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Disparities in health outcomes between Black and White Americans are well-documented, including sleep quality, and disparities in sleep may lead to disparities in health over the life course. A meta-model indicates that cognitive processes may underly the connection between race and poor sleep quality, and ultimately, health disparities. That is, there are race-specific stressors that disproportionately affect Black Americans, which are associated with poor health through biological, cognitive, and behavioral mechanisms (e.g., sleep). Among these race-specific stressors is discrimination, which has been linked to poor sleep quality, and there is a body of literature connecting perseverative cognition (e.g., rumination and worry or vigilance) to poor sleep. Microaggressions, a more subtle but pervasive form of discrimination, are another race-specific stressor. Although less research has considered the connection of microaggressions to perseverative cognition, there are some studies linking microaggressions to health outcomes and sleep. Therefore, using a cross-sectional survey, we tested the following hypotheses: racism-related vigilance and rumination would mediate the relationship between discrimination and poor sleep as well as between microaggressions and poor sleep among Black Americans (N = 223; mean age = 35.77 years, 53.8% men, 86% employed, 66.8% with college degree or higher education). Results of seven parallel mediation models showed that neither rumination nor racism-related vigilance mediated a relationship between discrimination and poor sleep quality. However, rumination partially mediated relationships between the six microaggression sub-scales and poor sleep quality: there were significant indirect effects for Foreigner/Not Belonging (β =.13, SE = 0.03, 95% CI 0.08, 0.20), Criminality (β =.11, SE = 0.03, 95% CI 0.05, 0.17), Sexualization (β =.10, SE = 0.03, 95% CI 0.05, 0.17), Low-Achieving/Undesirable (β =.10, SE = 0.03, 95% CI 0.05, 0.15), Invisibility (β =.15, SE = 0.04, 95% CI 0.08, 0.23), and Environmental Invalidations (β =.15, SE = 0.04, 95% CI 0.08, 0.23). Overall, these findings indicate support for the meta-model, demonstrating a specific pathway from racial microstressors to poor sleep quality. Furthermore, these results suggest the importance of developing clinical and community approaches to address the impact of microaggressions on Black Americans' sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a research regarding the U.S. response to climate change. It stresses that responding to climate change requires the need to investment in technological innovation and establishing a commitment to changing institutions, economic systems, and social systems as well as having a commitment to parallel political change.

College graduates need better preparation for and experience in data analytics for higher-quality problem solving. Using the curriculum innovation framework of Borin, Metcalf, and Tietje (2007) and case study research methods, we offer rich insights about one higher education institution’s work to address the marketing analytics skills gap. Specifically, we describe how a focal marketing department developed an innovative curriculum based on foundational pillars of learning styles (Bloom’s Taxonomy), experiential learning theory, and marketing analytics. The effectiveness of the curriculum is reviewed in light of criteria such as established learning goals and student satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental consequences of electricity generation are often determined using average emission factors. However, as different interventions are incrementally pursued in electricity systems, the resulting marginal change in emissions may differ from what one would predict based on system-average conditions. Here, we estimate average emission factors and marginal emission factors for CO2, SO2 , and NOx from fossil and nonfossil generators in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region during years 2007-2016. We analyze multiple spatial scales (all MISO; each of the 11 MISO states; each utility; each generator) and use MISO data to characterize differences between the two emission factors (average; marginal). We also explore temporal trends in emissions factors by hour, day, month, and year, as well as the differences that arise from including only fossil generators versus total generation. We find, for example, that marginal emission factors are generally higher during late-night and early morning compared to afternoons. Overall, in MISO, average emission factors are generally higher than marginal estimates (typical difference: ~20%). This means that the true environmental benefit of an energy efficiency program may be ~20% smaller than anticipated if one were to use average emissions factors. Our analysis can usefully be extended to other regions to support effective near-term technical, policy and investment decisions based on marginal rather than only average emission factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article explores the public policy benefits associated with increased access to energy consumption data as well as the legal and institutional barriers that currently prevent such access. As state and local governments as well as electricity users attempt to improve the efficiency of their buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and realize the promises of improved demand side management of energy resources, the need for electricity and other energy-related data becomes even more pressing. But the current law that balances making energy consumption data available against any privacy or confidentiality interests in the data is underdeveloped. Thus, this Article draws on the more sophisticated legal frameworks governing health care, education, and environmental emissions data that balance the public policy needs for data evaluation with countervailing interests. A review of the law in these fields shows that the privacy and confidentiality interests in energy consumption data may be overstated and, in any event, can be adequately addressed in most instances through aggregating the data, using historic rather than current data, or through contracts and other agreements to ensure security where access to individualized data is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the potential of smart grid to transform the way societies generate, distribute, and use electricity has increased dramatically over the past decade. A smarter grid could contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation by increasing low-carbon electricity production and enhancing system reliability and resilience. However, climate goals are not necessarily essential for smart grid. Climate change is only one of many considerations motivating innovation in electricity systems, and depending on the path of grid modernization, a future smart grid might do little to reduce, or could even exacerbate, risks associated with climate change. This paper identifies tensions within a shared smart grid vision and illustrates how competing societal priorities are influencing electricity system innovation. Co-existing but divergent priorities among key actors' are mapped across two critical dimensions: centralized versus decentralized energy systems and radical versus incremental change. Understanding these tensions provides insights on how climate change objectives can be integrated to shape smart grid development. Electricity system change is context-specific and path-dependent, so specific strategies linking smart grid and climate change need to be developed at local, regional, and national levels. And while incremental improvements may bring short term gains, a radical transformation is needed to realize climate objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various interstate transmission challenges in regards to renewable energy in the U.S. as of November 2012, focusing on the nation's electric power industry and transmission grid, as well as issues related to wind power. American transmission law and policy in the twenty-first century are addressed, along with federalism, state renewable energy and transmission policies, and federal laws which govern the siting of transmission lines. Federal preemption is also examined.

