Resources For The Future Research Articles

Ecohydrological modeling in agroecosystems: Examples and challenges

AbstractHuman societies are increasingly altering the water and biogeochemical cycles to both improve ecosystem productivity and reduce risks associated with the unpredictable variability of climatic drivers. These alterations, however, often cause large negative environmental consequences, raising the question as to how societies can ensure a sustainable use of natural resources for the future. Here we discuss how ecohydrological modeling may address these broad questions with special attention to agroecosystems. The challenges related to modeling the two‐way interaction between society and environment are illustrated by means of a dynamical model in which soil and water quality supports the growth of human society but is also degraded by excessive pressure, leading to critical transitions and sustained societal growth‐collapse cycles. We then focus on the coupled dynamics of soil water and solutes (nutrients or contaminants), emphasizing the modeling challenges, presented by the strong nonlinearities in the soil and plant system and the unpredictable hydroclimatic forcing, that need to be overcome to quantitatively analyze problems of soil water sustainability in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. We discuss applications of this framework to problems of irrigation, soil salinization, and fertilization and emphasize how optimal solutions for large‐scale, long‐term planning of soil and water resources in agroecosystems under uncertainty could be provided by methods from stochastic control, informed by physically and mathematically sound descriptions of ecohydrological and biogeochemical interactions.

Looking to the future: infant observation in the Ukraine

A short account of a recent pilot project taking place in Kiev describing some factors that are contributing to the developing interest in Infant Observation and infant mental health amongst clinicians in Ukraine, and their determination to build resources for the future of children growing up in an environment of pervasive uncertainty.

About this title ‐ Ore Deposits in an Evolving Earth

Ore deposits form by a variety of natural processes that concentrate elements into a volume that can be economically mined. Their type, character and abundance reflect the environment in which they formed and thus they preserve key evidence for the evolution of magmatic and tectonic processes, the state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, and the evolution of life over geological time. This volume presents 13 papers on topical subjects in ore deposit research viewed in the context of Earth evolution. These diverse, yet interlinked, papers cover topics including: controls on the temporal and spatial distribution of ore deposits; the sources of fluid, gold and other components of orogenic gold deposits; the degree of oxygenation in the Neoproterozoic ocean; bacterial immobilization of gold in the semi-arid near-surface environment; and mineral resources for the future, including issues of resource estimation, sustainability of supply and the criticality of certain elements to society.

Ore deposits in an evolving Earth: an introduction

Abstract Ore deposits form by a variety of natural processes that concentrate elements into a small volume that can be economically mined. Their type, character and abundance reflect the environment in which they formed and thus they preserve key evidence for the evolution of magmatic and tectonic processes, the state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, and the evolution of life over geological time. This volume presents 13 papers on topical subjects in ore deposit research viewed in the context of Earth evolution. These diverse, yet interlinked, papers cover topics including: controls on the temporal and spatial distribution of ore deposits; the sources of fluid, gold and other components in orogenic gold deposits; the degree of oxygenation in the Neoproterozoic ocean; bacterial immobilization of gold in the semi-arid near-surface environment; and mineral resources for the future, including issues of resource estimation, sustainability of supply and the criticality of certain elements to society.

How Would Carbon Pricing Affect Purchases of Energy-Efficient Appliances? The Case of Refrigerators

The purpose of this research is to estimate the potential effect of carbon pricing on the purchase of energy efficient appliances, using refrigerators as a representative appliance. Carbon emissions are widely believed to be contributing to climate change, although the U.S. has not yet introduced a nationwide method of limiting these emissions (two regional carbon trading schemes involving a handful of states notwithstanding). To estimate response, we first estimate the effect of electricity price on the market share of energy efficient refrigerators -- representing energy savings of 15-20% as compared to standard refrigerators -- that qualify for the USEPA’s ENERGY STAR program. The second step is to estimate the additional response that would result if the U.S. implemented a price on carbon, thereby increasing the price of electricity and the market share of energy efficient appliances. We find a price elasticity of demand of between 0.16 and 0.26, a relatively small response and smaller than the effect of percent of owner-occupied homes and percent of adults with a bachelor’s degree. In turn, Resources for the Future (2010) estimates that a carbon price would increase the average electricity price by at most $0.04/kWh, which would increase purchases of ENERGY STAR refrigerators by less than 3%. In turn, carbon emissions would decrease by approximately 0.3%. We suggest that in order to achieve the socially efficient outcome, it may be necessary to add another instrument in addition to the price on carbon.

