36 CFR 801.5 - State Historic Preservation Officer responsibilities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Officer responsibilities. 801.5 Section 801.5 Parks, Forests, and Public Property ADVISORY COUNCIL ON... § 801.5 State Historic Preservation Officer responsibilities. (a) The State Historic Preservation... § 801.3(b); responding, within 45 days, to submittal of a determination by the applicant under section...

7 CFR 761.204 - Methods of allocating funds to State Offices.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Methods of allocating funds to State Offices. 761.204... Funds to State Offices § 761.204 Methods of allocating funds to State Offices. FO and OL loan funds are... allocation, if the Agency cannot adequately meet program objectives with a formula allocation. The National...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Drought

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

Climate Change and Caribbean Small Island States: The State of Play

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin, Lisa

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Studies have indicated that climate change is likely to have dramatic negative effects for Caribbean small island developing states. This article considers the main economic effects that climate change is anticipated to have in these vulnerable states, charts the progress of international negotiations at the 2009 Copenhagen conference, and provides a brief analysis of the impact of the Copenhagen Accord on Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS.Although climate change has traditionally been seen solely as an environmental issue, its economic effects on vulnerable developing nations, such as Caribbean SIDS, forces a re-definition of climate change to that of a more complex union of environmental and developmental issues for these states. By highlighting some of the anticipated economic effects of climate change for Caribbean SIDS, the author aims to provide a broader context for the issue of climate change for Caribbean SIDS.

Method for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Improved Indoor Climate Conditions and Reduced Energy Consumption in Office Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktoras Dorosevas

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Indoor climate affects health and productivity of the occupants in office buildings, yet in many buildings of this type indoor climate conditions are not well-controlled due to insufficient heating or cooling capacity, high swings of external or internal heat loads, improper control or operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC equipment, etc. However, maintenance of good indoor environmental conditions in buildings requires increased investments and possible higher energy consumption. This paper focuses on the relation between investment costs for retrofitting HVAC equipment as well as decreased energy use and improved performance of occupants in office buildings. The cost-benefit analysis implementation algorithm is presented in this paper, including energy survey of the building, estimation of occupants dissatisfied by key indoor climate indicators using questionnaire survey and measurements. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS analysis is used in the proposed method for data processing. A case study of an office building is presented in order to introduce an application example of the proposed method. Results of the study verify the applicability of the proposed algorithm and TOPSIS analysis as a practical tool for office building surveys in order to maximize productivity by means of cost efficient technical building retrofitting solutions.

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

Simulation Study of Performance of Active Ceilings with Phase Change Material in Office Buildings under Extreme Climate Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stefansen, Casper; Farhan, Hajan; Bourdakis, Eleftherios

2018-01-01

simulations were run with a building simulation software for eight climates. The chosen climates were Dubai –UAE, Istanbul – Turkey, Lima – Peru, Moscow – Russia, Nuuk – Greenland, Salvador – Brazil, Tokyo – Japan and Tromsø – Norway. Two models of a two-person office were made for each climate; one model...

Regional climate service in Southern Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Schipper, Janus; Hackenbruch, Julia

2013-04-01

Climate change challenges science, politics, business and society at the international, national and regional level. The South German Climate Office at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a contact for the structuring and dissemination of information on climate and climate change in the South German region. It provides scientifically based and user-oriented climate information. Thereby it builds a bridge between the climate sciences and society and provides scientific information on climate change in an understandable way. The expertise of KIT, in which several institutions operate on fundamental and applied climate research, and of partner institutions is the basis for the work in the climate office. The regional focus is on the south of Germany. Thematic focuses are e.g. regional climate modeling, trends in extreme weather events such as heavy rain and hail event, and issues for energy and water management. The South German Climate Office is one of four Regional Helmholtz Climate Offices, of which each has a regional and thematic focus. The users of the Climate Office can be summarized into three categories. First, there is the general public. This category consists mainly of non-professionals. Here, special attention is on an understandable translation of climate information. Attention is paid to application-related aspects, because each individual is affected in a different way by climate change. Typical examples of this category are school groups, citizens and the media. The second category consists of experts of other disciplines. Unlike the first category they are mainly interested in the exchange of results and data. It is important to the climate office to provide support for the use of climatological results. Typical representatives of this category are ministries, state offices, and companies. In the third and final category are scientists. In addition to the climatologists, this category also holds representatives from other scientific

Extension of responsibilities of the State Office for Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrehor, M.

1995-01-01

The responsibilities of the State Office for Nuclear Safety have been extended by Act No. 85/1995 to cover protection against ionizing radiation. The following responsibilities of the State Office for Nuclear Safety are defined by the Act: a) state surveillance over nuclear safety of nuclear facilities, and over radioactive waste and spent fuel management; b) state surveillance over nuclear materials, their record-keeping and accountancy; c) state surveillance over the safeguarding of nuclear facilities and nuclear materials; d) state surveillance over selected materials, facilities and technologies used in the nuclear field, as well as dual-purpose materials and facilities; e) state surveillance over protection against ionizing radiation; f) coordination of the performance of the Radiation Monitoring Network over the Czech Republic and responsibility for international exchange of data on the radiological situation. The Act is reproduced in full, and the organizational structure of the Office is shown in a chart. (J.B.)

Crisis management of State Office for Nuclear Safety of Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koldus, F.; Starostova, V.

2005-01-01

tate Office for Nuclear Safety is a regulatory body responsible for governmental administration and supervision in the fields, of uses of nuclear energy and of radiation protection. firstly and secondly which establish a workplace for the crisis management and Crisis Staff and compile a Crisis Plan because of to be prepared to solve the emergency situations at the field of its own activities. At the beginning of the contribution the basic information about activities of Emergency Response Center of State Office for Nuclear Safety as a workplace of Crisis Staff of State Office for Nuclear Safety , which provide technical and organizational support to Crisis Staff of State Office for Nuclear Safety , is presented. State Office for Nuclear Safety has its own elaborated and approved Crisis Plan as a general document to plan measures and procedures in case of emergency situations and which is compile according to law No. 240/2000 Coll., on Crisis management of the Czech Republic, and according to Governmental Order No. 462/2000 Coll. (authors)

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Upper Air

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - National Tornadoes

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - National Wildfires

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Synoptic Discussion

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - National Overview

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

December 2012 Policy Update: School Climate and Bully Prevention Trends State-by-State Assessment. School Climate Brief, Number 6

Science.gov (United States)

Bellizio, Dan

2012-01-01

This December 2012 Brief updates NSCC's 2011 report "State Policies on School Climate and Bully Prevention Efforts: Challenges and Opportunities for Deepening State Policy Support for Safe and Civil School"s (www.schoolclimate.org/climate/papers-briefs.php). This Brief provides a summary of State level: (1) anti-bullying legislation; (2)…

The effects of climate change on heating energy consumption of office buildings in different climate zones in China

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Fanchao; Li, Mingcai; Cao, Jingfu; Li, Ji; Xiong, Mingming; Feng, Xiaomei; Ren, Guoyu

2017-06-01

Climate plays an important role in heating energy consumption owing to the direct relationship between space heating and changes in meteorological conditions. To quantify the impact, the Transient System Simulation Program software was used to simulate the heating loads of office buildings in Harbin, Tianjin, and Shanghai, representing three major climate zones (i.e., severe cold, cold, and hot summer and cold winter climate zones) in China during 1961-2010. Stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to determine the key climatic parameters influencing heating energy consumption. The results showed that dry bulb temperature (DBT) is the dominant climatic parameter affecting building heating loads in all three climate zones across China during the heating period at daily, monthly, and yearly scales (R 2 ≥ 0.86). With the continuous warming climate in winter over the past 50 years, heating loads decreased by 14.2, 7.2, and 7.1 W/m2 in Harbin, Tianjin, and Shanghai, respectively, indicating that the decreasing rate is more apparent in severe cold climate zone. When the DBT increases by 1 °C, the heating loads decrease by 253.1 W/m2 in Harbin, 177.2 W/m2 in Tianjin, and 126.4 W/m2 in Shanghai. These results suggest that the heating energy consumption can be well predicted by the regression models at different temporal scales in different climate conditions owing to the high determination coefficients. In addition, a greater decrease in heating energy consumption in northern severe cold and cold climate zones may efficiently promote the energy saving in these areas with high energy consumption for heating. Particularly, the likely future increase in temperatures should be considered in improving building energy efficiency.

Determination of Optimum Window to External Wall Ratio for Offices in a Hot and Humid Climate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Halil Alibaba

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Heat loss and gain through windows has a very high impact on the thermal comfort of offices. This paper analyzes a standard low energy consumption university office that has a standard envelope. Dynamic thermal simulations with EDSL Tas software, a predicted mean vote (PMV, and a predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD with all local discomfort as stated in ASHRAE, ISO 7730: 2005, EN 15251: 2007 were used for thermal sensation, in order to optimize the best window to external wall proportion in a hot and humid climate that exists in the Famagusta case study. A simulated office building is oriented east to west in order to take advantage of the wind direction. In May 45% (PPD < 6%–0.7% open window, 93% (PPD < 10–0.2 open window, and 97% (PPD < 15%–0.1% open window thermal comfort scores are obtained when the window to external wall ratio (WWR is 10%. In October 43% (PPD < 6%–0.7% open window, 86% (PPD < 10–0.2 open window, and 92% (PPD < 15%–0.1% open window thermal comfort scores are obtained when the WWR is 10%. In September 49% (PPD < 10% full open window and 51% (PPD < 15%–0.1% open window thermal comfort scores are obtained when the WWR is 10%.

Potential climate change impacts and the BLM Rio Puerco field office's transportation system : a technical report

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-01

This report provides information about potential climate change impacts in central New Mexico and their possible implications for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rio Puerco Field Office (RPFO) transportation network. The report considers existing...

10 CFR 1.41 - Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Environmental Management Programs. (a) The Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management...) The Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs— (1) Plans and directs... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental...

The HadGEM2 family of Met Office Unified Model climate configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

The HadGEM2 Development Team: G. M. Martin

2011-09-01

Full Text Available We describe the HadGEM2 family of climate configurations of the Met Office Unified Model, MetUM. The concept of a model "family" comprises a range of specific model configurations incorporating different levels of complexity but with a common physical framework. The HadGEM2 family of configurations includes atmosphere and ocean components, with and without a vertical extension to include a well-resolved stratosphere, and an Earth-System (ES component which includes dynamic vegetation, ocean biology and atmospheric chemistry. The HadGEM2 physical model includes improvements designed to address specific systematic errors encountered in the previous climate configuration, HadGEM1, namely Northern Hemisphere continental temperature biases and tropical sea surface temperature biases and poor variability. Targeting these biases was crucial in order that the ES configuration could represent important biogeochemical climate feedbacks. Detailed descriptions and evaluations of particular HadGEM2 family members are included in a number of other publications, and the discussion here is limited to a summary of the overall performance using a set of model metrics which compare the way in which the various configurations simulate present-day climate and its variability.

Evaluating Thermal Comfort in a Naturally Conditioned Office in a Temperate Climate Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrés Gallardo

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study aims to determine the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in an office that uses natural ventilation as the main conditioning strategy; the office is located in Quito-Ecuador. The performance of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 and the traditional PMV model are compared with reports of thermal environment satisfaction surveys presented simultaneously to all occupants of the office to determine which of the two comfort models is most suitable to evaluate the thermal environment. The results indicate that office occupants have developed some degree of adaptation to the climatic conditions of the city where the office is located (which only demands heating operation, and tend to accept and even prefer lower operative temperatures than those considered optimum by applying the PMV model. This is an indication that occupants of naturally conditioned buildings are usually able to match their comfort temperature to their normal environment. Therefore, the application of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 seems like the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in naturally conditioned buildings, because it takes into consideration the adaptive principle that indicates that if a change occurs such as to produce discomfort, people tend to react in ways which restore their comfort.

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Global Snow & Ice

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Hurricanes & Tropical Storms

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosch, Marije; Dijkstra, Rob; Wensing, Michel; van der Weijden, Trudy; Grol, Richard

2008-08-21

Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory) and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework), and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (beta = -0.04; p = 0.04), whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (beta = 5.97; p = 0.03). No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea that aspects of redesigning care such as teamwork and culture

Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van der Weijden Trudy

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. Methods We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework, and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. Results A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (β = -0.04; p = 0.04, whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (β = 5.97; p = 0.03. No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Conclusion Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea

Factors influencing the, selection of state office furniture

Science.gov (United States)

R. Bruce Anderson; R. Bruce Anderson

1973-01-01

Evaluation of the factors influencing the selection of office furniture by nine state governments shows that quality and purchase price have the most important influence on the purchase decision. The intended use of the furniture and the purchasing regulations of the states were key f8CbrS in the use of wood furniture.

Relationships between ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction of operational officers in a wholesale company, Bangkok Metropolitan region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patthiya Naiyananont

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This research investigated whether the ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction in one organization have an impact on each other. The research was conducted using a selected group of 177 operational officers in a wholesale business company in the Bangkok Metropolitan region. The operational officers were recruited from four divisions (commercial, finance, marketing, and administration using a stratified random sampling approach. The majority was female and the participants' average age was 32 years. The instrument used was a designed questionnaire divided into five sections and consisting of checklists, opened-end questions, and rating scales. The data were analyzed statistically using percentages, means, standard deviations, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and multiple regression analyses. The results showed that the operational officers in the wholesale business company had a high level of overall ethical climate, a low level of overall political behavior, and moderate levels of overall ethical leadership and overall job satisfaction. The ethical climate and ethical leadership were positively correlated with job satisfaction. The multiple regression analyses method also confirmed that the ethical climate, political behavior, and ethical leadership constructively had significant predictive ability regarding job satisfaction.

Climate state: Science-state struggles and the formation of climate science in the US from the 1930s to 1960s.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Zeke

2017-12-01

This article has two aims: first, to understand the co-production of climate science and the state, and second, to provide a test case for Pierre Bourdieu's field theory. To these ends, the article reconstructs the historical formation of a US climate science field, with an analytic focus on inter-field dynamics and heterogeneous networking practices. Drawing from primary- and secondary-source materials, the historical analysis focuses on relations between scientists and state actors from the 1930s to the 1960s. The account shows how actors with positions linking scientific and bureaucratic fields constructed critical nodes and 'hinges' that co-produced war-making and state expansion on the one hand, and a relatively autonomous climate science field on the other. The analysis explains the emergence of climate science by focusing on the WWII-era transformation of meteorology and oceanography into distinct disciplines, the emergence of 'basic' research as a central principle of post-war government, and the formation of a climate science field by the 1960s centered on computerized modeling and populated by an interdisciplinary scientific elite. The article concludes by indicating how these processes led to the subsequent development of climate change as a science-state conundrum that has reorganized the climate science field in recent decades.

Design and implementation of the infrastructure of HadGEM3: the next-generation Met Office climate modelling system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. T. Hewitt

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the development of a technically robust climate modelling system, HadGEM3, which couples the Met Office Unified Model atmosphere component, the NEMO ocean model and the Los Alamos sea ice model (CICE using the OASIS coupler. Details of the coupling and technical solutions of the physical model (HadGEM3-AO are documented, in addition to a description of the configurations of the individual submodels. The paper demonstrates that the implementation of the model has resulted in accurate conservation of heat and freshwater across the model components. The model performance in early versions of this climate model is briefly described to demonstrate that the results are scientifically credible. HadGEM3-AO is the basis for a number of modelling efforts outside of the Met Office, both within the UK and internationally. This documentation of the HadGEM3-AO system provides a detailed reference for developers of HadGEM3-based climate configurations.

Strategiesfor AgriculturalAdaptationto Climate Changein Kogi State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Agribotix GCS 068

Strategies for Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in Kogi State, ... increased food production to manage climate variability and increasing ... sensitivity of a system is subject to both ecological and socio-economic conditions and influences the scale to which a system will be affected adversely or otherwise by climate ...

22 CFR 23.5 - Claims for settlement by Department of State or General Accounting Office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... General Accounting Office. 23.5 Section 23.5 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE FEES AND FUNDS FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING § 23.5 Claims for settlement by Department of State or General Accounting Office. Claims for settlement by the Department of State or by the General Accounting Office shall be submitted...

Approach of the State Office for Nuclear Safety to the regulatory incumbency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehm, K.; Urbancik, L.

1997-01-01

The State Office for Nuclear Safety is the Czech regulatory authority responsible for supervision over the safety of nuclear facilities, over radioactive waste management and spent fuel management, over nuclear materials including accountancy and control, and over ionizing radiation protection. The State Office also coordinates the Radiation Monitoring Network of the Czech Republic and the international exchange of radiological data, and supervises more than 5000 workplaces where ionizing radiation sources are handled. In 1996 the State Office accomplished 47 inspections of nuclear materials, out of these 39 were performed in cooperation with inspectors of the IAEA. Other activities (emergency preparedness, legislative activities, international cooperation and public information) are also mentioned. (M.D.)

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - National Snow and Ice

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

INFLUENCE OF TRAINING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP AND CLIMATE OF WORKING ON THE EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE IN OFFICE EDUCATION PROVINCE OF LAMPUNG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Patimah

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The leadership and the atmosphere in the working environment within the organization as a manager and leader of an organization have a very big role in creating a conducive and innovative working environment. Therefore, this study investigates leadership and working climate influencing on employee performance of Lampung Provincial Education Office. It uses a quantitative approach and descriptive survey method. Based on data analysis, the results are as follows: first, in general the results of data analysis showed that the leadership, the climate of employee and employee performance Education Office of Lampung Province is categorised as middle/enough, it means that the leadership, work climate and employee performance still need to be improved. Based on the results it can be argued that in order to improve the performance of employees can be done through visionary leadership, hard work, perseverance, steel service and discipline as well as to create a conducive working environment.

Climate change indicators in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published this report, Climate Change Indicators in the United States, to help readers interpret a set of important indicators to better understand climate change. The report presents 24 indicators, ...

78 FR 46525 - Application Procedures, Execution and Filing of Forms: Correction of State Office Address for...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

... Address for Filings and Recordings, Including Proper Offices for Recording of Mining Claims; New Mexico...) * * * STATE OFFICES AND AREAS OF JURISDICTION * * * * * New Mexico State Office, 310 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe...

State Office for Nuclear Safety - New Regulatory Body in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novosel, N.; Prah, M.; Valcic, I.; Cizmek, A.

2006-01-01

The Act on Nuclear Safety was adopted by the Croatian Parliament on 15 October 2003, and it is published in the Official Gazette No. 173/03. This Act regulates safety and protective measures for using nuclear materials and specified equipment and performing nuclear activities, and establishes the State Office for Nuclear Safety. Provisions of this Act apply on nuclear activities, nuclear materials and specified equipment. Also, by accession to international conventions and agreements, Croatia took the responsibility of implementing the provisions of those international treaties. In the process of European and international integrations, Croatia has to make harmonization with European and international standards also in the field of nuclear safety. The State Office for Nuclear Safety as an independent regulatory authority started its work on 1st June 2005 by taking over responsibility for activities relating to nuclear safety and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency from the Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship. In this paper responsibilities, organization and projects of the State Office for Nuclear Safety will be presented, with the accent on development of regulations and international cooperation. (author)

Louisiana State Lands and Buildings, Geographic NAD83, LA State Land Office (2007) [slabs_slo_2007

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This dataset represents land and/or building areas for the state of Louisiana. This dataset was compiled by the State Land Office from Historical Records (SLABS)...

Solar hybrid cooling system for high-tech offices in subtropical climate - Radiant cooling by absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fong, K.F.; Chow, T.T.; Lee, C.K.; Lin, Z.; Chan, L.S.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A solar hybrid cooling system is proposed for high-tech offices in subtropical climate. → An integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification. → Year-round cooling and energy performances were evaluated through dynamic simulation. → Its annual primary energy consumption was lower than conventional system up to 36.5%. → The passive chilled beams were more energy-efficient than the active chilled beams. - Abstract: A solar hybrid cooling design is proposed for high cooling load demand in hot and humid climate. For the typical building cooling load, the system can handle the zone cooling load (mainly sensible) by radiant cooling with the chilled water from absorption refrigeration, while the ventilation load (largely latent) by desiccant dehumidification. This hybrid system utilizes solar energy for driving the absorption chiller and regenerating the desiccant wheel. Since a high chilled water temperature generated from the absorption chiller is not effective to handle the required latent load, desiccant dehumidification is therefore involved. It is an integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification, which are powered up by solar energy. In this study, the application potential of the solar hybrid cooling system was evaluated for the high-tech offices in the subtropical climate through dynamic simulation. The high-tech offices are featured with relatively high internal sensible heat gains due to the intensive office electric equipment. The key performance indicators included the solar fraction and the primary energy consumption. Comparative study was also carried out for the solar hybrid cooling system using two common types of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. It was found that the solar hybrid cooling system was technically feasible for the applications of relatively higher cooling load demand. The annual primary energy

The Liability of European States for Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roger H J Cox

2014-02-01

Full Text Available According to climate science and the 195 signatory States to the UN Climate Convention, every emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases contributes to climate change. Furthermore, they hold that a two degree Celsius rise of Earth’s average temperature is to be considered as a dangerous climate change to mankind and all of the world’s ecosystems. Using the climate proceedings of Dutch citizens against the Dutch state as a starting point, the author of this case note explains why each European Member State’s contribution to dangerous climate change as a result of inadequate emission reduction policies constitutes a tort of negligence against its citizens and poses a real threat for its citizens’ effective enjoyment of human rights. The author argues that this makes individual European Nations severally liable for dangerous climate change and gives European citizens and non-governmental organisations the possibility to request their Nation State’s competent court to compel the Nation’s government to implement stricter emission reductions in accordance with what is deemed necessary to help avoid dangerous climate change and to protect their human rights.

38 CFR 1.205 - Notification to the Attorney General or United States Attorney's Office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Attorney General or United States Attorney's Office. 1.205 Section 1.205 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS GENERAL PROVISIONS Referrals of Information Regarding Criminal Violations § 1.205 Notification to the Attorney General or United States Attorney's Office. VA police and/or...

Energy and cost associated with ventilating office buildings in a tropical climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Rim, Donghyun; Schiavon, Stefano; Nazaroff, William W

2015-01-01

Providing sufficient amounts of outdoor air to occupants is a critical building function for supporting occupant health, well-being and productivity. In tropical climates, high ventilation rates require substantial amounts of energy to cool and dehumidify supply air. This study evaluates the energy consumption and associated cost for thermally conditioning outdoor air provided for building ventilation in tropical climates, considering Singapore as an example locale. We investigated the influence on energy consumption and cost of the following factors: outdoor air temperature and humidity, ventilation rate (L/s per person), indoor air temperature and humidity, air conditioning system coefficient of performance (COP), and cost of electricity. Results show that dehumidification of outdoor air accounts for more than 80% of the energy needed for building ventilation in Singapore's tropical climate. Improved system performance and/or a small increase in the indoor temperature set point would permit relatively large ventilation rates (such as 25 L/s per person) at modest or no cost increment. Overall, even in a thermally demanding tropical climate, the energy cost associated with increasing ventilation rate up to 25 L/s per person is less than 1% of the wages of an office worker in an advanced economy like Singapore's. This result implies that the benefits of increasing outdoor air ventilation rate up to 25 L/s per person--which is suggested to provide for productivity increases, lower sick building syndrome symptom prevalence, and reduced sick leave--can be much larger than the incremental cost of ventilation.

Office of Child Support and Enforcement (OCSE) State Wage Alerts

Data.gov (United States)

Social Security Administration — The OCSE State Wage Alert is a quarterly match which detects SSI overpayments by identifying unreported wage and unemployment data provided to the Office of Child...

Changing climate states and stability: from Pliocene to present

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Livina, V.N.; Lenton, T.M. [University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom); Kwasniok, F. [University of Exeter, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Exeter (United Kingdom); Lohmann, G. [Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany); Kantelhardt, J.W. [Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Physics, Theory group, Halle (Germany)

2011-12-15

We present a recently developed method of potential analysis of time series data, which comprises (1) derivation of the number of distinct global states of a system from time series data, and (2) derivation of the potential coefficients describing the location and stability of these states, using the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). We test the method on artificial data and then apply it to climate records spanning progressively shorter time periods from 5.3 Myr ago to the recent observational record. We detect various changes in the number and stability of states in the climate system. The onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation roughly 3 Myr BP is detected as the appearance of a second climate state. During the last ice age in Greenland, there is a bifurcation representing the loss of stability of the warm interstadial state, followed by the total loss of this state around 25 kyr BP. The Holocene is generally characterized by a single stable climate state, especially at large scales. However, in the historical record, at the regional scale, the European monthly temperature anomaly temporarily exhibits a second, highly degenerate (unstable) state during the latter half of the eighteenth century. At the global scale, temperature is currently undergoing a forced movement of a single stable state rather than a bifurcation. The method can be applied to a wide range of geophysical systems with time series of sufficient length and temporal resolution, to look for bifurcations and their precursors. (orig.)

The Self-Perceived Leadership Styles of Chief State School Officers and Models of Educational Governance

Science.gov (United States)

Wiggins, Lori A.

2013-01-01

This study examined the leadership styles of the chief state school officers of the United States and the District of Columbia. The entire population of 51 chief state school officers was surveyed and a response rate of 60% was obtained. The study examined the relationship between the leadership style, select demographic variables, and the…

Public relations in the State Office for Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prochazkova, Radka

2000-01-01

The State Office for Nuclear Safety (SONS) is a government agency. The Office is headed by a chairperson who is appointed by the Czech Government. The Office has got its own budget and reports directly to the Czech Government. SONS was established in 1993 and continued activities of the former Czechoslovak Commission for Atomic Energy. SONS main activity is the central administration and supervision of the peaceful utilization of nuclear power and ionizing radiation and in the field of radiation protection. SONS is regulated mainly by the Atomic Act. A separate department of Public Relations was established last year in SONS especially due to the enactment of the statutory obligation of government agencies to render information. Basic P.R. communication means in the field of external communication include: Information Center; Internet; Press Releases; Publications - publishing regularly or for topical events; Seminars; Meetings; Press conferences; Editorial articles; Answering questions

National Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office

Science.gov (United States)

Goplen, Susan E.; Sloan, Jeff L.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office leads the implementation of UAS technology in the Department of the Interior (DOI). Our mission is to support the transition of UAS into DOI as a new cost-effective tool for collecting remote-sensing data to monitor environmental conditions, respond to natural hazards, recognize the consequences and benefits of land and climate change and conduct wildlife inventories. The USGS is teaming with all DOI agencies and academia as well as local, State, and Tribal governments with guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration and the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS) to lead the safe, efficient, costeffective and leading-edge adoption of UAS technology into the scientific research and operational activities of the DOI.

Climate change law and politics in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerrard, Michael B.

2014-01-01

The United States has an extensive system of environmental law. Congress has passed numerous environmental statutes, but no major ones since 1990. While there was a general consensus on the need for environmental regulation during the 1970s and 1980s, it has broken down and the issue has become the subject of bitter partisan division. One consequence is that the U.S. has no comprehensive statute on climate change, and none appears imminent. A sweeping climate change bill passed the House of Representatives in 2009 but died in the Senate in 2010, and the political situation is such that it now appears that it will be at least several years before Congress enacts any serious climate change legislation. Meanwhile, the federal government is utilizing old statutes, especially the Clean Air Act of 1970, to cobble together a regulatory program. States and regional groupings of states, as well as cities, are also playing important roles in formulating climate change strategies.

Climate change law and politics in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerrard, Michael B. [Columbia Law School New York, NY (United States). Center for Climate Change Law

2014-07-01

The United States has an extensive system of environmental law. Congress has passed numerous environmental statutes, but no major ones since 1990. While there was a general consensus on the need for environmental regulation during the 1970s and 1980s, it has broken down and the issue has become the subject of bitter partisan division. One consequence is that the U.S. has no comprehensive statute on climate change, and none appears imminent. A sweeping climate change bill passed the House of Representatives in 2009 but died in the Senate in 2010, and the political situation is such that it now appears that it will be at least several years before Congress enacts any serious climate change legislation. Meanwhile, the federal government is utilizing old statutes, especially the Clean Air Act of 1970, to cobble together a regulatory program. States and regional groupings of states, as well as cities, are also playing important roles in formulating climate change strategies.

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...

Obama states obligation to act on climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2012-11-01

Obama states obligation to act on climate change Noting increased global temperatures, Arctic ice melt, and severe weather events, President Barack Obama said that climate change is real and called for a conversation across the country to determine what can be done about it.

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.

Relationships between ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction of operational officers in a wholesale company, Bangkok Metropolitan region

OpenAIRE

Patthiya Naiyananont; Thipthinna Smuthranond

2017-01-01

This research investigated whether the ethical climate, political behavior, ethical leadership, and job satisfaction in one organization have an impact on each other. The research was conducted using a selected group of 177 operational officers in a wholesale business company in the Bangkok Metropolitan region. The operational officers were recruited from four divisions (commercial, finance, marketing, and administration) using a stratified random sampling approach. The majority was female an...

Electricity use characteristics of purpose-built office buildings in subtropical climates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lam, Joseph C.; Chan, Ricky Y.C.; Tsang, C.L.; Li, Danny H.W.

2004-01-01

The electricity use characteristics of 20 air conditioned office buildings in the public sector in subtropical Hong Kong were investigated. Monthly electricity consumption data were gathered and analysed. The annual electricity use per unit gross floor area ranged from 163 to 389 kW h/m 2 , with a mean of 270 kW h/m 2 . Detailed energy audits and site surveys were conducted to obtain a breakdown of the energy use. The percentage consumption for the four major electricity end users, namely heating, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting, electrical equipment and lifts and escalators were 47.5%, 27.4%, 21.8% and 3.3%, respectively. Regression techniques were used to correlate the monthly electricity use with the design and climatic variables. This paper presents the work and discusses the energy use implications

Firearm Prevalence and Homicides of Law Enforcement Officers in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Swedler, David I; Simmons, Molly M; Dominici, Francesca; Hemenway, David

2015-10-01

In the United States, state firearm ownership has been correlated with homicide rates. More than 90% of homicides of law enforcement officers (LEOs) are committed with firearms. We examined the relationship between state firearm ownership rates and LEO occupational homicide rates. We obtained the number LEOs killed from 1996 to 2010 from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) database. We calculated homicide rates per state as the number of officers killed per number of LEOs per state, obtained from another FBI database. We obtained the mean household firearm ownership for each state from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Using Poisson regression and controlling for factors known to affect homicide rates, we associated firearm ownership with the homicide rates for LEOs (incidence rate ratio = 1.044; P = .005); our results were supported by cross-sectional and longitudinal sensitivity analyses. LEO homicide rates were 3 times higher in states with high firearm ownership compared with states with low firearm ownership. High public gun ownership is a risk for occupational mortality for LEOs in the United States. States could consider methods for reducing firearm ownership as a way to reduce occupational deaths of LEOs.

Integrating climate change into northeast and midwest State Wildlife Action Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Staudinger, Michelle D.; Morelli, Toni Lyn; Bryan, Alexander

2015-01-01

The Department of Interior Northeast Climate Science Center (NE CSC) conducts research that responds to the regional natural resource management community’s needs to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change. The NE CSC is supported by a consortium of partners that includes the University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Menominee Nation, Columbia University, Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri Columbia, and University of Wisconsin. The NE CSC also engages and collaborates with a diversity of other federal, state, academic, tribal, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to conduct collaborative, stakeholder-driven, and climate-focused work. The State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) are revised every 10 years; states are currently working towards a target deadline of October 2015. SWAP coordinators have been challenged to incorporate climate change impacts and species responses into their current revisions. This synthesis is intended to inform the science going into Northeast and Midwest SWAPs across the 22 NE CSC states ranging from Maine to Virginia, and Minnesota and Missouri in the eastern United States. It is anticipated that this synthesis will help guide SWAP authors in writing specific sections, help revise and finalize existing sections, or be incorporated as an appendix or addendum. The purpose of this NE CSC-led cooperative report is to provide a synthesis of what is known and what is uncertain about climate change and its impacts across the NE CSC region, with a particular focus on the responses and vulnerabilities of Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) and the habitats they depend on. Another goal is to describe a range of climate change adaptation approaches, processes, tools, and potential partnerships that are available to State natural resource managers across the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States. Through illustrative case studies submitted by the NE CSC and

75 FR 29217 - Office of the Attorney General; Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems; Removal...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-25

... Office of the Attorney General; Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems; Removal of Final Rule AGENCY: Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice. ACTION: Notice of proposed... the Attorney General has certified ``that [the] State has established a mechanism for providing...

Glazed yard climate in the Kredittkassen office block in Middelthunsgt. 17. [Oslo, Norway]. Glassgaardsklima i Kredittkassens kontorbygg i Middelthunsgt. 17

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novakovic, V; Harsem, T T

1986-09-01

The report deals with the glazed yard climate in the Kredittkassen head office block in Oslo (Norway). The climate has been simulated by means of the computer program Royal-DEBAK. Considered in particular are the summery and bright sunny day conditions together with the annual power required and energy consumption. The use of insulating glasses, indoor curtains, ventilation systems in the narrow zone of the glass roof, and cooling systems in the floor are important parts of the concept. 9 drawings.

BASINs 4.0 Climate Assessment Tool (CAT): Supporting ...

Science.gov (United States)

EPA announced the availability of the report, BASINS 4.0 Climate Assessment Tool (CAT): Supporting Documentation and User's Manual. This report was prepared by the EPA's Global Change Research Program (GCRP), an assessment-oriented program, that sits within the Office of Research and Development, that focuses on assessing how potential changes in climate and other global environmental stressors may impact water quality, air quality, aquatic ecosystems, and human health in the United States. The Program’s focus on water quality is consistent with the Research Strategy of the U.S. Climate Change Research Program—the federal umbrella organization for climate change science in the U.S. government—and is responsive to U.S. EPA’s mission and responsibilities as defined by the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. A central goal of the EPA GCRP is to provide EPA program offices, Regions, and other stakeholders with tools and information for assessing and responding to any potential future impacts of climate change. In 2007, the EPA Global Change Research Program (GCRP), in partnership with the EPA Office of Water, supported development of a Climate Assessment Tool (CAT) for version 4 of EPA’s BASINS modeling system. This report provides supporting documentation and user support materials for the BASINS CAT tool. The purpose of this report is to provide in a single document a variety of documentation and user support materials supporting the use

State Wildlife Action Plans as Tools for Adapting to a Continuously Changing Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Metivier, D. W.; Yocum, H.; Ray, A. J.

2015-12-01

Public land management plans are potentially powerful policies for building sustainability and adaptive capacity. Land managers are recognizing the need to respond to numerous climate change impacts on natural and human systems. For the first time, in 2015, the federal government required each state to incorporate climate change into their State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAP) as a condition for funding. As important land management tools, SWAPs have the potential to guide state agencies in shaping and implementing practices for climate change adaptation. Intended to be revised every ten years, SWAPs can change as conditions and understanding of climate change evolves. This study asks what practices are states using to integrate climate change, and how does this vary between states? To answer this question, we conducted a broad analysis among seven states (CO, MT, NE, ND, SD, UT, WY) and a more in-depth analysis of four states (CO, ND, SD, WY). We use seven key factors that represent best practices for incorporating climate change identified in the literature. These best practices are species prioritization, key habitats, threats, monitoring, partnerships and participation, identification of management options, and implementation of management options. The in-depth analysis focuses on how states are using climate change information for specific habitats addressed in the plans. We find that states are integrating climate change in many different ways, showing varying degrees of sophistication and preparedness. We summarize different practices and highlight opportunities to improve the effectiveness of plans through: communication tools across state lines and stakeholders, explicit targeting of key habitats, enforcement and monitoring progress and success, and conducting vulnerability analyses that incorporate topics beyond climate and include other drivers, trajectories, and implications of historic and future land-use change.

State Policies on School Climate and Bully Prevention Efforts: Challenges and Opportunities for Deepening State Policy Support for Safe and Civil Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Piscatelli, Jennifer; Lee, Chiqueena

2011-01-01

The National School Climate Center (NSCC) completed a 50-state policy scan on state school climate and anti-bullying policies to better understand the current state policy infrastructure supporting the development of positive school climates. This policy brief examines the current status of school climate and anti-bullying policies in each state,…

7 CFR 1900.3 - State, district, and county office employees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false State, district, and county office employees. 1900.3 Section 1900.3 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF...

7 CFR 1900.2 - National office staff and state directors.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false National office staff and state directors. 1900.2 Section 1900.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF...

Firearm Prevalence and Homicides of Law Enforcement Officers in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, Molly M.; Dominici, Francesca; Hemenway, David

2015-01-01

Objectives. In the United States, state firearm ownership has been correlated with homicide rates. More than 90% of homicides of law enforcement officers (LEOs) are committed with firearms. We examined the relationship between state firearm ownership rates and LEO occupational homicide rates. Methods. We obtained the number LEOs killed from 1996 to 2010 from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) database. We calculated homicide rates per state as the number of officers killed per number of LEOs per state, obtained from another FBI database. We obtained the mean household firearm ownership for each state from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Results. Using Poisson regression and controlling for factors known to affect homicide rates, we associated firearm ownership with the homicide rates for LEOs (incidence rate ratio = 1.044; P = .005); our results were supported by cross-sectional and longitudinal sensitivity analyses. LEO homicide rates were 3 times higher in states with high firearm ownership compared with states with low firearm ownership. Conclusions. High public gun ownership is a risk for occupational mortality for LEOs in the United States. States could consider methods for reducing firearm ownership as a way to reduce occupational deaths of LEOs. PMID:26270316

Thermal performance of air-conditioned office buildings constructed with inclined walls in different climates in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, A.L.S.; Chow, T.T.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A generic fully air-conditioned office building with inclined walls was modeled. • Simulations were run under climatic conditions in three modern cities in China. • Reduction in cooling load can outweigh the increase in heating load for Hong Kong. • Inclined angle of 30° is appropriate for inverted pyramidal building in Hong Kong. • Building constructed with inclined walls is not encouraged in Shanghai and Beijing. - Abstract: An inverted pyramidal building is built with inclined walls instead of the traditional vertical façades. In terms of thermal performance, an inverted pyramidal building can provide a self-shading effect against the beam solar radiation, leading to a reduction in solar heat gain as well as building cooling load. On the other hand, the heating requirement of an inverted pyramidal building will be increased in winter. There is a strong dependency of building performance on the climatic condition. In this study, a generic air-conditioned office building with inclined walls set at different inclination angles was modeled using a building energy simulation program. Computer simulations were run to assess the thermal performance of the building constructed with inclined walls under different climatic conditions in three modern cities in China–Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. The results reveal that for the building cases with inclined walls set at different inclination angles in subtropical Hong Kong, the saving in annual cooling load ranges from 0.6% to 10.9% and can outweigh the increase in heating load. Moreover, an inclination angle of 30° was found as a better design option for an inverted pyramidal building with symmetrical layout design under the climatic condition in Hong Kong. For the other two cities: Shanghai and Beijing, the saving in cooling load due to self-shading effect cannot offset the increased heating requirement. Design and construction of an inverted pyramidal building is not encouraged in these two

Office-like Test Chambers to Measure Cool Roof Energy Savings in Four Indian Climates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arumugam, Rathish [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); B, Sasank [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); T, Rajappa [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); N, Vinay [Saint Gobain Research India Pvt. Ltd. (India); Garg, Vishal [International Inst. of Information Technology, Hyderabad (India); Reddy, Niranjan [International Inst. of Information Technology, Hyderabad (India); Levinson, Ronnen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-08-21

Selecting a high albedo (solar reflectance) waterproofing layer on the top of a roof helps lower the roof’s surface temperature and reduce the air conditioning energy consumption in the top floor of a building. The annual energy savings depend on factors including weather, internal loads, and building operation schedule. To demonstrate the energy saving potential of high albedo roofs, an apparatus consisting of two nearly identical test chambers (A and B) has been built in four Indian climates: Chennai (hot & humid), Bangalore (temperate), Jhagadia (Hot & dry) and Delhi (composite). Each chamber has well-insulated walls to mimic the core of an office building. Both chambers have the same construction, equipment, and operating schedule, differing only in roof surface. The reinforced cement concrete roof of Chamber A is surfaced with a low-albedo cement layer, while that of Chamber B is surfaced with a high-albedo water proof membrane (change in solar reflectance of 0.28). The experiment will be carried out for one year to explore seasonal variations in energy savings. Initial results in the month of July (post summer) shows that savings from high albedo roof ranges from 0.04 kWh/m2/day in temperate climates, to 0.08 kWh/m2/day in hot & dry climate.

Edge states in the climate system: exploring global instabilities and critical transitions

Science.gov (United States)

Lucarini, Valerio; Bódai, Tamás

2017-07-01

Multistability is a ubiquitous feature in systems of geophysical relevance and provides key challenges for our ability to predict a system’s response to perturbations. Near critical transitions small causes can lead to large effects and—for all practical purposes—irreversible changes in the properties of the system. As is well known, the Earth climate is multistable: present astronomical and astrophysical conditions support two stable regimes, the warm climate we live in, and a snowball climate characterized by global glaciation. We first provide an overview of methods and ideas relevant for studying the climate response to forcings and focus on the properties of critical transitions in the context of both stochastic and deterministic dynamics, and assess strengths and weaknesses of simplified approaches to the problem. Following an idea developed by Eckhardt and collaborators for the investigation of multistable turbulent fluid dynamical systems, we study the global instability giving rise to the snowball/warm multistability in the climate system by identifying the climatic edge state, a saddle embedded in the boundary between the two basins of attraction of the stable climates. The edge state attracts initial conditions belonging to such a boundary and, while being defined by the deterministic dynamics, is the gate facilitating noise-induced transitions between competing attractors. We use a simplified yet Earth-like intermediate complexity climate model constructed by coupling a primitive equations model of the atmosphere with a simple diffusive ocean. We refer to the climatic edge states as Melancholia states and provide an extensive analysis of their features. We study their dynamics, their symmetry properties, and we follow a complex set of bifurcations. We find situations where the Melancholia state has chaotic dynamics. In these cases, we have that the basin boundary between the two basins of attraction is a strange geometric set with a nearly zero

The changing world of climate change: Oregon leads the states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carver, P.H.; Sadler, S.; Kosloff, L.H.; Trexler, M.C.

