by parasites or due to conditions such as acid rain.
dietary energy supply food available for human consumption, usually expressed in kilocalories per person per day.
dioxin – any one of a number of chemical compounds that are persistent organic pollutants and are carcinogenic.
distributed water (water management) purchased water supplied to a user; this is usually through a reticulated mains system (but also through pipes and open channels, irrigation systems supplied to farms).
diversion rate (waste disposal) the proportion of a potentially recyclable material that has been diverted out of the waste disposal stream and therefore not directed to landfill.
divertible resource (water management) the proportion of water runoff and recharge that can be accessed for human use.
downcycling (waste management) recycling in which the quality of an item is diminished with each recycling.
downstream those processes occurring after a particular activity e.g. the transport of a manufactured product from a factory to the wholesale or retail outlet cf. upstream.
drainage (water management) that part of irrigation or rainfall that runs off an area or is lost to deep percolation.
drawdown (water management) drop in water level, generally applied to wells or bores.
dredging – (water management) the repositioning of soil from an aquatic environment, using specialized equipment, in order to initiate infrastructural and/or ecological improvements.
drift net – a type of fishing net used in oceans, coastal seas and freshwater lakes.
drinking water (potable water) water fit for human consumption in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines.
drip irrigation (water management) a drip hose placed near the plant roots so minimising deep percolation and evaporation.
driver (ecology) any natural or human-induced factor that directly or indirectly causes a change in an ecosystem. A direct driver is one that unequivocally influences ecosystem processes and that can be measured.
drop-off centre (waste management) a location where discarded materials can be left for recycling.
drought an acute water shortage relative to availability, supply and demand in a particular region. An extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation.
dryland salinity – (water management) accumulation of salts in soils, soil water and ground water; may be natural or induced by land clearing
E
eco- – a prefix now added to many words indicating a general consideration for the environment e.g. ecohousing, ecolabel, ecomaterial.
eco-asset a biological asset that provides financial value to private land owners when they are maintained in or restored to their natural state.
ecolabel – seal or logo indicating a product has met a certain environmental or social standards.
ecological deficit – of a country or region measures the amount by which its Ecological
71147506 Environmental Economics

Deforestation:
Introduction:
In 1960 central America had 80% of its original forest area and today only 40% of these forest remain, in brazil has lost over 90% of it forest located along the Atlantic coast and the forests in developing countries have not been spared either where Nigeria has lost 80% of its forest area from the year 1990 to 2005. in the year 1990 to 2005 the world has lost over 3% of its total area that is covered by forests, however according to the 2007 FAO report the net loss of forest is estimated at 7.3 million hectares every year and this amounts to 20,000 hectares a day.
This shows that Over the years the area covered by forest has declined drastically due to deforestation, forest serve an important purpose in the welfare of the environment in that they are home for wild life, water shed management, source of timber and paper, source of fuel, biodiversity such as fruits and plant species and recreational purposes.
ecent past there has been an increased concern over the rate of deforestation and policy measures have been implemented to protect the remaining covered area. Human activity is one of the major factors that have contributed to this problem and because trees are renewable resources there is need to take action and improve the current situation.
Causes of deforestation:
Human activity:
Trees from the forests are used for economic purposes such the production of timber and paper, this increased demand for timber and paper has led to the increased deforestation all over the world. Human activity is one of the major cause of deforestation, in developing countries deforestation is undertaken in order to gain agricultural land, these activities are undertaken in order to provide land for the growing population because population growth in these countries is usually very high and therefore the ever increased demand for land.
In developed countries however deforestation takes place for the purpose of development, due to increased value of and also increased demand for land for commercial use the area covered by forests is cleared to give way to development.
Pests and diseases:
Due to increased occurrences of pests and diseases that destroy the forests there has also been a decline in the area covered by forests, some diseases affect large portions of forests and as a result forest land is lost and this leads to increased deforestation. When forests are affected by these diseases and pests the only option undertaken is to clear these forests and use them for commercial purposes such as building, airports, parks and other economic purposes.
