ECF FARMSYSTEMS: a Circular Economy Business Model Case

ECF is a very Small-and-Medium sized Enterprise which operates an aquaponic urban farm o Aquaponic food production is an industrial symbiosis within its own operations, exchanging material flows between the aquaculture and the hydroponic one. This may be considered as a co-product recovery business model pattern § The circularity is retained within ECF’s own operations and there is little value exchange among parties other than commercial ones o Socio-demographic factors such as growing population, growing urbanisation, alongside environmental ones such as competition for arable land, biodiversity loss, over-fishing, agro-chemicals in food production and others are the contextual drivers for aquaponics as a successful CEBM. o Characteristics of ECF’s industrial symbiosis/co-product recovery CEBM pattern: § Enables ECF to deliver its value proposition, namely to offer resource-efficient food on a B2B basis as an urban farm as well as a high level of transparency through story-telling around sourcing for its customers § Technology and know-how play a role in achieving the symbiosis § A significant socio-environmental impact is achieved through displacement of food miles and inherent resource-efficiency of aquaponics § Fish feed faces its own sustainability challenges; to be answered if ECF is to aspire to greater circularity § ECF as a successful pioneer of aquaponic farms is leveraging its know-how to design, plan and build turnkey farms for 3rd parties, thereby demonstrating the replicability of the CEBM. o Support for traditional (unsustainable) farming and fishing (including fuel subsidies) is impacting the competitiveness of aquaponics, as is the lack of transparency on ‘food miles’. o Whereas urban communities wish to become greener, urban farming such as aquaponics faces many planning and permissioning hurdles, despite growing demand from B2B and B2C consumer

Risk Management of Daily Tourist Tax Revenues for the Maldives

International tourism is the principal economic activity for Small Island Tourism Economies (SITEs). There is a strongly predictable component of international tourism, specifically the government revenue received from taxes on international tourists, but it is difficult to predict the number of international tourist arrivals which, in turn, determines the magnitude of tax revenue receipts. A framework is presented for risk management of daily tourist tax revenues for the Maldives, which is a unique SITE because it relies entirely on tourism for its economic and social development. As these receipts from international tourism are significant financial assets to the economies of SITEs, the time-varying volatility of international tourist arrivals and their growth rate is analogous to the volatility (or dynamic risk) in financial returns. In this paper, the volatility in the levels and growth rates of daily international tourist arrivals is investigated.Small Island Tourism Economies (SITEs), International tourist arrivals, Tourism tax, Volatility, Risk, Value-at-Risk (VaR), Sustainable Tourism-@-Risk (ST@R)

Planning and Financing Sustainable Education Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Creating a Carbon Capture and Storage Industry in Texas

Report on the potential for industrial development of geologic sequestration of CO₂ in the Texas Gulf Coast region. Funded in part by the IC² Institute.IC2 Institut

Offshore Oil Leasing: Trump Administration’s Environmentally Dangerous Energy Policy

The Trump administration’s Executive orders on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (“Energy Independence Order”) and Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy (“Offshore Energy Order”) set the stage to open over 90% of the continental shelf to offshore oil drilling from 2019–2024. The Offshore Energy Order ignores the statutory requirements of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”) and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) to balance energy exploration with safeguards for marine life and the environment. We analyze the lack of express authority in OCSLA for the President to rescind its protective designations, in comparison to other laws that grant such authority. This Article discusses the traditional administrative processes for assessing environmental concerns with lease proposals, and contrasts those with the Trump administration’s proposals for streamlining the process. We examine the volatility of oil prices and the impact of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on the viability of offshore leasing. While most mayors, governors, and senators of affected states oppose further offshore drilling, the Trump administration’s proposals ignore these stakeholders. This Article emphasizes the importance of minimizing environmental risks of offshore oil exploration and drilling, including threats to marine mammals and the fishing industry, as well as climate change implications of expanding fossil fuel exploration and use. More safety oversight is needed (including a reversal of the Trump administration’s discontinuance of the Methane Waste Rule, the Well Control Rule, and third-party audits of oil well blowout preventers). This Article concludes with the recommendation that it is imprudent to expand offshore drilling when conservation for future generations and protection of the environment is a more prudent course

Quarterly Economic Commentary Winter 2019

No Abstract

Research on making the most of HS2 investments and connectivity in the EM Labour Market.

East Midlands Councils, D2N2 LE

La Paz transportation planning study : final report

abstract: The La Paz Transportation Planning Study was conducted as part of the Planning Assistance for Rural Areas program sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation Multimodal Planning Division. This Study developed 5, 10, and 20-year transportation plans, as well as an implementation program, to guide the County, Towns, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes in meeting transportation needs for the Study Area into the future