Does environmental science crowd out non-epistemic values?

While no one denies that science depends on epistemic values, many philosophers of science have wrestled with the appropriate role of non-epistemic values, such as social, ethical, and political values. Recently, philosophers of science have overwhelmingly accepted that non-epistemic values should play a legitimate role in science. The recent philosophical debate has shifted from the value-free ideal in science to questions about how science should incorporate non-epistemic values. This article engages with such questions through an exploration of the environmental sciences. These sciences are a mosaic of diverse fields characterized by interdisciplinarity, problem-orientation, policy-directedness, and ubiquitous non-epistemic values. This article addresses a frequently voiced concern about many environmental science practices: that they ‘crowd out’ or displace significant non-epistemic values by either (1) entailing some non-epistemic values, rather than others, or by (2) obscuring discussion of non-epistemic values altogether. With three detailed case studies – monetizing nature, nature-society dualism, and ecosystem health – we show that the alleged problem of crowding out emerges from active debates within the environmental sciences. In each case, critics charge that the scientific practice in question displaces non-epistemic values in at least one of the two senses distinguished above. We show that crowding out is neither necessary nor always harmful when it occurs. However, we do see these putative objections to the application of environmental science as teaching valuable lessons about what matters for successful environmental science, all things considered. Given the significant role that many environmental scientists see for non-epistemic values in their fields, we argue that these cases motivate lessons about the importance of value-flexibility (that practices can accommodate a plurality of non-epistemic values), transparency about value-based decisions that inform practice, and environmental pragmatism.     

Towards an Holistic Framework for Environmental Change: The Role of Normative Behaviour and Informal Networking to Enhance Sustainable Business Practices

The term ‘Sustainable Development’ is brandished by modern businesses as a marketing ploy used to suggest evidence of ethical conduct, innovative thinking and moral superiority. However, when analysing an organisations’ adoption of sustainable practices, it is often clear—within the UK—that there are few activities that have been undertaken as an ethical stance instead of legal obligation (McCormick in Environmental politics and policy in industrialized countries, MIT, London, 2002). Our hypothesis is that most methodologies and practices for environmental management do not adopt a holistic perspective, causing significant problems in implementation from inadequate structures and communication channels (Espinosa et al. in Eur J Oper Res, 187:636–651, 2008). In particular we consider that most organisations are currently stifled with management hierarchies that prevent informal/social networking, which may be one of the most powerful natural forms for self-organisation. It is proposed that sustainable development requires more efficient communication channels that foster self-organisation and self-regulation as a method for more productive change processes. In this paper, we explain the reasons why meta-systemic principles of self-organisation and distributed network management offer clear criteria to design an environmental management system that operates on the basis of self-controlled individuals and communities.     

New Direction of Fashion Design——The Fashion Designing of Green Circulation Consumerism

Green circulation consumerism is the mainstream consumer attitudes in the 21st century,originally derived from green consumption.The costume designing of green circulation consumerism is also known as eco-clothing,green clothing.The designs should meet the health,safety andcomfort requirements;meanwhile it should fulfill sustainable development,resource conservation and other various requirements.     

我国环保型肥料、农药创制与生态农业技术取得重要进展

生态农业是我国农业发展的目标,我国政府高度重视农业领域的环保与生态工作,在2006年制定的《国家中长期科学和技术发展规划纲要（2006—2020年）》中将＂环保型肥料、农药创新与生态农业技术＂列为农业领域优先主题。本文针对自《纲要》实施以来,在环保型肥料、农药创新与生态农业技术领域工作进展、技术突破、存在问题以及进一步发展的建议。     

走向荒野的哲学家——霍尔姆斯·罗尔斯顿及其主要学术思想评介

罗尔斯顿曾是国际环境伦理学协会的创始人和《环境伦理学》杂志创刊者之一,同时担任美国国会与总统智囊团的环境事务顾问以及包括美国荒野协会在内的20多个环保团体顾问,现为科罗拉多州立大学哲学系终身荣誉教授,2003年,因其在生态系统和伦理学方面,特别是对自然内在价值的杰出辩护而获得坦普顿奖。罗尔斯顿被誉为环境伦理学之父,自诩为一个走向荒野的哲学家,其以荒野自然观为本体论、以生态整体主义为认识论与思维方法、以客观的自然内在价值为价值论的环境伦理学是一个完整而开放的理论体系;更难能可贵的是,他积极地把理论推向实践,使其在实践中发挥重大作用。     