Fire:
Fire has also been a contributing factor in the reduction of forests covered areas, in the recent past there has been increased frequency in the occurrence of forest fires that have led to the diminishing of forests, forest fires are in most cases difficult to extinguish and control due to the unpredictable intensity and direction of wind and also lack of proper equipment to detect fires. Therefore fire is also considered as a contributing factor in deforestation problem.
The Greek fire in 2007 is one of an example of forest fires that have led to deforestation, this fire destroyed 2,700 kilometres squared of area covered by forest, this fire also destroyed buildings and also at the same time people were burnt to death by the blazes. Another case is the California forest fires in the year 2007 where over 2,000 square kilometres covered by forests were destroyed. This shows that forests fires are also a contributing factor in the problem of deforestation.
Wind:
In some cases wind has also been a factor that has led to deforestation, wind will forse trees to bend and also break and as a result although this may be viewed as a minor factor in the long run wind contributes to deforestation.
Acid rain:
Acid rain has also resulted to the loss of forests, acid rain is caused by the increase pollution by industries and human activity and due to soil degradation the area covered by forests have reduced and therefore acid rain has also contributed to the loss of trees in forests.
Urban development:
Forests in most cases are cleared for the purpose of expanding area for urban development; this has led to extensive logging and clearing of forest. As urban areas expand there is an increased need to clear forests to give way to development of buildings and other transport networks and as a result forest area has declined.
Transport network:
The construction of roads and railway lines and also airports have also resulted into the loss of forest area, as a result of the needed extension in transport networks most roads and railway lines pass through original forests and trees have to cleared to give way to development of these networks, as a result there has been deforestation.
Rise in population:
According to the Malthusian scenario of population growth, population growth is geometric in nature and as the population size increases there is an increased for resources such as land, as a result the population will clear forests in order to gain access to land for economic purposes.
Mining and exploration:
Mining and exploration have also contributed to this problem, when certain minerals such as metal or oil is discovered in area covered by forest man will clear these forest in order to extract these valuable resources and as a result forests area decreases as more and more minerals are discovered and there is need to clear trees.
Impact of deforestation:
Loss of biodiversity:
Forests have resulted into the loss of biodiversity, some tree and plant species are currently endangered and some are already extinct and this has been as a result of deforestation. As a result the world has lost its biodiversity including animals that have lost their habitat.
Flash flooding:
Forests are important as they provide watershed management, as a result of deforestation there has been an increase in the flow of ground water and as a result there have been increased occurrences of flash flooding in dams and electric power dams.
Global climatic changes:
Climatic changes are experienced due to the unforgiving nature of the environment, Global warming has been an issue that has been of recent concern and deforestation has contributed to the issue of global warming, for this reason therefore there should be improved forest management to extend the adverse effect of global warming.
Trees will act as water shed whereby areas covered by forest will hold more underground water, when logging takes place in these area the ground may not hold water and for this reason the area may experience more drier climates due to deforestation.
Increased erosion and land slides:
Due to the increased loss of vegetation cover land has become more susceptible to erosion through rain and also wind, the loss of vegetation cover and forests have also resulted into increased occurrences of land slides. An example of erosion caused by logging is the yellow river of China that turned yellow due to the increased sediment load of the river as a result of erosion.
Carbon cycle:
Forests are important in the carbon cycle balance and the cutting down of trees will result into unbalanced carbon cycle in the word, as a result there will be an increased percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which results into global warming and other impacts.
Deforestation is also a major causes of the greenhouse effect, Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and when these tree reduce then this will create an imbalance, the decay and the burning of trees will also lead to an increase in the level of carbon in the atmosphere and for this reason
Policy measures:
Afforestation and reforestation:
Government have initiated policy measures aimed at planting trees in both areas that were covered by trees and those that were not earlier covered by trees, afforestation involves the planting of trees in area where forests did not exist while reforestation involves planting trees where forests have been destroyed. An example is where since 1990 the European union has paid farmers in form of grants for them to turn their farming land into forests, by 1997 over half a million hectares of land have been afforested and reforested. Also In the 1998 to 2000 period china completed reforestation and afforestation of over 1.1million hectares. Therefore the afforestation and reforestation policy measures by various authorities have resulted into a reduction in the effects of deforestation.
