In the United Sates and around the world, electric power plants are among the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argued was the main cause of climate change and global warming. This dissertation explores the factors which may induce electricity producers to use biomass fuels for power generation and thereby mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Analyses in this dissertation suggest that there are two important factors which will play a major role in determining the future degree of bioelectricity production: the price of coal and the future price of carbon emissions. Using The Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model—Green House Gas version (FASOMGHG) in a case study examining the competitiveness of crop residues, this dissertation finds that crop residues currently cost much more than coal as an electricity generation feedstock because they have lower heat content and higher production /hauling costs. For them to become cost competitive with coal, the combined costs of production and hauling must be cut by more than half or the coal price needs to rise. In particular, for crop residues to have any role in electricity generation either the price of coal has to increase to about $43 per ton or the carbon equivalent price must rise to about $15 per ton. The simulation results also show that crop residues with higher heat content such as wheat residues will have greater opportunities in bioelectricity production than the residues with lower heat content. In addition, the analysis shows that improvements in crop yield do not have much impact on bioelectricity production. However, the energy recovery efficiency does have significant positive impact on the bioelectricity desirability but again only if the carbon equivalent price rises substantially. The analysis also shows the desirability of cofiring biomass as opposed to 100% replacement because this reduces haling costs and increases the efficiency of heat recovery. In terms of policy implications, imposing carbon emission restrictions could be an important step in inducing electric power producers to include biofuels in their fuelmix power generation portfolios and achieve significant greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Climate change is a topic of social and political commentary and controversy, and is a topic that will continue to be addressed by future scientists and laypersons alike. This report contains information and laboratory exercises for use in a greenhouse gas (GHG) and global warming potential (GWP) learning module, to be employed in secondary or entry level university engineering and environmental science curricula. Exercises include a hands-on experience with the greenhouse effect and calculations of GWP for 20-year and 100-year timeframes. / text

Degradation of permafrost in peatlands can convert forested peat plateaus to inundated collapse bogs. Due to increased unfrozen soil carbon stocks and more saturated conditions, collapse bogs can potentially be large emitters of methane. Using a network of bubble traps permanently installed in peat, I tested several hypotheses about controls on ebullition in collapse bogs with varying time since thaw in interior Alaska. Ebullition increased during the growing season, likely due to increased substrate availability and warmer soils. Bubbles were found primarily in shallow peat layers, and were dominated by modern carbon. Ebullition hot spots were associated with high sedge density throughout the collapse sites. Episodic ebullition occurred during atmospheric pressure changes. Overall, my study demonstrated that permafrost thaw in peatlands will result in methane emissions through ebullition that include both young and old carbon, contradictory to the generally accepted paradigm; that ebullition in peatlands is solely a surface process.

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effects of a campaign that Uppsalahem implemented in February 2013, in order to make their tenants consume less water. The result of the campaign is evaluated in terms of reduced water usage and reduced emissions of greenhouse gas related to the heating of the water through district heating. Four different residential areas in urban Uppsala, where Uppsalahem implemented their water saving campaign have been studied. All calculations are done in MATLAB. The results regarding water usage is presented in cubic meters and the greenhouse gas emissions are presented in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents. A sensitivity analysis of the data is performed in order to study natural occurring variances of water consumption over time. In order to determine which parameter has the greatest impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, a sensitivity analysis of the fuel mix used at the district heating power plant is made. The results show that there has been a reduction of water usage since after the campaign was implemented and the sensitivity analysis of the data indicates that there has been an especially large decrease in water consumption between the years 2012 and 2013. Further though, the results contain monthly irregularities in water usage in the different areas. This shows that the reduction of water consumption has not been temporally associated to the campaign, which indicates that the reduction might not be an effect of the campaign. Regarding carbon dioxide emissions, the sensitivity analysis indicates that the kind of fuel mix Vattenfall use at their district heating plant has a much greater impact than the individual water usage behaviors of the tenants.

Licentiatavhandling (sammanfattning) Västerås : Mälardalens högskola. / Härtill 5 uppsatser. S. 69-71: Bibliografi.

Thesis (M.S.) in Resource Economics and Policy--University of Maine, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-85).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bremen, 2009. / Includes bibliographic references (p. [301]-339).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 2, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Of the many changes humans have caused in coastal systems, excess nutrient loading is perhaps the most dramatic. Specifically, excess nitrogen (N) can lead to a series of negative consequences such as eutrophication, low oxygen conditions, and decreased biodiversity. Concurrent with changes in nutrient loading, coastal shellfish populations have been devastated through overharvesting, disease, and pollution. For example, oyster reefs – once a dominant feature along many coastlines – have been reduced by 85% of their historic range globally. Today, oysters are returning to coastal systems through restoration projects and a boom in aquaculture. Yet the impact of returning oysters to coastal systems is unknown. My dissertation helps to fill this major knowledge gap. Specifically, this dissertation focuses on the role oysters play in regulating coastal nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In chapter one, I estimated the GHG cost of protein production using oyster aquaculture. Using a combined field and laboratory approach, I quantified rates of N2O, CH4, and CO2 release from cultured oysters, and changes in sediment fluxes of these GHGs. On a kg CO2-equivalent kg-1 protein produced, oyster aquaculture has less than 0.5% of the GHG cost of terrestrial livestock production. In chapter two, I took advantage of an oyster aquaculture chronosequence to examine how organic matter loading from oysters altered sediment N cycling processes over time. I found that sediment fluxes under oyster aquaculture oscillated over time, shifting between N removal (N2) and recycling (NH4+) processes, demonstrating non-linear dynamics. In chapter three, I demonstrate that sediment N cycling processes in oyster habitats follow seasonal patterns of water column productivity, recording net denitrification in the spring following a phytoplankton bloom and net nitrogen-fixation in the fall. In chapter four, I use a meta-analysis approach to describe the role of oysters in regulating coastal nutrient recycling, removal of excess N, and GHG footprint. I show that in a biogeochemical context oyster reefs and aquaculture are interchangeable habitat that stimulate both N removal and recycling, with only a small GHG footprint.

The dynamic mutual relationship between the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon permit price and energy prices in the U.S. is examined. Results show that the RGGI and electricity markets are not closely linked, although the carbon permit price is usually closely interrelated with energy prices. The loose relationship between the RGGI and electricity markets can be explained by the recent low carbon credit demand which stems from the low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions existent in the particular area covered by the RGGI. The low GHG emissions result from fuel switching due to recent low natural gas prices. Unlike the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, natural gas is the key driver of the RGGI system.