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The 576 abstracted references on nuclear facility decommissioning, uranium mill tailings management, and site remedial actions constitute the tenth in a series of reports prepared annually for the U.S. Department of Energy's Remedial Action Programs. Citations to foreign and domestic literature of all types—technical reports, progress reports, journal articles, symposia proceedings, theses, books, patents, legislation, and research project descriptions—have been included. The bibliography contains scientific, technical, economic, regulatory, and legal information pertinent to the U.S. Department of Energy's Remedial Action Programs. Major sections are (1) Surplus Facilities Management Program, (2) Nuclear Facilities...
This workshop is part of a broader research project aimed at better understanding how communities can engage in the process of wind energy development. The research is funded through a National Science Foundation grant (#SES 0724672) to Roopali Phadke at Macalester College. This report was prepared by a research team from Macalester College. Throughout the day of the workshop, the research team collected demographic data about participants, gauged their familiarity with wind energy, and elicited their perceptions about landscape impacts. This was done through the use of interactive keypad polling, photographic analysis within focus groups, open-ended writing exercises and a final evaluation. The data were brought...
Geothermal energy, carbon sequestration, and enhanced oil and gas recovery have a clear role in U.S. energy policy, both in securing cost-effective energy and reducing atmospheric CO2 accumulations. Recent publicity surrounding induced seismicity at several geothermal and oil and gas sites points out the need to develop improved standards and practices to avoid issues that may unduly inhibit or stop the above technologies from fulfilling their full potential. It is critical that policy makers and the general community be assured that EGS, CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil/gas recovery, and other technologies relying on fluid injections, will be designed to reduce induced seismicity to an acceptable level, and be developed...
In the projects fostered by the NRP the effects of changed climate (atmospheric CO2 concentration, temperature) on different terrestrial ecosystems were studied. For forests it was concluded that the initial stimulation of tree growth in general did not persist after two years, and therefore care must be taken not to overestimate the potential contribution of increased carbon sequestration by forests. On the other hand, shifted patterns of carbon distribution in the tree-soil system may lead to a higher soil organic matter content, which will contribute to an improved soil structure and availability of soil moisture. A sensitivity analysis revealed that, for the poor sandy forest soils, improved rooting depth is...
This report presents an overview and assessment of the three research projects carried out under NRP funding that concern risk-related topics: (1) The risks of nonlinear climate changes, (2) Socio-economic and policy aspects of changes in incidence and intensity of extreme (weather) events, and (3) Characterizing the risks: a comparative analysis of the risks of global warming and of relevant policy strategies.
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Assessment, Risk analysis, report
The current project is aimed at developing a policy-oriented methodology for the integrated assessment of the global warming problem. Decision analysis in general and influence diagrams in particular appear to constitute an appropriate integrated assessment methodology. The influence-diagram approach is illustrated at a preliminary integrated modeling of the global warming problem. In next stages of the research, attention will be shifted from the methodology of integrated assessment to the contents of integrated models.
In the projects fostered by the NRP the effects of changed climate (atmospheric CO2 concentration, temperature) on different terrestrial ecosystems were studied. For forests it was concluded that the initial stimulation of tree growth in general did not persist after two years, and therefore care must be taken not to overestimate the potential contribution of increased carbon sequestration by forests. On the other hand, shifted patterns of carbon distribution in the tree-soil system may lead to a higher soil organic matter content, which will contribute to an improved soil structure and availability of soil moisture. A sensitivity analysis revealed that, for the poor sandy forest soils, improved rooting depth is...
One of the first government-sponsored demands for integrated assessment to support decision making in the United States is embodied in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Over the past 25 years, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has supported federal agencies’ in evaluating health and environmental impacts as required by NEPA. Many of ORNL’s efforts have focused on complex, programmatic assessments that break new ground and require and integrate expertise from a wide range of technical disciplines. Examples of ORNL projects that illustrate the use of integrated assessment approaches include environmental documentation for: (1) the Department of the Army’s Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program,...
The Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) were used to evaluate pre- and postconstruction habitat conditions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bonneville project in Oregon and Washington. The project directly impacted 20,749 acres of wildlife habitat. Seven evaluation species were selected with losses and gains expressed in Habitat Units (HU's). One HU is equivalent to 1 acre of prime habitat. The evaluation estimated a gain of 2,671 HU's of lesser scaup wintering habitat. Losses of 4,300 HU's of great blue heron habitat, 2,443 HU's of Canada goose habitat, 2,76? HU's of spotted sandpiper habitat, 163 HU's of yellow warbler habitat, 1,022 HU's black-capped chickadee habitat, and 1,622 HU's of mink habitat occurred...
The major part of the Netherlands consists of a low-lying river delta which is very sensitive to hydrological conditions in the North-Western part of the European continent. The rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt carry through this delta to the North Sea annually nearly 100 km3 of fresh water. This water originates from a drainage basin of about 185 000 km2, which is 6 times the country area. The present geography of the Netherlands has largely been shaped by this river inflow and by the sediments which are carried along. Interaction of these fluxes with North Sea hydrodynamics in a period of rising sea level has produced large lowlands, which in the past millennium have been reclaimed for agricultural, urban and industrial...
