Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons^™

Modeling Passive Solar Distillation Production In Las Vegas, Nevada, Noe I. Santos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A study has been performed to examine the effects of daily weather on the performance of commercial solar distillation basins (solar stills). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the long term performance of solar stills, to instrument two solar stills and record sub-hourly thermal properties, to evaluate existing heat transfer modeling methods for hourly production, and to create new models to predict daily production using experimental distillate production and local weather data by utilizing artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, and multivariate regression. A system dynamics model was also created to determine the required basin area and storage volume …

Do Wind Turbines Affect Weather Conditions?: A Case Study In Indiana, Meghan F. Henschen, Brittany Herrholtz, Lacey Rhudy, Kathryn Demchak, Brian Doogs, Joshua Holland, Erik Larson, Johnny Martin, Matthew Rudkin

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Wind turbines are becoming increasingly widespread in the United States as the world looks for cleaner sources of energy. Scientists, policymakers, and citizens have strong opinions regarding the positive and negative effects of wind energy projects, and there is a great deal of misinformation about wind energy circulating on the Web and other media sources. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how the rotation of hundreds of turbines can influence local weather conditions within a wind farm and in the surrounding areas. This experiment measures temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, …

2011 Schedule Of Events, Education For Sustainability Summer Institute

Education for Sustainability Summer Institute

The WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and Center for Environmental Education and Sustainability hosted the first Education for Sustainability Summer Institute (EFSSI 2011) for Kentucky and the region on July 21-22, 2011. Participants learned about model programs, practical strategies, and resources for integrating sustainability into classes, schools, and districts. This event is the first of its kind in Kentucky and the region. It is being hosted by the WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and WKU Center for Environmental Education and Sustainability.

Click on Download button for full Schedule of Events.

Variable Renewable Energy In Modeling Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios, Falko Ueckerdt, Robert J. Brecha, Gunnar Luderer, Patrick Sullivan, Eva Schmid, Nico Bauer, Diana Böttger

Physics Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the issue of how to account for short‐term temporal variability of renewable energy sources and power demand in long‐term climate change mitigation scenarios in energy‐economic models. An approach that captures in a stylized way the major challenges to the integration of variable renewable energy sources into power systems has been developed. As a first application this approach has been introduced to REMIND‐D, a hybrid energy‐economy model of Germany. An approximation of the residual load duration curve is implemented. The approximating function endogenously changes depending on the penetration and mix of variable renewable power. The approach can thus …

Slides: Planning Tools: Wildlife Mitigation Plan (Wmp), Comprehensive Drilling Plan (Cdp), Geographic Area Plan (Gap), Ginny Brannon

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Ginny Brannon, Colorado Department of Natural Resources

7 slides

Slides: Arctic Ecosystem Services Measurement And Modeling Project, Eric Biltonen

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Eric Biltonen, PhD, Environment Economist, Houston Advanced Research Center

8 slides

Slides: Master Development Plans (Mdps) / Geographic Area Plans (Gaps): Comprehensive Planning Tools For Oil And Gas Projects, Allen B. Crockett

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Mary Bloomstran, Edge Environmental

20 slides

Agenda: Best Management Practices (Bmps): What? How? And Why?, Houston Advanced Research Center. Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program, Research Partnership To Secure Energy For America, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

The Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems (EFD) Program, managed by the Houston Advanced Research Center, works to identify, develop and transfer critical, cost effective, new technologies that can provide policy makers and industry with the ability to develop natural gas reserves in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. Funding for the EFD Program is through a grant from the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, established under the 2005 Energy Act. Within the EFD Program, some projects focus on technologies for developing energy sources in environmentally sensitive areas; others (like the NRLC’s BMP Project) seek ways to reduce the environmental …

Slides: Introduction To Large-Scale Planning And The Intermountain Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law

18 slides

Slides: Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program, Rich Haut

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Rich Haut, Houston Advanced Research Center

6 slides

Slides: Master Development Plans (Mdps): Oil And Gas Projects, Mary Bloomstran

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Mary Bloomstran, Edge Environmental

19 slides

Slides: The Economic Benefits Of Completing Initial Reclamation Successfully For Oil And Gas, David Chenoweth, David Holland, Gerald Jacob, Lindsey Kruckenberg, John Rizza, Bryan Whiteley

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenters: Joe Schneider and Colby Reid, Western States Reclamation, Inc.

