Natural Resource Economics Commons^™

Future Participation In The Conservation Reserve Program In North Dakota, Lorilie M. Atkinson, Rebecca J. Romsdahl, Michael J. Hill

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The purpose of this study was to gauge the impact of agriculture and energy policies on conservation practices through a survey of conservation reserve program (CRP) contract holders in a selected Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota-Burleigh, Kidder, and Stutsman Counties. The survey results showed that 48% of respondents are considering returning CRP acres to annual crop production once the contract expires. The largest influence on post-CRP land use was the market prices for production of annual crops. Respondents also identified lack of knowledge of conservation programs as a large hurdle to participation. This may indicate a need for improved …

2011 Schedule Of Events, Education For Sustainability Summer Institute

Education for Sustainability Summer Institute

The WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and Center for Environmental Education and Sustainability hosted the first Education for Sustainability Summer Institute (EFSSI 2011) for Kentucky and the region on July 21-22, 2011. Participants learned about model programs, practical strategies, and resources for integrating sustainability into classes, schools, and districts. This event is the first of its kind in Kentucky and the region. It is being hosted by the WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and WKU Center for Environmental Education and Sustainability.

Click on Download button for full Schedule of Events.

Variable Renewable Energy In Modeling Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios, Falko Ueckerdt, Robert J. Brecha, Gunnar Luderer, Patrick Sullivan, Eva Schmid, Nico Bauer, Diana Böttger

Physics Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the issue of how to account for short‐term temporal variability of renewable energy sources and power demand in long‐term climate change mitigation scenarios in energy‐economic models. An approach that captures in a stylized way the major challenges to the integration of variable renewable energy sources into power systems has been developed. As a first application this approach has been introduced to REMIND‐D, a hybrid energy‐economy model of Germany. An approximation of the residual load duration curve is implemented. The approximating function endogenously changes depending on the penetration and mix of variable renewable power. The approach can thus …

Identifying Changes In Climatic Trends And The Fingerprints Of Landuse And Landcover Changes In The High Plains Of The Usa, Denis Mutiibwa

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Human activities such as conversion of natural ecosystem to croplands and urban-centers, deforestation and afforestation impact biophysical properties of land surface such as albedo, energy balance, and surface roughness. Alterations in these properties affect the heat and moisture exchanges between the land surface and atmospheric boundary layer. The objectives of this research were; (i) to quantitatively identify the High plains’ regional climate change in temperatures over the period 1895 to 2006, (ii) detect the signatures of anthropogenic forcing of LULC changes on the regional climate change of the High Plains, and (iii) examine the trends in evolving regional latent heat …

Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And The Effective Size Of Oil Resources, Robert J. Brecha

Physics Faculty Publications

The size of potential fossil fuel resources is an issue of perennial interest and controversy. Fundamentally, there appears to be a conflict in interpretation of available data for both past and future extraction histories. As fossil-fuel prices rose dramatically over the past several years, the question of resources once again became acute. In this paper we concentrate on conventional and non-conventional oil resources and make four main points, with the overarching theme that one can determine an effective oil resource that represents significantly less availability for consumption than usually posited by tallying resources in place.

First, looking at oil production …

Improving Energy Sustainability In Pound Hall, Craig Adams

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This research project deals with improving energy sustainability in Pound Hall dormitory located on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s (UNL) city campus.  An investigation on the current energy usage of Pound Hall showed that its energy rates worsened between the years of 2009 and 2010.  These combined (electricity, steam, and water) energy rates were compared with those of the newly renovated Othmer Hall to emphasize the lack of sustainability in the older dormitory.  In order to improve Pound Hall’s energy rates, an energy benefit analysis of implementing a green roof was performed.  Having a green roof on this dormitory …

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curriculum., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States.  Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Stochastic Hybrid Embodied Co2-Eq Analysis: An Application To The Irish Apartment Building Sector, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy, Biswajit Basu

Articles

Although embodiedCO2-eq analysis has seen recent developments as evident in the establishment of the ISO14040 and 14044 LCA standards, it is recognized that due to weaknesses in gathering data on product-related emissions,embodiedCO2-eq values are probabilistic. This paper presents a stochastic analysis of hybrid embodied CO2-eq in buildings to account for this weakness in traditional methods and, by way of example, applies it to an Irish construction-sector case study. Using seven apartment buildings, 70,000 results are simulated with Monte Carlo analysis and used to derive probabilistic and cumulative embodied CO2-eq intensity distributions for apartment buildings in Ireland. A Wakeby distribution with …

