Viemärin päässä Kotkan kaupunki : Vesiensuojelun kehitys Kymijoen itäisen päähaaran suulla 1945-1970

The focus of this thesis is the marine environmental history of the eastern part and the estuary of the Kymi river from 1945 to 1970. There is no previous research on this area from an environmentally historical perspective, nor have many of the sources here discussed been previously used. Therefore the thesis expands academic understanding of local environmental processes and protection in and around the city of Kotka and the Kymi river. The thesis falls within the methodological field of socio-political history, as the research focus is centered on the local process of establishing the nature of environmental problems and solving them. The principal assumption has been that the city of Kotka, due to its ongoing expansion, was slow to respond to environmental hazards. The Kymi river was among the most degraded bodies of water during this period. Kotka on the other hand was a major center of wood processing industry and one of Finlands major industrial ports. In the past the river and its estuary had provided ample resources for fishers. It is this contradictory use of the environment that allows one to discuss the local struggle for the correct use of the environment. Primary sources include local and city archives, environmental studies, and legal documents linked with the above. The archives of the city of Kotka and of various private associations form the core sources. Environmental studies from the research period have been dealt with as sources to the local political power struggle. Alongside with current environmental research they also provide insight into the state of the environment. Another goals has been to accumulate environmental research for a future multidisciplinary study in this area. As a final conclusion it can be said that environmental degradation was widely understood as a problem only in the 1960s. The influential role of the city of Kotka however determined the pace with which these problems were then solved.

Lähiympäristö nepalilaisessa arjessa - oppilaiden ja opettajien käsityksiä omista vaikutusmahdollisuuksistaan

Aims. Sustainable development has become the most important theme in the development co-operation in the 21st century. Sustainable development is pursued by environmental education among other things. This research rose from the discussion about the meaning of environmental education in developing countries and especially the effect it might have in the environment and society. Nepal and one of its rural private schools was selected as a research object. The themes and questions of the research are: 1. Conceptions of the immediate environment of students and teachers: What does immediate environment mean according to the students and teachers? 2. Students most important acts in the environment: What kind of effect do the students think they can have on the environment in their everyday life? 3. Teachers opinions, experiences and methods in environmental education: What do teachers think should be taught to the students in environmental education? What are the teachers actually teaching? What kind of methods are the teachers using while teaching environmental education? Researching the conceptions of immediate environment and acts in the environment gives information about the students and teachers relation with the nature in their everyday life and the baseline from which environmental education will be implemented from. Teachers opinions, experiences and methods in environmental education provide information on the current implementation of the environmental education. Methods. Ethnography was selected as a research method. Before collecting the actual data, a pre-study was conducted. The aim of the pre-study was to specify the research themes and practice the cross-cultural interview as a research method. The actual data was collected in the last week of January 2010 in Dhangadhi, Nepal. The data included twenty-two drawings and captions from the students and one group interview with the teachers. The data was analyzed with brief quantitative analysis and full analysis was done with a qualitative method called content analysis. Results and conclusions. Teachers and student s conceptions of immediate environment differ from each other. Students saw the immediate environment from the scientific approach while the teachers thought it was more social conception. The interface was found in their own personal environment. This interface is a good baseline for environmental education. The most important acts in the environment for the students were protection towards the environment. The students saw their possibilities to have an influence in the environment through the school. A connection between the school and acting in the environment was evident. In the teachers opinions and experiences of environmental education, environmental problems and the importance of teaching attitudes and values were found. No logic thematic entities were discovered but the teachers did use different kinds of methods in their teaching. Achieving the international aims for environmental education was very challenging in the research school because of the teachers lack of information and skills to teach the subject. The context where the school works was also challenging.

