Environmental and financial implications of ethanol as a bioethylene feedstock versus as a transportation fuel

Bulk chemicals production from biomass may compete with biofuels for low-cost and sustainable biomass sources. Understanding how alternative uses of biomass compare in terms of financial and environmental parameters is therefore necessary to help ensure that efficient uses of resources are encouraged by policy and undertaken by industry. In this paper, we compare the environmental and financial performance of using ethanol as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel in the US life cycle-based models are developed to isolate the relative impacts of these two ethanol uses and generate results that are applicable irrespective of ethanol production pathway. Ethanol use as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel leads to comparable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fossil energy consumption reductions relative to their counterparts produced from fossil sources. By displacing gasoline use in vehicles, use of ethanol as a transport fuel is six times more effective in reducing petroleum energy use on a life cycle basis. In contrast, bioethylene predominately avoids consumption of natural gas. Considering 2013 US ethanol and ethylene market prices, our analysis shows that bioethylene is financially viable only if significant price premiums are realized over conventional ethylene, from 35% to 65% depending on the scale of bioethylene production considered (80 000 t yr−1 to 240 000 t yr−1). Ethanol use as a transportation fuel is therefore the preferred pathway considering financial,GHGemissions, and petroleum energy use metrics, although bioethylene production could have strategic value if demand-side limitations of ethanol transport fuel markets are reached

Greenhouse gas emissions from waste management—assessment of quantification methods

Of the many sources of urban greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, solid waste is the only one for which management decisions are undertaken primarily by municipal governments themselves and is hence often the largest component of cities’ corporate inventories. It is essential that decision-makers select an appropriate quantification methodology and have an appreciation of methodological strengths and shortcomings. This work compares four different waste emissions quantification methods, including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1996 guidelines, IPCC 2006 guidelines, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Waste Reduction Model (WARM), and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities- Partners for Climate Protection (FCM-PCP) quantification tool. Waste disposal data for the greater Toronto area (GTA) in 2005 are used for all methodologies; treatment options (including landfill, incineration, compost, and anaerobic digestion) are examined where available in methodologies. Landfill was shown to be the greatest source of GHG emissions, contributing more than three-quarters of total emissions associated with waste management. Results from the different landfill gas (LFG) quantification approaches ranged from an emissions source of 557 kt carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) (FCM-PCP) to a carbon sink of −53 kt CO2e (EPA WARM). Similar values were obtained between IPCC approaches. The IPCC 2006 method was found to be more appropriate for inventorying applications because it uses a waste-in-place (WIP) approach, rather than a methane commitment (MC) approach, despite perceived onerous data requirements for WIP. MC approaches were found to be useful from a planning standpoint; however, uncertainty associated with their projections of future parameter values limits their applicability for GHG inventorying. MC and WIP methods provided similar results in this case study; however, this is case specific because of similarity in assumptions of present and future landfill parameters and quantities of annual waste deposited in recent years being relatively consistent

Mineral Resources: Stocks, Flows, and Prospects

This chapter focuses on metals as they provide the clearest example of the challenges and opportunities that mineral resources present to society, in terms of both primary production and recycling. Basic concepts, information requirements and sources of consumer and industrial resource demand are described as well as the destabilizing effects of volatile resource prices and supply chain disruptions. Challenges facing extraction of in-ground resources and production of secondary resources are discussed and scenarios for the future considered. The results of the scenarios indicate that particularly energy and, as well, water and land requirements could become increasingly constraining factors for metal production. Key research questions are posed and modeling and data priorities discussed, with an emphasis on areas that require novel concepts and analytic tools to help lessen negative environmental impacts associated with minerals. The challenge of sustainability requires collaboration of practitioners and analysts with a multidisciplinary understanding of a broad set of issues, including economics, engineering, geology, ecology, and mathematical modeling, to name a few, as well as policy formulation and implementation.

Violence against Canadian Women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Health Issue</p> <p>Exposure to violence as children or as adults places a woman at higher risk of poor health outcomes, both physical and psychological. Abused women use more health care services and have poorer social functioning than non-abused women. Knowledge of the prevalence of violence against women, and of which women are at risk, should assist in the planning of services for abuse prevention and treatment of the health consequences of abuse.</p> <p>Key Findings</p> <p>The highest rates of any partner violence were in Alberta (25.5%) and British Columbia (23%). The lowest rates were in Ontario (18.8%). Women aged 15–24 had the highest rates in all regions in Canada, compared with older women. Aboriginal women in Manitoba/Saskatchewan and Alberta had higher rates of violence (57.2% and 56.6% respectively) than non-Aboriginal women (20.6%). Lower rates of partner-related violence were reported among women not born in Canada (18.4%) than among Canadian-born women (21.7%). Visible minority women reported lower rates of lifetime sexual assault (5.7%) than non-visible minority women (12.3%). Perceptions of violence may vary by ethnicity.</p> <p>Data Gaps and Recommendations</p> <p>More information is required concerning the prevalence of violence among Aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women, women with disabilities, lesbian women and pregnant women. Future national population-based surveys need better questions on the health consequences of violence and related resource utilization. Further research is needed to identify the health care system's role in prevention, management and rehabilitation as they relate to violence against women. Future programs and policies must be based on valid, reliable and comprehensive empirical data.</p

