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Environmental Sciences

University of Rhode Island

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Three Essays On The Incentive Structure Of Energy Conservation Programs, Edson Ogochukwu Okwelum Jan 2014

Three Essays On The Incentive Structure Of Energy Conservation Programs, Edson Ogochukwu Okwelum

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of three related essays examining the potential effectiveness of government energy efficiency programs from both the producer and consumer perspectives. The first chapter is based on a paper I coauthored with Corey Lang. In this manuscript, I address the question of whether strategic behavior by consumers could result in the erosion of energy savings in a demand response program. Understanding how the strategic behavior of consumers affects the net benefits from a demand response program has policy implications because of the increasing importance that demand response has come to play in utility load and reliability management …


An Analysis Of A Management Case: Green Hill Beach Development Of The Rhode Island Coastal Zone, John R. Braddon Jun 2011

An Analysis Of A Management Case: Green Hill Beach Development Of The Rhode Island Coastal Zone, John R. Braddon

Theses and Major Papers

One of the most valuable and misused assets possessed by the United States is the rich and highly varied coastal zone. The genesis of much of our material wealth and the basis for success of the early colonies has been our national fascination with the sea. As our industry and population have expanded, the coastal zone has been neglected seriously to the detriment of both current and future generations of Americans. Abuse of the coastal zone stems from employing it as a dumping ground, using the rivers flowing into it for effluent disposal and haphazard, poorly planned development. Since the …


The Effect Of Risk, Time Preference, And Poverty On The Impacts Of Forest Tenure Reform In China, Karen Anne Sullivan Jan 2011

The Effect Of Risk, Time Preference, And Poverty On The Impacts Of Forest Tenure Reform In China, Karen Anne Sullivan

Open Access Dissertations

Forest degradation has steadily increased throughout much of the world. The cause of this continued degradation is complex and multifaceted but there is a growing realization that a key cause, especially in developing countries, is insecure rights to ownership and use of forest resources. This realization coupled with a call for pro-poor forestry policy has stimulated the recent trend in forest policy toward strengthening property rights for forest resources by transferring property rights from the state to communities and individuals, giving them defined rights to manage and extract forest resources. However, a big puzzle remains unsolved—such reforms on property rights …


The Evolution Of International Fisheries Management In The North Pacific Ocean And Prospects For The Future, Paul Augustus Flynn Jan 1996

The Evolution Of International Fisheries Management In The North Pacific Ocean And Prospects For The Future, Paul Augustus Flynn

Theses and Major Papers

The abundant resources of the North Pacific Ocean have been the subject of international disputes and negotiations through the 20th century. The management of species which range throughout this vast area, are not under the jurisdiction of a single state. That fact has required the establishment of a framework in which allocation and conservation measures can be researched and agreed upon. This has been accomplished through various multilateral and bilateral agreements. From the voluntary Japanese suspension of a directed salmon fishery off the coast of Alaska in 1938 to recently completed multilateral treaties, significant advances have been made in Pacific …


A Policy Analysis Of The Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act Of 1988, Peter Decola Jan 1996

A Policy Analysis Of The Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act Of 1988, Peter Decola

Theses and Major Papers

During the mid-1980's, the crisis in marine insurance and growing concern over fishing vessel safety combined to stimulate passage of the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988. This law was enacted with the goal of improving the overall safety of commercial fishing industry vessels. However, the Act as passed by Congress contained no provisions for marine insurance reform. As a result, the commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act offered little incentive for the industry to improve upon its dubious safety record. With the exception of self-insurance clubs, the vast burden of implementing the Act has fallen upon the …


Protection Of Marine Fish Habitat: Towards An Integrated Approach To Management, Andrea L. Oliver Jan 1996

Protection Of Marine Fish Habitat: Towards An Integrated Approach To Management, Andrea L. Oliver

Theses and Major Papers

This paper focuses on the problems associated with marine fish habitat protection and conservation at the federal level in the United States. The intent of the study is to provide a general overview of the issues, impacts, management problems and potential solutions. Federal statutory legislation that impacts marine fish habitat and agency authority derived from those legislative mandates are examined with a view toward promoting integrated management for marine biodiversity and overall ecosystem health. The concepts of coordinated and integrated approaches to management are discussed in the context of the present management regimes. Given the fragmented authority over the policy …


The Influence Of Sea Power Upon Oceanography: A Historical And Policy Analysis Of Governmental Support For Marine Science, Daniel Stuart Schwartz Jan 1996

