Publications by Dann Sklarew
Foresight and STI Governance, 2018
Numerous studies indicate a close interdependence between the water and energy industries given t... more Numerous studies indicate a close interdependence between the water and energy industries given that energy production is usually characterized by high water-consuming capacity and that increasing water availability requires significant energy costs. The integration of energy and water policies at the global and national levels is seen as a tool for achieving sustainable development goals. The paper analyzes the opportunities for countries to ensure equal access to clean water and electricity due to such integration. The case studies of India, Ghana, and Morocco illustrate how to achieve success when applying a nexus approach to water and energy policy.
This study offers unique contributions to the literature by providing a pioneering analysis of the relationship between global goals for energy and water access and national governments’ abilities to develop synergistic energy and water policies. The proposed approach to integrating energy and water use could be applied throughout the full range of sustainable development goals and will be crucial for the success of countries in their implementation.
CIP Report, 2017
Energy and water systems face numerous challenges to resilience. These include technological and... more Energy and water systems face numerous challenges to resilience. These include technological and infrastructure vulnerabilities, institutional struggles, and supply-demand balance uncertainties. The interdependence of these systems can compound these challenges, particularly in communities facing severe energy and water insecurity. For instance, providing access to electricity can consume water to produce steam for power generation. It can pollute water with mining and power generation byproducts, and it also can alter aquatic habitats through water use, heating, and diversion. Providing access to clean water can use energy resources to divert flow and pump upstream. Water purification, desalination, and temperature control also use energy.
Highlighting the energy-water nexus as a critical area for future global growth and challenges, the 2016 IEA World Energy Outlook predicts that energy production will require more water due to the spread of advanced cooling technologies, as well as expanded biofuels, nuclear power, concentrated solar, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The report projects at least a doubling of the amount of energy used in the water sector by 2040, due to rising demand for desalination and wastewater treatment. This growing interdependence of energy and water systems can threaten the resilience of both. It also can offer opportunities to jointly improve both systems’ resilience.
This report presents a community greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) inventory for
Fairfax County, Vir... more This report presents a community greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) inventory for
Fairfax County, Virginia. These emissions come from both stationary and mobile
sources, as a result of commercial, residential, industrial, local government and
transportation activities within the jurisdictional boundaries of the county. The inventory
establishes 2006 as its baseline year. It then tracks annual emissions for the five-year
period from 2006 through 2010.
EcoHealth, 2016
As the Ebola outbreak in West Africa wanes, it is time for the international scientific community... more As the Ebola outbreak in West Africa wanes, it is time for the international scientific community to reflect on how to improve the detection of and coordinated response to future epidemics. Our interdisciplinary team identified key lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak that can be clustered into three areas: environmental conditions related to early warning systems, host characteristics related to public health, and agent issues that can be addressed through the laboratory sciences. In particular, we need to increase zoonotic surveillance activities, implement more effective ecological health interventions, expand prediction modeling, support medical and public health systems in order to improve local and international responses to epidemics, improve risk communication, better understand the role of social media in outbreak awareness and response, produce better diagnostic tools, create better therapeutic medications, and design better vaccines. This list highlights research priorities and policy actions the global community can take now to be better prepared for future emerging infectious disease outbreaks that threaten global public health and security. Paul L. Delamater, Jhumka Gupta, , Mariaelena Pierobon, Katherine E. Rowan, J. Reid Schwebach, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer ... ; ; ; ; ; >
CUR Quarterly, Sep 12, 2014
The development of with George Mason University's undergraduate sustainability programs has coinc... more The development of with George Mason University's undergraduate sustainability programs has coincided with its adoption of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) focused on greatly expanding opportunities for undergraduate research across the university. With the support of a three-year curriculum development grant from the QEP-implementing Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR), we have integrated undergraduate sustainability studies research into our curriculum. This article details how we use the programs’ bookend courses—introductory Sustainable World and capstone Sustainability in Action—to scaffold students’ ascent of OSCAR’s three-level scholarly pyramid—Discovery, Inquiry, and Creation of Scholarship. We also describe our learning loop model: It provides students in the introductory course with opportunities to learn about design and execution of university-funded, campus-based action research projects directly from students who have completed the capstone. Reciprocally, project ideas from the introductory course are passed forward for potential implementation by subsequent capstone students.
