Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides

A Sustainability Component For A First-Year Course For Information Technology Students, Stefan Robila

Department of Computer Science Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The concept of green computing has become a popular label employed by all major IT corporations when promoting either their hardware as energy efficient or asserting that their software solutions improve work performance and reduce the carbon footprint. Yet, how one addresses sustainability in computing is still a developing area and without clear guidelines or standards. Preparing students on topics of computing sustainability is thus essential for ensuring the future professionals have the skills to tackle such an important challenge. In this paper we propose a sustainability module we developed for an introductory computing course. We start by providing a …

Improving Donation Management At Finger Lakes Reuse, Shelbi V. Dubord

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

Finger Lakes ReUse (FLR) has been steadily growing since opening the doors to its ReUse Center in 2008. Part of this growth has been an increase in material donations that are resold in The ReUse Center, a secondhand store of building materials, household goods, furniture, and electronics. Managing the daily flow of donations is challenging due to limited space and other constraints. yet, FLR must address its donation management processes as the sales from donations cover organizational expenses and allow the organization to maintain financial stability. This project seeks to identify how FLR can increase its revenues and sustainability by …

Slides: Sources Of Electrical Energy For Those Who Are Remote And Poor, Frank Barnes

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Frank Barnes, Distinguished Professor, Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado

24 slides

Empowering The Citizen-Consumer: Re-Regulating Consumer Information To Support The Transition To Sustainable And Health Promoting Food Systems In Canada, Rod Macrae, Michelle Szabo, Kalli Anderson, Fiona Louden, Sandi Trillo

Publications and Scholarship

Both health and sustainability are stated public policy objectives in Canada, but food information rules and practices may not be optimal to support their achievement. In the absence of a stated consensus on the purposes of public information about food, the information provided is frequently determined by the marketers of product. No institution or agency has responsibility for determining the overall coherence of consumer food messages relative to these broader social goals of health and sustainability. Individual firms provide information that shows their products to best advantage, which may contradict what is provided about the product by another firm or …

Ecosystem Services: The Economics Debate, Joshua Farley

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to illuminate the debate concerning the economics of ecosystem services. The sustainability debate focuses on whether or not ecosystem services are essential for human welfare and the existence of ecological thresholds. If ecosystem services are essential, then marginal analysis and monetary valuation are inappropriate tools in the vicinity of thresholds. The justice debate focuses on who is entitled to ecosystem services and the ecosystem structure that generates them. Answers to these questions have profound implications for the choice of suitable economic institutions. The efficiency debate concerns both the goals of economic activity and the …

Transcendental Thermodynamics, Richard E. Morel, George Fleck

Kahn Institute Projects

Thermodynamics is often viewed as a narrow, introspective discipline, trapped by its origins in the 18th and 19th centuries. By dramatic contrast, we show that the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics provides explanations and interpretations of all natural events, extending across artificial boundaries of tradition- al academic disciplines. The Fourth Law of Thermodynamics states that far-from-equilibrium systems increase entropy at the maximum rate available to them. This broadly inclusive paradigm applies to systems from molecules, to organisms, to the biosphere. The Fourth Law is the Law of Evolution. All systems that communicate with their environment exhibit self-organization and self-optimization, enabling the …

A Survey Of Seafood Traceability And Sustainability In The United States— Processes, Regulations, And Current Initiatives, Nancy A. Olsen

Working Papers

The global seafood industry currently lacks a standardized, widespread method to easily trace the chain of custody of products that they purchase. With global overfishing leading to declining fish stocks around the world, it is vital for seafood providers to have the ability to identify and buy products from sustainable fisheries that are well managed, target abundant species, and fish in environmentally responsible ways. This paper analyzes public and private initiatives that seek to provide product traceability. In summarizing the current status of seafood traceability, stakeholders agree that are a number of challenges with trying to piece together so many …

System Dynamics Implementation Of A Model Of Population And Resource Dynamics With Adaptation, Takuro Uehara, Yoko Nagase, Wayne Wakeland

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We build and analyze a dynamic ecological economic model that incorporates endogenous innovation on input substitutability. The use of the system dynamics method allows us to depart from conventional equilibrium thinking and conduct an out-of-equilibrium (adaptation) analysis. Simulation results show that while improvement in input substitutability will expand an economy, this change alone may not improve sustainability measured by indicators such as utility-per-capita and natural resource stock. It could, however, be possible that in combination with other technological progress, improvement in input substitutability will contribute to sustainable development. Sensitivity analysis also indicates a possible complication with the use of exogenous …

The “Green Eating” Project: A Pilot Intervention To Promote Sustainable And Healthy Eating In College Students, Kelleigh E. Eastman

Senior Honors Projects

The “Green Eating” Project: A Pilot Intervention to Promote Sustainable and Healthy Eating in College Students

