Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Experimental Study On Acoustic Emission Evolution Characteristics And Response Mechanism Of Damaged Rocks, Zhang Kai, Zhang Dongxiao, Zhao Yongqiang, Yang Yingming, Guo Weiyao, Sun Peng, Xu Linpeng, Fu Guangsheng

Coal Geology & Exploration

The evolution of rock internal damage is one of the causes of geotechnical engineering disasters, and revealing the response characteristics of key parameters during the rock failure could provide a basis for the identification instability state after rock failure, which is of great importance for the early warning and prevention of rock engineering disasters. Herein, the siltstone specimens with different damage degrees were prepared by cyclic loading-unloading tests, and uniaxial loading tests were carried out with the damaged specimens. On this basis, the relationship between the damage degree of specimen and the wave velocity, as well as the acoustic emission …

2023 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative is a network for public agencies that serves the San Diego region to share expertise, leverage resources and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change planning. By partnering with academia, nonprofits, and businesses, the SDRCC also works to leverage the profile of regional leadership. This is the 2023 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report.

Environmental And Socio-Economic Stress In The Mountain West, Ayda Atici, Caitlin J. Saladino, Fatma Nasoz, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines data on environmental and socio-economic risk metrics including which metrics pose the most risk for Nevada counties.The data are retrieved from “System for the Triage of Risks from Environmental and Socio-Economic Stressors” created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) joint program on the science and policy of global change.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Small Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines And Natural Gas Facility At An Urban University, Mary Kate Ranii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fossil fuels generate the majority of the electricity in the United States and generate pollutants that negatively affect public and environmental health. Renewable energy projects serve as an opportunity for low-pollution and low-carbon electricity; small-scale projects, such as vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), provide opportunities for generation in urban areas close to consumers. Researchers collected wind speed and directional data from a potential turbine installation site at Duquesne University to better demonstrate the potential benefits in an urban university location. The data was used in a life cycle assessment framework and a social review to better understand the value of …

Bring On The Heat, Renée Stoute

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

According to the World Economic Forum, in retaliation to European Union sanctions and embargoes, Russia cut EU gas flows by around 80% between May and October 2022 (WEF, 2022). The EU, in turn, has had to not only reduce energy consumption within the public and private sectors but has also scrambled to find energy alternatives to compensate for its energy shortcomings. However, due to the EU’s rejection of Russian oil and gas, there are now opportunities to embrace more sustainable energy alternatives quicker than previously expected. This could lead to a faster transition towards the use of cleaner and more …

Sustainability Analysis: Large-Scale Desalination Implications For Coastal California, Elizabeth H. Whitford

Master's Projects and Capstones

In response to prolonged drought, desalination is gaining popularity as an alternative water production method for fresh water. However, water desalting technology poses concerns; the process is energy intensive, creates brine waste, and has the potential to damage sensitive coastal ecosystems. Significant research is available on the technological, economic, and energy efficiency aspects of desalination, while only a small percentage of the current literature focuses on environmental impacts. This research analyzes the desalination literature holistically in terms of both energy consumption and environmental impacts by conducting 1) a historical and current state review of the sector, 2) a technology analysis …

Clean Energy At The Crossroads Of America: An Integrated Resource Plan For Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Llc (Nipsco), Saad Z. Khan, Shend Boshnjaku

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper outlines an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for the Indiana electric utility company, NIPSCO, looking forward to the year 2050 and evaluating different pathways to net zero emissions from the power generation sector. It is a plan for the future, identifying the most cost-effective and reliable mix of resources to meet the energy needs of NIPSCO's customers and reaching decarbonization goals by mid-century.

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 …

2022 Annual Report, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative is a network for public agencies that serves the San Diego region to share expertise, leverage resources and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change planning. By partnering with academia, nonprofits, and businesses, the SDRCC also works to leverage the profile of regional leadership. This is the 2021 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report.

How-To: Make Your House A Battery--How Demand-Side Management Will Be One Key To A Greener Future, Explained For Popular Audiences., Olivia Kaulfus

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Demand-side management will be used to increase the electric grid's flexibility and make it easier to achieve a clean energy future. But what is it? How will it affect me, and what do I need to know? This brochure (and slide deck from the in-person presentation) will hopefully give you a bit of insight into the greater world of demand-side management. Don't know anything about electricity? No problem. Only the most necessary information is provided by this little handout. Most exciting of all is that demand-side management could be coming to a utility near you and could even help lower …

Elevation-Distributed Multistage Reverse Osmosis Desalination With Seawater Pumped Storage, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A seawater reverse osmosis (RO) plant layout based on multistage RO with stages located at different elevations above sea level is described. The plant uses the weight of a seawater column from pumped storage as head pressure for RO (gravity-driven multistage RO) or to supplement high-pressure pumps used in RO (gravity-assisted multistage RO). The use of gravitational force reduces the specific energy for RO compared to using high-pressure pumps. By locating the RO stages at different elevations based on demand sites, the total specific energy consumption for RO and permeate transport to different elevations above sea level is reduced from …

To Destroy Or Transform? Two Fossil Fuel Transitions Offer Glimpse Into Industry’S Future, Chloe Bennett, Sarah Kerson

Capstones

In 2019, the Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery closed after a dangerous explosion. But for years before the accident, members of the local environmental justice organization Philly Thrive had been advocating for its closure. Neighborhood residents who live near the refinery site had been complaining for years of health problems, ranging from asthma to cancer. “Enough is enough,” says Sylvia Bennett, 79, who lives in the Grays Ferry neighborhood near where the refinery is located. Her two daughters have both been diagnosed with cancer.