Aluesuunnittelu ja kestävä kehitys Luoteis-Venäjällä : Ympäristösuunnittelun mahdollisuus paikallisissa hallintatavoissa

In this Ph.D. thesis I have studied how the objectives of sustainable development have been integrated into Northwest Russian urban and regional planning, and how the Russian planning discourse has changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. By analysing the planning discussion, processes, and strategic documents I have also investigated the use of power and governmentality in urban and regional planning. As a methodological foundation I have used an approach that I call geographical constructivism . It was possible to answer in a relevant manner the question of how sustainable development has become a part of planning in Northwest Russia through a discourse analysis of the planning discussion. During the last decades, the aim of sustainable development has become globally one of the most central societal challenges. Urban and regional planning has a central role to play in promoting this process, since many meta-level objectives actually take shape within its sphere. An ever more actual challenge brought by sustainable development is to plan regions and places while balancing the conflicts of the pressures of safeguarding a good environment and of taking into consideration social and economic needs. I have given these unavoidable conflicts of sustainable development a central place in my work. In my view, complementing instrumental and communicative rationality with conflict rationality gives environmental planning a well-equipped toolbox. Sustainable development can be enhanced in urban and regional planning by seeking open, and especially hidden, potential conflicts. Thus, the expressed thinking (mentality) and actions taken by power regimes in and around conflicts open an interesting viewpoint into Northwest Russian governmentality. I examine the significance of sustainable development in planning through Northwest Russian geography, and also through recent planning legislation and four case studies. In addition, I project my analysis of empirical material onto the latest discussion of planning theory. My four case studies, which are based on independent and separate empirical material (42 thematic interviews and planning documents), consider the republics of Karelia and Komi, Leningrad oblast and the city of Saint Petersburg. In the dissertation I argue how sustainable development is, in the local governmentalities of Northwest Russia, understood as a concept where solving environmental problems is central, and that they can be solved through planning carried out by the planning professionals. Despite this idealism, environmental improvements have been overlooked by appealing to difficult economic factors. This is what I consider environmental racism, which I think is the most central barrier to sustainable development in Northwest Russia. The situation concerning the social dimension of sustainable development is even more difficult, since, for example, the development of local democracy is not highly valued. In the planning discourse this democracy racism is explained by a short history of democracy in Russia. However, precisely through planning conflicts, for example in St. Petersburg, planning has become socially more sustainable: protests by local inhabitants have bypassed the poorly functioning representational democracy, when the governmentality has changed from a mute use of power to one that adopts a stand on a conflicting issue. Keywords: Russia, urban and regional planning, sustainable development, environmental planning, power and conflicts in planning, governmentality, rationalities.

Substance flow analysis in Finland : Four case studies on N and P flows

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential elements for all living organisms. However, in excess, they contribute to several environmental problems such as aquatic and terrestrial eutrophication. Globally, human action has multiplied the volume of N and P cycling since the onset of industrialization. The multiplication is a result of intensified agriculture, increased energy consumption and population growth. Industrial ecology (IE) is a discipline, in which human interaction with the ecosystems is investigated using a systems analytical approach. The main idea behind IE is that industrial systems resemble ecosystems, and, like them, industrial systems can then be described using material, energy and information flows and stocks. Industrial systems are dependent on the resources provided by the biosphere, and these two cannot be separated from each other. When studying substance flows, the aims of the research from the viewpoint of IE can be, for instance, to elucidate the ways how the cycles of a certain substance could be more closed and how the flows of a certain substance could be decreased per unit of production (= dematerialization). In Finland, N and P are studied widely in different ecosystems and environmental emissions. A holistic picture comparing different societal systems is, however, lacking. In this thesis, flows of N and P were examined in Finland using substance flow analysis (SFA) in the following four subsystems: I) forest industry and use of wood fuels, II) food production and consumption, III) energy, and IV) municipal waste. A detailed analysis at the end of the 1990s was performed. Furthermore, historical development of the N and P flows was investigated in the energy system (III) and the municipal waste system (IV). The main research sources were official statistics, literature, monitoring data, and expert knowledge. The aim was to identify and quantify the main flows of N and P in Finland in the four subsystems studied. Furthermore, the aim was to elucidate whether the nutrient systems are cyclic or linear, and to identify how these systems could be more efficient in the use and cycling of N and P. A final aim was to discuss how this type of an analysis can be used to support decision-making on environmental problems and solutions. Of the four subsystems, the food production and consumption system and the energy system created the largest N flows in Finland. For the creation of P flows, the food production and consumption system (Paper II) was clearly the largest, followed by the forest industry and use of wood fuels and the energy system. The contribution of Finland to N and P flows on a global scale is low, but when compared on a per capita basis, we are one of the largest producers of these flows, with relatively high energy and meat consumption being the main reasons. Analysis revealed the openness of all four systems. The openness is due to the high degree of internationality of the Finnish markets, the large-scale use of synthetic fertilizers and energy resources and the low recycling rate of many waste fractions. Reduction in the use of fuels and synthetic fertilizers, reorganization of the structure of energy production, reduced human intake of nutrients and technological development are crucial in diminishing the N and P flows. To enhance nutrient recycling and replace inorganic fertilizers, recycling of such wastes as wood ash and sludge could be promoted. SFA is not usually sufficiently detailed to allow specific recommendations for decision-making to be made, but it does yield useful information about the relative magnitude of the flows and may reveal unexpected losses. Sustainable development is a widely accepted target for all human action. SFA is one method that can help to analyse how effective different efforts are in leading to a more sustainable society. SFA's strength is that it allows a holistic picture of different natural and societal systems to be drawn. Furthermore, when the environmental impact of a certain flow is known, the method can be used to prioritize environmental policy efforts.