In this article, the authors document a new pre-election polling method that combines traditional probability sampling in statewide polls with sampling of bellwether districts. Against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential primary in New Hampshire, the authors explain how the Suffolk University/WHDH predictions, using additional bellwether tests, were closer than most other polls in correctly calling the Democratic primary race. Thus, the contributions in this article are twofold. The authors offer information that provides advances to the field of opinion research by describing the nature of electoral bellwether districts, a topic of recurring interest to public opinion scholars and practitioners. Second, they describe a process for selecting electoral bellwether districts. The authors explore the validity of their ideas by comparing pre-election poll data with bellwether tests to election outcomes for additional races in the state primaries and general election. They offer conclusions about the value and use of bellwether tests in the spirit of an open-source methodology to the opinion research community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many school districts in the United States allow parents to choose which school their child attends ('school choice' or 'magnet schools') while other school districts require students to attend their nearest ('neighborhood') school. Such policies influence children's transportation. We survey elementary-school parents in St. Paul and Roseville, Minnesota, to discover how children travel to school and underlying factors influencing parent's choice of their child's travel mode. From this information we develop a statistical model of travel mode choice. We find that children's commute mode and parental attitudes towards school selection differ by school type (magnet versus neighborhood), income, and race. Relative to neighborhood schools, magnet schools draw from broader geographic regions, have lower rates of walking, bicycling, and commuting by automobile, and higher busing rates. Parent attitudes towards transportation also differ by race and school type. For example, parents of nonwhite and magnet school students placed greater-than-average importance on bus service and quality. This paper highlights the potentially unintended influence of school district policy on school commute mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transformation in the way the United States produces and uses energy is needed to achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets for climate change mitigation. Wind power is an important low-carbon technology and the most rapidly growing renewable energy technology in the U.S. Despite recent advances in wind deployment, significant state-by-state variation in wind power distribution cannot be explained solely by wind resource patterns nor by state policy. Other factors embedded within the state-level socio-political context also contribute to wind deployment patterns. We explore this socio-political context in four U.S. states by integrating multiple research methods. Through comparative state-level analysis of the energy system, energy policy, and public discourse as represented in the media, we examine variation in the context for wind deployment in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, and Texas. Our results demonstrate that these states have different patterns of wind deployment, are engaged in different debates about wind power, and appear to frame the risks and benefits of wind power in different ways. This comparative assessment highlights the complex variation of the state-level socio-political context and contributes depth to our understanding of energy technology deployment processes, decision-making, and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulations for geological sequestration (GS) of carbon dioxide (CO2) have been adopted in the state of Washington and proposed by the state of Kansas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program. These three sets of rules take significantly different approaches to regulating GS of CO2. This paper compares these rules, focusing on elements where their differences highlight the choices that must be made to create a regulatory framework for GS in the United States. Consensus is emerging in some areas, but there is still substantial disagreement regarding the allowable composition of the CO2 stream, the size of the area of review, reservoir performance goals, and management of risks other than those to groundwater. Gaps include issues related to ownership of subsurface pore space, greenhouse gas accounting, and long-term stewardship. The divergent approaches of these rules raise two overarching questions: (1) Should policy makers create GS regulations by modifying and supplementing UIC rules or through new enabling legislation? (2) What should be the relative roles of state and federal governments in GS regulation? We outline trade-offs between the consistency and coordination that federal involvement could offer and the reality that states need to be heavily involved with implementation of GS regulations. We conclude that federal involvement above and beyond the proposed EPA Class VI rules is needed to create effective GS regulation in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The potential to capture carbon from industrial sources and dispose of it for the long-term, known as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), is widely recognized as an important option to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, CCS has the potential to provide emissions cuts sufficient to stabilize greenhouse gas