Environmental risks associated with developing oil sands in southwestern Nigeria

Nigeria is in the advanced development stages of extracting its oil sands resources to boost national revenue and economic prosperity, like other countries in Sub‐Saharan Africa including the Republic of Congo and Madagascar. Compared to resource‐rich developed countries like Canada and America, the consequences of oil sands extraction is likely to be disastrous in countries like Nigeria that have a poor reputation for managing resources (as is the case with the petroleum sector). Using a mixed‐method approach—focus group discussions, interviews and observations—this paper addresses environmental concerns about oil sands extraction in Nigeria. Overall, the communities perceived oil sands development negatively, because of fears of loss of communal lands, biodiversity, water availability and quality, and pollution. They were angry with the previous administrations over the lack of communication, and were deprived of socio‐economic opportunities and pollution from prolonged delays in oil sands extraction. The way forward is to form sustainable partnerships between the government, communities, industry and other stakeholders to achieve responsible oil sands development—environmentally friendly development that meets climate obligations, addresses cumulative impacts, and acts in the best interest of host communities and Nigerians.     

North American Natural Gas: Data Show Supply Problems

Natural gas is increasingly the fuel of choice for domestic and industrial use and for electric power generation. With pipelines in all 50 states, gas now fuels more than one-half of United States homes. Demand for all uses is projected to rise. United States production peaked in 1971, and is in decline. The United States in 2002 imported 15% of its gas from Canada, which amount was 56% of Canada's production. However, Canada's production now also is in decline. Mexico's production declined from 1999 to 2002 against rising demand. Mexico is increasingly a net gas importer from the United States. In both the United States and Canada, intensive drilling is being offset by high depletion rates. Frontiers for more production include deep basin drilling, improved exploration and reservoir development technology, increased coalbed methane exploitation, and access to lands not now accessible because of environmental and other restrictions. Stranded gas in Arctic regions of the United States and Canada offer some potential for additional supplies, but pipeline access is at least five years to ten years or more away. Additional LNG landing facilities are needed, and are planned, but these are several years away in significant numbers. For the immediate future, rationing of available gas by the market mechanism of higher prices seems the only option. In the longer term, it seems North America will be increasingly dependent on LNG.     

Unconventional Energy Resources: 2007–2008 Review

This paper summarizes five 2007–2008 resource commodity committee reports prepared by the Energy Minerals Division (EMD) of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Current United States and global research and development activities related to gas hydrates, gas shales, geothermal resources, oil sands, and uranium resources are included in this review. These commodity reports were written to advise EMD leadership and membership of the current status of research and development of unconventional energy resources. Unconventional energy resources are defined as those resources other than conventional oil and natural gas that typically occur in sandstone and carbonate rocks. Gas hydrate resources are potentially enormous; however, production technologies are still under development. Gas shale, geothermal, oil sand, and uranium resources are now increasing targets of exploration and development, and are rapidly becoming important energy resources that will continue to be developed in the future.

---

     

Unconventional Energy Resources: 2011 Review

This report contains nine unconventional energy resource commodity summaries prepared by committees of the Energy Minerals Division (EMD) of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Unconventional energy resources, as used in this report, are those energy resources that do not occur in discrete oil or gas reservoirs held in structural or stratigraphic traps in sedimentary basins. These resources include coal, coalbed methane, gas hydrates, tight gas sands, gas shale and shale oil, geothermal resources, oil sands, oil shale, and uranium resources. Current U.S. and global research and development activities are summarized for each unconventional energy commodity in the topical sections of this report. Coal and uranium are expected to supply a significant portion of the world’s energy mix in coming years. Coalbed methane continues to supply about 9% of the U.S. gas production and exploration is expanding in other countries. Recently, natural gas produced from shale and low-permeability (tight) sandstone has made a significant contribution to the energy supply of the United States and is an increasing target for exploration around the world. In addition, oil from shale and heavy oil from sandstone are a new exploration focus in many areas (including the Green River area of Wyoming and northern Alberta). In recent years, research in the areas of geothermal energy sources and gas hydrates has continued to advance. Reviews of the current research and the stages of development of these unconventional energy resources are described in the various sections of this report.     

