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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Diatom Community Response To Climate Variability Over The Past 37,000 Years In The Sub-Tropics Of The Southern Hemisphere, Sarah Hembrow, Kathryn Taffs, Pia Atahan, Jeffrey Parr, Atun Zawadzki, Henk Heijnis Nov 2013

Diatom Community Response To Climate Variability Over The Past 37,000 Years In The Sub-Tropics Of The Southern Hemisphere, Sarah Hembrow, Kathryn Taffs, Pia Atahan, Jeffrey Parr, Atun Zawadzki, Henk Heijnis

Jeffrey Parr

Climate change is impacting global surface water resources, increasing the need for a deeper understanding of the interaction between climate and biological diversity. This is particularly the case in the Southern Hemisphere sub-tropics, where little information exists on the aquatic biota response to climate variations. Palaeolimnological techniques, in particular the use of diatoms, are well established and can significantly contribute to the understanding of climatic variability and the impacts that change in climate have on aquatic ecosystems. A sediment core from Lake McKenzie, Fraser Island (Australia), was used to investigate interactions between climate influences and aquatic ecosystems. This study utilises …


Coastal Lagoons And Climate Change: Ecological And Social Ramifications In The U.S. Atlantic And Gulf Coast Ecosystems, Abigail Anthony, Joshua Atwood, Peter August, Carrie Byron, Stanley Cobb, Cheryl Foster, Crystal Fry, Arthur Gold, Kifle Hagos, Leanna Heffner, D. Kellogg, Kimberly Lellis-Dibble, James Opaluch, Candace Oviatt, Anna Pfeiffer-Herbert, Nicole Rohr, Leslie Smith, Tiffany Smythe, Judith Swift, Nathan Vinhateiro May 2013

Coastal Lagoons And Climate Change: Ecological And Social Ramifications In The U.S. Atlantic And Gulf Coast Ecosystems, Abigail Anthony, Joshua Atwood, Peter August, Carrie Byron, Stanley Cobb, Cheryl Foster, Crystal Fry, Arthur Gold, Kifle Hagos, Leanna Heffner, D. Kellogg, Kimberly Lellis-Dibble, James Opaluch, Candace Oviatt, Anna Pfeiffer-Herbert, Nicole Rohr, Leslie Smith, Tiffany Smythe, Judith Swift, Nathan Vinhateiro

Peter August

Lagoons are highly productive coastal features that provide a range of natural services that society values. Their setting within the coastal landscape leaves them especially vulnerable to profound physical, ecological, and associated societal disturbance from global climate change. Expected shifts in physical and ecological characteristics range from changes in flushing regime, freshwater inputs, and water chemistry to complete inundation and loss and the concomitant loss of natural and human communities. Therefore, managing coastal lagoons in the context of global climate change is critical. Although management approaches will vary depending on local conditions and cultural norms, all management scenarios will need …


Can The Battle Against Climate Change Become An Effective Social Movement?, John Dernbach May 2011

Can The Battle Against Climate Change Become An Effective Social Movement?, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.


Federal Energy Efficiency And Conservation Laws, John Dernbach, Marianne Tyrrell May 2011

Federal Energy Efficiency And Conservation Laws, John Dernbach, Marianne Tyrrell

John C. Dernbach

This paper provides an overview of U.S. law and policy concerning energy efficiency and conservation. The United States appears torn between two narratives - one expressing the abundant demonstrated opportunities provided by energy savings and the other based on a fear of deprivation from using less energy. Rather than choosing between the two, U.S. law and policy splits the difference - embracing efficiency and conservation more or less halfheartedly. Energy efficiency and conservation policy thus has a Groundhog Day aspect, in which the same or similar arguments are made year after year, decade after decade, and often (it appears) to …


The Essential And Growing Role Of Legal Education In Achieving Sustainability, John Dernbach Jan 2011

The Essential And Growing Role Of Legal Education In Achieving Sustainability, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article suggests that law schools need to play a leading role in the national and global effort to achieve sustainability, including the effort to address climate change. The article first describes the various drivers for sustainability in law schools. Clients are increasingly demanding that their lawyers 'walk the talk,' as many businesses and corporations already are. The universities that provide an institutional home for most law schools are also adopting sustainability policies and practices that influence their law schools. Within the legal profession, the American Bar Association, as well as many state and local bar associations, have adopted a …


The "Cash For Clunkers" Program: A Sustainability Evaluation, Marianne Tyrrell, John Dernbach Dec 2010

The "Cash For Clunkers" Program: A Sustainability Evaluation, Marianne Tyrrell, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article describes and evaluates the effectiveness of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009, also known as the “Cash for Clunkers” legislation. Under this law, Congress authorized persons trading in older and less fuel-efficient motor vehicles for newer and more fuel-efficient vehicles to receive a voucher worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of the new vehicle. The article reviews various studies assessing the effectiveness of this legislation based on economic, social, and environmental criteria. Because these criteria are consistent with the goals of sustainable development, the legislation provides important lessons for future efforts to achieve …


Preliminary Global Assessment Of Terrestrial Biodiversity Consequences Of Sea-Level Rise Mediated By Climate Change, Shaily Menon, Jorge Soberon, Xingong Li, A. Townsend Peterson Feb 2010

Preliminary Global Assessment Of Terrestrial Biodiversity Consequences Of Sea-Level Rise Mediated By Climate Change, Shaily Menon, Jorge Soberon, Xingong Li, A. Townsend Peterson

Shaily Menon

Considerable attention has focused on the climatic effects of global climate change on biodiversity, but few analyses and no broad assessments have evaluated effects of sea-level rise on biodiversity. Taking advantage of new maps of marine intrusion under scenarios of 1 and 6 m sea-level rise, we calculated areal losses for all terrestrial ecoregions globally, with areal losses for particular ecoregions ranging from nil to complete. Marine intrusion is a global phenomenon, but its effects are most prominent in Southeast Asia and nearby islands, eastern North America, northeastern South America, and western Alaska. Making assumptions regarding faunal responses to reduced …


Making The States Full Partners In A National Climate Change Effort: A Necessary Element For Sustainable Economic Development, John Dernbach, Robert Mckinstry, Thomas Peterson Dec 2009

Making The States Full Partners In A National Climate Change Effort: A Necessary Element For Sustainable Economic Development, John Dernbach, Robert Mckinstry, Thomas Peterson

John C. Dernbach

This article explains why states and localities need to be full partners in a national climate change effort based on federal legislation or the existing Clean Air Act. A large share of reductions with the lowest cost and the greatest co-benefits (e.g., job creation, technology development, reduction of other pollutants) are in areas that a federal cap-and-trade program or other purely federal measures will not easily reach. These are also areas where the states have traditionally exercised their powers—including land use, building construction, transportation, and recycling. The economic recovery and expansion will require direct state and local management of climate …


Agenda For A Sustainable America, John Dernbach Dec 2008

Agenda For A Sustainable America, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.


An Agenda For Sustainable Communities, John Dernbach Dec 2008

An Agenda For Sustainable Communities, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article summarizes progress toward sustainable communities in the United States since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (or Earth Summit) in 1992. It shows the significant initiative that many communities have undertaken and identifies existing state and federal laws as impediments to achieving sustainability. This article also makes recommendations for further progress based on what we have already learned about how to achieve sustainable communities. They include not only more and strengthened sustainable community efforts, and broad state and federal legal support, but also deep engagement of all affected citizens. This article is based primarily on three …