Digital Commons Network^™

Energy, Entropy And The Environment (How To Increase The First By Decreasing The Second To Save The Third), D. P. Sheehan

Physics and Biophysics: Faculty Scholarship

Energy is the lifeblood of civilization, but inexpensive, high energy density sources are rapidly being depleted and their exploitation is severely degrading the environment. This paper explores a radical solution to this energy-environmental dilemma. In the last 10–15 years, the universality of the second law of thermodynamics has fallen into serious theoretical doubt [1–3].Should it prove experimentally violable, this would open the door to a nearly limitless reservoir of ubiquitous, clean, recyclable energy. If economical, it could precipitate paradigm shifts in energy production, utilization and politics. In this paper, recent challenges to the second law are reviewed, with focus given …

Vermont, Mary Finley-Brook

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Known as the Green Mountain State, Vermont underwent widespread reforestation following farm abandonment in the mid-1800s. In addition to the existence of several land trusts, the Green Mountain Club has protected more than 55 mi. (88 km.) along a hikers' Long Trail. There is a strong state environmental movement, with local groups and chapters of national organizations. Vermont hosts one of the nation's leading environmental law and policy programs at the Vermont Law School. The state government has invested in energy efficiency and joined regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Climate change and global warming concern Vermonters because …

Climate Change And Freshwater Resources, Robert H. Abrams, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz

Journal Publications

Earth's climate is warming. This is the unequivocal conclusion of climate scientists. Despite the complexities of climatology, certain consistent trends emerge with implications for water availability: as the world gets warmer, it will experience increased regional variability in precipitation, with more frequent heavy precipitation events and more susceptibility to drought. These simple facts will have a profound impact on freshwater resources throughout the United States, as the warmer climate will reduce available water supplies and increase water demand. Unfortunately, current water law and policy are not up to the new challenges of climate change and resulting pressures on freshwater resources. …

Climate Change, Vulnerability And Adaptation For South-West Western Australia: Phase One Of Action 5.5, Western Australian Greenhouse Strategy, Luke Morgan, Jo Anne Molin, Ross George, Richard Mckellar, Janet Conte

Bulletins 4000 -

This report outlines preliminary findings about the impacts of climate changes that occurred during 1975 to 2005 on the South West’s people, its economy and natural ecosystems. The report focuses on vulnerability and adaptation, identifying useful pointers for future work, particularly in relation to how well the community, stakeholders and decision-makers understand climate change as an issue and a threat.

Correlation Of Peak Flow In The Red River Of The North To Changes In Climate And Land Cover, Virginia M. G Regorrah

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Seismic Facies And Stratigraphy Of The Cenozoic Succession In Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica: Implications For Tectonic, Climatic And Glacial History, Christopher R. Fielding, Joanne Whittaker, Stuart A. Henrys, Terry J. Wilson, Timothy R. Naish

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Integration of data from fully cored stratigraphic holes with an extensive grid of seismic reflection lines in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, has allowed the formulation of a new model for the evolution of the Cenozoic Victoria Land Basin of the West Antarctic Rift. The Early Rift phase (Eocene to Early Oligocene) is recorded by wedges of strata confined by early extensional faults, and which contain seismic facies consistent with drainage via coarse-grained fans and deltas into discrete, actively subsiding grabens and half-grabens. The Main Rift phase (Early Oligocene to Early Miocene) is represented by a lens of strata that thickens symmetrically …

The "Stern Review" And Its Critics: Implications For The Theory And Practice Of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The UK's Treasury's "Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change" (Oct. 2006) reached dramatically different conclusions and policy recommendations than most earlier economic analyses of climate change. It found that the costs of climate change, as well as the potential net benefits of greenhouse gas reductions, were much higher that previously estimated, and consequently recommended more rapid and extensive cuts in emissions than other economist analysts. The Stern Review estimated that a 1% annual investment of global GDP in mitigation could prevent a 5% (or more) reduction in annual global GDP from climate change harm, forever. A number of prominent …

Toward A New Generation Of Ice Sheet Models, Christopher M. Little, Michael Oppenheimer, Richard B. Alley, Venkatramani Balaji, Garry K. C. Clarke, Thomas L. Delworth, Robert Hallberg, David Holland, Christina L. Hulbe, Stan Jacobs, Jesse V. Johnson, Hiram Levy, William Lipscomb, Shawn J. Marshall, Byron R. Parizek, Antony J. Payne, Gavin A. Schmidt, Ronald J. Stouffer, David G. Vaughan, Michael Winton

Computer Science Faculty Publications

This report summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of a 1-day workshop on ice sheet modeling held at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory on 8 January 2007, sponsored by NOAA and by the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, N. J.

