Suchergebnisse

This study examines the changes of total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in 20 Swedish lakes throughout Sweden using pre-industrial (1860) TOC0 inferred from near-infrared spectrometry (TOCNIRS) of lake sediments to determine if land use change over time could be a plausible explanation for changes in lake water TOC. The study also focuses on the importance of using inferred pre-industrial data of lake water pH and TOC for acidification assessment, in particular ANC0. Most lakes in this study show a long-term decreasing trend of TOC from 1860 up to -0.45 mg/l/yr-1 to an identified breaking point where the TOC turns from decreasing to increasing. Fifteen of the lakes have a breaking point in the mid to late 20th century (1950-1980) while five lakes do not display a clear breaking point. The magnitude of the increasing trend of TOC after the breaking point is up to 0.16 mg/l/yr-1 . Changes in land use were studied by comparing historical maps with present databases of land use. Land use changes in the catchment area show substantial differences in forest cultivation; for instance the coniferous forest has increased by 26% on average. This increase is due to removal of native forest (deciduous forest) and removal of wetlands. Two major conclusions can be drawn from the effects of land use change on TOC levels: (I) No direct correlation between land use change and long-term trends of TOC could be identified in this study. Previous studies have identified the effects of land use change on the carbon storage in the catchment area that corresponds well with the findings of this study. (II) the character of the forest land plays an important role when discussing the effects of land use change for long term TOC trends. The change from open-ended forests with large trees to intense managed forest is considered as an important driving force for TOC. To determine reference conditions there is a need to make good estimations of ANC0 for acidification assessment in Swedish lakes. This study examines the precision of MAGIC model ANC0 calculations (ANC0-MAGIC) against ANC0 calculated with TOCNIRS, diatom-pH and calculated pCO2 (ANC0, diatom-NIRS). ANC0, diatom-NIRS shows a mean difference of (-31µeq/l) when comparing it with ANC0-MAGIC. In comparison, when using contemporary TOC (TOCt) mean lake value 1990-2005 (ANC0,diatom-TOC) the results show a mean difference of (-0.45 µeq/l) in comparison with ANC0-MAGIC. A better fit is generated with TOCNIRS then TOCt. This could be an indication that ANC0- MAGIC overestimates the acidification of Swedish lakes. The European Union's "Water 8 Framework Directive", which Sweden has implemented, requires that all surface waters within the Union's authority have achieved good ecological status by 2015. According to the ecological quality standard the differences between the pre-industrial pH and contemporary pH, i.e. ΔpH=pH0-pHt, should not be more than 0.4 units. This study shows that the long-term trends have to be accounted for when calculating reference conditions and ecological status for acidification

This study in contemporary history describes the transformation of the public sphere in Sweden during the period 1969-1999, and analyses the role of information technology and politics in the process. The overall aim of the study is to explain how, and why, the public sphere in Jürgen Habermas sense has deteriorated during a period of rapid technological and political change, when increasing attention has been given to information technology as a new tool for improving democracy and empowering citizens. Theoretical inspiration is drawn from two perspectives within the modern history of technology and sociology of technology; the LTS (Large Technical Systems) and STS (Science, Technology and Society) approaches, as well as from the regime theory concept within political science. This multidisciplinary framework provides the theoretical basis for the study, including terms as socio-technical systems, system builder, technification, interpretative flexibility, stabilization, closing and regime change. In addition, the analysis draws upon previous research in economic history, where focus often has been on the important role of institutions. The term path dependence is central in this tradition. The starting point for the study is the process of a mutual legitimization between citizens and political actors that traditionally has taken place within the public sphere. In return for citizens support and trust, political actors have granted format rights to the public space. Two aspects of this interdependence are addressed: Freedom of speech and citizen's access to public information, and their access to arenas where an exchange of political ideas and opinions is taking place. In the study, the former is a question of the legal system and the limits to freedom of speech in new medias such as the Internet, while the latter concerns citizen's technical means and possibilities to connect to electronic networks. Research interest is concentrated on the formal political system, focusing both actors and structural factors such as technological development, media convergence, ideological change and international integration in the transformation process. Four case studies of institutional changes during formative moments, within what is defined as the legal and the technical infrastructures, are conducted and represent the empirical base of the thesis. The case studies are centered on Swedish governmental commissions, on the government itself and on proceedings in the parliament, and concerns formation and transformation of computer law, as well as the deregulation and privatization of the technical infrastructure. In the latter process Televerket (Swedish Telecom) has been an influential promoter of competition and institutional separation between tele- and data communications, representing a major regime change in favour of market relations in the technical infrastructure. In the area of computer law, the Swedish regime dominated by SCB (Statistics Sweden) was incorporated into a joint European data protection regime, resulting in limitations of freedom of speech on the Internet. These regime changes have also transformed the role of the state, constituting a "net watchers state". Another important finding is that promotion of democracy and improvement of access to the public sphere, never was on the agenda in the political transformation processes studied, although a parallel discourse on democracy and information technology existed throughout the period studied.

