Digital Commons Network^™

How Are Oregon's Rural Indigenous Communities Overcoming Water Access Issues?, Tyren John Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates how water insecurity affects Indigenous communities in Grand Ronde, Warm Springs, and Umatilla, Oregon, through loss of clean drinking water, access to culturally significant foods, and exposure to pollution. Each community offers innovative solutions drawing on their Indigenous knowledge to overcome water supply challenges. Communities with more resources are better equipped to cope with water insecurity and environmental degradation.

Left Out To Dry: Understanding The Social Experiences Of Ground Depletion In Washington State's Columbia River Basin, Alexis Lisandro Guizar-Diaz

Dissertations and Theses

Millions of water wells worldwide risk running dry due to overpumping, drought, and climate change. This study adopts a political ecology framework to investigate how economic structures and power dynamics shape the effects of groundwater depletion in a highly impacted region. It is based on qualitative fieldwork conducted in the Odessa Aquifer region of Washington State. This agriculturally productive region has experienced severe groundwater depletion, endangering communities and threatening water supplies for many, as agribusiness has intensively used deep water wells to irrigate high-value crops. This research addresses three key questions: 1) How do residents and households excluded from irrigation …

Community Adaptations To Wildfire Risk In Central Oregon, Usa: An Empirical Study Of Inclusionary Practices In Collaborative Wildfire Risk Mitigation, Liam Resener

Dissertations and Theses

Adverse impacts of wildfire in Western North America have become increasingly present through the 21^st century, driven by landscape changes imposed by colonists in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Community adaptations to wildfire will be necessary through the 21^st century to restore landscapes and protect the safety and livelihoods of people who live in at-risk areas. Wildfire risk extends across countless environmental and social systems, and individuals have competing ideas about what constitutes that risk and how to best adapt to it. As resources are being allocated to community adaptations, important questions emerge about the values …

Race And Income As Predictors Of Trust In Flood Mitigation Strategies, Wendy Nathaly Sangucho Loachamin

Dissertations and Theses

Trust plays a central role in coastal flooding management because the support or opposition to costly mitigation strategies depends, in part, on how much stakeholders trust in the effectiveness of these strategies. Despite the importance of trust in the approval of flood mitigation strategies, trust is rarely measured. Furthermore, Environmental Justice (EJ) studies have consistently shown that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and low-income communities are more vulnerable to environmental hazards. Therefore, if these communities are more exposed to flooding, we hypothesize they will have less trust in flood mitigation strategies to protect them; yet trust is understudied …

Radical Urban Natures: Mitigating Urban Heat With Nature-Based Techniques In Portland, Oregon, Heather Day-Melgar

Dissertations and Theses

Anthropogenic rising heat associated with climatic changes in the built environment has become a serious global issue. The built environment is often comprised of impermeable, paved surfaces, lack of vegetation to make way for development, tree removal, and loss or alteration of urban waterways, which leads to a degraded ecosystem for humans and non-human life, and less of an ability for carbon capture, all of which contribute to higher urban temperatures. This alteration of the existing natural environment leads to populations often unable to conceptualize that a built environment is still an ecosystem, and restoration is possible and necessary for …

Participatory Mapping Of Tree Equity, Preferences, And Environmental Justice In Portland, Or, Katharine Vezin Gregory

Dissertations and Theses

Studies have shown that marginalized communities do not have the same access as more privileged groups to urban tree canopy cover due to historic and current processes of discrimination and disinvestment. This study explores the lived experiences, narratives, and values related to trees and greenspaces for residents of Portland, OR, through participatory mapping focus groups. It uses an environmental justice and urban political ecology framework to examine how values, lived experiences, and narratives compare for Portland residents across neighborhoods, socio-economic status, and racial or ethnic identity and how the changes that matter to residents can inform more just urban greening …

Interaction Of Adhd Severity And Neighborhood-Level Ses On Preschoolers’ Risk For Obesity At School-Age, Ramya V. Jayanthi

