Maize production in terms of global climate changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bekavac Goran

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Climate changes and expected variability of climatic parameters represent a serious concern of the 21st century agriculture. At the global level, the further rise in temperature, changed quantity and distribution of precipitation, increased variability of climate parameters and the occurrence of extreme climate events are expected. In order to avoid, or at least reduce the negative effects of global climate change, several adaptation strategies are proposed. Adjustment of production technology and breeding for tolerance to changed environment are proposed as two most important adaptation measures.

Globalization and Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Traian-Alexandru Miu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Globalization, very complex phenomenon, involves overcoming the barriers between different states, which allowed the rapid transfer of capital, technology, information, and the "toxins" from one country to another. First, the technology formed the basis of rapid expansion of great ideas promoted by globalization. Undeniable progress in the field of technology and science, has conferred to the man extraordinary powers that have been used most often to the detriment of his spiritual progress. We must not deny that science and technology have brought many benefits to human, and he could expand the knowledge horizon upon the world in which he lives, exploiting information acquired and share them with others. Science and technology must become for postmodern man ways of talk and communion between human and divinity, all to the praise of God and the perfection of the creature.

CCTC 2009 : 2nd Climate Change Technology Conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The 2nd Climate Change Technology Conference (CCTC2009) was held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on May 12-15, 2009. CCTC2009 is a Canadian/International forum for engineers, scientists, policy advisors, industry and other stakeholders to share new information and ideas for dealing with climate change and global warming. It also provided an opportunity for participants to keep abreast of emerging techniques and technologies for the mitigation of and adaptation to, the impacts of climate change. The conference theme: 'Climate Change ..... Deal with It!' emphasized the need to develop practical engineering and administrative responses to address the impacts of climate change and global warming.

Global energy scenarios, climate change and sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakicenovic, Nebojsa

2003-01-01

Energy scenarios provide a framework for exploring future energy perspectives, including various combinations of technology options and their implications. Many scenarios in the literature illustrate how energy system developments may affect global change. Examples are the new emissions scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the energy scenarios by the World Energy Assessment (WEA). Some of these scenarios describe energy futures that are compatible with sustainable development goals; such as improved energy efficiencies and the adoption of advanced energy supply technologies. Sustainable development scenarios are also characterized by low environmental impacts (at local, regional and global scales) and equitable allocation of resources and wealth. They can help explore different transitions toward sustainable development paths and alternative energy perspectives in general. The considerable differences in expected total energy requirements among the scenarios reflect the varying approaches used to address the need for energy services in the future and demonstrate effects of different policy frameworks, changes in human behavior and investments in the future, as well as alternative unfolding of the main scenario driving forces such as demographic transitions, economic development and technological change. Increases in research, development and deployment efforts for new energy technologies are a prerequisite for achieving further social and economic development in the world. Significant technological advances will be required, as well as incremental improvements in conventional energy technologies. In general, significant policy and behavioral changes will be needed during the next few decades to achieve more sustainable development paths and mitigate climate change toward the end of the century. (au)

Sixth-Grade Students' Progress in Understanding the Mechanisms of Global Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Visintainer, Tammie; Linn, Marcia

2015-01-01

Developing solutions for complex issues such as global climate change requires an understanding of the mechanisms involved. This study reports on the impact of a technology-enhanced unit designed to improve understanding of global climate change, its mechanisms, and their relationship to everyday energy use. Global Climate Change, implemented in…

Climate change scenarios and Technology Transfer Protocols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kypreos, Socrates; Turton, Hal

2011-01-01

We apply a specific version of MERGE-ETL, an integrated assessment model, to study global climate policies supported by Technology Transfer Protocols (TTPs). We model a specific formulation of such a TTP where donor countries finance via carbon tax revenues, the diffusion of carbon-free technologies in developing countries (DCs) and quantify its benefits. Industrialized countries profit from increased technology exports, global diffusion of advanced technology (leading to additional technology learning and cost reductions) and reduced climate damages through the likelihood of greater global participation in a new international agreement. DCs experience increased welfare from access to subsidized technology, and profit from the reduction of damages related to climate change and expected secondary benefits of carbon abatement (such as reduced local and regional air pollution). The analysis identifies potential candidate technologies that could be supported under a TTP, and the impact of a TTP on economic development (including the flow of transfer subsidies) and global emissions. Although a TTP may encourage additional participation, such a proposal is only likely to be successful if an increased willingness to pay to avoid climate damages is accepted, first by the present and future generations of the industrialized world and later on, when sufficient economic growth is accumulated, by today's developing countries. - Research Highlights: → Climate policy scenarios are assessed with differentiated commitments in carbon emission control supported by Technology Transfer Protocols. → Donor countries finance, via carbon-tax revenues, the exports of carbon-free technologies in developing countries helping to get a new international agreement. → Developing countries experience increased welfare from access to subsidized technology, and profit from the reduction of damages related to climate change and secondary benefits. → Under Technology Protocols alone and

Technology learning in a global - local perspective: - the interplay between technology diffusion, niche markets and experience curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinsen, Thomas

2010-01-01

Preventing dangerous global climate change requires timely deployment of nascent energy technologies with zero or low Co2 emissions. Managing the shift to a common sustainable technology path calls for insight about the influence of global technological change on the national energy system. Moreover, national policies are required to promote the shift to the new technology path. This calls for methods to analyse the national energy system within a global perspective. The objective of the work presented in this thesis was to investigate interplay between technology diffusion, niche markets and technology learning from the perspective of a small open economy like Norway. More specifically, develop methods to include the influence of technology learning manifested in experience and learning curves into national energy-economy-environment models. Moreover, apply the methods to investigate the potential influence and sensitivity to technology learning in a small open economy. In this thesis three such methods have been developed, applied and its importance assessed using Norway as an example. In this work three models have been linked. They are the global Energy Technology Perspectives model operated by the International Energy Agency, the Norwegian Markal model at the Institute for Energy Technology and the macro economic model MSG6 at Statistics Norway. Method one and two has been developed to manage the interplay between the models. In a local perspective technology learning in the global market is perceived as spillover. Based upon a review of the characteristics of technological change and learning curves and its application to energy system modelling some criteria important for the parameterization and modelling of spillover in a small open economy are suggested. The first method incorporates spillover into the national Markal model. The second method establishes a soft-link between the national models. The soft-link served two purposes; to provide input on demand

Agricultural Water Use under Global Change

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, T.; Ringler, C.; Rosegrant, M. W.

2008-12-01

Irrigation is by far the single largest user of water in the world and is projected to remain so in the foreseeable future. Globally, irrigated agricultural land comprises less than twenty percent of total cropland but produces about forty percent of the world's food. Increasing world population will require more food and this will lead to more irrigation in many areas. As demands increase and water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, agriculture's competition for water with other economic sectors will be intensified. This water picture is expected to become even more complex as climate change will impose substantial impacts on water availability and demand, in particular for agriculture. To better understand future water demand and supply under global change, including changes in demographic, economic and technological dimensions, the water simulation module of IMPACT, a global water and food projection model developed at the International Food Policy Research Institute, is used to analyze future water demand and supply in agricultural and several non-agricultural sectors using downscaled GCM scenarios, based on water availability simulation done with a recently developed semi-distributed global hydrological model. Risk analysis is conducted to identify countries and regions where future water supply reliability for irrigation is low, and food security may be threatened in the presence of climate change. Gridded shadow values of irrigation water are derived for global cropland based on an optimization framework, and they are used to illustrate potential irrigation development by incorporating gridded water availability and existing global map of irrigation areas.

Global Energy Transitions and the Challenge of Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riahi, K.

2008-01-01

Global emissions of greenhouse-gases have increased markedly as a result of human activities since pre-industrial times. This increase in emissions has lead to unequivocal global warming, which is evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level. Reducing the risk of irreversible climate impacts requires thus the mitigation of global GHG emissions aiming at the long-term stabilization of atmospheric GHG concentrations. Achieving this goal translates into the need of reducing emissions to virtually zero over long time-frames. Yet international agreement on a long-term climate policy target remains a distant prospect, due to both scientific uncertainty and political disagreement on the appropriate balance between mitigation costs and reduced risks of dangerous impacts. At the same time, growing emissions of greenhouse gases continue to increase the amount of climate change we are committed to over the long term. Over the next few decades, these growing emissions may make some potentially desirable long term goals unattainable. Recent analysis conducted at IIASA indicates the need of major energy transitions over the next few decades. For example, staying below the target suggested by the European Union of 2 C warming (with just a 50% likelihood) will require the massive deployment of zero-carbon energy by 2050, and a tippling of the contribution of zero-carbon energy globally to more than 60% by that time. Although there are large uncertainties with respect to the deployment of individual future technologies, there is strong evidence that no single mitigation measure alone would be sufficient for achieving the stabilization of GHG concentrations at low levels. A wide portfolio of technologies across all GHG-intensive sectors is needed for cost-effective emissions reductions. The bulk of these emissions reductions would need to come from the energy sector, with

Climate Change Science,Technology & Policy

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Table of contents. Climate Change Science,Technology & Policy · Slide 2 · Slide 3 · Slide 4 · Slide 5 · Millions at Risk from Parry et al., 2001 · Slide 7 · Slide 8 · Slide 9 · Slide 10 · Climate Change · Is the global warming in the 20th century due to the increase in radiation emitted by the sun? Frohlich C, Lean J. 1998; ...

Biomass energy technologies for rural infrastructure and village power - opportunities and challenges in the context of global climate change concerns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kishore, V.V.N.; Bhandari, P.M.; Gupta, P.

2004-01-01

The potential and role of biomass resources in developing countries for addressing global climate change concerns are highlighted using India as a case study. Promotion of technologies, which use biomass more efficiently, is seen as a key strategy to integrate the concerns of both developing countries and developed countries. The role of various biomass technologies for improving rural infrastructure and village power is discussed in detail. A vision of establishing and running a chain of rural energy service companies, operating with a basket of devices and technologies, under the general provisions of CDM, is examined for commercialization and mainstreaming of biomass technologies which have achieved reasonable levels of maturity. (author)

FEATURES OF THE LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTION OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS IN TURBULENCE CHANGING GLOBAL ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg M. Tolmachev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The subject / topic: The level of development of any country is currently determined by the proportion of high technologies in the GDP. Logistics – the basis for efficient management of modern knowledge-intensive production. Given the adverse conditions in the global economy, greatly enhanced the relevance of the study of logistical aspects in the management of high-tech products.Subject of research: The logistics management of production of high technology products in turbulence changing global economy. In this paper we apply scientific methods: the dialectic, comparisons and analogies, analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, abstract , logical, historical and retrospective. The purpose of this article is to identify the characteristics and problems of logistics management of production of high technology products in the countries of the Customs Union and the Eastern Partnership. Also consider the role of clusters in the formation of innovation infrastructure in the countries of the Customs Union.Results: As part of the presentation was the author of the present article the urgency of application of CALS-technologies as a tool for organization and information support for the creation, production and operation of the product at the enterprises of the national economy.Conclusions / significance: Management of enterprises in the real sector of the economy in modern conditions should be based on synergies methodological principles of market and state regulation, with increased use of methods focused on the long term. By such methods, in particular, should include the methods of logistic management of production of high technology products. The importance of these technologies has increased steadily, and in modern conditions gets a new quality content that refl ects the phased development plan targeted action to ensure that the desired state of the enterprise as a socio-economic system. This in turn points to the need to ensure that new

Global climate change: US-Japan cooperative leadership for environmental protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, J.E.; Fri, R.W.; Ikuta, Toyoaki; Guertin, D.L.; Tomitate, Takao.

1991-01-01

Over the past decade the Atlantic Council of the United States has engaged in continuing dialogue with the Committee for Energy Policy Promotion (Japan), The Institute of Energy Economics (Japan) and the Global Industrial and Social Progress Research Institute (Japan) on a range of energy issues, including environmentally related considerations. Cooperation on environmental issues is the subject of this joint US-Japanese policy paper on global climate change. The Japanese and US participants who prepared this paper agreed on a number of conclusions, principles to guide action, and common recommendations on how best to address global climate change issues. The agreed upon principles include development of strategies in a long-term time frame (50-100 years); aggressive action to increase efficiency or reduce pollution when economically and technologically justified; utilization of market forces to the maximum extent possible; and assistance to developing countries in reducing pollution and increasing energy efficiency. The key recommendations include: The need to strengthen research to better understand global climate change, its implications and appropriate response strategies; The importance of involving as many nations as possible in formulating a framework agreement on global climate change; Recognition that, given economic and technical capabilities, each country should develop its own response strategies; Additional public and private sector efforts to increase the efficient use of resources and the use of alternate, less polluting energy resources when economically justified; Actions to address obstacles to technology cooperation with developing countries; and Increased flow of information to opinion leaders and the general public on global climate change

Providing Global Change Information for Decision-Making: Capturing and Presenting Provenance

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaogang; Fox, Peter; Tilmes, Curt; Jacobs, Katherine; Waple, Anne

2014-01-01

Global change information demands access to data sources and well-documented provenance to provide evidence needed to build confidence in scientific conclusions and, in specific applications, to ensure the information's suitability for use in decision-making. A new generation of Web technology, the Semantic Web, provides tools for that purpose. The topic of global change covers changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric composition and or chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life and support human systems. Data and findings associated with global change research are of great public, government, and academic concern and are used in policy and decision-making, which makes the provenance of global change information especially important. In addition, since different types of decisions benefit from different types of information, understanding how to capture and present the provenance of global change information is becoming more of an imperative in adaptive planning.

The Evolution of Global Positioning System (GPS) Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sameer; Moore, Kevin B.

2002-01-01

Describes technological advances in the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is also known as the NAVSTAR GPS satellite constellation program developed in 1937, and changes in the nature of our world by GPS in the areas of agriculture, health, military, transportation, environment, wildlife biology, surveying and mapping, space applications, and…

Information management for global environmental change, including the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoss, F.W. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

1994-06-01

The issue of global change is international in scope. A body of international organizations oversees the worldwide coordination of research and policy initiatives. In the US the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) was established in November of 1993 to provide coordination of science, space, and technology policies throughout the federal government. NSTC is organized into nine proposed committees. The Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources (CERN) oversees the US Department of Energy`s Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). As part of the USGCRP, the US Department of Energy`s Global Change Research Program aims to improve the understanding of Earth systems and to strengthen the scientific basis for the evaluation of policy and government action in response to potential global environmental changes. This paper examines the information and data management roles of several international and national programs, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s (ORNL`s) global change information programs. An emphasis will be placed on the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), which also serves as the World Data Center-A for Atmospheric Trace Gases.

U.S. Global Change Research Program National Climate Assessment Global Change Information System

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmes, Curt

2012-01-01

The program: a) Coordinates Federal research to better understand and prepare the nation for global change. b) Priori4zes and supports cutting edge scientific work in global change. c) Assesses the state of scientific knowledge and the Nation s readiness to respond to global change. d) Communicates research findings to inform, educate, and engage the global community.

Integrated assessment of global climate change with learning-by-doing and energy-related research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller-Fuerstenberger, Georg; Stephan, Gunter

2007-01-01

This paper presents a small-scale version of an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) of global climate change, which is based on a global, regionally differentiated computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with endogenous technological change. This model can be viewed as a basic framework for analyzing a broad range of economic issues related to climate change, in particular since technological change is represented in two ways: on the one hand, there is learning-by-doing (LbD) in non-fossil energy supply technologies, and on the other hand there is research and development (R and D)-driven energy-saving technical progress in production. Computational experiments are added for illustrating the role of technological innovation in a world both with and without cooperation in the solution of the global climate problem

A global change data base using Thematic Mapper data - Earth Monitoring Educational System (EMES)

Science.gov (United States)

D'Antoni, Hector L.; Peterson, David L.

1992-01-01

Some of the main directions in creating an education program in earth system science aimed at combining top science and technology with high academic performance are presented. The creation of an Earth Monitoring Educational System (EMES) integrated with the research interests of the NASA Ames Research Center and one or more universities is proposed. Based on the integration of a global network of cooperators to build a global data base for assessments of global change, EMES would promote degrees at all levels in global ecology at associated universities and colleges, and extracurricular courses for multilevel audiences. EMES objectives are to: train specialists; establish a tradition of solving regional problems concerning global change in a systemic manner, using remote sensing technology as the monitoring tool; and transfer knowledge on global change to the national and world communities. South America is proposed as the pilot continent for the project.

Globalization and the trends of medical technology trade in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Semin, Semih; Güldal, Dilek; Demiral, Yücel

2007-05-01

Medical technology trade is one of the most affected health areas by global regulations in the developing countries. The aim of the study is to examine recent changes in medical technology import and export and their results in Turkey. Data show that the total medical technology imports (MTI) increased from $ 34.6 million to $ 3427.9 million between 1970 and 2003. While MTI constituted 3.6% of total imports in 1970 and 1.3% in 1980, this ratio raised up to 4.9% in 2003. The ratio of MTI in total health expenditures were also increased from 7.6% in 1970 to 31.5% in 2003. Medical technology exports (MTE) have been increased from $ 0.9 million in 1970 to $ 303.2 million in 2003. The ratio of MTE to MTI increased from 2.7% to 13.9% between 1970 and 1990 and decreased after 1990, to 8.8%. Our study implied that the medical technology trade in Turkey has been negatively affected and in some respects differs from some other important industries in the globalization era. Nevertheless, detailed comparative studies in different developing countries such as China, Brazil, Mexico and India, are needed to explore the real state of medical technology trade, use and the effects of globalization on these topics.

Energy intensity developments in 40 major economies: Structural change or technology improvement?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voigt, Sebastian; De Cian, Enrica; Schymura, Michael; Verdolini, Elena

2014-01-01

This study analyzes energy intensity trends and drivers in 40 major economies using the WIOD database, a novel harmonized and consistent dataset of input–output table time series accompanied by environmental satellite data. We use logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition to (1) attribute efficiency changes to either changes in technology or changes in the structure of the economy, (2) study trends in global energy intensity between 1995 and 2007, and (3) highlight sectoral and regional differences. For the country analysis we apply the traditional two factor index decomposition approach, while for the global analysis we use a three factor decomposition which includes the consideration of regional structural changes in the global economy. We first show that heterogeneity within each sector across countries is high. These general trends within sectors are dominated by large economies, first and foremost the United States. In most cases, heterogeneity is lower within each country across the different sectors. Regarding changes of energy intensity at the country level, improvements between 1995 and 2007 are largely attributable to technological change while structural change is less important in most countries. Notable exceptions are Japan, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Mexico and Brazil where a change in the industry mix was the main driver behind the observed energy intensity reduction. At the global level we find that despite a shift of the global economy to more energy-intensive countries, aggregate energy efficiency improved mostly due to technological change

Satellite Contributions to Global Change Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Claire L.

2009-01-01

sophisticated climate models, in situ process studies, and data sets that extend back well before the introduction of satellite technology. Nonetheless, the repetitive, global view provided by satellites is contributing in a major way to our improved recognition of how the Earth im changing, a recognition that is none too soon in view of the magnitude of the impacts that humans can now have.

Networking Technologies and the Rate of Technological Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Mitchell

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Network technology is changing rapidly and those adept at ICT analysis need resolve rate of change issues. Developments in networking now are in the direction of heuristic intelligence. Since about 1980, networking techniques have encouraged combining bits of information with imagination cognitively to improve ideas about reality. ICT enterprise projects utilize networking to sustain requisite imagination. Assumptions and misassuptions of project builders are rationally comprehended as networking sustains creative processes. The monopolization of valuable network techniques influences in the direction of esoteric networking. Data presents that substantial knowledge and networking is now occurring globally. As a netaphor, networking

Technology Learning Ratios in Global Energy Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varela, M.

2001-01-01

The process of introduction of a new technology supposes that while its production and utilisation increases, also its operation improves and its investment costs and production decreases. The accumulation of experience and learning of a new technology increase in parallel with the increase of its market share. This process is represented by the technological learning curves and the energy sector is not detached from this process of substitution of old technologies by new ones. The present paper carries out a brief revision of the main energy models that include the technology dynamics (learning). The energy scenarios, developed by global energy models, assume that the characteristics of the technologies are variables with time. But this trend is incorporated in a exogenous way in these energy models, that is to say, it is only a time function. This practice is applied to the cost indicators of the technology such as the specific investment costs or to the efficiency of the energy technologies. In the last years, the new concept of endogenous technological learning has been integrated within these global energy models. This paper examines the concept of technological learning in global energy models. It also analyses the technological dynamics of the energy system including the endogenous modelling of the process of technological progress. Finally, it makes a comparison of several of the most used global energy models (MARKAL, MESSAGE and ERIS) and, more concretely, about the use these models make of the concept of technological learning. (Author) 17 refs

International earth science information network for global change decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Autrey-Hunley, C.; Kuhn, W.R.; Kasischke, E.; Trichel, M.T.; Coppola, R.

1991-01-01

Effective environmental decision making depends upon the ability to predict physical changes in the environment, societal responses to these changes, and how both the physical changes and societal responses will be affected by changes in government regulations, public perceptions and the environment. Technological advances in remote sensing have provided a wealth of earth science data necessary to study global change problems; the Earth Observatory System will provide an unprecedented data source in the late 1990's. The Consortium for an International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) will combine earth science data (both satellite and ground-based) with data on the social sciences (e.g., economics, demographics, public health) to support informed policy decisions and to transfer knowledge on global change and its causes to the public.

Study on Global GIS architecture and its key technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Chengqi; Guan, Li; Lv, Xuefeng

2010-11-01

Global GIS (G2IS) is a system, which supports the huge data process and the global direct manipulation on global grid based on spheroid or ellipsoid surface. Based on global subdivision grid (GSG), Global GIS architecture is presented in this paper, taking advantage of computer cluster theory, the space-time integration technology and the virtual reality technology. Global GIS system architecture is composed of five layers, including data storage layer, data representation layer, network and cluster layer, data management layer and data application layer. Thereinto, it is designed that functions of four-level protocol framework and three-layer data management pattern of Global GIS based on organization, management and publication of spatial information in this architecture. Three kinds of core supportive technologies, which are computer cluster theory, the space-time integration technology and the virtual reality technology, and its application pattern in the Global GIS are introduced in detail. The primary ideas of Global GIS in this paper will be an important development tendency of GIS.

Law in Transition Biblioessay: Globalization, Human Rights, Environment, Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Marien

2012-04-01

Full Text Available As globalization continues, many transformations in international and domestic laws areunderway or called for. There are too many laws and too few, too much law that is inadequateor obsolete, and too much law-breaking. This biblioessay covers some 100 recentbooks, nearly all recently published, arranged in four categories. 1 International Lawincludes six overviews/textbooks on comparative law, laws related to warfare and security,pushback against demands of globalization, and gender perspectives; 2 Human Rightsencompasses general overviews and normative visions, several books on how some statesviolate human rights, five items on how good laws can end poverty and promote prosperity,and laws regulating working conditions and health rights; 3 Environment/Resources coversgrowth of international environmental law, visions of law for a better environmental future,laws to govern genetic resources and increasingly stressed water resources, two books onprospects for climate change liability, and items on toxic hazards and problems of compliance;4 Technology, Etc. identifies eight books on global crime and the failed war on drugs,books on the response to terrorism and guarding privacy and mobility in our high-tech age,seven books on how infotech is changing law and legal processes while raising intellectualproperty questions, biomedical technologies and the law, and general views on the need forupdated laws and constitutions. In sum, this essay suggests the need for deeper and timelyanalysis of the many books on changes in law.

Global emission projections for the transportation sector using dynamic technology modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, F.; Winijkul, E.; Streets, D. G.; Lu, Z.; Bond, T. C.; Zhang, Y.

2014-06-01

In this study, global emissions of gases and particles from the transportation sector are projected from the year 2010 to 2050. The Speciated Pollutant Emission Wizard (SPEW)-Trend model, a dynamic model that links the emitter population to its emission characteristics, is used to project emissions from on-road vehicles and non-road engines. Unlike previous models of global emission estimates, SPEW-Trend incorporates considerable detail on the technology stock and builds explicit relationships between socioeconomic drivers and technological changes, such that the vehicle fleet and the vehicle technology shares change dynamically in response to economic development. Emissions from shipping, aviation, and rail are estimated based on other studies so that the final results encompass the entire transportation sector. The emission projections are driven by four commonly-used IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) scenarios (A1B, A2, B1, and B2). With global fossil-fuel use (oil and coal) in the transportation sector in the range of 128-171 EJ across the four scenarios, global emissions are projected to be 101-138 Tg of carbon monoxide (CO), 44-54 Tg of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 14-18 Tg of non-methane total hydrocarbons (THC), and 3.6-4.4 Tg of particulate matter (PM) in the year 2030. At the global level, a common feature of the emission scenarios is a projected decline in emissions during the first one or two decades (2010-2030), because the effects of stringent emission standards offset the growth in fuel use. Emissions increase slightly in some scenarios after 2030, because of the fast growth of on-road vehicles with lax or no emission standards in Africa and increasing emissions from non-road gasoline engines and shipping. On-road vehicles and non-road engines contribute the most to global CO and THC emissions, while on-road vehicles and shipping contribute the most to NOx and PM emissions. At the regional level, Latin America and East Asia are the two

A DBMS architecture for global change research

Science.gov (United States)

Hachem, Nabil I.; Gennert, Michael A.; Ward, Matthew O.

1993-08-01

The goal of this research is the design and development of an integrated system for the management of very large scientific databases, cartographic/geographic information processing, and exploratory scientific data analysis for global change research. The system will represent both spatial and temporal knowledge about natural and man-made entities on the eath's surface, following an object-oriented paradigm. A user will be able to derive, modify, and apply, procedures to perform operations on the data, including comparison, derivation, prediction, validation, and visualization. This work represents an effort to extend the database technology with an intrinsic class of operators, which is extensible and responds to the growing needs of scientific research. Of significance is the integration of many diverse forms of data into the database, including cartography, geography, hydrography, hypsography, images, and urban planning data. Equally important is the maintenance of metadata, that is, data about the data, such as coordinate transformation parameters, map scales, and audit trails of previous processing operations. This project will impact the fields of geographical information systems and global change research as well as the database community. It will provide an integrated database management testbed for scientific research, and a testbed for the development of analysis tools to understand and predict global change.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE--THE TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE

Science.gov (United States)

Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, have led to increasing atmospheric concentrations which are at least partly responsible for the roughly 0.7% degree C global warming earth has experienced since the industrial revolution. With industrial activit...

A global sustainability perspective on 3D printing technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gebler, Malte; Schoot Uiterkamp, Anton J.M.; Visser, Cindy

2014-01-01

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) represents a relative novel technology in manufacturing which is associated with potentially strong stimuli for sustainable development. Until now, research has merely assessed case study-related potentials of 3DP and described specific aspects of 3DP. This study represents the first comprehensive assessment of 3DP from a global sustainability perspective. It contains a qualitative assessment of 3DP-induced sustainability implications and quantifies changes in life cycle costs, energy and CO 2 emissions globally by 2025. 3DP is identified to cost-effectively lower manufacturing inputs and outputs in markets with low volume, customized and high-value production chains as aerospace and medical component manufacturing. This lowers energy use, resource demands and related CO 2 emissions over the entire product life cycle, induces changes in labour structures and generates shifts towards more digital and localized supply chains. The model calculations show that 3DP contains the potential to reduce costs by 170–593 billion US $, the total primary energy supply by 2.54–9.30 EJ and CO 2 emissions by 130.5–525.5 Mt by 2025. The great range within the saving potentials can be explained with the immature state of the technology and the associated uncertainties of predicting market and technology developments. The energy and CO 2 emission intensities of industrial manufacturing are reducible by maximally 5% through 3DP by 2025, as 3DP remains a niche technology. If 3DP was applicable to larger production volumes in consumer products or automotive manufacturing, it contains the (theoretical) potential to absolutely decouple energy and CO 2 emission from economic activity. - Highlights: • Global sustainability aspects of 3DP in manufacturing are assessed in two ways. • 3DP will strongly influence manufacturing in aerospace, medical components, tooling. • 3DP re-shifts production to consumer countries due to decreased labour costs. �

Global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levine, J.S.

1991-01-01

Present processes of global climate change are reviewed. The processes determining global temperature are briefly described and the concept of effective temperature is elucidated. The greenhouse effect is examined, including the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. 18 refs

Space Observations for Global Change

Science.gov (United States)

Rasool, S. I.

1991-01-01

There is now compelling evidence that man's activities are changing both the composition of the atmospheric and the global landscape quite drastically. The consequences of these changes on the global climate of the 21st century is currently a hotly debated subject. Global models of a coupled Earth-ocean-atmosphere system are still very primitive and progress in this area appears largely data limited, specially over the global biosphere. A concerted effort on monitoring biospheric functions on scales from pixels to global and days to decades needs to be coordinated on an international scale in order to address the questions related to global change. An international program of space observations and ground research was described.

Climate change dilemma: technology, social change or both?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajan, Sudhir Chella

2006-01-01

Time is fast running out for formulating a viable global climate policy regime even as it seems obvious that the major initiative will have to come from the United States, which currently appears indisposed to take any meaningful action at all. This paper reviews the prospects for emissions reductions in the US passenger transport sector and the technical, economic, social, and political barriers to developing policies that focus solely on technology or pricing. Using scenarios it shows that, in order to meet stringent emissions targets over the coming half-century, technology and pricing policies may have to be supplemented by strategies to change life-styles and land uses in ways that effectively reduce car dependence. In the medium to long term, bold initiatives that treat vehicle users as citizens capable of shifting their interests and behaviour could form kernels of social change that in turn provide opportunities for removing many of the social and political constraints

Biodiversity and global change. Adaptative responses to global change: results and prospective. IFB-GICC restitution colloquium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Despres, L.; Hossaert-Mckey, M.; Martin, J.F.; Pont, D.; Valero, M.; Chave, J.; Benizri, E.; Amiaud, B.; Boury-Esnault, N.; Fritz, H.; Lavelle, P.; Martin, F.; Poulet, S.; Blanchard, F.; Cheddadi, R.; Dupouey, J.L.; Hulle, M.; Michaux, J.; Souissi, S.; Bridault, A.; Dambrine, E.; Gomez, B.; Thevenard, F.; Legendre, S.; Suc, J.P.; Zeitoun, V.; Bezancon, G.; Frascaria-Lacoste, N.; Ponsard, S.; Bourguet, D.; Vigne, J.D.; Doyen, L.; Joly, P.; Gourlet-Fleury, S.; Garnier, E.; Lebaron, Ph.; Boulinier, Th.; Chuine, I.; Jiguet, F.; Couvet, D.; Soussana, J.F.; Weimerskirsch, H.; Grosbois, V.; Bretagnolle, V.

2006-01-01

Global change is the consequence of the worldwide human print on ecology. The uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, the urbanization, the intensifying of agriculture, the homogenization of life styles and cultures, the homogenization of fauna and vegetation, the commercial trades, the bio-invasions, the over-exploitation of resources and the emergence of new economic powers (China, India, Brazil..) represent an adaptative dynamics of interactions which affects the overall biosphere and the adaptative capacities and the future of all species. Biodiversity is an ecological and societal insurance against the risks and uncertainties linked with global change. The French institute of biodiversity (IFB) has created a working group in charge of a study on global change and biodiversity, in particular in terms of: speed and acceleration of processes, interaction between the different organization levels of the world of living, scale changes, and adaptative capacities. 38 projects with an interdisciplinary approach have been retained by the IFB and the Ministry of ecology and sustainable development. The conclusion of these projects were presented at this restitution colloquium and are summarized in this document. The presentations are organized in 7 sessions dealing with: global changes and adaptation mechanisms; functional responses to global changes; spatial responses to global changes; temporal responses to global changes; selective answers to global changes; available tools and ecological services; scenarios and projections. (J.S.)

Global change and Canadians: A teacher's guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

A report called Global Change and Canadians has been produced by the Royal Society of Canada to answer basic questions being asked about global change issues. A teacher's guide is presented to help teachers make effective use of the report in developing programs with students concerning global change. A basic set of teaching and learning activities related to the major topics in the report is provided, curricular connections between global change topics and school programs are suggested, and some additional resources on global change are listed. The guide is divided into six chapters, each corresponding to the chapters of the global change report. Each chapter contains a summary of the major concepts from the report, some of the learning outcomes that occur when those concepts are addressed, a series of suggested activities or ideas, and a guide for assessing students' abilities relative to the concepts of the chapter. The topics of the chapters cover the nature of global change, the importance of global change to Canada, the causes of global change, the consequences of global change (including climate change and the greenhouse effect), the effects of global change on society, and Canadian responses to global change. 64 refs., 3 figs

Developing a Global Mindset: Integrating Demographics, Sustainability, Technology, and Globalization

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Raj

2011-01-01

Business schools face a number of challenges in responding to the business influences of demographics, sustainability, and technology--all three of which are also the fundamental driving forces for globalization. Demographic forces are creating global imbalances in worker populations and in government finances; the world economy faces…

To assess and control global change in agriculture through ecosystem models integrated into geographic information systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponti, L.; Iannetta, M.; Gutierrez, A.P.

2015-01-01

The transfer of ENEA PBDM (physiologically based demographic models) GIS technology, represents an opportunity to address global change in agriculture on an ecological basis in a local context, be able to provide European governmental agencies the necessary scientific basis for developing effective policies for adaptation to global change, including climate change [it

Governing Global Climate Change: Past Achievements, Future Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ella Kokotsis

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The cumulative effects of a significantly changing climate are projected to have disastrous implications on the world’s natural habitats, and along with that, are projected to drastically increase the rate and likelihood of violent conflict globally, particularly in high-density, urban, poverty hotspots. Limiting the effects of a changing climate is thus critical in influencing multiple societal goals including equitable sustainable development, human health, biodiversity, food security and access to reliable energy sources. This paper argues that the G7/8 has led global climate governance in ways other international environmental institu­tions have largely failed to do. It has done so largely by placing climate protection at the forefront of its policy objectives, alongside economic, health, energy and security goals, and reaching consensus repeatedly amongst its leaders on the impor­tance of stabilizing emissions through energy efficiency, conservation, investment and technological innovation. Moreover, this chapter argues that the summit’s predominant capability, its constricted participation, democratic convergence and political cohesion – as well as the combined effects of global shocks – have all had positive impacts on the G7/8’s success in mitigating climate change. Following a detailed process-tracing exercise over the summit’s 40-year history in which clear surges and retreats on global climate governance are outlined, this paper concludes by assessing the G7/8’s accountability record on climate mitigation and outlines a set of prescriptive recommendations, allowing for the delivery of a more tangible, coherent, results-driven accountability process for global climate governance.

The Disposition Parameters of the Technological and Innovation Gap in the Global Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikaelian Suren G.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to specify the disposition parameters of the technological and innovation gap in the global economy and determine the directions for overcoming it. It is proved that the process of technological asymmetry is reflected in the technological and innovation gap in the global economy. The positions of the countries-innovation leaders are clarified with the attention being focused on the growth of China’s influence through its efforts in technological innovations. There described the transformation of the positions in two planes: production of and trade in high-tech products. A hypothesis about the change in the nature of innovations during the last decade is confirmed. It is proved that the affordability of the formation of advanced technologies in China has become a reason for its transformation into the powerhouse of the world economic development. There identified and characterized the directions for bridging the gap between economies, which include increasing investment on the global innovation scale; promoting the spread of technologies and their adaptation; ensuring an unimpeded flow of talents and knowledge; using intellectual property rights to promote innovation for the poor, improve the innovation efficiency; entering markets.

Evaluation of technological measures to cope with climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimizu, Hiroshi; Moriguchi, Yulchi [National Inst. for Environmental Studies, Onogawa Tsukuba (Japan)

1993-12-31

Because the global warming (climate change) is recognized as a highly probable phenomenon in the next century, the countermeasures to cope with this issue is really Important. International discussion Is progressing towards the conclusion of the treaty to stabilize global warming. Therefore, now is the time to take concrete action to reduce the emission to the greenhouse gases (GHG). To find the way to reduce the emission of the GHG, the procedure as next should be taken. (1) Systematic estimation of GHG emission (GHG analysis), (2) Identification of conventional and Innovative technologies, (3) Assessment of individual sectoral technologies, (4) Comprehensive evaluation of countermeasures as a whole. Both in the U.S.A. and Japan, this kind of research have been made independently. Among these processes, the standard methodologies should be established on the GHG analysis, the assessment of individual technologies and the comprehensive evaluation. From such a background, it is important to discuss the way to evaluate technological measures to cope with climate change between the specialist from the U.S.A. and Japan. And still required to search the possibility to establish a joint project between both countries.

Technologies for climate change mitigation - Agriculture sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uprety, D.C.; Dhar, S.; Hongmin, D.; Kimball, B.A.; Garg, A.; Upadhyay, J.

2012-07-15

This guidebook describes crop and livestock management technologies and practices that contribute to climate change mitigation while improving crop productivity, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers, and lowering water consumption. It is co-authored by internationally recognised experts in the areas of crops, livestock, emissions, and economics, and we are grateful for their efforts in producing this cross disciplinary work. This publication is part of a technical guidebook series produced by the UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development (URC) as part of the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) project (http://tech-action.org) that is assisting developing countries in identifying and analysing the priority technology needs for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The TNA process involves different stakeholders in a consultative process, enabling all stakeholders to understand their technology needs in a cohesive manner, and prepare Technology Action Plans (TAPs) accordingly. The TNA project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is being implemented by UNEP and the URC in 36 developing countries. (Author)

Key Issues in Global Technological Innovation Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Sbragia

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This article aimed to identify those issues that were present in global technological innovation projects carried out by Brazilian multinational companies and which performance criterions these undertakings met. We investigated 36 global technological innovation projects from Brazilian multinational enterprises through a web-survey. Findings show that these companies went beyond the traditional iron triangle to evaluate their technological efforts and considered additional performance dimensions such as customer satisfaction, business results, and preparation for the future. Results also show high degree of presence for issues emerging from the industry, moderate degree of presence for issues emerging from both the project and R&D activities, and low degree of presence for issues emerging from the headquarters, the subsidiaries, and the external environment. Further research is needed to find out if and how these issues influenced the performance of the global technological innovation projects studied.DOI:10.5585/gep.v3i1.72

Global assessment of technological innovation for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing world.

Science.gov (United States)

Adenle, Ademola A; Azadi, Hossein; Arbiol, Joseph

2015-09-15

Concerns about mitigating and adapting to climate change resulted in renewing the incentive for agricultural research investments and developing further innovation priorities around the world particularly in developing countries. In the near future, development of new agricultural measures and proper diffusion of technologies will greatly influence the ability of farmers in adaptation and mitigation to climate change. Using bibliometric approaches through output of academic journal publications and patent-based data, we assess the impact of research and development (R&D) for new and existing technologies within the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. We show that many developing countries invest limited resources for R&D in relevant technologies that have great potential for mitigation and adaption in agricultural production. We also discuss constraints including weak infrastructure, limited research capacity, lack of credit facilities and technology transfer that may hinder the application of innovation in tackling the challenges of climate change. A range of policy measures is also suggested to overcome identified constraints and to ensure that potentials of innovation for climate change mitigation and adaptation are realized. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impacts of wind technology advancement on future global energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiaochun; Ma, Chun; Song, Xia; Zhou, Yuyu; Chen, Weiping

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Integrated assessment model perform a series of scenarios of technology advances. • Explore the potential roles of wind energy technology advance in global energy. • Technology advance impacts on energy consumption and global low carbon market. • Technology advance influences on global energy security and stability. - Abstract: To avoid additional global warming and environmental damage, energy systems need to rely on the use of low carbon technologies like wind energy. However, supply uncertainties, production costs, and energy security are the main factors considered by the global economies when reshaping their energy systems. Here, we explore the potential roles of wind energy technology advancement in future global electricity generations, costs, and energy security. We use an integrated assessment model performing a series of technology advancement scenarios. The results show that double of the capital cost reduction causes 40% of generation increase and 10% of cost ​decrease on average in the long-term global wind electricity market. Today’s technology advancement could bring us the benefit of increasing electricity production in the future 40–50 years, and decreasing electricity cost in the future 90–100 years. The technology advancement of wind energy can help to keep global energy security and stability. An aggressive development and deployment of wind energy could in the long-term avoid 1/3 of gas and 1/28 of coal burned, and keep 1/2 biomass and 1/20 nuclear fuel saved from the global electricity system. The key is that wind resources are free and carbon-free. The results of this study are useful in broad coverage ranges from innovative technologies and systems of renewable energy to the economic industrial and domestic use of energy with no or minor impact on the environment.

