astronomy

Political Economy Research Institute

Political Economy Research Institute is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Political Economy Research Institute rather than just read about it. In short: The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is an independent research unit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. According to its mission statement, it "...promotes human and ecological well-being through our original research".

Key takeaways

Political Economy Research Institute belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Political Economy Research Institute to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Political Economy Research Institute from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is an independent research unit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. According to its mission statement, it "...promotes human and ecological well-being through our original research". PERI was established in 1998 by co-directors Robert Pollin and Gerald Epstein, both economists at the university. Funding for its foundation came from Pollin and his father, Abe Pollin.

Toxic 100 PERI's Toxic 100 list includes one hundred United States companies ranked by the amount of greenhouse gases, air pollution and water pollution produced and the relative toxicity of the pollutants, as determined by PERI at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Greenhouse 100 Suppliers Index ranks companies by 2019 direct emissions from large sources. The top three companies are Vistra Energy, Duke Energy, and Southern Company, continuing a three-year period in which these were in the top three. They each released more than 85 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions. Together, these three companies released 4% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from all sources including non-energy sources. Other top 10 companies in the Greenhouse 100 are Berkshire Hathaway, American Electric Power, Xcel Energy, Energy Capital Partners, NextEra Energy, and Exxon Mobil, with the U.S. government ranking 6th. The Toxic 100 Air Polluters Index reports that the top 10 2019 companies in terms of total potential chronic human health risk are Boeing, LyondellBasell, Huntsman, Linde, BASF, Dow Inc., Celanese, Assa Abloy, Baker Hughes, and Eastman Chemical. The Toxic 100 Water Polluters Index ranks the pounds of toxics released into surface water or sent to water-treatment systems, adjusted for chemical toxicity. Northrop Grumman, Dow Inc., LyondellBasell, Celanese, and Canopus International top the Toxic 100 Water Index. Toxic 100 air pollution scores are calculated by the formula:

Emissions x Toxicity x Population Exposure Emissions are measured in millions of pounds. Population exposure is based on the proximity of nearby residents, and factors such as prevailing winds and height of smokestacks. Toxicity is calculated from the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

References

External links Top 100 Polluter Indexes

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Political Economy Research Institute

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Political Economy Research Institute claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Political Economy Research Institute before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Political Economy Research Institute ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Political Economy Research Institute

In research: Political Economy Research Institute appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Political Economy Research Institute in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Political Economy Research Institute is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1998 establishments in Massachusetts, Economics organization stubs, Educational institutions in the United States established in 1998, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Political Economy Research Institute outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Political Economy Research Institute in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Political Economy Research Institute means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Political Economy Research Institute out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Political Economy Research Institute in simple terms?

Why does Political Economy Research Institute matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Political Economy Research Institute?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Political Economy Research Institute.