The Influence Of Sea Power Upon Oceanography: A Historical And Policy Analysis Of Governmental Support For Marine Science, Daniel Stuart Schwartz

Theses and Major Papers

In a time of austere funding for national ocean science R & D programs and Congressional balanced budget constraints, marine science investigators and program managers must increasingly ponder how committed to the support of oceanography our government will continue to be. The questions might better be phrased as how, in the absence of a credible open-ocean naval threat (the traditional focus of both basic and applied research), will policy makers justify the expenditure of scarce public revenues on marine science programs? Sea Power-as broadly defined in the works of Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sergei Gorshkov-has driven, and will continue to …


A Partnership For Coral Reef Protection: A Case Study Of The International Coral Reef Initiative, Karla M. Boreri Jan 1996

A Partnership For Coral Reef Protection: A Case Study Of The International Coral Reef Initiative, Karla M. Boreri

Theses and Major Papers

Coral reef are considered the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems on earth. They are a world-wide symbol of the economic and ecological importance of all types of coastal environments. The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) was developed in 1994 to increase the awareness of the human and anthropogenic threats facing reefs. Initially a U.S.-focused initiative, ICRI now includes over 70 like-minded governments and a growing list of UN organizations, science and academic organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector as its partners. This qualitative case study was developed based on actual participation in the initiative and hundreds of pages of …


The Cumulative Impacts Of Management Decisions On Nitrogen Loading To The Rhode Island Salt Ponds, Laura M. Ernst Jan 1996

The Cumulative Impacts Of Management Decisions On Nitrogen Loading To The Rhode Island Salt Ponds, Laura M. Ernst

Theses and Major Papers

Calculations and measurements of nitrogen in groundwater, stream flow and atmospheric deposition were used to see if the cumulative impacts of management decisions over a fifteen year period of time resulted in measurable changes in nitrogen loading to six of the salt ponds on the south shore of Rhode Island. The changes in the source and transmission of nitrogen were tested by comparing calculated and measured nitrogen data from 1980 and 1995. The calculated method included a nitrogen budget based on land-use and literature values for nitrogen loss to groundwater. The second method compared concentrations of nitrogen in groundwater taken …


Massachusetts Angler Typologies: The Recreation Specialization Approach, Jonathan S. O'Neil Jan 1996

Massachusetts Angler Typologies: The Recreation Specialization Approach, Jonathan S. O'Neil

Theses and Major Papers

As the abundance of fish stocks in the Northeast continues to decline, the need to regulate the marine recreational catch is a topic receiving much attention. Yet, the move to manage recreational anglers' fishing activities raises a host of new questions. How should the resource be allocated among different groups of fishermen? Which group should take precedence over others; or should resources be divided equally among all? To manage the Massachusetts recreational fishery, many of these questions will have to be answered to ensure the success of conservation goals. With a comprehensive understanding of anglers and their relationship to fishery …


The New Certificates Of Financial Responsibility: Environmental Progress Or National Economic Disaster?, Paul R. Younes Jan 1995

The New Certificates Of Financial Responsibility: Environmental Progress Or National Economic Disaster?, Paul R. Younes

Theses and Major Papers

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) is the first comprehensive oil spill legislation passed in the United States. Included in the law were new provisions governing the liability and financial responsibility of both the company responsible for the spill and the insurer. These provisions, while well-intentioned, have created a dangerous situation for both the environment and the economy of the United States. This paper will examine the financial responsibility and liability regime that was in place prior to the passage of OPA 90, and the provisions of OPA 90 that establish new requirements shipowners must meet to qualify …


Dispersants For Oil Spill Response: Issues, Policy, And Planning Considerations, Tina M. Burke Jan 1995

Dispersants For Oil Spill Response: Issues, Policy, And Planning Considerations, Tina M. Burke

Theses and Major Papers

The purposes of this paper are four-fold. First, dispersant use as an oil spill response option and the issues surrounding dispersant use will be discussed. Second, the past dispersant use policy will be reviewed, as will the recent changes to the policy in terms of the attempt to make dispersants a viable response option in the United States. Third, the role of interest groups in oil spill response issues and the importance of including them in contingency planning efforts, specifically dispersant planning, will be discussed. Lastly, the results of the study to determine the involvement of interest groups in the …


