Sustainability Commons^™

Interview With Hilary Pfeifer, Art On Alberta, 2009 (Audio), Hilary Pfeifer

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Interview of Hilary Pfeifer by Franziska Davis at Portland State University on May 14th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Lynne Nelson, Oregon Mortuary & Cemetery Board, 2009 (Audio), Lynne Nelson

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Interview of Lynne Nelson by Daniel Donovan in Portland, Oregon on March 9th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Bruce Polone, Vancouver Granite Works, 2009 (Audio), Bruce Polone

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Interview of Bruce Polone by Dylan Bless in Portland, Oregon on March 5th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Patricia Swenney, Spiral Of Life, 2009 (Audio), Patricia Swenney

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Interview of Patricia Swenney by Hanna Flagg on March 5th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Daniel Hilton, Mt. Hood Community College, 2009 (Audio), Daniel Hilton

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Interview of Daniel Hilton by Cory Minick at Mt. Hood Community College on March 5th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Michael Imlah, Congregation Shaarie Torah, 2009 (Audio), Michael Imlah

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Interview of Michael Imlah by Dennis LaPrade at Congregation Shaarie Torah, Portland, Oregon on March 4th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Measuring The Effects Of Food Carbon Footprint Training On Consumer Knowledge, Transfer Intentions, And Environmental Self-Efficacy, Wayne Wakeland, Lindsay Sears, Kumar Venkat

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

The supply chains through which foods are produced, processed, and transported can have a significant impact on the environment in terms of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is emitted during each of these phases; however, little research has incorporated information about environmental impact into supply chain scenarios. Moreover, many consumers are unaware of how their food choices may impact the environment in this way. To fill these gaps, a tool called CarbonScope was developed to show consumers the CO2 emissions associated with different food types and food transportation scenarios. A short training was designed that walks participants through various food …

Beyond Gdp: The Need For New Measures Of Progress, Robert Costanza, Maureen Hart, John Talberth, Stephen Posner

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This paper is a call for better indicators of human well-being in nations around the world. We critique the inappropriate use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of national well-being, something for which it was never designed. We also question the idea that economic growth is always synonymous with improved well-being. Useful measures of progress and well-being must be measures of the degree to which society?s goals (i.e., to sustainably provide basic human needs for food, shelter, freedom, participation, etc.) are met, rather than measures of the mere volume of marketed economic activity, which is only one means …

Toward A New Sustainable Economy, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The current financial meltdown is the result of under-regulated markets built on an ideology of free market capitalism and unlimited economic growth. The fundamental problem is that the underlying assumptions of this ideology are not consistent with what we now know about the real state of the world. The financial world is, in essence, a set of markers for goods, services, and risks in the real world and when those markers are allowed to deviate too far from reality, ?adjustments? must ultimately follow and crisis and panic can ensue. To solve this and future financial crisis requires that we reconnect …

Non-Linearity In Ecosystem Services: Temporal And Spatial Variability In Coastal Protection, Evamaria W. Koch, Edward Barbier, Brian R. Silliman, Denise J. Reed, Gerardo M. E. Perillo, Sally D. Hacker, Elise F. Granek, Jurgenne H. Primavera, Nyawira Muthiga, Stephen Polasky, Benjamin S. Halpern, Christopher J. Kennedy, Carrie V. Kappel, Eric Wolanski

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Natural processes tend to vary over time and space, as well as between species. The ecosystem services these natural processes provide are therefore also highly variable. It is often assumed that ecosystem services are provided linearly (unvaryingly, at a steady rate), but natural processes are characterized by thresholds and limiting functions. In this paper, we describe the variability observed in wave attenuation provided by marshes, mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs and therefore also in coastal protection. We calculate the economic consequences of assuming coastal protection to be linear. We suggest that, in order to refine ecosystem-based management practices, it is …

