Sustainability Commons^™

Potential Economic Impacts Of Allocating More Land For Bioenergy Biomass Production In Virginia, Thomas O. Ochuodho, Janaki Alavalapati, Pankaj Lal, Domena A. Agyeman, Bernabas Wolde, Pralhad Burli

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The growing attention to renewable energy and rural development has created greater demand for production of biomass feedstock for bioenergy. However, forest growth rates and the amount of land in most existing forests may not be sufficient to sustainably supply the forest biomass required to support existing forest products industries and the expanding bioenergy industry. Additionally, concerns about agricultural land use competition have dampened expansion of biomass production on agricultural land base. One of the ways to meet the growing forest biomass feedstock demand for bioenergy production is by allocating currently marginal non-forested land for growing bioenergy feedstocks. In Virginia, …

Global Sustainability That Respects Cultural Diversity & Individual Health Needs, Meriterese Racanelli

Sustainability Seminar Series

The USA Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health have classified excessive sodium consumption, high blood pressure and diabetes as national health epidemics across various ethnic cultures. The United Nations and other countries classify these as Global Epidemics. Interestingly,some ways to help fix this national and global health crisis can be found in the balance of sustainable environmentally-friendly agriculture, green technologies, and cultural competencies. Learn how sustainability studies, research, and jobs can still respect an individual’s ethnic heritage, culture, and nutritional health needs, while improving the community health at large... from local to global. Sustainability can help us …

Plastics, Degradability, And The Environment, Peter Strom

Sustainability Seminar Series

Harmful environmental effects of plastics have long been condemned by activists, and some of these problems are well documented. However, in seeking to substitute other materials or make changes in the properties of the plastics themselves, it is important that the policies implemented do not worsen existing or create new environmental problems. This seminar will discuss some of the general concerns associated with this issue, such as the environmental impacts of using other materials instead of plastics, and then focus on degradable plastics. What is degradability, when might it be valuable, and will these products in fact degrade? Results of …

Disrupting Desalination: Novel Energy Efficient Technologies For Hypersaline Brines, Ngai Yin Yip

Sustainability Seminar Series

Management and treatment of hypersaline brines, e.g., produced water from oil and gas extraction, zero liquid discharge effluent, and flue gas desulfurization wastewater, are of growing environmental importance. Prevailing practice of distilling brines is highly energy-intensive and costly because the evaporation of water is enthalpically unfavorable. Here, we present two novel technologies for hypersaline desalination: cascading osmotically mediated reverse osmosis (COMRO) and temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE). The first technology, COMRO, utilizes the novel design of bilateral countercurrent reverse osmosis stages to lessening the osmotic pressure difference across the membrane, thereby simultaneously depressing the hydraulic pressure needed and reducing energy …

Incentives For Coastal Persistence, Porter Hoagland

Sustainability Seminar Series

Inundation, erosion, and property damages and losses are being observed at increasing rates in coastal areas. It is now well-recognized that rising sea levels, increases in storm intensities, and inadequate structural protections are contributing to the significant physical destruction of and economic losses to coastal properties. Scientists, coastal zone managers, and the general public have begun to call for implementing policies of resilience and adaptation to these losses, including retreating from the coast, yet humans continue to live—and even increase their presence—along the nation’s shorelines. What causes such persistence? It has become commonplace to identify lower-than-actuarially-fair premiums for participation in …

How Do Polar Ice Sheets And Sea Level Behave Under A Changing Climate?, Sandra Passchier

Sustainability Seminar Series

Nearly 3 billion people live within 100 km of the coastline, many in large urban centers. In predictions of sea level rise, the future role of polar ice sheets is one of the most critical uncertainties under the present extreme rise in greenhouse forcing of the climate system. This talk will show how geoscientists address the Earth system processes involved in melting ice sheets under warmer climates, and introduce the objectives of an upcoming deepsea drilling expedition to the area with greatest ice loss in West Antarctica.

Tracking Soil Signatures Of The 16 Mile Fire, Delaware State Forest, Pa, Jennifer Callanan

Sustainability Seminar Series

The high intensity 16 Mile Fire that burned in the Delaware State Forest, PA was not typical in forests of this region. This study tracks the chemical signature in the soil as a result of the combustion of biomass and associated ash inputs. Chemical signatures related directly to the fire impacted soils were observed, with some remaining after one year’s time. These lasting signatures may influence the future structure of the forest. The results of this study begin to address implications of high intensity fire in forests of the northeast as changing climatic conditions may begin to influence their fire …

Emerging Models Of Nitrogen And Carbon Cycling In Engineered Wastewater Treatment Processes, Kartik Chandran

Sustainability Seminar Series

The engineered nitrogen cycle provides a rich framework to study the structure, function and interactions within mixed microbial communities. The knowledge objtained from such studies also allows us to harness the potential of such communities towards achieving multiple goals including the production of clean water, treatment of drinking water and the synthesis of commodity chemicals and fuels, among others. Within the spectrum of engineered nitrogen cycling processes, autotrophic biological nitrogen removal (BNR) offers an energy and resource efficient alternate to conventionally followed approaches. The successful implementation of autotrophic BNR processes is contingent upon the selective retention of aerobic and anaerobic …

