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Articles 1 - 21 of 21
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Completing And Improving The Collection Of Data For Carbon Reporting, Madeline Petty
Completing And Improving The Collection Of Data For Carbon Reporting, Madeline Petty
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Global carbon emissions from individual, organizational, and institutional activities influence the environment. Organizations and institutions use sustainability reporting methods to regularly track and report metrics relating to emissions from collective activity, yet data needed for such reporting can be difficult and time-consuming to collect. Multiple institutions, particularly universities, often use digital, standardized carbon footprint reporting tools to help overcome these challenges. Still, using digital reporting tools does not alleviate all challenges faced in regular carbon reporting due to the lack of data collection structure among university departments. This scholarly activity attempted to calculate the carbon footprint of Western Kentucky University …
Rosalie Edge And The Modern Environmental Movement, Elizabeth Claire Coleman
Rosalie Edge And The Modern Environmental Movement, Elizabeth Claire Coleman
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
This thesis examines and follows the actions of an understudied activist in the environmentalist movement: Rosalie Edge. This thesis relies and encourages a combination of conservation, environmentalism, and historical women’s history in America. Rosalie Edge’s work as an environmentalist created a new and effective way for environmentalists to advocate for the environment around them. She created a pamphlet medium that invited scientists and other conservationists to publish writings and opinions that went against what the Audubon Society, the Biological Survey, and legislators were doing and publishing. The research for this project combines analysis from other professionals in the field with …
Kentuckians' Perception Of The Environment And Use Of Outdoor Public Spaces, Grace Herrmann
Kentuckians' Perception Of The Environment And Use Of Outdoor Public Spaces, Grace Herrmann
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Understanding how people perceive the environment and built public outdoor spaces is valuable in determining the direction of future development in the state. Further, understanding the emotions relating to the environment, both the natural and built public environments is instrumental in guiding future planning. This project aimed to understand Kentuckians’ perception of the environment and their use of public outdoor spaces such as parks, farmer markets, bike lanes, and walking paths through the use of a digital survey. Respondents to this survey are Kentuckians over the age of 18. The digital survey was split into four sections. The first section …
A Review And Comparison Of U.S. State Wildlife Action Plans For Stonefly (Insecta, Plecoptera) Species Of Greatest Conservation Need, Kathryn Greene
A Review And Comparison Of U.S. State Wildlife Action Plans For Stonefly (Insecta, Plecoptera) Species Of Greatest Conservation Need, Kathryn Greene
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) were created in order to identify Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and develop plans to prevent their populations from further decline and the possibility of being listed as threatened or endangered. Which SGCNs are included are decided based on characteristics that determine their vulnerability. As of early 2021, approximately 720stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera) species are found in the U.S., but only 143 are listed as SGCN. Only 29 states have stoneflies included on their SGCN lists, but 37 states use EPT (Ephemeroptera + Plecoptera + Trichoptera) metrics when assessing water quality issues in running water …
Pathways To Self-Governance And Success: An Exploratory Study Of Community Gardens In Louisville, Kentucky, Amanda Beavin
Pathways To Self-Governance And Success: An Exploratory Study Of Community Gardens In Louisville, Kentucky, Amanda Beavin
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Those involved in community gardens face multiple challenges to survival, including land tenure, lack of funding, lack of sustained interest, and poor infrastructure, but many successful, long-lasting gardens have found management style to be a key aspect of their success. This project investigated three community gardens in Louisville, Kentucky, in order to determine how self-governance, or internal management by gardeners, overlaps with other success indicators and what development processes lead to successful self-governance. Using qualitative, semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the researcher gathered and analyzed data relative to each garden site’s land tenure, community engagement, environmental design, resource mobilization, and …
Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford
Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Urban forestry is an environmental solution for an increasingly city-centered world. The ecosystem services that trees provide in natural settings, including carbon sequestration, oxygen production and aesthetic beauty, also apply in urban settings. Every tree in the Western Kentucky University (WKU) urban forest provides these services and each tree was measured to determine how much carbon they sequestered a year on average between 2015 and 2020. With an interactive map of the forest and its carbon sequestration, the condition of the forest and change over the five year period was analyzed. Comparing the welfare of the forest with the plans …
Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper
Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
In an effort to increase the amount of locally sourced food utilized by dining services at WKU, the Office of Sustainability, WKU Restaurant Group, and the WKU Agriculture & Research Education Center have partnered to establish garden spaces on campus properties. This project developed a detailed plan for implementation of this effort. In addition, this project established a plan to educate students and the local community alike on the benefits of sustainable farming and locally-sourced food, while also creating profiles on local farmers from whom the university could buy crops in order to further supplement items for dining services. Using …
