Sustainability Commons^™

Development, Energy, And Climate Change Policy: Enabling Sustainable Development Through Access To Energy, Robert J. Brecha

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Human rights, human development, and climate change clearly overlap in many ways. Development, as quantified by the Human Development Index (HDI), for example, has historically been strongly correlated with energy consumption. This fact is recognized in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” Currently the world is in the midst of a large wave of human migration, much of it involuntary and due to stymied development opportunities as well as political upheaval. Climate change will become, or already is, an exacerbating factor in migration dynamics.

A pertinent question is how …

Apathy And Concern Over The Future Habitability Of Earth: An Introductory College Assignment Of Forecasting Co2 In The Earth’S Atmosphere, Benjamin J. Burger

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Non-science, first year regional undergraduate students from rural Utah communities participated in an online introductory geology course and were asked to forecast the rise of CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere. The majority of students predicted catastrophic rise to 5,000-ppm sometime over the next 3,100 years, resulting in an atmosphere nearly uninhabitable to human life. However, the level of concern the students exhibited in their answers was not directly proportional with their timing in their forecasted rise of CO₂. This study showcases the importance of presenting students with actual data and using data to develop student forecasted models. …

The Effect Of Warming On Wind Speed And Potential Wind Power In Iceland, Alexei Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Climate change is causing a shift in the temperature and pressure gradient between the Arctic and the Equator, with the Arctic warming at a faster rate than the Equator. This shift has the potential to alter the seasonal wind speeds in the Northern Hemisphere, which could in turn affect the wind power density potential. In this study, a wind model was created to predict future wind speeds and wind power density for 6 weather stations in Iceland. According to the model, winter wind speeds and wind power density potential will either stay the same or increase slightly (0 – 4%), …

Climate Change

Activities

Global warming is a huge issue, not just because of the potential impact of the warming on the earth’s ecosystems, but also because the principal activity responsible for the bulk of emissions, fossil fuel combustion, literally fuels the engines of industrialized, urbanized societies. The stakes are huge -- international, political, financial, and environmental. In this exercise, you’ll learn about how to assess information sources, a critical skill in forming your own opinions and actions.

Rethinking Urban Green Infrastructure As A Means To Promote Avian Conservation, Allen Lau

Master's Projects and Capstones

There is an under-recognized potential for cities to use urban green infrastructure to contribute to avian biodiversity conservation. At the global scale, climate change and growing urbanization are primary global drivers leading to decline and homogenization in world bird populations. Birds are fundamental and intricate species in ecosystems, and even in urban areas, act as indicator and regulator species contributing to healthy ecosystem function. While many cities have recognized the economic and social benefits associated with green spaces, such as the vast benefits ecosystem services provide to the urban dweller, the use of green spaces to concurrently contribute to avian …

Responses Of Agroecosystems To Climate Change: Specifics Of Resilience In The Mid-Latitude Region, Menas Kafatos, Seung Hee Kim, Chul-Hee Lim, Jinwon Kim, Woo-Kyun Lee

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the productivity and resilience of agroecosystems in the Korean Peninsula. Having learned valuable lessons from a Chapman University project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture which concentrated on the semi-arid region of southwestern United States, our joint Korea—Chapman University team has applied similar methodologies to the Korean Peninsula, which is itself an interesting study case in the mid-latitude region. In particular, the Korean Peninsula has unique agricultural environments due to differences in political and socioeconomic systems between South Korea and North Korea. Specifically, North Korea has been suffering from food shortages due to natural disasters, …

Influence Of Internal Variability On Population Exposure To Hydroclimatic Changes, Justin S. Mankin, Daniel Viviroli, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Radley M. Horton, Jason E. Smerdon, Noah S. Diffenbaugh

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Future freshwater supply, human water demand, and people’s exposure to water stress are subject to multiple sources of uncertainty, including unknown future pathways of fossil fuel and water consumption, and ‘irreducible’ uncertainty arising from internal climate system variability. Such internal variability can conceal forced hydroclimatic changes on multi-decadal timescales and near-continental spatial-scales. Using three projections of population growth, a large ensemble from a single Earth system model, and assuming stationary per capita water consumption, we quantify the likelihoods of future population exposure to increased hydroclimatic deficits, which we define as the average duration and magnitude by which evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation …

Environmentally Friendly Industries: An Examination Of Ecotourism As The Solution To The Environmental Degradation Caused By The International Tourism Industry, Whitney Michael

Honors Theses – Charlotte Campus

The increasing visibility of ecological alterations due to global climate change have required high-impact industries to reexamine their environmental impact. Transnational organizations such as the United Nations have identified the current management practices of the international tourism industry as a significant contributing factor to global warming. The high volume implications of the large-scale establishments necessary to lodging facilities in the tourism trade are responsible for damages such as resource depletion and pollution. Existing levels of environmental impact show irreparable and imminent damage to the world environment if current methods of the industry are allowed to continue.

New trends in consumer …

Green Building Business Is Booming, Richard Snow, Mary Snow

Publications

Shelter is one of life’s basic necessities. However, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, residential and commercial buildings account for nearly 40% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) released in the United States annually [1]. The percentage is even higher in China, which leads the world in CO2 emissions from buildings. Most of this CO2 comes from burning fossil fuels to provide the energy necessary to cool, heat, and light homes, office buildings, and retail space. CO2 emissions from residential and commercials buildings are forecast to increase more than emissions from any other sector over the next 25 years. …

Agenda: Winter, Wilderness & Climate: Threats & Solutions, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, The Wilderness Society, Protect Our Winters

Winter, Wilderness, and Climate--Threats and Solutions (October 12)

In partnership with the Getches-Wilkinson Center, join The Wilderness Society and Protect Our Winters for an interactive presentation about energy development and climate impacts on public lands.

This event was held on Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., in the University of Colorado Law School, Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom.

Slides: Winter, Wilderness & Climate: Threats & Solutions, Jim Ramey, Lindsay Bourgoine

Winter, Wilderness, and Climate--Threats and Solutions (October 12)

Presenters:

Jim Ramey, The Wilderness Society

Lindsay Bourgoine, Protect Our Winters

56 slides

Agenda: Coping With Water Scarcity In River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned From Shared Experiences, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Water scarcity is increasingly dominating headlines throughout the world. In the southwestern USA, the looming water shortages on the Colorado River system and the unprecedented drought in California are garnering the greatest attention. Similar stories of scarcity and crisis can be found across the globe, suggesting an opportunity for sharing lessons and innovations. For example, the Colorado River and Australia's Murray-Darling Basin likely can share many lessons, as both systems were over-allocated, feature multiple jurisdictions, face similar climatic risks and drought stresses, and struggle to balance human demands with environmental needs. In this conference we cast our net broadly, exploring …

Climate Ready Boston: Climate Change And Sea Level Rise Projections For Boston, The Boston Research Advisory Group Report, Ellen Douglas, Paul Kirshen, Robyn Hannigan, Rebecca Herst, Avery Palardy

School for the Environment General Publications

This report summarizes the current understanding of the local factors that influence Boston’s future exposure to climate change risks. The following four risk factors were considered most relevant to Boston and are therefore evaluated in this report: sea-level rise, extreme precipitation, coastal storms and extreme temperatures. For each risk factor, a team of scientific experts, comprised of a team leader and three or more team members, was selected to evaluate and summarize the available information contained in both grey (reports, conference proceedings and the like) and peer-reviewed literature. Each team met independently between October 2015 and January 2016, and team …

The Promise Of An Energy Tracker Curriculum For Promoting Home-School Connections And Youth Agency In Climate Action, Elizabeth M. Walsh, Derek Jenkins, Eugene Cordero

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Formal classroom learning experiences that support sustainable behaviors outside the classroom necessarily must bridge students’ home and school lives, as knowledge and practice learned in the classroom is implemented outside of school. To this end, we study the impact of the Green Ninja Energy Tracker curriculum, which uses students’ home energy data in the classroom to promote engagement in climate change and conservation behaviors. Data is drawn from class observations, a focus group, and pre- and post- surveys of a pilot implementation of this curriculum in a diverse 12th-grade Earth Science classroom at an alternative school. We investigate what factors …

Renewable Energy Consumption: Initiatives In Colorado And Washington, Robin K. Doroff

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the use of policy mechanisms to increase renewable energy consumption within the United States. In order to effectively measure the change of renewable energy consumption, I analyze two initiatives that promote energy consumption from renewable sources and overall increases in energy conservation. Colorado and Washington had approved initiatives in the years 2004 and 2006, respectively. Although the results are not entirely statistically significant, I find that the initiatives lead to increases in total renewable energy consumption and decreases in total energy use.

Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Methane (CH4) is now considered a bridge fuel between present fossil (carbon) economy and desired renewables and this energy molecule is projected to play an important role in the global energy mix well beyond 2035. The atmospheric warming potential of CH4 is 28-36 times, when averaged over a 100-year period, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this necessitates a close scrutiny of global CH4 emissions inventory. As the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG), the annual global CH4 emissions were 645 million metric tons (MMT), accounting for 14.3% of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Of this, five key anthropogenic sources: …

Adaptation On A Budget: How Vietnamese Innovators Are Trying To Design Their Way Out Of Climate Change, Shanti R. Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the rapidly developing Mekong Delta of Vietnam, young innovators are facing a challenge far greater than simply trying to catch up with the wealthier world. In a growing trend, the next generation of Vietnamese is acting under a common understanding: climate change is real, it’s here and the time to respond is growing short.

For over a decade, Southern Vietnam has consistently been ranked by international organizations like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as one of the most vulnerable places in the world to the impacts of climate change. That vulnerability is heightened by the fact that the …

Effects Of Epichloë Coenophiala−Tall Fescue Symbiosis On Plant-Microbe-Soil Interactions In A Temperate Pasture, Lindsey C. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Plants interact in myriad ways with microorganisms to influence ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, which can regulate ecosystem response to global change. One important plant-microbe symbiosis occurs between cool-season grasses and asexual fungal Epichloë endophytes, such as tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) and Epichloë coenophiala. Because the common toxic strain of the endophyte (CTE) harms grazing livestock, non-livestock toxic endophyte (NTE) strains have been developed and are increasingly deployed in pastures. Little is known about how these symbioses impact other plant-microbe interactions and microbe-mediated soil processes in grassland ecosystems. I conducted three studies to determine how E. …

Until We Meet Again, Richard Snow, Mary Snow

Publications

As long ago as 1896, Svanti Arrenius conducted a scientific analysis of the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and atmospheric temperatures. Several decades later, GS Callender collected and compiled temperature data from around the world and found there had been an increase in global temperatures. He hypothesized that the rising temperatures were resulting from increasing levels of CO2. These early studies piqued the interest of Gilbert Plass in the mid-20th century who endeavored to determine how CO2 affects temperature. In his effort to determine the possible effects that higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere were having on the energy …

Positive Organizational Leadership And Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Phenomenon Of Institutional Fossil Fuel Divestment, Abigail Abrash Walton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Climate change is one of the most significant dynamics of our time.The predominant contributor to climate change is combustion of fossil fuels by humans.This study deepened understanding of organizational leaders’ role in enacting one approach to addressing climate change:institutional fossil fuel divestment.The study used a qualitative research design to explore U.S.-based foundation leaders’ readiness to pursue fossil fuel divestment by their institutions.The study examined leaders’ motivations and actions in pursuing divestment, while simultaneously exercising their fiduciary duty to steward institutional assets.Research questions focused on the divestment behavior change process and the outcomes of divestment on leaders and their organizations.Data collection …

Losing Ground, Alison Kanski

Capstones

Climate change and sea level rise are slowly decimating beaches. But the U.S. government and loyal residents won't let go of the beaches so easily.

A determined resident of the Rockaways in New York fights for the money and attention from governments to sustain his lifelong home and stop it from washing away.

