Genetically Engineered Crops: A Study of Major Environmental Implications and U.S. Policy

The adoption of genetically modified crops is becoming evermore common in United States agriculture. However, this relatively new technology carries a negative stigma and perceived risks that have resulted commonly in public disapproval. In the United States, bioengineered crops are highly regulated. The significance of environmental benefits such as decreased chemical impact, increased soil conservation, heightened carbon sequestration, decreased energy demands, and reduced air emissions, are important enough to warrant a revision to U.S. policy. The U.S. policy structure needs to be simplified and made more efficient to better facilitate the speed with which new GE products can, and should, be developed while still providing adequate mitigation of potential environmental risks such as species invasiveness and impacts on non-target species.

Renewable Energy Generation at Copper Mountain Resort

Copper Mountain, a Colorado ski area, evaluated onsite renewable energy generation to save on energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. Multiple resort locations were analyzed to determine suitable sites for implementation of solar electricity generation, wind electricity generation and biomass heat production. Potential project sites were assessed based on four criteria: costs and financial returns, environmental impacts, implementation and maintenance, and public relations/marketing opportunities. Solar projects had the lowest capital cost of the three types of renewable energy, and wind projects had high capital costs and low financial returns. Biomass projects had high capital costs, solid financial projections and good marketing value compared to wind and solar technologies. Project implementation recommendations were given based upon the evaluation.

Renewable Energy Systems in the City of Northglenn: Draft Zoning Ordinance and Resident Pamphlet

Recent federal incentives and increased demand for home photovoltaic and small wind electrical systems highlights the need for consistent zoning ordinances and guidance materials for Northglenn residents. This Capstone Project assesses perceived impacts related to renewable energy systems, like noise, safety, aesthetics, and environmental considerations, and provides a model ordinance intended to mitigate these issues. It was concluded a model ordinance would ease and stimulate additions of alternative energy systems in Northglenn. Additionally, this research concluded development of public information could stimulate homeowners into positive decisions. The project also identifies potential financial and environmental benefits of installing such systems in an effort to promote sustainable and clean energy production within the city.

Renewable Energies and Community Associations: Providing Homeowners with Renewable Energy Options

As energy costs increase in Colorado more homeowners will need renewable energies to provide electricity, heating and cooling for their homes. Renewable energy technology and energy efficient measures have been available for decades but Homeowner Associations (HOA) has not permitted this technology into communities primarily because of aesthetics. In April 2008, House Bill 1270 was signed into law that gives homeowners the right to make their homes more energy efficient and install renewable energy generation devices. The purpose of this capstone is to enable HOAs with information on available technology and design guideline options that can be integrated into communities and thus encourage, instead of hinder, the use of renewable energy and energy efficient measures.

Alternative Energy at a Steel Mill

More than ever alternative energy solutions are being discussed including potential legislative action. With the use of fossil fuels being the most abundant and most controversial sources of energy, new solutions must be found. This paper looks at the economic and technical feasibility of different types of alternative energy and cogeneration applications within a steel mill. This paper examines alternative energy systems. The systems examined include Solar systems, thermal electric materials, and an Organic Rankine Cycle cogeneration project. None of the projects has limiting technical feasibility issues however each of the projects face economically limiting factors. Taking into account tangible and non-tangible factors the solar system and Organic Rankine Cycle cogeneration project are recommended for further study and potential installation.

Trees as Tools in Environmental Improvement; An Analysis of the Contribution of Vegetation to Energy and Water Conservation in the Front Range of Colorado

The Denver metropolitan area is facing rapid population growth that increases the stress on already limited resources. Research and advanced computer modeling show that trees, especially those in urban areas, have significant environmental benefits. These benefits include air quality improvements, energy savings, greenhouse gas reduction, and possible water conservation. This Capstone Project applies statistical methods to analyze a small data set of residential homes and their energy and water consumption, as a function of their individual landscape. Results indicate that tree shade can influence water conservation, and that irrigation methods can be an influential factor as well. The Capstone is a preliminary analysis for future study to be performed by the Institute for Environmental Solutions in 2007.

The Global Carbon Pricing Policy Solution to Climate Change

While the topic of climate change is controversial, the world needs to take a precautionary approach to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. With growing populations and increasing energy demands, solutions to cleaner energy need to be developed and implemented. In order to successfully reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a global carbon pricing policy needs to be developed that includes all countries and allows each region to utilize the best clean energy technology options along with economic incentives that will be the most effective. The research conducted in this project validates the hypothesis that placing a monetary price on carbon will allow natural, technological, and financial resources to come together to implement a feasible energy solution that will reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.

Sustainable Energy Plan for a Small Island Economy: St. Vincent & the Grenadines

This paper defines a sustainable energy plan to provide the basis for renewable energy initiatives that will increase energy security, reduce negative economic impacts and provide a cleaner environment. The hotel, agriculture, transportation, construction, utility, government and private sectors will play pivotal roles in achieving targets and will see significant gains. Government policies, educational campaigns and financial incentives will be required to facilitate and encourage renewable energy development and entrepreneurship. Utilization of solar energy, energy conservation measures and the use of efficient and alternative fuel vehicles by the commercial/industrial and private sectors will be crucial in meeting targets. The utility company will be charged with developing large scale renewable energy applications and with improving efficiency of the electrical system.