Due to the decline of Mid Atlantic brook trout populations coupled with diminishing budgets of re... more Due to the decline of Mid Atlantic brook trout populations coupled with diminishing budgets of relevant natural resource agencies who monitor the populations, a quick and cost effective assessment of brook trout streams or potential brook trout streams in the Mid-Atlantic United States is warranted. Using five core metrics-- two watershed metrics (percent land use in agriculture and distance to the nearest road from the survey site) and three in-stream metrics (riffle/run quality, dissolved oxygen content and water temperature), a classification model has been developed, useful as preliminary indication as to a stream’s suitability to sustain brook trout populations. Developed via discriminant analysis using Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ historical stream data, two classification equations (Smith-Sklarew equations) can be simplified into one equation, which produces a sustainability statistic (S). Should the five field measurements from the metrics produce a positive “S” value at a given site, then the stream reach most likely favors conditions suitable for sustainable brook trout populations. Conversely, negative “S” values indicate less than adequate conditions for sustainable brook trout populations.
A Mid-Atlantic multimetric index provides a quick and cost effective assessment of brook trout st... more A Mid-Atlantic multimetric index provides a quick and cost effective assessment of brook trout streams or potential brook trout streams in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Using five core metrics – three in-stream metrics (riffle/run quality, dissolved oxygen content and water temperature) and two watershed metrics (percent land use in agriculture and distance to the nearest road from the survey site), the index can be calculated in the field by professional natural resource managers or trained volunteers. The index should be used in concert with other assessment tools, including a classification model designed to allow resource managers to quickly screen a given stream reach in order to determine its potential for supporting sustainable populations of brook trout. Used in tandem, the classification model could provide a preliminary assessment of a stream, followed by a secondary assessment using an index rating to further evaluate stream quality and potential.
Enhancing Participation and Governance in Water Resources Management (ISBN 92-808-1120-7), Jan 1, 2006
"Water resources management is the aggregate of policies and activities used to provide clean wat... more "Water resources management is the aggregate of policies and activities used to provide clean water to meet human needs across sectors and jurisdictions and to sustain the water-related ecological systems upon which we depend. Knowledge that is crucial for water management is distributed across governments, non-governmental organizations and the water users themselves.
In most circumstances, water management aims to address the interests of and integrate usage across hydrologically meaningful units, such as watersheds. Some management aspects, however, such as transboundary flows across multiple basins and inter-basin water transfers via channels or virtual water, may necessitate a broader geographical scope. The authors identify successful mechanisms, approaches and practices for promoting public involvement in water resources management, including both conventional approaches and those based on information
technology."
Enhancing Participation and Governance in Water Resources Management (ISBN 92-808-1120-7), Jan 1, 2006
Public involvement initiatives should be based on a set of culturally and politically relevant pr... more Public involvement initiatives should be based on a set of culturally and politically relevant principles. With respect to public participation in international waters (IW) management, in particular, there is a need for transboundary legal frameworks and institutions to determine when and how to integrate public participation into design and implementation.
The International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) has established a collaborative platform for the international waters community, which is accessible in person and on-line, to support development of such frameworks.
Building upon prior studies and relevant public participation experiences from other domains, the agenda includes a series of workshops developed within and for different geographical and cultural regions of the world. These peer-to-peer workshops iteratively vet, derive and incorporate lessons from the varied IW initiatives in each region. This is a collaborative process, involving both governments and civil society. Together, successive regional cohorts of participants develop an overall framework for evaluating, applying and strengthening public participation throughout an adaptive IW management process. Features and prospects are examined."
Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management, 17 pp., Nov 18, 2002
"While the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC) is relatively rich in water resources, it co... more "While the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC) is relatively rich in water resources, it continues to face serious challenges as a result of localized pollution problems and uneven spatial and temporal availability of water. Issues such as inadequate institutional frameworks, insufficient financial resources and conflicting stakeholder interests augment the difficulty of defining and implementing solutions, particularly in the case of international waters (IW).1 Despite the commonality of challenges, little exchange of experiences among IW managers in LAC has occurred to date.
Seeking to create opportunities for interaction among transboundary water managers, the GEF, IW:LEARN, UNEP, the World Bank, UNDP, and OAS supported the establishment of two complementary knowledge sharing forums for practitioners: an electronic forum and a face-to-face meeting (September 1-2, 2001). The purpose of these forums was to identify common needs, share lessons learned, discuss opportunities to improve water resources management, and provide “on the ground” insights to international water policy meetings. Over fifty practitioners actively contributed to the discussions. Main recommendations are presented."
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) launched IW:LEARN in order to build a global knowledge comm... more The Global Environment Facility (GEF) launched IW:LEARN in order to build a global knowledge community to protect lakes, rivers, coasts, and oceans. To facilitate the creation of this community of practice, IW:LEARN: (1) provides training for strategic use of cost-effective communications technologies in international water resources management, (2) identifies and develops relevant distance learning opportunities, (3) fosters peer-to-peer (P2P) knowledge sharing among water resources managers, and (4) serves as a focal point for those in search of solutions to international water resources problems.
