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Elephant In The Room, Sabrina Sixta

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This poem tries to express the difficulty of staying focused on one's research when there is so much turmoil in the world.

Why Reach Codes: Local Players Driving Statewide Building Standards, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry, Gabriela Yamhure

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Reach codes are local energy ordinances that employ various technologies, strategies, and integrated systems that go above California Building Standards Code (CA Building Code, Title 24) standards and support greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts. A reach code is a mandated energy performance requirement for the built environment, typically incorporated as part of a city’s climate action plan, local hazard mitigation plan, or climate adaptation plan. Not only do reach codes help local jurisdictions remain in compliance with state mandates, they enable local climate leadership by signaling support for the future direction of state Building Code standards. This blog provides a …

Integrating Climate And Wildfire Education In The Classroom: Development And Implementation Of K-12 Place-Based Wildfire Educational Modules, Danielle Marquette

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, even though most parents would like their children to be educated about climate change, and most teachers support including climate change in K-12 curriculum, many schools fail to educate students about the causes, consequences, solutions, and personal connections to climate change. Teaching anthropogenic climate change through the local context is one of the most effective methods of teaching climate change. In Idaho the lengthening fire season and the increasing occurrence of larger, more severe fires is a tangible impact of climate change. Yet students from Idaho and other high wildfire risk states in the western United …

Addressing Health Crises Through Courts? Climate Litigation In Latin America, The Right To Health And Vulnerable Populations, Thalia Viveros Uehara

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

As Latin America faces increasing climate-related health crises that disproportionately affect populations experiencing poverty and social exclusion, it becomes increasingly urgent to realize the most vulnerable's right to health. While the region's new constitutionalism (NLAC) has made progress in protecting this right, it has only recently begun to intersect with climate change law through rights-based climate litigation. This dissertation takes a transdisciplinary multi-methods research approach to answer the following question: How do health crises emerge within, and how are they addressed by courts through, domestic climate litigation in Latin America? Specifically, it examines how health concerns for vulnerable populations are …

The Ecological Effects Of Nitrogen Enrichment In Aridlands, Jennifer Holguin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is one of the most prominent factors driving global change. Across the globe, N deposition has driven major changes in terrestrial ecosystems, such as declines in plant biodiversity, enhanced exotic plant growth, and changes to biogeochemical processes involved in carbon and nutrient cycling. While noteworthy effort has been put forth to investigate the effects of N deposition on terrestrial ecosystems, a disproportionate number of N addition studies have been conducted in temperate mesic systems. Thus, we lack a holistic and mechanistic understanding of how N deposition impact aridland ecosystems. Additionally, our predictions of the effects of …

How Active Rainwater Harvesting May Help Reduce Nuisance Flooding: Flood Analysis And Social Barriers To Adoption, Isabel Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As urbanization continues to expand, fewer pervious surfaces are available to help reduce stormwater runoff from rainfall. The impacts of urbanization are becoming evident through sunny day flooding - flooding that occurs in areas not designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as flood zones. Nevertheless, water accumulates in low-lying areas and compromises street intersections and other parts of neighborhoods. Some methods can help alleviate the impacts of unexpected heavy rains, such as passive and active rainwater harvesting. As a pilot study, in a selected area in the northeast of El Paso, the level of adoption (e.g., what percentage …

A Thermodynamics-Based Versatile Evapotranspiration Estimation Method Of Minimum Data Requirement For Water Resources Investigations, Jozsef Szilagyi, Richard D. Crago

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A recent, two-parameter version of the thermodynamically derived complementary relationship (CR) of evaporation has been tested on a monthly basis at 124 FLUXNET stations around the globe. Local, station-by-station calibration explained 91% (R2) of the variance in eddy-covariance (EC) obtained latent-heat fluxes with the same Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) value. When the dimensionless Priestley-Taylor parameter (α) was expressed as a universal function (f) of the estimated wet-environment air temperature (Tw), station-by-station calibration of the single dimensionless parameter, b (accounting for moisture advection), yielded an R² value of 87% and NSE of 86%. Global calibration (all stations …

Antitrust And Sustainability: A Landscape Analysis, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, Sabin Center For Climate Change Law

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Competition policy and antitrust law are experiencing a global renaissance. New market realities such as digital market gatekeepers, the financialization of firms, highly concentrated markets, a rising labor movement, industrial policy, and trade wars, among others, are radically reshaping how this policy area is understood and applied.

