Biodiversity conservation in Sichuan is in action

"Everything has its own harmony for life and its own nourishment for success", and biodiversity is the basis of human survival and development. With the successful holding of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming and the publication of the White Paper on Biodiversity Conservation in China, the keyword "biodiversity" has attracted more and more attention. Sichuan spans five major geomorphic units, including the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Hengduan Mountains, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Qinba Mountain Area and Sichuan Basin, including six climatic gradients, namely subtropical zone, warm temperate zone, cold temperate zone, sub-frigid zone and cold zone. It is rich in biodiversity and has great potential in related fields. On May 25th, Wang Jinghong, member of the party group and deputy director of Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Bureau, Guo Xiangxing, director of wildlife and wetland protection department, and Gu Haijun, stationmaster of provincial wildlife resources investigation and protection station, walked into the live broadcast room of online interview column on the provincial government website, and talked about "biodiversity protection   Sichuan in action "theme online communication with the majority of netizens.

Biodiversity generally refers to genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity, which is closely related to our lives. It not only provides a variety of ecological products for material life, but also makes people feel pleasing to the eye and happy in spirit, such as beautiful mountains and rivers, giant pandas and golden monkeys. According to Wang Jinghong, there are various types of ecosystem diversity in Sichuan. Among them, forests, grasslands and wetlands are the main contributors to the ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and species biodiversity is also extremely rich. There are 303 species of wildlife under national key protection, including giant pandas, Sichuan golden monkeys and snow leopards, and there are 14,470 species of higher plants, accounting for more than one third of the national total. Behind the treasures of mountains and rivers, Sichuan has done a lot of systematic work to protect biodiversity over the years-the implementation of the Yangtze River shelterbelt project, the natural forest protection project and the project of returning farmland to forests, and the promulgation of the Measures for the Management of the Balance of Grass and Livestock in Pastoral Areas in Sichuan Province and the Regulations on the Protection of Wetlands in Sichuan Province, with great efforts and complete guarantee system. By 2021, the forest coverage rate in the province is as high as 40.23%, the comprehensive vegetation coverage rate of natural grassland is 85.8%, and the wetland protection rate is 57%. "It is expected that before June, we will welcome the Wetland Department of National Forestry and Grassland Administration to visit Sichuan to evaluate Seda Nilaba’s internationally important wetlands and Guang ‘an Baiyun Lake, Baiyulalongcuo and Luhuo Xianshui River," Wang Jinghong revealed.

When it comes to species protection in Sichuan, we can’t help but mention the famous business card of giant panda. In addition to the population growth of captive giant pandas that you can see in breeding bases, Sichuan has also achieved remarkable results in the exploration of ex situ release of rescue giant pandas and wild training of artificially bred giant pandas. At present, three release bases and two wild training bases for giant pandas have been built, and by the end of 2018, 13 giant pandas have been amplified and tracked continuously. The Giant Panda National Park, established in 2021, spans Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, which will enhance the connectivity, coordination and integrity of giant panda habitats, help strengthen the biodiversity of giant pandas and their umbrellas and the overall protection of typical ecological fragile areas, and build an important national ecological barrier. "Over the years, we have continued to exert our efforts in the overall protection of wild animals and plants, and made overall plans to promote it. We have successively established 165 nature reserves with rare wild animals, plants and ecosystems as the main protection objects, systematically and completely protecting the typical natural ecosystems in our province and the giant panda, white-lipped deer, Sichuan partridge, black-necked crane, Panzhihua cycad, spinulosa, and talus. Wang Jinghong was delighted to say that with the help of infrared camera monitoring technology, researchers have captured images of many rare wild animals, especially the activities of top predators in the food chain, such as snow leopards, in Xinlong, Wolong, Wang Lang and other places, which has become strong evidence for the integrity of the natural ecosystems in the relevant areas.

"Forests and grasslands play a fundamental and strategic role in national ecological security. Countless predecessors have struggled for the cause of forestry and grass, leaving us with confidence, enthusiasm and passion. We must inherit it and make new contributions. " Wang Jinghong said that the primary focus is on the Giant Panda National Park and the Zoige National Park being created. On the basis of consolidating the existing protection achievements, we should promote the construction of nature reserves system with national parks as the main body, optimize and integrate various nature reserves, and realize the management capacity of nature reserves such as national parks to reach the domestic advanced level. At the same time, it is necessary to further strengthen the protection of key protected wild animals and plants, improve the monitoring and supervision system of flagship species and key species, and strive to broaden public participation channels and expand the influence of biodiversity protection.

