This book examines Russia's new assertiveness and the role of energy as a key factor in shaping the country's behavior in international relations, and in building political and economic power domestically, since the 1990s.

Energy transformed Russia's fortunes after its decline during the 1990s. The wealth generated from energy exports sparked economic recovery and political stabilization, and has significantly contributed to Russia's assertiveness as a great power. Energy has been a key factor in shaping Russia's foreign relations in both the Eurasian and global context. This development raises a host of questions for both Russia and the West about the stability of the Russian economy, how Russia will use the power it gains from its energy wealth, and how the West should react to Russia's new-found political weight.

Given that energy is likely to remain at the top of the global political agenda for some time to come, and Russia's role as a key energy supplier to Europe is unlikely to diminish soon, this book sheds light on one of the key security concerns of the 21st century: where is Russia headed and how does energy affect the changing dynamics of Russia's relations with Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific region.

This book will be of interest to students of Russian politics, energy security, international relations and foreign policy in general.

Jeronim Perovic is a senior researcher at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. Robert Orttung is a visiting scholar at the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and a senior fellow at the Jefferson Institute. Andreas Wenger is professor of international security policy and director of the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich.

According to recent estimates, around 6,000 people - mostly children under five - die every day from diseases caused by inappropriate water and sanitation (WS) services. Much of the academic and political debate surrounding this issue has focused on private sector participation. By shifting the attention towards the influence of governance, Krause examines the political and sectoral institutions that are essential for the provision of WS services. Utilizing data from sixty-nine developing countries, Matthias Krause demonstrates that the level of democracy has a statistically significant positive impact on access to WS services and that low-quality governance of sub-national governments compromises the internal efficiency of providers and the widespread access to services. This book makes a critical contribution to the water and sanitation research and will help academics and policy-makers to rethink the way in which they deal with water issues.

A feed-in tariff is a renewable energy law that obliges energy suppliers to buy electricity produced from renewable resources at a fixed price, usually over a fixed period - even from householders. These legal guarantees ensure investment security, and the support of all viable renewable energy technologies. Supporters argue that the feed-in model, if implemented effectively around the world, would greatly assist the energy revolution that is so desperately required; through CO2 reduction, market creation and development, job creation and improved energy security. Feed-in Tariffs is a concise introduction to feed-in laws, examining the experience of countries that have implemented this model. The author argues that the policy should be implemented anywhere with a suitable national power grid infrastructure, and identifies variations on the policy for those areas without. Alternative models and support schemes are examined to provide policy makers with the information required to consider the implementation of feed-in tariffs, and to introduce the concept to renewable energy technology manufacturers, producers, investors and supporters. With a foreword by Hermann Scheer. Published with the World Future Council.

The United Nations World Water Development Report, published every three years, is a comprehensive review providing an authoritative picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources. It offers best practices as well as in-depth theoretical analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship in the water sector. It is the only report of its kind, resulting from the collaboration and contributions of the 26 UN agencies, commissions, program, funds, secretariats and conventions that have a significant role in addressing global water concerns. The news media are full of talk of crises - in climate change, energy and food and troubled financial markets. These crises are linked to each other and to water resources management. Unresolved, they may lead to increasing political insecurity and conflict. Water is required to meet our fundamental needs and rising living standards and to sustain our planet s fragile ecosystems. Pressures on the resource come from a growing and mobile population, social and cultural change, economic development and technological change. Adding complexity and risk is climate change, with impacts on the resource as well as on the sources of pressure on water. The challenges, though substantial, are not insurmountable. The Report shows how some countries have responded. Progress in providing drinking water is heartening, with the Millennium Development Goal target on track in most regions. But other areas remain unaddressed, and after decades of inaction, the problems in water systems are enormous and will worsen if left unattended. Leaders in the water sector can inform decisions outside their domain and manage water resources to achieve agreed socioeconomic objectives and environmental integrity. Leaders in government, the private sector and civil society determine these objectives and allocate human and financial resources to meet them. Recognizing this responsibility, they must act now Two volume set: 336 + 96 pages (case studies). Includes CD-ROM. Published jointly with UNESCO Publishing.