1997-01-01

Following on the heels of recent national and international developments in climate change policy, Oregon's open-quote best-of-batch close-quote proceeding has validated the use of CO 2 offsets as a cost-effective means of advancing climate change mitigation goals. The proceeding was a first in several respects and represents a record commitment of funds to CO 2 mitigation by a private entity. In December 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), issued its Second Assessment Report. The IPCC's conclusion that open-quotes[t]he balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climateclose quotes fundamentally changed the tenor of the policy debate regarding potential threats associated with global climate change. At the Climate Change Convention's Conference of the Parties (COP) in Geneva in July 1996, most countries, including the United States, advocated adopting the IPCC report as the basis for swift policy movement toward binding international emissions targets. The next COP, in December 1997, is scheduled to be the venue for the signing of a treaty protocol incorporating such targets. Binding targets would have major consequences for power plant operators in the US and around the world. Recent developments in the state of Oregon show the kinds of measures that may become commonplace at the state level in addressing climate change mitigation. First, Oregon recently completed the first administrative proceeding in the US aimed at offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions of a new power plant. Second, a legislatively mandated energy facility siting task force recently recommended that Oregon adopt a carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) standard for new power plant construction and drop use of the open-quotes need for powerclose quotes standard. This article reviews these two policy milestones and their implications for climate change mitigation in the United States

Forestry in times of climatic change. From adaptation to climate protection; Forstwirtschaft in Zeiten des Klimawandels. Von Anpassung bis Klimaschutz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

The notification 30/2010 of the Thuringian State Institute for Forest, Hunting and Fishing (Gotha, Federal Republic of Germany) reports on the forest management in times of the climatic changes. This notification consists of the following contributions: (1) Perception of the climatic change by private forest owners - A social-scientific investigation (Stefanie Rimkus); (2) Fundamentals for the designation of the inventory destination types adapted to climatic change for Thuringia (Nico Frischbier); (3) Recommendations of tree species adapted to climatic change for the forestry practice in Thuringia (Wolfgang Arenhoevel); (4) Development of carbon storage in the state-owned forest Thuringia (Thomas Wutzler); (5) The carbon inventories in copper beech forests (Fagus Sylvatica L.) under the influence of different silvicultural treatment (Martina Mund); (6) Wood products for the climate protection - The state of the art in Thuringia (Ingolf Profft); (7) HABIT-CHANGE - 'Adaptive management of climate-induced changes of habitat diversity in protected areas' (Nico Frischbier); (8) Cultivation experiences of non-indigenous tree species (Wolfgang Ahrenhoevel); (9) Registration of damages of the storm 'Xynthia' in the forestry office Bad Salzungen by means of ANDROMEDA {sup registered} data (Herbert Sagischewski); (10) www.waldundklima.net - The open internet portal on forest, wood and climate (Ingolf Profft).

Energy savings due to daylight and artificial lighting integration in office buildings in hot climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Ashwal, Nagib T. [Sana' a University, Sana' a (Yemen); Budaiwi, Ismail M. [King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

2011-07-01

Reducing energy consumption while maintaining acceptable environmental quality in buildings has been a challenging task for building professionals. In office buildings, artificial lighting systems are a major consumer of energy and can significantly contribute to building cooling load. Furthermore, although reliable, artificial lighting does not necessarily provide the required quality of lighting. Significant improvement in lighting quality and energy consumption can be achieved by proper integration of daylight and artificial lighting. The objective of this study is to investigate the energy performance of office buildings resulting from daylight and artificial lighting integration in hot climates. A parametric analysis is conducted to find the impact of different window design parameters, including window area, height and glazing type, on building energy performance. Results have shown that as much as 35% reduction in lighting energy consumption and 13% reduction in total energy consumption can be obtained when proper daylighting and artificial lighting integration is achieved.

Climate protection targets in the German federal states; Klimaschutzziele in den deutschen Bundeslaendern

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biedermann, Anna

2011-07-15

With respect to the embankment of the climatic change, the Federal Republic of Germany has set itself to reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions by 40 % till to the year 2020 in comparison to 1990. Also, the most federal states want to contribute to the climate protection and therefore have adopted appropriate reduction targets. The main aim of the contribution under consideration is to make the climate protection goals of the federal states comparable with each other and with the 40 % target of the federal government. Therefore, the author first of all reports on the options for action of the federal states in the climate protection. Then the methods are presented with which the federal states balance their greenhouse gas emissions. The goals adopted by the federal states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not sufficient to meet the climate target of the federal government.

Genital Herpes - Initial Visits to Physicians' Offices, United States, 1966-2012

Science.gov (United States)

... Archive Data & Statistics Sexually Transmitted Diseases Figure 48. Genital Herpes — Initial Visits to Physicians’ Offices, United States, 1966 – ... Statistics page . NOTE : The relative standard errors for genital herpes estimates of more than 100,000 range from ...

Climate Justice in Rural Southeastern United States: A Review of Climate Change Impacts and Effects on Human Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutierrez, Kristie S; LePrevost, Catherine E

2016-02-03

Climate justice is a local, national, and global movement to protect at-risk populations who are disproportionately affected by climate change. The social context for this review is the Southeastern region of the United States, which is particularly susceptible to climate change because of the geography of the area and the vulnerabilities of the inhabiting populations. Negative human health effects on variable and vulnerable populations within the Southeast region due to changing climate are concerning, as health threats are not expected to produce parallel effects among all individuals. Vulnerable communities, such as communities of color, indigenous people, the geographically isolated, and those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and already experiencing poor environmental quality, are least able to respond and adapt to climate change. Focusing on vulnerable populations in the Southeastern United States, this review is a synthesis of the recent (2010 to 2015) literature-base on the health effects connected to climate change. This review also addresses local and regional mitigation and adaptation strategies for citizens and leaders to combat direct and indirect human health effects related to a changing climate.

The Role of the Company Officer at the United States Naval Academy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Moxey, Tyrel

2001-01-01

... contributing or not contributing to the mission of the United States Naval Academy. The author conducted 30 questionnaires on the 30 Company Officers stationed at the Naval Academy during this period...

State of the Climate Monthly Overview - Global El Niño/Southern Oscillation

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The State of the Climate is a collection of periodic summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The State of the Climate...

Crop Yield Simulations Using Multiple Regional Climate Models in the Southwestern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Stack, D.; Kafatos, M.; Kim, S.; Kim, J.; Walko, R. L.

2013-12-01

Agricultural productivity (described by crop yield) is strongly dependent on climate conditions determined by meteorological parameters (e.g., temperature, rainfall, and solar radiation). California is the largest producer of agricultural products in the United States, but crops in associated arid and semi-arid regions live near their physiological limits (e.g., in hot summer conditions with little precipitation). Thus, accurate climate data are essential in assessing the impact of climate variability on agricultural productivity in the Southwestern United States and other arid regions. To address this issue, we produced simulated climate datasets and used them as input for the crop production model. For climate data, we employed two different regional climate models (WRF and OLAM) using a fine-resolution (8km) grid. Performances of the two different models are evaluated in a fine-resolution regional climate hindcast experiment for 10 years from 2001 to 2010 by comparing them to the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) dataset. Based on this comparison, multi-model ensembles with variable weighting are used to alleviate model bias and improve the accuracy of crop model productivity over large geographic regions (county and state). Finally, by using a specific crop-yield simulation model (APSIM) in conjunction with meteorological forcings from the multi-regional climate model ensemble, we demonstrate the degree to which maize yields are sensitive to the regional climate in the Southwestern United States.

Sustained Large-Scale Collective Climate Action Supported by Effective Climate Change Education Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Niepold, F., III; Crim, H.; Fiorile, G.; Eldadah, S.

2017-12-01

Since 2012, the Climate and Energy Literacy community have realized that as cities, nations and the international community seek solutions to global climate change over the coming decades, a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to climate literacy—one that includes economic and social considerations—will play a vital role in knowledgeable planning, decision-making, and governance. City, county and state leaders are now leading the American response to a changing climate by incubating social innovation to prevail in the face of unprecedented change. Cities are beginning to realize the importance of critical investments to support the policies and strategies that will foster the climate literacy necessary for citizens to understand the urgency of climate actions and to succeed in a resilient post-carbon economy and develop the related workforce. Over decade of federal and non-profit Climate Change Education effective methods have been developed that can support municipality's significant educational capabilities for the purpose of strengthening and scaling city, state, business, and education actions designed to sustain and effectively address this significant social change. Looking to foster the effective and innovative strategies that will enable their communities several networks have collaborated to identify recommendations for effective education and communication practices when working with different types of audiences. U.S. National Science Foundation funded Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, NOAA Climate Program Office, Tri-Agency Climate Change Education Collaborative and the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) are working to develop a new web portal that will highlight "effective" practices that includes the acquisition and use of climate change knowledge to inform decision-making. The purpose of the web portal is to transfer effective practice to support communities to be

Regional climate science: lessons and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Mote, P. W.; Miles, E. L.; Whitely Binder, L.

2008-12-01

Since its founding in 1995, the Climate Impacts Group (CIG) at the University of Washington (UW) has achieved remarkable success at translating global- and regional-scale science into forms and products that are useful to, and used by, decision-makers. From GCM scenarios to research on the connection between global climate patterns and locally important factors like floods and wildfires, CIG's strong physical science foundation is matched by a vigorous and successful outreach program. As a result, CIG and its partner the Office of Washington State Climatologist at UW have made substantial progress at bridging the gap between climate science and decision-making, and are deeply involved in advising all levels of government and many business interests on adapting to climate variability and change. This talk will showcase some of the specific activities and tools, describe lessons learned, and illustrate how such efforts fit into a "National Climate Service."

The predictive state: Science, territory and the future of the Indian climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahony, Martin

2014-02-01

Acts of scientific calculation have long been considered central to the formation of the modern nation state, yet the transnational spaces of knowledge generation and political action associated with climate change seem to challenge territorial modes of political order. This article explores the changing geographies of climate prediction through a study of the ways in which climate change is rendered knowable at the national scale in India. The recent controversy surrounding an erroneous prediction of melting Himalayan glaciers by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides a window onto the complex and, at times, antagonistic relationship between the Panel and Indian political and scientific communities. The Indian reaction to the error, made public in 2009, drew upon a national history of contestation around climate change science and corresponded with the establishment of a scientific assessment network, the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment, which has given the state a new platform on which to bring together knowledge about the future climate. I argue that the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment is indicative of the growing use of regional climate models within longer traditions of national territorial knowledge-making, allowing a rescaling of climate change according to local norms and practices of linking scientific knowledge to political action. I illustrate the complex co-production of the epistemic and the normative in climate politics, but also seek to show how co-productionist understandings of science and politics can function as strategic resources in the ongoing negotiation of social order. In this case, scientific rationalities and modes of environmental governance contribute to the contested epistemic construction of territory and the evolving spatiality of the modern nation state under a changing climate.

76 FR 10082 - Office of International Trade; State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Grant Program

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-23

... translation fees, The design of international marketing products or campaigns, An export trade show exhibit... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Office of International Trade; State Trade and Export Promotion... Administrator of the Office of International Trade (OIT) that does not duplicate the services of other SBA...

Ecosystem vulnerability to climate change in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Costanza, Jennifer

2016-08-11

Two recent investigations of climate-change vulnerability for 19 terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, and coastal ecosystems of the southeastern United States have identified a number of important considerations, including potential for changes in hydrology, disturbance regimes, and interspecies interactions. Complementary approaches using geospatial analysis and literature synthesis integrated information on ecosystem biogeography and biodiversity, climate projections, vegetation dynamics, soil and water characteristics, anthropogenic threats, conservation status, sea-level rise, and coastal flooding impacts. Across a diverse set of ecosystems—ranging in size from dozens of square meters to thousands of square kilometers—quantitative and qualitative assessments identified types of climate-change exposure, evaluated sensitivity, and explored potential adaptive capacity. These analyses highlighted key gaps in scientific understanding and suggested priorities for future research. Together, these studies help create a foundation for ecosystem-level analysis of climate-change vulnerability to support effective biodiversity conservation in the southeastern United States.

CHANGES IN CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS AND CROP YIELD IN KWARA STATE (NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Oriola

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper assessed the vagaries of climatic elements on crop yield in Kwara State with a view to predicting the future climatic suitability level for selected crops in the state. Descriptive and infrential statistics analytical methods were used to examine the pattern of climatic elements for a period of 30 years. Analysis of variance was used to examine the variations in crop yield and also to determine whether or not significant differences in the harvests of the period under investigation. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between climatic elements and crop yield while multiple regression analysis was used to determine the contribution of each climatic elements to crop yield. Time series analysis was used to project crop yield from 2014 to 2025. GAEZ model was adopted to determine the climatic suitability for the selected crops over time 1960 - 2050 and ArcGIS 10.3 software was used to produce the crop suitability maps. The result revealed that cassava, yam, maize and cowpea would be less suitable for production with the rate at which the climate is changing. The result also revealed that the climatic suitability level for cassava, yam, maize and cowpea would reduce drastically with time. The prediction shows severe impacts of changes in the selected climatic elements on both overall climatic suitability and crop the selected crops yield for by 2050.

Climate Justice in Rural Southeastern United States: A Review of Climate Change Impacts and Effects on Human Health

OpenAIRE

Gutierrez, Kristie S.; LePrevost, Catherine E.

2016-01-01

Climate justice is a local, national, and global movement to protect at-risk populations who are disproportionately affected by climate change. The social context for this review is the Southeastern region of the United States, which is particularly susceptible to climate change because of the geography of the area and the vulnerabilities of the inhabiting populations. Negative human health effects on variable and vulnerable populations within the Southeast region due to changing climate are ...

Climate and climate variability of the wind power resources in the Great Lakes region of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

X. Li; S. Zhong; X. Bian; W.E. Heilman

2010-01-01

The climate and climate variability of low-level winds over the Great Lakes region of the United States is examined using 30 year (1979-2008) wind records from the recently released North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), a three-dimensional, high-spatial and temporal resolution, and dynamically consistent climate data set. The analyses focus on spatial distribution...

76 FR 82279 - Electronic Delivery of Search Results From the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-30

...] Electronic Delivery of Search Results From the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the European... United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recently begun electronic delivery of search... the search results from a previously filed patent application to which the European patent application...

United States Army Officer Professional Development: Black Officers' Perspectives

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johnson, Craig

1997-01-01

.... Even so, they have not fared statistically as well as their majority contemporaries. These statistics pose interesting questions about black officer professional development and career progress...

Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward Climate Change in the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

David Himmelfarb; John Schelhas; Sarah Hitchner; Cassandra Johnson Gaither; KathErine Dunbar; J. Peter Brosius

2014-01-01

Despite a global scientific consensus on the anthropogenic nature of climate change, the issue remains highly contentious in the United States, stifling public debate and action on the issue. Local perceptions of and attitudes toward climate change-how different groups of people outside of the professional climate science community make sense of changes in climate in...

Assessing the near-term risk of climate uncertainty : interdependencies among the U.S. states.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loose, Verne W.; Lowry, Thomas Stephen; Malczynski, Leonard A.; Tidwell, Vincent Carroll; Stamber, Kevin Louis; Reinert, Rhonda K.; Backus, George A.; Warren, Drake E.; Zagonel, Aldo A.; Ehlen, Mark Andrew; Klise, Geoffrey T.; Vargas, Vanessa N.

2010-04-01

Policy makers will most likely need to make decisions about climate policy before climate scientists have resolved all relevant uncertainties about the impacts of climate change. This study demonstrates a risk-assessment methodology for evaluating uncertain future climatic conditions. We estimate the impacts of climate change on U.S. state- and national-level economic activity from 2010 to 2050. To understand the implications of uncertainty on risk and to provide a near-term rationale for policy interventions to mitigate the course of climate change, we focus on precipitation, one of the most uncertain aspects of future climate change. We use results of the climate-model ensemble from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report 4 (AR4) as a proxy for representing climate uncertainty over the next 40 years, map the simulated weather from the climate models hydrologically to the county level to determine the physical consequences on economic activity at the state level, and perform a detailed 70-industry analysis of economic impacts among the interacting lower-48 states. We determine the industry-level contribution to the gross domestic product and employment impacts at the state level, as well as interstate population migration, effects on personal income, and consequences for the U.S. trade balance. We show that the mean or average risk of damage to the U.S. economy from climate change, at the national level, is on the order of $1 trillion over the next 40 years, with losses in employment equivalent to nearly 7 million full-time jobs.

Climate change, humidity, and mortality in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Barreca, Alan I.

2014-01-01

This paper estimates the effects of humidity and temperature on mortality rates in the United States (c. 1973–2002) in order to provide an insight into the potential health impacts of climate change. I find that humidity, like temperature, is an important determinant of mortality. Coupled with Hadley CM3 climate-change predictions, I project that mortality rates are likely to change little on the aggregate for the United States. However, distributional impacts matter: mortality rates are likely to decline in cold and dry areas, but increase in hot and humid areas. Further, accounting for humidity has important implications for evaluating these distributional effects. PMID:25328254

11 CFR 100.84 - Office building for State, local, or district party committees or organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Office building for State, local, or district party committees or organizations. 100.84 Section 100.84 Federal Elections FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION GENERAL SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS (2 U.S.C. 431) Exceptions to Contributions § 100.84 Office building for...

11 CFR 100.144 - Office building for State, local, or district party committees or organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Office building for State, local, or district party committees or organizations. 100.144 Section 100.144 Federal Elections FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION GENERAL SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS (2 U.S.C. 431) Exceptions to Expenditures § 100.144 Office building for...

Safety in the c-suite: How chief executive officers influence organizational safety climate and employee injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Sean; Ogunfowora, Babatunde; Ehr, Dayle

2016-09-01

According to social learning theory, powerful and high status individuals can significantly influence the behaviors of others. In this paper, we propose that chief executive officers (CEOs) indirectly impact frontline injuries through the collective social learning experiences and effort of different groups of organizational actors-including members of the top management team (TMT), organizational supervisors, and frontline employees. We found support for our collective social learning model using data from 2,714 frontline employees, 1,398 supervisors, and 229 members of TMTs in 54 organizations. TMT members' experiences within a CEO-driven TMT safety climate was positively related to organizational supervisors' reports of the broader organizational safety climate and their subsequent collective support for safety (reported by frontline employees). In turn, supervisory support for safety was associated with fewer employee injuries at the individual level. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for workplace safety research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The United States and international climate cooperation: International 'pull' versus domestic 'push'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Guri; Froyn, Camilla Bretteville; Hovi, Jon; Menz, Fredric C.

2007-01-01

The US government is being pressured by both international and domestic influences to re-engage in international climate control. This paper considers whether the international 'pull' and the domestic 'push' will be strong enough to accomplish this. First, we discuss whether changes in the architecture of the current climate regime might induce the United States to re-engage at the international level. We argue that the United States is unlikely to rejoin any global climate regime that is based on the Kyoto architecture, even if Kyoto were to be 'reformed'. Second, we discuss whether domestic political developments might eventually cause the United States to re-engage. We conclude that US re-engagement is likely to require the emergence of a new climate regime that basically extends US regulation to other countries. However, the forging of a unified US climate policy is still in the making. Furthermore, a new regime can gain widespread participation only if the Kyoto countries accept the idea of replacing Kyoto with some alternative architecture, which seems unlikely in the near future

The United States and international climate cooperation: international ''pull'' versus domestic ''push''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, G.; Froyn, C.B.; Hovi, J.; Menz, F.C.; Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY

2007-01-01

The US government is being pressured by both international and domestic influences to re-engage in international climate control. This paper considers whether the international ''pull'' and the domestic ''push'' will be strong enough to accomplish this. First, we discuss whether changes in the architecture of the current climate regime might induce the United States to re-engage at the international level. We argue that the United States is unlikely to rejoin any global climate regime that is based on the Kyoto architecture, even if Kyoto were to be ''reformed''. Second, we discuss whether domestic political developments might eventually cause the United States to re-engage. We conclude that US re-engagement is likely to require the emergence of a new climate regime that basically extends US regulation to other countries. However, the forging of a unified US climate policy is still in the making. Furthermore, a new regime can gain widespread participation only if the Kyoto countries accept the idea of replacing Kyoto with some alternative architecture, which seems unlikely in the near future. (author)

Global Climate Change Impacts in the Sinaloa State, México

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Miguel Flores Campaña

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The variation of environmental conditions deriving from global climate change in the state of Sinaloa and its impact on the region's main productive activities have not been sufficiently studied. The article describes various phenomena associated with climate change and its consequences for Sinaloa, analyzes the scarce climate scenarios that include the region, and discusses the modifications caused by tropical cyclones and interannual changes. It also discusses the repercussions of climate change on agricultural activity and aspects related to sea level rise. Finally, the text empathizes on the lack of local estimations and studies that could serve as base for improved planning strategies and initiatives to facilitate adaptation to climate change in the region.

3 CFR - Designation of Officers of the United States Section, International Boundary and Water Commission...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Designation of Officers of the United States Section, International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico To Act as the Commissioner of the United... States and Mexico To Act as the Commissioner of the United States Section Memorandum for the Commissioner...

Climate uncertainty and implications for U.S. state-level risk assessment through 2050.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loose, Verne W.; Lowry, Thomas Stephen; Malczynski, Leonard A.; Tidwell, Vincent Carroll; Stamber, Kevin Louis; Kelic, Andjelka; Backus, George A.; Warren, Drake E.; Zagonel, Aldo A.; Ehlen, Mark Andrew; Klise, Geoffrey T.; Vargas, Vanessa N.

2009-10-01

Decisions for climate policy will need to take place in advance of climate science resolving all relevant uncertainties. Further, if the concern of policy is to reduce risk, then the best-estimate of climate change impacts may not be so important as the currently understood uncertainty associated with realizable conditions having high consequence. This study focuses on one of the most uncertain aspects of future climate change - precipitation - to understand the implications of uncertainty on risk and the near-term justification for interventions to mitigate the course of climate change. We show that the mean risk of damage to the economy from climate change, at the national level, is on the order of one trillion dollars over the next 40 years, with employment impacts of nearly 7 million labor-years. At a 1% exceedance-probability, the impact is over twice the mean-risk value. Impacts at the level of individual U.S. states are then typically in the multiple tens of billions dollar range with employment losses exceeding hundreds of thousands of labor-years. We used results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report 4 (AR4) climate-model ensemble as the referent for climate uncertainty over the next 40 years, mapped the simulated weather hydrologically to the county level for determining the physical consequence to economic activity at the state level, and then performed a detailed, seventy-industry, analysis of economic impact among the interacting lower-48 states. We determined industry GDP and employment impacts at the state level, as well as interstate population migration, effect on personal income, and the consequences for the U.S. trade balance.

Changing Climates @ Colorado State: 100 (Multidisciplinary) Views of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, S.; Calderazzo, J.; Changing Climates, Cmmap Education; Diversity Team

2011-12-01

We would like to talk about a multidisciplinary education and outreach program we co-direct at Colorado State University, with support from an NSF-funded STC, CMMAP, the Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes. We are working to raise public literacy about climate change by providing information that is high quality, up to date, thoroughly multidisciplinary, and easy for non-specialists to understand. Our primary audiences are college-level students, their teachers, and the general public. Our motto is Climate Change is Everybody's Business. To encourage and help our faculty infuse climate-change content into their courses, we have organized some 115 talks given by as many different speakers-speakers drawn from 28 academic departments, all 8 colleges at CSU, and numerous other entities from campus, the community, and farther afield. We began with a faculty-teaching-faculty series and then broadened our attentions to the whole campus and surrounding community. Some talks have been for narrowly focused audiences such as extension agents who work on energy, but most are for more eclectic groups of students, staff, faculty, and citizens. We count heads at most events, and our current total is roughly 6,000. We have created a website (http://changingclimates.colostate.edu) that includes videotapes of many of these talks, short videos we have created, and annotated sources that we judge to be accurate, interesting, clearly written, and aimed at non-specialists, including books, articles and essays, websites, and a few items specifically for college teachers (such as syllabi). Pages of the website focus on such topics as how the climate works / how it changes; what's happening / what might happen; natural ecosystems; agriculture; impacts on people; responses from ethics, art, literature; communication; daily life; policy; energy; and-pulling all the pieces together-the big picture. We have begun working on a new series of very short videos that can be

Optimizing the Distribution of United States Army Officers

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McElroy, Jeremy S

2005-01-01

.... The Army responds to imbalances by redistributing officers to provide each location with the minimum required officers while minimizing the number of unfilled targets and excess officers at each location...

INVESTIGATING THE RELATION BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR IN THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION OFFICES EMPLOYEES IN MAZANDARAN PROVINCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmadizadeh Zahra

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose : The aim of present study was to investigate the relation between organizational atmosphere and organizational citizenship behavior of Mazandaran province physical education offices staff. Material : This is a correlation and descriptive study, and also a field study. Statistical population of the study was the whole staff of Mazandaran province offices of physical education in 1390 (N=188, that 127 of them were selected randomly and with allocating coordination method. Tools for collecting data were three questionnaires, (1 individual characteristics questionnaire, (2 organizational citizenship behavior questionnaire of Bell and Mangog, and (3 organizational climate questionnaire of Sussman & Deep. To analyze data we used descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient and multi-variable regression. Results : Study results showed a significant positive relation between organizational climate and its factors with staff organizational citizenship behavior (p≤0/01. Also step-by-step multi-variable regression analyze showed that goal and communication factors are good predictors of organizational citizenship behavior of physical education headquarters staff, respectively (p≤0/01. Conclusions : According to results we recommend that sport organizations managers through creating positive organizational atmosphere, goal clarity and more staff interactions, can increase the outbreak of organizational citizenship behavior in staff, and finally improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Multivariate geostatistical application for climate characterization of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

de Carvalho, Luiz G.; de Carvalho Alves, Marcelo; de Oliveira, Marcelo S.; Vianello, Rubens L.; Sediyama, Gilberto C.; de Carvalho, Luis M. T.

2010-11-01

The objective of the present study was to assess for Minas Gerais the cokriging methodology, in order to characterize the spatial variability of Thornthwaite annual moisture index, annual rainfall, and average annual air temperature, based on geographical coordinates, altitude, latitude, and longitude. The climatic element data referred to 39 INMET climatic stations located in the state of Minas Gerais and in nearby areas and the covariables altitude, latitude, and longitude to the SRTM digital elevation model. Spatial dependence of data was observed through spherical cross semivariograms and cross covariance models. Box-Cox and log transformation were applied to the positive variables. In these situations, kriged predictions were back-transformed and returned to the same scale as the original data. Trend was removed using global polynomial interpolation. Universal simple cokriging best characterized the climate variables without tendentiousness and with high accuracy and precision when compared to simple cokriging. Considering the satisfactory implementation of universal simple cokriging for the monitoring of climatic elements, this methodology presents enormous potential for the characterization of climate change impact in Minas Gerais state.

78 FR 35570 - Application Procedures, Execution and Filing of Forms: Correction of State Office Address for...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-13

...] RIN 1004-AE31 Application Procedures, Execution and Filing of Forms: Correction of State Office Address for Filings and Recordings, Including Proper Offices for Recording of Mining Claims; Oregon... administrative final rule amends the regulations pertaining to execution and filing of forms in order to reflect...

12 CFR 987.2 - Law governing rights and obligations of Banks, Finance Board, Office of Finance, United States...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Law governing rights and obligations of Banks, Finance Board, Office of Finance, United States and Federal Reserve Banks; rights of any Person against Banks, Finance Board, Office of Finance, United States and Federal Reserve Banks. 987.2 Section 987.2 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE...

Climatic Action Plan Project for the state of Veracruz (Mexico)

Science.gov (United States)

Tejeda, A.; Ochoa, C.

2007-05-01

With financing of the British Government and support of the National Institute of Ecology, from April of 2006 to March of 2008 an action plan which intends variability effects and climatic change for the state of Veracruz will be made. This plan will be taken to the state government and will be spread out to manufacturers, industrialists and population. Throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the state of Veracruz is a 745 km coast in length with a width that goes from 156 km in the center to 47 km in the north. The state has large mountains, forests, plains, rivers, cascades, lagoons and coasts. Veracruz is the 10th largest state in Mexico with a 72,420 km2 surface, it is located between 17°00' and 22°28' north latitude and between 93°95' and 98°38' west longitude. Because of the orographic effect, the Sierra Madre Oriental causes the existence of many types of climate, from dry to tropical forest, going through snow on the top of the Pico de Orizaba (5747m of altitude). The wind affects the coasts by not allowing to fish during a hundred days a year (particularly in winter), and on summer tropical waves and occasionally hurricanes affect rivers causing overflow and urban floods in fields. These phenomena do not have a regular affectation; they are subject to climate variability effects. Veracruz is the third state with most population in the country (7.1 million people in 2005), only surpassed by the state of Mexico and Mexico City. Although it occupies 3.7% of the national territory, Veracruz has 6.9% of human population in the country, and is the 6th state of PIB national contribution (240 thousands of millions pesos approximately). Of the possible effects of the climatic change the following can be expected: , , : Most of the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, low and sandy, less of a meter on the sea level, represent the most vulnerable territory of Veracruz. Towns will be affected, the saline water will infiltrate until the phreatic mantles and the coast electrical

Biophysical impacts of climate-smart agriculture in the Midwest United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagley, Justin E; Miller, Jesse; Bernacchi, Carl J

2015-09-01

The potential impacts of climate change in the Midwest United States present unprecedented challenges to regional agriculture. In response to these challenges, a variety of climate-smart agricultural methodologies have been proposed to retain or improve crop yields, reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, retain soil quality and increase climate resilience of agricultural systems. One component that is commonly neglected when assessing the environmental impacts of climate-smart agriculture is the biophysical impacts, where changes in ecosystem fluxes and storage of moisture and energy lead to perturbations in local climate and water availability. Using a combination of observational data and an agroecosystem model, a series of climate-smart agricultural scenarios were assessed to determine the biophysical impacts these techniques have in the Midwest United States. The first scenario extended the growing season for existing crops using future temperature and CO2 concentrations. The second scenario examined the biophysical impacts of no-till agriculture and the impacts of annually retaining crop debris. Finally, the third scenario evaluated the potential impacts that the adoption of perennial cultivars had on biophysical quantities. Each of these scenarios was found to have significant biophysical impacts. However, the timing and magnitude of the biophysical impacts differed between scenarios. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

US Climate Variability and Predictability Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patterson, Mike [University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, CO (United States)

2017-11-14

The US CLIVAR Project Office administers the US CLIVAR Program with its mission to advance understanding and prediction of climate variability and change across timescales with an emphasis on the role of the ocean and its interaction with other elements of the Earth system. The Project Office promotes and facilitates scientific collaboration within the US and international climate and Earth science communities, addressing priority topics from subseasonal to centennial climate variability and change; the global energy imbalance; the ocean’s role in climate, water, and carbon cycles; climate and weather extremes; and polar climate changes. This project provides essential one-year support of the Project Office, enabling the participation of US scientists in the meetings of the US CLIVAR bodies that guide scientific planning and implementation, including the scientific steering committee that establishes program goals and evaluates progress of activities to address them, the science team of funded investigators studying the ocean overturning circulation in the Atlantic, and two working groups tackling the priority research topics of Arctic change influence on midlatitude climate and weather extremes and the decadal-scale widening of the tropical belt.

Improving PAQ and comfort conditions in Spanish office buildings with passive climate control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Orosa, Jose A.; Baalina, A. [Departamento de Energia y P.M. Escuela Tecnica Superior de N. y M, Universidade da Coruna, Paseo de Ronda 51, P.C.:15011 A Coruna (Spain)

2009-03-15

Some researchers have demonstrated that passive moisture transfer between indoor air and hygroscopic structures has the potential to moderate variations of indoor air relative humidity and, thus, to improve comfort and PAQ [Simonson CJ, Salonvaara M, Ojalen T. The effect of structures on indoor humidity-possibility to improve comfort and perceived air quality. Indoor Air 2002; 12: 243-51; Simonson CJ, Salonvaara M, Ojalen T. Improving indoor climate and comfort with wooden structures. Espoo 2001. Technical Research Centre of Finland, VTT Publications 431.200p+app 91p]. The main objective of this study is to show the internal wall coating effect on indoor air conditions and, as a consequence of this, in comfort conditions and PAQ. In a previous paper [Orosa JA, Baalina A. Passive climate control in Spanish office buildings for long periods of time. Building and Environment 2008], we analysed the influence of permeable and impermeable materials on indoor air conditions, during the unoccupied period, in 25 office buildings in different seasons. Results obtained lead us to conclude that real coverings such as permeable, semi-permeable and impermeable types, present different behavioural patterns in indoor air conditions. Furthermore, we concluded that an absorbent structure will moderate relative humidity indoors. In this paper, we study this indoor relative humidity effect on local thermal discomfort, due to decreased respiratory cooling, and indoor ambience acceptability for the early hours of morning applying PD and Acc models [Toftum J, Jorgensen AS, Fanger PO. Upper limits for indoor air humidity to avoid uncomfortably humid skin. Energy and buildings 1998; 28: 1-13; Toftum J, Jorgensen AS, Fanger PO. Upper limits of air humidity for preventing warm respiratory discomfort. Energy and Buildings 1998; 28: 15-23] such as that proposed by Simonson et al. [The effect of structures on indoor humidity-possibility to improve comfort and perceived air quality. Indoor Air

Multiple climate and sea ice states on a coupled Aquaplanet

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, B.; Ferreira, D.; Marshall, J.

2010-12-01

A fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice GCM is used to explore the climates of Earth-like planets with no continents and idealized ocean basin geometries. We find three qualitatively different stable equilibria under identical external forcing: an equable ice-free climate, a cold climate with ice caps extending into mid-latitudes, and a completely ice-covered "Snowball" state. These multiple states persist for millennia with no drift despite a full seasonal cycle and vigorous internal variability of the system on all time scales. The behavior of the coupled system is rationalized through an extension of the Budyko-Sellers model to include explicit ocean heat transport (OHT), and the insulation of the ice-covered sea surface. Sensitivity tests are also conducted with a slab ocean GCM with prescribed OHT. From these we conclude that albedo feedback and ocean circulation both play essential roles in the maintenance of the multiple states. OHT in the coupled system is dominated by a wind-driven subtropical cell carrying between 2 and 3 PW of thermal energy out of the deep tropics, most of which converges in the subtropics to lower mid-latitudes. This convergence pattern (similar to modern Earth) is robust to changes in the ocean basin geometry, and is directly responsible for the stabilization of the large ice cap. OHT also plays an essential but indirect role in the maintenance of the ice-free pole in the warm states, by driving an enhanced poleward atmospheric latent heat flux. The hysteresis loop for transitions between the warm and large ice cap states spans a much smaller range of parameter space (e.g. ±1.8% variations in solar constant) than the transitions in and out of the Snowball. Three qualitatively different climate states for the same external forcing in a coupled GCM: ice-free, large ice cap, and Snowball. SST and sea ice thickness are plotted. Similar results are found in a pure Aquaplanet (lower) and a "RidgeWorld" with a global-scale ocean basin

Climate change implications for wind power resources in the Northwest United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sailor, David J.; Smith, Michael; Hart, Melissa

2008-01-01

Using statistically downscaled output from four general circulation models (GCMs), we have investigated scenarios of climate change impacts on wind power generation potential in a five-state region within the Northwest United States (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming). All GCM simulations were extracted from the standardized set of runs created for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Analysis of model runs for the 20th century (20c3m) simulations revealed that the direct output of wind statistics from these models is of relatively poor quality compared with observations at airport weather stations within each state. When the GCM output was statistically downscaled, the resulting estimates of current climate wind statistics are substantially better. Furthermore, in looking at the GCM wind statistics for two IPCC future climate scenarios from the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES A1B and A2), there was significant disagreement in the direct model output from the four GCMs. When statistical downscaling was applied to the future climate simulations, a more coherent story unfolded related to the likely impact of climate change on the region's wind power resource. Specifically, the results suggest that summertime wind speeds in the Northwest may decrease by 5-10%, while wintertime wind speeds may decrease by relatively little, or possibly increase slightly. When these wind statistics are projected to typical turbine hub heights and nominal wind turbine power curves are applied, the impact of the climate change scenarios on wind power may be as high as a 40% reduction in summertime generation potential. (author)

Energy efficient glazed office buildings with double skin facades in Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eriksson, Bo; Blomsterberg, Aake (WSP Environmental (Sweden)). e-mail: bo.eriksson@wspgroup.se

2009-07-01

Many modern office buildings have highly glazed facades. Their energy efficiency and indoor climate are, however, being questioned. Therefore more and more of these buildings are being built with double skin facades, which can provide improvements: A project BESTFACADE, with participants from Austria, Germany, Greece, Portugal (France) and Sweden, was therefore funded by the European Commission (IEE) to actively promote well-performing concepts of double skin facades. Included were best practice guidelines, which included the determination of the energy use and thermal comfort by simulations for warm, mild and cold climates. The main conclusion is that the choice of glazing properties such as glazing area, U-value (thermal transmittance) of the glazing and its profiles, g-value (the total solar energy transmittance) of the glazing and type of solar shading are crucial for the energy and indoor climate performance of an office. The choice of control strategies for ventilation of the cavity and operation of solar shading are crucial. The above choices are very dependant on the climate. Choices which are optimal in a cold climate, will not work very well in a warm climate, and vice versa. From an energy and indoor climate point of view a highly glazed office with a double skin facade is often preferred to a single

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Services Portal: A New Centralized Resource for Distributed Climate Information

Science.gov (United States)

Burroughs, J.; Baldwin, R.; Herring, D.; Lott, N.; Boyd, J.; Handel, S.; Niepold, F.; Shea, E.

2010-09-01

With the rapid rise in the development of Web technologies and climate services across NOAA, there has been an increasing need for greater collaboration regarding NOAA's online climate services. The drivers include the need to enhance NOAA's Web presence in response to customer requirements, emerging needs for improved decision-making capabilities across all sectors of society facing impacts from climate variability and change, and the importance of leveraging climate data and services to support research and public education. To address these needs, NOAA (during fiscal year 2009) embarked upon an ambitious program to develop a NOAA Climate Services Portal (NCS Portal). Four NOAA offices are leading the effort: 1) the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO), 2) the National Ocean Service's Coastal Services Center (CSC), 3) the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC), and 4) the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's (NESDIS) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Other offices and programs are also contributing in many ways to the effort. A prototype NCS Portal is being placed online for public access in January 2010, http://www.climate.gov. This website only scratches the surface of the many climate services across NOAA, but this effort, via direct user engagement, will gradually expand the scope and breadth of the NCS Portal to greatly enhance the accessibility and usefulness of NOAA's climate data and services.

Multifunctional. Glass system walls optimize acoustics, lighting and room climate in open offices; Multifunktional. Glas-Systemwaende optimieren Akustik, Beleuchtung und Klima in offenen Buerolandschaften

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuchs, H.V. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Bauphysik (IBP), Stuttgart (Germany); Renz, J. [renz solutions GmbH, Aidlingen (Germany)

2008-05-15

Acoustics, light and climate are determining factors of thermal comfort in multiple office buildings. Internal structural elements used to take over these ergonomic functions until now; now, all three aspects can be integrated completely and at low cost in new types of glass wall systems. (orig.)

Do psychobiosocial states mediate the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individual motivation in youngsters?

Science.gov (United States)

Bortoli, Laura; Bertollo, Maurizio; Filho, Edson; Robazza, Claudio

2014-01-01

Grounded in achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individuals' motivation as well as the mediation effect of psychobiosocial states as conceptualised within the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model. Young students (N = 167, age range 14-15 years) taking part in physical education classes completed measures of teacher-initiated motivational climate, task and ego orientation, motivation and psychobiosocial states. Simple and serial mediation analyses indicated that a perceived mastery climate and individuals' task orientation were related to intrinsic motivation and identified regulation through the mediation of pleasant/functional psychobiosocial states. In contrast, a perceived performance climate was related to external regulation and amotivation through the mediation of unpleasant/dysfunctional psychobiosocial states. Regression analysis results also showed that discrete psychobiosocial states accounted for a significant proportion of variance in motivational variables. Taken together, findings highlight the role of psychobiosocial states as mediators of the relationship between motivational climate and an individual's motivation, and suggest that educators should consider a wide range of individual's functional and dysfunctional reactions deriving from their instructional activity.

Design methodology and criteria for daylight and thermal comfort in nearly-zero energy office buildings in Nordic climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlsen, Line Røseth

The objective of this PhD thesis was to arrange for an integrated building design with respect to thermal comfort, daylighting and energy use, applicable for office buildings in Nordic climate. In order to achieve this, it is suggested that modelling of mean radiant temperature (MRT) should...... into the simulation tool IDA ICE. Furthermore, the control of solar shading is given attention, since it is a crucial link between the thermal and daylighting performance. The thesis presents results of an occupant survey with 46 subjects, which was carried out to investigate occupants’ preferences towards...