The Use Of Targeting In Port State Control, Mary E. Landry Jan 1995

The Use Of Targeting In Port State Control, Mary E. Landry

Theses and Major Papers

This study will examine two separate, but related matters; (1) expansion of port State control through new treaties and international practice, and (2) the port State's use of targeting to focus its attention on substandard performance. It will also outline and clarify the practice of targeting which has been employed under several regional port State control agreements throughout the world. This study will examine targeting as an economic sanction; in essence, a coercive measure using financial disincentives to discourage substandard performance in the maritime community. Targeting was designed or developed as an economic sanction. Rather, it was marketed as a …


The National Estuary Program's Watershed Protection Approach: An Analysis Of Local Governments, Constituency Organizations And Watershed Residents In Addressing Nonpoint Source Pollution In The Buzzards Bay Project, Paula Renier Jewell Jan 1995

The National Estuary Program's Watershed Protection Approach: An Analysis Of Local Governments, Constituency Organizations And Watershed Residents In Addressing Nonpoint Source Pollution In The Buzzards Bay Project, Paula Renier Jewell

Theses and Major Papers

Reduction of coastal nonpoint source (NPS) pollution requires an innovative approach. Efforts must comprehensively address the cumulative effects of individual behaviors. Therefore, program objectives must apply to the entire contributing watershed, but emphasize local implementation. Local governments must be empowered to install regulatory and other mechanisms to reduce NPS pollution. Local citizen organizations such as watershed associations, must effectively educate watershed citizens about their ole in NPS pollution. Watershed citizens must change their behaviors which contribute to the problem. However, developing a vibrant constituency around NPS pollution itself remains a serious challenge to mitigation efforts. As a geographically defined, holistic …


Environmental Messages In Boating Magazines: A Content Analysis Of Recreational Power Boating Articles, Robert S. Holtzman Jan 1995

Environmental Messages In Boating Magazines: A Content Analysis Of Recreational Power Boating Articles, Robert S. Holtzman

Theses and Major Papers

This paper presents the results of a study analyzing the editorial content of consumer power boating magazines for messages of environmental responsibility. It presents evidence of a cause and effect relationship between recreational power boating and damage to the marine environment, and cites arguments that power boating in its currently popular form, involving high speeds and heavy fuel consumption, is inherently "unfriendly" to the environment. The paper describes a "chain of influence" through which boat manufacturers, in their role as advertisers, influence the editorial content of consumer boating magazines through the tactics of marketing public relations. A hypothesis is developed …


An Assessment Of The Safety Of Navigation: The Malaysian Perspective In The Straits Of Malacca, Amir Bin Murad Jan 1995

An Assessment Of The Safety Of Navigation: The Malaysian Perspective In The Straits Of Malacca, Amir Bin Murad

Theses and Major Papers

The traffic movements in the Straits of Malacca (SOM) have been ever increasing over the past few years resulting in numerous marine casualties that have caused serious concern to the Government of Malaysia. Current characteristics of navigation in the SOM present a potential major catastrophe. The first hypothesis is that there is a positive relationship between traffic movement and the number of marine casualties. Thus, an increase in traffic movement will result in an increased risk of marine casualties. The second hypothesis is that the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) did not change the overall trend of marine casualties that occurred …


Managine For Effectiveness And Efficiency In Oil Spill Response, Peter A. Tebeau Jan 1995

Managine For Effectiveness And Efficiency In Oil Spill Response, Peter A. Tebeau

Theses and Major Papers

Responding to oil spills, even spills of moderate proportion, requires the commitment of substantial manpower and equipment on the part of the responsible party or the federal government. Throughout the response operation, successful spill management entails choosing the most effective and efficient countermeasures and cleanup techniques to remove or neutralize oil in the environment, minimize overall environmental damages from the spill, and insure that the objectives and expectations of government agencies, responsible parties, and the public are met. As the response progresses, effective and efficient management requires determining when response operations should be terminated. In making this decision, the On-Scene …


The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council: Stewardship In Need Of Goals And Objectives, Robert Censabella Jan 1995

The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council: Stewardship In Need Of Goals And Objectives, Robert Censabella

Theses and Major Papers

In the State of Rhode Island, marine fisheries are managed through the Marine Fisheries Council, a citizen-based regulatory body of nine members from either the commercial or recreational fishing industries or experienced with the conservation and management of fisheries resources. To ostensibly help this group make informed decisions, biological data and scientific advice are provided by the State Division of Fish and Wildlife. This thesis examines the decision-making process of this Council. More specifically, it provides a case study of how this body has attempted to manage the State's winter flounder stocks-an economically-valuable species which confines its life cycle mostly …


Community Participation In The Management Of Pulau Seribu National Marine Park, Indonesia, Darmawan Jan 1995

