Sustainability Commons^™

Linking Ecology And Economics For Ecosystem Management, Stephen Farber, Robert Costanza, Daniel L. Childers, Jon Erickson, Katherine Gross, Morgan Grove, Charles S. Hopkinson, James Kahn, Stephanie Pincetl, Austin Troy, Paige Warren, Matthew Wilson

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This article outlines an approach, based on ecosystem services, for assessing the trade-offs inherent in managing humans embedded in ecological systems. Evaluating these trade-offs requires an understanding of the biophysical magnitudes of the changes in ecosystem services that result from human actions, and of the impact of these changes on human welfare.We summarize the state of the art of ecosystem services?based management and the information needs for applying it. Three case studies of Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites?coastal, urban, and agricultural? illustrate the usefulness, information needs, quantification possibilities, and methods for this approach. One example of the application of …

Sustainable Development And National Security, Sanford E. Gaines

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Restructuring America's Government To Create Sustainable Development, Jeffrey Rudd

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Optimal Management Of Groundwater Over Space And Time, Nicholas Brozovic, David L. Sunding, David Zilberman

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

For nearly half a century, groundwater has been portrayed in the economic literature as a typical common property resource. Numerous studies of groundwater extraction have analyzed the externalities imposed by users on each other. A large body of work offers clear prescriptions in the form of optimal policy instruments, and a similarly large body of work advocates the needlessness of any centralized intervention. Yet existing theoretical models of groundwater extraction implicitly make two strong assumptions about the underlying behavior of the resource. First, the spatial distribution of resource users is assumed to be irrelevant. Second, path-independence of the resource is …

Promoting Low Impact Development In Your Community, New England Environmental Finance Center

Planning

Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to stormwater management and site development that is gaining popularity throughout the country. Its attractiveness lies in its potential to lessen off-site stormwater impacts, reduce costs to municipalities and developers, and promote development that is “softer on the land” compared with typical traditional development. The approach, which is applicable to residential, commercial and industrial projects, and in urban, suburban and rural settings, often is linked with efforts by governments and citizens to foster more sustainable communities.

Facilitating The Development Of The Strawberry Industry In Western Australia, Dennis Phillips, Aileen Reid

Horticulture research reports

Horticulture Australia Project No. BS05001 Annual report 2005/06

This is the first of three annual reports for the Horticulture Australia project BS05001 — ‘Facilitating the development of the strawberry industry in Western Australia’. This project is managed by the Strawberry Growers Association of WA Inc. and the work is being done in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA). The project has been funded by voluntary contributions from the W.A. Strawberry Producers Committee, Toolangi Strawberry Runner Growers Co-operative and DAFWA with matching funding from Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL). The project has been funded for three years, 2005, …

Fisheries Research Report No 154 - The Development Of A Rigorous Sampling Methodology For A Long-Term Annual Index Of Recruitment For Finfish Species From South-Western Australia., Daniel J. Gaughan, Suzanne G. Ayvazian, G Nowara, M Craine

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report - 1999/153.

This study has determined the optimal strategies to achieve statistically robust indices of recruitment of five key finfish species in south-western Australia. For another two species such indices could not be established. The sampling strategies developed will initially focus on the most appropriate location, month, and lunar phase, after which fine tuning of the sampling activity will be undertaken with respect to time of day, tide height, weather conditions etc. A significant outcome from the project is that five finfish species have a sampling strategy for recruits that can be utilized as a monitoring program …

Recommended Management Arrangements For The West Coast Commercial 'Wetline' Fishery. A Report To The Minister For Fisheries., West Coast And Gascoyne Management Planning Panel.

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Science-Based Organic Farming 2006: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber—animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products—as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for the past two decades, …

A Comparison Of Presettlement Vegetation And Fire Regimes With Current Patterns In Oak Woodlands And Shrublands Of Sw Oregon, Patricia S. Muir Dr., Paul Hosten Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fuel reduction efforts on BLM lands in southwestern Oregon are motivated by the need to reduce fire hazard and restore and rehabilitate ecosystems. Successful ecosystem restoration depends, in part, on understanding the target: what ecosystem model is considered natural and healthy for a given area? Oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands and shrublands are two of the most characteristic ecosystems in interior valleys of southwest Oregon, and extensive acreages within these systems are treated annually for fuel reduction. However, these are also two of the least understood ecosystems in the region. We know little about their presettlement attributes, responses to disturbance, or …

An Internet Based Portal For Fire Science And Management In The Southern Region

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Task 1 – Organize a technical advisory team and host an initial workshop to explore methods for integrating FRAMES, TTRS, and ESFS websites.

Task 2 – Identify and acquire data, tools, and publications from funded JFSP and NFP projects working with the JFSP and NFP project databases and principal investigators. Also, when possible identify and acquire data and tools used and created by others in the wildland fire community including state agencies, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations.