Analyzing changes in macro-level drivers of country-specific emissions : The role of consumption, technology and trade

Industrial ecology is an important field of sustainability science. It can be applied to study environmental problems in a policy relevant manner. Industrial ecology uses ecosystem analogy; it aims at closing the loop of materials and substances and at the same time reducing resource consumption and environmental emissions. Emissions from human activities are related to human interference in material cycles. Carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential elements for all living organisms, but in excess have negative environmental impacts, such as climate change (CO2, CH4 N2O), acidification (NOx) and eutrophication (N, P). Several indirect macro-level drivers affect emissions change. Population and affluence (GDP/capita) often act as upward drivers for emissions. Technology, as emissions per service used, and consumption, as economic intensity of use, may act as drivers resulting in a reduction in emissions. In addition, the development of country-specific emissions is affected by international trade. The aim of this study was to analyse changes in emissions as affected by macro-level drivers in different European case studies. ImPACT decomposition analysis (IPAT identity) was applied as a method in papers I III. The macro-level perspective was applied to evaluate CO2 emission reduction targets (paper II) and the sharing of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets (paper IV) in the European Union (EU27) up to the year 2020. Data for the study were mainly gathered from official statistics. In all cases, the results were discussed from an environmental policy perspective. The development of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions was analysed in the Finnish energy sector during a long time period, 1950 2003 (paper I). Finnish emissions of NOx began to decrease in the 1980s as the progress in technology in terms of NOx/energy curbed the impact of the growth in affluence and population. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to energy use during 1993 2004 (paper II) were analysed by country and region within the European Union. Considering energy-based CO2 emissions in the European Union, dematerialization and decarbonisation did occur, but not sufficiently to offset population growth and the rapidly increasing affluence during 1993 2004. The development of nitrogen and phosphorus load from aquaculture in relation to salmonid consumption in Finland during 1980 2007 was examined, including international trade in the analysis (paper III). A regional environmental issue, eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, and a marginal, yet locally important source of nutrients was used as a case. Nutrient emissions from Finnish aquaculture decreased from the 1990s onwards: although population, affluence and salmonid consumption steadily increased, aquaculture technology improved and the relative share of imported salmonids increased. According to the sustainability challenge in industrial ecology, the environmental impact of the growing population size and affluence should be compensated by improvements in technology (emissions/service used) and with dematerialisation. In the studied cases, the emission intensity of energy production could be lowered for NOx by cleaning the exhaust gases. Reorganization of the structure of energy production as well as technological innovations will be essential in lowering the emissions of both CO2 and NOx. Regarding the intensity of energy use, making the combustion of fuels more efficient and reducing energy use are essential. In reducing nutrient emissions from Finnish aquaculture to the Baltic Sea (paper III) through technology, limits of biological and physical properties of cultured fish, among others, will eventually be faced. Regarding consumption, salmonids are preferred to many other protein sources. Regarding trade, increasing the proportion of imports will outsource the impacts. Besides improving technology and dematerialization, other viewpoints may also be needed. Reducing the total amount of nutrients cycling in energy systems and eventually contributing to NOx emissions needs to be emphasized. Considering aquaculture emissions, nutrient cycles can be partly closed through using local fish as feed replacing imported feed. In particular, the reduction of CO2 emissions in the future is a very challenging task when considering the necessary rates of dematerialisation and decarbonisation (paper II). Climate change mitigation may have to focus on other greenhouse gases than CO2 and on the potential role of biomass as a carbon sink, among others. The global population is growing and scaling up the environmental impact. Population issues and growing affluence must be considered when discussing emission reductions. Climate policy has only very recently had an influence on emissions, and strong actions are now called for climate change mitigation. Environmental policies in general must cover all the regions related to production and impacts in order to avoid outsourcing of emissions and leakage effects. The macro-level drivers affecting changes in emissions can be identified with the ImPACT framework. Statistics for generally known macro-indicators are currently relatively well available for different countries, and the method is transparent. In the papers included in this study, a similar method was successfully applied in different types of case studies. Using transparent macro-level figures and a simple top-down approach are also appropriate in evaluating and setting international emission reduction targets, as demonstrated in papers II and IV. The projected rates of population and affluence growth are especially worth consideration in setting targets. However, sensitivities in calculations must be carefully acknowledged. In the basic form of the ImPACT model, the economic intensity of consumption and emission intensity of use are included. In seeking to examine consumption but also international trade in more detail, imports were included in paper III. This example demonstrates well how outsourcing of production influences domestic emissions. Country-specific production-based emissions have often been used in similar decomposition analyses. Nevertheless, trade-related issues must not be ignored.

