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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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Amazon Land Wars in the South of Para

The South of Para, located in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, has become notorious for violent land struggle. Although land conflict has a long history in Brazil, and today impacts many parts of the country, violence is most severe and persistent here. The purpose of this article is to examine why. Specifically, we consider how a particular Amazonian place, the so-called South of Para has come to be known as Brazil's most dangerous badland. We begin by considering the predominant literature, which attributes land conflict to the frontier expansion process with intensified struggle emerging in the face of rising property values and demand for private property associated with capitalist development. From this discussion, we distill a concept of the frontier, based on notions of property rights evolution and locational rents. We then empirically test the persistence of place-based violence in the region, and assess the frontier movement through an analysis of transportation costs. The findings from the analyses indicate that the prevalent theorization of frontier violence in Amazonia does little to explain its persistent and pervasive nature in the South of Para. To fill this gap in understanding, we develop an explanation based the geographic conception of place, and we use contentious politics theory heuristically to elucidate the ways in which general processes interact with place specific history to engender a landscape of violence. In so doing, we focus on environmental, cognitive, and relational mechanisms (and implicated structures), and attempt to deploy them in an explanatory framework that allows direct observation of the accumulating layers of the region's tragic history. We end by placing our discussion within a political ecological context, and consider the implications of the Amazon Land War for the environment.

Simmons, Cynthia S.↗

Participatory Climate Research in a Dynamic Urban Context: Activities of the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN)

The Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN), one of ten NOAA-RISAs, supports resilience efforts in the urban corridor stretching from Philadelphia to Boston. Challenges and opportunities include the diverse set of needs in broad urban contexts, as well as the integration of interdisciplinary perspectives. CCRUN is addressing these challenges through strategies including: 1) the development of an integrated project framework, 2) stakeholder surveys, 3) leveraging extreme weather events as focusing opportunities, and 4) a seminar series that enables scientists and stakeholders to partner. While recognizing that the most extreme weather events will always lead to surprises (even with sound planning), CCRUN endeavors to remain flexible by facilitating place-based research in an interdisciplinary context.

extreme events↗

Evaluating the success of treatments that slow spread of an invasive insect pest

BACKGROUND Treatments for the suppression and eradication of insect populations undergo substantial testing to ascertain their efficacy and safety, but the generally limited spatial and temporal scope of such studies limit knowledge of how contextual factors encountered in operational contexts shape the relative success of pest management treatments. These contextual factors potentially include ecological characteristics of the treated area, or the timing of treatments relative to pest phenology and weather events. We used an extensive database on over 1000 treatments of nascent populations of Lymantria dispar (L.) (gypsy moth) to examine how place-based and time-varying conditions shape the success of management treatments. RESULTS We found treatment success to vary across states and years, and to be highest in small treatment blocks that are isolated from other populations. In addition, treatment success tended to be lower in treatment blocks with open forest canopies, possibly owing to challenges of effectively distributing treatments in these areas. CONCLUSIONS Our findings emphasize the importance of monitoring for early detection of nascent gypsy moth colonies in order to successfully slow the spread of the invasion. Additionally, operations research should address best practices for effectively treating with patchy and open forest canopies. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Jonathan A Walter↗