Changes In Severe Thunderstorm Environment Frequency During The 21st Century Caused By Anthropogenically Enhanced Global Radiative Forcing, Robert J. Trapp, Noah S. Diffenbaugh, Harold E. Brooks, Michael E. Baldwin, Eric D. Robinson, Jeremy S. Pal

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Works

Severe thunderstorms comprise an extreme class of deep convective clouds and produce high-impact weather such as destructive surface winds, hail, and tornadoes. This study addresses the question of how severe thunderstorm frequency in the United States might change because of enhanced global radiative forcing associated with elevated greenhouse gas concentrations. We use global climate models and a high-resolution regional climate model to examine the larger-scale (or “environmental”) meteorological conditions that foster severe thunderstorm formation. Across this model suite, we find a net increase during the late 21st century in the number of days in which these severe thunderstorm environmental conditions …

Circulation, Vol. 14, No. 3, Center For Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, S. Sackett, J. L. Blanco

CCPO Circulation

Fall 2007 issue of CCPO Circulation featuring article "Analysis of Time Series Data from the Chesapeake Bay Mouth Cruises" by S. Sackett and J. L. Blanco

Variable Intensity Of Teleconnections During The Late Holocene In Subtropical North America From An Isotopic Study Of Speleothem From Florida, Philip E. Van Beynen, Yemane Asmerom, Victor J. Polyak, Limaris R. Soto, Jason S. Polk

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The persistence and influence of both tropical and extra‐tropical teleconnections on the hydrology of subtropical North America are little understood. Major atmospheric‐oceanic controls on the isotopic composition of the precipitation reconstructed from a 1,000 year old stalagmite are the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). These teleconnections create decadal‐ to centennial‐scale changes in the seasonal distribution of precipitation. An increase in the winter proportion of annual precipitation coincides with negative phase NAO conditions and a positive phase PDO. However, the PDO's influence appears to be weakened when it is out of phase with the El Niño …

Sheep Updates 2007 - Part 1, Richard Gunner, Anthony Clarke, Kevin Bell, Hugh Dove, H. M. Burrow, Kevin Goss

Sheep Updates

This session covers six papers from different authors:

PLENARY

1. Life beyond the farmgate - the meat perspective, Richard Gunner – Principal:- Richard Gunner’s Fine Meats

2. Do you need to worry about climate change?, Anthony Clark, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University and Bureau of Rural Sciences.

3. Ruminant nutrition panel session - The impact of nutrition on animal health and welfare, Kevin Bell, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Studies, Murdoch University

4. Ruminant nutrition panel session - Pasture/animal interactions, Hugh Dove, Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Plant Industry

5. Precision Cattle Breeding for …

A Multimedia Approach To Climate Change Education, Richard Snow, Mary Snow

Publications

This paper discusses the development of an upper-level college course on Climate Change created as part of an interdisciplinary Honors Seminar Series. The course makes use of multimedia instructional techniques to examine the physical, economic, and political dynamics of climate change. The curriculum includes an appraisal of assorted global warming websites, computer-based simulations and analysis of relevant climate data, as well as a review of the literature and other media including documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth. The so-called global warming debate subsidized by the fossil fuel industry also is discussed.

Climate. Scrubbing The Sky: Climate Change And The Productive Center, Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article sketches out the efforts of government, business, and civil society to address the problem of climate change. It identifies some of the key initiatives underway — including proposals for more stringent caps on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; the creation of a market-based trading system that provides incentives and profits for entities that reduce their GHG emission levels; more robust research and development of alternative energy sources as well as new approaches to traditional ones; and continued public education — and portrays the bipartisan, collaborative, multilateral nature of saving Mother Nature. While acknowledging that ultimately these efforts may be …

Currents In Water Resources Law And Policy: How Is “Prior” Coping With New Stresses? [Outline], A. Dan Tarlock, David H. Getches

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

3 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"A. Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law and Director, Program in Environmental and Energy Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law"

"David H. Getches, Dean and Raphael J. Moses Professor of Natural Resources Law, University of Colorado Law School"