In this report we aim to analyse the economic and environmental impacts of Pillar I direct payments, and to demonstrate alternative instruments that are better suited to achieve CAP objectives. The instruments—a targeted payment to land at risk of abandonment and a tax on mineral fertilisers—were selected on the basis of the Polluter Pays and Provider Gets Principles. We do this using two state‐of‐the‐art agricultural economic simulation models. The first model, CAPRI, is used to quantify the large‐scale or aggregate impacts for individual countries, the EU and the world. The other model, AgriPoliS, is used to quantify the fine‐scale or farm and field level impacts in a selection of contrasting agricultural regions, to consider the potential influence of the large spatial variability in agricultural and environmental conditions across the EU. The results show that direct payments are keeping more farms in the sector and more land in agricultural use than would otherwise be the case, and thus avoiding land abandonment, principally in marginal regions. Particularly the area of grassland is substantially higher, because it is generally less productive than arable land and hence more dependent on direct payments for keeping it in agricultural use. The magnitudes of the impacts of direct payments on land use therefore vary strongly across regions due to spatial variability in productivity: marginal regions with large areas of less productive land are heavily influenced by direct payments, while regions with large areas of relatively productive land are hardly affected, because this land would be farmed in any case. By keeping more farmers in the sector longer, direct payments are slowing structural change, which can hamper agricultural development. However the potential benefits of faster structural change vary considerably among our study regions. In relatively productive regions direct payments are hindering development, because too many farmers are staying in the sector and preventing the consolidation of land in larger farms, which would improve their competitiveness and increase farm profits. On the contrary, the mass departure of farms that is currently avoided, will not lead to the same general benefits in marginal regions. Instead of freed land being absorbed by remaining farms, large areas of relatively unproductive land are abandoned without payments. This land is unprofitable to maintain in agricultural land use, even if integrated into larger farms, because current market prices are too low to motivate farming it. Consequently direct payments pose a serious goal conflict: the avoidance of land abandonment on the one hand, which can have negative impacts on public goods, and restricting agricultural development on the other hand. Once again this goal conflict is rooted in the spatial variability of agricultural conditions in the EU. Maintaining extensively managed farmland, particularly semi‐natural pastures, is central for conservation of biodiversity and preservation of the cultural landscape. Therefore direct payments are contributing to the provisioning of these public goods, but principally in marginal areas. Further, abandonment of land can reduce its agricultural productivity due to erosion or afforestation. Thus, direct payments are contributing to food security by preserving the productive potential of land for the future, but only marginal land since relatively productive land is farmed in any case. Production of agricultural commodities is affected to a lesser degree by direct payments than land use per se. Nevertheless, food exports from the EU are higher and imports lower as a consequence of direct payments. However, the additional supply generated by direct payments also lowers output prices, which reduces the profitability of commodity production; thereby partially offsetting the additional revenues from direct payments. The higher agricultural output brought about by direct payments causes higher levels of environmentally damaging greenhouse‐gas emissions, nutrient surpluses and pesticide use. The higher greenhouse‐gas emissions for the EU are, to some extent, moderated by lower emissions in the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the net effect of direct payments is higher global emissions of greenhouse gases. The environmental impacts of higher nutrient surpluses and pesticide inputs are less conclusive, since these depend also on spatial factors, i.e., where the emissions occur. Although EU‐scale and regional emissions are higher due to direct payments, agricultural production is less intensive generally, on account of the lower output prices. Analysing the net effects of these two opposing forces requires additional biophysical modelling at relevant spatial scales, such as watersheds or landscapes, which is beyond the scope of this study. Pillar I direct payments generate a significant transfer of income to farmers and land owners who are not necessarily farmers; 40 billion euro annually. Of this transfer a substantial proportion goes to farmers in relatively productive regions and, further, to a minority of farmers that need them least. In relatively productive regions payments are not needed for continued agricultural production and preservation of farmland, but instead rather fuel higher land and rental prices, which hampers structural change. On the contrary, the need for support is greatest in marginal regions, because some form of payment to marginal land is needed to avoid its abandonment and the loss of associated public goods. Finally, the direct payments even come at the cost of lower market returns for farmers due to slower structural change (smaller and less competitive farms) and lower output prices (due to greater EU output). On the other hand the lower output prices lead to somewhat lower food prices, but at the greater cost of financing the direct payments. Our main conclusion is that Pillar I direct payments are generating serious goal conflicts due to spatial variability in conditions across the EU. On the one hand these payments are contributing to the provisioning of public goods by preserving marginal agricultural land. On the other hand they are hampering agricultural development, primarily in relatively productive regions. Payments to relatively productive land that would be farmed any way not only inflate land values (capitalisation) but also slow structural change, which are both likely to hinder agricultural development and hence the competitiveness of the EU on the global market. The direct payments also increase environmental pressure; by subsidising