Community Participation In The Management Of Pulau Seribu National Marine Park, Indonesia, Darmawan

Theses and Major Papers

The purpose of this thesis is to examine an approach for improving management in Pulau Seribu National Marine Park based on better relations between managers, local government and communities. It includes: a description of the Pulau Seribu National Marine Park, a literature review on community participation, a description of the national governance of marine conservation in Indonesia, and a proposed mechanism for community participation in park management. In an effort to manage its marine resources, Indonesia has established a well-structured institutional framework and body of environmental legislation. However, this administrative structure does not as yet include a mechanism for accommodating …


Implementation Of Harbor Management Plans: The Next Generation Of Mooring Management Incorporates Gps And Gis, Tracy E. Lang Jan 1995

Implementation Of Harbor Management Plans: The Next Generation Of Mooring Management Incorporates Gps And Gis, Tracy E. Lang

Theses and Major Papers

This paper describes the development of a spatial decision-support and management system to be used for improved coastal and harbor management. The design combines two separate systems, one is the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and the other is the use of a Geographic Information (GIS) (ARCVIEW II). This pilot project specifically examined the use of GPS and GIS to identify, map, and monitor individual mooring buoys in one recreational harbor in Narragansett, Rhode Island. GPS was used for collection of positional information and was compared to one traditional marine positioning device, Loran-C, and the variations between each method …


Rapid Rural Appraisal Of Household Adaptations To The Coastal Zone Of Ecuador, Jennifer A. Pereira Jan 1995

Rapid Rural Appraisal Of Household Adaptations To The Coastal Zone Of Ecuador, Jennifer A. Pereira

Theses and Major Papers

It has become clear to those interested in development that the household is an integral institution linking the individual to the society and the environment. Understanding the functioning of this institution will facilitate improvements in planning, evaluation, and output of development projects. Development projects suffer from a lack of efficient research methods for collecting socioeconomic information regarding the household. It has been proposed that Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), a method of field work that is timely, flexible, and places an emphasis on local participation, may be an appropriate method for collecting these types of data. RRA was originally developed for …


Population Growth In North Carolina: Implications On Coastal Wastewater Management, Carol Anne Kinder Apr 1994

Population Growth In North Carolina: Implications On Coastal Wastewater Management, Carol Anne Kinder

Theses and Major Papers

The sustainability of North Carolina's coastal resources are threatened from environmental degradation. A decline in water quality has resulted, in part, from a lack of regional consensus on coastal wastewater management. Yet coastal population growth continues without the necessary infrastructure to support domestic wastewater treatment. This paper will attempt to address the feasibility of an ocean outfall in the state of North Carolina by summarizing results of earlier research, drawing expertise from current outfall projects, examining legal and financial obstacles, and evaluating progressive steps toward an integrated planning of coastal wastewater disposal. Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is one framework through …


The Providence River Shipping Channel Dredge Project: Its Best Chance For Success Is Through Risk Communication, Elizabeth R. Deblois Jan 1994

The Providence River Shipping Channel Dredge Project: Its Best Chance For Success Is Through Risk Communication, Elizabeth R. Deblois

Theses and Major Papers

Providence Harbor and the Providence River shipping channel in Narragansett Bay need dredging to accommodate the shipping interest of the Port of Providence. Federal and State regulations have evolved in such a way that no dredging can be initiated without identifying sites for disposal of the dredge spoils. Dredge spoils are one of the few remaining categories of materials that, under regulation, can be dumped in the ocean. What then stalemates the process of identifying dredge spoil sites and initiating a dredging program? By default Rhode Island has adopted the "do nothing" alternative for the past twenty years. This apparently …


Port Development At Port Canaveral, Florida, Sergio A. Cartaya Jan 1994

Port Development At Port Canaveral, Florida, Sergio A. Cartaya

Theses and Major Papers

The restrictions and goals influencing port development today, differ from those that prompted development in the very recent past. In the 1960s, innovations in the transport of cargo and passengers drastically changed maritime transport. In the 1970s, a new awareness of the environment demanded, and through the decade implemented, new changes in coastal development. Port development today is no longer a transaction between the port authority and the Army Corps of Engineers, new federal agencies, with strict developmental guidelines, and the general public are now involved. The outcome of this new way of doing business has been that the lead-time …


The Evolving "Takings" Doctrine: The Supreme Court Poses A Challenge For Coastal Zone Management, Catherine L. Chase Jan 1994