Agoralla : avauksia ympäristöasiantuntijoiden vuorovaikutusprosesseista

Ympäristöasiantuntijoiden vuorovaikutusta on tutkittu agoralla (antiikin tori). Se on julkinen tila, jossa markkinat, politiikka, tiede ja yhteiskunta kohtaavat. Tutkimus kuuluu yhteiskuntatieteellisen ympäristötutkimuksen alaan, mutta siinä hyödynnetään myös tulevaisuudentutkimusta. Työn motivaationa on ollut tekijän monitieteinen koulutustausta: yhteiskuntatieteilijä ja luonnontieteilijä. Miten ja miksi vuorovaikutus eri asiantuntijoiden välillä on haasteellista ja merkityksellistä esimerkiksi metsän biodiversiteetin vähenemisen ehkäisemiseksi. Keskeisiä käsitteitä ovat asiantuntijuus, vuorovaikutus, tiedon luotettavuusja kontekstisidonnaisuus, Väitöskirja koostuu neljästä eri asiantuntijuustarinasta. Ensimmäinen (luku 2) perustuu haastatteluihin suomalaisten ja saksalaisten bio- ja yhteiskuntatietelijöiden käsityksistä luonnosta ja ympäristöstä. Tutkimusongelmana on luonnontieteilijöiden ja yhteiskuntatieteilijöiden Suomessa ja Saksassa ”kulttuurierot” luonnon ja ympäristön käsitteellistämisessä. Johtopäätöksenä on, että aistittu luonto, ympäröivä ympäristö sekä ihmisen muokkaama elinympäristö eivät tunne selkeitä tiede- eikä maanrajoja. Tämä luku toimii ponnahduslautana konstruktioiden taakse vuorovaikutuksen haasteisiin. Kirjan toinen tarina (luku 3) perustuu haastatteluihin suomalaisten metsän biodiversiteettiasiantuntijoiden vuorovaikutuksesta. Tutkimusongelman lähtökohtana on metsän biodiversiteetin väheneminen ja tästä seuraavat polittisetkin vuorovaikutustilanteet. Miten konteksti vaikuttaa eri asiantuntijoiden vuorovaikutukseen ja mitä tästä seuraa? Analyysin päätulos on implisiittisen, vahvasti kontekstisidonnaisen asiantuntijatiedon hyödyntämisen tarve ja voimavara metsän biodiversiteetin vähenemisen ennaltaehkäisemiksi. Kolmas tarina asiantuntijuudesta (luku 4) perustuu Etelä-Suomen metsien suojelutoimikunnassa (Metso) tehtyihin havainnointeihin. Tutkija on näin ollut itse eräänlaisella torilla havainnoijana. Tutkimusongelmana on ”ohipuhuminen”, tiedon luotettavuus ja implisiittien tiedon hyväksyttävyys. Johtopäätöksenä on asiantuntijuuden vahva kontekstisidonnaisuus hetkeen ja paikkaan ja yhteisen kielen (vrt. transdisiplinaarisuus) löytyminen yhteisen tavoitteen saavuttamiseksi. Merkittäviä välineitä vuorovaikutuksen onnistumiseen ovat esimerkiksi yhteinen vahva tavoitetila, interkatio, joka koskee läsnä olevia ihmisiä ei instituutioita sekä fasilitaattorin vahva rooli tulkkina ja välittäjänä. Neljäs tarina (luku 5) vie agoran konkretiaan. Tässä luvussa on kehitetty eläytymiskävely- menetelmää, jossa fasilitaattori (tutkija) johdattaa Espoon keskuksessa hallinnon, politiikan, asukkaiden ja konsultin edustajat aistimaan ja tulkitsemaan alueen sosiaalista tilaa, toiminnallisuutta ja elämyksellisyyttä. Ongelmana on