levels, while still allowing for the continued use of fossil fuels. In addition, CCS is both technologically-feasible and commercially viable compared with alternatives with the same emissions profile. Although the concept appears to be solid from a technical perspective, initial public perceptions of the technology are uncertain. Moreover, little attention has been paid to developing an understanding of the social and political institutional infrastructure necessary to implement CCS projects. In this paper we explore a particularly dicey issue—how to ensure adequate long-term monitoring and maintenance of the carbon sequestration sites. Bonding mechanisms have been suggested as a potential mechanism to reduce these problems (where bonding refers to financial instruments used to ensure regulatory or contractual commitments). Such mechanisms have been successfully applied in a number of settings (e.g., to ensure court appearances, completion of construction projects, and payment of taxes). The paper examines the use of bonding to address environmental problems and looks at its possible application to nascent CCS projects. We also present evidence on the use of bonding for other projects involving deep underground injection of materials for the purpose of long-term storage or disposal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Managing local and global risks from the geological storage of CO2 under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) presents three main challenges. First, the CDM procedures must be adapted to the specifics of the technology. Second, storage must last far longer than the crediting period, leaving questions about the management of long-term risks. Third, management of local environmental, health and safety risks falls largely outside the CDM governance framework. CDM procedures could be adapted to successfully manage the short-term global risk of carbon dioxide re-entering the atmosphere during the CDM crediting period, but local environmental, health and safety risks and longterm global risk cannot be ensured under existing structures. To better manage these risks, the implications for the CDM are: (1) to provide guidance on site characterization requirements, and have an independent auditor verify that the proposed geological storage site has a high likelihood of safely containing the injected carbon dioxide; (2) to require that carbon capture and storage (CCS) project design documents specify post-crediting-period commitments; and (3) to support CCS specific capacity building. But because CDM governance is designed to strike a balance between respecting host country sovereignty and ensuring high-quality emission reduction credits, some limitations to risk management of geological storage under the CDM remain. These limitations should be weighed against the potential benefits of including CCS in the CDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world struggles with how to address climate change, one of the most significant questions is how to reduce increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. One promising technology is carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), which consists of capturing CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial sources and sequestering them in deep geologic formations for long periods of time. Areas for potential CO2 sequestration include oil and gas fields, saline aquifers, and coal seams. As Congress and the private sector begin to spend billions of dollars to research and deploy this technology, there has been insufficient attention paid to how to structure legal liability for the short-term or long-term risks associated with the geologic sequestration of CO2 in connection with CCS. Until now, federal and state legislators, when they have acted at all, have appeared to be in a rush to limit corporate liability for potential harm to encourage the development of CCS. We take a different approach. in this Article, we survey the existing environmental law and tort law liability regimes that may cover potential harm from escaping or migrating CO2. We conclude that while existing federal and state environmental and tort liability regimes are insufficient on their own to govern the CCS industry, they can provide important risk management tools and serve as safeguards to private parties and state and local governments in the event of harm. Thus, state and federal legislation specific to CCS should leave in place this basic liability for full-scale commercial CCS projects. We also propose an adaptive governance model at the federal level for integrating several different compensation mechanisms-including bonding, insurance, and pooled federal funding-into commercial CCS project management to better provide financial security to investors without destroying existing liability protections for those who may suffer harm from CCS. This proposal offers a starting point for developing a model to integrate and manage liability for the nascent CCS industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the regulation of the geological sequestration of Carbon Dioxides. According to the article, as the emissions of greenhouse gases increase and the impacts of climate changes continue to grow, the necessity to have an effective and safe sequestration and capture of carbon dioxide has become even more urgent. It was reported that once a carbon dioxide permeates into the atmosphere of the earth, much of it stays in there for about a century. Due to this, the atmospheric concentration would continue to grow even if emissions of carbon dioxide are stabilized. In order to stabilize them, worldwide emissions must be reduced in a large amount.

