加拿大阿尔伯塔省油气资源管理研究与启示

加拿大作为全球主要油气生产国,市场化程度高,其先进的油气资源管理制度对我国具有借鉴意义。本文通过对加拿大阿尔伯塔省油气资源管理框架、合同出让及管理、资源所有者权益实现及监督管理等方面进行研究,发现其具有油气管理法律法规健全、油气合同区块面积小、合同出让频率高、区块退出管理严格、独立行使强大的监管职能、权利金收取考虑了企业成本回收等特点。结合我国实际,建议加快推进油气管理法律法规立改废;缩小油气勘查区块面积,加快竞争出让;分区域设置最长勘查年限,严格区块退出;设置专门油气监管机构,加强监督管理;调整完善油气资源权益金制度体系,鼓励勘探开发。     

加拿大阿尔伯塔省油气监管最新变革

为了适应规模不断扩大的油砂开发新形势,保障油气资源安全、有序、环保和可持续的发展,加拿大阿尔伯塔省政府在原能源资源保护委员会的基础上成立了专业的能源开发监管机构(AER,Alberta Energy Regulator),该机构负责监管阿尔伯塔省境内所有与石油、天然气以及煤炭等相关的能源开发活动。文章从AER的成立、组织机构、主要监管职能和具体监管流程等几个方面介绍了阿尔伯塔省油气监管的这一最新变革。总结了阿尔伯塔能源监管机构专一化、监管程序化、监管透明化、高度的公众参与以及严格的环境保护监管等几个特点。建议我国的页岩气开发监管应该:合理规划页岩气开发管理框架;不断增强页岩气开发监管法规建设;采取多种措施,加强环保监管;进一步增加公民参与意识,保障公众权益。     

‘Take whatever you can get’: practicing Housing First in Alberta

Abstract

Housing First (HF) is an increasingly widespread and influential response to chronic homelessness. Programs using an HF approach typically rely on market apartments to house homeless clients as rapidly as possible. This reliance means HF programs are dependent on the availability and affordability of market housing. Little attention has been given to how shortages of affordable rental housing influence the practice of HF. To address this gap, we undertook qualitative research in Alberta, Canada. Interviews with service providers revealed that high rents and low vacancy rates had profound impacts on program operations, and complicated efforts to follow HF principles. Clients often experienced delays in being housed and felt pressure to accept the first apartment they were offered. In response, HF programs devoted resources to improve relationships with landlords. Ultimately, however, reliance on market housing undermined programs’ ability to fulfil the potential of HF in the Alberta context.     

Heaven on Earth

‘By 2050 we will have probed the universe even further, peeling back time as we strive for some sense of creation and meaning.’ The world's first neurologist in space, Roberta L Bondar , who conducted international experiments on space mission STS 42 and has subsequently undertaken neurological research with NASA, urges us to look up and into space, which is set to remain a rich area of exploration, scientific investigation and wonder, with the discovery of new planets, light, patterns and materials on the not-so-distant horizon.     

Morphology and chemistry of fine particles emitted from a Canadian coal-fired power plant

Particles emitted from coal-fired power plants burning subbituminous coal from Alberta, Canada were examined for total particulates (PM) and size fractions PM_>10, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5. The sampling was carried out following EPA Method 201A. Three tests were performed at each station. The emitted particles were examined using SEM/EDX and gravimetric method for the determination of their sizes. The elemental composition of particles was determined using INAA and ICP-MS.The particles emitted from the stack are classified based on their morphologies and chemistries to the following: unburnt carbon, feed-coal minerals such as quartz, and by-products of the dissociation, fractionation, and contamination by minerals in coal.The emitted particles are mostly spherical and their matrices are composed of aluminosilicate minerals containing calcium. The PM_>10 fraction contains small plerospheres, fragments of char, and angular quartz and feldspar particles. The PM₁₀ fraction contains solid spheres and cenospheres, gypsum needles, and particles of char. The PM_2.5 particle size fraction is mostly composed of solid spherical aluminosilicates with some surface enrichment of elements such as Ba, Ca, and Fe.The composition of emitted particles is ferrocalsialic. Most elements in the particle size fractions are Class I or II, such as Al, Ca, and Fe. Cd, Cu, Mo, and Ti were only detected in PM_2.5 fraction.     

Achieving emissions reduction through oil sands cogeneration in Alberta’s deregulated electricity market

The province of Alberta faces the challenge of balancing its commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions and the growth of its energy-intensive oil sands industry. Currently, these operations rely on the Alberta electricity system and on-site generation to satisfy their steam and electricity requirements. Most of the on-site generation units produce steam and electricity through the process of cogeneration. It is unclear to what extent new and existing operations will continue to develop cogeneration units or rely on electricity from the Alberta grid to meet their energy requirements in the near future. This study explores the potential for reductions in fuel usage and CO₂ emissions by increasing the penetration of oil sands cogeneration in the provincial generation mixture. EnergyPLAN is used to perform scenario analyses on Alberta’s electricity system in 2030 with a focus on transmission conditions to the oil sands region. The results show that up to 15–24% of CO₂ reductions prescribed by the 2008 Alberta Climate Strategy are possible. Furthermore, the policy implications of these scenarios within a deregulated market are discussed.     

The Alberta Health Act--Potential pace setter or shackle?

Discusses the pros and cons of legislation that will provide opportunities for psychologists to more freely participate and cooperate in helping people with problems, and the difficulties associated with the use of the medical model for applied psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategic planning on carbon capture from coal fired plants in Malaysia and Indonesia: A review

Malaysia and Indonesia benefit in various ways by participating in CDM and from investments in the GHG emission reduction projects, inter alia, technology transfer such as carbon capture (CC) technology for the existing and future coal fired power plants. Among the fossil fuel resources for energy generation, coal is offering an attractive solution to the increasing fuel cost. The consumption of coal in Malaysia and Indonesia is growing at the fastest rate of 9.7% and 4.7%, respectively, per year since 2002. The total coal consumption for electricity generation in Malaysia is projected to increase from 12.4 million tons in 2005 to 36 million tons in 2020. In Indonesia, the coal consumption for the same cause is projected to increase from 29.4 million tons in 2005 to 75 million tons in 2020. CO₂ emission from coal fired power plants are forecasted to grow at 4.1% per year, reaching 98 million tons and 171 million tons in Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively.     

Lignites from the Plains region of Alberta,Canada—Part 1: Petrography and depositional environment

The petrography of two coal seams in Alberta was determined using reflected light microscopy. Random reflectance is 0.36%, indicating a lignite rank. Huminite is dominant over liptinite and inertinite. Maceral assemblage suggests a wet forest moor depositional paleoenvironment. The predominance of telohuminite and gelohuminite over detrohuminite and inertodetrinite reveals peat formation in a rather reducing environment and a rapid burial of the peat, which prevented any significant oxidation. A few intervals with high levels of oxyfusinite reveal periodic drops of the water table. Results coincide with the interpretation based on the Na/K ratio, which is used as an indicator of the rate of sedimentation.     

Sixty years of psychology at the University of Alberta.

The history of six decades of psychology at the University of Alberta is presented by concentrating on the six individuals who have served as department heads since 1909, all of whom are still living. During this period, the department has progressed from a modest offering of one course in psychology to a program that includes both pre- and post-doctoral study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)