Report on Reports: The World Development Report Over the Years

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsJoel DarmstadterJoel Darmstadter is a Senior Fellow/Resident Consultant at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C.Notes1. World Development Report 1979, 35.2. For elaboration of the three points, see WDR 2010, xx–xxi.3. Shahid Yusuf and others, Development Economics Through the Decades: A Critical Look at 30 Years of the World Development Report (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2008).4. Joseph E. Stiglitz, “The World Development Report: Development Theory and Policy,” in Yusuf, see note 3 above, 140–41.5. Angus Deaton, “The World Development Report at Thirty: A Birthday Tribute or Funeral Elegy?,” in Yusuf, see note 3 above, 106.

Smog Check: Science, Federalism and the Politics of Clean Air by Douglas S. Eisinger. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2010. 252 pp. $15.00 (paper).

Smog Check: Science, Federalism and the Politics of Clean Air by Douglas S. Eisinger. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2010. 252 pp. $15.00 (paper).

Third International Congress on Planted Forests: Planted Forests on the Globe - Renewable Resources for the Future

Guest Editorial This Special Issue of the Journal comprises peer-reviewed papers that were submitted following the Third International Congress on Planted Forests. This Congress was organized by the Atlantic Regional Office of the European Forest Institute (EFIATLANTIC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Union of Foresters of Southern Europe (USSE). The Congress comprised three scientific workshops held in Bordeaux, Dublin and Porto from 15 to 18 May 2013, and one plenary meeting held in Estoril from 20 to 21 May 2013. The Congress was attended by around 200 participants, with more than 60 invited papers from more than 20 countries. The Congress was the third in the series with the first held in Santiago, Chile in 1999, and the second in Wellington, New Zealand in 2003. The Congress focussed on global perspectives on planted forest development, vulnerability and risk management, ecosystem services and landscape restoration, and governance, economics, trade markets and profitability of planted forests. A full summary report drafted by a panel of international experts can be found on the Congress website (http://www.efiatlantic.efi.int/portal/events/past_events/ 2013/icpf/). The Congress noted that the global planted forest area and wood production was continuing to increase, with expansion mainly in Asia, and that planted forests are being increasingly seen as complementary to natural forests and not as a replacement. Global risks were projected to increase both from a changing climate and from socio-economic factors where population pressure is high or there is a high incidence of poverty. It was noted that adaptation strategies to respond to these risks and to mitigate and lessen the damage from these threats were in their infancy. Planted forests are also being seen increasingly as more than just a source of wood and there is increasing recognition of the provisioning, regulating, and cultural services (such as fresh water, clean air, bioenergy, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, or recreation) that these forests provide. Good governance and management standards were emphasised, and the need to think of planted forests as an integral part of the landscape and land-use matrix rather than just alone. Security of tenure and management certainty are critical for long term activities such as forestry, and to ensure the attractiveness of planted forests to investment funds and to encourage a good economic environment for commercial activities. Overall, the outlook for planted forests and their global contribution is positive though major challenges are expected arising from on-going climate change and from increasing socio-economic and environmental impacts. The papers in this special issue provide a permanent record of some of the topics discussed at the Congress. Special thanks go to the editorial and production teams at the New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science for preparing this special issue, and to the numerous anonymous manuscript reviewers for their valuable comments on each of the contributions.

State of the Art of Land Use Planning Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Land use planning is systematic assessment of land and water potential. Its purpose is to select and put into practice those land uses, that will best meet the need of the people while safe guarding resources for the future. Number of researchers have been established the applicability of Remote sensing and Geographical Information system to solve problems in agricultural related to land use planning. The review related to 'Land use Planning' using remote sensing and GIS is discussed in the present paper.

Consumo verde: um estudo transcultural sobre crenças, preocupações e atitudes ambientais

