Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Wicked Tools: The Value Of Scientific Models For Solving Maine’S Wicked Problems, Tim Waring

Timothy M Waring

“Wicked problems” are urgent, high-stake socioeconomic-environmental challenges that often involve ideological conflict and have no “best solutions.” Using examples from Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative projects, Tim Waring describes how scientific models can be used to address these kinds of problems. When well-constructed and tested models are used to address policy-relevant issues, include input from stakeholders, and integrate social, economic and environmental dynamics, they can become “wicked tools” to address some of society’s biggest challenges.

The Plight Of The Kimberley: Jobs Or Culture?, Stuart Murray

Stuart Murray

No abstract provided.

Uncertainty, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

The article discusses environmental risks and uncertainties and the current approaches to risk assessment. It is said that conventional risk assessment is a powerful methodology, but over-reliance on it can lead to a failure to acknowledge any risks that do not lend themselves to the technique. Uncertainties can be associated with fat-tailed distributions.

Equally Unprepared: Assessing The Hurricane Vulnerability Of Undergraduate Students, Jason Simms, Margarethe Kusenbach, Graham Tobin

Jason L Simms

Policy Images, Issue Frames, And Technical Realities: Contrasting Views Of Japan’S Energy Policy Development, Paul Scalise

Paul J. Scalise

No abstract provided.

Confronting Socially Generated Uncertainty In Adaptive Management, Andrew J. Tyre, Sarah Michaels

Andrew J Tyre

As more and more organizations with responsibility for natural resource management adopt adaptive management as the rubric in which they wish to operate, it becomes increasingly important to consider the sources of uncertainty inherent in their endeavors. Without recognizing that uncertainty originates both in the natural world and in human undertakings, efforts to manage adaptively at the least will prove frustrating and at the worst will prove damaging to the very natural resources that are the management targets. There will be more surprises and those surprises potentially may prove at the very least unwanted and at the worst devastating. We …

Investment Prospectus: Concentrated Solar Power With Heliostat Tower And Molten Salt Storage, Kyle Herman

Dr. Kyle S. Herman

This article delivers a preliminary overview of Concentrated Solar Technology. It offers data for investors and policy-makers in order to more properly understand and mitigate risks of this renewable energy.

The Reclamation Of Boston Harbor: A Scientist's Perspective, Gordon T. Wallace Jr.

Gordon Wallace

A major effort, costing in the neighborhood of $2 billion, is under way to restore the environmental quality of Boston Harbor. While Boston Harbor is unquestionably one of the most polluted urban estuaries in the world, it is also one of the least understood with respect to the basic physics, chemistry, and biology involved. This information is essential for the purpose of identifying processes that control the transport, effect, and fate of contaminants entering the estuary. Failure to obtain this information may lead to continued inappropriate and unnecessarily expensive solutions to a complex environmental problem. An effective solution will require …

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 …

The Motivations Behind Municipal Climate Engagement: An Empirical Assessment Of How Local Objectives Shape The Production Of A Public Good, Rachel Krause

Rachel M. Krause

Cities engage in greenhouse gas mitigation efforts because of some combination of desires to achieve local co-benefits, respond to the preferences and pressures of influential political actors, and contribute to the public good by minimizing climate change. The relative importance of each motivation is hypothesized to affect the composition and comprehensiveness of subsequent climate initiatives. In some cities, initiatives appear to be ad hoc collections of tangentially related actions, whereas in others they are the result of a strategic planning process. This article uses survey-based data collected from U.S. cities that are explicitly involved in climate-change mitigation efforts and empirically …

The Carbon Frame: Condensed Version, Kyle Herman

Dr. Kyle S. Herman

Attracting Fdi: The Chilean Government's Role Promoting Renewable Energy, Kyle Herman

Dr. Kyle S. Herman

The development and implementation of renewable energy power plants is important for Chile in order to increase energy security, supply remote mines with electricity, and eventually decrease energy costs. The Chilean government has promoted renewable energy and attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to develop large-scale renewable energy projects. However, the policies cannot sufficiently attract FDI in unproven renewable energies such as Concentrated Solar Power, though it is proven elsewhere. This paper examines the Chilean government’s renewable energy policies, related government agencies, and the extent that these provide a stable backdrop for FDI in large-scale renewable energy projects. Following that summary, …

Consolidated Public Safety Answering Point (Psap) Feasibility Study For Richland County Ohio, Daila Shimek, Eugene Kramer, Patrick Johnson, Charlie Post

Daila Shimek

This report provides an assessment of the feasibility of consolidation of two public safety answering points in Richland County, Ohio. The report describes the methodology used to assess the feasibility. The findings are that consolidation of dispatch services among the potential participating entities is feasible. Consolidation of services would reduce capital costs expended across the county for public safety emergency dispatching over the long term. Given the proposed investment equipment and staff, the level and quality of service provided by a consolidated dispatch center should exceed those currently being supplied.