Bridging The Food Gap: Founding And Sustaining A Food Recovery Network Chapter At Wku, Elaine Losekamp
Bridging The Food Gap: Founding And Sustaining A Food Recovery Network Chapter At Wku, Elaine Losekamp
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Food waste is a pervasive global issue with many environmental and social repercussions. While about one-third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste, many people in the United States and the world are affected by food insecurity. Food recovery, the process of rescuing edible food that would otherwise go to waste and delivering to hungry people, is an effective solution for both food waste and food insecurity. The author of this capstone created a food recovery program at Western Kentucky University (WKU) in January 2019 and has grown the program’s scope and impact since that time. This …
Wku Greeks Go Green: Mobilizing Community For A Cause, Claire Kaelin
Wku Greeks Go Green: Mobilizing Community For A Cause, Claire Kaelin
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Sustainability, or meeting the needs of current generations without sacrificing the needs of future generations, has become an increasingly pressing issue as more and more people realize that humanity is living far beyond its means. Greeks Go Green was a new competition on campus seeking to address this issue, by harnessing the power of the Greek competitive spirit and pitting organizations against each other to have the most sustainable chapter. Its goal was to not only have a tangible impact as a community, but to also show members of the Greek community how easy it is to make a difference …
An Analysis Of Urban Heat Islands In Kentucky, Logan Mitchell
An Analysis Of Urban Heat Islands In Kentucky, Logan Mitchell
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
The purpose of this research is to increase understanding of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in Kentucky by studying its three largest cities: Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green. By examining the UHIs of these three cities, two major attributes can be determined: if there is a relationship between the size of the city by population and the UHI magnitude, and if UHI magnitude follows any diurnal and/or seasonal cycles. Data was collected from weather stations within the three major cities, as well as from weather stations located in the rural areas surrounding them. The length of the time series …
The Voice Of Iceland: Communication Of Climate Science Through Choral Music, Jason Fox
The Voice Of Iceland: Communication Of Climate Science Through Choral Music, Jason Fox
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
As the environmental sciences expand with the intent to more fully analyze and understand human interactions with the environment in a time of rapid environmental change, a need has arisen to more widely communicate new environmental knowledge with the public; however, environmental communication efforts often fail to capture the interest of audiences in relatable, emotional ways. This research constitutes an exploratory evaluation of the potential of choral music to effectively communicate climate change to musical audiences using Iceland as a geographic backdrop. Based on the author’s own experiences regarding climate change in Iceland, a three-movement original choral composition Icelandic Sketches: …
Comparing Building Modeling Software To The Energy Record Of A Preexisting Structure, Nathan Lasley
Comparing Building Modeling Software To The Energy Record Of A Preexisting Structure, Nathan Lasley
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Buildings are complex systems - even "simple" residential structures. Many factors go into building energy consumption and the design to reduce it. Computer energy modeling allows the simultaneous consideration and balance of many of those variables. Computer models are only as good as the information provided however. Tools like blower door and duct blaster can be used to aid in verifying the model or to provide more information to build a better model. In order to verify of building computer energy simulation methods, the Western Kentucky University (WKU) Office of Sustainability located at 503 Regents Ave. in Bowling Green KY …
Icelandic Fisheries: Scenario Planning For Climate Change, Tara Sorrels
Icelandic Fisheries: Scenario Planning For Climate Change, Tara Sorrels
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
This study aimed to develop an understanding of how a scenario planning process could be used to assist businesses to adapt to climate change. The focus of this study was on the Icelandic fishing industry since Iceland is experiencing firsthand climate change impacts. Mitigation strategies are the main focus in climate change research, but this study focused on a possible adaptation method that requires changing management practices in order to reduce the impact of climate change on the economy. Tours of Icelandic fisheries and interviews with individuals within the Icelandic fishing industry were conducted to assess the current adaptive capacity …
Expanding The Applicability Of Raman Spectroscopy For Monitoring Photocatalytic Degradation, Franklyn Wallace
Expanding The Applicability Of Raman Spectroscopy For Monitoring Photocatalytic Degradation, Franklyn Wallace
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Compared to other types of wastewater pollutants, dangerous chemical compounds such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and herbicides are difficult to remove and consequently being detected (at least in part because detection limits have decreased) in drinking water at increasing concentrations. Photocatalytic degradation degrades harmful compounds to innocuous end products using energy from light. Although it is effective and cost-efficient, the underlying chemical mechanisms are not understood well enough to ensure that dangerous intermediate products are not formed during the degradation process. Raman spectroscopy can be used to analyze photocatalytic degradation reactions in real time, identifying intermediate products based on spectral features. …