IW:LEARN's activities flow from the convergence of three global trends: (1) emerging awareness of the transboundary, transnational nature of potential water resource crises and of cooperative efforts to address them; (2) the “greening” of donor agencies international development activities, promoting sustainable progress t h rough integration of environmental and economic issues; and (3) the proliferation of access to affordable in f o rmation and telecommunications technologies indeveloping countries.
We introduce below how this confluence led to the emergence of IW:LEARN as a convener for the international waters knowledge community. We then highlight specific activities IW:LEARN has been facilitating within and for the benefit of this community. The article concludes by proposing ways in which water resources managers and organizations in developed as well as developing countries could benefit from and contribute to the IW:LEARN-sponsored international waters knowledge.
Dissertation (458 pp.), May 31, 2000
Eutrophication, the transition of an aquatic ecosystem from nutrient-scarce to nutrient enriched ... more Eutrophication, the transition of an aquatic ecosystem from nutrient-scarce to nutrient enriched conditions, is a water quality concern for rivers and coastal zones globally. The tidal freshwater (TFW) Potomac River, in particular, was strongly impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication throughout the twentieth century. Hydrometeorological and in situ biogeochemical factors may contribute to the persistence of eutrophic conditions in the TFW Potomac River, despite advancing nutrient management initiatives.
This study investigated the patterns of TFW Potomac River eutrophication and examined water quality relations to nutrient inputs, climate change, and in situ factors over the 1985-1997 period. Eutrophication indicators included total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and algal biomass as Chlorophyll a (Chl a). Nutrient inputs from the nontidal river and nearby wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were examined separately and in aggregate. Climatic factors, such as solar energy, air temperature, wind, precipitation, and freshwater inflow, were also considered. In situ factors comprised both abiotic (e.g., pH) and biotic (e.g., the Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea) variables.
Statistical parametric, non-parametric and graphical methods were used to analyze historical data from various federal, state, and local monitoring agencies, both before and after a basin-wide ban on phosphate in laundry detergents. A field study over summer
1997 further clarified effects of partial effluent denitrification at Blue Plains, the region’s largest WWTP. Data analysis examined patterns and relations longitudinally, across various temporal scales (multi-day, seasonal, annual, and inter-annual).
Ambient nutrient concentrations were generally an attenuated function of upstream source nutrient concentrations. TP was longitudinally stable, while TN crested near the outfall pipes from the largest WWTPs. Below this area, Chl a increased substantially. Chl a varied directly with 14-day solar energy, 4-day temperature and, in upper segments, wind speed; and inversely to freshwater inflow and, in lower segments, 4-day wind speed. Chl a also increased with TP during warm, dry weather, consistent with pH-related sediment TP release. No clear relation was established between Corbicula and algal biomass, however. Both the phosphate detergent ban and Blue Plains denitrification were found to have limited impact on TFW Potomac eutrophication. Season-specific and year-to-year patterns and relations are also discussed.
Proceedings by Dann Sklarew
With the support of a three-year curriculum development grant from the Office of Student Scholars... more With the support of a three-year curriculum development grant from the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR), we have integrated undergraduate research in sustainability studies into our curriculum. This presentation details how we use the program's bookend courses, the introductory Sustainable World and capstone Sustainability in Action courses, to scaffold students' ascent of OSCAR's three-level scholarly pyramid: discovery, inquiry, and creation of scholarship.
We also describe our learning loop model, which provides students in the introductory course with opportunities to learn about design and execution of university-funded, campus action research projects directly from students who have completed the capstone. Reciprocally, project ideas from the introductory course are passed forward for potential implementation by subsequent capstone students.
Finally, we share the results of our research into the impact of our curricular approach on our students. In particular, we share our findings regarding how the pyramid and loop affected their individual emergence as sustainability practitioners and scholars as well as their forging of a community of practice among peers and alumni, extending beyond the classroom.
This session examines emerging "flipped classroom" techniques to promote active learning about su... more This session examines emerging "flipped classroom" techniques to promote active learning about sustainability and well-being. First, presenters share a few pedagogical tools for active, mobile learning among sustainability studies practitioners, including a few illustrations for each. These tools include social learning, living laboratories, service learning, and action research. Opportunities to enhance these activities through use of Mason's Patriot Green Fund will also be shared. Presenters will then explore how these tools could be adapted and used to foster learning and practice related to sustainability and well-being across the curricula of session participants.
