*** STEPHEN BOUCHER: La révolution de l'hydrogène. Vers une énergie propre et performante ? Editions du Félin (Kiron Espace, 10 rue La Vacquerie, F-75011 Paris. Tel (33-1) 44831130 - Fax: 44831150 - E-mail: infolefelin@kiron-espace.com - Internet: http://www.editionsdufelin.com ). "Echéances" series. 2006, 158 pp, €10-90. ISBN 2-86645-616-5.
Pic de la Mirandole has not been a fashionable figure for donkey's years. Who these days could hope to even begin to understand and master everything in this ever more complex world of ours? Nobody. Knowledge these days is compartmentalised and divided into specialisations. Over and above vague ideas based to some extent on the big issues that hit the news at times, we are reduced to navigating intellectually 'by sight' between 'truths' assigned by oracles whom we are not capable of judging or, therefore, gauging the relevance. Many of us are in this position, for example, when it comes to environmental issues and how to deal with challenges to the environment. Most Europeans these days tend to be aware, sometimes in a rather confused manner, that the greenhouse gas effect is a growing threat to the planet and life on Earth. Likewise for the fact that CO2 emissions have to be drastically reduced if we are to avert the catastrophe that is awaiting us. With a greater or lesser degree of confusion, all Europeans would agree with Thierry Alleau that if we do not react in a determined and speedy manner, history will record that in the twentieth century life on Planet Earth was tragically, drastically and irreparably turned upside down by human beings. What can be done to avert this tragedy for our children even more than for ourselves? Citizens generally have no answers to this question…
Thierry Alleau spent a full career at the French atomic energy department (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique) where he headed the hydrogen and combustible battery division. He is now the chair of the French Hydrogen Association. The author is a true expert, a genuine specialist, and also a politically committed man. In his view, there is no doubt that hydrogen could be the universal energy solution of the future. Really? Oh, all right then… The first merit of this enlightening book is that it explains in simple, user-friendly terms what hydrogen is, an energy vector compatible with the three other main sources of fuel (fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear). The author specialises in energy issues and is also co-director of the Notre Europe association so dear to Jacques Delors' heart. Alleau provides fully nuanced answers to the question of whether a hydrogen revolution is in the pipeline - those who back the hydrogen option see it as no less than a social and economic revolution. The author explains that it is clear that no strategic choices relating to current energy problems can be made without prior reflection on the future of hydrogen energy. But that does not mean that it's a done deal - the author explains well that there are plenty of conditions to be met before hydrogen can be used. He explains very clearly in the book, in an excellent didactic manner helped by lively, clear layout, that a long path needs to be followed to solve the technological challenges of producing, storing, distributing and using hydrogen gas. Not to mention that the industry will have to win market share and seduce consumers. Stephen Boucher stresses that all this means that public aid will have to be mobilised in order to build a hydrogen economy in the long-term. Without claiming to give the final answer on the future of hydrogen energy and the potential environmental fallout, the author notes at the end of his book, intended to stimulate reflection among people interested in the future of society, that the hydrogen revolution promised by Romano Prodi when he was President of the European Commission will not come to fruition without political will and determination. But he adds that if the right incentives are set in place, the best technological solutions will emerge, including hydrogen.
Pierre Bouvier
*** IGNACIO PÉREZ DOMÍNGUEZ: Greenhouse Gases: Inventories, Abatement Costs and Markets for Emission Permits in European Agriculture. A modelling Approach. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). "European University Studies - Europäische Hoschschulsschriften - Publications Universitaires Européennes", No. 3184. 2006, 213 pp. ISBN 3-631-55082-0.
Much ink has been spilled about the impact of greenhouse gases on global warming in recent years. Likewise for carbon trading. That said, carbon dioxide tends to take centre stage and while it is true that it is the greenhouse gas most emitted by the energy industry, transport and industry in general, it is not the only one. The other greenhouse gases and their sources must also be taken into account if one is to get the true picture. The utility of this book is exactly that - it looks at the large volume of greenhouse gas emissions from farming in the EU, particularly methane and nitrogen dioxide. A coherent policy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions is only possible if we can estimate the volume of greenhouse gas produced and absorbed by every country. Logically, the author starts by establishing an economic model to calculate net emissions from farming from twelve major sources with the aim of supplementing and providing a more coherent picture of national estimates. Ignacio Pérez Domínguez then studies options for introducing emission permits in farming and the impact this would have on the economy, particularly the marginal cost of emission reductions and how the cost would be borne by the various stakeholders. This book of theoretical modelling will be of interest to researchers and people involved in implementing greenhouse gas reduction policies.
(FRo)
*** ERICH PURGY: Natura 2000. Auswirkung und Umsetzung im innerstaatlichen Recht. Springer-Verlag, Vienna. Internet: http://www.springer.at ). "Forschungen aus Staat und Recht", No. 142. 2005, 398 pp. ISBN 3-211-28251-3.
This book examines the implementation of the Natura 2000 network through the example of Austria, in the Salzburg region. Based on his doctoral thesis, the author starts by describing in detail the two directives underlying Natura 2000, namely the Fauna, Flora and Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC) and the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC). He then looks at how the directives are applied in Natura 2000, a network of natural habitats intended to preserve the most important reserves of biodiversity throughout Europe. Dr. Pürgy provides an excellent explanation of the work the EU and its Member States have taken on board here, and the author identifies and analyses the first conflicts from a legal point of view, particularly incompatibility with traditional regulations (like laws governing hunting and forests generally in Austria) and occasional lack of legal clarity. His tone is generally positive, however, highlighting work to date by both EU and national stakeholders to achieve the ambitious targets set out in Natura 2000. In the field, the targets clash at times, of course, with certain acquired rights and other personal interests, not helped by the lack of legal and financial resources, but in his description of the conflicts Erich Pürgy puts forward ways of helping resolve them.
