Prospect theory and energy efficiency

Investments in energy efficiency entail uncertainty, and when faced with uncertainty consumers have been shown to behave according to prospect theory: preferences are reference-dependent and exhibit loss aversion, and probabilities are subjectively weighted. Using data from a choice experiment eliciting prospect theory parameters, I provide evidence that loss-averse people are less likely to invest in energy efficiency. Then, I consider policy design under prospect theory when there are also externalities from energy use. A higher degree of loss aversion implies a higher subsidy to energy efficiency. Numerical simulations suggest that the impact of prospect theory on policy may be substantial.     

隧道火灾的全尺寸试验研究

在3条公路隧道上进行了10次全尺寸试验,研究不通火灾条件和风速下烟气的运动情况。主要测量了各隧道1000m范围内的拱顶下方烟气温度、烟气层高度分布以及烟气前锋的运动情况等,并分析了纵向风速对火灾羽流形态、烟气前锋运动速度、隧道内线型缆式感温探测系统响应等的影响。此处所列的所有全尺寸试验数据可以进行进一步的分析,以便研究各种已知火灾模型在计算长隧道火灾时所得的结果是否有效。     

Investigation of Building - Influenced Atmospheric Dispersion Using a Dual Source Technique

Dispersion of atmospheric contaminants in the vicinity of an isolated cubical model building was investigated in the field. A dual source/receptor technique was used in the experiments, which was proved to be very useful for the investigation of pollution dispersion. This experimental technique involved the simultaneous release of two different tracer gases from two different point sources, and the deployment of a FID (Flame Ionization Detector) co-located with a UVIC®(Ultra-Violet Ion Collector) detector. Both mean concentrations and concentration fluctuation statistics were examined. In this paper concentration fluctuation statistics are presented. The effect of the upwind source location on intermittency values and on the cumulative density function (cdf) is examined. The exact location of a source placed upwind of an obstacle has a very significant and complex effect on both mean concentrations and concentration fluctuations. As the lateral or vertical displacement between the two sources is increased, cross-correlation values between data taken simultaneously by two co-located detectors decrease rapidly.     

Using a choice experiment to measure the environmental costs of air pollution impacts in Seoul

Air pollution, a by-product of economic growth, has been incurring extensive environmental costs in Seoul, Korea. Unfortunately, air pollution impacts are not treated as a commercial item, and thus it is difficult to measure the environmental costs arising from air pollution. There is an imminent need to find a way to measure air pollution impacts so that appropriate actions can be taken to control air pollution. Therefore, this study attempts to apply a choice experiment to quantifying the environmental costs of four air pollution impacts (mortality, morbidity, soiling damage, and poor visibility), using a specific case study of Seoul. We consider the trade-offs between price and attributes of air pollution impacts for selecting a preferred alternative and derive the marginal willingness to pay (WTP) estimate for each attribute. According to the results, the households' monthly WTP for a 10% reduction in the concentrations of major pollutants in Seoul was found to be approximately 5494 Korean won (USD 4.6) and the total annual WTP for the entire population of Seoul was about 203.4 billion Korean won (USD 169.5 million). This study is expected to provide policy-makers with useful information for evaluating and planning environmental policies relating specifically to air pollution.     

Willingness to Pay for Improving the Residential Waste Disposal System in Korea: A Choice Experiment Study

This study attempts to apply choice experiments with regard to the residential waste disposal system (RWDS) in Korea by considering various attributes that are related to RWDS. Using data from a survey conducted on 492 households, the empirical analysis yields estimates of the willingness to pay for a clean food-waste collection facility, the collection of small items (such as obsolete mobile phones and add-ons for personal computers), and a more convenient large waste disposal system. The estimation results of multinomial logit models are quite similar to those of nested logit models. The results reveal that residents have preferences for the cleanliness of facilities and the collection of small items. In Korea, residents are required to purchase and attach stickers for the disposal of large items; they want to be able to obtain stickers at not only village offices but also supermarkets. On the other hand, the frequency of waste collection is not a significant factor in the choice of the improved waste management program.

