Feng Shi

Bio: Feng Shi is an academic researcher from Qilu University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Demolition & Drainage basin. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 38 publications receiving 988 citations. Previous affiliations of Feng Shi include Nagoya University & Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Evaluating the potential for urban heat-island mitigation by greening parking lots

Abstract: Artificial urban land uses such as commercial and residential buildings, roads, and parking lots covered by impervious surfaces can contribute to the formation of urban heat islands (UHIs), whereas vegetation such as trees, grass, and shrubs can mitigate UHIs. Considering the increasing area of parking lots with little vegetation cover in Nagoya, Japan, this study evaluated the potential for UHI mitigation of greening parking lots in Nagoya. The relationships between land surface temperature (LST) and land use/land cover (LULC) in different seasons were analyzed using multivariate linear regression models. Potential UHI mitigation was then simulated for two scenarios: (1) grass is planted on the surface of each parking lot with coverage from 10 to 100% at an interval of 10% and (2) parking lots are covered by 30% trees and 70% grass. The results show that different LULC types play different roles in different seasons and times. On average, both scenarios slightly reduced the LST for the whole study area in spring or summer. However, for an individual parking lot, the maximum LST decrease was 7.26 °C in summer. This research can help us understand the roles of vegetation cover and provide practical guidelines for planning parking lots to mitigate UHIs.

Materials demand and environmental impact of buildings construction and demolition in China based on dynamic material flow analysis

Abstract: Due to economic growth and improving of people's living standards, China is experiencing large scale building construction, which resulted in a shortage of domestic resource supplies and severe environmental impact. This study estimated materials demand and environmental impact from buildings in China from 1950 to 2050 based on MFA. Furthermore, the effect of prolonging the lifetime of buildings and strengthening materials recycling on reducing raw material demand, solid waste generation and CO2 emissions was investigated. The results indicated, for almost all scenarios, a strong drop in materials demand and related CO2 emissions for new buildings construction over the next years. From an environmental as well as a resource conservation point of view, this is a considerable conclusion. The iron ore and limestone demand from buildings construction will decrease around 2030, however, they always increase dependence on import for iron ore and accelerating depletion of limestone. Furthermore, prolonging lifetime of buildings and strengthening materials recycling are very effective methods to avoid more raw material consumption, waste generation and to mitigate CO2 emissions.

How does industrial structure change impact carbon dioxide emissions? A comparative analysis focusing on nine provincial regions in China

Abstract: China as a whole is undergoing rapid industrial structure change, but this process is proceeding in a particularly unequal manner across regions. Understanding these changes and their associated impacts on CO2 emissions in these regions is a vital step toward appropriately targeted policy making. In this paper, we conduct both regional analysis throughout the nation and case studies focused on nine typical regions in order to identify regional patterns of industrial structure change and CO2 emissions. Results indicate that structural change in primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors was highly correlated, but structural change by industrial sector did not correspond well, with the stage of economic development. The disparity in regional industrial structure impacts regional CO2 emissions substantially. First, industrial structure changes involving a shift from agriculture, mining, and light manufacturing to resource-related heavy manufacturing in many regions led to a rapid increase in CO2 emissions at the national level. Second, production structure change, especially in construction and services sectors, is an important source of CO2 emission growth in regions. Some developed regions with vastly improved input efficiency in resource-related heavy manufacturing demonstrate the immense potential for reducing CO2 emissions in regions lagging in input efficiency. Third, regions with a more developed industrial structure avoided local CO2 emissions by importing carbon-intensive products while exporting less carbon-intensive but higher-value-added products in the machinery and equipment and service sectors. Several policy implications are also discussed based on the main findings of this study.

