8,270 research outputs found

    Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change with Wind Energy and GIS

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    The climate is changing, and humans are heavily exacerbating these changes. As the effects of climate change are being felt across the planet, scientists and policy makers are uniting to increase mitigation efforts and are researching renewable, clean energy sources to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere during energy production. Of the different renewable energy technologies, wind energy is one of the most researched and implemented. Over the past twenty years, researchers have been applying Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to their climate change studies. GIS allows the user to spatially view, manipulate, and analyze data to determine patterns, trends, and relationships. This paper examines the use of GIS as a tool in wind power studies to locate potential wind farm sites, model wind farm energy output, and assess the potential for implementing wind energy

    Appropriate technology for sustainable food security:

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    CONTENTS: Brief 1. Overview / Per Pinstrup-Andersen Brief 2. Farmer-Based Agro-Ecological Technology / Jules Pretty Brief 3. Conventional Research-Based Technology / Prabhu Pingali Brief 4. Modern Biotechnology / Calestous Juma Brief 5. Modern Technology for African Agriculture / Jennifer Thomson Brief 6. Information and Communcations Technologies / Nuimuddin Chowdhury Brief 7. GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing / Uwe Deichmann and Stanley Wood Brief 8. Alternative Energy Sources / R. K. Pachauri and Pooja Mehrotra Brief 9. Food Irradiation / Morton SatinTechnology., Technological innovations., Food security., Sustainability.,

    Public opinion on energy crops in the landscape: considerations for the expansion of renewable energy from biomass

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    Public attitudes were assessed towards two dedicated biomass crops – Miscanthus and Short Rotation Coppice (SRC), particularly regarding their visual impacts in the landscape. Results are based on responses to photographic and computer-generated images as the crops are still relatively scarce in the landscape. A questionnaire survey indicated little public concern about potential landscape aesthetics but more concern about attendant built infrastructure. Focus group meetings and interviews indicated support for biomass end uses that bring direct benefits to local communities. Questions arise as to how well the imagery used was able to portray the true nature of these tall, dense, perennial plants but based on the responses obtained and given the caveat that there was limited personal experience of the crops, it appears unlikely that wide-scale planting of biomass crops will give rise to substantial public concern in relation to their visual impact in the landscape

    Areas of outstanding natural beauty management plans - a guide

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    This is a summary of the guidance produced by the Countryside Agency to assist local authorities, AONB staff units, AONB partners and others concerned with the production and implementation of AONB Management Plans in England. A parallel text has been produced by the Countryside Council for Wales to cover Welsh AONBs. The aims of the guide are to: • assist local authorities and conservation boards to discharge their statutory functions with regard to the production of AONB Management Plans; • help ensure that Management Plans that are produced are appropriate to the needs of the AONB, have the commitment of all AONB partners1 and other stakeholders, are implemented, and their policy objectives achieved. The guide is has statutory force under the 2001 Countryside and Rights of Way Ac

    Geoinformation, Geotechnology, and Geoplanning in the 1990s

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    Over the last decade, there have been some significant changes in the geographic information available to support those involved in spatial planning and policy-making in different contexts. Moreover, developments have occurred apace in the technology with which to handle geoinformation. This paper provides an overview of trends during the 1990s in data provision, in the technology required to manipulate and analyse spatial information, and in the domain of planning where applications of computer technology in the processing of geodata are prominent. It draws largely on experience in western Europe, and in the UK and the Netherlands in particular, and suggests that there are a number of pressures for a strengthened role for geotechnology in geoplanning in the years ahead

    Marine Spatial Planning: Case Studies

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    With marine planning developing in many parts of the world, especially the E.U., U.S. and Australia, it is important for industry to be part of the creation of a shared vision for a marine area and the necessary elements (e.g., outreach, funding, boundaries) of such an effort. World Ocean Council, with funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, undertook a project to inform and, as appropriate, engage a diverse range of ocean industries on marine planning and encourage the use of credible science and risk assessment.The project identified industry sectors and business categories and researched industry perspectives on marine planning in part through the following five case studies. These case studies were selected to provide a broad range of regions across the globe and MSP examples at different stages of design, implementation, monitoring and adaptive management. The case studies are based on interviews with many private sector and government sector participants of planning processes, online documents, maps and available information, and a review of MSP literature. Stakeholder feedback, benefits and challenges from these five case studies are incorporated into the WOC report Ocean Industries and Marine Planning.

    Use of 3D visualisation tools for representing urban greenspace spatial planning.

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    The objective of this paper is to report on the development of prototype models for use in raising public awareness of changes in urban areas, focusing on green spaces, and testing responses to scenarios of change. Specifically, the focus is on the design of appropriate types of outdoor features for community planning and engagement. This modelling is fulfilled using the Autodesk Maya, Google SketchUp and ArcGIS software packages together in a novel combination of spatial and visualisation tools. The experiment results show evidence that different types of 3D iconic symbols with interactive communication will influence participation and decision making in land use planning

    Watershed Management for Water Quality Improvement: the role of agricultural research

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    Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
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