In the interactive session, Guo Xiangxing and Gu Haijun respectively answered questions about the laws and regulations on wildlife resources protection, popular science and the arrangement of experience activities that netizens are generally concerned about. (Reporter   Liu Chang)

Biodiesel made from "gutter oil", do you want to try your car? Pilot projects of two gas stations in Shanghai

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"For ten years, this dream has finally taken a substantial step!" On the afternoon of October 30th, Lou Deming, a professor at Tongji University, stood in front of the biodiesel oiler at Zhuanghang Gas Station in Fengxian, Sinopec.

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From now on, two Sinopec gas stations in Fengxian District and Pudong New Area of Shanghai will start to sell B5 biodiesel as a pilot. This means that biodiesel made from kitchen waste oil has finally got rid of the "laboratory" stage and opened up the "last mile" of marketization, and it is just around the corner to realize large-scale replication and popularization.

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Lou Deming said that it has always been his dream to market biodiesel.

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"Free delivery" of biodiesel.

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After removing impurities, chemical reaction, distillation and other processes, refined fatty acid methyl ester, also known as biodiesel, can be obtained from kitchen waste oil. According to China’s national standard "biodiesel blended fuel", biodiesel that can be used in vehicles must be "blended oil". For example, B5 biodiesel provided by the two pilot gas stations is blended with 5% biodiesel and 95% mineral diesel. At the same time, dozens of quality indexes such as sulfur content, acid value, water content, condensation point and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have to be examined.

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The reporter of Jiefang Daily Shangguan saw in a gas station at the intersection of Nanting Highway and Puwei Highway that two oilers have been modified, and four oilers can provide the service of filling B5 biodiesel, and the "biodiesel" mark with white characters on the green background is affixed to the ground of the relevant refueling stations; On the stop sign erected at the gas station, the four characters "biodiesel" have also been added to remind the passing vehicles.

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Looking at the oil price, the average diesel in this station is 6.02 yuan/liter, while the B5 biodiesel can be discounted by 9.5, and the price is 5.72 yuan/liter. "There is 5% biodiesel in every liter of oil, and this preferential price is equivalent to giving biodiesel free of charge." The gas station attendant said that this would attract some car owners to switch to biodiesel, and the invoice would also indicate "biodiesel".

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On the left is the unit price of B5 biodiesel, and on the right is the unit price of ordinary diesel, with preferential 0.3 yuan/liter.

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At present, this gas station in Fengxian reserves about 10 tons of B5 biodiesel, and it is estimated that it can be filled in four or five days if each vehicle is filled with 60 liters at a time. The waiter said that at the beginning, many car owners may be influenced by traditional ideas, and may not necessarily accept biodiesel. There may also be many people pursuing green environmental protection, and the specific effect remains to be seen. Before they fill the vehicle, they will take the initiative to express the oil and ask the driver’s wishes.

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It is almost the same as ordinary diesel.

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The reporter interviewed several car owners who came to the station to refuel at random. They generally welcomed biodiesel, but they didn’t choose biodiesel on the grounds of "not sure about the quality" and "may not accept it when reimbursing".

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In this regard, Lou Deming said that the quality of biodiesel that can enter the pilot of Sinopec gas station has been repeatedly tested, and it is almost the same as ordinary diesel. According to him, since September 29th, 2013, when the first No.70 bus in Shanghai was put into operation, as of September 30th, 2017, a total of 104 buses have participated in the project "Research on Shanghai Application System of Biodiesel Made from High Proportion of Kitchen Waste Oils". These buses that use biodiesel mixed fuels of three specifications (B5, B10 and B20) run for a total of 15,607,200 kilometers, and consume 456,300 liters of waste oil from kitchen to make biodiesel. In the past 10 months, another 32 sanitation vehicles have participated in the above-mentioned experiments, running 83,100 kilometers in total and consuming 2,405.6 liters of kitchen waste oil to produce biodiesel.

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The results show that after using B5 biodiesel, there is no carbon deposit on the surface of the piston top, valve, injector and other key parts of the test vehicle engine, and there is no fault related to the oil circuit. Some vehicles have also seen an improvement in exhaust emissions. Compared with pure diesel, the emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and ultrafine particles have all decreased slightly.

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A sanitation truck is waiting to be filled with B5 biodiesel. Driver Ye Jinqing said that on average, it saves a few dollars per day compared with adding fossil diesel, and the tail gas pollution seems to be a little less.

