Environmental Policy Commons^™

Nongovernmental Organization Staff Views Of Global Water Privatization, Ellis Adjei Adams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

More than 1 billion people lack access to clean water and proper sanitation. As part of efforts to solve this problem, there is a growing shift from public to private water management led by The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This shift has inspired much related research. Researchers have assessed water privatization related perceptions of consumers, government officials, and multinational company agents.

This thesis presents results of a study of nongovernmental (NGO) staff perceptions of water privatization. Although NGOs are important actors in sustainable water related development through water provision, we have little understanding of their perceptions …

Grouse News 41-50 (2011-2015), Iucn Ssc-Wpa Specialist Group

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

Issue 41 (May 2011)

From the Editor

From the Chair

Conservation News Urgent measures for conservation of the Cantabrian capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus in its habitat in the Cantabrian mountain range

Research Reports

Effects of large-scale human land use on capercaillie Tetrao urogallus (L.) populations in Finland: A short summary of the PhD thesis

Why the capercaillie population Tetrao urogallus (L.) in the West Carpathians decline?

Hazel grouse in open landscapes

Investigating the importance of thermal refugia for white-tailed ptarmigan at the southern extent of their range

Is GPS and satellite telemetry an option for grouse research?

GPS satellite telemetry …

Wpa News 88 (2011/2012), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Winter 2011/2012), number 88

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Homestead National Monument, Vegetation Classification [Map], United States National Park Service

United States National Park Service: Publications

Color graphic vegetation map of Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice, Nebraska, USA. Created as part of the Homestead NM of America Vegetation Mapping Project in April and May 2011. Includes a color-coded vegetation classification.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Vegetation Mapping Project [Poster], Kelly Kindscher, Hayley Kilroy, Jennifer Delisle, Quinn Long, Hillary Loring, Kevin Dobbs, Jim Drake

United States National Park Service: Publications

The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve encompasses 10,894 acres in eastern Kansas, just north of Strong City. This park unit was created on November 12, 1996, and is the first to protect a nationally significant example of the once vast tall grass prairie ecosystem. Of the 400,000 square miles of tall grass prairie that once covered the North American continent, less than four percent remains, prin1arily in the Flint Hills. The park unit is primarily rocky upland prairies and deep-soiled prairies in the lowlands. It also contains some wet prairie ravines, riparian forests and some former cropland and restored prairie. These …

Human Sanitary Wastes And Waste Treatment In New York City, David J. Tonjes, Christine O'Connell, Omkar Aphale, R. Lawrence Swanson

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Henry Hudson first sailed toNew Yorkharbor 400 years ago. Since then,New York Cityhas both affected and been affected by water quality in greaterNew YorkHarbor. In this paper, we focus on sewers, sewerage, and sewage treatment inManhattanand their effects on theHudson River. It is clear that feedbacks among drinking water quality and quantity, population, public perceptions, regulations, and estuarine water quality exist, although their strength and character have varied over time. Early land uses damaged local water supplies found on ManhattanIsland. New Yorkthen began to exploit the large fresh water resources available to its north, which helped the City to expand …

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Vegetation Classification [Map], United States National Park Service

United States National Park Service: Publications

Colo vegetation map of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas, USA, from the Tallgrass Prairie NP Vegetation Mapping Project, created between April and June 2011. Includes a color-coded vegetation classification.

Homestead National Monument, Vegetation Mapping Project [Poster], Kelly Kindscher, Hayley Kilroy, Jennifer Delisle, Quinn Long, Hillary Loring, Kevin Dobbs, Jim Drake

United States National Park Service: Publications

Homestead National Monument was created in 1936 to celebrate the significance of the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted 160 acres of free land to claimants. This was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. The site is the first tract homesteaded under the act by Daniel Freemen, and encompasses 184 acres in Gage County, west of Beatrice, Nebraska.

This unique site also hosts the oldest prairie restoration in the National Park system and the second-oldest tallgrass prairie restoration known. This park unit also has a small remnant of native tallgrass …

Wolves, Canis Lupus, Carry And Cache The Collars Of Radio-Collared White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, They Killed, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Wolves (Canis lupus) in northeastern Minnesota cached six radio-collars (four in winter, two in spring-summer) of 202 radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) they killed or consumed from 1975 to 2010. A Wolf bedded on top of one collar cached in snow. We found one collar each at a Wolf den and Wolf rendezvous site, 2.5 km and 0.5 km respectively, from each deer’s previous locations.