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) oftentimes emerges during the preschool years. School-age children with ADHD are at an increased risk for obesity as compared to their non-ADHD peers, but it is unknown if this risk is observed in younger children. Socioeconomic status (SES) is negatively related to both ADHD and obesity, but how SES interacts with ADHD to affect later obesity is unknown. This study aimed to examine if preschool ADHD diagnosis and severity interacted with neighborhood-level SES to increase risk for overweight/obesity and greater growth in BMI at school-age. We hypothesized that ADHD severity/diagnosis would be associated with greater growth …

Examining Indigenous Engagement In The Formulation Of Nationally Determined Contributions (Ndcs): A Comparative Study Of Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, And Bolivia, Viviana K. Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses

This study assesses the extent to which indigenous peoples have been included in the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) of four Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. By examining the consequences of their exclusion, the study highlights the political marginalization of indigenous peoples. In addition, the study explores avenues for voicing indigenous concerns through regional organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICHR). By identifying lessons for Latin American states and advocating for regional cooperation, the research aims to strengthen the position of indigenous peoples in international climate negotiations …

Efficiency In The Upper Deschutes Basin: Understanding The Hydrosocial Implications Of Irrigation Canal Piping, Rebecca Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

In response to water scarcity, irrigation efficiency projects aim to conserve water for in-stream flow and agricultural use. Piping irrigation canals is a common irrigation efficiency method which reduces the loss of incidental recharge, resulting in trade-offs within a hydrosocial system. Few studies have focused on the consequences of canal piping and none have integrated a critical analysis of the social factors involved in deciding what constitutes 'efficient' water use. This study seeks to fill this gap by combining natural and social science to give attention to the scales and perspectives involved in irrigation efficiency canal piping and the material …

Erasure Through Engagement: The Community Resettlement Of Isle De Jean Charles, Meghan Elizabeth Sullivan

Dissertations and Theses

The State of Louisiana and the national media have claimed that the community resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles (IDJC) is an example of a 'model resettlement' for communities experiencing the impacts of climate change. At the outset, the project was advocated and led by the tribal leadership of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe. Although, through the course of the resettlement the supposed partnership between the State of Louisiana and the Tribe has dissolved. This study seeks to provide a robust and in-depth understanding of the planning and implementation process of the IDJC resettlement to …

Patricia Carpio Whiting: Women, Environmentalism, And The Oregon Legislature In The 1970s, Kim L. Andrews

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the life of one woman, Patricia Carpio Whiting, during the second half of the twentieth century, in an effort to expand the genre of women and environmental studies. It provides context for Carpio Whiting's accomplishments as an elected official in Oregon by describing her childhood in Chicago and her formative years in California, particularly how growing up Filipino American shaped her as an adult. As such, this thesis engages themes of gender, race, and class in historical scholarship. The thesis focuses on Carpio Whiting's life in Oregon and explores the opportunities and challenges facing women as they …

Mapping Ecosystem Service Flows Of Estuary Restoration Projects On The Oregon Coast To Identify Impacted Stakeholders, Shersten King Finley

Dissertations and Theses

The recent impetus for estuarine restoration has largely focused on resolving key ecological problems; however, less is known about how people might benefit or be impacted by restoration. By mapping benefits that flow from functional salt marshes and estuarine systems I examined how different social groups might be impacted by restoration based on race and class. In this study, I considered three ecosystem services (recreation, aesthetics, cultural/historical/spiritual) and where they might impact surrounding communities. In this paper I argue that stakeholder groups can be identified by mapping ecosystem service flow areas. I hypothesized that these three ecosystem services would have …

Higher Education Futures: The Transformative Potential Of Using Critical Foresights Practices & Arts Based Research In Our Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, And Incomprehensible (Bani) World, Sheila Christine Mullooly