land use generally and the associated production, they are incapable of controlling environmentally damaging emissions, which is also in conflict with broad CAP objectives. The goal conflict arises because direct payments are universal, a payment principal that does not consider spatial variability in the EU and the associated trade‐offs in regard to development and environmental effectiveness. Our analysis considered two alternative policy instruments that have the potential to curb the identified goal conflicts associated with direct payments, by applying the Polluter Pays and Provider (of public goods) Gets Principles at appropriate spatial scales. Replacing direct payments with a payment targeted on marginal land (and associated public goods) prevents land abandonment at a lower cost, by avoiding payments to relatively productive land that is farmed in any case. This also allows surviving farms in regions with relatively productive land to compensate for lost direct payments through expansion and associated scale economies, as well as higher output prices. This instrument therefore finances the provisioning of public goods without adverse effects on development and the efficiency of agricultural production. The EU‐wide tax on mineral fertiliser demonstrates that this instrument has the potential to reduce nutrient surpluses. Since direct payments cause higher levels of polluting emissions, policy instruments targeting emissions at relevant spatial scales are needed to achieve cost‐effective abatement. Overall we find that Pillar I direct payments are not addressing the diversity of challenges facing European agriculture. In fact our quantitative analysis indicates that the potential for the current system to meet these challenges is seriously impaired by goal conflicts and spatial variability across the EU. A better policy requires that instruments are targeted on desired outcomes and designed according to sound principles, specifically the Polluter Pays and Provider Gets Principles. These principles would ensure that farmers are provided with appropriate incentives to i) generate public goods that otherwise would be underprovided; ii) mitigate environmentally damaging emissions at the lowest possible cost to society; and iii) continually strive to improve environmental performance. Such instruments are also fairer and promote a more competitive or viable agricultural sector by not obstructing structural change and hence agricultural development.

The global growth in energy demand continues, but the way of meeting rising energy needs is not sustainable. The use of biomass energy is a widely accepted strategy towards sustainable development that sees the fastest rate with the most of increase in power generation followed by strong rises in the consumption of biofuels for transport. Agriculture, forestry and wood energy sector are the leading sources of biomass for bioenergy. However, to be acceptable, biomass feedstock must be produced sustainably. Bioenergy from sustainably managed systems could provide a renewable and carbon neutral source of energy. Bioenergy systems can be relatively complex, intersectoral and site- and scale-specific. The environmental benefits of biomass-for-energy production systems can vary strongly, depending on site properties, climate, management system and input intensities. Bioenergy supply is closely linked to issues of water and land use. It is important to understand the effects of introducing it as well as it is necessary to promote integrated and synergic policies and approaches in the sectors of forestry, agriculture, energy, industry and environment. Biofuels offer attractive solutions to reducing GHG emissions, addressing energy security concerns and have also other socio-economic advantages. Currently produced biofuels are classified as first-generation. Some first-generation biofuels, such as for example ethanol from corn possibly have a limited role in the future transport fuel mix, other ones such as ethanol from sugarcane or biodiesel made from oils extracted from rerennial crops, as well as non-food and industrial crops requiring minimal input and maintenance and offering several benefits over conventional annual crops for ethanol production are promising. Sugarcane ethanol has greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoidance potential; can be produced sustainably; can be cost effective without governments support mechanisms, provide useful and valuable co-products; and, if carefully managed with due regard given to sustainable land use, can support the drive for sustainable development in many developing countries. Sugarcane ethanol - currently the most effective biofuel at displacing GHG emissions - is already mitigating GHGs in Brazil. Jatropha curcas L., a multipurpose, drought resistant, perennial plant has gained lot of importance for the production of biodiesel. However, it is important to point out that nearly all of studies have overstated the impacts of first-generation biofuels on global agricultural and land markets due to the fact that they have ignored the role of biofuel by-products. However, feed by-products of first-generation biofuels, such as dried distillers grains with soluble and oilseed meals are used in the livestock industry as protein and energy sources mitigates the price impacts of biofuel production as well as reduce the demand for cropland and moderate the indirect land use consequences. The production of second generation biofuels is expected to start within a few years. Many of the problems associated with first-generation biofuels can be solved by the production of second generation biofuels manufactured from abundant ligno-cellulosic materials such as cereal straw, sugar cane bagasse, forest residues, wastes and dedicated feedstocks (purpose-grown vegetative grasses, short rotation forests and other energy crops). These feedstocks are not food competitive, do not require additional agricultural land and can be grown on marginal and wasteland. Depending on the feedstock choice and the cultivation technique, second-generation biofuel production has the potential to provide benefits such as consuming waste residues and making use of abandoned land. As much as 97-98% of GHG emissions could be avoided by substituting a fossil fuel with wood fuel. Forest fertilization is an attractive option for increasing energy security and reducing net GHG emission. In addition to carbon dioxide the emissions of methane and nitrous oxides may be important factors in GHG balance of biofuels. Forest management rules, best practices for