Use of behavioral theories for the interpretation of human behavior in the Costa Concordia disaster

The Costa Concordia disaster represents one of the most dramatic ship evacuations of recent years. This thesis constitutes a case study of the Costa Concordia disaster, in an attempt to identify behaviors among the evacuees that may have contributed in reducing the effectiveness of the evacuation procedures. Publicly available material – such as reports from the media, survivor accounts and scientific investigations – was critically analyzed, and current behavioral models were used to interpret the behaviors identified

Kyoto and Beyond: How the banking rule affects emission, cost and price

In this thesis I investigate numerically how three different scenarios of a Post-Kyoto agreement for the commitment period 2013-2017 affect the overall emission abatement, the cost of compliance and the price for emission permits in both the Kyoto (2008-2012) and the Post-Kyoto periods. The scenarios affect both periods through the banking rule; one of the compliance rules governing the emission trade mechanism in the Kyoto Protocol. In my results, banking reduces the overall cost of abatement and shifts abatement from the subsequent period to the present, when the Post-Kyoto emission targets are lower than in the present period. Due to over allocation of permits in the Kyoto period, so called hot air", it also causes a higher overall emissions, compared to a non-banking version of the same market, due to the possibility of bringing surplus permits from the Kyoto period into the next period. The numerical analysis in this thesis has been done using GAMS.ECON390MASV-SØ

Effect of packaging materials and storage conditions on development on tip rot in carrot

Tuppråte er eit aukande problem ved lagring av norske gulrøter, og fører til mykje svinn og tap av god Gulrot er ein av dei viktigaste grønsakene dyrka i Noreg. I 2020 vart det produsert 54 000 tonn gulrot som utgjer ein handelsverdi på 465 000 norske kroner. Også dei siste 10 åra har produksjonen av gulrot vore aukande. Ei stor menge gulrøter som vert produsert med tanke på matforbruk går derimot tapt under lagring. I samband med lagringa, er svinnet av gulrøter estimerte til å vere om lag 25%. I pakkeria vert om lag 10 000 tonn sortert vekk årleg, og lagringssjukdommar fører til halvparten av denne utsorteringa. Tuppråte har vorte eit aukande problem gjennom det siste tiåret. Auka kunnskap om korleis lagringsforhalda påverkar utviklinga av tuppråte vil vere viktige for å redusere svinn av gulrot gjennom distribusjonskjeda og bidra til ein meir berekraftig produksjon. Tuppråte skuldast ikkje berre eit enkelt patogen åleine, men av fleire ulike patogen som enten opptrer åleine eller saman som eit kompleks. Soppane Mycocentrospora acerina og Cylindrocarpon destructans synes å vere sentrale i sjukdommen. I denne oppgåva har effekten av korleis emballasjen og lagringstilhøva påverkar utviklinga av tuppråte vorte studert. Dei fire gulrotsortane ‘Brillyance’, ‘Dailyane’, ‘Namdal’ og ‘Romance’ vart enten lagra som friske kontrollar eller smitta av tuppråte og inokulert med enten Mycocentrospora acerina eller Cylindrocarpon destructans, og lagra i 3 ulike emballasjevariantar. Emballasjane hadde enten høg perforering som gav høg CO2 – og låg O2-konsentrasjon eller ei låg perforering som gav låg O2 og høg CO2-konsentrasjon. Pakkane vart lagra i ein periode på 21 dagar for å simulere lagring i distribusjonskjeda. Gjennom denne perioda, vart pakkane anten lagra ved 4°C i 3 dagar og deretter i 18 dagar ved 6°C, eller ved 4°C i 3 dagar, 20° i 3 dagar og deretter 6°C i 15 dagar. Dette simulerer lagring i daglegvarebutikk der gulrøtene ofte vert lagra i romtemperatur. Gulrøter som vart lagra i kjølege omgjevnader gjennom heile lagringsperioden synte redusert roteutvikling samanlikna med gulrøter som vart lagra 3 dagar ved romtemperatur. Pakkane med låg perforering fekk raskare høg CO2 konsentrasjon ved romtemperatur og den auka CO2 reduserte roteutviklinga. Patogenet M.acerina gav djupare og meir alvorleg tupprote symptom enn C.destructans. Patogenet C vart observert å auke CO2 konsentrasjonen i pakken. I gulrot infisert med patogen fann ein at TPS innhaldet vart høgare.Carrot is one of the most important vegetables grown in Norway. In 2020, 54 000 tonnes were produced with a retail value for 465 000 NOK. The carrot production has also been increasing over the last decade. A lot of the carrots produced for food consumption is however, lost during storage. Carrot wastes in storage are estimated to have a mean of about 25%. In packing houses 10 000 tonnes are graded out annually, and half of these are due to postharvest diseases. During the last decade tip rot disease has become an increasing problem. Getting a better understanding of how tip rot development is influenced by storage conditions will be an important step in reducing future carrot wastes in the distribution chain and contributing to a more sustainable production. Tip rot is not caused by a single pathogen, and several possible agents may cause the rot in the tip, either on their own or in a complex of several pathogens. The pathogens Mycocentrospora acerina and Cylindrocarpon destructans have been found to be important agents in the disease. In this thesis, the effect of packaging material and storage conditions on the development of tip rot in carrots has been studied. The four carrots cultivars ‘Brillyance’, ‘Dailyance’, ‘Namdal’, ‘Romance’ were either noninoculated control carrots or inoculated by either Mycocentrospora acerina or Cylindrocarpon destructans and packaged in three different package treatments. The package types either had a high perforation giving high CO2 - and low O2-concentrations or a low perforation giving low O2 and high CO2-concentrations. The packages were stored for a 21-day period, simulating the storage in the distribution chain. During this storage period, packages were either stored at 4°C for 3 days and then 18 days at 6°C, or they were stored at 4°C for 3 days, followed by 20°C for 3 days, and then the last 15 days at 6°C. This simulates the storage in grocery stores, where carrots often are stored in room temperature. Carrots stored in chill conditions through the whole storage period showed decreased rot development compared with carrots that had 3 days of storage at room temperature (20°C). Packages with low perforation quickly got high CO2-concentration during storage at room temperature and the elevated CO2 reduced the rot development. The pathogen M.acerina gave deeper and more severe tip rot symptoms then C. destructans. The pathogen C. destructans was observed to increase the CO2-concentration in the package headspace. In carrots infected with pathogens, the polyphenol content (TPC) was found to be higher.M-P

