Contribution of Land Conservation and Freshwater Resources to Residential Property Values in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Growing interest in quantifying values of ecosystem services has generated numerous studies attempting to measure the contribution of neighborhood environmental amenities to urban and suburban property values. Proximity to freshwater resources -- lakes and streams -- has also figured prominently in many of these studies. Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough, analogous to a county under state law, is a large and rapidly urbanizing local government jurisdiction adjacent to Anchorage, the state’s largest metropolitan area. As the population of the borough grows, and more land becomes subdivided and developed, an important question arises regarding the contribution of remaining undeveloped land and natural amenities to the economy of the borough. Visitors who are attracted to the scenery and recreation opportunities of the borough capture some of that value, and contribute to the borough economy through local purchases of goods and services. Private owners of borough real estate, who are willing to pay more for property located close to natural areas and recreation sites, also appropriate a portion of the value, however. This study focuses on this latter component of value of ecosystem services. It provides estimates of the enhanced value of private residential property and undeveloped land in the Mat-Su borough created by local protected open space and outdoor recreation opportunities. After briefly describing the Mat-Su Borough region, we summarize the valuation methods and the data available for the study. Then we present statistical results, followed by a discussion of the implications of the findings for valuing ecosystem services in the Borough. We conclude with suggestions for future research to improve the estimates.The Nature Conservancy of Alaska. The Bullitt Foundation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servic

Analysis of Alaska Transportation Sectors to Assess Energy Use and Impacts of Price Shocks and Climate Change Legislation

We analyzed the use of energy by Alaska’s transportation sectors to assess the impact of sudden fuel prices changes. We conducted three types of analysis: 1) Development of broad energy use statistics for each transportation sector, including total annual energy and fuel use, carbon emissions, fuel use per ton-mile and passenger-mile, and cost of fuel per ton-mile and passenger-mile. 2) Economic input-output analysis of air, rail, truck, and water transportation sectors. 3) Adjustment of input-output modeling to reflect sudden fuel price changes to estimate the potential impact on industry output and employment. Alaska air transportation used approximately 1.9 billion gallons of fuel annually; 961 million gallons were used for intra-state and exiting Alaska flights. Water transportation used 101.8 million gallons annually, approximately 84.3 million gallons for intra-state and exiting segments. Railroad and truck transportation used 5.1 and 8.8 million gallons annually, respectively. Simulated fuel price increases resulted in an estimated $456.8 million in value-added losses to the Alaska economy through the increase in cost of transportation services, as well as an equivalent loss in income to Alaska household of$26.8 million. A carbon emissions tax would have the greatest impact on the cost of air transportation services followed by water, trucking and rail.309002 DTRT06-G-0011List of Figures / List of Tables / Acknowledgements / Abstract / Executive Summary / Introduction / Background / Research Approach / Findings and Applications / Conclusions / References / Appendix A. Marine Transportation Companies / Appendix B. Barge Fuel Use Calculations / Appendix C. Data Dictionary of Variables and Sources Used for Aviation Fuel Estimates / Appendix D. Glossary of Economic Impact Term

Alaska Fuel Price Projections 2013-2035

The Alaska Fuel Price Projections are developed for the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) for the purpose of estimating the potential benefits and costs of renewable energy projects. Project developers submit applications to AEA for grants awarded under the Alaska Renewable Energy Fund (REF) program process. These fuel price projections are used to evaluate the economic feasibility of project applications; economic feasibility is only one of many factors of the project evaluation process. In this report we present the methodology for the seventh fuel prices projection. In addition to their use for the REF review, the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) uses the projections for other economic research and energy project evaluations. Economists at ISER have completed six previous Alaska Fuel Price Projections since 2008 (all available at: http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/). The fuel price projections fulfill an important need for price information and are used by many stakeholders in addition to AEA. As a result of their broad use among the public, we expanded what used to be cursory notes on methodology. Our intent is to provide more detailed information to the report’s readers and users of the fuel price projections.Alaska Energy AuthorityIntroduction / Methods and Assumptions / Natural Gas / Fuel Oil / References / Appendix A. Projection Methodolog

How Do Higher Fuel Prices Affect Alaska's Transportation System and Economy?

Ye

Expression quantitative trait locus fine mapping of the 17q12–21 asthma locus in African American children: a genetic association and gene expression study

Background: African ancestry is associated with a higher prevalence and greater severity of asthma than European ancestries, yet genetic studies of the most common locus associated with childhood-onset asthma, 17q12–21, in African Americans have been inconclusive. The aim of this study was to leverage both the phenotyping of the Children's Respiratory and Environmental Workgroup (CREW) birth cohort consortium, and the reduced linkage disequilibrium in African Americans, to fine map the 17q12–21 locus. Methods: We first did a genetic association study and meta-analysis using 17q12–21 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for childhood-onset asthma in 1613 European American and 870 African American children from the CREW consortium. Nine tag SNPs were selected based on linkage disequilibrium patterns at 17q12–21 and their association with asthma, considering the effect allele under an additive model (0, 1, or 2 effect alleles). Results were meta-analysed with publicly available summary data from the EVE consortium (on 4303 European American and 3034 African American individuals) for seven of the nine SNPs of interest. Subsequently, we tested for expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) among the SNPs associated with childhood-onset asthma and the expression of 17q12–21 genes in resting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 85 African American CREW children and in upper airway epithelial cells from 246 African American CREW children; and in lower airway epithelial cells from 44 European American and 72 African American adults from a case-control study of asthma genetic risk in Chicago (IL, USA). Findings: 17q12–21 SNPs were broadly associated with asthma in European Americans. Only two SNPs (rs2305480 in gasdermin-B [GSDMB] and rs8076131 in ORMDL sphingolipid biosynthesis regulator 3 [ORMDL3]) were associated with asthma in African Americans, at a Bonferroni-corrected threshold of p<0·0055 (for rs2305480_G, odds ratio [OR] 1·36 [95% CI 1·12–1·65], p=0·0014; and for rs8076131_A, OR 1·37 [1·13–1·67], p=0·0010). In upper airway epithelial cells from African American children, genotype at rs2305480 was the most significant eQTL for GSDMB (eQTL effect size [β] 1·35 [95% CI 1·25–1·46], p<0·0001), and to a lesser extent showed an eQTL effect for post-GPI attachment to proteins phospholipase 3 (β 1·15 [1·08–1·22], p<0·0001). No SNPs were eQTLs for ORMDL3. By contrast, in PBMCs, the five core SNPs were associated only with expression of GSDMB and ORMDL3. Genotype at rs12936231 (in zona pellucida binding protein 2) showed the strongest associations across both genes (for GSDMB, eQTLβ 1·24 [1·15–1·32], p<0·0001; and for ORMDL3 (β 1·19 [1·12–1·24], p<0·0001). The eQTL effects of rs2305480 on GSDMB expression were replicated in lower airway cells from African American adults (β 1·29 [1·15–1·44], p<0·0001). Interpretation: Our study suggests that SNPs regulating GSDMB expression in airway epithelial cells have a major role in childhood-onset asthma, whereas SNPs regulating the expression levels of 17q12–21 genes in resting blood cells are not central to asthma risk. Our genetic and gene expression data in African Americans and European Americans indicated GSDMB to be the leading candidate gene at this important asthma locus.6 month embargo; published: 01 May 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]