Structural decomposition analysis of the carbonization process in Beijing: A regional explanation of rapid increasing carbon dioxide emission in China

Abstract: Methods to control China's CO2 emissions under its rapid economic development process have received much attention. As the top industrialized and urbanized region in China, Beijing is a good case to show the trends of CO2 emissions in China, and examining how different drivers influence the CO2 emissions direction of Beijing can give valuable insights to other regions on dealing with the emerging climate change issues. To this end, we conducted structural decomposition analysis to quantify the contributions of technological and socio-economic factors to the rapid CO2 emissions growth in Beijing from 1995 to 2007. An increasing final demand level and production structure change led to carbonizing Beijing significantly, while energy intensity improvement was Beijing's sole prominent source on decarbonizing its economic development in 1995–2007. Further, results highlighted the importance of trading and investment in CO2 emissions variations in Beijing. The industrial structure change toward heavy manufacturing and services sectors led to the significant role of these sectors in CO2 emissions growth in Beijing. Beijing's carbonizing process is a reminder to other regions in China to reconsider the direction of their industrial structure change and implement consistent and strict energy-saving policies.

Toward a Low Carbon–Dematerialization Society

Abstract: Summary Rapid industrialization and urbanization has been occurring in China since the introduction of the opening-up policy in 1978. The demands of building and infrastructure construction have increased rapidly, especially in the transportation and housing sectors in China. Large amounts of construction materials have been required in building construction and maintenance of the railway and road systems, especially steel and cement. Continued cement and steel production will require heavy raw material resource consumption and will emit a great deal of carbon dioxide (CO2). This study forecasts future steel and cement demand and related resource consumption and CO2 emissions for building and transportation infrastructure based on a material flow analysis of China. Furthermore, the effect of prolonging the lifetime of building and transportation infrastructure is appraised. The results indicate that building and transportation infrastructure will increase sharply through 2030. Although the demand for new construction will then decrease, steel and cement consumption will remain at a high level through 2050 because these are needed to maintain roads and railways. In addition, prolonging the lifetime of buildings and infrastructure is a useful way to avoid more raw material consumption and to mitigate CO2 emissions. However, its main effect is to decrease the demolition of buildings and reduce material use for the maintenance of roads and railways. Currently not enough countermeasures have been implemented to realize a low carbon–dematerialization society in the building and transportation construction sector. Future comprehensive efforts should include the reuse of waste construction material and a reduction in raw material consumption intensity by applying technical innovations.

Spectral mixture modeling - A new analysis of rock and soil types at the Viking Lander 1 site. [on Mars]

Abstract: A Viking Lander 1 image was modeled as mixtures of reflectance spectra of palagonite dust, gray andesitelike rock, and a coarse rocklike soil. The rocks are covered to varying degrees by dust but otherwise appear unweathered. Rocklike soil occurs as lag deposits in deflation zones around stones and on top of a drift and as a layer in a trench dug by the lander. This soil probably is derived from the rocks by wind abrasion and/or spallation. Dust is the major component of the soil and covers most of the surface. The dust is unrelated spectrally to the rock but is equivalent to the global-scale dust observed telescopically. A new method was developed to model a multispectral image as mixtures of end-member spectra and to compare image spectra directly with laboratory reference spectra. The method for the first time uses shade and secondary illumination effects as spectral end-members; thus the effects of topography and illumination on all scales can be isolated or removed. The image was calibrated absolutely from the laboratory spectra, in close agreement with direct calibrations. The method has broad applications to interpreting multispectral images, including satellite images.

Planning for Cooler Cities : A Framework to Prioritise Green Infrastructure to Mitigate High Temperatures in Urban Landscapes

Abstract: a b s t r a c t Warming associated with urban development will be exacerbated in future years by temperature increases due to climate change. The strategic implementation of urban green infrastructure (UGI) e.g. street trees, parks, green roofs and facades can help achieve temperature reductions in urban areas while delivering diverse additional benefits such as pollution reduction and biodiversity habitat. Although the greatest thermal benefits of UGI are achieved in climates with hot, dry summers, there is comparatively little information available for land managers to determine an appropriate strategy for UGI implementa- tion under these climatic conditions. We present a framework for prioritisation and selection of UGI for cooling. The framework is supported by a review of the scientific literature examining the relationships between urban geometry, UGI and temperature mitigation which we used to develop guidelines for UGI implementation that maximises urban surface temperature cooling. We focus particularly on quantifying the cooling benefits of four types of UGI: green open spaces (primarily public parks), shade trees, green roofs, and vertical greening systems (green walls and facades) and demonstrate how the framework can be applied using a case study from Melbourne, Australia.

