Environment

• "Opportunities to Anticipate and Adapt to the Effects of Climate Change on Water Quality"

Citation: Scheraga, Joel D., “Opportunities to Anticipate and Adapt to the Effects of Climate Change on Water Quality,” in “Coping with Climate Change: National Summit Proceedings,” Rosina M. Bierbaum, Daniel G. Brown, and Jan L. McAlpine, editors, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, 2008, pp. 62-74.

Abstract: Climate change is affecting the global water cycle. As the earth warms, the hydrologic cycle is intensifying, leading to changes in the amount, timing, and distribution of precipitation. Also, it is leading to more extremes, such as intense storms and droughts. Combined with the direct effects of temperature on evapotranspiration and sea level rise, the availability and quality of water will be affected.

 

• "EPA's Global Change Research Program" 

Citation:  Scheraga, Joel D., and Ann Brown, EM: The Magazine for Environmental Managers, February 2008, 34-35.

Abstract:  The purpose of EPA's Global Change Research Program in the Office of Research and Development is to provide scientific information to stakeholders and policymakers to support them as they decide whether and how to respond to the risks and opportunities presented by global change. The program is assessment-oriented, with a primary focus on understanding the potential impacts of global change on air quality, water quality, ecosystems, and human health. The program uses the results of its assessments to investigate adaptation options to improve society's ability to effective respond to global change (particularly, climate variability and change), and to develop decision-support tools that can be used by resource managers coping with change.

• "Some Lessons Learned from Public Health on the Process of Adaptation"

Citation:  Ebi, Kristie L., Joel Smith, Ian Burton, and Joel Scheraga,  Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 2006, 11: 607-620.

Abstract:  Lessons learned from more than 150 years of public health research and intervention can provide insights to guide public health professionals and institutions as they design and implement specific strategies, policies, and measures to increase resilience to climate variability and change. This paper identifies both some modifications to public health systems that may enhance adaptive capacity, and lessons drawn from the history of managing environmental and other threats in the public health sector that may have relevance for other sectors as they design approaches to increase their adaptive capacity to more effectively cope with climate variability and change.

• Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Health Synthesis

Citation:  Carlos Corvalan, Simon Hales, Anthony McMichael, Colin Butler, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Ulisses Confalonieri, Kerstin Leitner, Nancy Lewis, Jonathan Patz, Karen Polson, Alistair Woodward, and Maged Younes, Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Health Synthesis (part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment), World Health Organization, France, 2005.

Abstract:  On December 9th, 2005, a report entitled, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis, was released by the World Health Organization as part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Dr. Joel Scheraga is one of the report authors. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was called for by United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000 in recognition of the fact that population growth and economic development are leading to rapid changes in our global ecosystems. The Health Synthesis represents an attempt to describe the complex links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural ecosystems and human health.

• Lessons learned and insights for adaptation policy

Citation:  Ebi, Kristie L., Joel Smith, Ian Burton, and Joel D. Scheraga, in Integration of Public Health with Adaptation to Climate Change: Lessons Learned and New Directions, A.A. Balkema Publishers - Taylor & Francis, The Netherlands, 2005.

 

 

Abstract:  The book pursued two lines of questioning through various case studies: (1) What modifications to public health systems might be necessary to enhance adaptive capacity to climate variability and change? (2) What lessons can be drawn from the history of managing environmental and other threats that can be applied to adaptation to climate variability and change? This chapter returns to these themes and summarizes lessons learned from the case studies that may be applicable to all sectors -- including public health -- likely to be affected by climate change. It then suggests new directions to take climate variability and change more fully into account when formulating strategies, policies, and measures.

• Climate change and human health: risks and responses

   

  Citation: McMichael, A.J., D. Campbell-Lendrum, C. Corvalan, K. Ebi, A. Githeko, J.D. Scheraga, A. Woodward, editors, World Health Organization, Geneva, December 2003.

Abstract: This book, co-edited by Joel Scheraga, describes the context and process of global climate change, its actual or likely impacts on health, and how societies and their governments could respond, with particular focus on the health sector.

                   A booklet summarizing the book is available online.

                            Read or download it for free by clicking here.

• "Climate change and water quality in the Great Lakes Basin: Risks, opportunities and responses"

  Citation:  Mortsch, L., M. Alden, and J.D. Scheraga, in Climate Change and Water Quality in the Great Lakes Basin, Report of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission, ISBN 1-894280-42-3, August 2003.

