Abstract:The world has overlapped pressures in favour and against the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity and other purposes. Most scaremongers demand to leave all hydrocarbons below the ground and utilise renewable energy sources. This paper is aimed at providing an economic approach to demonstrate why natural gas may serve as a “bridge"" fuel in the transition to cleaner energy sources, but corresponding incentives must be in place; otherwise, the current panorama might not change in the foreseeable future. The “bridge” concept will be explained in detail as well as the reasons why renewable energy might be far away for some economies and from a cost-effective point of view when compared to natural gas. Consequently, the latter may remain the most efficient fuel for a while given all circumstances.Resumen: El mundo ha superpuesto presiones a favor y en contra del uso de combustibles fósiles para generar electricidad y otros fines. La mayoría de los alarmistas exigen dejar todos los hidrocarburos bajo tierra y utilizar fuentes de energía renovables. Este documento tiene como objetivo proporcionar un enfoque económico para demostrar por qué el gas natural puede servir como combustible ""puente"" en la transición hacia fuentes de energía más limpias, pero deben existir los incentivos correspondientes, de lo contrario, el panorama actual podría no cambiar en el futuro previsible El concepto de ""puente"" será explicado en detalle, así como las razones por las cuales la energía renovable podría estar muy lejos para algunas economías y desde un punto de vista de rentabilidad cuando se compara con el gas natural. En consecuencia, este último puede seguir siendo el combustible más eficiente por un tiempo dadas todas las circunstancias.

This research project focuses on the experiences and narratives of Syrian exiles living in Turkey. The emphasis of this research was placed on the perceptions of each person about their new environment, and the way they rebuilt their lives in exile while the conflict intensified in Syria. The research question is: how do Syrian exiles configure their social worlds in exile and how do they narrate their experiences? By social worlds I refer to the participants’ relation with their new life in displacement, to the space and the people around them, and to the way their memories and expectations influence this relation. I conducted my research with Syrians from different social backgrounds, different ages, and different dreams for the future.Their experiences, varied as they were, shared many similarities and exemplified the anguish and hardship that forced displacement causes to people. Some participants tried to center their everyday lives in remembering past times in Syria, during the beginning of the revolution and before it began. These memories were brought back to life by sharing them with others, by spending days following the news of the destruction of their cities, and talking to their loved ones that remained in Syria. Their life was interrupted when the conflict intensified and they were forced to relocate in Turkey, thus, most participants did not have the opportunity to regard this as the past, but as an interrupted present. While living in exile, most participants lived day by day without making further plans, hoping for something to change. The fact that the conflict in Syria is not showing any signs of arriving to a peaceful solution soon, people’s uncertain condition perpetuates.

Abstract:Governments around the world are constantly dealing with many issues regarding energy policies. Discussions on adaptability of the energy resources, their predictability and economic feasibility as well as their impact on the environment are topics of the utmost importance in every agenda. That said, depending on the level of liberalisation, the States will intervene in the energy sector as much as needed, either as an active participant or as regulator and supervisor of the market, but the obligation of security of supply will remain with it. As will be seen, the diversification of the energy sources is fundamental to strengthen the energy sector, thus avoiding shortages and blackouts. As the Colombian case will be exposed, the purpose of this paper is aimed at understanding the crucial role of diversification, the statistics regarding reliance on hydropower energy and the consequences of that reliance. Specialised doctrine and reports on the current situation of the energy sector in Colombia are provided, as well as complete data about the global and local energy matrix. The foregoing will lead to conclude that reliance on hydropower energy is one of the problems currently faced by Colombia, but many structural modifications are to be applied to create an adaptable and sustainable energy sector. Resumen:Los gobiernos de todo el mundo se enfrentan constantemente a muchos problemas relacionados con las políticas energéticas. Las discusiones sobre la adaptabilidad de los recursos energéticos, su previsibilidad y viabilidad económica, así como su impacto en el medio ambiente son temas de la mayor importancia en cada agenda. Dicho esto, dependiendo del nivel de liberalización, los Estados intervendrán en el sector energético tanto como sea necesario, ya sea como participantes activos o como reguladores y supervisores del mercado, pero la obligación de la seguridad del suministro se mantendrá. Como se verá, la diversificación de las fuentes de energía es fundamental para fortalecer el sector energético, evitando así escasez y apagones. Como se expondrá en el caso colombiano, el objetivo de este documento es comprender el papel crucial de la diversificación, las estadísticas sobre la dependencia de la energía hidroeléctrica y las consecuencias de esa dependencia. Se proveen doctrinas e informes especializados sobre la situación actual del sector energético en Colombia, así como datos completos sobre la matriz energética global y local. Lo anterior llevará a concluir que la dependencia de la energía hidroeléctrica es uno de los problemas que actualmente enfrenta Colombia, pero se deben aplicar muchas modificaciones estructurales para crear un sector energético adaptable y sostenible.