The decomposition of energy-related carbon emission and its decoupling with economic growth in China

Abstract: In order to find the efficient ways to reduce carbon emission intensity in China, we utilize the LMDI method to decompose the changes of China׳s carbon emissions and carbon emission intensity from 1996 to 2010, from the perspectives of energy sources and industrial structure respectively. Then we introduce the decoupling index to analyze the decoupling relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth in China. The results indicate that, on the one hand, economic growth appeared as the main driver of carbon emissions increase in the past decades, while the decrease of energy intensity and the cleaning of final energy consumption structure played significant roles in curbing carbon emissions; meanwhile, the secondary industry proved the principal source of carbon emissions reduction among the three industries and had relatively higher potential. On the other hand, when the decoupling relationship is considered, most years during the study period saw the relative decoupling effect between carbon emissions and economic growth, which indicated that the reduction effect of inhibiting factors of carbon emissions was less than the driving effect of economic growth, and the economy grew with increased carbon emissions; there appeared the absolute decoupling effect in 1997, 2000 and 2001, which implied that the economy grew while carbon emissions decreased; whereas no decoupling effect was identified in 2003 and 2004.

Can environmental innovation facilitate carbon emissions reduction? Evidence from China

Abstract: Environmental innovation has been recognized as an efficient way of addressing environmental problems. However, how environmental innovation may affect carbon emissions in China and whether the effect may differ among various environmental innovation variables remain to be investigated. Therefore, based on the panel data of China’s 30 provinces during 2000–2013, we use a system generalized method of moments (SGMM) technique to estimate the effect of environmental innovation on carbon emissions in China. Also, we evaluate the effect on carbon emission reduction of China’s initial carbon emissions trading (CET) scheme. Empirical results indicate that, most environmental innovation measures in China reduce carbon emissions effectively. Among the various environmental innovation factors, energy efficiency exerts the most evident effect on carbon emissions abatement in China; meanwhile, resources for innovation and knowledge innovation also play prominent roles in this regard. However, the impact of governmental environmental policies on curbing carbon emissions reduction suffers from a lag effect, which mainly occurred during 2006–2013. Finally, despite the short time of operation and incomplete market mechanism, the pilot CET in China has appeared relatively promising with regard to carbon emissions reduction.

Impacts of urbanization and industrialization on energy consumption/CO2 emissions: Does the level of development matter?

Abstract: Urbanization and industrialization have significant impacts on energy consumption and CO2 emissions, but their relationship varies at different stages of economic development. Taking cognizance of heterogeneity and the “ratchet effect,” this paper adopts the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) framework as a starting point and re-estimates the relationship using different panel date models. The main results are obtained by dynamic panel threshold regression models, which divide a balanced panel dataset of 73 countries over the period of 1971–2010 into four groups according to their annual income levels. The key results are: (1) in the low-income group, urbanization decreases energy consumption but increases CO2 emissions; (2) in the middle-/low-income and high-income groups, industrialization decreases energy consumption but increases CO2 emissions, while urbanization significantly increases both energy consumption and CO2 emissions; (3) for the middle-/high-income group, urbanization does not significantly affect energy consumption, but does hinder the growth of emissions; while industrialization was found to have an insignificant impact on energy consumption and CO2 emissions; (4) from the population perspective, it produces positive effects on energy consumption, and also increases emissions except for the high-income group. These novel methodology and findings reveal that different development strategies of urbanization and industrialization should be pursued depending on the levels of income in a bid to conserve energy and reduce emissions.