Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirantan Banerjee ◽  
Lucie Adenaeuer
Keyword(s):  
Concurrent Engineering ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Market Potential ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Vertical Farming ◽  
Footprint Area ◽  
The Cost

With rising population and purchasing power, demand for food and changing consumer preferences are building pressure on our resources. Vertical Farming, which means growing food in skyscrapers, might help to solve many of these problems. The purpose of this study was to construct a Vertical Farm and thereof investigate the economic feasibility of it. In a concurrent Engineering Study initiated by DLR Bremen, a farm, 37 floors high, was designed and simulated in Berlin to estimate the cost of production and market potential of this technology. It yields about 3,500 tons of fruits and vegetables and ca. 140 tons of tilapia fillets, 516 times more than expected from a footprint area of 0.25 ha due to stacking and multiple harvests. The investment costs add up to € 200 million, and it requires 80 million litres of water and 3.5 GWh of power per year. The produced food costs between € 3.50 and € 4.00 per kilogram. In view of its feasibility, we estimate a market for about 50 farms in the short term and almost 3000 farms in the long term. To tap the economic, environmental and social benefits of this technology, extensive research is required to optimise the production process.

scholarly journals Methods to Prevent Future Severe Animal Welfare Problems Caused by COVID-19 in the Pork Industry

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 830
Author(s):  
Temple Grandin
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Electrical Parameters ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Pork Industry ◽  
Third Party Auditing ◽  
The Cost ◽  
High Welfare

In the U.S., the most severe animal welfare problems caused by COViD-19 were in the pork industry. Thousands of pigs had to be destroyed on the farm due to reduced slaughter capacity caused by ill workers. In the future, both short-term and long-term remedies will be needed. In the short-term, a portable electrocution unit that uses scientifically validated electrical parameters for inducing instantaneous unconsciousness, would be preferable to some of the poor killing methods. A second alternative would be converting the slaughter houses to carcass production. This would require fewer people to process the same number of pigs. The pandemic revealed the fragility of large centralized supply chains. A more distributed supply chain with smaller abattoirs would be more robust and less prone to disruption, but the cost of pork would be greater. Small abattoirs can coexist with large slaughter facilities if they process pigs for specialized premium markets such as high welfare pork. The pandemic also had a detrimental effect on animal welfare inspection and third party auditing programs run by large meat buyers. Most in-person audits in the slaughter plants were cancelled and audits were done by video. Video audits should never completely replace in-person audits.

scholarly journals Forecasting Australian port throughput: Lessons and Pitfalls in the era of Big Data

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
soumya banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Forecasting Model ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Port Development ◽  
Forecasting Accuracy ◽  
Port Throughput ◽  
Infrastructure Investments ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Modelling And Forecasting

Modelling and forecasting port throughput enables stakeholders to make efficient decisions ranging from management of port development, to infrastructure investments, operational restructuring and tariffs policy. Accurate forecasting of port throughput is also critical for long-term resource allocation and short-term strategic planning. In turn, efficient decision-making enhances the competitiveness of a port. However, in the era of big data we are faced with the enviable dilemma of having too much information. We pose the question: is more information always better for forecasting? We suggest that more information comes at the cost of more parameters of the forecasting model that need to be estimated. We comparemultiple forecasting models of varying degrees of complexity and quantify the effect of the amount of data on model forecasting accuracy. Our methodology serves as a guideline for practitioners in this field. We also enjoin caution that even in the era of big data more information may not always be better. It would be advisable for analysts to weigh the costs of adding more data: the ultimate decision would depend on the problem, amount of data and the kind of models being used.

What money can’t buy: an argument against paying people to get vaccinated

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2021-107235
Author(s):  
Nancy S Jecker
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Healthy Communities ◽  
Good Citizenship ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Better Than

This paper considers the proposal to pay people to get vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first section introduces arguments against the proposal, including less intrusive alternatives, unequal effects on populations and economic conditions that render payment more difficult to refuse. The second section considers arguments favouring payment, including arguments appealing to health equity, consistency, being worth the cost, respect for autonomy, good citizenship, the ends justifying the means and the threat of mutant strains. The third section spotlights long-term and short-term best practices that can build trust and reduce ‘vaccine hesitancy’ better than payment. The paper concludes that people who, for a variety of reasons, are reluctant to vaccinate should be treated like adults, not children. Despite the urgency of getting shots into arms, we should set our sights on the long-term goals of strong relationships and healthy communities.