Abstract: We examine the implications of school choice on walkability, school travel mode and overall environmental emissions. In developing this proof-of-concept model we show—and quantify—differences between city-wide schools and their neighborhood school counterpart. Our analysis demonstrates how children attending city-wide schools may have heightened travel distance, greenhouse gas emissions, and exposure to bus fumes. Using available data along with a series of informed assumptions we figure the city-wide school had six times fewer children walking, 4.5 times as many miles traveled, 4.5 times the system cost, and 3–4.5 times the amount of criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. By providing bus service, the overall miles traveled (and resulting emissions) decreased 30–40% compared to the scenario without bus service, however system costs were higher for both the neighborhood and city-wide school (no pollution externality costs were factored in). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) has the potential to enable deep reductions in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, however this promise can only be fulfilled with large-scale deployment. For this to happen, CCS must be successfully embedded into a larger legal and regulatory context, and any potential risks must be effectively managed. We developed a list of outstanding research and technical questions driven by the demands of the regulatory and legal systems for the geologic sequestration (GS) component of CCS. We then looked at case studies that bound uncertainty within two of the research themes that emerge. These case studies, on surface leakage from abandoned wells and groundwater quality impacts from metals mobilization, illustrate how research can inform decision makers on issues of policy, regulatory need, and legal considerations. A central challenge is to ensure that the research program supports development of general regulatory and legal frameworks, and also the development of geological, geophysical, geochemical, and modeling methods necessary for effective GS site monitoring and verification (M&V) protocols, as well as mitigation and remediation plans. If large-scale deployment of GS is to occur in a manner that adequately protects human and ecological health and does not discourage private investment, strengthening the scientific underpinnings of regulatory and legal decision-making is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early internationalization of business school curricula was in response to corporate needs and expectations, and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) fostered changes by instituting accreditation outcomes that focused upon international content in the curriculum. By the late 1990s, a course in international marketing was standard at most accredited college and universities, and faculty in these courses reported on various approaches to teaching the course. Tile main objective of the current study was to examine the course content, pedagogy, and learning outcomes of current international marketing courses. As such, a content analysis of international marketing syllabi from 89 colleges and universities was conducted. Findings from this in-depth analysis offer insights regarding knowledge content coverage, pedagogical strategy, and learning outcomes assessment and provide an update on the current status of teaching international marketing in schools of business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generic skills (problem solving, information management, communication, numeracy), or employability skills, are increasingly demanded of marketing graduates by employers. The Customer Response Function Analysis exercise provides an integrative learning experience for developing generic skills. The exercise uses a Buying Game to examine customer response to health/fitness club products using a conjoint-analysis process. The exercise is described, the Buying Game is presented, and the analysis procedure is demonstrated using data from 200 respondents. The CRFA exercise can be used "as is" (or modified) as a learning approach for generic and discipline-specific skill enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports the cooperation and continuity in strategic business relationships. Conceptual dimensions of cooperation; Effect of cooperation on behaviors in the long-term business relationships; Relation of global cooperation on continuity by accumulation of strategic benefits and trust.

Comments on the pedagogy of executive education in business markets. Provision of university courses on good foundational knowledge; Methods of institutions with higher learning on action learning in integrating change component of executive education; Integration of change effecting content in the courses for experiential learning exercises.

Examines the importance of choice criteria in organizational buying. Difference among the importance of choice criteria in terms of the buying problem type; Comparison among the price, quality and delivery criteria; Implications of the study for the research and theory development in organizational buying.