(CDi)
*** MARIA PAOLA FERRETTI: Participation, Democratic Deficit and Good Regulation. A Case Study of Participatory Strategies in the European Regulation of GMO Products. Zentrum für Europäische Rechtspolitik (Universität Bremen, Universitätsallee, GW 1, D-28359 Bremen). "ZERP-Diskussionspapier", No. 6. 2006, 23 pp, €8.
For many years, the question of the role of citizens in the regulation of risk (in other words, legislation aiming to keep danger to the public at a socially acceptable level and share out the risk fairly) has been under discussion, but it has taken on new impetus at EU level following the mad cow crisis, dioxin and, more recently, the rejection of GMOs. As Maria Paola Ferretti explains, getting citizens involved in the legislative process for risk management is justified from two different standpoints. Firstly, increasing citizen involvement in the legislative process to boost legitimacy and thereby reduce the democratic deficit detected by some analysts in the functioning of the European Union, and secondly, some people argue that better laws would be produced if citizens were brought on board. Maria Paola Ferretti assesses both arguments in the light of reality, looking for example at how the European Food Safety Authority works when dealing with GMOs. One of her conclusions is that the role of citizens in the EU legislative process for risk corresponds with a particular idea of how democracy operates but its actual application in practice is far from simple and as the author explains, in some cases, involvement can add to institutional inefficiency, generate frustration, mistrust and even anger among the general population and simply waste public money.
(FRo)
*** LUDOVIC DUHEM, ERIC VERDURE: Faillite du capitalisme et réenchantement du monde. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - e-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-harmattan.fr ). "Questions contemporaines" series. 2006, 290 pp, €25. ISBN 2-296-01026-1.
Ludovic Duhem is a philosopher and Eric Verdure a marketing man. The first has written more of this book than the second, which sometimes makes it complicated to understand (if readers are not familiar with philosophical concepts and prose). Nevertheless, the two inventors of a practical device for inventing and intervening in the economy, called a 'miracle machine', slam 'exclusive economics for its own sake' that they see driving capitalism to its downfall because in the absence of criticism, capitalism is devoid of sense, having cut itself off from the future and settling down in unconditional, over-indulgent, lethal power. Another (alternative) view of things…
(MT)
*** CHRISTIAN DUFOUR, ADELHEID HEGE, SOFIA MURHEM, WOLFANG RUDOLPH, WOLFRAM WASSERMANN: Les relations sociales dans les petites entreprises. Une comparaison France, Suède, Allemagne. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Travail & société" series, No. 52. 2006, 243 pp. ISBN 90-5201-323-3.
Social relations in small companies are shifting sands. It is certainly far from simple to actually agree with any clarity on exactly what a small company is. As Christian Dufour and Adelheid Hege point out, there can be considerable differences lurking among the dazzling array of different types of economic structure labelled as 'small companies.' While social relations in big business are the subject of many detailed research projects, the same does not apply to social relations in small companies (despite their importance in the social and economic fabric), and even fewer comparative studies have been made across several countries. France, Sweden and Germany were not selected by accident for this study comparing and contrasting production and social relations. The three countries have different collective bargaining and employer/staff relations traditions, with more than 90% of Swedish workers being in a trade union, for example, as opposed to around 5% in France. With diagrams and statistics to flesh out its descriptions, the book studies the situation in each country both generally (industry structure, the role of trade unions, the legal and institutional framework, etc.) and through interviews with and the personal experience of employers and the workforce. The final section summarises the specific situation in each country and highlights differences.
(FRo)
*** GUSTAV DIECKHEUER, BOGUS£AW FIEDOR (Eds.): Employment Issues in the European Union. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727- e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). "Internationale Marktwirtschaft" series, No. 6. 2006, 138 pp. ISBN 3-631-55439-7.
Studying the complex question of employment, this is the most recent in a series of research papers produced during more than twenty-five years of cooperation between Munster University in Germany and Wroclaw University in Poland. Most of the dozen essays look at Germany or Poland but also have a European (or wider) perspective because while EU enlargement has obviously had a huge impact on Poland, the expansion of the EU has intensified the impact of globalisation in general, particularly for Germany, explains Aloys Prinz. Several essays on Poland do, however, restrict their gaze to Poland itself. The economists writing in the book aim to describe employment mechanisms in Europe, particularly the causes of mass unemployment experienced by many EU countries (Poland has the highest levels with unemployment of 18.9% in 2004). To this end, they study the impact of macroeconomic and monetary policies, for example, employment and education policies and globalisation. With regard to globalisation, Aloys Prinz looks at how the notion of patriotism affects foreign investment. He comments that patriotic German companies have to invest in Germany and create jobs there even if more profitable alternatives exist outside Germany, which makes one think of the Volkswagen plant in Forest (Brussels). The workers at VW-Forest will not benefit from the fact that 'the promotion and preservation of companies' competitive advantage gives considerable benefits to all workers because it protects existing jobs,' as Bogus³aw Fiedor and Andrzej Matysiak argue. These two authors wrote the final essay, balancing the trend towards deregulation expressed by most of the previous essays by pointing out that a totally elastic job market could have serious negative consequences for society as a whole, particularly in terms of structure of the family and birthrates.
(FRo)