• Energy Research
• 2016-2025close
• University of North Texas close

This dissertation investigates the effects of natural disasters and political institutions on municipalities' climate change policies. Although most theoretical frameworks on policy adoption highlight the roles of extreme events as exogenous factors influencing policy change, most studies tend to focus on the effects of extreme events on policy change at the national level. Additionally, the existing theoretical frameworks explaining local policy adoption and public service provision do not pay attention to the roles of extreme events in local governments' policy choices. To fill those gaps, this dissertation explores the roles of natural disasters and political institutions on municipal governments' climate change policies. It does this by applying the theory of focusing events to local climate mitigation and adaptation actions. Based on the policy change framework, the political market model, and the institutional collective action frameworks, this dissertation develops and tests hypotheses to examine the effects of natural disasters and political institutions on municipalities' climate mitigation and adaptation policies. The dissertation uses 2010 National League of Cities (NLC) sustainability surveys and the 2010 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) sustainability survey to test the hypotheses. Analytical results show that floods and droughts influence local climate change policies and suggest that local governments can take advantage of extreme events when initiating a policy change. The results also suggest that political institutions can shape the effects of natural disasters on municipalities' climate mitigation and adaptation actions.

This study investigates how the structural mix of USA regional economies affects their volatility of economic growth. Four exogenous sectors are chosen for this investigation: Federal Government, construction, manufacturing, and tourism. Perhaps unsurprisingly, evidence suggests that a larger share of Federal Government employment in an economy reduces the variability of overall employment growth, while a larger share of construction activity elevates it. More telling is a finding that, recently, manufacturing has not contributed as much to such variability, and that a larger tourism presence increases it. The increasing integration of technology in tourism offers significant opportunities for a network approach and innovation in regional development.

Vanadium-containing glasses have aroused interest in several fields such as electrodes for energy storage, semiconducting glasses, and nuclear waste disposal. The addition of V2O5, even in small amounts, can greatly alter the physical properties and chemical durability of glasses; however, the structural role of vanadium in these multicomponent glasses and the structural origins of these property changes are still poorly understood. We present a comprehensive study that integrates advanced characterizations and atomistic simulations to understand the composition-structure-property relationships of a series of vanadium-containing aluminoborosilicate glasses. UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) have been used to investigate the complex distribution of vanadium oxidation states as a function of composition in a series of six-component aluminoborosilicate glasses. High-energy X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to extract the detailed short- and medium-range atomistic structural information such as bond distance, coordination number, bond angle, and network connectivity, based on recently developed vanadium potential parameters. It was found that vanadium mainly exists in two oxidation states: V5+ and V4+, with the former being dominant (∼80% from XANES) in most compositions. V5+ ions were found to exist in 4-, 5-, and 6-fold coordination, while V4+ ions were mainly in 4-fold coordination. The percentage of 4-fold-coordinated boron and network connectivity initially increased with increasing V2O5 up to around 5 mol % but then decreased with higher V2O5 contents. The structural role of vanadium and the effect on glass structure and properties are discussed, providing insights into future studies of sophisticated structural descriptors to predict glass properties from composition and/or structure and aiding the formulation of borosilicate glasses for nuclear waste disposal and other applications.

Abstract Beginning in the 2000s, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region became home to the world's largest and longest experiment in urban shale gas production, with 25,182 drilling permits issued from 2000 to 2016 in the Barnett Shale. Urban hydrocarbon governance centered on establishing statutory setback distances between drilling sites and nearest houses or other protected uses. Here we analyze qualitative interview data obtained with a rigorous sampling frame to examine processes and outcomes of municipal-level hydrocarbon governance. We find that early municipal responses (2001–2002) revealed lack of technical expertise to respond to unconventional drilling and production. Controversial wells, which residents considered too close to houses, focused governance debates in several municipalities. Municipal policymakers reported that protecting public health and safety were top priorities in determining setbacks. After 2003, policymakers copied ordinance language from neighboring municipalities and established task forces and working groups to reduce political tensions. The role of the hydrocarbon industry included frequent claims seeking to exploit the longstanding separation of mineral and property estates, which encouraged municipalities to reduce setbacks and lower potential exposure to regulatory takings lawsuits. Over time, municipal regulatory power in hydrocarbon governance decreased while industry power increased, offering several implications for corporate responsibility and social license debates.

This report discusses the amendments to the federal standards that regulate fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new passenger cars and light trucks. The amendments were proposed by the Trump Administration on August 24, 2018.

This paper contributes an inclusive review of scientific studies in the field of sustainable human building ecosystems (SHBEs). Reducing energy consumption by making buildings more energy efficient has been touted as an easily attainable approach to promoting carbon-neutral energy societies. Yet, despite significant progress in research and technology development, for new buildings, as energy codes are getting more stringent, more and more technologies, e.g., LED lighting, VRF systems, smart plugs, occupancy-based controls, are used. Nevertheless, the adoption of energy efficient measures in buildings is still limited in the larger context of the developing countries and middle income/low-income population. The objective of Sustainable Human Building Ecosystem Research Coordination Network (SHBE-RCN) is to expand synergistic investigative podium in order to subdue barriers in engineering, architectural design, social and economic perspectives that hinder wider application, adoption and subsequent performance of sustainable building solutions by recognizing the essential role of human behaviors within building-scale ecosystems. Expected long-term outcomes of SHBE-RCN are collaborative ideas for transformative technologies, designs and methods of adoption for future design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings.

This report discusses the electric power grid of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands which were mainly destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria with Puerto Rico being the hardest hit power grid. The report mainly concerns previous and current efforts to create long-term comprehensive energy plans for insular areas such as Puerto Rico and some of the challenges encountered in doing so.

“Rethinking learning in the digital age” was the theme of EDUsummIT 2017, which was held in Borovets, Bulgaria in September, 2017. Approximately 100 policy makers, practitioners and researchers met to discuss key topics in nine Thematic Working Groups. These topics were: (1) education systems in the digital age: the need for alignment; (2) informal learning with technology; (3) professional development for technology-enhanced learning leaders; (4) digital agency to empower equity in the classroom; (5) formative assessment supported by technology; (6) developing creativity in teachers and learners; (7) learning from national policy experiences;(8) upbringing in a digital world: opportunities and possibilities of schooling, and (9) sustainability and scalability of technology integration initiatives. In this special issue we present the scholarly articles that were written after EDUsummIT 2017, based on discussions within the Thematic Working Groups during the meeting itself. We also present the Call to Action that was consolidated from the closing statements of the nine EDUsummIT 2017 Thematic Working Groups.