Build it,but will they come? Evidence from consumer choice between gasoline and sugarcane ethanol

How consumers might switch from gasoline and diesel to alternative energy sources is not known, since the availability of alternatives is currently very limited. To bridge this gap, we exploit exogenous variation in ethanol prices at Brazil's pumps and uncover substantial consumer heterogeneity in the choice between long-established gasoline and an alternative that is similarly available and usable: sugarcane ethanol. We observe roughly 20% of flexible-fuel motorists choosing gasoline when gasoline is priced 20% above ethanol in energy-adjusted terms ($/mile) and, similarly, 20% of motorists choosing ethanol when ethanol is priced 20% above gasoline. We use transaction-level data to explore “non-price” characteristics which differentiate the two goods in the minds of different groups of consumers. Our findings suggest—and a counterfactual illustrates—that switching away from gasoline en masse, should this be desired, would require considerable price discounts to boost voluntary adoption, in the US and elsewhere.     

Seven thousand years in the service of humanity—the history of copper, the red metal

Measured by weight, copper is the third most important metal used by man. The annual value of its 2007 output was on a par with the GDP of e.g. Ukraine. Copper is also one of the oldest metals, its employment going back 7000 years. For millennia, it was predominantly employed for decorative purposes, coinage and in warfare. Technical breakthroughs in antiquity, like smelting and alloying, expanded its production and enhanced its utility. Copper's true heyday occurred after 1850, with the usage of electricity. In the period since then, volumes increased 300-fold, while costs and prices declined. With impressive progress in the technology of its production and consumption, the red metal has been able to hold its own, despite the emergence over history of formidable substitutes like iron, aluminum, plastics and optic fiber.     

氯氟烃替代物大气化学研究

大气平流层臭氧（大气臭氧层）由于能够吸收太阳辐射中的高能量紫外线,对人类和生物起着非常重要的保护作用,氯氟烃类化合物（ＣＦＣｓ）已被认为是造成大气平流层臭氧耗损的主要原因,淘汰ＣＦＣｓ和使用替代物日趋紧迫,目前,最有应用前景的替代物是含氢氧氟烃类化合物（ＨＣＦＣｓ）和氢氟烃类化合物（ＨＦＣｓ）,其中有些已投入工业使用,本文总结 了ＨＣＦＣｓ和ＨＦＣｓ在气中的光化学降解机制及其产物,以及产物对环境的     

Positive framing does not solve the tragedy of the commons

We investigate whether positive framing increases cooperation in three social dilemmas with slightly different properties: a linear public goods (PG) game, a non-linear PG game, and a common pool resource (CPR) game. Results from our laboratory experiments show that contributions to a linear PG are higher if the externality is framed positively, rather than negatively, corroborating earlier findings by Andreoni (1995). By contrast, we find no such framing effects in the non-linear PG game or the CPR game. In these games, the best response in the material payoffs is to contribute less if others contribute more, counteracting effects of pro-social preferences. Positive framing therefore does not help to solve the tragedy of the commons.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and substitutes (Nitro-, Oxy-PAHs) in urban soil and airborne particulate by GC-MS and NCI-MS/MS

A method involving high resolution gas chromatography combined with ion trap (HRGC-MS/MS) and negative chemical ionisation (NCI) was developed for the determination of nitrated or oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs, oxy-PAHs) and other electrophilic substitutes in soil samples. Efficient clean-up was achieved by a combination of methods for the determination of PAHs in soil and nitro-PAHs in aerosol using solid phase extraction (SPE) and semipreparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In samples of surface soil from the city of Basle (Switzerland), nitro-PAHs (mainly 3-nitrofluoranthene and 1-nitropyrene) were found in concentrations between 30 and 800 ng/kg dry weight. Oxy-PAHs and parent PAHs revealed 10²-10⁴-fold higher levels. Nitro-PAHs which are up to 10⁵ times more mutagenic seem to be less persistent in soil than the parent forms, although their entire mutagenic potential has to be estimated as being on the same order of magnitude. In urban air particulate matter, the amounts of nitro-PAHs (2–62 pg/m³) were 10–100 times lower than oxyPAHs and parent PAHs which were both found in a similar range. 3-nitrobenzanthrone, a recently described suspected human carcinogen has not yet been detected. Using multivariate statistical analysis, it was possible to elucidate similarities or special characteristics of substances in a given matrix reflecting their chemical properties or specific emission sources.     

