Fossil fuel divestment: implications for the future of sustainability discourse and action within higher education

This paper provides a critical overview and analysis of the student-led fossil fuel divestment (FFD) movement and its impact on sustainability discourse and actions within US higher education. Analysing higher education institutes’ (HEIs) divestment press releases and news reports shows how institutional alignment with cultures of sustainability and social justice efforts played key roles in HEIs’ decisions to divest from fossil fuels. Key stated reasons for rejection were: minimal or unknown impact of divestment, risk to the endowment, and fiduciary duty. Participant observation and interviews with protagonists reveal the intricate power structures and vested business interests that influence boardroom divestment decision-making. While some HEIs embrace transformative climate actions, we contend that higher education largely embraces a business-as-usual sustainability framework characterised by a reformist green-economy discourse and a reluctance to move beyond business-interest responses to climate politics. Nonetheless, the FFD movement is pushing HEIs to move from compliance-oriented sustainability behaviour towards a more proactive and highly politicised focus on HEIs’ stance in the modern fossil fuel economy. We offer conceptual approaches and practical directions for reorienting sustainability within HEIs to prioritise the intergenerational equity of its students and recognise climate change as a social justice issue. Fully integrating sustainability into the core business of HEIs requires leadership to address fundamental moral questions of both equity and responsibility for endowment investments. We contend that HEIs must re-evaluate their role in averting catastrophic climate change, and extend their influence in catalysing public climate discourse and actions through a broader range of external channels, approaches, and actors.     

Identifying the European Fossil Fuel Plumes in the Atmosphere Over the Northeast Atlantic Region Through Isotopic Observations and Numerical Modelling

As part of the Danish NEAREX project the origin and variability of anthropogenic atmospheric CO₂ over the Northeast Atlantic Region (NEAR) has been studied. The project consisted of a combination of experimental and modelling activities. Local volunteers operated CO₂ sampling stations, built at University of Copenhagen, for ¹⁴C analysis at four locations (East Denmark, Shetland Isles, Faroe Isles and Iceland). The samples were only collected during winter periods of south-easterly winds in an attempt to trace air enriched in fossil-fuel derived CO₂ due to combustion of fossil fuels within European countries. In order to study the transport and concentration fields over the region in detail, a three-dimensional Eulerian hemispheric air pollution model has been extended to include the main anthropogenic sources for atmospheric CO₂. During the project period (1998–2001) only a few episodes of transport from Central Europe towards NEAR arose, which makes the data set for the evaluation of the method sparse. The analysed samples indicate that the signal for fossil CO₂, as expected, is largest (up to 3.7±0.4% fossil CO₂) at the Danish location closest to the European emissions areas and much weaker (up to ∼1.5±0.6% fossil CO₂) at the most remote location. As the anthropogenic signal is weak in the clean atmosphere over NEAR these numbers will, however, be very sensitive to the assumed background ¹⁴CO₂ activity and the precision of the measurements. The model simulations include the interplay between the driving processes from the emission into the boundary layer and the following horizontal/vertical mixing and atmospheric transport and are used to analyse the meteorological conditions leading to the observed events of high fossil CO₂ over NEAR. This information about the history of the air masses is essential if an observed signal is to be utilised for identifying and quantifying sources for fossil CO₂.     

C/N ratio and fossil pigments in sediments ofsome Estonian lakes: an evidence of human impact andHolocene environmental change

The content of carbon (C), nitrogen(N), fossil carotenoids (TC) and chlorophyllderivatives (CD) in the sediments of five Estonianlakes was analysed. Historical records of man-inducedchanges on catchments were used for the interpretationof the obtained data. On the basis of the C/N ratiosit was estimated that the planktonic matter formed ca.25% (C/N ratio 24) to 90% (C/N ratio 8) of theorganic pool matter of lake sediments. In eutrophicLake Ruusmäe the fraction of the phytoplanktonproduced in lakes was highest, amounting toapproximately 80–95% of the deposited organic matter.Remarkable C/N changes were noted in the sedimentsfrom lakes Matsimäe and Viitna, where the contentof planktonic matter has increased during lastdecades, reflecting an increase in recreationalactivity around these lakes. The variations in pigmentconcentrations in the sediments of lakes Matsimäeand Ruusmäe could be explained by changes in theland-use that have altered the intensity of primaryproduction and conditions of TC and CD degradationbefore the final burial.     

基于聚类分析的我国各地化石能源足迹与经济发展定量研究

利用改进后的化石能源足迹公式计算了2000—2009年我国30个地区的人均化石能源足迹,并分别对2000年和2009年中国各地区的数据进行聚类分析,发现我国地区人均化石能源足迹由无明显地域特征转变为东部高于中西部,经济发达地区高于欠发达地区,且能源使用效率和经济发展水平间联系逐渐加强。通过对不同类别代表性地区人均化石能源足迹的分析判断,以北京、上海和广东为代表的发达地区化石能源消耗增长开始趋于缓和甚至出现小幅下降。     

北京市冬季大气化石源CO_2典型日变化的~(14)C示踪研究

城市作为化石源CO_2(CO_(2_(ff)))排放的热点区域.获得其大气CO_(2_(ff))浓度的日变化特征对于深刻理解城市地区CO_(2_(ff))的时空变化规律,进而制定合理的节能减排政策至关重要。本研究通过AMS-~(14)C技术,示踪了北京市冬季一个典型日变化事件中大气(CO_(2_(ff)))的变化过程,并探讨了其影响因素。本次日变化事件中大气δ~(13)CO_2的值为(-13.9±0.8)%。(-14.8‰—-12.7‰),△~(14)CO_2的值为(-151.6±51.3)‰((-214.2±2.9)‰-(-82.3±3.0)‰),CO_(2_(ff))浓度为104.4±44.0μL·L~(-1)(168.6±2.7-52.1±3.2μL·L~(-1)。CO_(2_(ff))浓度具有较大的曰变化,夜晚CO_(2_(ff))浓度明显高于白天,主要是由于夜间大气混合层高度较低、供暖消耗更多的化石燃料以及在东南风条件下因北京不利的扩散条件而使CO_(2_(ff))聚积。此外,在早晚高峰期间,观察到由于交通流量增加引起的较高CO_(2_(ff))浓度。同期PM_(2.5)浓度相似的日变化过程进一步验证了本次CO_(2_(ff))观测结果的可靠性。     