基于机械工程中绿色设计的探讨

绿色设计是国际上兴起于上世纪90年代初的一种先进的设计理念,即是在产品整个生命周期内（设计、制造、运输、销售、使用或消费、废弃处理）,重点考虑产品的环境属性即自然资源的利用、对环境和人的影响、可拆卸性、可回收性、可重复利用性等,并将其作为设计目标,在满足环境要求的同时,并行考虑并保证产品应有的基本功能、使用寿命、经济性和质量等。本文将绿色设计在机械工程的应用特点、方法、优势及目前存在的问题进行分析和探讨。     

建设项目环境影响评价的科学认识与价值判断——自然科学性与人文社会性的复合

近年来,建设项目的环境影响问题一直是社会公众环境权益争论的关键,直接影响到基于自然科学认知为基础环境影响评价（环评）工作的顺利展开。本研究针对该问题,从国内对环境影响评价科学研究的现状展开论述,并结合环评理论在国外的发展缘起出发,从本质上把握环境影响评价理论发展的轨迹,甄别亟待解决的症结,引出对环评中科学认识与价值判断的探讨：着重在理论层面对科学认识与价值判断进行认识和解读的基础上,提出将自然科学性与人文社会属性两者进行复合。即研究人类的活动对环境可能造成的后果的客观影响的同时也需强化对环境影响评价的社会属性的认知与实质性落实。为不断更新环评理论知识,有必要将社会环境价值纳入环评价值判断体系内,量化其影响,实现环评工作自然科学性和人文社会性的有机结合,以推动环评实践工作的开展。进而科学地将其引入到环评研究的范畴中,实现价值判断对推进环评工作的重要社会功能,根据当前对环评研究的现状,提出了两者结合研究,特别是推进环境社会研究的思路与框架的建构,以便有力地促进环评理论工作的广泛展开和更为有效地推动环评实践工作的开展。     

环境中的VOCs及其危害

挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）,是指在室温条件下,蒸汽压大于O．0007大气压（O．01psia）,沸点在260℃以下的有机液体和固体。这些有机化合物分子中的碳原子数量一般都在12个以下。自然界里的有机化合物,估计有400多万种,一般都具有较强的挥发性。VOCs大部分是没有毒的,但是少部分不但有毒,而且还可以致癌。环境中的VOCs毒性物质排放,被视为第二大类大气污染物,仅次于大气颗粒物。VOCs毒性物质的急性中毒症状主要表现为：食欲不振、恶心、呕吐、乏力;头晕、头痛;严重者抽搐、痉挛,意识不清,体温下降、瞳孔放大,很快死亡。流行病学统计表明,我国人群中癌症发病率持续增高,与环境中VOCs毒性物质的持续增加有密切关系。因此,研究VOCs毒性物质的产生、排放、危害及其控制对策和措施,具有十分重要的意义。     

Assessment of urinary concentration of cotinine in Chinese pregnant women exposed to environmental tobacco smoke

Environmental tobacco smoke （ETS） is a well- known reason of many adverse health consequences in pregnant women. Exposure of ETS during pregnancy may increase the risk of some fetal diseases in pregnant women and/or birth defects in neonates. Many countries have implemented laws to control smoking and free of second hand smoke in all enclosed workplaces. In China, anti- smoking law was enforced in March 2010. We aimed to assess the exposure of pregnant women to cotinine after anti-smoking law was implemented in China. The urine samples were collected from 2,100 volunteers from Zhejiang Province, China and urinary concentration of cotinine was measured using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Cotinine was detected in 87 % of the pregnant women. The GM and 95th percentile concentration in pregnant women were 4.28 and 44.00 μg/L, respectively. Similarly, the GM and 95th concentration of cotinine were significantly higher in smoking group than in non-smoking group （P 〈 0.0001）. Our results indicate that pregnant women in China are at the high risk of exposure ETS. Further attempts are required to make strategies to find out the sources of ETS exposure and prevent smoking at public places especially during pregnancy.