Electricity consumption and economic growth nexus in Zimbabwe revisited: fresh evidence from Maki cointegration

This study explores the relationship between electricity consumption, real gross domestic product per capita and carbon dioxide emissions in Zimbabwe. To achieve this, the study set off by examining the stationarity properties of the variables under review with the Zivot-Andrews (1992 Zivot, E., and D.W.K. Andrews. 1992. Further evidence on the great crash, the oil-price shock, and the unit-root hypothesis. Journal Of Business and Economic Statistics 10:251-270. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1391541.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) unit root test that accounts for a single structural break. Subsequently, Maki (2012 Maki, Daiki. 2012. “Tests for Cointegration Allowing for an Unknown Number of Breaks.” Economic Modelling 29 (5): 2011–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECONMOD.2012.04.022 [Google Scholar]) cointegration test, which accounts for multiple structural breaks, is applied for equilibrium relationship between the variables under review while the long run regression of dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) is employed for long-run coefficients as estimation procedures. In order to account for the direction of causality flow, the Toda-Yamamoto (1995 Toda, H Y.., and Taku Yamamoto. 1995. Statistical inference in vector autoregressions with possibly integrated processes. Journal Of Econometrics 66 (1–2):225–50. doi: 10.1016/0304-4076(94)01616-8.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) causality test is used for annual frequency data set spanning from 1971–2014. Empirical evidence from the Maki cointegration test shows that there exists a long-run equilibrium relationship between electricity consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and real gross domestic product per capita over the sampled period. The long-run regression suggests that there exist a positive statistically significant relationship between real income and electricity consumption. Thus, corroborating the electricity-led growth hypothesis. This result is supported by the causality test, as one-way causality is observed running from electricity consumption to real gross domestic product. Thus, this is suggestive to government administrators and policymakers that the Zimbabwean economy is electricity dependent. However, there is a tradeoff for environmental quality. As the increase in electricity consumption increases carbon dioxide emissions. The need for diversification of Zimbabwe energy portfolio to cleaner and environmentally friendly energy sources is recommended, given the world global consciousness for cleaner energy consumption.     

Regional impervious surface estimation: an urban heat island application

This paper describes a GIS-based estimation method that can be used to forecast future amounts of impervious surface as a mitigation measure for urban heat island effect in a metropolitan region. The method is unique because it employs a regression model that links the existing amount of impervious surface to population and employment at the census tract level. This approach provides a means to forecast future amounts of impervious surface based on projected population and employment. The method also includes a detailed analysis of high-resolution aerial photography to divide impervious surfaces into different categories. Subdividing impervious surfaces is necessary to evaluate potential urban heat island mitigation policies for different types of impervious surface. The analysis here shows that the impervious surface in the metropolitan Atlanta region will increase to 2638 km2 2. “The Albedo is defined as the hemispherical reflectivity averaged over the solar spectrum. A perfect reflector has a = 1, and a perfect absorber has a = 0” (Pomerantz et al. 1999 Pomerantz, M. 1999. Reflective surfaces for cooler buildings and cities. Philosophical magazine B, 79: 1457–1476. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar], p. 1458). View all notes in 2030, an increase of 45% from 2000. The most common type of impervious surface is dark-coloured pavement. Within this study area, the analyses showed that two-thirds of impervious surfaces are dark. Replacing dark pavement with light pavement materials, therefore, represents an important opportunity to mitigate the urban heat island effect in the Atlanta region.     

A 21st-Century perspective on snow drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin

In the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), there is a deep reliance on seasonal snowpack for maintenance of water resources. The term “snow drought” has recently emerged to describe periods of anomalously low snowpack. Unique seasonal patterns in precipitation and temperature that drive snow drought can have distinct hydrologic signatures, and these relationships have not been carefully studied in the UCRB. Here we examine snow drought with a new classification scheme using peak snow water equivalent (SWE) and the ratio of basin-wide modeled peak SWE to accumulated (onset to peak) precipitation (SWE/P) that clusters snow drought years into three distinct groups—“warm,” “dry,” and “warm & dry”—that minimize within-group variance. Over the period 1916–2018, we identify 14 warm years ($\overline{P}$ = 160 mm; $\overline{\mathrm{SWE}/P}$ = 0.24), 24 dry years ($\overline{P}$ = 117 mm; $\overline{\mathrm{SWE}/P}$ = 0.35), and 21 warm & dry years ($\overline{P}$ = 94 mm; $\overline{\mathrm{SWE}/P}$ = 0.23). An elevation-based analysis reveals two distinct patterns: warm snow droughts see severe SWE reductions primarily at lower (<2600 m) elevations (65% at lower elevations, 37% overall), whereas “dry” scenarios exhibit a consistent reduction across all elevations (39% overall). Using naturalized streamflow data, we also differentiate snow droughts by their earlier streamflow timing and decreased peakedness (warm: 7 days, 2%; dry: 7 days, 2%; warm & dry: 13 days, 5%). This research provides new insights into snow drought patterns relevant for regional water management.     

