Digital Commons Network^™

Theme 7: Global Stocktake & Cop30 Implementation Agenda, Karam Abuodeh

COP30

The first Global Stocktake (GST) at COP28 showed what many feared: current national plans are not enough to keep warming near 1.5C. The GST is an accurate, urgent diagnosis, but a diagnosis without a delivery plan will not change outcomes. This paper recommends that COP30 adopt a practical Globally Determined Contribution (GDC) as a shared benchmark and gives concrete ways to link that benchmark to national planning, measurement, and finance. Three pillars are essential: (1) an operational GDC with transparent allocation rules and a UNFCCC-hosted technical panel to publish annual syntheses; (2) mandatory, time-bound integration of GST findings into NDCs, …

Global Urban Green Space Initiative For Climate Capacity Building: A Policy Blueprint For Youth, Collaboration, And Climate Action, Finley Moore

COP30

This is a policy paper recommending the implementation of a Global Urban Green Space Initiative for Climate Capacity Building (GUGSI-CCB). Following the success of the UK’s National Education Nature Parks (NENP) this paper explores how the policy could be transferred to the international stage by using the UNs Race to Zero education campaign. It highlights the policy being a method of collaboration between the north and south which national governments have failed at in recent years. The policy paper focuses on the importance of decreasing youth anxiety towards climate change, the benefit of a global database on climate change, and …

Climate Transparency Pact (Ctp) For Post-Gst Accountability A Policy Framework For Strengthening Global Climate Governance Through Transparency, Incentives, And Behavioral Insights, Sandy Elnenay

COP30

The Climate Transparency Pact (CTP) is an actionable proposal to bridge the credibility gap in the Paris Agreement's Global Stocktake (GST). While the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) sets a reporting structure, it remains largely voluntary and lacks strong compliance measures. The result is clear: despite successive COP negotiations, global temperature projections remain at 2.5-2.9C above pre-industrial levels (UNEP, 2023), threatening ecosystems, economies, and human security. Drawing upon Dr. Robert Cialdini's six principles of persuasion, the CTP is built not only as a legal instrument but also as a behavioral framework: Authority: Embedding the CTP under UNFCCC's Subsidiary Body for Implementation …

From Policy To Power: How Denmark’S And Morocco’S Energy Successes Can Shape South Africa’S 2030 Transition, Yelyzaveta Umarova

COP30

Tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030 are now global priorities. These targets were formalised in the COP28 Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge (European Commission, 2023, para. 2) and will be central to COP30 implementation discussions in Brazil in November 2025. Despite committing to ambitious emission reduction targets in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) by 2030, the country’s current pace of energy transition is insufficient to meet the 1.5 °C goal (Climate Action Tracker, 2025). Various barriers, including Eskom’s debt and inconsistent policy implementation, have slowed progress (OECD, 2025). The International Energy Agency (IEA) …

Circular Carbon Markets For Renewable Energy Transitions: Integrating Circular Economy Models With Carbon Trading To Accelerate Just And Equitable Renewable Energy Deployment In Emerging Economies, Omaima Ahmed

COP30

In the wake of the Paris Agreement ratified by 195 UN Parties in 2015 the global community committed to limiting the average temperature rise to well below 2°C, with an aspirational threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Meeting this ambition requires transformative mitigation measures across all sectors, with the energy sector playing a decisive role given its substantial contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Renewable energy stands at the forefront of decarbonization efforts; however, its large-scale deployment in emerging economies remains constrained by financial limitations, technological dependencies, and socio-economic disparities. This policy paper introduces the Circular Carbon Markets for …

Kenyon Collegian - September 25, 2025

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

Understanding And Assessing Climate Change: Preparing For Nebraska’S Future, 2024 Climate Change Impact Assessment Report, Deborah J. Bathke, Eric Hunt, Heather Akin, Andrea D. Basche, Jesse E. Bell, Daniel R. Dileo, Ross Dixon, Martha Durr, Tonya Haigh, Francis John Hay, Kristina W. Kintziger, Nicholas A. Mcmillan, Hank Miller, Jerome Okojokwu-Idu, Crystal Powers, Tirthankar Roy, Zhenghong Tang, W. Ryan Wishart, Aaron R. Young, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Jonathan J. Spurgeon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Contents