This book aims to prove that the so-called "energy crisis" is really an entropy crisis. Since energy is conserved, it is clear that a different concept is necessary to discuss meaningfully the problems posed by energy supplies and environmental protection. This book makes this concept, entropy, accessible to a broad, nonspecialized audience.Examples taken from daily experiences are used to introduce the concept of entropy in an intuitive manner, before it is defined in a more formal way. It is shown that the entropy increase due to irreversible transformations (or "unrecoverable" energy) simultaneously determines the level of fresh energy supplies of our society and the damage that it causes to the environment. Minimizing the rate of entropy increase with advanced technologies and society organizations, and keeping it in check with appropriate energy sources, is the key to a sustainable development.

This book aims to prove that the so-called "energy crisis" is really an entropy crisis. Since energy is conserved, it is clear that a different concept is necessary to discuss meaningfully the problems posed by energy supplies and environmental protection. This book makes this concept, entropy, accessible to a broad, nonspecialized audience.Examples taken from daily experiences are used to introduce the concept of entropy in an intuitive manner, before it is defined in a more formal way. It is shown that the entropy increase due to irreversible transformations (or "unrecoverable" energy) simultaneously determines the level of fresh energy supplies of our society and the damage that it causes to the environment. Minimizing the rate of entropy increase with advanced technologies and society organizations, and keeping it in check with appropriate energy sources, is the key to a sustainable development.

Better water management will be crucial if we are to meet many of the key challenges of this century - feeding the world 's growing population and reducing poverty, meeting water and sanitation needs, protecting vital ecosystems, all while adapting to climate change. The approach known as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is widely recognized as the best way forward, but is poorly understood, even within the water sector. Since a core IWRM principle is that good water management must involve the water users, the understanding and involvement of other sectors is critical for success. There is thus an urgent need for practical guidance, for both water and development professionals, based on real world examples, rather than theoretical constructs. That is what this book provides. Using case studies, the book illustrates how better water management, guided by the IWRM approach, has helped to meet a wide range of sustainable development goals. It does this by considering practical examples, looking at how IWRM has contributed, at different scales, from very local, village-level experiences to reforms at national level and beyond to cases involving trans-boundary river basins. Using these on-the-ground experiences, from both developed and developing countries in five continents, the book provides candid and practical lessons for policy-makers, donors, and water and development practitioners worldwide, looking at how IWRM principles were applied, what worked, and, equally important, what didn t work, and why. Published with the Global Water Partnership

Global change possesses serious challenges for water managers and scientists. In mountain areas, where water supplies for half of the world population originate, climate and hydrologic models are still subject to considerable uncertainty. And yet, critical decisions have to be taken to ensure adequate and safe water supplies to billions of people, millions of farmers and industries, without further deteriorating rivers and water bodies. While global warming is known to cause glaciers' retreat and reduced snow packs around the world, it is not clear that mountain discharge will be lower. What is widely recognised is that water management must be adapted to accommodate significant regime changes. However, this inevitably involves managing transboundary rivers, adding further complexity to putting principles in practice.

This book takes global warming and the importance of mountain areas in world water resources as the starting point. First, it provides detailed reviews of the processes going on in several rivers systems and world regions in Europe (Rhone and Ebro), North America (Canadian Rockies, Western US and Mexico), the Middle East (Jordan), Africa (Tunisia, Kenya and South Africa). These contexts provide case studies and examples that show the difficulties and potential for adaptation to global change. Land-use, economics, numerous modeling approaches are some of the cross-cutting issues covered in the chapters. The volume also includes the views of water practitioners, with two chapters authored by members of the US-Canada International Joint Commission, an industrialist from Western Canada and an environmental leader in Spain.

By combining a rich set of contexts and approaches, the volume succeeds in offering a view of the global challenges faced by water agencies, international donors and researchers around the world. A case is made in some chapters to seek adaptive strategies rather than trying to reduce or control resources variability. This requires factoring in land-use, social and economic aspects, especially in developing countries. Another conclusion is that complex problems can and must be posed and negotiated with the help of models, mapping techniques and science-based facts. However complex these may be, there are ways to translate them to easily interpretable and visualisations of alternative scenarios and courses of action. This book provides numerous examples of the potential of such approaches to draft environmental programmes solve transboundary disputes and reduce the economic consequences of droughts and climate instability.

