Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons^™

The Figure Of Bitu-Man, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The ominously imposing figure in the above illustration is “the Syncrude bird deterrent device, locally known as ‘Bitu-man’.” He stands (or stood—the original image was from the late 1970s) in the tailings pond of the Syncrude Canada Ltd. oil sands mining operation along the Athabasca River near Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta. That operation surface mines (i.e., strip mines) bitumen-impregnated sand, processes it with hot water and steam, and discharges the liquid effluent or “tailings” into a pond covering roughly 3000 hectares (11 square miles). (Google Map coordinates: 56.9°N, -111.3° W). Residue bitumen collects on the surface and poses a …

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Fall 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

The Mechanical And Social Feasibility Of Using Biogas To Fuel An Essential Oil Distillation Unit In The Rural Commune Of Ankarimbelo, Madagascar, Hannah Nesser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The rural commune of Ankarimbelo is located on the edge of the Ikongo Rainforest Corridor in southeastern Madagascar. The commune’s remote location, an increasing population, and the prohibition of farming in the rainforest corridor have contributed to extreme poverty. In an attempt to mitigate these effects, the Malagasy NGO Ny Tanintsika has implemented an essential oils distillation plant as an alternative livelihood project. While the project may provide needed income to local populations, thereby diverting destructive agriculture practices such as tavy, or slash-and-burn agriculture, the distillation of essential oils still requires that firewood be burned. Over the course of …

What Drives Car Attitudes: An Analysis Of How Demographics And Environmental Views Relate To Car Attitudes, Kelly M. Gross, Alexandra S. Isaacson, Brian J.B. Lonabocker

Student Publications

Successfully marketing new, clean, car technologies to consumers requires an advertising strategy that fits consumers’ priorities and attitudes towards cars. We created a survey to study how attitudes towards cars are associated with demographics and environmental views. Our study examined car preferences and environmental concerns of a sample of Gettysburg College students in comparison to a national sample obtained from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Overall, we concluded that environmental beliefs are a significantly better prediction of car behaviors than demographics. We found that on average people would pay more for a car with a higher fuel economy, but not enough to …

Damming Brazil, Thyra Brody

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

Hydroelectric power is often considered a safe and clean alternative to the combustion of fossil fuels. Although the consequences to the air and atmosphere are lower, damming large rivers in the jungles of Brazil have a significant impact on indigenous populations and environmental ecosystems. This article examines such fallout and calls out for equity, and social and environmental justice. As the fuel of the last century burns out the hectic scramble for a tenable alternative is becoming an increasingly serious question mark. We would do well for ourselves, and future generations, to try and solve the environmental issues associated with …

An Assessment Of The Energy Generation Potential Of Photovoltaic Systems In Cameroon Using Satellite-Derived Solar Radiation Datasets, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Cameroon like most developing countries does not have a reliable network of surface observation stations for collecting weather data. This has been a major drawback for accurate assessment of the energy generation potential of photovoltaic systems in Cameroon. A viable alternative is to obtain site-specific solar irradiation from satellite-derived datasets. In this paper, the energy output, capacity factor and performance ratio of photovoltaic systems in 33 locations spread around ten regions in Cameroon have been evaluated using monthly average daily global horizontal solar irradiation from long-term satellitederived data available in Solar GIS software. An economic assessment revealed that a simple …

Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Light pollution (LP) can disrupt and/or degrade the health of all living things, as well as, their environments. The goal of my research at the NOAO was to check the accuracy of the citizen science LP reporting systems entitled: Globe at Night (GaN), Dark Sky Meter (DSM), and Loss of the Night (LoN). On the GaN webpage, the darkness of the night sky (DotNS) is reported by selecting a magnitude chart. Each magnitude chart has a different density/number of stars around a specific constellation. The greater number of stars implies a darker night sky. Within the DSM iPhone application, a …

Deep Energy Retrofits Using The Integrative Design Process: Are They Worth The Cost, Daniel S. Bertoldi

Master's Projects and Capstones

The McKinsey Global Initiative identified existing building retrofits as an integral component to achieve a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the United Sates by 2050 (Fluhrer, Maurer, & Deshmukh 2010). However, this will require energy efficiency retrofits for existing buildings to be deployed more frequently and achieve higher energy savings on average. Deep Energy Retrofits using the Integrative Design Process can result in 30-60%+ energy savings in office buildings. Because Deep Energy Retrofits require higher upfront capital costs, in an economy still recovering from the economic downturn, financial decision makers may not be inclined to invest more capital …

Energía En Nuestras Manos: La Energía Renovable En Escala Local Y La Plurinacionalidad, Noah Stanton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Aunque la revolución ciudadana ha establecido el Ecuador como un país plurinacional con una consciencia ambiental, el régimen político actual está rechazando esta imagen del país. Frente este desafío, yo propongo que la energía renovable pueda ser una herramienta para ambos fortalecer la plurinacionalidad dentro del país y a la vez proteger el medio ambiente que lo sostiene. En la monografía, detallo cómo la energía renovable en escala local puede reforzar la autodeterminación de pueblos en el Ecuador. Luego, discuto las ventajas y desventajas de tres tipos de energía renovable: energía solar, energía eólica, y energía hídrica.