Evolution of the global energy system: technology and other factors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

de Leone, R.

Future directions in government energy policies are assessed in light of the energy evolution following the 1973 oil crisis and the impacts created by technology transfer and other factors. In particular, the paper examines changes which are occurring in global marketing and commercialization trends, and in public opinion, especially in response to the techniques employed by planners in assessing new energy sources and technologies designed to lessen dependency on oil imports. It is noted that greater consideration must be given by scientists and engineers to the socio-economic impacts of their research efforts.

Assess and control global change in agriculture through ecosystem models integrated in geographic information systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponti, Luigi; Gutierrez, Andrew Paul; Iannetta, Massimo

2015-01-01

ENEA has created, in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley, the Global Change Biology project that, for the first time, has made available in Europe a technology that can be It used to interpret and effectively manage change Global agriculture. The aim of the project was to provide tools to summarize, manage and analyze data Ecological on the effects of global change in agricultural systems, using traditional Mediterranean crops (Eg. Vineyards and olive) as model systems (http: // cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/89728_en.html). [it

Assessment of the Impact of Globalization on the Introduction of Innovative Technology Companies in the Hospitality Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Zaitseva, Natalia A.; Larionova, Anna A.; Yumatov, Konstantin V.; Korsunova, Natalia M.; Dmitrieva, Nina V.

2016-01-01

The importance and relevance of the study of the globalization effects on the introduction of innovative technologies in the hotel industry is difficult to overestimate, as only those hotels that are able to change with demographic, technological and economic changes, and to adapt to occurring changes, will be able to succeed. The aim of this work…

Pathways of understanding: The interactions of humanity and global environmental change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobson, H.K.; Katzenberger, J.; Lousma, J.; Mooney, H.A.; Moss, R.H.; Kuhn, W.; Luterbacher, U.; Wiegandt, E.

1992-01-01

How humans, interacting within social systems, affect and are affected by global change is explored. Recognizing the impact human activities have on the environment and responding to the need to document the interactions among human activities, the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) commissioned a group of 12 scientists to develop a framework illustrating the key human systems that contribute to global change. This framework, called the Social Process Diagram, will help natural and social scientists, educators, resource managers and policy makers envision and analyze how human systems interact among themselves and with the natural system. The Social Process Diagram consists of the following blocks that constitute the Diagram's structural framework: (1) fund of knowledge and experience; (2) preferences and expectations; (3) factors of production and technology; (4) population and social structure; (5) economic systems; (6) political systems and institutions; and (7) global scale environmental processes. To demonstrate potential ways the Diagram can be used, this document includes 3 hypothetical scenarios of global change issues: global warming and sea level rise; the environmental impact of human population migration; and energy and the environment. These scenarios demonstrate the Diagram's usefulness for visualizing specific processes that might be studied to evaluate a particular global change issues. The scenario also shows that interesting and unanticipated questions may emerge as links are explored between categories on the Diagram

Pathways of Understanding: the Interactions of Humanity and Global Environmental Change

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Harold K.; Katzenberger, John; Lousma, Jack; Mooney, Harold A.; Moss, Richard H.; Kuhn, William; Luterbacher, Urs; Wiegandt, Ellen

1992-01-01

How humans, interacting within social systems, affect and are affected by global change is explored. Recognizing the impact human activities have on the environment and responding to the need to document the interactions among human activities, the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) commissioned a group of 12 scientists to develop a framework illustrating the key human systems that contribute to global change. This framework, called the Social Process Diagram, will help natural and social scientists, educators, resource managers and policy makers envision and analyze how human systems interact among themselves and with the natural system. The Social Process Diagram consists of the following blocks that constitute the Diagram's structural framework: (1) fund of knowledge and experience; (2) preferences and expectations; (3) factors of production and technology; (4) population and social structure; (5) economic systems; (6) political systems and institutions; and (7) global scale environmental processes. To demonstrate potential ways the Diagram can be used, this document includes 3 hypothetical scenarios of global change issues: global warming and sea level rise; the environmental impact of human population migration; and energy and the environment. These scenarios demonstrate the Diagram's usefulness for visualizing specific processes that might be studied to evaluate a particular global change issues. The scenario also shows that interesting and unanticipated questions may emerge as links are explored between categories on the Diagram.

Climate and Global Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duplessy, J.C.; Pons, A.; Fantechi, R.

1991-01-01

The present volume contains the lessons delivered at the course held in Arles, France, on the subject Climate and Global Change: natural variability of the geosphere and biosphere systems, biogeochemical cycles and their perturbation by human activities, monitoring and forecasting global changes (satellite observations, modelling,...). Short presentations of students' own research activities are also proposed (climatic fluctuation in the Mediterranean area, climate/vegetation relations, etc.)

Emerging technologies for the changing global market

Science.gov (United States)

Cruit, Wendy; Schutzenhofer, Scott; Goldberg, Ben; Everhart, Kurt

1993-01-01

This project served to define an appropriate methodology for effective prioritization of technology efforts required to develop replacement technologies mandated by imposed and forecast legislation. The methodology used is a semi-quantative approach derived from quality function deployment techniques (QFD Matrix). This methodology aims to weight the full environmental, cost, safety, reliability, and programmatic implications of replacement technology development to allow appropriate identification of viable candidates and programmatic alternatives. The results will be implemented as a guideline for consideration for current NASA propulsion systems.

Modify and Adapt: Global Higher Education in a Changing Economy

OpenAIRE

Kenneth E. Lane; Pamela Lemoine; Tina M. Tinney; Michael D. Richardson

2014-01-01

The combinations of global networking and digital delivery have intense repercussions for higher education administrators who confront a magnitude of opportunities and challenges as the result of the digital revolution. Much of the reaction to technological change comes from those with a vested interest in either wholesale change or maintaining the status quo. Taking the resilience metaphor from ecology, the authors propose a framework for analyzing an institution's ability to adapt to digita...

GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH NEWS #37: PUBLICATION OF "OUR CHANGING PLANET: THE FY 2002 U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM"

Science.gov (United States)

The EPA Global Change Research Program is pleased to inform you of the publication of the new Our Changing Planet: The FY 2002 U.S. Global Change Research Program. This annual report to the Congress was prepared under the auspices of the Committee on Environment and Natural Reso...

Global environmental technologies in the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, M.

1994-01-01

This paper outlines the activities of New Energy and industrial Technology Development Organization's (NEDO) 'Research and Development of Industrial Technology' projects which are related to global environmental technologies. Then, it describes four new material programs and two biotechnology ones, and presents a list of a few environmentally-friendly technologies. These national projects are carried out by private companies which are consigned by NEDO in conformity with MITI's fundamental Research and Development policy. (TEC)

A contemporary decennial global Landsat sample of changing agricultural field sizes

Science.gov (United States)

White, Emma; Roy, David

2014-05-01

Agriculture has caused significant human induced Land Cover Land Use (LCLU) change, with dramatic cropland expansion in the last century and significant increases in productivity over the past few decades. Satellite data have been used for agricultural applications including cropland distribution mapping, crop condition monitoring, crop production assessment and yield prediction. Satellite based agricultural applications are less reliable when the sensor spatial resolution is small relative to the field size. However, to date, studies of agricultural field size distributions and their change have been limited, even though this information is needed to inform the design of agricultural satellite monitoring systems. Moreover, the size of agricultural fields is a fundamental description of rural landscapes and provides an insight into the drivers of rural LCLU change. In many parts of the world field sizes may have increased. Increasing field sizes cause a subsequent decrease in the number of fields and therefore decreased landscape spatial complexity with impacts on biodiversity, habitat, soil erosion, plant-pollinator interactions, and impacts on the diffusion of herbicides, pesticides, disease pathogens, and pests. The Landsat series of satellites provide the longest record of global land observations, with 30m observations available since 1982. Landsat data are used to examine contemporary field size changes in a period (1980 to 2010) when significant global agricultural changes have occurred. A multi-scale sampling approach is used to locate global hotspots of field size change by examination of a recent global agricultural yield map and literature review. Nine hotspots are selected where significant field size change is apparent and where change has been driven by technological advancements (Argentina and U.S.), abrupt societal changes (Albania and Zimbabwe), government land use and agricultural policy changes (China, Malaysia, Brazil), and/or constrained by

Sixth-Grade Students' Progress in Understanding the Mechanisms of Global Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Visintainer, Tammie; Linn, Marcia

2015-04-01

Developing solutions for complex issues such as global climate change requires an understanding of the mechanisms involved. This study reports on the impact of a technology-enhanced unit designed to improve understanding of global climate change, its mechanisms, and their relationship to everyday energy use. Global Climate Change, implemented in the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE), engages sixth-grade students in conducting virtual investigations using NetLogo models to foster an understanding of core mechanisms including the greenhouse effect. Students then test how the greenhouse effect is enhanced by everyday energy use. This study draws on three data sources: (1) pre- and post-unit interviews, (2) analysis of embedded assessments following virtual investigations, and (3) contrasting cases of two students (normative vs. non-normative understanding of the greenhouse effect). Results show the value of using virtual investigations for teaching the mechanisms associated with global climate change. Interviews document that students hold a wide range of ideas about the mechanisms driving global climate change. Investigations with models help students use evidence-based reasoning to distinguish their ideas. Results show that understanding the greenhouse effect offers a foundation for building connections between everyday energy use and increases in global temperature. An impediment to establishing coherent understanding was the persistence of an alternative conception about ozone as an explanation for climate change. These findings illustrate the need for regular revision of curriculum based on classroom trials. We discuss key design features of models and instructional revisions that can transform the teaching and learning of global climate change.

Technology Learning Ratios in Global Energy Models; Ratios de Aprendizaje Tecnologico en Modelos Energeticos Globales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varela, M.

2001-07-01

The process of introduction of a new technology supposes that while its production and utilisation increases, also its operation improves and its investment costs and production decreases. The accumulation of experience and learning of a new technology increase in parallel with the increase of its market share. This process is represented by the technological learning curves and the energy sector is not detached from this process of substitution of old technologies by new ones. The present paper carries out a brief revision of the main energy models that include the technology dynamics (learning). The energy scenarios, developed by global energy models, assume that the characteristics of the technologies are variables with time. But this tend is incorporated in a exogenous way in these energy models, that is to say, it is only a time function. This practice is applied to the cost indicators of the technology such as the specific investment costs or to the efficiency of the energy technologies. In the last years, the new concept of endogenous technological learning has been integrated within these global energy models. This paper examines the concept of technological learning in global energy models. It also analyses the technological dynamics of the energy systems including the endogenous modelling of the process of technological progress. Finally, it makes a comparison of several of the most used global energy models (MARKAL, MESSAGE and ERIS) and, more concretely, about the use these models make of the concept of technological learning. (Author) 17 refs.

Peak globalization. Climate change, oil depletion and global trade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtis, Fred [Department of Economics, Drew University, Madison, NJ 07940 (United States)

2009-12-15

The global trade in goods depends upon reliable, inexpensive transportation of freight along complex and long-distance supply chains. Global warming and peak oil undermine globalization by their effects on both transportation costs and the reliable movement of freight. Countering the current geographic pattern of comparative advantage with higher transportation costs, climate change and peak oil will thus result in peak globalization, after which the volume of exports will decline as measured by ton-miles of freight. Policies designed to mitigate climate change and peak oil are very unlikely to change this result due to their late implementation, contradictory effects and insufficient magnitude. The implication is that supply chains will become shorter for most products and that production of goods will be located closer to where they are consumed. (author)

Peak globalization. Climate change, oil depletion and global trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtis, Fred

2009-01-01

The global trade in goods depends upon reliable, inexpensive transportation of freight along complex and long-distance supply chains. Global warming and peak oil undermine globalization by their effects on both transportation costs and the reliable movement of freight. Countering the current geographic pattern of comparative advantage with higher transportation costs, climate change and peak oil will thus result in peak globalization, after which the volume of exports will decline as measured by ton-miles of freight. Policies designed to mitigate climate change and peak oil are very unlikely to change this result due to their late implementation, contradictory effects and insufficient magnitude. The implication is that supply chains will become shorter for most products and that production of goods will be located closer to where they are consumed. (author)

Lean and global technology start-ups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tanev, Stoyan; Rasmussen, Erik Stavnsager; Zijdemans, Erik

2015-01-01

In this paper the authors introduce the concept of Lean Global Start-up (LGS) as a way of emphasizing the impossibility for new technology start-ups to deal separately with business development, innovation and early internationalization. For a newly established technology firm the task of being...... global and innovative at the same time should be seen as one process. The paper has two components – an introductory conceptual part and an empirical part that should be considered as basis for the preliminary validation of the conceptual insights. The research sample includes six firms – three from...... Canada and three from Denmark. The firms have had significant problems with the complexity, uncertainties and risks of being innovative on a global scale. They have however found ways of addressing these problems by a disciplined knowledge sharing and IP protection strategy and the efficient use...

Should the north make unilateral technology transfers to the south? North-South cooperation and conflicts in responses to global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Zili

1999-01-01

Whether developed countries should make unilateral technology transfers to developing countries in order to address global environment problems is debatable. This paper discusses the issue in a framework that recognizing nations' joint production of environmental externalities. Unlike the existing literature on unilateral transfers, this paper presents a North-South environmental-economic optimal growth model that allows transfers to mitigate externalities only. The paper derives criteria that would make such transfers feasible. By solving the transfer problem in a modified RICE model [Nordhaus, W.D., Yang, Z., 1996. A regional dynamic general equilibrium model of alternative climate change strategies, Am. Econ. Rev., 86 (4) 741-65], this paper also provides information on the timing and the amount of unilateral transfers from North to South to address potential global warming problem, one major global environmental externality. A policy implication from his study is that moderate employment of unilateral transfers would benefit North along with the world as a whole

Climate change - global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciconkov, Risto

2001-01-01

An explanation about climate, weather, climate changes. What is a greenhouse effect, i.e. global warming and reasons which contribute to this effect. Greenhouse gases (GHG) and GWP (Global Warming Potential) as a factor for estimating their influence on the greenhouse effect. Indicators of the climate changes in the previous period by known international institutions, higher concentrations of global average temperature. Projecting of likely scenarios for the future climate changes and consequences of them on the environment and human activities: industry, energy, agriculture, water resources. The main points of the Kyoto Protocol and problems in its realization. The need of preparing a country strategy concerning the acts of the Kyoto Protocol, suggestions which could contribute in the preparation of the strategy. A special attention is pointed to the energy, its resources, the structure of energy consumption and the energy efficiency. (Author)

The global politics of science and technology

CERN Document Server

Carpes, Mariana; Knoblich, Ruth

2014-01-01

An increasing number of scholars have begun to see science and technology as relevant issues in International Relations (IR), acknowledging the impact of material elements, technical instruments, and scientific practices on international security, statehood, and global governance. This two-volume collection brings the debate about science and technology to the center of International Relations. It shows how integrating science and technology translates into novel analytical frameworks, conceptual approaches and empirical puzzles, and thereby offers a state-of-the-art review of various methodological and theoretical ways in which sciences and technologies matter for the study of international affairs and world politics. The authors not only offer a set of practical examples of research frameworks for experts and students alike, but also propose a conceptual space for interdisciplinary learning in order to improve our understanding of the global politics of science and technology.

Global climate change: a synopsis of current activities in the Office of Fossil Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

South, D.W.; Kane, R.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on the US DOE Office of Fossil Energy investigation and monitoring of several aspects of global climate change as it relates to fossil fuels. The paper consists of the overheads from the presentation. The topics of this paper include greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, scientific uncertainties, legislation and protocols, mitigation strategies and policies, energy and economic impacts, and the role of clean coal technologies and fossil fuels in global climate change

Lifestyles and Global Land-use Change

OpenAIRE

Heilig, G.K.

1995-01-01

One of the most influential publications on land-use change is a small booklet, published by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Programme (HDP). It was written -- as its subtitle says -- as a "proposal for an IGBP-HDP Core Project" on "Relating Land Use and Global Land-Cover Change". The booklet can be seen as some kind of programmatic statement to guide international collaborative research on global land-use change. ...

Climate change 101 : understanding and responding to global climate change

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

To inform the climate change dialogue, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Pew Center on the States have developed a series of brief reports entitled Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change. These reports...

Global wind power potential: Physical and technological limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, Carlos de; Mediavilla, Margarita; Miguel, Luis Javier; Frechoso, Fernando

2011-01-01

This paper is focused on a new methodology for the global assessment of wind power potential. Most of the previous works on the global assessment of the technological potential of wind power have used bottom-up methodologies (e.g. ). Economic, ecological and other assessments have been developed, based on these technological capacities. However, this paper tries to show that the reported regional and global technological potential are flawed because they do not conserve the energetic balance on Earth, violating the first principle of energy conservation (). We propose a top-down approach, such as that in , to evaluate the physical-geographical potential and, for the first time, to evaluate the global technological wind power potential, while acknowledging energy conservation. The results give roughly 1 TW for the top limit of the future electrical potential of wind energy. This value is much lower than previous estimates and even lower than economic and realizable potentials published for the mid-century (e.g. ). - Highlights: → Reported wind power potentials are flawed because they violate energy conservation. → For the first time, it is evaluated the technological wind power potential with a top-down approach. → Our results show 1 TWe for the limit of wind power energy, which is much lower than previous estimates.

Possibilities for global governance of converging technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Roco, Mihail C.

2008-01-01

The convergence of nanotechnology, modern biology, the digital revolution and cognitive sciences will bring about tremendous improvements in transformative tools, generate new products and services, enable opportunities to meet and enhance human potential and social achievements, and in time reshape societal relationships. This paper focuses on the progress made in governance of such converging, emerging technologies and suggests possibilities for a global approach. Specifically, this paper suggests creating a multidisciplinary forum or a consultative coordinating group with members from various countries to address globally governance of converging, emerging technologies. The proposed framework for governance of converging technologies calls for four key functions: supporting the transformative impact of the new technologies; advancing responsible development that includes health, safety and ethical concerns; encouraging national and global partnerships; and establishing commitments to long-term planning and investments centered on human development. Principles of good governance guiding these functions include participation of all those who are forging or affected by the new technologies, transparency of governance strategies, responsibility of each participating stakeholder, and effective strategic planning. Introduction and management of converging technologies must be done with respect for immediate concerns, such as privacy, access to medical advancements, and potential human health effects. At the same time, introduction and management should also be done with respect for longer-term concerns, such as preserving human integrity, dignity and welfare. The suggested governance functions apply to four levels of governance: (a) adapting existing regulations and organizations; (b) establishing new programs, regulations and organizations specifically to handle converging technologies; (c) building capacity for addressing these issues into national policies and

Possibilities for global governance of converging technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roco, Mihail C.

2008-01-01

The convergence of nanotechnology, modern biology, the digital revolution and cognitive sciences will bring about tremendous improvements in transformative tools, generate new products and services, enable opportunities to meet and enhance human potential and social achievements, and in time reshape societal relationships. This paper focuses on the progress made in governance of such converging, emerging technologies and suggests possibilities for a global approach. Specifically, this paper suggests creating a multidisciplinary forum or a consultative coordinating group with members from various countries to address globally governance of converging, emerging technologies. The proposed framework for governance of converging technologies calls for four key functions: supporting the transformative impact of the new technologies; advancing responsible development that includes health, safety and ethical concerns; encouraging national and global partnerships; and establishing commitments to long-term planning and investments centered on human development. Principles of good governance guiding these functions include participation of all those who are forging or affected by the new technologies, transparency of governance strategies, responsibility of each participating stakeholder, and effective strategic planning. Introduction and management of converging technologies must be done with respect for immediate concerns, such as privacy, access to medical advancements, and potential human health effects. At the same time, introduction and management should also be done with respect for longer-term concerns, such as preserving human integrity, dignity and welfare. The suggested governance functions apply to four levels of governance: (a) adapting existing regulations and organizations; (b) establishing new programs, regulations and organizations specifically to handle converging technologies; (c) building capacity for addressing these issues into national policies and

Possibilities for global governance of converging technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roco, Mihail C. [National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States)], E-mail: mroco@nsf.gov

2008-01-15

The convergence of nanotechnology, modern biology, the digital revolution and cognitive sciences will bring about tremendous improvements in transformative tools, generate new products and services, enable opportunities to meet and enhance human potential and social achievements, and in time reshape societal relationships. This paper focuses on the progress made in governance of such converging, emerging technologies and suggests possibilities for a global approach. Specifically, this paper suggests creating a multidisciplinary forum or a consultative coordinating group with members from various countries to address globally governance of converging, emerging technologies. The proposed framework for governance of converging technologies calls for four key functions: supporting the transformative impact of the new technologies; advancing responsible development that includes health, safety and ethical concerns; encouraging national and global partnerships; and establishing commitments to long-term planning and investments centered on human development. Principles of good governance guiding these functions include participation of all those who are forging or affected by the new technologies, transparency of governance strategies, responsibility of each participating stakeholder, and effective strategic planning. Introduction and management of converging technologies must be done with respect for immediate concerns, such as privacy, access to medical advancements, and potential human health effects. At the same time, introduction and management should also be done with respect for longer-term concerns, such as preserving human integrity, dignity and welfare. The suggested governance functions apply to four levels of governance: (a) adapting existing regulations and organizations; (b) establishing new programs, regulations and organizations specifically to handle converging technologies; (c) building capacity for addressing these issues into national policies and

The Teaching of Anthropogenic Climate Change and Earth Science via Technology-Enabled Inquiry Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Drew; Sieber, Renee; Seiler, Gale; Chandler, Mark

2016-01-01

A gap has existed between the tools and processes of scientists working on anthropogenic global climate change (AGCC) and the technologies and curricula available to educators teaching the subject through student inquiry. Designing realistic scientific inquiry into AGCC poses a challenge because research on it relies on complex computer models, globally distributed data sets, and complex laboratory and data collection procedures. Here we examine efforts by the scientific community and educational researchers to design new curricula and technology that close this gap and impart robust AGCC and Earth Science understanding. We find technology-based teaching shows promise in promoting robust AGCC understandings if associated curricula address mitigating factors such as time constraints in incorporating technology and the need to support teachers implementing AGCC and Earth Science inquiry. We recommend the scientific community continue to collaborate with educational researchers to focus on developing those inquiry technologies and curricula that use realistic scientific processes from AGCC research and/or the methods for determining how human society should respond to global change.

Asia's changing role in global climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqi, Toufiq A

2008-10-01

Asia's role in global climate change has evolved significantly from the time when the Kyoto Protocol was being negotiated. Emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, from energy use in Asian countries now exceed those from the European Union or North America. Three of the top five emitters-China, India, and Japan, are Asian countries. Any meaningful global effort to address global climate change requires the active cooperation of these and other large Asian countries, if it is to succeed. Issues of equity between countries, within countries, and between generations, need to be tackled. Some quantitative current and historic data to illustrate the difficulties involved are provided, and one approach to making progress is suggested.

Determinants of the pace of global innovation in energy technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettencourt, Luís M A; Trancik, Jessika E; Kaur, Jasleen

2013-01-01

Understanding the factors driving innovation in energy technologies is of critical importance to mitigating climate change and addressing other energy-related global challenges. Low levels of innovation, measured in terms of energy patent filings, were noted in the 1980s and 90s as an issue of concern and were attributed to limited investment in public and private research and development (R&D). Here we build a comprehensive global database of energy patents covering the period 1970-2009, which is unique in its temporal and geographical scope. Analysis of the data reveals a recent, marked departure from historical trends. A sharp increase in rates of patenting has occurred over the last decade, particularly in renewable technologies, despite continued low levels of R&D funding. To solve the puzzle of fast innovation despite modest R&D increases, we develop a model that explains the nonlinear response observed in the empirical data of technological innovation to various types of investment. The model reveals a regular relationship between patents, R&D funding, and growing markets across technologies, and accurately predicts patenting rates at different stages of technological maturity and market development. We show quantitatively how growing markets have formed a vital complement to public R&D in driving innovative activity. These two forms of investment have each leveraged the effect of the other in driving patenting trends over long periods of time.

Review of economic and energy sector implications of adopting global climate change policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novak, M.H.

1997-12-31

This paper summarizes a number of studies examining potential economic impacts of global climate change policies. Implications for the United States as a whole, the U.S. energy sector, the U.S. economy, businesses and consumers, and world economies are considered. Impact assessments are performed of U.S. carbon emissions, carbon taxes, and carbon restrictions by comparing estimates from various organizations. The following conclusions were made from the economic studies: (1) the economic cost of carbon abatement is expensive; (2) the cost of unilateral action is very expensive with little quantifiable evidence that global emissions are reduced; (3) multilateral actions of developed countries are also very expensive, but there is quantifiable evidence of global emissions reductions; and (4) global actions have only been theoretically addressed. Paralleling these findings, the energy analyses show that the U.S. is technologically unprepared to give up fossil fuels. As a result: (1) carbon is not stabilized without a high tax, (2) stabilization of carbon is elusive, (3) technology is the only long-term answer, and (4) targeted programs may be appropriate to force technology development. 8 tabs.

Global climate change adaptation: examples from Russian boreal forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krankina, O.N.; Dixon, R.K.; Kirilenko, A.P.; Kobak, K.I.

1997-01-01

The Russian Federation contains approximately 20% of the world's timber resources and more than half of all boreal forests. These forests play a prominent role in environmental protection and economic development at global, national, and local levels, as well as, provide commodities for indigenous people and habitat for a variety of plant and animal species. The response and feedbacks of Russian boreal forests to projected global climate change are expected to be profound. Current understanding of the vulnerability of Russian forest resources to projected climate change is discussed and examples of possible adaptation measures for Russian forests are presented including: (1) artificial forestation techniques that can be applied with the advent of failed natural regeneration and to facilitate forest migration northward; (2) silvicultural measures that can influence the species mix to maintain productivity under future climates; (3) identifying forests at risk and developing special management adaption measures for them: (4) alternative processing and uses of wood and non-wood products from future forests; and (5) potential future infrastructure and transport systems that can be employed as boreal forests shift northward into melting permafrost zones. Current infrastructure and technology can be employed to help Russian boreal forests adapt to projected global environmental change, however many current forest management practices may have to be modified. Application of this technical knowledge can help policymakers identify priorities for climate change adaptation

globalization, technology transfer and the knowledge gap

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2011-06-10

Jun 10, 2011 ... manufacturing technology to the less developed countries of the South (Nigeria) in ... the primary sources of progress (Mill 1846 cited .... globalization process as in Asia and Latin. America. The Nigerian technology dream is.

Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI) is dedicated to understanding the problems of global climate change and their potential solutions. The Institute...

Advanced energy technologies and climate change: An analysis using the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edmonds, J.; Wise, M.; MacCracken, C.

1994-01-01

The authors report results from a ''top down'' energy-economy model employing ''bottom up'' assumptions and embedded in an integrated assessment framework, GCAM. The analysis shows that, from the perspective of long-term energy system development, differences in results from the ''top down'' and ''bottom up'' research communities would appear to be more closely linked to differences in assumptions regarding the economic cost associated with advanced technologies than to differences in modeling approach. The adoption of assumptions regarding advanced energy technologies were shown to have a profound effect on the future rate of anthropogenic climate change. The cumulative effect of the five sets of advanced energy technologies is to reduce annual emissions from fossil fuel use to levels which stabilize atmospheric concentrations below 550 ppmv, the point at which atmospheric concentrations are double those that existed in the middle of the eighteenth century. The consideration of all greenhouse gases, and in particular sulfur, leads to some extremely interesting results that the rapid deployment of advanced energy technologies leads to higher temperatures prior to 2050 than in the reference case. This is due to the fact that the advanced energy technologies reduce sulfur emissions as well as those of carbon. The short-term cooling impact of sulfur dominates the long-term warming impact of CO 2 and CH 4 . While all energy technologies play roles, the introduction of advanced biomass energy production technology plays a particularly important role. 16 refs., 12 figs., 3 tabs

Global change research: Science and policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rayner, S.

1993-05-01

This report characterizes certain aspects of the Global Change Research Program of the US Government, and its relevance to the short and medium term needs of policy makers in the public and private sectors. It addresses some of the difficulties inherent in the science and policy interface on the issues of global change. Finally, this report offers some proposals for improving the science for policy process in the context of global environmental change

The Alliance Capability of Technology-Based Born Globals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oxtorp, Liliya Altshuler; Elg, Ulf

2015-01-01

A detailed investigation of the aspects comprising the alliance capability of technology-based born globals. Alliance capability is regarded as a set of organizational skills necessary from the decision to search for a partner for a technology collaboration, which may also involve a marketing...... and risks of collaborating with MNEs.Methodology: A longitudinal process study of a Danish technology born global with three embedded cases of its R&D and marketing alliances with Asian MNEs.Findings: The organisational skills comprising the alliance capability are defined to be internal and external...

Global climate change -- taking action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

Commitment of the Canadian Mining Association (MAC), on behalf of its member companies, to play a global leadership role in eco-efficiency and environmental stewardship and participate fully in Canada's efforts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, are outlined. The principles underlying the MAC's commitment include: prudent action to reduce GHG emissions; the greatest possible efficiency in using energy; use of best practices and technologies; support for the development of balanced climate change policies; cooperation with all stakeholders in achieving the maximum feasible reduction in GHG emissions; support for research and analysis of the social, economic and environmental implications of GHG reduction strategies; and active support for a balanced and effective public outreach and education program. A brief review of how the mining sector has already made giant strides in cutting energy consumption and in reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per unit of output during the past decade is supplemented by summaries of GHG reduction success stories from member companies such as Cominco, Teck Corporation, Falconbridge and Syncrude Canada Limited

Global warming and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-10-01

A panel discussion was held to discuss climate change. Six panelists made presentations that summarized ozone depletion and climate change, discussed global responses, argued against the conventional scientific and policy dogmas concerning climate change, examined the effects of ultraviolet radiation on phytoplankton, examined the effects of carbon taxes on Canadian industry and its emissions, and examined the political and strategic aspects of global warming. A question session followed the presentations. Separate abstracts have been prepared for the six presentations

Transforming global health with mobile technologies and social enterprises: global health and innovation conference.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayingo, Gerald

2012-09-01

More than 2,000 people convened for the ninth annual Global Health and Innovation Conference at Yale University on April 21-22, 2012. Participants discussed the latest innovations, ideas in development, lessons learned, opportunities and challenges in global health activities. Several themes emerged, including the important role of frontline workers, strengthening health systems, leveraging social media, and sustainable and impact-driven philanthropy. Overall, the major outcome of the conference was the increased awareness of the potential of mobile technologies and social enterprises in transforming global health. Experts warned that donations and technological advances alone will not transform global health unless there are strong functioning health infrastructures and improved workforce. It was noted that there is a critical need for an integrated systems approach to global health problems and a need for scaling up promising pilot projects. Lack of funding, accountability, and sustainability were identified as major challenges in global health.

The role of electricity storage and hydrogen technologies in enabling global low-carbon energy transitions

OpenAIRE

McPherson, M.; Johnson, N.; Strubegger, M.

2018-01-01

Previous studies have noted the importance of electricity storage and hydrogen technologies for enabling large-scale variable renewable energy (VRE) deployment in long-term climate change mitigation scenarios. However, global studies, which typically use integrated assessment models, assume a fixed cost trajectory for storage and hydrogen technologies; thereby ignoring the sensitivity of VRE deployment and/or mitigation costs to uncertainties in future storage and hydrogen technology costs. Y...

Role of innovative technologies under the global zero emissions scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokimatsu, Koji; Konishi, Satoshi; Ishihara, Keiichi; Tezuka, Tetsuo; Yasuoka, Rieko; Nishio, Masahiro

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We modeled a zero emissions scenario based on the A1T scenario of IPCC-SRES. • We conducted global modeling by minimizing costs of energy, biomass, and materials. • A variety of advanced technology innovations were considered and incorporated. • Results suggest that zero emissions scenario may be possible in this century. • We revealed energy supply structure under the zero emissions scenarios. - Abstract: This study investigated zero emissions scenarios with following two originalities compared to various existing studies. One is that we based on A1T society of SRES (Special Report on Emissions Scenario) of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) compared to existing studies on those of B1 or B2. The second one is that various innovative technologies were considered and incorporated, such as biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), and advanced nuclear technologies including hydrogen or synfuel production. We conducted global modeling over the period 2010–2150 in which energy, materials, and biomass and foods supply costs were minimized by linear programming. We found following features of energy supply structure in A1T scenario. Since the electric demand in A1T scenario in 2100 is two times larger than the others, (1) renewable energy which solely produce electricity, nuclear, and fossil energy with CCS (FECCS) especially coal are main sources of electricity, (2) renewable which can supply heat, namely BECCS and geothermal, satisfies the sector, and (3) hydrogen from coal is introduced in transport sector. It can be concluded that the zero emission energy systems with global economic growth will be possible, by development and deployment of ambitious advanced energy technologies.

Global change of the climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moharam-nejad, Naser.

1995-01-01

Greenhouse effect is defined. greenhouse gases which are capable to produce greenhouse effect is mentioned. The production of greenhouse effects depends on the following factors; The amount of discharge to the atmosphere, Concentration, Life span, stability, Absorption and Emission. The effect of global change of climate on agriculture and living organisms is discussed. Global actions related to climate change and national procedures are described. The aim of climate change convention is given and the important points of convention is also mentioned

Determinants of the Pace of Global Innovation in Energy Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Jasleen

2013-01-01

Understanding the factors driving innovation in energy technologies is of critical importance to mitigating climate change and addressing other energy-related global challenges. Low levels of innovation, measured in terms of energy patent filings, were noted in the 1980s and 90s as an issue of concern and were attributed to limited investment in public and private research and development (R&D). Here we build a comprehensive global database of energy patents covering the period 1970–2009, which is unique in its temporal and geographical scope. Analysis of the data reveals a recent, marked departure from historical trends. A sharp increase in rates of patenting has occurred over the last decade, particularly in renewable technologies, despite continued low levels of R&D funding. To solve the puzzle of fast innovation despite modest R&D increases, we develop a model that explains the nonlinear response observed in the empirical data of technological innovation to various types of investment. The model reveals a regular relationship between patents, R&D funding, and growing markets across technologies, and accurately predicts patenting rates at different stages of technological maturity and market development. We show quantitatively how growing markets have formed a vital complement to public R&D in driving innovative activity. These two forms of investment have each leveraged the effect of the other in driving patenting trends over long periods of time. PMID:24155867

National inventory of Global Change relevant research in Norway; Nasjonal kartlegging av global change-relevant forskning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-05-01

The Norwegian Global Change Committee has made an inventory of global change research (GCR) projects funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) in 2001. In lack of a rigid definition, GCR was defined as research that can be considered relevant to the science agenda of the four major international global change programmes DIVERSITAS, IGBP, IHDP and WCRP. Relevance was judged based on the objectives stated for each of the international programmes and their core projects. It was not attempted to check whether the projects had any kind of link to the programmes they were considered relevant for. The grants provided by the RCN in 2001 to GCR as defined above amounts to about 77 mill. NOK. Based on a recent survey on climate change research it is reasonable to estimate that the RCN finances between 30 and 40 % of all GCR in Norway. Accordingly, the total value of Norwegian research relevant to the four international global change programmes in 2001 can be estimated to 192 - 254 mill. NOK.

Global monopoles can change Universe's topology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marunović, Anja; Prokopec, Tomislav

2016-01-01

If the Universe undergoes a phase transition, at which global monopoles are created or destroyed, topology of its spatial sections can change. More specifically, by making use of Myers' theorem, we show that, after a transition in which global monopoles form, spatial sections of a spatially flat, infinite Universe becomes finite and closed. This implies that global monopoles can change the topology of Universe's spatial sections (from infinite and open to finite and closed). Global monopoles cannot alter the topology of the space-time manifold.

Investigating Student Use of Technology for Engaged Citizenship in A Global Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brad M. Maguth

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This study undertook a five month qualitative investigation into technology use amongst twelve high school social studies students in two different sites in the Midwestern United States. This study examined students’ use of technology and its relationship to three dimensions of citizenship in a global age: understand global events, issues, and perspectives, participate in global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and advocate on global problems and issues to think and act globally. Collecting data through semi-structured student interviews, online-threaded discussions and document analysis, I triangulated findings, and employed a qualitative approach. The study finds a relationship between student participants’ use of technology and their serving as engaged citizenship in a global age. In using technology, students accessed international news and information, joined global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and produced digital content for international audiences.

76 FR 5834 - International Business Machines Corporation, Global Technology Services Business Unit, Integrated...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-02

... Machines Corporation, Global Technology Services Business Unit, Integrated Technology Services, Cost and..., applicable to workers of International Business Machines Corporation, Global Technology Services Business... engaged in activities related to support for the Global Technology Services Business Unit. The company...

Globalization and advances in information and communication technologies: the impact on nursing and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, Patricia A; Coenen, Amy

2008-01-01

Globalization and information and communication technology (ICT) continue to change us and the world we live in. Nursing stands at an opportunity intersection where challenging global health issues, an international workforce shortage, and massive growth of ICT combine to create a very unique space for nursing leadership and nursing intervention. Learning from prior successes in the field can assist nurse leaders in planning and advancing strategies for global health using ICT. Attention to lessons learned will assist in combating the technological apartheid that is already present in many areas of the globe and will highlight opportunities for innovative applications in health. ICT has opened new channels of communication, creating the beginnings of a global information society that will facilitate access to isolated areas where health needs are extreme and where nursing can contribute significantly to the achievement of "Health for All." The purpose of this article is to discuss the relationships between globalization, health, and ICT, and to illuminate opportunities for nursing in this flattening and increasingly interconnected world.

Surface reflectance and conversion efficiency dependence of technologies for mitigating global warming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edmonds, Ian [Solartran Pty Ltd., 12 Lentara St, Kenmore, Brisbane 4069 (Australia); Smith, Geoff [Physics and Advanced Materials, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, New South Wales 2007 (Australia)

2011-05-15

A means of assessing the relative impact of different renewable energy technologies on global warming has been developed. All power plants emit thermal energy to the atmosphere. Fossil fuel power plants also emit CO{sub 2} which accumulates in the atmosphere and provides an indirect increase in global warming via the greenhouse effect. A fossil fuel power plant may operate for some time before the global warming due to its CO{sub 2} emission exceeds the warming due to its direct heat emission. When a renewable energy power plant is deployed instead of a fossil fuel power plant there may be a significant time delay before the direct global warming effect is less than the combined direct and indirect global warming effect from an equivalent output coal fired plant - the ''business as usual'' case. Simple expressions are derived to calculate global temperature change as a function of ground reflectance and conversion efficiency for various types of fossil fuelled and renewable energy power plants. These expressions are used to assess the global warming mitigation potential of some proposed Australian renewable energy projects. The application of the expressions is extended to evaluate the deployment in Australia of current and new geo-engineering and carbon sequestration solutions to mitigate global warming. Principal findings are that warming mitigation depends strongly on the solar to electric conversion efficiency of renewable technologies, geo-engineering projects may offer more economic mitigation than renewable energy projects and the mitigation potential of reforestation projects depends strongly on the location of the projects. (author)

Science and technology in the global Cold War

CERN Document Server

Krige, John

2014-01-01

The Cold War period saw a dramatic expansion of state-funded science and technology research. Government and military patronage shaped Cold War technoscientific practices, imposing methods that were project oriented, team based, and subject to national-security restrictions. These changes affected not just the arms race and the space race but also research in agriculture, biomedicine, computer science, ecology, meteorology, and other fields. This volume examines science and technology in the context of the Cold War, considering whether the new institutions and institutional arrangements that emerged globally constrained technoscientific inquiry or offered greater opportunities for it. The contributors find that whatever the particular science, and whatever the political system in which that science was operating, the knowledge that was produced bore some relation to the goals of the nation-state. These goals varied from nation to nation; weapons research was emphasized in the United States and the Soviet Unio...

