Analysis on Decision-Making Changes of Multilevel Governments and Influencing Factors in Watershed Ecological Compensation

Watershed ecological compensation has been widely accepted as a system to promote the cooperation of various stakeholders to solve the problem of transboundary water pollution, but the existing research does not fully consider the impact of compensation fee paid by different governments on stakeholders’ decision-making. Therefore, this paper constructs a tripartite game model between upstream governments, downstream governments, and the central government by using evolutionary game theory and determines the influence of different factors on the decision-making process of each player through simulation. The results show the following: (1) the initial probability significantly affects the decision-making behavior of each player; (2) daily supervision of the central government and the reduction of the environmental protection cost can promote the implementation of watershed ecological compensation; (3) the fine to downstream governments makes the decisions of the central government and downstream governments change periodically; and (4) the increase of ecological compensation fee urges downstream governments to choose noncompensation, and compensation fee paid by the central government has a critical value.

A Novel Fuzzy Approach to Gas Pipeline Risk Assessment Under Influence of Ground Movement

The gas transport infrastructure is frequently localized in areas subjected to anthropogenic movements and strains. The potential impact of such deformations on the gas pipeline in the aspect of its damaging can be properly assessed by, e.g. by predicting strains, taking into account the causes of terrain movement. On the other hand the hazard is also related to technological factors like design of the pipeline. The presented method is based on artificial intelligence methods allowing for evaluation of probability of failure risk in gas supply pipeline sections. The Mamdani fuzzy inference was used in the study. Uncertainty of variables characterizing the resistance of the gas pipeline and predicted continuous deformations of ground surface were accounted for in the model by using triangular-shaped membership functions. Based on the surface deformations and gas pipeline resistance and the inference model one can make prediction when the gas pipeline is hazarded. The proposed model can contribute to the protection, cost optimization of the designed pipelines and to the repairs of the existing gas pipelinesTrial registration number and date of registration: COAL-D-21-00255, 27.09.2021

Economic and Toxicological Aspects of Pesticide Management Practices: Empirical Evidence from Turkey

The aim of this study was to evaluate the economics and toxicological aspects of pesticide management practices for sustainable chickpea production. The results of this study demonstrated that the average usage of pesticides is 877.30 g per hectare as an active ingredient in the chickpea growing. The average usages per hectare of active ingredient of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides were calculated to be 1.50 g, 638.80 g, and 237.00 g, respectively. Fungicides are the biggest pesticide group used with 72.81% of total weight of active ingredients. It was calculated that the crop protection cost was EUR 75.65 per hectare, having the portion of 12 % of average production cost. The study revealed that the most common pesticides used by the farmers in chickpea growing were moderately hazardous and non-acute hazard categories. Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that the government should carry out effective agro-environmental intervention policies and farmer extension programs should be aimed at balancing the amounts of pesticides used per hectare for the sustainable, dynamic environment and prevention of pesticide toxicity. Keywords: chickpea, pesticide practices, economic, toxicological, Turkey

Effect of Environmental Protection Cost on Return on Equity of Petroleum Marketing Companies in Nigeria?

This paper evaluates the effect of environmental protection cost on return on equity of petroleum marketing companies in Nigeria. A panel data spanning a period of fifteen years from 2004-2018 was used, which was sourced from Nigerian Stock Exchange Factbook and annual account and report of twelve (12) petroleum marketing companies in Nigeria. Regression was used in testing the hypothesis of the paper. The paper found that environmental protection cost has positive and significant effect on return on asset of petroleum marketing companies in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper recommends that management of petroleum marketing companies in Nigeria should increase their participation on Environmental protection and Environmental remediation and pollution control to their host communities in order to maximized profitability most especially the return on asset of the sampled petroleum marketing companies in Nigeria.

The modification of an epoxy resin by natural plant materials

The article presents the results of research on the modification of Epidian 5 epoxy resin by introducing natural modifiers. It's easy accessibility and biodegradability has a positive effect on environmental protection, cost-effectiveness of the process, useful and strength properties of composites. Still looking for the best solutions in the production of epoxy composites combining these features, we have attempted to compare and select the most optimal natural modifier. The epoxy resin was modified with collagen, hemp fibres, cellulose from pepper extraction residues. The amount of amine hardener suggested by the manufacturer was added to the composition. Each composition was cured at room temperature for 24 hours and then cured at 80°C for 3 hours. The prepared composites were subjected to impact assessment additions for mechanical properties, impact strength, three-point bending strength, critical stress intensity factor and gel time.

Zero Waste

Zero waste management means the holistic concept of waste management which recognizes waste as a resource produced during the interim phase of the process of resource consumption. Zero waste strategies may be applied to companies, to communities, industrial sectors, to schools, and homes since they include many stakeholders, not only those of the environment, but also technological aspects. Sustainability is also strongly supported by environmental protection, cost reduction, and additional jobs when it comes to waste management and handling back into the industrial cycle. Lowering global resource requirements force us to consider resource management and product management. The management of zero waste is therefore a holistic view of the sustainable avoidance and management of waste and resources. Although there are many null practice approaches and null waste approaches in the modern world, zero waste is a very complex system, and in the future, there are still many works.