Planetary Boundaries: Exploring The Safe Operating Space For Humanity, Johan Rockström, W. L. Steffen, Kevin Noone, Åsa Persson, F. Stuart Chapin Iii, Eric Lambin, Timothy M. Lenton, Marten Scheffer, Carl Folke, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Björn Nykvist, Cynthia A. De Wit, Terry Hughes, Sander Van Der Leeuw, Henning Rodhe, Sverker Sörlin, Peter K. Snyder, Robert Costanza, Uno Svedin, Malin Falkenmark, Louise Karlberg, Robert W. Corell, Victoria J. Fabry, James Hansen, Brian Walker, Diana Liverman, Katherine Richardson, Paul Crutzen, Jonathan Foley

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration …

Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project: Alagnak Wild River Resident User Study, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report represents a thematic summary of findings from the Alagnak Wild River Resident Users Study, the final project in a larger series of studies conducted for the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project. The National Park service administers the 56 miles of designated Wild River along the Alagnak in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages fish and wildlife populations along the river. The NPS is charged with managing the river’s natural and cultural resources, as well as preserving the river’s lands and resources for current and …

Evidence On The Role Of Supplier-Retailer Trading Relationships And Practices In Waste Generation In The Food Chain, Carlos Mena, Peter Whitehead

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report presents the results of the project entitled “Evidence on the role of supplier-retailer trading relationships and practices in waste generation in the food chain” commission by Defra (Project Code SFFSD0705) and undertaken by Cranfield University and IGD between July 2008 and June 2009.

The overall aim of the project was to provide a qualitative analysis of the food and packaging waste arising from the link between food manufacturers and retailers in the UK. The specific objectives of the project were:

• To identify the root causes of waste between suppliers and retailers in the UK
• To assess the magnitude …

Interview With Michael Menzies, Braeside Farms, 2008 (Audio), Michael Menzies

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Interview of Michael Menzies by Joel DaMetz at Braeside Farms in Estacada, Oregon on June 6th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With David Shonk, Bumblebee Farm, 2008 (Audio), David Shonk

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Interview of David Shonk by Brian Francetich at Troutdale, Oregon on June 4th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Jill And Michael J. Paine, Gaining Ground Farm, 2008 (Audio), Jill Paine, Michael J. Paine

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Interview of Jill and Michael J. Pain by James Pritchett in Yamhill, Oregon on May 28th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Shari Sirkin, Dancing Roots Farm, 2008 (Audio), Shari Sirkin

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Interview of Shari Sirkin by Brian Francetich at Troutdale, Oregon on May 28th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Melanie Plies, Backyard Bounty, 2008 (Audio), Melanie Plies

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Interview of Melanie Plies by Stephenie Bitz on May 21st, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Louisa Depaiva, Purple Rain Vineyard, 2008 (Audio), Louisa Depaiva

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Interview of Louisa DePaiva by Stephenie Bitz at Brush Prairie, Washington on May 10th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With John Martinson Jr., Birds & Bees Community Farm, 2008 (Audio), John Martinson Jr.

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Interview of John Martinson Jr. by Clint Anderson in Oregon City, Oregon on May 8th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

An Integrative Approach To Quality Of Life Measurement, Research, And Policy, Robert Costanza, Brendan Fisher, Saleem H. Ali, Caroline C. Beer, Lynne A. Bond, Roelof Boumans, Nicholas Louis Danigelis, Jennifer Alvarez Dickinson, Carolyn M. Elliott, Joshua C. Farley, Diane Elliott Gayer, Linda Macdonald Glenn, Thomas Richard Hudspeth, Dennis F. Mahoney, Laurence E. Mccahill, Barbara Mcintosh, Brian V. Reed, S. Abu Rizvi, Donna Marie Rizzo, Thomas A. Simpatico, Robert Raymond Snapp

