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Sustainability in operations, production, and consumption continues to gain relevance for engineers. This trend will accelerate as demand for goods and services grows, straining resources and requiring ingenuity to replace boundless supply in meeting the needs of a more crowded, more prosperous world. Industrial engineers are uniquely positioned to incorporate sustainability concepts into this work; their focus is on systems, and in observing these systems at a high level, they can most effectively choose which parts of the systems to modify to produce desired results. In this paper, we explore using the vehicle of education to introduce sustainability concepts into industrial engineers' training. We first survey the current state of sustainability education in industrial engineering programs. We then discuss a curricular modification program in which sustainability was introduced into several courses through use of content-focused modules. We conclude with our recommendations on how such a structure can be used to expand sustainability education in industrial engineering programs at all levels.

The interaction between climate and groundwater forms a complex, coupled system that affects land‐atmosphere feedback processes and thus local climatic parameters. We propose an analytical framework that integrates local groundwater information and soil hydrophysical characteristics to identify regions with bidirectional (two‐way) coupling where groundwater is influenced by climatic factors (e.g., precipitation) and may affect local climate (e.g., through surface fluxes). The framework capitalizes on the concept of the evaporation characteristic length to quantify the hydraulic connection of groundwater to the soil surface. To evaluate the framework, we calculate the maximum depth of hydraulic connection (Dmax) between groundwater and the soil surface in Hamburg, Germany. For regions with Dmax exceeding the groundwater depth (d), a bidirectional mode of coupling is defined, while Dmax < d implies a unidirectional coupling mode. Our results indicate that climate driven evaporation changes potentially alter the coupling between groundwater and climate depending on soil texture. Moreover, soil hydraulic properties and shallow groundwater tables could play a crucial role in shifting land‐atmosphere feedback processes by influencing the coupling mode. This research provides insights into the groundwater‐climate interactions under various climatic conditions and soil textures which could contribute to sustainable land‐use management practices, particularly in regions characterized by bidirectional coupling. Plain Language Summary: This study explores the hydraulic connection between climate and groundwater. We developed an analytical framework that combines local groundwater levels and soil hydrophysical characteristics to identify areas with potential two‐way climate‐groundwater interaction. In areas with bidirectional mode of coupling not only the groundwater is influenced by the climate (e.g., through precipitation), but also it may affect climatic parameters by influencing soil moisture and evapotranspiration. We employed the framework to calculate the maximum depth of hydraulic connection (Dmax) linking groundwater and climate in Hamburg, Germany. Results identify bidirectional coupling zones, where climate and groundwater can mutually influence each other. We found that changes in soil properties, evaporation dynamics, and groundwater levels affect the climate‐groundwater coupling thus shedding light on the impact of (shallow) groundwaters on land‐athmosphere feedback processes. Key Points: A physically based framework was proposed to quantify effects of soil hydraulic properties on groundwater and climate interactionsSaturated hydraulic conductivity and groundwater levels are crucial for assessing the coupling modes in the study area (Hamburg, Germany)Combined effects of climatic parameters, soil properties and shallow groundwater influence the mode of coupling in Hamburg, Germany [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small agricultural reservoirs support water demands during dry spells. However, evaporative losses that are often overlooked in water accounting and management diminish the storage efficiency of these popular but un‐inventoried resources. We developed a predictive framework to identify the spatio‐temporal extent of small reservoirs (900–100,000 m2) and quantify their evaporative losses using a physically‐based model. Focusing on water‐stressed regions of Europe (Italy, Spain, and Portugal), our results indicate that the total number and cumulative area of small reservoirs in drier areas of Europe almost doubled in two decades from about 6,200 reservoirs with the cumulative area of 46 km2 in 2,000 to 11,800 reservoirs with the cumulative area of 93.5 km2 in 2020. We observed climate‐driven trends in the expansion of agricultural reservoirs and their evaporative losses which exceeded 72 million cubic meters during warm months (April to September) accounting for 38% of their total storage capacity. Plain Language Summary: Small agricultural reservoirs play a key role in supporting irrigation and local demands in a warming climate. However, evaporation diminishes their storage efficiency. We provide a physically‐based framework for estimating global abundance and evaporative losses from small reservoirs serving as a basis for improving water management and planning. To show the applicability of the proposed method, we focused on water‐stressed regions of Europe (Italy, Spain, and Portugal). We found that cumulative area of small reservoirs in the study area has reached to 93.5 km2 in 2020 with cumulative evaporative losses that may exceed 72 million cubic meters. The study offers new insights into the improved understanding of the role and efficiency of small water storage infrastructure in water planning strategies. Key Points: A physically‐based framework was proposed to identify the extent of small reservoirs (<0.1 km2) and quantify their evaporative lossesTotal number and cumulative area of small agricultural reservoirs in water‐stressed regions of southern Europe doubled in two decadesStrong correlations were found between expansion of agricultural reservoirs, air temperature and precipitation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