Task 3 – Develop and post online FGDC metadata records for all datasets from funded JFSP and NFP projects as well as key …

Importing Extended Producer Responsibility For Electronic Equipment Into The United States, Chad Raphael, Ted Smith

Communication

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that holds manufacturers accountable for the full costs of their products at every stage in their life cycle. EPR typically involves requiring that producers take back their products at the end of their useful lives, or pay a recycling contractor to do so, thereby internalizing the costs of recycling or disposal in a manufacturer’s bottom line. When companies know that they will bear the costs of product return and recycling, they are more likely to redesign their products for easier and safer handling at each step in the life cycle. This approach …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 33 - Department Of Fisheries Community Survey 2005, Tara Baharthah

Fisheries Occasional Publications

A telephone survey of the Western Australian public was conducted to assess the level of success of programs implemented by the Department of Fisheries. The sample comprised of 700 interviews, 422 in the metropolitan area and 278 in regional areas throughout the State.

This community survey was used to determine the level of recall and awareness of the Department of Fisheries, the understanding and support of the community for the Department of Fisheries' management strategies and to examine key aspects of community participation in recreational fishing.

It is estimated that the overall participation rate for recreational fishing in Western Australia …

Sustainability Reporting At Higher Education Institutions, Robert Heilmayr

CMC Senior Theses

Multiple declarations, governmental and non-profit organizations and universities have issued a call for proper reporting of social and environmental impacts and initiatives within academia. Such reporting can increase awareness of environmental and social impacts, encourage development of sustainable policy and build a campus culture more committed to sustainability. Sustainability reporting at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has the added benefit of being a powerful teaching aid. This paper follows multiple lines of inquiry in order to determine whether HEIs are taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by sustainability reporting. The analysis evaluates the history of sustainability reporting at HEIs and compares …

Zero Effluent Stretch Target (Zest), Orla O'Connor

Theses

The goals of this project were to assess the viability of avoiding water use and of “cascading” water uses, i.e. using outlet water from one process in another activity, possibly with some purification, including the upgrading of the final effluent stream for internal reuse. Water use has been inventoried at FMC Biopolymer, Cork. Avoidance and reduction measures were identified that could reduce water consumption from 49m /hr to 19 m /hr (a reduction in excess of 60%), with an annual saving in excess of €350,000. These projects were assessed for feasibility and implementation. Potential streams that could be subject to …

Our Places To Tell Stories: Making Connections With Our Audiences, Public Lands Institute

Our Places to Tell Stories

The idea for an annual Our Places Tell Stories conference was prompted by discussions that took place within a unique partnership of federal, state, university, and public organizations in southern Nevada. Members identified the need to share and learn from successful educational and interpretive strategies. Our increasingly urban surroundings and rapidly changing populations hinder personal connections between people and their natural environment. However, the right tools and techniques will help us inspire children and adults to understand, value, and take care of our shared natural places.

This first conference supports professionals in creating and evaluating effective educational programs and interpretive …

A Critical Appraisal Of The Opportunities Currently Available For A More Energy Conscious Approach To Residential Building In Ireland, John Mcdonagh, Louis Gunnigan

Conference papers

This paper focuses on the particular advantages which off-site housing construction has over the more traditional methods of building especially where the efficient use and conservation of energy is concerned. It will explain why modern innovative methods of house construction not only have a clear advantage environmentally (big reductions in CO2 emissions) but also deliver substantial benefits to the end user or householder especially in the form of lower energy bills.

The ecological argument for off-site systems is a very powerful one but on its own is still unlikely to be the prime driver for widespread implementation. That growth is …

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: The Geography Of Water, Vivek Shandas, Alton Straub, Yongxia Kou

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Describes the geography of water in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area: groundwater, rivers, irrigation, water supply, and sewer lines.

Interview With Myo Demayo, Urbanstead Farm (Audio), Myo Demayo

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Myo DeMayo by Tyler Anderson.

The interview index is available for download.

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Changes In Riparian Vegetation Buffers In Response To Development In Three Oregon Cities, J. Alan Yeakley, Connie P. Ozawa, A. M. Hook

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Riparian vegetation buffer loss was investigated for three cities with contrasting local regulatory controls in urbanizing northwest Oregon. The cities examined were Hillsboro, Oregon City and Portland, all having experienced high rates of population increase in the 1990s. All cities are covered under Oregon’s land use law that provides goals for the protection of open space and natural resources. On the municipality level, regulatory controls in Portland included a system of environmental zoning for riparian area protection, while regulatory controls on development in riparian areas in Hillsboro and Oregon City were less stringent. Digital aerial photographs covering buffer areas within …