Tools for Environmental Systems Analysis: Using Environmental Indicators

An assignment for the course "Environmental Systems Analysis" (ESA 22806, November 2011)

Please read the instructions for each of the questions carefully and ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. It important that you answer all questions, even those you find difficult, because once all the answers from all students are received I do a cluster analysis to determine which people think alike. I cannot do such an analysis if you leave questions (partially) unanswered.

In case of problems contact David Niemeijer

Introduction

In this assignment for the course "Environmental Systems Analysis" you will learn more about the use of environmental indicators as a tool for environmental assessments. Indicators provide information on matters of wider significance than what is actually measured or make perceptible a trend or phenomenon that is not immediately detectable. Environmental indicators provide insight into the state and dynamics of the environment.

This assignment consists of three parts:

In the first part you will select the issues and indicators you find most important for environmental assessments. Imagine that this concerns a general environmental assessment and that you need to give your preferences without knowing the exact context, location or scale of the assessment.

In the second part you will develop a scoring method for comparing GHG emissions of a number of countries.

Finally, in the third part you will be asked to determine which indicators are respectively driving force, pressure, state, impact, and response indicators.

Your name, e-mail address, and country

Please enter your full name:

Please enter your e-mail address:

How old are you:

Are you male or female?

Male Female

Did you grow up in a city or in the countryside?

City Countryside

Please select your country of origin:

- United States of America Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France France, Metropolitan French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and Mc Donald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Pierre and Miquelon Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands (British) Virgin Islands (U.S.) Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe

Part 1

Question 1: What are the key environmental issues you think should be included in a general environmental assessment?

Please indicate which issues you find most important for general environmental assessment (enter a number indicating the rank for each of the aspects below, for example 1 Toxification, 2 Air quality, ... , 8 Waste generation; please assign each rank only once):

Question 2: What are the key environmental resources you think should be included in a general environmental assessment?

Please indicate which resources you find most important for a general environmental assessment (enter a number indicating the rank for each of the aspects below whereby 1 is the most important, 2 is the second most important and so on, for example 1 Soil resources, 2 Human health, ... , 8 Atmospheric resources; please assign each rank only once):

Question 3: What do you consider the best indicators for the issue of acidification?

Please indicate what you find the best indicators for the issue of acidification (enter a number indicating the rank for each of the aspects below whereby 1 is the best, 2 is the second best and so on, for example 1 SOx, NOx, NH3 emissions, ... , 3 SOx, NOx, NH3 concentrations; please assign each rank only once):

Question 4: What do you consider the best indicators for the issue of ozone depletion?

Please indicate what you find the best indicators for the issue of ozone depletion (enter a number indicating the rank for each of the aspects below whereby 1 is the best, 2 is the second best and so on, for example 1 CFC recovery, 2 Halocarbon emissions, ... , 9 Ground-level UV-B radiation; please assign each rank only once):

Question 5: What do you consider the best indicators for the issue of toxification?

Please indicate what you find the best indicators for the issue of toxification (enter a number indicating the rank for each of the aspects below whereby 1 is the best, 2 is the second best and so on, for example 1 Emissions of heavy metals, 2 Recovery of hazardous waste, ... , 9 % petrol unleaded; please assign each rank only once):

Question 6: What do you consider the best measurement for global warming?

Please indicate what you find the best way to measure global warming. In other words, what should be monitored to get insight in global warming (enter a number indicating the rank for each of the aspects below whereby 1 is the best, 2 is the second best and so on, for example 1 Mean air temperature, 2 Tropical glacier retreat, ... , 9 Precipitation; please assign each rank only once):

Part 2

Please find below some data on the emission of Greenhouse Gasses in the EU-15 countries. Emissions are reported in terms of CO2 equivalents for the years 1990 and 1998. CO2 equivalents combine data for CO2, N20 and CH4 emissions in a single figure. The table also provides some data on the Kyoto targets, the population in 1990 and 1998 and the GDP in 1998. Based on the data in this table an interactive exercise is provided below the table.

Based on the data in the above table it is possible to develop an indicator for evaluation of the relative Greenhouse Gasses emission performance of the EU-15 countries. There are various possibilities. For example, it is possible to look at the absolute data or to look at data relative to population or GDP. It is also possible to score countries relative to the Kyoto targets or to some base line value for 1990. In other words, plenty of possibilities. It is your task to experiment with the various indicators provided in the popup menus and to answer the two questions below (questions 7 and 8). Feel free to play with the different indicators and compare them side-by-side by selecting a different indicator for each if the two popup menus.

	Indicator1	Indicator2
Country	- CO2 equivalents 1990 CO2 equivalents 1998 CO2 equivalents per capita 1990 CO2 equivalents per capita 1998 CO2 equivalents per GDP 1998 CO2 equiv per cap. 1998 distance to Kyoto CO2 equiv per cap. 1990 compared to 1990 mean CO2 equiv per cap. 1998 compared to 1990 mean CO2 equiv per Cap. change between 1990-1998	- CO2 equivalents 1990 CO2 equivalents 1998 CO2 equivalents per capita 1990 CO2 equivalents per capita 1998 CO2 equivalents per GDP 1998 CO2 equiv per cap. 1998 distance to Kyoto CO2 equiv per cap. 1990 compared to 1990 mean CO2 equiv per cap. 1998 compared to 1990 mean CO2 equiv per Cap. change between 1990-1998
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom

N.B. Shorter bars are better (lower emissions of Greenhouse Gasses). The bars show the relative performance of the countries.

Question 7: What would you consider the worst and best indicators for evaluation of the Greenhouse Gasses emission performance of the EU-15 countries?

Question 8: What would you consider the least and best performing countries of the EU-15 in terms of Greenhouse Gasses emissions?

Part 3

Question 9: Which indicators do you consider driving force, pressure, state, impact, or response indicators?

Please indicate for each of the indicators listed below whether you consider them driving force, pressure, state, impact, or response indicators following the so-called DPSIR model/framework. If you do not know what the DPSIR framework is please consult the reader for this course which contains a paper called "Environmental indicators: Typology and overview" (or download it as a pdf file). The DPSIR framework is explained in that paper.

If you would like to make any comments, please do so here:

Before submitting your answers, please make sure that you completed all questions and filled out the entire form.