  Abstract:  Climate provides fundamental limits on and opportunities for human activities and ecosystem functioning within the Great Lakes region. A changing climate could lead to alterations in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods; water supply; air, soil, and water quality;  ecosystem health; human health; and resource use and the economy. Climate change may act through multiple pathways; interactions in and impacts on the Great Lakes ecosystem can be dynamic and non-linear. Within the Great Lakes watershed, there are already numerous stressors that cause ecosystem change including land use change, pollution, eutrophication, invasion of exotic species, and acid precipitation. A changing climate should be considered as another agent of change acting in concert with other ecosystem stresses. Recognizing that this emerging issue required a survey of the potential impacts and the ability to adapt, the Great Lakes Water Quality Board commissioned this white paper to explore the implications of a changing climate on the Great Lakes watershed.

• "Methods of assessing human health vulnerability and public health adaptation to climate change"

Citation:  Kovats, S., K.K. Ebi, and B. Menne, World Health Organization, Health and Global Environmental Change, Series No. 1, Rome, Italy, 2003.

Abstract:  This publication provides practical information to governments, health agencies and environmental and meteorological institutions in both industrialized and developing countries on how to assess vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and change at the regional, national and local levels. Flexible methods and tools are described to achieve better understanding of the risk of climate change for current and future generations and to enable policy makers to plan for measures, policies and strategies to cope with climate change. Dr. Scheraga was a Contributing Author to this publication.

• "The vulnerability of public water systems to sea level rise"

Citation:  Furlow, J., J.D. Scheraga, R. Freed, and K. Rock, in Proceedings of the Coastal Water Resource Conference, John. R. Lesnik (editor), American Water Resources Association, Middleburg, Virginia, TPS-02-1, 2002, 31-36.

Abstract:  Global average sea level is rising more rapidly as a result of climate change, posing risks to estuaries, aquifers, wetlands, lowlands, beaches, and infrastructure. This study assesses the potential impacts of sea level rise on drinking water systems along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts in the U.S. The focus is on drinking water system that rely on surface water in coastal areas. A multi-stage screening process and vulnerability assessment was developed and applied to a sample of about 500 systems. Results suggest that several million people are served by coastal surface water systems that are unprotected (by a dam or other structure) from sea-level rise. Five surface water systems serving over 100,000 people are ranked highly vulnerable to salt water intrusion, meaning they are unprotected and within a tidal fresh-water reach with estuarine wetlands nearby (indicating slightly saline water a short distance downstream).

• "From assessment to policy: Lessons learned from the U.S. National Assessment"

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D. and J. Furlow, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, Vol. 7, No. 5, 2001, 1227-1246.

  Abstract:   The process of translating scientific information into timely and useful insights that inform policy and resource management decisions, despite the existence of uncertainties, is a difficult and challenging task. Policy-focused assessment is one approach to achieving this end. It is an ongoing process that engages both researchers and end-users to analyze, evaluate and interpret information from multiple disciplines to draw conclusions that are timely and useful for decision makers. This paper discusses key characteristics of a policy-focused assessment process, including (1) ongoing collaboration between the research, assessment, and stakeholder communities; (2) a focus on stakeholder information needs; (3) multidisciplinary approaches; (4) use of scenarios to deal with uncertainties; and (5) evaluation of risk management options.

• "Risks, opportunities, and adaptation to climate change"

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D. and A.E. Grambsch, Climate Research, Vol. 10: 85-95, 1998.

  Abstract:  Adaptation is an important approach for protecting human health, ecosystems, and economic systems from the risks posed by climate variability and change, and for exploiting beneficial opportunities provided by a changing climate. This paper present 9 fundamental principles that should be considered when designing adaptation policy.

• "Environmental policy assessment in the 1990s"

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D. and A.E. Smith, Forum for Social Economics, Vol. 20, No. 1, Fall 1990, 33-39.

  Abstract:  Environmental issues are increasingly complex, with the focus shifting to global, multimedia, and very long-term concerns. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a few ways in which different components of the environmental policy assessment process need to evolve, and to outline several ways the process itself could be adjusted to emerging environmental management challenges.

Economics

• Discounting and environmental policy

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D., editor. Volume in the International Library of Environmental Economics and Policy series, Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003.

  Abstract:  Discounting is a valuable tool used by economists for comprising future and current economic values and, combined with benefit-cost analysis is particularly useful for evaluating the efficiency of short-term or intra-generational public policies and projects. It also plays a pivotal role in the formulation of environmental policies, especially those dealing with long-term, global environmental issues. This volume comprises articles by leading experts in the field and includes a comprehensive introduction by the editor, which provides an essential overview of the topic and analysis of each contribution.

• "The TEAM model for evaluating alternative adaptation strategies"

  Citation:  Herrod-Julius, Susan, and J.D. Scheraga, Research and Practice in Multiple Criteria Decision Making, Yacov Y. Haimes and Ralph E. Steuer, editors, Springer-Verlag, New York, 2000, 319-330.