Universities And Sustainable Food Practices: An International Comparison Along The Pacific Coast Of North America, Alexandra Schulte
Universities And Sustainable Food Practices: An International Comparison Along The Pacific Coast Of North America, Alexandra Schulte
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
My research project examined sustainable practices in relation to food sources at three universities located along the Pacific Coast of North America. The academic institutions were the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. These schools were selected because while they each foster an abundance of “local” foods and food industries, they represent different stages in the three pillars of sustainability for food practices. My project sought to understand the role of each institution in building a local and sustainable food culture at each university. I …
Aggressive Acoustic Behavior In Yasuhikotakia Modesta: Does The Lombard Effect Hold Water?, Bethany Coffey
Aggressive Acoustic Behavior In Yasuhikotakia Modesta: Does The Lombard Effect Hold Water?, Bethany Coffey
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
The Lombard effect is the automatic and involuntary change in the intensity of vocalizations in the presence of background noise in order to maintain a constant signal to noise ratio. While this phenomenon is commonly found in vocalizing terrestrial vertebrates, it had not previously been examined in aquatic vertebrates such as fishes. This experiment tests the presence of the Lombard effect in the red-finned loach, Yasuhikotakia modesta, which make two types of sounds: butting and clicking. I recorded three pairs of Y. modesta during aggressive interactions over territory and compared the sounds produced in silence with sounds produced …
Large, Long-Lived Convective Systems Over Subtropical South America And Their Relationships With Atmospheric Teleconnections, Kyle Mattingly
Large, Long-Lived Convective Systems Over Subtropical South America And Their Relationships With Atmospheric Teleconnections, Kyle Mattingly
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
This study provides a climatological assessment of persistent elongated convective systems (PECS) over subtropical South America during the austral warm seasons of 1998-2007 and a comparison of PECS frequency and physical characteristics to mesoscale convective complexes (MCCs) in the region. Relationships between the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) and El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnections and large, long-lived convective systems (LLCSs) are explored. An average of 143 PECS and 37 MCCs occurred per warm season. PECS lasted longer on average than MCCs (17 hrs. vs. 14 hrs.) and reached a greater average maximum cloud-shield extent than MCCs (297,300 km2 vs. 256,500 …
Long-Term Changes To The Frost-Free Season As A Function Of Climatic Continentality, Ian Blaylock
Long-Term Changes To The Frost-Free Season As A Function Of Climatic Continentality, Ian Blaylock
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
The beginning, end, and length of the annual frost-free season vary considerably both spatially and temporally. The continentality of the climate of a given area has a close connection with the magnitude and nature of these variations. Long term changes in the frost-free season can be divided into three distinct phases: a lengthening of the frost-free season in the early 20th century, a shortening in the mid-20th century, and a renewed, intensified lengthening from 1970 to today. While oceanic and ultraoceanic climates experience decreased incidence of frosts relative to their continental counterparts, analysis has shown that overall 20 …
The Economic Impact Of The Kentucky Green River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (Crep), Lorie B. Owen
The Economic Impact Of The Kentucky Green River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (Crep), Lorie B. Owen
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
This study examines the impact of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) on fourteen Kentucky counties. The CREP program is an advancement of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which began nationally in 1985. The primary intention of both programs is to improve water quality and reduce soil erosion. Thus, in order to stimulate conservation efforts, farmers are given an opportunity to remove land from current production and still reap financial benefits. When CREP was introduced to Kentucky in 2002, the program provided far more lucrative incentives than the parent program. In 2007 CREP underwent an amendment process that broadened the …
Development And Recycling Of Novel Arsenic Removal Technology, Morgan Jones
Development And Recycling Of Novel Arsenic Removal Technology, Morgan Jones
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
As of 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) changed the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic from 50 parts per billion (ppb), to 10ppb because of links to cancer. Current remediation technologies are expensive; therefore, this change will result in increased economic pressure on rural communities with high levels of arsenic in their drinking water. Lowering of the standard has spurred the development of a novel remediation technology that has shown the ability to reduce arsenic in drinking water at the source, with the added benefit of low-cost disposal of a stable and benign waste product in ordinary landfills. …
Brownfield Development: A New Approach To An Old Problem, Jennifer Corum
Brownfield Development: A New Approach To An Old Problem, Jennifer Corum
Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
An alarming number of abandoned properties in the United States stifle community productivity and pose serious health risks. Changes in environmental liability laws may effectively remediate these sites, but brownfield rehabilitation requires careful cost benefit analysis on a per-site basis.