Life in the Goldilocks Zone: Perceptions of Place Disruption on the Periphery of the Bakken Shale

Community impacts from oil development in the Bakken Shale, located in the north central region of the United States, have been well reported in the press, including highly publicized accounts of social disruption. Less examined are communities on the periphery of such development, which experience related impacts unique to their location. Twenty-eight long-time residents from three Bakken periphery communities were interviewed to evaluate social and environmental impact perceptions, including perceived risks of place disruption. Findings suggest that whereas place meanings and identities were disrupted by the oil boom in Bakken core communities, they remain intact in these periphery communities. Findings further suggest periphery residents view their proximal location to the Bakken region as a social and economic “Goldilocks Zone:” close enough to benefit from spillover economic impacts, yet far enough away to avoid serious negative social impacts. This research extends understanding of place disruption and development impacts in energy periphery communities.     

Market intermediaries and rural people in Bolivia's forest products sector: Are trusting partnerships possible?

Decentralization in access to and control of Bolivia's forest resources, coupled with a rising global demand for tropical hardwoods, raises important questions about whether increased trade and community forest management (CFM) initiatives can enable forms of market integration that have more favourable outcomes for rural communities. This paper assesses the prospects for such a transition through an examination of the relationships linking wood product market intermediaries (brokers and buyers) to rural suppliers and forest communities in Bolivia. The analysis centres on whether trust – conceptualized as a power‐laden sociospatial process driven by multiscalar factors – can evolve between buyers and suppliers such that more progressive (sustainable and mutually beneficial) partnerships devolop. Focusing on three types of buyer–supplier relationships in Bolivia – direct ties between wood brokers/buyers and suppliers, nongovernmental organization (NGO) mediated exchange relationships and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of suppliers – our findings show how trust building initiatives that focus on one scale may fail if factors at other scales create obstacles to collaboration, Given these relational constraints, CFM strategies in Bolivia currently face limitation on their viability as economic development strategies.     

Geologic and societal factors affecting the international oceanic transport of aggregate

Crushed stone and sand and gravel are the two main sources of natural aggregate, and together comprise approximately half the volume and tonnage of mined material in the United States. Natural aggregate is a bulky, heavy material without special or unique properties, and it is commonly used near its source of production to minimize haulage cost. However, remoteness is no longer an absolute disqualifier for the production of aggregate. Today interstate aggregate routinely is shipped hundreds of kilometers by rail and barge. In addition, during 1992, the United States imported 1,317,000 metric tons of aggregate from Canada and 1,531,000 metric tons from Mexico. A number of ports on the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States receive imports of crushed stone from foreign sources for transport to various parts of the eastern United States. These areas either lack adequate supplies of aggregate or are augmenting their supplies because they have difficulties meeting current demand. These difficulties may include poor stone quality, environmental permitting problems, or transportation. Certain societal and geologic conditions of New York City and Philadelphia along the Atlantic Coast, and Tampa and New Orleans along the Gulf Coast, are discussed to demonstrate the different combinations of issues that contribute to the economic viability of importing crushed stone.     

The Urban Geography of Subsidiary Headquarters in North America: Explorations by sector and Foreign Linkage

The complexity of the firm is a hallmark of the current economy. Corporate subsidiaries and their headquarters are a key expression of the development of businesses today. The analysis presented here extends on previous subsidiary research by analyzing the evolving headquarters location of foreign and domestic subsidiaries in the United States and Canada from 1996 to 2004. This study finds that certain U.S. and Canadian sectors are home to disproportionate numbers of subsidiaries. It also shows that different sectors in each country have seen major changes in their subsidiary communities, that foreign and domestic subsidiaries in the United States and Canada exhibit distinctive geographies, and that parent corporations from various countries follow distinctive strategies in locating their U.S. and Canadian subsidiary headquarters. The study argues that this line of research is one component in the strengthening of theory related to the location of elite corporate activities.     

Source Country Differences in the Spatial Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

Statistical analysis of foreign direct investment in the United States reveals source country differences in interstate location. We relate these differences to the knowledge foreign investors have of the United States. Regression analysis indicates a significant concentration of foreign investment from individual countries in larger states and in border states. Worldwide investment in the United States does not show these preferences. Investment from Japan and Canada accounted for most of the interstate dispersal of foreign employment in the 1980s.     