Gun violence is a serious public health problem that places surviving victims at increased risk for a variety of mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Recognizing that many gunshot injury survivors lack access to mental health care in the early aftermath of a shooting, there has been growing interest in the use of early, preventive mental health interventions to help prevent long-term mental health complications like PTSD as part of routine care for survivors in acute medical settings, where initial outreach to survivors may be more successful. This study evaluates clinical outcomes associated with one such early intervention—Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR)—provided to gunshot injury survivors as part of a hospital-based early intervention program embedded in a Level 1 trauma center in the Midwestern United States. Clinic data from 100 survivors (74.0% male, 78.0% Black/African American) who received SPR were included in the present study. Results suggest that receiving SPR in the early aftermath of a shooting is associated with statistically significant reductions in both PTSD, F(1, 26.77) = 22.49, p <.001, and depression, F(1, 29.99) = 6.49, p =.016, symptoms. Outcomes did not vary as a function of either PTSD risk status or intervention delivery method (i.e., in-person, telehealth). These findings support the effectiveness and acceptability of SPR as an early intervention for gunshot injury survivors when delivered as part of a hospital-based early intervention program. Public Policy Relevance Statement: With a growing number of hospitals across the United States developing early intervention programs for gunshot injury survivors and other patients traumatically injured as a result of community violence, the need for structured interventions that aim to prevent long-term mental health complications and address risk factors for future reinjury is critical. These findings suggest that one early, skills-based intervention—Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR)—was associated with reductions in both PTSD and depression symptoms among recent gunshot injury survivors who were seen as part of a hospital-based early mental health intervention program, typically within the first 3 months postinjury. Identifying data-driven interventions like SPR that flexibly address mental health and social determinants of health should be considered essential to a comprehensive approach to patient care and ensuring the sustainability of hospital-based violence and early mental health intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The economic viability of new energy technologies is held as a central tenet to their future deployment; conventional wisdom posits economically rational decision-makers will readily invest in proven low-risk and affordable technologies. But what happens when this is not true. This paper examines the non-financial barriers facing economically viable Combined Heat and Power (CHP) projects. CHP is a mature and lower carbon technology that efficiently uses waste heat from thermal electricity generation; CHP can also provide flexibility services to help integrate variable renewable resources. CHP is low risk and many industrialized countries, particularly those in colder climates in Northern Europe and Russia, generate as much as 50% of their electricity and heat needs from CHP, but United States deployment remains low and investment hurdle rates high. While lower U.S. energy costs make some projects un-economic, many economically-viable CHP projects are stalled or killed by non-financial barriers. To better understand why financially viable CHP projects are not getting built, developers, owners and operators, regulators, and other stakeholders of this technology were interviewed and three major barriers emerged a) the business model of the electrical utility b) negative subjective impressions and c) challenges in allocating the risks and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Reviews is focused on the social and policy dimensions of smart grids, an emerging set of technologies and practices which have the potential to transform dramatically electricity systems around the world. The six related articles explore social and political dynamics associated with smart grid deployment in the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Aspects examined in this special issue include the evolution of smart grid policy in Ontario, media coverage of smart grid experiences in Canada and smart grid approaches being taken in Québec. Other aspects covered include an analysis of smart grid systems planning post-Superstorm Sandy (that hit the Northeastern coast of the USA in 2012), the environmental framing of socio-political acceptance of the smart grid in British Columbia, and news coverage of the smart grid in the USA and Canada. These articles were supported by collaborative research from the National Science Foundation in the USA and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada which involved three expert workshops held in Canada in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The six articles were accepted after a vigorous review process overseen by the guest editors of this special issue. The contents are in keeping with the aims and scope of the journal which is to bring together under one roof the current advances in the ever broadening field of renewable and sustainable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term smart grid (SG) has been widely used in both the United States (U.S.) and Canada to represent multiple visions and configurations of electricity system change. In both countries policies, programs, and initiatives have emerged to promote technological and social changes associated with SG, and different patterns of SG implementation and governance are apparent at local, regional, and national levels. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of SG media content in nationally-circulating newspapers in the U.S. and Canada to explore patterns of SG conversations in the two countries. Media reporting about SG provides a valuable lens that reflects public discourse and also contributes to setting the public agenda by shaping public opinion and framing key issues. Despite similarities in terms of policy, program design, and SG deployment strategies, several prominent differences between the two countries emerge in public conversations. Firstly, Canadian SG newspaper content focuses more on implementation and describing people's experiences with smart meters, while the U.S. content focuses more on commercial opportunities with more reference to private sector actors and various technological components beyond smart meters. Secondly, although media coverage in both countries frequently highlights technological and economic benefits of SG, positive SG framing is more frequent in the U.S. newspapers than in the Canadian ones. Negative SG portrayals, including cultural, political and health and safety risks, are more frequently mentioned in the Canadian