EV Day 2009
EV Day was held on Saturday, April 25th 2009, including eight oral presentations and ten poster presentations from the EV majors. Congratulations on a wonderful job with the talks and posters! |
 Phil Sasser |
Oral Presentations
A Multi-level Analysis of Biogas Dissemination in Chitwan, Nepal
Brian Kennedy
Western-based economic and scientific ideologies are greatly compromising the ability of subsistence communities to perpetuate their traditional existence that depends on forest resources and common lands to provide the necessities for survival. In contrast, neoclassical economic ideology promotes ‘development’ to exploit important resources for use in markets. As economic development and modernization ensues, land use conversion is inevitable.
This presentation uses biogas as an example of how a fusion of ecological economic principles and ecofeminist values can be used to better define and implement more sustainable development. An analysis of Nepal’s energy use by sector, supply and demand dynamics of fuelwood, land-use conversion within the district of Chitwan, and the social, economic, and associated environmental issues sheds light on where sustainability and appropriate development efforts should be focused. My paper concludes that Nepali’s traditional cooking methods need to be addressed in the face of misguided development and population growth, and biogas technology may be a solution.
Characterization of the Redox Properties of Natural Organic Matter
Phillip Sasser
This talk describes new methods for studying the redox properties of natural organic matter (NOM). NOM is defined as the decomposed remains of vegetation, animal and microbial material (Thurman, 1985). Natural organic matter plays a dynamic and critical role in the geosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere systems (Krachler et all, 2005), accentuating its importance in the global carbon cycle and the concomitant possible effects on climate. Due to its diverse composition, fundamental redox properties are not well characterized. Oxidation potentiometric titrations were performed on Suwanee River NOM, Nordic Reservoir NOM, Nordic Reservoir fulvic acid (NFA), and Nordic Reservoir humic acid (NHA). Potentials and trends measured for each type of NOM were comparable to previous studies done by Struyk and Sposito (2001) and Matthiessen (1994). High pHs yield lower E values but higher reducing capacities for each type of NOM. Pre-reduction techniques with borohydride (BH4) were carried out to eliminate initial reductions seen in the beginning of the oxidation titrations. Based on these results and those of previous research, future methods of study for natural organic matter have been proposed.
Agricultural Adaptations to the Carbon Credit Market: Jatropha, Smallholders, and Carbon Credits
Becky Rittenberg
This thesis addresses the implications of Jatropha production for smallholders in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of Jatropha as a biofuel crop while comparing and contrasting the carbon market movement for biofuel crops to the original Green Revolution. This case study of small, medium, and large landholders in Tamil Nadu villages begins with landholders’ differing behaviors when introducing Jatropha into existing farms, specifically addressing the land manager’s competitive role in Jatropha production across land tenure classes. An analysis of national and international environmental policies follows on smallholder abilities and strategies to adapt and compete in the current market for biofuels and carbon offsets built into the clean development mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.
Monoterpene Emissions from a Colorado Ponderosa Pine Forest
Sarah Waldo
Atmospheric aerosols have a profound effect on global and regional climate and on the hydrological cycle: they absorb and scatter solar radiation and impact the density, height, and number of clouds. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report shows that the cooling effect of aerosols could potentially counteract two-thirds of the warming due to greenhouse gases. The IPCC also reports a medium-low to low level of scientific understanding of the impact on the energy balance of the earth from total aerosol concentration, which is due in a large part to a lack of empirical data inputs for modeling systems. Projects such as Bio-hydro-atmosphere interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, Organics, and Nitrogen (BEACHON) are addressing this cause of uncertainty. Biogenic sources account for a significant amount of the atmospheric aerosols, and one such source is terpene emissions, which undergo oxidation in the troposphere to become secondary organic aerosols. The research in this thesis details the emission rates of monoterpenes from ponderosa pine trees in a dry montane environment, information that can be used in global climate modeling systems.