34 slides

Slides: Bmps For Reclamation: Do We Know What Is Effective?, Peter Stahl

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Pete Stahl, Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center

19 slides

Slides: Collaborative Planning And Lessons Learned, Matt Sura

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Matt Sura, University of Colorado Law School

48 slides

Slides: The Costs And Benefits Of Best Management Practices: Insights From The Marcellus Shale, Timothy J. Considine

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Timothy J. Considine, School of Energy Resources, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming

15 slides

Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock

Physics Faculty Publications

Residential building energy use is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and in the United States represents about 20% of total energy consumption. A number of previous macro-scale studies of residential energy consumption and energy-efficiency improvements are mainly concerned with national or international aggregate potential savings. In this paper we look into the details of how a collection of specific homes in one region might reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, with particular attention given to some practical limits to what can be achieved by upgrading the existing residential building stock. Using a simple model of residential, single-family home …

Panel Discussion Presentation: Thoughts On Energy/Water Nexus – Energy Technologies, California Case, Terry Surles

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspectives

Energy/Security/Water Problem Confluence:

There remains a critical need to make the best use possible of indigenous
national resources
- Water in the Southwest
- Energy resources in the region and nation

International energy resource competition will require effective development and use of national resources
- Geothermal, solar, wind, coal, uranium

Changing climate can produce "winners" as well as "losers" — requires an
understanding of past climate events and the impact on cultures
- Northern countries may benefit: Canada, Russia
- Temperate countries may suffer due to loss of cropland and increase of
tropical diseases and …

2011 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability, Christian Ryan-Downing

Sustainability Publications and Resources

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. AASHE’s mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. The organization provides resources, professional development and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research. For more information about AASHE, visit www.aashe.org.

In early 2010, Western Kentucky University became a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). STARS® is a …

Renewable Energy In The Context Of Sustainable Development, Jayant Sathaye, Oswaldo Lucon, Atiq Rahman, John Christensen, Fatima Denton, Junichi Fujino, Garvin Heath, Monirul Mirza, Hugh Rudnick, August Schlaepfer, Andrey Shmakin, Gerhard Angerer, Christian Bauer, Morgan Bazilian, Robert J. Brecha, Peter Burgherr, Leon Clarke, Felix Creutzig, James Edmonds, Christian Hagelüken, Gerrit Hansen, Nathan Hultman, Michael Jakob, Susanne Kadner, Manfred Lenzen, Jordan Macknick, Eric Masanet, Yu Nagai, Anne Olhoff, Karen Olsen, Michael Pahle, Ari Rabl, Richard Richels, Joyashree Roy, Tormod Schei, Christoph Von Stechow, Jan Christoph Steckel, Ethan Warner, Tom Wilbanks, Yimin Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

Historically, economic development has been strongly correlated with increasing energy use and growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Renewable energy (RE) can help decouple that correlation, contributing to sustainable development (SD). In addition, RE offers the opportunity to improve access to modern energy services for the poorest members of society, which is crucial for the achievement of any single of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

Theoretical concepts of SD can provide useful frameworks to assess the interactions between SD and RE. SD addresses concerns about relationships between human society and nature. Traditionally, SD has been framed in the three-pillar model—Economy, …

Targeting Residential Energy Reduction For City Utilities Using Historical Electrical Utility Data And Readily Available Building Data, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell

Physics Faculty Publications

Energy use data for the eight-year period 2003–2010 was analyzed for over 1200 single family residences in Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Electricity, natural gas, residential building, and weather databases are merged to permit determination of the energy intensity of each home in the village. The energy use intensity for each home is disaggregated into weather independent and weather dependent electric and natural gas use. This use is compared to typical baseline, cooling, and heating energy use for the region. From this comparison, priority homes are identified for energy reduction investment. Collective potential low cost energy reduction is estimated for …