Faculty who desire to enhance their pedagogy through active learning and address real-world community challenges should discover several valuable methods, a few pitfalls, and lots of lessons learned. Applications may span single sessions or entire courses. Those teaching upper-level undergraduate synthesis or graduate capstone courses with a focus on practical scholarship may find this session particularly useful to their teaching.
Innovations in Teaching and Learning [ITL] Conference Proceedings, 2016
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2015) established 17 targets — such as “no hun... more The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2015) established 17 targets — such as “no hunger,” “clean water” and “climate action” — to unite humanity in pursuit of a shared, prosperous future. These diverse global goals provide a universal agenda to enlist today’s learners in creatively ensuring our collective well-bring throughout their careers. How can higher education foster effective, intentional learning across courses and curricula to prepare our students to realize these global goals? George Mason University has established a diverse set of over 130 “green leaf” courses, along with regular co-curricular activities, to help our students develop their sustainability skills and practical expertise. These span a new 18-credit “sustainability pathway” through our Mason Core general education requirements and a score of undergraduate and graduate academic programs. Together, these curricula – and others Mason faculty might opt to deliver — permit students to move from first year through accelerated graduate programs while continuously building their sustainability understanding, reflection and intentionality. Meanwhile, co-curricular activities like Mason Earth Month, organic food gardening and Patriot Green Fund projects provide students opportunities to develop and apply “critical doing” skills far beyond the classroom as well.
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2017
We describe results from a semester-long class taught by seven faculty at George Mason University... more We describe results from a semester-long class taught by seven faculty at George Mason University, aimed at providing resources to engage students in idea generation, design cycle development, and finally elaboration of a business plan. This is intended to alleviate a perceived lack of access for students to commercialize their ideas. Undergraduate and graduate students are often left with unfinished class projects that do not turn into prototypes or products. Here we aim to avoid this outcome (often referred to as the “Valley of Death”). We recruited students with ideas for products as well as students with varied expertise. We have then formalized their engagement by offering a seminar class that met once every other week over a 15 week semester. After the class each team underwent a one-week intensive boot camp for a final demonstration and presentation of their product and business plan. Throughout the semester the teams solicited and received micro-grants, then used the financial support to acquire materials to prototype several iterations of their ideas. In this paper we present data from our preliminary analysis of two successful teams. Out of five teams who took the class, three completed, and two continued with their products beyond the class. We also discuss strategies to engage students, to form viable teams, to provide technical support, and to deliver content in a non-traditional environment, with students from different backgrounds (e.g., sociology, civil engineering, computer science) enrolled both in undergraduate and graduate programs.
Innovations in Teaching and Learning [ITL] Conference Proceedings, 2017
Over ten weeks in 2017, a multi-disciplinary team of eight undergraduate researchers pursued ecol... more Over ten weeks in 2017, a multi-disciplinary team of eight undergraduate researchers pursued ecological research on the health of the Potomac River. Their mentors, faculty of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, helped to direct these student scholars to develop effective research proposals, collect and analyze aquatic ecology data from the river, and present their research in written and oral formats. Pedagogical findings, lessons and recommendations from the experience are shared to inform prospective team research experiences for undergraduates in environmental health, sustainability, and related fields.
ITL Conference Proceedings, 2017
Advanced undergraduates often seek a capstone learning experience to demonstrate the skills and u... more Advanced undergraduates often seek a capstone learning experience to demonstrate the skills and understanding they have honed in college. Learning to apply both to a global challenge, such as realizing one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, provides students a pathway from learning to contributing professionally to their own distinct social concerns. This session demonstrates how students can rapidly coalesce around a subset of these 17 global goals, then develop “novums” and test “theories of change” as they learn to contribute to the goals at campus to community scales. Participants are then introduced to this approach as implemented through collaborative learning across an entire semester. This is followed by discussion of how to adapt the approach to other courses promoting experiential learning through social changemaking.
Innovations in Teaching and Learning [ITL] Conference Proceedings, 2018
How do we foster student research to address and resolve real world problems? The action research... more How do we foster student research to address and resolve real world problems? The action research (AR) approach gives students the chance to transform themselves, their subjects and other research participants as part of a long-term process of co-inquiry. Iterative cycles of reflecting, planning, acting and observing engage learners across cohorts, disciplines and communities. They are guided by a set of ethical criteria that makes them responsible coauthors of positive social or ecological impact. Faculty help students to develop research questions with those immediately affected by outcomes of the research, then to carry out research projects in close collaboration with these individuals or groups (e.g., teachers, practitioners, policy makers). AR theorists, McCutcheon and Jung (1990) define this action research as “systematic inquiry that is collective, collaborative, self-reflective, critical and undertaken by the participants of the inquiry.” Its democratically inclusive aspect is key.