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

While Quality of Life (QOL) has long been an explicit or implicit policy goal, adequate definition and measurement have been elusive. Diverse "objective" and "subjective" indicators across a range of disciplines and scales, and recent work on subjective well-being (SWB) surveys and the psychology of happiness have spurred renewed interest. Drawing from multiple disciplines, we present an integrative definition of QOL that combines measures of human needs with subjective well-being or happiness. QOL is proposed as a multiscale, multi-dimensional concept that contains interacting objective and subjective elements. We relate QOL to the opportunities that are provided to meet human needs …

Floodplains: Balancing Nature And Human Needs, Vivek Shandas, Meg Merrick

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

For countless years, the interaction between climatic conditions and water flow has forged the rolling hills and rivers in the metroscape. The floods that forced a deluge of water down the Columbia River between 13 and 17 thousand years ago established the fertile and absorptive landscape of the Willamette Valley. The lush vegetation controlled the regional climate and stabilized the soils, while the thirsty wetlands reduced flood potential, provided habitat, and purified the water. Over geological time, these natural processes have created ideal conditions for humans. The Pacific Northwest was home to some of the most densely populated communities of …

The Ownership Of The Internet And The World Wide Web In Vermont, Ida Kubiszewski

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The internet is an interesting case, since it was created entirely with taxpayer's money by DARPA, while the world wide web was created at CERN in Switzerland and placed into the public domain voluntarily in 1993. The internet and web have many features of a commons, and many people refer to the "internet commons". Kubiszewski (pronounced cube- ih-shefski) explores the intricacies of the internet and world wide web to determine if internet companies are extracting economic rent from the public and how it could be recovered. She finds that companies are making a substantial profit by utilizing a resource that …

Global Conservation Of Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services, Will R. Turner, Katrina Brandon, Thomas M. Brooks, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Habitat destruction has driven much of the current biodiversity extinction crisis, and it compromises the essential benefits, or ecosystem services, that humans derive from functioning ecosystems. Securing both species and ecosystem services might be accomplished with common solutions. Yet it is unknown whether these two major conservation objectives coincide broadly enough worldwide to enable global strategies for both goals to gain synergy. In this article, we assess the concordance between these two objectives, explore how the concordance varies across different regions, and examine the global potential for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services simultaneously. We find that published global priority maps …

Effects Of Human Choices On Characteristics Of Urban Ecosystems, Lawrence A. Baker, Anthony J. Brazel, Loren Bryne, Alex Felson, Morgan Grove, Kristina Hill, Kristen C. Nelson, Jason Walker, Vivek Shandas

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Most urban ecology in cities remains an "ecology in cities" rather than an "ecology of cities." Accomplishing the latter requires the inclusion of humans within the concept of "ecosystem," both how humans alter the properties of urban ecosystems and how these alterations in turn influence human well-being. These influences are both direct (e.g., physiological and psychological influences on the human organism) and indirect, by influencing ecosystem sustainability. For the 2007 ESA meeting, Larry Baker, Loren Byrne, Jason Walker, and Alex Felson organized a symposium to address the relationships among human choices and urban ecosystems. In the introductory talk of this …

Interview With Anthony Boutard, Ayers Creek Farm, 2007 (Audio), Anthony Boutard

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Interview of Anthony Boutard by Magda Gaytan at Ayers Creek Farm on August 10th, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Dan J. Wilson, Sudan Farms, 2007 (Audio), Dan J. Wilson

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Interview of Dan J. Wilson by Jason Keaton at Canby, Oregon on August 10th, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Trevor Baird, Baird Family Orchard, 2007 (Audio), Trevor Baird

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Interview of Trevor Baird by Adam Hopfe at Portland State University on August 7th, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Melissa & Rod Volbeda, Willamette Valley Cheese, 2007 (Audio), Melissa Volbeda, Rod Volbeda

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Interview of Melissa and Rod Volbeda by Magda Gaytan on August 6th, 2007.

Willamette Valley Cheese Company tour photos available for download.

Interview With Dianne Stefani-Ruff, Portland Farmers Market, 2007 (Audio), Dianne Stefani-Ruff

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Interview of Dianne Stefani-Ruff by Jennifer Bennett on July 31st, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.