Report Team

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

Introduction

Climate Change Contexts: Global, National, and State

Observed Changes in Nebraska's Climate

Projections of Nebraska's Future Climate

Water Systems

Energy

Ecosystems

Agriculture

Human Health

Communities and the Built Environment

Indigenous Peoples

Climate Justice and Equity

The Response of Faith Communities

Nebraskans' Perceptions of Climate Change

Next Steps and Future Work

Supplemental Report: Adaptation, Risks, and Impacts

About the Authors

Faith-based Communities Survey

Evaluated Plans and Assessments

References

Move Slow Or Fail Fast? Enhancing Stem Design Education With Ai-Assisted Iterative Workflows, Yingying Sun

Learn X Design Conference Series

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into industrial design education offers transformative potential, particularly within the interdisciplinary context of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs. This paper explores how AI-assisted, hypothesis-driven approaches can address cross-disciplinary challenges and enhance the iterative design process in STEM-related design projects. Using a controlled comparative study, we investigate the efficiency and interdisciplinary knowledge integration enabled by AI tools such as Large Language Models (LLMs). Our findings reveal that AI not only accelerates workflows by automating routine tasks but also fosters deeper exploration of technical and contextual knowledge. Participants leveraging AI demonstrated greater productivity, producing …

Exploring The Role Of Design To Support Interdisciplinary Research In Higher Education Institutions, Rute Harada, Nina Costa, Johannes Goessling

Learn X Design Conference Series

This paper explores how design approaches can enhance interdisciplinary research in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Through a review of fourteen recent articles (2019-2024), we analyze challenges, institutional barriers, and existing methods for measuring interdisciplinary research. Our findings reveal that while interdisciplinary research has advanced significantly, it continues to face substantial challenges across cognitive, emotional, and institutional dimensions. The analysis suggests three key areas where design can contribute: fostering collaborative research cultures, developing integrated research methods, and enhancing cross-disciplinary communication. This research identifies critical gaps in current understanding and proposes directions for future investigation, including developing systematic measurement methods and conducting …

Community-Based Learning Experiences Of Graduate Education Students Within Applied Statistics And Science: Emerging Insights, Carla J. Thompson, Sandra B. Davis

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Integrating community-based learning in graduate education programs is an emerging trend in the United States. This study examined community engagement in graduate educational statistics and science education using four procedures: (1) defining a conceptual framework aligned with National Standards for Community Engagement; (2) examining 10 community-based learning applications from graduate education programs in statistics and science relative to standards; (3) determining specific emerging characteristics of community-based learning; and (4) providing insights for graduate education programs.

Cultivating Community-Engaged Faculty: The Institution’S Role In Individual Journeys, Eric Malm, Nicholas Rademacher, David Dunbar, Mary Harris, Erin Mclaughlin, Caroline Nielsen

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Campus-community partnerships are increasingly recognized as important parts of curricula and have become central to the missions of many colleges. Yet while the notion of service is becoming more prominent at the institutional level, the number of faculty who are actually teaching community-engaged courses is alarmingly low. This paper addresses the problem of inadequate faculty participation in campus-community partnerships through the case study analysis of the pathways that brought six faculty members from different backgrounds and disciplines into the world of the engaged classroom. From the stories of individual faculty members, a model of involvement emerged that illustrates a common …

Harnessing Wind Energy For A Green Hydrogen Revolution In Oman: Potential, Challenges, And Economic Viability, Navid Nasiri, Morteza Mohammadzaheri, Rayyan Muhammad Rafikh, Maryam Farrizi, Hooman Nasiri, Intisar Al-Busaidi, Sulaiman Al-Hashmi

The Journal of Engineering Research

This study is the first to comprehensively evaluate green hydrogen production from wind energy across 14 geographically diverse sites in Oman, filling a critical research gap in the MENA region where wind-to-hydrogen feasibility remains underexplored. Unlike prior studies focused on Europe (Dincer & Acar, 2015) or solar-heavy MENA projects (Mohammed et al., 2024), this simulation-based analysis leverages Oman’s unique wind resources and arid climate to pioneer regionspecific insights. Using Weibull distribution for wind resource assessment, we calculate Capacity Factor (CF), Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), annual hydrogen yields, and CO₂ emission reductions. Results highlight …

Chimes: September 22, 2025, Calvin University

Chimes

Parking prices increase: How are students feeling? by Addy Offutt & Ian Tjoelker

"Famous last words": Calvin Theatre Company's latest 24-hour theatre by McKenna Wilkilson

Student Senate's bright hopes for a new year by Jorie Cho

Dining in looks different this year: Ex-ploring dining hall changes by Evangeline Anga