Predicting demand for 311 non-emergency municipal services: An adaptive space-time kernel approach

Many cities in the United States and Canada offer a 311 helpline to their residents for submitting requests for non-emergency municipal services. By dialing 311, urban residents can report a range of public issues that require governmental attention, including potholes, graffito, sanitation complaints, and tree debris. The demand for these municipal services fluctuates greatly with time and location, which poses multiple challenges to effective deployment of limited resources. To address these challenges, this study uses a locally adaptive space-time kernel approach to model 311 requests as an inhomogeneous Poisson process and presents an analytical framework to generate predictions of 311 demand in space and time. The predictions can be used to optimally allocate resources and staff, reduce response time, and allow long-term dynamic planning. We use a bivariate spatial kernel to identify the spatial structure and weigh each kernel by corresponding past observations to capture the temporal dynamics. Short-term serial dependency and weekly temporality are modeled through the temporal weights, which are adaptive to local community areas. We also transform the computation-intensive parameter estimation procedure to a low dimensional optimization problem by fitting to the autocorrelation function of historical requests. The presented method is demonstrated and validated with sanitation service requests in Chicago. The results indicate that it performs better than common industry practice and conventional spatial models with a comparable computational cost.     

基于复杂网络理论的中美原油进口空间格局演进比较

依据中美原油进口源地数据,运用网络分析法,比较了中美原油进口贸易空间结构的演化轨迹与特征。研究表明,相同的认知活动使两国的原油进口策略取向变得一致。1993年后,美中原油进口来源国数量有着几乎相同的增长趋势;但美国原油进口权重基本趋于平稳,中国原油进口权重基本处于上升通道中,同时中美贸易联系不仅存在强度上的差异,分区域的强度次序也存在重大差异;美国原油进口空间格局的权重熵经历了由高到低的演变,权重熵的比较揭示出1993年之后中国原油进口系统有序性要低于美国。以上结果表明追求多元化不应以均质化为目标,不同的主体要依据各自所面临的客观环境选择适合自己的区域合作伙伴,才能更好的落实多元化进口策略,切实解决可能面临的石油供给危机。     

AN EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE PROGRAM OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY*

The United States Department of Energy is required by law to plan, acquire, store, and maintain a Strategic Petroleum Reserve of crude oil and petroleum products. This is to be used if there is an interruption in crude oil supply. The plan is described and then analyzed with a linear programming model. The results show that the plan is generally well formulated.     

北极航线与传统航线地理区位优势的比较分析

在对样本港口和样本船型进行选择的基础上,运用海洋船舶航运利润核算方法,通过航运利润指标对北极航线和传统航线地理区位优势进行了比较分析。结果表明：（1）与传统航线相比,在北极航线需要破冰服务时,北极航线的航运利润高56%左右;在北极航线无需破冰服务时,北极航线的航运利润高105%左右;（2）在欧亚大陆西端的港口中,勒阿佛尔港以北港口至上海港选择北极航线更具地理区位比较优势,而其以南港口至上海港选择北极航线则处于劣势;在北美东海岸的港口中,纽约港以北港口至上海港选择北极航线更具比较优势,而其以南港口至上海港选择北极航线则处于劣势;（3）与俄罗斯、法国、加拿大、美国、挪威和英国的其它港口相比,上海港至俄罗斯北部、法国西北部、加拿大北部、美国东北部、挪威北部、英国东北部的港口,选择北极航线更具地理区位比较优势;（4）与北极航线需要破冰服务时相比,在无需破冰服务时,上海港至俄罗斯、法国（西北部）、加拿大、美国（东北部）、挪威和英国的港口,选择北极航线地理区位比较优势更大。     

BRAZILIAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL IMAGINATION*

ABSTRACT. In the late 1980s more than 1 million Brazilians left Brazil without returning. Today an estimated 2 million Brazilians live abroad, 1.2 million of them in the United States. In this article I show that Brazilians migrate for a variety of reasons, including the geographical imagination. Why are so many Brazilians leaving for the United States? What are their geographical imaginations, and how are they described in their migration process? Using primary and secondary data and multiple methods, I address these questions by providing insights into Brazilian migrants' place perceptions, experiences, and reasons for migrating, focusing on the geographical imagination. Those migrants who end up returning to Brazil are more likely to cite financial and curiosity reasons for having migrated. A web of transnational religious and social networks sustains those immigrants who remain in the United States. Reasons for migrating are not economic alone; rather, they are based on interrelated and complex factors that range from adventure to curiosity, the cultural influence of the United States, family members, education, and escape.     

