Effective education for energy efficiency

A lot of today's world vices can be eliminated if certain targeted modules and adapted curricula are introduced in the schooling system. One of these vices is energy squandering with all its negative consequences for the planet (e.g. depletion of finite energy sources and the subsequent climate change). This paper describes the results of an energy-thrift information and education project taking place in different levels of education in Crete--Greece, which records 321 students' and their parents' routine energy-related behavior and proves that this behavior changes to a more energy efficient one, after the dissemination of relevant information and the participation into the energy education projects. Namely, response percentages indicating the energy-efficient behavior increased after project participation while the ones indicating an energy-squandering behavior decreased. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was statistically significant in all energy behavior questions related to students and to most questions related to parents.

Assessment of public acceptance and willingness to pay for renewable energy sources in Crete

The aim of this study is to analyse and to evaluate the citizens' public acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP), for Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Crete. For this purpose a contingent valuation study was conducted, using a double bound dichotomous choice format to elicit people's WTP and factors affecting it. Residents of 1440 households all over Crete were interviewed face-to-face. Major conclusions can be used as a basis for sustainable energy planning, for policies and the formulation of awareness campaigns and for RES investment programs and projects in order to prepare implementation conditions and enhance public acceptance of renewable energy investments and programmes. Mean WTP per household was found to be 16.33[euro] to be paid quarterly as an additional charge on the electricity bill. Larger willingness to pay was reported by those with high family income and residence size, those having a higher level of energy information and awareness concerning climatic change, those who have invested in some energy saving measures, and those who suffer from more electricity shortages than others.Contingent valuation Double bounded dichotomous choice Renewable energy Willingness to pay Public acceptance Public perceptions

Tourists' attitudes for selecting accommodation with investments in renewable energy and energy saving systems

This paper aims at providing useful insights into tourists' preferences for choosing to stay in hotels equipped with Energy Saving Installations (ESI) and Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Factors related to these decisions were studied through 2308 face to face interviews taken at the departure terminals of the two international airports of Crete, Greece. Results show that 86% of the respondents would prefer to stay in hotels equipped with ESI, and 87% in hotels with RES, rather than staying in hotels of identical quality which do not have either ESI or RES. Furthermore, the percentages of respondents who would be willing to pay fee surcharges for a hotel equipped with ESI or RES are 75 and 77%, respectively, as compared to hotels of identical quality which do not have either ESI or RES. Tourists from countries with high energy awareness, prove to be more willing to choose to stay at and pay for hotels with ESI and RES.Energy saving Hotels Climatic change Public attitudes Renewable energy Sustainable tourism Willingness to pay Willingness to use

Retroperitoneal Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

Retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma (RPS) is a rare and heterogenous disease for which surgery is the cornerstone of treatment. However, the local recurrence rate is much higher than in soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities since wide resection is usually unfeasible in RPS due to its large size, indistinct tumour borders, anatomical constraints and the thinness of the overlying peritoneum. Local recurrence is the leading cause of death for low-grade RPS, whereas high-grade tumours are prone to distant metastases. In recent decades, the role of emerging therapeutic strategies, such as more extended surgery and (neo)adjuvant treatments to improve oncological outcome in primary localised RPS, has been extensively investigated. In this review, the recent data on the evolving multidisciplinary management of primary localised RPS are comprehensively discussed. The heterogeneity of RPS, with their different histological subtypes and biological behaviour, renders a standard therapeutic ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach inappropriate, and treatment should be modified according to histological type and malignancy grade. There is sufficient evidence that frontline extended surgery with compartmental resection including all ipsilateral retroperitoneal fat and liberal en bloc resection of adjacent organs and structures, even if they are not macroscopically involved, increases local tumour control in low-grade sarcoma and liposarcoma, but not in leiomyosarcoma for which complete macroscopic resection seems sufficient. Additionally, preoperative radiotherapy is not indicated for all RPSs, but seems to be beneficial in well-differentiated liposarcoma and grade I/II dedifferentiated liposarcoma, and probably in solitary fibrous tumour. Whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy is of benefit in high-grade RPS remains unclear from retrospective data and is subject of the ongoing randomised STRASS 2 trial, from which the results are eagerly awaited. Personalised, histology-tailored multimodality treatment is promising and will likely further evolve as our understanding of the molecular and genetic characteristics within RPS improves