Dissertations and Theses

Our institutional approaches to problems in the changing global landscape of internationalized higher education are being challenged, and many scholars call for new approaches for understanding and addressing the complex problems we face (e.g., la paperson). The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the need to make changes in how we approach our evolving problems and possibilities for human-centric transformation. This multi-paper dissertation is a call to action and proposes the use of new approaches to research and educational practice--specifically, critical futures studies and arts-based research. Design justice principles and participatory action approaches frame and motivate these possibilities. First, "A Public …

Neighborhood Predictors Of E-Cigarette Retailer Density In New York City, Laena Orkin-Prol

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The rampant expansion of the e-cigarette market over the last decade in the U.S. is a threat to the health of the public—due to the e-cigarette’s appeal to young people, addictiveness, and harms of consumption. It is vital to study the distribution of e-cigarette retailers of different types in major urban centers, such as New York City (NYC), to identify if certain neighborhoods are overburdened with retailers and if intervention is required. The current research on the e-cigarette retailer environment is limited in its scope and methods used.

Objective: To investigate neighborhood attributes associated with e-cigarette retailer density in …

Linking Conservation And Environmental Justice: Exploring Relationship-Building Between A Land Trust And Four Pacific Northwest Tribes, C. Noel Plemmons

Dissertations and Theses

Conservation organizations around the world are addressing exclusionary policies and implicit biases that have alienated segments of society from both the conservation movement and natural places. Native American tribes make up one segment of society with a particular interest in and deep ties to land and resources. Vancouver, Washington-based Columbia Land Trust recognizes tribes' special relationships with their ancestral lands and resources thereon, but has struggled to develop policies that involve tribes in conserved areas and conservation plans. The conception among mainstream scientists that western conservation science is better equipped than Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) to determine best practices is …

Nature-Based Solutions In Environmental Planning: Ecosystem-Based Adaptations, Green Infrastructures, And Ecosystem Services To Promote Diversity In Urban Landscapes, Lorena Alves Carvalho Nascimento

Dissertations and Theses

Nature-based solutions encompass strategies that explore ecosystem-based adaptations, green infrastructures, and ecosystem services in environmental planning and landscape management. However, nature-based solutions do not always consider ecological values and perspectives from Black, Indigenous, and Global South population. This dissertation has three independent papers that explore the application of ecosystem-based adaptations, green infrastructures, and ecosystem services in communities unheard by environmental planning agencies. The first paper is a conceptual framework that used literature review and observations of current human-nature interactions to reflect how the criminalization, acculturation, and cultural appropriation of cultural ecosystem services have burdened Black and Indigenous identities. Recommendations for …

Online Activism And Real Life Environmentalism, Emily Grace Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

Past and present human activities have created and accelerated an array of environmental catastrophes and various systems in the environment remain under threat as a result of human behavior. In hopes of mitigating environmental consequences, a social movement has arisen to encourage people to behave in ways that are more environmentally sustainable. Research shows that individual behavior choices impact the environment, and this influence can be used to positively affect the environment through engagement in pro-environmental behavior. Like with many other social movements, the internet has been a tool in spreading awareness of a cause and allowing people the opportunity …

A Ground-Based Assessment Framework For Validating Diesel Particulate Emission Models And Applicability In Portland, Or, Kirsten Marie Sarle

Dissertations and Theses

Exposure to diesel emissions causes a range of health effects throughout the body, impairing; respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous, renal, and cognitive systems. Diesel particulate matter (DPM) in Portland, Oregon is prevalent due to the layout of highly trafficked roadways, rail lines, and marine ports exposing a dense population to high levels of exhaust pollution. These high concentrations of ambient diesel emissions disproportionately impact minority and low-income populations.

