When considered as an ecosystem, the Great Lakes are experiencing warmer water, changing water levels, a longer ice-free season, and earlier spring runoff. Invasive species are on the move, and there are active efforts to manage and control their migration. This is all taking place in a human-managed landscape that consists of large urban areas, rural–urban interfaces, and rural–wildland interfaces. To be successful in addressing these challenges, solutions will need to take into account the social, economic, and cultural factors involved, as well as natural needs of the area. The broader need for ecological restoration in what is now a human-dominated landscape is not unique to the Great Lakes.

Environmental issues know no boundaries. Most situations are not only interdisciplinary but international in scope. The National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) publishes its China issue recognizing that environmental issues know no boundaries and that environmental professionals can learn from both the problems and the opportunities found in other nations.

Yes, many of you completed Scarlett O'Hara's famous quote with Rhett Butler's famous retort. I get that. After all of my presidential messages in this journal, you are all ready to move on. However, I am planning to stick around. The progress of the last four years has excited me, so I am ready to do more things to help our Association grow. There are committees that need more volunteer help. I will still be around.

The water rich will likely get richer, and the water poor will get poorer. This is the conclusion of an article that I just read about how rising greenhouse gases crank up the water cycle. By measuring ocean salinities, Durack, Wijffels, and Matear (2012) were able to show that the global water cycle has intensified from 1950 to 2000. In brief, their evidence suggests that a strengthening greenhouse will increase precipitation where it is already high and decrease it where it is already low. A change in freshwater availability in response to climate change is a much greater problem than warming of the temperature. This has obvious implications for the western United States and those transition zones such as the Great Plains, which are mostly too dry already.

During the past four years, the United States (US) government has taken unprecedented action to protect and restore the Great Lakes. In 2009, President Barack Obama launched the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to coordinate the work of 16 federal agencies that implement over 140 separate Great Lakes programs and to supplement the resources they need to do their jobs. A growing number of members of Congress from the Great Lakes region—from both sides of the aisle—stepped forward to support and sustain the Initiative. Then, in 2012, the US and Canada amended the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to address climate change, invasive species, and other environmental threats that that were not even acknowledged when the agreement was last updated 25 years ago.

Over the last three decades, China's rapid economic expansion has lifted millions of people out of poverty and returned China to prominence on the international stage. At the same time, however, it has done tremendous damage to the natural environment. A quick look at the headlines in the first half 2013 indicate the extent of China's environmental challenge. In January, Beijing experienced an “airpocalypse” during which a thick smog enveloped the city and sent pollution readings quite literally off the charts. In the spring, thousands of dead pigs washed up on the shores of the Huangpu River in Shanghai. Shortly thereafter, authorities in China arrested more than 900 people for meat-related crimes. The arrests included merchants at local farmers markets who misleadingly sold rat meat tainted with unsafe chemicals as mutton. Others butchered and sold disease-ridden pork after they had been hired by the local agricultural ministry to dispose of the pig carcasses.

The spring issue for Environmental Practice has been focused traditionally on the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) conference in April. The NAEP/AEP joint conference “Walk the Talk” was held in Los Angeles, where the principles behind economic development and environmental conservation were put into practice by professionals across a broad spectrum of environmental professions. The articles in this issue of Environmental Practice reflect that same spirit of practical application of those ideals. We return to our focus on international environmental research and work in the following issues after this spring issue. This issue provides some stimulating research and commentary on our profession and discipline.

With the start of 2013, the roles of coeditors of Environmental Practice transition: I take on the role of lead coeditor while Dr. James Montgomery begins planning for his role as lead editor in 2014. Over the past year, the journal focused on a variety of topics, including green infrastructure, environmental ethics, and hydrofracturing. Strategic planning for the 2013 volume, with the assistance of Paul Looney and Roger Turner, has led to focus this year on a more international theme. While we have had manuscripts periodically on international topics, this year the editorial office made a strong effort to reach out to international authors and readers alike to bring a more global approach to understanding environmental issues. This special issue issue of Environmental Practice begins that international theme by focusing on the European Union (EU).

One of the consequences of state utility energy efficiency and renewable energy policies has been the expansion of clean energy programs conducted by local, nonprofit community organizations. These programs seek to increase deployment of renewable energy facilities on consumers' premises and reduce the amount of energy used by consumers. The success of community programs depends on the capabilities of the organizations implementing the programs. Managers of six large community-based clean energy programs in Arizona were interviewed regarding organizational capabilities related to carrying out clean energy programs. The Arizona organizations have developed proficiencies in education, recruitment, problem solving, coordination among parties, and innovation. Clean energy programs of the community organizations interviewed for this study are centered around trust, empowerment of stakeholders, partnerships, and social networks to recruit participants and volunteers and to learn about what other organizations are doing.

