Impacts of the Species Elaeagnus umbellate on the Soil and Water Quality of the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Ecosystem

The species Elaeagnus umbellate, more commonly known as autumn olive, is a shrub that is invasive to the United States and indigenous to East Asia. Even though the autumn olive is not native to North America, it was able to thrive and adapt to the new environment by using its ability to fix nitrogen. Nitrogen-fixing is a process where plants intake molecular nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into other forms of nitrogen that can be used by the plants. One of the nitrogen-fixing by-products is nitrate. Excessive amounts of nitrate can easily leach from the plant’s root region into underlying aquifer systems. Relatively small amounts (\u3e10mg/L) of nitrate in the environment are known to be toxic to humans and aquatic life. This study was conducted to assess the impact of Elaeagnus umbellate on nitrate concentrations in its surrounding soil and groundwater. Thirty plots were selected for collecting groundwater and soil samples. Fifteen of those plots were dominated by mature E. umbellate. The other fifteen plots were dominated by native grass species. Water and soil samples were collected two feet below the ground surface (root zones of the autumn olive plants). Samples were collected during the growing season, in ten day intervals during the summer of 2010, and analyzed for the respective concentrations of nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The data obtained from these analyses was statistically analyzed. The results of the samples collected from the autumn olive dominated plots showed an increase in the concentrations of nitrates and other nitrogen forms. However, statistical t-tests showed that this increase is not significantly different compared to results of the control plots dominated by native grass species

The European Natural Gas Market: Imports to Rise Considerably

Since the late 1990s, natural gas has been the second most important source of energy in the European Union after oil. Current forecasts predict that the demand for natural gas will continue to rise over the long term. As the production of natural gas in the EU has already passed its peak and will drop in coming years, natural gas imports will have to rise considerably. To ensure according supplies is possible in the long run, as approximately 80% of the world's natural gas reserves are located within the economic reach of the EU-primarily in the former Soviet Union and Middle East. A supply of imported natural gas adequate to cover declines in EU production is contractually guaranteed through 2020. Additional projects will permit an increase in natural gas consumption in the EU of 20 to 30%. By 2020, 80% of the EU's supply will come from imports. Russia will remain by far the largest supplier, followed by Norway and Algeria. Security concerns are raised by the importation of natural gas from a small handful of suppliers. While the regional diversification of imports is only possible to a limited extent, the construction of a pipeline to connect Europe with natural gas rich nations on the Caspian Sea and in the Middle East would be a step in the right direction. The expansion of capacities for production, transport and storage of liquified natural gas (LNG) could also help to augment diversification.Natural gas, LNG, Import dependence, Reserves, Pipelines

Who Bears Responsibility for the Provision of Security: The State or You?

When defining the absence of a threat as an economic good, it is necessary to define this good using the standard economic typology: is security a private, public, club or common good? We argue in this Policy Briefing that security provision can display characteristics belonging to any of these types of goods. In recent years, we can observe a change from more publicly oriented security provision to privately provided security. That does not, however, take away the responsibility of the state to provide a basic level of security. In addition to that, it is the responsibility of the state to coordinate internationally to deliver international security.

If Another Gas Dispute Breaks out between the Ukraine and Russia, Would Europe Now Be Equipped to Deal with It?

In January 2009, the supply of natural gas from Russia via the Ukrainian pipeline system was interrupted for nearly two weeks. Particularly the countries in Southeastern Europe were ill-prepared for such an event. Disputes regarding both the payment of natural gas supplies and transit rights between Russia and Ukraine have recently flared up again, which gives rise to the question of whether the EU is now better prepared if a similar scenario to that of January 2009 were to happen again. A number of measures have been introduced since the beginning of the year aiming to overcome any delivery shortfalls, but only a few of them have actually already been implemented, e.g. the creation of technical requirements to reverse the flow of natural gas. Therefore, supply shortages in some Southeastern European countries can not be fully excluded.Natural gas, Gas storage, Security of supply

Staatsfonds in Zeiten niedriger Rohstoffpreise

Unter Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) oder Staatsfonds werden Fonds verstanden, die im Auftrag eines Staates Geld anlegen und verwalten. Die Fonds speisen sich häufig aus Ressourcen, insbesondere aus Einnahmen von Öl- und Gasexporten. Sie sollen in rohstoffexportierenden Ländern dazu beitragen, mögliche Preisschwankungen auf internationalen Rohstoffmärkten abzufedern oder finanzielle Reserven für künftige Generationen zu bilden. Lange Zeit hatten steigende Energiepreise zu einer rasanten Zunahme des Fondsvolumens auf weltweit insgesamt über sieben Billionen US-Dollar gesorgt und die Länder somit mit einem beachtlichen finanziellen Puffer ausgestattet. Mit dem Rückgang des Ölpreises seit Mitte 2014 wurde diese Dynamik jedoch unterbrochen. Einige der ölexportierenden Staaten müssen in Zeiten sinkender Exporteinnahmen und angespannter Haushalte zur Deckung ihrer Defizite nun sogar auf Mittel ihrer Staatsfonds zurückgreifen. Dieses DIW Roundup beleuchtet Funktionen, Bedeutung sowie die Entwicklung von SWF in Zeiten niedriger Energiepreise

Russische Energiewirtschaft: hohe Exporterlöse verschleiern Reformbedarf

Die russische Energiewirtschaft hat sich nach einer im Vergleich zur Gesamtwirtschaft relativ kurzen Phase sinkender Produktion und Exporte deutlich erholt. Die Energieproduktion ist seit 1998, dem Jahr der Finanzkrise, ständig gestiegen und erreichte 2002 etwa das Niveau, das sie kurz nach Auflösung der Sowjetunion hatte. Bei gestiegenen Ölpreisen auf dem Weltmarkt haben russische Energieexporte, insbesondere von Mineralöl, in jüngster Zeit deutlich zugenommen. Die damit verbundenen hohen Einnahmen tragen zur Erholung der russischen Wirtschaft bei. In den vergangenen Jahren ist die Bedeutung der Energiewirtschaft für die Gesamtwirtschaft weiter gestiegen. Der im Herbst 2002 vorgelegte Entwurf einer langfristigen Energiestrategie verweist auf den notwendigen Strukturwandel. Gleichzeitig wird eine deutliche Zunahme von Energieproduktion und -exporten prognostiziert. Hierzu sollen das Investitionsklima verbessert und die Umstrukturierung im Energiesektor fortgesetzt werden. Die Zeit für Reformen wäre jetzt günstig. Allerdings wird diese Gelegenheit von der Wirtschaftspolitik nur ansatzweise genutzt, um die notwendigen Reformen in der Energiewirtschaft voranzutreiben