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Solve the problem of "not enough to eat" and "no money to earn"

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Lou Deming said frankly that "gutter oil" became the technology of vehicle fuel, and it was conquered more than ten years ago. The project achievement "Key Technology and Application of Mixed Diesel Fuel Vehicle" won the first prize of scientific and technological progress in Shanghai in 2012, but since then, it has been a very difficult road to make "gutter oil" completely leave the laboratory and go to the market. To sum up, there are two levels: "not enough to eat" and "no money to earn".

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The so-called "not enough to eat" means that there is no stable source of "gutter oil" and it is impossible to guarantee the stable mass production of biodiesel.

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This problem was solved in 2013. Under the leadership of Shanghai Food Safety Office, Shanghai Food Safety Office, Municipal Greening and Appearance Bureau, Municipal Food Safety Federation, Tongji University, Shanghai Huayi Group and Shanghai Zhongqi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. signed the "Six-Party Cooperation Agreement on the Recycling of Kitchen Waste Oils in Shanghai", which clarified that the kitchen waste oils collected in the whole city were given priority to the bus pilot project. As long as conditions permit, about 30,000 to 40,000 tons of kitchen waste oil produced in Shanghai every year can be transported to designated units to produce biodiesel.

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The so-called "no money to earn" is subject to higher collection, transportation and disposal costs, and Shanghai biodiesel production enterprises have long been in the dilemma of cost inversion. Starting from 2010, the purchase price of "waste oil" of Shanghai disposal enterprises should be calculated according to a certain proportion of the sum of the international prices of crude oil, palm oil and methyl ester. Once the international oil price falls, the longer the production line is opened, the more it will lose money.

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"At present, it is still in a state of loss, and it loses several hundred yuan for every ton sold." Zhang Xuewang, chairman of Sinochem Environmental Protection, said frankly that at present, the purchase price of "waste oil" is about 3,600 yuan/ton, and the direct production cost of about 2,000 yuan has exceeded the market price of biodiesel of more than 5,000 yuan/ton. Therefore, although the disposal capacity can reach 150 tons/day, China Environmental Protection actually only disposes about 60 tons of "waste oil" every day.

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This problem was solved in 2016, and the "Emergency Support Measures for the Collection, Transportation and Disposal of Biodiesel Made from Waste Kitchen Oils in Shanghai" was promulgated, which will subsidize the losses of related disposal enterprises in case of market failure to ensure their normal operation. In addition, Shanghai has set up a budget to promote the application of biodiesel. At present, the costs and expenses arising from the production and distribution of B5 biodiesel related to two pilot gas stations are included in this budget, which will also reduce the burden on related enterprises.

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The attendant at the gas station is filling the vehicle with B5 biodiesel, which the industry has been waiting for for a long time.

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Zheng Shusong, deputy secretary-general of Shanghai Food Safety Federation, said that the promotion of biodiesel depends largely on the financial support of the government, so that the energy cost borne by enterprises is lower than the current pure fossil diesel model, so that enterprises will have the enthusiasm to use it. However, relying on financial support is not a long-term solution. The key is to find a way out of the market. This time, biodiesel has entered the social gas station, which is a huge step.

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"If a gas station can accept biodiesel, the public can really get in touch with biodiesel. Only by understanding, the whole society will further accept and recognize this new energy consumption mode." Zheng Shusong said that it is foreseeable that the sales of biodiesel will become wider and wider, and its value will also increase. At that time, disposal enterprises can no longer rely on financial subsidies and take a purely market-oriented road.

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Closed-loop management of "waste oil"

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"Waste cooking oil" generally refers to the oil produced and processed by non-food raw materials such as kitchen waste, meat processing waste and unqualified livestock and poultry products. In recent years, all parts of the country have continuously intensified the crackdown and strengthened the source control, and the illegal and criminal activities of manufacturing and selling "gutter oil" with kitchen waste as raw materials have been curbed. However, the long-term mechanism for the comprehensive improvement of "gutter oil" has not been fully established, and the illegal and criminal problems of manufacturing and selling "gutter oil" still occur from time to time. In April this year, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Governance of Waste Oil", which clearly pointed out that it is necessary to strictly supervise law enforcement, strengthen source governance, and prevent waste oil from flowing to the table; It is also necessary to increase policy support and establish a long-term mechanism to jointly promote the harmless treatment and resource utilization of kitchen waste. It is necessary to regard the treatment of "gutter oil" as the key task of food safety during the 13 th Five-Year Plan period, and strive to make a breakthrough.

