Evaluation of Effectiveness and Cost-Benefits of Woolen Roadside Reclamation Products

This research project developed three types of products for study: woolen erosion control blankets (ECBs), wool incorporated into wood fiber compost at a 40:1 ratio (compost to wool, by weight), and wool incorporated into silt fence. The project, supported by Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates, compared the wool products’ performance to roadside reclamation products commonly used for revegetating cut slopes: straw/coconut (coir) ECB, wood fiber compost and woven plastic silt fence. Three versions of wool silt fence were developed by the project, yet, even more versions are needed to arrive at a commercially viable product. Wool silt fence was the least promising of the three types of reclamation materials. The primary measure for success for ECBs and wool additive to the compost was the amount of seeded or desired vegetation they established after two growing seasons. The research team evaluated the performance of the woolen and standard products by measuring the percentage of canopy cover of each plant species present in each treatment plot. Canopy cover measures the percentage of ground that is covered by a vertical projection of a plant’s foliage. To conduct the comparative analysis, researchers calculated an average percent canopy cover for each functional group: seeded native grasses, desired non-seeded (volunteer) grasses and forbs, and weeds. There was no statistical difference in the mean canopy cover of seeded grass species of the compost treatment (control) compared to the cut wool with compost treatment, 6.4% and 10.2%, respectively. Thus, the project could not determine that cut wool pieces provided a benefit to plant establishment and growth when it is added to compost material. Further experimentation to determine the ideal ratio of wool pieces to add to compost is warranted. The two best performing treatments (i.e. greatest seeded grass establishment) were the rolled wool/straw ECBs. The 100% wool ECB and 50% wool/50% straw ECB had the greatest mean seeded grass canopy cover after two years. Both of these wool ECBs had more seeded grass canopy cover than the standard 70% straw/30% coir ECB demonstrating their potential as a commercially viable product for roadside revegetation applications. Laboratory tests of the wool/straw ECB demonstrated it was comparable to the specifications of a short-term (Type II B or C) standard ECB used along MDT roadways. Future product development of the wool/straw ECB should focus on improving the shear strength at high flows so it meets all required Type III specifications

Can auctions control market power in emissions trading markets.

Using eight sessions (twenty-four ten-period markets) in a double ABA cross-over design, we demonstrate clear evidence of market power in double-auction emission trading markets (agents who are not constrained to only buy or sell). Conventional theory predicts that in half of the market-power environments monopsony should emerge and in half monopoly should emerge. Market-power outcomes are frequently observed, most often in the form of price discrimination, and most effectively by monopsonists.

Crowding Out Voluntary Contributions to Public Goods

We test the null hypothesis that involuntary transfers for the provision of a public good will completely crowd out voluntary transfers against the warm-glow hypothesis that crowding-out will be incomplete because individuals care about giving. Our design differs from the related design used by Andreoni in considering two levels of the involuntary transfer and a wider range of contribution possibilities, and in mixing groups every period instead of every four periods. We analyse the data with careful attention to boundary effects. We retain the null hypothesis of complete crowding-out in two of three pairwise comparisions, but reject it in favour of incomplete crowding-out in the comparison most closely akin to Andreoni’s design. Thus we confirm the existence of incomplete crowding-out in some environments, but suggest that the warm-glow hypothesis is inadequate in explaining it.

Schlick, Edward C. oral history interview

Edward Carl Schlick was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1928 and grew up in nearby Kearny, New Jersey. His parents were managers, his father with United States Rubber Company and his mother with Dupont. His early interest was in art, which he originally studied at Colby College. Halfway through Colby, Schlick joined the Army. After being stationed in Japan for two years, Schlick returned to the United States and got a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco. He did graduate work at Bates College and the University of Maine before becoming (briefly) a middle school teacher. In 1952, he became a radio news reporter for WHEB in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This experience sharpened his interest in politics. After his brief stint on the radio, Schlick became a political and legislative reporter for the Lewiston Sun Journal. In 1960, he became the executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, a position from which he wrote speeches for Democratic candidates, raised funds, made arrangements for events, and coordinated media coverage of Democratic events and candidates. Afterwards, he became a freelance consultant on a wide range of media, political and journalistic topics, advising various groups within the state government, the Maine Democratic Party, and the AFL- CIO

