A Federal Renewable Electricity Requirement

Rising energy prices and climate change have changed both the economics and politics of electricity. In response, over half the states have enacted "renewable portfolio standards" (RPS) that require utilities to obtain some power from "renewable" generation resources rather than carbon emitting fossil fuels. Reports of state-level success have brought proposals for a national standard. Like several predecessor Congresses, however, the most recent one failed to pass RPS legislation. Before trying one more time, legislators should ask why they favor a policy so politically correct and so economically suspect. Support for a national program largely stems from misleading claims about state-level successes, misunderstandings about how renewables interact with other environmental regulation, and misinformation about the actual benefits renewables create. State RPS programs are largely in disarray, and even the apparently successful ones have had little impact. California's supposedly aggressive program has left it with the same percentage of renewable power as in 1998, and Texas's seemingly impressive wind turbine investments produce only two percent of its electricity. The public may envision solar collectors but wind accounts for almost all of the growth in renewable power, and it largely survives on favorable tax treatment. Wind's intermittency reduces its efficacy in carbon control because it requires extra conventional generation reserves. Computer-generated predictions about a national RPS are generally unreliable, but they show that with or without one the great majority of generation investments for the next several decades will be fossil-fueled. Even without the technological and environmental shortcomings of renewables, the case for a national RPS is economically flawed. Emissions policies are moving toward efficient market-based trading systems and more rational setting of standards. A national RPS clashes with principles of efficient environmental policy because it is a technological requirement that applies to a single industry. Arguments that a national RPS will create jobs, mitigate energy price risks, improve national security and make the United Sates more competitive internationally are in the main restatements of elementary economic fallacies. It is hard to imagine a program that delivers as little in theory as a national RPS, and the experiences of the states indicate that it delivers equally little in practice

Hydrodynamically similar roll stabilization fins for ship model tests

http://www.archive.org/details/hydrodynamically00moyeU.S. Navy (U.S.N.) authors

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Chloroplast Dna Restriction Site Data At Higher Taxonomic Levels: An Example From The Asteraceae

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137492/1/evo04314.pd

Lack of susceptibility of baboons to infection with hepatitis B virus

Historically, hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been considered species specific and unable to infect baboons. Based on this premise, two patients with HBV end-stage liver disease underwent baboon liver xenotransplantation. To study whether baboons are susceptible to HBV infection, four baboons (two receiving immunosuppressive therapy) were inoculated with HBV. Animals were followed for 6 months: clinical examinations and biochemical studies were normal, hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B core antigen staining of biopsies was negative, and HBV serology remained negative. HBV polymerase chain reaction was transiently positive in one animal, which most likely reflects the initial inoculation. This pilot study corroborates historical evidence and beliefs that baboons are resistant to HBV

Ariel - Volume 8 Number 4

Executive Editor James W. Lockard Jr. Issues Editor Neeraj K. Kanwal Business Manager Neeraj K. Kanwal University News Martin Trichtinger World News Doug Hiller Opinions Elizabeth A. McGuire Features Patrick P. Sokas Sports Desk Shahab S. Minassian Managing Editor Edward H. Jasper Managing Associate Brenda Peterson Photography Editor Robert D. Lehman, Jr. Graphics Christine M. Kuhnl

2003 Manifesto on the California Electricity Crisis

The authors, an ad-hocgroup of professionals with experience in regulatory and energy economics, share a common concern with the continuing turmoil facing the electricity industry ("the industry") in California. Most ofthe authorsendorsed the first California Electricity Manifesto issued on January 25, 2001. Almost two years have passed since that first Manifesto. While wholesale electric prices have moderated and California no longer faces the risk of blackouts, in many ways the industry is in worse shape now than it was at the start of 2001. As a result, the group of signatories continues to have a deep concern with the conflicting policy directions being pursued for the industry at both the State and Federal levels of government and the impact the uncertainties associated with these conflicting policies will have, long term, on the economy of California. Theauthorshave once again convened under the auspices of the Institute of Management, Innovation and Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, to put forward ourtheir ideas on a basic set of necessary policies to move the industry forward for the benefit of all Californians and the nation. The authors point out that theydo not pretend to be "representative." They do bring, however, a very diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform

Effects of Sex and Whole Life Cycle UVB Irradiation on Performance and Mineral and Vitamin D3 Contents in Feeder Crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)

Captive insectivore nutrition is challenging due to the differing nutritional profiles of wild and captive diets and an incomplete understanding of both. Ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiation has recently been explored as a means of improving prey-insect vitamin D3 and Ca content. Although short-term irradiation has been successful in some species, it has been unsuccessful in black field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)—a commonly cultured feeder insect. We exposed crickets to UVB irradiation from hatchling to adult stages and measured the vitamin D3 and mineral contents of crickets by sex. We did not detect vitamin D3 (detection limit 0.5 iU/g) or an effect of UVB irradiation on mineral content under either UV+ or UV− conditions. We identified large differences between sexes in Ca, K, Mg and P (females higher) and Cu, Fe, S and Zn (males higher), likely linked to reproductive investment. The differences do not straddle the minimum recommended concentrations of minerals for vertebrate growth and thus may be most relevant to animal nutrition in contexts of particular sensitivity or need. We demonstrate a UV-linked trade-off in cricket performance between individual cricket size and the numbers of crickets produced and characterise the energy costs associated with UVB provision. Our results do not support the use of UVB lighting for G. bimaculatus to improve nutrition but demonstrate previously unreported differences in the nutritional profiles between sexes in this species

A Gene-Based Association Method for Mapping Traits Using Reference Transcriptome Data

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of variants robustly associated with complex traits. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are, in general, not well understood. We propose a gene-based association method called PrediXcan that directly tests the molecular mechanisms through which genetic variation affects phenotype. The approach estimates the component of gene expression determined by an individual’s genetic profile and correlates ‘imputed’ gene expression with the phenotype under investigation to identify genes involved in the etiology of the phenotype. Genetically regulated gene expression is estimated using whole-genome tissue-dependent prediction models trained with reference transcriptome data sets. PrediXcan enjoys the benefits of gene-based approaches such as reduced multiple-testing burden and a principled approach to the design of follow-up experiments. Our results demonstrate that PrediXcan can detect known and new genes associated with disease traits and provide insights into the mechanism of these associations