nitrogen fertilizer use and development of second generation technologies use reduce these emissions. Soils have an important role in the global budget of greenhouse gases. However, the effects of biomass production on soil properties are entirely site and practice-specific and little is known about long-term impact. Soil biological systems are resilient and they do not show any lasting impacts due to intensive site management activities. Land management practices can change dramatically the characteristic and gas exchange of an ecosystem. GHG benefits from biomass feedstock use are in some cases significantly lower if the effects of direct¹ or indirect (ILUC²) land use change are taken into account. LUC and ILUC can impact the GHG emission by affecting carbon balance in soil and thus ecosystem. To understand carbon fluxes in an ecosystem large ecosystem units and time scale are critical. Mitigation measures of the impact of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions include the use of residues as feedstock, cultivation of feedstock on abandoned arable land and use of feedstock by-products as substitutes for primary crops as animal feed. Cropping management is the other key factor in estimating GHG emissions associated with LUC and there is significant opportunity to reduce the potential carbon debt and GHG emissions through improved crop and soil management practices, including crop choice, intensity of inputs, harvesting strategy, and tilling practices. Also a system with whole trees harvesting with nutrient compensation is closely to being greenhouse-gas-neutral. Biochar applied to the soil offers a direct method for sequestrating C and generating bioenergy. However, the most recent studies showing that emissions resulting from ILUC are significant have not been systematically compared and summarized and current practices for estimating the effects of ILUC suffer from large uncertainties. Therefore, it seems to be delicate to include the ILUC effects in the GHG emission balance at a country level. The land availability is an important factor in determining bioenergy sustainability. However, even though food and biofuel/biomass can compete for land, this is not inevitably the case. The pattern of completion competition will e.g. depend on whether food security policies are in place. Moreover, the great potential for uncomplicated biomass production lies in using residues and organic waste, introduction of second generation biofuels which are more efficient in use of land and bioresources as well as restoration of degraded and wasted areas. Agroforestry has high potential for simultaneously satisfying many important objectives at ecosystems, economic and social levels. For example, as a very flexible, but low-input system, alley cropping can supply biomass resources in a sustainable way and at the same time provide ecological benefits in Central Europe. A farming system that integrates woody crops with conventional agricultural crops/pasture can more fully utilize the basic resources of water, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and sunlight, thereby producing greater total biomass yield. Overall, whether food prices will rise in parallel to an increase in biofuel demand will depend, more on trade barriers, subsidies, policies and limitations of marketing infrastructure than on lack of physical capacity. There are plant species that provide not only biofuel resources but also has the potential to sequestrate carbon to soil. For example, reed canary grass (RCG, Phalaris arundinacea L.) indicates the potential as a carbon sink. Harvest residues are increasingly utilized to produce energy. Sweden developed a series of recommendations and good-practice guidelines (GPG) for whole tree harvesting practices. Water has a multifarious relationship to energy. Biofuel production will have a relatively minor impact on the global water use. It is critically important to use low-quality water sources and to select the crops and countries that (under current production circumstances) produce bioenergy feedstock in the water-efficient way. However, local and regional impacts of biofuel production could be substantial. Knowledge of watershed characteristics, local hydrology and natural peak flow patterns coupled with site planning, location choice and species choice, are all factors that will determine whether or not this relationship is sustainable. For example, bioethanol's water requirements can range from 5 to 2138 L per liter of ethanol depending on regional irrigation practices. Moreover, sugarcane in Brazil evaporates 2,200 liters for every liter of ethanol, but this demand is met by abundant rainfall. Biomass production can have both positive and negative effects on species diversity. However, woodfuel production systems as well as agroforestry have the potential to increase biodiversity. A regional energy planning could have an important role to play in order to achieve energy-efficient and cost-efficient energy systems. Closing the loop through the optimization of all resources is essential to minimize conflicts in resource requirements as a result of increased biomass feedstock production. A systems approach where the agricultural, forestry, energy, and environmental sectors are considered as components of a single system, and environmental liabilities are used as recoverable resources for biomass feedstock production has the potential to significantly improve the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of biofuels. The LCA (life cycle analysis) approach takes into account all the input and output flows occurring in biomass production systems. The source of biomass has a big impact on LCA outcomes and there is a broad agreement in the scientific community that LCA is one of the best methodologies for the GHG balance calculation of biomass systems. Overall, maximizing benefits of bioenergy while minimizing negative impacts is most likely to occur in the presence of adequate knowledge and frameworks, such as for example certification systems, policy and guidelines. Criteria for achieving sustainability and best land use practices when producing biomass for energy must be established and adopted. ___________ ¹ Direct land-use change occurs when feedstock for biofuels purposes (e.g. soybean for biodiesel) displace a prior land-use (e.g. forest), thereby generating possible changes in the carbon stock of that land. ² Indirect land-use change (ILUC) occurs when pressure on agriculture due to the displacement of previous activity or use of the biomass induces land-use changes on other lands.