Brazilian climate policy since 2005: continuity, change and prospective. CEPS Working Document No. 373, February 2013

In the five-year period 2005-09, Brazil has dramatically reduced carbon emissions by around 25% and at the same time has kept a stable economic growth rate of 3.5% annually. This combination of economic growth and emissions reduction is unique in the world. The driver was a dramatic reduction in deforestation in the Amazonian forest and the Cerrado Savannah. This shift empowered the sustainability social forces in Brazil to the point that the national Congress passed (December 2009) a very progressive law internalising carbon constraints and promoting the transition to a low-carbon economy. The transformation in Brazil’s carbon emissions profile and climate policy has increased the potentialities of convergence between the European Union and Brazil. The first part of this paper examines the assumption on which this paper is based, mainly that the trajectory of carbon emissions and climate/energy policies of the G20 powers is much more important than the United Nations multilateral negotiations for assessing the possibility of global transition to a low-carbon economy. The second part analyses Brazil’s position in the global carbon cycle and public policies since 2005, including the progressive shift in 2009 and the contradictory dynamic in 2010-12. The final part analyses the potential for a transition to a low-carbon economy in Brazil and the impact in global climate governance.

EU Policy on Climate Change Mitigation since Copenhagen and the Economic Crisis. CEPS Working Document No. 380, 5 March 2013

The EU has long assumed leadership in advancing domestic and international climate change policy. While pushing its partners in international negotiations, it has led the way in implementing a host of domestic measures, including a unilateral and legally binding target, an ambitious policy on renewable energy and a strategy for low-carbon technology deployment. The centrepiece of EU policy, however, has been the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), a cap-and-trade programme launched in 2005. The ETS has been seen as a tool to ensure least-cost abatement, drive EU decarbonisation and develop a global carbon market. After an initial review and revision of the ETS, to come into force in 2013, there was a belief that the new ETS was ‘future-proof’, meaning able to cope with the temporary lack of a global agreement on climate change and individual countries’ emission ceilings. This confidence has been shattered by the simultaneous ‘failure’ of Copenhagen to deliver a clear prospect of a global (top-down) agreement and the economic crisis. The lack of prospects for national caps at the international level has led to a situation whereby many member states hesitate to pursue ambitious climate change policies. In the midst of this, the EU is assessing its options anew. A number of promising areas for international cooperation exist, all centred on the need to ‘raise the ambition level’ of GHG emission reductions, notably in aviation and maritime, short-lived climate pollutions, deforestation, industrial competitiveness and green growth. Public policy issues in the field of technology and its transfer will require more work to identify real areas for cooperation.

Next steps toward a final deal with Iran. CEPS Policy Brief No. 316, 14 February 2014

On January 20th, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran had been implementing its commitments as part of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) agreed with the so-called ‘E3+3’ in Geneva (also known as P5+1) on 24 November 2013. The forging of this interim deal, the successful start to its implementation and the temporary sanctions relief represent resounding success for international diplomacy but they should not be allowed to conceal the underlying issues. Reaching agreement on the JPA was achieved at the cost of clarity over what is to follow and it was decided to eschew a structured agreement in favour of a two-step process. The stated aim of the negotiating parties remains that of starting the implementation of a comprehensive solution by November 2014. If agreement is not reached on a comprehensive solution by the expiry of the JPA by July 20th, the action plan can be renewed by mutual consent. The latter might well be the likeliest outcome of the forthcoming negotiations. Apart from the large gap between the E3+3 and Iranian positions on the substance of a final deal, several domestic policy constraints will likely define the parameters of what is achievable in the future. This CEPS Policy Brief argues that the best hope for success lies in continued engagement and consistent incremental progress in the negotiations, with structured concessions on both sides. This should occur, however, not in a two- but a three-step framework based on lengthening Iran’s ‘breakout’ period while re-engaging with the country both politically and economically. The EU is in a unique position to lead this process. Having greater flexibility than either the US or Iran, its main tasks will be that of maintaining the negotiating momentum and broadening dialogue with Iran.

Ukraine: Can meaningful reform come out of conflict? Bruegel Policy Contribution 2014/08, August 2014

Apart from threats to its national security and territorial integrity, Ukraine faces serious economic challenges. These result from the slow pace of economic and institutional reform in the previous two decades, the populist policies of the Yanukovych era and the consequences of the conflict with Russia. The new Ukrainian authorities have made pro-reform declarations, but these do not seem to be supported sufficiently by concrete policy measures, especially in the critical areas of fiscal, balance-of-payment and structural adjustment. Also, the international financial aid package granted to Ukraine has not been accompanied by sufficiently strong policy conditionality. Ukraine urgently needs a complex programme of far-reaching economic and institutional reform, which will include both short-term fiscal and macroeconomic adjustment measures and medium- to long-term structural and institutional changes. Energy subsidies and the low retirement age are the two critical policy areas that require adjustment to avoid sovereign default and a balance-of-payments crisis.

