Climbing the Great Wall : how the interplay between China and the United States will affect mitigation in a Kyoto successor treaty

China and the United States have the ability to radically shape a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. China’s placement as a non-Annex I nation under the Kyoto Protocol has had significant negative consequences for climate change, and China is now the top emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. The United States has thus far refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol. China will not sign a Kyoto successor treaty unless the United States is on board and vice versa. If either party is uncooperative in negotiating a successor treaty, there will be no effective treaty. The Kyoto Protocol has in large part failed because of the roles China and the United States have played. This paper will discuss how the interplay between China and the United States will affect mitigation in a Kyoto successor treaty. This paper argues that China and the United States must agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to eighty percent below 1990 levels by 2050. First, this paper will discuss basic climate change science, focusing on what the experts say greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide) and temperature must be stabilized at as well as the mitigation measures necessary to achieve those stabilization goals. Second, this paper will summarize what happened at the Bali and Poznan conferences and how those two meetings set the stage for Copenhagen in 2009. Third, this paper will outline the necessary framework for mitigation in a Kyoto successor treaty. Fourth, this paper will address the challenges of implementing a Kyoto successor treaty in the United States and in China. Lastly, this paper will discuss how the world, and in particular the United States and China, is reacting and could react to mitigating climate change in light of the current economic crisis. With the recent approval of Todd Stern as the United States Special Envoy for Climate Change and the March 2008 elevation of China’s State Environmental Protection Agency into a Cabinet ministry, both nations are now in the position to cooperate and lead the rest of the world in negotiating a successful Kyoto successor treaty

Self-Assessment and Planned Change of Placement and Career Services Center

In the 1990s, college and university career services and placement units face many challenges which may influence their success including (a) increased budgetary constraints, (b) changing student demographics, (c) increased availability of computer technologies, (d) new service delivery models, and (e) changing employer recruitment practices. In an effort to address these issues and examine its role within the university (Roth, 1994), the Placement and Career Information Center (PCIC) at Central Michigan University undertook a program of applied research, self-assessment and planned change. The purpose of this article is to briefly report our experiences in conducting this program of applied research. The assessment strategy is presented in the first part of this report. Next, the methods used to collect data and assessment, sampling procedures and response rates are described. Following this, highlights of the assessment results are presented including a summary of some changes already made and those planned for the future. The results of this study are presented in detail in Adams, et at. (1994)

Effects of Photopollution on Circadian Activity Rhythms

Many aspects of organismal behavior and metabolism are modulated by biological clocks that oscillate with 24-hour (circadian) rhythms. These circadian clocks synchronize to environmental cues, such as cycles of light and dark, and allow organisms to anticipate changing environmental conditions and make use of temporal niches. The circadian clocks’ function, as well as the biological processes they modulate, can be altered by excess artificial lighting (photopollution). Photopollution levels in Chicago are some of the highest in the world, making it an ideal location to investigate the ecological and health impacts of nighttime light. While photopollution’s effects on specific species (e.g. sea turtles) have been well documented, research across wider, urban populations is limited. Using a combination of laboratory and field studies, we examined the effects of relevant nighttime light levels on circadian rhythms in two model organisms: Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) and Mus musculus (house mice). Activity patterns were analyzed using TriKinetics activity monitors and running wheels with Clocklab data collection software, respectively. For both species locomotor activity was collected continuously for the duration of the experiments and levels of nighttime light were manipulated to replicate levels of photopollution found in the Chicagoland area (0 to 36 lux). Significant activity pattern differences were found for both species. Specifically, nighttime light changed total activity, the length of the active phase, and the amplitude of the activity rhythm in both species. In addition, field data on 12 wildlife species were collected from 83 camera traps (provided by the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo) across the Chicago metropolitan area. Photographic information was combined with data from satellite imagery to develop 24-hour activity profiles, and analyze for variations in activity based on nighttime light levels and season. Results show that nocturnal animals’ total activity and duration of the active period decreased with the introduction of nighttime light. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the effects of photopollution are far reaching and can impact a variety of organisms. By combining both laboratory and field data, we hope to better understanding the varying impacts of photopollution and expand our understanding of the anthropogenic effects of artificial nighttime light on circadian clocks, behavior, and the environment