aistimaailman asiantuntemuksen hyödyntämättömyys yhdyskuntasuunnittelun välineenä mm. asiantuntijoiden vuorovaikutuksen välineenä. Menetelmäkehitys on aluillaan, mutta jo tässä tapauksessa käy ilmi, että jaettu tila, jaetut aistikokemukset konkreettisella kävelyllä avaavaat vuorovaikutuksen uusiin ulottuvuuksiin, jossa implisiittiselle asiantuntemukselle annetaan sijansa vuorovaikutuksessa ja tätä kautta voidaan vaikuttaa myös tehtäviin päätöksiin, toimenpiteisiin. Johtopäätöksissä (luku 6) korostuu implisiittisen asiantuntijuuden merkitys. Onnistunut vuorovaikutteinen toiminta eri asiantuntijoiden kesken esimerkiksi erilaisia ympäristöongelmia –ja ilmiöitä ratkottaessa ja pohdittaessa vaatii vuorovaikutusosaamista. Tutkimuksen lopuksi suositellaan esimerkiksi ennakkoluulottomia avauksia agoralla. Asiantuntijuus ei ole yksi ja vain asiaatuntevuus on mahdollista. Agora on jatkuvassa liikkeessä ja juuri siinä piilee voimavara tulevaisuuden haasteisiin erilaisilla rajapinnoilla. Avainsanat: asiantuntijuus, vuorovaikutus, tieto, konteksti, agora

Wood procurement in the pressure of change.

Linear optimization model was used to calculate seven wood procurement scenarios for years 1990, 2000 and 2010. Productivity and cost functions for seven cutting, five terrain transport, three long distance transport and various work supervision and scaling methods were calculated from available work study reports. All method's base on Nordic cut to length system. Finland was divided in three parts for description of harvesting conditions. Twenty imaginary wood processing points and their wood procurement areas were created for these areas. The procurement systems, which consist of the harvesting conditions and work productivity functions, were described as a simulation model. In the LP-model the wood procurement system has to fulfil the volume and wood assortment requirements of processing points by minimizing the procurement cost. The model consists of 862 variables and 560 restrictions. Results show that it is economical to increase the mechanical work in harvesting. Cost increment alternatives effect only little on profitability of manual work. The areas of later thinnings and seed tree- and shelter wood cuttings increase on cost of first thinnings. In mechanized work one method, 10-tonne one grip harvester and forwarder, is gaining advantage among other methods. Working hours of forwarder are decreasing opposite to the harvester. There is only little need to increase the number of harvesters and trucks or their drivers from today's level. Quite large fluctuations in level of procurement and cost can be handled by constant number of machines, by alternating the number of season workers and by driving machines in two shifts. It is possible, if some environmental problems of large scale summer time harvesting can be solved.