The Role Of Ground-Source Heat Pumps In Achieving New Jersey’S 80% By 2050 Goal: Addressing Emissions From The Buildings Sector, Sheryl Tembe

Sustainability Seminar Series

Emissions reduction and renewable energy sources are vital to health of New Jersey. Governor Murphy’s executive orders and recent legislation target actions to improve our environment and create a sustainable future. The buildings sector is recognized as the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey behind transportation, with the majority of emissions due to fossil fuel-based heating and cooling. To reach state’s goal of 80% emissions reduction by 2050, reduction strategies for the built environment must implement technologies that displace fossil fuels and maximize clean and low-carbon electricity. Heat pumps are a key technology because of their …

Growing A Sustainable City: The Question Of Urban Agriculture, Hamil Pearsall

Sustainability Seminar Series

This presentation examines urban agriculture in Philadelphia and highlights the challenges of institutionalizing this historically informal urban activity into formal city policy over the last two decades. Urban agriculture has become a symbol of Philadelphia’s economic revitalization, sustainability, and increasingly, its gentrification. Often characterized by advocates as an urban panacea, gardening and farming seem to promise solutions to many different urban problems, such as blighted vacant lots, food insecurity, stormwater runoff, and neighborhood decline. However, questions of land tenure, the use of economic resources, and the long-term viability of urban agriculture shape the political discourse about the future of growing …

How Good Is Bicycling For The Environment?, Mark Chopping

Sustainability Seminar Series

Bicycling has been promoted as a means to reduce our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuel burning, clean the air in our streets, promote personal health, and fight widespread obesity. It is often postulated that there are obvious environmental benefits associated with increasing participation in cycling as a transportation alternative, since the bicycles’ fuel is the banana and/or the muffin. This presentation will discuss why mass bicycling might not be quite as good for the environment as you may imagine – though it is still very, very good indeed.

Exploiting Synchrotron “Light” To Study Chemistry Of Trace Elements In Soils And Plants, Ryan Tappero

Sustainability Seminar Series

Biogeochemical studies often require characterization of elemental abundances and speciation in samples that are chemically and physically heterogeneous at the micrometer scale. Synchrotron radiation sources are ideal for developing high intensity, highly-focused X-ray probes for interrogating the speciation, transport, and reactions of trace elements in heterogeneous earth and biological materials with detection sensitivities in the attogram range and spatial resolutions less than 1 micrometer.

X-ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM) is a new, multi-modal X-ray fluorescence microscope recently installed at the National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. XFM has capabilities for X- ray micro-fluorescence (μ-XRF) imaging and tomography, X-ray …

Heterogeneous Photo-Fenton Reactions And Hybridization With Ceramic Membrane Filtration, Wen Zhang

Sustainability Seminar Series

No abstract provided.

Is There A Home For Agroforestry In Nutrient Credit Trading?, John Munsell

Sustainability Seminar Series

Agroforestry riparian buffers and upslope contour plantings provide environmental and economic benefits without eliminating annual farming opportunities. A public/private partnership in Virginia is leading a project titled Conservation Credit for Agroforestry Production (C-CAP) to study the potential for agroforestry to generate profitable credits in private nutrient trading markets. Phosphorus and nitrogen delivered to stream edges are modeled across a sample of agroforestry project sites. Results are being studied to determine financial profitability and relationships to Total Maximum Daily Loads. Research is also being conducted on tree-tube effectiveness, site preparation strategies, plant-water relations on contour, nitrogen fixer intercropping, and financial risk. …

10,000 Years Of Ice Sheet Change In Baffin Bay, Nicolas Young

Sustainability Seminar Series

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is the largest ice mass in the Northern Hemisphere with a sea-level equivalent of 7.3 m and is expected to be a key contributor to 21st century (and beyond) sea-level rise. Estimates of GrIS-induced sea-level rise are dependent upon numerical ice-sheet models, but these models require some degree of “spin-up” or tuning to test model validity before forward modeling can commence. Within this framework, well-constrained geological records of GrIS change provide important spatial and temporal benchmarks for which to test numerical ice-sheet models. Of particular interest is reconstructing and modeling the behavior of the GrIS …

Exploiting Synchrotron “Light” To Study Chemistry Of Trace Elements In Soils And Plants, Ryan Tappero

Sustainability Seminar Series

Biogeochemical studies often require characterization of elemental abundances and speciation in samples that are chemically and physically heterogeneous at the micrometer scale. Synchrotron radiation sources are ideal for developing high intensity, highly-focused X-ray probes for interrogating the speciation, transport, and reactions of trace elements in heterogeneous earth and biological materials with detection sensitivities in the attogram range and spatial resolutions less than 1 micrometer.