newspapers. These differing SG framings could be due to national level cultural differences. In the U.S, considered to be more of an individualistic society, there is more emphasis on business opportunities, being entrepreneurial, and more private sector involvement in the electricity sector. By contrast, in Canada, public authorities, more prominent in the electricity market than in the U.S., play a key role in smart grid deployment. Furthermore, in Canada, considered to have more social support structures for individuals and communities, there was more emphasis on the experiences of people. This suggests that cultural differences at the national level be a further contextual lens helpful to policy makers and technology proponents as they embark upon energy system change initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed and renewable energy technologies are changing the electricity sector and altering traditional relationships between electric utilities and their customers. This analysis involving focus groups with fourteen electric utilities in seven U.S. states (California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Vermont) demonstrates divergence in framing among utility representatives in terms of how they characterize customer engagement opportunities and renewable energy integration. This research is among the first qualitative studies comparing utility representatives’ discourse across the United States. Utilities in Texas and Vermont are particularly divergent especially in their framing of customer engagement opportunities during this time of energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing sense of urgency to improve energy systems so as to reduce fossil-fuel dependency, energy system change has been slow, uncertain, and geographically diverse. Interestingly, this regionally heterogeneous evolution of energy system change is not merely a consequence of technological limitations but also and importantly a product of complex socio-political factors influencing the deployment of new energy technologies. The socio-political context for energy deployment differs on national, state, and even local levels, making cross-jurisdictional analysis of energy systems challenging. At the same time, understanding how social, legal, cultural, and political factors influence energy deployment across multiple jurisdictions is critical to developing effective policies for reducing fossil-fuel dependency. In response to such challenges, in 2008 we developed the Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED) framework. SPEED is an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing how technological, social, and political conditions influence the development and deployment of specific energy technologies. SPEED has been applied to compare regional disparities in the deployment of multiple specific technologies. This Article illustrates how an enhanced version of the original SPEED framework can be used to characterize the socio-political factors influencing the development of energy systems across multiple regions. First, we describe the value of SPEED analysis in characterizing interactions among multiple factors--including cultural, political, environmental, legal, technical, and economic influences--that shape energy technology deployment and drive system change. Then, using smart grid development as an example of a system-wide energy initiative, we describe how the application of SPEED analysis could improve policy and regulatory effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible energy carriers are a crucial element of our energy portfolio. In a future in which a significant fraction of our energy comes from renewable sources, renewably produced fuels will be vital. The zinc/zinc-oxide thermochemical redox cycle is one approach for producing hydrogen using solar energy. This paper explores the level of carbon taxation necessary to make the cycle competitive with hydrogen production via methane reforming. In addition, the time frame for economic viability is assessed through the use of experience curves under minimal input, midrange, and aggressive incentive policy scenarios. Prior work projects that hydrogen produced by the zinc/zinc-oxide cycle will cost between $5.02/kg and $14.75/kg, compared with $2.40-3.60/kg for steam methane reforming. Overcoming this cost difference would require a carbon tax of ($119-987)/tCO2, which is significantly higher than is likely to be implemented in most countries. For the technology to become cost competitive, incentive policies that lead to early implementation of solar hydrogen plants will be necessary to allow the experience effect to draw down the price. Under such policies, a learning curve analysis suggests that hydrogen produced via the Zn/ZnO cycle could become economically viable between 2032 and 2069, depending on how aggressively the policies encourage the emerging technology. Thus, the Zn/ZnO cycle has the potential to be economically viable by midcentury if incentive policies-such as direct financial support, purchase guarantees, low interest rate loans, and tax breaks-are used to support initial projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To adapt the Cardiac Self-Blame Attributions Scale into the Self-Blame Attributions for Cancer Scale (SBAC) for use in patients with cancer and analyze its psychometric properties. SAMPLE & SETTING: 113 patients receiving radiation therapy at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. METHODS & VARIABLES: The SBAC and other selfreport measures were administered during outpatient oncology appointments for radiation therapy to establish the psychometric properties of the SBAC. RESULTS: A two-factor structure represented behavioral and characterological self-blame attributions. Reliability estimates for each factor were excellent and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was found, indicating support for the SBAC as a valid and reliable measure of selfblame attributions in patients with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The SBAC may help healthcare providers, including nursing staff, to identify the self-blame patterns exhibited by patients with cancer. Future research can assess the reliability and validity of SBAC across stages of treatment and establish the predictive validity of the scale in individuals with cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superstorm Sandy hit the northeastern United States in October 2012, knocking out power to 10 million people and highlighting energy and critical infrastructure system vulnerabilities in the face of a changing climate. The increased frequency and intensity of such disruptive events is shifting priorities in electricity system planning around the world, including how multiple stakeholders consider linkages between climate vulnerability and energy. This research links smart grid development with adaptation to changing climates and explores how different stakeholders grapple with system vulnerabilities and climate disruptions. To