Local systems, global impacts : Using life cycle assessment to analyse the potential and constraints of industrial symbioses

Human activities extract and displace different substances and materials from the earth s crust, thus causing various environmental problems, such as climate change, acidification and eutrophication. As problems have become more complicated, more holistic measures that consider the origins and sources of pollutants have been called for. Industrial ecology is a field of science that forms a comprehensive framework for studying the interactions between the modern technological society and the environment. Industrial ecology considers humans and their technologies to be part of the natural environment, not separate from it. Industrial operations form natural systems that must also function as such within the constraints set by the biosphere. Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a central concept of industrial ecology. Industrial symbiosis studies look at the physical flows of materials and energy in local industrial systems. In an ideal IS, waste material and energy are exchanged by the actors of the system, thereby reducing the consumption of virgin material and energy inputs and the generation of waste and emissions. Companies are seen as part of the chains of suppliers and consumers that resemble those of natural ecosystems. The aim of this study was to analyse the environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis based on pulp and paper production, taking into account life cycle impacts as well. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for quantitatively and systematically evaluating the environmental aspects of a product, technology or service throughout its whole life cycle. Moreover, the Natural Step Sustainability Principles formed a conceptual framework for assessing the environmental performance of the case study symbiosis (Paper I). The environmental performance of the case study symbiosis was compared to four counterfactual reference scenarios in which the actors of the symbiosis operated on their own. The research methods used were process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) (Papers II and III) and hybrid LCA, which combines both process and input-output LCA (Paper IV). The results showed that the environmental impacts caused by the extraction and processing of the materials and the energy used by the symbiosis were considerable. If only the direct emissions and resource use of the symbiosis had been considered, less than half of the total environmental impacts of the system would have been taken into account. When the results were compared with the counterfactual reference scenarios, the net environmental impacts of the symbiosis were smaller than those of the reference scenarios. The reduction in environmental impacts was mainly due to changes in the way energy was produced. However, the results are sensitive to the way the reference scenarios are defined. LCA is a useful tool for assessing the overall environmental performance of industrial symbioses. It is recommended that in addition to the direct effects, the upstream impacts should be taken into account as well when assessing the environmental performance of industrial symbioses. Industrial symbiosis should be seen as part of the process of improving the environmental performance of a system. In some cases, it may be more efficient, from an environmental point of view, to focus on supply chain management instead.  

Rapsista tuotetun biodieselin ja vehnästä tuotetun bioetanolin energiavirrat ja ympäristövaikutukset Euroopan unionissa