Ground-based monitoring and modeling are two ways to assess ambient DPM. However, there are uncertainties in modeled DPM due to knowledge gaps in emissions inventories as well as lack of model validation against …

Allergy And Anaphylaxis From The Prehospital Perspective, Anthony E. Conrardy

Dissertations and Theses

Anaphylaxis is considered a severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction that occurs suddenly after contact with an allergy causing substance. It is estimated that up to 5% of the population has experienced anaphylaxis, with 1% of hospitalizations and 0.1% of emergency department patients having fatal outcomes. We characterized the population of patients encountered by the EMS agency (786 patients) that had a provider impression of “allergic reaction” and then utilized logistic regression models to estimate associations with the administration of epinephrine in the prehospital setting. Additionally, we used incident location data for all patient encounters of the EMS agency …

Agency, Sense Of Place, And Knowledge On The Zumwalt Prairie: A Social Study Of Place-Based Conservation And Resilience, Dana Elyse Hellman

Dissertations and Theses

Shifting and often diminishing environmental conditions, due to climate change, resource loss, and ecosystem degradation, pose a significant concern to both social and ecological systems. The field of conservation science has attempted to address environmental threats through varying approaches, transitioning from fortress conservation and complete human exclusion to community-based and co-managed models which incorporate human actors and social dimensions in the conservation process. The latest iteration of conservation scholarship, place-based conservation, is deeply rooted in interdisciplinary, social scientific thinking, and calls for significant practitioner engagement with local knowledge, practices, social constructions, and place meanings. It is an approach which emphasizes …

An Evaluation Of Respiratory Exacerbation In New York City Given Current Trends In Climate Variability And Predictive Sociodemographic Factors, Sarah L.R. Kuril

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Within the last century, the massive increase in emissions due to economic growth has made climate variability a major problem for many of the industrialized countries and an emerging problem for the rest of the world. With an increasing number of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, cold fronts, floods, heavy rain, and storms, individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma remain a vulnerable population, placing them at highest risk of respiratory exacerbation. This dissertation aims to contribute to our understanding of how climate variability, which can influence patterns of rainfall, temperature and other variables on …

Collaboration And Evaluation In Urban Sustainability And Resilience Transformations: The Keys To A Just Transition?, Liliana Elizabeth Caughman

Dissertations and Theses

Climate has changed and will continue changing; city populations are swelling as urbanization continues to accelerate; extreme environmental events like heat waves and floods are becoming more severe and more common; and the climate justice movement is rapidly gaining momentum. It in this context that municipal governments find themselves urgently seeking solutions to transition cities from extractive, vulnerable, and unjust to sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The task is complex and will require systemic transformations across interconnected social, environmental, and economic infrastructures. Emerging theories regarding how to govern such massive changes suggest Transition Management strategies and the values of a just …

Wildlife Connectivity Modeling For The Northern Red-Legged Frog In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Oregon, Amanda Hilary Temple

Dissertations and Theses

Effective habitat connectivity tools that use GIS data perform well in remote areas but may not be as dependable in urban environments. The goal was to study uses and limitations of a conservation management tool in development, the Metro Regional Habitat Connectivity Toolkit, which evaluates connectivity for and permeability of wildlife movement. Habitat quality scores are generated from GIS-derived and field collected data such as connectivity patch/matrix characteristics, water source, vegetation, other structural components, wildlife observations, and human disturbance at survey sites. I compared GIS and field generated habitat quality scores for the Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora) …

Unpacking The Process And Outcomes Of Ethical Markets: A Focus On Certified B Corporations, Renée Bogin Curtis

Dissertations and Theses

The growth in conscious consumption presents an opportunity to 1) better understand the potential outcomes of ethical market practices as a community-advocacy tool and 2) to consider potential policy considerations. The marketplace has increasingly become an arena for social action. This leads to the question of how can markets facilitate ethical business practices and community benefits? The recent rise of social benefit corporations warrants an evaluation of the outcomes of ethically-driven markets. Using a comparative research design and qualitative interview methods, this study examines certified Benefit Corporations (B Corps) in two selected cities: Philadelphia and Portland. Through interviews with B …

Emergent Women's Global Political Leadership: Progress Despite Constraints, Aoife Meehan