illustrate this, the in-depth case study assesses post-Sandy discourse to compare how electricity sector stakeholder groups in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont associate energy, smart grid, and climate change. To explore how different energy system stakeholders frame the impacts of Superstorm Sandy on energy system planning, we conducted 22 focus groups with a broad range of organizations representing diverse aspects of the electricity system including utilities, regulatory authorities, research and development agencies, regional transmission organizations, academic research institutions, consumer advocacy and environmental organizations across the three states. We used these data to examine post-Sandy discourse about climate mitigation and climate adaptation, routine system management, and the potential value of “smart grid” for future energy system planning. We found that both New York and Massachusetts stakeholders focused more on climate adaptation than climate mitigation, while stakeholders in Vermont focused more on mitigation. In all three states stakeholder discussions of adaptation focused most heavily on system resilience and reliability, whereas discussions of mitigation focused on demand-side management and demand response followed by alternative energy strategies. These results suggest that extreme weather and climate disruptions will differentially shape discourse around smart grid and energy system change and shift the focus among energy system stakeholders on climate adaptation compared to climate mitigation. This research demonstrates variation between political jurisdictions (states) and energy system stakeholders in energy system planning in the face of new challenges related to an uncertain and rapidly changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates of marginal emission factors (MEFs) for the electricity sector have focused on emitting sources only, assuming nonemitting renewables rarely contribute to marginal generation. However, with increased penetration and improved dispatch of renewables, this assumption may be outdated. Here, we improve the methodology to incorporate renewables in MEF estimates and demonstrate a case study for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) system where wind has been commonly dispatched on the margin. We also illustrate spatiotemporal variations of MEFs and explore implications for energy storage technologies. Results show that because the share of renewables in MISO is still relatively low (6.34%), conventional MEFs focused on emitting sources can provide a good estimate in MISO overall, as well as in the Central and South subregions. However, in the MISO North subregion where wind provides 22.5% of grid generation, neglecting nonemitting sources can overestimate MEFs for CO2, SO2, and NOx by about 30%. The application of expanded MEFs in this case also reveals heightened emission increases associated with load shifting of storage technologies. Our study highlights the importance of expanded MEFs in regions with high and growing renewables penetration, particularly as renewable energy policy seeks to incorporate demand-side technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without careful planning and design, energy policies like carbon taxes and renewable subsidies like production tax credits undercut one another in unanticipated ways. We examine how a carbon tax interacts with PTCs by simulating an electricity market using the IEEE RTS model with a carbon tax of $38/tonCO2e and a PTC of $23/MWh. The results show that PTCs work against the carbon tax by both lowering average energy prices and altering the generator dispatch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed the Leakage Risk Monetization Model (LRiMM) which integrates simulation of CO2 leakage from geologic CO2 storage reservoirs with estimation of monetized leakage risk (MLR). Using geospatial data, LRiMM quantifies financial responsibility if leaked CO2 or brine interferes with subsurface resources, and estimates the MLR reduction achievable by remediating leaks. We demonstrate LRiMM with simulations of 30 years of injection into the Mt. Simon sandstone at two locations that differ primarily in their proximity to existing wells that could be leakage pathways. The peak MLR for the site nearest the leakage pathways ($7.5/tCO2) was 190x larger than for the farther injection site, illustrating how careful siting would minimize MLR in heavily used sedimentary basins. Our MLR projections are at least an order of magnitude below overall CO2 storage costs at well-sited locations, but some stakeholders may incur substantial costs. Reliable methods to detect and remediate leaks could further minimize MLR. For both sites, the risk of CO2 migrating to potable aquifers or reaching the atmosphere was negligible due to secondary trapping, whereby multiple impervious sedimentary layers trap CO2 that has leaked through the primary seal of the storage formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart grid has strong potential to advance and encourage renewable energy deployment, but given the multiple motivations for smart grid, renewables are not always central in smart grid policy discussions. The term "smart grid" represents a set of technologies, including advanced meters, sensors and energy storage that are crucial for the integration of more renewable and low carbon electricity into the electric power grid. However, developing and building a smart grid is jurisdictionally complex, path dependent and context specific; states and regions are approaching grid modernization in different ways. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of smart grid development in seven U.S. states. We use state-level policy documents to learn what motivates smart grid development and how smart grid is framed in relation to renewable energy. In some states, renewable technologies are presented as an integral part of the smart grid policy discussion, while in others they are largely absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past decade, the United States (US) has demonstrated strong and evolving interest in the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS), an emerging set of technologies with potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. Given the many technical, economic, and environmental uncertainties about the future of CCS, the political salience of this technology is high. In the US, states make key decisions about deploying energy technology projects, but variation in state-level energy context (both technical and socio-political) is substantial. This research assesses variation in the state-level energy context for CCS development by exploring energy policy stakeholders' perceptions of CCS in four geographically and demographically diverse states. Policy stakeholders have different degrees of familiarity with CCS, and the goal of this research is to understand and compare the perceptions of CCS among stakeholders who shape state-level energy policy. Semi-structured