Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on Algeria’s energy used and climate change based on Olduvai theory

The Death of Industrial Civilization explains how the contemporary ecological crisis within industrial society is caused by the values inherent in unlimited economic growth and competitive materialism. It demonstrates the central role and importance of electricity, and what policy makers need to do in order to ensure that current and future systems remain reliable even as they are transformed by the rise of clean energy technologies. The novel COVID19 pandemic has created an unprecedented global health and economic crisis. The result of such a scenario is that energy demand contracts by 6%, the largest in 70 years in percentage terms and the largest ever in absolute terms. The impact of Covid19 on energy demand in 2020 would be more than seven times larger than the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on global energy demand and this is what the Olduvai theory is defined by e=energy production/population. It states that the life expectancy of Industrial Civilization is less than or equal to 100 years.

Author(s):  
Andrei Mircea Bolboaca

Covering the energy demands under environmental protection and satisfying economic and social restrictions, together with decreasing polluting emissions, are impetuous necessities, considering that over half of the pollutant emissions released in the environment are the effect of the processes of electricity and heat production from the classic thermoelectric powerplant. Increasing energy efficiency and intensifying the use of alternative resources are key objectives of global policy. In this context, a range of new energy technologies has been developed, based on alternative energy conversion systems, which have recently been used more and more often for the simultaneous production of electricity and heat. An intensification of the use of combined energy production correlated with the tendency towards the use of clean energy resources can be helpful in achieving the global objectives of increasing fuel diversity and ensuring energy demand. The chapter aims at describing the fuel cell technology, in particular those of the SOFC type, used in the CHP for stationary applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arran Thatcher ◽  
Mona Zhang ◽  
Hayden Todoroski ◽  
Anthony Chau ◽  
Joanna Wang ◽  
...  

This article explores the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) upon Australia’s education industry with a particular focus on universities. With the high dependence that the revenue structures of Australian universities have on international student tuition fees, they are particularly prone to the economic challenges presented by COVID-19. As such, this study considers the impact to total Australian university revenue and employment caused by the significant decline in the number of international students continuing their studies in Australia during the current pandemic. We use a linear regression model calculated from data published by the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills, and Employment (DESE) to predict the impact of COVID-19 on total Australian university revenue, the number of international student enrolments in Australian universities, and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at Australian universities. Our results have implications for both policy makers and university decision makers, who should consider the need for revenue diversification in order to reduce the risk exposure of Australian universities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarne Steffen ◽  
Tyeler Matsuo ◽  
Davita Steinemann ◽  
Tobias S. Schmidt

AbstractAs renewable energy supply chains have grown increasingly globalized, national clean energy transitions have become highly influenced by international dynamics. However, these dynamics are themselves collectively shaped by domestic policy that drives the deployment of renewables. While spatial spillovers of domestic renewable energy policies have been studied on an aggregate level regarding policy diffusion or the flows of technology across countries, implications on an actor-level have been largely neglected. This article addresses this gap by analyzing global patterns of market openings for wind, solar PV, and biomass, focusing on the role of private project developers in developing countries. We use a mixed method design, based on a newly merged dataset encompassing eighty countries, and on interviews with pioneering project developers. Results highlight how patterns in market openings are shaped considerably by technology characteristics. Further, empirical results show international private developers are a key first mover in many developing countries. We explore drivers for this internationalization trend, including the impact of international developers' home country policies and the accumulation of tacit knowledge from home country markets for market openings abroad. Finally, we discuss implications for industrial policy and argue for further research on global spillovers of national policies on the actor-level.


Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Beaud Muriel ◽  
Amarasinghage Tharindu Dasun Perera ◽  
Cai Hanmin ◽  
Andrew Bollinger ◽  
Kristina Orehounig

The building sector plays a vital role in Switzerland’s climate policy. In order to support the energy transition in the building sector, Rolle, a suburban area located along the shore of Lake Geneva is considered in this study to understand the promising future scenarios for integration of renewable energy technologies. The area is clustered into 12 clusters and a distributed energy system is designed for each cluster. Subsequently, three energy systems with contrasting densities are taken for further comparison to understand the impact of urban density on the design of the distributed energy system. The study reveals that urban density will influence the peak as well as the annual energy demand of the energy hubs. The study reveals that the energy technologies used in the energy hubs are strongly influenced by the capacity of the system (peak and annual energy demand). Energy systems with higher capacities are less sensitive to the market changes when compared to the systems with lower capacities (leading to sparse suburban areas).


Author(s):  
Mihaela PALELA ◽  
Carmen SOCACIU

The European Union’s policies regarding the energy security impose to the European countries to take urgent measures because of the global energy demand which is growing rapidly. The ambitious target approved by the renewable energy directive is that 20 % of the final energy consumption has to be provided by renewable sources by 2020. The technological transfer from west to east Europe encourages the eastern countries with a high agricultural potential to develop political, economical, and social strategies to replace the fossil resources with the renewable materials. The main goal of the European countries is to promote the clean energy technologies. Thus, the share of renewable resources such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, biogas, etc. has to be increases with 24 % of the final energy consumption compared to the overall EU target of 20 %. The current work emphasize the technological state and perspectives of the biogas production of the Romanian country in comparison with the leader country in Europe, Germany.


Author(s):  
Mikhail Fedorovich Ershov

The novel “Helicopter Rhapsody” by L. Babanin describes the daily activities of pilots in the conditions of frontier, on the border of nature and industrial civilization. The subject of this research is the important factors of social psychology of the population of the Far North in the period of oil and gas exploitation. Analysis is conducted on text as a historical-ethnographic source about isolated lifestyle of the population during the exploration of oil and gas deposits in the North of Western Siberia in the late XX – early XXI centuries. Based on information provided in the novel, and attempt is made to reconstruct mentality of the people living in the conditions of Soviet and post-Soviet oil and gas frontier, as well as explicate the specificity of formation of industrial society in the North of Western Siberia. The author's special contribution consists in reliance on the interdisciplinary approach. The novelty is defined by usage of the concepts of frontier, trickstership, and theoretical groundwork in the area of literary studies applicable to the events of the recent past. The acquired results demonstrate that L. Babanin using the imagery means described the breakdown of former cultural regulators, and in many ways, the intuitive, archaic methods of seeking the way out typical to the characters of his novel. The informal functions of tricksters are implicitly present among the social roles. They have, albeit implicitly, in a number of public roles, there are informal functions of the trickster. Study of the novel “Helicopter Rhapsody” proves that the cultural boundaries between profane and sacred components were vague, and former meanings faded away back in the Soviet times. However, the entropy of culture cannot be eternal. It is justifiable to conclude that tricksters in the future may play positive roles for overcoming the national stagnation. This article is valuable for the researchers dealing with frontier and soft scientists studying the culture of Russian province.


Author(s):  
Nikolay G. Privalov ◽  

The article deals with the problems of the ecological crisis in its relationship with the economy. Statistics are provided. From the analysis of the literature, it is concluded that there is a shortage in a comprehensive study of the problem - with coverage not only of technologies that affect environmental risks, but penetrating into the depths of the issue, i.e. production relations, linking the problem with the crisis of industrial production and the transition to a different type of social reproduction. Methods and materials. Mainly the systems approach, the method of scientific abstraction, formal logic, dialectical-theoretical methods, the method of empirical analysis and other economic methods were used. We used the paradigma concept of equilibrium as a methodological basis. Results achieved. The ecological crisis has long roots. The main factors of human alienation from nature: technical progress; approval of the positivism paradigm in the scientific methodology; the victory of the market model of the economy. As a result, man was torn out of his natural environment. He lives and works in rhythms and according to rules that contradict natural laws. The result is the growing global crisis of industrial civilization. The article classifies environmental risks, as well as directions of their neutralization, primarily using economic and political methods. In the systemic plan, restoration of the disturbed balance of a person with society and nature is required. This may be facilitated by the formation of a new stage in the development of society, one of the concepts of which is the theory of the “New Industrial Society” (NIS.2.).