Sustainability concerns have also been a driving force for reconstituting antitrust to meet twenty-first century challenges. It is now widely accepted that competition policy – both its aims and its enforcement – has wider societal impacts beyond competition, including effects on democracy, economic inequality, growth and innovation, racial and gender imbalances, privacy, geopolitical …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 5 - July 2023, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Key Publications
• IGHD in the News
• Webinars, Academics & Conferences
• ‘Choice’ Programme - Technical Advisory Group
• Welcome New Team Members
• Mark your Calendars: Upcoming Event
• Congratulations Team IGHD
• Collaborate With Us

Potential Climate Change Impacts On Beef Production Systems In Australia, David H. Cobon, K. L. Bell, G. M. Mckeon, J. F. Clewett, S. Crimp

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is increasing evidence suggesting that Australia's climate is changing due to enhanced levels of greenhouse gases and that it will continue to change (Pittock 2003). Climate changes are partly established, however the impact on systems, industries and process are unclear. Industry distribution reflects climatically imposed boundaries and the relative profitability of alternative land use. Climate change may negatively impact some existing industries but create opportunities for others. This study provides an assessment of the likely impacts of plausible climate change on the beef industry in central Queensland.

Yield Progress Of Perennial Ryegrass And Silage Maize - Genetic Gain Or Climate Change?, Antje Herrmann, A. Kornher, Friedhelm Taube

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Gains in annual dry matter yield (DMY) from breeding achieved during the last decades are reported to range between 2.5 and 6% per decade for perennial ryegrass (Wilkins & Humphreys, 2003). In contrast, accelerated progress in improving DMY has been achieved for silage maize, varying between 8 and 13% per decade (Lauer et al., 2001). These gains are mainly attributed to (i) genetic yield potential increase, (ii) improved crop management and (iii) increased stress tolerance. The potential impact of climate change on yield progress, however, is disregarded in most studies. The objective of this study therefore was to quantify …

Shifts In N-Efficiency Of Different Farm Types In Response To Climate Change, S. Dueri, P. L. Calanca, Juerg Fuhrer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate change may affect European farms, but in contrast to individual crops - the sensitivity of whole farming systems has not been the subject of much research. At the farm level, where different farm units are linked through the availability and flow of nitrogen (N), effects on individual crops are interlinked, and through shifts in grasslands and related animal production with altered nutrient flows. Ideally, N flows into the system and N-export with products should be equal, and thus N-use-efficiency (NUE), expressed as the ratio of N export to N loss, would be maximal. The objective of this study was …

The Effect Of Extremes In Soil Moisture Content On Perennial Ryegrass Growth, A. Scott Laidlaw

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Seasonal distribution of rainfall in the UK and Ireland is predicted to become more variable (Sweeney, 2003). The problems of excessive soil moisture on grass utilisation and the effect of deficit in soil moisture on grass growth are well known. However the effect of excess rainfall on the growth of sown grass is less clear and is usually not taken into account in grass growth models. This study was carried out to investigate the potential impact of excess moisture on perennial ryegrass growth in the field and to investigate the relative effect of soil moisture varying from deficit to excess …

Forage Grass Phenology In Relation To Climate Change, G. Żurek

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Phenological phases of plants, such as heading or flowering are mainly driven by environmental factors such as pests, diseases, competition, soil properties, genetics, age and, most importantly, weather conditions (Menzel & Fabian, 1999; Menzel 2000). At the end of the last century there was an emerging recognition that phenological records can be especially useful in environmental monitoring and it has gained the UK government approval as an indicator of climate change (Sparks et al., 2000). The aim of this work was to analyse long-term trends in the mean heading date for Polish ecotypes of three forage grass species.