Federally owned and managed public lands occupy approximately 30 percent of the land area of the United States, and anywhere from 50 percent to more than 80 percent of the land area of many of the western states. Determining the appropriate use of these lands involves balancing objectives related to economic, recreational, and conservation interests. This paper examines established and emerging conflicts within and across these objectives through both a narrative discussion of specific topics and a series of case studies. The authors find that new challenges, including pressures to devote portions of public lands to renewable energy project development and the multifaceted threats presented by climate change, will...
In February 1983, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The site is in the Great Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. To determine their suitability, the Yucca Mountain site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE'S General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After...
Because of the inevitable depletion of fossil fuels and the corresponding release of carbon to the environment, the global energy future is complex. Some of the consequences may be politically and economically disruptive, and expensive to remedy. For the next several centuries, fuel requirements will increase with population, land use, and ecosystem degradation. Current or projected levels of aggregated energy resource use will not sustain civilization as we know it beyond a few more generations. At the same time, issues of energy security, reliability, sustainability, recoverability, and safety need attention. We supply a top-down, qualitative model—the surety model—to balance expenditures of limited resources...
The 576 abstracted references on nuclear facility decommissioning, uranium mill tailings management, and site remedial actions constitute the tenth in a series of reports prepared annually for the U.S. Department of Energy's Remedial Action Programs. Citations to foreign and domestic literature of all types—technical reports, progress reports, journal articles, symposia proceedings, theses, books, patents, legislation, and research project descriptions—have been included. The bibliography contains scientific, technical, economic, regulatory, and legal information pertinent to the U.S. Department of Energy's Remedial Action Programs. Major sections are (1) Surplus Facilities Management Program, (2) Nuclear Facilities...
The Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) were used to evaluate pre- and postconstruction habitat conditions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bonneville project in Oregon and Washington. The project directly impacted 20,749 acres of wildlife habitat. Seven evaluation species were selected with losses and gains expressed in Habitat Units (HU's). One HU is equivalent to 1 acre of prime habitat. The evaluation estimated a gain of 2,671 HU's of lesser scaup wintering habitat. Losses of 4,300 HU's of great blue heron habitat, 2,443 HU's of Canada goose habitat, 2,76? HU's of spotted sandpiper habitat, 163 HU's of yellow warbler habitat, 1,022 HU's black-capped chickadee habitat, and 1,622 HU's of mink habitat occurred...
In February 1983, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The site is in the Great Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. To determine their suitability, the Yucca Mountain site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE'S General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After...
Because of the inevitable depletion of fossil fuels and the corresponding release of carbon to the environment, the global energy future is complex. Some of the consequences may be politically and economically disruptive, and expensive to remedy. For the next several centuries, fuel requirements will increase with population, land use, and ecosystem degradation. Current or projected levels of aggregated energy resource use will not sustain civilization as we know it beyond a few more generations. At the same time, issues of energy security, reliability, sustainability, recoverability, and safety need attention. We supply a top-down, qualitative model—the surety model—to balance expenditures of limited resources...
Many people believe that 'sustainable solutions' to global air pollution and climate change should include significant changes in human consumption and lifestyles. Under this heading six different NRP projects have been conducted. This chapter gives a review and assessment of these projects, supplemented with discussions of related research. The paper starts with a general statement of the environmental problem of household metabolism as a key component of the socio-economic production- consumption cycle. It summarises and comments upon nine different (sub)projects. And it ends with general observations, conclusions and suggestions for research and policy in relation to sustainable consumption patterns. Conceptual...
The possible impacts of a climatic change associated with an increase in CO2 on the hydrology of forests is evaluated by applying sensitivity analysis and a climatic scenario to a one-dimensional model. Water consumption of forests is affected by changes in plant physiology and meteorological environment. Changes in species composition are not taken into account. Increase in CO2 leads to a decrease of stomatal conductance, resulting in a decrease in transpiration of 10-30%. The evaporation of rainfall interception by the canopy is increased due to a higher leaf area index and higher temperatures. Application of a wet scenario shows an increase in total interception, but the ratio between interception and precipitation...
The Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) were used to evaluate pre- and postconstruction habitat conditions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bonneville project in Oregon and Washington. The project directly impacted 20,749 acres of wildlife habitat. Seven evaluation species were selected with losses and gains expressed in Habitat Units (HU's). One HU is equivalent to 1 acre of prime habitat. The evaluation estimated a gain of 2,671 HU's of lesser scaup wintering habitat. Losses of 4,300 HU's of great blue heron habitat, 2,443 HU's of Canada goose habitat, 2,76? HU's of spotted sandpiper habitat, 163 HU's of yellow warbler habitat, 1,022 HU's black-capped chickadee habitat, and 1,622 HU's of mink habitat occurred...