Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Climate Change, Forest Privatization, And Apocalyptic Prophesies In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Jose E. Martinez-Reyes

Jose E. Martinez-Reyes

No abstract provided.

Essays On International And Environmental Economics, Jacob Wibe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis consists of three chapters employing quantitative open economy models to study international trade transmission, the economic impacts of climate change, and remittance transfers.

The first chapter examines the role of production sharing and trade in the transmission of the 2008-2009 recession. In the model, production sharing is represented by a tradable sector that produces a composite good exclusively for the foreign market. The results suggest that trade transmission can account for 67% of the fall in output in Canada, 24% of the fall in output in Mexico, and about two-thirds of the fall in trade for both countries. …

Climate Change And The Water Crisis In Israel, Lauren Deutsch

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Israel’s water crisis is controlled by the availability and location of water resources that are affected by climate change and geopolitics in southwest Asia. Conflict between Israel and the Palestinian occupied territories in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have put strains on the allocation of water recourses. The goal of this research was to model how much a change in climate will affect the amount of available freshwater in Israel. Intensive research taken from Israel and the occupied territories was carried out to understand how the amount of precipitation, rainfall, and the rate of evaporation is affected by …

Decadal Changes And Future Projections Of Precipitation In The Metropolitan Area Of Milwaukee, Anke Petra Maria Keuser

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated decadal changes and future projections of precipitation in the Metro Milwaukee and surrounding area, the largest urban area in Wisconsin. Spatial and temporal precipitation patterns derived for the Metro Milwaukee from the high-resolution gridded historical climatic dataset for Wisconsin were analyzed for 1950-2006. In addition, precipitation scenarios were generated via statistical downscaling of the Third Generation Coupled Global Climate Model (CGCM3) outputs. The delta method was chosen for the statistical downscaling of the CGCM3 output for the two future time periods, 2041-2070 (2050s) and 2071-2100 (2080s). The Mann-Kendall test and the Sen's slope test were applied to …

Prolepsis And The Environmental Rhetoric Of Congressional Politics: Defeating The Climate Stewardship Act Of 2003, Richard Besel

Communication Studies

As a device of argumentative anticipation, prolepsis use generally is considered a positive rhetorical strategy. Turning to the Climate Stewardship Act (CSA) of 2003, this article contributes to our understanding of environmental communication, political argumentation, and rhetorical theory by examining how proleptic miscalculation can actually produce devastating consequences against one’s cause when used as a source of invention. Proponents of the CSA relied on creating proleptic arguments grounded in a scientific understanding of climate change to such an extent that they mistakenly downplayed the economic arguments against the Act. This orchestrated miscalculation was encouraged and strengthened by key US senators. …

An Integrated Approach For Developing Adaptation Strategies In Climate Planning: A Case Study Of Vulnerability In Dukes County, Massachusetts, Jonathan Pollak

Master's Theses

Climate Action Plans (CAP’s) are recent innovations in policy that have been catalyzed by a need to adjust the relationship between human activity and the Earth’s climate system. CAP’s often are composed of methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in addition to adaptation strategies. Research indicates, however, that many plans focus on mitigation strategies while adaptation policies related to predicted changes caused by climate change are often overlooked. This thesis presents an integrative framework for locating areas that are in need of adaptation strategies through a GIS based decision support system that visualizes vulnerability. It is operationalized through an empirical …

Assessing African National Adaptation Programmes Of Action: Giving A Voice To The Voiceless, Natalia Valenzuela-Cevallos

All Theses

ABSTRACT
The earth continues to experience climate change. Although it is occurring worldwide, the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are particularly in danger from various adverse consequences due to their low adaptive capability. In order to assist LDCs prepare for climate change, the United Nations (UN) established the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs). Part of the rationale behind the creation of the NAPAs was to help LDCs prepare for climate change effects, while protecting the poor and using sound environmental management. To date, 47 LDCs have submitted NAPAs to the UN, from which 32 are African LDCs.
Prior to this …

Prehistoric Foraging Strategies In The Piute Valley Of Southern Nevada, Christopher Alan Brosman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Piute Valley of Southern Nevada is an incredibly diverse but arid zone in the eastern portion of the Mojave Desert. Most of this diversity can be attributed to the elevation shifts ranging from the Colorado River basin to the peaks of the surrounding mountain ranges. These peaks and valleys provide a multitude of resource zones in which prehistoric hunter-gatherers could provision themselves throughout the year. For this thesis I have used archaeological survey, paleo-climate models, life-sciences data and ethnographic research to perform an in-depth land use analysis of prehistoric forager adaptations to this challenging but life-sustaining environment.

