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Sustainability assessment of energy technologies oftentimes fails to account for social repercussions and long-term negative effects and benefits of energy systems. As part of the NEEDS' project, an expert-based set of social indicators was developed and verified by the European stakeholders with the objective of contributing in the development of social indicators for the assessment of societal effects of energy systems. For this purpose, scientific experts from four sample countries France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland were interviewed to assess 16 different energy systems on a specific stakeholder reviewed indicator set. The indicator set covers the four main criteria: "security and reliability of energy provision;...
We discuss eight contributions that combine the topics of sustainable natural resource use and economic dynamics. In the first part we consider enhanced oil recovery (EOR), carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as innovations allowing for energy-efficiency improvements and renewable energy cost reductions. We discuss how to include these technologies and innovations in CGE models, how each of them has different effects on the timing of emissions and abatement and on total emissions, and how (first-best as well as second-best) complementary policies (in particular, emission taxes and innovation subsidies) differ across these technologies. In the second part we compare differences in intergenerational preferences...
This article reflects the results of a study on sustainability of energy crops. Contribution to the reduction of the greenhouse effect and other environmental effects were investigated for the Netherlands. The study assumed that energy crops are grown on set aside or grain land. Generating electricity and/or heat from hemp, reed, miscanthus, poplar and willow have the best prospects. These crops are sustainable and may in the future be economically feasible. Ethanol from winter wheat has the most favourable environmental effects, but is economically not interesting. Liquid fuels from oil seed rape and sugar beet are not very sustainable.
We examined bird and bat mortality at a new 89-turbine windfarm constructed in an environmentally sensitive area in north-central Iowa. The windfarm became operational in November 2001. It is located in cropland between three Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) with historically high bird use. In the past, migrant and resident waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds moved between the WMA's through the area now occupied by the windfarm. Studies of bird collision mortality in California and elsewhere raised concerns about the possibility of mortalities in this area. From April 15, 2003 and December 15, 2003 we searched for dead animals under 26 randomly selected turbines. Six 76.2 m by 3.0 m transects were maintained...
The success of carbon capture, storage and sequestration as a greenhouse gas mitigation strategy will be, in part, dependent on the regulatory framework used to govern its implementation. Creating a science-based regulatory framework that is designed with enough flexibility to encourage greenhouse gas offset activity, effective means of measuring the costs of taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ample protection for human and ecosystem health may prove challenging. For the purposes of this paper we will assume that there is an existing incentive to capture, store and sequester carbon and focus on how to regulate the process. Accounting practices and precursory crediting rules for biological sinks...
The success of carbon capture, storage and sequestration as a greenhouse gas mitigation strategy will be, in part, dependent on the regulatory framework used to govern its implementation. Creating a science-based regulatory framework that is designed with enough flexibility to encourage greenhouse gas offset activity, effective means of measuring the costs of taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ample protection for human and ecosystem health may prove challenging. For the purposes of this paper we will assume that there is an existing incentive to capture, store and sequester carbon and focus on how to regulate the process. Accounting practices and precursory crediting rules for biological sinks...
Mandatory targets for biofuels have led to their rapid global adoption, but ethical problems with their large-scale production are widely reported. Research is underway to find new biofuel technologies that mitigate climate change and can be produced sustainably and economically. Following an 18-month inquiry, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics has developed an ethical framework for biofuels policy-making. Based on a number of widely held ethical values, six ethical principles are introduced that should be considered in biofuels policy-making. Many current biofuels policies fail this ethical ‘test’. An overarching ethical standard for biofuels is proposed that includes the protection of human rights and the environment,...
ABSTRACT: To help meet national energy demands, interest has been focused on the coal, oil shale, and uranium deposits of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Several energy output projections for the basin have been presented based upon water availability. Inherent in all these analyses are estimates as to the rate of water use in each energy development. New energy technologies are characterized by parameters extrapolated from small scale energy facilities. The data provide projected costs, conversion efficiencies, and material inputs and outputs. Alternative techniques for process cooling and solids handling provide variable rates of water use which affect other conversion parameters. Results from a mathematical model...
This paper examines the relationship between quality of life indicators and the gross value of minerals production from Australian regions. We used quality of life indicators, aggregated for 71 local government areas containing mining activities, of household income, housing affordability, access to communication services, educational attainment, life expectancy, and unemployment. We find no evidence of systematic negative associations between quality of life and the gross value of minerals production. Instead, mining activity has a positive impact on incomes, housing affordability, communication access, education and employment across regional and remote Australia. Whilst we do not establish causality between mining...
The Colorado River supplies water to 27 million users in 7 states and 2 countries and irrigates over 3 million acres of farmland. Global climate models almost unanimously project that human-induced climate change will reduce runoff in this region by 10-30%. This work explores whether currently scheduled future water deliveries from the Colorado River system are sustainable under different climate-change scenarios. If climate change reduces runoff by 10%, scheduled deliveries will be missed approximately 58% of the time by 2050. If runoff reduces 20%, they will be missed approximately 88% of the time. The mean shortfall when full deliveries cannot be met increases from approximately 0.5-0.7 billion cubic meters per...