Perspectives on global climate change: A review of the adaptation and mitigation approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrisette, P.M.

1992-01-01

This paper was prepared for the conference on Global Climate Change and International Security sponsored by the Midwest Consortium for International Security Studies of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and held in Chicago, Illinois on February 11-13, 1992. The purpose of the paper is to provide some background on the different perceptions and perspectives that are presently shaping the policy debate on how to respond to the problem of global warming. For better or worse, this debate has focused primarily on whether to adapt to climate change in the future or to mitigate climate change in the present, and as the issue has become increasingly political this debate has become polarized. The two approaches, as this paper notes, are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they share much in common. Differences, however, can be found in how proponents of each view the risks of global climate change. This paper provides a brief outline of the progression of global warming from an obscure scientific concern into a leading international political issue, reviews previous efforts by social scientists to assess attitudes and positions on global warming, and examines in detail the adaptation and mitigation perspectives and assesses how they differ on the basis of different conceptions of uncertainty and risk, equity, and technology

Uncertainty and global climate change research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tonn, B.E. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Weiher, R. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO (United States)

1994-06-01

The Workshop on Uncertainty and Global Climate Change Research March 22--23, 1994, in Knoxville, Tennessee. This report summarizes the results and recommendations of the workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to examine in-depth the concept of uncertainty. From an analytical point of view, uncertainty is a central feature of global climate science, economics and decision making. The magnitude and complexity of uncertainty surrounding global climate change has made it quite difficult to answer even the most simple and important of questions-whether potentially costly action is required now to ameliorate adverse consequences of global climate change or whether delay is warranted to gain better information to reduce uncertainties. A major conclusion of the workshop is that multidisciplinary integrated assessments using decision analytic techniques as a foundation is key to addressing global change policy concerns. First, uncertainty must be dealt with explicitly and rigorously since it is and will continue to be a key feature of analysis and recommendations on policy questions for years to come. Second, key policy questions and variables need to be explicitly identified, prioritized, and their uncertainty characterized to guide the entire scientific, modeling, and policy analysis process. Multidisciplinary integrated assessment techniques and value of information methodologies are best suited for this task. In terms of timeliness and relevance of developing and applying decision analytic techniques, the global change research and policy communities are moving rapidly toward integrated approaches to research design and policy analysis.

Technological Innovation and Competitiveness in The Global Economy: India's Changing Status and Its Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bala Subrahmanya Mungila Hillemane

2013-09-01

Full Text Available   This paper probes the changing innovation status and resultant competitiveness in the context of global economy and questions the recent ranking improvements of India on the basis of hard economic facts. This paper has made use of secondary data comprising innovation indices and competitiveness rankings published by international organizations and reputed business schools from time to time since 1996 to analyze the changing status of India internationally. Later, using secondary data on key macro-economic variables published by the Government of India, the recent ranking of India is closely examined as well as recent steps taken by the government of India to improve competitiveness is elaborated. The study throws light on the changing but improving innovation dimensions and competitiveness ranking of India since 1996 till 2010. From nowhere India emerges and occupies the second slot, after China, in the global competitiveness ranking. But hard core macro-economic variables do not justify India’s elevation to the top in any way. Given this, the study throws light on the recent policy measures announced by the Government of India and its implications as well as policy imperatives.

Adapting Indian Agriculture to Global Climate Change

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Adapting Indian Agriculture to Global Climate Change · Climate Change: Generic Implications for Agriculture · Controlled environment facilities at IARI used for evaluating model performance in future climate change scenarios · Slide 4 · Slide 5 · Global studies indicate considerable impact of climate change in tropics.

On the optimal allocation of green technology under climate change agreements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schueller, David

2009-07-15

This report investigates whether a technology transfer mechanism can help to reach a cooperative outcome, in a game on a climate change treaty that involves emission caps for both developed and developing countries. A climate change treaty without the inclusion of developing countries and their acceptance of emission limits is likely to be ineffective. Too little research and development of green technology is currently undertaken, considering its potential global impact, especially in developing countries. Analyzing a simple game with two asymmetric players, a tentative result is that the technology-transfer mechanism considered here cannot help to establish the cooperative outcome as a Nash equilibrium. However, the inclusion of secondary benefits in the payoff function, which are likely to occur when such a transfer takes place, could change this result. (Author)

How Will Climate Change Affect Globalization?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dilyard, John Raymond; Bals, Lydia; Zhuplev, Anatoly

2011-01-01

, it will effect globalization. Businesses, if they want to be sustained, will have to adjust to climate change. This panel will examine two topics within which the relationship between climate change and globalization can be assessed - the sourcing of resources and services when the location of those resources...... is subject to change and the nature of competition in agriculture-based business, focusing on wine....

The Challenge of Globalization: Preparing Teachers for a Global Age

Science.gov (United States)

Merryfield, Merry M.

2008-01-01

Globalization changes everything. When young people affect and are affected by issues, changes, and events across the world, they need to be given the tools to participate in global discourse and decision making. With their incredible consumer power, today's preK-12 students are already influencing global economic, technological, and environmental…

Biodiversity and global change. Adaptative responses to global change: results and prospective. IFB-GICC restitution colloquium; Biodiversite et changement global. Reponses adaptatives au changement global: resultats et prospective. Colloque de restitution IFB-GICC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Despres, L; Hossaert-Mckey, M; Martin, J F; Pont, D; Valero, M; Chave, J; Benizri, E; Amiaud, B; Boury-Esnault, N; Fritz, H; Lavelle, P; Martin, F; Poulet, S; Blanchard, F; Cheddadi, R; Dupouey, J L; Hulle, M; Michaux, J; Souissi, S; Bridault, A; Dambrine, E; Gomez, B; Thevenard, F; Legendre, S; Suc, J P; Zeitoun, V; Bezancon, G; Frascaria-Lacoste, N; Ponsard, S; Bourguet, D; Vigne, J D; Doyen, L; Joly, P; Gourlet-Fleury, S; Garnier, E; Lebaron, Ph; Boulinier, Th; Chuine, I; Jiguet, F; Couvet, D; Soussana, J F; Weimerskirsch, H; Grosbois, V; Bretagnolle, V

2006-07-01

Global change is the consequence of the worldwide human print on ecology. The uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, the urbanization, the intensifying of agriculture, the homogenization of life styles and cultures, the homogenization of fauna and vegetation, the commercial trades, the bio-invasions, the over-exploitation of resources and the emergence of new economic powers (China, India, Brazil..) represent an adaptative dynamics of interactions which affects the overall biosphere and the adaptative capacities and the future of all species. Biodiversity is an ecological and societal insurance against the risks and uncertainties linked with global change. The French institute of biodiversity (IFB) has created a working group in charge of a study on global change and biodiversity, in particular in terms of: speed and acceleration of processes, interaction between the different organization levels of the world of living, scale changes, and adaptative capacities. 38 projects with an interdisciplinary approach have been retained by the IFB and the Ministry of ecology and sustainable development. The conclusion of these projects were presented at this restitution colloquium and are summarized in this document. The presentations are organized in 7 sessions dealing with: global changes and adaptation mechanisms; functional responses to global changes; spatial responses to global changes; temporal responses to global changes; selective answers to global changes; available tools and ecological services; scenarios and projections. (J.S.)

Examining Educational Climate Change Technology: How Group Inquiry Work with Realistic Scientific Technology Alters Classroom Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Drew; Sieber, Renee; Seiler, Gale; Chandler, Mark

2018-04-01

This study with 79 students in Montreal, Quebec, compared the educational use of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) global climate model (GCM) to climate education technologies developed for classroom use that included simpler interfaces and processes. The goal was to show how differing climate education technologies succeed and fail at getting students to evolve in their understanding of anthropogenic global climate change (AGCC). Many available climate education technologies aim to convey key AGCC concepts or Earth systems processes; the educational GCM used here aims to teach students the methods and processes of global climate modeling. We hypothesized that challenges to learning about AGCC make authentic technology-enabled inquiry important in developing accurate understandings of not just the issue but how scientists research it. The goal was to determine if student learning trajectories differed between the comparison and treatment groups based on whether each climate education technology allowed authentic scientific research. We trace learning trajectories using pre/post exams, practice quizzes, and written student reflections. To examine the reasons for differing learning trajectories, we discuss student pre/post questionnaires, student exit interviews, and 535 min of recorded classroom video. Students who worked with a GCM demonstrated learning trajectories with larger gains, higher levels of engagement, and a better idea of how climate scientists conduct research. Students who worked with simpler climate education technologies scored lower in the course because of lower levels of engagement with inquiry processes that were perceived to not actually resemble the work of climate scientists.

Microenvironmental change as a mechanism to study global change.

Science.gov (United States)

Lortie, C. J.

2016-12-01

Global change is a set of significant processes that influence all aspects of ecosystem functioning and often-natural services within Santa Barbara County. The sensitivity of coastal and urban systems is certainly very high. However, profound changes are also predicted for arid and semi-arid systems globally, and California is no exception. These dryland systems are less buffered by oceanic processes and typically express high inter-annual variation in precipitation and temperatures in addition to perturbations associated with long-term droughts. However, climate estimates and downscaled values can present challenges in providing evidence at the scale relevant to individual species or individuals, and the importance of biotic interactions must be coupled to these estimates in space and time. Coupled indicators of key micro-environmental measures to both positive and negative interactions between foundation species and other organisms provide a metric of buffering capacity and resilience to global change at fine spatial scales. Consequently, the primary objective of this research project is to provide both the a well-articulated, ecologically relevant micro-environmental big data measure of global change within Santa Barbara County and a coupled estimate of concurrent changes in interactions in key species within the region. Shrubs directly and indirectly buffered local changes in the microenvironment thereby functioning as refuges for other species within arid and semi-arid regions subject to dramatic global change drivers. The following major patterns were identified: (i) shrub micro-environments reduce the level of stress and amplitude of variation associated with temperature and moisture, (ii) many plant and animal species including threatened lizards are relatively more common with shrubs within the region, and (iii) the variation in the interaction patterns between species relates to the extent of amelioration provided by shrub-biodiversity complexes within

A global change policy for Alaska

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cole, H.

1993-01-01

The Alaska Science and Engineering Advisory Committee attempted to formulate a suitable state policy for global climate change. The main elements and rationale for this policy are described, along with lessons learned from the Montreal protocol on global ozone and the policy itself. A discussion of issues relating to public presentation and reaction to a climate change policy indicates that elements necessary for a strategy presenting a case for global change needs to be credible, simple, and unambiguous, with risks clearly defined. Society and business must see themselves as stakeholders in the issue, and policies must be formulated accordingly. The Montreal protocol provides an example of success in advanced planning on a major global issue. The six main components of the Alaskan policy relate to fossil fuel production and marketing, the economic mix of energy production for in-state use, the efficiency and effectiveness of energy end-use services, the impact of climatic change on Alaska as a geographic unit, Alaska as a high-latitude site for climate change monitoring and analysis, and Alaskan participation with other countries in research and policy development. 7 refs

A contemporary decennial global sample of changing agricultural field sizes

Science.gov (United States)

White, E.; Roy, D. P.

2011-12-01

In the last several hundred years agriculture has caused significant human induced Land Cover Land Use Change (LCLUC) with dramatic cropland expansion and a marked increase in agricultural productivity. The size of agricultural fields is a fundamental description of rural landscapes and provides an insight into the drivers of rural LCLUC. Increasing field sizes cause a subsequent decrease in the number of fields and therefore decreased landscape spatial complexity with impacts on biodiversity, habitat, soil erosion, plant-pollinator interactions, diffusion of disease pathogens and pests, and loss or degradation in buffers to nutrient, herbicide and pesticide flows. In this study, globally distributed locations with significant contemporary field size change were selected guided by a global map of agricultural yield and literature review and were selected to be representative of different driving forces of field size change (associated with technological innovation, socio-economic conditions, government policy, historic patterns of land cover land use, and environmental setting). Seasonal Landsat data acquired on a decadal basis (for 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010) were used to extract field boundaries and the temporal changes in field size quantified and their causes discussed.

Mercury from wildfires: Global emission inventories and sensitivity to 2000-2050 global change

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Aditya; Wu, Shiliang; Huang, Yaoxian; Liao, Hong; Kaplan, Jed O.

2018-01-01

We estimate the global Hg wildfire emissions for the 2000s and the potential impacts from the 2000-2050 changes in climate, land use and land cover and Hg anthropogenic emissions by combining statistical analysis with global data on vegetation type and coverage as well as fire activities. Global Hg wildfire emissions are estimated to be 612 Mg year-1. Africa is the dominant source region (43.8% of global emissions), followed by Eurasia (31%) and South America (16.6%). We find significant perturbations to wildfire emissions of Hg in the context of global change, driven by the projected changes in climate, land use and land cover and Hg anthropogenic emissions. 2000-2050 climate change could increase Hg emissions by 14% globally and regionally by 18% for South America, 14% for Africa and 13% for Eurasia. Projected changes in land use by 2050 could decrease the global Hg emissions from wildfires by 13% mainly driven by a decline in African emissions due to significant agricultural land expansion. Future land cover changes could lead to significant increases in Hg emissions over some regions (+32% North America, +14% Africa, +13% Eurasia). Potential enrichment of terrestrial ecosystems in 2050 in response to changes in Hg anthropogenic emissions could increase Hg wildfire emissions globally (+28%) and regionally (+19% North America, +20% South America, +24% Africa, +41% Eurasia). Our results indicate that the future evolution of climate, land use and land cover and Hg anthropogenic emissions are all important factors affecting Hg wildfire emissions in the coming decades.

The Changing Global Context of Virtual Workforce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James A. Ejiwale

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The technological revolution occurring in today’s market place has made it possible for many companies to be innovative about the way and where work is done. To get the job done, due to digital revolution, companies have turned to virtual workforce to harness the benefits of connectivity and effective information sharing among stakeholders to get the job done. More important, the success of coordinating work among a virtual workforce for profitability in a rapidly changing global environment depends on “effective indirect communication” between the leadership and the virtual workforce. This article will address the importance of effective communication as a necessary tool for the success of e-leadership, productivity improvement in virtual work environment.

Global change and genetic diversity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kremer, Antoine

2000-01-01

Are there grounds for concern as to the impact of global change on the future of European forests? This question is approached from the genetic angle, considering the modifications produced by climate change on the diversity and adaptive potential of forest species. In the absence of experimental data, the answers are derived from a set of arguments based on knowledge of evolutionary mechanisms involved in genetic diversity, the post-glacial history of European forests and lessons drawn from recent introductions of foreign wood species. These arguments entail less pessimistic conclusions than those generally reached for consequences attributed to global change. Even if major changes in composition could occur, past events show that genetic erosion capable of challenging the adaptive potential of species is unlikely. (author)

Economic opportunities resulting from a global deployment of concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies-The example of German technology providers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallentin, Daniel; Viebahn, Peter

2010-01-01

Several energy scenario studies consider concentrated solar power (CSP) plants as an important technology option to reduce the world's CO 2 emissions to a level required for not letting the global average temperature exceed a threshold of 2-2.4 o C. A global ramp up of CSP technologies offers great economic opportunities for technology providers as CSP technologies include highly specialised components. This paper analyses possible value creation effects resulting from a global deployment of CSP until 2050 as projected in scenarios of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Greenpeace International. The analysis focuses on the economic opportunities of German technology providers since companies such as Schott Solar, Flabeg or Solar Millennium are among the leading suppliers of CSP technologies on the global market.

Surface water change as a significant contributor to global evapotranspiration change

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, S.; Song, C.

2017-12-01

Water comprises a critical component of global/regional hydrological and biogeochemical cycles and is essential to all organisms including humans. In the past several decades, climate change has intensified the hydrological cycle, with significant implications for ecosystem services and feedback to regional and global climate. Evapotranspiration (ET) as a linking mechanism between land surface and atmosphere is central to the water cycle and an excellent indicator of the intensity of water cycle. Knowledge of the temporal changes of ET is crucial for accurately estimating global or regional water budgets and better understanding climate and hydrological interactions. While studies have examined changes in global ET, they were conducted using a constant land and surface water (SW) area. However, as many studies have found that global SW is very dynamic and their surface areas have generally been increasing since the 1980s. The conversion from land to water and vice versa significantly changes the local ET since water bodies evaporate at a rate that can be much higher than that of the land. Here, we quantify the global changes in ET caused by such land-water conversion using remotely-sensed SW area and various ET and potential ET products. New SW and lost SW between circa-1985 and circa-2015 were derived from remote sensing and were used to modify the local ET estimates. We found an increase in ET in all continents as consistent with the net increase in SW area. The increasing SW area lead to a global increase in ET by 30.38 ± 5.28 km3/yr. This is a significant contribution when compared to the 92.95 km3/yr/yr increase in ET between 1982-1997 and 103.43 km3/yr/yr decrease between 1998-2008 by Jung et al., (2010) assuming a constant SW. The results enhance our understanding of the water fluxes between the land and atmosphere and supplement land water budget estimates. We conclude that changes in SW lead to a significant change in global ET that cannot be neglected in

Innovation and technology transfer through global value chains: Evidence from China's PV industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Fang; Gallagher, Kelly Sims

2016-01-01

China's success as a rapid innovation follower in the infant Photovoltaic (PV) industry surprised many observers. This paper explores how China inserted itself into global clean energy innovation systems by examining the case of the solar PV industry. The paper decomposes the global PV industrial value chain, and determines the main factors shaping PV technology transfer and diffusion. Chinese firms first entered PV module manufacturing through technology acquisition, and then gradually built their global competitiveness by utilizing a vertical integration strategy within segments of the industry as well as the broader PV value chain. The main drivers for PV technology transfer from the global innovation system to China are global market formation policy, international mobilization of talent, the flexibility of manufacturing in China, and belated policy incentives from China's government. The development trajectory of the PV industry in China indicates that innovation in cleaner energy technologies can occur through both global and national innovation processes, and knowledge exchange along the global PV value chain. - Highlights: •The value chain analytical approach is synergized with the theories of technology transfer and innovation systems. •A detailed review of how China integrated itself into the global solar PV innovation system is provided. •Four main factors shape PV technology transfer to China across various value chain segments. •Innovation in cleaner energy technologies is a combination of global and national innovation processes.

Integrated risk analysis of global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shlyakhter, Alexander; Wilson, Richard; Valverde A, L.J. Jr.

1995-01-01

This paper discusses several factors that should be considered in integrated risk analyses of global climate change. We begin by describing how the problem of global climate change can be subdivided into largely independent parts that can be linked together in an analytically tractable fashion. Uncertainty plays a central role in integrated risk analyses of global climate change. Accordingly, we consider various aspects of uncertainty as they relate to the climate change problem. We also consider the impacts of these uncertainties on various risk management issues, such as sequential decision strategies, value of information, and problems of interregional and intergenerational equity. (author)

Global Climate Change as Environmental Megacrisis

OpenAIRE

Endter-Wada, Joanna; Ingram, Helen

2012-01-01

The authors analyze global climate change utilizing insights from the governance and crisis management literatures that seek to understand the prospects, nature, characteristics and the effects of cataclysmic events. They argue that global climate change is a mega-crisis hiding in plain sight yet there has been no proportionate mega-crisis response. People are still grappling with how to make sense of climate change, how to bridge multiple ways of knowing it, and how to negotiate collective c...

International Business and Global Climate Change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolk, A.; Pinkse, J.

2008-11-15

Climate change has become an important topic on the business agenda with strong pressure being placed on companies to respond and contribute to finding solutions to this urgent problem. This text provides a comprehensive analysis of international business responses to global climate change and climate change policy. Embedded in relevant management literature, this book gives a concise treatment of developments in policy and business activity on global, regional and national levels, using examples and systematic data from a large number of international companies. The first part outlines the international climate policy landscape and voluntary initiatives taken by companies, both alone and together with others. The second part examines companies' strategies, covering innovation for climate change, as well as compensation via emissions trading and carbon offsetting. Written by well-known experts in the field, International Business and Global Climate Change illustrates how an environmental topic becomes strategically important in a mainstream sense, affecting corporate decision-making, business processes, products, reputation, advertising, communication, accounting and finance.

International Business and Global Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolk, A.; Pinkse, J.

2008-11-01

Climate change has become an important topic on the business agenda with strong pressure being placed on companies to respond and contribute to finding solutions to this urgent problem. This text provides a comprehensive analysis of international business responses to global climate change and climate change policy. Embedded in relevant management literature, this book gives a concise treatment of developments in policy and business activity on global, regional and national levels, using examples and systematic data from a large number of international companies. The first part outlines the international climate policy landscape and voluntary initiatives taken by companies, both alone and together with others. The second part examines companies' strategies, covering innovation for climate change, as well as compensation via emissions trading and carbon offsetting. Written by well-known experts in the field, International Business and Global Climate Change illustrates how an environmental topic becomes strategically important in a mainstream sense, affecting corporate decision-making, business processes, products, reputation, advertising, communication, accounting and finance

Global generations: social change in the twentieth century.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmunds, June; Turner, Bryan S

2005-12-01

The concept of generation within sociology has until recently been a marginal area of interest. However, various demographic, cultural and intellectual developments have re-awakened an interest in generations that started with the classic essay by Karl Mannheim. To date, the sociological literature has generally conceptualized generations as nationally bounded entities. In this paper we suggest that the sociology of generations should develop the concept of global generations. This conceptual enhancement is important because the growth of global communications technology has enabled traumatic events, in an unparalleled way, to be experienced globally. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century was the era of international generations, united through print media, and the mid-twentieth century saw the emergence of transnational generations, facilitated by new broadcast communications. However, the latter part of the twentieth century is the period of global generations, defined by electronic communications technology, which is characterized, uniquely, by increasing interactivity. The 1960s generation was the first global generation, the emergence of which had world-wide consequences; today with major developments in new electronic communications, there is even more potential for the emergence of global generations that can communicate across national boundaries and through time. If in the past historical traumas combined with available opportunities to create national generations, now globally experienced traumas, facilitated by new media technologies, have the potential for creating global generational consciousness. The media have become increasingly implicated in the formation of generational movements. Because we are talking about generations in the making rather than an historical generation, this article is necessarily speculative; it aims to provoke discussion and establish a new research agenda for work on generations.

Global climate change: Implications, challenges, and mitigation measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majumdar, S.K.

1992-01-01

This book presents a perspective of the potential problem of global climate change induced by human activity. The editors have presented viewpoints of experts (advocates and skeptics) representing the issues of climate change. Possible results from long-term global change discussed in this book include mass migrations of plants and animals; changes in crop yields; flood and drought; and economic, political, and cultural changes. The text contains 20 chapters on the impact of global climate change and 10 chapters on the mitigation of effects and policy development

Developing global health technology standards: what can other industries teach us?

Science.gov (United States)

Masum, Hassan; Lackman, Rebecca; Bartleson, Karen

2013-10-17

There is a lack of effective and affordable technologies to address health needs in the developing world. One way to address problems of innovation and affordability is to design global health technologies to follow agreed-upon standards. This Debate article argues that we can better develop standards for global health technologies if we learn lessons from other industries. The article's Background section begins by explaining why standards are needed in global health. For example, if global health technologies can be modularized into independent interfacing parts, these parts can then interact via well-defined standards in a "plug and play" fashion. This can avoid development of mutually incompatible solutions by different organizations, speed the pace of innovation, unlock health systems from single providers and approaches, and lower barriers to entry. The Background then gives a brief primer on standards and discusses incentives for health standards. The article's Discussion section begins with brief relevant cases of standards development from other industries, including electricity, container shipping, CD standards, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and the Internet. It then explores lessons from these and other industries that suggest how to develop standards for global health technologies. The remainder of the Discussion considers intellectual property and regulatory issues and standards-based global health business models, and ends with a checklist of considerations for health standards development leaders. (The associated Additional file discusses observations from standards development for cell phones and semiconductors, as well as challenges in the standards development process itself.) Throughout the article, point-of-care diagnostics are used as an illustrative example. An initiative is already underway to explore standardized diagnostics platforms. This Debate article aims to convince the reader that standards can benefit global health technologies if we

Man -made greenhouse gases trigger unified force to start global warming impacts referred to as climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karishnan, K.J.; Kalam, A.

2011-01-01

Global warming problems due to man-made greenhouse gases (GHGs), appear to be a serious concern and threat to the globe. CO/sub 2/, O/sub 3, NOx and HFC's are the main greenhouse gases and CO/sub 2/ is one of the main cause of global warming. CO/sub 2/ is emitted from burning fossil fuels to produce electricity from power plants and burning of gasoline in vehicles and airplanes. Global greenhouse gases and its sources in regions are discussed in this paper. This paper initially discusses the CO/sub 2/ emissions and the recycle of CO/sub 2/ in biodiesel. This paper mainly focuses on 'Unified Force'. The increase of H/sub 2/O in the sea due to warming of the globe triggers the 'Unified Force' or 'Self-Compressive Surrounding Pressure Force' which is proportional to the H/sub 2/O level in the sea to start global warming impacts referred to as climate change. This paper also points out the climate change and the ten surprising results of global warming. Finally, this paper suggests switching from fossil fuel technology to green energy technologies like biodiesel which recycles CO/sub 2/ emissions and also Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Technologies which eradicates global warming impacts. The benefits of switching from fossil fuel to biodiesel and Hydrogen Energy utilization includes reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, economic independence by having distributed production and burning of biodiesel does not add extra CO/sub 2/ to the air that contributes global warming impacts. (author)

Global climate change and international security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rice, M.

1991-01-01

On May 8--10, 1991, the Midwest Consortium of International Security Studies (MCISS) and Argonne National Laboratory cosponsored a conference on Global Climate Change and International Security. The aim was to bring together natural and social scientists to examine the economic, sociopolitical, and security implications of the climate changes predicted by the general circulation models developed by natural scientists. Five themes emerged from the papers and discussions: (1) general circulation models and predicted climate change; (2) the effects of climate change on agriculture, especially in the Third World; (3) economic implications of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (4) the sociopolitical consequences of climate change; and (5) the effect of climate change on global security.

A global change data base using thematic mapper data: Earth monitoring educational system (EMES)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Antoni, H.L.; Peterson, D.L.

1992-01-01

The creation of an Earth Monitoring Educational System integrated with the research interests of NASA Ames Research Center and one or more university schools is proposed. This would be a first step in a new educational system at an international scale. Based on the integration of a global network of cooperators to build a global data base for assessments of global change, the EMES will promote AS, BS, MS and PhDs in global ecology at associated universities and colleges, and extra-curricular courses for multilevel audiences. These would range as appropriate from ministers to resource managers to students. Both programs will be conducted under a systemic approach, through active learning, coordination and correlation practices. They will be aimed to: (1) train specialists, (2) establish a tradition of solving regional problems concerning global change in a systemic manner, using remote sensing technology as the monitoring tool, and (3) transfer knowledge on global change to the national and world communities. The main goal of the extra-curricular courses would be to provide readily usable knowledge to the decision-making levels of all the participant countries and institutions. South America is proposed as the pilot continent for the project. This work is consistent with the educational goals of the International Space year in 1992

Global Change Effects on Plant-Soil Interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dam, Marie

of this dissertation has been to determine how soil food web structure and function is affected when the quantity and quality of plant input is altered under global change. By studying the abundance and composition of soil organisms, particularly those in the rhizosphere, closely associated with living plants, we...... (Paper III). Furthermore, by way of meta-analysis, the role of organisms in global change effects on ecosystem function is modelled (Paper IV). Among CO2, warming and summer drought, CO2 is the factor most consistently impacting soil organisms. CO2 increases abundance of microorganisms and nematodes...... suggest that not only the global change effects on established ecosystems, but also the global change effects on plant community composition as well as land use management may determine the composition and function of soil food webs in the future....

Design principles for global commons: Natural resources and emerging technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul C. Stern

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Ostrom’s design principles for managing common pool resources were developed largely by examining local commons involving natural resources. This paper enumerates several key characteristics that distinguish such commons from more complex commons involving global resources and the risks of emerging technologies. It considers the degree to which the design principles transfer to those commons and concludes that although they have considerable external validity, the list needs some modification and elaboration to apply to global resources and risk commons. A list of design principles is offered for global resource commons and the risks of emerging technologies. Applying Ostrom’s approach to global resources and emerging technologies can improve understanding and expand the solution set for these problems from international treaties, top-down national regulation, and interventions in market pricing systems to include non-governmental institutions that embody principles of self-governance.

Biodiversity and global change

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Solbrig, Otto Thomas; Emden, H. M. van; Oordt, P. G. W. J. van; Solbrig, Otto T

1992-01-01

The IUBS symposium "Biodiversity and Global Change" held during the 24th General Assembly, 1-6 September, 1991, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, represented the first attempt to address the issue of bio...

Low carbon technology performance vs infrastructure vulnerability: analysis through the local and global properties space.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, David A; Purnell, Phil; Roelich, Katy; Busch, Jonathan; Steinberger, Julia K

2014-11-04

Renewable energy technologies, necessary for low-carbon infrastructure networks, are being adopted to help reduce fossil fuel dependence and meet carbon mitigation targets. The evolution of these technologies has progressed based on the enhancement of technology-specific performance criteria, without explicitly considering the wider system (global) impacts. This paper presents a methodology for simultaneously assessing local (technology) and global (infrastructure) performance, allowing key technological interventions to be evaluated with respect to their effect on the vulnerability of wider infrastructure systems. We use exposure of low carbon infrastructure to critical material supply disruption (criticality) to demonstrate the methodology. A series of local performance changes are analyzed; and by extension of this approach, a method for assessing the combined criticality of multiple materials for one specific technology is proposed. Via a case study of wind turbines at both the material (magnets) and technology (turbine generators) levels, we demonstrate that analysis of a given intervention at different levels can lead to differing conclusions regarding the effect on vulnerability. Infrastructure design decisions should take a systemic approach; without these multilevel considerations, strategic goals aimed to help meet low-carbon targets, that is, through long-term infrastructure transitions, could be significantly jeopardized.

International Technology-Oriented Agreements to Address Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Coninck, H.C.; Fischer, C.; Newell, R.G.; Ueno, T.

2007-01-01

Much discussion has surrounded possible alternatives for international agreements on climate change, particularly post-2012. Among these alternatives, technology-oriented agreements (TOAs) are perhaps the least well defined. We explore what TOAs may consist of, why they might be sensible, which TOAs already exist in international energy and environmental governance, and whether they have the potential to make a valuable contribution to addressing climate change. We conclude that TOAs aimed at knowledge sharing and coordination, research, development, or demonstration could increase the overall efficiency and effectiveness of international climate cooperation, but have limited environmental effectiveness on their own. Technology transfer agreements are likely to have similar properties unless the level of resources expended on them is large, in which case they could be environmentally significant. Technology mandates, standards, or incentives can be environmentally effective, within the applicable sector. However, they are likely to be less cost-effective than broad-based, flexible approaches that place a price on emissions. These results indicate that TOAs have the potential to improve the effectiveness of the global response to climate change. The success of specific TOAs will depend on their design, implementation, and the role they are expected to play relative to other components of the climate policy portfolio

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Global Hydropower

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aanund Killingtveit

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Currently, hydropower accounts for close to 16% of the world’s total power supply and is the world’s most dominant (86% source of renewable electrical energy. The key resource for hydropower generation is runoff, which is dependent on precipitation. The future global climate is uncertain and thus poses some risk for the hydropower generation sector. The crucial question and challenge then is what will be the impact of climate change on global hydropower generation and what are the resulting regional variations in hydropower generation potential? This paper is a study that aims to evaluate the changes in global hydropower generation resulting from predicted changes in climate. The study uses an ensemble of simulations of regional patterns of changes in runoff, computed from global circulation models (GCM simulations with 12 different models. Based on these runoff changes, hydropower generation is estimated by relating the runoff changes to hydropower generation potential through geographical information system (GIS, based on 2005 hydropower generation. Hydropower data obtained from EIA (energy generation, national sites, FAO (water resources and UNEP were used in the analysis. The countries/states were used as computational units to reduce the complexities of the analysis. The results indicate that there are large variations of changes (increases/decreases in hydropower generation across regions and even within regions. Globally, hydropower generation is predicted to change very little by the year 2050 for the hydropower system in operation today. This change amounts to an increase of less than 1% of the current (2005 generation level although it is necessary to carry out basin level detailed assessment for local impacts which may differ from the country based values. There are many regions where runoff and hydropower generation will increase due to increasing precipitation, but also many regions where there will be a decrease. Based on this

Cloud manufacturing distributed computing technologies for global and sustainable manufacturing

CERN Document Server

Mehnen, Jörn

2013-01-01

Global networks, which are the primary pillars of the modern manufacturing industry and supply chains, can only cope with the new challenges, requirements and demands when supported by new computing and Internet-based technologies. Cloud Manufacturing: Distributed Computing Technologies for Global and Sustainable Manufacturing introduces a new paradigm for scalable service-oriented sustainable and globally distributed manufacturing systems.   The eleven chapters in this book provide an updated overview of the latest technological development and applications in relevant research areas.  Following an introduction to the essential features of Cloud Computing, chapters cover a range of methods and applications such as the factors that actually affect adoption of the Cloud Computing technology in manufacturing companies and new geometrical simplification method to stream 3-Dimensional design and manufacturing data via the Internet. This is further supported case studies and real life data for Waste Electrical ...

University-Level Teaching of Anthropogenic Global Climate Change (AGCC) via Student Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Drew; Sieber, Renee; Seiler, Gale; Chandler, Mark

2017-01-01

This paper reviews university-level efforts to improve understanding of anthropogenic global climate change (AGCC) through curricula that enable student scientific inquiry. We examined 152 refereed publications and proceedings from academic conferences and selected 26 cases of inquiry learning that overcome specific challenges to AGCC teaching. This review identifies both the strengths and weaknesses of each of these case studies. It is the first to go beyond examining the impact of specific inquiry instructional approaches to offer a synthesis of cases. We find that inquiry teaching can succeed by concretising scientific processes, providing access to global data and evidence, imparting critical and higher order thinking about AGCC science policy and contextualising learning with places and scientific facts. We recommend educational researchers and scientists collaborate to create and refine curricula that utilise geospatial technologies, climate models and communication technologies to bring students into contact with scientists, climate data and authentic AGCC research processes. Many available science education technologies and curricula also require further research to maximise trade-offs between implementation and training costs and their educational value.

The policy relevance of global environmental change research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yarnal, Brent

1996-01-01

Many scientists are striving to identify and promote the policy implications of their global change research. Much basic research on global environmental change cannot advance policy directly, but new projects can determine the relevance of their research to decision makers and build policy-relevant products into the work. Similarly, many ongoing projects can alter or add to the present science design to make the research policy relevant. Thus, this paper shows scientists working on global change how to make their research policy relevant. It demonstrates how research on physical global change relates to human dimensions studies and integrated assessments. It also presents an example of how policy relevance can be fit retroactively into a global change project (in this case, SRBEX-the Susquehanna River Basin Experiment) and how that addition can enhance the project's status and science. The paper concludes that policy relevance is desirable from social and scientific perspectives

Agreement on technology? Exploring the political feasibility of technology-oriented agreements and their compatibility with cap-and-trade approaches to address climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Coninck, H.C.; Bakker, S.; Van der Zwaan, B.; Junginger, M.; Kuik, O.; Massey, E.

2007-11-01

Climate change has been on the international policy agenda since the UNFCCC was agreed in 1992. The Kyoto Protocol was the UNFCCC's answer to the call for measures and has been effective in establishing an international carbon market and reducing emissions in some countries and regions. A follow-up of the Kyoto Protocol is currently under discussion. In theory, the economically most efficient form of a global agreement is a global cap-and-trade agreement. It remains highly uncertain whether an effective global climate regime fully founded on another cap-and-trade type of agreement is politically feasible. In addition, it has been suggested that a new agreement would have to be more effective in promoting technology development and diffusion. This report explores the compatibility of a cap-and trade regime with a different form of international agreements to address climate change: technology-oriented agreements (TOAs)

TECHNOLOGICAL IMPERATIVE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

А. Кozlova

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The article highlights the factors influencing agricultural production towards global market. The study consists basic fundamental imperatives of globalization on the agricultural sector in international economic relations. The article analyzes the strategic priorities of the international agricultural sector, which includes financial and credit support, legal aspects, processes and integration of organizational structures. Technological imperatives require a large structural and institutional turn in the Ukrainian economy on the basis of current trends in the global economy, scientific and technical potential. There is a growing importance of organizing and conducting international level in the field of technological forecasting. This type of prediction is considered as backbone component in strategic forecasting and economic development programming.

Alternative legal and institutional approaches to global change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thacher, P.S.

1991-01-01

The processes of global change currently under way cannot be dealt with in isolation. Factors linked to environmental quality such as demographic growth, economic interdependence and indebtedness, sociopolitical changes, and others must be managed collectively. In looking at the problems of global change, a central question before us is: How comprehensive should a legal regime be in a world of considerable uncertainty in which everything is interrelated with everything else, and what we do may, or may not be, have irreversible consequences for future generations. This article focuses on the problem of global warming to provide a model approach to the larger issues of global change. This reduces the scope of global change to a manageable but representative class of the problems at issue. The author suggests an approach to stabilize global climate by the end of the next century. However, even within this relatively narrow context of stabilizing the climate, a comprehensive approach is needed to address all heat-trapping gases - not just CO 2 - to ensure that all human activities generating these gases are managed properly, without causing other problems

Global Budgets and Technology-Intensive Medical Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zirui; Fendrick, A Mark; Safran, Dana Gelb; Landon, Bruce; Chernew, Michael E

2013-06-01

In 2009-2010, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts entered into global payment contracts (the Alternative Quality contract, AQC) with 11 provider organizations. We evaluated the impact of the AQC on spending and utilization of several categories of medical technologies, including one considered high value (colonoscopies) and three that include services that may be overused in some situations (cardiovascular, imaging, and orthopedic services). Approximately 420,000 unique enrollees in 2009 and 180,000 in 2010 were linked to primary care physicians whose organizations joined the AQC. Using three years of pre-intervention data and a large control group, we analyzed changes in utilization and spending associated with the AQC with a propensity-weighted difference-in-differences approach adjusting for enrollee demographics, health status, secular trends, and cost-sharing. In the 2009 AQC cohort, total volume of colonoscopies increased 5.2 percent (p=0.04) in the first two years of the contract relative to control. The contract was associated with varied changes in volume for cardiovascular and imaging services, but total spending on cardiovascular services in the first two years decreased by 7.4% (p=0.02) while total spending on imaging services decreased by 6.1% (pservices, these decreases were also attributable to shifting care to lower-priced providers. No effect was found in orthopedics. As one example of a large-scale global payment initiative, the AQC was associated with higher use of colonoscopies. Among several categories of services whose value may be controversial, the contract generally shifted volume to lower-priced facilities or services.

Air Pollution, Global Change and Forests in the New Millennium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karnosky, D.F.; Pikkarainen, J.; Percy, K.E.; Simpson, C.; Chappelka, A.H.