How can we effectively design or enhance courses to incorporate AR methods and activities? An intercollegiate team of Mason faculty share how we apply AR to enhance the practicality of our pedagogy across diverse fields: conflict resolution, education, public policy and sustainability science. We reflect upon successful practices, impacts and lessons that may be transferrable to other classes and disciplines. Our session will then transition to an open space workshop-format where we will invite participants to share how you envision integrating AR into your own pedagogy. We will then use AR techniques to offer peer assists to those who seek to realize AR in one of your courses in the near future.
EMECS9: Managing for Results in our Coastal Seas, p. 128., 2011
Prince William County, Virginia is a rapidly developing suburb of Washington DC. It is home to an... more Prince William County, Virginia is a rapidly developing suburb of Washington DC. It is home to an ethnically and economically diverse population and the Virginia’s second largest school district. The first two years of a new K-12/University partnership provided “Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences” to over 10,000 Middle and High School Students across Prince William County Schools. Their teachers were trained to deliver, in partnership with university students and faculty, MWEEs which include schoolyard stewardship projects, inquiry-driven outdoor field studies and computer-based analysis of environmental conditions Occoquan Bay sub-basin of the Chesapeake Bay. Impacts on students’ watershed understanding, stewardship values and activities were assessed through pro forma and post-learning surveys. Semi-annual professional learning community meetings allowed teachers’ to share and regularly improve their experience with lesson plans developed. Results support benefit to sustaining this sort of program beyond its current 3-year grant period, scaling up to include other jurisdictions, and adapting such methods to foster similar watershed stewardship in other bay and coastal sea basins.
Uploads
Publications by Dann Sklarew
This study offers unique contributions to the literature by providing a pioneering analysis of the relationship between global goals for energy and water access and national governments’ abilities to develop synergistic energy and water policies. The proposed approach to integrating energy and water use could be applied throughout the full range of sustainable development goals and will be crucial for the success of countries in their implementation.
Highlighting the energy-water nexus as a critical area for future global growth and challenges, the 2016 IEA World Energy Outlook predicts that energy production will require more water due to the spread of advanced cooling technologies, as well as expanded biofuels, nuclear power, concentrated solar, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The report projects at least a doubling of the amount of energy used in the water sector by 2040, due to rising demand for desalination and wastewater treatment. This growing interdependence of energy and water systems can threaten the resilience of both. It also can offer opportunities to jointly improve both systems’ resilience.
Fairfax County, Virginia. These emissions come from both stationary and mobile
sources, as a result of commercial, residential, industrial, local government and
transportation activities within the jurisdictional boundaries of the county. The inventory
establishes 2006 as its baseline year. It then tracks annual emissions for the five-year
period from 2006 through 2010.
In most circumstances, water management aims to address the interests of and integrate usage across hydrologically meaningful units, such as watersheds. Some management aspects, however, such as transboundary flows across multiple basins and inter-basin water transfers via channels or virtual water, may necessitate a broader geographical scope. The authors identify successful mechanisms, approaches and practices for promoting public involvement in water resources management, including both conventional approaches and those based on information
technology."
The International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) has established a collaborative platform for the international waters community, which is accessible in person and on-line, to support development of such frameworks.
Building upon prior studies and relevant public participation experiences from other domains, the agenda includes a series of workshops developed within and for different geographical and cultural regions of the world. These peer-to-peer workshops iteratively vet, derive and incorporate lessons from the varied IW initiatives in each region. This is a collaborative process, involving both governments and civil society. Together, successive regional cohorts of participants develop an overall framework for evaluating, applying and strengthening public participation throughout an adaptive IW management process. Features and prospects are examined."
Seeking to create opportunities for interaction among transboundary water managers, the GEF, IW:LEARN, UNEP, the World Bank, UNDP, and OAS supported the establishment of two complementary knowledge sharing forums for practitioners: an electronic forum and a face-to-face meeting (September 1-2, 2001). The purpose of these forums was to identify common needs, share lessons learned, discuss opportunities to improve water resources management, and provide “on the ground” insights to international water policy meetings. Over fifty practitioners actively contributed to the discussions. Main recommendations are presented."
IW:LEARN's activities flow from the convergence of three global trends: (1) emerging awareness of the transboundary, transnational nature of potential water resource crises and of cooperative efforts to address them; (2) the “greening” of donor agencies international development activities, promoting sustainable progress t h rough integration of environmental and economic issues; and (3) the proliferation of access to affordable in f o rmation and telecommunications technologies indeveloping countries.