Long-Term Responses Of A Mesic Grassland To Manipulation Of Rainfall Quantity And Pattern, A. K. Knapp, J M. Blair, P. A. Fay, M. D. Smith, S. L. Collins, J. M. Briggs

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climatic variability is an inherent feature of grassland biomes, with large fluctuations in temperatures combined with precipitation regimes characterised by floods and severe drought occurring on both an interannual and seasonal scale. Global climate models and emerging data indicate that extremes in precipitation regimes are increasing worldwide coupled with increases in temperature. Thus, variability in spatial and temporal patterns of water availability in grasslands, as directly influenced by altered precipitation patterns and indirectly by increased temperatures, will likely increase in the future. The objectives of our experiments were to experimentally manipulate rainfall amount and temporal patterns (amount and timing of …

Sources And Sinks Of Greenhouse Gases From European Grasslands And Mitigation Options: The ‘Greengrass’ Project, Jean-François Soussana, V. Allard, P. Ambus, C. Amman, P. Berbigier, C. Campbell, P. Cellier, E. Ceschia, P. Ciais, J. Clifton-Brown, S. Czóbel, R. Domingues, T. De Groot, R. Falcimagne, C. Flechard, J. Fuhrer, G. Gaborit, L. Horváth, A. Hensen, M. B. Jones, S. Jones, G. Kasper, K. Klumpp, P. Laville, C. Martin, C. Milford, Z. Nagy, A. Neftel, E. Nemitz, J. E. Olesen, A. Patterson, K. Pilegaard, A. Raschi, R. Rees, U. Skiba, P. Stefani, S. Salètes, P. Smith, M. A. Sutton, Z. Tuba, A. Van Amstel, A. Van Den Pol-Van Dasselaar, N. Viovy, N. Vuichard, M. Wattenbach, T. Wedinger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Adapting the management of grasslands may be used to enhance carbon sequestration into soil, but could also increase N₂O and CH₄ emissions. In support of the European post-Kyoto policy, the European 'GreenGrass' project (EC FP5, EVK2-CT2001-00105) has three main objectives: i) to reduce the large uncertainties concerning the estimates of CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ fluxes to and from grassland plots under different climatic conditions and assess their global warming potential, ii) to measure net greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes for different management which reflect potential mitigation options, iii) to construct a model of …

Impact Of Climate Change On Potential Distribution And Relative Abundance Of The Migratory Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) In The Prairie Ecosystem Of Canada, Owen Olfert, R. Weiss

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate is the dominant force determining the distribution and abundance of most insect pest species. There has been considerable concern in recent years about climatic warming caused by human activities and the affects of these changes on agriculture in North America. Warming conditions may affect insect populations by altering timing of emergence, increased growth and development rates, shorter generation times and reduced overwintering mortality (McCarthy et al. 2001). Given that the magnitude of predicted temperature change associated with global warming is beyond the historical experience of modern agriculture computer models are one method by which researchers can study the possible …

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy Of Agrarian Transition In Developing Countries, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir

Purdue University Press Books

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy of Agrarian Transition in Developing Countries offers a new explanation for the decline in agricultural productivity in developing countries. Transcending the conventional approaches to understanding productivity using agricultural inputs and factors of production, this work brings in the role of formal and informal institutions that govern transactions, property rights, and accumulation. This more robust methodology leads to a comprehensive, well-balanced lens to perceive agrarian transition in developing countries. It argues that the existing process of accumulation has resulted in nonsustainable agriculture because of market failures—the result of asymmetries of power, diseconomies of scale, …

