As climate change forces energy policy to incorporate environmental impacts and fuel diversification into the traditional model of energy security, finding ways to site, develop, and deliver renewable energy has taken on increasing importance across the United States. With no consistent federal framework to implement these changes, much of the...
Within Oregon there is considerable interest in the possibility of converting woody biomass to energy. This interest stems from three converging factors: the desire to reduce the threat of uncharacteristic wildfire by removing excess material from the forests, the possibility to stimulate rural economies that are dependent on forest products,...
The United States Congress set out to increase the blending of biofuels by updating and implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) in 2007. The new mandate required that a combination of 36 billion gallons of ethanol, biodiesel, and cellulosic biofuel be blended annually, by 2022. To offset the cost of...
Oregon’s coastal communities grew from the booming logging and fishing industries of the 19th century, but in recent decades have faced not only major declines in both timber and fish resources but also an increasing reliance on tourists and retirees and the resultant glut of seasonal service-sector jobs. As a...
Renewable energy is on the rise in the U.S. Additional efforts will be required to integrate intermittent and decentralized sources of energy into the electrical grid. Given that storing large amounts of electricity is not yet available at a reasonable cost, electric grid operators must match supply and demand at...
Growing awareness and concern within society over the use of and reliance on fossil fuels has stimulated research efforts in identifying, developing, and selecting alternative energy sources and energy technologies. Bioenergy represents a promising replacement for conventional energy, due to reduced environmental impacts and broad applicability. Sustainable energy challenges, however,...
Sustainable management of the world’s forests is a key component for conserving biodiversity, soil and water resources, mitigating climate change, strengthening economies, and promoting sustainable communities and human well-being, now and in the future. While international cooperation is important, the actual policies and management actions that affect forest conditions and...
The atomic age was enacted by many scientists as a way to realize health and human rights. Human rights were conceived in this context as rights to economic development, science education, and nuclear medicine. The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) acted hand in hand with UN agencies and educators...
The concept of "adaptive governance" represents a spectrum of hybrid approaches to environmental governance employed to guide management of complex social-ecological systems under conditions of high uncertainty. While the concept of adaptive governance has benefited from over a decade of theoretical development, empirical examples of transitions towards adaptive governance are...
This analysis determines the impact of campaign contributions on Senators' legislative activity on the Energy Policy Act of 2003, identifies organizations within the power policy-planning network, and examines the social netwrok of the energy industry and its relationship with the power policy-planning network. After describing the research methods used for...