Geographical and seasonal variability of the global “practical” wind resources

This paper provides global and seasonal estimates of the “practical” wind power obtained with a 3-D numerical model (GATOR-GCMOM) that dynamically calculates the instantaneous wind power of a modern 5 MW wind turbine at 100-m hub height at each time step. “Practical” wind power is defined as that delivered from wind turbines in high-wind locations (year-average 100-m wind speed ≥ 7 m/s) over land and near-shore, excluding both polar regions, mountainous, and conflicting land use areas, and including transmission, distribution, and wind farm array losses. We found that seasonal variations in the global practical wind resources are significant. The highest net land plus near-shore capacity factors globally are found during December–January–February and the lowest during June–July–August. The capacity factors in the transitional seasons (March–April–May and September–October–November) are rather similar to one another in terms of geographical patterns and frequency distributions. The yearly-average distributions of capacity factors, whether in terms of geographic patterns or frequency distributions, differ from those in all four seasons, although they are closest to the transitional seasons. Regional practical wind resources are sensitive to seasons and to thresholds in year-average wind speed and bathymetry, but are more than enough to supply local electricity demand in all regions except Japan.     

Equitable utilisation and effective protection of sharing transboundary water resources: international rivers of western China

1 Introduction Recently, some important international institutions, like the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank, have pointed out that there will exist water crises, water conflicts, and even water wars in the 21st century. The equitable utilisation and co-ordinated management of the shared freshwater resources in international watercourses (sharing rivers, lakes, and underground water layers) were particularly emphasised and are turning out to be the international hot point an…     

A Review of “Reconstructing Kobe: The Geography of Crisis and Opportunity”

This paper presents reflections on a research project in women's health, providing both substantive findings surrounding tanning and social status and methodological recommendations for future research. The project under review utilized a picture-elicited storytelling method to: a) understand how women link tanned, bronzed skin to health, status, and attractiveness; and b) test the effectiveness of picture-elicited storytelling as a research method. The project found that, when tanning, women use their bodies to inscribe the social norm of the bronzed aesthetic. While women indicate considerable knowledge of the health dangers of tanning, they continue to link tanned skin to beauty, status, and attractiveness. Further, the research project found that the use of picture-elicited storytelling as a method is potentially powerful but requires considerable attention to concerns of power and representation on the part of the research team.     

A Review of “Villages,Women and the Success of Dairy Cooperatives in India: Making Place for Rural Development”

Conceptual advances for understanding the organization of family farms have not yet initiated parallel debates about how they might be aligned with the methods used to understand them. Customization of a novel research approach—farm life history—for an investigation of the socioeconomic organization of forty Australian farms responds to this literature gap. Individual farm life histories were initiated using farm tours (truck journeys) in which changes to the composition of land parcels prompted research conversations. The researcher and participants benefited from using motorized transport and traveling while talking, but the benefits were experienced unevenly across research encounters.     

A Review of: “Pittsburgh and the Appalachians: Cultural and Natural Resources in a Postindustrial Age”

Abstract

Geography is one of the subjects offered toward a diploma of the International Baccalaureate Organization. Like the others, its syllabus is regularly reviewed and revised to remain current. The advent of a revised syllabus brings overlap that can be challenging for teachers. The syllabus that is now coming to an end was described in 107(4–5) of the Journal of Geography. The present article compares that syllabus with the new one and, particularly, the demands the new syllabus will place on teachers and students alike.     

“Placing” Interviews: Location and Scales of Power in Qualitative Research

For qualitative researchers, selecting appropriate sites in which to conduct interviews may seem to be a relatively simple research design issue. In fact it is a complicated decision with wide-reaching implications. In this paper, we argue that the interview site itself embodies and constitutes multiple scales of spatial relations and meaning, which construct the power and positionality of participants in relation to the people, places, and interactions discussed in the interview. We illustrate how observation and analysis of interview sites can offer new insights with respect to research questions, help researchers understand and interpret interview material, and highlight particular ethical considerations that researchers need to address.     

Open Up and Say “Baa”: Examining the Stomachs of Ruminant Livestock and the Real Subsumption of Nature

ABSTRACT

This article examines the stomachs of ruminant livestock as a site of biotechnological intervention and analyzes efforts to reengineer ruminant digestion as a case of the real subsumption of nature. The livestock industry’s capacity to increase production is constrained by available grazing land and concern about environmental consequences of ever-increasing livestock numbers. Ruminants are also a significant source of greenhouse gases and the mitigation of methane is a recognized priority within the global climate framework. The pursuit of “sustainable intensification” and new technological fixes have been identified as preferred responses to these constraints. The case of ruminant methane calls into question assumptions about the primacy of accumulation, rather than regulation, in driving the real subsumption of nature. The pursuit of technological fixes within biologically based industries may be motivated by a need to stabilize the conditions of production, and regulation itself can provide an impetus for the real subsumption of nature.     

A Review of “Mobilities and Health”

In this article, we examine graffiti abatement policies and programs in three West Coast U.S. cities: Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. Through this analysis, several similarities in the graffiti abatement efforts of each city emerged. Since the 1990s, graffiti abatement efforts in these cities have become increasingly formalized and coordinated. By the early 2000s, the cities of Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle adopted zero-tolerance approaches toward handling graffiti and those caught making graffiti. City governments have placed increasing responsibility for cleaning up graffiti on private property onto property owners. Despite the increased coordination and effort, annual abatement estimates are hard to obtain because tracking spending on graffiti abatement across agencies and bureaus is difficult and often the cities do not comprehensively compile these data.