Assessing visitor satisfaction with tourism rejuvenation policies: the case of Rimini,Italy

This paper assesses the appeal of potential interventions on the tourism offer of Rimini, a popular Italian seaside holiday destination, by means of a choice modelling analysis. Tourism can be viewed as a composite good, its overall utility depending on the arrangement of the component characteristics. The discrete choice experiments here incorporate as attributes a number of possible changes to current tourist activities (the subject of public debate), including them in hypothetical alternative holiday packages. The conditional logit analysis indicates that tourists show lesser preference for interventions aimed at protecting the environmental integrity of the beach and greater preference for those, such as the creation of a pedestrianised seafront with late-night opening of amenities and facilities, that are likely to diminish the role of the traditional sea, sun and sand component of the overall holiday experience.     

Investigating public preferences for managing Lake Champlain using a choice experiment

The Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont and New York, USA and Quebec, Canada includes a large lake and watershed with complex management issues. A transboundary comprehensive management plan prepared for the lake includes 11 goals across many issue areas. We developed a choice experiment to examine public preferences for alternative Lake Champlain management scenarios across these issue areas. Five ecosystem attributes (water clarity-algae blooms, public beach closures, land use change, fish consumption advisories and the spread of water chestnut, an invasive plant) were varied across three levels and arrayed into paired comparisons following an orthogonal fractional factorial design. Two thousand questionnaires were distributed to basin residents, each including nine paired comparisons that required trading off two, three or four attributes. Completed surveys yielded 6541 responses which were analyzed using binary logistic regression. The results showed that although water clarity and beach closures were important, safe fish consumption was the strongest predictor of choice. Land use pattern and water chestnut distribution were weaker but also significant predictors, with respondents preferring less land development and preservation of the agricultural landscape. Current management efforts in the Lake Champlain Basin are heavily weighted toward improving water clarity by reducing phosphorus pollution. Our results suggest that safe fish consumption warrants additional management attention. Because choice experiments provide information that is much richer than the simple categorical judgments more commonly used in surveys, they can provide managers with information about tradeoffs that could be used to enhance public support and maximize the social benefits of an ecosystem management program.     

TiO_2/活性炭光催化技术在印染废水深度处理中的应用研究

通过TiO2／活性炭光催化剂的光催化氧化作用,对印染废水的生化处理出水进行深度处理。实验考察了pH值、催化剂负载次数、光照时间、催化剂投加量等因素对处理效果的影响。实验结果表明：催化剂负载次数为4次,光照时间30min,催化剂投加量为3g时,处理效果最佳。此时出水COD达到50mg／L,色度为2,达到印染行业回用水的标准。     

混凝法处理有机氯农药废水的研究

以有机氯农药废水为研究对象 ,研究了无机混凝剂PAC及其与有机高分子混凝剂PAM (J 3450 ,J 1 1 50 )复合使用的混凝处理特性。通过正交实验确定了混凝反应各种影响因子的最佳操作条件。在此条件下 ,水质 1、2的COD去除率分别为 38%、40 .6 % ;色度去除率分别为 98% ,2 0 %。混凝处理后 2种水质的B/C值也得到了提高。在各影响因子与COD去除率的关系曲线基础上 ,分析了废水中各影响因子的作用机理。     

Kinetics of phenol and m-cresol biodegradation by an indigenous mixed microbial culture isolated from a sewage treatment plant

An acclimatized mixed microbial culture, predominantly Pseudomonas sp., was enriched from a sewage treatment plant, and its potential to simultaneously degrade mixtures of phenol and m-cresol was investigated during its growth in batch shake flasks. A 2² full factorial design with the two substrates at two different levels and different initial concentration ranges (low and high), was employed to carry out the biodegradation experiments. The substrates phenol and m-cresol were completely utilized within 21 h when present at low concentrations of 100 mg/L for each, and at high concentration of 600 mg/L for each, a maximum time of 187 h was observed for their removal. The biodegradation results also showed that the presence of phenol in low concentration range (100–300 mg/L) did not inhibit m-cresol biodegradation. Whereas the presence of m-cresol inhibited phenol biodegradation by the culture. Moreover, irrespective of the concentrations used, phenol was degraded preferentially and earlier than m-cresol. A sum kinetics model was used to describe the variation in the substrate specific degradation rates, which gave a high coefficient of determination value (R² > 0.98) at the low concentration range of the substrates. From the estimated interaction parameter values obtained from this model, the inhibitory effect of phenol on m-cresol degradation by the culture was found to be more pronounced compared to that of m-cresol on phenol. This study showed a good potential of the indigenous mixed culture in degrading mixed substrate of phenolics.