US corporate tax reform would risk highway fund

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Corporate Tax Reform ◽  
The Cost

Significance On July 15, the House of Representatives passed a short-term funding measure, against the wishes of many in the Senate. US infrastructure is facing a fiscal crunch. Taxes on gasoline have traditionally supported highway appropriations. However, eroding purchasing power and greater fuel efficiency means that about 30% of highway funding must be found from other sources, difficult in the current Congress. The present round of appropriations expires on July 31. Impacts A corporate tax might provide a long-term resolution, but the pursuit of it would come at the cost of seeking more modest solutions. These would provide stability for a year or two, necessary for projects of long duration. If corporate tax reform is not completed before the end of 2015, it will probably not get done in a presidential election year. If Congress were to rely on the prospect of these taxes for the HTF, it might find itself in a similar position in a few months.

scholarly journals OPTIMAL CLIMATE POLICY IN 3D: MITIGATION, CARBON REMOVAL, AND SOLAR GEOENGINEERING

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150008
Author(s):  
MARIIA BELAIA ◽  
JUAN B. MORENO-CRUZ ◽  
DAVID W. KEITH
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Integrated Assessment Model ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Solar Geoengineering ◽  
Optimal Climate Policy ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Far Future

We introduce solar geoengineering (SG) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) into an integrated assessment model to analyze the trade-offs between mitigation, SG, and CDR. We propose a novel empirical parameterization of SG that disentangles its efficacy, calibrated with climate model results, from its direct impacts. We use a simple parameterization of CDR that decouples it from the scale of baseline emissions. We find that (a) SG optimally delays mitigation and lowers the use of CDR, which is distinct from moral hazard; (b) SG is deployed prior to CDR while CDR drives the phasing out of SG in the far future; (c) SG deployment in the short term is relatively independent of discounting and of the long-term trade-off between SG and CDR over time; (d) small amounts of SG sharply reduce the cost of meeting a [Formula: see text]C target and the costs of climate change, even with a conservative calibration for the efficacy of SG.

scholarly journals Faktor yang Memengaruhi Pemilihan Metode Kontrasepsi

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Rendys Septalia ◽  
Nunik Puspitasari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Contraceptive Methods ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Contraceptive Usage ◽  
Material Costs ◽  
The Cost

Contraception was the most effective way to control the population growth. The most widely favored in Indonesia was a short-term contraceptive methods. High attainment acceptor on short-term contraceptive methods because short-term contraceptive methods was a methods contraception affordable, while the fees for the long-term contraceptive methods was more expensive. The incidence of injectable contraceptives and pills drop-out was higher than the long-term contraceptive methods that contributed to the failure of population growth control program. This study to analyze the factors that affect the selection contraceptive methods. This study was an observational study with cross sectional design. Sampling with systematic random and obtained were 79 acceptors. The independent variables were the cost of contraceptive use, non-material costs (experience side effects), cultural obstacle, social adjustments obstacle, physic and mental health obstacle, and accessibility obstacle. Data collected using the questionnaire and analyse by multiple logistic regression. The results showed that the significant factor were the cost of contraceptive usage (pvalue = 0.002), the cost of non-material (experience side eff ects) (pvalue = 0.007), and factors that didn’t have signifi cant influence were cultural obstacle (pvalue = 0.105), social adjustments obstacle (pvalue = 0.999), physic and mental health obstacle (pvalue = 0.920), and accessibility obstacle (pvalue = 0.438). The conclusion were the cost of contraceptive use and non-material costs (experience side eff ects) aff ected the selection of contraception. It was need the cooperation between religious leaders, community leaders, and health care workers in a common understanding on the cost of contraceptive usage.

scholarly journals Comparing the Applications of Management Accounting between Vietnamese Public Universities by the Degree of Autonomy

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-91
Author(s):  
Oanh Thi Tu LE ◽  
Phong Thi Thu Tran
Keyword(s):  
Public Universities ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Variance Analysis ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Management Responsibility ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Responsibility Accounting

This study was conducted based on a survey of 53 public universities in Vietnam to evaluate the applications of management accounting in universities according to the following metrics: (i) Cost classification; (ii) Conducting and evaluating budgets; (iii) Management responsibility; and (iv) Using information to make short-term and long-term decisions. The results showed that public universities have some interest in management accounting information, especially responsibility accounting. However, management accounting information which has not been used much in Vietnamese universities includes controllable and uncontrollable costs and variance analysis between actual results and estimates. Regarding the degree of autonomy, fully or partially autonomous universities tend to apply management accounting more than non-autonomous universities in terms of the cost per student, the fees for repeat classes, and management responsibility. The research results showed the need to use management accounting information when universities increase their autonomy. JEL Classification: M40, M41, M49.

scholarly journals Mutually Complementary Measure-Correlate-Predict Method for Enhanced Long-Term Wind-Resource Assessment

Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1795
Author(s):  
Woochul Nam ◽  
Ki-Yong Oh
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Reference Data ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
International Electrotechnical Commission ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Wind Potential ◽  
Wind Resource ◽  
Term Data