Climate Science Program at California State University, Northridge

Science.gov (United States)

Steele Cox, H.; Klein, D.; Cadavid, A. C.; Foley, B.

2012-12-01

Due to its interdisciplinary nature, climate science poses wide-ranging challenges for science and mathematics students seeking careers in this field. There is a compelling need for universities to provide coherent programs in climate science in order to train future climate scientists. With funding from NASA Innovations in Climate Education (NICE), California State University, Northridge (CSUN), is creating the CSUN Climate Science Program. An interdisciplinary team of faculty members is working in collaboration with UCLA, Santa Monica College and NASA/JPL partners to create a new curriculum in climate science. The resulting sequence of climate science courses, or Pathway for studying the Mathematics of Climate Change (PMCC), is integrated into a Bachelor of Science degree program in the Applied Mathematical Sciences offered by the Mathematics Department at CSUN. The PMCC consists of courses offered by the departments of Mathematics, Physics, and Geography and is designed to prepare students for Ph.D. programs in technical fields relevant to global climate change and related careers. The students who choose to follow this program will be guided to enroll in the following sequence of courses for their 12 units of upper division electives: 1) A newly created course junior level course, Math 396CL, in applied mathematics which will introduce students to applications of vector calculus and differential equations to the study of thermodynamics and atmospheric dynamics. 2) An already existing course, Math 483, with new content on mathematical modeling specialized for this program; 3) An improved version of Phys 595CL on the mathematics and physics of climate change with emphasis on Radiative Transfer; 4) A choice of Geog 407 on Remote Sensing or Geog 416 on Climate Change with updated content to train the students in the analysis of satellite data obtained with the NASA Earth Observing System and instruction in the analysis of data obtained within a Geographical

An assessment of particle filtering methods and nudging for climate state reconstructions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Dubinkina (Svetlana); H. Goosse

2013-01-01

htmlabstractUsing the climate model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM in an idealized framework, we assess three data-assimilation methods for reconstructing the climate state. The methods are a nudging, a particle filter with sequential importance resampling, and a nudging proposal particle

Dr Kathryn Beers, Assistant Director Physical Sciences and Engineering, Office of Science and Technology Policy Executive Office of the President United States of America visit the CMS experiment at point 5.

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2007-01-01

Dr Kathryn Beers, Assistant Director Physical Sciences and Engineering, Office of Science and Technology Policy Executive Office of the President United States of America visit the CMS experiment at point 5.

Twenty year of the State Office for Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drabova, Dana

2013-01-01

This overview of the history of the Office presents information regarding the Czech legal framework for nuclear safety, radiation safety, and scope and authority of the Office, main Office's activities in nuclear safety and radiation safety supervision in the Czech Republic, international cooperation, and the Office's human resources. (P.A.)

Decision-support tools for Extreme Weather and Climate Events in the Northeast United States

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, S.; Lowery, M.; Whelchel, A.

2013-12-01

Decision-support tools were assessed for the 2013 National Climate Assessment technical input document, "Climate Change in the Northeast, A Sourcebook". The assessment included tools designed to generate and deliver actionable information to assist states and highly populated urban and other communities in assessment of climate change vulnerability and risk, quantification of effects, and identification of adaptive strategies in the context of adaptation planning across inter-annual, seasonal and multi-decadal time scales. State-level adaptation planning in the Northeast has generally relied on qualitative vulnerability assessments by expert panels and stakeholders, although some states have undertaken initiatives to develop statewide databases to support vulnerability assessments by urban and local governments, and state agencies. The devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 has raised awareness of the potential for extreme weather events to unprecedented levels and created urgency for action, especially in coastal urban and suburban communities that experienced pronounced impacts - especially in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Planning approaches vary, but any adaptation and resiliency planning process must include the following: - Knowledge of the probable change in a climate variable (e.g., precipitation, temperature, sea-level rise) over time or that the climate variable will attain a certain threshold deemed to be significant; - Knowledge of intensity and frequency of climate hazards (past, current or future events or conditions with potential to cause harm) and their relationship with climate variables; - Assessment of climate vulnerabilities (sensitive resources, infrastructure or populations exposed to climate-related hazards); - Assessment of relative risks to vulnerable resources; - Identification and prioritization of adaptive strategies to address risks. Many organizations are developing decision-support tools to assist in the urban

Lichen communities as climate indicators in the U.S. Pacific States.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert J. Smith; Sarah Jovan; Bruce. McCune

2017-01-01

Epiphytic lichens are bioindicators of climate, air quality, and other forest conditions and may reveal how forests will respond to global changes in the U.S. Pacific States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. We explored climate indication with lichen communities surveyed by using both the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Alaska...

Atmospheric release advisory capability pilot project at two nuclear power plants and associated state offices of emergency preparedness. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, L.C.

1983-01-01

A project to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) limited service with commercial nuclear power plants and their associated state offices of emergency preparedness is discussed. Preliminary planning, installation and testing of the ARAC site facilities at Indian Point Nucler Power Station, New York State; at New York State Office of Emergency Preparedness, Albany, New York; at Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station, California; and at the State of California Office of Emergency Services, Sacramento, California, are summarized. ARAC participation in the Robert E. Ginna nuclear generating plant accident in New York on January 25, 1982, is discussed. The ARAC system is evaluated with emphasis on communications, the suite of models contained within the ARAC system, and the staff. The implications of this project in designing the next-generation ARAC system to service federal and state needs are assessed

[Office employees physiological and psychological state effects of workplace peculiarities comprehensive analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Consumer goods company clerkship working condition hygienic evaluation, psychological state and cardio-vascular system analyses have shown that work tension is governing factor for organism functional strain development in comparison with occupational environment factors. Received data confirm determined before indices comprehension as specific for psychological and cardio-vascular system state reserves decrease degree under mental work tension elevation. For purpose of functional strain and overstrain manifestation before occupational disease incipient character forming early warning "Methodical recommendation on occupational stress under office employees arduous mental work evaluation" was developed.

What is the ARM Climate Research Facility: Is Global Warming a Real Bias or a Statistical Anomaly?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Egami, Takeshi [U of Tennessee and ORNL; Sisterson, Douglas L.

2010-03-10

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research national user facility. With multi-laboratory management of distributed facilities worldwide, the ACRF does not fit the mold of a traditional user facility located at a national laboratory. The ACRF provides the world's most comprehensive 24/7 observational capabilities for obtaining atmospheric data specifically for climate change research. Serving nearly 5,000 registered users from 15 federal and state agencies, 375 universities, and 67 countries, the ACRF Data Archive collects and delivers over 5 terabytes of data per month to its users. The ACRF users provide critical information about cloud formation processes, water vapor, and aerosols, and their influence on radiative transfer in the atmosphere. This information is used to improve global climate model predictions of climate change.

Competence, achievement goals, motivational climate, and pleasant psychobiosocial states in youth sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Bortoli, Laura; Bertollo, Maurizio; Comani, Silvia; Robazza, Claudio

2011-01-01

We examined the three-way interactions among competence (actual and perceived), individuals' dispositional goal orientation (task/ego), and perceived sport motivational climate (mastery/performance) in the prediction of pleasant psychobiosocial states (i.e. emotion, cognition, motivation, bodily reaction, movement, performance, and communication) as conceptualized by the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning model. The sample consisted of 320 Italian youths (160 girls and 160 boys) aged 13-14 years who were involved in individual or team sports. The assessment included a perceived competence scale, a goal orientation questionnaire, a motivational climate inventory, and pleasant psychobiosocial descriptors. An actual competence scale was also administered to coaches asking them to assess their youngsters. Moderated hierarchical regression analysis showed that perceived competence, actual competence, and task orientation were the strongest predictors of pleasant psychobiosocial states. Moreover, actual competence and perceived competence interacted in different ways with dispositional goal orientations and motivational climate perceptions in the prediction of psychobiosocial states. It is therefore recommended that both constructs be included in motivational research.

Aiming for Educated Offices: Curriculum Evolution in Early Professional Military Education in the United States, 1880-1914

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Donovan, William R; Burlbaw, Lynn M

2007-01-01

.... Thus, the need for education of military officers beyond their practical, academy or college-based, training provided the impetus for the establishment of schools that would eventually form the nucleus of today's Professional Military Education (PME) system of command and staff colleges and war colleges for military officers in the United States.

Predicted Changes in Climatic Niche and Climate Refugia of Conservation Priority Salamander Species in the Northeastern United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William B. Sutton

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Global climate change represents one of the most extensive and pervasive threats to wildlife populations. Amphibians, specifically salamanders, are particularly susceptible to the effects of changing climates due to their restrictive physiological requirements and low vagility; however, little is known about which landscapes and species are vulnerable to climate change. Our study objectives included, (1 evaluating species-specific predictions (based on 2050 climate projections and vulnerabilities to climate change and (2 using collective species responses to identify areas of climate refugia for conservation priority salamanders in the northeastern United States. All evaluated salamander species were projected to lose a portion of their climatic niche. Averaged projected losses ranged from 3%–100% for individual species, with the Cow Knob Salamander (Plethodon punctatus, Cheat Mountain Salamander (Plethodon nettingi, Shenandoah Mountain Salamander (Plethodon virginia, Mabee’s Salamander (Ambystoma mabeei, and Streamside Salamander (Ambystoma barbouri predicted to lose at least 97% of their landscape-scale climatic niche. The Western Allegheny Plateau was predicted to lose the greatest salamander climate refugia richness (i.e., number of species with a climatically-suitable niche in a landscape patch, whereas the Central Appalachians provided refugia for the greatest number of species during current and projected climate scenarios. Our results can be used to identify species and landscapes that are likely to be further affected by climate change and potentially resilient habitats that will provide consistent climatic conditions in the face of environmental change.

Influence of Health Behaviors and Occupational Stress on Prediabetic State among Male Office Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Hosihn; Moon, Jihyeon; Jung, Jiyeon

2018-06-14

This study examined the influence of health behaviors and occupational stress on the prediabetic state of male office workers, and identified related risks and influencing factors. The study used a cross-sectional design and performed an integrative analysis on data from regular health checkups, health questionnaires, and a health behavior-related survey of employees of a company, using Spearman’s correlation coefficients and multiple logistic regression analysis. The results showed significant relationships of prediabetic state with health behaviors and occupational stress. Among health behaviors, a diet without vegetables and fruits (Odds Ratio (OR) = 3.74, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.93⁻7.66) was associated with a high risk of prediabetic state. In the subscales on occupational stress, organizational system in the 4th quartile (OR = 4.83, 95% CI = 2.40⁻9.70) was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of prediabetic state. To identify influencing factors of prediabetic state, the multiple logistic regression was performed using regression models. The results showed that dietary habits (β = 1.20, p = 0.002), total occupational stress score (β = 1.33, p = 0.024), and organizational system (β = 1.13, p = 0.009) were significant influencing factors. The present findings indicate that active interventions are needed at workplace for the systematic and comprehensive management of health behaviors and occupational stress that influence prediabetic state of office workers.

Climate change and outdoor recreation participation in the Southern United States

Science.gov (United States)

J.M. Bowker; Ashley E. Askew; Neelam Poudyal; Stanley J. Zarnoch; Lynne Seymour; H. Ken Cordell

2014-01-01

In this chapter we begin to assess the potential effects of climate change on future outdoor recreation in the South, a region spanning 13 states from Virginia to Texas (Chapter 1). Our goal is to provide some useful insights about future natural resource-based recreation-an important nontimber product derived from southern forests-in the face of climate change. We...

26 CFR 301.6104(c)-1 - Disclosure of certain information to State officers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... the communication from the Internal Revenue Service to the organization which informs such... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Disclosure of certain information to State officers. 301.6104(c)-1 Section 301.6104(c)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE...

The impact of state certification of community health workers on team climate among registered nurses in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Siemon, Mark; Shuster, Geoff; Boursaw, Blake

2015-04-01

A number of states have adopted certification programs for community health workers (CHWs) to improve recognition of CHWs as members of health care teams, increase oversight, and to provide sustainable funding. There has been little research into the impact of state CHW certification on the diffusion and adoption of CHWs into existing health care systems. This study examined the impact of state CHW certification on the perceptions of team climate among registered nurses (RNs) who work with CHWs in states with and without CHW certification programs. The study recruited RNs using a purposeful sampling method and used an online survey, which included the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), and compared the perceptions of team climate between the two groups. The study found no significant differences in the overall mean TCI score or TCI subscale scores between RNs who work in states with CHW certification programs (n = 81) and those who work in states without CHW certification programs (n = 115). There was a statistically significant difference on one survey question regarding whether RNs believe state certification of CHWs improved the ability of their health care team to deliver quality care. More research is needed to assess impact of state certification of CHWs and other factors that influence the diffusion and adoption of CHWs into the current health care system.

A Survey of Registered Dietitians' Concern and Actions Regarding Climate Change in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Irana W; Balsam, Alan L; Goldman, Robert

2015-01-01

Dietary choices are a tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While registered dietitians are on the front lines of food and nutrition recommendations, it is unclear how many are concerned with climate change and take action in practice in the United States. We explored concern about climate change among registered dietitians, and identified factors that may influence practice-related behaviors. Our study population included a random sample of all registered dietitians credentialed in the United States. Primary data were gathered using a cross-sectional survey. Of the 570 survey responses, 75% strongly agreed or agreed that climate change is an important issue while 34% strongly agreed or agreed that dietitians should play a major role in climate change mitigation strategies. Thirty-eight percent engaged in activities that promoted diet as a climate change mitigation strategy. Vegetarian (p = 0.002) and vegan dietitians (p = 0.007) were significantly more likely than non-vegetarian and non-vegan dietitians to engage in activities that promoted diet as a climate change mitigation strategy. Overall, concern for climate change among dietitians varied significantly by the region of the country in which the dietitian resided, and awareness that animal products are implicated in climate change. Registered dietitians in the United States are concerned with climate change. However, there is a discrepancy between concern and practice-based actions. These results suggest the need for educational and experiential opportunities connecting climate change mitigation to dietetics practice.

A survey of Registered Dietitians’ concern and actions regarding climate change in the United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irana W. Hawkins

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Dietary choices are a viable solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While Registered Dietitians are on the front lines of food and nutrition recommendations, it is unclear how many are concerned with climate change and take action in practice in the United States. We explored concern about climate change amongst Registered Dietitians, and identified factors that may influence practice-related behaviors. Our study population included a random sample of all Registered Dietitians credentialed in the United States. Primary data was gathered using a cross-sectional survey. Of the 570 survey responses, 75% strongly agreed or agreed that climate change is an important issue while 34% strongly agreed or agreed that dietitians should play a major role in climate change mitigation strategies. Thirty-eight percent engaged in activities that promoted diet as a climate change mitigation strategy. Vegetarian (p=0.002 and vegan dietitians (p=0.007 were significantly more likely than non-vegetarian and non-vegan dietitians to engage in activities that promoted diet as a climate change mitigation strategy. Overall, concern for climate change amongst dietitians varied significantly by the region of the country in which the dietitian resided, and awareness that animal products are implicated in climate change. Registered Dietitians in the United States are concerned with climate change. However, there is a discrepancy between concern and practice-based actions. These results suggest the need for educational and experiential opportunities connecting climate change mitigation to dietetics practice.

Climate change impacts on thermoelectric-power generation in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, L.

2015-12-01

Thermoelectric-power generation accounts for more than 70% of the total electricity generation in the United States, which requires large amounts of water for cooling purposes. Water withdrawals for thermoelectric-power generation accounted for 45% of total water use in the United States in 2010. Across the country, water demand from power plants is increasing due to pressures from growing populations and other needs, and is straining existing water resources. Moreover, temperature exceedance in receiving waters has increasingly caused power plants shut downs across parts of the country. Thermoelectric power is vulnerable to climate change owing to the combined effects of lower summer river flows and higher receiving water temperatures. In addition, the efficiency of production is reduced as air temperature rises, which propagates to more unfulfilled power demand during peak seasons. Therefore, a holistic modeling framework of water-energy-climate for the contiguous U.S. is presented here to quantify thermal output from power plants and estimate water use and energy production fluctuations due to ambient climate as well as environmental regulations. The model is calibrated on a plant-by-plant basis for year 2010 and 2011 using the available power plant inventory from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Simulations were carried out for years 2012 and 2013, and results show moderate improvements in capturing thermal output variabilities after calibration. Future power plant operations under scenarios featuring different climate and regulatory settings were investigated. Results demonstrate the interplay among water, energy and climate, and that future changes in climate and socioeconomics significantly affect power plant operations, which may provide insights to climate change mitigation considerations and energy decisions.

A climatic deconstruction of recent drought trends in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ficklin, Darren L; Maxwell, Justin T; Gholizadeh, Hamed; Letsinger, Sally L

2015-01-01

We present high spatial-resolution trends of the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), potential evapotranspiration (PET), and selected climate variables from 1979–2013 for the contiguous United States in order to gain an understanding of recent drought trends and their climatic forcings. Based on a spatial grouping analysis, four regions of increasing (upper Midwest, Louisiana, southeastern United States (US), and western US) and decreasing (New England, Pacific Northwest, upper Great Plains, and Ohio River Valley) drought trends based on Mann–Kendall Z values were found. Within these regions, partial correlation and multiple regression for trends in climate variables and PDSI were performed to examine potential climatic controls on these droughts. As expected, there was a US-wide concurrence on drought forcing by precipitation. However, there was correspondence of recent PET trends with recent drought trends in many regions. For regions with an increase in recent droughts, average air temperature was generally the second most important variable after precipitation in determining recent drought trends. Across the regions where recent drought trends are decreasing, there was no clear ranking of climate-variable importance, where trends in average temperature, specific humidity and net radiation all played significant regional roles in determining recent drought trends. Deconstructing the trends in drought show that, while there are regions in the US showing positive and negative trends in drought conditions, the climate forcings for these drought trends are regionally specific. The results of this study allow for the interpretation of the role of the changing hydroclimatic cycle in recent drought trends, which also have implications for the current and impending results of climate change. (letter)

Small island developing states and global climate change: overcoming the constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashe, J.W.

1999-01-01

In the context of the debate on climate change, and related impacts such as sea-level rise, one fact that has generally been recognized is that small island developing states (SIDS) and low-lying coastal states are especially at risk. The drafters of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change identified these two categories of countries as 'particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change'. Thus sea-level rise, as one of the more nefarious manifestations of the so-called 'adverse impacts' of human-induced climate change, presents particular challenges for SIDS. These include increased erosion, flooding, loss of wetlands, and increased salinity of surface and groundwater caused by saltwater intrusion. While precise and exact answers to the questions of impacts are not yet known, climatologists, using various tools such as computer generated global circulation models, have been able to define the causes and the likely impacts of global climate change. For example, using results from the computer models, climatologists have estimated that a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations from pre-industrial levels will cause global temperatures to rise between 1.0-3.5 deg. C. They have also been able to predict that with such an increase in temperature and consequent sea-level rise, severe impacts are likely to be experienced by coastal and low-lying States. These will lead directly to saltwater intrusion into groundwater aquifers, endangerment of wetlands and inundation of especially low-lying areas. The IPCC report also states (Watson et al., 1996) that coastal zones and small islands contain some of the world's most diverse and productive resources, and their global importance in terms of both ecological and socio-economic values is widely recognized. Their complex and specialized ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses, are highly sensitive to human intervention and support a variety of economic activities, including

Diagnosis of the State of Socio-Psychological Climate at the Enterprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruslan Skrynkovskyy

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to analyze the theoretical positions and develop practical recommendations for improving the diagnosis of the state of the socio-psychological climate in the enterprise. The structure of the socio-psychological climate is presented through the prism of relations, the objectivity of the state and existing communications. It was established that the purpose of diagnostics of socio-psychological climate at the enterprise is to increase the efficiency and potency of the personnel through the prevention of labor conflicts, to increase team cohesion and support the main elements of corporate culture of the enterprise. It was determined that the dominants (components of the socio-psychological climate through the prism of relations and communications in the system "employee – collective – enterprise" are: 1 the dominant work of the personality; 2 the dominant work of the team; 3 the dominant work of the enterprise. The prospect of further research in this area is the improvement of the system of partial diagnostic purposes of the diagnosis of the activity (economic diagnostics of the enterprise, taking into account the presented research results.

To Investigate the Influence of Building Envelope and Natural Ventilation on Thermal Heat Balance in Office Buildings in Warm and Humid Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Kini, Pradeep G.; Garg, Naresh Kumar; Kamath, Kiran

2017-07-01

India’s commercial building sector is witnessing robust growth. India continues to be a key growth market among global corporates and this is reflective in the steady growth in demand for prime office space. A recent trend that has been noted is the increase in demand for office spaces not just in major cities but also in smaller tier II and Tier III cities. Growth in the commercial building sector projects a rising trend of energy intensive mechanical systems in office buildings in India. The air conditioning market in India is growing at 25% annually. This is due to the ever increasing demand to maintain thermal comfort in tropical regions. Air conditioning is one of the most energy intensive technologies which are used in buildings. As a result India is witnessing significant spike in energy demand and further widening the demand supply gap. Challenge in India is to identify passive measures in building envelope design in office buildings to reduce the cooling loads and conserve energy. This paper investigates the overall heat gain through building envelope components and natural ventilation in warm and humid climate region through experimental and simulation methods towards improved thermal environmental performance.

8 CFR 215.2 - Authority of departure-control officer to prevent alien's departure from the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... prevent alien's departure from the United States. 215.2 Section 215.2 Aliens and Nationality DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS CONTROLS OF ALIENS DEPARTING FROM THE UNITED STATES § 215.2 Authority of departure-control officer to prevent alien's departure from the United States. (a) No alien...

Geographic variation in opinions on climate change at state and local scales in the USA

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Peter D.; Mildenberger, Matto; Marlon, Jennifer R.; Leiserowitz, Anthony

2015-06-01

Addressing climate change in the United States requires enactment of national, state and local mitigation and adaptation policies. The success of these initiatives depends on public opinion, policy support and behaviours at appropriate scales. Public opinion, however, is typically measured with national surveys that obscure geographic variability across regions, states and localities. Here we present independently validated high-resolution opinion estimates using a multilevel regression and poststratification model. The model accurately predicts climate change beliefs, risk perceptions and policy preferences at the state, congressional district, metropolitan and county levels, using a concise set of demographic and geographic predictors. The analysis finds substantial variation in public opinion across the nation. Nationally, 63% of Americans believe global warming is happening, but county-level estimates range from 43 to 80%, leading to a diversity of political environments for climate policy. These estimates provide an important new source of information for policymakers, educators and scientists to more effectively address the challenges of climate change.

Global climate change model natural climate variation: Paleoclimate data base, probabilities and astronomic predictors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kukla, G.; Gavin, J. [Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory

1994-05-01

This report was prepared at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University at Palisades, New York, under subcontract to Pacific Northwest Laboratory it is a part of a larger project of global climate studies which supports site characterization work required for the selection of a potential high-level nuclear waste repository and forms part of the Performance Assessment Scientific Support (PASS) Program at PNL. The work under the PASS Program is currently focusing on the proposed site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and is under the overall direction of the Yucca Mountain Project Office US Department of Energy, Las Vegas, Nevada. The final results of the PNL project will provide input to global atmospheric models designed to test specific climate scenarios which will be used in the site specific modeling work of others. The primary purpose of the data bases compiled and of the astronomic predictive models is to aid in the estimation of the probabilities of future climate states. The results will be used by two other teams working on the global climate study under contract to PNL. They are located at and the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, and the Applied Research Corporation in College Station, Texas. This report presents the results of the third year`s work on the global climate change models and the data bases describing past climates.

Informing climate change adaptation in the Northeast and Midwest United States: The role of Climate Science Centers

Science.gov (United States)

Bryan, A. M.; Morelli, T. L.

2015-12-01

The Department of Interior Northeast Climate Science Center (NE CSC) is part of a federal network of eight Climate Science Centers created to provide scientific information and tools that managers and other parties interested in land, water, wildlife, and cultural resources can use to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change. The NE CSC partners with other federal agencies, universities, and NGOs to facilitate stakeholder interaction and delivery of scientific products. For example, NE CSC researchers have partnered with the National Park Service to help managers at Acadia National Park adapt their infrastructure, operations, and ecosystems to rising seas and more extreme events. In collaboration with the tribal College of Menominee Nation and Michigan State University, the NE CSC is working with indigenous communities in Michigan and Wisconsin to co-develop knowledge of how to preserve their natural and cultural values in the face of climate change. Recently, in its largest collaborative initiative to date, the NE CSC led a cross-institutional effort to produce a comprehensive synthesis of climate change, its impacts on wildlife and their habitats, and available adaptation strategies across the entire Northeast and Midwest region; the resulting document was used by wildlife managers in 22 states to revise their Wildlife Action Plans (WAPs). Additionally, the NE CSC is working with the Wildlife Conservation Society to help inform moose conservation management. Other research efforts include hydrological modeling to inform culvert sizing under greater rainfall intensity, forest and landscape modeling to inform tree planting that mitigates the spread of invasive species, species and habitat modeling to help identify suitable locations for wildlife refugia. In addition, experimental research is being conducted to improve our understanding of how species such as brook trout are responding to climate change. Interacting with stakeholders during all phases of

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Lessons from state climate action plans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pollak, Melisa, E-mail: mpollak@umn.edu [Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); Meyer, Bryn, E-mail: meye1058@umn.edu [Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); Wilson, Elizabeth, E-mail: ewilson@umn.edu [Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

2011-09-15

We examine how state-level factors affect greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policy preference across the United States by analyzing climate action plans (CAPs) developed in 11 states and surveying the CAP advisory group members. This research offers insights into how states approach the problem of choosing emissions-abatement options that maximize benefits and minimize costs, given their unique circumstances and the constellation of interest groups with power to influence state policy. The state CAPs recommended ten popular GHG reduction strategies to accomplish approximately 90% of emissions reductions, but they recommended these popular strategies in different proportions: a strategy that is heavily relied on in one state's overall portfolio may play a negligible role in another state. This suggests that any national policy to limit GHG emissions should encompass these key strategies, but with flexibility to allow states to balance their implementation for the state's unique geographic, economic, and political circumstances. Survey results strongly support the conclusion that decisions regarding GHG reductions are influenced by the mix of actors at the table. Risk perception is associated with job type for all strategies, and physical and/or geographic factors may underlie the varying reliance on certain GHG reduction strategies across states. - Highlights: > This study analyzed climate action plans from 12 states and surveyed the advisory group members. > Ten strategies supply 90% of recommended emission reductions, but states weigh them differently. > Advisory group members perceived different opportunities and risks in the top-ten strategies. > Both geographic and socio-political factors may underlie the varying reliance on certain strategies. > Cost, business practices and consumer behavior were ranked as the top barriers to reducing emissions.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Lessons from state climate action plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollak, Melisa; Meyer, Bryn; Wilson, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

We examine how state-level factors affect greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policy preference across the United States by analyzing climate action plans (CAPs) developed in 11 states and surveying the CAP advisory group members. This research offers insights into how states approach the problem of choosing emissions-abatement options that maximize benefits and minimize costs, given their unique circumstances and the constellation of interest groups with power to influence state policy. The state CAPs recommended ten popular GHG reduction strategies to accomplish approximately 90% of emissions reductions, but they recommended these popular strategies in different proportions: a strategy that is heavily relied on in one state's overall portfolio may play a negligible role in another state. This suggests that any national policy to limit GHG emissions should encompass these key strategies, but with flexibility to allow states to balance their implementation for the state's unique geographic, economic, and political circumstances. Survey results strongly support the conclusion that decisions regarding GHG reductions are influenced by the mix of actors at the table. Risk perception is associated with job type for all strategies, and physical and/or geographic factors may underlie the varying reliance on certain GHG reduction strategies across states. - Highlights: → This study analyzed climate action plans from 12 states and surveyed the advisory group members. → Ten strategies supply 90% of recommended emission reductions, but states weigh them differently. → Advisory group members perceived different opportunities and risks in the top-ten strategies. → Both geographic and socio-political factors may underlie the varying reliance on certain strategies. → Cost, business practices and consumer behavior were ranked as the top barriers to reducing emissions.

How the Pacific Islands Climate Education Partnership (PCEP) Has Collaboratively Increased Regional Collective Impacts on Climate Literacy Via Networks of Diverse Stakeholders Engaging in Multiple Reinforcing Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Sussman, A.

2016-12-01

The Pacific Islands Climate Education Partnership (PCEP) serves the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) Region. The international entities served by PCEP are the state of Hawai`i (USA); three Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau), and three Territories (Guam, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa). Funded by NSF, the PCEP aims to educate the region's students and citizens in ways that exemplify modern science and indigenous environmental knowledge, address the urgency of climate change impacts, and focus on adaptation strategies that can increase resiliency with respect to climate change impacts. PCEP partners include universities, education nonprofits, state or country offices/ministries of education, local ecological nonprofits, and a variety of community organizations. Partners contribute and share expertise in climate science, local ecological knowledge, K-12 education in the Pacific island region, science and environmental education, community college education, learning science, indigenous navigation, and oceanography. Over the past six years, PCEP has engaged with regional school systems and communities in a wide variety of ways that complement and reinforce each other. Highlighted activities include improving country and state climate science education standards; focusing on place-based local ecological knowledge and skills in working with schools and communities; developing and disseminating formal education resources such as books and web resources that focus on local contexts and skills rather than contextually inappropriate mainland the textbooks; developing and implementing professional development for teachers; and supporting local ways of knowing by gathering and sharing local stories of climate change; and promoting an emphasis on climate adaptation strategies that increase resilience of natural environments and community systems.

Climate Change in New York State Updating the 2011 ClimAID Climate Risk Information Supplement to NYSERDA Report 11-18 (Responding to Climate Change in New York State)

Science.gov (United States)

Horton, Radley M.; Bader, Daniel A.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; DeGaetano, Arthur T.; Solecki, William

2014-01-01

In its 2013-2014 Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that there is a greater than 95 percent chance that rising global average temperatures, observed since the mid-20th century, are primarily due to human activities. As had been predicted in the 1800s, the principal driver of climate change over the past century has been increasing levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases associated with fossil-fuel combustion, changing land-use practices, and other human activities. Atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are now approximately 40 percent higher than in preindustrial times. Concentrations of other important greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide, have increased rapidly as well.

Weathercasters' views on climate change: A state-of-the-community review

Science.gov (United States)

Timm, K.; Perkins, D. R., IV; Myers, T.; Maibach, E.

2017-12-01

As a community of practice, TV weathercasters are positioned at a crucial intersection between climate scientists and the general public. Weathercasters have the opportunity to use their scientific training and public communication skills to educate viewers about climate change. Though early research found high rates of skepticism about climate change among TV weathercasters, the most current and comprehensive analysis to date of TV weathercasters' views on climate change suggests that their views have evolved in several important ways. Surveys of all working TV weathercasters in the United States conducted in 2015, 2016 and 2017 show that the weathercaster community now holds views of climate change that are similar to that of climate scientists—in particular, that human-caused climate change is happening today and it is impacting American communities in many harmful ways. Ninety-five percent of TV weathercasters now believe that climate change (as defined by the American Meteorological Society) is occurring, and certainty in that belief has grown. Nearly 50% of TV weathercasters believe the climate change that has occurred over the past 50 years has been caused mostly (34%), or largely to entirely (15%), by human activity. Additionally, surveys suggest that weathercasters tend to underestimate the scientific consensus on climate change. Weathercasters, on average, estimate 75% of climate scientists believe humans have caused the majority of recent climate change as compared to the actual value of 97%. Despite convergence in weathercasters' climate change beliefs, this analysis suggests that opportunities remain for building climate literacy among America's TV weathercasters. Increasing this personal knowledge of climate change is one of several factors that empower weathercasters to become public climate educators to increase understanding of climate change causes in communities around the country.

75 FR 39493 - United States Patent and Trademark Office Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2010-2015

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-09

... plan includes the USPTO's mission statement, vision statement and a description of the strategic goals... achieve its vision. Full details on how the USPTO plans to implement the strategic plan, including funding...] United States Patent and Trademark Office Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2010-2015 AGENCY: United States...

11 CFR 300.35 - Office buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Office buildings. 300.35 Section 300.35 Federal... FUNDS State, District, and Local Party Committees and Organizations § 300.35 Office buildings. (a) General provision. For the purchase or construction of its office building, a State or local party...

Global climate change and introduced species in United States forests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simberloff, D. [Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 37996 Knoxville, TN (United States)

2000-11-15

Introduced species already cause billions of dollars of damage annually in United States forests, plus massive ecological damage whose economic value has often not been estimated. The variety of impacts is staggering and includes herbivory, predation, disease, parasitism, competition, habitat destruction, hybridization, and changed disturbance regimes and nutrient cycles. How global climate change will affect these impacts has scarcely been assessed. Range changes of existing introduced species will be prominent, as many species' biogeographic ranges are set primarily by climate. Similarly, some species that might otherwise not have survived will be able to establish populations in a changed climate. It is more difficult to predict what the impacts of the introduced species will be. What is most needed are studies of the combined impacts of changing climate, CO{sub 2}, and nutrients. Certain aspects of the biology of introduced species, such as evolution and autonomous dispersal, greatly complicate the prediction of spread and impact of introduced species.

Life politics, nature and the state: Giddens' sociological theory and The Politics of Climate Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorpe, Charles; Jacobson, Brynna

2013-03-01

Anthony Giddens' The Politics of Climate Change represents a significant shift in the way in which he addresses ecological politics. In this book, he rejects the relevance of environmentalism and demarcates climate-change policy from life politics. Giddens addresses climate change in the technocratic mode of simple rather than reflexive modernization. However, Giddens' earlier sociological theory provides the basis for a more reflexive understanding of climate change. Climate change instantiates how, in high modernity, the existential contradiction of the human relationship with nature returns in new form, expressed in life politics and entangled with the structural contradictions of the capitalist state. The interlinking of existential and structural contradiction is manifested in the tension between life politics and the capitalist nation-state. This tension is key for understanding the failures so far of policy responses to climate change. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

The NOAA Local Climate Analysis Tool - An Application in Support of a Weather Ready Nation

Science.gov (United States)

Timofeyeva, M. M.; Horsfall, F. M.

2012-12-01

Citizens across the U.S., including decision makers from the local to the national level, have a multitude of questions about climate, such as the current state and how that state fits into the historical context, and more importantly, how climate will impact them, especially with regard to linkages to extreme weather events. Developing answers to these types of questions for locations has typically required extensive work to gather data, conduct analyses, and generate relevant explanations and graphics. Too frequently providers don't have ready access to or knowledge of reliable, trusted data sets, nor sound, scientifically accepted analysis techniques such that they can provide a rapid response to queries they receive. In order to support National Weather Service (NWS) local office forecasters with information they need to deliver timely responses to climate-related questions from their customers, we have developed the Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT). LCAT uses the principles of artificial intelligence to respond to queries, in particular, through use of machine technology that responds intelligently to input from users. A user translates customer questions into primary variables and issues and LCAT pulls the most relevant data and analysis techniques to provide information back to the user, who in turn responds to their customer. Most responses take on the order of 10 seconds, which includes providing statistics, graphical displays of information, translations for users, metadata, and a summary of the user request to LCAT. Applications in Phase I of LCAT, which is targeted for the NWS field offices, include Climate Change Impacts, Climate Variability Impacts, Drought Analysis and Impacts, Water Resources Applications, Attribution of Extreme Events, and analysis techniques such as time series analysis, trend analysis, compositing, and correlation and regression techniques. Data accessed by LCAT are homogenized historical COOP and Climate Prediction Center

Potential impacts of climate change on soil erosion vulnerability across the conterminous United States

Science.gov (United States)

C. Segura; G. Sun; S. McNulty; Y. Zhang

2014-01-01

Rainfall runoff erosivity (R) is one key climate factor that controls water erosion. Quantifying the effects of climate change-induced erosivity change is important for identifying critical regions prone to soil erosion under a changing environment. In this study we first evaluate the changes of R from 1970 to 2090 across the United States under nine climate conditions...

Report of the State Office for Nuclear Safety on state supervision of nuclear safety of nuclear facilities and radiation protection in 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-05-01

The legislative basis of the authority of the State Office for Nuclear Safety as the Czech national regulatory body is outlined, its organizational scheme is presented, and the responsibilities of the various departments are highlighted. The operation of major Czech nuclear facilities, including the Dukovany NPP which is in operation and the Temelin NPP which is under construction, is described with respect to nuclear safety. Since the Office's responsibilities also cover radiation protection in the Czech Republic, a survey of ionizing radiation sources and their supervision is given. Other topics include, among other things, nuclear material transport, the state system for nuclear materials accountancy and control, central registries for radiation protection, nuclear waste management, the National Radiation Monitoring Network, personnel qualification and training, emergency planning, legislative activities, international cooperation, and public information. (P.A.)

Climate change politics in the United States from Rio to Johannesburg

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lepetit, P.

2002-06-01

This document on the United States policy towards the climate change problem, presents in four chapters the historical aspects of the US policy in the international negotiations: the kyoto target accepted by the US is far more ambitious than other industrialized nation; after fierce debate a consensus might suggest that climate change represents a significant threat to the world well being and that human activity is responsible; the kyoto process would have been troubled even if G.W. bush had followed B. Clinton approach; whatever its flaws the Kyoto protocol is a building block for any comprehensive agreement on climate change. (A.L.B.)

Vulnerability of United States Bridges to Potential Increases in Flooding from Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

This study assesses the potential impacts of increased river flooding from climate change on bridges in the continental United States. Daily precipitation statistics from four climate models and three greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scenarios (A2, A1B, and B1) are used to capture ...

Climate change influences on the annual onset of Lyme disease in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Monaghan, A. J.; Moore, S. M.; Sampson, K. M.; Beard, C. B.; Eisen, R. J.

2015-12-01

Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States. Lyme disease occurrence is highly seasonal and the annual springtime onset of cases is modulated by meteorological conditions in preceding months. A meteorological-based empirical model for Lyme disease onset week in the United States is driven with downscaled simulations from five global climate models and four greenhouse gas emissions scenarios to project the impacts of 21st century climate change on the annual onset week of Lyme disease. Projections are made individually and collectively for the 12 eastern States where >90% of cases occur. The national average annual onset week of Lyme disease is projected to become 0.4-0.5 weeks earlier for 2025-2040 (pLyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in the eastern United States, may alter the disease transmission cycle in unforeseen ways. The results suggest 21st century climate change will make environmental conditions suitable for earlier annual onset of Lyme disease cases in the United States with possible implications for the timing of public health interventions.

A Performance Measurement-Based Company Officer Management Information System Prototype for the United States Naval Academy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Boone, Michael

1999-01-01

A company officer at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) is tasked with developing midshipmen morally, mentally, physically, and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty...

Climate change and wildlife in the southern United States: potential effects and management options

Science.gov (United States)

Cathryn H. Greenberg; Roger W. Perry; Kathleen E. Franzreb; Susan C. Loeb; Daniel Saenz; D. Craig Rudolph; Eric Winters; E.M. Fucik; M.A. Kwiatkowski; B.R. Parresol; J.D. Austin; G.W. Tanner

2014-01-01

In the southeastern United States, climate models project a temperature increase of 2-10°C by 2100 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007). Climate change is already evident. Since the 1970s, average temperature has risen by about 1°C, with the greatest seasonal temperature increase during winter. Average precipitation during autumn has increased by 30% since...

DOE Contribution to the 2015 US CLIVAR Project Office Budget

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeWeaver, Eric [National Science Foundation (NSF), Washington, DC (United States); Patterson, Michael [US CLIVAR Project Office (USCPO),Washington DC (United States)

2017-05-10

The primary goal of the US Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Project Office is to enable science community planning and implementation of research to understand and predict climate variability and change on intraseasonal-to-centennial timescales, through observations and modeling with emphasis on the role of the ocean and its interaction with other elements of the Earth system, and to serve the climate community and society through the coordination and facilitation of research on outstanding climate questions.

Environmental health indicators of climate change for the United States: findings from the State Environmental Health Indicator Collaborative.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Paul B; Sinclair, Amber H; Ross, Zev; Anderson, Henry; Boothe, Vicki; Davis, Christine; Ebi, Kristie; Kagey, Betsy; Malecki, Kristen; Shultz, Rebecca; Simms, Erin

2009-11-01

To develop public health adaptation strategies and to project the impacts of climate change on human health, indicators of vulnerability and preparedness along with accurate surveillance data on climate-sensitive health outcomes are needed. We researched and developed environmental health indicators for inputs into human health vulnerability assessments for climate change and to propose public health preventative actions. We conducted a review of the scientific literature to identify outcomes and actions that were related to climate change. Data sources included governmental and nongovernmental agencies and the published literature. Sources were identified and assessed for completeness, usability, and accuracy. Priority was then given to identifying longitudinal data sets that were applicable at the state and community level. We present a list of surveillance indicators for practitioners and policy makers that include climate-sensitive health outcomes and environmental and vulnerability indicators, as well as mitigation, adaptation, and policy indicators of climate change. A review of environmental health indicators for climate change shows that data exist for many of these measures, but more evaluation of their sensitivity and usefulness is needed. Further attention is necessary to increase data quality and availability and to develop new surveillance databases, especially for climate-sensitive morbidity.