Summary Report: Workshop On International Environmental Governance: Grounding Policy Reform In Rigorous Analysis, Center For Governance And Sustainability At Umass Boston

Center for Governance and Sustainability Publications

From June 27 to 28, 2011, the Federal Office for the Environment of Switzerland, the Global Environmental Governance Project of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern hosted a workshop on International Environmental Governance: Grounding Policy Reform in Rigorous Analysis. The workshop started a dialogue between academics and researchers on one hand and policymakers on the other in order to provide analytical input to the political negotiations on institutional reform in the run-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012.

The workshop focused …

Global Governance In The 21st Century: Rethinking The Environmental Pillar, Maria Ivanova

Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance Faculty Publication Series

The United Nations was created in 1945 without an environmental body. Almost thirty years later, in 1972, governments established UNEP. Twenty years later, in the early 1990s, when rethinking the institutional arrangements, they created the Global Environment Facility and the Commission on Sustainable Development, as well as several core conventions (on climate, biodiversity and desertification). Despite the attempts to bring about further governance reform over the last decade, however, progress has been limited. While governance discussions continued, they were never explicitly on the political agenda. Now, for the first time since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, a clear political opportunity …

China's "Green Leap Forward" Toward Global Environmental Leadership, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that China may be on the verge of a “Green Leap Forward” that could make it a global environmental leader. This article argues that two principal forces have contributed to this development. First, Chinese officials now realize that a global shift away from fossil fuels will create enormous business opportunities on a global scale. Chinese companies are now making enormous strides in the development of green technology, such as solar power, wind energy, and electric cars, with the active assistance of the Chinese government. Second, realizing that climate change severely threatens China, and stung by the criticism …

Global Law And The Environment, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores three areas in which globalization is profoundly affecting the development of a global environmental law. First, countries increasingly are borrowing law and regulatory innovations from one another to respond to common environmental problems. Although this is not an entirely new phenomenon, it is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Second, lawsuits seeking to hold companies liable for environmental harm they have caused outside their home countries are raising new questions concerning the appropriate venue for such transnational liability litigation and the standards courts should apply for enforcement of foreign judgments. Third, nongovernmental organizations are playing an increasingly important …

Safe Power Vermont: A Look Into The Campaign To Retire The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station., Dylan M. Kreis

Capstone Collection

This case study provides an in-depth look into the campaign to retire an aging nuclear power plant located in the southeast corner of Vermont. The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY) began commercial operations in 1972 under a forty year operating license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Opposition to the plant’s existence has been unwavering and has increased in intensity since the sale of the plant in 2002. The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation (VYNPC), a consortium of local and regional utilities, sold VY to an out-of-state corporation owner known as Entergy. The company was quick to apply …

Energy Efficiency Technologies For Buildings: Potential For Energy, Cost, And Carbon Emission Savings, Bukola S. Jimoh

CMC Senior Theses

Buildings are a significant energy consumer and are responsible for an increasingly large percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, currently between 30 and 40 percent. Energy efficiency presents unique opportunities for building owners to reduce their environmental footprint and add value through cost savings, tax deductions, and increased market value. An analysis of 183 samples of efficiency measures in seven technology categories found that 74% of efficiency investments had a positive net present value. Building automation system and chiller plant improvements had the highest mean energy and carbon dioxide savings per square foot. Additionally, building automation systems had, on average …

What Is The Emperor Wearing? The Secret Lives Of Ecosystem Services, James Salzman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Southern California Water Management: Practical Adoptions And Policy Recommendations, Blake Kos

CMC Senior Theses

Contrary to popular belief, the L.A. region is more of a desert than a tropical oasis. Little rainfall during the winter months and practically no rainfall during the summer months is characteristic of Southern California’s desert-like weather patterns. Due to these low precipitation levels, water is considered the most important commodity in the Los Angeles region. Prior to 1900, the inhabitants of this area were fully aware of the importance of water. Most settlements were established near water sources and had adopted various techniques and constructed small-scale dams to conserve and reuse rainwater. Yet these measures were not sufficient to …

