Russian gas games or well-oiled conflict? Energy security and the 2014 Ukraine crisis

This essay explores the link between energy security and the 2014 Ukraine crisis. Whenever there is an international conflict involving a major oil or gas producer, commentators are often quick to assume a direct link, and the Ukraine crisis was no exception. Yet, the various avenues through which energy politics have affected the Ukraine crisis, and vice versa, are not well understood. This paper seeks to shed light on the issue by addressing two specific questions. First, how exactly did energy contribute to the crisis in the region? Second, can energy be wielded as a ‘weapon’ by Russia, the EU, or the US? We find that Russian gas pricing played a crucial role as a context factor in igniting the Ukrainian crisis, yet at the same time we guard against ‘energy reductionism’, that is, the fallacy of attributing all events to energy-related issues. We also note that there are strict limits to the so-called energy weapon, whoever employs it. In the conclusion we provide a discussion of the policy implications of these findings

The rise and fall of philosophy of education: An institutional analysis

Philosophy of education’s academic literature portrays the field as being in decline over the past half century, especially in the once preeminent citadel of initial teacher preparation programs. This decline prompts the broad problem of the proper place of philosophy in teacher preparation. I therefore set out to explain why (in part) this decline has occurred in the English language field by connecting, from the 19th century to the present, primarily in the United States and Britain, but also Canada, two histories: (1) the origins and development of the field of philosophy of education itself, and (2) the institutional history of teacher preparation programs, tracing each from their origins in normal schools and summer seminars, to modern faculties of education. The comparative historical analysis is supplemented by a case study of a particular faculty of education, the J. G. Althouse Faculty of Education, London, Ontario, Canada, using data obtained from interviews with retired faculty members, especially philosophers of education, and examinations of founding documents and course calendars. The theoretical framework selected to analyze the case study and histories was institutional organizational theory, which pays attention to how institutions develop and change in response to environmental conditions. This theory uses a tripartite model of institutions, identifying a “technical core,” where its products are made, administered by a “managerial level,” which coordinates action and diplomatically softens demands made by the wider environment, the “institutional level.” A case is made that philosophy of education, once securely established in the technical core of teacher preparation, has declined as teacher education programs became more institutionalized within the contexts of the rise of the scientific research university and an increasingly bureaucratic public education system, both, in part, favoring graduate programs as the new dominant technical core of teacher education institutions. The consequences of this decline are discussed, identifying implications and a solution for teacher education, its institutions, and teacher professionalism. I conclude that the loss of philosophy in teacher education institutions is one indicator of a trend toward an increasingly institutionalized, illiberal and technical teacher training

A crude reversal : the political economy of the United States crude oil export policy

Why did the United States (US) lift its forty-year old oil export ban in 2015? Press coverage has offered various answers, such as the decline in crude oil prices and the rise of US tight oil production. Yet, these explanations are incomplete. Prices have declined in the past without a policy change and, in spite of the shale revolution, the US remains a net oil importer. Here, we argue that the repeal of the ban was driven by the confluence of multiple streams in the policy process: a policy problem created by the spread between US and international crude prices, a policy solution advocated by a constituency with growing voice and power, and a window of opportunity offered by falling international oil prices and the budget deal in late 2015. The analysis is a reminder that the policy process behind ostensibly rational energy policies is often less coherent than might be assumed

The abandoned ice sheet base at Camp Century, Greenland, in a warming climate

In 1959 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Camp Century beneath the surface of the northwestern Greenland Ice Sheet. There they studied the feasibility of deploying ballistic missiles within the ice sheet. The base and its wastes were abandoned with minimal decommissioning in 1967, under the assumption they would be preserved for eternity by perpetually accumulating snowfall. Here we show that a transition in ice sheet surface mass balance at Camp Century from net accumulation to net ablation is plausible within the next 75 years, under a business-as-usual anthropogenic emissions scenario (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5). Net ablation would guarantee the eventual remobilization of physical, chemical, biological, and radiological wastes abandoned at the site. While Camp Century and four other contemporaneous ice sheet bases were legally established under a Danish-U.S. treaty, the potential remobilization of their abandoned wastes, previously regarded as sequestered, represents an entirely new pathway of political dispute resulting from climate change

State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies 2009

This nation’s coasts and oceans contribute much to the United States economy. For the past ten years, the National Ocean Economics Program (NOEP) has compiled time-series data that track economic activities,demographics, natural resource production, non-market values, and federal expenditures in the U.S. coastal zone both on land and in the water. On the website www.oceaneconomics.org, the public—government officials,academics, industry, and advocacy groups—have had interactive access to this information and used it widely for many different purposes. This report features highlights from this collection to heighten appreciation for the value of the ocean and this nation’s coasts among an even broader audience. Two economies were measured: the ocean economy, which includes all ocean-dependent activities in coastal states, and the coastal economy, which includes all economic activity in coastal states, with geographies such as zip codes, counties, and watersheds. Non-market values for goods and services not traded in the market place are also included for purposes of understanding the often underestimated values of America’s natural resources

Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Planning for New England Communities: First Steps and Next Steps [Report]

New challenges arise from weather events that are driven by a less stable climate. The key difference between what communities already plan for and climate adaptation planning is the level of uncertainty about how impacts may change in the future and the potentially enormous and devastating damages that a community may sustain. Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Planning for New England Communities: First Steps and Next Steps (2016) presents an overview of that task, with links to the rapidly expanding guidelines and tools available to local governments and a suggested way of thinking about this responsibility as an extension of what local governments are already doing

Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Planning for New England Communities: First Steps and Next Steps

Hurricane Irene tearing Vermont roads and bridges apart and Superstorm Sandy ripping through coastal areas; such phenomenal events are being joined by more frequent rain, tide and wind impacts that are disrupting communities and risking property and lives. New challenges arise from weather events that are driven by a less stable climate. The key difference between what communities already plan for and climate adaptation planning is the level of uncertainty about how impacts may change in the future and the potentially enormous and devastating damages that a community may sustain. This Guide presents an overview of that task, with links to the rapidly expanding guidelines and tools available to local governments and a suggested way of thinking about this responsibility as an extension of what local governments are already doing

Optogalvanic Signals From Argon Metastables In A Rf Glow-Discharge

Laser optogalvanic (LOG) signals at 667.7, 751.5, and 696.5 nm from the 3 P 1 and 3 P 2 levels of Ar were studied at a pressure of 250 mTorr in a rf glow discharge. Signals with unexpected signs and time dependences were found. The results are interpreted as being due to radiative trapping effects and collisional mixing between resonance and metastable levels. An average electron energy of 2.1 eV is derived from modeling the data