Constitution Day celebration sparks dialogue on campus by Ella Vanden Berg

To cut language is to cut identity: A call to Calvin's conscience by Sarah Sparling

Review Of: Deep Transformations: A Theory Of Degrowth, Daina Cheyenne Harvey

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Dalit And Tribal Women As Ecological Victims, Dhinakaran Savariyar

The Journal of Social Encounters

The essay examines the ecological marginalization of Dalit and tribal women in India, especially by analysing the three points of intersection, namely, caste, patriarchy, and gender. Though it starts with a global outlook on the African water crisis, it substantiates the argument with Indian realities of water inequality and resource depletion. While showing caste as the root cause of water discrimination in the country, it exposes the abetting roles of patriarchy and gender in keeping the Dalit and tribal women at the lowest position in the Indian social fabric. Environmental casteism and exclusion from decision-making processes add to the invisibility …

Making Upper Peninsula History Accessible: The Promise And Fragility Of Uplink, Annika Peterson

Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region

Small historical societies frequently cannot afford to make their collections more accessible via online catalogs or digital collections. Many are now coming together in consortia in order to afford digital collections platforms. Several such consortia have popped up in the Great Lakes region. This article focuses on UPLINK, the Upper Peninsula Digital Network, and what resources scholars can find there. It also explains why a consortial approach is useful to archives, libraries, and historical societies.

Willingness To Pay For A Restored And Protected Watershed: Evidence From The Countryside, Sherrie Ann Cananua-Labid, Julie Ann M. Quilatan, Lovely Rose A. Bolante

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Climate change and human activity have severely degraded watersheds, jeopardizing their sustainability. The willingness of residents to pay for watershed management is essential for developing sustainable environmental protection efforts. This study determined the respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for the restoration and protection (RP) of the Ulot Watershed of Samar Island Natural Park using a double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation approach. The researchers used the Kish grid method to draw respondents from 150 households. The study revealed that families with an average annual income of approximately $2746.70 were ready to contribute $0.78 per month, or $9.36 annually, to the watershed …

Pollen Loads Of Insects Caught In Cultivated Fields Of Oilseed Pennycress, Frank Forcella, Ellinor Sheik, Michael Zavada, Mark Bernards

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Although many insects are known to be associated with the floral canopies of oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), those that carry the crop’s pollen are unknown. During early spring of 2024 insects associated with pennycress flowers in Illinois and Minnesota were captured in sweep nets, frozen, sorted by species, and sonicated to remove pollen. Pollen grains were counted, and pollen loads per individual insect were calculated. Members of the orders Diptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera accounted for 66%, 16%, and 14% of the 850 insects examined, but these same orders were responsible, respectively, for 18%, 3%, and 78% of the …

Practitioners’ Perspectives On Preventing Environmental Gentrification In Chicago, Illinois, Usa, Tania Schusler, Amy Krings

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Pollution cleanup, green space creation, and other improvements to environmental quality in cities are important to urban sustainability. However, because they occur within a political economic context characterized by structural racism, urban greening initiatives can intentionally or unintentionally reproduce racial, economic, and social inequities through environmental gentrification. We explored possibilities for improving environmental quality without displacing or excluding long-term residents including people of color, the poor, and members of other marginalized groups. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with community organizers, environmental justice advocates, urban planners, housing specialists, and others who held deep expertise through their lived and professional experience in …

Montana Kaimin, September 18, 2025, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

Socio-Economic Risk Of Rising Compound Precipitation-Wind Extremes In San Francisco Bay Area, Nikhil Kumar, Gregory Brian Pasternack, Yufang Jin, Serena Alexander, Zhihao Wang, Costanza Rampini, Rune Storesund, Chris Lim, Stephanie Moreno, Igor Lacan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Compound precipitation-wind extremes (CPWEs) pose significant socio-economic challenges in urban areas, with the most severe impacts often felt by vulnerable populations. While CPWE studies have often focused on large-scale assessments, localised urban contexts, at a scale of a city and its suburban surroundings, remain understudied, particularly in terms of how CPWEs might differentially impact different socio-economic communities. This study aims to advance understanding of how CPWEs interact with social vulnerability at a localised scale, using the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA)—a global hotspot for CPWEs with diverse climates, physiography, and socio-economic factors—as a test case. Daily precipitation and wind speed …

The Lumberjack, September 17, 2025

Cal Poly Humboldt's Student Newspaper

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University.

