Digital Commons Network^™

Biobased Products And The Leed® Rating System, Meredith Chambers, Mikesch Muecke

Mikesch Muecke

At the beginning of the 20th century, over 40% by weight of all the materials consumed through the production of goods within the United States were comprised of renewable resources (Matos and Wagner 1998). In contrast, by the end of the 20th century renewable material usage had dropped to less than 8% by weight (Matos and Wagner 1998). Combined with both an increase in the overall rate at which we consume resources as well as growing awareness of the inherently finite availability of nonrenewable resources, the early decades of the 21st century may mark the beginning of a shift back …

Powering Sustainability: Municipal Utilities And Local Government Policymaking, George C. Homsy

George Homsy

Sustainability policymaking presents numerous challenges to local governments. Municipal leaders, especially in smaller cities and towns, report that they lack the fiscal capacity and/or technical expertise to adopt many environmental protection policies. This paper investigates whether the more than 2,000 municipally-owned utilities have the potential to mitigate those problems. Data from two surveys of local governments in the United States (n=861), modeled in a pair of negative binomial regressions, finds a positive correlation between those cities with municipal power companies and those with an increased number of community-wide sustainable energy policies. Follow-up interviews with officials reveal the potential mechanisms driving …

Cities And Sustainability: Polycentric Action And Multilevel Governance, George C. Homsy, Mildred E. Warner

George Homsy

Polycentric theory, as applied to sustainability policy adoption, contends that municipalities will act independently to provide public services that protect the environment. Our multilevel regression analysis of survey responses from 1,497 municipalities across the United States challenges that notion. We find that internal drivers of municipal action are insufficient. Lower policy adoption is explained by capacity constraints. More policymaking occurs in states with a multilevel governance framework supportive of local sustainability action. Contrary to Fischel’s homevoter hypothesis, we find large cities and rural areas show higher levels of adoption than suburbs (possibly due to free riding within a metropolitan region).

Incentive Zoning: Understanding A Market-Based Planning Tool, George C. Homsy, Gina Abrams, Valerie Monastra

George Homsy

No abstract provided.

What Economics Teaches Us About Environmental Protection, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Market Failures And Protecting The Environment, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

The Role Of Risk Perception In Building Sustainable Policy Instruments: A Case Study Of Public Coastal Flood Insurance In The Usa, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Landmark Ruling On Whaling From The International Court Of Justice, Mark P. Simmonds

Mark P. Simmonds, OBE

On 31 March 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Japan’s whaling activities in Antarctica did not comply with Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which permits whaling for scientific purposes. Copious and confusing media commentary followed the decision. This included seemingly conflicting reports from within Japan, which initially indicated whole-hearted compliance with the ruling, which required this whaling to cease, but later suggested that implementation by Japan might be limited to a brief halt followed by a launch of a new Antarctic ‘research’ programme including lethal take.

Sustainable Governance Indicators. Country Report The Netherlands, 2014, Robert Hoppe, Henk Woldendorp, Nils Bandelow

Robert Hoppe

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of A Standards Market: Multiplicity Of Sustainability Standards In The Global Coffee Industry, Juliane Reinecke, Stephan Manning, Oliver Von Hagen

Stephan Manning

The growing number of voluntary standards for governing transnational arenas is presenting standards organizations with a problem. While claiming that they are pursuing shared, overarching objectives, at the same time, they are promoting their own respective standards that are increasingly similar. By developing the notion of ‘standards markets,’ this paper examines this tension and studies how different social movement and industry-driven standards organizations compete as well as collaborate over governance in transnational arenas. Based on an in-depth case study of sustainability standards in the global coffee industry, we find that the ongoing co-existence of multiple standards is being promoted by …

From The Quadrangle To The River: Revitalizing The Heart Of Downtown Springfield, Mary F. Dehais, Yuanfang Gong, John E. Hulsey, Pamela Jo Landi, Adam G. Monroy, Seth A. Morrow, Alexander G. Seib, Jie Su, Kate A. Tooke, Owen M. White, Emily S. Wright, Kuang Xin, Xiao Zhou