We introduce below how this confluence led to the emergence of IW:LEARN as a convener for the international waters knowledge community. We then highlight specific activities IW:LEARN has been facilitating within and for the benefit of this community. The article concludes by proposing ways in which water resources managers and organizations in developed as well as developing countries could benefit from and contribute to the IW:LEARN-sponsored international waters knowledge.
This study investigated the patterns of TFW Potomac River eutrophication and examined water quality relations to nutrient inputs, climate change, and in situ factors over the 1985-1997 period. Eutrophication indicators included total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and algal biomass as Chlorophyll a (Chl a). Nutrient inputs from the nontidal river and nearby wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were examined separately and in aggregate. Climatic factors, such as solar energy, air temperature, wind, precipitation, and freshwater inflow, were also considered. In situ factors comprised both abiotic (e.g., pH) and biotic (e.g., the Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea) variables.
Statistical parametric, non-parametric and graphical methods were used to analyze historical data from various federal, state, and local monitoring agencies, both before and after a basin-wide ban on phosphate in laundry detergents. A field study over summer
1997 further clarified effects of partial effluent denitrification at Blue Plains, the region’s largest WWTP. Data analysis examined patterns and relations longitudinally, across various temporal scales (multi-day, seasonal, annual, and inter-annual).
Ambient nutrient concentrations were generally an attenuated function of upstream source nutrient concentrations. TP was longitudinally stable, while TN crested near the outfall pipes from the largest WWTPs. Below this area, Chl a increased substantially. Chl a varied directly with 14-day solar energy, 4-day temperature and, in upper segments, wind speed; and inversely to freshwater inflow and, in lower segments, 4-day wind speed. Chl a also increased with TP during warm, dry weather, consistent with pH-related sediment TP release. No clear relation was established between Corbicula and algal biomass, however. Both the phosphate detergent ban and Blue Plains denitrification were found to have limited impact on TFW Potomac eutrophication. Season-specific and year-to-year patterns and relations are also discussed.
Proceedings by Dann Sklarew
We also describe our learning loop model, which provides students in the introductory course with opportunities to learn about design and execution of university-funded, campus action research projects directly from students who have completed the capstone. Reciprocally, project ideas from the introductory course are passed forward for potential implementation by subsequent capstone students.
Finally, we share the results of our research into the impact of our curricular approach on our students. In particular, we share our findings regarding how the pyramid and loop affected their individual emergence as sustainability practitioners and scholars as well as their forging of a community of practice among peers and alumni, extending beyond the classroom.
Faculty who desire to enhance their pedagogy through active learning and address real-world community challenges should discover several valuable methods, a few pitfalls, and lots of lessons learned. Applications may span single sessions or entire courses. Those teaching upper-level undergraduate synthesis or graduate capstone courses with a focus on practical scholarship may find this session particularly useful to their teaching.
How can we effectively design or enhance courses to incorporate AR methods and activities? An intercollegiate team of Mason faculty share how we apply AR to enhance the practicality of our pedagogy across diverse fields: conflict resolution, education, public policy and sustainability science. We reflect upon successful practices, impacts and lessons that may be transferrable to other classes and disciplines. Our session will then transition to an open space workshop-format where we will invite participants to share how you envision integrating AR into your own pedagogy. We will then use AR techniques to offer peer assists to those who seek to realize AR in one of your courses in the near future.
This study offers unique contributions to the literature by providing a pioneering analysis of the relationship between global goals for energy and water access and national governments’ abilities to develop synergistic energy and water policies. The proposed approach to integrating energy and water use could be applied throughout the full range of sustainable development goals and will be crucial for the success of countries in their implementation.
Highlighting the energy-water nexus as a critical area for future global growth and challenges, the 2016 IEA World Energy Outlook predicts that energy production will require more water due to the spread of advanced cooling technologies, as well as expanded biofuels, nuclear power, concentrated solar, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The report projects at least a doubling of the amount of energy used in the water sector by 2040, due to rising demand for desalination and wastewater treatment. This growing interdependence of energy and water systems can threaten the resilience of both. It also can offer opportunities to jointly improve both systems’ resilience.
Fairfax County, Virginia. These emissions come from both stationary and mobile
sources, as a result of commercial, residential, industrial, local government and
transportation activities within the jurisdictional boundaries of the county. The inventory
establishes 2006 as its baseline year. It then tracks annual emissions for the five-year
period from 2006 through 2010.