Energy optimization of office buildings; Energioptimering af kontorbyggeri

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wittchen, K.B.; Place Hansen, E.J. de (Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut (SBi), Hoersholm (Denmark)); Radisch, N.H.; Treldal, J. (Ramboell A/S, Koebenhavn (Denmark))

2011-07-01

The project analysed two main office building types - high-rises and low-rises - and calculated a number of parameters, using the simulation program BSim. Calculations showed that the overall building design and orientation effect is moderate compared with, for instance, use of daylight control and low-energy lighting, computers, etc. Considerable energy savings can be achieved by use of natural ventilation in the summer, thus only using mechanical ventilation with heat recovery during the day in the winter. Open-plan offices result in a better indoor climate and lower energy consumption than cubicle offices. (LN)

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Stream Water Temperatures Across the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Ehsani, N.; Knouft, J.; Ficklin, D. L.

2017-12-01

Analyses of long-term observation data have revealed significant changes in several components of climate and the hydrological cycle over the contiguous United States during the twentieth and early twenty-first century. Mean surface air temperatures have significantly increased in most areas of the country. In addition, water temperatures are increasing in many watersheds across the United States. While there are numerous studies assessing the impact of climate change on air temperatures at regional and global scales, fewer studies have investigated the impacts of climate change on stream water temperatures. Projecting increases in water temperature are particularly important to the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. To achieve better insights into attributes regulating population and community dynamics of aquatic biota at large spatial and temporal scales, we need to establish relationships between environmental heterogeneity and critical biological processes of stream ecosystems at these scales. Increases in stream temperatures caused by the doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide may result in a significant loss of fish habitat in the United States. Utilization of physically based hydrological-water temperature models is computationally demanding and can be onerous to many researchers who specialize in other disciplines. Using statistical techniques to analyze observational data from 1760 USGS stream temperature gages, our goal is to develop a simple yet accurate method to quantify the impacts of climate warming on stream water temperatures in a way that is practical for aquatic biologists, water and environmental management purposes, and conservation practitioners and policy-makers. Using an ensemble of five global climate models (GCMs), we estimate the potential impacts of climate change on stream temperatures within the contiguous United States based on recent trends. Stream temperatures are projected to increase across the US, but the magnitude of the

39 CFR 447.52 - Holding of State or local office by Postal Service employees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... ascertaining: (1) Whether the office is “nonpartisan” within the definition in § 447.62(a). (2) Whether State... encouraged to seek advice from his Associate Ethical Conduct Counselor prior to taking any action to seek... that the employee's postal responsibilities are being conducted in a satisfactory manner and that the...

Senior Strategic Outreach and Engagement Officer | IDRC ...

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

The Senior Strategic Outreach and Engagement Officer provides strategic advice ... the third one in the area of knowledge management and the forth one in the area ... or the International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change.

7 CFR 1230.634 - FSA county office report.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING... report. The FSA county office will notify the FSA State office of the results of the referendum. Each FSA county office will transmit the results of the referendum in its county to the FSA State office. Such...

Solar and Lighting Transmission through Complex Fenestration Systems of Office Buildings in a Warm and Dry Climate of Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldo Bustamante

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Overheating, glare, and high-energy demand are recurrent problems in office buildings in Santiago, Chile (33°27'S; 70°42'W during cooling periods. Santiago climate is warm and dry, with high solar radiation and temperature during most of the year. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the thermal and daylighting performance of office buildings transparent façades composed of three different complex fenestration systems (CFS. Each CFS contains a different external shading device (ESD: (1 external roller, (2 vertical undulated and perforated screens, and (3 tilted undulated and perforated screens. The study was carried out by in situ monitoring in three office buildings in Santiago, Chile. Buildings were selected from a database of 103 buildings, representing those constructed between 2005 and 2011 in the city. The monitoring consisted of measuring the short wave solar and daylighting transmission through fenestration systemsby means of pyranometers and luxometers, respectively. This paper shows measurements that were carried out during summer period. A good performance is observed in a building with the external roller system. This system—applied to a northwest façade—shows a regular and high solar and daylighting control of incoming solar radiation. The other two ESD systems evidence a general good performance. However, some deficiencies at certain times of the day were detected, suggesting a non-appropriated design.

49 CFR 1325.3 - Federal office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Federal office. 1325.3 Section 1325.3... FEDERAL OFFICE OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES § 1325.3 Federal office. For the purposes of this section, Federal office means the office of President or Vice President of the United States; or of Senator or...

Student Perceptions of School Climate as Predictors of Office Discipline Referrals

Science.gov (United States)

Gage, Nicholas A.; Larson, Alvin; Sugai, George; Chafouleas, Sandra M.

2016-01-01

Research indicates that school climate influences students' academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Therefore, improving school climate provides a promising avenue for preventing academic, social, and behavioral difficulties. Research has examined school-level measurement of school climate, but few studies have examined student-level responses…

Modeling the Near-Term Risk of Climate Uncertainty: Interdependencies among the U.S. States

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, T. S.; Backus, G.; Warren, D.

2010-12-01

Decisions made to address climate change must start with an understanding of the risk of an uncertain future to human systems, which in turn means understanding both the consequence as well as the probability of a climate induced impact occurring. In other words, addressing climate change is an exercise in risk-informed policy making, which implies that there is no single correct answer or even a way to be certain about a single answer; the uncertainty in future climate conditions will always be present and must be taken as a working-condition for decision making. In order to better understand the implications of uncertainty on risk and to provide a near-term rationale for policy interventions, this study estimates the impacts from responses to climate change on U.S. state- and national-level economic activity by employing a risk-assessment methodology for evaluating uncertain future climatic conditions. Using the results from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) as a proxy for climate uncertainty, changes in hydrology over the next 40 years were mapped and then modeled to determine the physical consequences on economic activity and to perform a detailed 70-industry analysis of the economic impacts among the interacting lower-48 states. The analysis determines industry-level effects, employment impacts at the state level, interstate population migration, consequences to personal income, and ramifications for the U.S. trade balance. The conclusions show that the average risk of damage to the U.S. economy from climate change is on the order of $1 trillion over the next 40 years, with losses in employment equivalent to nearly 7 million full-time jobs. Further analysis shows that an increase in uncertainty raises this risk. This paper will present the methodology behind the approach, a summary of the underlying models, as well as the path forward for improving the approach.

Levels of Job Satisfaction and Performance of Sports Officers in Lagos State Secondary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Onifade, Ademola; Keinde, Idou; Kehinde, Eunice

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction levels of sports officers and sports performance of secondary schools in Lagos State. Data were collected from 200 subjects across 10 Local Education Districts. Job Descriptive Index was used to determine job satisfaction while performance in the Principals' Soccer…

Creating a Library of Climate Change Education Resources for Audiences in the Southeast United States

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, J.; McNeal, K. S.; Williams, C. C.; Paz, J. O.; Cho, H. "; Nair, U. S.; Geroux, J.; Guthrie, C.; Wright, K.; Hill, J.

2011-12-01

The Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) is a part of the Climate Change Education Program supported by the National Science Foundation (http://CLiPSE-project.org). The established CLiPSE partnership is dedicated to improving climate literacy in the southeast and promoting scientifically accurate, formal educational resources for the K-12 classroom audience, as well as informal educational resources for audiences such as agriculture, education, leisure, and religious organizations, to name a few. The CLiPSE project has been successful in creating partnerships with the National Geographic Alliances, Departments of Education, and Mississippi Environmental Education Alliance, among others, to determine an effective strategic plan for reaching K-12 audiences. One goal in the strategic plan is to create a catalog of climate change education resources that are aligned to state standards in the SE. Eighty-seven resources from the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (http://cleanet.org) have been aligned with the state education standards for grades six through twelve in the southeast, beginning with science in Mississippi and expanding to include science and math in the remaining SE states. The criteria for aligning the existing resources includes: matching key terms, topics, and lesson activities with the content strands and essential skills included in the state science framework. By developing a searchable database containing climate resources already aligned with state standards, CLiPSE will have made these resources more appealing to educators in the SE, increasing the likelihood of resources being implemented in the classroom. The CLiPSE Climate Science Team has also created an inventory of scientifically sound, informal resources, which will be available for dispersion to appropriate audiences and communities. Cataloged resources, both formal and informal, grouped by a variety of means, to include audience, grade level, and resource

Reconstructing the climate states of the Late Pleistocene with the MIROC climate model

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Wing-Le; Abe-Ouchi, Ayako; O'ishi, Ryouta; Takahashi, Kunio

2014-05-01

The Late Pleistocene was a period which lasted from the Eemian interglacial period to the start of the warm Holocene and was characterized mostly by widespread glacial ice. It was also a period which saw modern humans spread throughout the world and other species of the same genus, like the Neanderthals, become extinct. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain the extinction of Neanderthals, about 30,000 years ago. Among these is one which involves changes in past climate and the inability of Neanderthals to adapt to such changes. The last traces of Neanderthals coincide with the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3) which was marked by large fluctuations in temperature and so-called Heinrich events, as suggested by geochemical records from ice cores. It is thought that melting sea ice or icebergs originating from the Laurentide ice sheet led to a large discharge of freshwater into the North Atlantic Ocean during the Heinrich events and severely weakened the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, with important environmental ramifications across parts of Europe such as sharp decreases in temperature and reduction in forest cover. In order to assess the effects of past climate change on past hominin migration and on the extinction of certain species, it is first important to have a good understanding of the past climate itself. In this study, we have used three variants of MIROC (The Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate), a global climate model, for a time slice experiment within the Late Pleistocene: two mid-resolution models (an atmosphere model and a coupled atmosphere-ocean model) and a high-resolution atmosphere model. To obtain a fuller picture, we also look at a cool stadial state as obtained from a 'freshwater hosing' coupled-model experiment, designed to mimic the effects of freshwater discharge in the North Atlantic. We next use the sea surface temperature response from this experiment to drive the atmosphere models. We discuss

Sensitivity of simulated maize crop yields to regional climate in the Southwestern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S.; Myoung, B.; Stack, D.; Kim, J.; Hatzopoulos, N.; Kafatos, M.

2013-12-01

The sensitivity of maize yield to the regional climate in the Southwestern United States (SW US) has been investigated by using a crop-yield simulation model (APSIM) in conjunction with meteorological forcings (daily minimum and maximum temperature, precipitation, and radiation) from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) dataset. The primary focus of this study is to look at the effects of interannual variations of atmospheric components on the crop productivity in the SW US over the 21-year period (1991 to 2011). First of all, characteristics and performance of APSIM was examined by comparing simulated maize yields with observed yields from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the leaf-area index (LAI) from MODIS satellite data. Comparisons of the simulated maize yield with the available observations show that the crop model can reasonably reproduce observed maize yields. Sensitivity tests were performed to assess the relative contribution of each climate driver to regional crop yield. Sensitivity experiments show that potential crop production responds nonlinearly to climate drivers and the yield sensitivity varied among geographical locations depending on their mean climates. Lastly, a detailed analysis of both the spatial and temporal variations of each climate driver in the regions where maize is actually grown in three states (CA, AZ, and NV) in the SW US was performed.

7 CFR 2003.14 - Field Offices.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS ORGANIZATION Functional Organization of the Rural Development Mission Area § 2003.14... Office Program Directors. State Directors may organizationally structure their offices based on the... tier program delivery structure. In a three tier system, Local offices report to an Area office, that...

General Land Office_GLO_Vegetation from the Years 1832 to 1859 of the State of Iowa

Data.gov (United States)

Iowa State University GIS Support and Research Facility — The Goverment Land Office (GLO) conducted the orginal public land survey of Iowa during the period 1832 to 1859. Deputy Surveyors and their assistants produced both...

75 FR 55785 - Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-14

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education; Notice of Final Extension of Project Period and Waiver for the... this award, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) funds NCEO to address national, State, and...

The United States and international climate cooperation: International 'pull' versus domestic 'push'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bang, Guri [Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (Norway); Froyn, Camilla Bretteville [Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (Norway); Hovi, Jon [Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (Norway) and Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1097, 0317 Oslo (Norway)]. E-mail: jon.hovi@stv.uio.no; Menz, Fredric C. [Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (Norway); School of Business, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699 (United States)

2007-02-15

The US government is being pressured by both international and domestic influences to re-engage in international climate control. This paper considers whether the international 'pull' and the domestic 'push' will be strong enough to accomplish this. First, we discuss whether changes in the architecture of the current climate regime might induce the United States to re-engage at the international level. We argue that the United States is unlikely to rejoin any global climate regime that is based on the Kyoto architecture, even if Kyoto were to be 'reformed'. Second, we discuss whether domestic political developments might eventually cause the United States to re-engage. We conclude that US re-engagement is likely to require the emergence of a new climate regime that basically extends US regulation to other countries. However, the forging of a unified US climate policy is still in the making. Furthermore, a new regime can gain widespread participation only if the Kyoto countries accept the idea of replacing Kyoto with some alternative architecture, which seems unlikely in the near future.

Fire and climate suitability for woody vegetation communities in the south central United States

Science.gov (United States)

Stroh, Esther; Struckhoff, Matthew; Stambaugh, Michael C.; Guyette, Richard P.

2018-01-01

Climate and fire are primary drivers of plant species distributions. Long-term management of south central United States woody vegetation communities can benefit from information on potential changes in climate and fire frequencies, and how these changes might affect plant communities. We used historical (1900 to 1929) and future (2040 to 2069 and 2070 to 2099) projected climate data for the conterminous US to estimate reference and future fire probabilities

Climate Change Information Needs of Rural Farmers in Enugu State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study assessed the information needs of rural farmers on climate change issues in Enugu State, Nigeria. Using the multistage sampling procedure, 152 respondents were selected and data were collected through the use of a structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and multiple linear ...

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices : eighth edition : 2015

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-01

The guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices in selecting effective, evidence- based : countermeasures for traffic safety problem areas. These areas include: : - Alcohol-and Drug-Impaired Driving; : - Seat Belts and Child Res...

Climate-induced changes in vulnerability to biological threats in the southern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Rabiu Olatinwo; Qinfeng Guo; Songlin Fei; William Otrosina; Kier Klepzig; Douglas Streett

2014-01-01

Forest land managers face the challenges of preparing their forests for the impacts of climate change. However, climate change adds a new dimension to the task of developing and testing science-based management options to deal with the effects of stressors on forest ecosystems in the southern United States. The large spatial scale and complex interactions make...

Analysis of potential impacts of climate change on forests of the United States Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory Latta; Hailemariam Temesgen; Darius Adams; Tara Barrett

2010-01-01

As global climate changes over the next century, forest productivity is expected to change as well. Using PRISM climate and productivity data measured on a grid of 3356 plots, we developed a simultaneous autoregressive model to estimate the impacts of climate change on potential productivity of Pacific Northwest forests of the United States. The model, coupled with...

An Analysis of Naval Officer Accession Programs

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lehner, William D

2008-01-01

This thesis conducts an extensive literature review of prior studies on the three major commissioning programs for United States naval officers the United States Naval Academy, Naval Reserve Officers...

Climate Change Perceptions of NY State Farmers: The Role of Risk Perceptions and Adaptive Capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Bruno; Burnham, Morey; Terracina-Hartman, Carol; Sopchak, Amanda R.; Selfa, Theresa

2016-12-01

Climate change is expected to severely impact agricultural practices in many important food-producing regions, including the Northeast United States. Changing climate conditions, such as increases in the amount of rainfall, will require farmers to adapt. Yet, little is known with regard to farmers' perceptions and understandings about climate change, especially in the industrialized country context. This paper aims at overcoming this research limitation, as well as determining the existing contextual, cognitive, and psychological barriers that can prevent adoption of sustainable practices of farmers in New York State. The study is framed within the adaptive capacity and risk perception literature, and is based on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with farmers in 21 farms in two counties in Central New York. The results reveal diverging views about the long-term consequences of climate change. Results also reveal that past experience remains as the most important source of information that influences beliefs and perceptions about climate change, confirming previous research.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory annual report for 1993 to the DOE Office of Energy Research. Part 3: Atmospheric and climate research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-05-01

The US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) atmospheric sciences and carbon dioxide research programs provide the DOE with scientifically defensible information on the local, regional, and global distributions of energy-related pollutants and their effects on climate. PNL has had a long history of technical leadership in the atmospheric sciences research programs within OHER. Within the Environmental Sciences Division of OHER, the Atmospheric Chemistry Program continues DOE`s long-term commitment to understanding the local, regional, and global effects of energy-related air pollutants. Research through direct measurement, numerical modeling, and analytical studies in the Atmospheric Chemistry Program emphasizes the long-range transport, chemical transformation, and removal of emitted pollutants, photochemically produced oxidant species, nitrogen-reservoir species, and aerosols. The atmospheric studies in Complex Terrain Program applies basic research on atmospheric boundary layer structure and evolution over inhomogeneous terrain to DOE`s site-specific and generic mission needs in site safety, air quality, and climate change. Research at PNL provides basic scientific underpinnings to DOE`s program of global climate research. Research projects within the core carbon dioxide and ocean research programs are now integrated with those in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements, the Computer Hardware, Advanced Mathematics and Model Physics, and Quantitative Links program to form DOE`s contribution to the US Global Change Research Program. The description of ongoing atmospheric and climate research at PNL is organized in two broad research areas: atmospheric research; and climate research. This report describes the progress in fiscal year 1993 in each of these areas. Individual papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the appropriate data bases.

Multiple regression models for energy use in air-conditioned office buildings in different climates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lam, Joseph C.; Wan, Kevin K.W.; Liu Dalong; Tsang, C.L.

2010-01-01

An attempt was made to develop multiple regression models for office buildings in the five major climates in China - severe cold, cold, hot summer and cold winter, mild, and hot summer and warm winter. A total of 12 key building design variables were identified through parametric and sensitivity analysis, and considered as inputs in the regression models. The coefficient of determination R 2 varies from 0.89 in Harbin to 0.97 in Kunming, indicating that 89-97% of the variations in annual building energy use can be explained by the changes in the 12 parameters. A pseudo-random number generator based on three simple multiplicative congruential generators was employed to generate random designs for evaluation of the regression models. The difference between regression-predicted and DOE-simulated annual building energy use are largely within 10%. It is envisaged that the regression models developed can be used to estimate the likely energy savings/penalty during the initial design stage when different building schemes and design concepts are being considered.

Effects of threat, trait anxiety and state anxiety on police officers' actions during an arrest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, P.G.; Landman, H.M.; Daalder, N.R.; de Cock, H.P.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of threat and trait anxiety on state anxiety and how that affects police officers' actions during an arrest. Most experiments on police performance under anxiety test the performance of one particular skill. Yet, police work often involves concerted use of a

Line officers' views on stated USDA Forest Service values and the agency reward system.

Science.gov (United States)

James J. Kennedy; Richard W. Haynes; Xiaoping Zhou

2005-01-01

To update and expand a study done in 1989 (Kennedy et al. 1992), we surveyed line officers attending the third National Forest Supervisors’ Conference (Chief, Associate Chief, deputy chiefs, regional foresters, directors of International Institute of Tropical Forestry and State and Private Forestry Northeastern Area, and forest supervisors; January 2004) and a 40-...

Climate change and health in the United States of America: impacts, adaptations, and research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jouan, R.; Magaud, M.

2009-11-01

After a description of the various impacts of climate change on human health, this report describes and comments the impacts of climate change on health in the USA: impacts of heat waves, of air quality degradation, of extreme climate events, of climate change on infectious diseases and allergies, regional impacts of climate change. In a second part, it describes the strategies of adaptation to the 'climate change and health' issue in the USA: mitigation and adaptation to climate change, adaptation challenges, insufficiently prepared public health system, adaptation to heat waves, adaptation to air quality degradation, adaptation to extreme climate events, adaptation to food- and water-based diseases and to vector-based diseases, examples of proactive adaptation. The last part describes the organisation of research on 'climate change and health' in the USA: nowadays and in the future, role of federal agencies, priority research axes. The 'United States Global Change Research Program' is presented in appendix, as well as the most important research centres (mostly in universities)

Effect of internal woven roller shade and glazing on the energy and daylighting performances of an office building in the cold climate of Shillong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Ramkishore; Lazarus, I.J.; Kishore, V.V.N.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We simulated a number of glazing and interior roller shade alternatives. • Office room has been simulated for three window-to-wall ratios in a cold climate. • Daylighting and energy performances have been assessed for each alternative. • Maximum energy savings have been estimated in the office with a 30% glazed area. • Energy saving decreases for larger glazed area and fabric transmittance. - Abstract: The energy and visual performances of the façades are defined by many parameters including façade size, properties of glazings and shadings, and their arrangements as well as control strategies. In this study, a number of combinations of internal woven roller shades and four double glazings have been proposed and assessed in integrated manner in order to improve the energy efficiency and visual comfort in new or existing office buildings. Office rooms facing south, east, north and west have been simulated for cold climate, by varying glazed areas and proposed glazing and shading alternatives. Results have been calculated, compared and analyzed in terms of the energy consumptions, energy saving potentials, daylight autonomy, useful daylight illuminance and discomfort glare free time, for each of the combinations. Simulation results show that the choice of glazing and shading alternatives can have substantial impact on energy and visual performances of the office space. Regardless of façade orientation, the maximum energy saving is achieved for a window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of 30%. Saving potential decreases significantly for larger glazed area and for each façade orientation. For all façade orientations and glazed areas (except for 30% WWR in the north wall), a bare low-e coated double glazing (U = 1.616 W/m"2 K, SHGC = 0.209, τ_v = 0.301) is found to be the most energy efficient choice. For 30% north glazing, the energy efficiency can be maximized with a different bare low-e coated double glazing (U = 1.628 W/m"2 K, SHGC = 0.370, τ_v = 0

Regional energy demand and adaptations to climate change: Methodology and application to the state of Maryland, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruth, Matthias; Lin, A.-C.

2006-01-01

This paper explores potential impacts of climate change on natural gas, electricity and heating oil use by the residential and commercial sectors in the state of Maryland, USA. Time series analysis is used to quantify historical temperature-energy demand relationships. A dynamic computer model uses those relationships to simulate future energy demand under a range of energy prices, temperatures and other drivers. The results indicate that climate exerts a comparably small signal on future energy demand, but that the combined climate and non-climate-induced changes in energy demand may pose significant challenges to policy and investment decisions in the state

Regional energy demand and adaptations to climate change: Methodology and application to the state of Maryland, USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruth, Matthias [Environmental Policy Program, School of Public Policy, 3139 Van Munching Hall, College Park, MD 20782 (United States)]. E-mail: mruth1@umd.edu; Lin, A.-C. [Environmental Policy Program, School of Public Policy, 3139 Van Munching Hall, College Park, MD 20782 (United States)

2006-11-15

This paper explores potential impacts of climate change on natural gas, electricity and heating oil use by the residential and commercial sectors in the state of Maryland, USA. Time series analysis is used to quantify historical temperature-energy demand relationships. A dynamic computer model uses those relationships to simulate future energy demand under a range of energy prices, temperatures and other drivers. The results indicate that climate exerts a comparably small signal on future energy demand, but that the combined climate and non-climate-induced changes in energy demand may pose significant challenges to policy and investment decisions in the state.

Adaptation with climate uncertainty: An examination of agricultural land use in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Jianhong E.; McCarl, Bruce A.; Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Zhang, Hongliang

2018-01-01

This paper examines adaptation responses to climate change through adjustment of agricultural land use. The climate drivers we examine are changes in long-term climate normals (e.g., 10-year moving averages) and changes in inter-annual climate variability. Using US county level data over 1982 to 2012 from Census of Agriculture, we find that impacts of long-term climate normals are as important as that of inter-annual climate variability. Projecting into the future, we find projected climate change will lead to an expansion in crop land share across the northern and interior western United States with decreases in the south. We also find that grazing land share increases in southern regions and Inland Pacific Northwest and declines in the northern areas. However, the extent to which the adaptation potential would be is dependent on the climate model, emission scenario and time horizon under consideration.

Performance of office workers under various enclosure conditions in state-of-the-art open workplaces

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Heakyung Cecilia

The objective of this thesis is to more firmly establish the importance of physical attributes of workstations on the performance of workers undertaking a range of complex tasks while subjected to the visual and noise distractions prevalent in state-of-the-art North American office settings. This study investigates objective and subjective evaluations of noise and performance given a range of current physical work environments. The study provides criteria for architects, interior designers and managers, to select distraction-free office environments to deliver better performance. The concluding chapter helps to establish the importance of designing more acoustically responsible work settings in state-of-the-art office projects. With 102 subjects (23 native speakers of English per each of three workstation types), controlled experiments were completed over a six month testing period in three different work settings---four foot partitions on two sides, seated privacy with six foot partitions on three sides, and a closed office with eight foot partitions, a door and a ceiling, with two acoustic environments (office sounds with and without speech at a controlled 45 dBA level at the receiver), the experimental results were statistically significant. Another finding was the lack of a significant effect of background sound variations on simple or complex task performance. That implies the current acoustical evaluation tool, the Articulation Index, may not be an appropriate tool to adequately and conclusively assess the acoustic impact of open workplaces on individual performance. Concerning the impact of acoustic conditions on occupant performance from the experiments, Articulation Index values do not reflect the potential relation of workstation designs and subjects' performance and moods. However, NIC connected with speech privacy rating has the potential to be a better evaluation tool than AI for open workplaces. From the results of this thesis, it is predicted that

7 CFR 7.17 - Dual office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Dual office. 7.17 Section 7.17 Agriculture Office of... STATE, COUNTY AND COMMUNITY COMMITTEES § 7.17 Dual office. (a) County committee membership. A member of... any other county office employee. (b) Community committee membership. A member of the community...

Effects of Climate Change on Poultry Production in Ondo State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study assessed the effects of climate change on poultry production in Ondo State, Nigeria. Eighty three (83) poultry farmers were interviewed to elicit relevant information in line with the objectives of the study. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistical tools were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that majority ...

Climate Research Roadmap Workshop: Summary Report, May 13-14, 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2010-09-01

In recognition of the ongoing advances and challenges of climate change research, DOE's Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) organized a workshop asking the scientific community to identify the current state of climate science. The goal of the workshop was to determine the research challenges important for developing a predictive understanding of global climate. Participants were asked to focus on interdisciplinary research that capitalized on BER's scientific strengths in Atmospheric System Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science, and Climate and Earth System Modeling. Approximately 50 scientists representing these three areas were asked to identify desired outcomes for the next 10 years. Goals were identified for the near (1--3 years), mid (4--7 years), and long term (8--10 years). Discussions were focused by discipline (atmospheric, terrestrial, and modeling) and by latitude (high, temperate, and tropical). In addition, opportunities and needs for integration across disciplines and latitudes were identified with a specific focus on crosscutting challenges and outcomes. BER will use this workshop output to update its strategic plan for climate research.

Climate Action Team

Science.gov (United States)

Science Partnerships Contact Us Climate Action Team & Climate Action Initiative The Climate Action programs and the state's Climate Adaptation Strategy. The CAT members are state agency secretaries and the . See CAT reports Climate Action Team Pages CAT Home Members Working Groups Reports Back to Top

Climate Change Impacts on Rainfall Extremes and Urban Drainage: a State-of-the-Art Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willems, Patrick; Olsson, Jonas; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten

2013-01-01

climate change: influence of data limitation, instrumental or environmental changes, interannual variations and longer term climate oscillations on trend testing results. Analysis of long-term future trends due to anthropogenic climate change: by complementing empirical historical data with the results...... from physically-based climate models, dynamic downscaling to the urban scale by means of Limited Area Models (LAMs) including explicitly small-scale cloud processes; validation of RCM/GCM results for local conditions accounting for natural variability, limited length of the available time series......, difference in spatial scales, and influence of climate oscillations; statistical downscaling methods combined with bias correction; uncertainties associated with the climate forcing scenarios, the climate models, the initial states and the statistical downscaling step; uncertainties in the impact models (e...

Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) Climate Change Adaptation Training

Science.gov (United States)

This training discusses climate vulnerabilities and methods for incorporating adaptation measures into OLEM programs. This training is meant to follow completion of EPA's Introductory Climate Change Training.

Anthropogenic Climate Change in Undergraduate Marine and Environmental Science Programs in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Vlietstra, Lucy S.; Mrakovcich, Karina L.; Futch, Victoria C.; Stutzman, Brooke S.

2016-01-01

To develop a context for program-level design decisions pertaining to anthropogenic climate change, the authors studied the prevalence of courses focused on human-induced climate change in undergraduate marine science and environmental science degree programs in the United States. Of the 86 institutions and 125 programs the authors examined, 37%…

Prospects for greenhouse gas controls and a climate-friendly energy policy in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochran, V.A.

2002-01-01

An update on the activities in the United States regarding climate change and energy policy was presented. The author noted that despite the de-linking of gross domestic product (GDP) growth and energy use, emissions in the United States are currently 14.5 per cent higher than they were in 1990. The impact that the statement by the Bush administration regarding policy on climate change was also reviewed. It was suggested that greenhouse gas emissions in the United States will continue to increased over the next decade, even with the new strategy on climate change. The rate of increase will be only slightly lower than that predicted under a business-as-usual scenario. The author approved support for baseline protection for firms that have already reduced their emissions, but expressed concern that mandatory tracking and reporting systems are not required under the new strategy. 7 figs

Multiple Climate States of Habitable Exoplanets: The Role of Obliquity and Irradiance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilic, C.; Raible, C. C.; Stocker, T. F.

2017-01-01

Stable, steady climate states on an Earth-size planet with no continents are determined as a function of the tilt of the planet’s rotation axis (obliquity) and stellar irradiance. Using a general circulation model of the atmosphere coupled to a slab ocean and a thermodynamic sea ice model, two states, the Aquaplanet and the Cryoplanet, are found for high and low stellar irradiance, respectively. In addition, four stable states with seasonally and perennially open water are discovered if comprehensively exploring a parameter space of obliquity from 0° to 90° and stellar irradiance from 70% to 135% of the present-day solar constant. Within 11% of today’s solar irradiance, we find a rich structure of stable states that extends the area of habitability considerably. For the same set of parameters, different stable states result if simulations are initialized from an aquaplanet or a cryoplanet state. This demonstrates the possibility of multiple equilibria, hysteresis, and potentially rapid climate change in response to small changes in the orbital parameters. The dynamics of the atmosphere of an aquaplanet or a cryoplanet state is investigated for similar values of obliquity and stellar irradiance. The atmospheric circulation substantially differs in the two states owing to the relative strength of the primary drivers of the meridional transport of heat and momentum. At 90° obliquity and present-day solar constant, the atmospheric dynamics of an Aquaplanet state and one with an equatorial ice cover is analyzed.

Multiple Climate States of Habitable Exoplanets: The Role of Obliquity and Irradiance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilic, C.; Raible, C. C.; Stocker, T. F., E-mail: stocker@climate.unibe.ch [Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern (Switzerland)

2017-08-01

Stable, steady climate states on an Earth-size planet with no continents are determined as a function of the tilt of the planet’s rotation axis (obliquity) and stellar irradiance. Using a general circulation model of the atmosphere coupled to a slab ocean and a thermodynamic sea ice model, two states, the Aquaplanet and the Cryoplanet, are found for high and low stellar irradiance, respectively. In addition, four stable states with seasonally and perennially open water are discovered if comprehensively exploring a parameter space of obliquity from 0° to 90° and stellar irradiance from 70% to 135% of the present-day solar constant. Within 11% of today’s solar irradiance, we find a rich structure of stable states that extends the area of habitability considerably. For the same set of parameters, different stable states result if simulations are initialized from an aquaplanet or a cryoplanet state. This demonstrates the possibility of multiple equilibria, hysteresis, and potentially rapid climate change in response to small changes in the orbital parameters. The dynamics of the atmosphere of an aquaplanet or a cryoplanet state is investigated for similar values of obliquity and stellar irradiance. The atmospheric circulation substantially differs in the two states owing to the relative strength of the primary drivers of the meridional transport of heat and momentum. At 90° obliquity and present-day solar constant, the atmospheric dynamics of an Aquaplanet state and one with an equatorial ice cover is analyzed.

39 CFR 2.3 - Offices.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Offices. 2.3 Section 2.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE GENERAL AND TECHNICAL PROVISIONS (ARTICLE II) § 2.3 Offices. The principal office of the Postal Service is located in Washington, DC, with...

Technical Support Document: 50% Energy Savings for Small Office Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thornton, Brian A.; Wang, Weimin; Huang, Yunzhi; Lane, Michael D.; Liu, Bing

2010-04-30

The Technical Support Document (TSD) for 50% energy savings in small office buildings documents the analysis and results for a recommended package of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) referred to as the advanced EEMs. These are changes to a building design that will reduce energy usage. The package of advanced EEMs achieves a minimum of 50% energy savings and a construction area weighted average energy savings of 56.6% over the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 for 16 cities which represent the full range of climate zones in the United States. The 50% goal is for site energy usage reduction. The weighted average is based on data on the building area of construction in the various climate locations. Cost-effectiveness of the EEMs is determined showing an average simple payback of 6.7 years for all 16 climate locations. An alternative set of results is provided which includes a variable air volume HVAC system that achieves at least 50% energy savings in 7 of the 16 climate zones with a construction area weighted average savings of 48.5%. Other packages of EEMs may also achieve 50% energy savings; this report does not consider all alternatives but rather presents at least one way to reach the goal. Design teams using this TSD should follow an integrated design approach and utilize additional analysis to evaluate the specific conditions of a project.

Response of double cropping suitability to climate change in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seifert, Christopher A; Lobell, David B

2015-01-01

In adapting US agriculture to the climate of the 21st century, a key unknown is whether cropping frequency may increase, helping to offset projected negative yield impacts in major production regions. Combining daily weather data and crop phenology models, we find that cultivated area in the US suited to dryland winter wheat–soybeans, the most common double crop (DC) system, increased by up to 28% from 1988 to 2012. Changes in the observed distribution of DC area over the same period agree well with this suitability increase, evidence consistent with climate change playing a role in recent DC expansion in phenologically constrained states. We then apply the model to projections of future climate under the RCP45 and RCP85 scenarios and estimate an additional 126–239% increase, respectively, in DC area. Sensitivity tests reveal that in most instances, increases in mean temperature are more important than delays in fall freeze in driving increased DC suitability. The results suggest that climate change will relieve phenological constraints on wheat–soy DC systems over much of the United States, though it should be recognized that impacts on corn and soybean yields in this region are expected to be negative and larger in magnitude than the 0.4–0.75% per decade benefits we estimate here for double cropping. (letter)

Managing for climate change on federal lands of the western United States: perceived usefulness of climate science, effectiveness of adaptation strategies, and barriers to implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerry B. Kemp

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Recent mandates in the United States require federal agencies to incorporate climate change science into land management planning efforts. These mandates target possible adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, the degree to which climate change is actively being considered in agency planning and management decisions is largely unknown. We explored the usefulness of climate change science for federal resource managers, focusing on the efficacy of potential adaptation strategies and barriers limiting the use of climate change science in adaptation efforts. Our study was conducted in the northern Rocky Mountains region of the western United States, where we interacted with 77 U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management personnel through surveys, semistructured interviews, and four collaborative workshops at locations across Idaho and Montana. We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate managers' perceptions about adapting to and mitigating for climate change. Although resource managers incorporate general language about climate change in regional and landscape-level planning documents, they are currently not planning on-the-ground adaptation or mitigation projects. However, managers felt that their organizations were most likely to adapt to climate change through use of existing management strategies that are already widely implemented for other non climate-related management goals. These existing strategies, (e.g., thinning and prescribed burning are perceived as more feasible than new climate-specific methods (e.g., assisted migration because they already have public and agency support, accomplish multiple goals, and require less anticipation of the future timing and probability of climate change impacts. Participants reported that the most common barriers to using climate change information included a lack of management-relevant climate change science, inconsistent agency guidance, and insufficient time and resources to access

The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, James D; McDowell, Graham; Jones, Julie

2014-01-01

The Arctic climate is rapidly changing, with wide ranging impacts on natural and social systems. A variety of adaptation policies, programs and practices have been adopted to this end, yet our understanding of if, how, and where adaptation is occurring is limited. In response, this paper develops a systematic approach to characterize the current state of adaptation in the Arctic. Using reported adaptations in the English language peer reviewed literature as our data source, we document 157 discrete adaptation initiatives between 2003 and 2013. Results indicate large variations in adaptation by region and sector, dominated by reporting from North America, particularly with regards to subsistence harvesting by Inuit communities. Few adaptations were documented in the European and Russian Arctic, or have a focus on the business and economy, or infrastructure sectors. Adaptations are being motivated primarily by the combination of climatic and non-climatic factors, have a strong emphasis on reducing current vulnerability involving incremental changes to existing risk management processes, and are primarily initiated and led at the individual/community level. There is limited evidence of trans-boundary adaptations or initiatives considering potential cross-scale/sector impacts. (letter)

78 FR 17640 - National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-22

.... SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce's Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration... the USGCRP.'' Dated: March 5, 2013. Jason Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative... INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Cynthia J. Decker, Designated Federal Officer, National Climate Assessment and...

Reducing conflicts between climate policy and energy policy in the US: The important role of the states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, Thomas D.; Rose, Adam Z.

2006-01-01

The absence of US national action on global climate change policy has prompted initiatives by the US Congress, cities, states, and regions toward what is likely to become a long-term, collaborative effort to harmonize national energy and climate policies. This upward evolution in the face of a reluctant administration is historically consistent with the development of national legislation on other environmental and social issues in the US. At the heart of this movement is the need to resolve conflicts between high-intensity use of low-cost fossil energy supplies, and the dominating impact of carbon dioxide emissions on global climate change. US states are among the largest carbon dioxide emitters in the world and play a critical role in supplying and transforming energy, as well as consuming it, for economic advantage. State governments are also likely to have to shoulder some of the cost of potentially extensive climate damages and bear the brunt of the cost of implementing future federal mandates. As a result, many are taking proactive stances on the development of climate mitigation policy to prepare for, accelerate, and/or guide national policy. As US states show leadership on addressing greenhouse gas emissions, they also play an important role in forging policies and measures that reduce economic conflict between energy and climate goals. A number have launched or completed greenhouse gas mitigation plans and other major policies in the past few years that address these conflicts through: (1) finding ways to reduce mitigation costs, including the use of incentive-based policy instruments; (2) promoting an open and democratic policy process that includes major stakeholders; (3) promoting equity across socioeconomic groups, regions, and generations; and (4) promoting interregional cooperation. The results are promising and suggest that the state arena for climate and energy policy is evolving quickly and constructively toward alternatives that reduce conflict

Integrated Assessment of Climate Change, Land-Use Changes, and Regional Carbon Dynamics in United States

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, J. E.; Sleeter, B. M.; Abatzoglou, J. T.

2015-12-01

The fact that climate change is likely to accelerate throughout this century means that climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture will need to adapt increasingly to climate change. This fact also means that understanding the potential for agricultural adaptation, and how it could come about, is important for ongoing technology investments in the public and private sectors, for infrastructure investments, and for the various policies that address agriculture directly or indirectly. This paper is an interdisciplinary study by collaborating with climate scientist, agronomists, economists, and ecologists. We first use statistical models to estimate impacts of climate change on major crop yields (wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, and cotton) and predict changes in crop yields under future climate condition using downscaled climate projections from CMIP5. Then, we feed the predicted yield changes to a partial equilibrium economic model (FASOM-GHG) to evaluate economic and environmental outcomes including changes in land uses (i.e., cropland, pastureland, forest land, urban land and land for conservation) in United States. Finally, we use outputs from FASOM-GHG as inputs for the ST-SIM ecological model to simulate future carbon dynamics through changes in land use under future climate conditions and discuss the rate of adaptation through land-use changes. Findings in this paper have several merits compared to previous findings in the literature. First, we add economic components to the carbon calculation. It is important to include socio-economic conditions when calculating carbon emission and/or carbon sequestration because human activities are the major contribution to atmosphere GHG emissions. Second, we use the most recent downscaled climate projections from CMIP5 to capture uncertainties from climate model projections. Instead of using all GCMs, we select five GCMs to represent the ensemble. Third, we use a bottom-up approach because we start from micro-level data

Progress Report 2008: A Scalable and Extensible Earth System Model for Climate Change Science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drake, John B [ORNL; Worley, Patrick H [ORNL; Hoffman, Forrest M [ORNL; Jones, Phil [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

2009-01-01

This project employs multi-disciplinary teams to accelerate development of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), based at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). A consortium of eight Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories collaborate with NCAR and the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The laboratories are Argonne (ANL), Brookhaven (BNL) Los Alamos (LANL), Lawrence Berkeley (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore (LLNL), Oak Ridge (ORNL), Pacific Northwest (PNNL) and Sandia (SNL). The work plan focuses on scalablity for petascale computation and extensibility to a more comprehensive earth system model. Our stated goal is to support the DOE mission in climate change research by helping ... To determine the range of possible climate changes over the 21st century and beyond through simulations using a more accurate climate system model that includes the full range of human and natural climate feedbacks with increased realism and spatial resolution.

Office of Disability Employment Policy

Science.gov (United States)

... STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Facebook Twitter RSS Email Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Menu About ODEP ... LABOR DEPARTMENT Español A to Z Index Agencies Office of Inspector General Leadership Team Contact Us Subscribe ...

