Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Agenda: Navigating The Future Of The Colorado River, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Western Water Policy Program

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Competition for scarce Colorado River water resources is nothing new, but the conflicts that prompted the seven basin states to negotiate the 1922 Colorado River Compact have grown considerably fiercer and more complex in recent decades. In 2007, responding to the challenges of increasing demand and sustained drought, the seven basin states and a number of other affected interests agreed to a set of interim guidelines for allocating Colorado River water in the event of shortages. This agreement represents an important evolution in the governance of the Colorado River, suggesting that the many interests in the basin can work together …

Report Surveys Colorado River Basin Leaders: Collaborative Approaches To Dwindling Supplies Are Highlighted, Sarah Bates, University Of Montana Missoula. Center For Natural Resources And Environmental Policy

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

4 pages.

Press release "April 14, 2011"

"Executive Summary April 2011" of report, Thinking Like a River Basin: Leaders' Perspectives on Options and Opportunities in Colorado River Management

Full report available at:

http://www.carpediemwest.org/wp-content/uploads/Thinking_Like_A_River_Basin_8-20-13.pdf

Slides: The Costs And Benefits Of Best Management Practices: Insights From The Marcellus Shale, Timothy J. Considine

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Timothy J. Considine, School of Energy Resources, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming

15 slides

Slides: Collaborative Planning And Lessons Learned, Matt Sura

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Matt Sura, University of Colorado Law School

48 slides

The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Crops And Derived Crop Products, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Abstract. This study quantifies the green, blue and grey water footprint of global crop production in a spatially-explicit way for the period 1996–2005. The assessment improves upon earlier research by taking a high-resolution approach, estimating the water footprint of 126 crops at a 5 by 5 arc minute grid. We have used a grid-based dynamic water balance model to calculate crop water use over time, with a time step of one day. The model takes into account the daily soil water balance and climatic conditions for each grid cell. In addition, the water pollution associated with the use of nitrogen …

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 Curricula., 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 …

National Water Footprint Accounts: The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Production And Consumption. Volume 1: Main Report, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This study quantifies and maps the water footprints of nations from both a production and consumption perspective and estimates international virtual water flows and national and global water savings as a result of trade. The entire estimate includes a breakdown of water footprints, virtual water flows and water savings into their green, blue and grey components. The main finding of the study can be summarized as:

The global water footprint in the period 1996-2005 was 9087 Gm3/yr (74% green, 11% blue, 15% grey). Agricultural production contributes 92% to this total footprint.

About one fifth of the global water footprint relates …

National Water Footprint Accounts: The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Production And Consumption, Volume 2: Appendices, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Contents

Appendix I. The water footprint of national production (Mm³/yr)

Appendix II. Virtual-water flows related to trade in crop, animal and industrial products, per country (Mm³/yr)

Appendix III. International virtual-water flows per product category (Mm³/yr)

Appendix IV. National water saving related to trade in agricultural and industrial products per country (Mm³/yr)

Appendix V. Global water saving related to trade in agricultural and industrial products, per product (Mm³/yr)

Appendix VI. The average water footprint per ton of commodity per country, weighted based on origin (WF* in m³/ton)

Appendix VII. …

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 …

Keynote 2: The Alberta Oil Sands — Wrestling Bitumen Out Of The Wild North, David Rudolph

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Athabasca Oil Sand Reserve:

- Oil sands are contained within the Cretaceous McMurray Formation. (149,000 km2)

- 2.5 trillion barrels of extractable oil (~ 25 % of Canada Crude Oil Production)

- Surface mineable deposits cover 2,800 km2

- 450 billion L of process water used annually

- Currently over 130 km2 of tailings ponds (largest man-made structures in the world)

Panel Discussion Presentation: U.S. – Mexico Transboundary Perspectives, Martin J. Pasqualetti

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Perspectives

Principal Question: What are the implications of the energy/ water nexus at the US/Mexico border?

