On trade-offs between timber and biodiversity

For a long time the primary aim of forestry in Sweden has been the production of timber, but in recent decades other functions, such as biodiversity, have been increasingly recognised by society. Sweden has ambitious goals for forest management, aimed at serving public interests, providing valuable timber yields and preserving biodiversity. Achieving the level of various goods that forests shall provide, under such goals, is thus rather complex. This thesis focuses on trade-offs between production of timber and the maintenance of biodiversity in forests, and the effects of information on benefits, costs and biological traits. In Paper I the benefit of forest land protection was estimated based on a nation wide contingent valuation survey. Paper II examined and compared, through survey data, the attitudes among private forest owners and forest officers. Papers III and IV used data from a field inventory in old growth forests (>110 years of age) of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) in the county of Gävleborg, Sweden. In Paper III the relative importance of information about costs and biological traits in reserve selection was examined. In Paper IV the cost-efficiency of different strategies for setting aside forests, using different biodiversity targets, were analysed. The thesis revealed a positive willingness to pay for forest land protection among Swedish citizens, and also a positive attitude among private forest owners to biodiversity as well as timber production. The views of forest owners and forest officers did not always coincide. Moreover, the relative importance of including data on costs and conservation benefits depended on how the conservation goal of the reserve network was formulated. There was also a difference in cost-effectiveness between different nature conservation strategies and biodiversity targets. The results emphasise the importance of achieving cost-effective solutions in biodiversity conservation through the proper use of information about biological traits and costs, as well as considering values and attitudes held by different interest groups in society

