On the one hand, shale gas extraction has been portrayed as the future of Poland's energy sector, and on the other, as an undertaking potentially harmful to the natural environment that might spark public protests. Why are opinions on this issue so widely disparate?

There are approximately 15 million users of system heat in Poland, but unfortunately nearly 70% of the fuel used in heat production is fossil fuel. Therefore, the CO2 emission reduction in the heat production industry is becoming one of the key challenges. City Heat Distribution Enterprise Ltd. in Nowy Sącz (Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej sp. z o.o.) has been conducting a self-financed research and development project entitled The use of algae as carbon dioxide absorbers at MPEC Nowy Sącz. The project deals with postcombustion CO2 capture using Chlorella vulgaris algae. As a result of tests conducted in a 1000 l hermetic container under optimal temperature and light conditions, the recovery of biomass can be performed in weekly cycles, yielding approximately 25 kilograms of biomass per year. Assuming that half of the dry mass of the algae is carbon, it can be said that 240 grams of carbon is bound in one cycle, which, converted to CO2, gives 880 grams of this gas. Our results showed that around 45.8 kilograms of CO2 per year was absorbed. Additionally, it is possible to use waste materials and by-products of technological processes as a nutrient medium for algae

The aim of the article is to show the dependence of what is our/mine and Other/Alien in thinking about conflicts around investment projects. Investments related to the development of space and resources of the Earth, especially if they cause any (real or potential) changes, generate negative emotions which often become the embers of conflict.

Paradoxically, participation in such conflict may benefit the parties involved. Positive outcomes include: meeting needs (attention and significance), fulfilling (new) social roles, learning about other points of view, finding themselves in new social groups or embedded in local communities. Living in the social theater of life, each person plays different roles, which can lead to tension and a sense of ambivalence. In this situation, the individual has a sense of identity dispersion, being able to be simultaneously in several groups opposing each other. The conflict surrounding the Orzesze mining project can serve as an example here. This and other examples show that what is mine and the Other/Alien, with all its separateness, is, however, more or less intertwined with each other. So, the phenomenon of mutual dependence between the Other/Alien and conflict can provide an interesting perspective when looking at conflicts in managing the space and resources of the Earth. Conflicts, in particular mining-related ones, are an extremely complex phenomenon with great potential – both negative and positive. The appreciation of the benefits mentioned in the article, which result from the mutual dependence of the parties involved in the conflict along with their readiness to go outside their comfort zones, provide an opportunity for mutual understanding and reaching agreement which could lead to a positive change consistent with the idea of sustainable development.

In this complex situation, the incorporation of not only sociological but also psychological aspects becomes an important element of the states’ and companies’ resources policy and cannot be neglected any more.

The article is part of the trend of research on revitalization. It presents the methodology of the process of diagnosis and separation of the degraded area from the revitalized one, for the needs of the Local Revitalization Program. The article describes the stages of the process, the examples of used measures, as well as problems appearing at diff erent stages of the study. The methodology is presented on the example of the small town of Wojkowice from the Śląskie Province.

The author analyzes the transport policies of the European Union. Section V, part lII of the European Union Treaty (articles 70-80) defines the responsibilities ofmember states in terms of introducing a common transport policy. The regulations of this section mainly apply to rail, road, and internal waterway transport. The regulations of section VI, part III of the European Union Treaty (articles 81-97) are addressed to all states in the world whose economic activities distort or threaten to distort competition in the European Union. The establishment and development of a transeuropean transport, telecommunications, and energy network (articles 154-156) constitute the central element in an economic zone without internal borders. The contemporary economy is a result of two trends: a process of globalization and a process of regionalization. The principle of subsiduarity plays a major role in the process of regionalization. It filters through to the idea of the ,,Europe of Regions." In essence, states transfer their responsibilities and authority via the Union to regions. The Union only retains those responsibilities and authority that are essential to its functioning. Remaining rights should be transferred downwards, to the level ,,as near as possible to the citizen." The Union implements the principle of the decentralization of power. Matters connected with the financing of the traditional sector of the maritime economy will depend on the appropriate formulation of the ,,voivodeship contracts" that will soon be concluded by the Council ofMinisters and voivodeship assemblies. The assemblies will have the most influence on the way in which European Union structural funds can be used.

The modifiers in the title o f this paper - “community”, “union” and “European” - are in general use with regard to the same legal phenomena. This general terminological distinction has a negative effect on the terminology of the academic study o f maritime law, and there is no reason why this should be so. The most appropriate term would be “European maritime law”. The article presents arguments in favor of the use of this term.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the degree of pollution of bottom sediments from small water reservoirs with heavy metals on the basis of geochemical criteria: the enrichment factor and the geo-accumulation index. The investigations concerned sediment from eight small water reservoirs located in the Kielce Highland. Selected heavy metals, including cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and zinc, were determined using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry method. Additionally, particle size distribution and the content of organic matter expressed as loss of ignition were designated. The concentration of heavy metals in sediments was characterized by a great variety. The sediments of Morawica and Rejów show very high and extremely high enrichment in Cr, Zn, Pb and Cd. The values of EF>20 indicate also an extremely high enrichment in Cd of sediments in Mostki. In addition, over 50% of the samples of sediment from Suchedniów, Kaniów, Mostki and Jaśle reservoirs (the value of EF for Cr exceeded 5) indicate a moderately high enrichment of this element. Results of the analysis of the I_geo values indicate that the tested sediments are characterized by moderately high (2<I_geo<3) or high (3<I_geo<4) pollution. The differences in individual enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index values may result in the nature of heavy metals, their pollution loads, as well as speciation forms of trace elements occurrence in sediment-water complex. These findings indicate that the integration of geochemical methods is necessary for an appropriate ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in bottom sediments.

There is a need for quality control of wastewater introduced into drainage systems. Physical and chemical analyses of wastewater inform only about the situation existing at the moment of sampling. The analysis based on bioindication methods allows to evaluate the existing state before sampling and so to recognize a drop of excessive loads or harmful substances for activated sludge. This refers to the moment preceding the sample taking at least by the generation time of the species with the lowest reproduction rate. For these reasons, the possibility of using microfauna representatives (feeding on organic pollutions) for bioindication was evaluated. The estimation was made of the usefulness of indicator species from the Kolkwitz-Marssori system, the Shannon-Wiener index based on species abundance and the latter based on abundances of morphological-functional organism groups. The study results showed that the ShannonWiener index calculated for morphological-functional groups (easiest to determine) was accurate enough for bioindication.

Trudno wyobrazić sobie postęp bez udziału mediów. Czy powinniśmy ufnie patrzeć na zmiany dokonujące się za ich pośrednictwem?

Pod wpływem języków obcych w języku polskim pojawiają się nie tylko nowe wyrazy, lecz także kalki składniowe.

Paradoksalnie Europa jest teraz bezpieczniejsza niż przed wojną, lecz wyzwań nie brakuje.

Pomimo aktywnej polityki ochrony języków mniejszości i odrodzenia zainteresowania nimi w wielu państwach Europy odchodzi pokolenie, dla którego języki te były pierwszymi, przekazanymi przez rodziców, a wraz z nim tradycja używania ich w codziennym życiu.