2003-01-01

The chapters in this book present a snapshot of the state of knowledge of air pollution effects at the beginning of the 21st century. From their different disciplines, a distinguished collection of authors document their understanding of how leaves, trees, and forests respond to air pollutants and climate change. Scenarios of global change and air pollution are described. The authors describe responses of forests to climate variability, tropospheric ozone, rising atmospheric CO2, the combination of CO2 and ozone, and deposition of acidic compounds and heavy metals. The responses to ozone receive particular attention because of increasing concern about its damaging effects and increasing concentrations in rural areas. Scaling issues are addressed - from leaves to trees, from juvenile trees to mature trees, from short-term responses to long-term responses, and from small-scale experiments and observations to large-scale forest ecosystems. This book is one major product of a conference sponsored by the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, the USDA Forest Service Global Change Northern Stations Program, the Arthur Ross Foundation, NCASI, the Canadian Forest Service, and Michigan Technological University. The conference was held in May 2000 in Houghton, Michigan, USA

Science and technology and global competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanzavecchia, G.

1992-01-01

The impacts of R ampersand D and technological innovation on economic development are discussed with reference to the current and probable future status of various industrialized countries in highly competitive marketing areas such as micro- electronics. An assessment is made of international trends in approaches towards: corporate planning, organizing, sizing, on-the-job training and the modelling of employee attitudes; methods for dealing with risk and uncertainty in non-linear and complex global economic markets; research and development orientation and investment; and government policy making regarding education, economic growth and technological innovation

Global Change. Teaching Activities on Global Change for Grades 4-6.

Science.gov (United States)

Geological Survey (Dept. of Interior), Reston, VA.

This packet contains a series of teaching guides on global change. The series includes lessons on dendrochronology; land, air, and water; and island living. Included is information such as : laws of straws; where land, air, and water meet; and Earth as home. Each section provides an introductory description of the activity, the purpose of the…

Development of Global Change Research in Developing Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Sierra, Carlos A.; Yepes, Adriana P.

2010-10-01

Ecosystems and Global Change in the Context of the Neotropics; Medellín, Colombia, 19-20 May 2010; Research in most areas of global environmental change is overwhelmingly produced outside developing countries, which are usually consumers rather than producers of the knowledge associated with their natural resources. While there have been important recent advances in understanding the causes of global-¬scale changes and their consequences to the functioning of tropical ecosystems, there is still an important gap in the understanding of these changes at regional and national levels (where important political decisions are usually made). A symposium was held with the aim of surveying the current state of research activities in a small, developing country such as Colombia. It was jointly organized by the Research Center on Ecosystems and Global Change, Carbono and Bosques; the National University of Colombia at Medellín and the Colombian Ministry of the Environment, Housing, and Regional Development. This 2-¬day symposium gathered Colombian and international scientists involved in different areas of global environmental change, tropical ecosystems, and human societies.

Science and technology related global problems: An international survey of science educators

Science.gov (United States)

Bybee, Rodger W.; Mau, Teri

This survey evaluated one aspect of the Science-Technology-Society theme, namely, the teaching of global problems related to science and technology. The survey was conducted during spring 1984. Two hundred sixty-two science educators representing 41 countries completed the survey. Response was 80%. Findings included a ranking of twelve global problems (the top six were: World Hunger and Food Resources, Population Growth, Air Quality and Atmosphere, Water Resources, War Technology, and Human Health and Disease). Science educators generally indicated the following: the science and technology related global problems would be worse by the year 2000; they were slightly or moderately knowledgeable about the problems; print, audio-visual media, and personal experiences were their primary sources of information; it is important to study global problems in schools; emphasis on global problems should increase with age/grade level; an integrated approach should be used to teach about global problems; courses including global problems should be required of all students; most countries are in the early stages of developing programs including global problems; there is a clear trend toward S-T-S; there is public support for including global problems; and, the most significant limitations to implementation of the S-T-S theme (in order of significance) are political, personnel, social, psychological, economic, pedagogical, and physical. Implications for research and development in science education are discussed.

Global Climate Change Pilot Course Project

Science.gov (United States)

Schuenemann, K. C.; Wagner, R.

2011-12-01

In fall 2011 a pilot course on "Global Climate Change" is being offered, which has been proposed to educate urban, diverse, undergraduate students about climate change at the introductory level. The course has been approved to fulfill two general college requirements, a natural sciences requirement that focuses on the scientific method, as well as a global diversity requirement. This course presents the science behind global climate change from an Earth systems and atmospheric science perspective. These concepts then provide the basis to explore the effect of global warming on regions throughout the world. Climate change has been taught as a sub-topic in other courses in the past solely using scientific concepts, with little success in altering the climate change misconceptions of the students. This pilot course will see if new, innovative projects described below can make more of an impact on the students' views of climate change. Results of the successes or failures of these projects will be reported, as well as results of a pre- and post-course questionnaire on climate change given to students taking the course. Students in the class will pair off and choose a global region or country that they will research, write papers on, and then represent in four class discussions spaced throughout the semester. The first report will include details on the current climate of their region and how the climate shapes that region's society and culture. The second report will discuss how that region is contributing to climate change and/or sequestering greenhouse gases. Thirdly, students will discuss observed and predicted changes in that region's climate and what impact it has had, and could have, on their society. Lastly, students will report on what role their region has played in mitigating climate change, any policies their region may have implemented, and how their region can or cannot adapt to future climate changes. They will also try to get a feel for the region

Essential ocean variables for global sustained observations of biodiversity and ecosystem changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Miloslavich, Patricia; Bax, Nicholas J; Simmons, Samantha E; Klein, Eduardo; Appeltans, Ward; Aburto-Oropeza, Octavio; Andersen Garcia, Melissa; Batten, Sonia D; Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro; Checkley, David M; Chiba, Sanae; Duffy, J Emmett; Dunn, Daniel C; Fischer, Albert; Gunn, John; Kudela, Raphael; Marsac, Francis; Muller-Karger, Frank E; Obura, David; Shin, Yunne-Jai

2018-04-05

Sustained observations of marine biodiversity and ecosystems focused on specific conservation and management problems are needed around the world to effectively mitigate or manage changes resulting from anthropogenic pressures. These observations, while complex and expensive, are required by the international scientific, governance and policy communities to provide baselines against which the effects of human pressures and climate change may be measured and reported, and resources allocated to implement solutions. To identify biological and ecological essential ocean variables (EOVs) for implementation within a global ocean observing system that is relevant for science, informs society, and technologically feasible, we used a driver-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) model. We (1) examined relevant international agreements to identify societal drivers and pressures on marine resources and ecosystems, (2) evaluated the temporal and spatial scales of variables measured by 100+ observing programs, and (3) analysed the impact and scalability of these variables and how they contribute to address societal and scientific issues. EOVs were related to the status of ecosystem components (phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and diversity, and abundance and distribution of fish, marine turtles, birds and mammals), and to the extent and health of ecosystems (cover and composition of hard coral, seagrass, mangrove and macroalgal canopy). Benthic invertebrate abundance and distribution and microbe diversity and biomass were identified as emerging EOVs to be developed based on emerging requirements and new technologies. The temporal scale at which any shifts in biological systems will be detected will vary across the EOVs, the properties being monitored and the length of the existing time-series. Global implementation to deliver useful products will require collaboration of the scientific and policy sectors and a significant commitment to improve human and infrastructure

Conceptual framework for research on global change 1992-1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-04-01

For a better overall understanding of the Earth system scientists have initiated extensive international research programs dealing with the dynamics of the Earth system. These activities are characterized by their interdisciplinary, border crossing, and system orientated approach. For a long time scientists from the Federal Republic of Germany participate significantly in the conception and completion of such programs. The more and more urgent questions from politics and from the public have prompted the Federal Government under the leadership of the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology to increase these efforts. In this the Federal Government will also be supported by the Scientific Advisory Committee appointed by it, which annually presents a report on the state of global changes and their consequences. In this brochure the Conceptual Framework for Research on Global Changes is presented, which was passed by the Federal Cabinet in April 1992. It is documenting the advanced state of research, which has already been achieved in this country. At the same time, however, it is made clear that significant further steps have to be taken to contribute to the solution of the most urgent problems of the world. (orig.)

Technologies for adaptation. Perspectives and practical experiences; Climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christiansen, Lars; Olhoff, A; Traerup, S

2011-11-15

The present report is the second volume of the UNEP Risoe Centre Technology Transfer Perspectives Series. The report is related to the global Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) project, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by UNEP Risoe Centre. The nine articles in this volume discuss issues like: a) the concepts and context of technologies for adaptation; b) assessments of adaptation technology needs; c) practical experiences from working with technologies for adaptation. (LN)

Applications of Advanced Technology for Monitoring Forest Carbon to Support Climate Change Mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Birdsey, R.; Hurtt, G. C.; Dubayah, R.; Hagen, S. C.; Vargas, R.; Nehrkorn, T.; Domke, G. M.; Houghton, R. A.

2015-12-01

Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is a broad concept guiding the application of monitoring technology to the needs of countries or entities for reporting and verifying reductions in greenhouse gas emissions or increases in greenhouse gas sinks. Credibility, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility are important features of global MRV efforts that can support implementation of climate change mitigation programs such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management (REDD+). Applications of MRV technology may be tailored to individual country circumstances following guidance provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; hence, there is no single approach that is uniquely viable but rather a range of ways to integrate new MRV methods. MRV technology is advancing rapidly with new remote sensing and advanced measurement of atmospheric CO2, and in situ terrestrial and ocean measurements, coupled with improvements in data analysis, modeling, and assessing uncertainty. Here we briefly summarize some of the most application-ready MRV technologies being developed under NASA's Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) program, and illustrate how these technologies may be applied for monitoring forests using several case studies that span a range of scales, country circumstances, and stakeholder reporting requirements. We also include remarks about the potential role of advanced monitoring technology in the context of the global climate accord that is expected to result from the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is expected to take place in December 2015, in Paris, France.

Japanese policy on science and technology for the global environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawasaki, M.

1994-01-01

The current state of Japanese science and technology policy is discussed within the framework of overall global environmental policy. Principles of Japanese environmental policy include participation in international schemes for conservation of the global environment, promotion of Japanese research on the global environment, development and diffusion of technologies contributing to conservation of the global environment, contribution to conservation of the environment in developing countries, and maintenance of economic and social activities in Japan at an environmentally beneficial level. The Japanese environmental budget includes expenditures for earth observation and monitoring by satellite, energy-related research and development, and control of greenhouse gas emissions. The proportion of overall Japanese research and development (R ampersand D) expenditures which were spent on the global environment was about 2% in 1991. Of governmental research expenditures, ca 22% involve the global environment; however, some part of the expenditures on energy R ampersand D and on earth observation satellite R ampersand D are also environment-related. 5 figs

Data for global solutions: How new technologies can help people to re-imagine the future of cities and more

Science.gov (United States)

Tewksbury, J.; Gaffney, O.; Young, D.

2016-12-01

People are more willing to accept and act on the science surrounding global environmental change when they can see themselves in that change - or when they can understand how global processes like climate change impact their lives in concrete and intimate ways. The digital revolution presents unique opportunities to make those sorts of connections. We will explore how new technologies can help to immerse users in the challenges of global sustainability and deepen their sense of personal involvement. We will draw on case studies from the Future Earth Media Lab, a communications and research initiative that was formed by Future Earth, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and Globaïa in 2015. The Media Lab was set up to bring together partners from science, technology, art and design to co-create products and experiences that can change the way we communicate the challenges of the world's most intractable problems, with the potential to shift mindsets and behaviours. We are at the very beginning of this 10-year project to explore how advances in virtual reality, augmented reality, data visualization and artificial intelligence will reshape how non-scientific audiences engage with science. The session will focus on results of the most recent projects launched in 2016: a hackathon series with the Iris.AI artificial intelligence project to test the limits of AI for searches based on framed research questions; a global hackathon series around using virtual reality to communicate global change challenges and an immersive space co-created with data visualization experts at the UN's biggest conference on sustainable urbanization at Quito, Ecuador.

Geoeconomic Uses of Global Warming: The “Green” Technological Revolution and the Role of the Semi-Periphery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Hurtado

2018-03-01

Full Text Available While some semi-peripheral countries have seen renewable energies as an opportunity to build their industrial and technological capacities, core countries and global governance organizations have been promoting “green growth.” Since the 2008 global financial crisis, global warming has been used as a catalyst for big business. As the global economy may be entering the first stage of a “green” technology revolution, neo-Schumpeterian economists have regained visibility. We intend to show how, as a consequence of the lack of a world-systemic perspective, crucial inconsistencies arise in neo-Schumpeterian contributions that weaken their conceptualization of the role of non-core economies in technological change. We examine the case of the tortuous trajectory of wind energy in Argentina to show the specific organizational, institutional, and macroeconomic constraints faced by a semi-peripheral economy as it attempts to develop its own technological and industrial capacities. The neo-Schumpeterian view of the “green industrial revolution” must be understood as valid only for the core-economy subsystem, which seems to require as well polarization of the world-system through what we call “semi-peripheral neoliberalism,” a peripheralizing force upon the semi-periphery necessary in order to rejuvenate core economies.

Global change: Acronyms and abbreviations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woodard, C.T. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Stoss, F.W. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Energy, Environment and Resources Center

1995-05-01

This list of acronyms and abbreviations is compiled to provide the user with a ready reference to dicipher the linguistic initialisms and abridgements for the study of global change. The terms included in this first edition were selected from a wide variety of sources: technical reports, policy documents, global change program announcements, newsletters, and other periodicals. The disciplinary interests covered by this document include agriculture, atmospheric science, ecology, environmental science, oceanography, policy science, and other fields. In addition to its availability in hard copy, the list of acronyms and abbreviations is available in DOS-formatted diskettes and through CDIAC`s anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP) area on the Internet.

From individual innovation to global impact: the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) innovation snapshot as a method for sharing and scaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Layton, Natasha; Murphy, Caitlin; Bell, Diane

2018-05-09

Assistive technology (AT) is an essential facilitator of independence and participation, both for people living with the effects of disability and/or non-communicable disease, as well as people aging with resultant functional decline. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the substantial gap between the need for and provision of AT and is leading change through the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) initiative. Showcasing innovations gathered from 92 global researchers, innovators, users and educators of AT through the WHO GREAT Summit, this article provides an analysis of ideas and actions on a range of dimensions in order to provide a global overview of AT innovation. The accessible method used to capture and showcase this data is presented and critiqued, concluding that "innovation snapshots" are a rapid and concise strategy to capture and showcase AT innovation and to foster global collaboration. Implications for Rehabilitation Focal tools such as ePosters with uniform data requirements enable the rapid sharing of information. A diversity of innovative practices are occurring globally in the areas of AT Products, Policy, Provision, People and Personnel. The method offered for Innovation Snapshots had substantial uptake and is a feasible means to capture data across a range of stakeholders. Meeting accessibility criteria is an emerging competency in the AT community. Substantial areas of common interest exist across regions and globally in the AT community, demonstrating the effectiveness of information sharing platforms such as GATE and supporting the idea of regional forums and networks.

Global climate change and California

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knox, J.B.; Scheuring, A.F.

1991-01-01

In the fall of 1988 the University of California organized a new public-service initiative on global climate change in response to inquiries and requests from members of Congress and the Department of Energy (DOE). This new systemwide initiative involved all of the University of California campuses and the University's three national laboratories at Berkeley, Los Alamos, and Livermore. The goal of this Greenhouse Initiative was to focus the multidisciplinary resources of the UC campuses and the team-oriented research capabilities of the laboratories on the prospect of global warming and its associated effects on the planet and its nations. In consultation with the DOE, the organizers proposed a series of workshops to focus University of California research resources on the issue of global warming, to contribute to the congressionally mandated DOE studies on options for the US to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by the year 2000, and to begin building a long-term research base contributing to an improved understanding of global change in all of its complexity and diverse discipline implications. This volume contains papers from the first of these workshops. Individual papers are processed separately for inclusion in the appropriate data bases

BRICS COUNTRIES’ POLITICAL AND LEGAL PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Gladun

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents an overview and analysis of international legal regulations on climate change. The authors examine how the international regime related to climate change has evolved in multilateral agreements. A special focus is put on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities which became the basis of discord among states in discussing targets and responsibilities in climate change mitigation. The authors note that in 2015 the international climate change regime entered a new stage where the most important role is determined for developing countries, both in the legal and in the financial infrastructure, and in the formation of an international climate change policy.The importance of the participation of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS in an international climate change regime has been recognized for some time. The article describes the policy and regulations on climate-related issues in BRICS. The authors compare the key actions and measures BRICS have taken for complying with international climate change documents. They highlight that global climate change action cannot be successful without BRICS countries’ involvement. BRICS must therefore make adequate efforts in emissions reduction measures and significant commitments in respect of the international climate change regime. The authors propose three major steps for BRICS to take the lead in dealing with climate change. First, BRICS need to foster further discussion and cooperation on climate issues and work out an obligatory legal framework to fight climate change collectively as well as unified legislation at their domestic levels. Second, Russia and other BRICS countries have the potential to cooperate in the field of renewable energy through the exchange of technology, investment in the sector, and the participation of their energy companies in each other’s domestic market. Assuming Russia will support the development and enhancement of

A Future-Oriented, Globally Based Curriculum Model for Industrial Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hacker, Michael

1982-01-01

Presents a future-oriented curriculum approach for industrial technology programs. Major global issues provide the basic structure for curriculum development. These issues include energy management, resource management, technological advancement, and international relations. Rationales for industrial technology are discussed and a curriculum…

Useful global-change scenarios: current issues and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parson, E A

2008-01-01

Scenarios are increasingly used to inform global-change debates, but their connection to decisions has been weak and indirect. This reflects the greater number and variety of potential users and scenario needs, relative to other decision domains where scenario use is more established. Global-change scenario needs include common elements, e.g., model-generated projections of emissions and climate change, needed by many users but in different ways and with different assumptions. For these common elements, the limited ability to engage diverse global-change users in scenario development requires extreme transparency in communicating underlying reasoning and assumptions, including probability judgments. Other scenario needs are specific to users, requiring a decentralized network of scenario and assessment organizations to disseminate and interpret common elements and add elements requiring local context or expertise. Such an approach will make global-change scenarios more useful for decisions, but not less controversial. Despite predictable attacks, scenario-based reasoning is necessary for responsible global-change decisions because decision-relevant uncertainties cannot be specified scientifically. The purpose of scenarios is not to avoid speculation, but to make the required speculation more disciplined, more anchored in relevant scientific knowledge when available, and more transparent.

E-Infrastructure and Data Management for Global Change Research

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. L.; Gurney, R. J.; Cesar, R.; Cossu, R.; Gemeinholzer, B.; Koike, T.; Mokrane, M.; Peters, D.; Nativi, S.; Samors, R.; Treloar, A.; Vilotte, J. P.; Visbeck, M.; Waldmann, H. C.

2014-12-01

The Belmont Forum, a coalition of science funding agencies from 15 countries, is supporting an 18-month effort to assess the state of international of e-infrastructures and data management so that global change data and information can be more easily and efficiently exchanged internationally and across domains. Ultimately, this project aims to address the Belmont "Challenge" to deliver knowledge needed for action to avoid and adapt to detrimental environmental change, including extreme hazardous events. This effort emerged from conclusions by the Belmont Forum that transformative approaches and innovative technologies are needed for heterogeneous data/information to be integrated and made interoperable for researchers in disparate fields, and for myriad uses across international, institutional, disciplinary, spatial and temporal boundaries. The project will deliver a Community Strategy and Implementation Plan to prioritize international funding opportunities and long-term policy recommendations on how the Belmont Forum can implement a more coordinated, holistic, and sustainable approach to funding and supporting global change research. The Plan is expected to serve as the foundation of future Belmont Forum funding calls for proposals in support of research science goals as well as to establish long term e-infrastructure. More than 120 scientists, technologists, legal experts, social scientists, and other experts are participating in six Work Packages to develop the Plan by spring, 2015, under the broad rubrics of Architecture/Interoperability and Governance: Data Integration for Multidisciplinary Research; Improved Interface between Computation & Data Infrastructures; Harmonization of Global Data Infrastructure; Data Sharing; Open Data; and Capacity Building. Recommendations could lead to a more coordinated approach to policies, procedures and funding mechanisms to support e-infrastructures in a more sustainable way.

Enhancing international technology cooperation for climate change mitigation. Lessons from an electromobility case study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhasin, Shikha

2014-07-01

As a global agreement on climate mitigation and absolute emissions reductions remains grid-locked, this paper assesses whether the prospects for international technology cooperation in low-carbon sectors can be improved. It analyses the case of international cooperation on electric vehicle technologies to elaborate on the trade-offs that cooperation such as this inherently attempts to balance- national growth objectives of industrial and technology development versus the global goods benefit of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It focuses on bilateral German-Chinese programmes for electric vehicle development, as well as multilateral platforms on low-carbon technology cooperation related to electric vehicles. Based on insights from these cases studies, this paper ultimately provides policy recommendations to address gaps in international technology cooperation at a bilateral level for ongoing German-Chinese engagement on electric vehicles; and at a multilateral level with a focus on the emerging technology cooperation framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Enhancing international technology cooperation for climate change mitigation. Lessons from an electromobility case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhasin, Shikha

2014-01-01

As a global agreement on climate mitigation and absolute emissions reductions remains grid-locked, this paper assesses whether the prospects for international technology cooperation in low-carbon sectors can be improved. It analyses the case of international cooperation on electric vehicle technologies to elaborate on the trade-offs that cooperation such as this inherently attempts to balance- national growth objectives of industrial and technology development versus the global goods benefit of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It focuses on bilateral German-Chinese programmes for electric vehicle development, as well as multilateral platforms on low-carbon technology cooperation related to electric vehicles. Based on insights from these cases studies, this paper ultimately provides policy recommendations to address gaps in international technology cooperation at a bilateral level for ongoing German-Chinese engagement on electric vehicles; and at a multilateral level with a focus on the emerging technology cooperation framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Global change integrating factors: Tropical tropopause trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reck, R.A.

1994-01-01

This research proposes new criteria, shifts in the height and temperature of the tropical tropopause, as measures of global climate change. The search for signs of global warming in the temperature signal near the earth's surface is extremely difficult, largely because numerous factors contribute to surface temperature forcing with only a small signal-to-noise ratio relative to long-term effects. In the long term, no part of the atmosphere can be considered individually because the evolution will be a function of all states of all portions. A large surface greenhouse signal might ultimately be expected, but the analysis of surface temperature may not be particularly useful for early detection. What is suggested here is not an analysis of trends in the surface temperature field or any of its spatial averages, but rather an integrating factor or integrator, a single measure of global change that could be considered a test of significant change for the entire global system. Preferably, this global change integrator would vary slowly and would take into account many of the causes of climate change, with a relatively large signal-to-noise ratio. Such an integrator could be monitored, and abrupt or accelerated changes could serve as an early warning signal for policy makers and the public. Earlier work has suggested that temperature has much less short-term and small-scale noise in the lower stratosphere, and thus the global warming signal at that level might be more easily deconvoluted, because the cooling rate near the 200-mb level is almost constant with latitude. A study of the temperature signal at this pressure level might show a clearer trend due to increased levels of greenhouse gases, but it would yield information about the troposphere only by inference

Environmental Policy and Technological Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaffe, Adam B.; Newell, Richard G.; Stavins, Robert N.

2002-01-01

The relationship between technological change and environmental policy has received increasing attention from scholars and policy makers alike over the past ten years. This is partly because the environmental impacts of social activity are significantly affected by technological change, and partly because environmental policy interventions themselves create new constraints and incentives that affect the process of technological developments. Our central purpose in this article is to provide environmental economists with a useful guide to research on technological change and the analytical tools that can be used to explore further the interaction between technology and the environment. In Part 1 of the article, we provide an overview of analytical frameworks for investigating the economics of technological change, highlighting key issues for the researcher. In Part 2, we turn our attention to theoretical analysis of the effects of environmental policy on technological change, and in Part 3, we focus on issues related to the empirical analysis of technology innovation and diffusion. Finally, we conclude in Part 4 with some additional suggestions for research

After Globalization Future Security in a Technology Rich World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilmartin,T J

2001-08-17

Over the course of the year 2000, five workshops were conducted by the Center for Global Security Research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on threats to international security in the 2015 to 2020 timeframe due to the global availability of advanced technology. These workshops focused on threats that are enabled by nuclear, missile, and space technology; military technology; information technology; bio technology; and geo systems technology. The participants included US national leaders and experts from the Department of Energy National Laboratories; the Department of Defense: Army, Navy, Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; the Department of State, NASA, Congressional technical staff, the intelligence community, universities and university study centers, think tanks, consultants on security issues, and private industry. For each workshop the process of analysis involved identification and prioritization of the participants' perceived most severe threat scenarios (worst nightmares), discussion of the technologies which enabled those threats, and ranking of the technologies' threat potentials. The threats ranged from local/regional to global, from intentional to unintended to natural, from merely economic to massively destructive, and from individual and group to state actions. We were not concerned in this exercise with defining responses to the threats, although our assessment of each threat's severity included consideration of the ease or difficulty with which it might be executed or countered. At the concluding review, we brought the various workshops' participants together, added senior participant/reviewers with broad experience and national responsibility, and discussed the workshop findings to determine what is most certain or uncertain, and what might be needed to resolve our uncertainties. This paper summarizes the consenses and

Introducing technology learning for energy technologies in a national CGE model through soft links to global and national energy models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinsen, Thomas

2011-01-01

This paper describes a method to model the influence by global policy scenarios, particularly spillover of technology learning, on the energy service demand of the non-energy sectors of the national economy. It is exemplified by Norway. Spillover is obtained from the technology-rich global Energy Technology Perspective model operated by the International Energy Agency. It is provided to a national hybrid model where a national bottom-up Markal model carries forward spillover into a national top-down CGE model at a disaggregated demand category level. Spillover of technology learning from the global energy technology market will reduce national generation costs of energy carriers. This may in turn increase demand in the non-energy sectors of the economy because of the rebound effect. The influence of spillover on the Norwegian economy is most pronounced for the production level of industrial chemicals and for the demand for electricity for residential energy services. The influence is modest, however, because all existing electricity generating capacity is hydroelectric and thus compatible with the low emission policy scenario. In countries where most of the existing generating capacity must be replaced by nascent energy technologies or carbon captured and storage the influence on demand is expected to be more significant. - Highlights: → Spillover of global technology learning may be forwarded into a macroeconomic model. → The national electricity price differs significantly between the different global scenarios. → Soft-linking global and national models facilitate transparency in the technology learning effect chain.

Technological change and the timing of mitigation measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruebler, A.; Messner, S.

1998-01-01

We use a coupled carbon-cycle and energy systems engineering model to analyze the future time path of carbon emissions under an illustrative CO 2 concentration stabilization limit of 550 ppm. Our findings confirm the emission pattern as found by WRE: global emissions rise initially, pass through stabilization, in order to decline in the second half of the 21st century. We show that for a given CO 2 concentration target, emission trajectories within an intertemporal optimization framework depend mainly on two factors: the discount rate, and the representation of technological change as either static or dynamic. We obtain a similar near-term emission time path as WRE when using a model with static technology and a discount rate of 7%. We obtain a trajectory with lower emissions in the near-term when using a lower discount rate and/or treating technology dynamics endogenously in the model. We briefly outline a model that endogenizes technological change through learning curves. We then compare differences in emission trajectories between alternative model formulations of technological change. They are sufficiently small as to be of secondary importance when compared to treating CO 2 concentration stabilization as an inter-temporal optimization problem or not. Whereas our results confirm the computational results of WRE, we arrive nonetheless at different policy conclusions. If long-term emission reduction is the goal, we cannot follow 'business as usual' even in the short-term. Action needs to start now. Action does not necessarily mean aggressive short-term emission reductions but rather enhanced R and D and technology demonstration efforts that stimulate technological learning. These are the necessary preconditions that long-term reduction targets can be met with improved technology and at costs lower than today. We close by pointing out two further critical issues: uncertainty, and the possible mismatch between the world of economic models and that of climate

Energy conservation and technological change as factors in climate change - a pulp and paper industry example

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koleff, A.M. [Stone Container Corp., Tucker, GA (United States)

1997-12-31

The Pulp and Paper Industry in the United States is one of this country`s most energy intensive industries with energy generally being the second or third largest direct operating expense in mill budgets. As such, the industry has long had an effective energy conservation program and has recorded impressive reductions in energy use. It is also one of the two most capital intensive industries in the United States and has a long capital investment cycle, which can be estimated by various techniques at between 20 and 30 years. This paper discusses the estimated impact of the industry`s energy conservation achievements on long term emission reductions of greenhouse gases and will show how technological changes within the industry have impacted past emission reductions and the prospects for continued progress through emerging technologies. The importance to the global competitiveness of the industry of implementing technological change designed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases within the industry`s normal investment cycle will also be reviewed.

Global climate change: an unequivocal reality; Cambio climatico global: una realidad inequivoca

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raynal-Villasenor, J.A. [Universidad de las Americas, Puebla, Puebla (Mexico)]. E-mail: josea.raynal@udlap.mx

2011-10-15

During several years, a long discussion has taken place over the reality of global climate change phenomenon and, if there is one, what could be its cause. Once the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC, 2007) - IPCC is part the United Nations Organization (UN) - was published, it was stated that there is a developing global climatic change and that the cause is unequivocally related with the human activity in the planet Earth. In this paper, relevant information is given about the development of global climatic change issues and some actions are mentioned that each human being of this planet can implement to mitigate it, since it has been accepted that it's impossible to stop it. [Spanish] Durante varios anos se ha discutido si existe un cambio climatico global y, si lo hay, cual es su causa. Una vez publicado el 4o. Reporte de Valoracion del Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climatico (IPCC, 2007) - el IPCC es parte de la Organizacion de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) - se preciso que hay un cambio climatico global en desarrollo y la causa inequivoca que lo esta produciendo es la actividad humana en el planeta Tierra, tambien se hablo en el IPCC de las causas naturales por las cuales el planeta se esta calentando. En el presente articulo, se da informacion relevante al cambio climatico global en desarrollo y se mencionan algunas acciones que cada ser humano de este planeta puede implementar para mitigarlo, ya que es imposible detenerlo.

Global Climate Change and Society: Scientific, Policy, and Philosophic Themes

Science.gov (United States)

Frodeman, R.; Bullock, M. A.

2001-12-01

The summer of 2001 saw the inauguration of the Global Climate Change and Society Program (GCCS), an eight week, NSF-funded experiment in undergraduate pedagogy held at the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Acknowledging from the start that climate change is more than a scientific problem, GCCS began with the simultaneous study of basic atmospheric physics, classical and environmental philosophy, and public policy. In addition to lectures and discussions on these subjects, our twelve undergraduates (majoring in the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities) also participated in internships with scholars and researchers at NCAR, University of Colorado's Center of the American West, and the Colorado School of Mines, on specific issues in atmospheric science, science policy, and ethics and values. This talk will discuss the outcomes of GCCS: specifically, new insights into interdisciplinary pedagogy and the student creation of an extraordinary "deliverable," a group summary assessment of the global climate change debate. The student assessment called for an integrated discussion of both the science of climate change and the human values related to how we inhabit the world. The problems facing society today cannot be addressed through the single-minded adherence to science and technology; instead, society must develop new means of integrating the humanities and science in a meaningful dialogue about our common future.

Soil fungal community responses to global changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haugwitz, Merian Skouw

Global change will affect the functioning and structure of terrestrial ecosystems and since soil fungi are key players in organic matter decomposition and nutrient turnover, shifts in fungal community composition might have a strong impact on soil functioning. The main focus of this thesis...... was therefore to investigate the impact of global environmental changes on soil fungal communities in a temperate and subartic heath ecosystem. The objective was further to determine global change effects on major functional groups of fungi and analyze the influence of fungal community changes on soil carbon...... and nutrient availability and storage. By combining molecular methods such as 454 pyrosequencing and quantitative PCR of fungal ITS amplicons with analyses of soil enzymes, nutrient pools of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus we were able to characterize soil fungal communities as well as their impact on nutrient...

Inadvertent weather modification urban areas - lessons for global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Changnon, S A [Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL (USA)

1992-05-01

Large metropolitan areas in North America, home to 65% of the USA's population, have created major changes in their climates over the past 150 years. The rate and amount of the urban climate change approximate those being predicted globally using climate models. Knowledge of urban weather and climate modification holds lessons for the global climate change issue. First, adjustments to urban climate changes can provide guidance for adjusting to global change. A second lesson relates to the difficulty but underscores the necessity of providing scientifically credible proof of change within the noise of natural climatic variability. The evolution of understanding about how urban conditions influence weather reveals several unexpected outcomes, particularly relating to precipitation changes. These suggest that similar future surprises can be expected in a changed global climate, a third lesson. In-depth studies of how urban climate changes affected the hydrologic cycle, the regional economy, and human activities were difficult because of data problems, lack of impact methodology, and necessity for multidisciplinary investigations. Similar impact studies for global climate change will require diverse scientific talents and funding commitments adequate to measure the complexity of impacts and human adjustments. Understanding the processes whereby urban areas and other human activities have altered the atmosphere and changed clouds and precipitation regionally appears highly relevant to the global climate-change issue. Scientific and governmental policy development needs to recognize an old axiom that became evident in the studies of inadvertent urban and regional climate change and their behavioural implications: Think globally but act locally. Global climate change is an international issue, and the atmosphere must be treated globally. But the impacts and the will to act and adjust will occur regionally.

Inadvertent weather modification urban areas - lessons for global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Changnon, S.A.

1992-01-01

Large metropolitan areas in North America, home to 65% of the USA's population, have created major changes in their climates over the past 150 years. The rate and amount of the urban climate change approximate those being predicted globally using climate models. Knowledge of urban weather and climate modification holds lessons for the global climate change issue. First, adjustments to urban climate changes can provide guidance for adjusting to global change. A second lesson relates to the difficulty but underscores the necessity of providing scientifically credible proof of change within the noise of natural climatic variability. The evolution of understanding about how urban conditions influence weather reveals several unexpected outcomes, particularly relating to precipitation changes. These suggest that similar future surprises can be expected in a changed global climate, a third lesson. In-depth studies of how urban climate changes affected the hydrologic cycle, the regional economy, and human activities were difficult because of data problems, lack of impact methodology, and necessity for multidisciplinary investigations. Similar impact studies for global climate change will require diverse scientific talents and funding commitments adequate to measure the complexity of impacts and human adjustments. Understanding the processes whereby urban areas and other human activities have altered the atmosphere and changed clouds and precipitation regionally appears highly relevant to the global climate-change issue. Scientific and governmental policy development needs to recognize an old axiom that became evident in the studies of inadvertent urban and regional climate change and their behavioural implications: Think globally but act locally. Global climate change is an international issue, and the atmosphere must be treated globally. But the impacts and the will to act and adjust will occur regionally

International energy technology collaboration and climate change mitigation. Case study 1. Concentrating Solar Power Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philibert, C. [Energy and Environment Division, International Energy Agency IEA, Paris (France)

2004-07-01

Mitigating climate change and achieving stabilisation of greenhouse gas atmospheric concentrations will require deep reductions in global emissions of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Developing and disseminating new, low-carbon energy technology will thus be needed. Two previous AIXG papers have focused on possible drivers for such a profound technological change: Technology Innovation, Development and Diffusion, released in June 2003, and International Energy Technology Collaboration and Climate Change Mitigation, released in June 2004. The first of these papers assesses a broad range of technical options for reducing energy-related CO2 emissions. It examines how technologies evolve and the role of research and development efforts, alternative policies, and short-term investment decisions in making long-term options available. It considers various policy tools that may induce technological change, some very specific, and others with broader expected effects. Its overall conclusion is that policies specifically designed to promote technical change, or 'technology push', could play a critical role in making available and affordable new energy technologies. However, such policies would not be sufficient to achieve the Convention's objective in the absence of broader policies. First, because there is a large potential for cuts that could be achieved in the short run with existing technologies; and second, the development of new technologies requires a market pull as much as a technology push. The second paper considers the potential advantages and disadvantages of international energy technology collaboration and transfer for promoting technological change. Advantages of collaboration may consist of lowering R and D costs and stimulating other countries to invest in R and D; disadvantage may include free-riding and the inefficiency of reaching agreement between many actors. This paper sets the context for further discussion on the role of

Global Health Innovation Technology Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly Harding

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Chronic technology and business process disparities between High Income, Low Middle Income and Low Income (HIC, LMIC, LIC research collaborators directly prevent the growth of sustainable Global Health innova‐ tion for infectious and rare diseases. There is a need for an Open Source-Open Science Architecture Framework to bridge this divide. We are proposing such a framework for consideration by the Global Health community, by utiliz‐ ing a hybrid approach of integrating agnostic Open Source technology and healthcare interoperability standards and Total Quality Management principles. We will validate this architecture framework through our programme called Project Orchid. Project Orchid is a conceptual Clinical Intelligence Exchange and Virtual Innovation platform utilizing this approach to support clinical innovation efforts for multi-national collaboration that can be locally sustainable for LIC and LMIC research cohorts. The goal is to enable LIC and LMIC research organizations to acceler‐ ate their clinical trial process maturity in the field of drug discovery, population health innovation initiatives and public domain knowledge networks. When sponsored, this concept will be tested by 12 confirmed clinical research and public health organizations in six countries. The potential impact of this platform is reduced drug discovery and public health innovation lag time and improved clinical trial interventions, due to reliable clinical intelligence and bio-surveillance across all phases of the clinical innovation process.

Changing global carbon cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canadell, Pep

2007-01-01

Full text: The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (C02) is the single largest human perturbation on the earth's radiative balance contributing to climate change. Its rate of change reflects the balance between anthropogenic carbon emissions and the dynamics of a number of terrestrial and ocean processes that remove or emit C02. It is the long term evolution of this balance that will determine to large extent the speed and magnitude of the human induced climate change and the mitigation requirements to stabilise atmospheric C02 concentrations at any given level. In this talk, we show new trends in global carbon sources and sinks, with particularly focus on major shifts occurring since 2000 when the growth rate of atmospheric C02 has reached its highest level on record. The acceleration in the C02 growth results from the combination of several changes in properties of the carbon cycle, including: acceleration of anthropogenic carbon emissions; increased carbon intensity of the global economy, and decreased efficiency of natural carbon sinks. We discuss in more detail some of the possible causes of the reduced efficiency of natural carbon sinks on land and oceans, such as the decreased net sink in the Southern Ocean and on terrestrial mid-latitudes due to world-wide occurrence of drought. All these changes reported here characterise a carbon cycle that is generating stronger than expected climate forcing, and sooner than expected

Open access: changing global science publishing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gasparyan, Armen Yuri; Ayvazyan, Lilit; Kitas, George D

2013-08-01

The article reflects on open access as a strategy of changing the quality of science communication globally. Successful examples of open-access journals are presented to highlight implications of archiving in open digital repositories for the quality and citability of research output. Advantages and downsides of gold, green, and hybrid models of open access operating in diverse scientific environments are described. It is assumed that open access is a global trend which influences the workflow in scholarly journals, changing their quality, credibility, and indexability.

Human-experienced temperature changes exceed global average climate changes for all income groups

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiang, S. M.; Parshall, L.