Mary Dehais

This studio report explores community service learning in the graduate urban design studio taught in the in Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and instructed by Professor Frank Sleegers. The project will began with a visioning workshop, conducted to engage community members in the shaping of project goals and objectives within the project area of downtown Springfield. These findings were brought to the studio and guided the design process and outcomes. Five design teams developed five alternative master plans for the core area of downtown Springfield with focus on the revitalization of open …

Regulatory Takings Claims And Coastal Management Of Sea Level Rise: Remembering Governments Are More Than Regulators, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

In Third Parties We Trust? The Growing Antitrust Impact Of Third-Party Green Building Certification Systems For State And Local Governments, Darren Prum, Robert Aalberts, Stephen Del Percio

Darren A. Prum

According to the American Institute of Architects, there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of municipalities with a green building program in place since 2007. And 24 of the country's 25 largest metropolitan areas are built around a city with green building legislation on its books. Reducing buildings' environmental impact is a noble - and critical - goal. But governments' reliance on private, third-party standard-setting organizations - and the rating systems that they promulgate - as the basis for that legislation may be legally problematic.

This Article reviews one of those potentially problematic bases: antitrust. In order …

Can Consumer Demand Deliver Sustainable Food?: Recent Research In Sustainable Consumption Policy & Practice, Cindy Isenhour

Cindy Isenhour

No abstract provided.

Ch 21. 'Future Perspectives On Solar Fuels', Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

This chapter opens by examining whether the research and development of molecular solar fuels will be characterized in future by its promotion of fundamental societal virtues such as equality and environmental sustainability. As a thought experiment, it presents a vision of some important elements of such a future world—one where energy is primarily not only a matter of global artificial photosynthesis (GAP), but of such virtues. Central to the future perspective presented here is nanotechnological construction with enhanced efficiency of each aspect of the natural photosynthetic process into units capable of inexpensive mass production for domestic use. This involves a …

Governing Planetary Nanomedicine: Environmental Sustainability And A Unesco Universal Declaration On The Bioethics And Human Rights Of Natural And Artificial Photosynthesis (Global Solar Fuels And Foods)., Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

Environmental and public health-focused sciences are increasingly characterised as constituting an emerging discipline—planetary medicine. From a governance perspective, the ethical components of that discipline may usefully be viewed as bestowing upon our ailing natural environment the symbolic moral status of a patient. Such components emphasise, for example, the origins and content of professional and social virtues and related ethical principles needed to promote global governance systems and policies that reduce ecological stresses and pathologies derived from human overpopulation, selfishness and greed— such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as provide necessary energy, water and …

From The Quadrangle To The River: Revitalizing The Heart Of Downtown Springfield, Mary F. Dehais, Yuanfang Gong, John E. Hulsey, Pamela Jo Landi, Adam G. Monroy, Seth A. Morrow, Alexander G. Seib, Jie Su, Kate A. Tooke, Owen M. White, Emily S. Wright, Kuang Xin, Xiao Zhou

jie su

This studio report explores community service learning in the graduate urban design studio taught in the in Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and instructed by Professor Frank Sleegers. The project will began with a visioning workshop, conducted to engage community members in the shaping of project goals and objectives within the project area of downtown Springfield. These findings were brought to the studio and guided the design process and outcomes. Five design teams developed five alternative master plans for the core area of downtown Springfield with focus on the revitalization of open …

A Framework For Analyzing Information Flows In Public Policy Decision-Making: A Move Towards Building Sustainable Policy Instruments, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Academic Civic Engagement For Capacity Building: The Role Of Universities In Building Sustainable Philanthropy Through Multi-Sector Partnerships In The Middle East, Marco Tavanti

Marco Tavanti

The paper explores academic civic engagement for capacity building and the development of sustainable philanthropy through multi-sector partnerships. It analyses the innovative strategies and models for academic engagement in civic work by the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University (IHRLI) and its success in securing the funds necessary to assist in organizational and national capacity building through large-scale partnerships between academic experts, practitioners, and local institutions and organizations in the Middle East. The paper introduces a model for academic institutional engagement in civic development highlighting key elements, such as an institution’s cultural competence, desire for meaningful engagement, and …