On Good Terms: Pathways To Decolonizing Science-Appropriated Indigenous Terminologies In Arctic Research, Stanislav Saas Ksenofontov, Vera Kuklina, Alexander Kholodov, Andrey Petrov

Faculty Publications

Many western scientific disciplines adopted Indigenous Knowledge and terminology without deference to or understanding of the original meanings and values attached to Indigenous terms and concepts. This form of scientific appropriation has become a serious barrier to efforts of decolonizing Arctic research. The notion of Alaas is an example of such appropriation by the western science-based system of Indigenous knowledge about human–nature relations. This paper aims to discuss the term Alaas as it is conceptualized in both western science and Indigenous knowledge. The paper will explore the development of “alas” as an international permafrost science term and Alaas as an …

Internet Of Batteries: An Integrated System Of Battery Health Surveillance System For Electric Vehicles (Evs), Ayodeji Akinsoji Okubanjo, Ignatius Kema Okakwu, Alexander Akpofure Okandeji, Oluwasogo Emmanuel Seun, Olusesi Ayobami Taiwo

AUIQ Technical Engineering Science

Progress in storage technologies is vital to the efficiency of electric vehicles in combating climate change. The automobile industry’s transition to electric mobility has significantly increased the demand for battery storage systems (BSS) in terms of performance, reliability, monitoring, and evaluation of key parameters. However, poor safety and monitoring strategies for battery storage systems in electric vehicle applications pose an increasing threat to the vehicles’ sustainability and mobility. This calls for intelligent battery storage monitoring systems to mitigate carbon footprint and preserve battery lifespan of electric vehicles. This paper focuses on battery storage sustainability in electric vehicles with special emphasis …

Warming Induces Unexpectedly High Soil Respiration In A Wet Tropical Forest, Tana E. Wood, Colin Tucker, Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez, M. Isabel Loza, Iana F. Grullón-Penkova, Molly A. Cavaleri, Christine S. O'Connell, Sasha C. Reed

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tropical forests are a dominant regulator of the global carbon cycle, exchanging more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. Climate models predict unprecedented climatic warming in tropical regions in the coming decades; however, in situ field warming studies are severely lacking in tropical forests. Here we present results from an in situ warming experiment in Puerto Rico, where soil respiration responses to ⁺4 ^oC warming were assessed half-hourly for a year. Soil respiration rates were 42-204% higher in warmed relative to ambient plots, representing some of the highest soil respiration rates reported for any …

Curricular Changes Proposed For 2025-2027 Morris Catalog, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

Upper Peninsula Regional Economic Development Strategy, Iryna V. Lendel, Chloe Wieber, Gerrit Anderson, Sevrin Williams

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

This comprehensive report describes the economy of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, outlining both persistent issues and emerging opportunities. The region faces several structural challenges, including a decline in prime-age workers and bachelor’s degree attainment that falls below state and national averages, while shortages in housing and healthcare further limit its ability to attract and retain residents. Despite those challenges, the U.P.’s universities, longstanding industries, abundant natural resources, and robust outdoor recreation economy provide strong foundations for future development. The report recommends strategies such as strengthening retention of the talent pipeline, expanding housing and healthcare capacity, fostering small and mid-sized firms in …

A Neutrosophic Eco-Dynamical Framework For Rural Ecotourism Management Quality Under Urban Expansion Pressure, Hongxia Lei, Rongbing Zhai

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Neutrosophic Statistical Modeling Of Ecological Evaluation In Mountain Campuses: Application Of Neutrosophic Moments And Bayesian Neutrosophic Inference, Jinghua Meng, Dengrong Tang, Xizhou Liao

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

A Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision-Support Model For Planning Land Use Allocation A Case Of Neighborhood Urban Park Site Selection, Mohamed M. Youssef Associate Professor, Ali Alshehhi Technical Director, Bahaa Alboshy Associate Professor

Journal of Engineering Research

- This paper examines the crucial role of GIS capabilities in spatial multi-criteria decision-making modeling for enhancing land use allocation in Ajman City, UAE, amidst the challenges posed by rapid population growth and unplanned urbanization. As urban areas face increasing pressure from informal housing and sprawl, GIS emerges as a critical tool for informed decision-making and sustainable development. By integrating GIS with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), this study aims to optimize the selection of neighborhood park sites, address spatial issues, and promote sustainable land use practices. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach that combines spatial data analysis and Expert-Based engagement, the …