Industrial Pollution, Social Trust, and Civic Engagement: A Nationwide Study of the Socioenvironmental Nature of Social Capital

I conduct a nationwide investigation of the relationship that toxic industrial pollution and the facilities that produce it have with trust and civic engagement within communities. Data on pollution exposure come from the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators Geographic Microdata (RSEI-GM) and Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data sets for the years 1995 to 1999. Data on trust and civic engagement come from the 2000 restricted-access Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey (SCCBS). Statistical analyses provide strong support for Freudenburg and Jones’ conceptualization of corrosive communities and indicate that exposures to more toxic air pollution associate negatively with various measures of trust, and that increased numbers of TRI facilities associate negatively with various measures of civic engagement. The implication is that exposure to toxic industrial air pollution and the facilities that produce it not only adversely affect the physical health of nearby communities, but also their social well-being and underlying capacities for collective action.

Prospects and directions of using forest crops phytocenoses to harmonize the natural environment of industrial regions

The main purpose of this work was to consider artificial tree plantations in terms of ecosystem approach, as a significant factor in improving the ecological environment for the introduction of the sustainable development paradigm in the conditions of industrial pollution Kryvyi Rih region. During 2015–2020, natural forest ecosystems and artificial forest plantations were studied by classical methods. These woody plantations are located in contrasting ecological conditions. The relevance of our research is determined by the need to find practical measures aimed at the formation and maintenance of woody plantations to increase resistance to areas under industrial pollution. The solution to this problem was carried out by assessing their living conditions and biometric indicators.

Spatial Heterogeneity of China’s Environmental Regulation on Industrial Pollution: Evidence from a Top–Down Environmental Enforcement Action

To obtain precise information about enterprises’ pollution control and take corresponding environmental protection measures is the key to preventing and controlling industrial pollution. Taking the lead–acid battery industry as an example, this paper employs data from the Environmental Enforcement Action to analyze the urban–rural and inter-provincial distributions of pollution-intensive enterprises and to quantitatively verify the spatial differences in China’s environmental regulation on industrial pollution. The study finds that lead–acid battery manufacturing enterprises are mainly located in rural areas instead of urban areas; most pollution-intensive firms located in industrial parks, especially those approved by governments below the provincial level. The multivariate logistic model analysis finds that environmental regulation in urban districts is more strict than that in towns and villages, while the suburban areas are the laxest; environmental regulation in national-level development zones is more strict than that in provincial-level development zones, while zones below the provincial level are the laxest. In general, the environmental regulation is stricter in urban areas than in rural areas, and stricter in clustered space than in scattered space, while most inter-provincial environmental regulations have no significant differences. Local governments should effectively allocate conventional environmental law enforcement resources and shift the focus of law enforcement downwards to parks below the provincial level, and on suburbs and townships.

“Fumifugium: Or the inconvenience of the Aer and Smoake of London Dissipated”: emancipatory social accounting in 17th century London

PurposeThis paper extends the nature and relevance of exploring the historical roots of social and environmental accounting by investigating an account that recorded and made visible pollution in 17th century London. John Evelyn's Fumifugium (1661) is characterised as an external social account that bears resemblance to contemporary external accounting particularly given its problematising intentionality.Design/methodology/approachAn interpretive content analysis of the text draws out the themes and features of social accounting. Emancipatory accounting theory is the theoretical lens through which Evelyn's social account is interpreted, applying a microhistory research approach. We interpret Fumifugium as a social account with reference to the context of the reporting accountant.FindingsIn this early example of a stakeholder “giving an account” rather than an “account rendered” by an entity, Evelyn problematises industrial pollution and its impacts with the stated intention of changing industrial practices. We find that Fumifugium was used in challenging, resisting and seeking to solve an environmental problem by highlighting the adverse consequences to those in power and rendering new solutions thinkable.Originality/valueThis is the first research paper to extend investigations of the historical roots of social and environmental accounting into the 17th century. It also extends research investigating alternative forms of account by focusing on a report produced by an interested party and includes a novel use of the emancipatory accounting theoretical lens to investigate this historic report. Fumifugium challenged the lack of accountability of businesses in ways similar to present-day campaigns to address the overwhelming challenge of climate change.

Biomass and mortmass of woody vegetation in metal-contaminated areas (Southern Urals, Russia)

Since the mid-2000s, long-term monitoring of various components of natural ecosystems under conditions of industrial pollution has been carried out in the Southern Urals. As a part of these monitoring programmes, the data on various components of biota in different biotopes, collected with different methods and in different time intervals, continue to be gathered. In addition, data collected through these monitoring programmes can also be used to study the local biodiversity of non-polluted areas. In 2012, in the vicinity of the Karabash Copper Smelter, a study of communities of small mammals was carried out, considering the heterogeneity of their habitats. Within the framework of this project, we presented a detailed description of the state of woody vegetation in the study area. The dataset (available from the GBIF network at https://www.gbif.org/dataset/61384edd-2d0a-437b-8cf0-ff4d2dfcc0da) includes the results of an assessment of the woody vegetation biomass at seven habitats (pine, birch and floodplain forests, reed swamp, sparse birch stand, marshy meadow and dump of household waste) of areas with different levels of industrial pollution in the vicinities of the Karabash, the Southern Urals. Karabash Copper Smelter (KCS) is one of Russia’s most significant point polluters; the main components of its emissions are heavy metals, dust and sulphur dioxide. Parameters of woody vegetation (diameter at breast height, diameter at root collar level and biomass) were estimated for seven forest elements (forest stand, subcanopy (undergrowth and underwood), half-dead tree of a forest stand and four types of coarse woody debris (downed bole, fragment of downed bole, standing dead tree and stump)) at 41 sampling plots (20 at unpolluted and 21 at polluted areas) and 165 subplots (81 and 84, respectively). The dataset includes 411 sampling events (estimation events of the forest elements at sampling plots and subplots), corresponding to 5786 occurrences (estimations of the woody vegetation components) observed during July 2012. For most woody vegetation components (72%), an estimate of the above-ground phytomass is given. For each sampling event, information on the presence or absence of woody vegetation species at the considered habitats is provided (a total of 1479 occurrences with status "absent"). The dataset can be used for environmental monitoring, sustainable forest management, modelling forest productivity considering global changes, studying the structure and biodiversity of forest cover and assessing forests’ carbon-sequestration capacity. In addition, the dataset provides information about different forest ecosystems under the influence of strong industrial pollution.

Improving Firm’s Economic and Environmental Performance Through the Sustainable and Innovative Environment: Evidence From an Emerging Economy

Businesses in the present era are dealing with a complex and unprecedented brew of social, environmental, and technological trends. This requires sophisticated, sustainability-based management. Yet organizations are often reluctant to place sustainability core to their business strategies with the mistaken belief that the costs associated with environmental investments outweigh the benefits. The Global Climate Risk Index has placed Pakistan on 5th position in the list of nations, most susceptible to climate change in its recent report. Pakistan lost the lives of 9,989 people, incurred economic losses of $ 3.8 billion, and faced 152 shocking climates between 1999 and 2018. Based on this information, it is established that Pakistan’s susceptibility to climate change is growing unprecedentedly and industrial pollution is one of the biggest contributors in this respect. The country needs to take emergency measures to address this issue. With this background, the present study aims to investigate the impact of environmental sustainability on environmental and economic performance (EP) with the mediating effect of environmental innovation (EI) in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The results show that environmental sustainability is a significant predictor of environmental performance and EP and EI mediates this relationship. The findings of the present study provide better insights to policymakers to address the environmental degradation, resulting from industrial pollution.