Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling The Economic And Environmental Performance Of Offshore Wind Energy, Alexana Cranmer

Doctoral Dissertations

Offshore wind is a growing source of energy globally. Like any energy technology, it has impacts on the environment. In the case of renewable energy, we need a way to consider the environmental benefits as well as the environmental costs. This dissertation develops a set of models to examine the economic and environmental costs and benefits and the trade-offs between them. We ask how much offshore wind energy should be sited, and where should that offshore wind energy be located? The first model estimates the economic impact of wake interactions between wind farms. Wind farm sites are chosen through a …

Multi-Criteria Decision Making When Planning Sustainable Multimodal Transportation Routes In A Linear Corridor, Marie Louis

Doctoral Dissertations

In urban and suburban locations, public transit can be seen as an effective mode of daily transportation. The majority of the time, travelers would seek the cheapest, shortest, and possibly most eco-friendly means of transit. When designing public transit network systems, transportation planners and decision-makers, with input from stakeholders, should strive to optimize transportation services to meet the needs of the population most efficiently and at the lowest cost, that is, providing a transportation system that s the three E's of the sustainability concept: environment, social equity, and economic. Previous studies have focused on sustainability as the primary concern in …

Sustainability In The Apparel Industry: A Study Of Self-Regulatory Institutions And Logic Hybridization Processes, Yoojung Ahn

Doctoral Dissertations

Scholars have sought to understand the relationship between organizations and institutions, and research to date has generated findings that speak to both the top down effects of institutions on organizations as enabling and constraining, and the bottom up influence of organizations shaping institutions. This dissertation explores the context of sustainability in the apparel industry and inquires how organizations participate in self-regulation to influence institutional change, using a mixed methods approach to understand this question. In particular, I observe the process of building a specific self-regulatory institution – the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). First, I study the impact of a reputation …

Renewable Energy Investment And Employment In China, Ying Chen

PERI Working Papers

The potential trade-off between environmental protection and employment stability has been a concern in the literature. However, in the case of China, the employment issue has not been adequately addressed despite government’s big push on investing in renewable energy since 2007. This essay addresses the employment issue through estimating the relative employment impacts of renewable energy investments versus spending within the traditional fossil fuel sectors based on input-output modeling with China-specific data of sector and sub-sector weighting techniques. I find that spending within three segments of the renewable energy sectors—solar, wind and bioenergy, will produce in combination about twice as …

Digital Initiatives Bootcamp: Launching Digital Projects At Small Institutions With Limited Resources, Amy Bocko

ACRL New England Chapter Annual Conference

The modern library has seen a new area of our holdings and collection efforts emerge: unique digital collections. As our users’ needs and fluency with technology have changed, so have our library services and avenues for information delivery. Our users want digital materials at the ready, and they want them now! While our holdings have easily adapted to acquiring additional databases and new ebooks, how do we address the growing need for our unique materials to be digitized? Moreover, how do small, resource strapped institutions fulfill this need? Our directive is clear: our libraries need to commit to digital initiatives …

The Role Of Placemaking In Sustainable Planning: A Case Study Of The East Side Of Cleveland, Ohio, Sarah Lang

Masters Theses

The notion of placemaking and sustainability are central to planning practice. However, is there a connection between the goals of sustainability and the impacts of placemaking initiatives? The ultimate goal of sustainable planning is the creation of a sustainable community which include the defining features of a healthy climate and environment, social wellbeing, and economic security. Yet, sustainable planning is heavily focused on the environment. Placemaking initiatives focus on underutilized space, permanently or temporarily highlighting location, locale, and sense, the three realms of place. In attempt to answer whether placemaking can contribute to sustainable planning, this research focuses on the …

Sustainability Integration Project, Ezra Small

Sustainability Reports & Plans

In 2017 UMass Amherst Chancellor's Sustainability Advisory Committee (CSAC) identified 6 top strategic priorities for advancing sustainability through a planning process called the Sustainability Integration Project (SIP). The outcome of this plan has laid the foundation for strategic sustainability projects and planning initiatives at UMass Amherst over the last 3 years and will continue to do so beyond 2020.