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Sally Miller

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Based on review of climate projections for the …

Chilean Renewable Energy Investment Potential With Technology Transfer, Kyle Herman

Dr. Kyle S. Herman

For potential for investment in Chilean renewable energy investment is promising. After the Chicago boys effectively transformed the Chilean economy into a haven for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) during the 1980’s, government laws have aligned definitively with neo-liberal policy—in other words, open markets, incentives for investors, public-private partnerships and consistent injections of capital into its financial markets. This article explore these components and highlights investment potential and offers policy advice.

The Politics Of Rights-Based Approaches In Conservation, Prakash Kashwan

Prakash Kashwan

Scholars and advocates increasingly favor rights-based approaches over traditional exclusionary policies in conservation. Yet, national and international conservation policies and programs have often led to the exclusion of forest-dependent peoples. This article proposes and tests the hypothesis that the failures of rights-based approaches in conservation can be attributed in significant measure to the political economic interest of the state in the tropics. To this end, the article presents findings from the empirical analysis of the Forest Rights Act of 2006 in India. Two key recommendations emerge from this analysis. One, the proposals for operationalizing rights-based approaches will likely be far …

The Difficult Problem Of Nonpoint Nutrient Pollution: Could The Endangered Species Act Offer Some Relief?, Zdravka Tzankova

Zdravka Tzankova

Nutrient pollution of rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries is one of the preeminent water quality issues in the United States today, and poses a significant threat to the health of aquatic ecosystems. Agricultural nonpoint discharges, the runoff of nitrogen and phosphorous from animal manure and chemical fertilizers, are the primary sources of such nutrient pollution.

A pervasive and long-standing problem, nonpoint pollution, nutri- ent and otherwise, has proven to be one of the toughest challenges in contemporary environmental regulation. This situation is significantly attributable to the political and administrative dynamics of fragmented regulatory authority. The power to control such nonpoint …

Challenges For New Zealand’S Carbon Market, Luis Mundaca T., Jessika Luth Richter

Luis Mundaca

New Zealand is often seen as a leader when it comes to environmental policies, but it needs to do much more to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Exploring The Effects Of ‘Green Energy Economy’ Policies For Transforming The Swedish Building Stock, L. Mundaca T., J. Generosi

Luis Mundaca

Following the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, ‘green energy economy’ packages have been implemented to stimulate sustainable economic growth in several Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Clearly focused on the energy sector, these packages typically include energy-efficiency policy measures and aim to encourage the transition towards a low-carbon economy. We take the Swedish single- and two-household residential sector as a case study for an ex-ante assessment of ‘green energy’ policies that target energy efficiency improvements. We use the EEB_Sweden v1.0 modelling tool to quantitatively evaluate various green energy policy scenarios. We simulate two baselines and three policy scenarios …

Walking Away From A Low-Carbon Economy? Recent And Historical Trends Using A Regional Decomposition Analysis, Luis Mundaca T., Anil Markandya, Jørgen Nørgaard

Luis Mundaca

Using the latest available data, this article provides the first regional decomposition analysis of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Covering eight regions of the world, determinants are estimated in relative and absolute terms for the period 1971-2010. We take the 2010 global surge in CO2 emissions as an entry point for the analysis. Overall, results show that most regions have recently performed worse than their historical trends and lack of meaningful progress is identified. Whereas specific drivers for certain regions suggest some level of continuous improvement (e.g. reduced energy intensity in Asia), they are incapable of offsetting the effects of …

Energy And Environment Policy Case For A Global Project, Thomas A. Faunce

Thomas A Faunce

A policy case is made for a global project on artificial photosynthesis including its scientific justification, potential governance structure and funding mechanisms.

Walking Away From A Low-Carbon Economy?, Luis Mundaca, Anil Markandya, Jørgen Nørgaard

Luis Mundaca

Using the latest available data, this brief article attempts to provide the first regional decomposition analysis of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Covering eight regions of the world, determinants are estimated in relative and absolute terms for the period 1971-2010. We take the 2010 global surge in CO2 emissions as an entry point for the analysis. Overall, results show that most regions have recently performed worse than their historical trends and lack of meaningful progress is identified. Whereas specific drivers for certain regions suggest some level of continuous improvement (e.g. reduced energy intensity in Asia), they are incapable of offsetting …

Results Of 2012 Greenbelt User Survey, Jaap Vos

Jacobus J. "Jaap" Vos

In September of 2012, the City of Boise‘s Parks and Recreation Department asked the Department of Community and Regional Planning to assist with a survey intended to be able to provide a glimpse of the use of the greenbelt on a typical week and weekend day. Greenbelt users were interviewed at three different locations on the greenbelt on Tuesday, September 18, and Saturday, September 22. The locations were chosen by Boise Parks and Recreation and represented downtown (Anne Frank Memorial), and respectively 2.5 miles east (Warm Springs) and west (Veterans Park) of downtown. At both Veterans Park and Warm Springs, …

Levees And The National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies And Practices

Earthea Nance, PhD (Stanford University, 2004)