Seven suppositions about energy security in the United States

Changing the patterns of energy use requires investigating how energy consumers - not experts - conceive of energy challenges. This article explores the varying beliefs, attitudes, and views on energy security in the United States among experts and residents. Based primarily on an academic literature review to distill expert views, and a survey distributed to hundreds of residents in the U.S. to capture consumer views, the study begins by explaining its methodology before identifying seven suppositions related to energy security. These suppositions involve security of fuel supply, energy democracy, energy research and development, affordability of energy services, environmental pollution, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. The second section of the study tests these suppositions with a survey distributed to 427 respondents in the United States. Three suppositions are supported, two are unsupported, and two are neither supported nor unsupported. The final section of the study offers implications for U.S. energy policy and scholarship.     

The potential for improvements in energy efficiency and CO2 emissions in the EU27 cement industry and the relationship with the capital budgeting decision criteria

This paper performs a cost-effectiveness analysis of some of the best available technologies (BAT) that can contribute to decreasing the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in the European Union’s (EU27) cement industry. Several capital budgeting decision criteria have been used (the payback period, the net present value and the internal rate of return) to study whether or not an investment should be considered worthwhile. The results show that, independent of the capital budgeting decision criteria used, the number of cost-effective retrofitting possibilities available is large compared to the rate of improvements that the industry undertakes annually. This shows the insensitivity of the industry to financial criteria when it comes to making their investment decisions. The possible thermal energy improvement in the clinker production, if all these BATs were implemented, has been quantified to be around 10%. This achievement would place the cement industry in the upper bound of the benchmark range for clinker manufacture. However considering the delays observed nowadays in terms of diffusion of BATs in the cement industry, it requires a conducive policy environment that combines support for both technology development and to their deployment.     

Assessment of eco-labelling criteria development from a strategic sustainability perspective

To turn current patterns of consumption and production in a sustainable direction, solid and understandable market information on the socio-ecological performance of products is needed. Eco-labelling programmes have an important role in this communication. The aim of this study is to investigate what gaps there may be in the current criteria development processes in relation to a strategic sustainability perspective and develop recommendations on how such presumptive gaps could be bridged. First a previously published generic framework for strategic sustainable development is described and applied for the assessment of two eco-labelling programmes. Data for the assessment is collected from literature and in semi-structured interviews and discussions with eco-labelling experts.The assessment revealed that the programmes lack both an operational definition of sustainability, and a statement of objectives to direct and drive the criteria development processes. Consequently they also lack guidelines for how product category criteria might gradually develop in any direction. The selected criteria mainly reflect the current reality based on a selection of negative impacts in ecosystems, but how this selection, or prioritization, is made is not clearly presented. Finally, there are no guidelines to ensure that the criteria developers represent a broad enough competence to embrace all essential sustainability aspects.In conclusion the results point at deficiencies in theory, process and practice of eco-labelling, which hampers cohesiveness, transparency and comprehension. And it hampers predictability, as producers get no support in foreseeing how coming revisions of criteria will develop. This represents a lost opportunity for strategic sustainable development. It is suggested that these problems could be avoided by informing the criteria development process by a framework for strategic sustainable development, based on backcasting from basic sustainability principles.     

基于STIRPAT模型的能源消费碳足迹变化及影响因素——以江苏省苏锡常地区为例

定量研究经济社会发展对地区能源消费碳足迹的影响对区域实现低碳发展具有重要意义。论文计算了江苏省苏锡常地区1991-2008年能源消费碳足迹,采用岭回归函数对STIRPAT模型进行了拟合,采用脱钩指数分析了经济发展与能源消费碳足迹之间的关系。结果表明:①1991-2008年能源消费碳足迹平均增长速度为15.30%,能源消费碳足迹分配率以煤炭为主,石油所占比例呈波动下降趋势,天然气所占比例上升较快,能源消费碳足迹产值总体呈波动下降趋势;②经济增长是能源消费碳足迹的主要影响因素,两者关系模型拟合未出现环境库兹涅茨曲线;③经济增长与能源消费碳足迹之间处于相对脱钩与复钩的波动状态,从另一侧面验证了目前两者之间不存在库兹涅茨曲线假说的结论。     

福建省能源消费碳排放和低碳能源发展研究

能源消费导致的碳排放对全球气候变化带来严峻挑战.区域经济迅速发展,不但对区域能源安全提出挑战,也对碳减排提出新的课题.文章总结了改革开放以来福建省能源消费的特点和趋势,计算由能源消费引起的碳排放量.研究表明,虽然碳强度有显著下降,但是碳排放总量增长比较明显,特别是从2000年开始,增长幅度加大.利用Kaya恒等式对碳排...     

内蒙古自治区能源概况及各种能源产消情况分析

通过对内蒙古自治区能源概况进行调查,分析内蒙古近几年各种能源的产消情况,这对于内蒙古如何优化能源结构的调整、促进内蒙古的可持续发展有着十分重要的意义。     

取暖锅炉耗煤量核定方法探讨

利用采暖建筑所需的理论热负荷值,对单一取暖锅炉单位供暖面积所需耗煤量进行估算,通过估算出的耗煤量,结合国家现有的煤种、治理装置脱硫、除尘效率等参数,可以计算出燃煤锅炉单位取暖面积主要污染物排放量,为排污收费提供科学的依据。     

家庭用水行为综合模型研究

水资源管理部门正在面临应对干旱,人口增长和水资源减少,气候变化的预言而仍要保证有足够水供应满足需求的挑战。为了发展有效的家庭需求管理程序,水资源管理者需要了解可能影响家庭水源使用的因素。通过检查和再分析当前的水消费行为模型,我们提出了一个理解家庭水消费的新模型。我们对信任在居民水消费中所发挥的作用进行了讨论,因为如果人们感觉身边的人并没有最小化水的使用那么人们便不会自觉节约用水（人际间的信任）。除此之外,如果人们不信任水资源管理部门,那么人们也不太可能节约用水（对社会公共机构的信任）。本文提出了为完全理解确定居民用水行为所涉及的因素,需要对水消费中信任度的作用进行研究。     

北京市建筑节能现状与对策

建筑能耗在北京市能耗总量中是关键的一部分,推广节能建筑对于北京市的低碳发展具有重要意义。在当前北京市建筑节能工作中,采暖能耗是节能减排的重点,公共建筑能耗增加需要控制。在北京市低碳建筑推进工作中遇到了评测标准、检验方法的不完善,企业与个人的动力不足以及相关技术创新能力较低的障碍。针对这些问题,政府应从加强宣传与干预、建立低碳建筑标准规范和技术体系角度实施相应的应对措施,鼓励企业和个人选择低碳建筑,完善检测标准,健全技术创新体系,促进低碳建筑的推广。