Know Tommorrow Brown University Poster, Shepard Fairey, Risd Archives

Ecology and Environment

Poster for Brown University student event to demand action to counter climate change. "Brown emPOWER is joining dozens of colleges across the country for Know Tomorrow, a national day of action to raise awareness about climate change and its consequences. 2015 is the year for climate action as world leaders meet for the UN climate talks in Paris to sign a global agreement on climate. On October 2nd, join us for an evening of live music, engaging speakers, and environmental action on the Main Green at Brown University! Featuring: Kerry Kennedy, What Cheer? Brigade, Voces Verdes- Latino Leadership in …

Converting Croplands To Grassland: A Spatial Analysis Of The Economic Feasibility Of Soil Greenhouse Gas Mitigation In Midwest, United States, Paco C. Defrancis

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

The global agriculture sector is responsible for close 20% of the aggregate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted since the start of the industrial age. Much of these emissions are attributed to the degradation of soils due to land use change when native ecosystems were converted to agricultural fields. Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been found to decrease in temperate soils when the native (such as a forest or grassland) ecosystem is replace by croplands. The aggregate amount of organic carbon stored in soils globally is estimated be 3.3x the size of the atmospheric carbon pool. Further soil degradation and …

The Value Of Dune Width In Avalon, New Jersey: A Hedonic Pricing Analysis, Matt Mignon

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Previous research on the economics of coastal housing markets has proven that housing values along the east coast of the United States capitalize on the attributes of local beaches. These recent studies document two important findings: that beach width positively affects coastal property values and that there is a proximity effect, in which distance from the beach plays a significant role in the capitalization of local beach attributes. This paper builds upon these findings to explore the influence that dune width has on coastal property values in Avalon, New Jersey. I hypothesize that as dune width increases, local property values …

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Adolescent Girls, Human Rights And The Expanding Climate Emergency, Holly G. Atkinson, Judith Bruce

Publications and Research

Many adolescent girls—the poorest girls in the poorest communities—already live in an “emergency.” Humanitarian crises only amplify the call on their coping and caring capacities, while exacerbating their vulnerabilities. The frequency and intensity of emergencies, including natural disasters, conflicts, and infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola, appear to be growing.¹ These emergencies threaten entire communities and whole countries, often with global implications. Many become virtually permanent. The authors urge key actors responding to both the threats and opportunities that climate change poses to understand adolescent girls as exceptionally at risk on the one hand, and as exceptionally resilient and …

Statement And Action Agenda From The Girls In Emergencies Collaborative, Omar Robles, Judith Bruce, Holly G. Atkinson, Dale Buscher, Karen Scriven, Kristin Kim Bart, Shelby French, Judithe Registre, Audrey Anderson

Publications and Research

Many adolescent girls—the poorest girls in the poorest communities—already live in an “emergency.” Humanitarian crises only amplify the call on their coping and caring capacities, while exacerbating their vulnerabilities. The frequency and intensity of emergencies, including natural disasters, conflicts, and infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola, appear to be growing. These emergencies threaten entire communities and whole countries, often with global implications. Many become virtually permanent.

Growth Of A Deep-Water, Predatory Fish Is Influenced By The Productivity Of A Boundary Current System, Hoang Minh Nguyen, Adam N. Rountrey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Peter G. Coulson, Ming Feng, Stephen J. Newman, Anya M. Waite, Corey B. Wakefield, Mark G. Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

The effects of climate change on predatory fishes in deep shelf areas are difficult to predict because complex processes may govern food availability and temperature at depth. We characterised the net impact of recent environmental changes on hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios), an apex predator found in continental slope habitats (>200 m depth) by using dendrochronology techniques to develop a multi-decadal record of growth from otoliths. Fish were sampled off temperate south-western Australia, a region strongly influenced by the Leeuwin Current, a poleward-flowing, eastern boundary current. The common variance among individual growth records was relatively low (3.4%), but the …

Agenda: Seeds Of Change: Responding To Global Change In A Bottom-Up World, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, Posner Center For International Development, Resolve (Firm), Newmont Mining Corporation

Seeds of Change: Responding to Global Change in a Bottom-Up World (Martz Winter Symposium, February 12-13)

Sponsors: Posner Center for International Development, RESOLVE, Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, Britt Banks, and Lakshman Guruswamy.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of donors who sponsored this year’s Martz Sustainability Symposium (including Newmont Mining Corporation) and those who have invested in our Clyde O. Martz Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Management (including Brian Dolan and Davis Graham and Stubbs LLP). The Martz Natural Resources Management Fund was established in the memory …

Navigating A Pathway Toward Colorado's Water Future: A Review And Recommendations On Colorado's Draft Water Plan, Lawrence J. Macdonnell, Colorado Water Working Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

40 pages (includes color illustrations).