美国墨西哥湾岸地区石油生产综合体的形成

墨西哥湾岸是美国石油工业的核心地区。本文分析了本地区在有利的区域条件和社会、经济、技术发展要求的共同作用下,石油生产地域综合体的形成过程。分析中强调了主导部门在区域经济开发和区域经济地理研究中的意义。     

Heavy Oil and Oil (Tar) Sands in North America: An Overview & Summary of Contributions

As conventional oil and gas reservoirs become depleted other unconventional energy sources have to be recovered and produced. Four of the major unconventional resources that are strategic for North American interests are heavy oil, oil sands, oil shales, and coal-bed methane. Recent interest and activity in Canada’s vast oil sands are progressing rapidly as soaring oil prices are fueling a ‘gold rush’ in oil sands development in Alberta. This interest is evident by the record-number of oil sands and heavy oil presentations at Energy Minerals Division (EMD)-sponsored sessions at the 2004 and 2005 Annual Conventions of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), held in Dallas, TX and Calgary, AB.     

从北极国家的北极政策剖析北极科技发展趋势

由于气候变化影响、地区经济潜力、以及地缘政治意义,北极迅速成为北极各国乃至北半球国家关注的焦点。自2006年底以来,挪威、俄罗斯、美国、加拿大、芬兰、冰岛、瑞典和丹麦等北极八国陆续推出了新的北极政策。各国在阐述北极主权、资源利用、生态环境保护、社会经济发展和原住民权利的同时,强调了科学研究和科技发展在当地生态环境保护和经济可持续发展中的重要作用,并对科研优先领域进行了不同程度的阐述,以引导各国的北极科技发展并服务于自身的北极权益。本文依据北极各国新近发布的北极政策,综合分析北极科技发展重点和趋势,同时结合我国已有的北极考察和合作基础,提出了我国的北极科技发展建议。     

HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT: UNPREDICTABILITY AND THE PRIMACY OF PLACE

Landscapes, environments, and ecosystems (i.e., places) are historically and spatially contingent and therefore unique. Generalizations and laws are based on “all other things being equal.” Owing to historical and spatial contingency, all other things are never completely equal and often do not approach that ideal closely enough to allow for reliable prediction. The problem is illustrated by examining effects of grazing and fire suppression on transitions between grass and woody vegetation communities. In three different environments in the southern United States (central Texas, southwestern Virginia, and eastern North Carolina), three different relationships exist between grazing and fire regime, and vegetation. Other examples are common in the geographic and environmental literature. This suggests that the search for a single applicable generalization or predictive model of a given human-induced environmental change that can be applied without accounting for the particular characteristics of places may be futile. Several general ways to address this issue are suggested. First is the recognition that place matters. Conditions specific to a location or region will influence what, how, or even if generalizations apply. Second is the adoption of a “demographic” approach. This is based on the idea that for places, like people, it is possible to make aggregate or probabilistic generalizations or predictions, but these cannot be applied to deterministic prediction of individuals. Third is a synoptic approach based on forecasting not via simple cause-effect relationships, but based on a typology of situations that recognizes and incorporates the unique characteristics of site and situation. Several converging threads of inquiry in geography and geosciences explicitly or implicitly address the issue of historical and spatial contingency. [Key words: landscape, environment, place, prediction.]     

中国和美国海洋经济与海洋产业结构特征对比——基于海洋GDP中国超过美国的实证分析

对比中美两国海洋经济总产值（海洋经济增加值）发现, 2011年开始,中国海洋经济总产值（海洋经济增加值）（2 849.73×10⁸美元）,已超过美国海洋经济增加值（2 779.02×10⁸美元）（实际GDP）。重点分析2005~2012年,中国海洋产业超过美国的演进过程,并以两国共同的6个海洋产业部门为例,分析了中国与美国海洋产业发展历程。为了体现中美两国海洋经差异的特征与规律性,应用标准差、变差系数、集中化指数（基尼系数）、锡尔系数等方法,分析了中、美两国在海洋经济总值（海洋经济增加值）、海洋产业与区域海洋经济的差异与特征。     

Unconventional Energy Resources: 2013 Review

This report contains nine unconventional energy resource commodity summaries and an analysis of energy economics prepared by committees of the Energy Minerals Division of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Unconventional energy resources, as used in this report, are those energy resources that do not occur in discrete oil or gas reservoirs held in structural or stratigraphic traps in sedimentary basins. These resources include coal, coalbed methane, gas hydrates, tight-gas sands, gas shale and shale oil, geothermal resources, oil sands, oil shale, and U and Th resources and associated rare earth elements of industrial interest. Current U.S. and global research and development activities are summarized for each unconventional energy commodity in the topical sections of this report.