In the past decade, the deterioration in atmospheric quality caused by emissions of ambient particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) has become an urgent problem in China. As this problem can be mainly attributed to the large amount of coal consumption, a strategy to promote electric power substitution was initiated, and in this case, cutting the price of electricity is considered useful. However, since it was announced that the price of electric power used in the service industry will be reduced by 10%, the proper target to cut the price of electric power used in the secondary industry was under debate. By using the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the policy to cut the price of electric power used in the secondary industry was simulated and the effects of the policy on the economy and the environment were explored. The results show that the policy to cut electric power prices will contribute to promoting the strategy of electricity substitution, and further contribute to environmental improvement. This policy can result in positive effects on the systems of the economy and the environment at the same time, and when the target to cut the price of electric power used in the secondary industry is –3%, the maximum positive effects will be obtained: gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be accelerated by 0.015‰, while PM2.5 emissions will be abated by 394.2 tons. Moreover, based on the unique cross-subsidy mechanism in China’s electric power industry, although residents’ consumption welfare can be fully compensated, less cross-subsidy will have a negative effect on the agriculture industry.

It is of great significance to reduce carbon emissions from electric power generation for green development. In addition to technical measures, two trading mechanisms are built to optimize China’s electric power generation: generation rights trading, and carbon emission rights trading. However, as the carbon emission rights trading are initiated, the issues of how to choose the right trading mechanism, and determining the appropriate strategy under the corresponding trading mechanism continue to confuse generation enterprises. In order to clarify these issues, the game theory was used to identify the proper trading strategies for generation enterprises under the two highly similar trade mechanisms. Results show that the two trading mechanisms are complementary to each other to some extent, and the generation enterprises should choose a proper trade strategy according to the endowment of generation prices, the technical abilities, the grid-loss price and the ratio of carbon-electricity conversion. The equilibrium solutions of trading scales and prices for the two trading mechanisms are mostly related to the endowments of generation prices. Generally, the buyers with higher endowments of generation prices should choose the carbon emission rights trading, and the buyers with lower endowments of generation prices can only benefit in generation rights trading. The bigger gaps between the endowments of generation prices of buyers and sellers are, the more likely the trade can be made and further result in a better environmental consequence. The conclusions provide suggestions to the government that, the grid-loss pricing and the ratio of carbon-electricity conversion could be used as key tools to regulate the market for both of the trade mechanisms.

In this study an attempt was made to assess the mining associated urbanization impact on rural agricultural lands due to expansion of mining dump yards, pulverizing mills and beneficiation plants in and around Govindampalle village, YSR District, A.P by using Geospatial technologies. Various land use and land cover (LULC) classes, mainly, cropland, plantation, fallow land, mining/industrial, water body, settlements and scrub lands were recognized and their impact on the environment has been discussed. Google earth historical imagery during 2010 and 2017 are used to map and assess these land use and land cover changes in the ArcGIS flat form. LULC change detection analysis data showed that cropland, water bodies and scrublands were decreased by 10, 2, 14 and 20 percent, respectively from 2010 to 2017. On the other hand industrial areas and agricultural plantations showed an increasing trend with 14 and 20 percent growth rate respectively.

Increasing concern over rising pollution levels in city limits has resulted in stringent emission regulations for automotive diesel engines. Exhaust emissions from diesel engines are composed of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrates, soot particles and soluble organic faction. Post treatment, emission control technique including diesel oxidation catalysis system, diesel particulate filtration system and selective catalytic reduction system have been developed to reduce the emission levels from automotive engines to meet the latest emission norms. Selective catalytic reduction system, which is used for control of nitrate emission has to be intensified to bring down the emission levels as per the requirements for EURO VI and Bharat Stage VI emission norms. This paper provides a comprehensive overview on the post treatment exhaust emission control systems. A detailed literature survey has been conducted on the state of art nitrate emission control technologies including the use of alternate solid reactants for ammonia generation and catalysts for deNOx reactions, considering the adverse effects of byproducts released by these systems.

Carrying out of indoor radon studies have been done in the 50 dwellings of Bathinda district (Punjab), India using LR-115 type II cellulose nitrate films in the bare mode. The films were exposed into four consecutive trimesters, i.e. from March 2010 to February 2011. The work has been undertaken for health risk assessment. The calibration constant of 1 track cm-2day-1 equal to 50 Bqm-3 (Becquerel/m3) was used. In the present study average radon values vary from 83.15 (BTD-7) to 124.35 (BTD-8) Bqm-3 in different villages, which are higher than the word average value of 40 Bqm-3. The inhabitants of the area of study receive average annual radiation dose varying from 1.41 (BTD-7) - 2.12 (BTD-8) mSv (millisievert). The effective dose is found to be less than lower limit of the recommended action level (3-10 mSv). The value of radon for the first floor portion of the same dwelling is lower in comparison to the ground floor. The values in the cemented floors are lower than in the dwellings with the un-cemented floors. The indoor radon values are more in very poorly ventilated dwellings in comparison to the very well-ventilated dwellings.