Preserving opportunities to live well: A conversation with Randall Curren on sustainability and education

See introduction in the uploaded document

Environmental concrete now and in the future

This thesis investigates the emission profiles of two types of low carbon concrete: Schwenk’s low heat cement and a geopolymer cement in development from Saferock. As a basis for comparison a case scenario where a low carbon building is being built in Bergen is used. The emission calculations are based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s) published by EPD Norge for each material required in the concrete. The majority of emissions from concrete production is from clinker production, which can be reduced by substituting parts of the binderwith SupplementaryCementitiousMaterials (SCM’s). SCM’s are zero-emission byproducts and they are commonly used in cement production to reduce emissions. Saferock uses instead mining waste as a binder to significantly reduce emissions compared to traditional concrete types. Industries such as coal-burning power plants and iron production generate carbon-neutral byproducts used in concrete, thus reducing the cement requirement and lowering associated emissions. This offers an efficient wastemanagement solution, although it may need to change if SCM’s are not classified as carbon neutral in the future. The study also considers the potential of using natural SCM’s from Iceland which originates from volcanic eruptions as a sustainable solution. Carbon capture methods are being integrated into the cement industry, despite their high energy demands. These technologies are only beneficial when the total emissions captured are less than those produced from increased energy production. Such solutions are viable in regions like Norway where hydropower is the main energy source. The introduction of carbon taxes by the European Union (EU) to promote carbon reduction measures is also explored, along with the conversion of captured CO2 into Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). Different CO2 storage solutions such as Carbfix in Iceland and Equinor’s depleted oil and gas fields in Norway are investigated. The results show that when comparing CO2 emissions from Saferock’s geopolymer concrete and Schwenk’s low heat concrete, Saferock’s concrete reduces emissions by 65.23% (excluding transportation and reinforcement) and by 43.65% when these factors are included. This marks geopolymer cement fromSaferock as a superior choice in terms of CO2 emissions for lowcarbon construction