Embora os jovens universitários, em diferentes países, tenham um acesso crescente às informações sobre práticas ambientais, isso não significa que haja o desenvolvimento de uma consciência que leve a boas práticas de consumo verde. Com a utilização de uma nova escala, aplicada em 2372 estudantes universitários do Brasil, Argentina, Chile, México, Portugal e Espanha, foi averiguado se a percepção ambiental desses jovens se manifesta por meio de um constructo razoavelmente estruturado em torno das crenças, preocupações e atitudes ambientais, analisando os impactos dessas dimensões nas práticas de consumo. Foi possível concluir que, embora haja similaridades entre os jovens da América Latina e do grupo denominado Ibéria (formado pela Espanha e Portugal), há diferenças importantes sobre como essa percepção está estruturada. Os ibéricos têm uma motivação de ordem antropocêntrica, ligada à preservação de recursos para o futuro, enquanto os latino-americanos têm uma visão mais holística, em que as crenças ambientais atuam como antecedentes importantes. Entre os dois grupos, há também diferenças sobre a possibilidade de conciliar o desenvolvimento econômico e a preservação ambiental. Verificou-se que o chamado consumo verde é uma resposta às preocupações ambientais para dois grupos, com influência reduzida de outras dimensões, o que repercute nas estratégias de marketing que podem ser adotadas.

Introducing The Forum

In this issue, we present a new Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences feature called The Forum . The Forum creates opportunities for reflection, lively debate, and insight based on informed opinion about all aspects of contemporary interdisciplinary environmental studies and sciences. Here, a reader will find essays, op-eds, letters to the editor, and film reviews, all intended to promote engaging discussion. The essays will be a regular feature of the Forum . These essays, often solicited from senior scholars and professionals in interdisciplinary environmental studies and practice, are peer-reviewed for timeliness, accuracy, and cogency. They create contrasting, sometimes controversial, perspectives about critical issues in contemporary environmental studies, science, and professions. The initial essays in this issue present early, incisive explorations of a controversial and innovative public policy recently proposed by the internationally known climatologist James Hanson. He proposes that mitigating global climate change requires that most of the remaining international fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground, and this can be achieved by pricing carbon through a “fee-and-dividend” strategy. This plan would tax carbon at various points of entry into a national economy, such as seaports. The fee would then be returned directly to consumers in relation to their carbon consumption, thus providing an incentive to move away from fossil energy sources. Is this practical, or even plausible? What will be the actual impact? We all know about the iron law of unintended consequences. Here, three scholars in two essays evaluate the notion of carbon pricing, its distributional problems, and alternatives. In “Two World Views on Carbon Revenues,” Dallas Burtraw and Samantha Sekar, policy specialists associated with Resources for the Future, maintain that carbon pricing would be more efficient than the prescriptive regulation of greenhouse gases. From this perspective, they ask the important question concerning to whom should this additional revenue go? While Hanson’s fee-and-dividend would allocate the funds straight to consumers, Burtraw and Sekar argue that the rightful recipients depend on how we think of the atmospheric commons. Recipients of the funds could, for example, be nation states if the atmosphere is determined to be state property; then the tax or fee could go to governmental budgets. However, if the atmosphere is conceived as the property of individuals in common, then a dividend to individuals may be politically expedient but complicated by the global nature of such a commons. In a second essay, “Climate and Economic Storms of Our Grandchildren,” international energy expert and consultant John “Skip” Laitner, currently president-elect of AESS, uses research he and others conducted for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy to analyze the idea of US carbon pricing. Laitner begins with the premise that economic welfare in the USA is hampered by dreadful energy inefficiency. This inefficiency is so pervasive that Laitner concludes through a thoughtful experiment that the USA could have reduced its 2012 energy consumption in half to 1980 levels, and also lowered carbon emissions below 1980 levels, while still creating a stronger economy. What is the best way to accomplish this task, far more ambitious than the now-expired Kyoto Protocol? Laitner argues that non-pricing programs, some of which need government investment and intervention to establish efficiency and behavioral feedbacks, will bring more options and value across the US economy. These benefits include economic savings for households, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and deep cuts in greenhouse gases. These essays illustrate the quality of informative and accessible insight we hope to bring to Journal of Environmental Preface for the new Forum section of the journal to appear in the March 2014 issue

