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This paper presents results of an online stated choice experiment on preferences of Dutch private car owners for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and their characteristics. Results show that negative preferences for alternative fuel vehicles are large, especially for the electric and fuel cell car, mostly as a result of their limited driving range and considerable refueling times. Preference for AFVs increases considerably with improvements on driving range, refueling time and fuel availability. Negative AFV preferences remain, however, also with substantial improvements in AFV characteristics; the remaining willingness to accept is on average € 10,000-€ 20,000 per AFV. Results from a mixed logit model show that consumer preferences for AFVs and AFV characteristics are heterogeneous to a large extent, in particular for the electric car, additional detour time and fuel time for the electric and fuel cell car. An interaction model reveals that annual mileage is by far the most important factor that determines heterogeneity in preferences for the electric and fuel cell car. When annual mileage increases, the preference for electric and fuel cell cars decreases substantially, whilst the willingness to pay for driving range increases substantially. Other variables such as using the car for holidays abroad and the daily commute also appear to be relevant for car choice. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

While the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council have economically and politically been dominated by the exploitation of fossil fuels, recent years have seen an increasing adoption of renewable energy technologies, the reasons of which are not yet sufficiently understood. This paper argues that the recent adoption of renewable energy technologies in the Gulf and its striking variation can be explained by theories of policy transfer. In addition, we find some support for the alternative hypothesis of endogenous policy development regarding political leadership. Yet there is no support for the alternative hypothesis of a strong direct influence of the international climate regime. Furthermore, the policy transfer hypothesis and political leadership stand as coexisting influences on renewable energy adoption, rather than competing ones. Based on an extensive study of primary and secondary sources, local reports and country analyses of international organizations, and personal interviews with key experts, this paper lays out in detail how transfers of renewable energy policies take place in the Gulf; their drivers; and their impacts. We also discuss the factors that lead countries to lag behind, which can be helpful for prospective research on a more extensive utilization of renewable energy in the region and beyond.

AbstractEarthworms may promote the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil, but the mechanism through which they exert such influence is still unknown. To determine if the stimulation of PAH degradation by earthworms is related to changes in microbial communities, a microcosm experiment was conducted consisting of columns with natural uncontaminated soil covered with PAH‐contaminated dredge sediment. Columns without and with low and high Eisenia andrei densities were prepared. Organic matter and PAH content, microbial biomass, and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) were measured in soil and sediment over time. Biolog Ecoplate™ and polymerase chain reaction using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were used to evaluate changes in metabolic and structural diversity of the microbial community, respectively. Earthworm activity promoted PAH degradation in soil, which was significant for biphenyl, benzo[a]pyrene, and benzo[e]pyrene. Microbial biomass and DHA activity generally did not change over the experiment. Earthworm activity did change microbial community structure, but this did not affect its functioning in terms of carbon substrate consumption. Results suggest no relationship between changes in the microbial community by earthworm activity and increased PAH disappearance. The role of shifts in soil microbial community structure induced by earthworms in PAH removal needs further investigation. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:794–803. © 2011 SETAC

Abstract This paper assesses the effects of a global emissions trading scheme (GETS) for international aviation and shipping as a way of reducing emissions of both greenhouse gases (GHG) and other atmospheric emissions that lead to air pollution. A prior assessment of such integration requires the coupling of energy–environment–economy (E3) global modelling of mitigation policies with the atmospheric modelling of pollution sources, mixing and deposition. We report the methodology and results of coupling of the E3MG model and the global atmospheric model, p-TOMCAT. We assess the effects of GETS on the concentrations of atmospheric gases and on the radiative forcing, comparing a GETS scenario to a reference BASE scenario with higher use of fossil fuels. The paper assesses the outcome of GETS for atmospheric composition and radiative forcing for 2050. GETS on international shipping and aviation reduces their CO 2 and non-CO 2 emissions up to 65%. As a consequence atmospheric concentrations are modified and the radiative forcing due to international transport is reduced by different amounts as a function of the pollutant studied (15% for CO 2 , 35% for methane and up to 50% for ozone).