Urban climate adaptation currently focusses mainly on hazards but often ignores opportunities which arise in both space and time. Opportunistic Adaptation provides a rationalized approach to mainstream measures for climate adaptation into urban renewal cycles. Adaptation opportunities are identified by projecting the lifespans of urban assets into the future to obtain an operational urban adaptation agenda for the future. Upscaling of the adaptation process is done by synchronizing the end-of-lifecycle of a group of assets to develop adaptation clusters that comprise multiple dwellings, infrastructure as well as public spaces. An extensive catalogue of adaptation measures for different scale-levels ensures flexibility in the type of measures that can be integrated. Sequencing the adaptation measures over long periods of time provides insight and flexibility in the long-term protection standards that can be achieved. By applying a design-centered approach, the potentials of obtaining co-benefits in the urban landscape are maximized. Potentials of clustering of nature-based solutions are being considered which ensures to maximize the delivery of ecosystem services. This research aims to assess \the adaptation potential of Bangkok, based on a case study area (Lat Krabang) by mapping the adaptation opportunities and flood vulnerability. The resulting outputs will contribute to the development of a flexible and inclusive FRM strategy.

Groundwater is a vitally important resource and as its use increases, the available supply is depleted, creating a ripple effect of impacts on both the environment and the economy that need to be disseminated to a larger audience of students and practitioners. This second edition of Groundwater Economics accomplishes just that. This two-volume set is a comprehensive work focused on the economic values of groundwater resources and use, and it reinforces the need for a strong economic rationale in decision-making relating to that use. This new edition includes a new chapter on sustainability as well as updating all chapters with a focus on sustainability. It thoroughly explains the economic value of groundwater for sustainable use and needs, with practical examples, and includes thirteen new and updated case studies on the economics of groundwater data for decision-making. It also addresses both local and regional groundwater economic choices through a series of applications at an international level. This set, written by a sustainability professional with decades of experience in managing groundwater use and protection, is written for other professionals as well as students, who need to understand and evaluate water resources and mange their use from a variety of sustainable approaches.

The geopolitics of oil and gas have made a spectacular return to the international political agenda. The European Union (EU) has recognized the importance of incorporating energy security more systematically into foreign policy. It has committed itself to pursuing an energy security policy based on market interdependence, European unity and long-term governance improvements in producer states. In offering the first broad, global assessment of the foreign policy dimensions of EU energy security, this book considers how far these commitments have been implemented.

Examining how the EU s general approach to energy security has played out in the specific political contexts of different countries and regions, distinctive features of the book include:

• a thorough analysis of current EU strategies towards energy security, assessing the EU as an international actor
• a key focus on the governance structures of producer states including the Middle East; Russia, Central Asia and the Caspian, and Sub-Saharan Africa
• a major addition to debates surrounding markets and geopolitics, informing both international relations and international political economy

This book will be of interest to students, scholars and policy makers in the fields of European/EU Politics, energy politics, foreign policy and International Relations.

Water utilities worldwide lose 128 billion cubic meters annually, causing annual monetary losses estimated at USD 40 billion. Most of these losses occur in developing countries (74%). This calls for rethinking the challenges facing water utilities in developing countries, foremost of which is the assessment of water losses in intermittent supply networks. Water loss assessment methods were originally developed in continuous supply systems, and their application in intermittently operated networks (in developing countries) is hindered by the widespread use of household water tanks and unauthorised consumption. This study provides an extensive review of existing methods and (software) tools for water loss assessment. In addition, several new methods were developed, which offer improved water loss assessment in intermittent supply. As the volume of water loss varies monthly and annually according to the amount of supplied water, this study proposes procedures to normalise the volume of water loss in order to enable water utilities to monitor and benchmark their performance on water loss management. The study also developed a novel method of estimating apparent losses using routine data of WWTP inflows, enabling future real-time monitoring of losses in networks. Different methods have also been suggested to estimate the unauthorised consumption in networks. This study found that minimum night flow analysis can still be applied in intermittent supply if an area of the network is supplied for several days. Furthermore, this study concluded that water meter performance is enhanced in intermittent supply conditions. However, continuous supply in the presence of float-valves significantly reduces the accuracy of water meters. Finally, this study provides guidance and highlights several knowledge gaps in order to improve the accuracy of water loss assessment in intermittent supply. Accurate assessment of water loss is a prerequisite for reliable leakage modelling and minimisation as well as planning for, and monitoring of water loss management in distribution networks.