The Natural And Capital Infrastructure Of Potential Post-Electrification Wealth Creation In Kenya, Diego Ponce De Leon Barido, Simone Fobi Nsutezo, Jay Taneja

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publication Series

Background

It is widely accepted that electricity is an important element for improving levels of human development and wealth creation in rural areas. Yet, little research has explored the conditions under which electrification could lead to wealth creation post-electrification. Using Kenya as a case study, this paper uses natural capital (NC) and infrastructural capital (IC) data to compare the enabling environments under which electrification could lead to wealth creation (and persistent demand for electricity) post-electrification.

Methods

We use multiple spatial data sets to create three different metrics for NC and IC and use them to create a micro-enterprise development index …

The Importance Of Institutional Design For Distributed Local-Level Governance Of Groundwater: The Case Of California’S Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Michael Kiparsky, Anita Milman, Dave Owen, Andrew T. Fisher

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

In many areas of the world, groundwater resources are increasingly stressed, and unsustainable use has become common. Where existing mechanisms for governing groundwater are ineffective or nonexistent, new ones need to be developed. Local level groundwater governance provides an intriguing alternative to top-down models, with the promise of enabling management to better match the diversity of physical and social conditions in groundwater basins. One such example is emerging in California, USA, where new state law requires new local agencies to self-organize and act to achieve sustainable groundwater management. In this article, we draw on insights from research on common pool …

The Perfect Storm: Lasting Impacts Of Structural Adjustment Programs And Pressures Of Climate Change In Latin America And Ghana, Africa, Sam Kefferstan

Student Showcase

This work examines the intersectionality of economic, social and environmental impacts of the International Monetary Fund’s and World Bank’s application of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) within Latin America and Ghana, Africa. Varying economic and social indicators illustrate the underperformance of SAPs in their intended mission to reduce poverty and debt in developing nations. This research argues Gross Domestic Product is an imperfect measure of improving quality of life and points towards other indicators such as increasing national debt, rising incidences of poverty, and exacerbated regional disparities to demonstrate the shortcomings of SAPs. This piece also investigates the limitations adjustment imposes …

Umass Amherst Guide To Zero-Waste Events, Kevin J. Hollerbach, Ainsley Brosnan-Smith

Student Showcase

As the University of Massachusetts Amherst continues to grow, and as programming for the campus community becomes an ever-rising priority, events organizers will need to consider the waste implications of every event to comply with state and University standards, goals, and policies. This "Guide to Zero-Waste Events" aims to streamline the planning process as well as provide tips and examples for follow-through to implementing a successful zero-waste event. The guide also presents actionable policy recommendations for the University to reduce waste and increase diversion from large-scale outdoor events on the UMass Amherst campus.

What Will It Take To Make Solar Panels Cool?, Luke Fateiger, Cameron A. Lane, M. Donald Rollings, Cameron J. Smith-Freedman

Student Showcase

With the predicted results of climate change looming, humanity must do all it can to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Maintaining a habitable environment along with the high quality of living associated with developed nations requires investment in renewable energy. Because national governments often fail to make responsible decisions for their country's future, this burden falls to institutions like UMass Amherst. Although costly investments like solar panels substantially improve the sustainability of campus, some innovative improvements of existing solar energy infrastructure can go a long way. For example, when solar panels heat up they lose photovoltaic efficiency. We propose that UMass …

Proposal For Implementation Of An E-Receipt System And Non-Toxic Compostable Receipt Paper At Umass Dining Facilities, Patricia Murphy, Randa Kallin, Kyle Grasso, Taryn Ramey

Student Showcase

For our junior year writing course, we were given the assignment to write a proposal to fix something on campus. As students passionate about sustainability, our group elected to improve an aspect of campus we thought could boost our universities impressive green reputation. We all realized receipt printing is a large and wasteful process at UMassAmherst while both large-scale stores such as Home Depot and smaller venues in downtown Amherst were able to implement an e-receipt system which saves money and resources. Although this proposal started as a class project, our group found through our research that this idea had …