火山灰下的记忆──辽西中生代热河化石库的组成和形成

燕山期环太平洋构造活动导致辽西频繁地火山喷发。巨星火山灰一次次覆盖火山周围丛林和湖沼．掩埋了各种生物，形成学术价值极高的化石库（fossillagerstatte），尤其是鸟类和昆虫化石及动物的毛发、羽毛、膜翅及内脏等软组织结构，都或多或少地以精细的碳化膜或印痕保存。特别是近年一系列新发现，如孔子鸟（Confucinsornis）和带毛的秀颌龙（Compsognathus）／中华龙鸟（Sinosauroteryx）等，引起国内外学术界的轰动。笔者研究了其中一批化石，从古生态和埋藏事件进行探讨认为：（1）该生物群代表分子中鹦鹉嘴龙（Psittacosaurus）、带毛秀颌龙／中华龙鸟及孔子鸟等，很可能是温血动物。（2）频繁的火山喷发不但将巨量的火山灰沉积在广大的湖泊丛林区，加快了其沼泽化的进程，对煤层及油页岩层的形成起了催化作用。     

Drastic Reductions in Utilizable Fossil Fuel Reserves: An Environmental Imperative

We are living in a period of exponential growth of world population and energy consumption. Forecasts suggest that the atmospheric CO₂ concentration could reach 750 p.p.m. by 2100. At this level, the coral reefs and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would be lost and thermohaline circulation in the N. Atlantic could possibly shut down. Crippling the ocean conveyor system would have a major impact on world climate and jeopardize our chances of feeding an enlarged world population. Consumption of the total global hydrocarbon reserves would increase the atmospheric CO₂ concentration to about 2200 p.p.m. We can therefore utilize less than 20% of the global hydrocarbon reserves without an accompanying massive programme for the sequestration of CO₂ if we do not wish to cross the threshold atmospheric CO₂ concentration of 750 p.p.m. and risk a major environmental catastrophe. Attention to the global CO₂ problem will be the major task of the 21st Century.     

Portfolio-Based Electricity Generation Planning: Policy Implications For Renewables And Energy Security

Renewable generating technologies offer an effective means for climate change mitigation. Policy makers, however, are wary because of the widespread perception that these technologies cost more than conventional alternatives so that increasing their deployment will raise overall electricity generating costs. Energy planning represents an investment-decision problem. Investors commonly evaluate such problems using portfolio theory to manage risk and maximize portfolio performance under a variety of unpredictable economic outcomes. Energy planners need to similarly abandon their reliance on traditional, “least-cost” stand-alone kWh generating cost measures and instead evaluate conventional and renewable energy sources on the basis of their portfolio cost – their cost contribution relative to their risk contribution to a mix of generating assets. Energy security generally focuses on the threat of abrupt supply disruptions. This paper suggests a more profound aspect: mitigating fossil price volatility. An extensive body of research indicates that fossil volatility significantly disrupts the economies of consuming nations, potentially exacting hundreds of billions of dollars from the US and EU economies alone. Energy security is reduced when countries hold inefficient portfolios that are needlessly exposed to fossil price risks. This paper describes essential portfolio-theory ideas and uses three case studies to illustrate how electricity-generating mixes can benefit from additional shares of wind, geothermal and other renewables. Compared to existing, fossil-dominated mixes, efficient portfolios reduce generating cost while including greater renewables shares in the mix thereby enhancing energy security. Though counter-intuitive, the idea that adding more costly renewables can actually reduce portfolio-generating cost is consistent with basic finance theory. An important implication is that in dynamic and uncertain environments, the relative value of generating technologies must be determined not by evaluating alternative resources, but by evaluating alternative resource portfolios.     

Fossil carbon emissions associated with carbon flowsof wood products

Specific fossil carbon (C) emissions and primary energy useassociated with the manufacture of different wood product groups inFinland are estimated and expressed as emissions or energy use per amountof wood-based C in raw material and per amount in end product. Thecalculation includes both emissions from supplied fuels within the forestindustries, and from electricity and district heat purchased from externalsources. The results are compared to fossil C emissions from the wholelifecycle of harvested wood products. The results of the study show, forinstance, that the emission of fossil C per wood-based C in end products(MgC/MgC) is of the order of 0.07 for sawn wood and 0.3–0.6 for paperin the manufacturing stage. The primary energy use per wood-based C inend product is of the order of 2 MWh/MgC for sawn wood, whereas forvirgin paper grades the figure is between 17 and 19 MWh/MgC. Theprimary energy content is highest in papers based on chemical pulping, butaround 60% of the energy used is produced in this case from by-productwood wastes (black liquor, bark etc.). The specific fossil C emission andprimary energy divided by the estimated service life of the wood productare measures for the relative burden of maintaining the corresponding woodproduct pool. These figures should be kept in mind when considering woodproducts as a potential C sink option.     

火力发电厂废水处理的现状与展望

介绍了当前我国火力发电厂废水处理技术的现状,对火力发电厂各类废水的特点及其处理方法进行了相应的分析,并对火电厂废水处理的发展进行了展望。