The Evolving "Takings" Doctrine: The Supreme Court Poses A Challenge For Coastal Zone Management, Catherine L. Chase

Theses and Major Papers

There is an increasingly powerful and vocal group coalescing in society today, sometimes described as anti-environmentalists or Property Firsters, who feel that the government has exceeded its authority in interfering with individual rights for the purpose of protecting natural resources. Regardless of any personal convictions regarding this often emotionally-charged issue, people involved in coastal management and planning should be aware of the changes in legal doctrines which have come about as a result of "property first" challenges to regulatory or zoning statutes. These challenges have been pursued successfully in the courts by characterizing state and local land use ordinances as …


Base Realignment And Closure - 93: Impacts On Western Aquidneck Island An Opportunity For Enrichment, Frank W. Garcia Jr. Jan 1994

Base Realignment And Closure - 93: Impacts On Western Aquidneck Island An Opportunity For Enrichment, Frank W. Garcia Jr.

Theses and Major Papers

This paper will develop a conceptual Use/Resource model which may be of use in analyzing coastal zone conflicts. The use/Resource model will be applied to provide an outline for a cooperative enrichment plan for Western Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. Future studies of Western Aquidneck Island or other coastal communities may be able to use the model to quantify the level of Use/Resource cooperation. Heuristic application of the Model along Western Aquidneck may highlight the level of conflict or cooperation in working towards an enrichment plan. The focus of the enrichment plan will be to improve the quality of life in …


The Persian Gulf Oil Spill: A Case Study Of Emerging International Law On Environmental Damages During Hostilities, Esther J. Mcclure Jan 1994

The Persian Gulf Oil Spill: A Case Study Of Emerging International Law On Environmental Damages During Hostilities, Esther J. Mcclure

Theses and Major Papers

During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the retreating Iraqis caused the deliberate discharge of six million barrels of oil into the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. The immediate impact on the ecosystem was dramatic, and, because of the intense media coverage of the conflict, highly visible to the American public. The spill popularized the term 'ecoterrorism' and raised serious questions about the applicability of international law to the situation. There are numerous conventions that seek to establish standards of due diligence for the prevention of accidental pollution and to impose civil liability on those who damage the environment, but …


Fresh Water To Arabia By Vlcc-Fact Or Folly?, Joseph P. Power Jan 1994

Fresh Water To Arabia By Vlcc-Fact Or Folly?, Joseph P. Power

Theses and Major Papers

Population growth, industrial development and the esoteric goals of national self-sufficiency in water and food propels the arid nations of Arabia in a voracious scavenge for alternative resources of fresh water as depletion and contamination of the natural aquifers have reached critical proportions. Desalination of sea water is currently the preferred alternative source of fresh water. Recent misgivings concerning the antroprogenic discharge of desalination effluent (i.e. high temperature and high saline water) into the semi-enclosed, epicontinental waters of the Arabian Gulf question the sustainability of this process. Demonstrable deleterious affects of such a process on the marine ecosystem of the …


The Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy: A Comparison With The Approach Of The Unep Regional Seas Programme, Vinton Valentine Jan 1994

The Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy: A Comparison With The Approach Of The Unep Regional Seas Programme, Vinton Valentine

Theses and Major Papers

In the past two decades, there has been a rise in the number of multilateral regional agreements for marine environmental protection. A large proportion of these regional agreements are the result of the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Regional Seas Programme. While there are thirteen regional seas under the Programme, the Arctic Ocean is not, and never was, one of them. In describing concerns regarding the Arctic environment and approaches to handle them, a number of commentators have proposed the application of UNEP Regional Seas Programme approach to the Arctic region. However, despite an attempt from the Inuit Circumpolar Conference …


Conservation And Management Of Sri Lanka's Coastal Resources Through The Experience Of Other Countries, K.W.P. Thilakaratna Jan 1994

Conservation And Management Of Sri Lanka's Coastal Resources Through The Experience Of Other Countries, K.W.P. Thilakaratna

Theses and Major Papers

After Sri Lanka's independence in 1948, the economic importance of the coastal areas had intensified due to development of commercial and fishery harbors, transportation, communication, and recreational facilities. Opportunities in the public administration, industry, and education sectors were other main attractions. With the introduction of international tourism in 1970, economic development of coastal areas increased further. In addition to the job opportunities provided by the industrial and commercial sectors, many people were engaged in other activities depending on coastal resources, including fishing and mining activities. Prior to 1978, there was no proper authority or mechanism to address coastal issues. legislation …