Ban on logging:
Bans on logging are also policy measures to reduce deforestation, this however acts as a way to stop further deforestation but does not solve the problem of deforestation because the world has already been faced with the problem, an example of such a ban is the 1998 china ban against commercial logging, this ban was lifted on more than 13 provinces that are along the yellow river.
Cost of reducing this problem:
Because timber harvesting is a major economic activity in many countries if a piece of and is used for production of timber and not for nay other use, trees are planted and then cut for timber production and trees are replanted or allowed to grow from natural seeding then we would be in apposition to find out the economic cost
Tax Shifting And Environmental Economics

The need for tax shifting – lowering income taxes while raising taxes on environmentally destructive activities – in order to get the market to tell the truth has been widely endorsed by economists. The basic idea is to establish a tax that reflects the indirect costs to society of an economic activity. For example, a tax on coal would incorporate the increased health care costs associated with breathing polluted air, the costs of damage from acid rain, and the costs of climate disruption.
Nine countries in Western Europe have already begun the process of tax shifting, known as environmental tax reform. The amount of revenue shifted thus far is small, just a few percent. But enough experience has been gained to know that it works.
Among the activities taxed in Europe are carbon emissions, emissions of heavy metals, and the generation of garbage (so-called landfill taxes). The Nordic countries, led by Sweden, pioneered tax shifting at the beginning of the 1990s. By 1999 a second wave of tax shifting was under way, this one including the larger economies of Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Tax shifting does not change the level of taxes, only their composition. One of the better known changes was a four-year plan adopted in Germany in 1999 to shift taxes from labor to energy. By 2001, this had lowered fuel use by 5 percent. A tax on carbon emissions adopted in Finland in 1990 lowered emissions there 7 percent by 1998.
Environmental tax reform is spreading, with the reform process now under way in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The United States imposed a stiff tax on chlorofluorocarbons to phase them out in accordance with the Montreal Protocol of 1987. At the local level, the city of Victoria, British Columbia, adopted a trash tax of .20 per bag of garbage, reducing its daily trash flow 18 percent within one year.
One of the newer taxes gaining in popularity is the so-called congestion tax. City governments are turning to a tax on vehicles picture of urban traffic entering the city, or at least the inner part of the city where traffic congestion is most serious. In London, where the average speed of an automobile was 9 miles per hour – about the same as a horse-drawn carriage – a congestion tax was adopted in early 2003. The charge on all motorists driving into the center of the city between 7am and 6:30pm immediately reduced the number of vehicles by 24 percent, permitting traffic to flow more freely while cutting pollution and noise.
Environmental tax shifting usually brings a double dividend. In reducing taxes on income – in effect, taxes on labor – labor becomes less costly, creating additional jobs while protecting the environment. This was the principal motivation in the German four-year shift of taxes from income to energy. The shift from fossil fuels to more energy-efficient technologies and to renewable sources of energy reduces carbon emissions and represents a shift to more labor-intensive industries. By lowering the air pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes, it also reduces respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and emphysema, and health care costs – a triple dividend.
When it comes to reflecting the value of nature’s services, ecologists can, for example, calculate the values of services that a forest in a given location provides. Once picture of logging operation these are determined, they can be incorporated into the price of trees as a stumpage tax of the sort that Bulgaria and Lithuania have adopted. Anyone wishing to cut a tree would have to pay a tax equal to the value of the services provided by that tree. The market would then be telling the truth. The effect of this would be to reduce tree cutting, since forest services may be worth several times as much as the timber, and to encourage wood and paper recycling.
Some 2,500 economists, including eight Nobel Prize winners in economics, have endorsed the concept of tax shifts. Former Harvard economics professor N. Gregory Mankiw, who was nominated to be Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors in early 2003, wrote in Fortune magazine: “Cutting income taxes while increasing gasoline taxes would lead to more rapid economic growth, less traffic congestion, safer roads, and reduced risk of global warming – all without jeopardizing long-term fiscal solvency. This may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer.” Mankiw could also have added that it would reduce the military expenditures associated with ensuring access to Middle Eastern oil.