What will become of the refinery site remains to be seen as conversations between Hilco and …

Climate Change Curricula In Alberta, Canada: An Intersectional Framing Analysis, Greg Lowan-Trudeau

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article is comprised of a climate change-focused framing analysis of proposed revisions to Alberta, Canada’s K-6 curriculum as an ideologically motivated manifestation of curricular epistemicide. Eisner’s three curricula—the explicit, implicit, and null—and scholarship related to intersectional climate and environmental justice, education, and communication provide the theoretical framework. This inquiry concludes with a critical discussion of and possible alternatives to the revised curriculum with further consideration of the implications for those involved with similar endeavours in other jurisdictions across Canada and around the world.

Renewable Energy Legislation In Nevada: 2017 - 2021, Peter Grema, Zachary Walusek, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

The purpose of this fact sheet is to summarize legislative actions from the biennial 79th, 80th, and 81st Nevada Legislative Sessions (2017, 2019, and 2021) regarding solar energy production and state efforts to reach 50 percent energy production from renewable sources by 2030. By 2050, Nevada has a statutorily mandated obligation to be a net-zero carbon producer in fulfilling energy production needs from large scale utility services.

Evaluation Of Energy Release From Wildfires Across The Elevation Gradient, Isabelle Rose Butler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wildfires are an integral process in vegetative terrestrial land which shape ecosystem functions. A warming climate, however, has increased the size and severity of fires with significant ecosystem and societal implications. Furthermore, warming has changed characteristics of wildfires enabling a median upslope advance of 252 m in high-elevation forest fires from 1984 to 2017, allowing wildfires to burn in areas that were previously too wet to burn frequently. This exposed an additional 81,500 square kilometers (11%) of western US montane forests to fires.

In this thesis, I test the hypothesis that wildfires burn more intensely in high-elevation mesic forests than …

An Introduction To A Framework For Sustainability Thinking, Jeremy Van Antwerp, Matthew Kuperus Heun

Numeracy

Van Antwerp, Jeremy and Matthew Kuperus Heun. 2022. A Framework for Sustainability Thinking: A Student’s Introduction to Global Sustainability Challenges; (Springer, Cham) 275 pp. ISBN 978-3-0317-9184-0.

A Framework for Sustainability Thinking: A Student’s Introduction to Global Sustainability Challenges presents basic information related to sustainability challenges in the context of a cognitive framework that allows students to evaluate problems and potential solutions from a quantitative perspective. Moreover, numerous end-of-chapter discussion questions and project ideas examine moral, ethical, and worldview aspects of sustainability choices and tradeoffs between different approaches to sustainability.

Storytelling For Energy Solutions Toolkit, Solomon Duke

Energy Studies Student Scholarship

As a fundamental form of human communication, storytelling can play a powerful role in advancing global energy efforts; that is what this toolkit aims to do. This toolkit is created from academic literature, interviews, and action-based evidence. It includes methods of gathering energy stories, empowering marginalized voices, finding common ground on polarized issues, and effectively communicating stories for change.

The Demotechnic Index Of Nations, 1980-2018, Camden Rainwater

Geosciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Demotechnic Index (DI) is a non-dimensional metric that is the scalar multiple of energy consumption over and above that required for mere subsistence of a national population. Thus, the DI is a measure of energy efficiency that scales a country’s industrial energy consumption (called the total technological energy) and the energy required to meet the metabolic demand of the population (called the total metabolic energy). The DI was created by scientist John Vallentyne in 1982, refined in 1994, but never gained popularity or wide use as a sustainability metric. The objective of this thesis was to re-evaluate the DI …

Generating The Power Of Microbes How Microbial Metabolism May Solve Water And Energy Shortages, Anna Vietmeier

D.U.Quark

No abstract provided.

An Equity-First Approach To Climate Adaptation, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, San Diego Association Of Governments

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The Equity-First Approach to Climate Adaptation guidance document (Equity Guidance; document) serves as a general framework for local agency planners and transportation planning professionals. The Equity Guidance’s overall goal is to provide best practices for designing, planning, and implementing a climate adaptation process that supports equitable outcomes. This document identifies trends, assumptions, emerging practices, indicators, metrics, and implementation opportunities, that support and operationalize an equitable climate adaptation planning process.