The Future Of Indiana’S Water Resources: A Report From The Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, Keith Cherkauer, Robert Barr, Laura C. Bowling, Kyuhyun Byun, Indrajeet Chaubey, Natalie Chin, Chun-Mei Chiu, Darren Ficklin, Alan Hamlet, Stephen Kines, Charlotte Lee, Ram Neupane, Garett Pignotti, Sanoar Rahman, Sarmistha Singh, Pandara Valappil Femeena, Tanja Williamson, Melissa Widhalm, Jeffrey Dukes

Water Report

This report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) applies climate change projections for the state to explore how continued changes in Indiana’s climate are going to affect all aspects of water resources, including soil water, evaporation, runoff, snow cover, streamflow, drought, and flooding. As local temperatures continue to rise and rainfall patterns shift, managing the multiple water needs of communities, natural systems, recreation, industry, and agriculture will become increasingly difficult. Ensuring that enough water is available in the right places and at the right times will require awareness of Indiana’s changing water resources and planning at regional …

Biogeography Of The Theileriosis Vector, Rhipicephalus Appendiculatus Under Current And Future Climate Scenarios Of Zimbabwe, Tinotenda M. Nemaungwe, Ellie M.S.P. Van Dalen, Emily O. Waniwa, Pious V. Makaya, Gerald Chikowore, Frank Chidawanyika

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Climate directly influences the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases at various spatial and temporal scales. Following the recent increased incidences of theileriosis in Zimbabwe, a disease mainly transmitted by Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, we determined lethal temperatures for the species and current and possible future distribution using the machine learning algorithm ‘Maxent’. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus larvae had an upper lethal temperature (ULT50) of about 44 ± 0.5 °C and this was marginally higher for nymphs and adults at 46 ± 0.5 °C. Environmental temperatures recorded in selected zonal tick microhabitats were below the determined lethal limits, indicating the ability of the tick to survive …

Physiological And Yield Responses Of Soybean Cultivars To Heat And Drought Stresses, Sadikshya Poudel

Theses and Dissertations

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is an important legume crop often exposed to heat and drought stresses during reproductive and early-seed setting stages, resulting in lower yields and seed quality. Ten soybean cultivars were phenotyped for individual (drought or heat) and combined stress tolerance. Under drought, reduced stomatal conductance and increased canopy temperature significantly reduced seed number (46%) and weight (35%). Heat stress alone reduced seed number (19%) and weight (23%) compared to control. Moreover, a degree increase in daytime temperature above 32 °C during the reproductive stage reduced seed weight by 4% and 7% under well-watered and drought conditions, respectively. …

Rapidly Changing Range Limits In A Warming World: Critical Data Limitations And Knowledge Gaps For Advancing Understanding Of Mangrove Range Dynamics In The Southeastern Usa, Rémi Bardou, Michael J. Osland, Steven Scyphers, Christine Shepard, Karen E. Aerni, Jahson B. Alemu I, Robert Crimian, Richard H. Day, Nicholas M. Enwright, Christopher A. Gabler

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change is altering species’ range limits and transforming ecosystems. For example, warming temperatures are leading to the range expansion of tropical, cold-sensitive species at the expense of their cold-tolerant counterparts. In some temperate and subtropical coastal wetlands, warming winters are enabling mangrove forest encroachment into salt marsh, which is a major regime shift that has significant ecological and societal ramifications. Here, we synthesized existing data and expert knowledge to assess the distribution of mangroves near rapidly changing range limits in the southeastern USA. We used expert elicitation to identify data limitations and highlight knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of …

Atmospheric Carbon Capture: A Review On Current Technologies And Analysis Of Energy Consumption For Various Direct Air Capture (Dac) Systems, Jennifer Perskin

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture is a crucial approach to reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to directly combat climate change. Major components of the technology to desublimate CO₂ at cryogenic temperatures are mature and have the potential to be applied to build large Arctic/Antarctic direct-air CO₂ capture plants. Pressure swing adsorption another gas separation technique used in industry today that can be modified for atmospheric carbon capture. The discussion of energy consumption for cryogenic and combined direct air capture systems is explored in this study. The investigation of precompression of atmospheric air for a direct-air capture …

