Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Rising temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions will fundamentally change electricity consumption patterns in Europe. A team of scientists from Germany and the United States now analyzed what unchecked future warming means for Europe's electricity demand: daily peak loads in Southern Europe will likely increase and overall consumption will shift from Northern Europe to the South. Further, the majority of countries will see a shift of temperature-driven annual peak demand from winter to summer by the end of this century. This would put additional strain on European power grids, the study now published in the renowned US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests.

"It is fascinating to see how the response of electricity consumption to temperature changes is similar across European countries' peak and total electricity use seem to be smallest on days with a maximum temperature of about 22C (72F), and increases when this daily maximum temperature either rises or falls," lead author Leonie Wenz from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) explains. "We use this common characteristic as a basis for estimating future electricity consumption under climate change - that is beyond the current temperature range. That way, those European countries that are already experiencing very hot temperatures today serve as examples for the future of cooler countries. It turns out that electricity demand in Europe will shift from countries like Sweden or Norway to countries like Portugal or Spain. Concurrently, the annual peak load will shift from winter to summer in most countries."

Using hourly electricity data across 35 countries

"Quantifying the connection between heat and human behavior is at the frontier of climate change research. There now is ample evidence that when it's hot outside, air quality suffers, people are more stressed, aggressive, violent and less productive, mortality and crime rates rise. All sectors of the economy are affected by thermal stress, from the residential to the commercial, agricultural to the industrial sector. The main adaptation mechanism available to humans to combat high outdoor temperatures is a cooled indoor built environment, which in most settings requires the consumption of significant amounts of electricity. This increased demand for air conditioning will put pressure on electricity grids when it is hot outside and generation and transmission infrastructure are already strained," co-author Max Auffhammer from the University of California, Berkeley, adds.

The study is the first to use observed hourly electricity data across 35 European countries - which are connected by the world's largest synchronous electrical grid - to estimate how climate change impacts the intensity of peak-load events and overall electricity consumption. While previous work on the relationship between temperature and electricity consumption primarily focused on the US or single European countries and the overall consumption impacts, recent research suggests that the effects of changes in peak load may be much larger and costlier, putting the focus on times when the power grid is already stressed.

A fundamental challenge for transmission infrastructure and peak-generating capacity

"A few decades ago, no ordinary car in Europe had air conditioning, today almost every automobile has it - the same development will probably happen with buildings in Europe, yet not for reasons of comfort but due to necessity. People will need to cool down their environments to keep up their life and economic productivity," co-author Anders Levermann from PIK and Columbia University in New York concludes.

While the study indicates that the projected effect of climate change on European electricity consumption as a whole is nearly zero, the shift in spatial as well as seasonal electricity consumption will be a fundamental challenge for Europe, he argues: "This will have important ramifications for the transmission infrastructure, peak-generating capacity and storage requirements - to adapt to the warming that is already unavoidable due to past greenhouse gas emissions. The easiest way to limit the impacts of climate change remains to keep the Paris climate guardrail, that is to limit the temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius."

Explore further: Climate change may overload US electrical grid: study

More information: Leonie Wenz el al., "Northsouth polarization of European electricity consumption under future warming," PNAS (2017). http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1704339114

Read more:
Electricity consumption in Europe will shift under climate change - Phys.Org

I've been teaching American politics at the collegiate level for nearly two decades. Entering the classroom this fall will be unlike previous semesters. The Trump presidency is unprecedented in many ways, and forces educators to rethink the way we approach teaching government and politics (as well as many other subjects, I'm sure, with which I am less familiar).

I've written before about one of the primary ways teaching about Trump can be challenging for political scientists. Most people assume (fairly) that professors tend to be politically liberal, but it is not ideologically liberal tendencies that make it difficult to teach about Trump. I recall no consternation about teaching politics during the George W. Bush administration, for example. Rather, President Trump presents challenges for two primary reasons.

First, a scientist's job is to be detached from her subject, and that is difficult in the current era of hyperpartisanship and outrageous events. Like most of my colleagues, when I'm in the classroom I encourage objectivity, curiosity, neutrality, and a nonjudgmental point of view. Such dispassion is necessary in the scientific process. As teachers of politics, this can be a challenging perspective to impart on students who select to study the topic because of their political passions, but this is a normal part of being a political science professor that many of us enjoy.

However, the challenge of getting students to take a detached, nonjudgmental viewpoint on current events is maximized in the Trump administration. How can one be dispassionate in the face of a leader who aligns himself with white supremacists? While commitment to scientific principles remains priority, it would be unethical and morally irresponsible not to express judgment against repugnant behavior that is baldly bigoted. As a social scientist, I can talk about the president breaking with democratic norms and precedent, but as a human being, I also want to expose the dehumanizing effects of vitriolic language and the violence it encourages.