Kelleigh Eastman

Sponsor: Geoffrey Greene, Nutrition and Dietetics

A topic of interest that is growing in the general population is the idea of being sustainable, or “green”, and there is a rising awareness in sustainable practices involving food and the environment. Some of the “green” eating behaviors identified through my research included eating a plant-based (i.e. vegetarian or semi-vegetarian) diet, eating locally grown foods, eating organically grown foods, and eating foods that are labeled fair-trade. Frequently, these “green” eating behaviors are healthful eating behaviors …

Roger Williams Park Edible Forest Garden, Mark S. Scialla

Senior Honors Projects

An edible forest garden is a low-maintenance system that uses edible native and regionally-adapted plants arranged in beneficial relationships to meet human, wildlife and ecosystem needs. The forest garden in Roger Williams Park will transform underutilized urban land into a highly productive parcel producing market-viable fruits, nuts, vegetables, medicine and fiber. Forest gardens mimic natural forest systems in architecture and complexity. The design follows ecological principles to create a system that promotes biodiversity and enhances the surrounding ecosystem. This project also demonstrates the potential to grow food and create land-based livelihoods in the city.

Located on the edge of a …

Academic Libraries: Sustainability In Action, Marianne A. Buehler

Library Faculty Presentations

Faculty and Librarian Collaborations:
- Sustainability Across the Curriculum
- Sustainability Research
- Sustainable Activity
- Opportunities

Center For Rebuilding Sustainable Communities After Disasters, Adenrele Awotona, Center For Rebuilding Sustainable Communities After Disasters, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD) cultivates alliances with local, national, and international agencies, government and academic institutions, NGOs, and for-profit and not-for-profit bodies which share common interests in the area of post-disaster reconstruction globally.

Green Boston Harbor Project (Gbh), Community Environmental Stewardship: Applied Research, Education And Outreach, Anamarija Frankić

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The GBH methodology is derived from a 1500 year old Native Hawaiian Ahupua’a approach. This approach defines sustainable relationships among land, water and humans from the tops of islands to the coral reefs and open ocean. GBH seeks a similar interconnection between the City of Boston and Boston Harbor: from watersheds to the harbor and its coastal habitats and islands.

Nantucket Shellfish Management Plan, Kristin Uiterwyk, Steve Bliven, Dan Leavitt, Jack Wiggin, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Nantucket’s shellfish resources are an important part of the Island’s history, culture, and economy. Nantucket waters support one of the country’s last wild-caught bay scallop fisheries. Elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, fishing pressure, habitat loss, and disease have severely depleted bay scallop populations. Although Nantucketers continue to make a living harvesting shellfish from the Island’s waters, many do so with concern for the future of the resources and the habitats that support them. Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) provided technical assistance to the community to develop a Shellfish Management Plan (SMP) that addresses issues of water quality, habitat loss, climate change, …

The Effects Of Organizational Structure On Sustainability Report Compliance, Kurt E. Mink

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative research was to determine the organizational characteristics that contribute to developing sustainability reports with GRI A+ application levels. Judgment sampling was used to select organizations that received an A+ GRI application level in 2010. These organizations were then surveyed using a fifteen-question survey, which emulated the semi-structured interview questions utilized by Farneti and Guthrie (2007). The survey was disseminated to 107 organizations and the responses were collated and analyzed to determine important themes relevant to this research study. The results of this research study suggest a relationship between an organization’s genuine commitment to sustainability by …

The Solutions Generation, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The Arab Spring, and more recently the Occupy movement, are both indications of growing dissatisfaction with the world?s current plight, especially among the younger generation, who see diminished hope for the future. Anger and protests can be an effective way of bringing the current system into question, and even toppling the existing regime, but they do little by themselves to lead the way to a better future. For that, we need a compelling shared vision and a focus on real solutions.

Agenda: Drawing The Blueprint For A Sustainable Natural Gas Future, University Of Colorado At Denver. Wirth Chair In Environmental And Community Development Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

A stakeholder-led forum discussing the key topics affecting natural gas as a safe and sustainable energy resource. Participants learned about the current research and related resources at Colorado’s three research universities and participated in designing future research needs.

Fy 2012 Umass Amherst Electricity Data By Building, Ezra Small

Campus Data

Each year, UMass Amherst Utilities publishes this spreadsheet which has the monthly and annual building energy consumption of each metered building on campus. Cost data and production vs. purchased electricity data are also provided.

Fy 2012 Umass Amherst Water & Steam Data By Building, Ezra Small

Campus Data

Each year, UMass Amherst Utilities publishes this spreadsheet which has the monthly and annual building water and steam consumption of each metered building on campus.

A Fair Share Of The Information Commons, Ida Kubiszewski, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

In this chapter we discuss the special characteristics of information as a type of commons that needs special institutions to manage its production and use effectively and create greater overall economic efficiency, social justice and ecological sustainability. These methods include monetary prizes, publicly funded research from which the produced information is released into the public domain, and status driven incentive structures like those in academia and the open-source community.