Green Building In The Pacific Northwest: Next Steps For An Emerging Trend, Susan G. Mason, Anthony Marker, Rebecca Mirsky

Susan G. Mason

This report provides an understanding of why green building is important to our communities, a brief look at the emergence of green building standards, research evidence on the perceived pros and cons of green building, and original research on green building in the Pacific Northwest. The original research is an analysis of perspectives voiced in conversations, focus groups and surveys with both members of the construction industry and local government on the barriers and incentives to green building in their local communities. As nearly 500 construction industry members and just over 300 local governments participated in the research, this report …

Green Building In The Pacific Northwest: Next Steps For An Emerging Trend, Susan G. Mason, Anthony Marker, Rebecca Mirsky

Rebecca Mirsky

This report provides an understanding of why green building is important to our communities, a brief look at the emergence of green building standards, research evidence on the perceived pros and cons of green building, and original research on green building in the Pacific Northwest. The original research is an analysis of perspectives voiced in conversations, focus groups and surveys with both members of the construction industry and local government on the barriers and incentives to green building in their local communities. As nearly 500 construction industry members and just over 300 local governments participated in the research, this report …

Building Sustainable Societies: A Swedish Case Study On The Limits Of Reflexive Modernization., Cindy Isenhour

Cindy Isenhour

No abstract provided.

On Conflicted Swedish Consumers, The Effort To “Stop Shopping” & Neoliberal Environmental Governance, Cindy Isenhour

Cindy Isenhour

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Futures, Ashok Agrwaal

Ashok Agrwaal

A brief note on the sustainability of the current world view

A Window Into The Regulated Commons: The Takings Clause, Investment Security, And Sustainability, Josh Eagle

Josh Eagle

The holding of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in American Pelagic Fishing Co. v. United States points to the conclusion that the government will almost never be liable, under the Takings Clause, when fisheries regulations reduce the value of commercial fishing permits, vessels, or gear. From the perspective of natural resource economics, this is a healthy result. Economists suggest that solving commons problems requires that natural resources be under the complete control of a sole owner who makes self-interested decisions about resource use, and if the Fifth Amendment required the government owner to compensate fishermen when …

Globalization & Nationalism: A Recipe For Terror, Cari Bourette, Daniel Reader

Cari Bourette

Nationalism appears to be part of the human condition; it may well be related to the human tendency toward tribalism. Whatever the case, nationalism appears to be a permanent feature on the global landscape. Globalization, while not a new phenomenon by any means, seems to be having a tremendous dilutory effect on the sovereignty of states; it now appears to be carrying the assault to the cultural frontiers of nationalism. Unlike the Westphalian constructs, however, nations will not so easily succumb. There is a greater inherent resistance to change in nations; the only historically effective method has been outright eradication …

The Worsley Energy Challenge To Reduce Energy Consumption: Report On The Project Start-Up, Sandra Wooltorton, Richard Jeffreys

Sandra Wooltorton

सुन्दरबंस की मात्स्यिकी- समस्याएं और प्रत्याशाएं. (Sundaraban Ki Matasyaki- Samasyayen Evam Pratyashyen), Ganesh Chandra, R L. Sagar

Ganesh Chandra

This paper gives an insight into the fisheries of Sundarban delta region of west Bengal India.

Fisheries In Sundarbans: Problems And Prospects, Ganesh Chandra, R L. Sagar

Ganesh Chandra

Sundarbans, the largest delta on the planet earth is famous for its marine and estuarine fish resources. A large population is dependent on fishery activity and capture fisheries is treated as the backbone of Sundarban economy. Sundarban boast around 172 species of fishes, 20 species of prawn and 44 species of crabs including two edible crabs. But fisheries in Sundarbans faces some difficult problems which have an impact on the biodiversity, sustainability and livelihood of fish resources and fisher folk viz. shrinking tiger prawn population, indiscriminate fish seed collection, lack of post harvest and other infrastructures, natural calamities such as …