The parliamentary elections in Ukraine: new hope? EPC Policy Brief, 21 October 2014

Ukraine’s parliamentary elections on 26 October 2014 seem set to be the most important and most challenging the country has ever held. For the first time in Ukraine’s history, the presidential election of Petro Poroshenko in May gave many Ukrainians new hope. His victory seemed to unite the country, being the first president to have won in most of the regions despite the ongoing conflict in the East. However, with many corrupt elites still in power, reforms have become hostage to vested interests and in-fighting which has raised fears of ‘business as usual’. This has made this election campaign set against a backdrop of serious challenges dominating the agenda for the foreseeable future. In this policy brief, Amanda Paul and Svitlana Kobzar explore the status of the reform agenda needed for a stable and democratic Ukraine as well as the challenges in the run up to the election including corruption, energy and EU relations.

Moldova – Heading into a hot autumn. EPC Policy Brief, 6 October 2014

After four years of negotiations, Moldova signed an Association Agreement (AA) including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement with the European Union (EU) on 27 June 2014. Ratified in the Moldovan Parliament on 2 July it came into provisional application on 1 September. While this development represents an important milestone in Moldova’s relations with the EU, the journey has not been easy. Russia has increased its presence and pressure in the region, as the country gets closer to bettering relations with the EU, Russia has increased its activities in Moldova, including in the autonomous region of Gagauzia and in the breakaway region of Transnistria. Alongside pressure from Russia, the next few months will be very politically challenging for Moldova, with internal and external developments continuing to shape Moldova’s future. Not only will Chisinau need to move ahead with the difficult and expensive implementation of the DCFTA, the ruling coalition simultaneously needs to campaign for the elections with very importantly, a united front. In this Policy Brief, Amanda Paul presents the state of play and the prospects of Moldova since signing the Association Agreement with the EU and explores the effects of Russian bans on exports and services, access to energy and trade as well as the role of the EU

Trudny "Sojusznik" Bialorus w polityce Rosji. Prace OSW 2008. = Difficult "ally." Belarus in Russia's foreign policy. OSW Study 28/2008

Belarus holds a special position in Russian policy due to its geopolitical, military and transit significance. Russia's influence and position in the entire Eastern European region largely depend on how strong Russian influence in Belarus is. The process of Russian-Belarusian integration began in 1994, when Alyaksandr Lukashenka came to power in Minsk. At the time, Russia's policy towards Belarus was based on twomain assumptions. Firstly, the Kremlin supported Lukashenka's authoritarian regime. This allowed Russia to keep Belarus within its orbit of political influence and prevent other states from getting involved, since an undemocratic Belarus could not count on closer contacts with the West. Secondly, Russia heavily subsidised Belarus with cheap energy resources (way below the market price) and allowed the duty-free access of Belarusian goods to its market. Thus Belarus became a kind of 'sponsored authoritarianism' with a specific economic model, owing its existence to Russia's economic and political support. At the same time, Moscow's key objective in its policy towards Belarus was to make Minsk accept the Russian conditions concerning integration, which would in fact lead to Belarus' incorporation by the Russian Federation. However, Belarus managed to maintain its sovereignty, while Alyaksandr Lukashenka bandied the term 'integration' about in order to maintain the preferential model of his state's relations with Russia. Russia's intention to alter the nature of these bilateral relations became evident when Vladimir Putin took power in 2000. However, Moscow faced Minsk's refusal to accept the Russian integration plan (which, among other measures, provided for the takeover of Belarusian economic assets by Russian companies). This forced Russia to use its main tool against Minsk: the supplies of cheap gas and oil that had been sustaining Belarus' archaic economy. The most serious crisis in Russian-Belarusian relations broke out at the beginning of 2007, following Moscow's decision to raise the energy resource prices. This decision marked the beginning of the application of market principles to settlements between Moscow and Minsk. The key question this study is meant to answer concerns the consequences of the aforementioned decision by Russia for future Russian-Belarusian relations. Are they at a turning point? What are Russia's policy objectives? What results can come from the process of moving mutual relations onto an economic footing? What policy will replace Russia's 'sponsoring of Belarusian authoritarianism', which it has been implementing since 1994? Finally, what further measures will Russia undertake towards Belarus? The current study consists of five chapters. The first chapter offers a brief presentation of Belarus' significance and position in Russian policy. The second analyses the development of Russian-Belarusian political relations, first of all the establishment of the Union State, Belarus' position in Russian domestic policy and Russia's influence on Belarusian policy. The third chapter presents bilateral economic relations, primarily energy issues. The fourth chapter describes the state and perspectives of military cooperation between the two states. The fifth chapter presents conclusions, where the author attempts to define the essence of the ongoing re-evaluation in Russian-Belarusian relations and to project their future model.