ABSTRACT
There is a general consensus that private car ownership is a significant barrier to transport system change, specifically in regard to injuries, space, air pollutants, or greenhouse gas emissions. Observed changes in automobile characteristics also suggest that the system is becoming less sustainable, given trends towards larger cars with greater mass and horsepower. It is thus relevant to understand how the automobile system progresses. National statistics provide data on the technical side of car ownership, such as changes in vehicle specifics or national fleet size. This paper complements this view with a socio-psychological perspective on aspirational car owner-ship, i.e. the type of car people preferred to drive if given a free choice. Data is derived from an online panel (n = 1,211) representative of the German population, and also contains information on current car ownership, use, driving style, traffic behavior, attitudes towards traffic risks and safety measures, as well as political orientation. This allows for a discussion of driver segments in relation to the characteristics of cars, and hence to better understand the socio-psychological drivers of the development of the automobile system.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented decline in global air transport and associated reduction in CO2 emissions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) reacted by weakening its own CO2-offsetting rules. Here we investigate whether the pandemic can be an opportunity to bring the sector on a reliable low-carbon trajectory, with a starting point in the observed reduction in air transport demand. We model a COVID-19 recovery based on a feed-in quota for non-biogenic synthetic fuels that will decarbonize fuels by 2050, as well as a carbon price to account for negative externalities and as an incentive to increase fuel efficiency. Results suggest that until 2050, air transport demand will continue to grow, albeit slower than in ICAO's recovery scenarios, exceeding 2018 demand by 3.7-10.3 trillion RPK. Results show that synthetic fuels, produced by 14-20 EJ of photovoltaic energy, would make it possible to completely phase out fossil fuels and to avoid emissions of up to 26.5 Gt CO2 over the period 2022-2050.
ABSTRACT
Infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to a number of pathologies in the haematopoietic system, which have a significant impact on clinical symptoms and mortality. Activation of the coagulation system also leads to a significantly increased incidence of thromboembolism. The article presents pathomechanisms, relevant diagnostic parameters and the current status of passive immunisation through convalescent plasma.
ABSTRACT
In the first five months of 2020 industrial production in the US fell 15% due to the Covid-19 shut down. At the same time the S&P500 stock market index first dropped by 30% and then recovered to almost pre-crisis levels. This seems puzzling as the most severe economic recession in nearly a century unfolds. However, central banks have supported financial markets with unprecedented money supply and this might explain the observed stock market resilience. Within a cointegration framework, we estimate the relation between macroeconomic variables and the US stock market. Results show that approximately half of the stock market recovery can be attributed to the increase in money supply.