Dairy Industry Launches Sustainability Reporting Guide

Read the full story in Environmental Leader.

The Innovation Center for US Dairy has published a guide to help dairy companies and farms measure and report on sustainability.

The Stewardship and Sustainability Guide for US Dairy identifies indicators for assessing dairy sustainability and communicating results. The indicators are based on scientific life cycle assessment studies commissioned by the Innovation Center, and the practical experience of industry members and others from nongovernmental, academic and government organizations.

 

GAO Report on climate change

Climate Change: Future Federal Adaptation Efforts Could Better Support Local Infrastructure Decision Makers. GAO-13-242, April 12.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-242
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653740.pdf

What GAO Found

According to the National Research Council (NRC) and others, infrastructure such as roads and bridges, wastewater systems, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) centers are vulnerable to changes in the climate. Changes in precipitation and sea levels, as well as increased intensity and frequency of extreme events, are projected by NRC and others to impact infrastructure in a variety of ways. When the climate changes, infrastructure– typically designed to operate within past climate conditions–may not operate as well or for as long as planned, leading to economic, environmental, and social impacts. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that, within 15 years, segments of Louisiana State Highway 1– providing the only road access to a port servicing 18 percent of the nation’s oil supply–will be inundated by tides an average of 30 times annually due to relative sea level rise. Flooding of this road effectively closes the port.

Decision makers have not systematically considered climate change in infrastructure planning for various reasons, according to representatives of professional associations and agency officials who work with these decision makers. For example, more immediate priorities–such as managing aging infrastructure–consume time and resources, limiting decision makers’ ability to consider and implement climate adaptation measures. Difficulties in obtaining and using information needed to understand vulnerabilities and inform adaptation decisions pose additional challenges.

Key factors enabled some local decision makers to integrate climate change into infrastructure planning. As illustrated by GAO’s site visits and relevant studies, these factors included (1) having local circumstances such as weather-related crises that spurred action, (2) learning how to use available information, (3) having access to local expertise, and (4) considering climate impacts within existing planning processes. As one example, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District managed risks associated with more frequent extreme rainfall events by enhancing its natural systems’ ability to absorb runoff by, for instance, preserving wetlands. This effort simultaneously expanded the sewer system’s capacity while providing other community and environmental benefits. District leaders enabled these changes by prioritizing adaptation, using available locallevel climate projections, and utilizing local experts for assistance.

GAO’s report identifies several emerging federal efforts under way to facilitate more informed adaptation decisions, but these efforts could better support the needs of local infrastructure decision makers in the future, according to studies, local decision makers at the sites GAO visited, and other stakeholders. For example, among its key efforts, the federal government plays a critical role in producing the information needed to facilitate more informed local infrastructure adaptation decisions. However, as noted by NRC studies, this information exists in an uncoordinated confederation of networks and institutions, and the end result of it not being easily accessible is that people may make decisions–or choose not to act–without it. Accordingly, a range of studies and local decision makers GAO interviewed cited the need for the federal government to improve local decision makers’ access to the best available information to use in infrastructure planning.

Why GAO Did This Study

The federal government invests billions of dollars annually in infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, facing increasing risks from climate change. Adaptation–defined as adjustments to natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate change– can help manage these risks by making infrastructure more resilient.

GAO was asked to examine issues related to infrastructure decision making and climate change. This report examines (1) the impacts of climate change on roads and bridges, wastewater systems, and NASA centers; (2) the extent to which climate change is incorporated into infrastructure planning; (3) factors that enabled some decision makers to implement adaptive measures; and (4) federal efforts to address local adaptation needs, as well as potential opportunities for improvement.

GAO reviewed climate change assessments; analyzed relevant reports; interviewed stakeholders from professional associations and federal agencies; and visited infrastructure projects and interviewed local decision makers at seven sites where adaptive measures have been implemented.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that a federal entity designated by the Executive Office of the President (EOP) work with agencies to identify for local infrastructure decision makers the best available climaterelated information for planning, and also to update this information over time. Relevant EOP entities did not provide official comments, but instead provided technical comments, which GAO incorporated, as appropriate.

 

Innovation in spectroscopy could improve greenhouse gas detection

Read the full story at R&D Magazine.

Detecting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could soon become far easier with the help of an innovative technique developed by a team at NIST, where scientists have overcome an issue preventing the effective use of lasers to rapidly scan samples.

The team, which recently published its findings in Nature Photonics, says the technique also could work for other jobs that require gas detection, including the search for hidden explosives and monitoring chemical processes in industry and the environment.

Research paper cited: G.-W. Truong, K.O. Douglass, S.E. Maxwell, R.D. van Zee, D.F. Plusquellic, J.T. Hodges and D.A. Long. Frequency-agile, rapid scanning spectroscopy. Nature Photonics, DOI: 10.1038/NPHOTON.2013.98, April 28, 2013.