National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: terrorism preparedness among office-based physicians, United States, 2003-2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Niska, Richard W; Burt, Catharine W

2007-07-24

This investigation describes terrorism preparedness among U.S. office-based physicians and their staffs in identification and diagnosis of terrorism-related conditions, training methods and sources, and assistance with diagnosis and reporting. The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) is an annual national probability survey of approximately 3,000 U.S. nonfederal, office-based physicians. Terrorism preparedness items were added in 2003 and 2004. About 40 percent of physicians or their staffs received training for anthrax or smallpox, but less than one-third received training for any of the other exposures. About 42.2 percent of physicians, 13.5 percent of nurses, and 9.4 percent of physician assistants and nurse practitioners received training in at least one exposure. Approximately 56.2 percent of physicians indicated that they would contact state or local public health officials for diagnostic assistance more frequently than federal agencies and other sources. About 67.1 percent of physicians indicated that they would report a suspected terrorism-related condition to the state or local health department, 50.9 percent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 27.5 percent to the local hospital, and 1.8 percent to a local elected official's office. Approximately 78.8 percent of physicians had contact information for the local health department readily available. About 53.7 percent had reviewed the diseases reportable to health departments since September 2001, 11.3 percent had reviewed them before that month, and 35 percent had never reviewed them.

Projecting climate change in the United States: A technical document supporting the Forest Service RPA 2010 Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Linda A. Joyce; David T. Price; David P. Coulson; Daniel W. McKenney; R. Martin Siltanen; Pia Papadopol; Kevin. Lawrence

2014-01-01

A set of climate change projections for the United States was developed for use in the 2010 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment. These climate projections, along with projections for population dynamics, economic growth, and land use change in the United States, comprise the RPA scenarios and are used in the RPA Assessment to project future renewable resource conditions...

Taming Typhon: Advancing Climate Literacy by Coordinating Federal Earth System Science Education Investments Through the U.S. Climate Change Science Program

Science.gov (United States)

Karsten, J. L.; Niepold, F.; Wei, M.; Waple, A. M.

2008-12-01

Thirteen Federal agencies in the United States invest in research, communication, and education activities related to climate and global change. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) works to integrate the research activities of these different agencies, with oversight from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, the National Economic Council and the Office of Management and Budget. The CCSP is the result of a Presidential initative in 2001 to build on the Global Change Research Program, which exists as a result of the Global Change Research Act of 1990. This initiative was to shift the focus of the Program from 'discovery and characterization' to 'differentiation and strategy investigation.' With this shift, CCSP's focus is now on evaluating optimal strategies for addressing climate change risks, improving coordination among the Federal agencies, communicating research results to all stakeholders (including national policy leaders and local resource managers), and improving public debate and decision-making related to global change. Implicit to these activities is the need to educate the general public about the science of climate change and its consequences, as well as coordinate Federal investments related to climate change education. This is no small task, given the variety of missions and approaches of the participating agencies. Recognizing that its Communications Interagency Working Group (CIWG) does not have the expertise or focus to adequately address issues related to science education, the CCSP recently established an ad-hoc Education Interagency Working Group (EIWG), comprising representatives from all 13 agencies, that will work closely with the CIWG to enhance education goals. Its mission is to advance literacy in climate and related sciences and increase informed decision making for the Nation. The EIWG envisions that its primary activities in the near-term will be focused on establishing: (1) a

Sensitivity of intermittent streams to climate variations in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Eng, K.

2015-12-01

There is growing interest in the effects of climate change on streamflows because of the potential negative effects on aquatic biota and water supplies. Previous studies of climate controls on flows have primarily focused on perennial streams, and few studies have examined the effect of climate variability on intermittent streams. Our objectives in this study were to (1) identify regions showing similar patterns of intermittency, and (2) evaluate the sensitivity of intermittent streams to historical variability in climate in the United States. This study was carried out at 265 intermittent streams by evaluating: (1) correlations among time series of flow metrics (number of zero-flow events, the average of the central 50% and largest 10% of flows) with precipitation (magnitudes, durations and intensity) and temperature, and (2) decadal changes in the seasonality and long-term trends of these flow metrics. Results identified five distinct seasonal patterns of flow intermittency: fall, fall-to-winter, non-seasonal, summer, and summer-to-winter intermittent streams. In addition, strong associations between the low-flow metrics and historical climate variability were found. However, the lack of trends in historical variations in precipitation results in no significant seasonal shifts or decade-to-decade trends in the low-flow metrics over the period of record (1950 to 2013).

Modern Climate Analogues of Late-Quaternary Paleoclimates for the Western United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Mock, Cary Jeffrey

This study examined spatial variations of modern and late-Quaternary climates for the western United States. Synoptic climatological analyses of the modern record identified the predominate climatic controls that normally produce the principal modes of spatial climatic variability. They also provided a modern standard to assess past climates. Maps of the month-to-month changes in 500 mb heights, sea-level pressure, temperature, and precipitation illustrated how different climatic controls govern the annual cycle of climatic response. The patterns of precipitation ratios, precipitation bar graphs, and the seasonal precipitation maximum provided additional insight into how different climatic controls influence spatial climatic variations. Synoptic-scale patterns from general circulation model (GCM) simulations or from analyses of climatic indices were used as the basis for finding modern climate analogues for 18 ka and 9 ka. Composite anomaly maps of atmospheric circulation, precipitation, and temperature were compared with effective moisture maps compiled from proxy data to infer how the patterns, which were evident from the proxy data, were generated. The analyses of the modern synoptic climatology indicate that smaller-scale climatic controls must be considered along with larger-scale ones in order to explain patterns of spatial climate heterogeneity. Climatic extremes indicate that changes in the spatial patterns of precipitation seasonality are the exception rather than the rule, reflecting the strong influence of smaller-scale controls. Modern climate analogues for both 18 ka and 9 ka clearly depict the dry Northwest/wet Southwest contrast that is suggested by GCM simulations and paleoclimatic evidence. 18 ka analogues also show the importance of smaller-scale climatic controls in explaining spatial climatic variation in the Northwest and northern Great Plains. 9 ka analogues provide climatological explanations for patterns of spatial heterogeneity over several

Climate Science's Globally Distributed Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, D. N.

2016-12-01

The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is primarily funded by the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science (the Office of Biological and Environmental Research [BER] Climate Data Informatics Program and the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research Next Generation Network for Science Program), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the European Infrastructure for the European Network for Earth System Modeling (IS-ENES), and the Australian National University (ANU). Support also comes from other U.S. federal and international agencies. The federation works across multiple worldwide data centers and spans seven international network organizations to provide users with the ability to access, analyze, and visualize data using a globally federated collection of networks, computers, and software. Its architecture employs a series of geographically distributed peer nodes that are independently administered and united by common federation protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs). The full ESGF infrastructure has now been adopted by multiple Earth science projects and allows access to petabytes of geophysical data, including the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP; output used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports), multiple model intercomparison projects (MIPs; endorsed by the World Climate Research Programme [WCRP]), and the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME; ESGF is included in the overarching ACME workflow process to store model output). ESGF is a successful example of integration of disparate open-source technologies into a cohesive functional system that serves the needs the global climate science community. Data served by ESGF includes not only model output but also observational data from satellites and instruments, reanalysis, and generated images.

39 CFR 221.4 - Corporate officers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Corporate officers. 221.4 Section 221.4 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 221.4 Corporate officers. The Board of Governors determines the number of corporate officers and appoints the...

22 CFR 196.4 - Administering office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Administering office. 196.4 Section 196.4... AFFAIRS/GRADUATE FOREIGN AFFAIRS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM § 196.4 Administering office. The Department of State's Bureau of Human Resources, Office of Recruitment is responsible for administering the Thomas R...

77 FR 24187 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; State...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; State Educational Agency Local Educational Agency, and School Data Collection and Reporting Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), Title I, Part A SUMMARY: Title I, Part A of...

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON POULTRY PRODUCTION IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.B. Adesiji

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The study assesses the effects of climate change on poultry production in Ondo State, Nigeria. Eighty three (83 poultry farmers were interviewed to elicit relevant information in line with the objectives of the study. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistical tools were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that majority (93.3% of the respondents are aware of climate change, 78%, 98.8% and 86.7% of the respondents agreed that temperature fluctuation, increased in sunshine intensity and global warming has a negative effects on poultry production, 72.4% of the respondents agreed that prices of feed grains are usually high in hot and dry seasons which may affect cost of production and number of birds to raise for egg and meat production in the farm, 73.5% of the respondents agreed that climate change has effect on feed grain availability, this implies that high temperature and low rainfall are climatic factors that affect general grain harvest, their supply to the market and ultimately cost of poultry production. the findings further revealed that 94% of the respondents agreed that climate change affects egg and meat production pattern and 95.2% of the respondents agreed that moist climatic conditions encouraged the distribution and development of diseases. Infrential statistics shows that there is a significant relationship between respondents' socio-economic characteristics and perception of poultry farmers on effects of climate change on poultry production since p > 0.05 (r = 0.454, p= 0.001, the findings also shows that there is a significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of respondents and their level of awareness of climate change since the p > 0.05 (r = 0.652, p = 0.001. it is recomended extension agents and other development agencies need to educate the poultry farmers more about the effects posed by climate change on poultry production and intensify awareness campaign to poultry farmers on how to reduce

Projecting climate effects on birds and reptiles of the Southwestern United States

Science.gov (United States)

van Riper, Charles; Hatten, James R.; Giermakowski, J. Tomasz; Mattson, David; Holmes, Jennifer A.; Johnson, Matthew J.; Nowak, Erika M.; Ironside, Kirsten; Peters, Michael; Heinrich, Paul; Cole, K.L.; Truettner, C.; Schwalbe, Cecil R.

2014-01-01

We modeled the current and future breeding ranges of seven bird and five reptile species in the Southwestern United States with sets of landscape, biotic (plant), and climatic global circulation model (GCM) variables. For modeling purposes, we used PRISM data to characterize the climate of the Western United States between 1980 and 2009 (baseline for birds) and between 1940 and 2009 (baseline for reptiles). In contrast, we used a pre-selected set of GCMs that are known to be good predictors of southwestern climate (five individual and one ensemble GCM), for the A1B emission scenario, to characterize future climatic conditions in three time periods (2010–39; 2040–69; and, 2070–99). Our modeling approach relied on conceptual models for each target species to inform selection of candidate explanatory variables and to interpret the ecological meaning of developed probabilistic distribution models. We employed logistic regression and maximum entropy modeling techniques to create a set of probabilistic models for each target species. We considered climatic, landscape, and plant variables when developing and testing our probabilistic models. Climatic variables included the maximum and minimum mean monthly and seasonal temperature and precipitation for three time periods. Landscape features included terrain ruggedness and insolation. We also considered plant species distributions as candidate explanatory variables where prior ecological knowledge implicated a strong association between a plant and animal species. Projected changes in range varied widely among species, from major losses to major gains. Breeding bird ranges exhibited greater expansions and contractions than did reptile species. We project range losses for Williamson’s sapsucker and pygmy nuthatch of a magnitude that could move these two species close to extinction within the next century. Although both species currently have a relatively limited distribution, they can be locally common, and neither

Factors influencing farmers’ choices of adaptation to climate change in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oluwakemi Adeola Obayelu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Climate change poses a great threat to human security through erratic rainfall patterns and decreasing crop yields, contributing to increased hunger. The perceptions of the indigenous people about climate change and their responses to climate change have significant roles to play in addressing climate change. Therefore a critical study on farmers’ choices of adaptation to is critical for ensuring food security poverty alleviation. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 156 households in Ekiti state while descriptive statistics and multinomial logit were used to analyze the data obtained from the households. The results showed that the most widely used adaptation method by the farmers were soil and water conservation measures (67 percent. The multinomial logit analysis revealed that the factors explaining farmer’s choices of climate change adaptation include age of the farmers, gender of the household head, years of education, years of farming experience, household size, farmers information on climate change, farmers access to credit, farm income, non-farm income, livestock ownership and extension contact.

State responsibility and compensation for climate change damages - a legal and economic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tol, R.S.J.; Institute for Environmental Studies, Amsterdam; Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA; Verheyen, R.

2004-01-01

Customary international law has that countries may do each other no harm. A country violates this rule if an activity under its control does damage to another country, and if this is done on purpose or due to carelessness. Impacts of climate change fall under this rule, which is reinforced by many declarations and treaties,including the UNFCCC. Compensation for the harm done depends on many parameters, such as emission scenarios, climate change, climate change impacts and its accounting. The compensation paid by the OECD may run up to 4% of its GDP, far exceeding the costs of climate change to the OECD directly. However, the most crucial issues are, first, from when countries can be held responsible and, second, which emissions are acceptable and which careless. This may even be interpreted such that the countries of the OECD are entitled to compensation, rather than be obliged to pay. State responsibility could substantially change international climate policy. (author)

Climate change adaptation: a panacea for food security in Ondo State, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Fatuase, A. I.

2017-08-01

This paper examines the likely perceived causes of climate change, adaptation strategies employed and technical inefficiency of arable crop farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data were obtained from primary sources using a set of structured questionnaire assisted with interview schedule. Multistage sampling technique was used. Data were analyzed using the following: descriptive statistics and the stochastic frontier production function. The findings showed that majority of the respondents (59.1 %) still believed that climate change is a natural phenomenon that is beyond man's power to abate while industrial release, improper sewage disposal, fossil fuel use, deforestation and bush burning were perceived as the most human factors that influence climate change by the category that chose human activities (40.9 %) as the main causes of climate change. The main employed adaptation strategies by the farmers were mixed cropping, planting early matured crop, planting of resistant crops and use of agrochemicals. The arable crop farmers were relatively technically efficient with about 53 % of them having technical efficiency above the average of 0.784 for the study area. The study observed that education, adaptation, perception, climate information and farming experience were statistically significant in decreasing inefficiency of arable crop production. Therefore, advocacy on climate change and its adaptation strategies should be intensified in the study area.

Intercomparison of four regional climate models for the German State of Saxonia

Science.gov (United States)

Kreienkamp, F.; Spekat, A.; Enke, W.

2009-09-01

Results from four regional climate models which focus on Central Europe are presented: CCLM, the climate version of the German Weather Service's Local Model - REMO, the regional dynamic model from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg - STAR, the statistical model developed at the PIK Potsdam Institute and WETTREG, the statistic-dynamic model developed by the company CEC Potsdam. For the area of the German State of Saxonia a host of properties and indicators were analyzed aiming to show the models' abilities to reconstruct the current climate and compare climate model scenarios. These include a group of thermal indicators, such as the number of ice, frost, summer and hot days, the number of tropical nights; then there are hydrometeorological indicators such as the exceedance of low and high precipitation thresholds; humidity, cloudiness and wind indicators complement the array. A selection of them showing similarities and differences of the models investigated will be presented.

Building energy efficiency in different climates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lam, Joseph C.; Wan, Kevin K.W.; Tsang, C.L.; Yang Liu

2008-01-01

Energy simulation was conducted for office buildings in the five major climate zones - severe cold, cold, hot summer and cold winter, mild, and hot summer and warm winter - in China using DOE-2.1E. The primary aim was to investigate the thermal and energy performance of office buildings with centralised heating, ventilation and air conditioning plants in the major climatic zones in China. The computed results were analysed in three aspects - heating load, cooling load and the corresponding building energy consumption. The building peak monthly heating load varied from 142 MW h (1033 MW h cooling) in Hong Kong to 447 MW h (832 MW h cooling) in Harbin. It was also found that passive solar designs could have large energy savings potential in the severe cold and cold climates. In Harbin, the window solar component helped lower the annual building heating load by 650 MW h. Internal loads (lighting and office equipment) and part load operations of fans and pumps also played a significant role in the overall building energy efficiency. This paper presents the work, its findings and energy efficiency implications

Cooperative Office Education: Its Evolution in the Secondary Schools of the United States from 1900-1969.

Science.gov (United States)

Donley, Audrey Bell

Using the historical, documentary analysis, and questionnaire methods of research, this study traces the development and evolution of cooperative office education in the secondary schools of the United States from 1900 through 1969. The study was organized under the following topical divisions: (1) Original of Vocational Education, (2) Development…

Two drastically different climate states on an Earth-like terra-planet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Kalidindi

2018-06-01

Full Text Available We study an Earth-like terra-planet (water-limited terrestrial planet with an overland recycling mechanism bringing fresh water back from the high latitudes to the low latitudes. By performing model simulations for such a planet we find two drastically different climate states for the same set of boundary conditions and parameter values: a cold and wet (CW state with dominant low-latitude precipitation and a hot and dry (HD state with only high-latitude precipitation. We notice that for perpetual equinox conditions, both climate states are stable below a certain threshold value of background soil albedo while above the threshold only the CW state is stable. Starting from the HD state and increasing background soil albedo above the threshold causes an abrupt shift from the HD state to the CW state resulting in a sudden cooling of about 35 °C globally, which is of the order of the temperature difference between present day and the Snowball Earth state. When albedo starting from the CW state is reduced down to zero the terra-planet does not shift back to the HD state (no closed hysteresis. This is due to the high cloud cover in the CW state hiding the surface from solar irradiation so that surface albedo has only a minor effect on the top of the atmosphere radiation balance. Additional simulations with present-day Earth's obliquity all lead to the CW state, suggesting a similar abrupt transition from the HD state to the CW state when increasing obliquity from zero. Our study also has implications for the habitability of Earth-like terra-planets. At the inner edge of the habitable zone, the higher cloud cover in the CW state cools the planet and may prevent the onset of a runaway greenhouse state. At the outer edge, the resupply of water at low latitudes stabilizes the greenhouse effect and keeps the planet in the HD state and may prevent water from getting trapped at high latitudes in frozen form. Overall, the existence of bistability in the

The response of surface ozone to climate change over the Eastern United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. N. Racherla

2008-02-01

Full Text Available We investigate the response of surface ozone (O₃ to future climate change in the eastern United States by performing simulations corresponding to present (1990s and future (2050s climates using an integrated model of global climate, tropospheric gas-phase chemistry, and aerosols. A future climate has been imposed using ocean boundary conditions corresponding to the IPCC SRES A2 scenario for the 2050s decade. Present-day anthropogenic emissions and CO₂/CH₄ mixing ratios have been used in both simulations while climate-sensitive emissions were allowed to vary with the simulated climate. The severity and frequency of O₃ episodes in the eastern U.S. increased due to future climate change, primarily as a result of increased O₃ chemical production. The 95th percentile O₃ mixing ratio increased by 5 ppbv and the largest frequency increase occured in the 80–90 ppbv range; the US EPA's current 8-h ozone primary standard is 80 ppbv. The increased O₃ chemical production is due to increases in: 1 natural isoprene emissions; 2 hydroperoxy radical concentrations resulting from increased water vapor concentrations; and, 3 NO_x concentrations resulting from reduced PAN. The most substantial and statistically significant (p<0.05 increases in episode frequency occurred over the southeast and midatlantic U.S., largely as a result of 20% higher annual-average natural isoprene emissions. These results suggest a lengthening of the O₃ season over the eastern U.S. in a future climate to include late spring and early fall months. Increased chemical production and shorter average lifetime are two consistent features of the seasonal response of surface O₃, with increased dry deposition loss rates contributing most to the reduced lifetime in all seasons except summer. Significant interannual variability is observed in the frequency of O₃

Minority Pre-service Teachers' and Faculty Training on Climate Change Education in Delaware State University

Science.gov (United States)

Ozbay, G.; Fox-Lykens, R.; Veron, D. E.; Rogers, M.; Merrill, J.; Harcourt, P.; Mead, H.

2015-12-01

Delaware State University is working toward infusing undergraduate education with climate change science and enhancing the climate change learning content of pre-service teacher preparation programs as part of the MADE-CLEAR project (www.madeclear.org). Faculty development workshops have been conducted to prepare and educate a cadre of faculty from different disciplines in global climate science literacy. Following the workshops, the faculty participants have integrated climate literacy tenets into their existing curriculum. Follow up meetings have helped the faculty members to use specific content in their curriculum such as greenhouse gases, atmospheric CO2, sea level rise, etc. Additional training provided to the faculty participants in pedagogical methods of climate change instruction to identify common misconceptions and barriers to student understanding. Some pre-service teachers were engaged in summer internships and learned how to become messenger of climate change science by the state parks staff during the summer. Workshops were offered to other pre-service teachers to teach them specific climate change topics with enhanced hands-on laboratory activities. The participants were provided examples of lesson plans and guided to develop their own lesson plans and present them. Various pedagogical methods have been explored for teaching climate change content to the participants. The pre-service teachers found the climate content very challenging and confusing. Training activities were modified to focus on targeted topics and modeling of pedagogical techniques for the faculty and pre-service teachers. Program evaluation confirms that the workshop participant show improved understanding of the workshop materials by the participants if they were introduced few climate topics. Learning how to use hands-on learning tools and preparing lesson plans are two of the challenges successfully implemented by the pre-service teachers. Our next activity includes pre

Annual Energy Savings and Thermal Comfort of Autonomously Heated and Cooled Office Chairs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carmichael, Scott [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Booten, Chuck [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Robertson, Joseph [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chin, Justin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Christensen, Dane [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pless, Jacquelyn [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Arent, Doug [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-07-01

Energy use in offices buildings is largely driven by air conditioning demands. But the optimal temperature is not the same for all building occupants, leading to the infamous thermostat war. And many occupants have independently overcome building comfort weaknesses with their own space heaters or fans. NREL tested is a customized office chair that automatically heats and cools the occupant along the seat and chair back according to the occupants' personal preferences. This product is shown to deliver markedly better comfort at room temperatures well above typical office cooling setpoints. Experimental subjects reported satisfaction in these elevated air temperatures, partly because the chair's cooling effect was tuned to their own individual needs. Simulation of the chair in office buildings around the U.S. shows that energy can be saved everywhere, with impacts varying due to the climate. Total building HVAC energy savings exceeded 10% in hot-dry climate zones. Due to high product cost, simple payback for the chair we studied is beyond the expected chair life. We then understood the need to establish cost-performance targets for comfort delivery packages. NREL derived several hypothetical energy/cost/comfort targets for personal comfort product systems. In some climate regions around the U.S., these show the potential for office building HVAC energy savings in excess of 20%. This report documents this research, providing an overview of the research team's methods and results while also identifying areas for future research building upon the findings.

Climate change through an intersectional lens: gendered vulnerability and resilience in indigenous communities in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Kirsten Vinyeta; Kyle Powys Whyte; Kathy Lynn

2015-01-01

The scientific and policy literature on climate change increasingly recognizes the vulnerabilities of indigenous communities and their capacities for resilience. The role of gender in defining how indigenous peoples experience climate change in the United States is a research area that deserves more attention. Advancing climate change threatens the continuance of many...

Carbon dioxide and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-10-01

Global climate change is a serious environmental concern, and the US has developed ''An Action Agenda'' to deal with it. At the heart of the US effort is the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which has been developed by the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET). The USGCRP will provide the scientific basis for sound policy making on the climate-change issue. The DOE contribution to the USGCRP is the Carbon Dioxide Research Program, which now places particular emphasis on the rapid improvement of the capability to predict global and regional climate change. DOE's Carbon Dioxide Research Program has been addressing the carbon dioxide-climate change connection for more than twelve years and has provided a solid scientific foundation for the USGCRP. The expansion of the DOE effort reflects the increased attention that the Department has placed on the issue and is reflected in the National Energy Strategy (NES) that was released in 1991. This Program Summary describes projects funded by the Carbon Dioxide Research Program during FY 1991 and gives a brief overview of objectives, organization, and accomplishments. The Environmental Sciences Division of the Office of Health and Environmental Research, Office of Energy Research supports a Carbon Dioxide Research Program to determine the scientific linkage between the rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, and climate and vegetation change. One facet is the Core CO 2 Program, a pioneering program that DOE established more than 10 years ago to understand and predict the ways that fossil-fuel burning could affect atmospheric CO 2 concentration, global climate, and the Earth's biosphere. Major research areas are: global carbon cycle; climate detection and models of climate change; vegetation research; resource analysis; and, information and integration

Personal control over indoor climate and productivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boerstra, A.C.; Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Hensen, J.L.M.

2014-01-01

A multilayer study was designed to investigate how having or not having control over one’s indoor climate affects work performance in office buildings. The study consisted of 2 stages. The HOPE database (with results from a large study in 64 European office buildings) was reanalyzed on correlations

Sensitivity of intermittent streams to climate variations in the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Eng, K.; Wolock, D.; Dettinger, M. D.

2014-12-01

There is a great deal of interest in streamflow changes caused by climate change because of the potential negative effects on aquatic biota and water supplies. Most previous studies have focused on perennial streams, and only a few studies have examined the effect of climate variability on intermittent streams. Our objective in this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of intermittent streams to historical variability in climate in the semi-arid regions of the western United States. This study was carried out at 45 intermittent streams that had a minimum of 45 years of daily-streamgage record by evaluating: (1) correlations among time series of flow metrics (number of zero-flow events, the average of the central 50% and largest 10% of flows) with climate, and (2) decadal changes in the seasonality and long-term trends of these flow metrics. Results showed strong associations between the low-flow metrics and historical changes in climate. The decadal analysis, in contrast, suggested no significant seasonal shifts or decade-to-decade trends in the low-flow metrics. The lack of trends or changes in seasonality is likely due to unchanged long-term patterns in precipitation over the time period examined.

Public perceptions of climate change as a human health risk: surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta.

Science.gov (United States)

Akerlof, Karen; Debono, Roberto; Berry, Peter; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Roser-Renouf, Connie; Clarke, Kaila-Lea; Rogaeva, Anastasia; Nisbet, Matthew C; Weathers, Melinda R; Maibach, Edward W

2010-06-01

We used data from nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malta between 2008 and 2009 to answer three questions: Does the public believe that climate change poses human health risks, and if so, are they seen as current or future risks? Whose health does the public think will be harmed? In what specific ways does the public believe climate change will harm human health? When asked directly about the potential impacts of climate change on health and well-being, a majority of people in all three nations said that it poses significant risks; moreover, about one third of Americans, one half of Canadians, and two-thirds of Maltese said that people are already being harmed. About a third or more of people in the United States and Canada saw themselves (United States, 32%; Canada, 67%), their family (United States, 35%; Canada, 46%), and people in their community (United States, 39%; Canada, 76%) as being vulnerable to at least moderate harm from climate change. About one third of Maltese (31%) said they were most concerned about the risk to themselves and their families. Many Canadians said that the elderly (45%) and children (33%) are at heightened risk of harm, while Americans were more likely to see people in developing countries as being at risk than people in their own nation. When prompted, large numbers of Canadians and Maltese said that climate change can cause respiratory problems (78-91%), heat-related problems (75-84%), cancer (61-90%), and infectious diseases (49-62%). Canadians also named sunburn (79%) and injuries from extreme weather events (73%), and Maltese cited allergies (84%). However, climate change appears to lack salience as a health issue in all three countries: relatively few people answered open-ended questions in a manner that indicated clear top-of-mind associations between climate change and human health risks. We recommend mounting public health communication initiatives that increase the salience of the

Public Perceptions of Climate Change as a Human Health Risk: Surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Akerlof

2010-06-01

Full Text Available We used data from nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malta between 2008 and 2009 to answer three questions: Does the public believe that climate change poses human health risks, and if so, are they seen as current or future risks? Whose health does the public think will be harmed? In what specific ways does the public believe climate change will harm human health? When asked directly about the potential impacts of climate change on health and well-being, a majority of people in all three nations said that it poses significant risks; moreover, about one third of Americans, one half of Canadians, and two-thirds of Maltese said that people are already being harmed. About a third or more of people in the United States and Canada saw themselves (United States, 32%; Canada, 67%, their family (United States, 35%; Canada, 46%, and people in their community (United States, 39%; Canada, 76% as being vulnerable to at least moderate harm from climate change. About one third of Maltese (31% said they were most concerned about the risk to themselves and their families. Many Canadians said that the elderly (45% and children (33% are at heightened risk of harm, while Americans were more likely to see people in developing countries as being at risk than people in their own nation. When prompted, large numbers of Canadians and Maltese said that climate change can cause respiratory problems (78–91%, heat-related problems (75–84%, cancer (61–90%, and infectious diseases (49–62%. Canadians also named sunburn (79% and injuries from extreme weather events (73%, and Maltese cited allergies (84%. However, climate change appears to lack salience as a health issue in all three countries: relatively few people answered open-ended questions in a manner that indicated clear top-of-mind associations between climate change and human health risks. We recommend mounting public health communication initiatives that increase the

Estimating Climate Trends: Application to United States Plant Hardiness Zones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nir Y. Krakauer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The United States Department of Agriculture classifies plant hardiness zones based on mean annual minimum temperatures over some past period (currently 1976–2005. Since temperatures are changing, these values may benefit from updating. I outline a multistep methodology involving imputation of missing station values, geostatistical interpolation, and time series smoothing to update a climate variable’s expected value compared to a climatology period and apply it to estimating annual minimum temperature change over the coterminous United States. I show using hindcast experiments that trend estimation gives more accurate predictions of minimum temperatures 1-2 years in advance compared to the previous 30 years’ mean alone. I find that annual minimum temperature increased roughly 2.5 times faster than mean temperature (~2.0 K versus ~0.8 K since 1970, and is already an average of 1.2  0.5 K (regionally up to ~2 K above the 1976–2005 mean, so that much of the country belongs to warmer hardiness zones compared to the current map. The methods developed may also be applied to estimate changes in other climate variables and geographic regions.

Energy Conservation in an Office Building Using an Enhanced Blind System Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edorta Carrascal-Lekunberri

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The two spaces office module is usually considered as a representative case-study to analyse the energetic improvement in office buildings. In this kind of buildings, the use of a model predictive control (MPC scheme for the climate system control provides energy savings over 15% in comparison to classic control policies. This paper focuses on the influence of solar radiation on the climate control of the office module under Belgian weather conditions. Considering MPC as main climate control, it proposes a novel distributed enhanced control for the blind system (BS that takes into account part of the predictive information of the MPC. In addition to the savings that are usually achieved by MPC, it adds a potential 15% improvement in global energy use with respect to the usually proposed BS hysteresis control. Moreover, from the simulation results it can be concluded that the thermal comfort is also improved. The proposed BS scheme increases the energy use ratio between the thermally activated building system (TABS and air-handling unit (AHU; therefore increasing the use of TABS and allowing economic savings, due to the use of more cost-effective thermal equipment.

Climate policy in India: what shapes international, national and state policy?

Science.gov (United States)

Atteridge, Aaron; Shrivastava, Manish Kumar; Pahuja, Neha; Upadhyay, Himani

2012-01-01

At the international level, India is emerging as a key actor in climate negotiations, while at the national and sub-national levels, the climate policy landscape is becoming more active and more ambitious. It is essential to unravel this complex landscape if we are to understand why policy looks the way it does, and the extent to which India might contribute to a future international framework for tackling climate change as well as how international parties might cooperate with and support India's domestic efforts. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, this paper analyzes the material and ideational drivers that are most strongly influencing policy choices at different levels, from international negotiations down to individual states. We argue that at each level of decision making in India, climate policy is embedded in wider policy concerns. In the international realm, it is being woven into broader foreign policy strategy, while domestically, it is being shaped to serve national and sub-national development interests. While our analysis highlights some common drivers at all levels, it also finds that their influences over policy are not uniform across the different arenas, and in some cases, they work in different ways at different levels of policy. We also indicate what this may mean for the likely acceptability within India of various climate policies being pushed at the international level.

Report to New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers on climate change projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-08-01

The Premiers-Governors energy discussions are aimed at promoting joint energy cooperation between provinces and states. This report outlines the major accomplishments in the implementation of the Climate Change Action Plan adopted by the Conference in 1998. The project priorities for the coming year are also outlined. In 2001, the New England Governors (NEG) and the Eastern Canadian Premiers (ECP) directed the Environment Committee and the Northeast International Committee on Energy (NICE) to implement a plan to develop a regional emissions inventory so that participating jurisdictions would have common data for measuring progress. The plan also identified specific climate actions that could be readily implemented. This report describes the results of 5 working groups which were created to focus on the following potential categories: energy, transportation, inventory and registry, adaptation, and 'lead by example'. In addition to the working groups, the Climate Change Steering Committee developed 4 proposals for consideration for implementation. These were the LED Traffic Light Proposal, the College and University Partnerships in Emissions Reductions, State/Provincial Purchasing Programs for High Efficiency-Low Emission Office Equipment, and Use of Cleaner, More Energy-Efficient Vehicles in State/Provincial Fleets. The Steering Committee will also pursue other tasks in the coming year, including the study of other proposals for cost-effective measures that could contribute to the goals of the Climate Change Action Plan, examine Internet options for coordinating internal project work, examine opportunities to pursue climate action, and identify opportunities to improve vehicle fuel efficiency

Two drastically different climate states on an Earth-like land planet with overland water recycling

Science.gov (United States)

Kalidindi, S.; Reick, C. H.; Raddatz, T.; Claussen, M.

2017-12-01

Prior studies have demonstrated that habitable areas on low-obliquity land planets are confined to the edges of frozen ice caps. Whether such dry planets can maintain long-lived liquid water is unclear. Leconte et al. 2013 argue that on such planets mechanisms like gravity driven ice flows and geothermal flux can maintain liquid water at the edges of thick ice caps and this water may flow back to the lower latitudes through rivers. However, there exists no modelling study which investigates the climate of an Earth-like land planet with an overland recycling mechanism bringing fresh water back from higher to lower latitudes. In our study, by using a comprehensive climate model ICON, we find that an Earth-like land planet with an overland recycling mechanism can exist in two drastically different climate states for the same set of boundary conditions and parameter values: A Cold and Wet (CW) state with dominant low-latitude precipitation and, a Hot and Dry (HD) state with only high-latitude precipitation. For perpetual equinox conditions, both climate states are stable below a certain threshold value of background soil albedo (α) while above that only the CW state is stable. Starting from the HD state and increasing α above the threshold causes an abrupt shift from the HD state to the CW state resulting in a sudden cooling of about 35°C globally which is of the order of the temperature difference between the present-day and the Snowball Earth state. In contrast to the Snowball Earth instability, we find that the sudden cooling in our study is driven by the cloud albedo feedback rather than the snow-albedo feedback. Also, when α in the CW state is reduced back to zero the land planet does not display a closed hysteresis. Our study also has implications for the habitability of Earth-like land planets. At the inner edge of the habitable zone, the higher cloud cover in the CW state cools the planet and may prevent the onset of a runaway greenhouse state. At the outer

Geoengineering by stratospheric SO2 injection: results from the Met Office HadGEM2 climate model and comparison with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Kravitz

2010-07-01

Full Text Available We examine the response of the Met Office Hadley Centre's HadGEM2-AO climate model to simulated geoengineering by continuous injection of SO2 into the lower stratosphere, and compare the results with those from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE. Despite the differences between the models, we find a broadly similar geographic distribution of the response to geoengineering in both models in terms of near-surface air temperature and mean June–August precipitation. The simulations also suggest that significant changes in regional climate would be experienced even if geoengineering was successful in maintaining global-mean temperature near current values, and both models indicate rapid warming if geoengineering is not sustained.

Implications of projected climate change for groundwater recharge in the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Meixner, Thomas; Manning, Andrew H.; Stonestrom, David A.; Allen, Diana M.; Ajami, Hoori; Blasch, Kyle W.; Brookfield, Andrea E.; Castro, Christopher L.; Clark, Jordan F.; Gochis, David J.; Flint, Alan L.; Neff, Kirstin L.; Niraula, Rewati; Rodell, Matthew; Scanlon, Bridget R.; Singha, Kamini; Walvoord, Michelle A.

2016-03-01

Existing studies on the impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge are either global or basin/location-specific. The global studies lack the specificity to inform decision making, while the local studies do little to clarify potential changes over large regions (major river basins, states, or groups of states), a scale often important in the development of water policy. An analysis of the potential impact of climate change on groundwater recharge across the western United States (west of 100° longitude) is presented synthesizing existing studies and applying current knowledge of recharge processes and amounts. Eight representative aquifers located across the region were evaluated. For each aquifer published recharge budget components were converted into four standard recharge mechanisms: diffuse, focused, irrigation, and mountain-systems recharge. Future changes in individual recharge mechanisms and total recharge were then estimated for each aquifer. Model-based studies of projected climate-change effects on recharge were available and utilized for half of the aquifers. For the remainder, forecasted changes in temperature and precipitation were logically propagated through each recharge mechanism producing qualitative estimates of direction of changes in recharge only (not magnitude). Several key patterns emerge from the analysis. First, the available estimates indicate average declines of 10-20% in total recharge across the southern aquifers, but with a wide range of uncertainty that includes no change. Second, the northern set of aquifers will likely incur little change to slight increases in total recharge. Third, mountain system recharge is expected to decline across much of the region due to decreased snowpack, with that impact lessening with higher elevation and latitude. Factors contributing the greatest uncertainty in the estimates include: (1) limited studies quantitatively coupling climate projections to recharge estimation methods using detailed

Implications of projected climate change for groundwater recharge in the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Meixner, Thomas; Manning, Andrew H.; Stonestrom, David A.; Allen, Diana M.; Ajami, Hoori; Blasch, Kyle W.; Brookfield, Andrea E.; Castro, Christopher L.; Clark, Jordan F.; Gochis, David; Flint, Alan L.; Neff, Kirstin L.; Niraula, Rewati; Rodell, Matthew; Scanlon, Bridget R.; Singha, Kamini; Walvoord, Michelle Ann

2016-01-01

Existing studies on the impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge are either global or basin/location-specific. The global studies lack the specificity to inform decision making, while the local studies do little to clarify potential changes over large regions (major river basins, states, or groups of states), a scale often important in the development of water policy. An analysis of the potential impact of climate change on groundwater recharge across the western United States (west of 100° longitude) is presented synthesizing existing studies and applying current knowledge of recharge processes and amounts. Eight representative aquifers located across the region were evaluated. For each aquifer published recharge budget components were converted into four standard recharge mechanisms: diffuse, focused, irrigation, and mountain-systems recharge. Future changes in individual recharge mechanisms and total recharge were then estimated for each aquifer. Model-based studies of projected climate-change effects on recharge were available and utilized for half of the aquifers. For the remainder, forecasted changes in temperature and precipitation were logically propagated through each recharge mechanism producing qualitative estimates of direction of changes in recharge only (not magnitude). Several key patterns emerge from the analysis. First, the available estimates indicate average declines of 10–20% in total recharge across the southern aquifers, but with a wide range of uncertainty that includes no change. Second, the northern set of aquifers will likely incur little change to slight increases in total recharge. Third, mountain system recharge is expected to decline across much of the region due to decreased snowpack, with that impact lessening with higher elevation and latitude. Factors contributing the greatest uncertainty in the estimates include: (1) limited studies quantitatively coupling climate projections to recharge estimation methods using

Cearà state climate characterization based on agents of regional circulation producers of types of weather

OpenAIRE

Lucas Pereira Soares

2015-01-01

It was done in this study, a climatic characterization of the state of CearÃ, from the dynamics of atmospheric systems. Initially developed theoretical background on the evolution of climate studies from those achieved by traditional peoples, passing by the first climate formulations in Geography from Humboldt, Hann, Koppen, De Martonne, Strahler, Sorre and Pedelaborde, reaching Carlos Augusto Figueiredo Monteiro, responsible for this development tools applied to geographic foundations of und...

Effectiveness of state climate and energy policies in reducing power-sector CO2 emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Geoff; Saikawa, Eri

2017-12-01

States have historically been the primary drivers of climate change policy in the US, particularly with regard to emissions from power plants. States have implemented policies designed either to directly curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants, or to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy growth. With the federal government withdrawing from the global climate agreement, understanding which state-level policies have successfully mitigated power-plant emissions is urgent. Past research has assessed policy effectiveness using data for periods before the adoption of many policies. We assess 17 policies using the latest data on state-level power-sector CO2 emissions. We find that policies with mandatory compliance are reducing power-plant emissions, while voluntary policies are not. Electric decoupling, mandatory GHG registry/reporting and public benefit funds are associated with the largest reduction in emissions. Mandatory GHG registry/reporting and public benefit funds are also associated with a large reduction in emissions intensity.

Assessing climate-sensitive ecosystems in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Costanza, Jennifer; Beck, Scott; Pyne, Milo; Terando, Adam; Rubino, Matthew J.; White, Rickie; Collazo, Jaime

2016-08-11

Climate change impacts ecosystems in many ways, from effects on species to phenology to wildfire dynamics. Assessing the potential vulnerability of ecosystems to future changes in climate is an important first step in prioritizing and planning for conservation. Although assessments of climate change vulnerability commonly are done for species, fewer have been done for ecosystems. To aid regional conservation planning efforts, we assessed climate change vulnerability for ecosystems in the Southeastern United States and Caribbean.First, we solicited input from experts to create a list of candidate ecosystems for assessment. From that list, 12 ecosystems were selected for a vulnerability assessment that was based on a synthesis of available geographic information system (GIS) data and literature related to 3 components of vulnerability—sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity. This literature and data synthesis comprised “Phase I” of the assessment. Sensitivity is the degree to which the species or processes in the ecosystem are affected by climate. Exposure is the likely future change in important climate and sea level variables. Adaptive capacity is the degree to which ecosystems can adjust to changing conditions. Where available, GIS data relevant to each of these components were used. For example, we summarized observed and projected climate, protected areas existing in 2011, projected sea-level rise, and projected urbanization across each ecosystem’s distribution. These summaries were supplemented with information in the literature, and a short narrative assessment was compiled for each ecosystem. We also summarized all information into a qualitative vulnerability rating for each ecosystem.Next, for 2 of the 12 ecosystems (East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods and Nashville Basin Limestone Glade and Woodland), the NatureServe Habitat Climate Change Vulnerability Index (HCCVI) framework was used as an alternative approach for assessing

Understanding the emergence of state goal orientation in organizational work groups: the role of leadership and multilevel climate perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dragoni, Lisa

2005-11-01

This article attends to a broad range of practically significant employee motivations and provides insight into how to enhance individual-level performance by examining individual-level state goal orientation emergence in organizational work groups. Leadership and multilevel climate processes are theorized to parallel each dimension of state goal orientation to cue and ultimately induce the corresponding achievement focus among individual work group members. It is argued that the patterns of leader behavior, which elucidate the leader's achievement priority, shape group members' psychological and work group climate to embody this priority. Resulting multilevel climate perceptions signal and compel group members to adopt the ascribed form of state goal orientation. The quality of the leader-member exchange relationship is viewed as a means to clarify leader messages in the formation of group members' psychological climate and internalize these cues in the emergence of state goal orientation. Considerations for future research and practice are discussed. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

Watershed-scale response to climate change through the twenty-first century for selected basins across the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Hay, Lauren E.; Markstrom, Steven; Ward-Garrison, Christian D.

