The overall goal of this paper is to examine impacts of climate change on water supply and demand balance and their consequences on agricultural production in ten river basins in China. To realize this goal, China Wat...The overall goal of this paper is to examine impacts of climate change on water supply and demand balance and their consequences on agricultural production in ten river basins in China. To realize this goal, China Water Simulation Model (CWSM) is used to analyze three alternative climate scenarios (A1B, A2 and B2). The results show that the impacts of climate change on water supply and demand balance differ largely among alternative scenarios. While significant impacts of climate change on water balance will occur under the A1B scenario, the impacts of climate change under the A2 and B2 scenarios will be marginal. Under the A1B scenario, the water shortage in the river basins located in the northern China will become more serious, particularly in Liaohe and Haihe river basins, but the other river basins in the southern China will improve their water balance situations. Despite larger impacts of climate change on water balance in the northern China, its impacts on total crops' production will be moderate if farmers would be able to reallocate water among crops and adjust irrigated and rainfed land. The paper concludes with some policy implications.展开更多
All automobile manufacturing companies, Google and Microsoft have announced recently their production of the Fully Automated Autonomous Vehicles (FAAVs), otherwise known as driverless cars. A few FAAVs would be availa...All automobile manufacturing companies, Google and Microsoft have announced recently their production of the Fully Automated Autonomous Vehicles (FAAVs), otherwise known as driverless cars. A few FAAVs would be available in the market as early as in 2018, but mostly in 2020’s. When FAAVs will be available to and become affordable by the average consumers, the implications to the society would be far reaching. The purpose of the paper is to examine the prospect of the popularity of FAAVs and their socio-economic implications to the future society of the World. The paper examines potential impacts on selected sectors of the society including changes in demand for automobiles, its impact on the use of oil, on the environment, and on urban land uses, to list a few.展开更多
The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry is a major contributor to the economy of Bangladesh, accounting for over 80% of the country’s total exports. In recent years, the industry has faced challenges due to changing g...The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry is a major contributor to the economy of Bangladesh, accounting for over 80% of the country’s total exports. In recent years, the industry has faced challenges due to changing global fashion trends and increasing competition from other manufacturing countries. One of the latest trends in the fashion industry is micro seasonal fashion, which has significant impacts on the RMG industry of Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of micro seasonal fashion on the RMG industry of Bangladesh. It will examine the changes in buyer and consumer behavior and demand patterns, the implications for manufacturers and suppliers, and the strategies adopted by industry players to adapt to this trend. The emergence of micro seasonal fashion has disorderly the traditional seasonal cycle of the fashion industry. Consumers are no longer satisfied with the two-season model of spring/summer and fall/winter, but instead demand new styles and trends every few weeks. This trend has created opportunities for the RMG industry of Bangladesh to cater to the fast-changing demands of consumers. Micro Seasonal Fashion also poses significant challenges for the industry. Manufacturers and suppliers must be able to produce and deliver garments quickly and efficiently, while ensuring high quality and sustainability standards. This requires investments in technology, supply chain management, and training of workers. To address these challenges, industry players in Bangladesh have adopted several strategies, such as diversifying product offerings, investing in technology and innovation, and enhancing sustainability practices. These strategies have helped the industry to remain competitive and meet the demands of fast-changing consumer preferences. The industry must be able to adapt quickly to the changing demands of consumers and invest in technology and sustainability practices to remain competitive. With the right strategies and investments, the RMG industry of Bangladesh can control the opportunities presented by micro seasonal fashion and continue to be a major player in the global fashion industry.展开更多
When typical meteorological year (TMY) data are used as an input to simulate the energy used in a building, it is not clear which hours in the weather data file might correspond to an electric or natural gas utility’...When typical meteorological year (TMY) data are used as an input to simulate the energy used in a building, it is not clear which hours in the weather data file might correspond to an electric or natural gas utility’s peak demand. Yet, the determination of peak demand impacts is important in utility resource planning exercises and in determining the value of demand-side management (DSM) actions. We propose a formal probability-based method to estimate the summer and winter peak demand reduction from an energy efficiency measure when TMY data and model simulations are used to estimate peak impacts. In the estimation of winter peak demand impacts from some example energy efficiency measures in Texas, our proposed method performs far better than two alternatives. In the estimation of summer peak demand impacts, our proposed method provides very reasonable results which are very similar to those obtained from the Heat Wave approach adopted in California.展开更多