1. Water Supply and Demand

2. Water Costs of Electricity

3. Virtual Water Transfers

4. Renewable Energy Resources

5. Solar/Water nexus at the US/Mexico Border

Panel Discussion Presentation: Regional Politics, International Dreams, Kathryn Furlong

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspective

The Main Idea:

What are the drivers of hydro-electric development? What are the influences of domestic politics? In what ways are they international?

Panel Discussion Presentation: Columbia River Treaty, Kelvin Ketchum

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspectives

Slide titles:

- Columbia River Treaty – the setting

- What does the Treaty Do?

- Social & Environmental Costs of the Treaty in Canada

- Treaty benefits and term

- Treaty priorities for water usage

- Example of Flood Control Curves

- Actual Treaty operations

- Supplemental operating agreements

- Treaty Implementation

- Reasons for Treaty Success

Panel Discussion Presentation: Canada-U.S. Transboundary Perspectives, David Rudolph

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspectives

Longest international border in the world: 8,890km, over 3,000km are water!

- Major transboundary river systems (Columbia, Red River)

- 1997 Red River Flood

- Strategies for future power and water needs

- Canadian resource-based economy

Event Program, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

The North American Energy-Water Nexus roundtable was held April 1, 2011, to promote the discussion of how energy and water issues converge in addressing international relations. The roundtable focused on water issues specific to the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders, including stakeholder-driven solutions for water policies and water technologies. The event was co-sponsored by the UNLV Urban Sustainability Initiative; Desert Research Institute; the Canadian Consulate of Los Angeles; and the government of Ontario, Canada.

Embodied Emissions Abatement: A Policy Assessment Using Stochastic Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy, Biswajit Basu

Articles

Policymakers traditionally focus on regulating operational energy use in buildings, ignoring other life cycle components such as embodied energy even though this may account for a significant portion of life cycle emissions. Data relating to embodied energy and emissions in buildings is limited. However, stochastic techniques can be used to estimate the distribution of such emissions from buildings. This helps policymakers identify which instruments are appropriate for achieving emissions reductions. A primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate this approach using a sample of apartment buildings in Ireland. A Monte-Carlo simulation suggests that the average probability distribution of embodied …

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 …

Identification Of ‘Carbon Hot-Spots’ And Quantification 1 Of Ghg Intensities In The Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid Lca And Structural Path Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Thomas Wiedmann, Kuishang Feng, Robert Crawford, John Barrett, Johan Kuylenstierna, Aidan Duffy, Lenny Koh, Simon Mcqueen-Mason

Articles

It is expected that biodiesel production in the EU will remain the dominant contributor as part of a 10% minimum binding target for biofuel in transportation fuel by 2020 within the 20% renewable energy target in the overall EU energy mix. Life cycle assessments (LCA) of biodiesel to evaluate its environmental impacts have, however, remained questionable, mainly because of the adoption of a traditional process analysis approach resulting in system boundary truncation and because of issues regarding the impacts of land use change and N2O emissions from fertiliser application. In this study, a hybrid LCA methodology is used to evaluate …

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]

Meeting Reports: Research On Coupled Human And Natural Systems (Chans): Approach, Challenges, And Strategies, Marina Alberti, Heidi Asbjornsen, Lawrence A. Baker, Nicholas Brozovic, Laurie E. Drinkwater, Scott A. Drzyzga, Claire A. Jantz, José Fragoso, Daniel S. Holland, Timothy A. Kohler, Jianguo Liu, William J. Mcconnell, Herbert D.G. Maschner, James D.A. Millington, Michael Monticino, Guillermo Podestá, Robert Gilmore Pontius, Charles L. Redman, Nicholas J. Reo, David Sailor, Gerald Urquhart

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding the complexity of human–nature interactions is central to the quest for both human well-being and global sustainability. To build an understanding of these interactions, scientists, planners, resource managers, policymakers, and communities increasingly are collaborating across wide-ranging disciplines and knowledge domains. Scientists and others are generating new integrated knowledge on top of their requisite specialized knowledge to understand complex systems in order to solve pressing environmental and social problems (e.g., Carpenter et al. 2009). One approach to this sort of integration, bringing together detailed knowledge of various disciplines (e.g., social, economic, biological, and geophysical), has become known as the study …