2011-01-01

The hydrologic response of different climate-change emission scenarios for the twenty-first century were evaluated in 14 basins from different hydroclimatic regions across the United States using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), a process-based, distributed-parameter watershed model. This study involves four major steps: 1) setup and calibration of the PRMS model in 14 basins across the United States by local U.S. Geological Survey personnel; 2) statistical downscaling of the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 climate-change emission scenarios to create PRMS input files that reflect these emission scenarios; 3) run PRMS for the climate-change emission scenarios for the 14 basins; and 4) evaluation of the PRMS output.This paper presents an overview of this project, details of the methodology, results from the 14 basin simulations, and interpretation of these results. A key finding is that the hydrological response of the different geographical regions of the United States to potential climate change may be very different, depending on the dominant physical processes of that particular region. Also considered is the tremendous amount of uncertainty present in the climate emission scenarios and how this uncertainty propagates through the hydrologic simulations. This paper concludes with a discussion of the lessons learned and potential for future work.

Creating Office Spaces in the Mediterranean. The importance of well-being, health and performance of office users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Mateo-Cecilia

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Recent research has studied the influence of office buildings indoor environment quality (IEQ on employees’ well-being, health and performance. However, it seems that it has not been explicitly explored what are the appropriate environmental conditions to different work patterns that coexist in these spaces. This paper presents results of an empirical research, based on the synchronized measurements of different IEQ parameters (i.e., noise, lighting and temperature, and well-being, health and performance of 71 employees in twelve office spaces in the Valencian Community along three periods, considering winter and summer conditions. Findings of the first winter period data, suggest the existence of different ideal parameters for different levels of task complexity (one of the dimensions that characterizes work patterns in the Mediterranean climate; and open new avenues of research to build up a specific Smart and Sustainable Offices (SSO model and further systemic design-support tools.

RURAL FARMERS’ PERCEPTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL ZONE OF DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.U. Ofuoku

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Farmer perception of their environment is a factor of climate change. Adaptation to climate change requires farmers to realize that the climate has changed and they must identify useful adaptations and implement them. This study analyzed the per-ception of climate change among rural farmers in central agri-cultural zone of Delta State, Nigeria. Climate change studies often assume certain adaptations and minimal examination of how, when, why, and conditions under which adaptations usually take place in any economic and social systems. The study was conducted by survey method on 131 respondents using struc-tured interview schedule and questionnaire. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and linear regression model to test that education, gender, and farming experience influenced farmers’ perception of climate change. The results showed that the farmers were aware of climate change. The identified causes of climate change were ranging from intensified agriculture, population explosion, increased use of fossil fuel, loss of in-digenous know practice to gas flaring. The effects of climate change on crops and livestocks were also identified by the rural farmers. Many of the farmers adapted to climate change by planting trees, carrying out soil conservation practice, changing planting dates, using different crop varieties, installing fans in livestock pens, and applying irrigation. Almost half of them did not adapt to climate change. The linear regression analysis revealed that education, gender, and farming experience influ-enced farmers’ perception of climate change. The major barriers to adaptation to climate change included lack of information, lack of money, and inadequate land.

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer compensation relationship to company performance in state-owned entities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark H.R. Bussin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Optimal contracting continues to dominate boardroom and dinner discussions worldwide in light of the 2008 global financial crisis and especially in South Africa, due to the growing income gap. Increased scrutiny is being placed on South African state-owned entities (SOEs, as a result of the seemingly poor performance of SOEs. Some of the SOEs are reported to have received financial bailouts from taxpayers’ money, while executives are raking in millions of rands in remuneration, provoking some concerns on the alignment of executive pay to company performance in SOEs. Aim: The study will assist remuneration committees and policymakers in the structuring of executive pay in SOEs to ensure alignment to company performance. Setting: The study sought to assess, based on empirical evidence, if there is a positive relationship between Chief Executive Officer (CEO and Chief Financial Officer (CFO remuneration and company performance in South African SOEs in the period between 2010 and 2014. All 21 Schedule 2 SOEs were included in the study. Methods: The research was a quantitative archival research methodology. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were the main statistical techniques used in this study. Results: Contrary to popular media, a positive relationship between CEO and CFO remuneration (fixed pay and short-term incentives and company performance in SOEs was observed. Company size appears to be the key determiner of fixed pay in SOEs. The positive relationship was mainly noted on absolute profitability measurements like EBITDA (earnings before interest and tax and depreciation and amortisation and net profit. Conclusion: SOE remuneration committees and policymakers should maintain the positive relationship; however, more emphasis should be placed on financial efficiency measurements so as to enhance efficiencies in SOEs.

Simulation of temperature in office with building integrated heating and cooling system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weitzmann, Peter

2002-01-01

In this paper a numerical investigation of the thermal indoor environment has been performed for an office with building integrated hydronic heating and cooling system. Today office buildings are designed in such a way, and have such high internal heat loads and solar gains, that some kind...... of cooling is normally necessary for most of the year. Even in as cool climates as in the Nordic countries. The way the cooling is often achieved is through air conditioning. This can in many cases lead to sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, and furthermore it results in high energy consumption periods...... the temperature of the concrete to a level slightly below the desired room temperature, the concrete will work as an absorber for the excess heat in the office. This can significantly reduce the need for air conditioning, which will give both improved indoor climate and lower energy costs in the building...

Disturbance and climate change in United States/Mexico borderland plant communities: a state-of-the-knowledge review

Science.gov (United States)

Guy R. McPherson; Jake F. Weltzin

2000-01-01

This review evaluates the effects and importance of disturbance and climate change on plant community dynamics in the United States/Mexico borderlands region. Our primary focus is on knowledge of physiognomic-level change in grasslands and woodlands of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Changes in vegetation physiognomy have broad implications for...

Occupational stress among senior police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, J; Cooper, C; Kirkcaldy, B

1996-02-01

From a survey of over 500 senior UK police officers completing the occupational stress inventory, it was observed that those serving in England and Wales exhibited the highest job stress related to structure and climate, co-worker relationships and their managerial role. There were no inter-regional differences on the individual difference variables, Type A behaviour, locus of control, or on physical health measures. Superintendents in Scotland used coping methods least frequently including domestic/home support, time management and social support, the latter strategy being most used by Northern Ireland officers. Findings relating job stress to job satisfaction were inconsistent with other police populations. Results are discussed in the context of organizational reform in the police service.

Current State of Climate Education in the United States: Are Graduate Students being Adequately Prepared to Address Climate Issues?

Science.gov (United States)

Kuster, E.; Fox, G.

2016-12-01

Climate change is happening; scientists have already observed changes in sea level, increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, and declining polar ice. The students of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and it is our duty to make sure they are well equipped and they understand the implications of climate change as part of their research and professional careers. Graduate students, in particular, are gaining valuable and necessary research, leadership, and critical thinking skills, but we need to ensure that they are receiving the appropriate climate education in their graduate training. Previous studies have primarily focused on capturing the K-12, college level, and general publics' knowledge of the climate system, concluding with recommendations on how to improve climate literacy in the classroom. While this is extremely important to study, very few studies have captured the current perception that graduate students hold regarding the amount of climate education being offered to them. This information is important to capture, as it can inform future curriculum development. We developed and distributed a nationwide survey (495 respondents) for graduate students to capture their perception on the level of climate system education being offered and their view on the importance of having climate education. We also investigated differences in the responses based on either geographic area or discipline. We compared how important graduate students felt it was to include climate education in their own discipline versus outside disciplines. The authors will discuss key findings from this ongoing research.

Impact of climate variability on runoff in the north-central United States

Science.gov (United States)

Ryberg, Karen R.; Lin, Wei; Vecchia, Aldo V.

2014-01-01

Large changes in runoff in the north-central United States have occurred during the past century, with larger floods and increases in runoff tending to occur from the 1970s to the present. The attribution of these changes is a subject of much interest. Long-term precipitation, temperature, and streamflow records were used to compare changes in precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET) to changes in runoff within 25 stream basins. The basins studied were organized into four groups, each one representing basins similar in topography, climate, and historic patterns of runoff. Precipitation, PET, and runoff data were adjusted for near-decadal scale variability to examine longer-term changes. A nonlinear water-balance analysis shows that changes in precipitation and PET explain the majority of multidecadal spatial/temporal variability of runoff and flood magnitudes, with precipitation being the dominant driver. Historical changes in climate and runoff in the region appear to be more consistent with complex transient shifts in seasonal climatic conditions than with gradual climate change. A portion of the unexplained variability likely stems from land-use change.

Assessment of Climate Change and Vector-borne Diseases in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Monaghan, A. J.; Beard, C. B.; Eisen, R. J.; Barker, C. M.; Garofalo, J.; Hahn, M.; Hayden, M.; Ogden, N.; Schramm, P.

2016-12-01

Vector-borne diseases are illnesses that are transmitted by vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. The seasonality, distribution, and prevalence of vector-borne diseases are influenced significantly by climate factors, primarily high and low temperature extremes and precipitation patterns. In this presentation we summarize key findings from Chapter 5 ("Vector-borne Diseases") of the recently published USGCRP Scientific Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States. Climate change is expected to alter geographic and seasonal distributions of vectors and vector-borne diseases, leading to earlier activity and northward range expansion of ticks capable of carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other pathogens, and influencing the distribution, abundance and prevalence of infection in mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus and other pathogens. The emergence or reemergence of vector-borne pathogens is also likely.

The Policy Trade-off Between Energy Security and Climate Change in the GCC States

Science.gov (United States)

Shahbek, Shaikha Ali

Developing policies for energy security and climate change simultaneously can be very challenging as there is a trade-off. This research project strives to analyze the policies regarding the same that should be developed in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) States which are; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. Energy security is important in these countries because it is the prominent sector of their economies. Yet, the environment is being negatively impacted because of the energy production. There has been lot of international pressure on the GCC to divert its production and move towards clean energy production. It needs more research and development, as well as better economic diversification to maintain and improve the economic growth. Along with the literature review that has been used to study the cases and impacts of the GCC states, six in-depth interviews were conducted with professors, scholars and specialists in the environment and natural science fields to discuss about the GCC's situation. It has been alluded that the GCC states cannot be held solely responsible about the climate change because they are not the only energy producing nations in the world. Based on OPEC, there are 14 countries including the United States and China that also have prominent energy sectors. They should also be held accountable for the causes of environmental and climate change. This research provides recommendations for the GCC states to follow and apply in order to move forward with clean energy production, economic diversification and develop better policies.

Sensitivity of Regulated Flow Regimes to Climate Change in the Western United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Tian [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Voisin, Nathalie [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Leng, Guoyong [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Huang, Maoyi [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Kraucunas, Ian [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

2018-03-01

Water management activities or flow regulations modify water fluxes at the land surface and affect water resources in space and time. We hypothesize that flow regulations change the sensitivity of river flow to climate change with respect to unmanaged water resources. Quantifying these changes in sensitivity could help elucidate the impacts of water management at different spatiotemporal scales and inform climate adaptation decisions. In this study, we compared the emergence of significant changes in natural and regulated river flow regimes across the Western United States from simulations driven by multiple climate models and scenarios. We find that significant climate change-induced alterations in natural flow do not cascade linearly through water management activities. At the annual time scale, 50% of the Hydrologic Unit Code 4 (HUC4) sub-basins over the Western U.S. regions tend to have regulated flow regime more sensitive to the climate change than natural flow regime. Seasonality analyses show that the sensitivity varies remarkably across the seasons. We also find that the sensitivity is related to the level of water management. For 35% of the HUC4 sub-basins with the highest level of water management, the summer and winter flows tend to show a heightened sensitivity to climate change due to the complexity of joint reservoir operations. We further demonstrate that the impacts of considering water management in models are comparable to those that arises from uncertainties across climate models and emission scenarios. This prompts further climate adaptation studies research about nonlinearity effects of climate change through water management activities.

Predicting moisture state of timber members in a continuously varying climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensson, Staffan; Turk, Goran; Hozjan, Tomaz

2011-01-01

A prerequisite for a sensible estimate of moisture induced stresses in timber members is an accurate prediction of the members’ moisture states during their service life. There are, however, an infinite number of possible moisture states for an arbitrary timber member in a natural varying climate...... the realizations were made, are based on a fully coupled transport model including a model for the influential sorption hysteresis of wood. A format containing required information suitable for assessing the “moisture” action on timber members is proposed. In addition it is illustrated how a model of high...

A Study of the Effects of Rank and Gender on Officers' Club Membership and Club Usage at U.S. Air Force Bases in the Continental United States

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Smith, C

1999-01-01

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between both officer rank and officer gender and both club membership and member usage at Air Force officers' clubs in the Continental United States (CONUS...

The use of office-based sedation and general anesthesia by board certified pediatric dentists practicing in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Olabi, Nassim F; Jones, James E; Saxen, Mark A; Sanders, Brian J; Walker, Laquia A; Weddell, James A; Schrader, Stuart M; Tomlin, Angela M

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of office-based sedation by board-certified pediatric dentists practicing in the United States. Pediatric dentists have traditionally relied upon self-administered sedation techniques to provide office-based sedation. The use of dentist anesthesiologists to provide office-based sedation is an emerging trend. This study examines and compares these two models of office-based sedations. A survey evaluating office-based sedation of diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry (ABPD) based on gender, age, years in practice, practice types, regions, and years as a diplomate of the ABPD was completed by 494 active members. The results were summarized using frequencies and percentages. Relationships of dentist age, gender, and number of years in practice with the use of intravenous (IV) sedation was completed using two-way contingency tables and Mantel-Haenszel tests for ordered categorical data. Relationships of office-based sedation use and the type of one's practice were examined using Pearson chi-square tests. Of the 1917 surveys e-mailed, 494 completed the survey for a response rate of 26%. Over 70% of board-certified US pediatric dentists use some form of sedation in their offices. Less than 20% administer IV sedation, 20 to 40% use a dentist anesthesiologist, and 60 to 70% would use dentist anesthesiologists if one were available.

Influence of winter season climate variability on snow-precipitation ratio in the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammad Safeeq; Shraddhanand Shukla; Ivan Arismendi; Gordon E. Grant; Sarah L. Lewis; Anne Nolin

2015-01-01

In the western United States, climate warming poses a unique threat to water and snow hydrology because much of the snowpack accumulates at temperatures near 0 °C. As the climate continues to warm, much of the region's precipitation is expected to switch from snow to rain, causing flashier hydrographs, earlier inflow to reservoirs, and reduced spring and summer...

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategies into New York State Department of Transportation's operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

This study identifies climate change adaptation strategies and recommends ways of mainstreaming them into planned actions, including legislation, policies, programs and projects in all areas and at all levels within the New York State Department of T...

Law enforcement duties and sudden cardiac death among police officers in United States: case distribution study.

Science.gov (United States)

Varvarigou, Vasileia; Farioli, Andrea; Korre, Maria; Sato, Sho; Dahabreh, Issa J; Kales, Stefanos N

2014-11-18

To assess the association between risk of sudden cardiac death and stressful law enforcement duties compared with routine/non-emergency duties. Case distribution study (case series with survey information on referent exposures). United States law enforcement. Summaries of deaths of over 4500 US police officers provided by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Officer Down Memorial Page from 1984 to 2010. Observed and expected sudden cardiac death counts and relative risks for sudden cardiac death events during specific strenuous duties versus routine/non-emergency activities. Independent estimates of the proportion of time that police officers spend across various law enforcement duties obtained from surveys of police chiefs and front line officers. Impact of varying exposure assessments, covariates, and missing cases in sensitivity and stability analyses. 441 sudden cardiac deaths were observed during the study period. Sudden cardiac death was associated with restraints/altercations (25%, n=108), physical training (20%, n=88), pursuits of suspects (12%, n=53), medical/rescue operations (8%, n=34), routine duties (23%, n=101), and other activities (11%, n=57). Compared with routine/non-emergency activities, the risk of sudden cardiac death was 34-69 times higher during restraints/altercations, 32-51 times higher during pursuits, 20-23 times higher during physical training, and 6-9 times higher during medical/rescue operations. Results were robust to all sensitivity and stability analyses. Stressful law enforcement duties are associated with a risk of sudden cardiac death that is markedly higher than the risk during routine/non-emergency duties. Restraints/altercations and pursuits are associated with the greatest risk. Our findings have public health implications and suggest that primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention efforts are needed among law enforcement officers. © Varvarigou et al 2014.

The role of the states in a federal climate program : issues and options

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

This paper provides an overview of some of the key isuses regarding statefederal roles in a federal climate program and identifies four possible mechanisms that have been suggested for allowing states to set more stringent reduction targets. *Cont...

Office of radiation and indoor air: Program description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-06-01

The goal of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Radiation and Indoor Air is to protect the public and the environment from exposures to radiation and indoor air pollutants. The Office develops protection criteria, standards, and policies and works with other programs within EPA and other agencies to control radiation and indoor air pollution exposures; provides technical assistance to states through EPA's regional offices and other agencies having radiation and indoor air protection programs; directs an environmental radiation monitoring program; responds to radiological emergencies; and evaluates and assesses the overall risk and impact of radiation and indoor air pollution. The Office is EPA's lead office for intra- and interagency activities coordinated through the Committee for Indoor Air Quality. It coordinates with and assists the Office of Enforcement in enforcement activities where EPA has jurisdiction. The Office disseminates information and works with state and local governments, industry and professional groups, and citizens to promote actions to reduce exposures to harmful levels of radiation and indoor air pollutants

Phenological cues intrinsic in indigenous knowledge systems for forecasting seasonal climate in the Delta State of Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Fitchett, Jennifer M.; Ebhuoma, Eromose

2017-12-01

Shifts in the timing of phenological events in plants and animals are cited as one of the most robust bioindicators of climate change. Much effort has thus been placed on the collection of phenological datasets, the quantification of the rates of phenological shifts and the association of these shifts with recorded meteorological data. These outputs are of value both in tracking the severity of climate change and in facilitating more robust management approaches in forestry and agriculture to changing climatic conditions. However, such an approach requires meteorological and phenological records spanning multiple decades. For communities in the Delta State of Nigeria, small-scale farming communities do not have access to meteorological records, and the dissemination of government issued daily to seasonal forecasts has only taken place in recent years. Their ability to survive inter-annual to inter-decadal climatic variability and longer-term climatic change has thus relied on well-entrenched indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). An analysis of the environmental cues that are used to infer the timing and amount of rainfall by farmers from three communities in the Delta State reveals a reliance on phenological events, including the croaking of frogs, the appearance of red millipedes and the emergence of fresh rubber tree and cassava leaves. These represent the first recorded awareness of phenology within the Delta State of Nigeria, and a potentially valuable source of phenological data. However, the reliance of these indicators is of concern given the rapid phenological shifts occurring in response to climate change.

39 CFR 959.3 - Office, business hours.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Office, business hours. 959.3 Section 959.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE PROCEDURES RULES OF PRACTICE IN PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO THE PRIVATE EXPRESS STATUTES § 959.3 Office, business hours. The offices of the officials mentioned in these rules are...

39 CFR 952.4 - Office business hours.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Office business hours. 952.4 Section 952.4 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE PROCEDURES RULES OF PRACTICE IN PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO FALSE REPRESENTATION AND LOTTERY ORDERS § 952.4 Office business hours. The offices of the officials mentioned in these...

39 CFR 954.4 - Office business hours.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Office business hours. 954.4 Section 954.4 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE PROCEDURES RULES OF PRACTICE IN PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO THE DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF PERIODICALS MAIL PRIVILEGES § 954.4 Office business hours. The offices of the...

Using Photographs to Assess Equity Climate: A Taxonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Banning, James H.; Middleton, Valerie; Deniston, Terry L.

2008-01-01

In educational settings, the concepts of environment, culture, and climate are often used interchangeably, but climate also has a more narrow meaning that focuses on organizational attitudes and behaviors that foster organizational patterns and atmospheres. From this perspective, the physical artifacts of a school, office, or other organization…

Energy impact of indoor environmental policy for air-conditioned offices of Hong Kong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, L.T.; Mui, K.W.; Shi, K.L.

2008-01-01

Air-conditioned office buildings are one of the biggest energy consumers of electricity in developed cities in the subtropical climate regions. A good energy policy for the indoor environment should respond to both the needs of energy conservation and the needs for a desirable indoor healthy environment with a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) generation. This study evaluates energy implications and the corresponding CO 2 generation of some indoor environmental policies for air-conditioned office buildings in the subtropical climate. In particular, the thermal energy consumption in an air-conditioned office building was evaluated by the heat gains through the building fabric, the transport of outdoor fresh air for ventilation, and the heat generated by the occupant and equipment in the space. With the Monte-Carlo sampling technique and the parameters from the existing office building stocks of Hong Kong, the energy consumption profiles of air-conditioned office buildings in Hong Kong were evaluated. Energy consumption profiles were simulated for certain indoor environmental quality (IEQ) policies on indoor air temperature and CO 2 concentration settings in the offices, with other building parameters remaining unchanged. The impact assessment and the regression models described in this study may be useful for evaluation of energy performances of IEQ policies. They will also be useful for the promotion of energy-saving measures in air-conditioned office buildings in Hong Kong. This study presented a useful source of references for policymakers, building professionals and end users to quantify the energy and environmental impacts due to an IEQ policy for air-conditioned office buildings

Tropical interannual variability in a global coupled GCM: Sensitivity to mean climate state

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, A.M. [Bureau of Meterology Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia)

1995-04-01

A global coupled ocean-atmosphere-sea ice general circulation model is used to study interannual variability in the Tropics. Flux correction is used to control the mean climate of the coupled system, and in one configuration of the coupled model, interannual variability in the tropical Pacific is dominated by westward moving anomalies. Through a series of experiments in which the equatorial ocean wave speeds and ocean-atmosphere coupling strength are varied, it is demonstrated that these westward moving disturbances are probably some manifestation of what Neelin describes as an {open_quotes}SST mode.{close_quotes} By modifying the flux correction procedure, the mean climate of the coupled model can be changed. A fairly modest change in the mean climate is all that is required to excite eastward moving anomalies in place of the westward moving SST modes found previously. The apparent sensitivity of the nature of tropical interannual variability to the mean climate state in a coupled general circulation model such as that used here suggests that caution is advisable if we try to use such models to answer questions relating to changes in ENSO-like variability associated with global climate change. 41 refs., 23 figs., 1 tab.

Small island developing states and international climate change negotiations: the power of moral ‘‘leadership’’

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Águeda Corneloup, de I.; Mol, A.P.J.

2014-01-01

Being at the frontline of climate change, small island developing states (SIDS) hold a serious stake in climate negotiations. However, these countries usually are marginalized in the international political arena, due to their lack of structural power. This paper explores the strategic influence of

Changing climate, changing forests: the impacts of climate change on forests of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Rustad, Lindsey; Campbell, John; Dukes, Jeffrey S.; Huntington, Thomas; Lambert, Kathy Fallon; Mohan, Jacqueline; Rodenhouse, Nicholas

2012-01-01

Decades of study on climatic change and its direct and indirect effects on forest ecosystems provide important insights for forest science, management, and policy. A synthesis of recent research from the northeastern United States and eastern Canada shows that the climate of the region has become warmer and wetter over the past 100 years and that there are more extreme precipitation events. Greater change is projected in the future. The amount of projected future change depends on the emissions scenarios used. Tree species composition of northeast forests has shifted slowly in response to climate for thousands of years. However, current human-accelerated climate change is much more rapid and it is unclear how forests will respond to large changes in suitable habitat. Projections indicate significant declines in suitable habitat for spruce-fir forests and expansion of suitable habitat for oak-dominated forests. Productivity gains that might result from extended growing seasons and carbon dioxide and nitrogen fertilization may be offset by productivity losses associated with the disruption of species assemblages and concurrent stresses associated with potential increases in atmospheric deposition of pollutants, forest fragmentation, and nuisance species. Investigations of links to water and nutrient cycling suggest that changes in evapotranspiration, soil respiration, and mineralization rates could result in significant alterations of key ecosystem processes. Climate change affects the distribution and abundance of many wildlife species in the region through changes in habitat, food availability, thermal tolerances, species interactions such as competition, and susceptibility to parasites and disease. Birds are the most studied northeastern taxa. Twenty-seven of the 38 bird species for which we have adequate long-term records have expanded their ranges predominantly in a northward direction. There is some evidence to suggest that novel species, including pests and

Environmental Noise Exposure On Occupants In Naturally Ventilated Open-Plan Offices Case Of Selected Offices In Kumasi Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koranteng

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The design of buildings in public educational institutions in Ghana predominantly adopts open-plan offices that are naturally ventilated with the aid of operable windows for reasons such as achieving adaptable spaces improved social climate and effective ventilation. However adoption of open-plan naturally ventilated offices in these educational institutions expose occupants to noise that emanates indoors and from outdoor sources which can interfere with and impede work performance. The study aimed at assessing noise exposure levels and occupants satisfaction with noise level in selected naturally ventilated open-plan offices in Ghana. The study employed an empirical assessment of the noise levels in and around three of the office buildings using a PCE222 Digital Sound Level Meter and a survey involving interviews to assess workers satisfaction of noise levels of the open-plan offices at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. The results show that mean outdoor noise levels for offices ranged from 11 per cent below to 5 per cent above the WHO permissible limits while mean indoor noise levels exceeded the limit by between 20-40 per cent during the course of the day. In spite of the high levels of noise occupants generally considered the overall noise level in their offices as acceptable. Likewise the results indicate that there are no significant differences in occupants exposure to noise from their various sitting positions in an office space and floor levels in an office building. The paper recommends strategies to manage and improve ambient noise quality within naturally ventilated open-plan office spaces in Ghana. The study will be of relevance as a useful guide to organizations and policy makers concerned with built environmental issues.

Multi-scalar influence of weather and climate on very large-fires in the Eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

John T. Abatzoglou; Renaud Barbero; Crystal A. Kolden; Katherine C. Hegewisch; Narasimhan K. Larkin; Harry Podschwit

2014-01-01

A majority of area burned in the Eastern United States (EUS) results from a limited number of exceptionally large wildfires. Relationships between climatic conditions and the occurrence of very large-fires (VLF) in the EUS were examined using composite and climate-niche analyses that consider atmospheric factors across inter-annual, sub-seasonal and synoptic temporal...

Information-Driven Safeguards: A Country Officer's Perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gyane, E.

2010-01-01

Since the transition from 'traditional' to strengthened safeguards, the evaluation and analysis of information has played an increasingly important role in the Agency's safeguards activities. During the State evaluation process, the Agency utilizes all available information for drawing credible safeguards conclusions. Besides State declared information and data gathered during inspections, a large number of information sources are reviewed for any indications of safeguards relevance. The State level approach - in contrast to the facility-based approach under traditional safeguards - considers the acquisition paths available to a State and adjusts safeguards intensity accordingly. An additional protocol widens the information base available to the Agency for analysis and evaluation and it extends the Agency's access rights in the field. The use of information for determining safeguards activities is often referred to as 'information-driven safeguards'. Country officers are inspectors in the Department of Safeguards Operations Divisions who are responsible for States and thus form the base of the Agency's information chain. The information-driven safeguards approach has led to a significant change in the role of inspector country officers: While the verification of declared nuclear material remains the cornerstone of the IAEA Safeguards System, country officers are now not only expected to be knowledgeable about the inspection-related aspects in their countries. They also need to act on information on their States coming from a variety of sources on an ongoing basis, in order to identify proliferation indicators at an early stage. Country officers thus analyse developments in their States as well as their States' relations with other States. They review scientific literature for research that could potentially be of safeguards relevance. They observe their States' nuclear facilities from satellite imagery. They evaluate reports on nuclear trade between their States

Climate change and States security: an operational link to develop locally and on the medium term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taithe, Alexandre

2007-01-01

The author first notices that climate change and environmental degradations induce new logics in international relationships, and then discusses how consequences of climate change can be factors of instability for States, and how to address them. He recalls and comments the main effects of climate change as they have been described in IPCC reports. He outlines limitations of conventional approaches in terms of direct and indirect impacts on States. Direct effects concern territories (for example, a modification of borders due to sea level rise or to erosion), populations (impact of extreme events on housing, on health) and the economy (more particularly the primary sector and high levels of adaptation costs). The author outlines the limitations of these global models, and proposes additional and corrective approaches: hybrid (regional and global) approaches, local and medium term-based approach (some natural resource management can be assessed and organised only locally). An appendix proposes a contribution of an IPCC work-group in which impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities of the different regions of the world in front of climate changes are summarized

Paper 5944 Changing Climates @ Colorado State: It's Everybody's Business

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, S.; Calderazzo, J.; Denning, S.; Betsill, M.; Klein, J. A.; Fiege, M.

2014-12-01

With the help of faculty from all eight colleges, twenty-seven departments, and numerous other entities on and off the Colorado State University campus, this education and outreach initiative is based on the premises that climate change is everybody's business and that everyone has something to offer in meeting its challenges. Beginning in 2007, CC@CSU has organized some 120 talks to audiences totaling some 6,000, helping inform the student body and community and catalyzing relationships among faculty and researchers across campus. It has offered communication coaching to scientists (and others) who want to translate their expertise for the public. And it has developed a multidisciplinary website (http://changingclimates.colostate.edu) with over 450 annotated entries, all college-level content, primer-level clarity, on topics that include climate science and ecology, economics and emotions, ethics and policy, communication and activism, paleoclimate and human history, and much more. This presentation will address the basic questions of why, who, how, what, for whom, and so what, concluding with some of the key lessons learned about communicating across disciplinary boundaries on this important subject.

Climate change negotiation simulations for students: responses across gender and age.A case study: San Francisco State University World Climate Exercises

Science.gov (United States)

Rasheva, E. A.

2015-12-01

For decades, role-play and simulation exercises have been utilized for learning and policy decision making. While the power of Model UN simulations in building first-person experience and understanding of complex international issues is well known, the effectiveness of simulations for inspiring citizen engagement in scientific public-policy issues is little studied. My work hypothesizes that climate-change negotiation simulations can enhance students' scientific literacy and policy advocacy. It aims to determine how age and gender influence the responsiveness of students to such simulations. During the 2015 fall semester, I am conducting World Climate exercises for fellow graduate and undergraduate students at San Francisco State University. At the end of the exercise, I will have collected the responses to an anonymous questionnaire in which the participants indicate age and gender. The questionnaire asks participants to describe their hopes and fears for the future and to propose public and personal actions for achieving a strong climate change agreement. I am tracking differences to determine whether participants' age and gender correlate with particular patterns of feeling and thinking. My future research will aim to determine whether and how strongly the World Climate Exercise has affected participants' actual policy engagement. This work will also reflect on my experiences as a World Climate facilitator. I will describe the facilitation process and then discuss some of my observations from the sessions. I will specify the challenges I have encountered and suggest strategies that can strengthen the learning process. World Climate is a computer-simulation-based climate change negotiations role-playing exercise developed by Climate Interactive in partnership with the System Dynamics Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Review of Climate Change and Health in Ethiopia: Status and Gap ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Review of Climate Change and Health in Ethiopia: Status and Gap Analysis. ... Thirdly, there are no reliable policy guidelines and programs among organizations, agencies and offices that target climate change and health. Fourth, the existing policies fail to consider the gender and community-related dimensions of climate ...

Effects of climate change on streamflow extremes and implications for reservoir inflow in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naz, Bibi S.; Kao, Shih-Chieh; Ashfaq, Moetasim; Gao, Huilin

2017-01-01

The magnitude and frequency of hydrometeorological extremes are expected to increase in the conterminous United States (CONUS) over the rest of this century, and their increase will significantly impact water resource management. While previous efforts focused on the effects of reservoirs on downstream discharge, the effects of climate change on reservoir inflows in upstream areas are not well understood. We evaluated the large-scale climate change effects on extreme hydrological events and their implications for reservoir inflows in 178 headwater basins across CONUS using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model. The VIC model was forced with a 10-member ensemble of global circulation models under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 that were dynamically downscaled using a regional climate model (RegCM4) and bias-corrected to 1/24° grid cell resolution. The results projected an increase in the likelihood of flood risk by 44% for a majority of subbasins upstream of flood control reservoirs in the central United States and increased drought risk by 11% for subbasins upstream of hydropower reservoirs across the western United States. Increased risk of both floods and droughts can potentially make reservoirs across CONUS more vulnerable to future climate conditions. In conclusion, this study estimates reservoir inflow changes over the next several decades, which can be used to optimize water supply management downstream.

Climate-Driven Risk of Large Fire Occurrence in the Western United States, 1500 to 2003

Science.gov (United States)

Crockett, J.; Westerling, A. L.

2017-12-01

Spatially comprehensive fire climatology has provided managers with tools to understand thecauses and consequences of large forest wildfires, but a paleoclimate context is necessary foranticipating the trajectory of future climate-fire relationships. Although accumulated charcoalrecords and tree scars have been utilized in high resolution, regional fire reconstructions, there isuncertainty as to how current climate-fire relationships of the western United States (WUS) fitwithin the natural long-term variability. While contemporary PDSI falls within the naturalvariability of the past, contemporary temperatures skew higher. Here, we develop a WUSfire reconstruction by applying climate-fire-topography model built on the 1972 to 2003 periodto the past 500 years, validated by recently updated fire-scar histories from WUS forests. Theresultant narrative provides insight into changing climate-fire relationships during extendedperiods of high aridity and temperature, providing land managers with historical precedent toeffectively anticipate disturbances during future climate change.

Characterization of the Temporal Clustering of Flood Events across the Central United States in terms of Climate States

Science.gov (United States)

Mallakpour, Iman; Villarini, Gabriele; Jones, Michael; Smith, James

2016-04-01

The central United States is a region of the country that has been plagued by frequent catastrophic flooding (e.g., flood events of 1993, 2008, 2013, and 2014), with large economic and social repercussions (e.g., fatalities, agricultural losses, flood losses, water quality issues). The goal of this study is to examine whether it is possible to describe the occurrence of flood events at the sub-seasonal scale in terms of variations in the climate system. Daily streamflow time series from 774 USGS stream gage stations over the central United States (defined here to include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan) with a record of at least 50 years and ending no earlier than 2011 are used for this study. We use a peak-over-threshold (POT) approach to identify flood peaks so that we have, on average two events per year. We model the occurrence/non-occurrence of a flood event over time using regression models based on Cox processes. Cox processes are widely used in biostatistics and can be viewed as a generalization of Poisson processes. Rather than assuming that flood events occur independently of the occurrence of previous events (as in Poisson processes), Cox processes allow us to account for the potential presence of temporal clustering, which manifests itself in an alternation of quiet and active periods. Here we model the occurrence/non-occurrence of flood events using two climate indices as climate time-varying covariates: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific-North American pattern (PNA). The results of this study show that NAO and/or PNA can explain the temporal clustering in flood occurrences in over 90% of the stream gage stations we considered. Analyses of the sensitivity of the results to different average numbers of flood events per year (from one to five) are also performed and lead to the same conclusions. The findings of this work

United States Department of Energy, Grand Junction Office

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The Grand Junction Office (GJO), US Department of Energy (DOE), develops and administers programs for evaluating domestic uranium resources and the production capability of industry; for developing resource planning information for DOE; and for advancing geologic and geophysical exploration concepts and techniques. In addition, GJO administers the leasing of mineral lands under DOE control, and carries out activities relating to the environmental aspects of uranium mining and milling, including remedial programs. The Office is staffed by administrative and technical program-management personnel. Bendix Field Engineering Corporation (Bendix) is the DOE operating contractor at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Government-owned/contractor-operated (GOCO) facility. The technical staffs of both GJO and Bendix are primarily geoscience-oriented. Specifically during 1980, uranium resource assessment on 135 National Topographic Map Series (NTMS) quadrangles was completed, along with other specific studies, to yield October 1980 national resource estimates. In addition, updated uranium supply analysis and production capability projections were completed. Another key aspect of this successful program was the development of improved geophysical and geochemical equipment and techniques in support of uranium resource assessment. Much of the hardware and know-how developed was turned over to the public and to the uranium industry at large for application to uranium exploration and the assessment of uranium company resources. The Grand Junction Office also participated actively during 1980 in international cooperative research on uranium exploration techniques and on the geology of uranium deposits

State of Nevada, Agency for Nuclear Projects/Nuclear Waste Project Office narrative report, January 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The Agency for Nuclear Projects/Nuclear Waste Project Office (NWPO) is the State of Nevada agency designated by State law to monitor and oversee US Department of Energy (DOE) activities relative to the possible siting, construction, operation and closure of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and to carry out the State of Nevada's responsibilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. During the reporting period the NWPO continued to work toward the five objectives designed to implement the Agency's oversight responsibilities: (1) Assure that the health and safety of Nevada's citizens are adequately protected with regard to any federal high-level radioactive waste program within the State; (2) Take the responsibilities and perform the duties of the State of Nevada as described in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-425) and the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987; (3) Advise the Governor, the State Commission on Nuclear Projects and the Nevada State Legislature on matters concerning the potential disposal of high-level radioactive waste in the State; (4) Work closely and consult with affected local governments and State agencies; (5) Monitor and evaluate federal planning and activities regarding high-level radioactive waste disposal. Plan and conduct independent State studies regarding the proposed repository

The Users Office returns to its premises

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

The renovation work on the Users Office, which began on 29 November, was completed last week. The Office's staff have now returned to their modernised and more spacious premises in Building 61. For four months, the Users' Office was housed in Building 2-R-030 thanks to the LHCb experiment collaboration, which was kind enough to temporarily loan some office space. For 15 years, the team has been helping Users with their administrative tasks. It provides them with all the information necessary on the procedures to be followed after their arrival at CERN as well as on cultural activities in the region. Since the beginning of January, the team is also looking after the Unpaid Associates. CERN hosts 4489 Users from Member States and 1909 from non-Members States, representing over 50 nationalities.

Awareness of Climate Change and Sustainable Development among Undergraduates from Two Selected Universities in Oyo State, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Agboola, Omowunmi Sola; Emmanuel, Michael

2016-01-01

This study investigated awareness of climate change and sustainable development among undergraduates in two universities: University of Ibadan, Ibadan and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso in Oyo State of Nigeria. This was aimed at increasing the knowledge of undergraduates on climate change and sustainable development. The study…

Detection and attribution of streamflow timing changes to climate change in the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Hidalgo, H.G.; Das, T.; Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R.; Pierce, D.W.; Barnett, T.P.; Bala, G.; Mirin, A.; Wood, A.W.; Bonfils, Celine; Santer, B.D.; Nozawa, T.

2009-01-01

This article applies formal detection and attribution techniques to investigate the nature of observed shifts in the timing of streamflow in the western United States. Previous studies have shown that the snow hydrology of the western United States has changed in the second half of the twentieth century. Such changes manifest themselves in the form of more rain and less snow, in reductions in the snow water contents, and in earlier snowmelt and associated advances in streamflow "center" timing (the day in the "water-year" on average when half the water-year flow at a point has passed). However, with one exception over a more limited domain, no other study has attempted to formally attribute these changes to anthropogenic increases of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Using the observations together with a set of global climate model simulations and a hydrologic model (applied to three major hydrological regions of the western United States_the California region, the upper Colorado River basin, and the Columbia River basin), it is found that the observed trends toward earlier "center" timing of snowmelt-driven streamflows in the western United States since 1950 are detectably different from natural variability (significant at the p analysis, and it is the only basin that showed a detectable signal when the analysis was performed on individual basins. It should be noted that although climate change is an important signal, other climatic processes have also contributed to the hydrologic variability of large basins in the western United States. ?? 2009 American Meteorological Society.

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...

A strategy for assessing potential future changes in climate, hydrology, and vegetation in the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Robert Stephen; Hostetler, Steven W.; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Anderson, Katherine H.

1998-01-01

Historical and geological data indicate that significant changes can occur in the Earth's climate on time scales ranging from years to millennia. In addition to natural climatic change, climatic changes may occur in the near future due to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide and other trace gases in the atmosphere that are the result of human activities. International research efforts using atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM's) to assess potential climatic conditions under atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations of twice the pre-industrial level (a '2 X CO2' atmosphere) conclude that climate would warm on a global basis. However, it is difficult to assess how the projected warmer climatic conditions would be distributed on a regional scale and what the effects of such warming would be on the landscape, especially for temperate mountainous regions such as the Western United States. In this report, we present a strategy to assess the regional sensitivity to global climatic change. The strategy makes use of a hierarchy of models ranging from an AGCM, to a regional climate model, to landscape-scale process models of hydrology and vegetation. A 2 X CO2 global climate simulation conducted with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) GENESIS AGCM on a grid of approximately 4.5o of latitude by 7.5o of longitude was used to drive the NCAR regional climate model (RegCM) over the Western United States on a grid of 60 km by 60 km. The output from the RegCM is used directly (for hydrologic models) or interpolated onto a 15-km grid (for vegetation models) to quantify possible future environmental conditions on a spatial scale relevant to policy makers and land managers.

