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| 1 |
ID:
097272
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| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
As part of the UK's effort to combat climate change, deep cuts in carbon emissions will be required from existing housing over the coming decades. The viability of achieving such emission cuts for the UK social housing sector has been explored through a case study of Peabody, a housing association operating in London. Various approaches to stock refurbishment were modelled for Peabody's existing stock up to the year 2030, incorporating insulation, communal heating and micro-generation technologies. Outputs were evaluated under four future socio-economic scenarios. The results indicate that the Greater London Authority's target of a 60% carbon emission cut by 2025 can be achieved if extensive stock refurbishment is coupled with a background of wider societal efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The two key external requirements identified are a significant reduction in the carbon intensity of grid electricity and a stabilisation or reduction in householder demand for energy. A target of achieving zero net carbon emissions across Peabody stock by 2030 can only be achieved if grid electricity becomes available from entirely zero-carbon sources. These results imply that stronger action is needed from both social landlords and Government to enable deep emission cuts to be achieved in UK social housing.
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| 2 |
ID:
115141
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| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
A flaw has been identified in the calculation of the cost-effectiveness in marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs). The problem affects "negative-cost" emissions reduction measures-those that produce a return on investment. The resulting ranking sometimes favours measures that produce low emissions savings and is therefore unreliable. The issue is important because incorrect ranking means a potential failure to achieve the best-value outcome. A simple mathematical analysis shows that not only is the standard cost-effectiveness calculation inadequate for ranking negative-cost measures, but there is no possible replacement that satisfies reasonable requirements. Furthermore, the concept of negative cost-effectiveness is found to be unsound and its use should be avoided. Among other things, this means that MACCs are unsuitable for ranking negative-cost measures. As a result, MACCs produced by a range of organizations including UK government departments may need to be revised. An alternative partial ranking method has been devised by making use of Pareto optimization. The outcome can be presented as a stacked bar chart that indicates both the preferred ordering and the total emissions saving available for each measure without specifying a cost-effectiveness.
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| 3 |
ID:
190954
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| Summary/Abstract |
Defining state-terrorism is a contentious endeavor, with notably analytical impediments. Presented here is a definitive case of state-terrorism. As part of an effort to maintain the status quo of white hegemonic control, in 1979 the Apartheid state in South Africa created a police unit, known as Vlakplaas. Drawing from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report, clear evidence is presented demonstrating the Apartheid government’s use of Vlakplaas as an instrument of terrorism in order to instill terror in targeted audiences and to allay fears of the white electorate. As resistance to the status quo strengthened, so too did the terrorism methods used to maintain it. The methods used by Vlakplaas operatives included forms of violence that arguably ought to be considered state-terrorism—abductions, detentions, and torture—and methods traditionally associated with orthodox terrorism—bombings and killings.
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