A green future for European electricity? Energy sources, policies and further determinants of the household price of electricity

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThere is a controversial debate on how the transition towards electricity generation from re-newable energy sources (RES-E) affects European electricity markets in terms of prices and market efficiency. This thesis contributes to this debate by providing the first panel economet-ric analysis of how both different sources of electricity generation and electricity market poli-cies impact on the household price of electricity. Based on a sample of 29 European countries (EU-27 and two more), it finds that electricity production from combustible sources, natural gas, hydro and wind for the time span of 1991-2007 had a significant price lowering effect (ceteris paribus, on average). In contrast to that, results for the time span of 2004-2007 suggest that RES-E had a price increasing effect which can be related to its rapid growth in the 2000s. Results also suggest that Feed-in-Tariffs, regulatory reforms and the European emission trad-ing scheme play an important role, but their impact depends on country specific characteris-tics. The latter seem to be an important factor in determining the level of prices

First axion dark matter search with toroidal geometry

We firstly report an axion haloscope search with toroidal geometry. In this pioneering search, we exclude the axion-photon coupling $g_{a\gamma\gamma}$ down to about $5\times10^{-8}$ GeV$^{-1}$ over the axion mass range from 24.7 to 29.1 $\mu$eV at a 95\% confidence level. The prospects for axion dark matter searches with larger scale toroidal geometry are also considered.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table and to appear in PRD-R

Commoning in der Standortsuche für ein Endlager? Neue Wege kollektiven Handelns

Der Beitrag setzt sich mit der Frage auseinander, ob die Forschung von Elinor Ostrom zur Commons Governance neue Deutungsmöglichkeiten in Bezug auf derzeitige Institutionalisierungs­prozesse im Verfahren der Standortsuche und generell für den Um­gang mit hochradioaktiven Abfällen eröffnen kann. Basierend auf teil­nehmenden Beobachtungen werden Hypothesen entwickelt, inwieweit dabei Logiken des Commoning verfolgt werden und erste Ergebnisse präsentiert.This article addresses the question of whether Elinor Ostrom's research on commons governance can open up new interpretive possibilities with regard to current institutionalization processes in the site selection process and for dealing with high-level radioactive waste in general. Based on passive observations, hypotheses are developed as to what extent logics of commoning are pursued, and preliminary results are presented

Detection of Phytophthora species in water and sediment samples from ornamental nurseries with water recirculation systems in Lower Saxony

Die Wiederverwendung des Gießwassers in Baumschulen birgt auch immer das Risiko der Übertragung und Verbreitung von Pflanzenpathogenen in sich. Besonders durch die dem Leben im Wasser sehr gut angepassten bodenbürtigen Schaderreger der Gattung Phytophthora kommt es zu wirtschaftlich bedeutenden Schäden. Fünf unterschiedliche Nachweismethoden (mikrobiologische Verfahren, drei Ködermethoden [Apfel, Lupinensämlinge, Rhododendronblätter] und der DAS-ELISA mit zwei gattungsspezifischen polyklonalen Antiseren) wurden zunächst unter kontrollierten Bedingungen, später unter Praxis-bedingungen, miteinander verglichen und bewertet. Dazu wurden über ein Jahr lang Wasser und Sedimentproben aus vier verschiedenen niedersächsischen Baumschulen entnommen und mit den Methoden untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der in vitro und der in situ Untersuchungen waren zum Teil sehr unterschiedlich. Der Rhododendronblatt-Test erwies sich als das erfolgreichste Nachweisverfahren für Phytophthora spp. in Wasser und Sediment. Des weiteren wurden erstmals Daten zum Vorkommen und zur Epidemiologie von Phytophthora spp. in Wasserrecyclingsystemen bundesdeutscher Baumschulen ermittelt. Die Erreger konnten in allen vier untersuchten Betrieben erfolgreich nachgewiesen werden, die Nachweishäufigkeit hing aber vom Alter der Baumschule ab.Water recycling is always a risk to plant health as it is an infection source of plant pathogens par excellence. Especially the soilborne pathogens of the genus Phytophthora, which are well adapted to live in water, can cause much economic damage in nurseries. Five different methods (direct plating, three bait tests [apple, lupin seedling, Rhododendron leaf test] and DAS-ELISA with two genus-specific polyclonal antisera) were compared and evaluated for the detectibility of different Phytophthora species and propagules under controlled conditions, previously, and then for routine screening. Therefore water and sediment samples were taken from different places in the recirculation systems from four commercial ornamental nurseries in Lower Saxony over one year and investigated with the methods. The results in situ were not always identical to those of obtained in vitro. The Rhododendron leaf test was the most successful tool to detect Phytophthora spp. in water and sediment. The study also presents the first data on the occurrence and on the epidemiology of Phytophthora spp. in water recirculation systems in commercial nurseries in Germany. Phytophthora spp. were present in all four nurseries but the frequency depended on the age of the nursery

Trends in Worker Hearing Loss by Industry Sector, 1981–2010

Background The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence of hearing loss for noise-exposed U.S. workers by industry sector and 5-year time period, covering 30 years. Methods Audiograms for 1.8 million workers from 1981–2010 were examined. Incidence and prevalence were estimated by industry sector and time period. The adjusted risk of incident hearing loss within each time period and industry sector as compared with a reference time period was also estimated. Results The adjusted risk for incident hearing loss decreased over time when all industry sectors were combined. However, the risk remained high for workers in Healthcare and Social Assistance, and the prevalence was consistently high for Mining and Construction workers. Conclusions While progress has been made in reducing the risk of incident hearing loss within most industry sectors, additional efforts are needed within Mining, Construction and Healthcare and Social Assistance

Discovery of a natural CO2 seep in the German North Sea: implications for shallow dissolved gas and seep detection

A natural carbon dioxide (CO2) seep was discovered during an expedition to the southern German North Sea (October 2008). Elevated CO2 levels of ∼10–20 times above background were detected in seawater above a natural salt dome ∼30 km north of the East-Frisian Island Juist. A single elevated value 53 times higher than background was measured, indicating a possible CO2 point source from the seafloor. Measured pH values of around 6.8 support modeled pH values for the observed high CO2 concentration. These results are presented in the context of CO2 seepage detection, in light of proposed subsurface CO2 sequestering and growing concern of ocean acidification. We explore the boundary conditions of CO2 bubble and plume seepage and potential flux paths to the atmosphere. Shallow bubble release experiments conducted in a lake combined with discrete-bubble modeling suggest that shallow CO2 outgassing will be difficult to detect as bubbles dissolve very rapidly (within meters). Bubble-plume modeling further shows that a CO2 plume will lose buoyancy quickly because of rapid bubble dissolution while the newly CO2-enriched water tends to sink toward the seabed. Results suggest that released CO2 will tend to stay near the bottom in shallow systems (<200 m) and will vent to the atmosphere only during deep water convection (water column turnover). While isotope signatures point to a biogenic source, the exact origin is inconclusive because of dilution. This site could serve as a natural laboratory to further study the effects of carbon sequestration below the seafloor