Evaluating the economic feasibility of wind farms via long-term wind-resource assessments is indispensable because short-term data measured at a candidate wind-farm site cannot represent the long-term wind potential. Prediction errors are significant when seasonal and year-on-year variations occur. Moreover, reliable long-term reference data with a high correlation to short-term measured data are often unavailable. This paper presents an alternative solution to predict long-term wind resources for a site exhibiting seasonal and year-on-year variations, where long-term reference data are unavailable. An analysis shows that a mutually complementary measure-correlate-predict method can be employed, because several datasets obtained over short periods are used to correct long-term wind resource data in a mutually complementary manner. Moreover, this method is useful in evaluating extreme wind speeds, which is one of the main factors affecting site compliance evaluation and the selection of a suitable wind turbine class based on the International Electrotechnical Commission standards. The analysis also shows that energy density is a more sensitive metric than wind speed for sites with seasonal and year-on-year variations because of the wide distribution of wind speeds. A case study with short-term data measured at Fujeij, Jordan, clearly identifies the factors necessary to perform the reliable and accurate assessment of long-term wind potentials.

No escape? Costs and benefits of leaf de-submergence in the pasture grass Chloris gayana under different flooding regimes

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo G. Striker ◽  
Cecilia Casas ◽  
Xiaolin Kuang ◽  
Agustín A. Grimoldi
Keyword(s):  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Growth Strategy ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Pasture Grass ◽  
Leaf Emergence ◽  
Chloris Gayana ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Chloris Gayana Kunth

Elongation-induced leaf emergence is one way for plants to deal with complete submergence by ‘escaping’ from water. This growth strategy is hypothesised to be more beneficial under single long-term submergence than under repeated short-term submergence events (i.e. fluctuating environment), as costs of repeated plant ‘adjustment’ would exceed the initial benefits of shoot elongation. To test this idea, 2-week-old plants of Chloris gayana Kunth. cv. Fine Cut (a submergence-tolerant cultivar first selected by a screening experiment) were grown for 4 weeks under (i) control conditions, (ii) two 1-week submergence cycles, or (iii) one 2-week submergence cycle. Additionally, a set of plants were placed below nettings to assess the cost of remaining forcedly submerged. Impeding leaves emergence through nettings did not compromise survival when submergence was 1-week long, but determined the death of all plants when extended to 2 weeks. Growth as affected by flooding regime revealed that under one 2-week submergence event, plants accumulated a 2.9-fold higher dry mass than when they experienced the same submergence duration in separate events along 1week. The ‘escape’ strategy in the grass C. gayana, by which leaf contact with air is re-established, is essential for its survival, and it is more beneficial for plant growth under long-term submergence than under repeated short-term submergence cycles.

What Color Is Your Hydrogen?

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (05) ◽  
pp. 32-35
Author(s):  
Judy Feder
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
The Cost

Is green H2 better than blue? Is gray going away? As the world transitions from “black gold” to greener alternatives, many questions are being raised about hydrogen (H2) and its role in the current and future energy mix. H2 was among the “hot topics” during the 2021 CERAWeek by IHS Markit held virtually in March. The global energy research firm estimated that hydrogen currently costs $200 to $250/bbl to produce—as much as five times the cost to produce a barrel of oil. Low-carbon hydrogen has a tiny share of the global energy market today, but investors are betting on its long-term potential, according to Wood Mackenzie, who said shares with meaningful exposure to hydrogen have been among the best-performing of energy transition stocks in the past few months. By 2050, low-carbon hydrogen will constitute 7% of global energy demand—211 Mt—from practically zero today. For this and other reasons, many oil companies are researching and investing in hydrogen projects. IHS Markit believes that energy companies will invest $5 billion to $10 billion in hydrogen of various colors over the next 5 years, helping to develop breakthrough technologies that will reduce its cost and increase its competitiveness, not only with renewables such as wind and solar, but eventually with oil and natural gas. Paul Browning, president and chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Power Americas, said, “What’s really driving green hydrogen is net zero, from regulators to shareholders. There is no way to get to net zero without long-term storage, and for that, we need hydrogen,” he said. “Green H2 will be used as storage first. Then its cost will decline enough to make it a fuel.” But green won’t be the only player. Blue and green are at the basis of different perspectives of a potential hydrogen society, according to a paper recently published in an environmental research journal Sustainability. Blue hydrogen, integrated with carbon capture and storage, can provide the scale and reliability needed by industrial processes. It can also play an essential role in decarbonizing hard-to-electrify industries and driving down the cost of the energy transition. And it can represent a useful option in the short and medium term by helping pave the way for green hydrogen at a later stage (Fig. 1). Armin Schnettler, executive vice president of new energy business for Siemens Energy, said at CERAWeek, “Short-term color isn’t important. What is important is a hydrogen economy, dedicated to green H2. In the short term, we should be ready to support all colors.” Moving From Talk to Action Hydrogen’s potential role in national and international decarbonization strategies is growing for sectors ranging from industry to transport. Already used as a feedstock in industrial applications, it is now being proposed as a potential energy carrier to support wider deployment of low-carbon energy.

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