Interest in biomass energy resources from forests, farms and other sources has been rapidly increasing in recent years because of growing concern with reducing carbon dioxide emissions and developing alternatives to increasingly scarce, expensive and insecure oil supplies.
The uniqueness of this book is its coverage of biomass energy markets in the US from an economic as well as technical perspective. Existing books typically focus on single markets or technical aspects at the exclusion of economics, and have given greater coverage to biomass energy outside the US. This edited collection has three main parts. Part One provides a historical overview of forest biomass energy use in the US; the major technologies, economics, market prospects, and policies. Part Two presents forest biomass energy assessments, including life cycle and sustainability perspectives, and Part Three includes five sets of regional case studies. After reviewing the history of wood energy use in the US and technology options, the book shows that forests could displace sixteen per cent of domestic transportation fuel use in 2030.

Renewable Energy from Forest Resources in the United States includes a Foreword from Chris Flavin, President of the Worldwatch Institute.

This research aims to investigate the prevailing sediment dynamics and the sediment budget in the Mekong Delta by using a process-based model. Understanding sediment dynamics for the Mekong Delta requires high resolution analysis and detailed data, which is a challenge for managers and scientists. This study introduces such an approach and focuses on modeling the entire system with a process-based approach with Delft3D-4 and Delft3D Flexible Mesh (DFM). The first model is used to explore sediment dynamics at the coastal zone. The latter model allows straightforward coupling of 1D and 2D grids, making it suitable for analyzing the complex river and canal network of the Mekong Delta. The validated model suggests that the Mekong Delta receives ~99 Mt/year sediment from the Mekong River. This is much lower than the common estimate of 160 Mt/year. Only about 23% of the modelled total sediment load at Kratie is exported to the sea. The remaining portion is trapped in the rivers and floodplains of the Mekong Delta. The results advance understanding of sediment dynamics and sediment budget in the Mekong Delta. As such the model is an efficient tool to support delta management and planning.

At a moment when a new generation of power stations and weapons are being developed, Fallout is a measured and fascinating exploration of our most misunderstood energy source and asks: what can we learn from our past mistakes, and what role should nuclear play in our future? Hiroshima. Bikini Atoll. Windscale. Chernobyl. Fukushima. These names no longer denote a place, but a disaster. In a few syllables, they evoke the heights of human ingenuity clashing with the worst of human error. Individually, each place has its own sobering story to tell; together, they form a timeline of the nuclear age. In this compelling and deeply researched book, Fred Pearce investigates the greatest nuclear incidents and accidents of the past 80 years by visiting their now iconic landscapes. He tours former power stations and abandoned testing sites in the company of scientists and engineers, and in previously toxic wastelands, where radioactive wolves now stalk the streets and genetically-malformed flora blooms, he witnesses the surprising resilience of nature. As well as the physical legacy, Pearce also considers the psychological impact of these disasters. Amid rumours of state cover-ups, corporate deception, and hushed-up medical epidemics, Pearce weighs the evidence on either side of the argument to disentangle the facts from the fear.

This book analyzes the expanding oil and gas activities in the Arctic from the perspective of Sustainable Development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The focus is on the territories of the Arctic rim where the current and future oil and gas activities in the Arctic are and will be located. The book raises a number of questions including how sustainable development has been framed in the Arctic and the interaction between indigenous peoples, governments and oil and gas companies. The book is divided into three parts. In the first part of the book, oil and gas are approached through the concepts of sustainable development (SD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) together with the challenge of climate change. The second part consists of case studies from Alaska, Canada, Norway and Russia where the discourses on oil and gas in the Arctic are explored and the final part of the book draws together the material from the country studies in a comparative manner.