Energy Storage: Technology For A More Efficient Grid, Noah Proser

CMC Senior Theses

Energy storage technologies have the potential to revolutionize the electric grid by allowing for the integration of renewable generation while increasing the utilization and efficiency of current grid assets. These technologies include pumped hydroelectric storage, compressed air energy storage (CAES), flywheels, batteries, thermal energy storage (TES), super capacitors, and superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES). While energy storage has been implemented in some areas, its benefits are greatly undervalued by current regulatory frameworks leading to suboptimal outcomes for grid operators, utilities, and ratepayers. Large-scale adoption of storage technologies will require regulatory frameworks that recognize the benefits of grid-scale storage across generation, …

Peer Influence In Nipf Landowner Decision Making In The Western Upper Peninsula, Michigan , Jillian R. Schubert

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners hold the largest amount of privately owned forest in the United States. Activities undertaken by NIPF owners have the potential to drastically impact the forested landscape of the United States, along with its associated biodiversity and ecological services. Many government sanctioned programs are in place to discourage the conversion of forest to other uses as well as to ensure sustainable management and a continuous supply of timber. Reaching NIPF owners with information about these programs and other management information is therefore important to the forests of the United States.

This thesis presents research on how …

U.S. Utilities' Experiences With The Implementation Of Energy Efficiency Programs, Courtney Goss

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In the U.S., many electric utility companies are offering demand-side management (DSM) programs to their customers as ways to save money and energy. However, it is challenging to compare these programs between utility companies throughout the U.S. because of the variability of state energy policies. For example, some states in the U.S. have deregulated electricity markets and others do not. In addition, utility companies within a state differ depending on ownership and size. This study examines 12 utilities’ experiences with DSM programs and compares the programs’ annual energy savings results that the selected utilities reported to the Energy Information Administration …

Making And Unmaking Of Transnational Environmental Cooperation, Yooil Bae, Dong-Ae Shin, Yong-Wook Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There has been an ongoing debate about how (or through what mechanisms) global environmental norms have influenced domestic political debates that give rise to green policy choices. In particular, effective international environmental cooperation between transnational and domestic NGOs has been recognized as a key to successful environmental movements. In this regard, the central question guiding research on the politics of environmental norms is, under what condition(s) transnational cooperation among NGOs would be more likely to be sustained so as to achieve its goals. This article proposes that one of the mechanisms missing from the debate is a bottom-up approach through …

Cellulosic Biofuels: Expert Views On Prospects For Advancement, Erin D. Baker, Jeffrey M. Keisler

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

In this paper we structure, obtain and analyze results of an expert elicitation on the relationship between U. S. government Research & Development funding and the likelihood of achieving advances in cellulosic biofuel technologies. While there was disagreement among the experts on each of the technologies, the patterns of disagreement suggest several distinct strategies. Selective Thermal Processing appears to be the most promising path, with the main question being how much funding is required to achieve success. Thus, a staged investment in this path looks promising. With respect to gasification, there remains fundamental disagreement over whether success is possible even …

Using Renewable Energy Purchases To Achieve Institutional Carbon Goals: A Review Of Current Practices And Considerations, Lori Bird, Jenny Sumner

Publications (E)

With organizations and individuals increasingly interested in accounting for their carbon emissions, greater attention is being placed on how to account for the benefits of various carbon mitigation actions available to consumers and businesses. Generally, organizations can address their own carbon emissions through energy efficiency, fuel switching, on-site renewable energy systems, renewable energy purchased from utilities or in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs), and carbon offsets. This paper explores the role of green power and carbon offsets in carbon footprinting and the distinctions between the two products. It reviews how leading greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting programs treat green …

A Pre & Post Analysis Of The Impact Of Carbon Regulation & Ratification Of The Kyoto Protocol: An Australian Perspective, Maya Purushothaman, Ross Taplin

Research outputs 2011

This study examines emission and energy disclosures of 400 randomly selected Australian listed companies in 2005, 2007 and 2009 using a disclosure index derived from the Global Reporting Initiative. The longitudinal nature of this study provides a more comprehensive view of the online emissions and energy disclosures of Australian companies and highlights the impact of the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the introduction of carbon regulations, National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) and Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO).The results were compared between the two periods, it was noted that rate of increase was lower during the latter (2007 to 2009) …