2009-12-01

Global climate change alters local climates everywhere. Many climate change impacts, such as those affecting health, agriculture and labor productivity, depend on these local climatic changes, not global mean change. Traditional, spatially averaged climate change estimates are strongly influenced by the response of icecaps and oceans, providing limited information on human-experienced climatic changes. If used improperly by decision-makers, these estimates distort estimated costs of climate change. We overlay the IPCC’s 20 GCM simulations on the global population distribution to estimate local climatic changes experienced by the world population in the 21st century. The A1B scenario leads to a well-known rise in global average surface temperature of +2.0°C between the periods 2011-2030 and 2080-2099. Projected on the global population distribution in 2000, the median human will experience an annual average rise of +2.3°C (4.1°F) and the average human will experience a rise of +2.4°C (4.3°F). Less than 1% of the population will experience changes smaller than +1.0°C (1.8°F), while 25% and 10% of the population will experience changes greater than +2.9°C (5.2°F) and +3.5°C (6.2°F) respectively. 67% of the world population experiences temperature changes greater than the area-weighted average change of +2.0°C (3.6°F). Using two approaches to characterize the spatial distribution of income, we show that the wealthiest, middle and poorest thirds of the global population experience similar changes, with no group dominating the global average. Calculations for precipitation indicate that there is little change in average precipitation, but redistributions of precipitation occur in all income groups. These results suggest that economists and policy-makers using spatially averaged estimates of climate change to approximate local changes will systematically and significantly underestimate the impacts of climate change on the 21st century population. Top: The

Global energy and technology trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogner, Hans-Holger

2008-01-01

Economic development translates into growing demand for energy services. However, more than 1.6 billion people at present still do not have access to modern energy services. Continued population growth compounds this demand for energy, which is central to achieving sustainable development goals. Poverty eradication calls for affordable energy services. There is a need to minimize health and environmental impacts of energy use. Nuclear power's share of global electricity rose to 16% in 1986. Near the end of the 1980s growth stagnated. Regulatory interventions often stretched out licensing times and increased costs. Inflation and rising energy costs resulting from the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 brought about a significant drop in electricity demand and raised the costs of capital intensive power plants, like nuclear power plants. Some utilities found the regulatory and transaction costs of nuclear power simply too high to manage costs-effectively. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the Chernobyl accident in 1986 retarded the expansion of nuclear power. The electricity market liberalization and privatization exposed excess capacity, pushed electricity prices lower and made power plant investments more risky. Other things being equal, nuclear power's front-loaded cost structure was a disadvantage in markets that emphasize short term profits and rapid returns. In the 1990s, growth in nuclear electricity generation exceeded the growth in nuclear capacity as management efficiencies and technological advances progressively raised the average energy availability of the world's nuclear plants. The energy availability factor measures the percentage of time that a power reactor is available to generate electricity, rather than being shutdown for refuelling, maintenance and other reasons. The global average for nuclear power reactors has risen from 67% in 1990 to 81% in 2004. This increase is equivalent to the addition of 34 new 1000 MW reactors. Electricity generation

Global climate change impacts on forests and markets

Science.gov (United States)

Xiaohui Tian; Brent Sohngen; John B Kim; Sara Ohrel; Jefferson Cole

2016-01-01

This paper develops an economic analysis of climate change impacts in the global forest sector. It illustrates how potential future climate change impacts can be integrated into a dynamic forestry economics model using data from a global dynamic vegetation model, theMC2model. The results suggest that climate change will cause forest outputs (such as timber) to increase...

Global-Change research in Norway. National inventory of Global Change research in Norway i 2011; Global Change-forskning i Norge. En kartlegging av norsk Global change-forskning i 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

From the preface: The Norwegian Global Change (GC) Committee is appointed by the Research Council and works to strengthen the association of Norwegian researchers and research to the international GC programs and IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis). As part of this effort, the Committee wanted a survey of Norwegian research activities linked to these programs. CICERO was engaged to carry out survey work in dialogue with the Research and GC Committee. The results of the survey are presented in this report. The GC programs are: World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), International geosphere-biosphere program (IGBP), International program of biodiversity science (DIVERSITAS), International Human Dimension Programme Wed Global Environmental Change (IHDP). In addition to IIASA. The results of the survey will be, and is, used as a basis for further activities of the Committee in terms of incentives that can increase the internationalization of Norwegian research. Furthermore, it help to ensure good coupling to these programs in their transition to a common platform in the international Future Earth Initiative (http://www.icsu.org/future-earth).(eb)

The Ecological consequences of global climate change

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Woodward, F. I

1992-01-01

... & land use - modeling potential responses of vegetation to global climate change - effects of climatic change on population dynamics of crop pests - responses of soils to climate change - predicting...

Global scene layout modulates contextual learning in change detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus eConci

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Change in the visual scene often goes unnoticed – a phenomenon referred to as ‘change blindness’. This study examined whether the hierarchical structure, i.e., the global-local layout of a scene can influence performance in a one-shot change detection paradigm. To this end, natural scenes of a laid breakfast table were presented, and observers were asked to locate the onset of a new local object. Importantly, the global structure of the scene was manipulated by varying the relations among objects in the scene layouts. The very same items were either presented as global-congruent (typical layouts or as global-incongruent (random arrangements. Change blindness was less severe for congruent than for incongruent displays, and this congruency benefit increased with the duration of the experiment. These findings show that global layouts are learned, supporting detection of local changes with enhanced efficiency. However, performance was not affected by scene congruency in a subsequent control experiment that required observers to localize a static discontinuity (i.e., an object that was missing from the repeated layouts. Our results thus show that learning of the global layout is particularly linked to the local objects. Taken together, our results reveal an effect of global precedence in natural scenes. We suggest that relational properties within the hierarchy of a natural scene are governed, in particular, by global image analysis, reducing change blindness for local objects through scene learning.

Global scene layout modulates contextual learning in change detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Conci, Markus; Müller, Hermann J

2014-01-01

Change in the visual scene often goes unnoticed - a phenomenon referred to as "change blindness." This study examined whether the hierarchical structure, i.e., the global-local layout of a scene can influence performance in a one-shot change detection paradigm. To this end, natural scenes of a laid breakfast table were presented, and observers were asked to locate the onset of a new local object. Importantly, the global structure of the scene was manipulated by varying the relations among objects in the scene layouts. The very same items were either presented as global-congruent (typical) layouts or as global-incongruent (random) arrangements. Change blindness was less severe for congruent than for incongruent displays, and this congruency benefit increased with the duration of the experiment. These findings show that global layouts are learned, supporting detection of local changes with enhanced efficiency. However, performance was not affected by scene congruency in a subsequent control experiment that required observers to localize a static discontinuity (i.e., an object that was missing from the repeated layouts). Our results thus show that learning of the global layout is particularly linked to the local objects. Taken together, our results reveal an effect of "global precedence" in natural scenes. We suggest that relational properties within the hierarchy of a natural scene are governed, in particular, by global image analysis, reducing change blindness for local objects through scene learning.

Digitalization and the global technology trends

Science.gov (United States)

Ignat, V.

2017-08-01

Digitalization, connected products and services, and shortening innovation cycles are widely discussed topics in management practice and theory and demand for new concepts. We analysed how companies innovated their business models and how are the new the technology trends. We found out, that have a positive approach to digitalization but the technology strategy still runs its original business model. Digitalization forces to new solution orientation. For companies it is necessary to master the digital transformation, new innovations have to be developed. Furthermore, digitalization / Industry 4.0 linking the real-life factory with virtual reality, will play an increasingly important role in global manufacturing. Companies have to obtain new digital capabilities, in order to make their company sustainable for the future. A long term growth and welfare in Europe could be guaranteed only by new technology innovation.

Myths and realities of global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruce, J.P.

1991-01-01

Greenhouse gases in the environment are increasing, resulting in global warming. This paper discusses three misconceptions about global warming. The three topics are the level of consensus among world scientists about global warming, how 'costly' remedies for global warming will be, and will growth in developing countries offset any changes made in developed countries. Possibilities for Canadian leadership on this critical issue are discussed. 1 fig.

Global and regional climate change: new evidences between two IPCC reports

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mika, J. [Eszterhazy Karoly College, Budapest (Hungary). Dept. of Geography

2011-07-01

The climate of our planet has never been constant, but the recent changes are by two orders of magnitude faster than the natural changes since the appearance of anthropogenic effects. The discernable global warming started in the 19th century and after speeding up in the 20th century, it has reached about 0.8 K. This fact and the realization of the likely reasons for the changes, plus rapid development of computer technology have resulted in systematic investigations of climate science. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finalized its Fourth Assessment Report in 2007. The present paper suveys some recent moments of global and regional climate change issued after the Report. Even the economic crisis was not strong enough to deflect the anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing for more than one year. It tends to develop at the upper edge of the IPCC (2007) projection band of uncertainties. The part of the emitted carbon dioxide remaining in the atmosphere is increasing due to weakening of both the biospheric- and the oceanic sinks of this greenhouse gas. The new radiation balance estimations must admit the imbalance between the atmosphere and the oceans indicating the fact that the greenhouse warming definitely takes place. The year 2010 became most likely the warmest one on the global temperature record. The sea-level rise also follows the most rapid track among the foreseen scenarios. In the meantime modelling effort to better estimate regional features of the changes also develop in their full strength. The ENSEMBLES Project ended in December 2009 and published a lot of maps with 25 km model resolution. These results, however, do not show convergence in the estimations for many regions, including Central Europe.

Global climate change has already begun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinclair, J.

1991-01-01

Global warning and climate change is now evident around the planet. Six of the eight warmest years on record occurred in the 1980s, while 1990 was the hottest year on record. The global imbalances seem set to worsen unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and restoration of the earth's forests is begun

White House Conference on Global Climate Change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-11-01

President Clinton has directed the White House office on Environmental Policy to coordinate an interagency process to develop a plan to fulfill the commitment he made in his Earth Day address on April 21, 1993. This plan will become the cornerstone of the Climate Change Plan that will be completed shortly after the Rio Accord enters into force. The Office on Environmental Policy established the Interagency Climate Change Mitigation Group to draw on the expertise of federal agencies including the National Economic Council; the Council of Economic Advisors; the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Office of Management and Budget; the National Security Council; the Domestic Policy Council; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, Interior, Treasury, Commerce, and State. Working groups have been established to examine six key policy areas: energy demand, energy supply, joint implementation, methane and other gases, sinks, and transportation. The purpose of the White House Conference on Global Climate Change was to ``tap the real-world experiences`` of diverse participants and seek ideas and information for meeting the President`s goals. During the opening session, senior administration officials defined the challenge ahead and encouraged open and frank conversation about the best possible ways to meet it.

How will changes in globalization impact growth in south Asia ?

OpenAIRE

Ghani, Ejaz; Anand, Rahul

2009-01-01

The current global crisis may change globalization itself, as both developed and developing countries adjust to global imbalances that contributed to the crisis. Will these changes help or hinder economic recovery and growth in South Asia? This is the focus of this paper. The three models of globalization--trade, capital, and economic management--may not be the same in the future. Changes ...

Remote sensing for global change, climate change and atmosphere and ocean forecasting. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This volume is separated in three sessions. First part is on remote sensing for global change (with global modelling, land cover change on global scale, ocean colour studies of marine biosphere, biological and hydrological interactions and large scale experiments). Second part is on remote sensing for climate change (with earth radiation and clouds, sea ice, global climate research programme). Third part is on remote sensing for atmosphere and ocean forecasting (with temperatures and humidity, winds, data assimilation, cloud imagery, sea surface temperature, ocean waves and topography). (A.B.). refs., figs., tabs

Technology round and management of technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Yong Tae

1994-04-01

This book deals with beginning of technology round with background of it, change of scientific technique paradigm with economy, management and policy, change of international political environment globalization of technical and economic environment, formation of strategic alliance, intensifying regionalism, new GATT system, UR and technology round, new international technique regulation and technology round of OECD, feature and meaning of technology round, assignment and scientific technique of Korea, past and present of scientific technology in Korea, correspondence for technology round.

Global climate change and California's water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaux, H.J. Jr.

1991-01-01

This chapter records the deliberations of a group of California water experts about answers to these and other questions related to the impact of global warming on California's water resources. For the most part, those participating in the deliberations believe that the current state of scientific knowledge about global warming and its impacts on water resources is insufficient to permit hard distinctions to be made between short- and long-term changes. consequently, the ideas discussed here are based on a number of assumptions about specific climatic manifestations of global warming in California, as described earlier in this volume. Ultimately, however, effective public responses to forestall the potentially costly impacts of global climate change will probably depend upon the credible validation of the prospects of global climate warming. This chapter contains several sections. First, the likely effects of global warming on California's water resources and water-supply systems are identified and analyzed. Second, possible responses to mitigate these effects are enumerated and discussed. Third, the major policy issues are identified. A final section lists recommendations for action and major needs for information

Global Deliberative Democracy and Climate Change: Insights from World Wide Views on Global Warming in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Riedy

2011-12-01

Full Text Available On 26 September 2009, approximately 4,000 citizens in 38 countries participated in World Wide Views on Global Warming (WWViews. WWViews was an ambitious first attempt to convene a deliberative mini-public at a global scale, giving people from around the world an opportunity to deliberate on international climate policy and to make recommendations to the decision-makers meeting at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP-15 in December 2009. In this paper, we examine the role that deliberative mini-publics can play in facilitating the emergence of a global deliberative system for climate change response. We pursue this intent through a reflective evaluation of the Australian component of the World Wide Views on Global Warming project (WWViews. Our evaluation of WWViews is mixed. The Australian event was delivered with integrity and feedback from Australian participants was almost universally positive. Globally, WWViews demonstrated that it is feasible to convene a global mini-public to deliberate on issues of global relevance, such as climate change. On the other hand, the contribution of WWViews towards the emergence of a global deliberative system for climate change response was limited and it achieved little influence on global climate change policy. We identify lessons for future global mini-publics, including the need to prioritise the quality of deliberation and provide flexibility to respond to cultural and political contexts in different parts of the world. Future global mini-publics may be more influential if they seek to represent discourse diversity in addition to demographic profiles, use designs that maximise the potential for transmission from public to empowered space, run over longer time periods to build momentum for change and experiment with ways of bringing global citizens together in a single process instead of discrete national events.

The US Global Change Data and Information Management Program Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) requires massive quantities of highly diverse data and information to improve our understanding of global change processes. The Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) comprises Federal agencies that need to provide reliable data and information for this purpose from existing programs and archives and from new activities designed to improve upon the data and information. This US Global Change Data and Information Management Program Plan commits the participating Federal agencies to work with each other, with academia, and with the international community to make it as easy as possible for researchers and others to access and use global change data and information. Toward this end, the agencies are organizing a Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS), which takes advantage of the mission resources and responsibilities of each agency. Sources for global change data and information are national and international agency programs, including those focused on the USGCRP, such as NASA's Earth Observing System [EOS] and other agency global change initiatives and those contributing to the USGCRP from other agency programs not focused on global change. Data and information include raw data from observation systems, value-added data from data assembly activities, and derived data and information from models and other investigations. Additional data and information are identified from appropriate sources including academia and the international community

A global assessment of market accessibility and market influence for global environmental change studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verburg, Peter H [Institute for Environmental Studies, Amsterdam Global Change Institute, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam (Netherlands); Ellis, Erle C [Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Letourneau, Aurelien, E-mail: Peter.Verburg@ivm.vu.nl [UMR 5175 Centre d' Ecologie Fonctionnelle and Evolutive, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier cedex 5 (France)

2011-07-15

Markets influence the global patterns of urbanization, deforestation, agriculture and other land use systems. Yet market influence is rarely incorporated into spatially explicit global studies of environmental change, largely because consistent global data are lacking below the national level. Here we present the first high spatial resolution gridded data depicting market influence globally. The data jointly represent variations in both market strength and accessibility based on three market influence indices derived from an index of accessibility to market locations and national level gross domestic product (purchasing power parity). These indices show strong correspondence with human population density while also revealing several distinct and useful relationships with other global environmental patterns. As market influence grows, the need for high resolution global data on market influence and its dynamics will become increasingly important to understanding and forecasting global environmental change.

A global assessment of market accessibility and market influence for global environmental change studies

Science.gov (United States)

Verburg, Peter H.; Ellis, Erle C.; Letourneau, Aurelien

2011-07-01

Markets influence the global patterns of urbanization, deforestation, agriculture and other land use systems. Yet market influence is rarely incorporated into spatially explicit global studies of environmental change, largely because consistent global data are lacking below the national level. Here we present the first high spatial resolution gridded data depicting market influence globally. The data jointly represent variations in both market strength and accessibility based on three market influence indices derived from an index of accessibility to market locations and national level gross domestic product (purchasing power parity). These indices show strong correspondence with human population density while also revealing several distinct and useful relationships with other global environmental patterns. As market influence grows, the need for high resolution global data on market influence and its dynamics will become increasingly important to understanding and forecasting global environmental change.

A global assessment of market accessibility and market influence for global environmental change studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verburg, Peter H; Ellis, Erle C; Letourneau, Aurelien

2011-01-01

Markets influence the global patterns of urbanization, deforestation, agriculture and other land use systems. Yet market influence is rarely incorporated into spatially explicit global studies of environmental change, largely because consistent global data are lacking below the national level. Here we present the first high spatial resolution gridded data depicting market influence globally. The data jointly represent variations in both market strength and accessibility based on three market influence indices derived from an index of accessibility to market locations and national level gross domestic product (purchasing power parity). These indices show strong correspondence with human population density while also revealing several distinct and useful relationships with other global environmental patterns. As market influence grows, the need for high resolution global data on market influence and its dynamics will become increasingly important to understanding and forecasting global environmental change.

INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ON THE SOCIAL ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GRAB INTERNATIONAL VENTURES

Global media technology has created greater uncertainty in what has been relatively .... circuit pilot project, today delivers classes designed from 12,000 rural ... take orders and acquire knowledge on how to expand their business horizons.

Economic Globalization and a Nuclear Renaissance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, Thomas W; Johnson, Wayne L; Parker, Brian M

2001-10-22

The phenomenon of globalization has become increasingly well recognized, documented, and analyzed in the last several years. Globalization, the integration of markets and intra-firm competition on a worldwide basis, involves complex behavioral and mindset changes within a firm that facilitate global competition. The changes revolve around efficient information flow and rapid deployment of technology. The objective of this report is to examine the probable characteristics of a global nuclear renaissance and its broad implications for industry structure and export control relative to nuclear technology. The question of how a modern renaissance would affect the trend toward globalization of the nuclear industry is addressed.

Economic Globalization and a Nuclear Renaissance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Thomas W.; Johnson, Wayne L.; Parker, Brian M.

2001-01-01

The phenomenon of globalization has become increasingly well recognized, documented, and analyzed in the last several years. Globalization, the integration of markets and intra-firm competition on a worldwide basis, involves complex behavioral and mindset changes within a firm that facilitate global competition. The changes revolve around efficient information flow and rapid deployment of technology. The objective of this report is to examine the probable characteristics of a global nuclear renaissance and its broad implications for industry structure and export control relative to nuclear technology. The question of how a modern renaissance would affect the trend toward globalization of the nuclear industry is addressed

The role of technological availability for the distributive impacts of climate change mitigation policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lueken, Michael; Edenhofer, Ottmar; Knopf, Brigitte; Leimbach, Marian; Luderer, Gunnar; Bauer, Nico

2011-01-01

The impacts of the availability of low-carbon technologies on the regional distribution of mitigation costs are analyzed in a global multi-regional integrated assessment model. Three effects on regional consumption losses are distinguished: domestic measures, trade of fossil energy carriers and trade of emission permits. Key results are: (i) GDP losses and a redirection of investments in the energy system towards capital-intensive technologies are major contributions to regional consumption losses. (ii) A devaluation of tradable fossil energy endowments contributes largely to the mitigation costs of fossil fuel exporters. (iii) In case of reduced availability of low-carbon technologies, the permit market volume and associated monetary redistributions increase. The results suggest that the availability of a broad portfolio of low-carbon technologies could facilitate negotiations on the permit allocation scheme in a global cap-and-trade system. - Highlights: → We analyze the distribution of climate change mitigation costs among world regions. → We quantify contributions from various effects on regional costs. → The interference of world trade and low-carbon technologies is essential. → A broad portfolio of technologies helps international negotiations.

Future Global Mortality from Changes in Air Pollution Attributable to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Raquel A.; West, J. Jason; Lamarque, Jean-Francois; Shindell, Drew T.; Collins, William J.; Faluvegi, Greg; Folberth, Gerd A.; Horowitz, Larry W.; Nagashima, Tatsuya; Naik, Vaishali;

The growth of finfish in global open-ocean aquaculture under climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Klinger, Dane H; Levin, Simon A; Watson, James R

2017-10-11

Aquaculture production is projected to expand from land-based operations to the open ocean as demand for seafood grows and competition increases for inputs to land-based aquaculture, such as freshwater and suitable land. In contrast to land-based production, open-ocean aquaculture is constrained by oceanographic factors, such as current speeds and seawater temperature, which are dynamic in time and space, and cannot easily be controlled. As such, the potential for offshore aquaculture to increase seafood production is tied to the physical state of the oceans. We employ a novel spatial model to estimate the potential of open-ocean finfish aquaculture globally, given physical, biological and technological constraints. Finfish growth potential for three common aquaculture species representing different thermal guilds-Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ), gilthead seabream ( Sparus aurata ) and cobia ( Rachycentron canadum )-is compared across species and regions and with climate change, based on outputs of a high-resolution global climate model. Globally, there are ample areas that are physically suitable for fish growth and potential expansion of the nascent aquaculture industry. The effects of climate change are heterogeneous across species and regions, but areas with existing aquaculture industries are likely to see increases in growth rates. In areas where climate change results in reduced growth rates, adaptation measures, such as selective breeding, can probably offset potential production losses. © 2017 The Author(s).

Understanding Global Change: Tools for exploring Earth processes and biotic change through time

Science.gov (United States)

Bean, J. R.; White, L. D.; Berbeco, M.

2014-12-01

Teaching global change is one of the great pedagogical challenges of our day because real understanding entails integrating a variety of concepts from different scientific subject areas, including chemistry, physics, and biology, with a variety of causes and impacts in the past, present, and future. With the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, which emphasize climate change and other human impacts on natural systems, there has never been a better time to provide instructional support to educators on these topics. In response to this clear need, the University of California Museum of Paleontology, in collaboration with the National Center for Science Education, developed a new web resource for teachers and students titled "Understanding Global Change" (UGC) that introduces the drivers and impacts of global change. This website clarifies the connections among deep time, modern Earth system processes, and anthropogenic influences, and provides K-16 instructors with a wide range of easy-to-use tools, strategies, and lesson plans for communicating these important concepts regarding global change and the basic Earth systems processes. In summer 2014, the UGC website was field-tested during a workshop with 25 K-12 teachers and science educators. Feedback from participants helped the UGC team develop and identify pedagogically sound lesson plans and instructional tools on global change. These resources are accessible through UGC's searchable database, are aligned with NGSS and Common Core, and are categorized by grade level, subject, and level of inquiry-based instruction (confirmation, structured, guided, open). Providing a range of content and tools at levels appropriate for teachers is essential because our initial needs assessment found that educators often feel that they lack the content knowledge and expertise to address complex, but relevant global change issues, such as ocean acidification and deforestation. Ongoing needs assessments and surveys of

Global warming impacts of CFC alternative technologies: Combining fluorocarbon and CO2 effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fairchild, P.D.; Fischer, S.K.; Hughes, P.J.

1992-01-01

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are on their way out, due to their role in stratospheric ozone depletion and the related international Montreal Protocol agreement and various national phaseout timetables. As the research, engineering development, and manufacturing investment decisions have ensued to prepare for this transition away from CFCs, the climate change issue has emerged and there has recently been increased attention on the direct global warming potential (GWP) of the fluorocarbon alternatives as greenhouse gases. However, there has been less focus on the indirect global warming effect arising from end-use energy changes and associated CO 2 emissions. A study was undertaken to address these combined global warming effects. A concept of Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) was developed for combining the direct and indirect effects and was used for evaluating CFC-replacement options available in the required CFC transition time frame. Analyses of industry technology surveys indicate that CFC-user industries have made substantial progress toward near-equal energy efficiency with many HCFC/HFC alternatives. The findings also bring into question the relative importance of the direct effect in many applications and stress energy efficiency when searching for suitable CFC alternatives. For chillers, household refrigerators, and unitary air-conditioning or heat pump equipment, changes in efficiency of only 2--5% would have a greater effect on future TEWI than completely eliminating the direct effect

Impact of swine reproductive technologies on pig and global food production.

Science.gov (United States)

Knox, Robert V

2014-01-01

Reproductive technologies have dramatically changed the way pigs are raised for pork production in developed and developing countries. This has involved such areas as pigs produced/sow, more consistent pig flow to market, pig growth rate and feed efficiency, carcass yield and quality, labor efficiency, and pig health. Some reproductive technologies are in widespread use for commercial pork operations [Riesenbeck, Reprod Domest Anim 46:1-3, 2011] while others are in limited use in specific segments of the industry [Knox, Reprod Domest Anim 46:4-6, 2011]. Significant changes in the efficiency of pork production have occurred as a direct result of the use of reproductive technologies that were intended to improve the transfer of genes important for food production [Gerrits et al., Theriogenology 63:283-299, 2005]. While some technologies focused on the efficiency of gene transfer, others addressed fertility and labor issues. Among livestock species, pig reproductive efficiency appears to have achieved exceptionally high rates of performance (PigCHAMP 2011) [Benchmark 2011, Ames, IA, 12-16]. From the maternal side, this includes pigs born per litter, farrowing rate, as well as litters per sow per year. On the male side, boar fertility, sperm production, and sows served per sire have improved as well [Knox et al., Theriogenology, 70:1202-1208, 2008]. These shifts in the efficiency of swine fertility have resulted in the modern pig as one of the most efficient livestock species for global food production. These reproductive changes have predominantly occurred in developed countries, but data suggests transfer and adoption of these in developing countries as well (FAO STAT 2009; FAS 2006) [World pig meat production: food and agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2009; FAS, 2006) Worldwide Pork Production, 2006]. Technological advancements in swine reproduction have had profound effects on industry structure, production, efficiency, quality, and profitability. In

Global environmental change and sustainable development in Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaeger, J.; Liberatore, A.; Grundlach, K. [eds.

1995-12-31

The document contains all but two papers presented at the Workshop as well as a summary of the contributions and discussions, a list of socio-economic research priorities identified at the meeting and a policy brief based on the themes woven together at the Workshop. The workshop was organised within the framework of the European Network for Research in Global Change (ENRICH). Papers include: global environmental change and sustainable development in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin, water management and global environmental change policies, human impacts on the nitrogen cycle, the merchandising of biodiversity, environmental performance indicators, urban sustainability indicators and strategies for sustainability.

Technological change and social change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janshen, D.; Keck, O.; Webler, W.D.

1981-01-01

Political disputes about the risks and social consequences of modern technologies let many people ask whether society still has an independent capacity to act on the technological change or whether it is not rather the passive object of an obscure development. Modern technology is a challenge not only to the analytical capacity of social sciences. This volume describes the contributions of a conference which took place in April 1979. The first part deals with the social consequences of new technologies. Hereby new communication technologies are the main theme. The contributions of the second part deal with political, organizational, and methodical problems of the sociologic accessory research of technical and social innovations. The texts of the third part analyse experience so far made in the state support of research and technical development. (orig./HP) [de

Global Responses to Potential Climate Change: A Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Mary Louise; Mowry, George

This interdisciplinary five-day unit provides students with an understanding of the issues in the debate on global climate change. Introductory lessons enhance understanding of the "greenhouse gases" and their sources with possible global effects of climate change. Students then roleplay negotiators from 10 nations in a simulation of the…

Regional to global changes in drought and implications for future changes under global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Sheffield, J.; Wood, E. F.; Kam, J.

2012-12-01

Drought can have large impacts on multiple sectors, including agriculture, water resources, ecosystems, transport, industry and tourism. In extreme cases, regional drought can lead to food insecurity and famine, and in intensive agricultural regions, extend to global economic impacts in a connected world. Recent droughts globally have been severe and costly but whether they are becoming more frequent and severe, and the attribution of this, is a key question. Observational evidence at large scales, such as satellite remote sensing are often subject to short-term records and inhomogeneities, and ground based data are sparse in many regions. Reliance on model output is also subject to error and simplifications in the model physics that can, for example, amplify the impact of global warming on drought. This presentation will show the observational and model evidence for changes in drought, with a focus on the interplay between precipitation and atmospheric evaporative demand and its impact on the terrestrial water cycle and drought. We discuss the fidelity of climate models to reproduce our best estimates of drought variability and its drivers historically, and the implications of this on uncertainties in future projections of drought from CMIP5 models, and how this has changed since CMIP3.

Structural Changes of International Trade Flows under the Impact of Globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Dachin

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Structural changes of international trade flows indicate modifications in competitiveness of countries, in terms of production, technological upgrading and exports under the pressure of globalization. The paper aims to point out sources of competitive advantages especially in manufacturing exports of different groups of countries. The focus is on the shifts in the structure of manufacturing in the European Union and their effects on international rankings in export performances. An important issue refers to the opportunities given by the enlargement of the European Union and their impact on EU trade structures.

New electric technologies to reduce global warming impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courtright, H.A.

1994-01-01

Advanced electric technologies hold significant potential to reduce global warming impact through reduction of primary fuel needed to power end-use applications. These reductions can occur in two forms: (1) reduced kilowatt-hour usage and power plant emissions through efficiency improvements and technological enhancements of existing electrically-driven applications; (2) the development of new electric technologies to replace traditional fossil-fuel driven applications which can result in less overall primary energy consumption and lower overall emissions. Numerous new electric technologies are presently being developed by the Electric Power Research Institute. The technologies reviewed in this paper include: Microwave Fabric Dryer, Advanced Heat Pumps, Heat Pump Water Heater, Infrared Sand Reclaimer, Freeze Concentration, Membrane Water Recovery, Microwave Petrochemical Production, Infrared Drying, and Electric Vehicles. Full commercialization of these technologies can result in significant energy savings and CO 2 reductions, in addition to improving the competitiveness of businesses using these technologies

International business and global climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pinkse, J.; Kolk, A.

2008-01-01

Climate change has become an important topic on the business agenda with strong pressure being placed on companies to respond and contribute to finding solutions to this urgent problem. This text provides a comprehensive analysis of international business responses to global climate change and

U.S. Global Change Research Program

Science.gov (United States)

... Announcing... Read more The Deepening Story of How Climate Change Threatens Human Health Read more Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the U.S. Global Change Research... Read more Nomination Period Open for the Sustained National ... more Connecting America’s Communities with Actionable Climate ...

Contextualizing the global relevance of local land change observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magliocca, N R; Ellis, E C; Oates, T; Schmill, M

2014-01-01

To understand global changes in the Earth system, scientists must generalize globally from observations made locally and regionally. In land change science (LCS), local field-based observations are costly and time consuming, and generally obtained by researchers working at disparate local and regional case-study sites chosen for different reasons. As a result, global synthesis efforts in LCS tend to be based on non-statistical inferences subject to geographic biases stemming from data limitations and fragmentation. Thus, a fundamental challenge is the production of generalized knowledge that links evidence of the causes and consequences of local land change to global patterns and vice versa. The GLOBE system was designed to meet this challenge. GLOBE aims to transform global change science by enabling new scientific workflows based on statistically robust, globally relevant integration of local and regional observations using an online social-computational and geovisualization system. Consistent with the goals of Digital Earth, GLOBE has the capability to assess the global relevance of local case-study findings within the context of over 50 global biophysical, land-use, climate, and socio-economic datasets. We demonstrate the implementation of one such assessment – a representativeness analysis – with a recently published meta-study of changes in swidden agriculture in tropical forests. The analysis provides a standardized indicator to judge the global representativeness of the trends reported in the meta-study, and a geovisualization is presented that highlights areas for which sampling efforts can be reduced and those in need of further study. GLOBE will enable researchers and institutions to rapidly share, compare, and synthesize local and regional studies within the global context, as well as contributing to the larger goal of creating a Digital Earth

Impacts of climate change on the global forest sector

Science.gov (United States)

Perez-Garcia, J.; Joyce, L.A.; McGuire, A.D.; Xiao, X.

2002-01-01

The path and magnitude of future anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide will likely influence changes in climate that may impact the global forest sector. These responses in the global forest sector may have implications for international efforts to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. This study takes a step toward including the role of global forest sector in integrated assessments of the global carbon cycle by linking global models of climate dynamics, ecosystem processes and forest economics to assess the potential responses of the global forest sector to different levels of greenhouse gas emissions. We utilize three climate scenarios and two economic scenarios to represent a range of greenhouse gas emissions and economic behavior. At the end of the analysis period (2040), the potential responses in regional forest growing stock simulated by the global ecosystem model range from decreases and increases for the low emissions climate scenario to increases in all regions for the high emissions climate scenario. The changes in vegetation are used to adjust timber supply in the softwood and hardwood sectors of the economic model. In general, the global changes in welfare are positive, but small across all scenarios. At the regional level, the changes in welfare can be large and either negative or positive. Markets and trade in forest products play important roles in whether a region realizes any gains associated with climate change. In general, regions with the lowest wood fiber production cost are able to expand harvests. Trade in forest products leads to lower prices elsewhere. The low-cost regions expand market shares and force higher-cost regions to decrease their harvests. Trade produces different economic gains and losses across the globe even though, globally, economic welfare increases. The results of this study indicate that assumptions within alternative climate scenarios and about trade in forest products are important factors

Why do the biotechnology and the climate change debates hardly mix? Evidence from a global stakeholder survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Aerni, Philipp

2013-05-25

Despite its potential to address climate change problems, the role of biotechnology is hardly ever touched upon in the global sustainability debate. We wanted to know why. For that purpose, we conducted a global online stakeholder survey on biotechnology and climate change. The relevant stakeholders and their representatives were selected by means of key informants that were familiar with either of the two debates. A self-assessment showed that a majority of respondents felt more familiar with the climate change than the biotechnology debate. Even though the survey results reveal that most respondents consider the potential of modern biotechnology to address climate change to be substantial, the policy network analysis revealed that one stakeholder who is not just considered to be relevant in both debates but also crucial in the formation of global public opinion, strongly rejects the view that biotechnology is a climate-friendly and therefore clean technology. This influential opposition seems to ensure that the biotechnology and the climate change debates do not mix. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A global assessment of market accessibility and market influence for global environmental change studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verburg, P.H.; Ellis, E.C.; Letourneau, A.

2011-01-01

Markets influence the global patterns of urbanization, deforestation, agriculture and other land use systems. Yet market influence is rarely incorporated into spatially explicit global studies of environmental change, largely because consistent global data are lacking below the national level. Here

Social Software: A Powerful Paradigm for Building Technology for Global Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wooding, Amy; Wooding, Kjell

2018-01-01

It is not difficult to imagine a world where internet-connected mobile devices are accessible to everyone. Can these technologies be used to help solve the challenges of global education? This was the challenge posed by the Global Learning XPRIZE--a $15 million grand challenge competition aimed at addressing this global teaching shortfall. In…

Global climate change: A U.S. business community's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shales, J.

1994-01-01

Scientists from all over the world are currently attempting to evaluate the impact of both manmade and natural phenomena on climate change, including such issues as the role of oceans as sinks in absorbing CO 2 , the role of sunspots, the absorptive capacity of different tree species, the impact of nitrous oxide and non- CO 2 greenhouse gases, the length of time carbon remains in the atmosphere, the impact of ocean currents and innumerable other issues. Understanding these phenomena, and their interaction will be critical to properly addressing the issue which has tremendous importance for both the US and the world economic future development. The climate change issue has the potential to become the vehicle which will link developing countries to the rest of the world, since, embodies in the global climate debate are several of the social issues that the U.N. has attempted to address over the last two decades: hunger, overpopulation, environment, technology, and development. The climate change issue has the potential to test new international institutions, relationships between developed and developing counties and between traditional trading partners

Global climate change and California's natural ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botkin, D.B.; Nisbet, R.A.; Woodhouse, C.; Ferren, W.; Bicknell, S.; Bentley, B.

1991-01-01

If projections of global climate models are correct, the natural ecosystems of California might undergo major changes during the next century. Such changes might include large economic losses in timber, fisheries, and recreation; major changes in our national and state parks and forests and in our nature preserves and conservation areas; increase in extinction of endangered species; loss of large areas of existing habitats; and development of new habitats whose location and areal extent can only be surmised. Many areas currently set aside for the conservation of specific ecosystems might no longer be suitable to them. Yet, in spite of the potential seriousness of these problems, which could dwarf all other environmental changes, California is at present in a poor situation to project what the effects of global change on its natural ecosystems might be

Global climate change and vector-borne diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Ginsberg, H.S.

2002-01-01

Global warming will have different effects on different diseases because of the complex and idiosynchratic interactions between vectors, hosts, and pathogens that influence transmission dynamics of each pathogen. Human activities, including urbanization, rapid global travel, and vector management, have profound effects on disease transmission that can operate on more rapid time scales than does global climate change. The general concern about global warming encouraging the spread of tropical diseases is legitimate, but the effects vary among diseases, and the ecological implications are difficult to predict.

Global orbit feedback utilizing analog and digital technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, O.; Tang, Y.; Ramamoorthy, S.; Krinsky, S.; Yu, L.H.

1997-01-01

At the NSLS, an analog global orbit feedback system is used in regular operations, and a digital global orbit feedback system is available in machine physics studies on the X-Ray Ring. Here, the authors discuss the relative merits of utilizing analog and digital technology in orbit feedback. Results of experiments are reported characterizing the performance of the analog and digital systems when operated individually or together. They give their thoughts on plans for future development of the orbit feedback systems at the NSLS

[Globalization and infectious diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Mirski, Tomasz; Bartoszcze, Michał; Bielawska-Drózd, Agata

2011-01-01

Globalization is a phenomenon characteristic of present times. It can be considered in various aspects: economic, environmental changes, demographic changes, as well as the development of new technologies. All these aspects of globalization have a definite influence on the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Economic aspects ofglobalization are mainly the trade development, including food trade, which has an impact on the spread of food-borne diseases. The environmental changes caused by intensive development of industry, as a result of globalization, which in turn affects human health. The demographic changes are mainly people migration between countries and rural and urban areas, which essentially favors the global spread of many infectious diseases. While technological advances prevents the spread of infections, for example through better access to information, it may also increase the risk, for example through to create opportunities to travel into more world regions, including the endemic regions for various diseases. The phenomenon ofglobalization is also closely associated with the threat of terrorism, including bioterrorism. It forces the governments of many countries to develop effective programs to protect and fight against this threat.

Global Food Security in a Changing Climate: Considerations and Projections

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, M. K.; Brown, M. E.; Backlund, P. W.; Antle, J. M.; Carr, E. R.; Easterling, W. E.; Funk, C. C.; Murray, A.; Ngugi, M.; Barrett, C. B.; Ingram, J. S. I.; Dancheck, V.; O'Neill, B. C.; Tebaldi, C.; Mata, T.; Ojima, D. S.; Grace, K.; Jiang, H.; Bellemare, M.; Attavanich, W.; Ammann, C. M.; Maletta, H.

2015-12-01

Global food security is an elusive challenge and important policy focus from the community to the globe. Food is provisioned through food systems that may be simple or labyrinthine, yet each has vulnerabilities to climate change through its effects on food production, transportation, storage, and other integral food system activities. At the same time, the future of food systems is sensitive to socioeconomic trajectories determined by choices made outside of the food system, itself. Constrictions for any reason can lead to decreased food availability, access, utilization, or stability - that is, to diminished food security. Possible changes in trade and other U.S. relationships to the rest of the world under changing conditions to the end of the century are considered through integrated assessment modelling under a range of emissions scenarios. Climate change is likely to diminish continued progress on global food security through production disruptions leading to local availability limitations and price increases, interrupted transport conduits, and diminished food safety, among other causes. In the near term, some high-latitude production export regions may benefit from changes in climate. The types and price of food imports is likely to change, as are export demands, affecting U.S. consumers and producers. Demands placed on foreign assistance programs may increase, as may demand for advanced technologies. Adaptation across the food system has great potential to manage climate change effects on food security, and the complexity of the food system offers multiple potential points of intervention for decision makers at every level. However, effective adaptation is subject to highly localized conditions and socioeconomic factors, and the technical feasibility of an adaptive intervention is not necessarily a guarantee of its application if it is unaffordable or does not provide benefits within a relatively short time frame.

