Optimal Acid Rain Abatement Strategies for Eastern Canada

In the past environmental management practices have been based on disparate analysis of the impacts of pollutants on selected components of ecosystems. However, holistic analysis of emission reduction strategies is necessary to justify that actions taken to protect the environment would not unduly punish economic growth or vice versa. When environmental management programs are implemented, it would be extremely difficult for the industry to attain the targeted emission reduction in a single year in order to eliminate impacts on ecosystems. It means that targets have to be established as increments or narrowing the gap between the desired level of atmospheric deposition and actual deposition. These targets should also be designed in a way that would balance the impacts on the economy with improvements in environmental quality. Environment Canada in partnership with other organizations has developed an Integrated Assessment Modeling Platform. This platform enables to identify an emission reduction strategy(ies) that is(are) able to attain the desired environmental protection at a minimum cost to the industry. In this study, an attempt is made to examine the impact on the industry when the level of protection provided to the aquatic ecosystems is implemented using environmental and environmental-economic goals as objectives using Canadian IAM platform. The modeling platform takes into account sources and receptor regions in North America. The results of the analysis indicated that reductions of at least 50% of depositions of SO2 would require complete removal of emissions from all sources. However, this is not compatible with the paradigm of balancing economy with the environment. Therefore, gradual reductions in emissions as well as depositions were found to be plausible strategy. Furthermore, optimization using only a single receptor at a time resulted in significantly higher reduction in emissions compared to optimization that incorporates all the twelve Canadian receptors in a single run. It implies that globally optimal emission reduction strategy (i.e., multi-receptor optimization) would not penalize the sources of emission compared to locally optimal emission reduction strategy (i.e., single receptor optimization). It is hoped that with this kind of analysis of feasible environmental targets can be put in place without jeopardizing the performance of the economy or industry while ensuring continual improvements in environmental health of ecosystems.Canada; long-range transport; air pollutants; acid deposition; North America; sources-receptors; negotiation; cost; emissions; cost functions; SO2; cost curves; control technologies; Integrated Assessment Modelling; USA

Transition UGent: a bottom-up initiative towards a more sustainable university

The vibrant think-tank ‘Transition UGent’ engaged over 250 academics, students and people from the university management in suggesting objectives and actions for the Sustainability Policy of Ghent University (Belgium). Founded in 2012, this bottom-up initiative succeeded to place sustainability high on the policy agenda of our university. Through discussions within 9 working groups and using the transition management method, Transition UGent developed system analyses, sustainability visions and transition paths on 9 fields of Ghent University: mobility, energy, food, waste, nature and green, water, art, education and research. At the moment, many visions and ideas find their way into concrete actions and policies. In our presentation we focused on the broad participative process, on the most remarkable structural results (e.g. a formal and ambitious Sustainability Vision and a student-led Sustainability Office) and on recent actions and experiments (e.g. a sustainability assessment on food supply in student restaurants, artistic COP21 activities, ambitious mobility plans, food leftovers projects, an education network on sustainability controversies, a transdisciplinary platform on Sustainable Cities). We concluded with some recommendations and reflections on this transition approach, on the important role of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ and student involvement, on lock-ins and bottlenecks, and on convincing skeptical leaders

Risk Management in the Arctic Offshore: Wicked Problems Require New Paradigms

Recent project-management literature and high-profile disasters—the financial crisis, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the Fukushima nuclear accident—illustrate the flaws of traditional risk models for complex projects. This research examines how various groups with interests in the Arctic offshore define risks. The findings link the wicked problem framework and the emerging paradigm of Project Management of the Second Order (PM-2). Wicked problems are problems that are unstructured, complex, irregular, interactive, adaptive, and novel. The authors synthesize literature on the topic to offer strategies for navigating wicked problems, provide new variables to deconstruct traditional risk models, and integrate objective and subjective schools of risk analysis

Arctic–CHAMP: A program to study Arctic hydrology and its role in global change

The Arctic constitutes a unique and important environment that is central to the dynamics and evolution of the Earth system. The Arctic water cycle, which controls countless physical, chemical, and biotic processes, is also unique and important. These processes, in turn, regulate the climate, habitat, and natural resources that are of great importance to both native and industrial societies. Comprehensive understanding of water cycling across the Arctic and its linkage to global biogeophysical dynamics is a scientific as well as strategic policy imperative

Arctic–CHAMP: A program to study Arctic hydrology and its role in global change

The Arctic constitutes a unique and important environment that is central to the dynamics and evolution of the Earth system. The Arctic water cycle, which controls countless physical, chemical, and biotic processes, is also unique and important. These processes, in turn, regulate the climate, habitat, and natural resources that are of great importance to both native and industrial societies. Comprehensive understanding of water cycling across the Arctic and its linkage to global biogeophysical dynamics is a scientific as well as strategic policy imperative

Integrated urban water management in Texas: a review to inform a one water approach for the future

Texas has considerable experience grappling with historic droughts as well as flooding associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, yet the State’s water management challenges are projected to increase. Urban densification, increased frequency and severity of droughts and floods, aging infrastructure, and a management system that is not reflective of the true cost of water all influence water risk. Integrated urban water management strategies, like ‘One Water’, represent an emerging management paradigm that emphasizes the interconnectedness of water throughout the water cycle and capitalizes on opportunities that arise from this holistic viewpoint. Here, we review water management practices in five Texas cities and examine how the One Water approach could represent a viable framework to maintain a reliable, sustainable, and affordable water supply for the future. We also examine financial and business models that establish a foundational pathway towards the ‘utility of the future’ and the One Water paradigm more broadly

Implementing the Leader Development That Counts

Effective leader development is too often the first casualty of high demands placed on leaders, from corporate America to the U.S. military. A comparison of these entities’ common leader development programs and workforce feedback reveals insufficient strategies and competing priorities. Organizations succumbing to these obstacles unknowingly find themselves trapped in adverse cycles of leadership development, perpetuating undernourished talent and mediocre performance. This problem will not fix itself. Organizations must refocus efforts to understand and implement a leader driven, interpersonally focused, and culturally ingrained brand of leader development to maximize available talent in crafting their envisioned organization