Phosphorus In Phoenix: A Budget And Spatial Representation Of Phosphorus In An Urban Ecosystem, Genevieve S. Metson, Rebecca L. Hale, David M. Iwaniec, Elizabeth M. Cook, Jessica R. Corman, Christopher S. Galletti, Daniel L. Childers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

As urban environments dominate the landscape, we need to examine how limiting nutrients such as phosphorus (P) cycle in these novel ecosystems. Sustainable management of P resources is necessary to ensure global food security and to minimize freshwater pollution. We used a spatially explicit budget to quantify the pools and fluxes of P in the Greater Phoenix Area in Arizona, USA, using the boundaries of the Central Arizona– Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research site. Inputs were dominated by direct imports of food and fertilizer for local agriculture, while most outputs were small, including water, crops, and material destined for recycling. Internally, …

Mobile Technology And Sustainability, Meghan Kenny, Christelle Scharff

Student-Faculty Research Projects

65 million years ago, the dinosaurs were exterminated. Today more than 6 billion people depend primarily on non-renewable resources for survival. What many fail to recognize is that burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, is reaching a dead end and also has debilitating immediate effects on our surroundings. The “environment” is no longer limited to species’ natural habitat, where one solely imagines the seven biomes. Instead it encompasses human interaction within the biotic, abiotic, cultural, and social worlds. Dirty energy sources are a major example of how humans drastically alter not only the physical environment, but …

Building A Sustainable And Desirable Economy-In-Society-In-Nature, Robert Costanza, Gar Alperovitz, Herman E. Daly, Joshua C. Farley, Carol Franco, Tim Jackson, Ida Kubiszewski, Juliet Schor, Peter A. Victor

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This report is a synthesis of ideas about what this new economy-in-society-innature could look like and how we might get there. Most of the ideas presented here are not new. The coauthors of this report have published them in various forms over the last several decades, and many others have expressed similar ideas in venues too numerous to mention. What is new is the timing and the situation. The time has come when we must make a transition. We have no choice. Our present path is clearly unsustainable. As Paul Raskin has said, "Contrary to the conventional wisdom, it is …

Needed: The Solutions Generation, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The author argues on the need for a shared vision and focus in solving fundamental problems facing the U.S. He suggests that people should design new political and economic systems that can create shared prosperity without increasing their demands on a finite environment. The author comments that people should vision a refocus on the goal of sustainable human well-being instead of maximizing conventional economic production and consumption.

Ecosystem Health And Ecological Engineering, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Ecosystem health is a desired endpoint of environmental management and should be a primary design goal for ecological engineering. This paper describes ecosystem health as a comprehensive, multiscale, measure of system vigor, organization and resilience. Ecosystem health is thus closely linked to the idea of sustainability,whichimplies theabilityofthesystemtomaintainits structure(organization)andfunction (vigor) over time in the face of external stress (resilience). To be truly successful, ecological engineering should pursue the broader goal of designing healthy ecosystems, which may be novel assemblages of species that perform desired functions and produce a range of valuable ecosystem services. In this way ecological engineering can achieve its …

Living Together But Apart: Material Geographies Of Everyday Sustainability In Extended Family Households, Natascha Klocker, Chris Gibson, Erin Borger

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

In the Industrialized West, ageing populations and cultural diversity-combined with rising property prices and extensive years spent in education-have been recognized as diverse factors driving increases in extended family living. At the same time, there is growing awareness that household size is inversely related to per capita resource consumption patterns, and that urgent problems of environmental sustainability are negotiated, on a day-to-day basis (and often unconsciously), at the household level. This paper explores the sustainability implications of everyday decisions to fashion, consume, and share resources around the home, through the lens of extended family households. Through interviews with extended family …

An Integral Theory Perspective On The Firm, Nancy E. Landrum, Carolyn L. Gardner

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

We propose that Ken Wilber’s (2000) integral theory can serve as a new paradigm by which to view the organization and present a broader view of the roles and responsibilities of business. Through an integral theory of the firm, we see individual desires, capabilities and limitations, economic profit and humanitarian interest working in synergy to maximize firm performance. This holistic approach is innovative and is presented as a way to redefine the existence, boundaries, and organization of the firm and to show how organizations can become more ecologically sustainable, socially responsible, and economically competitive. An integral theory of the firm …

Reuse: Creating A Next Life For Common Items, Roslynn Brain, H. Waldbillig

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

If you are looking for ways to save money and add creative flair to your daily life, reusing everyday items you are likely to throw away could be the answer! We produce an average of 4.4 pounds each of trash a day in the U.S., which amounts to 1,600 pounds per person each year (Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). This yearly waste produced by each one of us is more than the typical weight of a Bison, America’s largest land animal! Often overshadowed by recycling, reusing is a zero-impact technique for waste prevention. By using a product or item in its …

Vermicomposting! Sustain Your Life: Utah State University Extension Sustainability, Roslynn Brain, H. Waldbillig, K. Ladd, J. Greene

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.