基金the financial support of Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012CB955700,2010CB428406)the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (70925001, 71161140351)+2 种基金the International Development Research Center (107093-001)the Australian Center for International Agriculture (ADP/2010/070)World Bank, and the CAS Strategic Priority Research Program(XDA01020304)
文摘The overall goal of this paper is to examine impacts of climate change on water supply and demand balance and their consequences on agricultural production in ten river basins in China. To realize this goal, China Water Simulation Model (CWSM) is used to analyze three alternative climate scenarios (A1B, A2 and B2). The results show that the impacts of climate change on water supply and demand balance differ largely among alternative scenarios. While significant impacts of climate change on water balance will occur under the A1B scenario, the impacts of climate change under the A2 and B2 scenarios will be marginal. Under the A1B scenario, the water shortage in the river basins located in the northern China will become more serious, particularly in Liaohe and Haihe river basins, but the other river basins in the southern China will improve their water balance situations. Despite larger impacts of climate change on water balance in the northern China, its impacts on total crops' production will be moderate if farmers would be able to reallocate water among crops and adjust irrigated and rainfed land. The paper concludes with some policy implications.
文摘All automobile manufacturing companies, Google and Microsoft have announced recently their production of the Fully Automated Autonomous Vehicles (FAAVs), otherwise known as driverless cars. A few FAAVs would be available in the market as early as in 2018, but mostly in 2020’s. When FAAVs will be available to and become affordable by the average consumers, the implications to the society would be far reaching. The purpose of the paper is to examine the prospect of the popularity of FAAVs and their socio-economic implications to the future society of the World. The paper examines potential impacts on selected sectors of the society including changes in demand for automobiles, its impact on the use of oil, on the environment, and on urban land uses, to list a few.
文摘The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry is a major contributor to the economy of Bangladesh, accounting for over 80% of the country’s total exports. In recent years, the industry has faced challenges due to changing global fashion trends and increasing competition from other manufacturing countries. One of the latest trends in the fashion industry is micro seasonal fashion, which has significant impacts on the RMG industry of Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of micro seasonal fashion on the RMG industry of Bangladesh. It will examine the changes in buyer and consumer behavior and demand patterns, the implications for manufacturers and suppliers, and the strategies adopted by industry players to adapt to this trend. The emergence of micro seasonal fashion has disorderly the traditional seasonal cycle of the fashion industry. Consumers are no longer satisfied with the two-season model of spring/summer and fall/winter, but instead demand new styles and trends every few weeks. This trend has created opportunities for the RMG industry of Bangladesh to cater to the fast-changing demands of consumers. Micro Seasonal Fashion also poses significant challenges for the industry. Manufacturers and suppliers must be able to produce and deliver garments quickly and efficiently, while ensuring high quality and sustainability standards. This requires investments in technology, supply chain management, and training of workers. To address these challenges, industry players in Bangladesh have adopted several strategies, such as diversifying product offerings, investing in technology and innovation, and enhancing sustainability practices. These strategies have helped the industry to remain competitive and meet the demands of fast-changing consumer preferences. The industry must be able to adapt quickly to the changing demands of consumers and invest in technology and sustainability practices to remain competitive. With the right strategies and investments, the RMG industry of Bangladesh can control the opportunities presented by micro seasonal fashion and continue to be a major player in the global fashion industry.
文摘When typical meteorological year (TMY) data are used as an input to simulate the energy used in a building, it is not clear which hours in the weather data file might correspond to an electric or natural gas utility’s peak demand. Yet, the determination of peak demand impacts is important in utility resource planning exercises and in determining the value of demand-side management (DSM) actions. We propose a formal probability-based method to estimate the summer and winter peak demand reduction from an energy efficiency measure when TMY data and model simulations are used to estimate peak impacts. In the estimation of winter peak demand impacts from some example energy efficiency measures in Texas, our proposed method performs far better than two alternatives. In the estimation of summer peak demand impacts, our proposed method provides very reasonable results which are very similar to those obtained from the Heat Wave approach adopted in California.