The Carbon Footprint of Laughing Lab Scottish Ale: A Life Cycle Systems Approach
Jamie Senk
In this study I performed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Laughing Lab Scottish Ale produced by Bristol Brewing Company. A LCA’s allowed for analysis of a large system and defined the steps that are most environmentally damaging, and I will hopefully use this information to leverage environmental change. It has been concluded that the downstream (post brewery) subsection accounts for nearly 50% of all Carbon Dioxide emissions. Analysis of distribution methods is essential to reduce the carbon footprint of beer consumption. This paper analyzes the differences in CO2 emissions from three distribution methods, purchasing at Bristol, purchasing at a restaurant and purchasing at a medium sized liquor store. In addition this paper analyzes the difference in CO2 emission from three packaging styles, a traditional six-pack, a growler and a keg. I am to prove that breweries such as Bristol Brewing Company define a standard of environmental stewardship through their small-scale distribution while also providing beer patrons with an answer defining the least carbon intensive way to consume beer.
A Systems Approach to Wastewater Treatment and Biodiesel Production
Zoe Keve
Reducing our society’s greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to mitigate potential environmental effects of global climate change. Developing integrated systems that use waste as an input for biodiesel production can minimize aquatic pollution while creating a valuable and more sustainable output compared to conventional diesel. Microalgae present a partial solution to reducing both N2O and CO2 emissions, removing nutrients from wastewater, while providing the potential to produce biomass with adequate lipids for biodiesel production. The elevated nitrate levels released from J.D. Phillips Reclamation facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado could result in eutrophic conditions downstream. The microalgal species Navicula pelliculosa and Scenedesmus quadricauda were grown in wastewater effluent collected from the release pipe of J.D. Phillips. Both species removed 100% of nitrate and phosphate from raw wastewater effluent in a range of 7-16 days. Growth rates were higher for both species when grown in local effluent versus commercial growth media. These results suggest the benefit of growing microalgae with the dual purpose of nutrient removal and biomass output. While microalgae biodiesel is currently not cost competitive with other sources of fuel, a system integrating wastewater treatment could lower costs while improving water quality. The city of Colorado Springs should consider integrating microalgal pond systems with current wastewater treatment technologies.
Poster Presentations
World Ocean Temperature and Coral Reef Ecosystems
Amelia-Rose O’Connor
An increasing consensus in the literature suggests that the observed warming of the world’s oceans is not accidental but due to increased carbon dioxide from anthropogenic sources. From 1961-2003 an average increase in temperature of the world’s oceans of 0.1˚C was observed (IPCC: WG1) (Figure 1). Increases in global SSTs strongly correlate to coral bleaching events all over the world. Coral reef bleaching is defined as the “temporary or permanent loss of symbiotic, photosynthetic microalgae or of their pigments” (Tagle, 324). A mere .1˚C increase in regional SST resulted in a 35% increase in the number of areas that reported bleaching events (Baker, 2008). Coral reef habitats offer beach tourism, research basins, fish for food and many other important indirect services such as shoreline protection, maintenance of biological diversity, waste assimilation and reception, visual aesthetics and lifestyle values (Gordon, 2007).
Valuing Ecosystem Services as a Comprehensive Approach to Economic Growth
Conner Hunihan
Today’s economic system does not sufficiently encourage development of human well-being in society. This is because internal mechanisms only emphasize allocation of natural resources towards a monetary, market value (Costanza & Farley 2007). This does not address issues of equity, sustainability, or ecosystem service valuation that are central to developing human well-being in society (Costanza & Daly 1987). This study suggests such concepts supplement the current economic paradigm in hopes of establishing a sustained development of human wellbeing in society.
Considering the Unintended Social Impacts of Reforestation Projects Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Meriwether Hardie
Purpose of project: To further the discussion of the unintended social impacts of reforestation CDM projects, and to identify for policy makers that some aspects are lacking within the current CDM structure.
The Great American TimberTantrum: An Exploration of Sustainable Solutions to Diminishing U.S. Forest Resources in the Face of Global Warming
Michael Royce Waldeck
Humankind has used wood as a raw material for millennia. Unfortunately, common practice of harvesting has often included complete deforestation. Although we have a more comprehensive understanding today of forestry science and the ecosystems services provided by a forest, the transboundary consequences of deforestation remain largely unknown (Dimitrov 2002). The most uncertainty pertains the global effects of deforestation on biodiversity and climate change. For instance, it is still irresolute whether or not trees are significant sources or sinks of carbon:
Atmospheric Aerosols: A Temporary Solution to Climate Change?