My strategy in class this semester is to be both scientific and human. We can retain a commitment to social science by analyzing behaviors in the context of strategic behavior, institutional incentives, social influences, individual psychology, or any other typical and academic way of examining politics. We can respond as humans by openly noting when behavior is inhumane, immoral, unethical, or racist. American political scholars may be less accustomed to doing the latter when discussing current events and the US president, and instructors may feel like they are breaking scientific practice to do so, but we need only look to our colleagues in other subfields for guidance.

Comparativists do not wince at describing despotic regimes. They do just fine objectively identifying authoritarian, tyrannical, or violent leadership. No one accuses scholars in international relations as being ideologically motivated for observing warmongering or international exchanges that threaten American security. Americanists simply need to do what comparativists have been saying for years: treat the US as a single case, not a special one.

Calling out policy proposals that dehumanize classes of people is more of a normative discussion than I typically have in my courses on American political institutions, but not doing so would be irresponsible and naive. Allowing for some humanity does not invalidate the objective perspective I bring to 95 percent of my course material. If you include lectures on civil rights and the civil rights movement, for example, in your classes, you already have practice integrating humanizing and social scientific content.

To be fair, it's different when it's your own country. It's easier to appear to be a neutral observer when one is not enmeshed in the society of study. But it's not impossible, and we might seek advice from some anthropologists for further advice.

This is the second reason dispassionate study of Trump is challenging: Hes one of us. We participated in a voting system that selected him, and we must expect that we have colleagues and students who have, and may still, support him. We have to insist that critical observation of the president is not the same thing as supporting or opposing him as president. The nature of modern partisan polarization, and the extreme nature of negative partisanship in current American politics, means that criticizing Trump sounds an awful lot like expressing a partisan preference for Democrats, but it need not, and teachers should push back hard against this interpretation.

Even though our politics is governed right now by extreme partisan identity, and citizens are using party ID to decide their preferences over everything from candidates to vacation spots, this does not invalidate a social scientists observations about partisan behavior. If we teach about the powerful effects of negative partisanship and show a willingness to be challenged on our objectivity, we can teach our students to view politics with the same critical eyes we use, and not the partisan-dominated lens promoted in media. Further, doing so does not mean ignoring politicians morally reprehensible behavior.

To that end, here are some of the additions I'll be making to my opening-day lecture in Introduction to American Politics this term. First, Ill encourage students to develop a consciousness about whether they are viewing an event using a partisan filter. I want students to observe news, rather than react to it. Avoid the temptation to immediately agree or disagree with what you read, and resist the urge to respond emotionally to every headline. It helps to consume news from sources that aim for objective reporting rather than emotional responses. Evaluate the quality of news sources and aim to get most news from outlets with high integrity. Favor sources with the following characteristics:

My aim is to encourage social scientific thinking while maintaining a commitment to humanity. Students can develop greater self-awareness about their own news consumption habits and how they may affect their attitudes, and we can help them through modeling and instruction.

No one has to give up their social scientist card for calling out behavior or events that contradict American values or democratic norms. It may not always be straightforward, but Im committed to doing both.

See more here:
Being a good scientist and a good human: thoughts on teaching during Trump - Vox

To say Lisa McConnell has been busy since the first of August is an understatement.

On that day, she took the reins from Jeff Kubel in her first day as Temeculas new chief of police.

I have not slowed down since the day I was promoted, which I love, she said.

Still, she carved out time to discuss her background, experience and priorities.

Q: Youre a Riverside County native?

A: Yes, I moved from Riverside to Murrieta in 2001.

Q: What excites you most about stepping into this new role?

A: I have a passion for policing and want to make a positive difference in the lives of the residents of our community. Im excited to interact with a diverse group of people within the Temecula area and encourage the men and women of the Temecula Police Department to be more engaged with the community.

Q: Can you share your top priorities for your tenure as chief of police?

A: We were just named the 13th safest city in the country and have routinely been ranked one of the safest cities.

I want to focus on maintaining that reputation while improving the communication, trust and partnership we have with the citizens we serve.

Engaging with the community is one of my top priorities. I would like to increase our involvement with the Boys and Girls Club, our Police Activity League and other community groups.

Q: Why did you choose to pursue graduate level studies psychology?

A: I obtained my bachelors degree in psychology before I joined the Sheriffs Department. I was interested in pursuing a career in counseling but, as fate would have it, I went into law enforcement.

Q: What value do you think that education brings to your work?

A: Understanding human behavior has helped me as a deputy on patrol and as a crisis negotiator.

Q: You sit on the board of directors of the nonprofit group project T.O.U.C.H. (Together Our Unity Conquers Homelessness). Do you see issues around homelessness as a priority moving forward?