Davis, Lewis Winfield oral history interview

Lewis Winfield Davis was born February 7, 1914 in Auburn, Maine to Wilbur and Gertrude Davis. His father worked for a bank and his mother was a housewife. A science scholar, Lewis graduated from Bates College in 1936 with a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics and later went to MIT and Northeastern University. He worked as a researcher for most of his life for General Electric and then Metal Hydrides. He became president of Metal Hydrides, Inc. in 1970 after many years as a chemist and manager. While there, Lewis worked on Uranium with Einstein to help produce the world’s first atomic bomb and the development of nuclear technology. He was on the executive board of Trustees at Bates College for ten years

York, Robert oral history interview

Robert Maurice York was born on June 10, 1915 in Wilton, Maine. His parents were Josephine Myra (Brown) and Maurice Asa York. His father owned a meat market in Wilton, and his mother was a homemaker. York went to Bates College, graduating in the class of 1937. He then went on to Clark University to get his Masters and Ph.D. in History. After graduating, he enlisted in the Navy, and saw active duty in the Pacific. Japanese Kamikaze planes sunk the boat he originally served on, so he returned stateside and worked for the Office of Naval History. In 1946, he returned to Maine and taught History at the University of Maine at Orono, becoming an expert on the state’s history. In 1956, he was appointed Maine State Historian by then Governor Ed Muskie. He remained in that position for forty years, playing an active role in the creation of the Maine State Archives. Upon leaving the Orono campus in 1962, he took a position as Dean of Academic Affairs at Gorham State College, now known as the University of Southern Maine. From 1970 to 1978, he served as Dean of Graduate Study at the University of Maine at Portland, now also part of the University of Southern Maine. In 1984, he retired as Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Southern Maine

Heterogeneity and the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods

We investigate the effects of heterogeneity, incomplete information and communication on aggregate contributions to a public good using the voluntary contribution mechanism in a nonlinear laboratory environment. One-dimensional heterogeneity (heterogeneity in income or preferences) and two-dimensional heterogeneity (heterogeneity in income and preferences) both increase voluntary contributions. The effect is greatest when information is incomplete in the sense that subjects do not know each other’s payoffs. Incomplete information also reduces contributions in the homogeneous case. Communication reverses the relative importance of oneand two-dimensional heterogeneity in promoting cooperation.

Lindholm, Milt oral history interview

Milt Lindholm was born June 3, 1911 in Collinsville Connecticut to Helen (Hess) and Rev. Lambert Lindholm. His father, a Swedish Congregational minister, died when Milton was one year old. Lindholm’s mother moved her family to Waltham, Massachusetts, to live with her parents, and work at the Waltham Watch Factory. After graduating from Waltham High School, Lindholm worked for two years, and then went to Bates College in the Class of 1935. At Bates, he was on the football team, playing in a scoreless tie with Yale University. He was also part of the Student Council, Athletic Council, basketball team, and was Class President. After graduation, Lndholm taught for a few years at the Kent’s Hill School, then he sold text books for seven years. Milt returned to Bates College as Dean of Admissions in 1944, and stayed there for thirty-two years, retiring in 1976. At the time of interview, Lindholm was Dean of Admissions Emeritus. The Bates College Admissions Office bears his name

Blatt, Selma oral history interview

Selma Shapiro was born on April 28, 1915 in Lewiston, Maine to Goldie and Jacob Shapiro. Her father was employed by a department store in New Auburn. She grew up in Auburn, and graduated from Edward Little High School of Auburn. Her mother thought very highly of education, and saved money to have Selma and her four siblings attend college. Selma followed in her eldest sister’s footsteps, and went to Bates College. After graduation, she married Arthur Blatt and taught school in the Lewiston public schools

Pert, Edwin H. oral history interview

Edwin H. Pert was an integral part of the Maine Democratic Party from the 1950s to the 1990s. Graduating from the University of Maine at Orono in 1954, Pert got involved with the gubernatorial campaign of Ed Muskie while still in college. Between 1955 and 1957, Pert served in the Army. He was involved in giving soldiers an opportunity to vote in the 1956 Presidential campaign. Upon his return to Maine in 1957, Pert became more involved with organizing the Maine Democratic Party. He became chair of the Sagadahoc County Democratic Committee, and also became Executive Director of the Maine Democratic Party. He ran for legislature from Bath in 1958. He made an unsuccessful attempt at the Maine Senate in 1960. In 1964, he became Secretary of the Senate in Maine, and in 1974, he became Clerk of the House. He remained in that capacity until 1991