Putting visions in their place: responsible research and innovation for energy system decarbonization

Decarbonizing energy systems is an ambitious sociotechnical project,and will have significant implications for social justice, given the increasing dependence of societies globally on energy services.Eliciting non-expert values and perspectives to help reflect on the desirability of visions of socio-technical change has long been promoted within RRI. However, RRI has focused on specific technological proposals and visions, and not encompassed socio-technical systems. Decarbonizing energy requires systemic change involving socio-technical configurations that will vary depending upon geographical constraints and community needs in their host locations. Our case study from Wales, UK shows how findings from interpretative risk research and scholarship on energy and everyday life can help design upstream participatory processes that address simultaneously systems, effects on place, and everyday life.Engaging community residents through community mapping explores these dimensions of energy transition, enriching and enlarging understandings of both local and systemic aspects of the energy transition

Public Retirement Systems: An Examination of Governance Characteristics and Their Impact on the Funded Ratio

By almost all accounts, the fiscal health and stability of the United States public retirement system at all levels is in peril. Collectively, local and state public retirement systems are underfunded at a rate of $700 billion as a low estimate to$3 trillion as a higher estimate. While plenty of research has been conducted to identify the reasons that programs are underfunded, the system would be best served if more attention were paid to identifying program characteristics that improve performance. In turn, these characteristics could be evaluated and implemented if not already present. If programs do not want to collapse and governments do not want to cut services to pay for retirement benefits, further research is needed to improve performance and this report offers one such method of evaluation. By utilizing some of the most recent financial data available, this report attempts to identify program governance characteristics that positively impact pension performance. Performance is measured using the funded ratio of a program or the measure of current assets compared to liabilities. The tested model is a combination of three main governance characteristic variables (the presence of an investment council, the total number of program board members, and the percentage of board members that are program beneficiaries) and several other independent variables such as total program members. The model has been tested using an OLS and Mixed Effects regression analysis. The regression estimates provide interesting but inconsistent results. In regards to the governance characteristics, only the presence of an investment council has been shown to be significant over both models. The presence of an investment council raises a programs funded ratio by more than 7 percentage points in both models. In regards to the remaining independent variables, of particular note are the estimates on the availability of Social Security coverage to program participants. In the OLS analysis, the estimated impact is a negative 0.411 percentage points while the Mixed Effects impact is 2.211 percentage points. Although neither is statistically significant, the divergent nature of the estimate should be something that is worth future attention. By pooling the results over the two models, it is the recommendation of this author that programs at least consider implementing an investment council for their respective programs for the reasons outlined above. Programs should also consider limiting their increases to employee contribution rates as current analysis has shown that a roughly one percent increase in employee contribution rates decreases the funded ratio by one percent. By implementing the appropriate board and program characteristics, public retirement systems at all levels could begin to slow or correct the underfunded problem that has been growing in recent years

Water Quality Impacts from Agricultural Land Use in Karst Drainage Basins of SW Kentucky and SW China

Karst regions are composed of soluble rock, often limestone, which leads to the formation of fissures, sinkholes, and water flow conduits such as caves. Pollutants in karst waters tend to be quickly directed and concentrated into these subsurface conduits. As a result of this and other factors, water resources are especially sensitive to contamination and pollution in karst areas. Pollutant concentrations going into karst subsurface fluvial systems are often very similar to the concentrations surfacing at outlets such as springs. Areas connected by karst conduit flows must be distinctly determined and special attention should be given to water quality impacts from land-use practices near conduit inputs. The climate which affects a certain karst area can also have different impacts on water resources considerations. In the temperate climate of southwest Kentucky precipitation is mostly evenly distributed throughout the year. Southwest China is affected by a monsoon climate with high precipitation in the spring to summer and drier conditions in other seasons. In the wet season large storm pulses can effectively transport contaminants to water sources resulting in unhealthy loads, while the dry seasons can be particularly severe in karst areas as water quickly drains to the subsurface, making water access a major hardship. Our research focuses on the seasonal differences that the climate of southwest China poses for water quality, including differences in pesticide concentrations between agricultural and residential areas hydrologically linked by karst conduits. In late 2007 the fluvial connections in a simple karst system near Chongqing were confirmed using dye tracing techniques. The concentration of pesticides in agricultural runoff going into and coming out of the subterranean stream studied were within safe limits. Results supported that there was a close relationship among concentrations of the pesticides glyphosate, chlorothalonil, and atrazine in the input and the output of the system. Taking into account the rapid and direct flows in the karst system, the concentrations of the pesticides found in the output was more similar to the input than would be expected in a surface stream. Analysis of hydrology data of the site will be required before further conclusions can be developed. The research was conducted in the spring and summer of 2007–2008 and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development

Could Mammoth Cave Be Reduced to a Single Equation?