Global Climate Change: Threat Multiplier for AFRICOM?

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Yackle, Terri A

2007-01-01

.... Whatever the catalyst for this abrupt climate change, stability for Africa hinges upon mitigating the effects of global climate change to prevent future conflicts such as Darfur, and the instability...

Reducing global NOx emissions: developing advanced energy and transportation technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Michael J; Jones, Brian M

2002-03-01

Globally, energy demand is projected to continue to increase well into the future. As a result, global NOx emissions are projected to continue on an upward trend for the foreseeable future as developing countries increase their standards of living. While the US has experienced improvements in reducing NOx emissions from stationary and mobile sources to reduce ozone, further progress is needed to reduce the health and ecosystem impacts associated with NOx emissions. In other parts of the world, (in developing countries in particular) NOx emissions have been increasing steadily with the growth in demand for electricity and transportation. Advancements in energy and transportation technologies may help avoid this increase in emissions if appropriate policies are implemented. This paper evaluates commercially available power generation and transportation technologies that produce fewer NOx emissions than conventional technologies, and advanced technologies that are on the 10-year commercialization horizon. Various policy approaches will be evaluated which can be implemented on the regional, national and international levels to promote these advanced technologies and ultimately reduce NOx emissions. The concept of the technology leap is offered as a possibility for the developing world to avoid the projected increases in NOx emissions.

Malaysia's contributions towards global climate change concerns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuzlaini Mohd Yusop; Yvonne Lunsong; Norhayati Kamaruddin

2000-01-01

Concerns about Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and global climate change were voiced by the scientific community as far back as the International Geophysical year in 1957 when climate changes scenarios and impacts were analysed. More recently, the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992, renewing a global acknowledgement and commitment towards curbing GHG emissions. Little progress was made until the adoption of Kyoto Protocol in December 1997, over 5 years later. Basically, developed countries would not commit to strong measures if there were no global effort (i. e. corresponding efforts by developing countries) while developing countries are waiting for developed countries to show concrete results first. Since 1950, developed countries cumulatively produced more than 80% of worldwide GHG emissions. Between 1950 and 1990, North America alone contributed 40 billion tons of carbon while Western and Eastern Europe contributed 57 billion tons. Developing countries produced only 24 billion tons of carbon emissions during the same period. At present, per capita emission in developed countries are also about ten times higher than those of developing countries. This imbalance has caused most developing countries to adopt a wait till others do it stance and justifiably so. Nonetheless, curbing GHG emissions should be a larger community effort (which includes business and the public) and not just the efforts of Governments and officials. Thus, the deciding factors should make more business or economic sense. It is likely that business and the general public would listen and contribute positively if they are made aware of potential cost savings and international competitiveness to be derived from these efforts. During the current economic slowdown, especially in East Asia, it makes business sense to defer the capital investment in new electricity generating capacity and related energy supply infrastructure. Pusat Tenaga Malaysia

Supporting University Learning Through Mobile Technologies: A Global Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Gitumu Mugo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The workplace in the modern world continues to demand higher qualifications and refined competencies. In the recent past, workers would respond to such demands through learning by correspondence. When the Internet and e-Learning emerged, it received widespread accolade as a solution to the challenges experienced by distant learners. The technology was also seen as an opportunity for educational institutions to leverage their technological uptake to benefit regular students. However, desktop computers and Internet connectivity, which were the drivers of e-learning technologies, were expensive, bulky and scarce. So when mobile technologies emerged, educationist saw an opportunity for addressing the limitations associated with correspondence, “e” and tethered learning. Mobile devices being cheap, portable and reliable received widespread acceptance and possession. So, educators, hardware designers and program developers started to design hardware and applications that would infuse learning content into the devices. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the potential of mobile technologies in the education market place, highlighting global initiatives and trends. The paper will also review how universities around the world, Africa and in Kenya have oriented themselves for learning with mobile technologies. The study was a documentary analysis of virtual documents stored electronically for access through the Internet, text books, archival repositories and encyclopedias. The study observed a significant high global mobile ownership and usage rates, but was able to demonstrate that despite its pedagogical advantages, the use of the technology for learning purposes at university level is still at the infantry. Keywords: Mobile, Technologies, Universities, adoption, ICT, eLearning

Impact of Geological Changes on Regional and Global Economies

Science.gov (United States)

Tatiana, Skufina; Peter, Skuf'in; Vera, Samarina; Taisiya, Shatalova; Baranov, Sergey

2017-04-01

Periods of geological changes such as super continent cycle (300-500 million years), Wilson's cycles (300-900 million years), magmatic-tectonic cycle (150-200 million years), and cycles with smaller periods (22, 100, 1000 years) lead to a basic contradiction preventing forming methodology of the study of impact of geological changes on the global and regional economies. The reason of this contradiction is the differences of theoretical and methodological aspects of the Earth science and economics such as different time scales and accuracy of geological changes. At the present the geological models cannot provide accurate estimation of time and place where geological changes (strong earthquakes, volcanos) are expected. Places of feature (not next) catastrophic events are the only thing we have known. Thus, it is impossible to use the periodicity to estimate both geological changes and their consequences. Taking into accounts these factors we suggested a collection of concepts for estimating impact of possible geological changes on regional and global economies. We illustrated our approach by example of estimating impact of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 on regional and global economies. Based on this example we concluded that globalization processes increase an impact of geological changes on regional and global levels. The research is supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Projects No. 16-06-00056, 16-32-00019, 16-05-00263A).

Dryland photoautotrophic soil surface communities endangered by global change

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Caballero, Emilio; Belnap, Jayne; Büdel, Burkhard; Crutzen, Paul J.; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Pöschl, Ulrich; Weber, Bettina

2018-03-01

Photoautotrophic surface communities forming biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial for soil stability as well as water, nutrient and trace gas cycling at regional and global scales. Quantitative information on their global coverage and the environmental factors driving their distribution patterns, however, are not readily available. We use observations and environmental modelling to estimate the global distribution of biocrusts and their response to global change using future projected scenarios. We find that biocrusts currently covering approximately 12% of Earth's terrestrial surface will decrease by about 25-40% within 65 years due to anthropogenically caused climate change and land-use intensification, responding far more drastically than vascular plants. Our results illustrate that current biocrust occurrence is mainly driven by a combination of precipitation, temperature and land management, and future changes are expected to be affected by land-use and climate change in similar proportion. The predicted loss of biocrusts may substantially reduce the microbial contribution to nitrogen cycling and enhance the emissions of soil dust, which affects the functioning of ecosystems as well as human health and should be considered in the modelling, mitigation and management of global change.

Dryland photoautotrophic soil surface communities endangered by global change

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Caballero, Emilio; Belnap, Jayne; Büdel, Burkhard; Crutzen, Paul J.; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Pöschl, Ulrich; Weber, Bettina

2018-01-01

Photoautotrophic surface communities forming biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial for soil stability as well as water, nutrient and trace gas cycling at regional and global scales. Quantitative information on their global coverage and the environmental factors driving their distribution patterns, however, are not readily available. We use observations and environmental modelling to estimate the global distribution of biocrusts and their response to global change using future projected scenarios. We find that biocrusts currently covering approximately 12% of Earth’s terrestrial surface will decrease by about 25–40% within 65 years due to anthropogenically caused climate change and land-use intensification, responding far more drastically than vascular plants. Our results illustrate that current biocrust occurrence is mainly driven by a combination of precipitation, temperature and land management, and future changes are expected to be affected by land-use and climate change in similar proportion. The predicted loss of biocrusts may substantially reduce the microbial contribution to nitrogen cycling and enhance the emissions of soil dust, which affects the functioning of ecosystems as well as human health and should be considered in the modelling, mitigation and management of global change.

Exploring Global Change In Place-Based Case Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Moosavi, S. C.

2011-12-01

The complexity of global climate change makes the subject challenging for the average student, particularly given the nuanced feedbacks and exceptions to the general "warming" or "drying" trend that may be experienced at the local and regional level at which most people experience geologic processes. Geoscience educators can reduce these barriers and draw in student learners by adopting a place-based approach to teaching and researching geologic principles that relate to global change. Assisting students in recognizing and understanding the geologic environment in which they live and study has the side benefit of making the potential effect of climate change tangible. This presentation will review several approaches for using place-based case studies to explore global climate change issues in large lecture, small seminar, field research and service learning environments. The special place project used in large introductory physical geology courses requires each student to select a place familiar and unique to them for an in depth study of the common course content as the semester progresses. Students are specifically tasked with identifying how their site came to be, the geologic processes that act upon it today, how the site may have been different during the last glacial advance and how global climate change (specifically warming of 3OC over 50 years) might impact the site. The concept that change has occurred at the student's site in the past, even far from glacial environments, opens students to the scale of potential anthropogenic climate change. A freshman seminar Global Warming & Climate Change - Service in Preparation for Climate Change: The Second Battle of New Orleans focused on the environmental threats to New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana resulting from regional land use decisions in the centuries before Hurricane Katrina, and the threat that global change relating to sea level rise, acceleration of the hydrologic cycle and intensification of

Integrated life-cycle assessment of electricity-supply scenarios confirms global environmental benefit of low-carbon technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hertwich, Edgar G; Gibon, Thomas; Bouman, Evert A; Arvesen, Anders; Suh, Sangwon; Heath, Garvin A; Bergesen, Joseph D; Ramirez, Andrea; Vega, Mabel I; Shi, Lei

2015-05-19

Decarbonization of electricity generation can support climate-change mitigation and presents an opportunity to address pollution resulting from fossil-fuel combustion. Generally, renewable technologies require higher initial investments in infrastructure than fossil-based power systems. To assess the tradeoffs of increased up-front emissions and reduced operational emissions, we present, to our knowledge, the first global, integrated life-cycle assessment (LCA) of long-term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable sources (i.e., photovoltaic and solar thermal, wind, and hydropower) and of carbon dioxide capture and storage for fossil power generation. We compare emissions causing particulate matter exposure, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and climate change for the climate-change-mitigation (BLUE Map) and business-as-usual (Baseline) scenarios of the International Energy Agency up to 2050. We use a vintage stock model to conduct an LCA of newly installed capacity year-by-year for each region, thus accounting for changes in the energy mix used to manufacture future power plants. Under the Baseline scenario, emissions of air and water pollutants more than double whereas the low-carbon technologies introduced in the BLUE Map scenario allow a doubling of electricity supply while stabilizing or even reducing pollution. Material requirements per unit generation for low-carbon technologies can be higher than for conventional fossil generation: 11-40 times more copper for photovoltaic systems and 6-14 times more iron for wind power plants. However, only two years of current global copper and one year of iron production will suffice to build a low-carbon energy system capable of supplying the world's electricity needs in 2050.

Technology Transfer and Climate Change: Additional Considerations for Implementation under the UNFCCC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Sullivan

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Technology transfer is recognised as playing a central and critical role in the global response to climate change, as embodied in the Unite Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC. However, technology transfer is a complex process, and despite numerous attempts to prescribe approaches to optimisation, there remain serious obstacles to its effective operation. The breadth of technologies and range of would-be recipient territories under the climate change regime serve to complicate things even further. Against this background, the Expert Group on Technology Transfer have produced a robust Strategy, which it will now fall to the Technology Mechanism announced in Cancun to implement. However, despite the rigour with which the technology transfer strategy was produced, it is never possible to cover all possible eventualities. It is on this basis that this article presents a number of tactical and strategic issues which may merit further consideration as the implementation process moves forward. At the operational level, such issues include a possible role for a centralised or regional technology procurement effort, the need for greater emphasis on sectoral specific approaches to technology transfer, and a pragmatic approach to reducing the impact of some barriers to transactions by the expedient use of insurance to reduce risk, as opposed to the longer term approach of international standardisation. At the strategic level, there are major issues with regard to prioritisation of resources applied to technology transfer, and in particular the resolution of the tensions existing between achieving sustainable development and the time critical need to achieve climate stabilisation.

Aspen Global Change Institute Summer Science Sessions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katzenberger, John; Kaye, Jack A

2006-10-01

The Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) successfully organized and convened six interdisciplinary meetings over the course of award NNG04GA21G. The topics of the meetings were consistent with a range of issues, goals and objectives as described within the NASA Earth Science Enterprise Strategic Plan and more broadly by the US Global Change Research Program/Our Changing Planet, the more recent Climate Change Program Strategic Plan and the NSF Pathways report. The meetings were chaired by two or more leaders from within the disciplinary focus of each session. 222 scholars for a total of 1097 participants-days were convened under the auspices of this award. The overall goal of each AGCI session is to further the understanding of Earth system science and global environmental change through interdisciplinary dialog. The format and structure of the meetings allows for presentation by each participant, in-depth discussion by the whole group, and smaller working group and synthesis activities. The size of the group is important in terms of the group dynamics and interaction, and the ability for each participant's work to be adequately presented and discussed within the duration of the meeting, while still allowing time for synthesis

Science and technology from global and historical perspectives

CERN Document Server

Karagözoğlu, Bahattin

2017-01-01

This book provides science and technology ethos to a literate person. It starts with a rather detailed treatment of basic concepts in human values, educational status and domains of education, development of science and technology and their contributions to the welfare of society. It describes ways and means of scientific progresses and technological advancements with their historical perspectives including scientific viewpoints of contributing scientists and technologists. The technical, social, and cultural dimensions are surveyed in relation to acquisition and application of science, and advantages and hindrances of technological developments. Science and Technology is currently taught as a college course in many universities with the intention to introduce topics from a global historical perspective so that the reader shall stretch his/her vision by mapping the past to the future. The book can also serve as a primary reference for such courses.

Behavioural models of technological change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeppini, P.

2011-01-01

Technological change still remains an important driver of the economy. This thesis studies the endogenous forces of technological change stemming from behavioural interactions within populations of many agents. Four theoretical models are proposed that describe consumers’ and suppliers’ behaviour

Future role and significance of space activities in reflection of global social, technological and economic trends

Science.gov (United States)

Diekmann, Andreas; Richarz, Hans.-Peter

The paper describes the interrelation of space activities and global socio-economic trends like "globalisation of markets" and "renaissance of fine arts". The interrelation reveals the economic strategic, technological and scientific dimension of space activities and their benefits to mankind. Then, the significance and perspectives of space activities in these dimensions are examined in more detail. The paper calls (1) for a more visible initiative to employ space activities to tackle urgent questions of global change and development, and (2) for a stronger impetus to secure European economic position in space sector as a key industry of the 21st century.

Solar influences on global change

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Board on Global Change, National Research Council

..., but significant uncertainties remain. This book addresses current monitoring and understanding of solar influences on both the climate system and the ozone layer and prioritizes the research effort that will be needed to provide a sound scientific basis for policymaking related to global change issues.

75 FR 60141 - International Business Machines (IBM), Global Technology Services Delivery Division, Including On...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-29

... 25, 2010, applicable to workers of International Business Machines (IBM), Global Technology Services... hereby issued as follows: All workers of International Business Machines (IBM), Global Technology... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-74,164] International Business...

Acidic deposition and global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolaidis, N.P.; Ecsedy, C.; Olem, H.; Nikolaidis, V.S.

1990-01-01

A literature is presented which examines the research published on understanding ecosystem acidification and the effects of acidic deposition on freshwaters. Topics of discussion include the following: acidic deposition; regional assessments; atmospheric deposition and transport; aquatic effects; mathematical modeling; liming acidic waters; global climate change; atmospheric changes; climate feedbacks; and aquatic effects

Data on impact of technological change on employees' cognitive attitude and organizational performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chinyerem Adeniji

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Change is unavoidable for organizations just as it is in every sphere of life. Whatever the reasons are, organizations need to change, keeping in mind the end goal to survive and to be successful. Organizations operate in an environment where globalisation is the common expression of the phenomenon that is driving a great dynamism in the business environment across the world and no business is immune from the effects of this “globalisation”. Competition, policymaking and advancement in technology exist on a day-to-day basis (Hatch, 2009 as well as opportunities are no longer localised within a nation, region or continent, every business is now competing with competitors all over the world. These forces are in constant change and affect a large number of organizations, which involves creating new strategies and policies in order for the organizations to survive and compete within the global business world and also to improve organizational performance but, there are also many challenges as well as the intensification of competition. The usage of technology decides the quality and number of products and services to be delivered. Organizational and national restrictive execution and improvement are controlled by the state and types of technology. Technology likewise impacts the living states of individual and groups in organizations and countries and the relationship between them. Technology is inclined to change, and the condition of technology have direct connection to the relationship between the business and worker. Technology, labour and capital are interconnected. The data presented in this article is very salient in this regard Keywords: Technological change, Employee cognitive attitude, Employee performance, Manufacturing companies, Nigeria

Pimping climate change: Richard Branson, global warming, and the performance of green capitalism

OpenAIRE

Scott Prudham

2009-01-01

On 21 September 2006 UK über-entrepreneur and Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson pledged approximately £1.6 billion, the equivalent of all the profits from Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains for the next ten years, to fighting climate change. Since then, Branson has restated his commitment to action on global warming, including investment in technologies for sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In this paper, I critically examine and engage with Branson’s announcements as a spec...

Decadal Changes in Global Ocean Annual Primary Production

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Watson; Conkright, Margarita E.; Behrenfeld, Michael J.; Ginoux, Paul; Casey, Nancy W.; Koblinsky, Chester J. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) has produced the first multi-year time series of global ocean chlorophyll observations since the demise of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) in 1986. Global observations from 1997-present from SeaWiFS combined with observations from 1979-1986 from the CZCS should in principle provide an opportunity to observe decadal changes in global ocean annual primary production, since chlorophyll is the primary driver for estimates of primary production. However, incompatibilities between algorithms have so far precluded quantitative analysis. We have developed and applied compatible processing methods for the CZCS, using modern advances in atmospheric correction and consistent bio-optical algorithms to advance the CZCS archive to comparable quality with SeaWiFS. We applied blending methodologies, where in situ data observations are incorporated into the CZCS and SeaWiFS data records, to provide improvement of the residuals. These re-analyzed, blended data records provide maximum compatibility and permit, for the first time, a quantitative analysis of the changes in global ocean primary production in the early-to-mid 1980's and the present, using synoptic satellite observations. An intercomparison of the global and regional primary production from these blended satellite observations is important to understand global climate change and the effects on ocean biota. Photosynthesis by chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton is responsible for biotic uptake of carbon in the oceans and potentially ultimately from the atmosphere. Global ocean annual primary decreased from the CZCS record to SeaWiFS, by nearly 6% from the early 1980s to the present. Annual primary production in the high latitudes was responsible for most of the decadal change. Conversely, primary production in the low latitudes generally increased, with the exception of the tropical Pacific. The differences and similarities of the two data records provide evidence

Potential global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1994-01-01

Global economic integration and growth contribute much to the construction of energy plants, vehicles and other industrial products that produces carbon emission and in effect cause the destruction of the environment. A coordinated policy and response worldwide to curb emissions and to effect global climate change must be introduced. Improvement in scientific understanding is required to monitor how much emission reduction is necessary. In the near term, especially in the next seven years, sustained research and development for low carbon or carbon-free energy is necessary. Other measures must also be introduced, such as limiting the use of vehicles, closing down inefficient power plants, etc. In the long term, the use of the electric car, use solar energy, etc. is required. Reforestation must also be considered to absorb large amounts of carbon in the atmosphere

The Teaching of Anthropogenic Climate Change and Earth Science via Technology-Enabled Inquiry Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Drew; Sieber, Renee; Seiler, Gale; Chandler, Mark

2016-01-01

A gap has existed between the tools and processes of scientists working on anthropogenic global climate change (AGCC) and the technologies and curricula available to educators teaching the subject through student inquiry. Designing realistic scientific inquiry into AGCC poses a challenge because research on it relies on complex computer models,…

FOREST ECOSYSTEMS AND GLOBAL CHANGE: THE CASE STUDY OF INSUBRIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Pautasso

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Forest ecosystems face multiple challenges due to climate change, invasive species, urbanization, land use change and the interactions between these global change drivers. This review provides an overview of such challenges for the case study of Insubria. Insubria is a region on the Southern side of the European Alps, famous for its stunning lakes (e.g., Como, Garda, Lugano, Maggiore, blessed by a relatively mild and humid climate, and shaped by the geologic fault line between the African and European plates. Global change impacts in Insubria pose a threat to its biodiversity and chestnut woodlands, particularly through modified winter forest fire regimes. Insubric biodiversity conservation, in turn, is essential to counteract the effects of climate change. Sustainable management of Insubric forests is made more difficult by rural abandonment, air pollution and invasive exotic species. There is a need to develop reliable long-term bio-indicators and to predict the shift of Insubric species, ecosystems and tree-lines due to rapid climate changes. Insubric studies on forests and global change call for enhanced international collaboration in forest management and research. Interdisciplinary approaches are needed to move from studies of single global change drivers to experiments, scenarios and models taking into account their combination and our responses to global change.

Global but fair. Controvert the climatic change, allow development; Global aber gerecht. Klimawandel bekaempfen, Entwicklung ermoeglichen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

The book includes the following chapters: global but fair: climate compatible development for everybody; climatic change consequences und vulnerabilities; ethic dimension: fairness in the context of climatic change and poverty; options and challenges for emissions abatement; options for the adaptation to the climatic change; global deal for climate and development policy; convert the climatic change, allow development: ten political messages.

Global income and production impacts of using GM crop technology 1996–2014

Science.gov (United States)

Brookes, Graham; Barfoot, Peter

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT This paper provides an economic assessment of the value of using genetically modified (GM) crop technology in agriculture at the farm level. It follows and updates earlier annual studies which examined economic impacts on yields, key costs of production, direct farm income and effects, and impacts on the production base of the 4 main crops of soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. The commercialisation of GM crops has continued to occur at a rapid rate since the mid 1990s, with important changes in both the overall level of adoption and impact occurring in 2014. This annual updated analysis shows that there continues to be very significant net economic benefits at the farm level amounting to $17.7 billion in 2014 and $150.3 billion for the 19-year period 1996–2014 (in nominal terms). These economic gains have been divided roughly 50% each to farmers in developed and developing countries. About 65% of the gains have derived from yield and production gains with the remaining 35% coming from cost savings. The technology has also made important contributions to increasing global production levels of the 4 main crops, having, for example, added 158 million tonnes and 322 million tonnes respectively, to the global production of soybeans and maize since the introduction of the technology in the mid 1990s. PMID:27116697

Global income and production impacts of using GM crop technology 1996–2013

Science.gov (United States)

Brookes, Graham; Barfoot, Peter

2015-01-01

abstract This paper provides an economic assessment of the value of using genetically modified (GM) crop technology in agriculture at the farm level. It follows and updates earlier annual studies which examined economic impacts on yields, key costs of production, direct farm income and effects, and impacts on the production base of the 4 main crops of soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. The commercialisation of GM crops has continued to occur at a rapid rate since the mid 1990s, with important changes in both the overall level of adoption and impact occurring in 2013. This annual updated analysis shows that there continues to be very significant net economic benefits at the farm level amounting to $20.5 billion in 2013 and $133.4 billion for the 18 years period (in nominal terms). These economic gains have been divided roughly 50% each to farmers in developed and developing countries. About 70% of the gains have derived from yield and production gains with the remaining 30% coming from cost savings. The technology have also made important contributions to increasing global production levels of the 4 main crops, having added 138 million tonnes and 273 million tonnes respectively, to the global production of soybeans and maize since the introduction of the technology in the mid 1990s. PMID:25738324

75 FR 20388 - International Business Machines Corporation, Global Technology Services Business Unit, Integrated...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-19

... Machines Corporation, Global Technology Services Business Unit, Integrated Technology Services, Cost and... Technology Services Business Unit, Integrated Technology Services, Cost and Expense Team working from various... Technology Services Business Unit. The company reports that workers leased from Datrose, Inc., were employed...

Climate change and global warming potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vate, J.F. van de

1996-01-01

Climate change and the global budgets of the two main energy consumption related greenhouse gases, CO 2 and CH 4 , are discussed. The global warming potential (GWP) of the non-CO 2 greenhouse gases is defined and the large range of GWPs of CH 4 in the literature is discussed. GWPs are expected to play an important role in energy policies and negotiations concerning lowering greenhouse gas emissions. (author). 20 refs, 4 figs, 4 tabs

Provenance Representation in the Global Change Information System (GCIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmes, Curt

2012-01-01

Global climate change is a topic that has become very controversial despite strong support within the scientific community. It is common for agencies releasing information about climate change to be served with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for everything that led to that conclusion. Capturing and presenting the provenance, linking to the research papers, data sets, models, analyses, observation instruments and satellites, etc. supporting key findings has the potential to mitigate skepticism in this domain. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is now coordinating the production of a National Climate Assessment (NCA) that presents our best understanding of global change. We are now developing a Global Change Information System (GCIS) that will present the content of that report and its provenance, including the scientific support for the findings of the assessment. We are using an approach that will present this information both through a human accessible web site as well as a machine readable interface for automated mining of the provenance graph. We plan to use the developing W3C PROV Data Model and Ontology for this system.

Technology and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison, R.; Layzedl, D.; McLean, G.

2002-01-01

This paper was the major one of the opening plenary session at the Climate Change 2 conference. The paper provides a context for assessing the needs for technologies to reduce the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere. It looks at sources, sinks and trends for GHG, in the world at large and in Canada, and at efforts to develop new technologies to achieve the goals of climate change policy. The paper focusses on transport, electricity and biomass as sectors of interest, both because of their potential for contributing to climate change policy goals within Canada, and also because of research interests

Technology and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison, R.; Layzell, D.; McLean, G.

2001-01-01

This paper provides a context for assessing the needs for technologies to reduce the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere. It looks at sources, sinks and trends for GHG, in the world at large and in Canada, and at efforts to develop new technologies to achieve the goals of climate change policy. Technology development is one of many approaches to reducing emissions and absorbing GHG from the atmosphere. New technologies will be more successful if they can also achieve non-climate goals, such as better air quality or reduced soil erosion. This paper examines sectors where new technology may be most needed. In general these will be areas where emissions are large, or growing rapidly, or both. It focuses on transport, electricity and biomass as sectors of interest, both because of their potential for contributing to climate change policy goals within Canada, and also because of the author's own research interests. (author)

A global conservation system for climate-change adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannah, Lee

2010-02-01

Climate change has created the need for a new strategic framework for conservation. This framework needs to include new protected areas that account for species range shifts and management that addresses large-scale change across international borders. Actions within the framework must be effective in international waters and across political frontiers and have the ability to accommodate large income and ability-to-pay discrepancies between countries. A global protected-area system responds to these needs. A fully implemented global system of protected areas will help in the transition to a new conservation paradigm robust to climate change and will ensure the integrity of the climate services provided by carbon sequestration from the world's natural habitats. The internationally coordinated response to climate change afforded by such a system could have significant cost savings relative to a system of climate adaptation that unfolds solely at a country level. Implementation of a global system is needed very soon because the effects of climate change on species and ecosystems are already well underway.

Climate change and global crop yield: impacts, uncertainties and adaptation

OpenAIRE

Deryng, Delphine

2014-01-01

As global mean temperature continues to rise steadily, agricultural systems are projected to face unprecedented challenges to cope with climate change. However, understanding of climate change impacts on global crop yield, and of farmers’ adaptive capacity, remains incomplete as previous global assessments: (1) inadequately evaluated the role of extreme weather events; (2) focused on a small subset of the full range of climate change predictions; (3) overlooked uncertainties related to the ch...

Global change and paraglacial morphodynamic modification in Svalbard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafly, D.; Mercier, D.

2000-01-01

The study of glaciers is a good means by which to determine the impact of global climatic change. Svalbard is an area located in the polar oceanic environment that records contemporary global climatic change with acute sensitivity through the paraglacial process called runoff, which is considered to be the most effective erosional process, relegating glacial and periglacial processes to a lesser level of influence. This study introduced the method of cartography and field data acquisition through systematic non-aligned surveys to determine changes in glacial morphology. A large prograding shoreline was observed at the down side of sand dunes, which gain ground over the space occupied by the fjords because of a large amount of sediment. These sediments are carried by flowing water that feeds off glacier meltwater, following climatic global change. The study showed that remote sensing makes it possible to map landscapes while still taking into account certain aspects of their dynamics. 27 refs., 10 figs

BRICS COUNTRIES’ POLITICAL AND LEGAL PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gladun, Elena; Ahsan, Dewan

2016-01-01

in the sector, and the participation of their energy companies in each other’s domestic market. Assuming Russia will support the development and enhancement of renewable technologies in BRICS countries, it can take a leadership position in the group. Third, in the international process of tackling climate......-related issues BRICS should act as a bloc. Russia’s distancing itself from its partners is considered a deficiency in strengthening the BRICS countries’ role in global governance. BRICS are capable of serving as a vigorous platform in driving climate change negotiations leading to effective binding regulations...

Monitoring global change: a selection of examples

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

CSIR, Natural Resources and Environment

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The reality of global change (including climate change) has gripped the imaginations of movie moguls, graced the agendas of international organisations such as the United Nations, and now also receives prominent attention from the international...

Our changing planet: The FY 1994 US Global Change Research Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The approach of the US Global Change Research Program recognizes the profound economic and social implications of responding to global envirorunental changes and advances US leadership on this issue. The report outlines a careful blend of ground- and space-based efforts in research, data gathering, and modeling activities, as well as economic research, with both near- and long-term scientific and public policy benefits. In FY 1994, the Program will add an explicit focus on assessment, seeking to improve our understanding of the state of scientific knowledge and the implications of that knowledge for national and international policymaking activities

Our changing planet: The FY 1994 US Global Change Research Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-09-01

The approach of the US Global Change Research Program recognizes the profound economic and social implications of responding to global envirorunental changes and advances US leadership on this issue. The report outlines a careful blend of ground- and space-based efforts in research, data gathering, and modeling activities, as well as economic research, with both near- and long-term scientific and public policy benefits. In FY 1994, the Program will add an explicit focus on assessment, seeking to improve our understanding of the state of scientific knowledge and the implications of that knowledge for national and international policymaking activities.

The evolution of global disaster risk assessments: from hazard to global change

Science.gov (United States)

Peduzzi, Pascal

2013-04-01

The perception of disaster risk as a dynamic process interlinked with global change is a fairly recent concept. It gradually emerged as an evolution from new scientific theories, currents of thinking and lessons learned from large disasters since the 1970s. The interest was further heighten, in the mid-1980s, by the Chernobyl nuclear accident and the discovery of the ozone layer hole, both bringing awareness that dangerous hazards can generate global impacts. The creation of the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) and the publication of the first IPCC report in 1990 reinforced the interest for global risk assessment. First global risk models including hazard, exposure and vulnerability components were available since mid-2000s. Since then increased computation power and more refined datasets resolution, led to more numerous and sophisticated global risk models. This article presents a recent history of global disaster risk models, the current status of researches for the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR 2013) and future challenges and limitations for the development of next generation global disaster risk models.

The role of energy-service demand reduction in global climate change mitigation: Combining energy modelling and decomposition analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kesicki, Fabian; Anandarajah, Gabrial

2011-01-01

In order to reduce energy-related CO 2 emissions different options have been considered: energy efficiency improvements, structural changes to low carbon or zero carbon fuel/technologies, carbon sequestration, and reduction in energy-service demands (useful energy). While efficiency and technology options have been extensively studied within the context of climate change mitigation, this paper addresses the possible role of price-related energy-service demand reduction. For this analysis, the elastic demand version of the TIAM-UCL global energy system model is used in combination with decomposition analysis. The results of the CO 2 emission decomposition indicate that a reduction in energy-service demand can play a limited role, contributing around 5% to global emission reduction in the 21st century. A look at the sectoral level reveals that the demand reduction can play a greater role in selected sectors like transport contributing around 16% at a global level. The societal welfare loss is found to be high when the price elasticity of demand is low. - Highlights: → A reduction in global energy-service demand can contribute around 5% to global emission reduction in the 21st century. → The role of demand is a lot higher in transport than in the residential sector. → Contribution of demand reduction is higher in early periods of the 21st century. → Societal welfare loss is found to be high when the price elasticity of demand is low. → Regional shares in residual emissions vary under different elasticity scenarios.

The role of energy-service demand reduction in global climate change mitigation: Combining energy modelling and decomposition analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kesicki, Fabian, E-mail: fabian.kesicki.09@ucl.ac.uk [UCL Energy Institute, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0NN (United Kingdom); Anandarajah, Gabrial [UCL Energy Institute, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0NN (United Kingdom)

2011-11-15

In order to reduce energy-related CO{sub 2} emissions different options have been considered: energy efficiency improvements, structural changes to low carbon or zero carbon fuel/technologies, carbon sequestration, and reduction in energy-service demands (useful energy). While efficiency and technology options have been extensively studied within the context of climate change mitigation, this paper addresses the possible role of price-related energy-service demand reduction. For this analysis, the elastic demand version of the TIAM-UCL global energy system model is used in combination with decomposition analysis. The results of the CO{sub 2} emission decomposition indicate that a reduction in energy-service demand can play a limited role, contributing around 5% to global emission reduction in the 21st century. A look at the sectoral level reveals that the demand reduction can play a greater role in selected sectors like transport contributing around 16% at a global level. The societal welfare loss is found to be high when the price elasticity of demand is low. - Highlights: > A reduction in global energy-service demand can contribute around 5% to global emission reduction in the 21st century. > The role of demand is a lot higher in transport than in the residential sector. > Contribution of demand reduction is higher in early periods of the 21st century. > Societal welfare loss is found to be high when the price elasticity of demand is low. > Regional shares in residual emissions vary under different elasticity scenarios.

SUSTAINING CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION—POLICY, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Rechkemmer

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In a world that is becoming more and more exposed and vulnerable to the effects of global climate change, combining integrated risk assessment tools with effective strategies for both mitigation and adaptation is a key prerogative for policy-making. With the focus of both researchers and decision-makers gradually shifting from observing and assessing the bio-physical aspects of climate change to a more human and society centered understanding of the nature of the problem, the social, behavioral, economic and technological aspects have entered center stage of the public discourse. Responses to the climate change challenge have to establish an optimal interplay between mitigation, adaptation and socio-economic instruments. Yet, given the band-width and scale of the climate problematique and its projected impacts, very ambitious mitigation measures have to be undertaken without delays, a fact that is particularly true for emerging economies with their very rapid and unprecedented growth rates, both in GDP and GHG emissions terms. The challenge for the next years is to harmonize poverty eradication and attaining the Millenium Development Goals through stable economic growth with mitigating the effects of climate change. Therefore, “inclusive green growth” has become the motto of the day. But how can this goal be achieved? Obviously, quite fundamental changes have to be introduced that affect both the production and the consumption sectors and allow for real innovation in technologies and energy, in urban mobility, infrastructure and transportation grids. This paper illustrates the deep social and societal nature of climate change response strategies, especially in the area of mitigation, and shows that transitions to green and low-carbon economies will have to embed policies, incentive schemes and economic instruments in a larger societal context of social learning and behavioral change.

Forest Service Global Change Research Strategy, 2009-2019 Implementation Plan

Science.gov (United States)

Allen Solomon; Richard A. Birdsey; Linda A. Joyce

2010-01-01

In keeping with the research goals of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the climate change strategy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the climate change framework of the Forest Service, this Forest Service Global Change Research Strategy, 2009-2019 Implementation Plan (hereafter called the Research Plan), was written by Forest Service Research...

Data on impact of technological change on employees' cognitive attitude and organizational performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Adeniji, Chinyerem; Adeyeye, Olufemi; Iyiola, Oluwole; Olokundun, Maxwell; Borishade, Taiye; Falola, Hezekiah; Salau, Odunayo

2018-06-01

Change is unavoidable for organizations just as it is in every sphere of life. Whatever the reasons are, organizations need to change, keeping in mind the end goal to survive and to be successful. Organizations operate in an environment where globalisation is the common expression of the phenomenon that is driving a great dynamism in the business environment across the world and no business is immune from the effects of this "globalisation". Competition, policymaking and advancement in technology exist on a day-to-day basis (Hatch, 2009) as well as opportunities are no longer localised within a nation, region or continent, every business is now competing with competitors all over the world. These forces are in constant change and affect a large number of organizations, which involves creating new strategies and policies in order for the organizations to survive and compete within the global business world and also to improve organizational performance but, there are also many challenges as well as the intensification of competition. The usage of technology decides the quality and number of products and services to be delivered. Organizational and national restrictive execution and improvement are controlled by the state and types of technology. Technology likewise impacts the living states of individual and groups in organizations and countries and the relationship between them. Technology is inclined to change, and the condition of technology have direct connection to the relationship between the business and worker. Technology, labour and capital are interconnected. The data presented in this article is very salient in this regard.

Global technology learning and national policy-An incentive scheme for governments to assume the high cost of early deployment exemplified by Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinsen, Thomas

2010-01-01

In this paper it is argued that technology learning may be both a barrier and an incentive for technology change in the national energy system. The possibility to realize an ambitious global emission reduction scenario is enhanced by coordinated action between countries in national policy implementation. An indicator for coordinated action is suggested. Targeted measures to increase deployment of nascent energy technologies and increasing energy efficiency in a small open economy like Norway are examined. The measures are evaluated against a set of baselines with different levels of spillover of technology learning from the global market. It is found that implementation of technology subsidies increase the national contribution to early deployment independent of the level of spillover. In a special case with no spillover for offshore floating wind power and endogenous technology learning substantial subsidy or a learning rate of 20% is required. Combining the high learning rate and a national subsidy increases the contribution to early deployment. Enhanced building code on the other hand may reduce Norway's contribution to early deployment, and thus the realization of a global emission reduction scenario, unless sufficient electricity export capacity is assured.

GLOBEC: Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics: A component of the US Global Change Research Program

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

GLOBEC (GLOBal ocean ECosystems dynamics) is a research initiative proposed by the oceanographic and fisheries communities to address the question of how changes in global environment are expected to affect the abundance and production of animals in the sea. The approach to this problem is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that determine both the abundance of key marine animal populations and their variances in space and time. The assumption is that the physical environment is a major contributor to patterns of abundance and production of marine animals, in large part because the planktonic life stages typical of most marine animals are intrinsically at the mercy of the fluid motions of the medium in which they live. Consequently, the authors reason that a logical approach to predicting the potential impact of a globally changing environment is to understand how the physical environment, both directly and indirectly, contributes to animal abundance and its variability in marine ecosystems. The plans for this coordinated study of of the potential impact of global change on ocean ecosystems dynamics are discussed.

Asia's role in mitigating climate change: A technology and sector specific analysis with ReMIND-R

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luderer, Gunnar; Pietzcker, Robert C.; Kriegler, Elmar; Haller, Markus; Bauer, Nico

2012-01-01

We use the ReMIND-R model to analyze the role of Asia in the context of a global effort to mitigate climate change. We introduce a novel method of secondary energy based mitigation shares, which allows us to quantify the economic mitigation potential of technologies in different regions and final energy carriers. The 2005 share of Asia in global CO 2 emissions amounts to 38%, and is projected to grow to 53% under business-as-usual until the end of the century. Asia also holds a large fraction of the global mitigation potential. A broad portfolio of technologies is deployed in the climate policy scenarios. We find that biomass in combination with CCS, other renewables, and end-use efficiency each make up a large fraction of the global mitigation potential, followed by nuclear and fossil CCS. We find considerable differences in decarbonization patterns across the final energy types electricity, heat and transport fuels. Regional differences in technology use are a function of differences in resource endowments, and structural differences in energy end use. Under climate policy, a substantial mitigation potential of non-biomass renewables emerges for China and other developing countries of Asia (OAS). Asia also accounts for the dominant share of the global mitigation potential of nuclear energy. In view of the substantial near term investments into new energy infrastructure in China and India, early adoption of climate policy prevents lock-in into carbon intensive infrastructure and thus leads to a much higher long-term mitigation potential. - Highlights: ► We develop a novel methodology for the attribution of emission reductions to technologies. ► Asia accounts for a substantial and increasing share of global CO 2 emissions. ► A broad portfolio of technologies contributes to emission reductions. ► Early action increases the long term mitigation potential of China and India.