In wetlands, a distinct zonation of plant species composition occurs along moisture gradients, due to differential flooding tolerance of the species involved. However, "flooding" comprises two important, distinct stressors (soil oxygen demand [SOD] and partial submergence) that affect plant survival and growth. To investigate how these two flooding stressors affect plant performance, we executed a factorial experiment (water depth x SOD) for six plant species of nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor conditions, occurring along a moisture gradient in Dutch dune slacks. Physiological, growth, and biomass responses to changed oxygen availability were quantified for all species. The responses were consistent with field zonation, but the two stressors affected species differently. Increased SOD increased root oxygen deprivation, as indicated by either raised porosity or increased alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in roots of flood-intolerant species (Calamagrostis epigejos and Carex arenaria). While SOD affected root functioning, partial submergence tended more to reduce photosynthesis (as shown both by gas exchange and 13C assimilation), leaf dark respiration, 13C partitioning from shoots to roots, and growth of these species. These processes were especially affected if the root oxygen supply was depleted by a combination of flooding and increased SOD. In contrast, the most flood-tolerant species (Juncus subnodulosus and Typha latifolia) were unaffected by any treatment and maintained high internal oxygen concentrations at the shoot : root junction and low root ADH activity in all treatments. For these species, the internal oxygen transport capacity was well in excess of what was needed to maintain aerobic metabolism across all treatments, although there was some evidence for effects of SOD on their nitrogen partitioning (as indicated by 865N values) and photosynthesis. Two species intermediate in flooding tolerance (Carex nigra and Schoenus nigricans) responded more idiosyncratically, with different parameters responding to different treatments. These results show that partial submergence and soil flooding are two very different stressors to which species respond in different ways, and that their effects on physiology, survival, and growth are interactive. Understanding species zonation with water regimes can be improved by a better appreciation of how these factors affect plant metabolism independently and interactively.

PurposeValue chain analysis (VCA) can expose strategic and operational misalignments within chains, and the consequential misallocation of resources, and hence opportunities for improvements which create value and economic sustainability. This paper's purpose is to argue why and how VCA needs to integrate the social and environmental aspects of sustainability in pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of existing methods and case studies, the paper proposes three dimensions of VCA, which illustrate the flaws in narrow tools, and the need to broaden the boundaries of VCA, the interpretation of “value” and relationships along the chain in order to highlight opportunities for creating sustainable value chains.FindingsTo date VCA has largely focused on economic sustainability and paid inadequate attention to social and environment consequences of firm behaviour and the (re) allocation of resources within and between firms in the chain. This risks producing recommendations which either ignore the competitive advantage offered from improving environmental management and social welfare, or have such detrimental external consequences as to render any proposals unsustainable when exposed to government or broader (public) scrutiny.Research limitations/implicationsVCA variants need to be developed which incorporate all three pillars of sustainability. Some initial experiences are presented and ideas for future research and applications proposed.Practical implicationsThe development of sustainable VCA tools should identify business opportunities consistent with Porter and Kramer's imperative for value chains to create shared value between business and society.Originality/valueAdopting the broader dimensions identified will allow VCA to become more widely applicable, and more relevant in business scenarios where there is a growing imperative to include social and environmental impacts into “mainstream” business strategies.

We censused primate populations at three non-hunted ‘terra firme’ forests of south-eastern Colombian Amazonia. The aggregate biomass densities of diurnal primates at all sites were amongst the lowest recorded for any non-hunted forest in western Amazonia and elsewhere in the Neotropics. Densities of red howler monkeys were low, as is typical in Amazonian terra firme forests far removed from white-water rivers, and densities of woolly monkeys were 1.5–3.5 times lower than those estimated for this species in central-western Brazilian Amazonia. Densities of small to mid-sized primates except for brown capuchins (Cebus apella) and white-faced capuchins (Cebus albifrons) were similar to those of other oligotrophic Amazonian forest sites. Our results are in agreement with other studies showing that terra firme forests of lowland Amazonia typically sustain a low biomass density of primates and other mid-sized to large vertebrates. Large reserves are therefore required to assure the viability of primate populations in oligotrophic systems. Given the escalating negative impacts of human habitat disturbance and hunting in Colombian Amazonia, we urge that a baseline sampling protocol to quantify the abundance and distribution of the harvest-sensitive vertebrate fauna be established within protected areas and the large indigenous reserves so that conservation efforts can be defined and implemented.

This paper is a further study of ion binding to protein surfaces and builds on the studies of the binding of [Cr(CN)6]3− and [Fe(edta)(H2O)]− previously reported [Williams et al. (1982) FEBS Lett. 15, 293–299; Eley et al. (1982) Eur. J. Biochem. 124, 295–303]. In the present paper the binding of polyaminocarboxylate complexes of gadolinium have been studied. Eight ion‐binding sites have been identified on the surface of cytochrome c. These exhibit different binding specificities which, in some cases, are not fully understood. However it is clear that simple outer‐sphere interactions are not the sole determining factor for the association of metal ion complexes with proteins. The NMR paramagnetic difference spectrum method has been shown to be good at locating binding sites and revealing qualitative differences in their relative affinities for a range of complex types. However the use of relaxation probes is not a good method for the quantitative determination of binding constants; for this, isostructural shift probes must be sought.