Using Climate Regionalization to Understand Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2) Precipitation Performance for the Conterminous United States (CONUS)

Science.gov (United States)

Regonda, Satish K.; Zaitchik, Benjamin F.; Badr, Hamada S.; Rodell, Matthew

2016-01-01

Dynamically based seasonal forecasts are prone to systematic spatial biases due to imperfections in the underlying global climate model (GCM). This can result in low-forecast skill when the GCM misplaces teleconnections or fails to resolve geographic barriers, even if the prediction of large-scale dynamics is accurate. To characterize and address this issue, this study applies objective climate regionalization to identify discrepancies between the Climate Forecast SystemVersion 2 (CFSv2) and precipitation observations across the Contiguous United States (CONUS). Regionalization shows that CFSv2 1 month forecasts capture the general spatial character of warm season precipitation variability but that forecast regions systematically differ from observation in some transition zones. CFSv2 predictive skill for these misclassified areas is systematically reduced relative to correctly regionalized areas and CONUS as a whole. In these incorrectly regionalized areas, higher skill can be obtained by using a regional-scale forecast in place of the local grid cell prediction.

The Northern Climate Exchange Gap Analysis Project : an assessment of the current state of knowledge about the impacts of climate change in northern Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) Gap Analysis Project was launched in 1999 with an objective to assess the state of knowledge on climate change in northern Canada. Resulting products of the project have included the Infosource Database, an on-line database of published climate change research related to the Canadian North, the Directory of Contacts, another on-line database of interested parties to climate change issues, and a set of tables that rate the level of available information on climate change as it relates to natural, economic and community systems. Other products include a report of a workshop on climate change research, 2 reports assessing the level of traditional northern knowledge about climate change, 2 reports assessing the completeness and value of the Infosource Database, a web site for NCE, and this report. All products are available to the public on the Internet or on a CD-ROM. The NCE Gap Analysis Project has shown there are inequalities in the amount of information across different systems, and that there is more knowledge on predicted temperature changes than for other climate components. The study notes that there are strong regional trends for compiled knowledge, with some regions having been better studied than others. The project revealed that traditional knowledge of climate change has not been well documented, and that more information exists about climate change impacts on biological systems with an economic component than those without economic significance. refs., tabs., figs

United States Department of Energy Richland Field Office Environmental Protection Implementation Plan, November 9, 1991--November 9, 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-02-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1 (DOE 1988a), General Environmental Protection Program, establishes environmental protection program requirements, authorities, and responsibilities to ensure that DOE operations are in compliance with applicable Federal, State and local environmental protection laws and regulations, executive orders, and internal department policies. Chapter 3 of DOE Order 5400.1 requires that each DOE Field Office prepare a plan for implementing the requirements of this order and update the plan annually. Therefore, this update to the US Department of Energy -- Richland Operations Office Environmental Protection Implementation Plan (DOE-RL 1989a), initially prepared November 9, 1989, is being issued

United States Department of Energy Richland Field Office Environmental Protection Implementation Plan, November 9, 1992--November 9, 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-11-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1 (DOE 1988a), General Environmental Protection Program, establishes environmental protection program requirements, authorities, and responsibilities to ensure that DOE operations are in compliance with applicable Federal, State and local environmental protection laws and regulations, executive orders, and internal department policies. Chapter 3 of DOE Order 5400.1 requires that each DOE Field Office prepare a plan for implementing the requirements of this order and update the plan annually. This update to the US Department of Energy-Richland Operations Office Environmental Protection Implementation Plan (DOE-RL 1989a), initially prepared November 9, 1989, is being issued to comply with the order

Climate change/variability science and adaptive strategies for state and regional transportation decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

The objective of this study was to generate a baseline understanding of current policy responses to climate : change/variability at the state and regional transportation-planning and -decision levels. Specifically, : researchers were interested in th...

Energy use in office buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-10-01

This is the report on Task IB, Familiarization with Additional Data Collection Plans of Annual Survey of BOMA Member and Non-Member Buildings in 20 Cities, of the Energy Use in Office Buildings project. The purpose of the work was to monitor and understand the efforts of the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) in gathering an energy-use-oriented data base. In order to obtain an improved data base encompassing a broad spectrum of office space and with information suitable for energy analysis in greater detail than is currently available, BOMA undertook a major data-collection effort. Based on a consideration of geographic area, climate, population, and availability of data, BOMA selected twenty cities for data collection. BOMA listed all of the major office space - buildings in excess of 40,000 square feet - in each of the cities. Tax-assessment records, local maps, Chamber of Commerce data, recent industrial-development programs, results of related studies, and local-realtor input were used in an effort to assemble a comprehensive office-building inventory. In order to verify the accuracy and completeness of the building lists, BOMA assembled an Ad-Hoc Review Committee in each city to review the assembled inventory of space. A questionnaire on office-building energy use and building characteristics was developed. In each city BOMA assembled a data collection team operating under the supervision of its regional affiliate to gather the data. For each city a random sample of buildings was selected, and data were gathered. Responses for over 1000 buildings were obtained.

First UN member state conference on the climate framework convention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamprecht, F.

1995-01-01

The ''Framework Convention of the United Nations Concerning Climate Changes'' (Climate Framework Convention - KRK), which was passed at the 1992 World Environment Conference (UNCEO) in Rio de Janeiro and took effect on 21 March 1994, has instituted the UN Conference of Contracting Parties (VSK) as the organ presiding over this issue (Article 7 KRK). This annual conference has the task to implement the KRK and its associated legal instruments and pass the resolutions required to this end. Its premiere took place in Berlin (28 March to 7 April 1995). Delegates from 117 signatory and 53 observer states struggled before an audience of 2000 news reportes to find a solution to the pending tasks that might be tolerable for all participants. The present article gives a brief outline of these tasks and the results achieved in Berlin. The picture is rounded off by information on the different positions defended, lines of conflict and the course of the conference. (orig.) [de

Climate change projections for Tamil Nadu, India: deriving high-resolution climate data by a downscaling approach using PRECIS

Science.gov (United States)

Bal, Prasanta Kumar; Ramachandran, A.; Geetha, R.; Bhaskaran, B.; Thirumurugan, P.; Indumathi, J.; Jayanthi, N.

2016-02-01

In this paper, we present regional climate change projections for the Tamil Nadu state of India, simulated by the Met Office Hadley Centre regional climate model. The model is run at 25 km horizontal resolution driven by lateral boundary conditions generated by a perturbed physical ensemble of 17 simulations produced by a version of Hadley Centre coupled climate model, known as HadCM3Q under A1B scenario. The large scale features of these 17 simulations were evaluated for the target region to choose lateral boundary conditions from six members that represent a range of climate variations over the study region. The regional climate, known as PRECIS, was then run 130 years from 1970. The analyses primarily focus on maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall over the region. For the Tamil Nadu as a whole, the projections of maximum temperature show an increase of 1.0, 2.2 and 3.1 °C for the periods 2020s (2005-2035), 2050s (2035-2065) and 2080s (2065-2095), respectively, with respect to baseline period (1970-2000). Similarly, the projections of minimum temperature show an increase of 1.1, 2.4 and 3.5 °C, respectively. This increasing trend is statistically significant (Mann-Kendall trend test). The annual rainfall projections for the same periods indicate a general decrease in rainfall of about 2-7, 1-4 and 4-9 %, respectively. However, significant exceptions are noticed over some pockets of western hilly areas and high rainfall areas where increases in rainfall are seen. There are also indications of increasing heavy rainfall events during the northeast monsoon season and a slight decrease during the southwest monsoon season. Such an approach of using climate models may maximize the utility of high-resolution climate change information for impact-adaptation-vulnerability assessments.

29 CFR 452.40 - Prior office holding.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959 Candidacy for Office; Reasonable Qualifications § 452.40 Prior office holding. A.... 26 26 Wirtz v. Hotel, Motel and Club Employees Union, Local 6, 391 U.S. 492 at 504. The Court stated...

Integrated watershed-scale response to climate change for selected basins across the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Markstrom, Steven L.; Hay, Lauren E.; Ward-Garrison, D. Christian; Risley, John C.; Battaglin, William A.; Bjerklie, David M.; Chase, Katherine J.; Christiansen, Daniel E.; Dudley, Robert W.; Hunt, Randall J.; Koczot, Kathryn M.; Mastin, Mark C.; Regan, R. Steven; Viger, Roland J.; Vining, Kevin C.; Walker, John F.

2012-01-01

A study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) evaluated the hydrologic response to different projected carbon emission scenarios of the 21st century using a hydrologic simulation model. This study involved five major steps: (1) setup, calibrate and evaluated the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model in 14 basins across the United States by local USGS personnel; (2) acquire selected simulated carbon emission scenarios from the World Climate Research Programme's Coupled Model Intercomparison Project; (3) statistical downscaling of these scenarios to create PRMS input files which reflect the future climatic conditions of these scenarios; (4) generate PRMS projections for the carbon emission scenarios for the 14 basins; and (5) analyze the modeled hydrologic response. This report presents an overview of this study, details of the methodology, results from the 14 basin simulations, and interpretation of these results. A key finding is that the hydrological response of the different geographical regions of the United States to potential climate change may be different, depending on the dominant physical processes of that particular region. Also considered is the tremendous amount of uncertainty present in the carbon emission scenarios and how this uncertainty propagates through the hydrologic simulations.

Estimation of evapotranspiration across the conterminous United States using a regression with climate and land-cover data

Science.gov (United States)

Sanford, Ward E.; Selnick, David L.

2013-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important quantity for water resource managers to know because it often represents the largest sink for precipitation (P) arriving at the land surface. In order to estimate actual ET across the conterminous United States (U.S.) in this study, a water-balance method was combined with a climate and land-cover regression equation. Precipitation and streamflow records were compiled for 838 watersheds for 1971-2000 across the U.S. to obtain long-term estimates of actual ET. A regression equation was developed that related the ratio ET/P to climate and land-cover variables within those watersheds. Precipitation and temperatures were used from the PRISM climate dataset, and land-cover data were used from the USGS National Land Cover Dataset. Results indicate that ET can be predicted relatively well at a watershed or county scale with readily available climate variables alone, and that land-cover data can also improve those predictions. Using the climate and land-cover data at an 800-m scale and then averaging to the county scale, maps were produced showing estimates of ET and ET/P for the entire conterminous U.S. Using the regression equation, such maps could also be made for more detailed state coverages, or for other areas of the world where climate and land-cover data are plentiful.

State environmental regulation and economic development: Are they compatible?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, C.

1992-01-01

An underlying assumption of the partial preemption approach is the belief that minimum federal standards contribute to the prospective decentralization of environmental protection programs by removing or reducing industry incentives to shop around for states with a more lenient regulatory stance. This assumption was examined through a survey of chiev executive officers of pollution-generating firms. The data suggest that corporate officials see regulatory climate as an important component of overhead costs. The author concludes that the desire to retain industries within state boundaries does inhibit the promulgation of strict environment regulations by public officials. 16 refs., 2 tabs

Human presence diminishes the importance of climate in driving fire activity across the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Syphard, Alexandra D.; Keeley, Jon E.; Pfaff, Anne Hopkins; Ferschweiler, Ken

2017-01-01

Growing human and ecological costs due to increasing wildfire are an urgent concern in policy and management, particularly given projections of worsening fire conditions under climate change. Thus, understanding the relationship between climatic variation and fire activity is a critically important scientific question. Different factors limit fire behavior in different places and times, but most fire-climate analyses are conducted across broad spatial extents that mask geographical variation. This could result in overly broad or inappropriate management and policy decisions that neglect to account for regionally specific or other important factors driving fire activity. We developed statistical models relating seasonal temperature and precipitation variables to historical annual fire activity for 37 different regions across the continental United States and asked whether and how fire-climate relationships vary geographically, and why climate is more important in some regions than in others. Climatic variation played a significant role in explaining annual fire activity in some regions, but the relative importance of seasonal temperature or precipitation, in addition to the overall importance of climate, varied substantially depending on geographical context. Human presence was the primary reason that climate explained less fire activity in some regions than in others. That is, where human presence was more prominent, climate was less important. This means that humans may not only influence fire regimes but their presence can actually override, or swamp out, the effect of climate. Thus, geographical context as well as human influence should be considered alongside climate in national wildfire policy and management.

Interactive Development of Regional Climate Web Pages for the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Oakley, N.; Redmond, K. T.

2013-12-01

Weather and climate have a pervasive and significant influence on the western United States, driving a demand for information that is ongoing and constantly increasing. In communications with stakeholders, policy makers, researchers, educators, and the public through formal and informal encounters, three standout challenges face users of weather and climate information in the West. First, the needed information is scattered about the web making it difficult or tedious to access. Second, information is too complex or requires too much background knowledge to be immediately applicable. Third, due to complex terrain, there is high spatial variability in weather, climate, and their associated impacts in the West, warranting information outlets with a region-specific focus. Two web sites, TahoeClim and the Great Basin Weather and Climate Dashboard were developed to overcome these challenges to meeting regional weather and climate information needs. TahoeClim focuses on the Lake Tahoe Basin, a region of critical environmental concern spanning the border of Nevada and California. TahoeClim arose out of the need for researchers, policy makers, and environmental organizations to have access to all available weather and climate information in one place. Additionally, TahoeClim developed tools to both interpret and visualize data for the Tahoe Basin with supporting instructional material. The Great Basin Weather and Climate Dashboard arose from discussions at an informal meeting about Nevada drought organized by the USDA Farm Service Agency. Stakeholders at this meeting expressed a need to take a 'quick glance' at various climate indicators to support their decision making process. Both sites were designed to provide 'one-stop shopping' for weather and climate information in their respective regions and to be intuitive and usable by a diverse audience. An interactive, 'co-development' approach was taken with sites to ensure needs of potential users were met. The sites were

State-of-the-Art Climate Predictions for Energy Climate Services

Science.gov (United States)

Torralba-Fernandez, Veronica; Davis, Melanie; Doblas-Reyes, Francisco J.; Gonzalez-Reviriego, Nube

2015-04-01

Climate predictions tailored to the energy sector represent the cutting edge in climate sciences to forecast wind power generation. At seasonal time scales, current energy practices use a deterministic approach based on retrospective climatology, but climate predictions have recently been shown to provide additional value. For this reason, probabilistic climate predictions of near surface winds can allow end users to take calculated, precautionary action with a potential cost savings to their operations. As every variable predicted in a coupled model forecast system, the prediction of wind speed is affected by biases. To overcome this, two different techniques for the post-processing of ensemble forecasts are considered: a simple bias correction and a calibration method. The former is based on the assumption that the reference and predicted distributions are well approximated by a normal distribution. The latter is a calibration technique which inflates the model variance, and the inflation of the ensemble is required in order to obtain a reliable outcome. Both methods use the "one-year out" cross-validated mode, and they provide corrected forecasts with improved statistical properties. The impact of these bias corrections on the quality of the ECMWF S4 predictions of near surface wind speed during winter is explored. To offer a comprehensive picture of the post-processing effect on the forecast quality of the system, it is necessary to use several scoring measures: rank histograms, reliability diagrams and skill maps. These tools are essential to assess different aspects of the forecasts, and to observe changes in their properties when the two methods are applied. This study reveals that the different techniques to correct the predictions produce a statistically consistent ensemble. However, the operations performed on the forecasts decrease their skill which correspond to an increase in the uncertainty. Therefore, even though the bias correction is fundamental

The Iowa K-12 Climate Science Education Initiative: a comprehensive approach to meeting in-service teachers' stated needs for teaching climate literacy with NGSS

Science.gov (United States)

Stanier, C. O.; Spak, S.; Neal, T. A.; Herder, S.; Malek, A.; Miller, Z.

2017-12-01

The Iowa Board of Education voted unanimously in 2015 to adopt NGSS performance standards. The CGRER - College of Education Iowa K-12 Climate Science Education Initiative was established in 2016 to work directly with Iowa inservice teachers to provide what teachers need most to teach climate literacy and climate science content through investigational learning aligned with NGSS. Here we present teachers' requests for teaching climate with NGSS, and an approach to provide resources for place-based authentic inquiry on climate, developed, tested, and refined in partnership with inservice and preservice teachers. A survey of inservice middle school and high school science teachers was conducted at the 2016 Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics/Iowa Academy of Sciences - Iowa Science Teaching Section Fall Conference and online in fall 2016. Participants (n=383) were asked about their prior experience and education, the resources they use and need, their level of comfort in teaching climate science, perceived barriers, and how they address potential controversy. Teachers indicated preference for professional development on climate content and complete curricula packaged with lessons and interactive models aligned to Iowa standards, as well as training on instructional strategies to enhance students' ability to interpret scientific evidence. We identify trends in responses by teaching experience, climate content knowledge and its source, grade level, and urban and rural districts. Less than 20% of respondents reported controversy or negativity in teaching climate to date, and a majority were comfortable teaching climate science and climate change, with equal confidence in teaching climate and other STEM content through investigational activities. We present an approach and materials to meet these stated needs, created and tested in collaboration with Iowa teachers. We combine professional development and modular curricula with bundled standards, concepts, models, data

Designing of zero energy office buildings in hot arid climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdel-Gwad, Mohamed

2011-07-01

The designing of office buildings by using large glass areas to have a transparent building is an attractive approach in the modern office building architecture. This attitude increases the energy demand for cooling specially in the hot arid region which has long sun duration time, while the use of small glazing areas increases the energy demand for lighting. The use of uncontrolled natural ventilation increases the rate of hot ambient air flow which increases the building energy demand for cooling. At the same time, the use of mechanical ventilation to control the air change rate may increase the energy demand for fans. Some ideas such as low energy design concept are introduced for improving the building energy performance and different rating systems have been developed such as LEED, BREEAM and DGNB for evaluating building energy performance system. One of the new ideas for decreasing the dependence on fossil fuels and improving the use of renewable energy is the net zero-energy building concept in which the building generates enough renewable energy on site to equal or exceed its annual energy use. This work depends on using the potentials of mixing different energy strategies such as hybrid ventilation strategy, passive night cooling, passive chilled ceiling side by side with the integrating of photovoltaic modules into the building facade to produce energy and enrich the architectural aesthetics and finally reaching the Net Zero Energy Building. There are different definitions for zero energy buildings, however in this work the use of building-integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) to provide the building with its annual energy needs is adopted, in order to reach to a Grid-Connected Net-Zero Energy Office Building in the hot arid desert zone represented by Cairo, Egypt. (orig.)

Adaptation by Stealth: Understanding climate information use across scales and decision spaces in water management in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Kirchhoff, C.; Vang Rasmussen, L.; Lemos, M. C.

2016-12-01

While there has been considerable focus on understanding how factors related to the creation of climate knowledge affect its uptake and use, less attention has been paid to the actors, decisions, and processes through which climate information supports, or fails to support, action. This is particularly the case concerning how different scales of decision-making influence information uptake. In this study, we seek to understand how water and resource managers' decision space influences climate information use in two Great Lakes watersheds. We find that despite the availability of tailored climate information, actual use of information in decision making remains low. Reasons include: a) lack of willingness to place climate on agendas because local managers perceive climate change as politically risky and a difficult and intangible problem; b) lack of formal mandate or authority at the city and county scale to translate climate information into on-the-ground action, c) problems with the information itself, and d) perceived lack of demand for climate information by those managers who have the mandate and authority (e.g. at the state level) to use (or help others use) climate information. Our findings suggest that 1) climate scientists and information brokers should produce information that meets a range of decision needs and reserve intensive tailoring efforts for decision makers who have authority and willingness to employ climate information, 2) without support from higher levels of decision-making (e.g. state) it is unlikely that climate information use for adaptation decisions will accelerate significantly in the next few years, and 3) the trend towards adopting more sustainability and resilience practices over climate-specific actions should be supported as an important component of the climate adaptation repertoire.

Youth Climate Summits: Empowering & Engaging Youth to Lead on Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Kretser, J.

2017-12-01

The Wild Center's Youth Climate Summits is a program that engages youth in climate literacy from knowledge and understanding to developing action in their schools and communities. Each Youth Climate Summit is a one to three day event that brings students and teachers together to learn about climate change science, impacts and solutions at a global and local level. Through speakers, workshops and activities, the Summit culminates in a student-driven Climate Action Plan that can be brought back to schools and communities. The summits have been found to be powerful vehicles for inspiration, learning, community engagement and youth leadership development. Climate literacy with a focus on local climate impacts and solutions is a key component of the Youth Climate Summit. The project-based learning surrounding the creation of a unique, student driven, sustainability and Climate Action Plan promotes leadership skills applicable and the tools necessary for a 21st Century workforce. Student driven projects range from school gardens and school energy audits to working with NYS officials to commit to going 100% renewable electricty at the three state-owned downhill ski facilities. The summit model has been scaled and replicated in other communities in New York State, Vermont, Ohio, Michigan and Washington states as well as internationally in Finland, Germany and Sri Lanka.

21 October 2008 - LHC Inauguration - Spanish State Secretary for Research C. Martinez welcomed by CERN Director-General R. Aymar, CERN Chief Scientific Officer J. Engelen and CERN Financial Officer S. Lettow and signing the electronic guest book with theoretical physicist A. de Rújula.

CERN Multimedia

LHC 2008

2008-01-01

21 October 2008 - LHC Inauguration - Spanish State Secretary for Research C. Martinez welcomed by CERN Director-General R. Aymar, CERN Chief Scientific Officer J. Engelen and CERN Financial Officer S. Lettow and signing the electronic guest book with theoretical physicist A. de Rújula.

School Climate Improvement Action Guide for Noninstructional Staff. School Climate Improvement Resource Package

Science.gov (United States)

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, 2017

2017-01-01

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that noninstructional staff--including guidance counselors, social workers, school psychologists, office staff, bus drivers, maintenance and facility staff, and food service staff--can take to support school…

Improving Climate Literacy of NOAA Staff and Users

Science.gov (United States)

Timofeyeva, M. M.; Bair, A.; Staudenmaier, M.; Meyers, J. C.; Mayes, B.; Zdrojewski, J.

2010-12-01

Since 2002, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Services Division (CSD) has offered numerous training opportunities to NWS staff. After eight-years of development, the training program offers three instructor-led courses and roughly 25 online (distance learning) modules covering various climate topics, such as: climate data and observations, climate variability and change, and NWS national / local climate products (tools, skill, and interpretation). Leveraging climate information and expertise available at all NOAA line offices and partners allows for the delivery of the most advanced knowledge and is a very critical aspect of the training program. The emerging NOAA Climate Service (NCS) requires a well-trained, climate-literate workforce at the local level capable of delivering NOAA’s climate products and services as well as providing climate-sensitive decision support. NWS Weather Forecast Offices and River Forecast Centers presently serve as local outlets for the NCS climate services. Trained NWS climate service personnel use proactive and reactive approaches and professional education methods in communicating climate variability and change information to local users. Both scientifically-sound messages and amiable communication techniques are important in developing an engaged dialog between the climate service providers and users. Several pilot projects have been conducted by the NWS CSD this past year that apply the program’s training lessons and expertise to specialized external user group training. The technical user groups included natural resources managers, engineers, hydrologists, and planners for transportation infrastructure. Training of professional user groups required tailoring instructions to the potential applications for each group of users. Training technical users identified the following critical issues: (1) knowledge of target audience expectations, initial knowledge status, and potential use of climate information; (2

Advances of NOAA Training Program in Climate Services

Science.gov (United States)

Timofeyeva, M. M.

2012-12-01

Since 2002, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Services Division (CSD) has offered numerous training opportunities to NWS staff. After eight-years of development, the training program offers three instructor-led courses and roughly 25 online (distance learning) modules covering various climate topics, such as: climate data and observations, climate variability and change, and NWS national / local climate products (tools, skill, and interpretation). Leveraging climate information and expertise available at all NOAA line offices and partners allows for the delivery of the most advanced knowledge and is a very critical aspect of the training program. The emerging NOAA Climate Service (NCS) requires a well-trained, climate-literate workforce at the local level capable of delivering NOAA's climate products and services as well as providing climate-sensitive decision support. NWS Weather Forecast Offices and River Forecast Centers presently serve as local outlets for the NCS climate services. Trained NWS climate service personnel use proactive and reactive approaches and professional education methods in communicating climate variability and change information to local users. Both scientifically-sound messages and amiable communication techniques are important in developing an engaged dialog between the climate service providers and users. Several pilot projects have been conducted by the NWS CSD this past year that apply the program's training lessons and expertise to specialized external user group training. The technical user groups included natural resources managers, engineers, hydrologists, and planners for transportation infrastructure. Training of professional user groups required tailoring instructions to the potential applications for each group of users. Training technical users identified the following critical issues: (1) knowledge of target audience expectations, initial knowledge status, and potential use of climate information; (2) leveraging

Addressing Value and Belief Systems on Climate Literacy in the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

McNeal, K. S.

2012-12-01

influence classroom climate instruction. In order to assist this educator group, CLiPSE has aligned a sub-set of the Climate and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) education resources to 11 SEUS state standards in order to better enable educators to implement climate topics in their classrooms. As a potential method to address the unique belief systems in the SEUS, CLiPSE has determined that the best way to engage individuals in the SEUS on the topic of climate change is to invite them into an honest dialogue surrounding climate. To facilitate these conversations effectively, CLiPSE utilizes a dialogical community model that values diversity, encourages respect for one another, recognizes and articulates viewpoints, and prioritizes understanding over resolution. CLiPSE emphasizes people's values and beliefs as they relate to climate change information. Results from pilot studies indicate that this is a promising method to bring together diverse individuals on the climate change topic and initiate the conversation about this very important issue that can often be considered "taboo" in the SEUS.

US views on climate change and nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferguson, C.D.

2009-01-01

The US approach to both nuclear energy and climate change can be summarized in two words: risk management. Unpacking the layers of risk management, however, requires understanding the characteristics of the US electricity market and the influences that federal and state governments have on that market. The fi rst set of issues to understand is that electric utilities in the USA are relatively risk averse, increasingly subject to competition, acutely aware of their accountability to stock investors and relatively lacking in the large capital needed to build nuclear power plants. Chief executive officers (CEOs) of utilities know that their companies' long term financial futures ride on the decisions that they make today about what types of power plants to build because of the plants' decades long lifetimes. John Rowe, CEO of Exelon, the US based utility with the largest number of nuclear reactors, expressed this point directly: 'cost is fundamental'. Many other CEOs are receptive to countering climate change, but not at the risk of hurting the US economy. This is the prevailing perception among many US business leaders. In contrast, some experts have argued that on balance such efforts could help the economy and would mitigate catastrophic climate change effects. The bottom line is that the USA can choose to pay in the near term or delay longer - with potentially graver consequences - to address climate change

Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: Key Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Garfin, G. M.

2012-12-01

The Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States, is a technical input to the National Climate Assessment. The 121-author report summarizes knowledge about climate change and its impacts across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The report looks at links between climate and natural resources, vulnerabilities to climate variability and change across the region and along the U.S.-Mexico border, and adaptation and mitigation choices for addressing future changes. The period since 1950 has been warmer than any period of comparable length in the last 600 years. Droughts of the past 2,000 years have exceeded the most severe and sustained drought during 1901-2010. In the last decade, flows in the major river basins of the Southwest have been lower than their 20th century averages; many snowmelt-fed streams in the region exhibited earlier snowmelt and earlier center of mass of annual streamflows. Climate models project continued temperature increases, with longer and hotter summer heat waves. Average precipitation is projected to decrease in the southern part of the region. Reduced streamflows are projected for the Rio Grande, Colorado, and San Joaquin rivers. More frequent and intense winter flooding is projected for the western Sierra Nevada, whereas Colorado Front Range summer flooding is projected to increase. Observed ecosystems impacts include changes in phenology, widespread forest disturbance due to the confluence of drought, increased temperatures, and changes to insect life cycles. Area burned by wildfire is projected to increase in most of the Southwest. Plant and animal species' distributions will be affected by climate change, and studies show that observed climate changes are strongly associated with observed changes in species' distributions. California coastal ecosystems will be affected by a combination of ocean warming, reduced oxygen content, sea level rise and ocean acidification. When west coast sea levels are

37 CFR 41.153 - Records of the Office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Records of the Office. 41.153 Section 41.153 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PRACTICE BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES Contested Cases § 41.153 Records of the Office. Certification is not...

Quantifying and Valuing Potential Climate Change Impacts on Coral Reefs in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Wobus, C. W.; Lane, D.; Buddemeier, R. W.; Ready, R. C.; Shouse, K. C.; Martinich, J.

2012-12-01

Global climate change presents a two-pronged threat to coral reef ecosystems: increasing sea surface temperatures will increase the likelihood of episodic bleaching events, while increasing ocean carbon dioxide concentrations will change the carbonate chemistry that drives coral growth. Because coral reefs have important societal as well as ecological benefits, climate change mitigation policies that ameliorate these impacts may create substantial economic value. We present a model that evaluates both the ecological and the economic impacts of climate change on coral reefs in the United States. We use a coral reef mortality and bleaching model to project future coral reef declines under a range of climate change policy scenarios for south Florida, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Using a benefits transfer approach, the outputs from the physical model are then used to quantify the economic impacts of these coral reef declines for each of these regions. We find that differing climate change trajectories create substantial changes in projected coral cover and value for Hawaii, but that the ecological and economic benefits of more stringent emissions scenarios are less clear for Florida and Puerto Rico. Overall, our results indicate that the effectiveness of climate change mitigation policies may be region-specific, but that these policies could result in a net increase of nearly $10 billion in economic value from coral reef-related recreational activities alone, over the 21st century.

Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready ...

Science.gov (United States)

As part of the Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program, the Global Change Research Program (GCRP) in the National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has prepared this draft report exploring a new methodology for climate change vulnerability assessments using San Francisco Bay’s salt marsh and mudflat ecosystems as a demonstration. N/A

Climate and energy efficiency policies: synthesis of France commitments and results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

After a brief recall of the definitions of energy efficiency, of direct and indirect emissions, of total emissions, and of the main French commitments (first climate plan, energy policy orientations in the POPE law, Grenelle de l'Environnement, national action plan for energy efficiency, Grenelle laws), this document briefly presents the current situation and predictions in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. For different sectors, it presents key measures and evokes actual or expected results. These sectors are: energy production, housing and office building, transports, industry, State and local communities, agriculture and forest, information and education, wastes

Climate change: Potential impacts and interactions in wetlands of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Burkett, Virginia; Kusler, Jon

2000-01-01

Wetlands exist in a transition zone between aquatic and terrestrial environments which can be altered by subtle changes in hydrology. Twentieth century climate records show that the United States is generally experiencing a trend towards a wetter, warmer climate; some climate models suggest that his trend will continue and possibly intensify over the next 100 years. Wetlands that are most likely to be affected by these and other potential changes (e.g., sea-level rise) associated with atmospheric carbon enrichment include permafrost wetlands, coastal and estuarine wetlands, peatlands, alpine wetlands, and prairie pothote wetlands. Potential impacts range from changes in community structure to changes in ecological function, and from extirpation to enhancement. Wetlands (particularly boreal peatlands) play an important role in the global carbon cycle, generally sequestering carbon in the form of biomass, methane, dissolved organic material and organic sediment. Wetlands that are drained or partially dried can become a net source of methane and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, serving as a positive biotic feedback to global warming. Policy options for minimizing the adverse impacts of climate change on wetland ecosystems include the reduction of current anthropogenic stresses, allowing for inland migration of coastal wetlands as sea-level rises, active management to preserve wetland hydrology, and a wide range of other management and restoration options.

Improving leadership on climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chandani, Achala

2011-03-15

The upcoming UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa throws a spotlight on African climate policy. As part of a knowledge-sharing initiative in Southern Africa, we assessed parliamentarians' needs for more information on climate threats and responses, and ways to improve their capabilities as key stakeholders influencing national and global decisionmaking. Funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and partnered with the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA), IIED worked with parliamentarians in the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) — Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland — through interviews, literature surveys, field trips and workshops. Similar studies in Malawi and Scotland also fed into this project.

Mapping past, present, and future climatic suitability for invasive Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the United States: a process-based modeling approach using CMIP5 downscaled climate scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, M. A. P.; Marcantonio, M.; Melton, F. S.; Barker, C. M.

2016-12-01

The ongoing spread of the mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, in the continental United States leaves new areas at risk for local transmission of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. All three viruses have caused major disease outbreaks in the Americas with infected travelers returning regularly to the U.S. The expanding range of these mosquitoes raises questions about whether recent spread has been enabled by climate change or other anthropogenic influences. In this analysis, we used downscaled climate scenarios from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX GDDP) dataset to model Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus population growth rates across the United States. We used a stage-structured matrix population model to understand past and present climatic suitability for these vectors, and to project future suitability under CMIP5 climate change scenarios. Our results indicate that much of the southern U.S. is suitable for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus year-round. In addition, a large proportion of the U.S. is seasonally suitable for mosquito population growth, creating the potential for periodic incursions into new areas. Changes in climatic suitability in recent decades for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus have occurred already in many regions of the U.S., and model projections of future climate suggest that climate change will continue to reshape the range of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in the U.S., and potentially the risk of the viruses they transmit.

Mapping Past, Present, and Future Climatic Suitability for Invasive Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus in the United States: A Process-Based Modeling Approach Using CMIP5 Downscaled Climate Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Marisa Anne Pella; Marcantonio, Matteo; Melton, Forrest S.; Barker, Christopher M.

2016-01-01

The ongoing spread of the mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, in the continental United States leaves new areas at risk for local transmission of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. All three viruses have caused major disease outbreaks in the Americas with infected travelers returning regularly to the U.S. The expanding range of these mosquitoes raises questions about whether recent spread has been enabled by climate change or other anthropogenic influences. In this analysis, we used downscaled climate scenarios from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX GDDP) dataset to model Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus population growth rates across the United States. We used a stage-structured matrix population model to understand past and present climatic suitability for these vectors, and to project future suitability under CMIP5 climate change scenarios. Our results indicate that much of the southern U.S. is suitable for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus year-round. In addition, a large proportion of the U.S. is seasonally suitable for mosquito population growth, creating the potential for periodic incursions into new areas. Changes in climatic suitability in recent decades for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus have occurred already in many regions of the U.S., and model projections of future climate suggest that climate change will continue to reshape the range of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in the U.S., and potentially the risk of the viruses they transmit.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORTS AND NOTES: TO STATE AND MUNICIPAL HEALTH OFFICERS.

Science.gov (United States)

1913-11-01

This new division of the Journal is specially designed to be of use to active Health Officers of the countries represented in the American Public Health Association. It will be unable to serve its true function unless the Health Officers are willing to coöperate by sending to the Journal copies of their reports, bulletins, new ordinances and personal information which will be of general interest. Furthermore it would be distinctly desirable if communications on subjects of general interest are submitted for publication in this division of the Journal. The management will further welcome any suggestions from Health Officers for the improvement of this division. All communications should be addressed to Selskar M. Gunn, Managing Editor, American Journal of Public Health, 755 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.

Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) Final Scientific/Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaudhary, Aashish [Kitware, Inc.

2017-10-17

Seven Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, Universities, and Kitware, undertook a coordinated effort to build an Earth system modeling capability tailored to meet the climate change research strategic objectives of the DOE Office of Science, as well as the broader climate change application needs of other DOE programs.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory annual report for 1992 to the DOE Office of Energy Research. Part 3, Atmospheric and climate research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schrempf, R.E. [ed.

1993-04-01

Within the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER), the atmospheric sciences and carbon dioxide research programs are part of the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD). One of the central missions of the division is to provide the DOE with scientifically defensible information on the local, regional, and global distributions of energy-related pollutants and their effects on climate. This information is vital to the definition and implementation of a sound national energy strategy. This volume reports on the progress and status of all OHER atmospheric science and climate research projects at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). PNL has had a long history of technical leadership in the atmospheric sciences research programs within OHER. Within the ESD, the Atmospheric Chemistry Program (ACP) continues DOE`s long-term commitment to study the continental and oceanic fates of energy-related air pollutants. Research through direct measurement, numerical modeling, and laboratory studies in the ACP emphasizes the long-range transport, chemical transformation, and removal of emitted pollutants, oxidant species, nitrogen-reservoir species, and aerosols. The Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program continues to apply basic research on density-driven circulations and on turbulent mixing and dispersion in the atmospheric boundary layer to the micro- to mesoscale meteorological processes that affect air-surface exchange and to emergency preparedness at DOE and other facilities. Research at PNL provides basic scientific underpinnings to DOE`s program of global climate research. Research projects within the core carbon dioxide and ocean research programs are now integrated with those in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM), the Computer Hardware, Advanced Mathematics and Model Physics (CHAMMP), and Quantitative Links programs to form DOE`s contribution to the US Global Change Research Program.

OpenClimateGIS - A Web Service Providing Climate Model Data in Commonly Used Geospatial Formats

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, T. A.; Koziol, B. W.; Rood, R. B.

2011-12-01

The goal of the OpenClimateGIS project is to make climate model datasets readily available in commonly used, modern geospatial formats used by GIS software, browser-based mapping tools, and virtual globes.The climate modeling community typically stores climate data in multidimensional gridded formats capable of efficiently storing large volumes of data (such as netCDF, grib) while the geospatial community typically uses flexible vector and raster formats that are capable of storing small volumes of data (relative to the multidimensional gridded formats). OpenClimateGIS seeks to address this difference in data formats by clipping climate data to user-specified vector geometries (i.e. areas of interest) and translating the gridded data on-the-fly into multiple vector formats. The OpenClimateGIS system does not store climate data archives locally, but rather works in conjunction with external climate archives that expose climate data via the OPeNDAP protocol. OpenClimateGIS provides a RESTful API web service for accessing climate data resources via HTTP, allowing a wide range of applications to access the climate data.The OpenClimateGIS system has been developed using open source development practices and the source code is publicly available. The project integrates libraries from several other open source projects (including Django, PostGIS, numpy, Shapely, and netcdf4-python).OpenClimateGIS development is supported by a grant from NOAA's Climate Program Office.

37 CFR 11.2 - Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline. 11.2 Section 11.2 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REPRESENTATION OF OTHERS BEFORE THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE General Provisions General...

Decommissioning of nuclear facilities by the United States Department of Energy Oak Ridge Field Office

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeLozier, M.F.P.

1992-01-01

The Oak Ridge Field Office of the United States Department of Energy is projecting one of the largest decommissioning efforts in the nation during the next ten to twenty years. The nuclear facilities are varied with respect to the types of contaminants and types of structures and equipment involved. The facilities planned for decommissioning include 26 ORNL facilities (e.g., OGR, HRE, MSRE), 70 facilities at Oak Ridge K25 site, and the Y-12 plant at Oak Ridge. Innovative technologies are required to decommission the facilities and dispose of the waste generated. (R.P.)

Geothermal Technologies Office 2012 Peer Review Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2013-04-01

On May 7-10, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Office conducted its annual program peer review in Westminster, CO. In accordance with the EERE Peer Review Guide, the review provides an independent, expert evaluation of the strategic goals and direction of the office and is a forum for feedback and recommendations on future office planning. The purpose of the review was to evaluate DOE-funded projects for their contribution to the mission and goals of the office and to assess progress made against stated objectives. Project scoring results, expert reviewer comments, and key findings and recommendations are included in this report.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategies into New York State Department of Transportation's operations : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

This study identifies climate change adaptation strategies and recommends ways of mainstreaming them into planned actions, including legislation, policies, programs and projects in all areas and at all levels within the New York State Department of T...

Effects of climate change on the Swiss economy (national influences); Auswirkungen der Klimaaenderung auf die Schweizer Volkswirtschaft (nationale Einfluesse)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

This comprehensive final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) attempts to estimate the direct and indirect effects of climate change on the Swiss economy. The authors state that no grave damage to the Swiss economy that could be caused by climate change are to be expected by the year 2030. Estimates for the year 2050 are presented and a prognosis showing a substantial increase of damage after this date is presented. Tourism and energy installations are noted as being the areas that will be most affected. Other areas affected include infrastructure, human health, water supplies, forestry and the farming economy. The methodologies used in the preparation of the study are described. Scenarios are presented and discussed. An overview of the costs incurred as a result of climate-related change is presented.

Multi-angled Façade System for Office Building Renovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hannoudi, Loay Akram; Christensen, Jørgen Erik; Lauring, Michael

renovating office buildings. The architectural potential is presented with the help of AutoCAD software. The energy efficiency and indoor climate are investigated and evaluated by using correlational research and simulation research methods with the software IDA ICE. From a functional perspective, the multi......-angled façade increases the area of the office room and provides more space. There are many potential aesthetic benefits provided by multi-angled façades such as improved optical and visual quality from inside the office room and the possibility for daylight penetration and a view to outside from one part...... compared to a renovated flat façade varies between 4.9 and 6.5 kWh/(m2.year), depending on the orientation of the façade. The increase in the office room area, when renovated with a multi-angled façade, is by 19%, while the increase of the yearly primary energy consumption (not area weighted), is by 4...