Environmental Practice 15:97–107 (2013)

The Great Lakes hold some 90% surface-water supply in the United States (US) and about one fifth of the fresh surface water on Earth. As a result, the Great Lakes have immense environmental, economic, and cultural significance, especially for the roughly 42 million people who live, work, and recreate in the Great Lakes Basin.

In a world of increasing globalization, environmental concerns must contend with a variety of geopolitical borders for policy solutions. More than ever, environmental practitioners and students work in a global community, where the challenges of one nation impact worldwide issues that interconnect to other issues like poverty, human rights, and quality of life. During my trip two years ago to China, where I was invited to speak on international environmental treaties, particularly the Kyoto Protocol, I was struck by the global impacts from local practices in our megacities across the planet. The phrase by the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency of “act locally and think globally” does not capture the magnitude of impacts from our large, dense megacities that collectively as urban dwellings are changing the quality of life of places on the globe much farther away. This poses new challenges for environmental professionals implementing projects and for academics teaching environmental public policy and sciences. The challenge is to expand both the professionals' and the students' understanding of not just of the environmental impacts to a region or state, or even nation, but also the sociocultural and economic ramifications of environmental impacts globally. In that spirit, Environmental Practice has focused our issues of 2013 on international environmental issues, beginning with our March issue on the European Union (EU). Continuing in the international theme, this issue of Environmental Practice is devoted entirely to the environmental challenges faced by China—with regard to the US, as well—for environmental issues today.

Since the beginning of the process aimed at achieving a shared European energy policy, various problems related to land use conflicts in agricultural contexts affected by large-scale green energy power plants have emerged within European countries as a major topic of national and local public debate. The examination and comparison of the relationships between current energy policies and the transformational processes of contemporary rural landscapes in two European regional contexts—the Beauce Plateau in France and the Alta Murgia region in Italy—suggests that a more transversal conception of both green energy and landscape policy may be needed. A hypothesis of working toward a new integrated approach to green energy and landscape policies emerges from the study, in addition to the potential to serve as the foundation for a set of landscape acceptability criteria for managing energy projects.

Environmental Practice 15:5–18 (2013)

Indicators can contribute to land use management, particularly in the context of sustainable urban development. Together with scenario analysis, they are key instruments in producing information for stakeholders and policy makers and aid their understanding of urban development processes. Based on such information, stakeholders and policy makers can understand better the driving forces, the current state of urban development, how their decision can influence the future trends, and what impacts their decisions can have on the urban landscape. This article presents an application of scenario modeling and indicator evaluation for sustainable land use management in the Greater Dublin Region, based on discussions with scientists, policy makers, and stakeholders in order to guarantee its relevance to practice. This research was a core contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Habitats Directive Appropriate Assessment procedures (areas for conservation and protection) for the 2010 Regional Planning Guidelines for Dublin.

Environmental Practice 15:19–32 (2013)

Exploration and extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale have created considerable controversy. At the core of these debates are differing perceptions of the level and types of risks involved with the extraction activities, such as hydraulic fracturing, truck traffic, air emissions, and population growth. Risks described include the potential for human and environmental health implications, as well as community change and economic gain. This article explores the nature of perceived risks associated with Marcellus Shale development by using data from a household survey (N = 1,917) conducted in 2009–10 in Pennsylvania and New York counties located in the core areas of the Marcellus Shale region. The article describes a quantitative measure of risk perceptions. Statistical analyses of the data indicate that trust in institutions responsible for managing the risks associated with development and attitudes related to relationships between people and nature are associated strongly with perceptions of risk. Other associated variables include reported knowledge of environmental, social, and economic impacts, mineral rights ownership, demographic characteristics (gender, income), and state of residence. Implications of these findings are discussed, particularly as related to improving local discourse surrounding Marcellus Shale development.

Environmental Practice 15:108–122 (2013)

Since the creation of the Great Lakes with the last Wisconsin glaciations, its ecosystem has endured a diversity of impacts from humans and its surrounding environment. Today, the Great Lakes continue to face numerous challenges from a variety of threats that at times appear to be more rigorous than those of the past. Great Lakes restoration and conservation involve issues ranging from the legacy pollutants of years past, such as heavy metals and synthetics, to an exotic species invasion and quantity issues such as overconsumption. The looming threat of climate change is one of the most challenging that the Lakes will face in the next decade unless changes are made in human behavior. With these and other threats in mind, this issue of Environmental Practice is dedicated to the challenges of Great Lakes sustainability. This issue concludes the thematic year for the journal, which focused on international issues.