This paper presents an overview of the implication of geomorphology and sedimentology on the chemical characteristics of sediments of River Sadong, Malaysia. There is limited published work on the effect of topography, climate, soil and geology on the sediments lying in the River Sadong. Studies have been undertaken around Kota Samarahan and Asajaya areas whereby some heavy metal constituents and their environmental effects were determined. The study entails the description of the depositional processes alongside with physical and geochemical changes, without neglecting natural and anthropogenic effects.

Comprehensive harnessing of soil and water erosion can change the regional surface environment, improve ecological conditions, and promote regional social and economic development, which can also achieve good ecological, social, and economic benefits for the purpose of preventing and controlling soil erosion. Scientific evaluation of soil erosion comprehensive harnessing benefits is presented, and analysis of influencing factors is adopted, which is an important basis for further understanding of work effectiveness and optimization of governance measures. The research selects Taihang Mountain Area of Hebei Province as the research area. This paper evaluates the comprehensive treatment benefits of 16 typical small watersheds by multi-level fuzzy evaluation method, and uses the exponential, linear, logarithmic, power function and polynomial as the model. The correlation between land use type area and comprehensive treatment benefit was studied, and the corresponding improvement of management efficiency has been proposed in order to provide a reference for optimizing the comprehensive management mode of small watersheds in Taihang Mountain area and improving the efficiency of comprehensive management.

Population growth and improvement in the people’s economy have caused the need for space to grow and have changed land use in the Krueng Aceh watershed. This study on the effect of changes in land use on the Krueng Aceh watershed hydrological response as a step to anticipate water shortage in the future using the geographical information analysis and the river regime coefficient (RRC) method approach. The results of this study revealed that the functional shifts from primary forests to production forests and from brushland to ricefield and settlements increased the RRC value from 14.59 to 56.74 in the last 20 years. The hydrological response showed that 18% of the water had the potential to not infiltrate and become runoff. The effect is a reduction in groundwater supply, flooding in the rainy season, drought in the dry season, and clean water scarcity in the future. The management of the future must be based on one river, one planning, and one management system principle.

Hydrogen is recognized as the green energy with the greatest potential for future development, but currently, China’s hydrogen production is highly dependent on raw fossil materials, which conflicts with the original intention of developing hydrogen energy. As the abandoned hydropower problem in Southwestern China is serious. The current strategy can be focused using surplus hydropower to produce hydrogen in a green way. In this study, the technical cost and advantage of hydrogen produced using surplus hydropower using the levelized cost of energy model was analyzed. The results show that cheap surplus hydropower will considerably reduce the cost of hydrogen produced using electrolyzing water, and the cost is comparable to that of coal gasification hydrogen production. The hydropower to be abandoned by Southwestern China annually can drive the hydrogen production with 1.2 million tons per year, providing a technically and economically feasible approach to developing hydrogen energy.

Cotton is one of the most important fibres and cash crop of India, which plays a dominant role in the country’s industrial and agricultural economy. About 60% of all commercialized agrochemicals, are insanely applied on cotton fields so that cotton has become one of the most polluted and chemical-intensive agricultural crops in the world. The present study was undertaken to determine the concentration of different organophosphorus pesticides residue in cotton samples collected from agriculture fields of Tijara tehsil, Alwar. A total of 150 samples were randomly collected from the cotton farm. Concentrations of all pesticides in the cotton samples were determined by GC/MS and LC-MS. About 38% of the total analysed samples were contaminated with different residues, among which 10.66% were having the concentration of pesticide residue above the MRL. The study revealed that cotton is highly contaminated with Monocrotophos (22%) followed by Acephate (10%), Chlorpyrifos (7.33%) and Profenofos (5.33%). The possible reasons for high levels of pesticides in cotton are the massive use of pesticides and farmers were not having sufficient scientific knowledge about the chemical nature of pesticides that have been used or the effects of pesticides on the environment and the effects of pesticides exposure on public health, when using them indiscriminately. The presence of pesticides in cotton samples is a serious threat to humans because they further show pesticide residues in cotton products. Therefore, it is recommended to continuously monitor the use of this pesticide in the study areas.