Slides: Environmental Water In Australia, Chris Arnott

Conversation with Water Management Reps from Colorado and Australia: "Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned from Australia" (February 14)

Presenter: Chris Arnott, Managing Director, Alluvium Consulting

30 slides

Slides: Adapting To Climate Change: Lessons Learnt From The Australian Water Experience, Will Fargher

Conversation with Water Management Reps from Colorado and Australia: "Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned from Australia" (February 14)

Presenter: Will Fargher, National Water Commission, Australian Government

18 slides [4 have titles only and are missing images]

The Employment Impacts Of Wind Power Development In Maine 2003-2010, Charles S. Colgan

Economic Impact Analysis

The development of wind power in Maine has emerged as a significant economic opportunity in the past several years, providing one of the few growing sectors in the latter half of the last decade. The employment impact of this development has been discussed in regulatory filings before, but has not been examined in detail using post-construction data on actual wind power projects. This report examines the employment impacts of three major wind power projects: Mars Hill in Aroostook County, Stetson Mountain in Washington County, and Kibby Mountain in Franklin County. (Stetson and Kibby were undertaken in two phases.) These projects …

Evaluation Of The Sensitivity Of Inventory And Monitoring National Parks To Nutrient Enrichment Effects From Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition Northern Great Plains Network (Ngpn), T. J. Sullivan, T. C. Mcdonnell, G. T. Mcpherson, S. D. Mackey, D. Moore

United States National Park Service: Publications

Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN)

National maps of atmospheric N emissions and deposition are provided in Maps A and B as context for subsequent network data presentations. Map A shows county level emissions of total N for the year 2002. Map B shows total N deposition, again for the year 2002.

There are three parks in the Northern Great Plains Network that are larger than 100 square miles: Badlands (BADL), Missouri (MNRR), and Theodore Roosevelt (THRO). In addition, there are 10 other smaller parks.

Total annual N emissions, by county, are shown in Map C for lands in and surrounding …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation), New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Water

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

Implications Of Community Concordance For Assessing Stream Integrity At Three Nested Spatial Scales In Minnesota, U.S.A., Christine L. Dolph, David D. Huff, Christopher J. Chizinski, Bruce Vondracek

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Fish and invertebrate assemblage data collected from 670 stream sites in Minnesota (U.S.A.) were used to calculate concordance across three nested spatial scales (statewide, ecoregion and catchment). Predictive taxa richness models, calibrated using the same data, were used to evaluate whether concordant communities exhibited similar trends in human-induced taxa loss across all three scales. Finally, we evaluated the strength of the relationship between selected environmental variables and the composition of both assemblages at all three spatial scales.

2. Significant concordance between fish and invertebrate communities occurred at the statewide scale as well as in six of seven ecoregions and …

Using The Judas Technique To Locate And Remove Wintertime Aggregations Of Invasive Common Carp, P. G. Bajer, Christopher J. Chizinski, P. W. Sorensen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Radio- and acoustic telemetry in three Midwestern lakes demonstrated that common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., aggregate as water temperatures descend below 10C. Particularly dense aggregations formed at temperatures <5 >C, and once located, these aggregations could be removed with an efficiency of up to 94% using seine nets. Carp aggregated just below the surface of the ice (approximately 1.5 m) and rarely descended to warmer waters, which extended down to 10 m. Although aggregations consistently formed close to shore, their locations could not be explained by temperature or dissolved oxygen. The aggregations also moved frequently, making radio-tagged fish invaluable to locate …

Mixed-Source Reintroductions Lead To Outbreeding Depression In Second-Generation Descendents Of A Native North American Fish, David D. Huff, Loren M. Miller, Christopher J. Chizinski, Bruce Vondracek

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Reintroductions are commonly employed to preserve intraspecific biodiversity in fragmented landscapes. However, reintroduced populations are frequently smaller and more geographically isolated than native populations. Mixing genetically, divergent sources are often proposed to attenuate potentially low genetic diversity in reintroduced populations that may result from small effective population sizes. However, a possible negative tradeoff for mixing sources is outbreeding depression in hybrid offspring. We examined the consequences of mixed-source reintroductions on several fitness surrogates at nine slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) reintroduction sites in south-east Minnesota. We inferred the relative fitness of each crosstype in the reintroduced populations by comparing …

