The Nature and Influence of Collaboration in Hydropower Licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Nicola Ulibarri)

Identifying Cost-Effective Policies for Conservation and Development: A Case Study of Conditional Cash Transfers for Environmental Services in Uganda (Charlotte Stanton)

Greening Electric Power Grids Using Wind-Electric Turbines (Yang Yu)

The deep penetration of wind generated energy into electric power grids will introduce high uncertainty and intermittency on the supply side in a power market. This can result in high congestion uncertainty and will force system operators to prepare more fast-ramping generators than are employed in current markets. This research uses mathematical models to examine the impacts of two factors -- increased supply-side uncertainty and the need for more fast-ramping generation capacity -- on power markets. Initial studies examine issues linked to Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs), financial instruments that entitle the holders to receive compensation for charges that arise when a transmission grid is congested. Preliminary results suggest that current protocols might be not consistent with the ability to use current FTR policies to hedge correctly against price risks caused by transmission congestion in some scenarios. Other aspects of the study concern the relationship between the characteristics of wind power and changes in pollutant emissions that result from integrating wind power into a grid system.  

Communal vs. Market Orientation:  Product Cues that Promote Prosocial Behaviors (Michael Ovadia)

Empirical studies of retail food purchasing decisions suggest that a promising approach for engaging consumers on environmental sustainability involves a focus on “local.” In recent years, Walmart and many other food retailers across the United States have chosen to source notable fractions of their produce locally, even though being “local” is a poor proxy for the environmental impact of food products.  This research uses laboratory and field based experiments to investigate whether consumers who are influenced by messaging that emphasizes the local dimensions of products will be influenced to exhibit more pro-social behaviors (i.e., voluntary behavior intended to benefit another). One goal of the study is to identify whether “local” activates a deeper sense of connection and inclusion – a shift from a market orientation to a communal orientation.

Managing Risks from Chemicals in Products: an Industrial Perspective (Caroline Scruggs)

Firms, particularly large multi-nationals, have been increasingly concerned with managing the several different types of risks associated with chemicals in their products. These include financial risks linked to product-liability lawsuits as well damage to their reputations that would follow from such lawsuits or from being out of compliance with environmental requirements. Companies are also preoccupied with the costs of meeting environmental regulations, the economic consequences of being found out of compliance, and the danger of making poor financial investments as a result of unexpected changes in requirements. This study is based on interviews with environmental mangers at multi-national firms that are being proactive in the sense that they are doing even more than the government requires because they want to stay well positioned to manage the aforementioned types of risks.   The research aims to identify some of the main challenges faced by such firms, and preliminary results center on problems firms have in gathering and processing relevant information on dangers to human health and the environment of chemicals in their products.

Integration of Environmental Factors into Land Use Plans in Chinese Cities (Andrew Perlstein)

China's central government has placed increasing emphasis on curbing the environmental destruction that has accompanied China's economic growth. And given the extraordinary rates of urbanization, officials are particularly concerned with environmental degradation in cities. This investigation documents the approach being taken by urban planners to consider the environment in their plan-making activities. Special attention is given to China’s recently revised environmental impact assessment (EIA) requirements, which require EIAs for proposed land use plans.  The work is being carried out using a participant observer approach in an urban planning academy that is producing plans for many Chinese cities.

Legalization of  Water Resale in Maputo, Mozambique: Impacts on Consumers and Providers (Valentina Zuin)

Shortcomings in water service delivery in peri-urban areas of developing countries are leaving increasingly large numbers of people without adequate access to water.  Mozambique is in the process of trying to deal with inadequate access to water  in its capital city, Maputo, by legalizing the resale of water by households connected to the municipal network to neighboring households that are not connected.  Surveys of households and water resellers and focus groups with water consumers and producers are being used to provide a systematic assessment of this new practice. Impact assessment results will be useful to water officials in Mozambique in their efforts to determine next steps in scaling up the legalization of resale in other municipalities within the country.

Alternative Development Scenarios for the West Bengals Sundarbans (Ernesto Sanchez-Triana)

The Sundarbans region, one of the richest ecosystems in the world, contains what is arguably the world’s largest remaining mangrove area. Although the Sundarbans lies within India and Bangladesh, this research treats only the portion in India, located entirely within the State of West Bengal. The research analyzes four alternative development approaches for the Sundarbans. It considers a range of issues, including the need for a realignment of the existing embankment system intended to residents from flooding and sea level rise, as well as investments in sustainable tourism and modernized shrimp farms that can provide new livelihood options and thereby decrease the pressures on the mangrove forests. The analysis of alternative scenarios is intended to yield a recommended strategy that reduces both human and ecosystem vulnerability in the face of increasing sea level rise and the expected effects of climate change on the intensity of cyclonic storms.