The Economist has recognized the advantage of environmental tax shifting and endorses it strongly: “On environmental grounds, never mind energy security, America taxes gasoline too lightly. Better than a one-off increase, a politically more feasible idea, and desirable in its own terms, would be a long-term plan to shift taxes from incomes to emissions of carbon.” In Europe and the United States, polls indicate that at least 70 percent of voters support environmental tax reform once it is explained to them.
Subsidies, which are essentially “negative taxes,” also must be reformed. Each year the world’s taxpayers underwrite 0 billion of subsidies for environmentally destructive activities, picture of oil rig such as burning fossil fuels, over-pumping aquifers, clear-cutting forests, and overfishing. A 1997 Earth Council study, Subsidizing Unsustainable Development, observes that “there is something unbelievable about the world spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually to subsidize its own destruction.”
Subsidies are not inherently bad. Many technologies and industries were born of government subsidies. Jet aircraft were developed with military R&D expenditures, leading to modern commercial airliners. The Internet was a result of publicly funded efforts to establish links between computers in government laboratories and research institutes. And the combination of the federal tax incentive and a robust state tax incentive in California gave birth to the modern wind power industry.
But just as there is a need for tax shifting, there is also a need for subsidy shifting. A world facing the prospect of economically disruptive climate change, for example, can no longer justify subsidies to expand the burning of coal and oil. Shifting these subsidies to the development of climate – benign energy sources such as wind power, solar power, and geothermal power is the key to stabilizing the earth’s climate. Shifting subsidies from road construction to rail construction could increase mobility in many situations while reducing carbon emissions.
In a troubled world economy facing fiscal deficits at all levels of government, exploiting tax and subsidy shifts with their double and triple dividends can help balance the books and save the environment. Tax and subsidy shifting promise both gains in economic efficiency and reductions in environmental destruction, a win-win situation.
History judges political leaders by whether they respond to the great issues of their time. For today’s leaders, that issue is how to deflate the world’s bubble economy before it bursts. This bubble threatens the future of everyone, rich and poor alike. It challenges us to restructure the global economy, to build an eco-economy.
The choice is ours – yours and mine. We can stay with business as usual and preside over a global bubble economy that keeps expanding until it bursts, leading to economic decline. Or we can adopt Plan B and be the generation that stabilizes population, eradicates poverty, and stabilizes climate. Historians will record the choice, but it is ours to make
Intended to create a national recycling economy in Jiangxi demonstration area (Figure) – Metals International of renewable, environmental economic
HC Environmental Network: Mayor James Feng Shui Chuen Fung attended the forum and introduced the situation of urban development of circular economy.
Reporter held from 5 in Nanchang, the Ninth International Forum Metals Forum was informed Fengcheng points, with waste Material recycling Re-use a long history of Jiangxi Feng city, the role of traditional strengths, vigorously develop the circular economy, first in the province out of a development with local characteristics of circular economy and build economical and Environment Friendly society’s way. In addition, Harvest also prepared in the current cycle of more solid economic base, create a national recycling economy demonstration areas.
Circular economy industrial economic volume accounted for half of Fengcheng
Fengcheng known as “South of waste material distribution center,” said the early eighties of last century, the city will have thousands of farmers to recycle the used materials are sold to Zhejiang and Jiangsu province for a living. To put the processing of value-added chain of the most “fat” to retain the business, since 2002, Harvest began on the reuse of industrial waste materials planning integration, the establishment of waste materials on the one hand the professional market, and enhance radiation; other On the one hand the formation of capital market Source Agglomeration effects, through investment, launched the public funding, development and environmental protection in line with national policy requirements reuse of industrial waste materials. From the piles of refuse and broken, people “choose” out of the feather, plastic, recycled metal three major industries, storing up a seat Jinshanyinshan. According to Mayor James
Feng Shui Chuen introduced the development of circular economy is already a pilot city in Jiangxi province (county) Feng city, has now become the backbone of economic development in Jiangxi Province cycle, while also working for the inclusion of the experimental unit city to work hard. In 2006, Harvest The city government has drawn up a “Feng opinions on urban development of circular economy,” and specifically mentioned “the scientific outlook on development as guidance, to optimize utilization of waste materials and waste industry development model as the core, to clean, high quality, efficient, safe target, focus on improving the recovery rate of scrap and waste materials and utilization of waste materials and vigorously promote the clean utilization of waste, efforts to reduce environmental pollution.