Occupancy pattern in office buildings : consequences for HVAC system design and operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halvarsson, Johan

2011-07-01

The main objectives with the work presented in this thesis have been: (a) to contribute to an increased understanding of the consequences that the occupancy pattern can have on the indoor climate and for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system design and operation; and (b) to investigate how typical occupancy patterns can look like in office buildings. The occupancy pattern in an office is a function of the floor layout of the building, and the user organisation(s) occupying it and their way of working. The combination of these two, will decide how the users occupy the building, which in turn is an important design prerequisite/constraint for the HVAC system design process. There are many assessments related to indoor climate and HVAC that involve considerations of the occupancy pattern, reaching from estimates of internal heat and pollution loads to deciding on an appropriate control strategy of HVAC systems, or estimating the energy saving potential with demand controlled ventilation. A few numerical measures have been used to describe different aspects of the occupancy pattern. The zone based occupancy factor (OFz) expresses the ratio between the number of occupied sub-zones/rooms in a zone and the total number of sub-zones/rooms in the zone. OFz does not take the number of people into account, only whether a sub-zone/room is occupied or unoccupied. OFz can be used both to express instantaneous occupancy levels and averages over time. Superscript is used to specify the time, or time period, that the measure refers to. For instance, 06 18,wd OFz means the average OFz between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on working days, while the 95th percentile of OFz6{sub 1}8,wd , means the 95th percentile of all instantaneous values (one or five minute averages in the case studies) of OFz that have occurred during the same time period. The utilisation rate (UR) expresses the fraction of time that a room is occupied, within a specific time period. It is important to

Evaluation of Aerosol Mixing State Classes in the GISS Modele-matrix Climate Model Using Single-particle Mass Spectrometry Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Susanne E.; Ault, Andrew; Prather, Kimberly A.

2013-01-01

Aerosol particles in the atmosphere are composed of multiple chemical species. The aerosol mixing state, which describes how chemical species are mixed at the single-particle level, provides critical information on microphysical characteristics that determine the interaction of aerosols with the climate system. The evaluation of mixing state has become the next challenge. This study uses aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) data and compares the results to those of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies modelE-MATRIX (Multiconfiguration Aerosol TRacker of mIXing state) model, a global climate model that includes a detailed aerosol microphysical scheme. We use data from field campaigns that examine a variety of air mass regimens (urban, rural, and maritime). At all locations, polluted areas in California (Riverside, La Jolla, and Long Beach), a remote location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Sugar Pine) and observations from Jeju (South Korea), the majority of aerosol species are internally mixed. Coarse aerosol particles, those above 1 micron, are typically aged, such as coated dust or reacted sea-salt particles. Particles below 1 micron contain large fractions of organic material, internally-mixed with sulfate and black carbon, and few external mixtures. We conclude that observations taken over multiple weeks characterize typical air mass types at a given location well; however, due to the instrumentation, we could not evaluate mass budgets. These results represent the first detailed comparison of single-particle mixing states in a global climate model with real-time single-particle mass spectrometry data, an important step in improving the representation of mixing state in global climate models.

Advanced Manufacturing Office Clean Water Processing Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2018-03-01

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)’s Advanced Manufacturing Office partners with industry, small business, universities, and other stakeholders to identify and invest in emerging technologies with the potential to create high-quality domestic manufacturing jobs and enhance the global competitiveness of the United States.

Predicting Summer Dryness Under a Warmer Climate: Modeling Land Surface Processes in the Midwestern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, J. M.; Eltahir, E. A.

2009-12-01

One of the most significant impacts of climate change is the potential alteration of local hydrologic cycles over agriculturally productive areas. As the world’s food supply continues to be taxed by its burgeoning population, a greater percentage of arable land will need to be utilized and land currently producing food must become more efficient. This study seeks to quantify the effects of climate change on soil moisture in the American Midwest. A series of 24-year numerical experiments were conducted to assess the ability of Regional Climate Model Version 3 coupled to Integrated Biosphere Simulator (RegCM3-IBIS) and Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme 1e (RegCM3-BATS1e) to simulate the observed hydroclimatology of the midwestern United States. Model results were evaluated using NASA Surface Radiation Budget, NASA Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, Illinois State Water Survey, Climate Research Unit Time Series 2.1, Global Soil Moisture Data Bank, and regional-scale estimations of evapotranspiration. The response of RegCM3-IBIS and RegCM3-BATS1e to a surrogate climate change scenario, a warming of 3oC at the boundaries and doubling of CO2, was explored. Precipitation increased significantly during the spring and summer in both RegCM3-IBIS and RegCM3-BATS1e, leading to additional runoff. In contrast, enhancement of evapotranspiration and shortwave radiation were modest. Soil moisture remained relatively unchanged in RegCM3-IBIS, while RegCM3-BATS1e exhibited some fall and winter wetting.

Vulnerability Assessment of Dust Storms in the United States under a Changing Climate Scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Severe weather events, such as flooding, drought, forest fires, and dust storms can have a serious impact on human health. Dust storm events are not well predicted in the United States, however they are expected to become more frequent as global climate warms through the 21st cen...

Climate change impacts on rainfall extremes and urban drainage: state-of-the-art review

Science.gov (United States)

Willems, Patrick; Olsson, Jonas; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten; Beecham, Simon; Pathirana, Assela; Bülow Gregersen, Ida; Madsen, Henrik; Nguyen, Van-Thanh-Van

2013-04-01

Under the umbrella of the IWA/IAHR Joint Committee on Urban Drainage, the International Working Group on Urban Rainfall (IGUR) has reviewed existing methodologies for the analysis of long-term historical and future trends in urban rainfall extremes and their effects on urban drainage systems, due to anthropogenic climate change. Current practises have several limitations and pitfalls, which are important to be considered by trend or climate change impact modellers and users of trend/impact results. The review considers the following aspects: Analysis of long-term historical trends due to anthropogenic climate change: influence of data limitation, instrumental or environmental changes, interannual variations and longer term climate oscillations on trend testing results. Analysis of long-term future trends due to anthropogenic climate change: by complementing empirical historical data with the results from physically-based climate models, dynamic downscaling to the urban scale by means of Limited Area Models (LAMs) including explicitly small-scale cloud processes; validation of RCM/GCM results for local conditions accounting for natural variability, limited length of the available time series, difference in spatial scales, and influence of climate oscillations; statistical downscaling methods combined with bias correction; uncertainties associated with the climate forcing scenarios, the climate models, the initial states and the statistical downscaling step; uncertainties in the impact models (e.g. runoff peak flows, flood or surcharge frequencies, and CSO frequencies and volumes), including the impacts of more extreme conditions than considered during impact model calibration and validation. Implications for urban drainage infrastructure design and management: upgrading of the urban drainage system as part of a program of routine and scheduled replacement and renewal of aging infrastructure; how to account for the uncertainties; flexible and sustainable solutions

Climate Change Literacy across the Critical Zone Observatory Network

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, A.; Derry, L. A.; Zabel, I.; Duggan-Haas, D.; Ross, R. M.

2017-12-01

Earth's Critical Zone extends from the top of the tree canopy to the base of the groundwater lens. Thus the Critical Zone is examined as a suite of interconnected systems and study of the CZ is inherently interdisciplinary. Climate change is an important driver of CZ processes. The US Critical Zone Observatory Network comprises nine observatories and a coordinating National Office. Educational programs and materials developed at each CZO and the National Office have been collected, reviewed, and presented on-line at the CZONO (criticalzone.org/national/education-outreach/resources). Because the CZOs are designed to observe and measure a suite of common parameters on varying geological substrates and within different ecological contexts, educational resources reflect the diversity of processes represented across the network. As climate change has a network-wide impact, the fundamental building blocks of climate change literacy are key elements in many activities within the CZONO resource collection. Carbon-cycle and hydrologic cycle processes are well-represented, with emphasis on human interactions with these resources, as well as the impact of extreme events and the changing climate. Current work on the resource collection focuses on connecting individual resources to "Teach Climate Science" project and the Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change (teachclimatescience.wordpress.com). The Teacher-Friendly Guide is a manual for K-12 teachers that presents both the fundamentals of climate science alongside resources for effective teaching of this controversial topic. Using the reach of the CZO network we hope to disseminate effective climate literacy resources and support to the K-12 community.

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Three Month Probabilistic Precipitation Outlook for the Contiguous United States and Alaska

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issues a series of thirteen probabilistic three-month precipitation outlooks for the United States. CPC issues the thirteen...

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Three Month Probabilistic Temperature Outlook for the Contiguous United States and Alaska

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issues a series of thirteen probabilistic three-month temperature outlooks for the United States. CPC issues the thirteen...

Climate change and the federal budget. CBO memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-08-01

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) memorandum was prepared at the request of the Senate Committee on the Budget to document current US efforts in the area of global climate change and to review current federal spending programs and tax policies that relate to climate change. The memorandum also describes proposals contained in the President's 1999 budget for funding for those programs and several new tax policies. It should be helpful to policymakers as they consider options to respond to international proposals for reducing the threat of climate change

United States Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office Environmental Compliance Handbook. Third edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

The Environment, Safety and Health Division (ESHD) of the Nevada Operations Office has prepared this Environmental Compliance Handbook for all users of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and other US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV) facilities. The Handbook gives an overview of the important environmental laws and regulations that apply to the activities conducted by the Nevada Operations Office and other users of DOE/NV facilities in Nevada

United States Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office Environmental Compliance Handbook. Third edition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

The Environment, Safety & Health Division (ESHD) of the Nevada Operations Office has prepared this Environmental Compliance Handbook for all users of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and other US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV) facilities. The Handbook gives an overview of the important environmental laws and regulations that apply to the activities conducted by the Nevada Operations Office and other users of DOE/NV facilities in Nevada.

Climate Variability over India and Bangladesh from the Perturbed UK Met Office Hadley Model: Impacts on Flow and Nutrient Fluxes in the Ganges Delta System

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, P. G.; Caesar, J.; Crossman, J.; Barbour, E.; Ledesma, J.; Futter, M. N.

2015-12-01

A semi-distributed flow and water quality model (INCA- Integrated Catchments Model) has been set up for the whole of the Ganges- Brahmaputra- Meghna (GBM) River system in India and Bangladesh. These massive rivers transport large fluxes of water and nutrients into the Bay of Bengal via the GBM Delta system in Bangladesh. Future climate change will impact these fluxes with changing rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration and soil moisture deficits being altered in the catchment systems. In this study the INCA model has been used to assess potential impacts of climate change using the UK Met Office Hadley Centre GCM model linked to a regionally coupled model of South East Asia, covering India and Bangladesh. The Hadley Centre model has been pururbed by varying the parameters in the model to generate 17 realisations of future climates. Some of these reflect expected change but others capture the more extreme potential behaviour of future climate conditions. The 17 realisations have been used to drive the INCA Flow and Nitrogen model inorder to generate downstream times series of hydrology and nitrate- nitrogen. The variability of the climates on these fluxes are investigated and and their likley impact on the Bay of Begal Delta considered. Results indicate a slight shift in the monsoon season with increased wet season flows and increased temperatures which alter nutrient fluxes. Societal Importance to Stakeholders The GBM Delta supports one of the most densely populated regions of people living in poverty, who rely on ecosystem services provided by the Delta for survival. These ecosystem services are dependent upon fluxes of water and nutrients. Freshwater for urban, agriculture, and aquaculture requirements are essential to livelihoods. Nutrient loads stimulate estuarine ecosystems, supporting fishing stocks, which contribute significantly the economy of Bangladesh. Thus the societal importance of upstream climate driven change change in Bangladesh are very

United States Department of Energy Field Office, Richland, Environmental Protection Implementation Plan, November 9, 1990--November 9, 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paasch, R.A.

1991-09-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1 (DOE 1988a), General Environmental Protection Program, establishes environmental protection program requirements, authorities, and responsibilities to ensure that DOE operations are in compliance with applicable federal, state and local environmental protection laws and regulations, executive orders, and internal department policies. Chapter 3 of DOE Order 5400.1 requires that each field organization prepare a plan for implementing the requirements of this order and update this plan annually. Therefore, this update to the US Department of Energy -- Richland Operations Office Environmental Protection Implementation Plan for the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington, initially prepared November 9, 1989, is being issued. Responsibility for coordinating preparation of the annual update of this plan is assigned to the US Department of Energy Field Office, Richland, Safety and Environment Division's Environmental Oversight Branch

American policy conflict in the greenhouse: Divergent trends in federal, regional, state, and local green energy and climate change policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byrne, John; Hughes, Kristen; Rickerson, Wilson; Kurdgelashvili, Lado

2007-01-01

Climate change threatens significant impacts on global ecosystems and human populations. To address this challenge, industrialized nations have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and undertaken commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the primary agents linked to anthropogenic alteration of earth's climate. By contrast, the US government, led by the Bush Administration, has rejected mandatory targets for curbing emissions under the Protocol, and has instead pursued voluntary mitigation measures amid a larger push for clean coal and 'next generation' nuclear technologies. These actions in total have fueled global perceptions that the US is not acting in substantial ways to address climate change. Nevertheless, action within the US is indeed moving forward, with states, cities and regional partnerships filling the federal leadership vacuum. This paper reviews the diverse policies, strategies, and cooperative frameworks that have emerged at regional, state and local levels to guide climate protection, and identifies the environmental and economic benefits linked to such programs. The paper also attempts to explain the existing federal impasse on climate policy, with attention given to how sub-national efforts may ultimately obviate national governmental inaction

Costs and Benefits to EU Member States of 2030 Climate and Energy Targets - February 2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

Costs and Benefits to EU Member States of 2030 Climate and Energy Targets is based on analyses using the POLES-Enerdata model and presents an overview of the main European energy and climate policies: reduction of CO_2 emissions, development of renewable energies, and promotion of energy efficiency. The report looks forward to 2030 and beyond to evaluate possible targets and the goal of maintaining global temperature rise to 2 deg. C. This publication was produced by Enerdata's Global Energy Forecasting team, including the modelling and scenario analysis, within the framework of an external service contract to the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change. This project looks ahead to 2030. To do this, scenarios were developed using the POLES-Enerdata model, a world energy-economy model that fully describes the energy system and associated GHG emissions. This report analyses the costs and benefits to all EU Member States under different scenarios of the level and type of EU targets defined within a 2030 climate and energy framework. Scenarios include progressively more stringent GHG targets in 2030 (40%, 50%, and 60% reductions compared to 1990), alternative assumptions on access to international credits (0%, 5% and 10% of 1990 emissions), the addition of RES burden shares by Member State, accelerated CCS commercial availability and reduced renewables learning rates. These are the sensitivities commissioned as part of this report; however, they are not a comprehensive range covering all possible outcomes that could arise in reality. What are the costs and benefits to Member States under different scenarios of the level and type of EU targets? The analysis assesses the benefits of different scenarios to improved air quality and health, diversity of energy supply, and reduced costs of meeting longer term emission reduction targets (notably the EU's commitment to reduce emissions by 80-95% by 2050). Relying on more low-carbon, domestic, or diversified sources of

The Climate Science Special Report: Arctic Changes and their Effect on Alaska and the Rest of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, P. C.

2017-12-01

Rapid and visible climate change is happening across the Arctic, outpacing global change. Annual average near-surface air temperatures across the Arctic are increasing at more than twice the rate of global average surface temperature. In addition to surface temperature, all components of the Arctic climate system are responding in kind, including sea ice, mountain glaciers and the Greenland Ice sheet, snow cover, and permafrost. Many of these changes with a discernable anthropogenic imprint. While Arctic climate change may seem physically remote to those living in other regions of the planet, Arctic climate change can affect the global climate influencing sea level, the carbon cycle, and potentially atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. As an Arctic nation, United States' adaptation, mitigation, and policy decisions depend on projections of future Alaskan and Arctic climate. This chapter of the Climate Science Special Report documents significant scientific progress and knowledge about how the Alaskan and Arctic climate has changed and will continue to change.

Why Trump’s pull-out of the Paris Agreement may open the door for state Governors to push their own climate action

OpenAIRE

Biedenkopf, Katja

2017-01-01

President Trump’s announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change in June 2017 triggered the promise by a multitude of US cities and states to pursue and strengthen their own climate action, thereby counterbalancing the impact of the federal government’s policy choice. Former President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry invested major diplomatic efforts and skills in the international process to make possible an ambitious international agreement that woul...

Eye tracking and climate change: How is climate literacy information processed?

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, C. C.; McNeal, K. S.

2011-12-01

The population of the Southeastern United States is perceived to be resistant to information regarding global climate change. The Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) project was formed to provide a resource for climate science information. As part of this project, we are evaluating the way that education materials influence the interpretation of climate change related information. At Mississippi State University, a study is being conducted examining how individuals from the Southeastern United States process climate change information and whether or not the interaction with such information impacts the interpretation of subsequent climate change related information. By observing the patterns both before and after an educational intervention, we are able to evaluate the effectiveness of the climate change information on an individual's interpretation of related information. Participants in this study view figures describing various types of climate change related information (CO2 emissions, sea levels, etc.) while their eye movements are tracked to determine a baseline for the way that they process this type of graphical data. Specifically, we are examining time spent viewing and number of fixations on critical portions of the figures prior to exposure to an educational document on climate change. Following the baseline period, we provide participants with portions of a computerized version of Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences that the participants read at their own pace while their eye movements are monitored. Participants are told that they will be given a test on the material after reading the resource. After reading the excerpt, participants are presented with a new set of climate change related figures to interpret (with eye tracking) along with a series of questions regarding information contained in the resource. We plan to evaluate changes that occur in the way that climate change related information is

Characterizing climate-change impacts on the 1.5-yr flood flow in selected basins across the United States: a probabilistic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, John F.; Hay, Lauren E.; Markstrom, Steven L.; Dettinger, Michael D.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model was applied to basins in 14 different hydroclimatic regions to determine the sensitivity and variability of the freshwater resources of the United States in the face of current climate-change projections. Rather than attempting to choose a most likely scenario from the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an ensemble of climate simulations from five models under three emissions scenarios each was used to drive the basin models. Climate-change scenarios were generated for PRMS by modifying historical precipitation and temperature inputs; mean monthly climate change was derived by calculating changes in mean climates from current to various future decades in the ensemble of climate projections. Empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) were fitted to the PRMS model output driven by the ensemble of climate projections and provided a basis for randomly (but representatively) generating realizations of hydrologic response to future climates. For each realization, the 1.5-yr flood was calculated to represent a flow important for sediment transport and channel geomorphology. The empirical probability density function (pdf) of the 1.5-yr flood was estimated using the results across the realizations for each basin. Of the 14 basins studied, 9 showed clear temporal shifts in the pdfs of the 1.5-yr flood projected into the twenty-first century. In the western United States, where the annual peak discharges are heavily influenced by snowmelt, three basins show at least a 10% increase in the 1.5-yr flood in the twenty-first century; the remaining two basins demonstrate increases in the 1.5-yr flood, but the temporal shifts in the pdfs and the percent changes are not as distinct. Four basins in the eastern Rockies/central United States show at least a 10% decrease in the 1.5-yr flood; the remaining two basins demonstrate decreases in the 1.5-yr flood, but the temporal shifts in the pdfs

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) One Month Probabilistic Precipitation Outlook for the Contiguous United States and Alaska

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issues a probabilistic one-month precipitation outlook for the United States twice a month. CPC issues an initial monthly outlook...

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) One Month Probabilistic Temperature Outlook for the Contiguous United States and Alaska

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issues a probabilistic one-month temperature outlook for the United States twice a month. CPC issues an initial monthly outlook...

Climate change impacts on extreme temperature mortality in select metropolitan areas of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Projected mortality from climate change-driven impacts on extremely hot and cold days increases significantly over the 21st century in a large group of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Increases in projected mortality from more hot days are greater than decreases in ...

Climate Literacy: Progress in AMS Climate Studies Undergraduate Course in Meteorology Program at Jackson State University

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, S. R.

2013-12-01

AMS Climate Studies is an introductory college-level course developed by the American Meteorological Society for implementation at undergraduate institutions nationwide and increasing involvement of under-represented groups The course places students in a dynamic and highly motivational educational environment where they investigate Earth's climate system using real-world environmental data. The AMS Climate Studies course package consists of a textbook, investigations manual, course website, and course management system-compatible files. Instructors can use these resources in combinations that make for an exciting learning experience for their students. The AMS Climate Studies Diversity Project Workshop participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis as determined by the date-of-receipt of the License Order Form. To grow AMS Diversity Programs to their fullest extent, institutions are encouraged to nominate course instructors who did not previously attend Diversity Project workshops. Until three months before the workshop, two-thirds of the workshop positions would be reserved for institutions new to AMS Diversity Projects. The AMS five day course implementation workshop was held in Washington, DC, during May 24-29, 2012. It covered essential course topics in climate science and global climate change, and strategies for course implementation. Talks would feature climate science and sustainability experts from Federal agencies and area research institutions, such as NASA, NOAA, University of Maryland, Howard University, George Mason University, and other Washington, DC, area institutions. The workshop would also include visits to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. JSU Meteorology Program will be offering AMS Climate Studies undergraduate course under MET 210: Climatology in spring 2014. AMS Climate Studies is offered as a 3 credit hour laboratory course with 2 lectures and 1 lab sessions per week. Although this course places

European research on Climat change impact on human health and environment

OpenAIRE

Pogonysheva I. A.; Kuznetsova V. P.; Pogonyshev D. A.; Lunyak I. I.

2018-01-01

European countries have accumulated a considerable body of research that proves both direct and indirect influence of climate change on human health. The article analyses “Protecting health in an environment challenged by climate change: European Regional Framework for Action”. The article gives a detailed analysis of the work of European Office of World Health Organisation and The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe related to climate change.

Technical Support Document: Development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jarnagin, Ronald E.; Liu, Bing; Winiarski, David W.; McBride, Merle F.; Suharli, L.; Walden, D.

2006-11-30

This Technical Support Document (TSD) describes the process and methodology for the development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings (AEDG-SO), a design guidance document intended to provide recommendations for achieving 30% energy savings in small office buildings over levels contained in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The AEDG-SO is the first in a series of guides being developed by a partnership of organizations, including the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), the New Buildings Institute (NBI), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Each of the guides in the AEDG series will provide recommendations and user-friendly design assistance to designers, developers and owners of small commercial buildings that will encourage steady progress towards net-zero energy buildings. The guides will provide prescriptive recommendation packages that are capable of reaching the energy savings target for each climate zone in order to ease the burden of the design and construction of energy-efficient small commercial buildings The AEDG-SO was developed by an ASHRAE Special Project committee (SP-102) made up of representatives of each of the partner organizations in eight months. This TSD describes the charge given to the committee in developing the office guide and outlines the schedule of the development effort. The project committee developed two prototype office buildings (5,000 ft2 frame building and 20,000 ft2 two-story mass building) to represent the class of small office buildings and performed an energy simulation scoping study to determine the preliminary levels of efficiency necessary to meet the energy savings target. The simulation approach used by the project committee is documented in this TSD along with

Climate bifurcation during the last deglaciation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. M. Lenton

2012-07-01

Full Text Available There were two abrupt warming events during the last deglaciation, at the start of the Bølling-Allerød and at the end of the Younger Dryas, but their underlying dynamics are unclear. Some abrupt climate changes may involve gradual forcing past a bifurcation point, in which a prevailing climate state loses its stability and the climate tips into an alternative state, providing an early warning signal in the form of slowing responses to perturbations, which may be accompanied by increasing variability. Alternatively, short-term stochastic variability in the climate system can trigger abrupt climate changes, without early warning. Previous work has found signals consistent with slowing down during the last deglaciation as a whole, and during the Younger Dryas, but with conflicting results in the run-up to the Bølling-Allerød. Based on this, we hypothesise that a bifurcation point was approached at the end of the Younger Dryas, in which the cold climate state, with weak Atlantic overturning circulation, lost its stability, and the climate tipped irreversibly into a warm interglacial state. To test the bifurcation hypothesis, we analysed two different climate proxies in three Greenland ice cores, from the Last Glacial Maximum to the end of the Younger Dryas. Prior to the Bølling warming, there was a robust increase in climate variability but no consistent slowing down signal, suggesting this abrupt change was probably triggered by a stochastic fluctuation. The transition to the warm Bølling-Allerød state was accompanied by a slowing down in climate dynamics and an increase in climate variability. We suggest that the Bølling warming excited an internal mode of variability in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation strength, causing multi-centennial climate fluctuations. However, the return to the Younger Dryas cold state increased climate stability. We find no consistent evidence for slowing down during the Younger Dryas, or in a longer

37 CFR 11.18 - Signature and certificate for correspondence filed in the Office.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Signature and certificate for correspondence filed in the Office. 11.18 Section 11.18 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REPRESENTATION OF OTHERS BEFORE THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Recognition...

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case Studies of Water Utility Practices (2011 Final)

Science.gov (United States)

EPA has released the final report titled, Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case Studies of Water Utility Practices. This report was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment's Global Climate Research Staff in the Office of Research and D...

Missing in Action: African American Combat Arms Officers in the United States Army

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Doward, Jr, Oscar W

2008-01-01

.... The monograph examines the African American Army officer's service during each period of major conflict over the last 100 years to explain why modern-day African American Army officers are prone...

Predicting abundance of 80 tree species following climate change in the Eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Louis R. Iverson; Anantha M. Prasad; Anantha M. Prasad

1998-01-01

Projected climate warming will potentially have profound effects on the earth?s biota, including a large redistribution of tree species. We developed models to evaluate potential shifts for 80 individual tree species in the eastern United States. First, environmental factors associated with current ranges of tree species were assessed using geographic information...

Epidemiological study of cumulative trauma disorder in Kerman\\'s state office workers in 2007

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saberi

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Occupational diseases are consequences of various workplace hazards. Cumulative trauma disorder or repetitive strain injury indicates the effect of repeated physical movements and partial pressure on muscles, tendons and other soft tissues of body. This is the most common disease caused by work. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study performed on state office workers in Kerman city in 2007. Data was collected using examination and three questionnaires about work-related diseases, job satisfaction and job stress. After completion of the questionnaires, a trained researcher analyzed the collected data by SPSS 13 and Chi square test. A level of P≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: Data analysis showed that factors such as repeated writing, typing, using computers at work, repeated lifting objects at the table level, traffic through the steps, traffic through the office corridor, reach of foot to the ground when sitting on the chair, using footrests under desk, using chair cushions, using lumber pillows, or swivel chair were not the cause of cumulative trauma disorder. Repetitive bending and refusal to lean against the seat when sitting were effective in causing the disease. Other findings of our research were employees’ ergonomic awareness status, job satisfaction and job stress being calculated according to the median scores for all three factors as average. Conclusion: Repetitive bending and avoidance from leaning against the chair were significant factors causing high rates of cumulative trauma disorder in office workers of Kerman city. Modification of these factors or even using lumbar supportive equipment may reduce the high prevalence of this disease. Cumulative trauma disorder was found less in employees under the age of thirty and the rates increased with age and work history, linearly.

Farmer perceptions of climate change risk and associated on-farm management strategies in Vermont, northeastern United States

OpenAIRE

Schattman, Rachel E.; Conner, David; Méndez, V. Ernesto

2016-01-01

Abstract Little research has been conducted on how agricultural producers in the northeastern United States conceptualize climate-related risk and how these farmers address risk through on-farm management strategies. Two years following Tropical Storm Irene, our team interviewed 15 farmers in order to investigate their perceptions of climate-related risk and how their decision-making was influenced by these perceptions. Our results show that Vermont farmers are concerned with both ecological ...

Climate and hydrological changes in the northeastern United States : recent trends and implications for forested and aquatic ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huntington, T.G.; Richardson, A.D.; McGuire, K.J.

2009-01-01

This study reviewed previous and projected changes in climatic and hydrologic conditions in the northeastern United States. While climatic warming and increases in precipitation, snow, and hydrologic regimes have been observed over the last 100 years, the most pronounced changes have occurred since 1970. However, trends in climatic and hydrological variables have differed both spatially and temporally in different regions. Decadal-scale climatic variations have also altered long-term trends. Climate models predict continued increases in both temperature and precipitation over the next century. Increases in growing season length are expected to increase evapotranspiration and the frequency of droughts. An increase in the frequency of droughts is also expected to increase the risk of fires and other disturbances. Forest productivity and maple syrup production will be impacted, and the intensity of autumn foliage coloration will be diminished. It was concluded that climate and hydrological changes will have a profound impact on forest structure, composition and ecological functioning. 131 refs., 5 figs

Creating a Partnering Community Aimed to Foster Climate Literacy in the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Rutherford, D.; McNeal, K. S.; Smith, R.; Hare, D.; Nair, U. S.

2011-12-01

The Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) is a part of the Climate Change Education Program supported by the National Science Foundation (http://CLiPSE-project.org). The established CLiPSE partnership is dedicated to improving climate literacy in the southeast through crafting a shared vision and strategic plan among stakeholders that promotes scientific formal and informal educational resources, materials and programs; a diverse network of key partnering organizations throughout the Southeastern United States (SE US); and effective public dialogues that address diverse learners and audiences and supports learning of climate, climate change, and its relevance upon human and environmental systems. The CLiPSE project has been successful in creating partnerships with more than fifty key stakeholders that stem from a few key publics such as agriculture, education, leisure, religious organizations, and culturally diverse communities. These key publics in the SE US frequently consist of individuals that place great trust in local, private efforts, and CLiPSE has realized the importance of the role of the partnering organizations in providing information through a trusted source. A second unique characteristic of the SE US is the predominately conservative and Protestant citizenry in the region. Working with and through these communities enhances climate change education outreach to this citizenry. The CLiPSE project rests on solid climate science and learning science research in order to formulate an effective plan with desired learning outcomes of critical thinking and civil conversation through effective communication strategies. This paper will present the CLiPSE model in reaching the key publics that traditionally hold ideologies that are traditionally perceived as incompatible with climate change science. We will present the strategies utilized to bring together experts and researchers in climate science, learning science, and social science with

Modelling Interglacial Climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Rasmus Anker

the impact of a changing sea ice cover. The first part focusses on the last interglacial climate (125,000 years before present) which was characterized by substantial warming at high northern latitudes due to an increased insolation during summer. The simulations reveal that the oceanic changes dominate......Past warm climate states could potentially provide information on future global warming. The past warming was driven by changed insolation rather than an increased greenhouse effect, and thus the warm climate states are expected to be different. Nonetheless, the response of the climate system......, with maximum warming occurring in winter. The three scenarios all affect the climate beyond the Arctic, especially the mid-latitude circulation which is sensitive to the location of the ice loss. Together, the results presented in this thesis illustrate that the changes in the Arctic sea ice cover...

Climate and hydrological changes in the northeastern United States: recent trends and implications for forested and aquatic ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Huntington, Thomas G.; Richardson, Andrew D.; McGuire, Kevin J.; Hayhoe, Katharine

2009-01-01

We review twentieth century and projected twenty-first century changes in climatic and hydrologic conditions in the northeastern United States and the implications of these changes for forest ecosystems. Climate warming and increases in precipitation and associated changes in snow and hydrologic regimes have been observed over the last century, with the most pronounced changes occurring since 1970. Trends in specific climatic and hydrologic variables differ in their responses spatially (e.g., coastal vs. inland) and temporally (e.g., spring vs. summer). Trends can differ depending on the period of record analyzed, hinting at the role of decadal-scale climatic variation that is superimposed over the longer-term trend. Model predictions indicate that continued increases in temperature and precipitation across the northeastern United States can be expected over the next century. Ongoing increases in growing season length (earlier spring and later autumn) will most likely increase evapotranspiration and frequency of drought. In turn, an increase in the frequency of drought will likely increase the risk of fire and negatively impact forest productivity, maple syrup production, and the intensity of autumn foliage coloration. Climate and hydrologic changes could have profound effects on forest structure, composition, and ecological functioning in response to the changes discussed here and as described in related articles in this issue of the Journal.

Climate Forecast System

Science.gov (United States)

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Forecast System Home News Organization Web portal to all Federal, state and local government Web resources and services. The NCEP Climate when using the CFS Reanalysis (CFSR) data. Saha, Suranjana, and Coauthors, 2010: The NCEP Climate

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning and Climate Change: Analysis of National Poison Center Data in the United States, 2001–2011

Science.gov (United States)

Strickland, Matthew J.; Hess, Jeremy J.

2014-01-01

Background: Warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are positively related to incidence of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP). Increased severe storm frequency may create more habitat for ciguatoxic organisms. Although climate change could expand the endemic range of CFP, the relationship between CFP incidence and specific environmental conditions is unknown. Objectives: We estimated associations between monthly CFP incidence in the contiguous United States and SST and storm frequency in the Caribbean basin. Methods: We obtained information on 1,102 CFP-related calls to U.S. poison control centers during 2001–2011 from the National Poison Data System. We performed a time-series analysis using Poisson regression to relate monthly CFP call incidence to SST and tropical storms. We investigated associations across a range of plausible lag structures. Results: Results showed associations between monthly CFP calls and both warmer SSTs and increased tropical storm frequency. The SST variable with the strongest association linked current monthly CFP calls to the peak August SST of the previous year. The lag period with the strongest association for storms was 18 months. If climate change increases SST in the Caribbean 2.5–3.5°C over the coming century as projected, this model implies that CFP incidence in the United States is likely to increase 200–400%. Conclusions: Using CFP calls as a marker of CFP incidence, these results clarify associations between climate variability and CFP incidence and suggest that, all other things equal, climate change could increase the burden of CFP. These findings have implications for disease prediction, surveillance, and public health preparedness for climate change. Citation: Gingold DB, Strickland MJ, Hess JJ. 2014. Ciguatera fish poisoning and climate change: analysis of National Poison Center data in the United States, 2001–2011. Environ Health Perspect 122:580–586; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307196 PMID:24618280

Evolving the US Climate Resilience Toolkit to Support a Climate-Smart Nation

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmes, C.; Niepold, F., III; Fox, J. F.; Herring, D.; Dahlman, L. E.; Hall, N.; Gardiner, N.

2015-12-01

Communities, businesses, resource managers, and decision-makers at all levels of government need information to understand and ameliorate climate-related risks. Likewise, climate information can expose latent opportunities. Moving from climate science to social and economic decisions raises complex questions about how to communicate the causes and impacts of climate variability and change; how to characterize and quantify vulnerabilities, risks, and opportunities faced by communities and businesses; and how to make and implement "win-win" adaptation plans at local, regional, and national scales. A broad coalition of federal agencies launched the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (toolkit.climate.gov) in November 2014 to help our nation build resilience to climate-related extreme events. The site's primary audience is planners and decision makers in business, resource management, and government (at all levels) who seek science-based climate information and tools to help them in their near- and long-term planning. The Executive Office of the President assembled a task force of dozens of subject experts from across the 13 agencies of the U.S. Global Change Research Program to guide the site's development. The site's ongoing evolution is driven by feedback from the target audience. For example, based on feedback, climate projections will soon play a more prominent role in the site's "Climate Explorer" tool and case studies. The site's five-step adaptation planning process is being improved to better facilitate people getting started and to provide clear benchmarks for evaluating progress along the way. In this session, we will share lessons learned from a series of user engagements around the nation and evidence that the Toolkit couples climate information with actionable decision-making processes in ways that are helping Americans build resilience to climate-related stressors.

The impact of training interventions on organizational readiness to support innovations in juvenile justice offices.

Science.gov (United States)

Taxman, Faye S; Henderson, Craig; Young, Doug; Farrell, Jill

2014-03-01

Clinical trials on technology transfer models are rare, even with the interest in advancing the uptake of evidence-based practices in social service agencies. This article presents the results from a trial examining different transfer strategies to assist juvenile justice caseworkers in using screening, assessment, and case planning practices to address mental health and substance use needs. Study findings examine factors that promote organizational readiness. A clinical trial was conducted examining the impact of three post-training strategies: an external coach to build the social network of the justice office (build social climate), an external coach to educate staff (build skills and knowledge), and a control condition consisting of traditional management directives (directives to staff of agency priorities). All groups were exposed to a 1 day refresher course in motivational interviewing. The social network and skill building groups also attended an intensive 3-day training followed by three on-site booster sessions over a 12 month period of time. Twelve juvenile justice offices (with their 231 juvenile justice staff) were assigned to one of three conditions. The study examined the impact of different transfer conditions on organizational readiness to implement the innovation of screening, assessment, and referral strategies. External coaching targeting the social climate of the justice office to support innovations improved organizational readiness to change, regardless of office size. Coaching that targeted either the social climate or staff knowledge and skills both improved organizational readiness for change compared to management directives, but social climate coaching resulted in greater improvements in receptivity to change. No individual level features of case workers (e.g., age, gender, years of experience) significantly predicted organizational readiness to change. Unexpectedly, the skill and knowledge building approach did not perform any better

State of Climate in 2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blunden, J.; Arndt, D.S.; Achberger, C.; Ackerman, S.A.; Albanil, A.; Alexander, P.; Alfaro, E.J.; Allan, R.; Alves, L.M.; Amador, J.A.; Ambenje, P.; Andrianjafinirina, S.; Antonov, J.; Aravequia, J.A.; Arendt, A.; Arevalo, J.; Ashik, I.; Altheru, Z.; Banzon, V.; Baringer, M.O.; Barreira, S.; Barriopedro, D.E.; Beard, G.; Becker, G.; Behrenfeld, M.J.; Bell, G.D.; Benedetti, A.; Bernhard, G.; Berrisford, P.; Berry, D.I.; Bhatt, U.; Bidegain, M.; Bindoff, N.; Bissolli, P.; Blake, E.S.; Booneeady, R.; Bosilovich, M.; Box, J.E.; Boyer, T.; Braathen, G.O.; Bromwich, D.H.; Brown, R.; Brown, L.; Bruhwiler, L.; Bulygina, O.N.; Burgess, D.; Burrows, J.; Calderon, B.; Camargo, S.J.; Campbell, J.; Cao, Y.; Cappelen, J.; Carrasco, G.; Chambers, D.P.; Chang'a, L.; Chappell, P.; Chehade, W.; Cheliah, M.; Christiansen, H.H.; Christy, J.R.; Ciais, P.; Coelho, C.A.S.; Cogley, J.G.; Colwell, S.; Cross, J.N.; Crouch, J.; Cunningham, S.A.; Dacic, M.; de Jeu, R.A.M.; Dekaa, F.S.; Demircan, M.; Derksen, C.; Diamond, H.J.; Dlugokencky, E.J.; Dohan, K.; Dolman, A.J.; et al., et al.

2014-01-01

For the first time in several years, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation did not dominate regional climate conditions around the globe. A weak La Niña dissipated to ENSO-neutral conditions by spring, and while El Nino appeared to be emerging during summer, this phase never fully developed as sea

ACHP | Tribal Historic Preservation Officers

Science.gov (United States)

preservation of significant historic properties. Those functions include identifying and maintaining Working with Section 106 Federal, State, & Tribal Programs Training & Education Publications Search skip specific nav links Home arrow Historic Preservation Programs & Officers arrow THPOs

Climate change and skin disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Ashley D

2018-04-01

Despite commanding essentially universal scientific consensus, climate change remains a divisive and poorly understood topic in the United States. Familiarity with this subject is not just for climate scientists. The impact of climate change on human morbidity and mortality may be considerable; thus, physicians also should be knowledgeable in this realm. Climate change science can seem opaque and inferential, creating fertile ground for political polemics and undoubtedly contributing to confusion among the general public. This puts physicians in a pivotal position to facilitate a practical understanding of climate change in the public sphere by discussing changes in disease patterns and their possible relationship to a changing climate. This article provides a background on climate change for dermatologists and highlights how climate change may impact the management of skin disease across the United States.

Cost-benefit analysis of improved air quality in an office building

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Djukanovic, R.; Wargocki, Pawel; Fanger, Povl Ole

2002-01-01

A cost-benefit analysis of measures to improve air quality in an existing air-conditoned office building (11581 m2, 864 employees) was carried out for hot, temperate and cold climates and for two operating modes: Variable Air Volume (VAV) with economizer; and Constant Air Volume (CAV) with heat...... recovery. The annual energy cost and first cost of the HVAC system were calculat4ed using DOE 2.1E for different levels of air quality (10-50% dissatisfied). This was achieved by changing the outdoor air supply rate and the pollution loads. Previous studies have documented a 1.1% increase in office...

Winter climate change and coastal wetland foundation species: salt marshes vs. mangrove forests in the southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Osland, Michael J; Enwright, Nicholas; Day, Richard H; Doyle, Thomas W

2013-05-01

We live in an era of unprecedented ecological change in which ecologists and natural resource managers are increasingly challenged to anticipate and prepare for the ecological effects of future global change. In this study, we investigated the potential effect of winter climate change upon salt marsh and mangrove forest foundation species in the southeastern United States. Our research addresses the following three questions: (1) What is the relationship between winter climate and the presence and abundance of mangrove forests relative to salt marshes; (2) How vulnerable are salt marshes to winter climate change-induced mangrove forest range expansion; and (3) What is the potential future distribution and relative abundance of mangrove forests under alternative winter climate change scenarios? We developed simple winter climate-based models to predict mangrove forest distribution and relative abundance using observed winter temperature data (1970-2000) and mangrove forest and salt marsh habitat data. Our results identify winter climate thresholds for salt marsh-mangrove forest interactions and highlight coastal areas in the southeastern United States (e.g., Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Florida) where relatively small changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme winter events could cause relatively dramatic landscape-scale ecosystem structural and functional change in the form of poleward mangrove forest migration and salt marsh displacement. The ecological implications of these marsh-to-mangrove forest conversions are poorly understood, but would likely include changes for associated fish and wildlife populations and for the supply of some ecosystem goods and services. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Chapter 7: Developing climate-informed state-and-transition models

Science.gov (United States)

Miles A. Hemstrom; Jessica E. Halofsky; David R. Conklin; Joshua S. Halofsky; Dominique Bachelet; Becky K. Kerns

2014-01-01

Land managers and others need ways to understand the potential effects of climate change on local vegetation types and how management activities might be impacted by climate change. To date, climate change impact models have not included localized vegetation communities or the integrated effects of vegetation development dynamics, natural disturbances, and management...

Swiss post office on the Meyrin site