110 research outputs found

    America’s Energy Security Options

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    As US gasoline prices approached $4 a gallon in spring 2011, energy security moved to the forefront of the American political debate. Politicians have been quick to offer silver bullet solutions to lower gas prices and make America more energy secure. Houser and Mohan analyze the various recent policy proposals, from expanded offshore drilling to new vehicle efficiency standards, and compare their effects on US oil imports, US oil demand, gasoline prices, and energy expenditures over the 2011–2035 period. They find that despite recent political rhetoric, when it comes to energy security there is no policy panacea. Current proposals vary widely in the time frame, magnitude, and nature of their impact. Rather than debate whether expanded domestic production, improved efficiency, or development of oil alternatives is the right course to take, the United States needs to start moving down all three roads simultaneously to significantly alter the country’s energy trajectory. An "all of the above" strategy is required, which combines increased domestic production (important in the near term) with long-term investments in energy-efficient vehicles and oil alternatives, whether electric, natural gas, or biofuels. A carbon tax, while still a long shot politically, would deliver further energy security gains and help reduce the US deficit in the process. But even if all proposals currently on the table are adopted, the US will remain dependent on the international oil market for decades to come. Therefore Washington needs a strategy for improving the stability and reliability of that market, something missing from the current policy debate.

    A Green Recovery? Assessing US Economic Stimulus and the Prospects for International Coordination

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    As the new Congress and President Obama take office, enacting a fiscal stimulus program is at the top of the legislative agenda. Because the size of this program may limit the scope for other legislative priorities and because US consumers' new-found propensity to save makes government spending a more attractive approach for economic recovery, policymakers are hoping to direct government spending in a way that not only generates short-term economic growth and employment but also addresses long-term policy goals. Energy security and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions are chief among these goals, and smart government investment in these areas can both create jobs today and lower the future cost of implementing long-term policies such as a cap-and-trade program or carbon tax. Trevor Houser, Shashank Mohan, and Robert Heilmayr consider twelve proposed "green" stimulus programs and examine the economic, environmental, and energy-security costs and benefits of these proposals using the Energy Information Administration's National Energy Modeling System and the Bureau of Economic Analysis's RIMS II multipliers. These proposals fall into three basic categories: energy efficiency investments, such as programs to refit federal buildings and weatherize homes; power generation programs, including extension of the production tax credit for renewable energy and the installation of "smart" meters; and transportation proposals, such as hybrid tax credits, funding for battery research and development, and mass transit expansion. They find that their twelve programs create an average of 30,100 job-years per 1billioningovernmentspending,comparingfavorablywithanaverageof7000jobyearsforevery1 billion in government spending, comparing favorably with an average of 7000 job-years for every 1 billion in temporary tax cuts or 25,200 job-years per $1 billion in traditional infrastructure investment. These proposals also have a favorable impact on US GHG emissions and reduce US imports of oil and natural gas, but these effects are not significant enough to replace long-term policies in these areas. Rather, these policies can lay the groundwork for long-term policy goals, reducing the cost of implementing such policies down the road while at the same time spurring employment and helping to reverse the continuing economic downturn.

    Assessing the American Power Act: The Economic, Employment, Energy Security, and Environmental Impact of Senator Kerry and Senator Lieberman's Discussion Draft

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    On May 12, 2010, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) released details of their proposed American Power Act, a comprehensive energy and climate change bill developed over the preceding nine months by the two senators, chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations and Homeland Security Committees respectively, along with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).1 With US unemployment just below 10 percent and the sunken Deepwater Horizon drilling rig's ruptured well pouring thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day, the senators promised that if passed the bill will: (1) reduce US oil consumption and dependence on oil imports; (2) cut US carbon pollution 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and over 80 percent by 2050; and (3) create jobs and restore US global economic leadership. In this policy brief the authors evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed American Power Act in achieving those goals.