The aim of this thesis was to study the crops currently used for biofuel production from the following aspects: 1. what should be the average yield/ ha to reach an energy balance at least 0 or positive 2. what are the shares of the primary and secondary energy flows in agriculture, transport, processing and usage, and 3. overall effects of biofuel crop cultivation, transport, processing and usage. This thesis concentrated on oilseed rape biodiesel and wheat bioethanol in the European Union, comparing them with competing biofuels, such as corn and sugarcane-based ethanol, and the second generation biofuels. The study was executed by comparing Life Cycle Assessment-studies from the EU-region and by analyzing them thoroughly from the differences viewpoint. The variables were the following: energy ratio, hectare yield (l/ha), impact on greenhouse gas emissions (particularly CO2), energy consumption in crop growing and processing one hectare of a particular crop to biofuel, distribution of energy in processing and effects of the secondary energy flows, like e.g. wheat straw. Processing was found to be the most energy consuming part in the production of biofuels. So if the raw materials will remain the same, the development will happen in processing. First generation biodiesel requires esterification, which consumes approximately one third of the process energy. Around 75% of the energy consumed in manufacturing the first generation wheat-based ethanol is spent in steam and electricity generation. No breakthroughs are in sight in the agricultural sector to achieve significantly higher energy ratios. It was found out that even in ideal conditions the energy ratio of first generation wheat-based ethanol will remain slightly under 2. For oilseed rape-based biodiesel the energy ratios are better, and energy consumption per hectare is lower compared to wheat-based ethanol. But both of these are lower compared to e.g. sugarcane-based ethanol. Also the hectare yield of wheat-based ethanol is significantly lower. Biofuels are in a key position when considering the future of the world’s transport sector. Uncertainties concerning biofuels are, however, several, like the schedule of large scale introduction to consumer markets, technologies used, raw materials and their availability and - maybe the biggest - the real production capacity in relation to the fuel consumption. First generation biofuels have not been the expected answer to environmental problems. Comparisons made show that sugarcane-based ethanol is the most prominent first generation biofuel at the moment, both from energy and environment point of view. Also palmoil-based biodiesel looks promising, although it involves environmental concerns as well. From this point of view the biofuels in this study - wheat-based ethanol and oilseed rape-based biodiesel - are not very competitive options. On the other hand, crops currently used for fuel production in different countries are selected based on several factors, not only based on thier relative general superiority. It is challenging to make long-term forecasts for the biofuel sector, but it can be said that satisfying the world's current and near future traffic fuel consumption with biofuels can only be regarded impossible. This does not mean that biofuels shoud be rejected and their positive aspects ignored, but maybe this reality helps us to put them in perspective. To achieve true environmental benefits through the usage of biofuels there must first be a significant drop both in traffic volumes and overall fuel consumption. Second generation biofuels are coming, but serious questions about their availability and production capacities remain open. Therefore nothing can be taken for granted in this issue, expect the need for development.

Hostility: A prospective study of the genetic and environmental background and associations with cardiovascular risk

Hostility is a multidimensional construct having wide effects on society. In its different forms, hostility is related to a large array of social and health problems, such as criminality, substance abuse, depression, and cardiovascular risks. Identifying and tackling early-life factors that contribute to hostility may have public health significance. Although the variance in hostility is estimated to be 18-50 percent heritable, there are significant gaps in knowledge regarding the molecular genetics of hostility. It is known that a cold and unsupportive home atmosphere in childhood predicts a child s later hostility. However, the long-term effects of care-giving quality on hostility in adulthood and the role of genes in this association are unclear. The present dissertation is part of the ongoing population-based prospective Young Finns study, which commenced in 1980 with 3596 3-18-year-old boys and girls who were followed for 27 years. The specific aims of the dissertation were first to study the antecedents of hostility by looking at 1) the genetic background, 2) the early environmental predictors, and 3) the gene environment interplay behind hostility. As a second aim, the thesis endeavored to examine 4) the association between hostility and cardiovascular risks, and 5) the moderating effect of demographic factors, such as gender and socioeconomic status, on this association. The study found potential gene polymorphisms from chromosomes 7, 14, 17, and 22 suggestively associated with hostility. Of early environmental influences, breastfeeding and early care-giving were found to predict hostility in adulthood. In addition, a serotonin receptor 2A polymorphism rs6313 moderated the effect of early care-giving on later hostile attitudes. Furthermore, hostility was shown to predict cardiovascular risks, such as metabolic syndrome and inflammation. Finally, parental socioeconomic status was found to moderate the association between anger and early atherosclerosis. The new genetic and early environmental antecedents of hostility identified in this research may help in understanding the development of hostility and its health risks, and in planning appropriate prevention. The significance of early influences on this development is stressed. Although the markers studied are individual- and family-related factors, these may be influenced at the societal level by giving accurate information to all individuals concerned and by improving the societal circumstances.