California’s hydropower system is composed of high and low elevation power plants. There are more than 150 high-elevation power plants, at elevations above 1,000 feet (300 m). Most have modest reservoir storage capacities, but supply roughly 74% of California’s in-state hydropower. The expected shift of runoff peak from spring to winter due to climate warming, resulting in snowpack reduction and increased snowmelt, might have important effects on power generation and revenues in California. The large storage capacities at low-elevation power plants provide flexibility to operations of these units under climate warming. However, with climate warming, the adaptability of the high-elevation hydropower system is in question as this system was designed to take advantage of snowpack, a natural reservoir. With so many high-elevation hydropower plants in California, estimation of climate warming effects by conventional simulation or optimization methods would be tedious and expensive. An Energy-Based Hydropower Optimization Model (EBHOM) was developed to facilitate practical climate change and other low-resolution system-wide hydropower studies, based on the historical generation data of 137 high-elevation hydropower plants for which the data were complete for 14 years. Employing recent historical hourly energy prices, the model was used to explore energy generation in California for three climate warming scenarios (dry warming, wet warming, and warming-only) over 14 years, representing a range of hydrologic conditions. The system is sensitive to the quantity and timing of inflows. While dry warming and warming-only climate changes reduce average hydropower revenues, wet warming could increase revenue. Re-operation of available storage and generation capacities help compensate for snowpack losses to some extent. Storage capacity expansion and to a lesser extent generation capacity expansion both increase revenues, although such expansions might not be cost-effective.

Based on a multi‐attribute assessment of the environmental impacts and challenges associated with global Bitcoin (BTC) mining activities around the globe, we call for urgent action by the scientific, policy, and advocacy communities. The worldwide BTC mining network consumed 173.42 TWh of electricity during the 2020–2021 period, bigger than the electricity consumption of most nations. The mining process emitted over 85.89 Mt of CO2eq in the same timeframe, equivalent to the emission caused by burning 84 billion pounds of coal or running 190 natural gas‐fired power plants. The environmental footprint of BTC mining is not limited to greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020–2021, the global water footprint of BTC mining was about 1.65 km3, more than the domestic water use of 300 million people in rural Sub‐Saharan Africa. The land footprint of the global BTC mining network during this period was more than 1,870 square kilometers, 1.4 times the area of Los Angeles. These striking numbers highlight the heavy reliance of the BTC network on fossil fuels and natural resource‐intensive energy sources, resulting in major but unmonitored and unregulated environmental footprints. To mitigate the environmental costs of BTC mining, immediate policy interventions, technological advancements, and scientific research are crucial. Proposed measures include enhanced transparency, economic and regulatory tools, developing energy‐efficient alternative coins, and the adoption of greener blockchain validation protocols. Plain Language Summary: The cryptocurrency sector is increasingly integrated into the global financial system. The world's transition to a digital economy, facilitated by major technological breakthroughs, has several benefits. But as the demand for exchanging and investing in digital currencies is rapidly growing, the world must pay careful attention to the hidden and overlooked environmental impacts of this growth. The dramatic increase in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) over the last few years and the resulting global race for BTC mining is turning the cryptocurrency market into one of the world's leading polluting sectors. Yet, our knowledge about the environmental footprints of mining BTC is very limited. Here, we provide the first estimates of the carbon, water, and land footprints of BTC mining around the world to argue why urgent intervention and action to monitor, control, and mitigate the environmental impacts of the cryptocurrency market is necessary. Key Points: Cryptocurrency mining has major but overlooked carbon, water, and land footprintsChina, USA, Kazakhstan, Russia, Canada, Malaysia, Germany, Ireland, Iran, Thailand, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, and the UK are among the top contributors to the environmental footprints of the global Bitcoin mining networkUrgent regulatory intervention and technological breakthroughs are needed to mitigate the environmental impacts of the digital currency sector which is rapidly growing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative game theory provides an appropriate framework to assess the likelihood of conflict resolution, encourage cooperation among parties, and determine each party's share in resource sharing conflicts. In calculating the fair and efficient allocation of the incremental benefits of cooperation, cooperative game theory methods often do not consider the exogenous bargaining powers of the players based on factors, that are external to the game, such as their political, economic, and military powers. This study reformulates three well-known cooperative game theory methods, namely, Nash-Harsanyi, Shapley, and Nucleolus, to account for the exogenous bargaining powers of the players in cooperative games. Using the Caspian Sea international conflict as an example, this paper shows how the negotiators' exogenous bargaining power can change the outcome of resource sharing games. The proposed weighted cooperative game theory approach can help determine practical resolutions for real-world conflicts in which the exogenous powers of players can have a significant influence on the outcome of negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]