Bright Greens Research Articles

Using an interactive simulation tool of national energy and climate policy planning to explore environmental policy options from the perspectives of different interest groups

AbstractTo reach the Paris Agreement goals, European governments have defined national contributions to the EU binding climate goals and have developed national climate and energy plans for 2021–2030 (NECPs). NECPs are detailed strategies in which governments can flexibly emphasize specific sectors, technologies and national energy policy choices. Every country has built its own energy modelling capacity for forecasting purposes. In most countries, this national modelling relies on optimization tools such as Markal or TIMES. For Latvia's energy sector, a system dynamics (SD) model was built to complement the TIMES model. The SD model deals with an integrated energy system, including the primary energy supply and transformation sector; energy distribution and storage system; and energy demand sectors (residential, tertiary, public, industry and transportation). Sectoral policies are presented in the Stella Architect interface. This study demonstrates how the interactive simulation tool was used in the Environmental Engineering Master level course ‘Environmental Policy and Economics’ as an experiential learning approach. The student assignment involved applying this tool to develop and analyse the energy transition policy package for one of four ideological interest groups: deep greens, bright greens, light greens and greys. Students had to assume a role and adopt its perspective by applying their border‐crossing competence and reflecting on selected policy mixes for that ideology. Various transition pathways, based on different ideologies, illustrate the possibilities for application. Results show that students were successful in fulfilling the assignment.

The Shoot Apical Meristem: A Tree’s Best Bud

Every spring, something seemingly miraculous happens in the woods in certain parts of the world—thousands of leaves burst from buds on bare tree branches, transforming the landscape from the browns and grays of winter to the bright greens of spring and summer. Although this process is most obvious in regions with drastic seasonal changes, seed plants all over the world regularly produce and lose leaves as they grow. How does this happen? Where do these leaves come from? The cells that make up these leaves are produced by a tiny cluster of cells called the shoot apical meristem. The cells in the shoot apical meristem have the potential to develop into various kinds of cells. Through cell division, meristem cells eventually produce all the above-ground parts of a plant, including leaves. In this article, we explain how meristems function and highlight how these tiny clusters of cells impact our day-to-day lives. We will also provide suggestions for observing meristems at work.

How to Wear a Sari by Darshana Khiani

Reviewed by: How to Wear a Sari by Darshana Khiani Elizabeth Bush Khiani, Darshana How to Wear a Sari; illus. by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 [32 p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781328635204 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780358531883 $12.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-7 yrs The young narrator in this giggle-inducing picture book romp is determined to make a grand entrance and delight her relatives at a family party, and she's delighted to school her audience in how to rock a sari. After ransacking her mother's wardrobe for the perfect sparkly fabric, the real work of wrangling the yards of cloth around her petite frame begins. First attempt—oops. You have to put on the blouse and petticoat before the sari. Next step—oops. Pleats are darned hard to manage. Next step—oops, wrong size ("Suck in your belly and tuck"). Finally, looking good—oops. [End Page 428] Tangling her mother's high heels in the sari sends her sprawling onto the dinner table, wiping out the food and setting relatives gasping (and, yes, laughing too) at her sartorial mishap. Lew-Vriethoff's energetic illustrations aptly capture the bumbling confidence of the pig-tailed moppet, whose brown skin sets the bright greens and gold of the voluminous sari aglow, and whose ethnically diverse extended family are collectively comfortable in a range of traditional and contemporary fashions. Kids who cringe at the idea of disgracing themselves in public will be relieved to see how quickly the narrator recovers, happily claiming her place in the family photo album of the relatives' most embarrassing moments. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Shades of Green

A schism seems to be emerging between two camps: the dark greens and the bright greens. The dark green ENGOs seek radical social change to solve environmental problems, often by confronting corporations. The bright green ENGOs work within the present system, often in close alliance with corporations, to solve environmental problems. What many in the movement, and society as whole, fail to fully grasp is the extent to which the environmental movement is a complex and interconnected network, one that includes corporations as an integral part. The reality is that the network of the environmental movement in its relationship with corporations has formed in an organic and uncoordinated way, with many ENGOs challenging and competing with each other rather than working in a more concerted fashion. This dynamics seems particularly acute in Washington. But if we can look at this movement through a new lens – a network lens – we can begin to see ways in which to understand the diversity of ways in which corporations and ENGOs engage. By developing a clear “map” of the composite landscape of the environmental movement, NGO managers will be better able to consider their role and place within the overall network. And the corporate manager can better understand where and how they can access it. With this kind of imagery developed, more structured and effective coordination and collaboration becomes possible.