Since the evolution of any cave system is largely deterministic, in theory the processes responsible for this development could be described mathematically. In a practical sense, we will never have such a model to realistically describe the evolution of the Mammoth Cave System in detail. However, the search itself can provide a framework within which to understand what processes areimportant. This can guide the design of rate process studies that would eventually be coupled to provide a comprehensive understanding of the cave\u27s evolution. Data gaps, as well, are identified during this process. The geometry of a cave system depends on the individual growth rates of sequential sets of passage cross-sections. The growth of each of these cross-sections is determined by a set of coupled processes, the rates of which are related to well-defined variables. Major processes include limestone dissolution and precipitation (dependent on water and rock chemistry, flow characteristics, wetted passage perimeter, and temperature), sediment entrainment, deposition, and abrasion (dependent on flow velocity distributions and properties of the sediment supply), and breakdown processes (dependent on fracture characteristics). Our ability to model the complete picture depends on our grasp of these individual behaviors, as well as their interactions. A long-term study of the behaviors of two single active passage cross-sections is underway in the Right and Left forks of Hawkins River of Mammoth Cave, where continuous water quality data are being obtained through two 145 m deep wells. Experiments are currently underway to determine storm- and seasonal-scale changes in limestone dissolution rates. Planned studies will explore sediment dynamics and the impact of sediment masking on dissolution rates, as well as potential impacts of sediment abrasion on passage growth. Complete understanding of a single cave slice is an important step to understanding cave evolution in general

From Sink to Resurgence: The Buffering Capacity of a Cave System in the Tongass National Forest, USA

The Tongass National Forest of Southeast Alaska, USA, provides a unique environment for monitoring the impact of the cave system on water quality and biological productivity. The accretionary terrane setting of the area has developed into a complex and heterogeneous geologic landscape which includes numerous blocks of limestone with intense karstification. During the Wisconsian glaciation, there were areas of compacted glacial sediments and silts deposited over the bedrock. Muskeg peatlands developed over these poorly drained areas. The dominant plants of the muskeg ecosystem are Sphagnum mosses, whose decomposition leads to highly acidic waters with pH as low as 2.4. These waters drain off the muskegs into the cave systems, eventually running to the ocean. In accordance with the Tongass Land Management Plan, one of the research priorities of the National Forest is to determine the contributions of karst groundwater systems to productivity of aquatic communities. On Northern Prince of Wales Island, the Conk Canyon Cave insurgence and the Mop Spring resurgence were continuously monitored to understand the buffering capacity of the cave system. Over the length of the system, the pH increases from an average 3.89 to 7.22. The insurgence water temperature, during the summer months, ranged from between 10oC to 17oC. After residence in the cave system, the resurgence water had been buffered to 6oC to 9oC. Over the continuum from insurgence to resurgence, the specific conductance had increased by an order of magnitude with the resurgence waters having a higher ionic strength. The cave environment acts as a buffer on the incoming acidic muskeg water to yield resurgence water chemistry of a buffered karst system. These buffered waters contribute to the productivity in aquatic environments downstream. The waters from this system drain into Whale Pass, an important location for the salmon industry. The cool, even temperatures, as well as buffered flow rates delivered by the karst systems are associated with higher productivity of juvenile coho salmon

The Making of a Connection: Exploration/Survey in Whigpistle Cave System

The current length of the Flint Ridge-Mammoth Cave System (to be called Mammoth Cave System for the rest of this paper) has been attained by a series of connections instigated by cave explorers/mappers of the Cave Research Foundation (CRF) and Central Kentucky Karst Coalition (CKKC). Between 1961 and 2011, connections have expanded the surveyed extent of the cave system to its current “official” length of 390 miles (650 km). Connections do not happen serendipitously; rather, systematic exploration is the key to successful connections. CRF and other groups working in the Mammoth Cave area have adopted a method of systematic exploration that involves mapping cave passages, correlating the surveyed cave passages and their elevations with topographic maps, aerial photographs, and elevation controls such as geographic surface benchmarks (Kambesis 2007). But most important is translating that data into cave maps projected onto topographic overlays. Cave maps and overlays reveal not only the extent of the cave system, but also invoke an understanding of the geological and hydrological conditions that control cave passage development and distribution (Kambesis 2007). Georeferenced cave maps along with geological and hydrological insight are what provide the perspective on cave connection potential and drives exploration objectives and priorities. Incorporating these data into a GIS system is proving to be a valuable exploration tool and one that is currently being used to work toward the next big connection to the Mammoth Cave System – that of Whigpistle Cave System. This paper focuses on the potentials toward making that next big connection and the work necessary to accomplish it