Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons^™

Drivers Of Food Wastage And Their Implications For Sustainable Policy Development, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

There has been growing interest in establishing food waste prevention and recovery programs throughout the world. The drive to target food waste stems from increasing concerns about resource conservation, food security, food waste’s environmental and economic costs, and a general trend in the waste management industry to transition to more sustainable practices. Here the drivers of residential, institutional, and commercial food waste generation in developed countries, particularly in the U.S., are explored. The impacts of food system modernization on food waste generation are examined, particularly impacts related to food system industrialization, urbanization, globalization, and economic growth. Socio-demographic, cultural, political, and …

Climate-Relevant Land Use And Land Cover Change Policies, Rezaul Mahmood, Roger A. Pielke Sr., Clive Mcalpine

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Both observational and modeling studies clearly demonstrate that land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) play an important biogeophysical and biogeochemical role in the climate system from the landscape to regional and even continental scales. Without comprehensively considering these impacts, an adequate response to the threats posed by human intervention into the climate system will not be adequate. Public policy plays an important role in shaping local- to national-scale land-use practices. An array of national policies has been developed to influence the nature and spatial extent of LULCC. Observational evidence suggests that these policies, in addition to international trade treaties and protocols, …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center: January 2016, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

HPRCC staff changes..............2

Product highlight....................2

Research highlight..................2

Partnership spotlight.............3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Support For Drought Response And Community Preparedness: Filling The Gaps Between Plans And Action, Kelly Helm Smith, Crystal J. Stiles, Michael Hayes, Christopher Carparelli

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

This chapter examines which levels of government handle various aspects of drought, as well as interactions between levels of government, providing examples from states across the western United States. It also takes a look at aspects of drought that fall outside traditional lines of authority and disciplinary boundaries. As part of a discussion on how states support local drought response, the chapter details and contrasts how California and Colorado track public water supply restrictions, and describes Colorado’s process for incorporating input from river basins across the state into its water plan. Case studies focus on drought planning in the Klamath …

Mangrove Enhancement As A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy In The Republic Of The Marshall Islands (Rmi): Potential Ecosystem Service Shifts Following Colonization, Andrew S. Harwood

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

The ability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Pacific Island communities to adapt to the increasing sea-levels, storm surge, saltwater intrusion, and other threats posed by global climate change is critical to the survival of many of these local communities as well as their cultures (LivingIslands.org). One of the world’s most striking examples of a nation at great risk is the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in the central Pacific Ocean. Due to a combination of factors, including the country’s extremely low elevation above sea-level (an average of 2 meters) and lack of adequate structures to provide safety …

2016 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Droughtscape, Winter 2016, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s column

California drought FAQ

October-December 2015 drought

October-December 2015 impacts

2015 drought impacts in review

NDMC hiring geospatial analyst

CA drought exposes social vulnerability

UA helps Arizona ranchers, Forest Service work together

NDMC and partners help southern Plains ranchers manage drought

Chickasaw ranching workshop

Assessing The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Surface Temperature Of Inland Lakes In Michigan, Kaitlin Reinl

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The aim of this study was to validate and apply a lake model for predicting the susceptibility of small inland lakes in Michigan to changes in thermal regime and increased cyanobacteria growth as a result of future climate conditions. The Freshwater Lake Model was selected, tested for sensitivity to various inputs, and validated through comparison to observed conditions. The sensitivity analysis showed that the lake model was most sensitive to solar radiation, air temperature, and air humidity. Comparison of predicted climate data with observed conditions revealed highly variable climate model error. The lake model validation was conducted using 10 lakes …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

Wetland Inundation Mapping And Wetland Restoration Planning: A Case Study Of Playa Wetlands, Nebraska, Yue Gu

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

There has been a variety of wetland monitoring projects implemented in playa wetlands in Nebraska over the last decades. But there is still a lack of continuous wetland monitoring on long-term and large-area dimension. Because inundation condition is one of the critical parameters to describe wetland hydrologic performance, this study aims to assess the inundation alteration in playa wetlands in Nebraska and evaluate the performance of wetland conservation and restoration practices. This study uses the Landsat data to create playa wetland inundation condition maps and analyze the variation trend of inundated playa wetlands over the past 30 years. The results …

Umphlett Qci 2015, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Late Hard Freeze

Late Freezes Extended Growing Season

Warm Fall Delays Bird Migrations

Monitoring Water Resources Across the Basin

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Occupancy Analysis And Density Estimation Of Kori Bustards (Ardeotis Kori) And Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida Meleagris) For Use In Landscape Conservation Planning In The Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana, Kathryn R. Mccollum

