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2018

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Articles 361 - 368 of 368

Full-Text Articles in Sustainability

Ecological Integrity Metrics: All Integrity Data Products, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand Jan 2018

Ecological Integrity Metrics: All Integrity Data Products, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The ecological integrity products represent a set of metrics corresponding to our ecosystem-based ecological assessment in 2010 (see Integrity document for details). The ecological integrity metrics include a variety of measures of intactness and resiliency. The individual metrics are also combined into a composite local index of ecological integrity (IEI).

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A Proposal To Umass Amherst For An Electronic Time Reporting System, Nicole Comeau Jan 2018

A Proposal To Umass Amherst For An Electronic Time Reporting System, Nicole Comeau

Student Showcase

This proposal to UMass Amherst is for all campus offices to switch their employee time reporting operations to a universal electronic system in the interest of reducing paper and saving time. Waste reduction, including paper consumption, is a top priority for the administration and the campus, as it is for college campuses across the nation. As a Green Office Fellow in the Green Office Program within Sustainable UMass at UMass Amherst I conducted an electronic survey for my fellowship project during the Fall 2018 semester. This survey asked campus offices for information about their time reporting operations.

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Social Science Perspectives On Drivers Of And Responses To Global, Andrew K. Jorgenson, Shirley Fiske, Klaus Hubacek, Jia Li, Tom Mcgovern, Torben Rick, Juliet B. Schor, William Solecki, Richard York, Ariela Zycherman Jan 2018

Social Science Perspectives On Drivers Of And Responses To Global, Andrew K. Jorgenson, Shirley Fiske, Klaus Hubacek, Jia Li, Tom Mcgovern, Torben Rick, Juliet B. Schor, William Solecki, Richard York, Ariela Zycherman

Publications and Research

This article provides a review of recent anthropological, archeological, geographical, and sociological research on anthropogenic drivers of climate change, with a particular focus on drivers of carbon emissions, mitigation and adaptation. The four disciplines emphasize cultural, economic, geographic, historical, political, and social‐structural factors to be important drivers of and responses to climate change. Each of these disciplines has unique perspectives and makes noteworthy contributions to our shared understanding of anthropogenic drivers, but they also complement one another and contribute to integrated, multidisciplinary frameworks. The article begins with discussions of research on temporal dimensions of human drivers of carbon emissions, highlighting …

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Evaluating The Role Of Energy Demand Prediction And Renewable Energy Utilization On Energy Dependency Management: A Generic System Dynamics Model, Emad Rabiei Hosseinabad Jan 2018

Evaluating The Role Of Energy Demand Prediction And Renewable Energy Utilization On Energy Dependency Management: A Generic System Dynamics Model, Emad Rabiei Hosseinabad

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Supplying energy has become one of the biggest concerns of developed countries due to the growing energy needs in the last decades. Security of energy supply has forced countries to rely more on energy imports from external sources, and become energy dependent to a greater extent. Utilizing available renewable energy resources has been characterized as a reliable indicator to mitigate energy dependency in countries as well as securing the supplying of energy-based needs in the future. This research explores the impact of renewable energies as trustful resources in mitigating energy imports form external sources with investigation of its viability with …

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Understanding The Food Water Nexus: Characterizing The Impact Of Climatological Anomalies On Agrosystems, Patrick M. Wurster Jr. Jan 2018

Understanding The Food Water Nexus: Characterizing The Impact Of Climatological Anomalies On Agrosystems, Patrick M. Wurster Jr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate variability at global and regional scales is escalating with increased atmospheric carbon and is expected to magnify the intensity and duration of meteorological extremes, especially droughts. From the many environmental stresses that diminish crop production (e.g., soil salinity, frost, soil erosion) drought is one of the most prevalent. This study focuses on the sensitivity of three key crops produced in the northwestern United States to climatological anomalies, while controlling for attribution using anomalies in price. The study differs from similar studies in that we focus on variability in production which captures both yield (tonnes/ha) and cropping area (ha), as …

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A Multi-Criteria And Dynamic Sustainability Assessment Of Crop Rotation Alternatives, Saturnina Fabian Nisperos Jan 2018

A Multi-Criteria And Dynamic Sustainability Assessment Of Crop Rotation Alternatives, Saturnina Fabian Nisperos

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

With the food security challenge faced by nations globally, agriculture sustainability has been a significant consideration for concerned agencies. Sustainability assessments are significant tools in providing support to stakeholders in their crop production planning. Agricultural sustainability assessment, however, is complex and it involves numerous criteria that can be conflicting. Limitations on crop rotation sustainability assessment methods include: non-dynamic assessment; lack of regard to cover crops and to the individual crop production preferences of farmers; and focused only on single-year and single-crop rotation. We sought to address these limitations by developing a multi-criteria and dynamic sustainability assessment model that considers the …

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Stormwater Capture In The Built Watershed: Fostering Public Awareness Of Water Conservation Through A Parcel-Level Approach To Stormwater Management, Benjamin Rigby Jan 2018

Stormwater Capture In The Built Watershed: Fostering Public Awareness Of Water Conservation Through A Parcel-Level Approach To Stormwater Management, Benjamin Rigby

Pitzer Senior Theses

As California contends with climate change and more extreme cycles of drought and deluge, water management agencies and conservation groups are looking towards solutions to the decreasing reliability of imported water supplies. Stormwater has historically been perceived as a threat to development but when captured properly, it presents a resource that can augment local water supplies. Solutions to water supply issues in California have traditionally employed technical and centrally controlled methods for importing water, but there is a growing understanding that parcel-level capture through vegetated swales presents an opportunity for reducing the impact that development has on California’s hydrology. Vegetated …

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Sustainability-Efficiency Paradox: The Efficacy Of State Energy Plans In Building A More Sustainable Energy Future, Austin Zimmerman Jan 2018

Sustainability-Efficiency Paradox: The Efficacy Of State Energy Plans In Building A More Sustainable Energy Future, Austin Zimmerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

State energy plans are created at the request of a sitting governor or State Legislature in order to provide guidance set goals for the state’s energy sector. These plans will be critical indicators of energy trends such as the future market share of coal, natural gas, and renewables. If the future of energy in the United States is to be remotely sustainable, low-carbon policies must headline state plans. The strength of a state’s energy plan in terms of sustainability is directly related to that state’s willingness to prioritize and commit to incorporating energy sources that produce negligible carbon emissions. Questions …

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