Multiple Roles and Women's Mental Health in Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Health Issue</p> <p>Research on the relationship between women's social roles and mental health has been equivocal. Although a greater number of roles often protect mental health, certain combinations can lead to strain. Our study explored the moderating affects of different role combinations on women's mental health by examining associations with socioeconomic status and differences in women's distress (depressive symptoms, personal stress (role strain) and chronic stress (role strain plus environmental stressors).</p> <p>Key Findings</p> <p>Women with children, whether single or partnered, had a higher risk of personal stress. Distress, stress and chronic stress levels of mothers, regardless of employment, or marital status, are staggeringly high. Single, unemployed mothers were significantly more likely than all other groups to experience financial stress and food insecurity. For partnered mothers, rates of personal stress and chronic stress were significantly lower among unemployed partnered mothers. Married and partnered mothers reported better mental health than their single counterparts. Lone, unemployed mothers were twice as likely to report a high level of distress compared with other groups. Lone mothers, regardless of employment status, were more likely to report high personal and chronic stress.</p> <p>Data Gaps and Recommendations</p> <p>National health surveys need to collect more data on the characteristics of women's work environment and their care giving responsibilities. Questions on household composition should include inter-generational households, same sex couples and multifamily arrangements. Data disaggregation by ethno-racial background would be helpful. Data should be collected on perceived quality of domestic and partnership roles and division of labours.</p

Coronary CT Angiography and 5-Year Risk of Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Although coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) improves diagnostic certainty in the assessment of patients with stable chest pain, its effect on 5-year clinical outcomes is unknown. METHODS: In an open-label, multicenter, parallel-group trial, we randomly assigned 4146 patients with stable chest pain who had been referred to a cardiology clinic for evaluation to standard care plus CTA (2073 patients) or to standard care alone (2073 patients). Investigations, treatments, and clinical outcomes were assessed over 3 to 7 years of follow-up. The primary end point was death from coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction at 5 years. RESULTS: The median duration of follow-up was 4.8 years, which yielded 20,254 patient-years of follow-up. The 5-year rate of the primary end point was lower in the CTA group than in the standard-care group (2.3% [48 patients] vs. 3.9% [81 patients]; hazard ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 0.84; P=0.004). Although the rates of invasive coronary angiography and coronary revascularization were higher in the CTA group than in the standard-care group in the first few months of follow-up, overall rates were similar at 5 years: invasive coronary angiography was performed in 491 patients in the CTA group and in 502 patients in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.13), and coronary revascularization was performed in 279 patients in the CTA group and in 267 in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.27). However, more preventive therapies were initiated in patients in the CTA group (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.65), as were more antianginal therapies (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.54). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of cardiovascular or noncardiovascular deaths or deaths from any cause. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, the use of CTA in addition to standard care in patients with stable chest pain resulted in a significantly lower rate of death from coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction at 5 years than standard care alone, without resulting in a significantly higher rate of coronary angiography or coronary revascularization. (Funded by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office and others; SCOT-HEART ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01149590 .)

Supporting Resilience in Medical School: Breakthroughs and Barriers

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Life Cycle Assessment for Economists

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely utilized technique to quantify inputs and emissions associated with the life cycle of a product, from raw materials extraction through the product's end-of-life. Given the basic economic principle of policy targeting, the case for focusing on emissions associated with a specific good as opposed to targeting each different externality needs development. This review identifies situations that merit a product life cycle approach in environmental regulation and then discusses the use of LCA with different types of policy instruments. We then discuss the methodological and implementation-related issues involved with using LCA as an economic decision aid as well as issues in designing regulations to control life cycle emissions. We conclude by identifying areas for future LCA research that are ripe for the application of microeconomic insights. </jats:p

“She deserves better” : a feminist exploration of gendered bullying

iv, 213 leaves ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-195).Bullying is repeated behaviour that occurs over time in a relationship characterized by an imbalance of strength and power. Gendered bullying refers to the gendered power structures that benefit heteronormative youth (Shute, Owens, and Slee 477). The research questions I am interested in exploring are: What is the relationship between bullying and hegemonic idea(l)s of masculinity and femininity? How does being bullied by boys affect girls’ sense of self and their relationships with others, in both the short and long term? I investigate these questions using feminist theories and in-depth interviewing of four women who self-identified as being bullied by boys in middle and senior high school. Results suggest that bullying took the form of gendered policing as a way to maintain the boundary between “abject” and “normal” gender identities, and the short and long-term effects on participants were low self-esteem and difficulties in social interactions. I argue that when boys bully girls, they are frequently engaging in gender policing, and are punishing girls for not conforming to a sexist, neoliberal idea of girlhood. Gendered bullying could be labelled as sexism, thus conceptualizing it as a societal, not an interpersonal, problem

Personal Health Practices

Health Issue: There are differences in health practices and self-rated health among different socio-demographic groups of women. The relationship between socio-demographic status and a) a range of health behaviours and b) a combination of multiple risk and multiple health promoting practices were examined. The relationship between self-rated health and health practices was also assessed. Key Findings: There were geographic differences in health practices with women in British Columbia having the highest odds of engaging in multiple health promoting practices, while women in Quebec had the lowest. Reports of engaging in multiple risk behaviours were most common in Ontario. Women from Ontario had the highest odds of reporting very good/excellent health and women from British Columbia had among the lowest odds