The Sustainability and Cost-Effectiveness of Water Storage Projects on Canterbury Rivers: The Opihi River Case

There is an increasing demand for water resources in the Canterbury region. The impact of this demand has lead to unacceptable minimum river flows, which has resulted in adverse affects to river ecology. In an effort to resolve this problem water storage projects have gained considerable attention. However, in order to consider all values of the impact of water storage projects, a systematic way of implementing an ecosystem services approach is developed. This ecosystem services approach coupled with various appropriate analytical methods are developed for the purposes of evaluating the cost-effectiveness of water storage projects and the sustainability of river systems impacted by water storage projects. For the purposes of evaluating the cost-effectiveness of water storage projects it is argued that cost utility analysis should be applied through an ecosystem services index, which is constructed from the aggregation of normalized indicators that represent each ecosystem service and preferential weights for each ecosystem service. The evaluation of sustainability is considered both according to its weak and strong definitions. Weak sustainability is evaluated by a non-declining ecosystem services index over time. Strong sustainability is evaluated by the elicitation of threshold levels or safe minimum standards where an ecosystem service, as represented by an indicator, should not pass below. These analytical methods developed are subsequently applied to the Opihi River, which is a river system located in Canterbury that has been hydrologically modified and impounded by the Opuha Dam scheme. The application of the analytical methods to the Opihi River provides a few preliminary results. Further data collection is required to fully determine the cost-effectiveness of the Opuha Dam and the sustainability of the Opihi River impacted by the dam scheme.Cost utility analysis, ecosystem services, ecosystem services index, indicators, sustainability, water storage projects, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Electrical and structural properties of 8 and 12 hole % yttria stabilized zirconia

Single crystals of 8 and 12 mole % yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) have been studied to elucidate the relationship between the presence of point defects in the material and its electrical and mechanical properties, in particular its tendency to blacken and disintegrate on carrying an electrical current. The thesis introduces the material and its uses and describes how the presence of point defects is explained. X-ray and density measurements confirmed that most of the defects are oxygen vacancies but suggested that cation interstitials are also present. It was found that the crystals turned white due to cracking on heat treatment but did so more rapidly in on oxygen atmosphere than in, an argon atmosphere. Up to three types of electron spin resonance line were observed at 35 GHz depending on how the samples had been treated. One of these (for which g = 2.003 and g = 1,880) was attributed to an electron trapped in an oxygen vacancy which was associated with a yttrium ion. This complex (minus the electron) had been used to explain the temperature dependence of the conductivity of poly-crystalline YSZ, Measurements of the conductivity of single crystal 8 mole % YSZ gave an oxygen vacancy activation energy of 1,9 x 10(^-19)J and a complex association energy of 1.9 x 10(^-19)J which were similar to published values for polycryetalline material, but maintaining the sample as a single crystal was found to be difficult. Blackening by current passage was compared in the tivo compositions, but no difference was observed. Ultrasonic measurements confirmed that blackening was not associated with a phase change. Preliminary relative permittivity measurements gave a value of 32

The Race to the Bottom and How to Stop It--Again

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.ILRF_racetothebottom.pdf: 27 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Ecosystem services review of water projects

Water projects are typically evaluated using benefit cost analysis. Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. Many of these benefits are ignored in benefit cost analysis, because of the absence of markets and the limited information or understanding of how the benefits from ecosystem services are produced. Regional or local government may be interested in learning how the value of ecosystem services associated with projects may change if a project occurs. Ecosystem Service Reviews aim to make ecosystem services explicit and quantifiable so that they can be accounted for in the evaluation of water use projects. Water storage projects can enable land use intensification to occur, and confer environmental benefits in some instances (e.g., flow augmentation) and costs in others (e.g., groundwater contamination and flow‐on effects). Water storage projects can have both positive and negative outcomes for the environment. More flow can lead led to better fishing, better clarity, more contaminant dilution and a healthier aquatic ecosystem. It can also result in loss of braided river‐bird habitat, and regulated flows can result in nuisance growths of potentially toxic algal species. Irrigation can increase productivity of land within the scheme, with attendant benefits to soil quality and other out‐of‐river environmental characteristics. This paper reports the methods used to assess the impact of a water storage dam on the flow of ecosystem services in a river system. We review the range of ecosystem services that are available in a river system and examine how the flow of ecosystem services can be altered by water storage and flow augmentation through the construction of a dam. In order to list and quantify ecosystem services an attempt is made to determine a suitable site specific set of ecosystem service indicators for the Opuha‐Opihi river system case. We draw inferences about shifts in the value of ecosystem services that might arise from water projects in other contexts.Ecosystem services review,  water projects , Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Addressing the wicked problem of water resource management: An ecosystem services approach

This paper develops a systematic assessment of the sustainability of ecosystem services provided by rivers impacted by water storage projects. Given the conflicting preferences amongst stakeholders and the incomplete, uncertain and contradictory understanding about river ecology it is recognized that managing water resources sustainably is a wicked problem. In order to address this wicked problem, the methods of multi-criteria analysis and graph analysis are applied, in accordance with integrated water resource management, to assess the potential of investing in water storage projects and explore for sustainable solutions through the construction of an ecosystem services index.Ecosystem services, ecosystem services index, graph analysis, integrated water resource management, multi-criteria analysis, sustainability, wicked problems, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q25, Q27, Q51, Q58, Q57,

Evaluating the sustainability of impounded river systems and the cost-effectiveness of dam projects: An ecosystem services approach

In recent times, there has been increasing demand in the Canterbury region of New Zealand for the abstraction of water from rivers. The impact of this demand has lead to unacceptable minimum river flows and has adversely affected river ecology. In an effort to resolve these issues dams have been constructed. To evaluate the impact of these dam projects on all river values, an ecosystem services approach is developed. This ecosystem services approach coupled with various evaluation methods are applied for the purposes of assessing the cost-effectiveness of the Opuha Dam and the sustainability of the Opihi river system now modified by the Opuha Dam. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of this dam project cost utility analysis is applied through the development of an ecosystem services index (ESI). The index is constructed from the aggregation of normalized indicators that represent each ecosystem service and preferential weights of each ecosystem service. The evaluation of sustainability is considered both according to weak and strong criteria. Weak sustainability is evaluated by a non-declining ecosystem services index over time. Strong sustainability is evaluated by the thresholds or safe minimum standards where an ecosystem service, as represented by an indicator, should not pass below. Fifteen ecosystem services provided by the Opihi river were identified and data for forty-two indicators was compiled to assess the provision of these services pre- and post-dam. Fifteen regional and six local stakeholder representatives were interviewed to elicit preferential weights for each ecosystem service. Assessment of both the ESI and safe minimum standards indicates that since dam construction the river has progressed towards both weak and strong sustainability in its provision of ecosystem services. The cost-effectiveness of the dam however was poor. While further work remains to refine the approach, namely to develop more effective indicators of river ecosystem services, the work does present a novel method to evaluate the impacts of dams on river systems.Cost utility analysis, dam projects, ecosystem services, impounded river systems, indicators and sustainability., Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q25, Q27, Q51, Q58, Q57,

An Emergent Economics of Ecosystem Management

Economics is an evolving and emerging field of study, so is the management of ecosystems. As such, this paper delineates the co-evolution of economic evaluation that reflects the various recognized ecosystem management approaches of anticipative, adaptive and capacitive ecosystem management. Each management approach is critiqued and from this theoretical analysis an emergent approach for the management of ecosystem is put forward, which accordingly suggests an alternative methodological approach for economic evaluations.Complexity, creativity, economic evaluation, ecosystem management, evolution, open systems, rationality, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Asia Comes to Main Street and May Learn to Speak Spanish: Globalization in a Poor Neighborhood in Worcester

This paper considers how and why an Asian enclave of small businesses has appeared in a poor neighborhood characterized by Puerto Rican and other Latino immigration in the post-industrial city of Worcester, Massachusetts. We begin by examining the role of the US in the world system, and argue that the US hegemonic role and specific political economic aspects of global capitalism (ie. deindustrialization) account for some of the migration stream. Next, using socioeconomic and historical data, interviews, and observations, we outline the history of Worcester’s economy and immigration patterns. We demonstrate that the increasing economic inequality leaves few promising employment options for newcomers to Worcester. Drawing on existing literature on immigrant entrepreneurs and ethnic enclaves, we argue that some aspects of the literature appear to shed light on the Vietnamese enterprises which have so visibly appeared (e.g., ethnic niches), while others, (e.g., middle-man minority theory) are not now reflected in local conflict. We conclude by considering the prospects for immigrants to this neighborhood in light of its political economic context

Petrography and Geochemistry of Metals in Almahata Sitta Ureilites

Ureilites are ultramafic achondrites, predominantly composed of olivine and pyroxenes with accessory carbon, metal and sulfide. The majority of ureilites are believed to represent the mantle of the ureilite parent body (UPB) [1]. Although ureilites have lost much of their original metal [2], the metal that remains retains a record of the formative processes. Almahata Sitta is predominantly composed of unbrecciated ureilites with a wide range of silicate compositions [3,4]. As a fall it presents a rare opportunity to examine fresh ureilite metal in-situ, and analyzing their highly siderophile element (HSE) ratios gives clues to their formation. Bulk siderophile element analyses of Almahata Sitta fall within the range observed in other ureilites [5]. We have examined the metals in seven ureilitic samples of Almahata Sitta (AS) and one associated chondrite fragment (AS#25)

A Critical Corporate Profile of Li & Fung

Behind the prominent Brand names and Retail stores of global supply chains are intermediaries who provide services to large volume buyers. A key feature of the global apparel industry is complex supply chains with many contractors and subcontractors and intense competition among factories – induced by the buyers – to reduce cost and increase speed. Over the past two decades, scholars have noted the dramatic increase of market power of international retail corporations gained at the expense of the fragmentation of centers of production. Enter Li & Fung, a Hong Kong based firm which is the largest sourcing agent in the global apparel business. Li & Fung’s central role in shaping the supply chain of apparel potentially affects the lives of millions of workers in their direct supply chains and the labor markets in which they are such a commanding force. Their strategy of sourcing emphasizes the cutthroat competition among factories that is the source of apparel workers’ conditions. Our analysis also indicates that already an “unseen giant” Li & Fung appears to have decided to move towards higher value-added processes in the supply chain. Understanding the complex implications of Li & Fung’s business strategy for workers’ rights is crucial for securing decent conditions for workers in the apparel industry over the coming years