Breeding Bird Response To Partially Harvested Riparian Management Zones, Christopher J. Chizinski, Anna Peterson, Joann Hanowski, Charles R. Blinn, Bruce Vondracek, Gerald J. Niemi

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We compared avian communities among three timber harvesting treatments in 45-m wide even-age riparian management zones (RMZs) placed between upland clearcuts and along one side of first- or second-order streams in northern Minnesota, USA. The RMZs had three treatments: (1) unharvested, (2) intermediate residual basal area (RBA) (targeted goal 11.5m²/ha, realized 16.0m2/ha), and (3) low RBA (targeted goal 5.7m²/ha, realized 8.7m²/ha). Surveys were conducted one year pre-harvest and three consecutive years post-harvest. There was no change in species richness, diversity, or total abundance associated with harvest but there were shifts in the types of …

Renewable Energy In The Context Of Sustainable Development, Jayant Sathaye, Oswaldo Lucon, Atiq Rahman, John Christensen, Fatima Denton, Junichi Fujino, Garvin Heath, Monirul Mirza, Hugh Rudnick, August Schlaepfer, Andrey Shmakin, Gerhard Angerer, Christian Bauer, Morgan Bazilian, Robert J. Brecha, Peter Burgherr, Leon Clarke, Felix Creutzig, James Edmonds, Christian Hagelüken, Gerrit Hansen, Nathan Hultman, Michael Jakob, Susanne Kadner, Manfred Lenzen, Jordan Macknick, Eric Masanet, Yu Nagai, Anne Olhoff, Karen Olsen, Michael Pahle, Ari Rabl, Richard Richels, Joyashree Roy, Tormod Schei, Christoph Von Stechow, Jan Christoph Steckel, Ethan Warner, Tom Wilbanks, Yimin Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

Historically, economic development has been strongly correlated with increasing energy use and growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Renewable energy (RE) can help decouple that correlation, contributing to sustainable development (SD). In addition, RE offers the opportunity to improve access to modern energy services for the poorest members of society, which is crucial for the achievement of any single of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

Theoretical concepts of SD can provide useful frameworks to assess the interactions between SD and RE. SD addresses concerns about relationships between human society and nature. Traditionally, SD has been framed in the three-pillar model—Economy, …

A Tale Of Two Carbon Sinks: Can Forest Carbon Management Serve As A Framework To Implement Ocean Iron Fertilization As A Climate Change Treaty Compliance Mechanism?, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

Any post-Kyoto climate change treaty regime must seek to fully engage the use of carbon sinks to complement emissions reduction measures in order to comply with the treaty's mandates. The Kyoto Protocol did not include avoided deforestation as a mechanism for earning emission reduction credits. However, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) quickly gained popularity as a viable climate change compliance strategy in the period immediately preceding the negotiations at the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen in 2009. The Copenhagen Accord is replete with references to REDD as a focus for the international community's progression …

Collaboration And Climate Action At The Local Scale, Linda Lyshall

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation encompasses a case study and a Participatory Action Research project. The case study focuses on climate change mitigation activities within King County, Washington and its 39 cities and towns and discusses progress and challenges related to transportation issues, efficiency measures, and sustainability planning. The findings indicate there is a high level of activity in waste reduction, environmental outreach and education, bicycle and pedestrian promotion, tree canopy protection, sustainability policies, and green building. Other categories, such as energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emission inventories and goal setting are on the rise. Twelve of the cities were …

Recent Legislation To Promote Wind Energy In Nebraska, Ryan Lemke

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Nebraska is currently ranked 4th in the nation for wind energy potential, but ranks low in actual wind power production. The lack of wind energy production could be the result of Nebraska’s unique public power districts that have eminent domain of distribution and retail sales of electricity in the State. Public Power districts are prohibited from receiving benefits of state and federal tax incentives for the development of wind farms, however some Nebraska power districts still pursue wind energy as a renewable source of energy.