Valorización de uniformes en desuso a través del Upcycling Participativo

Informe final de proyecto presentado a Convocatoria Proyectos de Extensión y Actividades en el Medio 2020-2021 de la Facultad de Arquitectura Diseñó y UrbanismoEl impacto ambiental asociado a la sobreproducción de prendas y al creciente volumen de residuos textiles, requiere de la búsqueda de nuevas formas de consumo y producción, contemplando la valorización de los productos al finalizar su vida útil. Este proyecto propone la valorización de uniformes en desuso a través del upcycling participativo. Se entiende como upcycling de indumentaria al proceso de transformar prendas desechadas en nuevos productos, agregando valor a los mismos. La particularidad que presentan los casos de upcycling participativo es el involucramiento de distintos actores en el proceso de reconstrucción, a nivel técnico y conceptual, reflexionando sobre las prácticas del vestir contemporáneas. En el desarrollo del proyecto se generó la integración de confeccionistas del rubro vestimenta, diseñadoras, estudiantes, empresarios y usuarios, trabajando en dos fases crítico-productivas: En la primer fase se desarrollaron variantes de upcycling a partir de pantalones de uniformes en desuso, conjuntamente con docentes, egresadas y estudiantes EUCD y mujeres confeccionistas integrantes de la organización CEPRODIH (Centro de Promoción por la Dignidad Humana). A partir de un pantalón se confeccionaron un bolso y una mochila, que fueron optimizados a través de talleres participativos. En el último taller se definió de forma colectiva los prototipos finales a realizar en pequeña escala (40 productos), contemplando la minimización de los residuos de corte y la optimización de los procesos de confección en el taller de manufactura. Posteriormente, en la segunda fase, los productos confeccionados (mochilas y bolsos para escolares) fueron intervenidos por niños de la escuela Número 112 (Pando), mediante textos estampados. Dichos textos fueron planteados por los escolares participantes, producto del diálogo sobre modos de consumo más responsables y sustentables, temática trabajada por las maestras y grupos de escolares. La intervención del producto por parte de los usuarios, estimuló la reflexión sobre la producción de nuestra vestimenta y la visibilización de todo el ciclo de vida del producto intervenido. Por otro lado se acercó a estudiantes de diseño y confeccionistas al upcycling de uniformes a través de diseño de código abierto, dejando la posibilidad de nuevas producciones futuras.Facultad de Arquitectura Diseño y Urbanismo. Udela

Russian Philanthrocapitalism

This article investigates philanthropic practices among Russia’s super-rich. Based on interviews with multimillionaires and billionaires, it ponders whether and to what extent philanthrocapitalist concepts are compatible with traditional Russian approaches to elite philanthropy, which have been shaped and controlled by country’s strong state. Overall, consciously and unconsciously, Russian philanthropists have selectively adopted a number of philanthrocapitalist principles, while some of them merge them with beliefs molded by their Soviet past and their self-perception as belonging to the intelligentsia. Based on diverse and eclectic models, they have constructed distinct ideas about their lives and their role in Russian society. This acts as a lever to build up trust in the new social hierarchy and fashion a new generation of supposedly deserving upper-class youth

Making science of influencing: assessing the impact of development research

The impact and influence of development research is an agenda that has been gathering momentum over the last few years. This agenda is a coming together of two divergent concerns. The first, from the funders of research, draws on results based management and is concerned with getting value-for-money from research spending or with ‘more bang for the buck’. The second, more typical of those in the development studies research community, is concerned with whether research in the area is ‘making a difference’. Among development researchers there is also often a political or normative basis – addressing global poverty and inequality – and catalysing change. The meanings of the terms’ impact and influence are multiple, multi-layered and complex to track. They may refer to use (i.e. consideration) or actual outcome(s) of social change. They can be visible or invisible; progressive or regressive. Impacts and influence can be intended or unintended and immediate or long-term. The processes of impact and influence are acknowledged to be non-linear, iterative and complex. This paper considers the impact and influence of development research from a plurality of perspectives. Interest in the impact/influence of research projects aggregates upwards to support the overall case for (often public) funding of development research (in areas that are likely to play a major role in the next few years in changing the climate for public expenditure in light of the global financial crisis)

Does Research Reduce Poverty? Assessing the Impacts of Policy?oriented Research in Agriculture

In the current context of the global financial crisis and its aftermath, development resources are likely to be getting scarcer. Resources for development research are too. The set of circumstances generating the resource scarcity is also putting pressure on development gains. More than ever before, every dollar spent on development will have to count towards sustainable poverty reduction, as will every dollar spent on development research. In light of this context this article asks what do we know about the welfare impacts of research in agriculture