Better Ways to Study Regulatory Elephants

We are grateful to the editor and reviewers for this opportunity to respond to the five essays reviewing two recent books comparing regulation in the US and Europe: The Politics of Precaution: Regulating Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks in Europe and the United States, and The Reality of Precaution: Comparing Risk Regulation in the United States and Europe. We agree with reviewer Maria Weimer and with David Vogel that both of these books help create a research agenda for comparative studies of regulation, including studies of relative precaution, by developing theoretical explanations and a systematic basis for collecting data to test them. We also agree with reviewer Susan Rose-Ackerman that comparative studies of regulation should examine not only relative precaution, but more broadly the interrelationships among precaution, proportionality, impact assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and other analytic frameworks – and the value choices embedded in them. We addressed those important issues in the concluding chapter of our book, but they certainly deserve additional inquiry. And we thank Fabrizio Cafaggi for his extensive review of our book in an earlier issue of this journal; there he emphasized our book’s contribution to the evolving understanding of transnational regulatory networks. Both books undertake a descriptive comparison of relative precaution in American and European regulation over the past several decades. The two books differ in their findings, and in the evidence on which those findings rest. We thank reviewers Susan RoseAckerman, Adam Burgess, and Jane K. Winn for acknowledging the strong empirical evidence of actual policymaking that is assembled in our book. We disagree, however, with the reviewers who allege that our book has somehow “missed the wood for the trees” or cast “empiricism” against “humanism”, ostensibly because Europe yearns to define its “identity” as precautionary or because European regulation “feels” more precautionary. In our view, it is a mistake to confuse rhetoric with reality, or feelings with actions, and it is an illusion to conflate political aspirations with actual policymaking. That is why we studied actual policies: to test whether they reflect the political rhetoric or not. To characterize the forest and see whether it has moved, one must examine a representative sample of the trees – which is what we have done. To compare regulatory policies, one must actually study the policies and avoid being seduced by aspirational rhetoric and symbolic politics which are not themselves evidence of real regulation. * Jonathan B. Wiener is Perkins Professor of Law at Duke Law School, Professor of Environmental Policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment, and Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy, at Duke University and a University Fellow of Resources for the Future (RFF). Brendon Swedlow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, at Northern Illinois University. James K. Hammitt is Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences at the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, and visiting professor at the Toulouse School of Economics (LERNA-INRA). Michael D. Rogers is a former member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers, at the European Commission. Peter H. Sand is lecturer in International Environmental Law at the University of Munich.

Evaluation of Glucosinolates in Nordic Horseradish (Armoracia Rusticana)

Abstract Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana Gaertn., C.A. Mey & Scherb.) has a long history as food and medicinal plant. Glucosinolates (GLS) or their breakdown products are responsible for the pungent taste and claimed medicinal effects. The dominate GLS in horseradish is sinigrin (> 80%) followed by gluconasturtiin and glucobrassicin. A total of 168 Nordic accessions of horseradish were screened for the content of intact glucosinolates. Sinigrin levels varied between 10 and 45, gluconasturtiin between 1.3 and 7.4 and glucobrassicin between 0.1 and 2.6 μmol/g DM. Accessions with high levels of both sinigrin and gluconasturtiin were found. Horseradish accessions are kept as living plants in clonal archives in their respective countries. The task for plant gene banks is not only to conserve genetic resources for the future, but also to stimulate use of the collections for various products and breeding programmes. After further analyses to certify the screening results, selected accessions will form a base for breeding and increased use of horseradish as a condiment to food, natural preservative or in medical treatments

Spatial analysis of the mining and transport of rock minerals (aggregates) in the context of regional development

Rock minerals such as dimension and crushed stones and sands and gravels (aggregates) are indispensable materials for the building and construction industries. The growth in demand for these resources causes intensification of mining operations (and their consequent environmental impacts) and transport problems in regions abundant in rock minerals. The balanced management of these resources by regional policy-makers is difficult as it requires, among other things, comprehensive and up-to-date information on the spatial distribution and temporal changes of available reserves, demand, production, and transport. This information can be provided by means of spatial and temporal analyses through geographic information systems (GIS). In this research, the focus is on the following aspects of rock mineral (aggregates) resources and mining management in the context of regional spatial planning in the example region of Lower Silesia in Poland: the spatial and temporal changes in distribution and intensity of mining, the availability of economic reserves in active mines, the magnitude and distribution of road transport flows of aggregates, the potential of railways as an alternative means of transport, and the valorisation of undeveloped aggregates deposits to assess their suitability for future use. For the purposes of this study, cartographic models have been developed using GIS to facilitate analyses of these mineral resources, mining, and transport. The results of these analyses provide current and comprehensive information on the state of aggregates mineral resources, production and transport in the Lower Silesia region. They also give an insight into availability of rock mineral resources for the future. Knowledge of these processes is important for spatial development planning, especially physical infrastructure, conducted by national, regional, and local governments.

