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The US Department of Energy (DOE) is using the total fuel cycle analysis (TFCA) methodology to evaluate energy choices. The National Energy Strategy (NES) identifies TFCA as a tool to describe and quantify the environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits associated with energy alternatives. A TFCA should quantify inputs and outputs, their impacts on society, and the value of those impacts that occur from each activity involved in producing and using fuels, cradle-to-grave. New fuels and energy technologies can be consistently evaluated and compared using TFCA, providing a sound basis for ranking policy options that expand the fuel choices available to consumers. This study is limited to creating an inventory of inputs and outputs for three transportation fuels: (1) reformulated gasoline (RFG) that meets the standards of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) using methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE); (2) gasohol (E10), a mixture of 10% ethanol made from municipal solid waste (MSW) and 90% gasoline; and (3) E95, a mixture of 5% gasoline and 95% ethanol made from energy crops such as grasses and trees. The ethanol referred to in this study is produced from lignocellulosic material-trees, grass, and organic wastes -- called biomass. The biomass is converted to ethanol using an experimental technology described in more detail later. Corn-ethanol is not discussed in this report. This study is limited to estimating an inventory of inputs and outputs for each fuel cycle, similar to a mass balance study, for several reasons: (1) to manage the size of the project; (2) to provide the data required for others to conduct site-specific impact analysis on a case-by-case basis; (3) to reduce data requirements associated with projecting future environmental baselines and other variables that require an internally consistent scenario.

Among the sufficiency, efficiency, and renewable frameworks for reducing energy use and energy-related carbon emissions, Building Energy Sufficiency (BES) is gaining attention from policy makers and engineers. Despite the significant role of the building sector in the success of national energy and climate plans, there is a lack of research on the drivers, technologies, and effective policy instruments required to achieve BES in the building operational phase. To fill this gap, this study presents a systematic review of the definition and paradigm of BES and concludes that BES should address both occupant demand and energy or emissions requirements simultaneously. The characteristics of occupant demand in building services are divided into four dimensions: time and space, quality and quantity, control and adjustment, and flexibility. Technical options regarding the building architecture, the envelope system, and the building energy system are reviewed. Finally, policy implications and recommendations are discussed. The multiple benefits and multidisciplinary nature of BES justify further research and accelerated policy implementation in developed and developing countries.

Objectives Never-smoking women in Xuanwei (XW), China, have some of the highest lung cancer rates in the country. This has been attributed to the combustion of smoky coal used for indoor cooking and heating. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of cause-specific mortality in this unique population, including among those who use smokeless coal, considered ‘cleaner’ coal in XW, as this has not been well-characterised. Design Cohort study. Setting XW, a rural region of China where residents routinely burn coal for indoor cooking and heating. Participants Age-adjusted, cause-specific mortality rates between 1976 and 2011 were calculated and compared among lifetime smoky and smokeless coal users in a cohort of 42 420 men and women from XW. Mortality rates for XW women were compared with those for a cohort of predominately never-smoking women in Shanghai. Results Mortality in smoky coal users was driven by cancer (41%), with lung cancer accounting for 88% of cancer deaths. In contrast, cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounted for 32% of deaths among smokeless coal users, with 7% of deaths from cancer. Total cancer mortality was four times higher among smoky coal users relative to smokeless coal users, particularly for lung cancer (standardised rate ratio (SRR)=17.6). Smokeless coal users had higher mortality rates of CVD (SRR=2.9) and pneumonia (SRR=2.5) compared with smoky coal users. These patterns were similar in men and women, even though XW women rarely smoked cigarettes. Women in XW, regardless of coal type used, had over a threefold higher rate of overall mortality, and most cause-specific outcomes were elevated compared with women in Shanghai. Conclusions Cause-specific mortality burden differs in XW based on the lifetime use of different coal types. These observations provide evidence that eliminating all coal use for indoor cooking and heating is an important next step in improving public health particularly in developing countries.

There is a need to create competency among Extension professionals on the topic of climate change adaptation and mitigation in animal agriculture. The Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate online course provides an easily accessible, user-friendly, free, and interactive experience for learning science-based information on a national and regional level. The web-based curriculum is proving to be a useful tool and valuable resource for Extension educators in gaining knowledge and being better equipped to inform and influence livestock and poultry producers regarding climate issues.