  Abstract:  Advances is the scientific literature have focused attention on the need to develop adaptation strategies to reduce the risks, and take advantage of the opportunities, posed by climate change and climate variability. Adaptation needs to be considered as part of any response plan. But appropriate adaptive responses will vary across different geographic regions since the potential consequences of climate change and variability for human and natural systems will very regionally in scope and severity. The assessment of consequences and selection of appropriate adaptation strategies is a complex challenge for regional and local decision makers. This paper present a decision support software system called the Tool for Environmental Assessment and Management (TEAM) that has been developed to aid in these assessments. It employs a multi-criteria approach for evaluating actions to address climate change impacts.

• "The global climate policy evaluation framework (PEF)"

  Citation:  Cohan, D., R. Stafford, J.D. Scheraga, and S. Herrod, in Proceedings of the 1994 Annual Conference, Air & Waste Management Association, 1994.

Abstract:  The Policy Evaluation Framework (PEF) is a decision analysis tool that enables decision makers to continuously formulate policies that take into account existing uncertainties, and to refine policies as new scientific information is formulated. It is designed to provide a framework for integrating and evaluating the best available information form the diverse elements that influence climate policy. PEF encourages exploration of the policy implications of alternative technological, economic, physical, and biological assumptions and scenarios.

 

• "Costs and side benefits of using energy taxes to mitigate global climate change"

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D. and Neil A. Leary, National Tax Journal, 133-138, 1993.

  Abstract:  In this paper, the potential costs and side benefits of using different energy taxes to achieve stabilization of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, are examined.

• "Macroeconomic modeling and the assessment of climate change impacts"

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D., N. Leary, R. Goettle, D. Jorgenson, and P. Wilcoxen, in Costs, Impacts and Possible Benefits of CO₂ Mitigation, Y. Kaya, N. Nakicenovic, W.D. Nordhaus, and F.L. Toth, eds., IIASA Collaborative Paper Series, Vol. CP-93-2, June 1993, 107-132.

  Abstract:  The goal of this study is to gain additional insights about the sensitivity of U.S. economic activity to climate change. The study diverges from previous work by employing a general equilibrium framework to analyze selected impacts. Prior to this work, the limited research that had been conducted on the economic impacts and valuation of the effects of climate change had employed partial equilibrium frameworks. Partial equilibrium frameworks neglect potentially important interdependencies among the many choices made by households and firms. This study employs a general equilibrium framework to explore the importance of these interdependencies. Preliminary results of the explorations on this topic are presented in the paper.

   

• "Efficiency of climate change policy"

  Citation:  Scheraga, J.D. and N. Leary, Nature, Vol. 354, No. 21, November 1991, 193.

  Abstract:  This Scientific Correspondence  suggests that the problem of designing an efficient tax system to reduce CO₂ emissions is more complicated than indicated in the literature. Although existing studies have attempted to bound the likely range of taxes necessary to limit CO₂ emissions and the resulting macroeconomic impacts, little consideration has been made of variations in the cost and effectiveness of taxes as they are imposed at different levels of the market. This study examines the effectiveness of taxes on carbon and the energy content of fuels, and ad valorem taxes, to stabilize CO₂ emissions in the United States at 1990 levels.

•  "Discounting the benefits and costs of environmental regulations"

  Citation:  Kolb, J.A. and J.D. Scheraga, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 9, No. 3, Summer 1990, 381-390.

  Abstract:  This paper develops a two-stage procedure for discounting the benefits and costs of environmental regulations that is a variant of the shadow price of capital approach. Under this approach, the capital costs imposed by a regulation are annualized using the marginal rate of return on capital and then both benefits and costs are discounted using the social rate of time preference. This approach yields results that differ significantly from those of conventional discounting when benefits occur with a substantial lag or when benefits are long term.

• "Perspectives on government discounting policies"

  Citation:  J.D. Scheraga, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Vol. 18, 1990, 65-71.

  Abstract: There is continued debate over the choice of an appropriate discounting policy for federal agencies. Despite an extensive literature, a consensus does not yet exist on an appropriate procedure for discounting the costs and benefits of government programs and regulations, nor on the choice of discount rates for use with any particular procedure.  Although the debate continues, several conclusions emerge. First, there does not exist a single discounting procedure that is appropriate for the analysis of all government actions. Second, advances have been made in the literature that permit one to identify discounting procedures that clearly dominate over others in particular circumstances. Third, many discounting procedures are subject to manipulation. The outcomes from these procedures are sensitive to the way in which they are implemented and to the choice of discount rates. This can lead to manipulation of outcomes by an analyst. This poses a dilemma for policymakers who strive to formulate more sophisticated (yet tractable) guidelines for discounting that are consistent with fundamental economic principles, yet want to minimize the possibility of manipulation by imposing uniform discounting procedures on most federal agencies.