In most circumstances, water management aims to address the interests of and integrate usage across hydrologically meaningful units, such as watersheds. Some management aspects, however, such as transboundary flows across multiple basins and inter-basin water transfers via channels or virtual water, may necessitate a broader geographical scope. The authors identify successful mechanisms, approaches and practices for promoting public involvement in water resources management, including both conventional approaches and those based on information
technology."
The International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN) has established a collaborative platform for the international waters community, which is accessible in person and on-line, to support development of such frameworks.
Building upon prior studies and relevant public participation experiences from other domains, the agenda includes a series of workshops developed within and for different geographical and cultural regions of the world. These peer-to-peer workshops iteratively vet, derive and incorporate lessons from the varied IW initiatives in each region. This is a collaborative process, involving both governments and civil society. Together, successive regional cohorts of participants develop an overall framework for evaluating, applying and strengthening public participation throughout an adaptive IW management process. Features and prospects are examined."
Seeking to create opportunities for interaction among transboundary water managers, the GEF, IW:LEARN, UNEP, the World Bank, UNDP, and OAS supported the establishment of two complementary knowledge sharing forums for practitioners: an electronic forum and a face-to-face meeting (September 1-2, 2001). The purpose of these forums was to identify common needs, share lessons learned, discuss opportunities to improve water resources management, and provide “on the ground” insights to international water policy meetings. Over fifty practitioners actively contributed to the discussions. Main recommendations are presented."
IW:LEARN's activities flow from the convergence of three global trends: (1) emerging awareness of the transboundary, transnational nature of potential water resource crises and of cooperative efforts to address them; (2) the “greening” of donor agencies international development activities, promoting sustainable progress t h rough integration of environmental and economic issues; and (3) the proliferation of access to affordable in f o rmation and telecommunications technologies indeveloping countries.
We introduce below how this confluence led to the emergence of IW:LEARN as a convener for the international waters knowledge community. We then highlight specific activities IW:LEARN has been facilitating within and for the benefit of this community. The article concludes by proposing ways in which water resources managers and organizations in developed as well as developing countries could benefit from and contribute to the IW:LEARN-sponsored international waters knowledge.
This study investigated the patterns of TFW Potomac River eutrophication and examined water quality relations to nutrient inputs, climate change, and in situ factors over the 1985-1997 period. Eutrophication indicators included total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and algal biomass as Chlorophyll a (Chl a). Nutrient inputs from the nontidal river and nearby wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were examined separately and in aggregate. Climatic factors, such as solar energy, air temperature, wind, precipitation, and freshwater inflow, were also considered. In situ factors comprised both abiotic (e.g., pH) and biotic (e.g., the Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea) variables.
Statistical parametric, non-parametric and graphical methods were used to analyze historical data from various federal, state, and local monitoring agencies, both before and after a basin-wide ban on phosphate in laundry detergents. A field study over summer
1997 further clarified effects of partial effluent denitrification at Blue Plains, the region’s largest WWTP. Data analysis examined patterns and relations longitudinally, across various temporal scales (multi-day, seasonal, annual, and inter-annual).
Ambient nutrient concentrations were generally an attenuated function of upstream source nutrient concentrations. TP was longitudinally stable, while TN crested near the outfall pipes from the largest WWTPs. Below this area, Chl a increased substantially. Chl a varied directly with 14-day solar energy, 4-day temperature and, in upper segments, wind speed; and inversely to freshwater inflow and, in lower segments, 4-day wind speed. Chl a also increased with TP during warm, dry weather, consistent with pH-related sediment TP release. No clear relation was established between Corbicula and algal biomass, however. Both the phosphate detergent ban and Blue Plains denitrification were found to have limited impact on TFW Potomac eutrophication. Season-specific and year-to-year patterns and relations are also discussed.
We also describe our learning loop model, which provides students in the introductory course with opportunities to learn about design and execution of university-funded, campus action research projects directly from students who have completed the capstone. Reciprocally, project ideas from the introductory course are passed forward for potential implementation by subsequent capstone students.
Finally, we share the results of our research into the impact of our curricular approach on our students. In particular, we share our findings regarding how the pyramid and loop affected their individual emergence as sustainability practitioners and scholars as well as their forging of a community of practice among peers and alumni, extending beyond the classroom.
Faculty who desire to enhance their pedagogy through active learning and address real-world community challenges should discover several valuable methods, a few pitfalls, and lots of lessons learned. Applications may span single sessions or entire courses. Those teaching upper-level undergraduate synthesis or graduate capstone courses with a focus on practical scholarship may find this session particularly useful to their teaching.
