Domestic actions contributing to the mitigation of GHG emissions from power generation in Brazil

Abstract

Continued growth and the privatisation of Brazil's electricity system, which is largely based upon hydropower, is projected to lead to big expansion mainly of natural gas but also coal power stations with a resulting huge growth in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions unless steps are taken to avoid this. The Brazilian National Program of Power Conservation and Efficient Use of Electrical Energy in terms of avoided GHG emissions (PROCEL), originally created in 1985, is a multi-stakeholder program coordinated by Eletrobrás aimed to reduce the waste of electrical power on both supply and demand side. Initially crippled by lack of funds, a new finance structure introduced in 1994 has greatly increased PROCEL's impact. Here we develop scenarios that suggest that continued expansion of PROCEL's programme, including resources that might be drawn through clean development mechanism (CDM) projects, to meet projected PROCEL targets over the next two decades could avoid approximately one-third of the GHG emissions from the Brazilian power sector. This contribution demonstrates the significant global environmental benefits of PROCEL in addition to national benefits of this innovative programme.     

The design of California's cap-and-trade and its impact on electricity markets

California is considering the adoption of a cap-and-trade regulatory mechanism for regulating the greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and perhaps other industries. Two options have been widely discussed for implementing cap-and-trade in the electricity industry. The first is to regulate the emissions from electricity at the load-serving entity (LSE) level. The second option for implementation of cap-and-trade has been called the ‘first-seller’ approach. Conceptually, under first-seller, individual sources (i.e. power plants) within California would be responsible for their emissions, as with traditional cap-and-trade systems. Emissions from imports would be assigned to the ‘importing firm’. An option that has not been as widely discussed is to implement a pure source-based system within California, effectively excluding imports from the cap-and-trade system altogether. This article examines these three approaches to implementing cap-and-trade for California's electricity sector. The article discusses many of the issues relating to measurement and the impacts on bidding and scheduling incentives that are created by the various regulatory regimes.     

Comprehensive studies of solar activity on the CORONAS-F satellite

The first results of comprehensive CORONAS-F observations of solar activity are presented. The CORONAS-F instrumentation and principal scientific objectives are briefly described and examples of the first results of data reduction are given.     

中国城市(包括辖县)的工业职能分类——理论、方法和结果

在城市发展的经济基础理论的指导下,作者提出城市工业职能的概念包括城市的专业化部门、职能强度和职能规模三个要素。城市工业职能分类就是按照上述三要素的相似性和差异性对城市进行分类。本研究曾采用主因素分析、聚类分析和纳尔逊的统计分析等多种方法。最后以沃德误差法的聚类分析结果作为分类的基础,稍加修正,并以纳尔逊法分析结果作补充。中国1984年的295个城市被分成三个大类、十九个亚类和五十四个职能组。     

EXTERNAL CONTROL OF NONMETROPOLITAN INDUSTRY IN KENTUCKY

The organizational separation of management and other quaternary activities from production operations in American manufacturing has resulted in a divergent pattern of production and headquarter locations. We examine the external control relationships that arise from this separation between headquarter location and branch plant operations in nonmetropolitan Kentucky. Although corporate headquarters have diffused to the Sunbelt, no shift was found in the corporate control of branch plants in Kentucky. Nonmetropolitan manufacturing in Kentucky was oriented toward the metropolitan centers of the traditional manufacturing belt rather than the newer corporate centers of the South. Also control relationships are more likely to be local among smaller factories. Large plants having more autonomy in production or producing finished goods were more likely to be owned by a distant firm located in a large SMSA.     