A Speaking Piglet Advertises Beef: An Ethical Analysis on Objectification and Anthropomorphism

The portrayal of animals in the media is often criticised for instrumentalising, objectifying and anthropomorphising animals (e.g. Hirschman and Sanders in Semiotica 115(1/2):53–79, 1997; Lerner and Kalof in Sociol Q 40(4):565–586, 1999; Stewart and Cole in Int J Multidiscip Res 12(4):457–476, 2009). Although we agree with this criticism, we also identify the need for a more substantiated approach to the moral significance of instrumentalisation, objectification and anthropomorphism. Thus, we propose a new framework which is able to address the morally relevant aspects of animal portrayal in the media. We closely examine the normative messages communicated by an unusual TV commercial in which an anthropomorphised piglet advertises organic beef. This serves as a case example to relate the philosophical and ethical concepts of objectification and anthropomorphism to each other and show how they can be applied. We conclude that the commercial conveys a message of animal instrumentalisation as being normatively correct within the constraint of good animal welfare. The depicted form of instrumentalisation is, nonetheless, associated with harm for the animals and thus, needs to overcome cognitive dissonance. To achieve this, animals are directly objectified by a trivialised and de-individualised portrayal. Moreover, animals are indirectly objectified even when they are anthropomorphised as they are granted significance only through being human-like. Thus, objectification and anthropomorphism are not opposing terms in our proposed framework. In addition, objectification, together with the reference to the dominant ideology, and combined with humorous anthropomorphism weakens scrutiny of these normative messages by the viewers. This eventually augments a decrease of moral concern for farmed animals in advertisement employing such portrayals.     

Hybrid economy research in remote Indigenous Australia: seeing and supporting the customary in community food economies

Hybrid economy research in remote Indigenous Australia is what Gibson-Graham [2008. Diverse economies: performative practices for “other worlds”. Progress in Human Geography, 32 (5), 613–632] describe as a performative ontological project. This research seeks to address the marginalisation of customary economic activities that contribute to the well-being of Indigenous Australians. It aims to make the customary sector more real, more credible and more viable as an object of policy and activism, challenging the dual dominance of the state and the market as the focus of development (cf. Gibson-Graham 2008 Gibson-Graham, J. K. 2008. Diverse economies: performative practices for “other worlds”. Progress in Human Geography, 32(5), 613–632. doi: 10.1177/0309132508090821[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This paper outlines how hybrid economy research has sought to broaden views of the economic landscape in remote Indigenous Australia amid the withdrawal of key policy and programmatic support by the Australian Government. This research draws on Canadian national surveys of Indigenous peoples, harvest studies and programmatic support for customary harvest – hunting, fishing and gathering of bush foods – to identify ways in which the Australian Government might better see and support Indigenous community food economies.     

New national parks for Scotland: coalitions in conflict over the allocation of planning powers in the Cairngorms

The introduction of national parks in areas where existing authorities have traditionally been responsible for developing policies, preparing plans and making decisions on development proposals, can be a threat to longstanding interests. This paper explores this problem by examining the struggle for control of planning in one of Scotland's first national parks, the Cairngorms. Recent research (McCarthy et al., 2002 McCarthy J Lloyd G Illsley B (2002) National parks in Scotland: balancing environment and economy Research briefing European Planning Studies 10 (5) pp. 665–670 [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]) has established the policy context for this investigation. Informed by research focusing on the consultation process which led to the establishment of the national park, this paper analyzes how alternative approaches to the allocation of planning powers were captured in competing storylines, around which polarized coalitions of interest formed. Opening such insights into the considerations that shape institutional design—a combination of contested problem framing and straightforward political struggles over the locus of regulatory power—starkly reveals the challenges to the new park authority as it seeks to establish consensus between conflicting interests.     