全氟辛烷磺酸盐(PFOS)及替代品对两栖类蝌蚪的急性毒性

PFOS及其4种替代品对两栖动物非洲爪蟾和黑斑蛙蝌蚪的急性毒性结果为:用调聚法合成的织物三防整理剂对非洲爪蟾蝌蚪和黑斑蛙蝌蚪的96h-LC50分别为8和21mg·L-1,而PFOS对两种蝌蚪的96h-LC50分别为92和81mg·L-1。此实验结果说明织物三防整理剂的急性毒性高于PFOS。用电解氟化法合成的C4、C6织物三防整理剂和50%的全氟丁基有机铵盐阳离子表面活性剂浓度在100mg·L-1时,对两种蝌蚪都没有毒性。这说明,从急性毒性的角度,C4、C6织物三防整理剂和表面活性剂可作为PFOS的替代品使用,但是织物三防整理剂的急性毒性比PFOS大,作为替代品使用应慎重考虑。另外,PFOS和织物三防整理剂对黑斑蛙蝌蚪的急性毒性与对非洲爪蟾蝌蚪的急性毒性存在差异。出于保护我国本土两栖动物的目的,使用黑斑蛙开展毒性评价比使用非洲爪蟾更有现实意义。     

臭氧层破坏的起因危害及对策

本文简介了臭氧层的破坏及耗损对生物和人类所造成的危害.描述了氯氟烃(CFC),氮氧化物(NO_x)与臭氧的反应,井详细论述了CFC,NO_x及火山爆发对臭氧层的破坏作用.对有关保护臭氧层的国际公约进行了扼要介绍.提出了防止臭氧耗损应来取的措施;执行保护臭氧层的国际公约;寻找CFC替代品;加强对臭氧层的科学研究     

4种短链全氟化合物替代物在城市污水处理厂的污染特征研究

全氟辛烷羧酸(perfluorooctanoic acid,PFOA)和全氟辛烷磺酸(perfluorooctyl sulfonate,PFOS)等长链全氟化合物(perfluorinated compounds,PFCs)具有持久性、生物累积性和毒性,近年来发现一些短链PFCs具有相对较短的半衰期,可以成为PFOA和PFOS的替代品,这些物质包括C4和C6结构的PFCs,如全氟丁烷羧酸(perfluorobutanoic acid,PFBA)、全氟己烷羧酸(perfluorohexanoic acid,PFHx A)、全氟丁烷磺酸(perfluorobutyl sulfonate,PFBS)和全氟己烷磺酸(perfluorohexyl sulfonate,PFHx S)。为解析我国城市污水厂短链PFCs污染水平和地域分布特征,本研究调查了我国不同地区17座城市污水处理厂的进水、二沉出水和污泥中4种短链PFCs的分布和浓度水平。结果表明4种短链PFCs、PFOA和PFOS在17座污水厂进水中检出率均为100%(6种目标物单体浓度范围:0.19~274.72 ng·L-1);污泥中PFOS和PFOA检出率为100%(PFOS:2.08~72.31 ng·g-1,PFOA:1.03~24.81 ng·g-1),PFBA、PFHx A检出率为100%(0.60~3.33 ng·g-1),PFBS和PFHx S的检出率分别为42.11%和63.16%。在污水厂进水中,将PFOA和PFOS与其同类的短链PFCs浓度进行比较,发现短链PFCs分别相对于PFOA和PFOS的比例最高可达93.47%和94.57%。4种短链PFCs、PFOA和PFOS的地域分布差异明显,总浓度呈现出华东、华南地区高于西北、东北、华北地区的趋势,其中华东地区调查的污水处理厂浓度最高。污水厂4种短链替代物主要通过污水排放,不同污水厂的日排放总量(污泥和出水)为0.25~273.07 g·d-1,万吨水排放量范围为0.04~1.37 g。研究将为我国全氟化合物替代物污染和控制提供数据基础和科学依据。     

全氟烷基磺酸盐(PFOS)及其替代品对两栖类胚胎的发育毒性

用非洲爪蟾胚胎致畸实验和黑斑蛙胚胎发育毒性实验,比较研究了PFOS及其4种替代品对两栖动物胚胎的发育毒性。结果发现,用调聚法合成的织物三防整理剂和50%的全氟丁基有机铵盐阳离子表面活性剂同PFOS一样对非洲爪蟾胚胎有明显毒性,且织物三防整理剂和表面活性剂的毒性强于PFOS;电解氟化法合成的C4织物及C6织物三防整理剂(以下简称C4及C6织物三防整理剂)对非洲爪蟾胚胎没有明显毒性。与非洲爪蟾不同,PFOS和4种替代品对黑斑蛙胚胎没有明显毒性。结果显示,从生物安全性的角度分析,C4和C6织物三防整理剂可作为PFOS的替代品使用,而织物三防整理剂和表面活性剂的毒性比PFOS大,作为PFOS替代品使用需要慎重考虑。     

Engineered nanoparticles: safer substitutes for toxic materials, or a new hazard?

Nanotechnology has the potential for the development of new materials and processes that can substitute for toxic materials now used in industry. Excitement over this possibility is tempered, however, by the potential adverse environmental health and safety aspects of the new nanomaterials. Although a few examples from the literature are encouraging, e.g., wire and cable insulation, great care must be taken to perform complete alternatives assessment evaluations of any new nanotechnology-enabled product before its adoption.