It is hypothesized that Utah beef producers in certain locations could intensify private land use via improved forages and irrigation. Although intensification could increase ranch productivity and help compensate for any future restrictions in public grazing, is the approach profitable and sustainable in a dynamic environment? We investigated the efficacy of intensification using linear programming for three size-classes of model ranches. Model solutions maximize returns net of forage costs; outputs include brood-herd dynamics, optimal forage mixes, and net returns. The model is driven by 11-year risk scenarios combining high or low precipitation with high or low beef prices. We then consider current or no access...
SILMU, which runs from 1990 to 1995, aims at studying climate change and its impacts. It also seeks to provide information to Finnish policy makers on adaptation and mitigation. The topics range from air chemisrty to sociology, and the total number of projects is 74. Interim evaluation of the programme was carded out in 1992. During the second half of SILMU, 10 % of the total budget (total: 14 Million ECU) has been devoted to programme integration.
This paper investigates the relationships between settlement size, functionality, geographic location and sustainable development. Analysis was carried out on a sample of 79 Irish settlements, located in three regional clusters. Two methods were selected to model the level of sustainability achieved in settlements, namely, Metabolism Accounting and Modelling of Material and Energy Flows (MA) and Sustainable Development Index Modelling. MA is a systematic assessment of the flows and stocks of material within a system defined in space and time. The metabolism of most settlements is essentially linear, with resources flowing through the urban system. The objective of this research on material and energy flows was to...
The recent global commodities price boom prompted a significant growth in mineral exploration projects in British Columbia (BC). These now face the impacts of the recession in the global economy. The forests in BC where many of these projects are underway is also facing a massive, climate-change related, pine beetle infestation which along with the housing slowdown in North America is causing a collapse of the region's forestry industry. Mining development could create new jobs through economic development, reducing the exodus of skilled workers and nurturing the already fragile state of many rural communities, including First Nations. Recent issues over new BC mining projects and their impacts on surrounding communities...
Partners developed a simulation model to better show how various projections associated with increased marine traffic in the Bering Sea might look in the coming decades. These simulations are able to help communities and managers better understand future patterns of traffic in the Bering Sea region as a whole, and look more specifically at possible changes in key areas of concern like the Bering Strait.Following vessel activity analysis and considering vessel type, transit routes, route timing, routing speed, and ports of call, we developed a novel agent-based, spatially-explicit, baseline model of current marine vessel traffic patterns. We then applied projections about changes in traffic volume from a report by...
In response to recent severe drought conditions throughout the state, Arizona recently developed its first drought plan. The Governor's Drought Task Force focused on limiting the economic and social impacts of future droughts through enhanced adaptation and mitigation efforts. The plan was designed to maximize the use of new, scientific breakthroughs in climate monitoring and prediction and in vulnerability assessment. The long term objective of the monitoring system is to allow for evaluation of conditions in multiple sectors and at multiple scales. Stakeholder engagement and decision support are key objectives in reducing Arizona's vulnerability in light of the potential for severe, sustained drought. The drivers...
The combustion of perennial grass biomass to generate electricity may be a promising renewable energy option. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) grown as a biofuel has the potential to provide a cash crop for farmers and quality nesting cover for grassland birds. In southwestern Wisconsin (near lat. 42 degrees 52', long. 90 degrees 08'), we investigated the impact of an August harvest of switchgrass for bioenergy on community composition and abundance of Wisconsin grassland bird species of management concern. Harvesting the switchgrass in August resulted in changes in vegetation structure and bird species composition the following nesting season. In harvested transects, residual vegetation was shorter and the litter...
ABSTRACT: To help meet national energy demands, interest has been focused on the coal, oil shale, and uranium deposits of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Several energy output projections for the basin have been presented based upon water availability. Inherent in all these analyses are estimates as to the rate of water use in each energy development. New energy technologies are characterized by parameters extrapolated from small scale energy facilities. The data provide projected costs, conversion efficiencies, and material inputs and outputs. Alternative techniques for process cooling and solids handling provide variable rates of water use which affect other conversion parameters. Results from a mathematical model...
Sustainability assessment of energy technologies oftentimes fails to account for social repercussions and long-term negative effects and benefits of energy systems. As part of the NEEDS' project, an expert-based set of social indicators was developed and verified by the European stakeholders with the objective of contributing in the development of social indicators for the assessment of societal effects of energy systems. For this purpose, scientific experts from four sample countries France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland were interviewed to assess 16 different energy systems on a specific stakeholder reviewed indicator set. The indicator set covers the four main criteria: "security and reliability of energy provision;...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Biofuels, Ethanol, Sustainability
Biofuels world production has increased sharply in recent years. Oil reserves depletion, the oil high price and the confidence in biofuels “carbon neutrality” are the main causes of this phenomenon. However, claims related to the negative consequences of biofuel programs are frequent; mainly those related to the biofuels/food competition and sustainability. This paper aims to contribute for the development of a framework for sustainability indicators as a tool for performance assessment. The most used indicators to measure the biofuels sustainability are: Life Cycle Energy Balance (LCEB), quantity of fossil energy substituted per hectare, co-product energy allocation, life cycle carbon balance and changes in soil...