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

For understudied species, more informed conservation planning and decision-making on both the local and landscape levels may be attained through the use of occupancy and abundance estimations. Here, we focus on two iconic bird species in eastern Botswana, kori bustards (Ardeotis kori) and helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris). The overall goal of this project was to better understand the hierarchy of factors that influence occupancy (ψ) and density of kori bustard and helmeted guineafowl populations within the Northern Tuli Game Reserve and how these factors may interact to affect landscape conservation and usage. We performed distance sampling …

Using Future Benefits To Set Conservation Priorities For Wetlands, Samuel B. Merrill

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

In an era of rising sea levels, costal land managers including land trust representatives, municipal planners, and others contributing to decisions about whether to develop or protect coastal parcels do not have viable means of evaluating future values on wetlands that will be created when sea levels rise. This project develops and tests a software modeling approach to help address this issue, in combination with a novel, expert-opinion driven benefit-cost framework. The beta test used three parcels in Scarborough, Maine: Hampton Circle, Maine Audubon, and Pine Point. It used a group of experts to 1) allocate initial values to these …

Economic Valuation Of Marine And Coastal Ecosystems: Is It Currently Fit For Purpose?, Nick Hanley, Stephen Hynes, David Patterson, Niels Jobstvogt

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

In this paper, we consider whether the current “state of the art” of environmental valuation is suitable for producing policy-relevant estimates of the benefits or costs of changes in marine and coastal ecosystems. We review recent changes in European legislation which has meant an increasing demand for economic valuation from the policy and regulatory community. The next section considers, at a more conceptual level, whether the economic “toolbox” and scientific evidence is up to the task of meeting the demand for more evidence-based policy. Finally, three case studies are used to explore the nature of the valuation task and review …

Patagonia Con Poder: El Éxito De La Oposición Frente El Proyecto Hidroaysén, Nathaniel Korn

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This investigation analyzes the movement in opposition to the HidroAysén project in Southern Chile that is often referred to as and uses the slogan “Patagonia Sin Represas” (Patagonia Without Dams). The investigation is framed through collective action theory, the study of what incentives and other factors create the conditions for mobilization and group action. In the context of social movements it is usually argued that there needs to be a better cost-benefit scenario for each actor to be involved than there is to not be involved in the movement. Immediately following return of democracy to Chile in the 1990’s social …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Glen Roebke, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

New website design and products.....................................2

Training workshops................3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions and El Niño..........4

Research highlight..................5

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Report To The Commissioner Of Soil And Land Conservation On The Trend Of The Western Australian Pastoral Resource Base 2015, David Warburton, Philip Thomas

Natural resources published reports

This report provides a regional overview of the trend in the pastoral rangelands of Western Australia, based on data from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Annual Return of Livestock and Improvements (submitted annually by pastoral lessees) and the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS), for which data are available for over 20 years. The report provides a context for assessment of the range condition and trend of individual pastoral leases within defined regions of the state, as well as providing a current assessment of the status of each of the regions’ rangelands, and the drivers (both seasonal and managerial) affecting …

Droughtscape, Fall 2015, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s column.

NDMC 20th anniversary 2

Employment opportunity

Third quarter 2015 climate summary

Third quarter 2015 impacts summary

Workshop in Ethiopia

San Antonio multi-hazard tournament

Healthy soil is drought buffer

U2U Award

Cost-benefit analysis for utilities managing drought

NDMC helps with rural poll questions on climate

Introducing our post-docs

South Korean visitors

Assessing The Sustainability Of Selective Logging In Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika New Protected Area, Eileen Nakahata

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past 50 years, more than 90% of dense low-altitude humid forest in the District of Vangaindrano has been lost to deforestation and the remaining fragments continue to be threatened by slash and burn agriculture and selective cutting by local populations. These activities are driven by widespread poverty, population growth, and lack of development, which have made subsistence increasingly difficult. This study investigates logging rates and the stock of five commercially valuable trees in the Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika New Protected Area. Fifteen 1000m² transects were established systematically within the territory of the Matanga commune. Within each transect data was collected …

Crowdsourcing Global Wastewater Data, Don Mosteller, Sam Cohen, Cory Nestor, Angel Hsu, Omar Malik

Yale Day of Data

No time to waste: Crowdsourcing global wastewater treatment data

Worldwide, over 80 percent of wastewater is discharged into water bodies without undergoing treatment, severely impairing human well-being and ecosystem vitality along the way. National performance on wastewater treatment is difficult to quantify and is poorly understood due to a lack of common definitions, poor data collection standards, and limited historical data. To address this, the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a research group that produces a biennial ranking of country-level environmental performance, developed a first-of-its kind national wastewater treatment indicator.[1]

The indicator assesses wastewater treatment performance for 183 countries, …

Groundwater Chemistry Of The Weaber Plain (Goomig Farmlands): Baseline Results 2010–13, Adam Lillicrap, Richard J. George Dr, Arjen Ryder, D L. Bennett