Orthopyroxene–sillimanite–sapphirine granulites from the Bamble granulite terrane, southern Norway

Silica-deficient sapphirine-bearing rocks occur as an enclave within granulite facies Proterozoic gneisses and migmatites near Grimstad in the Bamble sector of south-east Norway (Hasleholmen locality). The rocks contain peraluminous sapphirine, orthopyroxene, gedrite, anthophyllite, sillimanite, sapphirine, corundum, cordierite, spinel, quartz and biotite in a variety of assemblages. Feldspar is absent.
Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺+ Mg) in the analysed minerals varies in the order: spinel > gedrite ≥ anthophyllite ≥ biotite > sapphirine>orthopyroxene > cordierite.
Characteristic pseudomorph textures indicate coexistence of orthopyroxene and sillimanite during early stages of the reaction history. Assemblages containing orthopyroxene-sillimanite-sapphirine-cordierite-corundum developed during a high-pressure phase of metamorphism and are consistent with equilibration pressures of about 9 kbar at temperatures of 750–800°C. Decompression towards medium-pressure granulite facies generated various sapphirine-bearing assemblages. The diagnostic assemblage of this stage is sapphirine-cordierite. Sapphirine occurs in characteristic symplectite textures. The major mineralogical changes can be described by the discontinuous FMAS reaction: orthopyroxene + sillimanite → sapphirine + cordierite + corundum.
The disequilibrium textures found in the Hasleholmen rocks are characteristic for reactions which have been in progress but then ceased before they run to completion. Textures such as reaction rims, symplectites, partial replacement, corrosion and dissolution of earlier minerals are characteristic of granulite facies rocks. They indicate that, despite relatively high temperatures (700–800° C), equilibrium domains were small and chemical communication and transport was hampered as a result of dry or H₂O-poor conditions.     

城中村制造业空间集聚研究——以广州康乐村服装生产企业为例

城中村作为城市内部的异质空间已受到学术界高度关注,但对其内部流动人口创建的各种经济部门,尤其是制造业的系统研究仍然少见报导。选取广州市康乐村为案例地区,通过半结构式问卷调查与访谈、土地利用类型与多层建筑物垂直空间利用状况的系统调研,深入探讨城中村内流动人口创建的制造企业集聚的基本特征及形成机制。研究表明:制造企业在康乐村的集聚是关系邻近与地理邻近循环因果关系引导下的主动集聚。企业具有"临时性"、"内生性"、"地域的多元性"及"非正规性";产业构成以成衣制作为主体,企业规模偏小,生产联系松散,技术需求极其低下;在空间分布上则表现为同行业企业相对集中分布,产业空间与居住空间相互依附,垂直空间混合利用以及企业分布受村内道路系统影响显著等。     

崇左市气象台站装备维修保障的思考

通过对崇左市气象部门技术装备保障工作现状的分析,找出了崇左市气象部门技术装备保障工作存在的主要问题,并提出了相应的解决办法。     

北斗RDSS用户机测试系统指标监测校准方案设计

北斗卫星无线电测定业务(RDSS)用户机是我国北斗卫星导航试验系统的应用终端,测试系统可为用户机研制和使用提供可靠保障。鉴于RDSS体制的特殊性,测试系统的重要性能指标包括:用户机入站信号测量指标、用户机时延测量指标、以及用户机测试系统出站信号。为确保测试系统测试标准的统一,需要对测试系统的这些指标进行监测和校准。通过对普通用户机提出技术改进设计,为测试系统校准提供可行性方案,实现测试系统指标向标准测试仪器的溯源。     

Long-range aircraft as an Arctic Oceanographic platform

Synoptic basin-wide measurements of Arctic Ocean temperature and salinity are now possible with the recent development of an expendable conductivity, temperature, and depth probe for deployment from aircraft (AXCTD). Both the P-3 Orion aircraft and the C-130 aircraft are capable of long-range, low-altitude flight and are ideal for Arctic research. Expendable profilers can be quickly deployed over vast regions from aircraft and in locations with limited ship access, but have the disadvantage of measuring only the top 1000 m and of being about an order of magnitude less accurate than a CTD cast, primarily because of noisy salinity measurements and depth-fall rate errors. We explore how to conduct an ACXTD measurement program in ice-covered seas and discuss a test of these methods conducted in the Arctic Ocean's Eurasian Basin. Long-range aircraft can significantly augment the present program of Arctic research by performing large-area surveys, continuing time series with repeat measurements, and by helping target locations for more detailed and accurate shipboard measurement.