Understanding California's 2022 Energy Code: Blog 1, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

When thinking about the built environment, it is easy to overlook the influence structures have on our communities' quality of life. Buildings are relics of the past or symbols of modernity. They are tangible evidence of our society's investment in people's health, the environment and a resilient economy. Buildings play a crucial role over energy usage, urban heat impacts, and overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Quick Guide To The 2022 Energy Code: Blog 2, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

There are a wide range of updates to the 2022 Energy Code; however, there are four categories of top priority for industry professionals and end-use stakeholders as California strengthens compliance standards: electric heat pump technology, electric-ready requirements, solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage standards, and strong ventilation standards.

Sustainability & (Em)Powering Community Based Action In Chula Vista, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The City of Chula Vista (Chula Vista / the City) has already begun to experience the localized impacts of climate change through record-breaking heat waves, droughts, and wildfires. In response to the impacts of climate change posing a threat to Chula Vista residents’ quality of life, the City declared a climate emergency in March 2022. This declaration advanced the City’s commitment to update its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction goals, strengthen existing efforts like the City Operations Sustainability Plan, and encourage new City-wide and voluntary actions by residents and businesses. The Chula Vista DIY Sustainable Home Toolkit (Toolkit) is a best …

Electrifying Encinitas, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Advancing the San Diego region’s resilience to climate change impacts within the nexus of social, environmental, and economic prosperity is a top priority for local planning and efforts. As the region continues to face impacts on quality of life from climate change, the City of Encinitas is taking action to respond by leading efforts of energy resilience with their recently passed Green Building Ordinance (Ordinance). The Ordinance requires all new residential and non-residential buildings constructed in Encinitas to be “all-electric” unless an exception applies. As the San Diego region moves towards decarbonizing, Encinitas is the first city to mandate building …

Revolutionizing The Integration Of Sustainability & Zero Net Energy In The San Diego Region, Gabriella Medina, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego County Regional Airport Airport Authority (Airport Authority) manages the day-to-day operations of the San Diego International Airport (SAN) and addresses the region’s long-term air transportation needs. SAN is also the busiest single-run commercial airport in the United States. To lessen SAN’s greenhouse gas emissions impact on local climate change vulnerabilities from the airport’s operations (i.e. minimizing energy usage), the Airport Authority has integrated sustainability across its social, environmental, and economic functions. In their commitment to sustainability, the Airport Authority is using the New Terminal 1 (New T1) project and zero-net energy (ZNE) Airline Support Facilities (ASF) as …

Impacts Of Faculty Development On Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Teaching And Learning In The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, A. Sommers, J. Dauer, H. White, C. Forbes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Techno-Economic Feasibility Of Electrifying Food Markets In Nigeria With Biogas Hybrid Mini-Grids, Demi Temitope Ogunwo

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis explored the feasibility of electrifying a food market in an urban city in Nigeria with a hybrid biogas-powered mini-grid. Under the Energizing Economies Initiative of the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria, nine markets in the country currently receive constant access to electricity via hybrid mini-grid systems. As a majority of these systems are diesel-solar-battery systems, this thesis explored the use of biogas generators as a substitute for diesel generators in hybrid mini-grids for food markets. A fruit and vegetable market in Ketu, Lagos was used as a case study for the research. The research for this thesis was …

The Implementation Of Advanced Digitalization In The Oil And Gas Industry, Ensieh Rezafar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe immature advanced digitalization in the oil and gas industry can limit access to the potential value of mature progressive digitalization. Oil and gas leaders must expedite the implementation of advanced digitalization to increase organizational proficiencies and reduce costs and losses. Grounded in Pettigrew and Whipp’s dimensions of strategic change theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies some leaders in the oil and gas industry used to implement advanced digitalization. The participants were seven leaders in two oil service companies in North America involved in the successful implementation of progressive digitalization. Data were collected …

A 60- Year Record Of The Demotechnic Index Of States, 1960-2019, Gavin James Kellough

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A country’s dependency on energy resources can be interpreted through the calculation of energy indices. The Demotechnic Index (DI) was used to determine the trajectory of energy efficiency of each state in the United States over the period 1960-2019. The DI serves as a measure of the energy intensity of states and a proxy for energy sustainability of each state.The DI is the ratio of total energy use to total metabolic energy demand of a population. Mathematically, DI = (E_T-E_M)/E_M E_T represents the total energy used (metabolic energy + technological energy in kilojoules annually, kJ/y), while EM represents the basic …

Efficient Management Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus At Centralized Water Reclamation Facilities, Helene Kassouf

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A variety of process configurations are employed at municipal water reclamation facilities (WRFs), such as 5-stage Bardenpho, oxidation ditch, modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process, and sidestream recycle. However, all of these configurations face certain challenges in achieving optimum treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus. In this dissertation, the driving objectives were to: (1) quantitatively assess the fate of nitrogen and phosphorus (mass fluxes) at a treatment facility that employs biological nutrient removal, aerobic digestion, and sidestream recycle, (2) evaluate the performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) as a technology to remove nitrogen from sidestreams at a treatment plant that employs that …