Coastal And Ocean Economic Summaries Of The Coastal States 2014, Pat Johnston

Publications

The following summaries of the ocean and coastal economies were prepared by the National Ocean Economics Program as a companion the State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies 2014. The U.S. report, its appendices, and these state summary reports are available on the NOEP website at www.OceanEconomics.org/download.

Agenda: Natural Resource Industries And The Sustainability Challenge, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. The Colorado Law Energy Innovation Initiative

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

"An International Conference hosted by The Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment and The Colorado Law Energy Innovation Initiative."

For more than two decades, sustainability has gained currency as a broad organizing principle for efforts to develop and use energy, natural resources, and the environment in ways that allow society to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. More recently, sustainability has been embraced by businesses across multiple sectors as part of a broader movement of corporate social responsibility. Hardly a day goes by without news of another corporate initiative …

Slides: Comments Of Jeff Bingaman, Jeff Bingaman

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

Presenter: Jeff Bingaman, former Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and U.S. Senator from New Mexico

6 slides

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Hydraulic Fracturing: Restoring Public Health And Safety As A Top Priority, Brian Barnes

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Hydraulic Fracturing: Restoring Public Health and Safety as a Top Priority

Tar Sands, Americas Drug Of Choice, James Cope

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Tar Sands, Americas Drug of Choice

Dirty Power, Or A Dirty Word?, Kyle Chapo

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Dirty Power, or a Dirty Word?

Global Fossil Energy Markets And Climate Change Mitigation: An Analysis With Remind, Nico Bauer, Ioanna Mouratiadou, Gunnar Luderer, Lavinia Baumstark, Robert J. Brecha, Ottmar Edenhofer, Elmar Kriegler

Physics Faculty Publications

We analyze the dynamics of global fossil resource markets under different assumptions for the supply of fossil fuel resources, development pathways for energy demand, and climate policy settings. Resource markets, in particular the oil market, are characterized by a large discrepancy between costs of resource extraction and commodity prices on international markets. We explain this observation in terms of (a) the intertemporal scarcity rent, (b) regional price differentials arising from trade and transport costs, (c) heterogeneity and inertia in the extraction sector. These effects are captured by the REMIND model. We use the model to explore economic effects of changes …

A Way To Reestablish Our Nations Power, Spencer Petersen

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

A Way to Reestablish Our Nations Power

Where Is Your Next Gallon Coming From?, Daniel Kent

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Where Is Your Next Gallon Coming From?

Clean Fuel For Americans, Tate Emanuel

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Clean fuel for Americans

Green Revolving Funds Provide Community Benefits Through Innovation, Amanda Johnson

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Green Revolving Funds Provide Community Benefits Through Innovation

Finding Future Energy Today, Savanna Mcdonald

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Finding Future Energy Today

Energy Responsibility, Lee Kottmeyer

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Energy Responsibility

The War On American Ethanol, Jared Korth

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The War on American Ethanol

Electric Vehicles, Clean Or Dirty?, Nathan Mccormick

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Electric Vehicles, Clean or Dirty?

Avoiding The Bust After The Boom, Eric Macke

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Avoiding the Bust After the Boom

Electric Vehicles: More Practical Than We Realize, Mark Friend

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Electric Vehicles: More Practical than We Realize

Not All Wind Energy Is The Best For Nebraska, Dylan Mangel

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Not All Wind Energy is the Best for Nebraska

Development Without Energy? Assessing Future Scenarios Of Energy Consumption In Developing Countries, Jan Christof Steckel, Robert J. Brecha, Michael Jakob, Jessica Strefler, Gunnar Luderer

Physics Faculty Publications

We analyze the relationship between economic development and energy consumption in the context of greenhouse gas mitigation. The main contribution of this work is to compare estimates of energy thresholds in the form of minimum energy requirements to reach high levels of development with output projections of per capita final energy supply from a group of integrated assessment models (IAMs). Scenarios project that reductions of carbon emissions in developing countries will be achieved not only by means of decreasing the carbon intensity, but also by making a significant break with the historically observed relationship between energy use and economic growth. …

Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics In Agriculture: Model Development And Application From Daily To Decadal Timescales, Matthew P. Pelton

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

Soil carbon (C) is the largest terrestrial C pool globally, containing more C than the atmosphere and biosphere. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a source and sink of CO₂ emissions to and from the atmosphere, thus influencing future climate change. Understanding SOC dynamics is also important for maintaining C stocks to sustain and improve crop yields. An existing model to estimate changes in SOC due to respiration was modified to operate in three computational platforms: MS Excel, MS Excel with Visual Basic for Applications, and supercomputing. This model was validated against CO₂ flux data from a 9-year field …