Recent legislation changes, including the passing of laws LB629 and LB1048, have provided the State …

Algorithms For Remote Estimation Of Chlorophyll-[Alpha] In Coastal And Inland Waters Using Red And Near Infrared Bands, Alexander A. Gilerson, Anatoly Gitelson, Jing Zhou, Daniela Gurlin, Wesley Moses, Ioannis Ioannou, Samir A. Ahmed

Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies: Publications

Remote sensing algorithms that use red and NIR bands for the estimation of chlorophyll-a concentration [Chl] can be more effective in inland and coastal waters than algorithms that use blue and green bands. We tested such two-band and three-band red-NIR algorithms using comprehensive synthetic data sets of reflectance spectra and inherent optical properties related to various water parameters and a very consistent in situ data set from several lakes in Nebraska, USA. The two-band algorithms tested with MERIS bands were R_rs(708)/R_rs(665) and R_rs(753)/R_rs(665). The three-band algorithm with MERIS bands was in the …

Culvert Material Cost Comparison, New England Environmental Finance Center

Water

The following tables provide a detailed look at the role that culvert material and culvert diameter play in the overall cost of a culvert replacement project.

Construction Cost Models, Barry Dikeman

Economics and Finance

The following are a series of cost estimate models similar in format to a typical engineer’s estimate that were developed in support of our financial impact assessment report for LD 1725. The models us current material costs, labor costs, and equipment costs for the region to provide a comparative cost analysis of seven culvert replacement scenarios. The models provide information about what the cost impact of LD 1725 would be for typical culvert replacements in Maine. However, due to the inherent restrictions of the cost modeling framework we were not able to include the abundance of variables that would be …

Integrating Ecology And Information Technology: Conserving Natural Resources, Melissa M. Grigione, Dan Farkas

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

The goal of this project is to develop an interdisciplinary collaboration in technology, spatial analysis and the conservation of natural, environmental, and ecological resources. The proposed collaboration involved independent research projects so that students can participate in both field‐based and laboratory activities. The Thinkfinity project has initiated continued work and expansion of our goals to include a multi‐college collaboration and possibilities for outside funding (NSF).

Invasive Species And Public Investment In The Green Economy, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Invasive Species and Public Investment in the Green Economy, approved by ISAC on June 24, 2010

ISSUE

Invasive species are intricately linked to the economy. Trade, travel, and transport facilitate their spread. Invasive species management requires extensive human and financial resources. The impacts of invasive species can substantially undermine economic growth and sustainable development. United States Executive Order (EO) 13112 defines invasive species as “alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” and states that Federal agencies should …“not authorize, fund, or carry out actions that are likely …

A Sea Change For Aquatic Sustainability : Meeting The Challenge Of Fish Resources Management And Aquatic Sustainability In The 21st Century, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.

A Proposed Plan For Managing Eastern Nebraska's Saline Wetlands, Vandhana Rabadinanth

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Eastern Nebraska’s saline wetlands play a major role in Nebraska’s environmental place in the world. Besides the role of scientific changes being important, education also is essential in the conservation of these wetlands. Through the observation of Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) and soil electroconductivity, I propose that we need to reform Nebraska’s education system to help schools play a bigger part in environmental issues such as this one. There is a drastic trend in the correlations between Salt Creek tiger beetle populations and wetland degradation. Since many Lincoln residents have a limited knowledge of what is …

Input-Output Analysis Of Irish Construction Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Ireland is committed to limiting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 113% of 1990 levels over the period 2008-12 and to 84% of 2005 levels by 2020 under the Kyoto Agreement and the EU’s ’20 20’ by 2020 respectively. National policies have targeted many industry sectors but have failed to directly tackle GHG emissions associated with construction activity. This paper estimates energy and GHG emissions intensities of the Irish construction sector and subsectors and estimates its contribution to Irish national emissions. This information is used to identify and assess the impacts of policy measures which would result in a reduction …

Fisheries Occasional Paper No. 77 - Economic Analysis: Fishing Industry Impact Study - Kimberley Lng Project, Econsearch Pty Ltd, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

This study, prepared as a part of a broader study for WA fisheries, is concerned with the regional economy of the West Kimberley region and involves an assessment of the impact on the region of a range of fishing industry scenarios associated with development of an LNG processing facility. Specific tasks involved in the study were to prepare the following:

• a standard input-output model for the West Kimberley regional economy for 2007/08 and extend it as a DECON model; and

• estimates of the regional economic and population impact for a range of fishing industry scenarios arising from the …