The current report deals with the effect of transport time and associated transport conditions on animal welfare and meat quality. The work is part of the EU EU and Animal Welfare Agency /Swedish Board of Agriculture, funded project CATRA (QLK5—1999-01507: Minimising stress inducing factors on cattle during handling and transport to improve animal welfare and meat quality: www.bt.slu.se/catra/). The project was composed of eight work packages: Baseline survey, Effect of transport time (below 14 hours and long distance more than 14 hours), Effect of vibration and motion (to be conducted both in laboratory and field conditions), Optimising pre-and post-transport handling, Air quality in the vehicles, cattle transport logistics including route optimisation, and development of control system. The purpose of the project was to gather sufficient data and to develop methods for controlling and minimizing stress inducing factors during handling and transport of cattle; develop guide-lines and recommendation for end-users, such as meat and vehicle industries and the policy makers, to improve animal welfare and meat quality on the European level. This could be fulfilled through optimization of design of handling areas, transport vehicles, and transport-associated conditions, and by promoting an IT-supported effective logistic system. Hence cattle welfare and meat quality will be improved, thereby enhancing the economic competitiveness of producers and abattoirs. As part of CATRA, this part of the project is the work done in Sweden regarding the effect of transport time, with the objective of determining the effect of transport time (up to ll hours) on animal welfare and post mortem meat quality, when cattle are transported from farms to abattoirs by commercial vehicles. The ultimate objective is to optimise transport time in relation to welfare and meat quality taking into consideration other stress inducing factors. Animals on which the experiments performed were cows, heifers, bulls and calves. Response parameters that were considered were: blood parameters (cortisol, glucose, lactate, CK,), clinical parameters (heart rate, postural stability), meat parameters (bruising score, PH-24, tenderness), and ethological parameters. Input parameters considered were parameters for loading facilities (ramps, lifts), penning systems (stocking density, social group, standing orientation, design of loading compartment), air quality (air speed, relative humidity, evenness of temperature in the compartment, level of NH3, CO2), vibration, transport time, resting time, and feeding regimes. Simultaneous and continuous measurement of heart rate, body temperature, air quality parameters, and video recording was conducted from farm to the abattoirs. Blood samples were taken before and after transport, and also during resting. The results obtained indicated that the transport and handling events are stressful for the animals as a whole, and loading and un-loading are among the most stressful events in the studied conditions. Regarding transport time, the results showed that transport time after six hours is particularly stressful for the animals when transported with usual vehicles without special equipments. In this case, it was reported a significant correlation between transport time and animal stress evaluated by physiological parameters. However, less detrimental effect of transport time on meat quality has been observed. It may therefore be concluded that transport time has influences more on animal welfare than meat quality when transported in conventional vehicles. Transport preceding and initiating conditions and processes such as keeping system, preparation, loading, planning and management, as well as unloading and lairage at the end of the transport chain are important challenges bearing various possibilities to improve welfare and meat quality. Loading and unloading facilities (such as ramp, driveways, and side-block) and quality, of floor have significant influence on both welfare and meat quality. Cattle from tied housing systems are more stressed by transport than untied cattle and there is a greater risk to develop bad carcass- and meat quality. As regard to air quality, the concentration level of ammonia and carbon dioxide increase with transport time and it occasionally passes the acceptable level when only natural ventilation is used. During the field experiment no detectable methane has been found. To prevent thermal stress, the installation of mechanical ventilation system (both for cooling and heating purposes) is recommended. The conclusions deduced from the current studies are as follows: - Transport conditions, as a whole is stressful for animals and compromise their welfare. - Loading and unloading activities are the most stress inducing factors identified using the heart rate measurements and behaviour observations - Result of the analysis of blood parameters showed that level of stress correlates with transport time. Calves are most sensitive to transport time followed by bulls, and cows are relatively less sensitive to transport length. - Transport time after six hours is stressful for the animals when transported with usual vehicles without special equipments. However, less detrimental effect of transport time on meat quality has been observed, - The evenness of temperature in the loading pens depends on season and number of stops - Concentration level of ammonia and carbon dioxide increase with transport time and it occasionally passes the acceptable level.

"Scientists, engineers, and a free-choice society is a book about control, largely the governing of children and young people in Sweden and the efforts made to persuade them to choose careers—and identities—in science and technology in the period 1950–2000. It is very much part of an interdisciplinary research tradition in which perspectives taken from the history of science and education are combined with theories from the field of governmentality studies. The book begins by describing a new societal problem that confronted Sweden, like so many other Western countries, in the immediate post-war years, namely a lack of engineers and scientists. The period from the outbreak of the Second World War to the mid fifties saw a new appreciation for scientific research and its application in both the military and civilian sectors. With the reconstruction of Europe and the Marshall Plan at its height in the fifties, technology and science became gradually associated with rising industrial productivity and with economic growth in general.
By the sixties this had left national employment policy with some markedly pronounced objectives. By the end of the decade, it was obvious that the determination to increase student numbers in science and engineering ran contrary to other political ambitions, and did not sit well with the right of the individual to freedom of choice in education. The attempt to respect people's autonomy while at the same time enabling more of them study these particular disciplines shaped a distinct set of strategies that made up the 'positive exercise of power'—what might also be called liberal governing—in which the main idea was to encourage students to come to science and engineering of their own free will.