Abstract: Challenging applications in trace gas measurements require low uncertainty and high acquisition rates^{1, 2, 3, 4}. Many cavity-enhanced spectroscopies exhibit significant sensitivity and potential^{5, 6}, but their scanning rates are limited by reliance on either mechanical or thermal frequency tuning⁷. Here, we present frequency-agile, rapid scanning spectroscopy (FARS) in which a high-bandwidth electro-optic modulator steps a selected laser sideband to successive optical cavity modes. This approach involves no mechanical motion and allows for a scanning rate of 8 kHz per cavity mode, a rate that is limited only by the cavity response time itself. Unlike rapidly frequency-swept techniques^{8, 9, 10, 11}, FARS does not reduce the measurement duty cycle, degrade the spectrum’s frequency axis or require an unusual cavity configuration. FARS allows for a sensitivity of ~2 × 10⁻¹² cm⁻¹ Hz^−1/2 and a tuning range exceeding 70 GHz. This technique shows promise for fast and sensitive trace gas measurements and studies of chemical kinetics.

 

Report: Composting Could Create Two Times as Many Jobs as Landfilling

Read the full story at Environmental Leader.

Composting is a major job creator, according to a new report released by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC, in conjunction with International Compost Awareness Week. The report, based on a survey of Maryland composters, claims that 1,400 new full-time jobs could be supported for every million tons of yard trimmings and food scraps converted into compost that is used locally.

In Maryland, compostable items such as food scraps, grass clippings, wood chips and the like equal to about 780,000 tons each year, according to Patch.com. Composting those items, per the Pay Dirt: Composting in Maryland to Reduce Waste, Create Jobs, & Protect the Bay [pdf] report, would create twice as many jobs as sending waste to landfill, and four times the number of jobs as burning garbage.

 

Car versus bike: road design to cut pollution

Read the full story at Environmental Research Web.

Cycling is no fun when you have an impatient queue of cars behind you, all waiting for an opportunity to pass. And driving is frustrating when you get stuck behind a bike. On some urban roads this kind of situation causes significant congestion and an associated increase in pollution. So what is the solution? A new study weighs up all the costs and benefits to help planners understand the impact of different kinds of road designs.

 

Sustainability ‘Highly Important’ to 42% of Supply Chains

Read the full story at Environmental Leader.

Less than half of executives say sustainability is highly important to their company’s supply chain, according to a PwC survey.

Of the 42 percent of respondents who rated sustainability as highly important, 87 percent named optimizing their carbon footprint as their top priority for green adherence in their supply chain, according to the PwC‘s 2013 global supply chain survey, Next-generation supply chains: Efficient, fast and tailored. An equal percentage said that it’s best to reach an agreement with their suppliers on adhering to the highest ethical standards.

 

Quantifying the benefit of early climate change mitigation in avoiding biodiversity loss

R. Warren, J. VanDerWal, J. Price, J. A. Welbergen, I. Atkinson, J. Ramirez-Villegas, T. J. Osborn, A. Jarvis, L. P. Shoo, S. E. Williams & J. Lowe (2013). “Quantifying the benefit of early climate change mitigation in avoiding biodiversity loss.” Nature Climate Change DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1887.

Abstract: Climate change is expected to have significant influences on terrestrial biodiversity at all system levels, including species-level reductions in range size and abundance, especially amongst endemic species. However, little is known about how mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions could reduce biodiversity impacts, particularly amongst common and widespread species. Our global analysis of future climatic range change of common and widespread species shows that without mitigation, 57±6% of plants and 34±7% of animals are likely to lose ≥50% of their present climatic range by the 2080s. With mitigation, however, losses are reduced by 60% if emissions peak in 2016 or 40% if emissions peak in 2030. Thus, our analyses indicate that without mitigation, large range contractions can be expected even amongst common and widespread species, amounting to a substantial global reduction in biodiversity and ecosystem services by the end of this century. Prompt and stringent mitigation, on the other hand, could substantially reduce range losses and buy up to four decades for climate change adaptation.

 

People Who Believe in Free Markets More Likely to Reject Climate Science

Read the full story at SustainableBusiness.com.

Why do a determined minority – often in positions of power – refuse to accept that climate change is happening despite the overwhelming scientific evidence?

A new study may provide a clue. Researchers at the University of Western Australia found that people who expressed faith in free-market ideology were also likely to reject scientific consensus that climate change is happening and that burning fossil fuels helps to cause it.

 

 

New guidance makes corporate value chain accounting easier

Read the full story in GreenBiz.

An effective corporate climate change strategy requires a detailed understanding of a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Until recently, most companies have focused on measuring emissions from their own operations and electricity consumption, using the GHG Protocol’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 framework. But what about all of the emissions a company is responsible for outside of its own walls — from the goods it purchases to the disposal of the products it sells?

The GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, released in late 2011, is the only internationally accepted method for companies to account for these types of value chain emissions. Building on this standard, the GHG Protocol has released a new companion guide that makes it even easier for businesses to complete their Scope 3 inventories. The guidance is freely available for download via its website, but specific guidance for each category of scope 3 emissions will need to be downloaded separately.

 

Can Sustainable Hospitals Help Bend the Health Care Cost Curve?

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Abstract: As policymakers seek to rein in the nation’s escalating health care costs, one area deserving attention is the health system’s costly environmental footprint. This study examines data from selected hospitals that have implemented programs to reduce energy use and waste and achieve operating room supply efficiencies. After standardizing metrics
across the hospitals studied and generalizing results to hospitals nationwide, the analysis finds that savings achievable through these interventions could exceed $5.4 billion over five years and $15 billion over 10 years. Given the return on investment, the authors recommend
that all hospitals adopt such programs and, in cases where capital investments could be financially burdensome, that public funds be used to provide loans or grants, particularly to safety-net hospitals.