Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

U.S. Vehicle Efficiency Standards, Derek Baylog

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The United States is a driving force of the global economy and a major innovator in the technology sector. For decades the world has looked to The United States as a leader of great technological advancements with the strong economy to allow investors a chance make these technologies a reality. So why is it now that we lag behind other countries when it comes to making our technology energy efficient? Sure we’ve been steadily growing our production of renewable resources with wind and solar energy, bet we are still behind in the second largest source of pollution, transportation. According to …

When Addressing Climate Change, Don’T Forget Animal Agriculture, Aaron Matzke

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

As COP 21 closes in Paris, global animal agriculture is a topic that has eluded the international media. Animal agriculture is responsible for more global greenhouse gas emissions than transportation according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. With global population and prosperity rising, the global meat supply is expected to nearly double by 2050. This increase in production will only be achieved if significant steps are taken to promote sustainability through existing techniques globally, and to regulate air contamination in industrial feedlots in the United States. Alternative meat production methods, which have seen considerable investment recently, could supplement animal …

Energy Subsidies And The Future Of Power, Christian Jewett

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The modern political climate has grown rife with talk concerning the use of fossil fuels as an energy source and how this may impact our planet for generations to come. The Left and the Right seem to be at odds over whether or not climate change is actually occurring, or who is causing it. Additionally, the energy industry likes to tout their “low-cost” energy sources as a boon to the global economy as well as a benefit to the consumer at large. However, are coal, oil, and natural gas truly the “cheapest” sources of energy? Whether or not one believes …

Making Walkable Communities, Katie Zuehlke

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

There is no doubt that global warming is happening. With all the rage about climate change and global warming people should be doing more about it than just reading about it in the news. We should be making efforts towards making changes on a local level. This in turn could grow to a national level with more and more people participating in the movement and actually make global changes, instead of just talking about it. When the scale of participants grows the scale of the changes made will grow as well and this will be the beginning of the changes …

Incentives Critical To Full Wind Power Potential In Nebraska, Michael Neale

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

On August 3rd, President Obama and the EPA announced the Clean Power Plan (CPP) with the goal of cutting 32% of carbon emissions nationwide by 2030. The plan institutes carbon reduction requirements for all states based on their current sources of energy, for Nebraska the goal is 40%. The next day, Governor Ricketts and his Attorney General announced they would be fighting the mandate in court; stating the plan is unlawful federal government overreach, while expressing concerns the reduction are infeasible in the timeframe given and will drive up electricity costs. Governor Ricketts misses the point on this. Reducing carbon …

The Clean Power Plan Needs To Be A Law, Mitchell Frischmeyer

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is a long overdue policy which is necessary to direct national investment in emerging markets and create an intelligent energy infrastructure that strives to operate at max efficiency. To this point, the US has developed using inefficient and dirty fuels, a method which allowed for cheap and reliable energy generation, but is largely responsible for the change in global climate. If we expect to prevent climate change, our energy infrastructure must be reformed. Countries like Denmark have led the way in energy reform by creating policies set to reach 100% renewable generation by 2050 (8). …

Effects Of Wind Turbine Noise On Male Greater Prairie-Chicken Vocalizations And Chorus, Cara E. Whalen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wind energy facilities are constructed without full knowledge of their effects on birds, and the noise generated by wind turbines is a particular concern. I investigated the effects of wind turbine noise on male Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) vocalizations and chorus near Ainsworth, NE, USA in 2013 and 2014. I studied 14 leks located in the area surrounding a 36-turbine wind energy facility. I used two main approaches in this study. First, I recorded Greater Prairie-Chicken boom, cackle, whine, and whoop vocalizations at each of the study leks and measured the duration, sound pressure level, peak frequency, …

Climate Change And The U. S. Energy Sector: Regional Vulnerabilities And Resilience Solutions, United States Department Of Energy, Office Of Energy Policy And Systems Analysis

US Department of Energy Publications

Executive Summary

Changes in climate create diverse challenges across the U.S. energy system. Some energy infrastructure assets have already suffered damage or disruption in services from a variety of climate-related impacts, such as higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and more severe weather events. In the absence of concerted action to improve resilience, energy system vulnerabilities pose a threat to America’s national security, energy security, economic wellbeing, and quality of life.

Building climate change resilience into our energy infrastructure planning is a challenging and complex undertaking. Planning horizons can span several decades (the typical service life of most energy assets), associated …

Biochemical, Physiological, And Anatomical Insights Into Aphid-Bioenergy Switchgrass Interactions, Travis J. Prochaska

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., a perennial, warm-season grass native to North America, is a candidate for development as a bioenergy crop. Previously, warm-season grasses were considered to be relatively pest free in their native habitats. However, recent studies using the hemipteran family Aphididae have shown phloem-feeding insects can lead to significant injury in switchgrass. The objectives of this research were to: 1) gain physiological, biochemical, and anatomical insights into insect-bioenergy switchgrass interactions to determine potential insect resistance mechanisms among susceptible and resistant switchgrass genotypes; and 2) to generate and evaluate diverse segregating populations of switchgrass, both resistant and susceptible, to …

Three Essays On Biofuels, Drought, Livestock, And The Environment, Sunil P. Dhoubhadel

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the impact of the 2012 drought and the biofuels mandate on the U.S. grain and livestock markets. A stochastic equilibrium displacement model is used to analyze the impact on eight commodity markets viz. beef, pork, poultry, corn, distillers’ grain (DG), soybean, soymeal, and ethanol. Among the eight markets, corn and beef are found to be the most vulnerable to drought. The use of Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits as an instrument to mitigate the impact of drought has limited effectiveness. A mandate waiver of about 23% is required to fully …