Supplying Southern California with Dependable Supplies of Water

20 pages (includes 1 map). Contains references

Supplying Southern California with Dependable Supplies of Water

20 pages (includes 1 map). Contains references

Programs for Obtaining Future Supplies of Water for Southern California

19 pages (includes map)

Distribution of climate suitability for viticulture in the United Kingdom in 2100

Changes in temperature of the second half of the 20th Century led to significant changes in the areas of the UK suitable for high-quality viticulture. A warming climate and acceptable rainfall levels (although not without a number of risks to harvest yields) has made it possible for UK wine producers to produce high quality sparkling wine in the so-called ‘golden triangle’ south of London. As the climate continues to change over the course of the 21st century through to 2100, the possibilities for UK viticulture will again continue to shift. While rising temperatures bring warmer growing seasons that may create potential opportunities for grape varieties that are currently widely planted in Europe to be grown in the UK, as well as having the potential to reduce the risk of spring frosts that inhibit bud growth, warmer climate conditions in the UK also bring a number of threats to UK wine growers. Chief amongst these threats are the increases in rainfall and the increasing risk of extreme weather events. For the long-term development of UK viticulture, it is important to assess a range of possible climate futures for 2100. The potential for significant changes to climatic conditions will require long term changes in strategy, skills and human capital development and significant further research to mitigate risks and identify potential opportunities from adapting UK viticulture to climate change. We have analysed one potential climate change scenario based on three key variables for growing high quality wine grapes, based on a ‘middle-of-the-road’ projection of changing temperatures and rainfall for the UK for 2100 due to climate change. Overall our findings suggest that, according to our estimates, that the UK may become an ‘intermediate climate’ wine region by 2100. It is currently a marginal, coolclimate region. However, some of the areas of the south of England may become either too hot, too wet, or both, to grow quality wine grapes in 2100

Estimating the scale of the US green economy within the global context

Article Open Access Published: 15 October 2019 Estimating the scale of the US green economy within the global context Lucien Georgeson & Mark Maslin Palgrave Communications volume 5, Article number: 121 (2019) | Download Citation Article metrics 2020 Accesses 194 Altmetric Metricsdetails Abstract The green economy has previously been defined and measured in various, but limited, ways. This article presents an estimation of the scale of and employment in the US Green Economy using a data triangulation approach that uses many sources of data and multiple types of data. This can give a suggestion of the green economy’s role in economic development and employment at the country level. It also makes it possible to compare the scale of ‘green jobs’ to employment in fossil fuel-related sectors, and to compare the US green economy to other economies. Through the Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services Sector (LCEGSS) dataset, the US green economy is estimated to represent $1.3 trillion in annual sales revenue and to employ nearly 9.5 million workers; both of which have grown by over 20% between 2012/13 and 2015/16. Comparison with China, OECD members and the G20 countries suggests that the US is estimated to have a greater proportion of the working age population employed (4%) and higher sales revenue per capita in the green economy. Estimated values for other countries suggests that they too have significant production and consumption in the green economy and the US should consider, as other economies are, developing energy, environmental and educational policies relevant to the green economy to remain competitive in these areas. Given the shortcomings of other data sources, this information can contribute to understanding the potential impact of changes to federal-level policies on economic sectors that are vital to combating climate change and protecting the environment

Global disparity in the supply of commercial weather and climate information services

Information about weather and climate is vital for many areas of decision-making, particularly under conditions of increasing vulnerability and uncertainty related to climate change. We have quantified the global commercial supply of weather and climate information services. Although government data are sometimes freely available, the interpretation and analysis of those data, alongside additional data collection, are required to formulate responses to specific challenges in areas such as health, agriculture, and the built environment. Using transactional data, we analyzed annual spending by private and public organizations on commercial weather and climate information in more than 180 countries by industrial sector, region, per capita, and percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) and against the country's climate and extreme weather risk. There are major imbalances regarding access to these essential services between different countries based on region and development status. There is also no relationship between the level of climate and weather risks that a country faces and the level of per capita spending on commercial weather and climate information in that country. At the international level, action is being taken to improve access to information services. With a better understanding of the flows of commercial weather and climate information, as explored in this study, it will be possible to tackle these regional and development-related disparities and thus to increase resilience to climate and weather risks

‘it's all a question of business’: investment identities, networks and decision‐making in the cleantech economy

Cleantech has emerged in the last decade as a major new investment sector at the forefront of the green economy. It responds to the need for innovative technologies to combat the impact of global environmental, climate and resource trends. Focusing on the cleantech sector, this article explores the central importance of relationality within the financial domain of the green economy. The central aim of this article is to deepen understandings of the operation of cleantech investment by examining the decision-making processes of cleantech actors, how these are influenced by (and influence) cleantech investment networks, and the relationships between these factors and the macro-level drivers and discourses focused on the cleantech sector. A relational economic geography approach is used in conjunction with other frameworks (spanning the cultural, structural and actor-network dimensions of cleantech investment) to investigate: how cleantech investors define the sector; the macro- and micro-level drivers of cleantech investment; and how cleantech networks form and operate to create and disseminate cleantech discourses and to generate the mutual trust and information sharing needed to secure cleantech investments. In so doing, the article seeks to shed greater light on the micro-level processes contributing to the creation and growth of cleantech investment markets as an essential catalyst and component of the green economy

Response normalization and blur adaptation:data and multi-scale model

Adapting to blurred or sharpened images alters perceived blur of a focused image (M. A. Webster, M. A. Georgeson, & S. M. Webster, 2002). We asked whether blur adaptation results in (a) renormalization of perceived focus or (b) a repulsion aftereffect. Images were checkerboards or 2-D Gaussian noise, whose amplitude spectra had (log-log) slopes from -2 (strongly blurred) to 0 (strongly sharpened). Observers adjusted the spectral slope of a comparison image to match different test slopes after adaptation to blurred or sharpened images. Results did not show repulsion effects but were consistent with some renormalization. Test blur levels at and near a blurred or sharpened adaptation level were matched by more focused slopes (closer to 1/f) but with little or no change in appearance after adaptation to focused (1/f) images. A model of contrast adaptation and blur coding by multiple-scale spatial filters predicts these blur aftereffects and those of Webster et al. (2002). A key proposal is that observers are pre-adapted to natural spectra, and blurred or sharpened spectra induce changes in the state of adaptation. The model illustrates how norms might be encoded and recalibrated in the visual system even when they are represented only implicitly by the distribution of responses across multiple channels

Correlation of X-Ray CT Measurements to Shear Strength in Pultruded Composite Materials

Pultrusion is an emerging, economical manufacturing process for composite structures. In a pultrusion system, the composite tapes and fabrics are loaded onto a creel, and the materials are fed into a preform (or shaper), along with any fillers that may be needed. If the fiber is not yet preimpregnated with resin, it is run through a resin bath or resin is injected into the die the material is about to enter. The composite is pulled through the heated die and then cut from the system to produce either a fully or partially cured product. This handleable part is then placed in an autoclave for final cure. A number of variables go into the pultrusion process, including the type of fibers, the resin matrix material, pull rate and cure temperature. Destructive testing, such as shear testing of small sections, is the normal method for assessing the quality of the pultrusion manufacturing product. During manufacture, this cannot be performed on the actual product to be used but only on near neighbor test coupons. This can be time consuming, costly, and part of the product is destroyed

Calibration of the Accuscan II In Vivo System for I-125 Thyroid Counting

This report describes the March 2011 calibration of the Accuscan II HpGe In Vivo system for I-125 thyroid counting. The source used for the calibration was a DOE manufactured Am-241/Eu-152 source contained in a 22 ml vial BEA Am-241/Eu-152 RMC II-1 with energies from 26 keV to 344 keV. The center of the detector housing was positioned 64 inches from the vault floor. This position places the approximate center line of the detector housing at the center line of the source in the phantom thyroid tube. The energy and efficiency calibration were performed using an RMC II phantom (Appendix J). Performance testing was conducted using source BEA Am-241/Eu-152 RMC II-1 and Validation testing was performed using an I-125 source in a 30 ml vial (I-125 BEA Thyroid 002) and an ANSI N44.3 phantom (Appendix I). This report includes an overview introduction and records for the energy/FWHM and efficiency calibration including performance verification and validation counting. The Accuscan II system was successfully calibrated for counting the thyroid for I-125 and verified in accordance with ANSI/HPS N13.30-1996 criteria