X-ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM) is a new, multi-modal X-ray fluorescence microscope recently installed at the National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. XFM has capabilities for X- ray micro-fluorescence (μ-XRF) imaging and tomography, X-ray …

Morphodynamics Of Atolls, Reef Flats, And The Islands Atop Them, Andrew Ashton

Sustainability Seminar Series

The atolls that dot the tropical oceans of (primarily) the Pacific and Indian Oceans contain shallow and emergent coastal environments that often comprise the only subaerial, inhabitable land of many island chains and island nations. Created foremost by calcifying organisms, and composed of both biogenic rocky substrate and detrital sediment, these shallow environments are shaped by waves, currents, and tides. The low-lying, geomorphically active reef islands sitting atop of atolls face considerable hazards from climate change. I will present a series of recent and ongoing research projects addressing the formation mechanisms and potential climate change response of coastal atoll environments, …

Using Bayesian Networks To Forecast Barrier Island Geomorphology And Impacts To Piping Plover Habitat Due To Sea-Level Rise, Ben Gutierrez

Sustainability Seminar Series

The ability to evaluate the impact of sea-level rise (SLR) on coastal landforms and habitats is important for informing management and policy decisions. A particular area of concern exists along the east coast of the United States, where the evolution of barrier islands over the remainder of the 21st century and beyond will require management and policy decisions in order to effectively balance human development demands and the protection of habitat quality. We developed methods to evaluate the evolution of barrier islands and associated habitat changes for piping plovers (Charadrius melodus), a threatened species that relies on beach and barrier …

Applied Research At American Water – Turning Ideas Into Applications, Orren D. Schneider

Sustainability Seminar Series

Dr. Schneider will present an overview of American Water’s Research and Development program. American Water is the largest investor-owned utility in the US and its research program has been investigating issues critical to the water industry for over 30 years. The R&D team, based in New Jersey, is comprised of more than 15 engineers, chemists, and microbiologists and is currently involved with research related to such diverse topics as biofiltration, management of Legionella, advanced oxidation of trace organic compounds, remote sensing for algae detection as part of multi- layer early warning systems for mitigation of harmful algae blooms, remote sensing …

Offshore Wind Power: Can New Jersey Find A Place At The Table?, Jeremy Firestone

Sustainability Seminar Series

NJ enacted an offshore renewable energy certificate (OREC) law in 2010. It was thought that the OREC law would usher in a new era for New Jersey, with it enjoying clean, carbon-free renewable offshore wind energy. Offshore wind development, however, has so far been stalled in New Jersey. This presentation looks beyond past and existing conflicts with elected officials and regulators that has resulted in the OREC law effectively being sidelined to consider research that sheds light on public perceptions and de-conflicting uses with an emphasis on New Jersey, but as enlightened by broader research findings and trends.

Something Wicked This Way Comes – Human Effects On The Environment, Jd Lewis

Sustainability Seminar Series

Every habitat and ecosystem on Earth has been affected by human activities. The three primary mechanisms through which humans affect the environment are climate change, the spread of invasive species, and habitat fragmentation. The rapid environmental changes associated with these factors have few parallels in Earth’s history, leading paradoxically to an extinction crisis and to the spread of a few dominant species. Because these effects are not uniformly distributed among locations or ecosystems, they are creating ecologic and economic winners and losers. These discrepancies, in turn, are a key factor driving global patterns of urbanization, and is projected to be …

Arizona's Vulnerable Populations, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Warren Prostollo, Jay Kittle, Arlan Colton, Kim Demarchi, Darryl Dobras, Susan Goldsmith, Billie Fidlin, Jim Holoway, Tara Jackson, Rita Maguire, Elizabeth Mcnamee, Patrick Mcwhortor, Ray Newton, Pat Norris, Steve Pedigo, Scott Rhodes, Fred Rosenfed, Chad Sampson, David Snider, Bob Strain, Marissa Theisen, Devan Wastchak, Terri Wogan, Larry Woods, Antonia Adams-Clement, Nina Babich, Andrea Banks, Eric Bjorklund, Luke Black, Luis De La Cruz-Parra, Richard Fabes, Felicia Ganther, Joseph Garcia, Maria Harper-Marinick, Kevin Hengehold, Lane Kenworthy, Julie Knapp, Kelly Mcgowan, Ray Ostos, Kathleen Perales, Suzanne Pfister, Michael S. Shafer, Julia Grace Smith, Ed Strong, Cynthia Zwick

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Arizona’s vulnerable populations are struggling on a daily basis but usually do so in silence, undetected by traditional radar and rankings, often unaware themselves of their high risk for being pushed or pulled into a full crisis. Ineligible for financial assistance under strict eligibility guidelines, they don’t qualify as poor because vulnerable populations are not yet in full crisis. To be clear, this report is not about the “poor,” at least not in the limited sense of the word. It is about our underemployed wage earners, our single-parent households, our deployed or returning military members, our under-educated and unskilled workforce, …