Rough Gauge Fields, Smearing and Domain Wall Fermions

At a fixed lattice spacing, as determined by say m_\rho, adding additional fermion flavors to a dynamical simulation produces rougher gauge field configurations at the lattice scale. For domain wall fermions, these rough configurations lead to larger residual chiral symmetry breaking and larger values for the residual masses, m_{res}. We discuss ongoing attempts to reduce chiral symmetry breaking for N_f = 3 dynamical domain wall fermion simulations by different smoothing choices for the gauge fields.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Talk presented at Lattice2004(chiral), Fermilab, June 21-26, 200

Integrated management strategy for the coastal development program of Jiangsu Province

The development in the coastal area of Jiangsu Province is still managed on a sectoral basis. This low level management method causes huge wastes of natural resources, fosters intense competition between different sectors for limited natural resources and space, and results in conflicts between different interests groups, over exploitation and even depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution and ecosystem degradation. With the development of the national economy, the coastal development activities will be greater in number and broader in scope. There will be more conflicts between different sectors, between exploitation and resources conservation, between development and environment protection. Thus, to establish a high level integrated management system based on the overall development objectives is an urgent task needed to solve these problems and achieve sustainable development. This paper introduced existing geographical advantages, natural resources and coastal environmental conditions, marine industry status, related laws and institutions in the coastal area, and the sustainable development concept and the integrated coastal zone management theory; discussed the proposed coastal development project of Jiangsu Province; identified and analyzed main problems including in favorable socio-economic factors, existing conflicts and their adverse impacts on sustainable development; suggested an integrated coastal zone management system, including a series of strategies that should be incorporated into an integral system, an evaluation mechanism to monitor and evaluate the performance of the management strategies and a set of principles to build a capacity within the region for sustainable development practices that will promote beneficial economic activities in the coastal area of Jiangsu Province

Investigating the impacts of introducing emission trading scheme to shipping industry

Although international shipping is the most energy efficient means of transportation in terms of unit CO2 emission per tone-mile cargo shipped, due to enormous cargo volume and continuous growth, it still contributes a significant part of global emissions. In order to reduce the CO2 emission from the international shipping industry, International Maritime Organization (IMO) is considering possible market-based measures (MBM). One of the most promising alternatives is the Emission trading Scheme (ETS). Our study thus proposes an economic model to theoretically analyze and benchmarks two different ETS mechanisms for international maritime transport industry, namely an open ETS scheme and a Maritime only ETS (METS) scheme. The model is also calibrated using maritime industry real operational data in year 2007. Our study quantifies the differential impacts of ETS on container shipping and dry bulk shipping sectors. It is suggested that ETS scheme, whether open or maritime only, will decrease ship’s cruising speed, throughput and fuel consumption for both container and bulk sectors. Under open ETS scheme, we find that dry-bulk sector will have higher proportional output reduction and sell more (or use less) emission permits. Under maritime only ETS, the emission permit trading price is endogenously determined, and the emission reduction objective will definitely be reached. Container carriers will buy emission permits from the dry-bulk side. The collusiveness of one sector will only affect itself in open ETS, while it will affect the other less colluded sector in the METS. Specifically, when the sector that sells (buys) permits in METS is more collusive (competitive), the permit price will rise

Modeling the Impacts of Alternative Emission Trading Schemes on International Shipping

Various market-based measures have been proposed to reduce CO2 emissions from international shipping. One promising mechanism under consideration is the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). This study analyzes and benchmarks the economic implications of two alternative ETS mechanisms, namely, an open ETS compared to a Maritime only ETS (METS). The analytical solutions and model calibration results allow us to quantify the impacts of alternative ETS schemes on the container shipping sector and the dry bulk shipping sector. It is found that an ETS, whether open or maritime only, will decrease shipping speed, carrier outputs and fuel consumption for both the container and dry bulk sectors, even in the presence of a “windfall” profit to shipping companies. Under an open ETS, the dry bulk sector will suffer from a higher proportional reduction in output than the container sector, and will thus sell more emission permits or purchase fewer permits. Under an METS, container carriers will buy emission permits from the dry bulk side. In addition, under an METS the degree of competition within one sector will have spill-over effects on the other sector. Specifically, when the sector that sells (buys) permits is more collusive (competitive), the equilibrium permit price will rise. This study provides a framework for identifying the moderating effects of market structure and competition between firms on emission reduction schemes, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the differential impacts of ETS schemes on individual sectors within an industry when considering alternative policies