Barriärer för elbilsintroduktionen i Sverige - Attityder, ekonomi och teknik

The aim of this study has been to investigate the technical, economical and psychological barriers for the market introduction of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in Sweden. The current situation as well as future possibilities for battery electric vehicles in Sweden has also been central to this study. The study is of a qualitative nature, and is largely based on interviews with experts from the branch as well as on a literature review. The introduction of electric vehicles could be an important means to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector in countries with low carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity production. There are several different barriers for the introduction of electric vehicles, the most important are the high purchase price, uncertainty about second-hand value, the short range, knowledge about electric vehicles among potential customers, and the lack of both quick charging and normal charging infrastructure. Sweden is not among the leading countries when it comes to the introduction of electric vehicles. In neighboring country Norway, high subsidies from the government together with practical benefits for electric vehicle owners have made the sales skyrocket compared to the rest of the world. In Sweden, there have been several initiatives to increase the sales of electric vehicles. The time-tables for the initiatives have been too short however, which has led to uncertainty among potential customers and to suppressed investments from the local business life. It is unlikely that Sweden will go the same route as Norway, since the subsidies are expensive for the government. However, with the quick technological development of electric vehicles, an electric vehicle can already be an attractive alternative for certain customer groups. Therefore it is important to provide the infrastructure to make such purchases possible.Hur går elbilsintroduktionen i Sverige? Det talas allt mer om elbilar i media och bland politiker. Elon Musk, Tesla:s VD är numera en världskänd visionär, men än ser man inte speciellt många elbilar på vägarna. Så hur går elbilsintroduktionen egentligen i Sverige? I denna uppsats ges en bakgrund till möjligheter och barriärer för introduktionen av elbilar i Sverige, samt var vi är idag. Den svenska regeringen har i klimat- och energiproposition 2008/09:162 uttalat att år 2030 bör Sverige ha en fordonsflotta som är oberoende av fossila bränslen. En väg att nå dit kan vara genom introduktionen av elbilar. Elektriciteten i Sverige produceras främst genom vatten- eller kärnkraft, oavsett åsikt om kärnkraften så har den relativt annan elproduktion små utsläpp av växthusgaser. Därtill har elbilar en mycket hög verkningsgrad från källa till hjul vilket ger en lägre energiförbrukning än för en bil med förbränningsmotor. Tillsammans gör dessa faktorer elbilen till en attraktiv teknisk lösning på koldioxidutsläppen i transportsektorn för det svenska fallet. Vilka hinder finns det för elbilar? Det finns flera olika barriärer för elbilar, de viktigaste är inköpspris, andrahandsvärde, räckvidd, kunskap och infrastruktur för laddning, både snabbladdning och publik normalladdning. Bilproducenter och andra intressenter jobbar nu för att minska dessa barriärer och göra elbilen attraktivare för konsumenterna. I vårt grannland Norge är elbilsförsäljningen betydligt högre än i Sverige, det beror främst på ett stort antal styrmedel från den norska staten vilka har stimulerat marknaden. Styrmedlen som funnits under en längre tid hade dock ingen större påverkan på elbilsförsäljningen innan 2010. Man anser att detta berodde på att elbilarna innan dess var för tekniskt oattraktiva för konsumenterna, räckvidd, bekvämlighet, säkerhet och hastighet skiljde sig för mycket gentemot vanliga bilar. Styrmedlen som minskat kostnaden för elbilar samt gett vissa användarfördelar har dock nu gjort elbilen attraktiv för många norska konsumenter. Tekniskt sett är elbilen fortfarande underlägsen en vanlig bil när det kommer till räckvidd. Om man bortser från de dyra Tesla bilarna har de flesta elbilar en räckvidd upp till 250 km. När batteriet är slut är det heller inte möjligt att ”tanka” lika fort som med en vanlig bil utan man måste vänta då batterierna laddas. Detta gör att en elbil inte är ett praktiskt möjligt alternativ för många konsumenter i nuläget. Trots detta finns det ett stort antal bilanvändare som skulle klara sig alldeles utmärkt med de tekniska förutsättningar som en elbil erbjuder, som om inte annat bevisas av den höga försäljningen i Norge. En del av räckvidds-problematiken kan byggas bort med hjälp av publika laddningsstationer. Med en snabbladdare kan en elbil laddas till 80 procent på 20-30 min. Ett utbyggt nät av snabbladdare skulle troligen öka elbilens attraktivitet hos konsumenter om inte annat än av anledningen att man känner att elbilen då kan erbjuda samma frihet som en vanlig bil när det kommer till att köra långt. I Norge har man jobbat med att minska kostnaderna för elbilar. I dagsläget har en elbil ett betydligt högre inköpspris än motsvarande modell med förbränningsmotor. Till detta kommer en hög osäkerhet om andrahandsvärdet. Tillsammans ger dessa faktorer en negativ förutsättning för elbilar vid ett inköpsbeslut. Osäkerheten för andrahandsvärdet beror främst på två orsaker, dels en mycket liten andrahandsmarknad vilket ger mycket lite historisk information om elbilars andrahandsvärde samt en osäkerhet angående teknikens hållbarhet. Båda dessa faktorer anses minska med tiden och med mer erfarenhet av elbilar. Inköpspriset är till stor del beroende av batterikostnaderna. Utvecklingen av batterier har gått mycket snabbt under senare år vilket gett en prisminskning av elbilar samt längre räckvidder. Denna utveckling bedöms fortsätta och en del experter tror att elbilar kan vara ekonomiskt konkurrenskraftiga gentemot vanliga bilar så tidigt som år 2020. Styrmedel i Sverige Det har funnits och finns styrmedel även i Sverige som ska minska kostnaderna för elbilar. Dock påverkar de inte kostnaderna i samma höga grad som de styrmedel som finns i Norge. Det finns dock en kraftig kritik mot styrmedlen i Sverige, kritiken kommer av att konsumenter och potentiella konsumenter upplever en osäkerhet kring styrmedlen. För supermiljöbilspremien som är en nedsättning på 40 000 kr på inköpspriset har pengarna upprepade gånger tagit slut, vilket gett en osäkerhet om alla som sökt premien ska få den och även gjort att andra kan ha avstått från att köpa en bil som uppfyller kraven för premien och istället valt en billigare bil. För tjänstebilar finns även ett styrmedel i form av nedsatt förmånsvärde, denna nedsättning är dock inte beslutad för tillräckligt lång tid framåt att det motsvarar en leasingperiod, vilket ger en osäkerhet om kostnaderna under slutet på nyttjandeperioden. Dessa osäkerheter är onödiga och det hade gagnat alla intressenter om förutsättningarna var fastlagda. Något där det kan krävas stöd från myndigheter är i utbyggnaden av laddningsinfrastruktur. I dagsläget byggs det flera snabbladdningskorridorer med främst EU-pengar i Sverige. Denna infrastruktur är tillsammans med en publik normalladdningsinfrastruktur viktig för att möjliggöra för fler konsumenter att ersätta sina bilar med elbilar. Att vänta på att marknaden själv tar hand om utbyggnaden när det blir ekonomiskt lönsamt är att försätta sig i ett moment 22, där näringsidkarna väntar på lönsamhet för att tillhandahålla laddning och potentiella elbilskonsumenter väntar på publik laddning för att köpa elbil. Elbilsutvecklingen framöver Elbilarna bedöms minska i inköpspris, få ett stabilare andrahandsvärde och bli tekniskt bättre under de kommande åren. Kan en god laddningsinfrastruktur byggas upp bör elbilen kunna bli ett alternativ för många konsumenter framöver, om de inte redan är det. Elbilen erbjuder en lägre bränslekostnad än en fossildriven bil, går att ladda hemma, går tystare och bör attrahera miljömedvetna människor. Tidigare bedömdes osäkerheterna kring andrahandsvärde och teknik som för stora för att elbilar skulle erbjudas som leasingbilar. I dagsläget finns flera elbilar tillgängliga för leasing och detta bedöms leda till en ökad försäljning av elbilar till företag då en ny form av marknad har öppnats. Kvar återstår dock en kunskapslucka om elbilar. Många människor har inte uppdaterats på hur snabbt den tekniska utvecklingen inom segmentet skett och vilka möjligheter en elbil idag erbjuder. Information kan vara en av de viktigaste faktorerna för en god elbilsintroduktion. Examensarbete för magisterexamen i miljövetenskap 15 hp, Lunds universitet Handledare: Jamil Khan, Miljö- och energisystem, Lunds tekniska högskola Per Svenningsson, Miljö- och energisystem, Lunds tekniska högskol