Resources for the Future

Resources for the Future

Optimal Expectations and the Welfare Cost of Climate Variability

We show that increased climate variability (a proxy for future income uncertainty) reduces farmers’ subjective well-being, consistent with the theory of optimal expectations (Brunnermeier & Parker, 2005), using panel data from rural Ethiopia and a new data set containing daily atmospheric parameters. The magnitude of our result indicates that a one standard deviation (7%) increase in climate variability has an equivalent e↵ect on life satisfaction to a two standard deviation (1-2%) decrease in consumption. This e↵ect is one of the largest determinants of life satisfaction in rural Ethiopia. (JEL: C25, D60, I31.) 1First draft: June 2012. Alem: Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, yonas.alem@economics.gu.se. Colmer: The Grantham Research Institute and Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics, UK. E-mail: j.m.colmer@lse.ac.uk. We are grateful to Allen Blackman, Je↵ery Bookwalter, Gharad Bryan, Douglas Dalenberg, Paul Dolan, John Feddersen, Greer Gosnell, Cameron Hepburn, Derek Kellenberg, Peter Martinsson, Kyle Meng, Rob Metcalfe, Eric Neumayer, Jonathan Parker, Hendrik Wol↵ and seminar participants at the EfD 6th Annual Meeting, EAERE, the University of Oxford, London School of Economics, University of Montana, and Resources for the Future for helpful thoughts, comments and discussions. The first author would like to thank the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) through the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD) at the University of Gothenburg, and the Swedish Research Council Formas through the Human Cooperation to Manage Natural Resources (COMMONS) programme for financial support. Part of this research was done while Alem was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California Berkeley. The second author would like to thank the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy and the Grantham Foundation for financial support. The data used in this article were collected by the University of Addis Ababa, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). Funding for the ERHS survey was provided by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). All errors and omissions are our own.

Focus on Authors

Focus on Authors

Overcoming the Global Injustices of Energy Poverty

Joan Brown, a college student in Atlanta, Georgia, wakes up in the morning to an electronic alarm clock before she microwaves breakfast, takes a hot shower, grabs a latte at Starbucks, and drives h...

The Importance of Integrating SNP and Cheminformatics Resources to Pharmacogenomics

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most frequent variants in many genes and are promising markers in relation to drug responses in pharmacogenomics studies. In this review, we emphasized the importance of the cheminformatic-related and SNP-related resources and tools and how they can improve pharmacogenomics studies. Currently, many cheminformatic resources are well developed and provide much information on drug metabolism and targeting. In parallel, there are also many well established SNP-related resources that are able to provide the information related to SNP genotyping, tag SNPs and functional classification. However, cheminformatic and SNP resources have not, as yet, been well-integrated to provide a user-friendly platform for pharmacogenomics studies. This paper presents a brief overview of the many available public resources for cheminformatics (DrugBank, PharmGKB and other drugrelated databases) and SNPs (dbSNP, HapMap, SNP500Cancer, SNP-RFLPing 2 and other SNP tools) and points out the importance of integrating cheminformatic and SNP resources for the future of pharmacogenomics.

Comparison of regional planning strategies: Countywide general plans in USA and territorial plans in Spain

The regional plans of developed countries follow a few common patterns. Both subjects under research have many similarities. Nevertheless, regional plans analyze spaces with different development issues and perspectives with key questions varying from a pro-development dimension to a conservationist dimension, depending on concrete conditions.This research analyzes how the regional plans of rural areas of California (El Dorado and Nevada) and Extremadura (Campo Arañuelo and La Vera) treat land uses and infrastructure. Specifically, it analyzes the goals, objectives, implementation mechanisms, policies and strategies – all important aspects for the development of non-urban counties, especially in orienting and determining the use of resources as well as the orientation of its determinations.The aims and the proposals of plans are different in the four cases under research. While in the counties of a relatively poor region as Extremadura, the final aim is the socioeconomic development and the growth of the employment, preserving the natural patrimony; in the counties of California, the final aim is to increase the quality of life, improving the natural and cultural patrimony, the sustainable mobility, safety and equity, but also, interest in economic development.It is interesting to observe the balance between the economic growth and quality of life because of a possible conflict. The concept of growth is problematic in itself, as resources are limited. Existing resources diminish at a low rate, the quality of natural environment decreases putting increasing pressure on weak and poor regions. The tendencies of unorganized and unsecure growth are evident on regional scale. Sustainability is a word used more and more to define a capable way of living to prove and reverse some of the damage done and maintain the resources for the future. Economic development should not take place at the cost of environment.Regional planning strategies provide the framework around which policy and decisions should be made once the counties determine upon the most feasible and sustainable economic development pattern. A sustainable economic pattern should promote a socially, environmentally and economic-balanced approach to rural development.