The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting The Global Standard, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Ashok K. Chapagain, Maite M. Aldaya, Mesfin Mekonnen

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This book contains the global standard for 'water footprint assessment' as developed and maintained by the Water Footprint Network (WFN). It covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint accounting. It shows how water footprints are calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses. It also includes methods for water footprint sustainability assessment and a library of water footprint response options. A shared standard on definitions and calculation methods is crucial given the rapidly growing interest in companies and governments to use water footprint accounts as a basis for formulating sustainable …

2011 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain good quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on the over 18,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, our greater than 280,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, and the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

Human Sanitary Wastes And Waste Treatment In New York City, David J. Tonjes, Christine O'Connell, Omkar Aphale, R. Lawrence Swanson

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Henry Hudson first sailed toNew Yorkharbor 400 years ago. Since then,New York Cityhas both affected and been affected by water quality in greaterNew YorkHarbor. In this paper, we focus on sewers, sewerage, and sewage treatment inManhattanand their effects on theHudson River. It is clear that feedbacks among drinking water quality and quantity, population, public perceptions, regulations, and estuarine water quality exist, although their strength and character have varied over time. Early land uses damaged local water supplies found on ManhattanIsland. New Yorkthen began to exploit the large fresh water resources available to its north, which helped the City to expand …

Analytical Methods To Support Risk Identification And Analysis In Healthcare Systems, Laila Nadime Cure Vellojin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare systems require continuous monitoring of risk to prevent adverse events. Risk analysis is a time consuming activity that depends on the background of analysts and available data. Patient safety data is often incomplete and biased. This research proposes systematic approaches to monitor risk in healthcare using available patient safety data. The methodologies combine traditional healthcare risk analysis methods with safety theory concepts, in an innovative manner, to allocate available evidence to potential risk sources throughout the system. We propose the use of data mining to analyze near-miss reports and guide the identification of risk sources. In addition, we propose …

Adaptation Of Low Impact Design To The Desert Southwest, Abubaker Ali Alamailes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A low Impact Development (LID) practices were used to design an Integrated Management Practices (IMP) system for a residential lot .The design was adapted to the Desert Southwest region based on twenty years of climate data including precipitation and temperature for three representative cities: El Paso, TX, Albuquerque, NM, and Phoenix, AZ. In order to capture stormwater runoff close to its source and to provide as much stored water as possible for plants, LID practices including bioretention cells and vegetated swales were applied throughout the lawn. The purpose of the design is to maintain the pre-development hydrologic characteristics of the …

The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Farm Animals And Animal Products. Volume 1: Main Report, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The projected increase in the production and consumption of animal products is likely to put further pressure on the globe’s freshwater resources. The size and characteristics of the water footprint vary across animal types and production systems. The current study provides a comprehensive account of the global green, blue and grey water footprints of different sorts of farm animals and animal products, distinguishing between different production systems and considering the conditions in all countries of the world separately. The following animal categories were considered: beef cattle, dairy cattle, pig, sheep, goat, broiler chicken, layer chicken and horses. The study shows …

The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Farm Animals And Animal Products. Volume 2: Appendices, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Contents

Appendix I: Feed conversion efficiencies – in kg of feed (dry mass) per kg of output – per animal category and region

Appendix II: Estimated consumption of feed per animal category and world region (10³ ton dry mass/yr)

Appendix III. Estimated consumption of feed per production system and world region (10³ ton dry mass/yr)

Appendix IV. Drinking and service water footprint per animal

Appendix V. Water footprint of animals and animal products (m³/ton). Period 1996-2005

Pooling For Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach An Old Dog New Tricks?, Bruce M. Kramer

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

74 pages.

This paper was originally published as:

Bruce M. Kramer, “Pooling for Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?,” 55 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst. 8-1, § 8.05 (2009).

Slides: Shale Drilling And Completions, William Fleckenstein

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: William Fleckenstein, BP Adjunct Professor in the Petroleum Department and Director of PERFORM Research, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, and Managing Partner of Fleckenstein, Eustes & Associates

20 slides