Surviving a Shut-Off: U.S. Households at Greatest Risk of Utility Disconnections and How They Cope

This is the first known study to estimate household characteristics and coping behaviors associated with utility disconnections in the United States. We capitalize on a measure of disconnections available in the Residential Energy Consumption Survey that is administered by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Using the 2015 panel, we analyzed the prevalence of disconnection notices, disconnection of services, and related coping strategies, including: forgoing basic necessities, maintaining an unhealthy home temperature, and receiving energy assistance. Findings indicate that nearly 15% of U.S. households received a disconnection notice and 3%—more than three million households—experienced a service disconnection in 2015. Our results further demonstrate that more households resorted to forgoing basic necessities than maintaining an unhealthy temperature or receiving energy assistance, though many families used a combination of strategies to prevent or respond to the threat or experience of being disconnected. We discuss implications for future research on material hardships, survival strategies, and the health impacts of poverty.

Photodegradation of Antibiotic Using TiO2 as a Catalyst: A Review

The use of antibiotics in the community harms the environment. Due to the use of antibiotics is a risk of antibiotic resistance. Photodegradation was a method that could be used to reduce this impact. Photodegradation is a decomposition process using photon energy assistance. The photodegradation process requires a photocatalyst, which is a semiconductor material when subjected to an energy photon. This jump of electrons causes electron holes that can interact with water solvents to form radicals. TiO2 is the most common photocatalyst that is used for the destruction of pollutants in aqueous solutions. Photochemically, TiO2 is a stable, non-toxic, widely available, and low-cost manufacturing process. Increasing the concentration of TiO2 catalyst will also increase the photodegradation activity of antibiotics, and the longer time of the irradiation time will increase the antibiotic degradation.

Enhanced piezoelectric energy harvesting power with thermoelectric energy assistance

The demand for life-time power supply in Internet of Things (IoT) nodes is a challenge issue. Piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) is expected to meet the demand by harvesting vibration energy and converting it into electricity for the IoT nodes. This article presents a novel PEH power improvement circuit with thermoelectric energy assistance. The proposed circuit can extract energy from thermoelectric generator (TEG) to assist the PEH. Simulation and experimental platforms are built for testing the power generation performance of the proposed circuit. With the thermoelectric assistance of 0.1 V and 0.2 V, the harvested power can reach 3.4 times and 4 times that of the standard energy harvesting (SEH) circuit when the piezoelectric transducer (PZT) original open circuit voltage Voc,org = 8 V, respectively. The harvested power can be increased by 13.3% and 33.3% with the thermoelectric assistance of 0.1 V and 0.2 V, respectively.

Analysis of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in America-Example of an energy assistance program for low-income families

<p>TheWeinefficientfossilfuelsubsidiesself-reportlistedexistingfossilfuelsubsidiesincluding subsidiesfor<br />theexploration,Development,Extractionoffossilfuels,subsidiesforfossilFuelsemployedintheresidentialSector(represented<br />bytheLow-incomeHome Energyassistanceprogram).Thispaperchooseslow-incomeHome<br />energyAssistanceprogram(liheap)asacasestudy.Theresultsshowso: ① discriminatorypricesTofossil<br />fuelsinliheapledtoexcessiveFossilfuelconsumption.Comparedwith 2013, thenumber<br />ofheatingSubsidiesbyrecipienthouseholdsreducedby2.89%0in 2014, whileTotalExpenditureroseby19.23%0; ②<br />DuringFY1993toFY1995,FY1999toFY2001,FY$ toFY2007,<br />andFY2008toFYno.,Weatherizationbenefitsandcrisisbenefitsshowed asynchronousgrowth; ③<br />liheaprecipienthouseholdstendedtoconsumeMorefossilFuelthanLow-incomeandOthertypesTohouseholds,particularlyin<br />theSouthArea.Finally,Thispaperanalyzes"ExternalinstitutionalsystemThenInternalEnergyStructureof,theUSinefficientfos<br />silFuelsubsidiesReform,thusprovidessomepolicyImplications</p>

KAJIAN FAKTOR-FAKTOR DALAM PROSES PEMBANGUNAN DESA DI ERA OTONOMI DAERAH DI KECAMATAN SINONSAYANG

The purposes of this research are: 1) describes the process of rural development in Sub Sinonsayang; 2) examine the factors in the development process of regional autonomy era village in the district of South Minahasa regency Sinonsayang. The method used in a descriptive study using a quantitative approach, among others, using a Likert scale, ie research which is then processed and analyzed to be concluded, using primary and secondary data. Primary data is data obtained directly in the field through direct interviews with respondents. Secondary data were obtained from the District Office and the Central Bureau of Statistics Sinonsayang South Minahasa District. The results showed that: first, the process of rural development in Sub Sinonsayang starting from the planning, implementation and maintenance of development. while the second: 1) factor of natural resources which consists of land owned by the community, the results and the types of commodity crops, and the number of livestock and meat production of commodity fish catches with the overall average amount is 2.59 and included in the category "large enough"; 2) human resources consisting of level of education completed and ability or skill that people have shown an average of 2.72, and these results are categorized as "good enough"; 3) economy consists of taxes and incomes gained an average of 3.5, and are categorized as "good"; 4) public services which consist of services in the realization of development, the service performance of the apparatus, the timeliness of administrative services, facilities and infrastructure availability services overall average of 3.9, including the category of "good"; 5) community participation that includes community involvement in rural development through meeting attendance, willingness to provide energy assistance, money, materials, and maintenance and keep construction with an average of 4.7, and are categorized as "very good".