The Promise by N. Davies

Davies, Nicola. The Promise. Illus. Laura Carlin. Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2014. Print.This is a picture book that may be read again and again. Its meaning and message has several layers and needs to be peeled like an onion. Davies and Carlin work together seamlessly to create and build tone and mood throughout the book while the reader is taken on a journey.The Promise is the story of a young girl living and growing up in a “mean and hard and ugly” city who has a chance encounter with an old lady. A promise is made that will change everything.Davies, a zoologist, is an award winning author and has written several other children’s books about nature and animals. In The Promise she develops a story that emphasizes the importance of our relationship with nature, particularly in the urban setting. The illustrations by Laura Carlin, are beautifully crafted from mixed media. For a children’s book, they are at first shockingly gloomy and depressing. This however, perfectly matches Davies descriptive and figurative language of an ugly city where, the “streets were dry as dust… never blessed with rain” and “a gritty yellow wind blew constantly, scratching around the buildings like a hungry dog.” The pages are initially dark, moody and mysterious, playing with various shades of gray and sepia. As the story line becomes more uplifting and lively, so do the pictures with pops of colour. Bright reds, greens, oranges and yellows, show bright displays of life and activity as “Green spread through the city like a song”. Carlin’s illustrations not only enhance the messages portrayed in the words of the book, but also build mood and evoke emotion.The Promise is a story of hope and how one person can be the change in this world. This book is appropriate for all ages, but the depth of the messages and multiple layers make it well suited for upper elementary. Teachers and librarians will want this book in their library.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Michele Wilson McCuneAs an elementary school teacher for Edmonton Catholic School Division and a mother of four, Michele loves reading and sharing literature with the important children in her life. She is currently working on completing her master’s degree in Elementary Education with a focus in Language and Literacy.

Green Fairy Dusts: Three natural proposals to confront the nutrition and environment emergency

In response to widespread malnutrition, under-nutrition and rampant obesity, and in the context of climate change, a wise nutrition path for the whole world should include locally produced traditional/innovative food supplements to accompany the recovery and adaptation of traditional and indigenous diets. The three ‘bright greens’ discussed here – among others – are spirulina algae, nettle leaves and the moringa tree’s many gifts. Easily powdered for a wide and versatile use, these ‘fairy dusts’ are practical and appropriate responses to the dual challenges of nutrition and climate change. They also offer an important transformational strategy against the dominant globalization of processed food.

POSITIVE FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT SELECTION ON WARNING COLOR IN ALPINE LEAF BEETLES

Müller's theory of warning color and mimicry, despite forming a textbook example of frequency-dependent selection, has rarely been demonstrated in the wild. This may be largely due to the practical and statistical difficulties of measuring natural selection on mobile prey species. Here we demonstrate that this selection acts in alpine beetle communities by using tethered beetles exposed to natural predators. Oreina gloriosa leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) possess chemical defense in the form of cardenolides, accompanied by what appears to be warning color in bright metallic blues and greens. Individuals that match the locally predominant color morph have increased survival, with odds of week-long survival increased by a factor of 1.67 over those that do not match. This corresponds to selection of 13% against foreign morphs. Such selection, acting in concert with variation in community composition, could be responsible for geographic variation in warning color. However, in the face of this purifying selection, the within-population polymorphism seen in many Oreina species remains paradoxical.