Sustainability is currently one of the most important topics in higher education and curriculum development. As a connected and interdependent global community, we are facing increasingly complex and multidimensional socio-political, economic, and environmental challenges. It is clear that trans-disciplinary efforts are necessary to tackle sustainability. Integrating sustainability in educational curricula involves cultivating a way of thinking that is holistic and collaborative so that we can adequately prepare students to work across disciplines, sectors, institutions, and geographies. Problem-based learning, a student-centered learning approach that focuses on real-life problems and where students typically work in groups (Servant-Miklos et al., (2023)), was shown to be a good method for teaching students to engage with complex topics such as sustainability. Defining sustainability is a double act of communication across disciplines and planning for and imagining the future, which requires creativity and, at times, speculation. This act is made more difficult by the fact that there is a lack of consensus surrounding sustainability and through what means and metrics sustainability should be assessed (Horsbøl, 2023; Smith, 2019). How can we use often conflicting conceptions to imagine and design sustainable futures? How can transdisciplinarity inform education and equip future students with a sustainability mindset to face the challenges of their time? These are the core research questions that inform this special issue on Weaving Hybrid Futures: Sustainability in Higher Education with PBL Through Art, Science, and Robotics.

AbstractRecognition of the importance of intraspecific variation in ecological processes has been growing, but empirical studies and models of global change have only begun to address this issue in detail. This review discusses sources and patterns of intraspecific trait variation and their consequences for understanding how ecological processes and patterns will respond to global change. We examine how current ecological models and theories incorporate intraspecific variation, review existing data sources that could help parameterize models that account for intraspecific variation in global change predictions, and discuss new data that may be needed. We provide guidelines on when it is most important to consider intraspecific variation, such as when trait variation is heritable or when nonlinear relationships are involved. We also highlight benefits and limitations of different model types and argue that many common modeling approaches such as matrix population models or global dynamic vegetation models can allow a stronger consideration of intraspecific trait variation if the necessary data are available. We recommend that existing data need to be made more accessible, though in some cases, new experiments are needed to disentangle causes of variation.

Corn has six main varieties grown globally for animal feed, human consumption, and commercial/industrial purposes. Flour is an end-product of corn dry-milling. Products that are derived from corn flour often show differences in physical, chemical, and pasting properties due to corn varietal differences, milling methods, differences in flour particle sizes, and drying temperatures. The study aimed to determine the effect of different moisture contents of yellow dent corn and roller gap sizes, on the physical properties of the resulting corn flour. The possibility to use the flour in the manufacturing of animal feed and ethanol production was also considered. Yellow dent corn grain with moisture contents (MC) of 8%, 14.0%, and 18%, and roller gap sizes (GAP) of 0.1016 mm, 0.2032 mm, and 0.3048 mm were used. The Witt corrugated roller mill equipment with rollers of 1/32 inches corrugations was used to produce fine grits and flours. The particle sizes obtained were between 0.54 mm and 0.75 mm which increased with an increase in MC and GAP. Grain with 8% MC and GAP of 0.1016 mm and 0.2032 mm, and grain with 14.0% MC and GAP of 0.1016 mm can produce flour of particle sizes good for swine feed. Grain with 8% MC and GAP of 0.3048 mm and grain with 14.0.0% MC and GAP of 0.1016 mm and 0.2032 mm can produce flour of particle sizes good for ruminant feed. Grain with 18% MC and GAP of 0.1016 mm, and grain with 14.0% MC and GAP of 0.2032 mm can produce flour of particle sizes good for poultry feed. GAP of 0.1016 mm and 8% MC can produce flour of particle sizes suitable for the ethanol production industry. Flour preparation should purposely be done based on grain MC and GAP. The geometric mean diameter of particle sizes ranged from 0.54 mm-0.75 mm, and the geometric mean diameter of particle sizes increased with increasing MC and GAP. Also, grains with 8% MC had the highest loss in flour, and the higher moisture of 18% significantly affected the red color of flour.