Over the past 50 years the US economy has experienced economic dynamism and technological change at a dizzying pace, driven substantially by innovation in digital communication technology. This dynamism has had limited effects in the electricity industry, and institutional change within the industry to adapt to these changes has been variable. Many states in the U.S. do not participate in open wholesale markets, and even more states have either no retail markets or have implemented such a restricted and politicized version of retail markets that potential retail market entrants still face substantial entry barriers. This book explores institutional design and regulatory policies in the US electricity industry that can adapt to unknown and changing conditions produced by economic, social, and technological change. Whereas the dominant regulatory paradigm has traditionally been centralized economic and physical control based on natural monopoly theory and power systems engineering, the ideas presented and synthesized by Kiesling compose a different paradigm - decentralized economic and physical coordination through contracts, transactions, price signals, and integrated intertemporal wholesale and retail markets. Digital communication technology, and its increasing pervasiveness and affordability, make this decentralized coordination possible. Kiesling argues that with decentralized coordination, distributed agents themselves control part of the system, and in aggregate their actions produce order. Technology makes this order feasible, but the institutions, the rules governing the interaction of agents in the system, contribute substantially to whether or not order can emerge from this decentralized coordination process.

This book analyses the strategic dimensions of energy security, particularly where energy resources have become the object of military competition. The volume explores the risks that may arise from conditions of increasing economic competition and resource scarcity, and the problems that may follow if major producers or consumers of energy lose confidence in the equity and efficiency of the market, and resort instead to the use of force to secure access to energy. It surveys the strategic outlook of both producer and consumer states, with emphasis on nations or regions (Central Asia, Russia, China, Venezuela, the Persian Gulf) where unstable or rapidly evolving political conditions may undermine the currently prevailing market consensus. It also examines the role of the United States as the chief guarantor of the global economy, and the challenge this poses for its exercise of military power. The book contests that while the global energy market may be largely self-regulating, it is not self-defending. A failure to consider how it can be most effectively defended from emerging and potential challenges merely heightens the risk that those challenges may someday become real.

The markets for electricity, gas and temperature have distinctive features, which provide the focus for countless studies. For instance, electricity and gas prices may soar several magnitudes above their normal levels within a short time due to imbalances in supply and demand, yielding what is known as spikes in the spot prices. The markets are also largely influenced by seasons, since power demand for heating and cooling varies over the year. The incompleteness of the markets, due to nonstorability of electricity and temperature as well as limited storage capacity of gas, makes spot-forward hedging impossible. Moreover, futures contracts are typically settled over a time period rather than at a fixed date. All these aspects of the markets create new challenges when analyzing price dynamics of spot, futures and other derivatives.This book provides a concise and rigorous treatment on the stochastic modeling of energy markets. Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes are described as the basic modeling tool for spot price dynamics, where innovations are driven by time-inhomogeneous jump processes. Temperature futures are studied based on a continuous higher-order autoregressive model for the temperature dynamics. The theory presented here pays special attention to the seasonality of volatility and the Samuelson effect. Empirical studies using data from electricity, temperature and gas markets are given to link theory to practice.

An impending energy crisis is looming globally, which has led to the use of effluents from paper mills for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), CO2 flooding and wastewater treatment by biosurfactants, and the current market demand for cost-competitive and environment-friendly alternatives to synthetic chemicals. This up-to-date book on petroleum technology provides a comprehensive review of the background and recent advances in the field of petroleum technology and highlights various facets of the fascinating world of upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum technologies. It comprises 25 chapters, each representing the progress, prospects and challenges in petroleum research, and focuses on the tremendous progress made by the scientific community in this research field. The book covers in detail EOR processes, reservoir engineering, production operation and optimisation, pipeline transportation and storage, CO2 capture and sequestration, wastewater management and innovative treatment, refining technologies, environmental chemistry, and biochemistry and biotechnology for the petroleum industry.