Recent investigations …

Managing The Future Energy Policy For Ireland: Examining The Role Of Nuclear Power, Declan Lynch, Angela Wright

Dept. of Organisation & Professional Development Publications

This study assesses the attitudes and opinions of Irish people towards the use of nuclear power, and specifically examines the concept that Ireland should use nuclear power to generate electricity in the future. Currently, Ireland has a prohibition on nuclear power, with little debate or discussion on same, and with scant amounts of information published on the subject as it relates to Ireland. Conversely, from an international perspective, there is a significant volume of literature available covering all aspects of nuclear power, generated from over 50 years of nuclear power operations. Nuclear power technology is perceived as being a relatively …

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

Chad J McGuire

A Simple Model To Account For Regional Inequalities In The Effectiveness Of Solar Radiation Management, Juan B. Moreno-Cruz, Katharine L. Ricke, David W. Keith

Juan B. Moreno-Cruz

We develop a simple measure of the potential effectiveness of solar radiation management (SRM) in compensating for anthropogenic climate change and test this measure using data from an ensemble of modeling experiments conducted with a general circulation model (GCM). Assuming a linear relationship between the amounts of SRM implemented globally and the regional temperature and precipitation responses to that change, we calculate the amount of SRM that minimizes impacts using three different social objectives: egalitarian, utilitarian and ecocentric. While inequalities in the effectiveness of SRM between regions are important, they may not be as severe as is often assumed. When …

Climate Policy Under Uncertainty: A Case For Solar Geoengineering, Juan B. Moreno-Cruz, David W. Keith

Juan B. Moreno-Cruz

It appears to be technically feasible to engineer an increase in albedo, a planetary brightening, as a means to offset the warming caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases through Solar Radiation Management (SRM). This option has two characteristics that make it attractive for managing climate risk: it is quick and cheap. However, SRM cannot exactly compensate for the CO2-driven climate change. Moreover, SRM introduces risks in the climate system that are unique to this type of intervention.We introduce SRM in a model of climate change economics and analyze the optimal policy under uncertainty. We find that the …

Assessment Of Climate Change Effect On Water Harvesting Structures In Rainfed Regions: Geospatial Data Mining Approach, Sreedhar Nallan, Leisa Armstrong

Research outputs 2012

Advances in the Information and Technologies (ICT) may assist researchers in the assessment of watershed development programmes by developing better visualization understanding of their impacts. GIS based research studies utilizing remote sensing images can facilitate in identifying the potential zones for watershed development and enable improved ground water resources. Effective watershed management is dependent on a number of factors such as demography, climate, soil, land use and topography and these are affected by changing climatic conditions. For example, changes in rainfall intensity and volume in rain fed areas can influence the effectiveness of the placement of watershed structures. Existing methods …

Electric Vehicles In Ireland: The Future?, Angela Wright

Dept. of Organisation & Professional Development Publications

This study explores the merits of the Electric Vehicle (EV) as an alternative mode of transportation in Ireland. The EV has been produced for many decades, but never in a mass production capacity. EVs do not require fossil fuels to power them. With fossil fuels being in short supply and as global climate change is deteriorating each year; the EV will help reduce Ireland’s dependence on depleting fossil fuel resources. This current study seeks to establish if the EV can be part of the solution to prevent further un-repairable damage to the environment. The findings of this current study, demonstrate …

Mangroves, Mudbanks And Seawalls: Political Ecology Of Adaptation To Sea Level Rise In Suriname, Ravic Nijbroek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand how global discourses of sea level rise (SLR) and mangrove ecology influence national climate change adaptation policy to reduce coastal vulnerability in Suriname. A majority of the Surinamese population lives along the low elevation coastal zone and is highly exposed to projected SLR. Failure by the international community to reach agreement on climate change mitigation means that vulnerable coastal communities must adapt. The Suriname coast is predominantly shaped by mudbanks and mangroves which together provide protection against coastal erosion and trap sediments resulting in coastal accretion. Knowledge claims of mangrove ecology and utility in SLR …

Coastal Planning, Federal Consistency, And Climate Change: A Recent Divergence Of Federal And State Interests, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Climate Adaptation And The Fifth Amendment Of The U.S. Constitution: A Regulatory Takings Analysis Of Adaptation Strategies In Coastal Development With Application To Connecticut’S Coastal Management Regime, Chad J. Mcguire, Jason Hill

Chad J McGuire