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Economic Analysis of an Algal Turf Scrubber and Anaerobic Digester System for Bioremediation of Eutrophic Waters
No full textAquatic environments provide economic value in the form of ecosystem services (ES), such as jobs and food through fisheries, eco-tourism, flood buffering against storms, and nutrient capture (Turner et al., 2000). Globally, marine dead zones have doubled since the 1960s due to excessive nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) introduced by synthetic agricultural fertilizers, the burning of fossil fuels, and human and animal waste (Diaz & Rosenberg, 2008; Rabotyagov et al., 2014). There is a range of bioremediation or cleanup methods that can alleviate excess nutrients in waterways. The private firm Hydromentia LLC practices bioremediation through Algal Turf Scrubber (ATS) technology at a variety of sites to capture nutrients, sequester carbon (C), and produce algal biomass from point and non-point source nutrient dense waters. Harvested algal biomass has additional value as crop fertilizer, livestock feed, or as an input to biofuel generation in anaerobic digestion (AD) (Hydromentia, n.d.c). Studies looking at ATS systems’ costs and benefits through a comprehensive economic lens are currently lacking and there is opportunity to incorporate more nutrient trading and crediting into analyses (Pizarro et al., 2006; Higgins & Kendall, 2012). The objectives of my study were to evaluate the costs and benefits associated with an ATS-AD system, quantify the ES values an ATS-AD system provides, and provide economic justification to support policy makers in developing additional funding for a wider variety of global ATS-AD projects.
My research included both financial and economic appraisals for the Fall River ATS and ATS-AD site, located in Durham, North Carolina, USA, with a 20-year timeframe and based on Hydromentia’s 2017 Fall River Pilot Report. Hydromentia provided data on financial costs of construction, operations and energy use, and benefits of nutrients captured and dried algal biomass in pounds per year. First, I conducted two comparable financial appraisals, which include the ATS site with and without an AD component used to reduce the energy costs to operate the system. Second, I conducted three economic cost-benefit analyses (CBA), based on different scenarios of household populations, to assess the following questions:
• Do the bioremediation efforts of the ATS-AD system outweigh the costs?
• How much biofuel can be generated from algal biomass from the proposed site?
My research aimed to answer these questions and hypothesized that the economic CBA values are greater than that of both financial CBAs. Including the benefits of avoided eutrophication, nutrient capture, and algal biomass converted to biofuel in an economic CBA provided a more accurate representation than a traditional financial assessment from the business’ point of view.
The results of both financial analyses showed negative end values, suggesting the benefits of ATS technology do not outweigh the costs from a traditional business perspective even when AD is incorporated, although the AD component resulted in a smaller negative value. My economic analyses resulted in positive values for all three percentages (75%, 50% and 25%) that ES would be transferred to the Falls Lake Watershed case study population, suggesting that the ES benefits ATS systems provide outweigh the costs of the project. The results support my stated hypotheses and could influence policy makers and governments to further incentivize this bioremediation technology through grants, tax breaks, and subsidies
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Achieving Vast Restoration: Incentivizing Grassland Regeneration in Eastern Montana
No full textThis thesis examines the potential for federal, state and local government environmental incentives to be leveraged by for-profit impact investors pursuing grassland restoration. Nearly 20% of the continental United States historically consists of grasslands (roughly 1.5 million square kilometers). Today, some 96% of this ecosystem has been destroyed due to agriculture and land management practices (Claassen et al., 2011). Restoring the ecosystem services of grasslands, which are benefits received by humans from the Earth’s natural processes, has the potential to address many important challenges facing modern societies, including erosion of topsoil, climate change, and even food security, while also providing an attractive opportunity for private investment (MEA, 2005). By mimicking the herd and grazing behaviors of native species, strategically managed livestock can play a regenerative role in the health of this ecosystem. This approach to land management, called Holistic Planned Grazing (HPG), has resulted in positive environmental returns in grassland ecosystem types the world over (Howell, 2008).