Energy And Climate Change Issues Around Csudh, Alex E. Perez, Tara B. Jones, Raju Bista, Parveen K. Chhetri

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

Climate change is posing significant challenges to California’s energy sector. Extreme weather events (heat and cold) may pressure existing infrastructure. Many studies have indicated that extreme climate events would impact the energy system by affecting peak electricity demand. However, very few studies have been conducted to understand how disadvantaged communities (DACs) will be impacted. Because of unequal access to energy infrastructure (electricity generation and battery storage), DACs are more vulnerable to power outages due to the rising number of significant weather events caused by climate change. To address the issue of how DACs are disproportionately affected by climate change-related energy …

Full Issue

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change, 2022, Volume 2.

Hawk Mountain Raptor Migration Phenology’S Relation To Weather, Eric Burgos

Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty

We have been studying year-round raptor migration phenology across the United States and North America for multiple decades now. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s Autumn migration hawk count began in 1934 and is the longest running raptor migration count in the world. A decline in total raptor counts passing through Hawk Mountain’s North Lookout is well documented and much research has already been done in what could be the main causes for this decrease in counts year-over-year. We know that cold front passages have long been associated with autumnal migration in northeastern North America. Using updated analysis techniques, we examined 60 years’ …

Potential Of Increased Thermal Tolerance As A Response To Acute Heat Stress In A Disease-Transmitting Mosquito Species, Nicole Ashley Scanlon

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Each year hundreds of millions of people are infected with mosquito-borne illnesses. West Nile Virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States (McDonald et al., 2021). The first case of West Nile Virus was detected in the United States in 1999 (Sejvar, 2003). Since that time the number of cases has dramatically risen. Mosquitoes are ectotherms which means their body temperature is dependent on the thermal conditions outside of their body. Because of this they are very sensitive to changes in their environment. The Earth’s average temperature has been slowly but steadily rising. This small but …

Net-Zero Target And Emissions From Land Conversions: A Case Study Of Maryland's Climate Solutions Now Act, Philip Hutton

All Theses

Many climate change “solution” plans include net-zero goals, which involve balancing the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) with their removal. Achieving net-zero goals is particularly problematic for soils because they are often excluded from GHG inventories and reduction plans. For example, Maryland’s Climate Solutions Now Act (Senate Bill 528) put forward a target of net-zero emissions by 2045. To achieve these goals, the state of Maryland (MD) needs to quantify GHG emissions. Soils are currently excluded from MD’s GHG assessments. This study examines the challenges in meeting net-zero goals by using carbon dioxide (CO₂). The current study quantified …

Getting The Dirt On Phosphorus Pollution In Mountain Lakes: Are Rising Soil Temperatures Contributing To Eutrophication In Mountain Watersheds?, Gordon O. Gianniny

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mountain watersheds provide a critical supply of clean water to millions of people around the world. In recent years, evidence of a concerning trend has emerged in these watersheds: rising phosphorus (P) concentrations. P often acts as the limiting nutrient in mountain lake ecosystems, so increasing P availability in mountain lakes and streams has the potential to drastically increase algal growth in these systems. In extreme cases, increasing mountain lake P concentrations may even cause harmful algal blooms that degrade downstream water quality. While the implications of rising P concentrations in mountain lakes are serious, the cause driving this widespread …

Hydrologic Implications Of Snow-Vegetation Interactions In A Semiarid Mountain Climate, Maggi Kraft

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of the complex interaction between snow, vegetation, and streamflow in semiarid mountain climates is necessary for predicting water resources. The effects of warming temperatures on snow distribution will cascade into vegetation water use and streamflow. Due to our reliance on snow water resources, it is necessary to understand how vegetation affects snow distribution, how vegetation uses snow water inputs and the subsequent effects on streamflow in the current and warming climate. The overall objective of this research is to improve our understanding of snow-vegetation interactions in a semiarid climate. In this dissertation, I use field data to evaluate how …