    The Rosiglitazone Controversy : The Indian Perspective

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    Challenges in Diabetes Care in India : Sheer Numbers, Lack of Awareness and Inadequate Control

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    Abstract With an estimated 40 million people suffering from the condition, the largest in any country in the world, diabetes has become a major health care problem in India. Recent epidemiological studies from India point to the great burden due to diabetes and its micro and macrovascular complications. This is primarily because the status of diabetes control in India is far from ideal. Based on the available data, the mean glycated hemoglobin levels are around 9% which is at least 2% higher than the goal currently suggested by international bodies. The IMPROVE study has helped identify the barriers to good control of diabetes both among patients as well as physicians in today’s practice. However the recent ACCORD study points to the dangers of overaggressive treatment, especially in high risk in elderly patients. A balanced approach to improve awareness about diabetes and its control both among patients and the medical fraternity is urgent need of the hour in India. The associated risks of tight control in high risk groups should also be kept in mind

    Unconventional spin polarization at Argon ion milled SrTiO3 Interfaces

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    Interfacial two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at the perovskite-type oxide, such as SrTiO3, has attracted significant attention due to its properties of ferromagnetism, superconductivity, and its potential application in oxide-based low-power consumption electronics. Recent studies have investigated spin-to-charge conversion at the STO interface with different materials, which could affect the efficiency of this 2DEG interface. In this report, we presented an Ar^+ ion milling method to create a 2DEG at STO directly by inducing oxygen vacancies. To quantify the spin-to-charge conversion of this interface, we measured the angular-dependent spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) spectra, revealing an unconventional spin polarization at the interface of Argon ion-milled STO and NiFe. Furthermore, a micromagnetic simulation for angular-dependent spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) has been performed, confirming the large unconventional spin polarization at the interface

    Dense plasma irradiated platinum with improved spin Hall effect

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    The impurity incorporation in host high-spin orbit coupling materials like platinum has shown improved charge-to-spin conversion by modifying the up-spin and down-spin electron trajectories by bending or skewing them in opposite directions. This enables efficient generation, manipulation, and transport of spin currents. In this study, we irradiate the platinum with non-focus dense plasma to incorporate the oxygen ion species. We systematically analyze the spin Hall angle of the oxygen plasma irradiated Pt films using spin torque ferromagnetic resonance. Our results demonstrate a 2.4 times enhancement in the spin Hall effect after plasma treatment of Pt as compared to pristine Pt. This improvement is attributed to the introduction of disorder and defects in the Pt lattice, which enhances the spin-orbit coupling and leads to more efficient charge-to-spin conversion without breaking the spin-orbit torque symmetries. Our findings offer a new method of dense plasma-based modification of material for the development of advanced spintronic devices based on Pt and other heavy metals

    Highly dose dependent damping-like spin-orbit torque efficiency in O-implanted Pt

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    Damping-like torque (DLT) arising from the spin Hall effect (SHE) in heavy metals and their alloys has been widely explored for applications in spin–orbit torque MRAM, auto-oscillations, spin waves, and domain wall motion. In conventional materials, the DLT efficiency is limited by intrinsic properties, while attaining strong spin–orbit coupling and higher spin-charge interconversion, with no compromise to electric properties, is the need of the hour. In this Letter, we report more than 3.5 times increase in DLT efficiency, θDL, of modified Pt-oxide by employing a better approach of low energy 20 keV O+ ion implantation. The highest fluence of O+ implantation (1 × 1017 ions cm−2) in Pt enhanced the DLT efficiency from 0.064 to 0.230 and improved the spin transmission for a smaller trade-off in the longitudinal resistivity (ρPt to ρPt−Oxide) from 55.4 to 159.5 μΩ cm, respectively. The transverse spin Hall resistivity, ρSH, is found to be proportional to the square of the longitudinal resistivity, i.e., ρimpSH∝ρ2imp, implying that the enhanced SHE in O-implanted Pt is due to a side-jumping mechanism. Further, no break in the twofold as well as mirror symmetry of torques from the O-implanted Pt allows the use of spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance-based line shape analysis to quantify such torques
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