Flooding and the interannual variability of hydrologic quantities in the Missouri River basin

The six mainstem reservoirs in the Missouri River basin (MRB) are managed mainly to prevent flooding from snowmelt and heavy rainfall, a goal for which the interannual variabilities of precipitation ($P$), evapotranspiration ($\mathit{ET}$), and surface air temperature ($T_{\mathrm{air}}$) are vitally important. We tested the hypothesis that under the expected higher variability owing to global climate change, the months with the highest contributions to the interannual variability of $P$, $\mathit{ET}$, and $T_{\mathrm{air}}$ in the MRB will remain unchanged and quantified likely temporal trends in these quantities. Using high-resolution, downscaled Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 multi-model ensemble data sets, we compared the multi-year ratio of monthly and annual interannual variability and temporal trends in $P$, $\mathit{ET}$, and $T_{\mathrm{air}}$ during 2011–2020 with three future decades. Results showed that the 6 months with the highest interannual variability in $P$ and $\mathit{ET}$ (April–September) are the same in all four decades. However, for $T_{\mathrm{air}}$, only 4 months (December–March) retain their status as highly variable throughout the four decades; September and October variability is exceeded by the variability in other months. This implies that, compared to $P$ and $\mathit{ET}$, the cyclical change in the probabilities of $T_{\mathrm{air}}$ in the MRB is less stable under future global climate change. This finding can be used to consider the need to alter existing strategies for reservoir release while minimizing the likelihood of aggravating flooding below the reservoirs.     

The IPBES Conceptual Framework: An Unhelpful Start

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) have recently launched themselves as the UN-sanctioned instrument for conserving nature. They seek to establish themselves as the authority in this field alongside the well-known Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in climate science. Quickly following or even before recent publication of their conceptual framework in two biology journals, they were already underway building upon it. This headlong push, we believe, is ill advised. We show how the framework is unsound as a foundation for further work—in a number of ways and perhaps even by its authors’ own lights. It is therefore urgent that the IPBES thoroughly and thoughtfully reconsider their framework before too much effort is wasted.     

A review on the potential of citrus waste for D-Limonene,pectin, and bioethanol production

Citrus peel waste is a valuable lignocellulosic feedstock for bioethanol production due to its richness in fermentable sugars and low lignin content. Citrus peel contains two major value-added products: d-limonene and pectin. d-Limonene is widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. However, it acts as a microbial growth inhibitor for yeast during the fermentation process and hence it has to be removed prior to fermentation. Pectin is used as thickening agent, gelling agent, and stabilizer in the food industry. Since pectin increases the viscosity of the fermentation medium and makes fermentation troublesome, it has to be either extracted or degraded into galacturonic acid using pectinase enzyme. Thus, the removal and recovery of both D-limonene and pectin from citrus peel are essential for better fermentation. For bioethanol production, pretreatment plays a crucial role in the utilization of citrus peels since the reduction of d-limonene concentration to less than 0.05% is necessary. This review solely describes the potential of citrus waste for value added products such as d-limonene and pectin and the production of bioethanol from citrus peel waste is discussed in detail.     

Multi-criteria risk management with the use of <Emphasis Type="Italic">DecernsMCDA</Emphasis>: methods and case studies

Emerging challenges of risk management, environmental protection, and land-use planning requires integration of stakeholder values and expert judgment. The process of decision making in situation of high uncertainty can be assisted through the use of decision support systems (DSSs). Such DSSs are often based on tools for spatial data representation (GIS) and environmental models that are integrated using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). This paper presents DecernsMCDA implementing all major types of multi-criteria methods and tools (AHP, MAUT, Outranking) under the same user interface. In addition to providing ability for testing model uncertainty associated with selection of specific MCDA algorithms, DecernsMCDA implements new algorithms for parameter uncertainty analysis based on probabilistic approaches and fuzzy sets. The paper illustrates application of DecernsMCDA for selecting remedial alternative at radiologically contaminated sites.     

Novel dimensionless index for physically based assessment of thermal refugia characterizes off-channel habitat on gravel bed river

In the Willamette River, OR, main channel temperatures can be too warm for cold water fishes, causing fish to concentrate in secondary channel features that provide thermal refugia. However, temperature regimes vary among and within features. Improved understanding of physical processes controlling thermal regimes is needed. This study developed a dimensionless index for assessment of thermal refugia on the upper Willamette River. The novel hyporheic insolation (HIN) index uses minimal field measurements to predict thermal refugia resulting from buffering. Continuous water temperature measurements at one side channel, eight alcoves, and six beaver ponds provided data to ground truth calculated ${ℍ}_{\text{in}}$ predictions. Water temperature records were first used to characterize stratification at sites. Calculation of the Richardson number, an index of stability, showed two well-mixed sites and 13 stratified sites. At stratified sites, calculated ${ℍ}_{\text{in}}$ values characterized the ratio of cooling flux from hyporheic discharge to heat flux from incoming solar radiation. As ${ℍ}_{\text{in}}$ increased, measured temperatures at sites decreased. Despite overall scatter, a logarithmic fit to bin-averaged ${ℍ}_{\text{in}}$ values showed R² = 0.91. Calculations suggest that secondary channel features characterized by stratification and cool hyporheic discharge can provide thermal refugia. Accordingly, the HIN index may serve as a practical tool grounded in physical processes governing temperature across a floodplain.