The book goes on to demonstrate how this strategy of governing through individual autonomy would result in a series of specific measures in the seventies and on, including changes to the curricula and teaching materials, which were matched by activities outside the traditional bounds of learning such as a travelling science shows, advertising campaigns, and the construction of science and technology centres. The book also spells out the sheer reach of this recruitment policy. Many leading figures in Sweden set out to encourage people to become scientists and engineers—these were voices heard not only from government quarters, but also from industry and special interest groups.
Scientists, engineers and a free-choice society does not set out to answer the question of how best to set about attracting young people into science and technology; rather, it is concerned with how that question has been answered by others, and what impact their responses have had on power relations between society and the individual, and indeed on the place of science and engineering
education in the present. - Naturvetarna, ingenjörerna och valfrihetens samhälle handlar om styrning av framförallt barn och ungdomar i Sverige till att välja naturvetenskap och teknik som utbildning, yrke och identitet mellan åren 1950–2000. Ämnesmässigt befinner sig texten i en tvärvetenskaplig forskningstradition där perspektiv från vetenskapshistoria och utbildningshistoria används tillsammans med teoretisk inspiration från fältet governmentality studies. I boken beskrivs inledningsvis framväxten av en ny samhällelig problembild i Sverige och övriga västvärlden under tidig efterkrigstid, nämligen bristen på ingenjörer och naturvetare. Den period som sträckte sig från andra världskriget krigets utbrott till 1950-­?talets mitt hade sett en ny värdering av vetenskaplig forskning och tillämpning, både från de militära och civila delarna av samhället. I samband med återuppbyggnaden av Europa och den pågående Marshallhjälpen sammankopplades teknik och naturvetenskap alltmer med ökad industriell produktivitet men också med ekonomisk tillväxt.
Ovanstående utveckling ledde under 1960-­?talet till att rekryteringspolitiska målsättningar uttalades allt starkare. I slutet av decenniet blev det uppenbart att viljan att höja antalet studerande i teknik och naturvetenskap kom att kollidera med andra utbildningspolitiska ambitioner, framförallt den om individens rätt till ett fritt val av utbildning. I försöken att på samma gång respektera detta självbestämmande och samtidigt skapa fler studerande inom de ovan nämnda disciplinerna växte strategier fram i formen av ett slags "positiv maktutövning" – vad som också kallas liberalt styre – där den bärande idén var att förmå elever att söka sig till naturvetenskap och teknik av sin egen fria vilja.
Boken ger fortsättningsvis prov på hur denna strategi att styra genom individens autonomi frambringade en rad olika specifika påverkanssåtgärder från 1970-­?talet och framåt. Bland dessa återfinns förändrade kursplaner och läromedel, men också insatser utanför den traditionella läromiljön, såsom kringresande vetenskapsshower, reklamkampanjer och uppförandet av teknik-­? och vetenskapscentra. Vad som också framträder i boken är rekryteringspolitikens bredd. Många aktörer i samhället verkade för fler naturvetare och ingenjörer – inte endast på myndighetsnivå utan även inom näringsliv och bland enskilda intresseorganisationer.
Naturvetarna, ingenjörerna och valfrihetens samhälle ger inga svar inte på hur fler ungdomar skall förmås bli intresserade av naturvetenskap och teknik. Snarare handlar boken om hur den frågan besvarats av andra och vilka konsekvenser detta har fått för uppkomsten av nya maktrelationer mellan samhälle och individ, men också för de naturvetenskapliga och tekniska utbildningarnas positioner i samtiden."

In Sweden, the agricultural sector uses an estimated 3.7 TWh per year as electricity or fuel. About 34% of this total is estimated to be used in the production of beef, pork, eggs and milk, including the spreading of manure. Some energy is also used for harvesting ley and cereals as feed, which is not included. Most of the energy used is in the form of electricity (approx 63%). All these estimates are based on a 1981-1984 survey by Nilsson & Påhlstorp (1985). Most of the technical equipment is still the same today on farms of comparable size and production methods. However, herds of pigs and cattle are larger now, and therefore new equipment is being used. The average Swedish dairy farm is 39% larger (49 cows) than the EU-15 average (35.5 cows) and herd size is growing rapidly. The climate in winter at the study farms is not as cold as that in central Europe or northern Sweden, although air temperature was below 0ºC for about 3 months in 2006 (average -0.1ºC, Dec-Feb.) In the period June-August, the average temperature was 17.8ºC in 2005 and 19.1ºC in 2006. It only exceeded 30ºC for a period longer than three hours on seven occasions. Because of the climate, it is necessary to have artificial heating in buildings for sows (farrowing section). In all other buildings the animals produce enough heat themselves to keep the house warm. When breeding cattle or dry sows some farmers accept a low inside temperature. Swedish animal welfare legislation requires more space per animal than most other countries. Slatted floors in lying areas are only permissible for fattening steers. Cages for laying hens have to include a sand-bath, nest and perches. Another difference is that sows can only be kept in crates occasionally and can never be tied up. The purpose of this study was to collect data on energy use on modern farms of a size and with a level of technical equipment that could be expected to be in use for the next 10-15 years. The data obtained were then added to data from Nilsson & Påhlstorp (1985).The survey was conducted on 16 farms with buildings mainly constructed during the past 10 years and with modern equipment. All these farms except one were in the south of Sweden (Skåne, Halland, Lat. 55-56ºN) and the last one 180 km south-east of Stockholm (Lat. 58ºN). The study was structured as follows: - Four complete dairy farms were studied in detail and another three were studied because they had interesting technical equipment that was not installed on the first four farms. - Three farms with pigs were studied. One had an FTS-system (Farrowing To Slaughter in the same pen), one a farrowing-growing system (Farrowing to approx. 25 kg/11 weeks in the same pen), and one had fattening pigs (approx. 25-110 kg). - Two farms with laying hens were studied. One had furnished cages and the other had laying hens on floors. - Two broiler houses were studied. - Four different types of grain dryers were studied: batch drier, circulating batch drier, continuous drier and batch-in-bin drier with multiple stirring augers. To measure electricity use, electricity meters of the type used by power companies were installed. These meters distinguishing between feeding, ventilation, light, manure handling and, for some plants, cleaning/disinfection, heating, milking and packing of eggs. When all these were measured there was still some more electricity that was impossible to measure or to distribute to the right category. This was categorised as Miscellaneous. Meters were also installed for estimating the power (W) used at one piglet farm and at two dairy farms. The data were processed and are included in the appendices in order to allow estimations to be made for other farms and evaluations to reduce the use of energy (power). In milk production, energy use was between 930 and 1540 kWh/cow per year (0.125-0.203 kWh/L milk). The functions that used most energy were milking and feeding, which together used 65-75% of total energy. On farms that used a wheel loader and tractor for mixing Total Mixed Ration (TMR), energy consumption was higher than on those farms that used electrical engines for mixing. One litre of diesel was set to 9.8 kWh. Production of piglets (approx. 25 kg) used 689 kWh/sow per year, which means about 28.7 kWh/25 kg pig (assuming 24 piglets/sow & year). During the fattening period (25-110 kg), energy use was 20 kWh per pig. The total energy requirement to produce finishing pigs from birth to 110 kg was thus 48.7 kWh/110 kg pig or 1163 kWh/sow per year, assuming a sow produces 24 piglets per year. This can be compared with the FTS-system, which uses 2431 kWh/sow per year. This difference is not completely caused by different breeding systems but is more likely to be due to difference in buildings, and therefore to a greater need for energy for lighting and ventilation, and a higher temperature in the farrowing unit. The farm that used less energy heated the breeding areas with a heat-pump, while another used diesel as fuel. Most energy was used for heating (including the use of heat lamps). If the building for dry sows needs mechanical ventilation and artificial light, then this leads to a greater use of energy. Egg production with laying hens in furnished cages used 3.1 kWh/year per hen, while a system with free hens used 5.0 kWh/year per hen. Light and ventilation fans used most energy, but were also the functions that showed the greatest differences between the systems. The difference in energy used for light is most probably due to the higher light intensity and to the two extra hours of light each day in the system with free layers. In broiler production, the largest use of energy was heating (84%), followed by light (10.7%) and ventilation (3.6%). The energy needed to produce one broiler (1.5 kg) was an estimated 0.91 kWh. This value is an average of five batches due to large variations between batches. The use of electricity differed from 6% to 20% between similar houses. All the grain driers except the batch-in-bin drier used between 4.2 and 9.1 kWh per 1000 kg of grain during 2005 and 2006. Due to bad weather conditions the use of energy was 30% higher in 2006. The batch-in-bin dryer used 12.0 kWh per 1000 kg of grain 2006. Due to different technical standards the values are not directly comparable, but the data are valid for the separate functions.