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Experts believe that there is no very accurate detection method for "gutter oil" at present, and it is difficult to achieve it only by "person-to-person" supervision. At present, the main breakthrough is resource utilization, and the "sparse" market replaces the "blocking" supervision.

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Referring to the international advanced experience, San Francisco, USA, recycles waste oil from restaurants in the city free of charge, converts it into biofuel and directly forces it to be used in municipal public transport; Japan put forward the "comprehensive strategy of bio-energy", which clearly gives the recycling of waste edible oil an important position in biodiesel fuel, and formulates the policy of state support for cooperative enterprises. Waste oil professional recycling companies basically recycle waste oil from catering enterprises for free, and after a series of treatment and refining, it becomes biodiesel, and then sells it to the government at several times the cost.

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Shanghai has also gained valuable exploration experience in this regard. "Through the path of biodiesel, Shanghai has achieved closed-loop management of kitchen waste oil." Yang Jinsong, director of Shanghai Food and Drug Administration, said that in the future, Shanghai will continue to upgrade its technical standards, use the market-oriented operation mode, promote the diversified application of biodiesel from kitchen waste oil, expand from buses and sanitation vehicles to logistics vehicles and Yangtze River cargo ships, and explore the establishment of a safe and reliable mixed diesel fuel storage and filling system that is suitable for the actual situation of Shanghai and can effectively reduce costs, so as to further improve the supervision system and market operation mode of the whole industry chain.

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Related disposal technology of "waste oil"

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Biden announced a package of nominations for core positions: these candidates are "the first in history"

Biden announces a package of nominations for core positions. (Source: Associated Press)

  Overseas network December 1 ST Biden, the "elected president" of the United States, has announced a series of nominations and appointments for core positions of the new government in recent days. On November 30th, CNN published an article saying that Biden’s personnel appointment basically realized the earlier expectations of relevant candidates and "diversity" commitment, and the article further exposed several "firsts in history" in Biden’s new team.

  First female finance minister candidate

  Former Federal Reserve Chairman janet yellen was formally nominated as Treasury Secretary by Biden. If this nomination is approved by the Senate, Yellen will become the first woman in the United States to serve as Treasury Secretary.

  Yellen, 74, is a Jewish economist with a doctorate in economics from Yale University. She served as the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under former President Bill Clinton. Yellen has worked in the Federal Reserve for many years, successively serving as President of federal reserve bank of san francisco and Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve. In 2014, Yellen, who was nominated by then President Obama, became the first female chairman in the history of the Federal Reserve.

  The first African-American deputy finance minister candidate

  Wally Adeyemo, a macroeconomist and national security adviser, was nominated as the US Deputy Treasury Secretary and is expected to become the first African-American Deputy Treasury Secretary. Ardeyeh Mo was born in Ardeyeh in 1981. He served as a senior adviser on international economy during Obama’s tenure and is currently the chairman of the Obama Foundation.

  First Hispanic-American White House Social Secretary

  Carlos Elizondo, the social secretary of the Biden couple, was appointed as the White House social secretary, and he is expected to become the first Hispanic White House social secretary in American history. During the Clinton administration, Elizondo served in the White House and the Office of the Director of Protocol.

  The first female national intelligence director candidate

  Avril Haines was nominated as the Director of National Intelligence. If the nomination is confirmed, she will become the first woman to be the director of national intelligence in the United States. Haines is currently the chairman of the National Security Council, which is responsible for formulating the government’s national security and foreign policy. She served as assistant to the president and chief deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration.

  First Latino-American Secretary of Homeland Security

  If approved by the Senate, Alejandro Mayorkas will become the first Latino immigrant to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. During the Obama administration, he served as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security. During his tenure, he supervised the implementation of the "Deferred Repatriation Plan for Children", which is an administrative measure of the Obama administration to protect young undocumented immigrants who went to the United States as children from being deported.

  First Chairperson of African-American Women’s Economic Advisory Committee

  Cecilia Rouse, a labor economist, has been nominated as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and is expected to become the first African-American woman to lead this department that provides economic policy advice to the President in American history. She is currently the Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University, and is an economist specializing in education and equality. Ross was a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during Obama’s tenure and also served on the National Economic Council of the Clinton administration.

  The first South Asian American director of the Office of Administration and Budget.

  Neera Tanden was nominated as the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, and is expected to become the first colored woman and South Asian American director in the history of this department. Tenton served in the Obama administration and the Clinton administration. He was a senior adviser on health care reform in the US Department of Health and Human Services, and also served as the domestic policy director of the Obama campaign. (Overseas network Yao Kaihong)