The worldwide disruption of fuel supplies and accompanying price spikes caused by Hurricane Katrina convinced the Swedish government that it is high time to give fossil fuels the heave-ho, according to Mona Sahlin, minister for sustainable development. She announced on October 1 that the government has set a new policy target to eliminate Sweden’s dependence on fossil fuels by 2020.

Sweden is the second-highest per capita consumer of energy in Europe, and some critics argue that boosting the efficient use of existing energy resources will do more to reduce fossil fuel use than setting a radical target that is not likely to be met.

The new target to break Sweden’s reliance on fossil fuels by 2020 will be achieved with a focus on renewable energy, through tax incentives and market-based mechanisms, Sahlin says. Beginning on January 1, homeowners who convert to renewable-energy heating systems will receive a tax break. The green certificate system, which already requires commercial electricity suppliers to purchase a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, will be extended to 2030. Drivers of “environmentally friendly” cars, such as hybrids and cars that run on ethanol, will enjoy tax relief, get free parking in some cities, and be exempt from Stockholm’s congestion charge.

Prime Minister Göran Persson is genuinely interested in breaking Sweden’s dependence on fossil fuels, says Stefan Edman, one of Sweden’s most respected environmental authors and chair of a commission that is recommending further measures to meet the target.

“Sweden could reach the target in the heating sector, but it will be much more difficult for transportation,” Edman says. Since 1975, oil consumption for heating homes and businesses has dropped by 70%. Transportation now accounts for roughly half of Sweden’s fossil-fuel consumption. In a government report released last June, Edman proposed more than 20 measures to cut fossil-fuel use for transportation.

Sweden would have a greater impact on cutting global emissions of CO2 if it simply used its existing energy resources more efficiently, responds Per Kågeson, director of Nature Associates, a consultancy. He says that large-scale conversion to ethanol could lead to more clearing of rainforests and ultimately elevate greenhouse gas emissions in countries outside of Sweden; for example, Brazil supplies 80% of Sweden’s ethanol. It could also mean the end of Swedish biofuel exports. Countries that rely on Swedish biofuel are likely to switch to fossil fuels if exports decline, Kågeson says.

Source: ES&T Online News.

January 11th, 2007 | Earth Sciences and Geomatics, Environment | 3 comments

On January 4th was held at UBC in Vancouver the annual meeting of the GEOIDE project Geomatisation of the archaeological excavation process. While the name of the project seems intimidating at first, the talks that were held over that day show promising results regarding the integration of two fields that are at first glance, pretty dissimilar. However, upon a closer look, it can be seen that both fields have to work consistently with spatial data.

The aim of that project is to introduce geomatics technology, such as GPS or laser scanners, to help the archaeological process, from the acquisition of data up to its analysis.

Tools are being developed to help both the acquisition and the analysis of this special kind of spatial data, such as the prototype built by Bernard Lachance and Michel Fortin which allows the storage of archaeological information in a database customized for this kind of data. Everything is included in this, from excavation units to pot shreds, and the relations between the different constituents of the excavation site are linked in order to facilitate the analysis of the data.

The acquisition of the data is to be improved in two different regards. Archaeologists are currently working a lot with a pen-and-paper based solution, with many task redundancy and dodgy sketches. Mathieu Rondeau presented is solution for that problem: Arch-Tablet. It’s a TabletPC based solution that allows the archaeologist to draw directly on a rectified photo. This will facilitate the making of sketches and the transfer of that data into a database management system for the analysis.

In a whole other point of view, Sylvie Daniel and Julien Marchand presented the laser scanner technology, in the context of the archaeological excavation. Using these tools, it is possible to quickly build a 3D model of the site with astonishing details, far more that can ever be achieved with traditional ways. Also was demonstrated the HandyScan3D, from Creaform, a Québec based company, for the scanning of artifacts. Using this small handheld scanner, it is possible to build a model of an artifact quite quickly and with good details. This product is relatively new, so the researchers are just peeking into the opportunities that are being offered.

The demand for geomatics tools in archaeology is there. However, most of the time, the archaeologists are too comfortable within their own method to dare to change them. Fortunately, there are some that have a long-term view and that try to make their field a better and more efficient one.

January 10th, 2007 | Earth Sciences and Geomatics, General Science | No comments