Slides: Dam Building And Removal On The Elwha: A Prototype Of Adaptive Mismanagement And A Tribal Opportunity, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: William H. Rodgers, Jr., Stimson Bullitt Professor of Environmental Law, University of Washington School of Law

77 slides

Slides: The Future Public Law Of Private Ecosystems, J. B. Ruhl

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: J.B. Ruhl, Florida State University Law School

18 slides

The Future Of Mineral Development On Federal Lands In The United States, John D. Leshy

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

11 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"Outline of presentation of John D. Leshy, Harry D. Sunderland Distinguished Professor, U.C. Hastings College of the Law, Natural Resources Law center, June 7, 2007" (pp. 3-5)

"Leshy draft 4.27.07 For Natural Resources Law Center" (pp. 6-13)

Why Care About The Polar Bear?: Economic Analysis Of Natural Resources Law And Policy [Outline], Lisa Heinzerling

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

1 page.

"Lisa Heinzerling, Georgetown Law School" -- Agenda

Agenda: The Future Of Natural Resources Law And Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

The Natural Resources Law Center's 25th Anniversary Conference and Natural Resources Law Teachers 14th Biennial Institute provided an opportunity for some of the best natural resources lawyers to discuss future trends in the field. The conference focused on the larger, cross-cutting issues affecting natural resources policy. Initial discussions concerned the declining role of scientific resource management due to the increased inclusion of economic-cost benefit analysis and public participation in the decision-making process. The effectiveness of this approach was questioned particularly in the case of non-market goods such as the polar bear. Other participants promoted the importance of public participation and …

Slides: Summary: Sources Of Stress And The Changing Context Of Natural Resources Law And Policy In The New West, William R. Travis

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Dr. William R. Travis, Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder

43 slides

Federalism And Natural Resources Policy [Outline], Robert L. Fischman

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

2 pages.

"Robert L. Fischman, Indiana University School of Law–Bloomington"

"Outline of Presentation"

Some Preliminary Thoughts On Contrasts And Convergence In Environmental And Natural Resources Law, Karin P. Sheldon

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

16 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

Session 9 - The Century Of Living Dangerously, Part Ii: Confronting Uncertainty, R. J. Bogumil

International Symposium on Technology and Society

Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methodological limitations as well as environmental application-specific features confound much needed objective analysis and hope for equitable remediation of anthropogenic climate change. Issues addressed include: risk subjectivism, the difficulty of mathematical and computer model prediction-validity assessment associated with chaotic system dynamics, as well as standards of scholarship and the obstacle to societal reform posed by commercial, consumer-driven mass-media journalism.

Inside Front & Back Covers: Changes And Variability Of Urban Sprawl - Implications For Local Climate Change, Robert Hellström

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Change-Point Analyses In Ecology, Brian Beckage, Lawrence Joseph, Patrick Belisle, David B. Wolfson, William J. Platt

Faculty Publications

• Ecological and biological processes can change from one state to another once a threshold has been crossed in space or time. Threshold responses to incremental changes in underlying variables can characterize diverse processes from climate change to the desertification of arid lands from overgrazing. • Simultaneously estimating the location of thresholds and associated ecological parameters can be difficult: ecological data are often 'noisy', which can make the identification of the locations of ecological thresholds challenging. • We illustrate this problem using two ecological examples and apply a class of statistical models well-suited to addressing this problem. We first consider …

Indigenous Peoples And Environmental Justice: The Impact Of Climate Change, Rebecca Tsosie

The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock (March 16-17)

Presenter: Rebecca Tsosie, Professor of Law, Arizona State University

1 page.

Climate Changes And The Poorest Nations: Further Reflections On Global Inequality, Ruth Gordon

The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock (March 16-17)

Presenter: Ruth Gordon, Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law

3 pages.

Climate Justice: The Next Movement [Outline], Richard J. Lazarus

The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock (March 16-17)

Presenter: Richard J. Lazarus, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

2 pages.

Agenda: The Climate Of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law

The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock (March 16-17)

On March 16-17, The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock conference gathered 125 academics and practitioners from around the country to consider the pressing issues facing low-income and/or communities of color that continue to be subjected to a disproportionate share of environmental maladies.

"Some people are more equal than others when it comes to bracing ourselves for the impacts of climate change," said conference organizer Professor Maxine Burkett. "Whether it's because poor folks lived in the lowest areas of New Orleans when Katrina floodwaters rushed in, or are less able to afford the cooling bill during increasingly frequent heat waves, …