Baseline scenarios of global environmental change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcamo, J.; Kreileman, G.J.J.; Bollen, J.C.; Born, G.J. van den; Krol, M.S.; Toet, A.M.C.; Vries, H.J.M. de; Gerlagh, R.

1996-01-01

This paper presents three baseline scenarios of no policy action computed by the IMAGE2 model. These scenarios cover a wide range of coupled global change indicators, including: energy demand and consumption; food demand, consumption, and production; changes in land cover including changes in extent of agricultural land and forest; emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone precursors; and climate change and its impacts on sea level rise, crop productivity and natural vegetation. Scenario information is available for the entire world with regional and grid scale detail, and covers from 1970 to 2100. (author)

Biocrusts in the context of global change

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Sasha C.; Maestre, Fernando T.; Ochoa-Hueso, Raul; Kuske, Cheryl; Darrouzet-Nardi, Anthony N.; Darby, Brian; Sinsabaugh, Bob; Oliver, Mel; Sancho, Leo; Belnap, Jayne

2016-01-01

A wide range of studies show global environmental change will profoundly affect the structure, function, and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. The research synthesized here underscores that biocrust communities are also likely to respond significantly to global change drivers, with a large potential for modification to their abundance, composition, and function. We examine how elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, climate change (increased temperature and altered precipitation), and nitrogen deposition affect biocrusts and the ecosystems they inhabit. We integrate experimental and observational data, as well as physiological, community ecology, and biogeochemical perspectives. Taken together, these data highlight the potential for biocrust organisms to respond dramatically to environmental change and show how changes to biocrust community composition translate into effects on ecosystem function (e.g., carbon and nutrient cycling, soil stability, energy balance). Due to the importance of biocrusts in regulating dryland ecosystem processes and the potential for large modifications to biocrust communities, an improved understanding and predictive capacity regarding biocrust responses to environmental change are of scientific and societal relevance.

Land Use Change and Global Adaptations to Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roxana Juliá

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper uses the World Trade Model with Climate Sensitive Land (WTMCL to evaluate possible future land-use changes associated with adaptations to climate change in a globalized world. In this approach, changes in regional agricultural production, which are based on comparative advantage, define patterns of land use change in agriculture in all regions of the world. We evaluate four scenarios that combine assumptions about future increases in food demand and future changes in land endowments of different productivities associated with climatic conditions: each scenario generates distinct patterns of regional specialization in the production of agricultural commodities and associated land-use change. The analysis also projects future food availability under the simulated conditions and the direction of likely changes in prices of the major agricultural commodity groups.

Global change impacts on mangrove ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

McKee, Karen L.

2004-01-01

Mangroves are tropical/subtropical communities of primarily tree species that grow in the intertidal zone. These tidal forests are important coastal ecosystems that are valued for a variety of ecological and societal goods and services. Major local threats to mangrove ecosystems worldwide include clearcutting and trimming of forests for urban, agricultural, or industrial expansion; hydrological alterations; toxic chemical spills; and eutrophication. In many countries with mangroves, much of the human population resides in the coastal zone, and their activities often negatively impact the integrity of mangrove forests. In addition, eutrophication, which is the process whereby nutrients build up to higher than normal levels in a natural system, is possibly one of the most serious threats to mangroves and associated ecosystems such as coral reefs. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the National Wetlands Research Center are working to more fully understand global impacts on these significant ecosystems.Changes in climate and other factors may also affect mangroves, but in complex ways. Global warming may promote expansion of mangrove forests to higher latitudes and accelerate sea-level rise through melting of polar ice or steric expansion of oceans. Changes in sea level would alter flooding patterns and the structure and areal extent of mangroves. Climate change may also alter rainfall patterns, which would in turn change local salinity regimes and competitive interactions of mangroves with other wetland species. Increases in frequency or intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes in combination with sea-level rise may alter erosion and sedimentation rates in mangrove forests. Another global change factor that may directly affect mangrove growth is increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), caused by burning of fossil fuels and other factors. Elevated CO2 concentration may increase mangrove growth by stimulating photosynthesis or improving water use

Biological consequences of global change for birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Møller, Anders Pape

2013-06-01

Climate is currently changing at an unprecedented rate; so also human exploitation is rapidly changing the Earth for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and urbanization. In addition, pollution has affected even the most remote ecosystems, as has the omnipresence of humans, with consequences in particular for animals that keep a safe distance from potential predators, including human beings. Importantly, all of these changes are occurring simultaneously, with increasing intensity, and further deterioration in both the short and the long-term is predicted. While the consequences of these components of global change are relatively well studied on their own, the effects of their interactions, such as the combined effects of climate change and agriculture, or the combined effects of agriculture through nutrient leakage to freshwater and marine ecosystems and fisheries, and the effects of climate change and urbanization, are poorly understood. Here, I provide a brief overview of the effects of climate change on phenology, diversity, abundance, interspecific interactions and population dynamics of birds. I address whether these effects of changing temperatures are direct, or indirect through effects of climate change on the phenology, distribution or abundance of food, parasites and predators. Finally, I review interactions between different components of global change. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, ISZS and IOZ/CAS.

Linked Open Data in the Global Change Information System (GCIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmes, Curt A.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (http://globalchange.gov) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. The USGCRP is developing a Global Change Information System (GCIS) that will centralize access to data and information related to global change across the U.S. federal government. The first implementation will focus on the 2013 National Climate Assessment (NCA) . (http://assessment.globalchange.gov) The NCA integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the USGCRP; analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and biological diversity; and analyzes current trends in global change, both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years. The NCA has received over 500 distinct technical inputs to the process, many of which are reports distilling and synthesizing even more information, coming from thousands of individuals around the federal, state and local governments, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. The GCIS will present a web-based version of the NCA including annotations linking the findings and content of the NCA with the scientific research, datasets, models, observations, etc. that led to its conclusions. It will use semantic tagging and a linked data approach, assigning globally unique, persistent, resolvable identifiers to all of the related entities and capturing and presenting the relationships between them, both internally and referencing out to other linked data sources and back to agency data centers. The developing W3C PROV Data Model and ontology will be used to capture the provenance trail and present it in both human readable web pages and machine readable formats such as RDF and SPARQL. This will improve visibility into the assessment process, increase

The implications of megatrends in information and communication technology and transportation for changes in global physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Michael; Sarmiento, Olga L; Montes, Felipe; Ogilvie, David; Marcus, Bess H; Perez, Lilian G; Brownson, Ross C

2012-07-21

Physical inactivity accounts for more than 3 million deaths per year, most from non-communicable diseases in low-income and middle-income countries. We used reviews of physical activity interventions and a simulation model to examine how megatrends in information and communication technology and transportation directly and indirectly affect levels of physical activity across countries of low, middle, and high income. The model suggested that the direct and potentiating eff ects of information and communication technology, especially mobile phones, are nearly equal in magnitude to the mean eff ects of planned physical activity interventions. The greatest potential to increase population physical activity might thus be in creation of synergistic policies in sectors outside health including communication and transportation. However, there remains a glaring mismatch between where studies on physical activity interventions are undertaken and where the potential lies in low-income and middle-income countries for population-level effects that will truly affect global health.

Global Mindset: An Entrepreneur's Perspective on the Born-Global Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Poole

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The born-global approach calls for a startup to address the needs of a global market from inception. This approach provides an attractive alternative to the conventional staged approach to internationalization whereby a startup first operates in its home market and then enters one or more foreign markets sequentially. This article highlights the mindset change that an entrepreneur must make to move from the conventional staged approach to the born-global approach. The author of this article is an experienced entrepreneur and the article describes his own mindset change that occurred when enacting the born-global approach. The author uses his own experience and company as a case study to develop recommendations for other entrepreneurs who are evaluating the born-global approach to launch and grow a technology company.

After globalization future security in a technology rich world

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilmartin, T J

2000-02-12

Over the course of the year 2000, five one-day workshops were conducted by the Center for Global Security Research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on threats that might come against the US and its allies in the 2015 to 2020 timeframe due to the global availability of advanced technology. These workshops focused on threats that are enabled by nuclear, missile, and space technology; military technology; information technology; bio technology; and geo systems technology. In December, an Integration Workshop and Senior Review before national leaders and experts were held. The participants and reviewers were invited from the DOE National Laboratories, the DOD Services, OSD, DTRA, and DARPA, the DOS, NASA, Congressional technical staff, the intelligence community, universities and university study centers, think tanks, consultants on national security issues, and private industry. For each workshop the process of analysis involved identification and prioritization of the participants' perceived most severe threat scenarios (worst nightmares), discussion of the technologies which enabled those threats, and ranking of the technologies' threat potentials. We were not concerned in this exercise with defining responses, although our assessment of each threat's severity included consideration of the ease or difficulty with which it might be countered. At the concluding Integration Workshop and Senior Panel Review, we brought the various workshops' participants together, added senior participant/reviewers with broad experience and responsibility, and discussed the workshop findings to determine what is most certain, and uncertain, and what might be needed to resolve our uncertainties. This document reports the consensus and important variations of both the reviewers and the participants. In all, 45 threats over a wide range of lethality and probability of occurrence were identified. Over 60 enabling technologies were also discussed. These are

Global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gugele, B.; Radunsky, K.; Spangl, W.

2002-01-01

In the last decade marked changes of climatic factors have been observed, such as increases in average global earth temperatures, the amount of precipitation and the number of extreme weather events. Green house gases influence the energy flow in the atmosphere by absorbing infra-red radiation. An overview of the Austrian greenhouse gas emissions is given, including statistical data and their major sources. In 1999 the emissions of all six Kyoto greenhouse gases ( CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, HFC s , PFC s and SF 6 ) amounted to 79.2 million tonnes of CO 2 equivalents . A comparison between the EC Members states is also presented. Finally the climate change strategy prepared by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management together with other ministries and the federal provinces is discussed, which main aim is to lead to an annual emission reduction of 16 million tonnes of CO 2 . Figs. 2, Tables 1. (nevyjel)

Effects of three global change drivers on terrestrial C:N:P stoichiometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yue, Kai; Fornara, Dario A; Yang, Wanqin

2017-01-01

more common than synergistic or antagonistic interactions, (4) C:N:P stoichiometry of soil and soil microbial biomass shows high homeostasis under global change manipulations, and (5) C:N:P responses to global change are strongly affected by ecosystem type, local climate and experimental conditions......Over the last few decades there has been an increasing number of controlled-manipulative experiments to investigate how plants and soils might respond to global change. These experiments typically examined the effects of each of three global change drivers (i.e. nitrogen (N) deposition, warming...... of plants, soils and soil microbial biomass might respond to individual vs. combined effects of the three global change drivers. Our results show that (1) individual effects of N addition and elevated CO2 on C:N:P stoichiometry are stronger than warming, (2) combined effects of pairs of global change...

Biological diversity, ecology and global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jutro, P.R.

1991-01-01

Worldwide climate change and loss of biodiversity are issues of global scope and importance that have recently become subjects of considerable public concern. Their perceived threat lies in their potential to disrupt ecological functioning and stability rather than from any direct threat they may pose to human health. Over the last 5 years, the international scientific community and the general public have become aware of the implications that atmospheric warming might have for world climate patterns and the resulting changes in the persistence, location, and composition of ecosystems worldwide. Human activities are currently responsible for a species loss rate that is the most extreme in millions of years, and an alarmingly increasing rate of transformation and fragmentation of natural landscapes. In the case of both global warming and reduction of biological diversity, man is affecting nature in an unprecedented fashion, on a global scale, and with unpredictable and frequently irreversible results

Changes on Mid-Latitude Cyclones due to Global Warming Simulated by a Global 20-km-mesh Atmospheric Model

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, K.

2005-12-01

I investigate how the intensity and the activity of mid-latitude cyclones change as a result of global warming, based on a time-slice experiment with a super-high resolution Atmospheric General Circulation Model (20-km mesh TL959L60 MRI/JMA AGCM). The model was developed by the RR2002 project "Development of Super High Resolution Global and Regional Climate Models" funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In this context, I use a 10-year control simulation with the climatological SST and a 10-year time-slice global warming simulation using the SST anomalies derived from the SRES A1B scenario run with the MRI-CGCM2.3 (T42L30 atmosphere, 0.5-2.0 x 2.5 L23 ocean) corresponding to the end of the 21st century. I have analyzed the sea-level pressure field and the kinetic energy field of the wind at the 500 hPa pressure level associated with mid-latitude transients from October through April. According to a comparison of 10-day average fields between present and future in the North Pacific, some statistically significant changes are found in a warmer climate for the both of sea-level pressure and the kinetic energy fields. In particular, from late winter through early spring, the sea-level pressure decreases on many parts of the whole Pacific. The kinetic energy of the wind becomes higher on center of the basin. Therefore, I suppose the Aleutian Low is likely to settle in longer by about one month than the present. Hereafter, I plan to investigate what kind of phenomena may accompany the changes on mid-latitude transients.

NASA Partnership with JSU and MSU to Promote Remote Sensing Applications and Global Climate Change Education: 2013 Summer Course/Workshop

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, S. R.

2014-12-01

NASA Innovations in Climate Education (NICE) is a competitive project to promote climate and Earth system science literacy and seeks to increase the access of underrepresented minority groups to science careers and educational opportunities. A three year funding was received from NASA to partnership with JSU and MSU under cooperative agreement "Strengthening Global Climate Change education through Remote Sensing Application in Coastal Environment using NASA Satellite Data and Models". The goal is to increase the number of undergraduate students at Jackson State University, a Historically Black University, who are prepared to pursue higher academic degrees and careers in the fields relevant to earth system science global climate change, marine and environmental sciences. A two week summer course/workshop was held during May 20-31, 2013 at JSU, focusing on historical and technical concepts of remote sensing technology and applications to climate and global climate change. Nine students from meteorology, biology, industrial technology and computer science/engineering of JSU participated in the course/workshop. The lecture topics include: introduction to remote sensing and GIS, introduction to atmospheric science and climate, introduction to NASA innovations in climate education, introduction to remote sensing technology for bio-geosphere, introduction to earth system science, principles of paleoclimatology and global change, daily weather briefing, satellite image interpretation and so on. In addition to lectures, lab sessions were held for hand-on experiences for remote sensing applications to atmosphere, biosphere, earth system science and climate change using ERDAS/ENVI GIS software and satellite tools. Field trip to Barnett reservoir and National weather Service (NWS) was part of the workshop. Some of the activities of the sessions will be presented. Basics of Earth System Science is a non-mathematical introductory course designed for high school seniors, high

Changing Foundations for Global Business Systems Solutions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Slepniov, Dmitrij; Wæhrens, Brian Vejrum; Gubi, Ebbe

2011-01-01

Companies are actively seeking new competitive advantages by changing the location and ownership of their manufacturing processes. This process results in increasing fragmentation and dispersion of global business systems of companies. The purpose of this paper is to identify how companies may...... improve the integration of such business systems. The paper draws on a case study of a Danish industrial equipment firm. The paper describes and analyzes the company’s operations network configurations, which lay at the foundations of the company’s global business system. It is demonstrated how...... the operations configurations have been changing over time and affecting the overall business system. The paper identifies the key determinants and outcomes of this change. Moreover, it proposes how the design of operations configurations can be improved through the development of a distinct systemic approach...

Soil bacterial community responses to global changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergmark, Lasse

competing and very contrasting plant types (Calluna and Deschampsia) dominated the vegetation. This led to Manuscript 3 where the impact and responses of the climate change manipulations on the microbial community composition was investigated under the contrasting vegetation types. Our results show a high......Soil bacteria and archaea are essential for ecosystem functioning and plant growth through their degradation of organic matter and turnover of nutrients. But since the majority of soil bacteria and archaea are unclassified and “nonculturable” the functionality of the microbial community and its...... overall importance for ecosystem function in soil is poorly understood. Global change factors may affect the diversity and functioning of soil prokaryotes and thereby ecosystem functioning. To gain a better understanding of the effects of global changes it is of fundamental importance to classify...

Opening up Global Value Chains : Web 2.0 Technologies and SME ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Opening up Global Value Chains : Web 2.0 Technologies and SME Productivity ... Researchers will examine how leading SMEs are currently using Web 2.0 technologies to increase exports, improve productivity and/or increase competitiveness; and the barriers and limitations to achieving greater ICT adoption by SMEs.

Wintertime urban heat island modified by global climate change over Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Hara, M.

2015-12-01

Urban thermal environment change, especially, surface air temperature (SAT) rise in metropolitan areas, is one of the major recent issues in urban areas. The urban thermal environmental change affects not only human health such as heat stroke, but also increasing infectious disease due to spreading out virus vectors habitat and increase of industry and house energy consumption. The SAT rise is mostly caused by global climate change and urban heat island (hereafter UHI) by urbanization. The population in Tokyo metropolitan area is over 30 millions and the Tokyo metropolitan area is one of the biggest megacities in the world. The temperature rise due to urbanization seems comparable to the global climate change in the major megacities. It is important to project how the urbanization and the global climate change affect to the future change of urban thermal environment to plan the adaptation and mitigation policy. To predict future SAT change in urban scale, we should estimate future UHI modified by the global climate change. This study investigates change in UHI intensity (UHII) of major metropolitan areas in Japan by effects of the global climate change. We performed a series of climate simulations. Present climate simulations with and without urban process are conducted for ten seasons using a high-resolution numerical climate model, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Future climate projections with and without urban process are also conducted. The future projections are performed using the pseudo global warming method, assuming 2050s' initial and boundary conditions estimated by a GCM under the RCP scenario. Simulation results indicated that UHII would be enhanced more than 30% in Tokyo during the night due to the global climate change. The enhancement of urban heat island is mostly caused by change of lower atmospheric stability.

78 FR 41954 - TA-W-82,634, Prudential Global Business Technology Solutions Central Security Services Dresher...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-12

... Business Technology Solutions Central Security Services Iselin, New Jersey; TA-W-82,634B, Prudential Global Business Technology Solutions Central Security Services Plymouth, Minnesota; TA- W-82,634C, Prudential Global Business Technology Solutions Central Security Services Scottsdale, Arizona; TA-W-82,634D...

75 FR 43555 - Experian, Global Technology Services, a Subsidiary of Experian, Including a Leased Employee From...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-26

... Technology Services, a Subsidiary of Experian, Including a Leased Employee From Tapfin Working Off-Site in... Experian, Global Technology Services, a subsidiary of Experian, including on-site leased workers from... control of the Schaumburg, Illinois location of Experian, Global Technology Services, a subsidiary of...

Human dimensions of global change: Toward a research agenda

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burton, I.

1991-01-01

The Earth's environment is being transformed by human activity. Human activity, in turn, is being affected by these transformations. This interaction is being studied under the aegis of global change in the geosphere-biosphere. The purpose here is to explore the basis for and the substance of a proposed research program focused on the human dimensions of global change. Global warming due to the greenhouse effect, CO2 reduction, environment impacts, land use management, and the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere are among the topics covered

Resistance to Technological Change in Academia

Science.gov (United States)

Moerschell, Linda

2009-01-01

Initiating changes in technology, promoting utilization, and managing resistance by faculty may be among the most pressing challenges for academic leadership. Change that involves new technology is an ideal example of the systemic nature of organizational change because it includes infrastructure, expert knowledge, training, long-term vision,…

Old is Still New: Changing Global Concerns and Enduring Educational Values

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, S. C.

2012-12-01

In 1982 the primary technology of disseminating educational information was the printed book and the typewriter with the mimeograph machine. In 2012, the world wide web, interactive books, and social media are major players in educational technology. Students have moved from passive reading and listening to constructing their own knowledge. In 1982, the paradigm in science education included exploring the common interests of science and education, the role of formal and informal education, and the importance of providing scientists for the workforce. In 2012, conversations have broadened to include topics of citizen science, stakeholder involvement, and risk communication to policy makers and communities. As the population of Earth has grown from over 4.5 billion people to over 7 billion people in the same time period, the role of science education has expanded to global concerns. The Asia Pacific region bears a significant proportion of the world's population and high risks associated with natural hazards and with climate change. Educational conversations include how science impacts and informs public policy, community empowerment, and collaborations among the various types of groups which can affect change. These organizations include scientific research and educational institutions,; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); educators in schools, museums and science centers; and government officials from local to national levels. There is considerable interest in bridging disciplines that impact the populations at risk, i.e. education, development, disaster risk management, public communication, and others. Despite the broadening of concerns, changes in technology, and the ways people get information, education still focuses on some basic issues that have not changed. Some of these include interesting young people in STEM study and careers, providing messages that are clearly understood, trying to understand nature of working across disciplines, and involving the

Extending the Global Dialogue about Media, Technology, Screen Time, and Young Children

Science.gov (United States)

Ernest, James M.; Causey, Cora; Newton, Allison B.; Sharkins, Kimberly; Summerlin, Jennifer; Albaiz, Najla

2014-01-01

Questions about the potential benefits and dangers of media and technology use abound, with competing theories regarding its effects among young children. This article explores global perspectives on children's exposure to media, technology, and screen time (MeTS) in the schools, homes, and communities of an increasingly technology-driven world.…

LOCALIZATION OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN GLOBAL CITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. A. Vershinina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the S. Sassen’s research and writing focuses on globalization (including social, economic and political dimensions, global cities, migration, the new networked technologies, and changes within the liberal state that result from current transnational conditions. The main features of the global cities are examined on examples. The global economy is far from being placeless, has and needs very specific territorial insertions, and that this need is sharpest in the case of highly globalized and electronic sectors such as finance. Large corporate firms needed access to a whole new mix of complex specialized services almost impossible to produce in-house as had been the practice. This new economic logic would generate high-level jobs and lowwage jobs; it would need far fewer middle-range jobs than traditional corporations. The transformation of the socio-economic systems at the global and national levels, the associated changes of urban communities life is considered.

Role of social science in global environmental change: case of urbanisation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Njiro, E

2006-02-01

Full Text Available the role of social scientists in global environmental change by examining urbanisation and other environmental changes as suggested in the science plan of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP 2005)...

A dissenting view on global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linden, H.R.

1993-01-01

Global warming alarmists are vastly overstating the risks of climate change, often to further other agendas. The science of global warming simply does not support their claims of impending doom - as policy makers would be wise to note. There is scientific consensus on the existence of a benign natural greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth habitable by raising its average surface temperature by about 33 degrees C. Global warming alarmists, however, have falsely claimed that this consensus also extends to the belief that human activity is significantly enhancing this effect. This is simply untrue. Based on a wealth of new information, there is now strong and rapidly growing scientific dissent on the inevitability of catastrophic and even mildly detrimental anthropogenic climate change. This casts serious doubts on the need for binding international agreements to curtail emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion, or to limit conversion of tropical forests to agricultural uses in areas where increased food supply is a critical issue

Technology Education and Societal Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilberti, Anthony F.

1994-01-01

Citizens in a democracy should understand the relationship of technological development to societal change. The rationale for universal technological education stems from the ideals of cultural education, the responsibilities of democratic life, and the need for economic security. Technology education furthers understanding of our technological…

Playware ABC 2: a Disruptive Technology for Global Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop

2017-01-01

, anytime. The paper gives examples of how playware becomes a disruptive technology for global development, for instance in the health sector. For instance, in Tanzania doctors and community-based rehabilitation workers are constructing and combining modular playware tiles to easily create the right kind......The Playware ABC concept is used to create solutions that are usable by all kinds of users and contexts in our globalized society. In this paper, the Playware ABC can be exemplified with the development of the modular interactive tiles for health prevention and rehabilitation of anybody, anywhere...

Hydrological impacts of global land cover change and human water use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. H. C. Bosmans

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Human impacts on global terrestrial hydrology have been accelerating during the 20th century. These human impacts include the effects of reservoir building and human water use, as well as land cover change. To date, many global studies have focussed on human water use, but only a few focus on or include the impact of land cover change. Here we use PCR-GLOBWB, a combined global hydrological and water resources model, to assess the impacts of land cover change as well as human water use globally in different climatic zones. Our results show that land cover change has a strong effect on the global hydrological cycle, on the same order of magnitude as the effect of human water use (applying irrigation, abstracting water, for industrial use for example, including reservoirs, etc.. When globally averaged, changing the land cover from that of 1850 to that of 2000 increases discharge through reduced evapotranspiration. The effect of land cover change shows large spatial variability in magnitude and sign of change depending on, for example, the specific land cover change and climate zone. Overall, land cover effects on evapotranspiration are largest for the transition of tall natural vegetation to crops in energy-limited equatorial and warm temperate regions. In contrast, the inclusion of irrigation, water abstraction and reservoirs reduces global discharge through enhanced evaporation over irrigated areas and reservoirs as well as through water consumption. Hence, in some areas land cover change and water distribution both reduce discharge, while in other areas the effects may partly cancel out. The relative importance of both types of impacts varies spatially across climatic zones. From this study we conclude that land cover change needs to be considered when studying anthropogenic impacts on water resources.

U.S. Global Climate Change Impacts Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Karl, T. R.

2009-12-01

This past year the US Global Change Research Program released a report that summarized the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. The report underscores the importance of measures to reduce climate change. In the context of impacts, the report identifies examples of actions currently being pursued in various sectors and regions to address climate change as well as other environmental problems that could be exacerbated by climate change. This state-of-knowledge report also identifies areas in which scientific uncertainty limits our ability to estimate future climate changes and its impacts. Key findings of the report include: (1) Global warming is unequivocal and primarily human induced. - This statement is stronger than the IPCC (2007) statement because new attribution studies since that report continue to implicate human caused changes over the past 50 years. (2) Climate Changes are underway in the Unites States and are projected to grow. - These include increases in heavy downpours, rising temperature and sea level, rapidly retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, lengthening growing seasons lengthening ice-free seasons in the oceans and on lakes and rivers, earlier snowmelt and alteration in river flows. (3) Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring now and are expected to increase. - The impacts vary from region to region, but are already affecting many sectors e.g., water, energy, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, etc. (4) Climate change will stress water resources. - Water is an issue in every region of the US, but the nature of the impacts vary (5) Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged. - Warming related to high emission scenarios often negatively affect crop growth and yields levels. Increased pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaptation challenges for crops and livestock production. (6) Coastal areas are at increased risk from

Global warming calls for changes in public climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muschett, F.D.

1991-01-01

As an environmental management problem, the greenhouse issue will require fundamentally different approaches if the US is to do its part to limit global warming. Preventive measures must be used to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and reforestation and vegetative processes must help capture future carbon-dioxide emissions. In turn, these approaches will require changes in environmental and institutional management. There must be a close integration of energy and environmental policy with coordinated efforts among environmental agencies, energy agencies, and public service commissions to promote and evaluate energy conservation and energy efficiency. A creative policy mix of regulation, economic incentives, and penalties will be required, with specific policies targeted towards specific segments of the economy. Finally, energy R and D priorities must be broadened to promote utilization of existing and new energy-conservation and alternate-energy technologies that have not reached their market potential due to economic, institutional, and behavioral barriers

Global climate change impacts in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

This report summarizes the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It is largely based on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), a and integrates those results wit...

Global change in marine ecosystems: implications for semi-enclosed Arabian seas

KAUST Repository

Duarte, Carlos M.

2015-12-07

Global Change has been defined as the impact of human activities on the key processes that determine the functioning of the Biosphere. Global Change is a major threat for marine ecosystems and includes climate change as well as other global impacts such as inputs of pollutants, overfishing and coastal sprawl. The Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas, including the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, have supported human livelihoods in the Arabian Peninsula over centuries and continue to do so, but are also threatened by Global Change. These threats are particularly severe as Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas already present rather extreme conditions, in terms of temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration. The vulnerability of the unique marine ecosystems of the Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas to Global Change vectors is largely unknown, but predictions based on first principles suggest that they may be at or near the tipping point for many pressures, such as warming and hypoxia. There is an urgent need to implement international collaborative research programs to accelerate our understanding of the vulnerability of Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas to Global Change vectors in order to inform conservation and management plans to ensure these Seas continue to support the livelihoods and well-being of the Arab nations.

Understanding Global Change: Frameworks and Models for Teaching Systems Thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Bean, J. R.; Mitchell, K.; Zoehfeld, K.; Oshry, A.; Menicucci, A. J.; White, L. D.; Marshall, C. R.

2017-12-01

The scientific and education communities must impart to teachers, students, and the public an understanding of how the various factors that drive climate and global change operate, and why the rates and magnitudes of these changes related to human perturbation of Earth system processes today are cause for deep concern. Even though effective educational modules explaining components of the Earth and climate system exist, interdisciplinary learning tools are necessary to conceptually link the causes and consequences of global changes. To address this issue, the Understanding Global Change Project at the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) at UC Berkeley developed an interdisciplinary framework that organizes global change topics into three categories: (1) causes of climate change, both human and non-human (e.g., burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, Earth's tilt and orbit), (2) Earth system processes that shape the way the Earth works (e.g., Earth's energy budget, water cycle), and (3) the measurable changes in the Earth system (e.g., temperature, precipitation, ocean acidification). To facilitate student learning about the Earth as a dynamic, interacting system, a website will provide visualizations of Earth system models and written descriptions of how each framework topic is conceptually linked to other components of the framework. These visualizations and textual summarizations of relationships and feedbacks in the Earth system are a unique and crucial contribution to science communication and education, informed by a team of interdisciplinary scientists and educators. The system models are also mechanisms by which scientists can communicate how their own work informs our understanding of the Earth system. Educators can provide context and relevancy for authentic datasets and concurrently can assess student understanding of the interconnectedness of global change phenomena. The UGC resources will be available through a web-based platform and

Climate change and agricultural production | Offiong | Global ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

From a policy viewpoint, however, it is also difficult to understand the level to which agriculturally related activities may contribute to global-scale environmental change and the extent to which policies to prevent, mitigate, or adapt to environmental change may affect agriculture and hunger. These issues are likely to become ...

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GLOBALIZATION AND SPORTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senem ÇEYİZ

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We live in a world of rapid change. Although the most obvious examples of this change are seen in technology, it, in fact, has permeated all areas of life. When viewed from an international perspective, it is possible to say that almost all of the borders in many areas - particularly economic, social and cultural - in the world have disappeared due to the impact of technology. Nowadays the process which is seen as the source of all these changes and interactions is referred to as globalization. The word globalization has often been used as a multidimensional concept . Today, owin g to the process of globalization in many areas , spatial distances are almost diminished, so much so that the developments which take place at one end of the world may affect another country at the other end . The effects of globalization are as visible in the sports field as in many other areas. Sports is becoming more and more industrialized day by day . Live broadcasting of several sporting events has quite a large audience all over the world. Many foreign ath letes take part in national teams by changing their nationalities . It can also be argued that as much as globalization has an impact on sports today so does sports on globalization. The concepts inherent in sports like performance , competition, breaking re cords have created a common language recognized all over the world, a situation which serves to accelerate globalization.

Global Climate Change as Perceived by Elementary School Teachers in Yogyakarta , Indigenous Psychology Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aquilina Tanti Arini

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to describe how the global climate change was perceived by teachers of elementary schools. The subjects were 111 teachers from 7 elementary schools in Yogyakarta City and Sleman district. The data were collected using open-ended questions (including perception about the weather, feeling evoked by global warming words and free responses related to global warming issues. The data were analyzed using the technique of qualitative and quantitative content analysis with Indigenous Psychology Approach. The result showed that only one teacher reported that there was no weather anomaly, while 110 teachers reported that they perceived weather anomaly. Of those who perceived weather anomaly mostly referred to natural conditions (including global climatic condition and environmental destruction and human behavior as its causes. Responses about feeling as evoked by global warming word were classified into three categories, i.e. emotional, physical and irrelevant responses. Free responses about global warming were classified into four categories respectively from the highest frequency of responses: prevention (including statement “must be prevented”, prevention behaviors and prevention efforts, states (including the weather states and feeling, causes (including technological advances and human behavior generally, and others. The research finding was discussed in the frame of environmental concern as a means of character education in elementary school.

Global change and the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Matesanz, Silvia; Gianoli, Ernesto; Valladares, Fernando

2010-09-01

Global change drivers create new environmental scenarios and selective pressures, affecting plant species in various interacting ways. Plants respond with changes in phenology, physiology, and reproduction, with consequences for biotic interactions and community composition. We review information on phenotypic plasticity, a primary means by which plants cope with global change scenarios, recommending promising approaches for investigating the evolution of plasticity and describing constraints to its evolution. We discuss the important but largely ignored role of phenotypic plasticity in range shifts and review the extensive literature on invasive species as models of evolutionary change in novel environments. Plasticity can play a role both in the short-term response of plant populations to global change as well as in their long-term fate through the maintenance of genetic variation. In new environmental conditions, plasticity of certain functional traits may be beneficial (i.e., the plastic response is accompanied by a fitness advantage) and thus selected for. Plasticity can also be relevant in the establishment and persistence of plants in novel environments that are crucial for populations at the colonizing edge in range shifts induced by climate change. Experimental studies show taxonomically widespread plastic responses to global change drivers in many functional traits, though there is a lack of empirical support for many theoretical models on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Future studies should assess the adaptive value and evolutionary potential of plasticity under complex, realistic global change scenarios. Promising tools include resurrection protocols and artificial selection experiments. © 2010 New York Academy of Sciences.

Climate Change and Expected Impacts on the Global Water Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Rind, David; Hansen, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

How the elements of the global hydrologic cycle may respond to climate change is reviewed, first from a discussion of the physical sensitivity of these elements to changes in temperature, and then from a comparison of observations of hydrologic changes over the past 100 million years. Observations of current changes in the hydrologic cycle are then compared with projected future changes given the prospect of global warming. It is shown that some of the projections come close to matching the estimated hydrologic changes that occurred long ago when the earth was very warm.

Women in Science and Technology: A Global Development Leadership Pilot Scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Turnbull, Sarah; Howe-Walsh, Liza; Shute, Janis

2014-01-01

In 2012 The University of Portsmouth piloted their first Global Development Leadership program for women in Science and Technology faculties. This was seen to be particularly important because of the wider under-representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and the need to encourage more women into senior positions…

Hole mobility enhancement of p-MOSFETs using global and local Ge-channel technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takagi, Shinichi; Tezuka, T.; Irisawa, T.; Nakaharai, S.; Maeda, T.; Numata, T.; Ikeda, K.; Sugiyama, N.

2006-01-01

Mobility enhancement technologies have currently been recognized as mandatory for future scaled MOSFETs. In this paper, we review our recent results on high hole mobility p-MOSFETs using global/local SiGe or Ge channels. There are two directions for introducing SiGe or Ge channels into Si CMOS platform. One is to use SiGe or Ge global substrates and the other is to form SiGe or Ge-channel regions locally on Si wafers. In both cases, the Ge condensation technique, where Ge-channel layers are formed by oxidizing SiGe films on SOI substrates, are effectively utilized. As for the global technologies, ultrathin GOI substrates are prepared and used to fabricate high mobility GOI p-MOSFETs. As for the local technologies, SGOI or GOI channels are formed locally in the active area of p-MOSFETs on SOI wafers. It is shown that the hole mobility enhancement factor of as high as 10 is obtained in locally fabricated p-MOSFETs through the effects of high-Ge content and the compressive strain. Furthermore, the local Ge-channel technologies are combined with global SiGe or Ge substrates for pursuing the optimal and individual design of n-MOSFETs and p-MOSFETs on a single Si wafer. The CMOS device composed of strained-Si n-MOSFETs and SGOI p-MOSFETs is successfully integrated on a same wafer, which is a promising CMOS structure under deep sub 100 nm technology nodes

Drought and Carbon Cycling of Grassland Ecosystems under Global Change: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tianjie Lei

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the increased intensity and duration of droughts have dramatically altered the structure and function of grassland ecosystems, which have been forced to adapt to this change in climate. Combinations of global change drivers such as elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, warming, nitrogen (N deposition, grazing, and land-use change have influenced the impact that droughts have on grassland C cycling. This influence, to some extent, can modify the relationship between droughts and grassland carbon (C cycling in the multi-factor world. Unfortunately, prior reviews have been primarily anecdotal from the 1930s to the 2010s. We investigated the current state of the study on the interactive impacts of multiple factors under drought scenarios in grassland C cycling and provided scientific advice for dealing with droughts and managing grassland C cycling in a multi-factor world. Currently, adequate information is not available on the interaction between droughts and global change drivers, which would advance our understanding of grassland C cycling responses. It was determined that future experiments and models should specifically test how droughts regulate grassland C cycling under global changes. Previous multi-factor experiments of current and future global change conditions have studied various drought scenarios poorly, including changes in precipitation frequency and amplitude, timing, and interactions with other global change drivers. Multi-factor experiments have contributed to quantifying these potential changes and have provided important information on how water affects ecosystem processes under global change. There is an urgent need to establish a systematic framework that can assess ecosystem dynamic responses to droughts under current and future global change and human activity, with a focus on the combined effects of droughts, global change drivers, and the corresponding hierarchical responses of an ecosystem.

Northern peatlands in global climatic change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laiho, R.; Laine, J.; Vasander, H. [eds.] [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Forest Ecology

1996-12-31

Northern peatlands are important in regulating the global climate. While sequestering carbon dioxide, these peatlands release ca. 24-39 Tg methane annually to the atmosphere. This is 5-20 % of the annual anthropogenic methane emissions to the atmosphere. The greenhouse gas balance of peatlands may change as a consequence of water level draw-down after land-use change, or if summers become warmer and drier, as has been predicted for high latitudes after climatic warming. Subsequent emissions of methane would decrease, whereas emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide would increase. Within the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), the research project `Carbon Balance of Peatlands and Climate Change` (SUOSILMU) has been under progress since 1990. It is a co-operative research project, with research groups from the Universities of Helsinki and Joensuu, the Finnish Forest Research Institute, the National Public Health Institute and the Finnish Environment Agency. The research consortium of this project organised a workshop entitled `Northern Peatlands in Global Climatic Change - Hyytiaelae Revisited` October 8-12, 1995. The main objective of the workshop was to review the state of the art of the carbon cycling research in natural and managed peatlands. The role of peatlands in the greenhouse effect, their response and feedback to the predicted climate change, and the consequences of land-use changes were assessed, and the future research needs were evaluated. The latest information on the role of peatlands in the atmospheric change was given in 50 posters and 4 key lectures. Results of SUOSILMU projects were demonstrated during a 1-day field excursion to one of the intensive study sites, Lakkasuo near Hyytiaelae

Global Positioning Radiometric Scanner System. Innovative Technology Summary Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The US DOE continually seeks safer and more cost-effective technologies for use in decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) of nuclear facilities. To this end, the Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area (DDFA) of the DOE OST sponsors the Large Scale Demonstration and Deployment Projects (LSDDP). At these LSDDPs, developers and vendors of improved or innovative technologies showcase products that are potentially beneficial to the DOE projects and to others in the D and D community. Benefits sought include decreased health and safety risks to personnel and the environment, increased productivity, and decreased costs of operation. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) LSDDP generated a list of statements defining specific needs or problems where improved technology could be incorporated into ongoing D and D tasks. One of the stated needs was for developing technologies that would reduce costs and shorten DDOE/EM--0552DOE/EM--0552 and D schedules by providing radiological characterizations to meet the free-release criteria. The Global Positioning Radiometric Scanner (GPRS system shown in Figure 1) utilizes a detection system; a portable computer, a differential global positioning system (d-gps), and a four wheel drive vehicle. Once the survey data has been collected, a software program called GeoSofttrademark generates a graphical representation of the radiological contamination extent. Baseline technology involves gridding the area and hand surveying each grid. This demonstration investigated the associated costs and the required time to evaluate the radiological characterization data from the GPRS with respect to the baseline technology. The GPRS system performs in-situ, real-time analyses to identify the extent of radiological contamination. Benefits expected from using the new innovative technology (GPRS) include: Reduced labor hours associated with performing the survey; Increased number of survey data points; Reduced

United States policy for mitigating global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergman, P.; Kane, R.; Kildow, J.