Förutsättningar för Perstorps kommunledning att använda elbil

The aim of this study is to investigate opportunities and obstacles for a small municipality (Perstorp) to replace a municipal car with an electric car. In the study environmental aspects such as greenhouse gases and energy efficiency are compared between a conventional car and an electric car. Furthermore, different kinds of charging stations are reviewed with the aim to find a suitable station for a small car-pool. The range need in the municipality is analyzed by using the driving profile of one of the municipal cars which is used as reference car. Through this study I can conclude that it is possible for the municipality to replace the conventional car with an electric car, although not without a change of driving patterns by the users. With several quick-charging stations already built along the major roads in south Sweden and more planned, all the reference car destinations can be covered by an electrical car. It is important that the car can recharge at the most remote destination to be able to fully cover the road back, from certain destinations that were often visited. To be able to use the car to its full potential it is important with recharging capacities that can charge at a higher rate than a normal wall-outlet. A semi-quick charging station is preferable at the home base, especially if the municipality will replace more cars with electric cars later on.The aim of this study is to investigate opportunities and obstacles for a small municipality (Perstorp) to replace a municipal car with an electric car. In the study environmental aspects such as greenhouse gases and energy efficiency are compared between a conventional car and an electric car. Furthermore, different kinds of charging stations are reviewed with the aim to find a suitable station for a small car-pool. The range need in the municipality is analyzed by using the driving profile of one of the municipal cars which is used as reference car. Through this study I can conclude that it is possible for the municipality to replace the conventional car with an electric car, although not without a change of driving patterns by the users. With several quick-charging stations already built along the major roads in south Sweden and more planned, all the reference car destinations can be covered by an electrical car. It is important that the car can recharge at the most remote destination to be able to fully cover the road back, from certain destinations that were often visited. To be able to use the car to its full potential it is important with recharging capacities that can charge at a higher rate than a normal wall-outlet. A semi-quick charging station is preferable at the home base, especially if the municipality will replace more cars with electric cars later on

Lobbying i EU: frågan om socker och dess reglering: En analys av hur de stora livsmedelsföretagen influerar beslutsfattandet och förhindrar reglering av socker genom lobbyverksamhet i EU

This is a Bachelor thesis on the subject of the food industry’s influence over the EU institutions. The purpose of the thesis is to find out how the great food companies affect the EU legislation on sugar regulation through lobbying. The thesis describes how the EU food- and health policies are shaped and how the lobbying works. The methodology used for the thesis is a qualitative content analysis and the theory is lobbyism. The aim of the analysis is to find words, expressions and utterances that indicate the food industry’s conflict of interests. The documents treated in the thesis are the EUs ”Roadmap for Action on Food Product Improvement”, ”Annex II: Added sugars” and the two final documents are protocols from two meetings held with the EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health in 2016. The policies shaped within the EU are influenced by different interests. The presence of the food industry when issues are discussed and decisions are made affects the legislation. The legislation will have an actual effect on people´s lives. Consequently there is an ethical dimension to the fact that legislation concerning health is influenced by business interests. Is it ethically defensible for the food industry to fight legislation that could improve people´s health and well-being? It is interesting to investigate how the interest groups influence the policy makers in order to obtain legislation that does not conflict with business interests. Within this context it is of great importance and relevance to study the effects of lobbyism on the decision-making in the EU, because this will have an effect on the people in the union

The Epicurean Parasite: Horace, Satires 1.1-3

We have learned a great deal in recent years about reading Horace\u27s satires; there is now widespread agreement that the speaker of the satires is himself a character within them, a persona. Such a persona may be most effective when it has obvious connections with its creator, but that fact does not preclude the exaggeration of reality, or even its complete inversion. For Horace the implications of this approach are exciting: instead of a poet discoursing with cheerful earnestness on morality, on poetry and on his daily life, we have a fictional character, whom we do not have to take seriously at all.The three diatribe satires present us with a character so absurd that they have been taken, I think rightly, as parodies. Although the poems were once appreciated as effective moralising sermons, even their admirers found it hard to justify the lack of intellectual coherence, to say nothing of the astonishing vulgarity of the second satire. As parodies, however, the poems are wonderfully successful. The speaker trots out a series of banalities: ‘people should be content with who they are’; ‘people should not go to extremes’; ‘people should be consistent’. But he invariably gets distracted, goes off on tangential rants, and makes a fool of himself. The moralist of the first three satires is, to put it bluntly, a jerk

Hip Abduction Strength: Relationship to Trunk and Lower Extremity Motion During A Single-Leg Step-Down Task in Professional Baseball Players

# Background The single-leg step down task (SLSD) is a clinical tool to assess movement and control of the lower extremity and trunk. Hip abduction weakness may impact movement quality during the SLSD, however the relationships between movement and strength are unclear. # Purpose To determine the relationship between hip abduction isometric strength and movement during the SLSD of trunk lean, pelvic drop, knee valgus, and hip flexion. # Study Design Cross sectional, cohort study # Methods One hundred-eighteen Minor League baseball players (age=21.6 ± 2.0 years; n=68 pitchers, n=50 position players) participated. Bilateral hip abduction isometric strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer (HHD), and then multiplied by distance from the greater trochanter to the HHD and expressed as hip abduction torque. Video cameras captured the SLSD, with participants standing on one leg while lowering their contralateral heel to touchdown on the floor from a 0.203m (8in.) step. Trunk lean, trunk flexion, pelvic drop, knee valgus, and hip flexion were measured using Dartfish at heel touchdown. A value of 180° indicated no knee valgus. Pearson correlations examined the relationships between hip abduction torque and SLSD motions. # Results There were no significant correlations for position players. For pitchers, on the lead leg increased hip abduction torque weakly correlated with a decrease in knee valgus (r= 0.24, p=0.049). Also for pitchers on the trail leg, increased hip abduction torque weakly correlated with decreased pelvic drop (r= -0.28, p=0.021). # Conclusion Hip abduction strength contributes to dynamic control of the trunk and legs. Specifically in pitchers, hip abduction weakness was related to increased movement of the lower extremity and lumbopelvic regions during the dynamic SLSD task. These deficits could translate to altered pitching performance and injury. # Levels of Evidence 2\

Multifaceted value profiles of forest owner categories in South Sweden: The river helge å catchment as a case study

Forest landscapes provide benefits from a wide range of goods, function and intangible values. But what are different forest owner categories\u27 profiles of economic use and non-use values? This study focuses on the complex forest ownership pattern of the River Helge å catchment including the Kristianstad Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve in southern Sweden. We made 89 telephone interviews with informants representing the four main forest owner categories. Our mapping included consumptive and non-consumptive direct use values, indirect use values, and non-use values such as natural and cultural heritage. While the value profiles of non-industrial forest land owners and municipalities included all value categories, the forest companies focused on wood production, and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on nature protection. We discuss the challenges of communicating different forest owners\u27 economic value profiles among stakeholders, the need for a broader suite of forest management systems, and fora for collaborative planning. © 2013 The Author(s)

The noise-lovers: cultures of speech and sound in second-century Rome

This chapter provides an examination of an ideal of the ‘deliberate speaker’, who aims to reflect time, thought, and study in his speech. In the Roman Empire, words became a vital tool for creating and defending in-groups, and orators and authors in both Latin and Greek alleged, by contrast, that their enemies produced babbling noise rather than articulate speech. In this chapter, the ideal of the deliberate speaker is explored through the works of two very different contemporaries: the African-born Roman orator Fronto and the Syrian Christian apologist Tatian. Despite moving in very different circles, Fronto and Tatian both express their identity and authority through an expertise in words, in strikingly similar ways. The chapter ends with a call for scholars of the Roman Empire to create categories of analysis that move across different cultural and linguistic groups. If we do not, we risk merely replicating the parochialism and insularity of our sources.Accepted manuscrip