Christina Carleton
Aerosols directly affect the amount of radiation reaching the surface by absorbing or scattering it. Most major contributing aerosols backscatter radiation causing a negative radiative force. Referred to as the ‘cloud albedo effect,’ aerosols also act as cloud condensation nuclei, increasing total droplets in the cloud, and decreasing droplet size. This increases the albedo of the cloud, depicted in the second image below. The second indirect effect is the ‘cloud lifetime effect.’ Because of the decreased size of cloud droplets, the precipitation efficiency of the cloud decreases. Smaller droplets within the cloud are less likely to precipitate out, lengthening the cloud lifetime depicted by the third image in the picture below.
More clouds = less sunlight reaching surface. (Haywood and Boucher, 2000).
Heating Up the World: Efficient scales of Geothermal Development
Kristina Brand
Renewable energy has become a major player in political and economic discussion on both a global and local scale. One of the most promising aspects for renewable energy is geothermal energy. There are mixed feelings about geothermal energy, which mostly stem from a lack of knowledge and research necessary to gain support and investments in production and competing costs with other energy sources, as well as the impact geographical location has on geothermal availability. A look at five separate studies will reveal how different regions utilize geothermal production to meet their energy needs and what barriers prevent them from successfully developing their geothermal potential. The discussion will attempt to derive whether geothermal energy is a solution to the world’s current energy crisis and on what scale it should be utilized for optimum efficiency.
Carbon Crazy? Should we be locked into global climate change as our flagship environmental issue?
Scott Wozencraft
In this poster, I propose to replace global warming as our flagship environmental issue and in its place use socio-economic metabolism. Although nowhere near as recognizable as global warming at present, socio-economic metabolism and the associated environmental indicators, material and energy flow accounting, and human appropriations of net primary productivity, would highlight, more effectively, the necessary issues and procedures for society to become sustainable.
Global Climate Change and Native American Water Rights in the Colorado River Basin
Sophie A. Glass
The Colorado River is known as the lifeline of the American West. Over thirty million people depend on the Colorado River as their main water source, including thousands of Native Americans living on reservations. Scientists predict that global climate change will decrease flows in the Colorado River by 8 – 20 percent in the next several decades, which will contribute to water shortages and increased competition for water throughout the West (Gleick and Nash, 1993). Winters Rights grant Native Americans priority access to the Colorado River. This unique set of rights is both an asset and a liability in the Native American struggle to secure clean water resources.
Rainwater Harvesting: Reconciling Adaptation to Climate Change with Colorado Water Law
Sandhya Tillotson
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has proven to be a viable method of water resource management in arid and semiarid regions such as the American West. However, it is currently illegal for Colorado citizens to collect rainwater off of their own roofs. The strict doctrine of prior appropriation in Colorado water law prohibits RWH, claiming that the water that falls on your roof is already owned by downstream users. However, only approximately 3% of annual precipitation that falls on an undeveloped piece of land ever returns to the stream (Leonard Rice Engineers, Inc. 2007). As global warming models predict Colorado temperatures rising 4°F by 2050 (IPCC AR4), and populations steadily grow in the West, water resources will be increasingly stressed. Will Colorado finally change its water laws to allow RWH as an adaptative practice to climate change?
Retreat of tropical Andean glaciers and impacts on local water supplies
Sarah Turner
Glaciers, especially small mountain glaciers like the ones typically found in the South American Andes, are considered to be excellent indicators of climate change. Ninety-nine percent of the world’s tropical glaciers are found in the Andes, a mountain range that traverses Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela and Argentina. Tropical glaciers in this region have experienced increased rates of retreat during the last century as a result of global climate change. This poster examines the current retreat of tropical Andean glaciers and the impacts this retreat is likely to have on local hydrologic systems and populations. It also assesses the gaps in our knowledge of the causes and impacts of Andean glacial retreat and suggests ways to adapt in the face of these uncertainties.
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Thanks to all the students, faculty, and staff who participated in our first EV Day. Please come back for EV Day 2010! |