Dissertations and Theses

“Emergent Women’s Global Political Leadership: Progress Despite Constraints” seeks to trace why and how female political leaders emerge at the global level. Evidence points to certain cultural factors, often expressed by laws, constraining or supporting women as they seek political advancement. Data shows women leaders are emerging more and more, though slowly, as political leaders around the world. Reviewing women’s participation and representation regionally and nationally in parliaments, as ministers, and as heads of governments and states confirms that women can and do emerge as political leaders. Finally, learning about and examining women leaders themselves, their style and substance, proves …

Identifying With Remida: Early Childhood Educators’ Experiences With Reuse Materials In Reggio Emilia Inspired Identity Studies, Michelle Angela Domingues

Dissertations and Theses

Mainstream approaches to identity studies in early childhood education (ECE) are problematic from both social constructivist and early childhood education for sustainability perspectives. Mainstream approaches are influenced by behaviorist theories of developmental psychology literature which privilege individual identity, whereas emerging discourses in identity theory trend toward discussing the multiplicity of social identities. Alternatively, and in contrast to traditional behaviorist and cognitive learning theories, cultural centers like Reggio Emilia, Italy’s Remida Creative Recycling Center promote reuse material projects that socially construct identities in Reggio’s Municipal Infant/Toddler Centers and Preprimary Schools by giving value to waste materials through offering such materials in …

Tree Canopy Cover And Potential In Portland, Or: A Spatial Analysis Of The Urban Forest And Capacity For Growth, Jeff Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Urban forests have positive impacts on human and ecosystem health, reduce stress on aging stormwater infrastructure, increase property values, and reduce energy consumption. The scale of these benefits ranges from the hyper-local to the global. While the benefits of urban forests can extend well beyond the boundaries of cities, they often do not reach all residents of the city equally. Urban forest policies do not adequately address environmental equity or employ planting strategies with knowledge of the social and political factors that determine the spatial variations of tree canopy extent in cities. Chapter I analyzes the determinants of current canopy …

Recognizing And Addressing Risk Ambiguity In Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning: A Case Study Of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Mary Ann Rozance

Dissertations and Theses

As coastal cities around the world identify and implement adaptations to sea level rise, they are faced with competing interests around what should be done and how to prioritize actions. Often, environmental problems--like confronting the challenge of sea level rise--are posed as requiring expert driven, technical solutions to identify and mitigate risks across the landscape. This framing, however, ignores the way in which diverse knowledge can help inform long-term planning horizons that address complex ways that sea level rise affects communities. The failure to integrate diverse knowledge into sea level rise adaptation can result in barriers to implementation and outcomes …

Mold, Allergic Diseases And Asthma: Assessing The Validity And Usefulness Of Indoor Air Sampling As A Tool In Providing Health Protective Advice To Occupants, William M. Sothern

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Asthma is a major health problem throughout the world, disproportionately affecting occupants of low-income housing, and exposure to damp and moldy living conditions is recognized as a significant risk factor for asthma and other respiratory diseases. However, there are no authoritative health guidance values (HGV's) for airborne mold, and current scientific thought holds that the establishment of such guidelines is not practicable. Nonetheless, environmental practitioners take air samples for mold as a routine component of their indoor environmental investigations and use the laboratory results as a tool together with other findings to guide recommendations for health protective actions. The …

Environmental Justice In Natural Disaster Mitigation Policy And Planning: A Case Study Of Flood Risk Management In Johnson Creek, Portland, Oregon, Seong Yun Cho

Dissertations and Theses

This study aims to explore the possibility of environmental justice as social consensus and an institutional framework to reduce socioeconomic differences in natural disaster vulnerability through a case study of flood risk management in Johnson Creek, Portland, Oregon. First, by analyzing institutions, policies, and currently ongoing flood mitigation projects, this study investigates how federal and local governments are addressing and responding to current flood problems. Second, through flood expert surveys and GIS spatial analysis, this study examines various factors that contribute to communities' susceptibility to flood risks, and whether there exist spatial differences between physically and socioeconomically vulnerable communities within …