In this literature review, measures of reducing the ammonia (NH3) emissions from pig production are described, with focus on systems that can be used under Swedish conditions. The entire production chain with feed, housing, manure storage and application on the field is described and taken into consideration. However, in order to limit the study, the production of crops for feed is not included. As compared to many other countries, emissions of NH3 in Swedish pig production are already low, due to low protein levels in the feed, housing systems with a small excretory area, and storage of slurry outside the building. Lowering the crude protein level from 14.5 % to 12.5 % would reduce NH3 emission by 20 % from the pig house. Including fiber in the feed, leads to a shift from nitrogen in the urine towards more nitrogen in the faeces. In combination with removing the manure daily from the pig house, this might give opportunities for reducing NH3 emissions. A reduction in NH3 emission of up to 50 % might be possible. However, using fiber leads to higher methane (CH4) emissions (from animal and housing), and therefore this should be combined with biogas production. More research is needed in this field. Adding acids or salts to the feed could reduce NH3 emission by up to 40 %, while also improving feed conversion efficiency. Of course, good practice when preparing the feed must be followed. By applying multi-phase feeding and feeding according to the sex of the animals, NH3 emissions could be reduced by 5-15 %. By reducing feed spillage, offering a good environment for the pigs and maintaining good pig health, nitrogen losses could also be reduced with about 5 – 15 %. The importance of having clean pens is also discussed in this literature survey. Swedish housing systems, having a relatively high percentage of solid flooring (with some bedding) and a small excretory area in the pen, provides an opportunity for reducing NH3 emissions from the housing system. However, one prerequisite for this is that the pigs keep the pens clean, and therefore the room temperature should not be too high. This means that during hot periods, the air has to be conditioned before entering the pig house, e.g., by taking in the air via channels under the building. Removing manure daily by means of scrapers (reduction up to 40 %) and cooling the manure under the slats (reduction up to 50 %) are measures that are already implemented in Swedish pig production. The effect of air temperature, air flow and ventilation system are also discussed. Cleaning the exhaust air using bio-filters (up to 65 % reduction), bio-scrubbers (up to 70 % reduction) and chemical scrubbers (up to 96 % reduction) is also an option. By only purifying the exhaust air from the manure channels, the costs for this method can be reduced substantially. The emissions of CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O) from the housing system are also discussed. Removal of the manure under the slats appears to reduce CH4 emission from the building. The use of deep-litter bedding may in many cases result in high N2O emissions. More research is needed in this field. Treating the manure with sulphuric acid, in combination with aeration and re-circulation in the pig house, can reduce NH3 emissions by up to 70 %. Pumping slurry between different compartments in a pig house is not allowed according to the Swedish Welfare Legislation. Therefore it is not certain that the acidification of slurry, inside the pig house, can be applied in Sweden. Anaerobic treatment of biogas production, as another treatment of manure, may not reduce NH3 emissions when storing and spreading the manure, but it results in increasing the nitrogen availability for the crops. In that way nitrogen losses can be reduced since less nitrogen has to be spread per hectare. Besides, biogas production reduces odour problems as well as emissions of green house gas (GHG) by the production of energy and lower CH4 emissions. Aerobic treatment of manure, can reduce the emissions of NH3 and GHG. However, poorly controlled aeration processes can have the opposite effect. Storage of slurry in a tank having a cover lid has been pointed out in many investigations, to be the easiest and most effective way of reducing NH3 and CH4 emissions. The straw used for fattening pigs is mainly consumed by the pigs, and it is rare that a naturally stable crust will be developed on the slurry. However, within piglet production a crust on the slurry tank is often found. This crust can cause problems when the slurry tank is covered. Technical solutions have to be developed to solve this problem. On pig farms, the main crops are cereals, and the slurry is mainly applied either in the spring during tillage work, or band spread in the early summer on growing cereals. Incorporation of the slurry, e.g., by harrowing in the spring, effectively reduces the NH3 losses if it takes place as soon as possible after spreading, preferably directly or at least within 4 hours after spreading. Another possibility is to band spread the slurry onto the growing cereals because the canopy provides a microclimate which reduces the NH3 losses, as compared to spreading on a bare field. Late application during the vegetation period or spreading before the autumn sowing, often results in lower nitrogen utilization by the plants, and thereby higher risks of nitrogen leakage. Due to interactions between different sources on a farm, reduction in NH3 emission from the individual sections of the livestock production system cannot be simply added to give the net reduction in emission from the total system. Thus a whole farm system approach is needed for devising control strategies for reducing NH3 emission. Four scenarios were evaluated in this report. Scenario 1 consists of: Reduction of the crude protein in the feed from 14.5 % to 12.5 %, relatively simple technique inside the pig house to reduce NH3 emission, covering the slurry tank and new technique when spreading manure. Scenario 2 consists of: Using biproducts from industry (16.5 % crude protein instead of 14.5 %) and cleaning of exhausting air, covering the slurry tank and new technique when spreading manure. Scenario 3 comprises conditions similar to those of Scenario 1, including high dietary feed fiber content in combination with biogas production. Scenario 4 comprises conditions similar to those of Scenario 2, including high dietary feed fiber content and in combination with biogas production. Preliminary calculations indicate that the scenarios may reduce emissions by 47-68 %. It should be pointed out that the calculations are still very uncertain. The calculations show that Scenario 3 appears to be the most effective way of reducing NH3 emissions. So the combination of using low protein feed with high fiber content together with the production of biogas appears to be a promising method for future development. Even Scenario 1, which used only simple techniques, has a significant result: lowering the protein content affects the entire chain from feed to the field. From the literature review, it can be concluded that one should consider whole farm systems when trying to reduce NH3 emissions. Having a roof on the manure storage, using band spreading together with incorporation, e.g. harrowing, within a few hours after spreading, are the most important and easiest ways of reducing NH3losses. When discussing the method of animal keeping, feeding and housing, a low protein level in the feed has a positive effect along the entire production chain, and appears to be the most effective means of reducing NH3 emissions. Using more fiber or acids/salts in the feed will reduce the NH3 emission even more. When biproducts from industry are used in the pig feed, cleaning the exhausting air from the manure channel may be an option. More research is needed before recommendations can be given.