Using a multidisciplinary approach that draws on their in-depth experience in the fields of energy, environment, and economics, the authors develop a comprehensive analytical framework. They apply their methodology to four detailed studies of Sri Lanka's energy sector, illustrating how to address key energy and environmental policy issues found in many developing countries today. Supplementary case examples are presented which also draw on many other countries in Asia and Africa. The main energy-related areas discussed include electric power, new and renewable energy sources, transport and oil-based fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions. The methodological tools of energy and environmental economics provide a rational basis for identifying policy priorities, evaluating them, and developing more sustainable energy options. The results of the studies are presented in an integrated manner, and contribute to the practical resolution of many important public policy issues. How to deal with risk and uncertainty, and how to identify robust policy options, are major themes that run throughout the volume. Energy and environmental economists, and graduate students interested in an introduction to the analytical methods used in recent World Bank projects on renewable energy and sustainable development will find this book of great value, as will decision makers and policy analysts in developing countries.

This book will serve as a reference guide, and state-of-the-art review, for the wide spectrum of numerical models and computational techniques available to solve some of the most challenging problems in coastal engineering. The topics covered in this book, are explained fundamentally from a numerical perspective and also include practical examples applications. Important classic themes such as wave generation, propagation and breaking, turbulence modelling and sediment transport are complemented by hot topics such as fluid and structure interaction or multi-body interaction to provide an integral overview on numerical techniques for coastal engineering. Through the vision of 10 high impact authors, each an expert in one or more of the fields included in this work, the chapters offer a broad perspective providing several different approaches, which the readers can compare critically to select the most suitable for their needs. Advanced Numerical Modelling of Wave Structure Interaction will be useful for a wide audience, including PhD students, research scientists, numerical model developers and coastal engineering consultants alike.

Ever since the publication in 1997 the original Scour Manual has helped many practising hydraulic engineers to deal with scour processes near hydraulic structures. In recent years new insights, such as probabilistic calculations, offered new opportunities to design structures more economically. These new insights are included in this update of the original Scour Manual, which is focussing entirely on current-related scour. This manual provides the engineer with useful practical methods to calculate the dimensions of scour holes in the pre-feasibility and preliminary stages of a project, and gives an introduction to the most relevant literature. This updated Scour Manual contains guidelines that can be used to solve problems related to scour in engineering practice and also reflects the main results of all research projects in the Netherlands in recent decades. The so-called Breusers equilibrium method has a central role, which can basically be applied to all situations where local scour is expected. The method allows to predict the scour depth as a function of time, provided that the available knowledge about scour at the specific structure is sufficient. For structures with insufficient knowledge available, alternative scour prediction rules are presented. The treatment of local scour is classified according to the different types of structures. Each type of structure is necessarily schematised to a simple, basic layout. The main parameters of a structure and the main parts of the flow pattern near a structure are described briefly insofar they are relevant to the description of scour phenomena. New scour formulas for the equilibrium scour have been elucidated. Evaluating a balance of forces for a control volume, it is possible to develop scour equations for different types of flow fields and structures, i.e. jets, abutments and bridge piers. As many scour problems are still not fully understood, attention is paid to the validity ranges and limitations of the formulas, as well as to the accuracy of the scour predictions. This information can also be used to carry out a risk assessment using a safety philosophy based on a probabilistic analysis or an approach with a safety factor. Moreover, the information on the strength of soils is extended and aspects are addressed such as scour due to shear failures or flow slides, that can progressively damage the bed protection which might lead to the failure of hydraulic structures. This updated Scour Manual presents scour prediction methods and deals with practically related scour problems. Consultants and contractors were invited to provide case studies of realized projects, including the methods that were followed. These case studies will help with grasping the concept of scour by the flow of water. This manual provides the engineer with the latest knowledge and with case studies that show how to apply the formulas and their limitations.

As global consumption of fossil fuels such as oil increases, previously abundant sources have become depleted or plagued with obstructions. Asphaltene deposition is one of such obstructions which can significantly decrease the rate of oil production. This book offers concise yet thorough coverage of the complex problem of asphaltene precipitation and deposition in oil production. It covers fundamentals of chemistry, stabilization theories and mechanistic approaches of asphaltene behavior at high temperature and pressure. Asphaltene Deposition: Fundamentals, Prediction, Prevention, and Remediation explains techniques for experimental determination of asphaltene precipitation and deposition and different modeling tools available to forecast the occurrence and magnitude of asphaltene deposition in a given oil field. It discusses strategies for mitigation of asphaltene deposition using chemical inhibition and corresponding challenges, best practices for asphaltene remediation, current research, and case studies.