A: Ive been involved with helping the homeless population since 2008. Being homeless is not a crime.

However, when we get complaints from concerned citizens about a homeless person, we respond to determine if a crime has been committed.

If we find the person is engaging in criminal activity such as trespassing, public intoxication, theft, vandalism, public urination, etc. we enforce the law and make arrests when possible.

But, if there is no violation of the law, our only option is to offer a homeless person resources to try to help them up and out of their homeless situation.

Q: How do you do that?

A: Our police department created a team to work on the issue of homelessness by reassigning four of our Problem Oriented Policing officers to a Homeless Outreach Team.

The Homeless Outreach Team works closely with the homeless and the citys pantry vendor, Community Mission of Hope.

The team employs a two-pronged approach: 1. a zero-tolerance stance on crime, and 2. a concerted effort to get law abiding homeless people the resources they need.

My involvement with Project Touch has helped me identify the many resources available to assist with the homeless population.

Q: Is there a goal you hope to achieve as chief of police?

A: My hope is we become more involved in our community. I believe community-oriented policing is effective.

I encourage neighborhood watch groups, and enjoy providing training and education to children, teens, families and seniors on various topics.

Q: Who, or what, inspires you?

A: Im inspired by survivors who are able to get back up, pick up the pieces and use the situation as a learning experience. These people refuse to let their circumstances define them.

Email: temecula@sduniontribune.com

More here:
New chief talks about her background, experience and priorities - The San Diego Union-Tribune

It's been said, and we've grown up hearing, that all the cells in our bodies regenerate every seven to 10 years, including the heart and the brain. Can we assume then, that our moral and emotional compasses are also capable of transforming over time?

That notion has been belied, judging by the numbers of aging long-termers warehoused in prison who have been denied parole by commissioners basing their decisions only on what individuals did rather than who they are. People of conscience are now watching the forthcoming decisions of five recent appointees to see if they ascribe to transformation.

It is too late for John MacKenzie, a model prisoner who hung himself at the age of 70 after 35 years of incarceration and 10 repeated parole denials. MacKenzie is the human sacrifice that underscores the broken parole system.

As a former parole commissioner, it was unusual for me to meet a parole candidate over the age of 50. Last year, of 52,344 inmates in the state's correctional facilities, 10,140 (19 percent) were over 50, despite the decline in the overall population. The number of elderly incarcerated has increased 98 percent since 2000, reflecting the Parole Board's unwillingness to release inmates, even after they've met their minimum allowable sentence.

"Life" on the back of a sentence appears to give a pass to the commissioners unwilling to accept transformation in human behavior and too politically motivated to practice their job, which is risk assessment. Thus, we have prison hospitals and infirmaries filled with long-termers languishing through the years, even though their risk of re-offending is 1 percent. And the health care costs for the prisons have increased 20 percent from three years ago to $380 million today, up $64.5 million.

If the parole board doesn't trust in people's transformations, supported by their proof of advanced education, program involvement, clean disciplinary records and so on, perhaps they'll believe in new evidence in neuroplasticity, a field of science that is also coming of age. Simply stated, it uses brain scans to show that the brain has the ability to change and heal itself as it is subjected to new experiences. Much is coming to light in the medical community about this area of study, with implications of change for ADD and Parkinson's Disease behaviors.

This has an important implication for criminal justice as well the possibility that people can become entirely different in their behaviors. Physical change occurs in the brain on its own, with exposure to life's surrounding stimulus over time.

I would estimate that 80 percent of 77,000 parole interviews I participated in were with people who suffered early life traumas, such as sex abuse, violence and concussions.

Our older imprisoned people have gained maturity, non-violent adaptive behaviors and introspection. They become different people, demonstrating different responses.

Those in prison are there for crimes that are, without exception, horrendous. While the penalties for these crimes can never truly make a victim whole, the court-sanctioned sentence is our accepted legal calibration for commensurate time.

Can denying parole for 30 years or more beyond a minimum sentence change the crime? Can expressing redemption and remorse 10, 13 or 17 times before the Parole Board make a person any more prepared to face the community?

No. It makes them older and sicker, and some don't even recall why they are there. These aged are mostly invisible people. On paper, we don't see their limps, their dementia, their physical impairments, their addled senses, their diminished capacities. They bring with them all the hope it takes to describe their transformation and regret to the Parole Board, only to be almost certainly denied based on the "nature of the crime." And the aging over-50 category grows.

Perhaps the Parole Board can examine the possibility of the growth of their own hearts and their brains among their new colleagues.

Barbara Hanson Treen served on the state Parole Board from 1984 to 1996.

See the original post here:
Parole Board ignores the capacity for change - Albany Times Union