Smart Cities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1242-1265
Author(s):  
Lidia Stermieri ◽  
Chiara Delmastro ◽  
Cristina Becchio ◽  
Stefano Paolo Corgnati

The building sector is currently responsible of 40% of global final energy consumption, influencing the broader energy system in terms of new electricity and heat capacity additions, as well as distribution infrastructure reinforcement. Current building energy efficiency potential is largely untapped, especially at the local level where retrofit interventions are typically enforced, neglecting their potential synergies with the entire energy system. To improve the understanding of these potential interactions, this paper proposes a methodology that links dynamic building simulation and energy planning tools at the urban scale. At first, a detailed bottom-up analysis was conducted to estimate the current and post-retrofit energy demand of the building stock. The stock analysis is further linked to a broader energy system simulation model to understand the impact of building renovation on the whole urban energy system in terms of cost, greenhouse gas emission, and primary energy consumption up to 2050. The methodology is suited to analyze the relationship between building energy demand reduction potential and clean energy sources’ deployment to shift buildings away from fossil fuels, the key priority for decarbonizing buildings. The methodology was applied to the case study city of Torino, Italy, highlighting the critical role of coupling proper building retrofit intervention with district-level heat generation strategies, such as modern district heating able to exploit low-grade heat. Being able to simulate both demand and supply future alternatives, the methodology provides a robust reference for municipalities and energy suppliers aiming at promoting efficient energy policies and targeted investments.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen T. Lam ◽  
Qing-Jie Li ◽  
Jonathan P. Mailoa ◽  
Charles Forsberg ◽  
Ronald Ballinger ◽  
...  

<p>Interest in molten salts has increased significantly over the last decade due to their potential application in various clean-energy technologies including hydrogen generation, solar heat storage, and advanced nuclear power plants. In the development of new molten salt-based fission and fusion systems, controlling hydrogen poses a critical challenge due to its ability to corrode structural materials as <sup>3</sup>H<sup>+</sup>, and its potential to cause significant radioactive release as diffusive <sup>3</sup>H<sup>0</sup>. Yet, the chemistry and transport behavior of the hydrogen species remain poorly understood despite several decades of research. Using ab initio molecular dynamics, we present a coupled examination of hydrogen valence, speciation and transport in the prototypical salts 66.6%LiF-33.3¾F<sub>2</sub> (Flibe) and 46.5%LiF-11.5%NaF-42%KF (Flinak). We discovered significant differences between <sup>3</sup>H<sup>0</sup> and <sup>3</sup>H<sup>+</sup>transport behaviors. <sup>3</sup>H<sup>+</sup> diffuses 2-4 times slower than <sup>3</sup>H<sup>0</sup>, which can be ascribed to hydrogen bonding and complexation in solution. This work helps explain varying experimental results and provides useful species transport data for designing hydrogen control systems for molten salts. </p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-110
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun Viyon Ojo

Climate change and global warming are undeniably undermining global development with developing or emerging economies being the worse hit in this unfortunate development. In recent times, it has become necessary to adopt effective adaptation measures that mitigate the impact of climate change on the social, political, and economic environment. A global shift to low-carbon energy technologies through the gradual integration of renewable energy resources in the global energy mix has been generally proposed. Whilst legal and regulatory initiatives are indeed crucial in driving this global energy transition, it is equally imperative that the necessary capital is unlocked to finance the construction, development, and expansion of renewable energy projects in Africa. This paper focused on examining the impact of renewable energy technologies on climate change mitigation, and analysed the role of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) in unlocking the vast opportunities associated with renewable energy technologies or projects, with a view to driving the clean energy transition in Africa.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document