Harnessing Marine Renewable Energy from Poole Harbour: Case Study

Global warming and its impact on our environment, society, economies and security is one of the fundamental concerns of our time. In response, the United Kingdom government has put in place a legally binding target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on 1990 levels by 2050. The United Kingdom will need to achieve a tenfold expansion of energy supply from renewable sources by 2020 to meet its share of the European Union renewable energy target. The marine and coastal environment’s renewable energy potential in Britain is high. It is estimated that it has 50% of the tidal energy, 35% of wave and 40% of wind resources in the European Union. Use of geothermal resources using heat pump technology is the least evolved sector, but in 2010 contributed to 0.7 TWh of energy and it is believed that non domestic heat pumps could contribute up to 22 TWh by 2020. In the Southwest of England, Poole Harbour has been recognised as a potential, highly predictable source of tidal and heat energy. Local groups are embarking on a feasibility study for harnessing this energy for the benefit of the community. The purpose of this article is to examine the potential conflict of interest between the laudable aims of promoting the use of renewable energy and of safeguarding ecosystems and their biodiversity. Using Poole Harbour as a case study, it will consider the environmental and economic costs and benefits of a Community Renewable Energy project (the Poole Tidal Energy Partnership) in the context of an area subject to a number of statutory and non-statutory designations to protect nationally and internationally important habitats and species. The paper identifies key environmental legislation, including spatial planning law and policy, which will facilitate exploring whether there is potential for reconciling what may be perceived as competing objectives for sustainable development

The Gulf Cooperation Council, 1981-1994

The purpose of this study is to analyze the foreign policy outcomes of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to understand the extent to which a Regional Intergovernmental Organization (RGO) consisting of developing nations is able to promote regional cooperation. Much of the literature on integration and the formation of Intergovernmental Organizations was developed with regard to western nations. These approaches are examined for their contributions to foreign policy behavior analysis and with respect to understanding why small and developing nations join such organizations. Final analysis of the outcomes using two scales to measure the organization's ability to promote regional cooperation reveal that the level of success was moderate and the level of political action undertaken by the GCC was generally moderate to low. Leadership is supportive of the organization but both external and internal factors contribute to the modest levels achieved so far. Issues of national sovereignty and a decade of regional conflicts affected the ability of the organization to achieve greater levels or regional cooperation

Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of Eating Disorders: The Role of the Primary Care Physician

OBJECTIVE: To describe how primary care clinicians can detect an eating disorder and identify and manage the associated medical complications. DESIGN: A review of literature from 1994 to 1999 identified by a medlinesearch on epidemiology, diagnosis, and therapy of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Detection requires awareness of risk factors for, and symptoms and signs of, anorexia nervosa (e.g., participation in activities valuing thinness, family history of an eating disorder, amenorrhea, lanugo hair) and bulimia nervosa (e.g., unsuccessful attempts at weight loss, history of childhood sexual abuse, family history of depression, erosion of tooth enamel from vomiting, partoid gland swelling, and gastroesophageal reflux). Providers must also remain alert for disordered eating in female athletes (the female athlete triad) and disordered eating in diabetics. Treatment requires a multidisciplinary team including a primary care practitioner, nutritionist, and mental health professional. The role of the primary care practitioner is to help determine the need for hospitalization and to manage medical complications (e.g., arrhythmias, refeeding syndrome, osteoporosis, and electrolyte abnormalities such as hypokalemia). CONCLUSION: Primary care providers have an important role in detecting and managing eating disorders