Marvels and Miracles

Marvels and Miracles Brian Cox Talmont on the Gironde For A. E. Dyson, 1928–2002 At Talmont pilgrims paused and prayed en route for Compostela: paused to worship miracles, while we stop here to marvel that the sea never destroyed this little church, perilous on its rocky perch. An ancient graveyard overrun by flowers, bright in midday sun —ground lilac, roses, hollyhock— welcomes us and makes me think of Tony, friend of fifty years, who would have loved these quiet ways. Inside the church, stone-cool and calm, two euros buy a candle flame. I've not observed these rites before. I light the wick and then withdraw to gaze at flowers beyond the porch. I feel you're here: our final watch. [End Page 327] St. Paul's Bay, Malta Small fishing boats, bright greens and blues, sport on their prow black slitted eyes of Osiris to ward off jinns; and yet they give their craft the names of saints. They're faithful Christian souls who won't defy the pagan gods. St. Paul was shipwrecked on these shores. This is a site for miracles: he strikes the rock and water flows, he hurls a viper in the flames. Our local bus is forced to stop beside a crowded square. We gawp at Paul in effigy, serene, as white-smocked youths await the sign to lift their load on poles and start his ride to bless each ancient street. He's eight-feet tall, in blue and white. Old ways stay undefeated yet. Brian Cox , Who Founded Critical Quarterly With A. E. Dyson, is Perhaps Best Known for the Black Papers. He Long Taught English at Manchester University, and His Last Post There Was as Pro-Vice-chancellor. He Has a New Book of Poetry in Press—My Eightieth Year in Heaven.

Benefits of Nature: What We Are Learning about Why People Respond to Nature

People have positive aesthetic, emotional, and physiological responses to nature. Why is this so? The "savanna hypothesis," proposed by Gordon Orians, predicts that some human responses are based on innate knowledge of productive human habitats. To test this, researchers have examined particular aspects of nature that should be associated with productive human habitats to see if they trigger positive responses in people. Tree form has emerged as an important factor in these studies. People prefer looking at trees with spreading forms much more than looking at trees with other forms. Trees with spreading forms existed on the African savanna and were associated with habitats that were good for early human habitation. We have shown that subjects also feel happier when looking at these trees than when looking at other trees or non-tree objects. Color is another variable that might be associated with people's responses to nature. Bright green colors could be an important cue for healthy plants with good nutrient qualities. We measured subjects' physiological responses to tree canopies of various colors and found that all colors were calming, but bright green trees were more calming than other tree colors, including less bright greens and oranges. Adult responses to plants are also influenced by their childhood interactions with nature. We have shown that the more interaction people have with nature as children, the more positive are their attitudes towards nature as adults. These positive responses have been documented in people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Vertical Transmission, November 2006

I have just returned from holidays, during which I reflected on how wonderful it was to be a microbiologist. I visited the geothermal areas in the Yellowstone National Park in the USA and saw the most fantastic bacterial mats ? deep reds, bright greens and yellows with intricate patterns and swirls surrounding the boiling water, mud and geysers.

The World of Alexander Johnston: The Creolization of Ambition, 1762–1787

Eighteenth-century Jamaica, the ‘devil of a country’ to which Dr Alexander Johnston referred, seems an unlikely candidate, at the historian's first glance, for consternation. Today's visitor would find that the ‘Garden Parish’, St Ann's, truly exudes everything warm and wonderful associated with tropical stereotypes. Yet two hundred years ago Dr Alexander Johnston, ‘Practitioner of Physick and Chiurgery’ rarely observed this very paradise, the foothills of coastal St Ann's, in a positive light. To this particular Scot, the bright reds and greens clearly took second place to the shabby problems of daily life in the Caribbean.

The Influence of Woolmark on Textile Processing

To identify wool to the consumer, the idea of the Woolmark was conceived. The specifications of the Woolmark are described, including fibre content, colour fastness to light, water and washing and, for knitwear, resistance to shrinkage on washing. The problems of formulating a specification for tensile strength are outlined. It is difficult to producethe currently popular bright greens and turquoise on wool to the standards of fastness tolight and water specified by the Woolmark. However, by the use of reactive dyes this dificulty can be overcome, and better methods for applying these dyes to wool will probably be forthcoming.