NATURAL GAS PROSPECTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE ROLE OF LNG TRANSPORTATION

Natural gas may provide a major contribution to the world energy supply during the next few decades. The developing countries command about 50 per cent of the world proved natural gas reserves, with gas accounting for only 6 per cent of commercial primary energy production. The challenging task of expanding gas production and utilization in the developing countries, especially through effective use of gas associated with petroleum deposits and transportation of gas in liquefied form (LNG), will require long-term technical co-operation policy commitments with regard to investment, manpower and the transfer of technology. The article is intended to analyse the basic factors involved in these problems. Au cours des prochaines décennies, le gaz naturel peut constituer un apport considérable à l'approvisionnement énergétique mondial. Les pays en développement détiennent approximativement 50 pour cent des réserves mondiales prouvées de gaz naturel, le gaz représentant seulement 6 pour cent de la production d'énergie primaire commerciale. Le défi lancé par la production et l'utilisation croissantes de gaz dans les pays en développement, particulièrement par l'utilisation efficace du gaz lié aux gisements de pétrole et le transport du gaz liquéfié (GNL), requiert des engagements à long terme en matière de politique de coopération technique dans le domaine des investissements, de la main-d'oeuvre et du transfert de technologie. Cet article a pour but d'analyser les facteurs fondamentaux à prendre en considération lorsqu'on traite de ces problèmes. El gas natural podría representar una gran contribucíon a la oferta mundial de energía dentro de las próximas décadas. Los países en desarrollo poseen cerca del 50 porciento de la reserva provada mundial de gas y solamente el 6 porciento de la producción primaria de energía comercial proviene del gas. La tarea de expandir la producción y utilización de gas en los países en desarrollo, especialmente ia utilización efectiva en forma líquida (LNG) de gas asociado al petróleo, requiere de compromisos de cooperación técnica a largo plazo en lo referente a inversiones, recursos humanos y transferencia de tecnología. Este artículo intenta analizar los factores básicos pertinentes a dicha tarea.     

Interaction of temperature and salinity on oxygen consumption of the estuarine crab Panopeus herbstii

Marine Biology - The combined effects of temperature and salinity on the rate of oxygen consuption by the estuarine crab Panopeus herbstii Milne-Edwards (Crustacea: Decapoda: Xanthidae) were...     

Local Environmental Investments and Sustainable Development: the evaluation of environmental projects in Scotland supported by the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund

In the UK for the period 1994-99, a broad range of environmental projects were given financial support through the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund under the Objective 1 and Objective 5b programmes. This paper is concerned with the ex-post evaluation of these projects set within a Sustainable Development framework. The aim was to identify project types or characteristics that offered the greatest return on investment. A classification of six broad project types was adopted. The evaluation revealed that there were significant differences between individual projects with respect to the type and scale, and temporal and social distribution of the benefits they delivered. In particular, as well as delivering environmental and economic benefits, many projects made a significant contribution to the development of human and social capital. The paper concludes that it is possible to improve the basis for future project selection in order to maximise the returns on environmental investments in the context of sustainable development.     

Climate Convention Implementation: An Opportunity for the Pacific Island Nations to Move Toward Sustainable Energy Systems

This article does not focus on adaptation or mitigation policy directly but on an allied opportunity that exists for the Pacific Islands via the auspices of the Climate Convention, because the existing very costly energy systems used in the Pacific Island region are fossil-fuel dependent. It is argued here that efforts can be made towards the development of energy systems that are ecologically sustainable because Pacific Island nations are eligible to receive assistance to introduce renewable energy technology and pursue energy conservation via implementation mechanisms of the Climate Convention and, in particular, through transfer of technology and via joint implementation. It is contended that assistance in the form of finance, technology, and human resource development from developed countries and international organizations would provide sustainable benefits in improving the local Pacific Island environments. It is also emphasized that mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is not the responsibility of the Pacific Islands as they contribute very little on a per capita global scale and a tiny proportion of total global greenhouse gas emissions.     

WASTE LOADINGS FROM A FRESHWATER ATLANTIC SALMON FARM IN SCOTLAND1

ABSTRACT: Recent studies suggest that waste generation from the freshwater phase of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) production varies considerably on an annual basis. A fish farm on the West Coast of Scotland was visited regularly during a two-year period to determine inflow and outflow water quality. Waste output budgets of suspended solids (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN = NH₃+NH₄⁺), dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total phosphorus (TP) were produced. The annual waste loadings obtained were 71 kg TN t fish^?1 yr^?1 (one year of data only), 10.9–11.1 kg TP t fish^?1 yr^?1, 1.2–2.1 kg DRP t fish^?1 yr^?1, 422–485 kg BOD₅ t fish^?1 yr^?1, 327–337 kg SS t fish^?1 yr^?1, and 30–35 kg TAN-N t fish^?1 yr^?1. Simple linear regression models relating waste parameter production to water temperature and feeding regime were developed. When compared to existing data for other salmonid production systems, greater ranges of daily waste loadings were observed. Wide variations in concentrations of these parameters during a daily cycle were also observed, suggesting that mass balance estimates of waste production will provide more robust estimates of waste output than frequent monitoring of outflow water quality.     

Starch- polyvinyl alcohol crosslinked film— performance and biodegradation

Starch-PVOH cast films were prepared with and without crosslinking agent (hexamethoxymethylmelamine) in the absence of plasticizer. Moisture absorption in films without crosslinking agent at a low relative humidity was similar to that of PVOH and increased as the relative humidity increased. Films with crosslinking agent showed moisture absorption linearly proportional to the relative humidity. Significant improvement in resistance to water disintegration for crosslinked starch-PVOH films was observed. While the tensile strength decreased with increased relative humidity, crosslinking significantly improved the tensile strength. Increased PVOH content improved elongation of films even when the relative humidity was 80% or higher. Biodegradation studies revealed that the degradation rate was negatively correlated with the PVOH content in films and crosslinking generated more converged degradation curves. Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.