Remunicipalization in German cities: contesting neo-liberalism and reimagining urban governance?

After two decades of widespread privatization, German municipalities have started to re-purchase privatized companies. At the same time, social movements are campaigning for remunicipalization, promoting it as a means of achieving greater urban democracy, though these objectives are often divergent from those of municipalities concerned with reasserting local state autonomy. With reference to Berlin, the paper discusses how remunicipalization campaigns might contribute to post-neo-liberal urban governance. It presents a preliminary frame for developing progressive remunicipalization movements centred on three elements of contestation: rejection of neo-liberalism; connection to other and broader struggles; and commoning as an alternative form of urban governance.     

基于HPLC的三芳甲烷类染料字迹人为老化的实验研究

目的对蓝色圆珠笔字迹在经过紫外光源老化后的独特特征进行研究,建立确认紫外灯照射的人为老化文件的方法。方法本文以蓝色圆珠笔字迹为研究对象,蓝色圆珠笔中的三芳甲烷类染料在紫外灯的照射下会吸收光子的能量加速其老化脱甲基的反应,通过适当的假设可以推导出其老化程度随时间变化的老化方程,由于目前紫外灯管几乎全部是线型结构,建立合适的坐标系,假设线型灯管能量分布均匀,且紫外线以球面波的形式传播出去,可以计算出纸面上任意一点的能量,通过纸张表面不同位置的三芳甲烷类染料的老化程度的不同来区别自然老化文件与紫外灯人为老化文件的不同。结果经过实验发现对于紫外灯人为老化文件来说甲基紫初始含量比上老化后含量的对数值与紫外灯对于该点的能量的辐出的比值为一个常数K,该K值稳定,浮动范围小,线性关系的置信度大于99%,可以认为两个参数之间存在显著地线性关系,可以证明对于老化方程的推导和能量密度分布函数的推导合理符合实际,对于自然老化文件来说则不存在这种规律。结论可以利用这种特殊的分布规律构建一个衡量这种分布的函数来定量地确认紫外灯照射的人为老化文件。     

Russia: A Country with an Unpredictable Past

Russia is a key player in the Kyoto process, and the fate of the Protocol itself heavily depends on future developments in the country, in particular in its energy sector. This article analyses the contradictory and complex relationships between carbon dioxide emissions, gas exports to Western Europe and the energy security of Russia. The paper reviews emerging trends in the energy sector of Russia that will have a long-term impact on these three parameters and assesses the possible influence of these trends on the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution in Russia. Proceeding from the latest developments in the Russian energy scene, the author tries to forecast how Russia will integrate into the international community in the energy sphere. The study concludes that gas export commitments to Europe will be met despite the serious problems in the domestic gas sector, that energy saving in Russia is the most feasible way of finding a compromise between the three parameters, and that enhancing the energy security of Russia might have rather controversial consequences for Europe.     

21世纪日本对外能源战略

本文依据关于日本能源方面的新数据,揭示了日本能源进口、利用效率、能源结构和战略储备等新情况。阐述了日本的新国家能源战略,及其基于这一战略的对外能源战略和能源外交。分析日本实行对能源生产国家进行大规模能源合作与国际能源协调的外交政策。提出了包括实现能源来源多元化、加强与传统油气重点地区及国家关系等在内的日本国际能源战略五大方向。并对日本的国际能源战略的动机、效果和战略的恰当与否进行了深入评析。     

空调梯级能源利用的分析与探讨

本方案充分利用发电机余热来达到空调节能的目的,实现能源梯级利用。可大幅度节省运行费用,均衡能源结构,削减夏季电力峰值,填补夏季燃气谷值,减少公用事业投资,属合理用能环保设备,被能源专家大力提倡。     

Climate Change Policies, Energy Security and Carbon Dependency Trade-offs for the European Union in the Longer Term

Energy policy in the European Union (EU) faces two major challenges. The first challenge is posed by EUs commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere in the context of the international agreement on climate change. The second challenge is to keep ensuring European security of energy supply, while its dependency on external sources of energy is projected to increase. In this paper, two long-term alternative climate change policy scenarios for Europe are examined. In the first scenario, EU reduces carbon dioxide emissions by domestic measures; in the second scenario EU maximizes cooperation with the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU). Impacts on carbon flows between the EU and FSU and on the external energy dependency of the EU are assessed with an applied general equilibrium model, GTAP-E, whose set of energy commodities is expanded with combustible biomass as a renewable and carbon-neutral energy commodity. The results show that there is a trade-off between economic efficiency, energy security and carbon dependency for the EU. The FSU would unambiguously prefer cooperation.     

Lead-free primer residues: a qualitative characterization of Winchester WinClean, Remington/UMC LeadLess, Federal BallistiClean, and Speer Lawman CleanFire handgun ammunition

The elemental composition and postfiring residues of several "lead-free" or "nontoxic" centerfire handgun ammunition types currently available to the general public were examined. Offerings from Winchester, Remington/UMC, Federal and Speer were obtained from retail sources in both .45 ACP and 9 mm when possible. A total of 112 postfiring residue samples (SEM pins) were collected at varying distances from the muzzle, at two distances from target and from the shooter's hands. An additional 20 samples were collected by direct ignition of primers. Qualitative determinations were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/electron dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis. All types tested contained aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). Most contain traces of sulfur and calcium. Winchester WinClean and Remington LeadLess contained potassium as the principle ingredient. Federal BallistClean contained barium, while Speer Lawman CleanFire contained strontium. In the main, these compared favorably with manufacturers' MSDS publications and patents granted. The characterizations undertaken here will be of use to the forensic electron microscopist as these formulations gain popularity.     

An Assessment of the Impact that Participation in Local Climate Networks Has on Cities’ Implementation of Climate,Energy, and Transportation Policies

Much of the attention surrounding local climate protection in the United States is associated with two networks: ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability's Cities for Climate Protection and the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement (MCPA). However, the impact of these networks on member‐city actions has not been clearly established. This paper examines whether, and to what extent, participation in climate networks leads to the implementation of greenhouse gas (GHG)‐reducing policies, above and beyond what would have been done in their absence. To account for the possibility that cities which join climate networks are systematically different from those that do not and control for self‐selection induced bias, three statistical techniques—propensity score matching, Heckman full information maximum likelihood, and instrumental variables—are employed to estimate the “treatment effect” of participation. Results suggest that impact is network specific: ICLEI membership causes small to moderate increases in cities’ GHG‐relevant activity, whereas the MCPA has no such effect. The characteristics of each network are evaluated in light of these findings.     

Preferences,Knowledge, and Citizen Probability Assessments of the Terrorism Risk of Nuclear Power

How does the American public assess risk when it comes to national security issues? This paper addresses this question by analyzing variation in citizen probability assessments of the terrorism risk of nuclear power plants. Drawing on the literature on how motivated reasoning, selective information processing, and domain‐specific knowledge influence public opinion, we argue that heterogeneous issue preferences and knowledge of nuclear energy and homeland security have important explanatory power. Using original data from a unique 2009 national survey in the United States, we show that Americans are divided in their probability assessments of the terrorism risk of nuclear power plants. Consistent with our theoretical expectations, individuals who support using nuclear power to meet rising energy demands, who are generally less concerned with terrorism, or who are more knowledgeable about terrorism and nuclear security tend to provide lower assessments of the likelihood that nuclear power plants increase terrorist attacks, and vice versa. The findings have implications for the literature on public opinion, risk assessment, energy policy and planning, and homeland security.