Today, the city has plans to build an abundance of resources recycling industry base, Feng mining cycle economic zone, Food Industrial Park, He-Zhou waste plastic recycling processing area, the tug down processing zone, fine ceramics industry base 6 cell of circular economy, currently accounting for circular economy industrial half of the city’s total industrial economy.
Feng Wang Cheng Metal Products Co., the city was founded in 2004 by the National Ministry of Environmental Protection Approved the import of the seventh class of scrap metal (mainly aluminum to scrap) recycling aluminum company dismantling project. The company is located in the City Court, where Yang Feng Industrial Zone. In Fengcheng municipal government and relevant departments of the strong support the company achieved in 2007 Sell Income of 15,000 million yuan, 700 million taxpayers. In 2008 due to financial crisis, the company achieved sales of 8,000 million, more than 400 million taxpayers. “By 2011, company annual production capacity of 50,000 tons, the output value will reach 600 million yuan.” Company officials said.
Wang Feng Cheng Metal Products Co., Ltd. is a recycling of urban public resources to go and take the loop road to economic development, a microcosm of the current, Harvest has been planning the establishment of two circular economy industrial bases, namely, He-Zhou Feng urban waste materials recovery and Waste plastic Comprehensive utilization of industrial base, abundance of resources recycling of urban industrial base.
It is understood that HSBC City Hezhou waste recycling and comprehensive utilization of waste plastics industry base has become larger southern Jiangxi and even modern renewable resource recycling and processing industry, an important place. Planning area of 950 acres of base to recover waste plastics, waste rubber, scrap metal and processing. As of the end of 2008, the base has been stationed in various types of enterprises and individual business 230. Base of industrial output value in 2008 of 1.6 billion (declined by the financial crisis in 2007, up more than 20 million), profits and taxes reached 80 million yuan, for the rural surplus labor force of more than 3,000 people. Base has built up a daily processing 2,000 tons of waste water sewage treatment station, on the base’s wastewater treatment 100%. According to incomplete statistics, the base scale of the formation of 950 acres, may add settled enterprises (businesses) more than 300 (including: the main core processors 12), the annual recycling of metal, comprehensive utilization of waste plastics, rubber, 90,000 tons , added industrial output value, profit and tax were 20 billion, 100 million yuan, an average annual increase of 14% or more, about 4,000 new jobs.
Abundance in the construction of resources recycling industry base city the size of waste material than Hezhou comprehensive utilization of waste plastics recycling and larger industrial base, covering an area of 3,000 acres, dismantling, smelting, processing and management services four functional areas. Mainly use imported waste from the seventh class of substances, dismantling, smelting, processing, recycling of resources, reduce the original ore mining, to protect the environment. After the completion of a comprehensive base for the formation of one million tons of dismantling capacity, 70 million tons (of which: 400 thousand tons recycled copper, recycled 300,000 tons of aluminum) smelting capacity of 420,000 tons of deep processing capacity, the annual sales income of 8.467 billion Yuan, profit and tax 400 million, about 1 million job placement officers.
Intends to create national circular economy demonstration areas
However, in the development of circular economy in the city are not tasted the sweetness of abundance to meet the existing scale, the preparation of the two resources in the recycling of existing industrial base, based on category proposed to create state-level eco-industrial vein Industry Park (circular economy demonstration areas) concept. Fengcheng City, according to a researcher, assistant mayor thank Friends of the root describes, Harvest national eco-industrial park venous industry (circular economy demonstration areas) to the two existing resources recycling industry base as a whole and organically integrated, unified planning and supervision. Resource recycling industry base will be dismantled over the waste plastics, waste rubber recycling waste materials for Hezhou and comprehensive utilization of waste plastics processing enterprises within the industrial base for raw materials, and Hezhou waste recycling and comprehensive utilization of waste plastics recycling industry base of scrap non-ferrous metal resources recycling industry has taken deep processing base, base materials to achieve two complementary advantages, resource sharing, so that abundance into the city of circular economy of scale, network, group, circular track of development.