How can we effectively design or enhance courses to incorporate AR methods and activities? An intercollegiate team of Mason faculty share how we apply AR to enhance the practicality of our pedagogy across diverse fields: conflict resolution, education, public policy and sustainability science. We reflect upon successful practices, impacts and lessons that may be transferrable to other classes and disciplines. Our session will then transition to an open space workshop-format where we will invite participants to share how you envision integrating AR into your own pedagogy. We will then use AR techniques to offer peer assists to those who seek to realize AR in one of your courses in the near future.
Nutrient management over the past 40 years led to remarkable decline in anthropogenic nutrient loads, despite burgeoning populations throughout the Washington DC metropolitan region. Over the period since 1984, a basin-wide phosphate detergent ban and costly nitrogen removal upgrades at the Chesapeake’s largest wastewater treatment plant, Blue Plains, have created conditions for potential decline in water quality impairment. Meanwhile, inter-annual variability in hydrometerological conditions obscure underlying trends in recovery from eutrophication even in the upper tidal freshwater zone.
The current study examines 25 years of intensive water quality monitoring in the tidal Potomac River near Gunston Cove for signs of sustained water quality improvement. Visualization methods associated with exploratory data analysis are utilized to distinguish impacts of inter-annual climate variability and nutrient
management factors. Results show an overall trajectory towards improved trophic status in recent years. Nonetheless, any sustained climatic change which creates longer, drier growing seasons could create conditions which once again favor massive algal blooms. Also discussed are implications for sustained monitoring of the river; implementation of new, ultra-advanced nitrogen removal at a Blue Plains, and development of climate-corrected trends in water quality in other embayments and coastal seas.
basins and estuaries to the seaward boundaries of continental shelves, enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and the outer margins
of the major current systems. LMEs are typically 200,000 square kilometers or greater, and are charac terized by distinct
bathymetry, hydrography, productivity, and
trophically dependent populations. To date, 64 LMEs have been identified in the global oceans. The GEF uses LMEs as
units for facilitating integration across sectors, developing adaptive management frameworks with site-specific targets, and providing tools for engaging stakeholders. At least 110 different nations are cooperating to improve place-based management for 17
LMEs. This report assessed progress made in LMEs, challenges to managing LMEs, and provide guidance for the enhanced management of LMEs.
Malthusian overfishing approaches nearly every coast. Industrialized peoples are increasingly served by fisheries from further and further abroad. In provider regions, food-deficit nations still receive nearly 20% of their total animal protein from fish (WHO 2008). Nonetheless, several such nations in Africa and Asia are net fish exporters even as their own populations are underfed.
Mercantile marine exploitation and lack of proactive international cooperation perpetuates this injustice. Still, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) highlights three other development strategies which offer a brighter future through increased international collaboration, localized fisheries management, and targeted investments in green technology and ecosystem engineering.
Beyond mitigating Malthusian overfishing, do any of these strategies effectively address the fundamental challenge of competitive cultural exclusion by those with the most advanced fishing gear? More specifically, to what extent could these approaches guide a path forward from today's fisheries competition towards mutualism among various marine fishing populations? The current presentation explores our potential to transition from fisheries competition to marine mutualism, introducing several recent illustrations and innovations from a few food-deficient, fish-exporting areas."
CIIMMS not only comprises the hardware, software, and information contact components of the Cook Inlet information management system; it also establishes a framework for managing information resources more efficiently. Two important components of CIIMMS development are (1) establish an advisory group made up of data providers and users to oversee implementation and (2) publish guidelines on how to implement various aspects of the framework (e.g., compile metadata). By providing the tools and the framework that enable a unified approach to information management throughout the watershed, CIIMMS will help agencies and organizations use existing resources more effectively."
establishes 2006 as its baseline year. It then tracks annual emissions for the five-year period from 2006 through 2010. Total energy-related GHG emissions in 2006 were 11.83 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Million MTCO2e), or about 11.41 MTCO2e per county resident.
Stationary sources accounted for 63% of the county’s total GHG emissions, primarily from electricity use in residential and commercial sectors. Mobile sources accounted for 37% of total GHG emissions in the county. Of that, 46% was from transient on-road vehicles and 43% from locally-registered on-road vehicles.
As county population grew from 2006 to 2010, yearly GHG emissions rose by 3%, while emissions per resident declined by 1%. Thus, local population trends are an important consideration for tracking and anticipating the trajectory of GHG emissions over time.
measure the progression of the its greenhouse gas emissions then chart the path to climate neutrality beginning in academic year 2010-2011. To meet emissions reduction targets, the Office of Sustainability and the Core Planning Committee (CPC) of the Climate Action Planning Team present an approach that combines the creation of a solid foundation to manage ongoing climate planning efforts with a set of specific policies, projects, and research in nine overarching categories.