interviews with 84 energy policy stakeholders across government, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations active in four different states (Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Texas) were analyzed to compare perceptions of CCS risks and benefits. Negative associations of CCS were mentioned more frequently than positive attributes in each state, and technical, political and economic risks are more dominant than environmental or health and safety risks. Content analysis of the interviews provides insight on emerging sub-national discourse regarding CCS, on state-level variation in familiarity with CCS, and on sub-national variation in the socio-political context for energy technologies. The variation in state and stakeholder energy priorities and perceptions revealed in this study highlights challenges in the development and implementation of national-level energy policy and also specific challenges in the deployment of CCS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We explore how school policies influence the environmental impacts of school commutes. Our research is motivated by increased interest in school choice policies (in part because of the U.S. "No Child Left Behind" Act) and in reducing bus service to address recent budget shortfalls. Our analysis employs two samples of elementary-age children, age 5-12: a travel survey (n = 1246 respondents) and a school enrollment data set (n = 19,655 students). Multinomial logistic regression modeled the determinants of travel mode (automobile, school bus, and walking; n = 803 students meeting selection criteria). Travel distance has the single greatest effect on travel mode, though school choice, trip direction (to- or from-school), and grade play a role. Several policies were investigated quantitatively to predict the impact on school travel, vehicle emissions, and costs. We find that eliminating district-wide school choice (i.e., returning to a system with neighborhood schools only) would have significant impacts on transport modes and emissions, whereas in many cases proposed shifts in school choice and bus-provision policies would have only modest impacts. Policies such as school choice and school siting may conflict with the goal of increasing rates of active (i.e., nonmotorized) school commuting. Policies that curtail bus usage may reduce bus emissions but yield even larger increases in private-vehicle emissions. Our findings underscore the need to critically evaluate transportation-related environmental and health impacts of currently proposed changes in school policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that stabilizing atmospheric CO2 concentrations will require reduction of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by as much as 80% by 2050. Subnational efforts to cut emissions will inform policy development nationally and globally. We projected GHG mitigation strategies for Minnesota, which has adopted a strategic goal of 80% emissions reduction by 2050. A portfolio of conservation strategies, including electricity conservation, increased vehicle fleet fuel efficiency, and reduced vehicle miles traveled, is likely the most cost-effective option for Minnesota and could reduce emissions by 18% below 2005 levels. An 80% GHG reduction would require complete decarbonization of the electricity and transportation sectors, combined with carbon capture and sequestration at power plants, or deep cuts in other relatively more intransigent GHG-emitting sectors. In order to achieve ambitious GHG reduction goals, policymakers should promote aggressive conservation efforts, which would probably have negative net costs, while phasing in alternative fuels to replace coal and motor gasoline over the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the development of effective and adaptive regulation for the underground disposal of carbon-dioxide at Florida. The injection of carbon-dioxide deep underground in a process referred to as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) enhances the chances of oil recovery in oil fields. The current regulations governing EOR are not sufficient for geologic disposal because they do not explicitly address the security of disposal over the long durations relevant to climate change. If carbon-dioxide migrates out of the receiving formation and rise to the surface it can led to ecological damage. In 1983, southern Florida decided to use the ground injection as its main method for disposing of secondary treated wastewater. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Underground Injection Control program, 20% of Florida's municipal wastewater is injected 900m deep underground at 62 facilities. The risks posed by injected carbon-dioxide are ecosystem impacts and acute health risks arising from surface exposure to the gas. The new regulations governing carbon-dioxide need to have a careful characterization of the reservoir before injection begins, clear guidelines on how the disposal of fluid must be monitored and explicit procedures for how unanticipated migration should be handled.

• Grid-scale energy storage are modeled to arbitrage in electricity market. • Storage-induced emissions are estimated in two power grids with high and low wind penetration. • High wind penetration can favorably pair with storage and reduce air pollutant burden. • Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury emissions are estimated. • Storage-induced emissions are 42-64% lower in the high- than in the low-wind grid. Energy storage provides many benefits that can improve electric grid performance but has been shown to increase overall system emissions. Yet, how energy storage might interreact with renewables in existing grids and how these interactions affect overall emissions remain unclear. Here, we estimate emissions induced by battery energy storage in two regions of the United States with very different levels of wind penetration using high-resolution, both spatially and temporally, locational marginal prices and hourly marginal emission factors. We find that the emission intensity of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury is 4264% lower in the high wind penetration grid (28%) than in the low wind penetration grid (<5%). This is due in part to a significant share of wind dispatched as marginal fuel in baseload hours when battery storage charges from the grid, reducing storage-induced emissions. Our study suggests that more wind generation can favorably pair with storage and reduce the air pollution burdens otherwise caused by storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors discuss how the use of two technologies, hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon sequestration, could fundamentally change the U.S.'s ability to both use domestic energy sources, such as shale gas, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Topics include the history of shale gas production in the U.S. and geologic sequestration in carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation.