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Ecology News    
Someday this will be updated!    
     
   

R&D plan defines market-based pathways for managing and using natural resources and internalizing externalities (October 2002)
WEEinfo is developing an R&D plan for EPRI focused on accelerating the widespread adoption of ecological asset (eco-asset) management to optimize utilization of energy and other natural resources. The plan, being prepared in collaboration with EPRI’s technical experts in this emerging discipline, will outline a robust program of research, experimentation, and communication addressing the many fields that influence the resource management philosophies of the public, the private sector, economic and political institutions, and government agencies.

 


Natural ecosystems regulate the Earth’s atmosphere, supply life’s essentials, and otherwise harbor modern society. Eco-asset management harnesses market forces to preserve, enhance, restore, and create the natural capital that life itself depends upon. Its foundation lies in institutions, policies, and instruments that wed resource management and utilization with environmental quality improvement. The intent is to create sound, efficient markets for allocating the goods and services furnished by natural ecosystems.

Traditionally, economic systems have valued only certain ecosystem products, such as minerals, fuels, timber, and food. Ecosystem services, by contrast, have had little, if any, market value, being treated as public goods. Moreover, the negative effects of resource extraction and use on the ability of ecosystems to continue providing essential goods and services have been considered externalities—costs imposed on society.

Widespread adoption of eco-asset management will begin the difficult process of internalizing externalities by unleashing market forces on nature’s account. This promises to optimize resource utilization, improve public health, enhance quality of life, and steer global development in a sustainable direction.

A final EPRI report outlining priorities for public-private R&D in eco-asset management will be issued in late 2002 or early 2003.

 

 

CIREC named key stakeholder in the Offshore Wind Outreach Initiative (September 2002)
The Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative (CIREC) has been invited to participate in the "Cape and Islands Offshore Wind: Public Outreach Initiative" sponsored by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) under the state's Renewable Energy Trust Fund.

CIREC is one of 24 organizations identified as key stakeholder groups in the local debate regarding offshore wind energy development (see list, PDF file).

The debate revolves around the proposal by Cape Wind Associates for a 170-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.


Representatives from stakeholder groups, along with elected officials and representatives from local, state, and federal agencies, will convene in a collaborative inquiry process brokered by the MTC. The process is intended to provide a constructive forum for stakeholders with diverse viewpoints to collect and share information and communicate it to their constituencies and the broader public.

Chris Powicki, principal of WEEinfo, has been invited to represent CIREC in the MTC process. CIREC’s objective is to leverage the attention and assessment generated by the Cape Wind proposal to broaden the scope of inquiry. This will afford the public and other stakeholders with a sound ethical context for balanced consideration of the economic, environmental, and social ramifications of wind energy development in the Cape & Islands region. From this perspective, key issues include

  • The true costs of energy supply options
  • The interactions between energy, economic, and environmental policy and sustainability
  • Alternative energy futures for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket
  • Opportunities for local economic development and diversification
  • Opportunities for ratepayer benefit.



Community Newspaper Company & Cape Cod Center for Sustainability

 

Indicators Council plots a sustainable course for Cape Cod (August 2002)
Under the aegis of the Cape Cod Center for Sustainability, community representatives are convening to develop and update a list of environmental, social, and economic indicators that reflect key trends—both positive and negative—influencing Cape Cod’s progress toward a sustainable future


Ongoing work by the 2002 Sustainability Indicators Council (SIC) and other members of the community builds upon the first "Sustainability Indicators Project" for Cape Cod, which resulted in the publication of a 1999 report addressing the following indicators:

  • Civic Vitality - Voting Patterns
  • Health & Human Services - Population Enrolled vs. Not Enrolled In Health-Care Plan
  • Health & Human Services - Substance Abuse
  • Education & Training - High School Dropout Rates
  • Air & Water Quality - Drinking Water Quality
  • Resource Use - Acres of Land Developed and Acres Of Land Protected as Open Space
  • Resource Use - Waste Generated, Recycled, Composted, Landfilled, and Incinerated
  • Transportation & Mobility - Traffic Congestion as Measured by Bridge Crossings
  • Diverse Sustainable Economy - Housing Affordability Gap
  • Diverse Sustainable Economy - Income: Self-Sufficiency Standard
  • Diverse Sustainable Economy - Employment and Payroll by Industry
  • Diverse Sustainable Economy - Tourism

The 2002 SIC is engaging stakeholders throughout Cape Cod to revisit many of the indicators covered in the 1999 report, as well as to develop new indicators addressing key issues such as the growing retiree population, air quality, and energy.


Series characterizes links between water, energy, and economic development on scales from the local to the global (July 2002)
WEEinfo recently prepared a three-part series of articles describing EPRI’s Water & Sustainability Initiative and future research plans. The series was distributed at a workshop organized by EPRI to propose a national R&D program focused on mitigating constraints on economic development in areas of the United States already suffering from water quantity and quality problems, as well as on curtailing the thirst of communities, cities, and regions diagnosed as likely candidates for future water deficits.

The series was initially published by EPRI in three parts: Part 1 describes the national and global context for the Water & Sustainability Initiative.

 


Click the cover for the
complete series (PDF File, 285k)


EPRI Journal


 


Part 2
summarizes key findings from a scoping study, funded by EPRI’s Strategic Science & Technology Program, to explore the relations between water availability and consumption and electricity supply and use in the United States. Part 3 introduces EPRI’s integrated strategy for improving water availability at the regional level by accelerating penetration of water- and energy-efficient technologies and practices at the local and facility levels.

The workshop, held in Washington, DC, was attended by representatives from government agencies associated with the energy, water, agriculture, and other sectors; from water and wastewater trade and research organizations; and from energy companies. The workshop was held to introduce EPRI’s proposed R&D approach, collect feedback on technical priorities, and catalyze public-private R&D partnerships.

     
     

 

 

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