"Energy literacy" is of great interest to those researching sustainable consumption, particularly with regard to its relationship to domestic energy use. This paper reflects on the pedagogic aspects of fieldwork recently carried out by undergraduate geography students in their own homes to assess energy-related technologies and…

Teacher candidates conducted field hours in the nation's first net zero school, which uses the same amount of energy, measured annually, as it produces. These teacher candidates saw firsthand integration of the net zero advantages by completing a Collaborative Research Project and a Net Zero Lesson, which incorporated the use of the net zero…

The University of San Diego (USD) and Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) are licensing the sun. Both California schools are generating solar power on campus without having to sink large amounts of capital into equipment and installation. By negotiating power purchasing agreements (PPAs) with Amsolar and Perpetual Energy Systems, respectively,…

The reality of global climate change, due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, is upon us. A significant source of emissions comes from the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy that is consumed in every aspect of daily life. As such, the human ecological link between how we live and our impact on the planet is at the…

In this thesis, we consider estimation, coding, and sensor scheduling for energy efficient operation of wireless visual sensor networks (VSN), which consist of battery-powered wireless sensors with sensing (imaging), computation, and communication capabilities. The competing requirements for applications of these wireless sensor networks (WSN)…

Dialogue with stakeholders has been recognized as an effective educational strategy for addressing complex topics such as climate change. We report here on the Carbon, Energy, and Climate fishbowl discussion series developed by Michigan State University Extension to assist the state's agricultural community in understanding and adapting to the…

This article describes current practices and needs associated with water and gas conservation among Southern California greenhouse growers, Post-Harvest Processors (PHPs), and agricultural associations. Two communication forums were held with the goal of educating the local gas company and small growers and PHPs on the most compelling needs and…

This report examines estimates of school infrastructure needs and discusses the federal role in financing early childhood facilities, elementary and secondary (K-12) public school infrastructure, and postsecondary educational facilities. Federal programs that provide support for school construction and renovation are organized in this report…

Harnessing energy from the tides is a much-promoted but rarely realised way of generating electricity. This article examines some of the systems that are currently in use or under development, and outlines their economic, environmental and technical implications.

Measuring the energy and environmental impact of residential energy education efforts is difficult. The E-Conservation residential energy management program uses consumer energy kits to document the impact of energy-efficient improvements. The consumer energy kit provides an incentive for individuals attending energy education workshop, helps…

The 2016 Thought Leaders symposium, supported in part by long-time sponsor Jacobs, focused on "Remaking the Facilities Organization." The report makes the case for a customer-centric higher education facilities organization. Experts provide their insights on how a focus on the customer provides a framework for driving change. The…

This report provides nationally representative data on the condition of public school facilities. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) previously collected data on this topic in 1999 (Lewis et al. 2000). The study presented in this report collected information about the condition of public school facilities in the 2012-13 school…

Press reports and industry statistics both give incomplete pictures of the outcomes of the Great Recession for U.S. four-year colleges and universities. To address these gaps, we conducted a statistical analysis of all articles that appeared in Lexis-Nexis on a sample of more than 300 U.S. colleges and universities during the Recession years. We…

Glazing can be optimized to enhance passive solar heating and daylight harvesting by exceeding the prescriptive limits of the energy code. This savings can be garnered without the high cost of external overhangs or expensive glazing products. The majority of savings from solar glazing are attributable to the increase in solar heating and…

Recent experience of food price volatility in global markets encourages closer examination of the dynamics underlying the global food system and reveals a range of contingent factors. Meanwhile a common thread of many recent expert reports has emphasised the need to intensify agricultural production to double food output by 2050. Drawing upon a…