Resource management technical reports

The Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) is located in the north-east of the Kimberley region of Western Australia, near the town of Kununurra. The irrigation area was established in 1963 and over time developed to the current extent of 14 000 hectares (ha). The Weaber Plain (Goomig Farmlands) area is located north-north-east of the existing irrigation area, 30km from Kununurra, and has been identified as being suitable for irrigated agriculture for many decades. However, it was not until 2009, with state government support, that the 7400ha project commenced, with construction starting in 2010. State and Australian government environmental approvals required …

Umphlett Qci Sept 2015, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalie

Streamflow

Heavy Rains Continued

Positive and Negative Impacts to Agriculture

Persistent Smoke from Wildfires

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Analyzing Major Challenges Of Wind And Solar Variability In Power Systems, Falko Ueckerdt, Robert Brecha, Gunnar Luderer

Physics Faculty Publications

Ambitious policy targets together with current and projected high growth rates indicate that future power systems will likely show substantially increased generation from renewable energy sources. A large share will come from the variable renewable energy (VRE) sources wind and solar photovoltaics (PV); however, integrating wind and solar causes challenges for existing power systems. In this paper we analyze three major integration challenges related to the structural matching of demand with the supply of wind and solar power: low capacity credit, reduced utilization of dispatchable plants, and over-produced generation. Based on residual load duration curves we define corresponding challenge variables …

Transportation And Sanitation Drivers Of Land Use/Land Cover Change: Loss Of The Jamaica Bay Wetlands, Margaret Joy Cytryn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an analysis (1830-2014) of the historical events of land use/land cover change in the Jamaica Bay estuary, identification of the agents of change, and a perspective on the potential drivers of transportation and sanitation in land use/land cover change.

Droughtscape, Summer 2015, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s column

New Drought Risk Management Research Center

Second quarter 2015 climate summary

Second quarter 2015 impacts summary

Caribbean region an innovator in drought early warning

Wind River Reservation tribes move toward drought planning

Ranchers, U.S. Forest Service, University of Arizona co-develop drought plans

Summer blockbuster from CoCoRaHS: Assessing Drought in the U.S

Western states drought coordinators meet

Rock Creek Restoration Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Report, Daniel Bedell

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Stream restoration is widely used to rebuild habitat for native fisheries, but it is not well understood how current habitat reconstruction practices affect biological diversity. Citizen Science programs have potential to provide supplemental macroinvertebrate data for effectiveness monitoring of reach-scale restoration projects but variability in training, experience and collection methods can make interpretation difficult. The Clackamas Water Environment Services Watershed Health Education Program (WHEP) is an example of a Citizen Science-based program actively collecting biological data from restored streams. The purpose of this project was to use WHEP student-collected data to detect benthic macroinvertebrate community responses to stream restoration practices. …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, E. Hunt, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Visit from Office of Science and Technology Policy...........2

Partnership spotlight.............2

AWDN information.................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................3

Product highlight....................4

Research highlight..................4

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

The Status Of Fishes In The Missouri River, Nebraska: Emerald Shiner (Notropis Atherinoides), Red Shiner (Cyprinella Lutrensis), River Shiner (N. Blennius), Sand Shiner N. Stramineus), Spotfin Shiner (C. Spiloptera), Thad W. Huenemann, Kirk D. Steffensen, Gerald Mestl, Dane A. Shuman, Sam Stukel

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Despite major anthropogenic modification to the Missouri River system, relative abundance of five shiner species within Nebraska’s reach of the Missouri River has increased since the 1940’s. The combined abundance of five species: Red Shiner Cyprinella lutrensis, Spotfin Shiner C. spilopterus, Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides, River Shiner N. blennius, Sand Shiner N. stramineus, represented > 50% of the small fish community in the Missouri River over the past ten years (2003-2012). More than 3,600 mini-fyke nets were deployed, resulting in over 158,600 shiners collected from the Missouri River along Nebraska’s eastern border between 2003 and 2012. Past literature …

Umphlett Qci June 2015, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought Conditions

Water Supplies Recovering

Heavy Rains Cause Flooding

Agriculture Impacts

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Type And Timing Of Stream Flow Changes In Urbanizing Watersheds In The Eastern U.S., Kristina G. Hopkins, Nathaniel B. Morse, Daniel J. Bain, Neil D. Bettez, Nancy B. Grimm, Jennifer L. Morse, Monica M. Palta

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Linking the type and timing of hydrologic changes with patterns of urban growth is essential to identifying the underlying mechanisms that drive declines in urban aquatic ecosystems. In six urbanizing watersheds surrounding three U.S. cities (Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA), we reconstructed the history of development patterns since 1900 and assessed the magnitude and timing of stream flow changes during watershed development. Development reconstructions indicated that the majority of watershed development occurred during a period of peak population growth, typically between 1950 and 1970. Stream flow records indicated significant increases in annual frequency of high-flow events in all …