1998-01-01

The primary objective of this paper is to explain current US policy on global climate change. US Department of Energy (DOE) efforts to implement this policy are described. A secondary objective of this paper is to discuss from a US perspective the social and political efforts which must be initiated in order for ocean storage of CO 2 to be considered as a viable CO 2 mitigation option. The fact that the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) has not been successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now recognized. Thus, US policy has shifted towards the development of binding medium-term emissions targets and long-term atmosphere concentration goals. The US believes these goals can be accomplished through the adoption of cost-effective joint implementation agreements and international emissions trading mechanisms. Studies are currently underway to assess specific targets and timetables for emissions reductions. Voluntary efforts on the part of US industry have proven to be extremely successful in reducing US CO 2 -emissions. The US electric utility industry has taken the lead in voluntarily lowering greenhouse gas emissions under the DOE Climate Challenge Program. Areas of research interest to DOE include the development of high efficiency advanced power generation cycles and CO 2 sequestration technology. The US currently spends $1.6 billion on understanding global climate phenomena and only $1.6 million on CO 2 mitigation research. A number of socio-political considerations must be looked at in assessing the feasibility of ocean storage of CO 2 . Developing public trust appears to be a major concern in establishing the acceptability of ocean storage. Uncertainties in the effects of CO 2 on marine life, potential safety hazards associated with pipelining, and ship transport of CO 2 are all issues which must be dealt with as soon as possible. Some hidden costs associated with ocean disposal is also discussed

Are climate-related changes to the character of global-mean precipitation predictable?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephens, Graeme L; Hu, Yongxiang

2010-01-01

The physical basis for the change in global-mean precipitation projected to occur with the warming associated with increased greenhouse gases is discussed. The expected increases to column water vapor W control the rate of increase of global precipitation accumulation through its affect on the planet's energy balance. The key role played by changes to downward longwave radiation controlled by this changing water vapor is emphasized. The basic properties of molecular absorption by water vapor dictate that the fractional rate of increase of global-mean precipitation must be significantly less that the fractional rate of increase in water vapor and it is further argued that this reduced rate of precipitation increase implies that the timescale for water re-cycling is increased in the global mean. This further implies less frequent precipitation over a fixed period of time, and the intensity of these less frequent precipitating events must subsequently increase in the mean to realize the increased global accumulation. These changes to the character of global-mean precipitation, predictable consequences of equally predictable changes to W, apply only to the global-mean state and not to the regional or local scale changes in precipitation.

Changes in yields and their variability at different levels of global warming

Science.gov (United States)

Childers, Katelin

2015-04-01

An assessment of climate change impacts at different levels of global warming is crucial to inform the political discussion about mitigation targets as well as for the inclusion of climate change impacts in Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) that generally only provide global mean temperature change as an indicator of climate change. While there is a well-established framework for the scalability of regional temperature and precipitation changes with global mean temperature change we provide an assessment of the extent to which impacts such as crop yield changes can also be described in terms of global mean temperature changes without accounting for the specific underlying emissions scenario. Based on multi-crop-model simulations of the four major cereal crops (maize, rice, soy, and wheat) on a 0.5 x 0.5 degree global grid generated within ISI-MIP, we show the average spatial patterns of projected crop yield changes at one half degree warming steps. We find that emissions scenario dependence is a minor component of the overall variance of projected yield changes at different levels of global warming. Furthermore, scenario dependence can be reduced by accounting for the direct effects of CO2 fertilization in each global climate model (GCM)/impact model combination through an inclusion of the global atmospheric CO2 concentration as a second predictor. The choice of GCM output used to force the crop model simulations accounts for a slightly larger portion of the total yield variance, but the greatest contributor to variance in both global and regional crop yields and at all levels of warming, is the inter-crop-model spread. The unique multi impact model ensemble available with ISI-MIP data also indicates that the overall variability of crop yields is projected to increase in conjunction with increasing global mean temperature. This result is consistent throughout the ensemble of impact models and across many world regions. Such a hike in yield volatility could have

Technologies for climate change adaptation. Agriculture sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, X [ed.; UNEP Risoe Centre, Roskilde (Denmark); Clements, R; Quezada, A; Torres, J [Practical Action Latin America, Lima (Peru); Haggar, J [Univ. of Greenwich, London (United Kingdom)

2011-08-15

This guidebook presents a selection of technologies for climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector. A set of 22 adaptation technologies are showcased. These are based primarily on the principles of agroecology, but also include scientific technologies of climate and biological sciences complemented by important sociological and institutional capacity building processes that are required for climate change to function. The technologies cover: 1) Planning for climate change and variability. 2) Sustainable water use and management. 3) Soil management. 4) Sustainable crop management. 5) Sustainable livestock management. 6) Sustainable farming systems. 7) Capacity building and stakeholder organisation. Technologies that tend to homogenise the natural environment and agricultural production have low possibilities of success in environmental stress conditions that are likely to result from climate change. On the other hand, technologies that allow for, and promote diversity are more likely to provide a strategy which strengthens agricultural production in the face of uncertain future climate change scenarios. The 22 technologies showcased in this guidebook have been selected because they facilitate the conservation and restoration of diversity while also providing opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity. Many of these technologies are not new to agricultural production practices, but they are implemented based on the assessment of current and possible future impacts of climate change in a particular location. agroecology is an approach that encompasses concepts of sustainable production and biodiversity promotion and therefore provides a useful framework for identifying and selecting appropriate adaptation technologies for the agriculture sector. The guidebook provides a systematic analysis of the most relevant information available on climate change adaptation technologies in the agriculture sector. It has been compiled based on a literature

DTU climate change technologies. Recommendations on accelerated development and deployment of climate change technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Hans; Halsnaes, K [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, System Analysis Div., Roskilde (Denmark); Nielsen, Niels Axel; Moeller, J S; Hansen, Jakob Fritz; Froekjaer Strand, I [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

2009-09-15

During 2009, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has held a number of international workshops for climate change. Participants came from industry, research institutions and government. The workshops focused on sustainable energy systems and climate change adaptation. The summary of conclusions and recommendations from the workshops constitutes a comprehensive set of technology tracks and recommended actions towards accelerated development and deployment of technology within these two key areas. The workshop process has led to three main conclusions. A. Radical changes are needed to develop sustainable energy systems. B. Tools and processes that climate-proof societal planning and management are needed in order to adapt to climate change. C. Partnerships concerning innovation and deployment (research, development and deployment) are required to meet time constraints.

Global Change Research Related to the Earth's Energy and Hydrologic Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

The Institute for Global Change Research and Education (IGCRE) is a joint initiative of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) for coordinating and facilitating research and education relevant to global environmental change. Created in 1992 with primary support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), IGCRE fosters participation by university, private sector and government scientists who seek to develop long-term collaborative research in global change science, focusing on the role of water and energy in the Earth's atmosphere and physical climate system. IGCRE is also chartered to address educational needs of Earth system and global change science, including the preparation of future scientists and training of primary and secondary education teachers.

Technological Innovation and Climate Change: Where Does France Stand?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meniere, Yann; Glachant, Matthieu; Pot, Cecile; Le Blanc, Gilles; Dechezlepretre, Antoine; Carrere, Fabrice

2013-01-01

We analyse France's position on global warming mitigation technology. The methodology draws on a database describing all patents filed between 1980 and 2008 in 17 climate-related technological classes. France is the fifth largest innovator in the world, with 5.2 % of patented inventions, including 20 % from the public sector. More than half of French inventions are protected abroad, 1.5 times more than the global average. France's position is relatively weak in renewable energy, and strong in sectors marked by the presence of national industrial champions and public research organisations

Building a global federation system for climate change research: the earth system grid center for enabling technologies (ESG-CET)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ananthakrishnan, R; Bernholdt, D E; Bharathi, S; Brown, D; Chen, M; Chervenak, A L; Cinquini, L; Drach, R; Foster, I T; Fox, P; Fraser, D; Halliday, K; Hankin, S; Jones, P; Kesselman, C; Middleton, D E; Schwidder, J; Schweitzer, R; Schuler, R; Shoshani, A; Siebenlist, F; Sim, A; Strand, W G; Wilhelmi, N; Su, M; Williams, D N

2007-01-01

The recent release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report (AR4) has generated significant media attention. Much has been said about the US role in this report, which included significant support from the Department of Energy through the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) and other Department of Energy (DOE) programs for climate model development and the production execution of simulations. The SciDAC-supported Earth System Grid Center for Enabling Technologies (ESG-CET) also played a major role in the IPCC AR4: all of the simulation data that went into the report was made available to climate scientists worldwide exclusively via the ESG-CET At the same time as the IPCC AR4 database was being developed, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a leading US climate science laboratory and a ESG participant, began publishing model runs from the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), and its predecessor the Parallel Coupled Model (PCM) through ESG In aggregate, ESG-CET provides seamless access to over 180 terabytes of distributed climate simulation data to over 6,000 registered users worldwide, who have taken delivery of more than 250 terabytes from the archive. Not only does this represent a substantial advance in scientific knowledge, it is also a major step forward in how we conduct the research process on a global scale. Moving forward, the next IPCC assessment report, AR5, will demand multi-site metadata federation for data discovery and cross-domain identity management for single sign-on of users in a more diverse federation enterprise environment. Towards this aim, ESG is leading the effort in the climate community towards standardization of material for the global federation of metadata, security, and data services required to standardize, analyze, and access data worldwide

Global Transsaccadic Change Blindness During Scene Perception

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Henderson, John

2003-01-01

.... The results from two experiments demonstrated a global transsaccadic change-blindness effect, suggesting that point-by-point visual representations are not functional across saccades during complex scene perception. Ahstract.

European network infrastructures of observatories for terrestrial Global Change research

Science.gov (United States)

Vereecken, H.; Bogena, H.; Lehning, M.

2009-04-01

hydrological system changes, and to develop and implement tools and technologies for monitoring, prevention and mitigation of environmental risks and pressures. In addition, NOHA will provide long-term statistical series of hydrological state variables and fluxes for the analysis and prognosis of Global Change consequences using integrated model systems. These data will support the development and establishment of efficient prevention, mitigation and adaptation strategies (E.g. EU-Water Framework Directive) and spur the development and validation of hydrological theories and models. The second network, ALPS, - the Alpine Observing System - will create an unique infrastructure for environmental and climate research and observation for the whole Alpine region, providing a common platform for the benefit of the society in Europe as a whole. The initiative will build on existing infrastructure in the participating countries and on new and emerging technology, allowing an unprecedented coverage of observation systems at affordable cost. ALPS will create a new collaboration between scientists, engineers, monitoring agencies, public and decision makers, with the aim to gain an integrated understanding of complex environmental systems. The ALPS effort will be structured along three major axes: (i) harmonize and strengthen the backbone of permanent measurement infrastructures and complement these with dense deployments of intelligent networks, to improve the recording of environmental parameters overcoming disciplinary and national borders, (ii) link the main data centres to create a distributed cyber-infrastructure with the final aim to enable effective data access and retrieval to all science and society users, and (iii) invest in data assimilation and exploitation toward scientific and practical results in particular with respect to dealing with extreme events and natural hazards. In this presentation, we will focus on the motivation, the concept and the scientific and

USGS global change science strategy: A framework for understanding and responding to climate and land-use change

Science.gov (United States)

Burkett, Virginia R.; Taylor, Ione L.; Belnap, Jayne; Cronin, Thomas M.; Dettinger, Michael D.; Frazier, Eldrich L.; Haines, John W.; Kirtland, David A.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Milly, Paul C.D.; O'Malley, Robin; Thompson, Robert S.

2011-01-01

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Change Science Strategy expands on the Climate Variability and Change science component of the USGS 2007 Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges: USGS Science in the Coming Decade” (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). Here we embrace the broad definition of global change provided in the U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–606,104 Stat. 3096–3104)—“Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life”—with a focus on climate and land-use change.There are three major characteristics of this science strategy. First, it addresses the science required to broadly inform global change policy, while emphasizing the needs of natural-resource managers and reflecting the role of the USGS as the science provider for the Department of the Interior and other resource-management agencies. Second, the strategy identifies core competencies, noting 10 critical capabilities and strengths the USGS uses to overcome key problem areas. We highlight those areas in which the USGS is a science leader, recognizing the strong partnerships and effective collaboration that are essential to address complex global environmental challenges. Third, it uses a query-based approach listing key research questions that need to be addressed to create an agenda for hypothesis-driven global change science organized under six strategic goals. Overall, the strategy starts from where we are, provides a vision for where we want to go, and then describes high-priority strategic actions, including outcomes, products, and partnerships that can get us there. Global change science is a well-defined research field with strong linkages to the ecosystems, water, energy and minerals, natural hazards, and environmental health components of the USGS Science Strategy

Influence of multiple global change drivers on terrestrial carbon storage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yue, Kai; Fornara, Dario A; Yang, Wanqin

2017-01-01

The interactive effects of multiple global change drivers on terrestrial carbon (C) storage remain poorly understood. Here, we synthesise data from 633 published studies to show how the interactive effects of multiple drivers are generally additive (i.e. not differing from the sum of their indivi......The interactive effects of multiple global change drivers on terrestrial carbon (C) storage remain poorly understood. Here, we synthesise data from 633 published studies to show how the interactive effects of multiple drivers are generally additive (i.e. not differing from the sum...... additive effects of multiple global change drivers into future assessments of the C storage ability of terrestrial ecosystems....

Improved data for integrated modeling of global environmental change

Science.gov (United States)

Lotze-Campen, Hermann

2011-12-01

The assessment of global environmental changes, their impact on human societies, and possible management options requires large-scale, integrated modeling efforts. These models have to link biophysical with socio-economic processes, and they have to take spatial heterogeneity of environmental conditions into account. Land use change and freshwater use are two key research areas where spatial aggregation and the use of regional average numbers may lead to biased results. Useful insights can only be obtained if processes like economic globalization can be consistently linked to local environmental conditions and resource constraints (Lambin and Meyfroidt 2011). Spatially explicit modeling of environmental changes at the global scale has a long tradition in the natural sciences (Woodward et al 1995, Alcamo et al 1996, Leemans et al 1996). Socio-economic models with comparable spatial detail, e.g. on grid-based land use change, are much less common (Heistermann et al 2006), but are increasingly being developed (Popp et al 2011, Schneider et al 2011). Spatially explicit models require spatially explicit input data, which often constrains their development and application at the global scale. The amount and quality of available data on environmental conditions is growing fast—primarily due to improved earth observation methods. Moreover, systematic efforts for collecting and linking these data across sectors are on the way (www.earthobservations.org). This has, among others, also helped to provide consistent databases on different land cover and land use types (Erb et al 2007). However, spatially explicit data on specific anthropogenic driving forces of global environmental change are still scarce—also because these cannot be collected with satellites or other devices. The basic data on socio-economic driving forces, i.e. population density and wealth (measured as gross domestic product per capita), have been prepared for spatially explicit analyses (CIESIN, IFPRI

Empirical Relationships among Technological Characteristics, Global Orientation, and Internationalisation of South Korean New Ventures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junghyun Yoon

2016-12-01

Full Text Available International new ventures (INVs that pursue rapid internationalisation have received a growing amount of attention worldwide. This study, therefore, examined characteristics of INVs, and hence investigated empirically the relationships among the technological characteristics of INVs, the characteristics of their chief executive officers (CEOs (i.e., global orientation, and their internationalisation such as the level of internationalisation. The findings of this study can be summarised as follows: all of the technological characteristics (e.g., technological capacity, imitation, innovation, and standardisation have significant effects on the internationalisation of INVs. Furthermore, the CEO’s global orientation mediated the relationship between the technological characteristics and internationalisation.

Changing recruitment capacity in global fish stocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Britten, Gregory L; Dowd, Michael; Worm, Boris

2016-01-05

Marine fish and invertebrates are shifting their regional and global distributions in response to climate change, but it is unclear whether their productivity is being affected as well. Here we tested for time-varying trends in biological productivity parameters across 262 fish stocks of 127 species in 39 large marine ecosystems and high-seas areas (hereafter LMEs). This global meta-analysis revealed widespread changes in the relationship between spawning stock size and the production of juvenile offspring (recruitment), suggesting fundamental biological change in fish stock productivity at early life stages. Across regions, we estimate that average recruitment capacity has declined at a rate approximately equal to 3% of the historical maximum per decade. However, we observed large variability among stocks and regions; for example, highly negative trends in the North Atlantic contrast with more neutral patterns in the North Pacific. The extent of biological change in each LME was significantly related to observed changes in phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration and the intensity of historical overfishing in that ecosystem. We conclude that both environmental changes and chronic overfishing have already affected the productive capacity of many stocks at the recruitment stage of the life cycle. These results provide a baseline for ecosystem-based fisheries management and may help adjust expectations for future food production from the oceans.

Trump's Doctrine and Climate Change: New Challenges for Global Governance

OpenAIRE

Contipelli, Ernani

2017-01-01

The present communication aims to discuss the main topics related to Trump’s Doctrine and its effects on the implementation of global governance to fight against Climate Change. To present the argument, first, we will analyze the relation between global governance and climate change, followed by a general view of the climate change by some Republican Party members, and finally, the current policies already put in place by President Trump

Global Change in the Upper Atmosphere

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Laštovička, Jan; Akmaev, R. A.; Beig, G.; Bremer, J.; Emmert, J. T.

2006-01-01

Roč. 314, č. 5803 (2006), s. 1253-1254 ISSN 0036-8075 R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC 091 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30420517 Keywords : Global change * Upper Atmosphere * Ionosphere Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 30.028, year: 2006

The Imperative of Virtue in the Age of Global Technology and Globalized Mass Culture: A Liberal-Humanist Response to the Heideggerian Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalsky, Borys M.

2011-01-01

How has the globalization of technology contributed to the globalization of the war against the Enlightenment liberal humanism of Western civilization--in particular, to the globalization of the war between religion and science--and with what problematic moral, cultural, and spiritual consequences? Liberal-humanist and Heideggerian perspectives on…

U.S. Geological Survey climate and land use change science strategy: a framework for understanding and responding to global change

Science.gov (United States)

Burkett, Virginia R.; Kirtland, David A.; Taylor, Ione L.; Belnap, Jayne; Cronin, Thomas M.; Dettinger, Michael D.; Frazier, Eldrich L.; Haines, John W.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Milly, Paul C.D.; ,; ,; ,; Robert, S.; Maule, Alec G.; McMahon, Gerard; Striegl, Robert G.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a nonregulatory Federal science agency with national scope and responsibilities, is uniquely positioned to serve the Nation’s needs in understanding and responding to global change, including changes in climate, water availability, sea level, land use and land cover, ecosystems, and global biogeochemical cycles. Global change is among the most challenging and formidable issues confronting our Nation and society. Scientists agree that global environmental changes during this century will have far-reaching societal implications (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007; U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2009). In the face of these challenges, the Nation can benefit greatly by using natural science information in decisionmaking.

The Impact Of Climate Change On Water Resources: Global And ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GHGs) is increasing and this has resulted to changing global climate with increasing temperature. The rise in global average temperatures since 1860 now exceeds 0.6OC. The effect of the GHGs concentration on global warming as at 2100 is ...

Assistive technology policy: a position paper from the first global research, innovation, and education on assistive technology (GREAT) summit.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLachlan, Malcolm; Banes, David; Bell, Diane; Borg, Johan; Donnelly, Brian; Fembek, Michael; Ghosh, Ritu; Gowran, Rosemary Joan; Hannay, Emma; Hiscock, Diana; Hoogerwerf, Evert-Jan; Howe, Tracey; Kohler, Friedbert; Layton, Natasha; Long, Siobhán; Mannan, Hasheem; Mji, Gubela; Odera Ongolo, Thomas; Perry, Katherine; Pettersson, Cecilia; Power, Jessica; Delgado Ramos, Vinicius; Slepičková, Lenka; Smith, Emma M; Tay-Teo, Kiu; Geiser, Priscille; Hooks, Hilary

2018-07-01

Increased awareness, interest and use of assistive technology (AT) presents substantial opportunities for many citizens to become, or continue being, meaningful participants in society. However, there is a significant shortfall between the need for and provision of AT, and this is patterned by a range of social, demographic and structural factors. To seize the opportunity that assistive technology offers, regional, national and sub-national assistive technology policies are urgently required. This paper was developed for and through discussion at the Global Research, Innovation and Education on Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit; organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization's Global Collaboration on Assistive Technology (GATE) program. It outlines some of the key principles that AT polices should address and recognizes that AT policy should be tailored to the realities of the contexts and resources available. AT policy should be developed as a part of the evolution of related policy across a number of different sectors and should have clear and direct links to AT as mediators and moderators for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The consultation process, development and implementation of policy should be fully inclusive of AT users, and their representative organizations, be across the lifespan, and imbued with a strong systems-thinking ethos. Six barriers are identified which funnel and diminish access to AT and are addressed systematically within this paper. We illustrate an example of good practice through a case study of AT services in Norway, and we note the challenges experienced in less well-resourced settings. A number of economic factors relating to AT and economic arguments for promoting AT use are also discussed. To address policy-development the importance of active citizenship and advocacy, the need to find mechanisms to scale up good community practices to a higher level, and the importance of political engagement for the

Climate of Tajikistan in connection with global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khakimov, F.Kh.; Mirzokhonova, S.O.; Mirzokhonava, N.A.

2006-01-01

The analysis of global climate change for different periods and its consequences on regional climate is given. The chronology of climate change in Tajikistan in various regions and the reasons leading or resulted to these changes are changes are shown as well

Globalization and the Changing Epidemiology of Hepatitis A Virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobsen, Kathryn H

2018-03-02

Increased economic interdependence, social integration, and other aspects of globalization are contributing to significant changes in hepatitis A epidemiology. Globally, the incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is decreasing, the age at midpoint of population immunity (AMPI) is increasing, and the proportion of symptomatic cases is increasing as the average age at infection increases. In low-income countries, HAV remains endemic but improved water and sanitation systems are reducing transmission rates among young children. In high-income countries, most adults remain susceptible to HAV and foodborne outbreaks are becoming more frequent. Middle-income countries have diverse epidemiological profiles, and they play important roles in the global spread of HAV through international trade and travel. Future changes in the epidemiology of hepatitis A will be heavily influenced by globalization processes. Copyright © 2018 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Global vegetation change predicted by the modified Budyko model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monserud, R.A.; Tchebakova, N.M.; Leemans, R. (US Department of Agriculture, Moscow, ID (United States). Intermountain Research Station, Forest Service)

1993-09-01

A modified Budyko global vegetation model is used to predict changes in global vegetation patterns resulting from climate change (CO[sub 2] doubling). Vegetation patterns are predicted using a model based on a dryness index and potential evaporation determined by solving radiation balance equations. Climate change scenarios are derived from predictions from four General Circulation Models (GCM's) of the atmosphere (GFDL, GISS, OSU, and UKMO). All four GCM scenarios show similar trends in vegetation shifts and in areas that remain stable, although the UKMO scenario predicts greater warming than the others. Climate change maps produced by all four GCM scenarios show good agreement with the current climate vegetation map for the globe as a whole, although over half of the vegetation classes show only poor to fair agreement. The most stable areas are Desert and Ice/Polar Desert. Because most of the predicted warming is concentrated in the Boreal and Temperate zones, vegetation there is predicted to undergo the greatest change. Most vegetation classes in the Subtropics and Tropics are predicted to expand. Any shift in the Tropics favouring either Forest over Savanna, or vice versa, will be determined by the magnitude of the increased precipitation accompanying global warming. Although the model predicts equilibrium conditions to which many plant species cannot adjust (through migration or microevolution) in the 50-100 y needed for CO[sub 2] doubling, it is not clear if projected global warming will result in drastic or benign vegetation change. 72 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Communicating global climate change using simple indices: an update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drost, Frank; Karoly, David [University of Melbourne, School of Earth Sciences, Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Braganza, Karl [National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, VIC (Australia)

2012-08-15

Previous studies have shown that there are several indices of global-scale temperature variations, in addition to global-mean surface air temperature, that are useful for distinguishing natural internal climate variations from anthropogenic climate change. Appropriately defined, such indices have the ability to capture spatio-temporal information in a similar manner to optimal fingerprints of climate change. These indices include the contrast between the average temperatures over land and over oceans, the Northern Hemisphere meridional temperature gradient, the temperature contrast between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere and the magnitude of the annual cycle of average temperatures over land. They contain information independent of the global-mean temperature for internal climate variations at decadal time scales and represent different aspects of the climate system, yet they show common responses to anthropogenic climate change. In addition, the ratio of average temperature changes over land to those over the oceans should be nearly constant for transient climate change. Hence, supplementing analysis of global-mean surface temperature with analyses of these indices can strengthen results of attribution studies of causes of observed climate variations. In this study, we extend the previous work by including the last 10 years of observational data and the CMIP3 climate model simulations analysed for the IPCC AR4. We show that observed changes in these indices over the last 10 years provide increased evidence of an anthropogenic influence on climate. We also show the usefulness of these indices for evaluating the performance of climate models in simulating large-scale variability of surface temperature. (orig.)

Global change and the measurement of absolute sea-level

Science.gov (United States)

Diamante, John M.; Pyle, Thomas E.; Carter, William E.; Scherer, Wolfgang

To quantify properly the long-term response of sea-level to climate change, land motions must be separated from the apparent or relative sea-level change recorded by conventional tide/sea-level gauges. Here we present a concept for global measurement of the true or “absolute” sea-level change, which combines recent advances in space-based geodetic techniques with plans for a global sea-level network under the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). Data from initial feasibility tests show that land motion, due to global (plate tectonic), regional (glacial rebound), or local (fluid withdrawal) effects, can probably be measured to ±1cm (on a single measurement basis) by an innovative combination of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and Global Positioning System (GPS) tevhniques. By making repeated observations of position at a number of tide gauges using portable, economical GPS receivers in a differential mode relative to the fewer, more stable, but more expensive VLBI observatories, it will be possible to subtract land motion from the relative sea-level signal. Decadal to century scale trends at the 1-2mm y -1 level will be resolvable in the sea-level and vertical land motion time series within about a decade. Detection of subsidence or uplift at specific gauges will allow correction for land motion or deletion of bad data when computing regional or global, i.e. eustatic, sea-level changes. In addition to their applications in oceanography and climate studies, such data will test models by Peltier and other that relate mantle viscosity and deglaciation history to present rates of crustal subsidence or uplift. If the predicted crustal motions are confirmed, we can also have more confidence in the use of historical tide/sea-level gauge records in retrospective studies of sea-level change related to climate variability on decadal or longer time scales. It is concluded that as few as one-third (about 100) of the total number of tide/sea-level gauges (250

Global Change and Helminth Infections in Grazing Ruminants in Europe: Impacts, Trends and Sustainable Solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hubertus Hertzberg

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Infections with parasitic helminths (nematodes and trematodes represent a significant economic and welfare burden to the global ruminant livestock industry. The increasing prevalence of anthelmintic resistance means that current control programmes are costly and unsustainable in the long term. Recent changes in the epidemiology, seasonality and geographic distribution of helminth infections have been attributed to climate change. However, other changes in environment (e.g., land use and in livestock farming, such as intensification and altered management practices, will also have an impact on helminth infections. Sustainable control of helminth infections in a changing world requires detailed knowledge of these interactions. In particular, there is a need to devise new, sustainable strategies for the effective control of ruminant helminthoses in the face of global change. In this paper, we consider the impact of helminth infections in grazing ruminants, taking a European perspective, and identify scientific and applied priorities to mitigate these impacts. These include the development and deployment of efficient, high-throughput diagnostic tests to support targeted intervention, modelling of geographic and seasonal trends in infection, more thorough economic data and analysis of the impact of helminth infections and greater translation and involvement of end-users in devising and disseminating best practices. Complex changes in helminth epidemiology will require innovative solutions. By developing and using new technologies and models, the use of anthelmintics can be optimised to limit the development and spread of drug resistance and to reduce the overall economic impact of helminth infections. This will be essential to the continued productivity and profitability of livestock farming in Europe and its contribution to regional and global food security.

Precariat, Education and Technologies: Towards a Global Class Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Standing, Guy; Jandric, Petar

2015-01-01

In this interview Guy Standing outlines the main links between the precariat and the universal basic income. He briefly comments on the relationships of his work to traditional Marxism, and expands his critique of the precariat towards information and communication technologies. He identifies common features of the global precariat, and links them…

Future aridity under conditions of global climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Asadi Zarch, Mohammad Amin; Sivakumar, Bellie; Malekinezhad, Hossein; Sharma, Ashish

2017-11-01

Global climate change is anticipated to cause some major changes in hydroclimatic conditions around the world. As aridity is a reliable indicator of potential available water, assessment of its changes under future climatic conditions is important for proper management of water. This study employs the UNESCO aridity/humidity index, which is a derivative of precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (PET), for assessment of aridity. Historical (1901-2005) simulations and future (2006-2100) projections of 22 global climate models (GCMs) from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are studied. The Nested Bias Correction (NBC) approach is used to correct possible biases of precipitation (simulated directly by the GCMs) and PET (estimated by applying FAO56-Penman-Monteith model on simulated parameters of the GCMs). To detect future aridity changes, the areal extents of the aridity zones in the past and future periods as well as through four sub-periods (2006-2025, 2026-2050, 2051-2075, and 2076-2100) of the future are compared. The results indicate that changes in climate will alter the areal extents of aridity zones in the future. In general, from the first sub-period towards the last one, the area covered by hyper-arid, arid, semi-arid, and sub-humid zones will increase (by 7.46%, 7.01%, 5.80%, and 2.78%, respectively), while the area of the humid regions will decrease (by 4.76%), suggesting that there will be less water over the global land area in the future. To understand the cause of these changes, precipitation and PET are also separately assumed to be stationary throughout the four future sub-periods and the resulting aridity changes are then analyzed. The results reveal that the aridity changes are mostly caused by the positive PET trends, even though the slight precipitation increase lessens the magnitude of the changes.

Globalization

OpenAIRE

F. Gerard Adams

2008-01-01

The rapid globalization of the world economy is causing fundamental changes in patterns of trade and finance. Some economists have argued that globalization has arrived and that the world is “flat†. While the geographic scope of markets has increased, the author argues that new patterns of trade and finance are a result of the discrepancies between “old†countries and “new†. As the differences are gradually wiped out, particularly if knowledge and technology spread worldwide, the t...

PERSPECTIVE: Climate change, biofuels, and global food security

Science.gov (United States)

Cassman, Kenneth G.

2007-03-01

in which the effect of temperature on rice yield could be isolated from other factors documented a 15% decrease in yield for every 1 °C increase in mean temperature [5]. The magnitude of this decrease is considerably larger than predictions of yield decreases from higher temperature obtained from crop simulation models. Like the results of Lobell and Field [2], we see a discrepancy between estimates of the effects of warmer temperatures on crop yields based on the relationship between crop yields and temperature under field conditions versus those derived from modeling and experiments conducted under controlled conditions. As we make the historic transition from an extended period of surplus food production to one in which demand for staple crop commodities exceeds supply, there is a vital need to better understand the impact of warming temperatures on current and future crop yields. References [1] Council for Agricultural Science and Technology 2006 Convergence of agriculture and energy: Implications for Research and Policy CAST Commentary QTA 2006-3 (Ames, Iowa: CAST) (www.cast-science.org) [2] Lobell D B and Field C B 2007 Global scale climate-crop yield relationships and the impacts of recent warming Environ. Res. Lett. 2 014002 [3] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group 2 Climate Change 2001 Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability IPCC Working Group 2, Third Assessment (New York: Cambridge University Press) [4] Tubiello F N et al 2006 Crop response to elevated CO2 and world food supply: A comment on 'Food for Thought...' by Long et al, Science 312:1918-1921, 2006 Eur. J. Agron. 26 215 23 [5] Peng S, Huang J, Sheehy J E, Laza R, Visperas R M, Zhong X, Centeno G S, Khush G and Cassman K G 2004 Rice yields decline with higher night temperature from global warming Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 101 9971 5 Notes Note1 USA (40% of global maize, 56% of global maize exports), Brazil (33% of global sugar, 36% of global sugar exports), Indonesia and Malaysia (81

INTRODUCTION: Anticipated changes in the global atmospheric water cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, Richard P.; Liepert, Beate G.

2010-06-01

The atmospheric branch of the water cycle, although containing just a tiny fraction of the Earth's total water reserves, presents a crucial interface between the physical climate (such as large-scale rainfall patterns) and the ecosystems upon which human societies ultimately depend. Because of the central importance of water in the Earth system, the question of how the water cycle is changing, and how it may alter in future as a result of anthropogenic changes, present one of the greatest challenges of this century. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on Climate Change and Water (Bates et al 2008) highlighted the increasingly strong evidence of change in the global water cycle and associated environmental consequences. It is of critical importance to climate prediction and adaptation strategies that key processes in the atmospheric water cycle are precisely understood and determined, from evaporation at the surface of the ocean, transport by the atmosphere, condensation as cloud and eventual precipitation, and run-off through rivers following interaction with the land surface, sub-surface, ice, snow and vegetation. The purpose of this special focus issue of Environmental Research Letters on anticipated changes in the global atmospheric water cycle is to consolidate the recent substantial advances in understanding past, present and future changes in the global water cycle through evidence built upon theoretical understanding, backed up by observations and borne out by climate model simulations. Thermodynamic rises in water vapour provide a central constraint, as discussed in a guest editorial by Bengtsson (2010). Theoretical implications of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation are presented by O'Gorman and Muller (2010) and with reference to a simple model (Sherwood 2010) while observed humidity changes confirm these anticipated responses at the land and ocean surface (Willett et al 2008). Rises in low-level moisture are thought to fuel an

The relationship of long term global temperature change and human fertility.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisch, Harry; Andrews, Howard F; Fisch, Karen S; Golden, Robert; Liberson, Gary; Olsson, Carl A

2003-07-01

According to the United Nations, global fertility has declined in the last century as reflected by a decline in birth rates. The earth's surface air temperature has increased considerably and is referred to as global warming. Since changes in temperature are well known to influence fertility we sought to determine if a statistical relationship exists between long-term changes in global air temperatures and birth rates. The most complete and reliable birth rate data in the 20th century was available in 19 industrialized countries. Using bivariate and multiple regression analysis, we compared yearly birth rates from these countries to global air temperatures from 1900 to 1994.A common pattern of change in birth rates was noted for the 19 industrialized countries studied. In general, birth rates declined markedly throughout the century except during the baby boom period of approximately 1940 to 1964. An inverse relationship was found between changes in global temperatures and birth rates in all 19 countries. Controlling for the linear yearly decline in birth rates over time, this relationship remained statistically significant for all the 19 countries in aggregate and in seven countries individually (phuman fertility may have been influenced by change in environmental temperatures.

Managing the Global Supply Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skjøtt-Larsen, Tage; Schary, Philip B.; Mikkola, Juliana Hsuan

The world today faces global competition. The supply chain is vital part of the globalization process. Presenting a global view of the scope and complexity of supply chain management, this book reflects the rapid change that has taken place within the supply chain and its environment. This new...... edition has been fully updated with recent changes in concepts, technology and practice. Integration and collaboration are keywords in future competition. Firms must be agile and lean at the same time. The book gives an insightful overview of the conceptual foundations of the global supply chain, as...... well as current examples of best practice of managing supply chains in a global context....

Managing the Global Supply Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hsuan, Juliana; Skjøtt-Larsen, Tage; Kinra, Aseem

The world today faces global competition. The supply chain is vital part of the globalization process. Presenting a global view of the scope and complexity of supply chain management, this book reflects the rapid change that has taken place within the supply chain and its environment. This new...... well as current examples of best practice of managing supply chains in a global context....... edition has been fully updated with recent changes in concepts, technology and practice. Integration and collaboration are keywords in future competition. Firms must be agile and lean at the same time. The book gives an insightful overview of the conceptual foundations of the global supply chain, as...

World environmental policy. Conceptual approaches of German political science in response to the challenges of Global Change; Weltumweltpolitik - Global Change als Herausforderung fuer die deutsche Politikwissenschaft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biermann, F. [Potsdam-Institut fuer Klimafolgenforschung (PIK), Potsdam (Germany); Dingwerth, K. [Freie Univ. Berlin (Germany). Fachbereich Politik- und Sozialwissenschaften

2001-12-01

This paper describes, first, the international community of social scientists working on global change, and elaborates on possible contributions to this community by German political scientists. Second, the paper examines three new conceptual approaches to analysing global change, namely the Syndromes of Global Change approach, Earth System Analysis, and Sustainability Science. The paper then elaborates on a number of ways in which German political science could respond to the academic and political challenges posed by global change. It concludes by emphasizing the need for a new approach, focusing on 'world environmental policy analysis' that would bridge traditional (environmental) policy analysis, international relations research, and comparative politics. (orig.) [German] Der Aufsatz beschreibt die Wissenschaftslandschaft der internationalen sozialwissenschaftlichen Global-Change-Forschung mit besonderem Augenmerk auf moegliche Beitraege der deutschen Politologie. Mit den 'Syndromen des Globalen Wandels', der 'Erdsystemanalyse' und der 'Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaft' werden drei neuere konzeptionelle Innovationen vorgestellt, mit denen der Herausforderung des Globalen Wandels begegnet werden soll. Anschliessend werden Wege skizziert, wie die Politikwissenschaft auf die neuen gesellschaftlichen und wissenschaftlichen Probleme des Globalen Wandels reagieren koennte. Eine Schlussfolgerung ist ein Plaedoyer fuer die Entwicklung einer eigenstaendigen Weltumweltpolitik-Analyse an der Schnittstelle von traditioneller Policy-Analyse, Internationalen Beziehungen/Aussenpolitik sowie Komparatistik. (orig./CB)

Do global change experiments overestimate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leuzinger, Sebastian; Luo, Yiqi; Beier, Claus

2011-01-01

In recent decades, many climate manipulation experiments have investigated biosphere responses to global change. These experiments typically examined effects of elevated atmospheric CO2, warming or drought (driver variables) on ecosystem processes such as the carbon and water cycle (response...... of the responses to decline with higher-order interactions, longer time periods and larger spatial scales. This means that on average, both positive and negative global change impacts on the biosphere might be dampened more than previously assumed....

Global climate change: Social and economic research issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, M.; Snow, J.; Jacobson, H.

1992-05-01

This workshop was designed to bring together a group of scholars, primarily from the social sciences, to explore research that might help in dealing with global climate change. To illustrate the state of present understanding, it seemed useful to focus this workshop on three broad questions that are involved in coping with climate change. These are: (1) How can the anticipated economic costs and benefits of climate change be identified; (2) How can the impacts of climate change be adjusted to or avoided; (3) What previously studied models are available for institutional management of the global environment? The resulting discussions may (1) identify worthwhile avenues for further social science research, (2) help develop feedback for natural scientists about research information from this domain needed by social scientists, and (3) provide policymakers with the sort of relevant research information from the social science community that is currently available