My primary research objective is to identify and understand the current direct and indirect financial incentives available to for-profit grassland restoration investments from U.S. government entities based on ecosystem services considerations, such as water purification or the carbon sequestration capacity provided by a landscape. Subsequently, I demonstrate how these opportunities can be implemented on a specific property, the Antelope Springs Ranch near Cohagen, Montana, which is being managed under HPG by the for-profit company, Grasslands LLC. My research questions involve assessing the potential for specific environmental incentives to generate profits, and also identifying how new government incentive programs can be created to achieve greater ecological benefits. The result of these efforts is a thesis and a report to Grasslands LLC and their investors with determinations as to the optimal utilization of existing government incentives, as well as recommendations to policy-makers interested to provide incentives to private investment for the restoration of the nation’s natural capital. I hypothesize that by leveraging government incentives, impact investments intended to restore grasslands can enhance financial returns while achieving the desired environmental benefits in the United States.
In this study I conduct a financial cost-benefit analysis of all government incentive programs that are intended to achieve ecological conservation and restoration that can be applied to the Antelope Springs Ranch in Garfield County, Montana. Additionally, I conducted interviews with representatives from relevant government offices and other experts in the field to understand how these opportunities can be actualized. I use a financial cost-benefit analysis to assess the net present value (NPV) of government environmental incentive programs to determine if pursuing these incentives is financially prudent. I then use the results of this cost-benefit analysis to assess how existing governmental programs can be use by impact investors, and to identify where government incentives can be improved or created to support private investment into ecosystem regeneration.Restoration; Incentive
Estimating Willingness to Pay to Protect Acequia Irrigation and Culture Lessons from San Miguel County, New Mexico
Get PDFTraditional gravity fed irrigation systems in Hispano communities in New Mexico, USA, are referred to as acequias. Water scarcity is currently motivating negotiations between acequias and municipalities over sharing agreements. Research on willingness to pay to protect and maintain acequias is still scarce. These valuation data could be helpful to improve the quality of water resources decision making and therefore rural development strategies in this region, which is relatively poor compared to the US average. Data from an open-ended CVM survey are used to examine WTP for a program designed to strengthen and perpetuate irrigation and culture on the acequias of El Río de las Gallinas, in rural northeastern New Mexico. Results indicate that the community supports the program in general, with higher levels of support among rural residents and Anglos.
Keywords: Contingent Valuation Method, acequia irrigation, New Mexico, benefit cost analysi
Recommendations for the collection, analysis, and synthesis of further economic data to support informed decision-making regarding the Lower Churchill River Hydroelectric Project
No full textIn 2009, the Environmental Policy Unit coordinated a joint response from faculty and staff at Memorial University to Nalcor Energy's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its proposed 3,074 MW Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Generation Project in Labrador.
The response questioned the assumptions underlying the report's opaque use of the precautionary principle and sustainable development. It also critically examined the approach taken to account for greenhouse gas projections and the need for future hydroelectric capacity. Complicating factors in the EIS were the lack of adequate consultation measures with Aboriginal groups, as well as the lack of transparency in that key documents were unavailable to the public. Lastly, the response was critical of how cumulative effects were determined. Key questions to be answered in relation to these concerns were also included
Estimating Willingness to Pay to Protect Acequia Irrigation and Culture: Lessons from San Miguel County, NM
Get PDF[EN] Traditional gravity fed irrigation systems in Hispano communities in New Mexico, USA, are
referred to as acequias. Water scarcity is currently motivating negotiations between acequias and
municipalities over sharing agreements. Research on willingness to pay to protect and maintain acequias
is still scarce. These valuation data could be helpful to improve the quality of water resources decision
making and therefore rural development strategies in this region, which is relatively poor compared to
the US average. Data from an open-ended CVM survey are used to examine WTP for a program
designed to strengthen and perpetuate irrigation and culture on the acequias of El Río de las Gallinas, in
rural northeastern New Mexico. Results indicate that the community supports the program in general,
with higher levels of support among rural residents and Anglos.Raheem, N. (2015). Estimating Willingness to Pay to Protect Acequia Irrigation and Culture: Lessons from San Miguel County, NM. En Irrigation, Society and Landscape. Tribute to Tom F. Glick. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 963-987. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISL2014.2014.205OCS96398
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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