Strategic Assessment of Near Coastal Waters: Northeast Case Study

The Northeast Case Study has been undertaken to illustrate how data being developed in NOAA\u27s program of strategic assessments can be used for resource assessments of estuaries and near coastal waters throughout the contiguous USA. It was designed as a pilot project to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in developing its Strategic Initiative for the Management of Near Coastal Waters. As part of this initiative, the coastal states and EPA are to identify estuarine and coastal waters that require management action. The project began in June 1987 as a cooperative effort by NOAA\u27s Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment and EPA\u27s Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation and Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection. The Northeast was selected because NOAA\u27s data bases were more complete for the estuaries of this region at the time. Offshore areas are not included since information to characterize them has not been organized for a consistently defined set of spatial units. Preliminary and interim case study reports were completed in September and November 1987. In these reports, information was compiled by estuary for seven themes: (1) physical and hydrologic characteristics; (2) land use and population; (3) nutrient discharges; (4) classified shellfish waters; (5) toxic discharges and hazardous waste disposal sites; (6) coastal wetlands; and (7) public outdoor recreation facilities. Most of the information was compiled from NOAA\u27s National Coastal Pollutant Discharge Inventory, National Estuarine Inventory (Volumes 1 and 2), National Coastal Wetlands Inventory, and Public Outdoor Recreational Facilities Inventory. However, with the exception of the toxic discharges chapter in the interim report, only cursory explanations of the data and no data analyses were provided in the previous reports. Two chapters, nutrient and toxic discharges to estuaries, will be completed to illustrate fully the extent of available data, the methods used to develop the data, and the types of analyses that are possible. The data bases used to compile the information in the report are constantly being updated and improved. For example, during the course of the project, NOAA analyzed the susceptibility and status of all estuaries identified in its National Estuarine Inventory to nutrient and toxic discharges. This information, not in the preliminary and interim drafts of the case study, is emphasized in the chapters on nutrient and toxic discharges with special attention given to the estuaries in the Northeast. Case studies for other regions may be completed in the future depending on interest and available resources

The external water footprint of the Netherlands: quantification and impact assessment

This study quantifies the external water footprint of the Netherlands by partner country and import product and assesses the impact of this footprint by contrasting the geographically explicit water footprint with water scarcity in the different parts of the world. Hotspots are identified as the places where the external water footprint of Dutch consumers is significant on the one hand and where water scarcity is serious on the other hand.\ud The study shows that Dutch consumption implies the use of water resources throughout the world, with significant impacts at specified locations. This knowledge is relevant for consumers, government and businesses when addressing the sustainability of consumer behaviour and supply chains. The results of this study can be an input to bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and the Dutch trade partners aimed at the reduction of the negative impacts of Dutch consumption on foreign water resources. Dutch government can also engage with businesses in order to stimulate them to review the sustainability of their supply chains

Water footprint of bio-energy and other primary energy carriers

Freshwater is essential for life on earth, not only for basic human needs such as food, fibre and drinking water, but also for a healthy environment. In the near future, important challenges are to meet basic needs and to ensure that the extraction of water does not affect freshwater ecosystems. At present, humanity already uses 26 percent of the total terrestrial evapotranspiration and 54 percent of accessible runoff. If the world population increases further, there is concern in several regions and countries with limited water resources if food and fibre needs of future generations can be met. In general, global change is often considered in relation to climate change caused by emissions of greenhouse gasses, such as CO2 from fossil energy carriers. A shift towards CO2-neutral energy carriers, such as biomass, is heavily promoted. Nowadays, the production of biomass for food and fibre in agriculture requires about 86% of the worldwide freshwater use often competing with other uses such as urban supply and industrial activities. A shift from fossil energy towards energy from biomass puts additional pressure on freshwater resources. This report assesses the water footprint (WF) of bio-energy and other primary energy carriers. It focuses on primary energy carriers and expresses the WF as the amount of water consumed to produce a unit of energy (m3/GJ). The report observes large differences among the WF’s for specific types of primary energy carriers. For the fossil energy carriers, the WF increases in the following order: uranium (0.09 m3/GJ), natural gas (0.11 m3/GJ), coal (0.16 m3/GJ), and finally crude oil (1.06 m3/GJ). Renewable energy carriers show large differences in their WF. The WF for wind energy is negligible, for solar thermal energy 0.30 m3/GJ, but for hydropower 22.3 m3/GJ. For biomass, the WF depends on crop type, agricultural production system and climate. The WF of average biomass grown in the Netherlands is 24 m3/GJ, in the US 58 m3/GJ, in Brazil 61 m3/GJ, and in Zimbabwe 143 m3/GJ. Based on the average per capita energy use in western societies (100 GJ/capita/year), a mix from coal, crude oil, natural gas and uranium requires about 35 m3/capita/year. If the same amount of energy is generated through the growth of biomass in a high productive agricultural system, as applied in the Netherlands, the WF is 2420 m3. The WF of biomass is 70 to 400 times larger than the WF of the other primary energy carriers (excluding hydropower). The trend towards larger energy use in combination with increasing contribution of energy from biomass to supply will bring with it a need for more water. This causes competition with other claims, such as water for food crops

Energy efficiency in discrete-manufacturing systems: insights, trends, and control strategies

Since the depletion of fossil energy sources, rising energy prices, and governmental regulation restrictions, the current manufacturing industry is shifting towards more efficient and sustainable systems. This transformation has promoted the identification of energy saving opportunities and the development of new technologies and strategies oriented to improve the energy efficiency of such systems. This paper outlines and discusses most of the research reported during the last decade regarding energy efficiency in manufacturing systems, the current technologies and strategies to improve that efficiency, identifying and remarking those related to the design of management/control strategies. Based on this fact, this paper aims to provide a review of strategies for reducing energy consumption and optimizing the use of resources within a plant into the context of discrete manufacturing. The review performed concerning the current context of manufacturing systems, control systems implemented, and their transformation towards Industry 4.0 might be useful in both the academic and industrial dimension to identify trends and critical points and suggest further research lines.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Chinese Enterprise Reform as a Market Process

The reform of China's enterprise system increasingly reflects the outcome of China's emerging property rights market. We distinguish between a centrally-directed reform strategy, with characteristics similar to those of a Pigouvian tax, and a market-driven reform process, which captures the essential features of a Coasian approach to social cost. The Coase Theorem postulates that eliminating transaction costs and attaching well specified property rights to public goods that generate externalities will allow uncoordinated economic agents to negotiate institutional arrangements that produce socially efficient allocation of resources. Extending Coase's reasoning to the case of socialist transition ' we argue that reforms that expand competition, move toward well-specified assignment of ownership rights to public enterprises, and reduce transaction costs will motivate the "ultimate" owners, including officials of national and sub-national government agencies, to reconfigure their assets or to combine their assets with those of other jurisdictions and/or private investors to create more efficient ownership arrangements. We review the extent to which China's reforms have established the conditions for an effective market in ownership rights to industrial property. We tabulate progress from 1 980 to present along the three major analytic dimensions inherent in Coase's analysis: competition, property rights, and transaction costs. We conclude that the sheer size and diversity of China's industrial economy will motivate a continuation of decentralized reform initiatives. To support this Coasian reform process, central and provincial governments need to expand initiatives to clarify property rights, particularly the right of alienation, reduce impediments to competition, and facilitate the reduction of transaction costs.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39466/3/wp76.pd