De praktijk van duurzame landbouw : een overzicht van initiatieven en een analyse van lessen uit de praktijk

Bij de aanvang van het project zijn twee relevante vragen geformuleerd die in deze studie zijn onderzocht: Hoe kan op dit moment de stand van zaken rond de transitie naar een duurzame landbouw worden gekarakteriseerd? Welke lessen kunnen worden geleerd van de wijze waarop de planvorming en uitvoering van systeeminnovatieve praktijkprojecten verlopen? De inventarisatie van projecten heeft een gevarieerd overzicht van in totaal 117 projecten opgeleverd. De projecten zijn gespreid over verschillende schaalniveaus, diverse thema’s en er zijn diverse actoren bij de projecten betrokke

Energie- en waterbesparing: Hoe zit het met de actiebereidheid van Nederlanders?

Luchtvervuiling, natuuraantasting, en vooral klimaatverandering zijn vrijwel dagelijks voorpaginanieuws. Voor de aanpak ervan kijkt de overheid naar bedrijven, maatschappelijke organisaties en ook burgers. Het afgelopen decennium deden termen als energieke samenleving (Hajer, 2011), participatiesamenleving (Troonrede 2013) en doe-democratie (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken, 2013) hun intrede. Beleidsmatig krijgt de maatschappelijke betrokkenheid vorm via bijvoorbeeld initiatieven verpakt als Green Deals1 (Gooskens et al, 2016), Klimaattafels en Regionale Energie Strategieën.2 Zo is het volgens de afspraken in het ontwerp Klimaatakkoord (uit eind 2018) de bedoeling dat op termijn 50% van de elektriciteitsproductie in handen is van lokale partijen.3,4 De burger wordt hierin niet alleen meer gezien als consument, afnemer of belastingbetaler, maar als medeverantwoordelijke voor de (duurzame) productie, beheer en opslag van met name elektriciteit. Ook in andere sectoren zoals water, voedsel en transport is deze tendens zichtbaar. Burgers worden uitgedaagd na te denken over de implicaties voor milieu en klimaat bij hun uiteenlopende keuzes rond voedsel (‘een dagje zonder vlees’), manier van reizen (‘vliegschaamte’), verwarmen (‘graadje lager’), koken (‘van het gas af’) tot tuininrichting (‘onttegelen’) en waterbeheer (‘minuutje korter douchen’)

Materializing digital collecting: an extended view of digital materiality

If digital objects are abundant and ubiquitous, why should consumers pay for, much less collect them? The qualities of digital code present numerous challenges for collecting, yet digital collecting can and does occur. We explore the role of companies in constructing digital consumption objects that encourage and support collecting behaviours, identifying material configuration techniques that materialise these objects as elusive and authentic. Such techniques, we argue, may facilitate those pleasures of collecting otherwise absent in the digital realm. We extend theories of collecting by highlighting the role of objects and the companies that construct them in materialising digital collecting. More broadly, we extend theories of digital materiality by highlighting processes of digital material configuration that occur in the pre-objectification phase of materialisation, acknowledging the role of marketing and design in shaping the qualities exhibited by digital consumption objects and consequently related consumption behaviours and experiences

Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

Ever since their discovery in the 1970's, UltraLuminous InfraRed Galaxies (ULIRGs; classically Lir>10^12Lsun) have fascinated astronomers with their immense luminosities, and frustrated them due to their singularly opaque nature, almost in equal measure. Over the last decade, however, comprehensive observations from the X-ray through to the radio have produced a consensus picture of local ULIRGs, showing that they are mergers between gas rich galaxies, where the interaction triggers some combination of dust-enshrouded starburst and AGN activity, with the starburst usually dominating. Very recent results have thrown ULIRGs even further to the fore. Originally they were thought of as little more than a local oddity, but the latest IR surveys have shown that ULIRGs are vastly more numerous at high redshift, and tantalizing suggestions of physical differences between high and low redshift ULIRGs hint at differences in their formation modes and local environment. In this review we look at recent progress on understanding the physics and evolution of local ULIRGs, the contribution of high redshift ULIRGs to the cosmic infrared background and the global history of star formation, and the role of ULIRGs as diagnostics of the formation of massive galaxies and large-scale structures.Comment: Review article, published in "Astrophysics Update 2 - topical and timely reviews on astronomy and astrophysics". Ed. John W. Mason. Springer/Praxis books. ISBN: 3-540-30312-X. 53 pages, 5 figures. Higher quality figures available on reques

The grid access of energy communities a comparison of power grid governance in France and Germany

Energy communities may play a significant role in the transition towards a more participatory and low-carbon energy system. However, their development varies across European countries, depending on national contexts and policies. Overall, European energy communities face many barriers: access to the grid and lack of funding are often cited. The transformation of the electricity network to integrate new distributed energy resources opens opportunities and entails trade-offs for all the actors involved, from technical, social and economic perspectives. While the question of financial incentives for renewable energy communities is widely addressed in the literature, that of access to the grid is still fragmented and scattered. This study explores the conditions under which energy communities access the electricity grid in two countries with contrasting governance settings: France and Germany. We explore the governance choices and narratives, determining the technical and economic conditions for grid access. Priority of connection for renewable energy and affordable connection prices are identified as the main opportunities, together with a strong agency of local authorities. The connection issues are also intertwined with national regulations for renewable energy, especially financial incentives, with the way the grid is financed, and with the European rules of the common electricity market