The paper provides an empirical analysis of the macroeconomic factors that enhance revenue gap in South Africa using the multivariate cointegration techniques for the period 1965 to 2012. The results from the cointegration analysis indicate that the revenue gap in South Africa is negatively associated with the level of imports while positively related to external debt and underground economy. The former finding is consistent with the notion that imports are subjected to more taxation than domestic activities because of certain features of international trade that tend to make tax evasion difficult. On the other hand, the positive relationship between external debt and tax gap shows that the South African government relies upon external debt to finance its budget deficit resulting from missing revenues. Furthermore, the observed negative effect of the post-apartheid dummy confirms that the tax policy reforms that South Africa introduced following the liberation in 1994 have led to a reduction in missing revenues. The results from the Granger causality test also show that there is a unidirectional causality running from imports and underground economy to revenue gap, while revenue gap on the other hand is found to Granger-cause national income and external debt in South Africa.
Streszczenie Gleba jest jednym z elementów środowiska przyrodniczego, który często bywa narażony na zanieczyszczenia i degradację. Jednym z głównych źródeł zanieczyszczeń są obiekty gospodarki odpadami, wśród których dominują składowiska odpadów. W Polsce obiekty gospodarki odpadami są zaliczane do przedsięwzięć mogących potencjalnie znacząco oddziaływać na środowisko. Dla większości takich obiektów przeprowadzana jest ocena oddziaływania na środowisko, w ramach której sporządzany jest raport o oddziaływaniu na środowisko. Problematyka ochrony gleb jest jednak często w nim marginalizowana. Celem pracy była analiza jakości wybranych raportów o oddziaływaniu na środowisko obiektów gospodarki odpadami, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem przeprowadzonej w nich analizy stanu gleb, a także przedstawienie propozycji zakresu prac, niezbędnych do rzetelnej analizy oddziaływania obiektów gospodarki odpadami na gleby. Wyniki przeprowadzonej oceny wskazują na zróżnicowany poziom wykonania w zakresie przedstawienia oddziaływania inwestycji na gleby. Przeważają opracowania ocenione negatywnie jako niezadowalające.
In less than a century, plastics have gained enormous popularity and it is now difficult for us to imagine our lives without them. They are very widely used in industry, agriculture, medicine and many others, mainly due to their stability and low production costs - which contribute to a steady increase in demand worldwide. They biodegrade very slowly, and the limited and inappropriate recovery of this raw material from waste has led to a visible accumulation of residual polymers in the environment. As a result of physical, chemical and biological processes, e.g., ultraviolet (UV) radiation, weathering or mechanical abrasion, plastics degrade to fine particles - those less than 5 mm in size are called microplastics. They can be found in the natural environment in various morphological forms, e.g., as fibres, granules, scraps, spheres, particles or fragments, e.g., film, of primary or secondary origin. The presence of microplastics has been found all over the world, in all environments. Only recently has there been a broader focus on microplastics, which includes terrestrial systems where soils are an important part of the environment potentially exposed to contamination. Their main source in soils may be within agriculture (where composts, organic fertilizers, sewage sludge and mulching, as well as irrigation are used) plus transport, landfills and the deposition of atmospheric pollutants.
The aim of the study was to characterize pedogenic iron forms in the sediments of the Lower Triassic (Buntsandstein) in the north-eastern part of the Holy Cross Mountains. These are sediments of continental origin and unique features as the so-called ‘red beds’. Three main types of rocks were studied – sandstones, mudstones and claystones. Chemical forms of iron: Fet (XRF), FeHCl (6M HCl), Fed (dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate, DCB), Feo (ammonium oxalate), Fep (sodium pyrophosphate) were determined. The XRD method revealed the occurrence of goethite in sandstones and hematite in mudstones and claystones. Differential XRD (DXRD) analysis did not show the presence of amorphous iron minerals. The average Fet content in sandstones was 83 g·kg−1, in mudstones 47 g·kg−1, in claystones 55 g·kg−1, while there were lower concentrations of Fed (66 g·kg−1, 13 g·kg−1, 26 g·kg−1, respectively). Feo form content was in the range of 0.3–4 g·kg–1, while there were only traces of Fep. Only Fet and FeHCl occurred in good correlation. In the pedogenic interpretation of the studied rocks, mutual relations between chemical forms of iron were used and their reference to the identified iron minerals. Siltstones and claystones have high resistance to pedogenic factors, which is indicated by low release rates Fed:Fet and very low amorphization index Feo:Fed. The reason is the presence of well crystalline hematite in these rocks. In sandstones, resistance is conditioned by the occurrence of goethite in the matrix. Chemical destruction of iron-carbonate cement promotes the release and amorphization of iron in soils developed from sandstones. The presented results indicate that the specificity of Lower Triassic rocks is important for the proper classification and assessment of properties of soils with a characteristic red colour.
The paper discusses the current state of municipal waste management in Poland compared to other European Union countries. It indicates the amounts of municipal waste generated over the last few years in Poland and other EU countries. The paper compares waste treatment methods in Poland and Europe, such as recycling, composting, thermal treatment and waste disposal. An analysis of municipal waste processing installations in Poland is presented. The trends in the municipal waste management system in recent years have also been described. In the field of municipal waste management in Poland, there have been significant changes. The amount of waste sent to landfills has decreased, and the amount of waste recovered and recycled has increased. These changes are positive and reflect the development of municipal waste management systems in other EU countries. The article indicates the problems and directions of changes in the field of municipal waste management in Poland in the coming years, especially in the context of the implementation of circular economy assumptions and the goals set by the European Union in terms of increase the level of waste recycling and reducing their disposal.
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