This article analyzes the historical dynamics of the relationship between China and the European Union (EU) in global climate governance. The evolution of this relationship is traced through three time periods: the early days of the United Nations (UN) climate regime (1992–2001), the road to the Copenhagen summit (2001–2009) and the post-Copenhagen phase with the launch of the Durban Platform (2009-present). The contribution aims to expose two of the major structural changes that define current global climate governance dynamics, i.e., globalization and the rise of China, and identify key challenges for an increased collaboration between China and the EU. It is concluded that the EU and China are gradually emerging as strategic partners in global climate governance, but that severe uncertainties regarding the future of the climate regime persist. In order to translate practical bilateral cooperation into more tangible outcomes in the multilateral sphere, a fine balance will have to be struck between traditional Chinese sensitivities regarding sovereignty and economic development, and the EU's desire for an international agreement with ambitious mitigation targets.

Environmental Practice 15:190–200 (2013)

Annual average environmental impact statement (EIS)-preparation times for all EIS-preparing entities combined were highly variable after 2006 and peaked in 2008 at 1,522 days (4.2 years). The annual average EIS-preparation time for all entities increased from 2007 through 2010 at an average rate of +19.9 days/year. The trend of increasing preparation times measured from 1998 was maintained through 2010, but the average rate of increase, +26.7 days/year, was slightly less than that measured from 1998 through 2006. Annual average EIS-preparation times for the three most prolific EIS producers—US Forest Service, Federal Highway Administration, and US Army Corps of Engineers—generally decreased after 2006. In contrast, the annual average EIS-preparation time for all other EIS-preparing entities combined increased after 2006 at an average rate of +76.2 days/year, and these entities produced 55% of all final EISs after 2006. Preparation times for EISs on general resource management plans required of the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management had significant effects on various annual averages.

Environmental Practice 15:123–132 (2013)

Coastal megadeltas in Asia have emerged rapidly; their megacities are particularly stressed by urbanization and rapid population growth. In the Pearl River Delta, towns in coastal megacities, such as Hong Kong, experience severe land shortage, which has led to the installation of essential infrastructure in flood-prone areas. Floods from the storm surge of two recent storms, Typhoons Hagupit and Koppu in 2008 and 2009, respectively, damaged over 100 properties in the Tai O, Hong Kong. Although projected sea-level rise and frequent storms pose a serious threat for the foreseeable future, flood management is inadequately understood by the various stakeholders in Tai O. Based on interviews of 22 stakeholders related to flood-risk management in Tai O, this article highlights the similarities and differences in the prevailing perceptions of coastal flood management practices. In addition, the report highlights the need for urgent attention so as to establish an integrated coastal flood-risk management strategy that will involve all stakeholders in mitigating the emerging flood vulnerability of the coastal communities.

Environmental Practice 15:201–219 (2013)

Potential visual impact on coastal lands has emerged as a major concern in the development of offshore wind facilities in the United States and Europe. Optimal siting of offshore facilities requires accurate knowledge of the relationship between distance and the visibility of wind turbines. Past assessments of offshore wind turbine visibility were based on smaller turbines and facilities in use at the time and underestimate visibility for current projects, which use more and larger larger turbines. This study is a preliminary assessment of the visibility of offshore wind facilities in the United Kingdom. Study objectives included identifying the maximum distances the facilities could be seen in both daytime and nighttime views and assessing the effect of distance on visual contrasts associated with the facilities. Results showed that small to moderately sized facilities were visible to the unaided eye at distances greater than 42 km [26 miles (mi)], with turbine blade movement visible up to 39 km (24 mi). At night, aerial hazard navigation lighting was visible at distances greater than 39 km (24 mi). The observed wind facilities were judged to be a major focus of visual attention at distances up to 16 km (10 mi), were noticeable to casual observers at distances of almost 29 km (18 mi), and were visible with extended or concentrated viewing at distances beyond 40 km (25 mi).

Environmental Practice 15:33–49 (2013)

In response to observed and projected changes in climate, efforts to promote climate change adaptation to key stakeholder groups have been rapidly increasing. To help us understand the perceptions of resource managers in the Great Lakes region, we conducted a Web-based survey. We asked respondents to define climate change adaptation and to provide examples of both feasible and current adaptation actions. Responses from 441 individuals indicate that many did not have a clear, proactive concept of climate change adaptation. Only 74% provided a definition, and, of those, only 43% described adaptation as a proactive process. Nearly one third (30%) gave purely reactive descriptions, and 27% failed to convey the concept of intentionally responding to climate change impacts; half of these described climate change mitigation or evolutionary adaptation. Examples of feasible actions covered a range of current conservation practices and some adaptation-specific ideas (e.g., research on potential species' range shifts, managed relocation of species), along with such actions as updates to infrastructure. In comparison to feasible actions, actions identified as under way were biased toward early stages in adaptation, such as science and planning, increasing awareness, and capacity building. We suggest that targeted outreach can help catalyze movement from early-stage actions toward implementation of change: collaborative work with stakeholders to refine and customize the concept of adaptation and develop visions of successful adaptation is vital to the long-term conservation of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Environmental Practice 15:377–392 (2013)