The cost of air pollution abatement

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the authors have developed comprehensive estimates of pollution abatement costs by industry sector for several major air pollutants. Their results provide conservative benchmarks for benefit-cost analysis of pollution control strategies in developing countries. They also provide striking evidence of inefficiency in U.S. command-and-control regulation. The cost estimates reflect the experience of about 100,000 U.S. manufacturing facilities under actual operating conditions. They are based on a complete accounting of costs - including capital, labor energy, materials, and services. So, they should be more useful for benefit-cost analysis than idealized engineering estimates. But they also reflect strict pollution control regulation and input prices which are probably somewhat higher, on average, than those in developing countries. They should be interpreted as conservative estimates for environmental planning in developing countries. Regulatory options that are judged to have high net benefits using these numbers would probably look even better if local abatement cost data were available. The estimates in this paper can provide useful information for pollution charges. They can also help make targeted regulation more cost-effective. With scarce resources for monitoring and enforcement, new regulatory institutions in developing countries will want to focus initially on industry sectors that are the main sources of locally-dangerous pollutants. After those sectors are identified, targeted regulation should be informed by sectoral differences in abatement cost. The estimates suggest, for example, that cost-effective control of suspended particulate emissions will focus on wood pulping rather than steelmaking when both are major sources of suspended particulates. The reason: average particulate abatement costs are four times higher in steelmaking.Pollution Management&Control,Transport and Environment,Montreal Protocol,Environmental Economics&Policies,Energy and Environment

The incorporation of solar photovoltaics into a model of residential energy demand

Solar photovoltaics (PV) provides electricity users with an array of alternatives to grid-connected electricity- the alternatives are more capital intensive and less grid-electricity intensive than traditional electricity sources. The added capital intensity is generated by combinations of photovoltaic solar cells and storage devices. Of course, once the PV installations are in place, less grid-connected electricity will be required to provide a given level of electrical output [4]. The Department of Energy is currently conducting analyses to assess the commercial potential for PV in various user sectors. The residential sector is one that is receiving close scrutiny. In order to analyze and estimate the commercial potential for PV, the demand for electricity and electrical residential appliances must be measured. This can be accomplished realistically only within an interfuel substitution model of residential energy deman

A generalized logit formulation of individual choice

Probability models of individual choice consist of two components: a formulation of random utility and the stochastic specification of that utility. Usually separable direct random utility is assumed. With Weibull error terms, logit analysis results. However, logit analysis suffers from the "assumed" "independence of irrelevant alternatives". It is the contention of this paper that these difficulties result from the usual restrictive utility formulation. A more general indirect random utility formulation is introduced. Estimates of the resulting generalized logit and the more restrictive logit models are presented. Hypothesis testing is reported which rejects the restrictive utility formulations which dominate the literature.Prepared under Dept. of Energy contract no. EX-76-A-01-2295, Task order no.37

Why paper mills clean up : determinants of pollution abatement in four Asian countries

The authors find strong evidence that despite weak or nonexistent formal regulation and enforcement of environmental standards, many plants in South and Southeast Asia are clean. At the same time, many plants are among the world's worst polluters. To account for the extreme variation among plants, the authors review evidence from a survey of pollution abatement by 26 pulp and paper plants in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. They incorporate 3 sets of factors affecting pollution intensity: plant characteristics, economic considerations, and external pressure from the government and private stakeholders. They find that the level of pollution abatement is positively associated with scale and competitiveness, negatively associated with public ownership, and unaffected by foreign links (in ownership or financing). Informal regulation, or community pressure on plants works to abate pollution, with high income being a powerful predictor of effectiveness. Privatization, to the extent that it increases plant efficiency, can significantly improve environmental performance. To prevent environmental injustice in poor or marginalized communities, the authors conclude, governments may want to consider strategies for improving their participation, and may want to target regulation to address pollution problems among them.Environmental Economics&Policies,Water and Industry,Water Conservation,Pollution Management&Control,Sanitation and Sewerage,Environmental Economics&Policies,Water and Industry,Pollution Management&Control,Sanitation and Sewerage,TF030632-DANISH CTF - FY05 (DAC PART COUNTRIES GNP PER CAPITA BELOW USD 2,500/AL

Exploring the mechanism of SHP2 and EGFR/HER2 cooperation in breast cancer cell signaling

The Src homology 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) has been established as a critical mediator of cancer-related cell signaling downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases like EGFR and HER2. As such, targeting of SHP2 is being recognized as a potentially viable therapeutic option in HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancers. In this report, I employed molecular and cellular biology techniques to further elucidate the role of SHP2 downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases in breast cancer cell lines. In this way, I was able to contribute knowledge to how SHP2 controls triple-negative cell motility. In addition, the mechanism of SHP2 control of HER2 signaling was investigated in order to better understand how SHP2 positively mediates signaling. The EGFR/HER2 heterodimerization axis was also explored, uncovering a mechanism by which HER2 is able to protect EGFR from degradation through suppression of phosphorylation at specific sites. Finally, molecular modeling was used to determine how SHP2 is able to selectively interact with endogenous substrates. These studies contribute both to the rationale for targeting SHP2 and the mechanism by which SHP2 promotes breast cancer signaling in cooperation with EGFR and HER2. The knowledge added by these studies will hopefully contribute in the future toward the development of selective small molecule inhibitors of SHP2