Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sndo Hector's Helpers Youth Engaging The Community Through Social Media: Annual Progress Report, Period Covering June 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

The Hector’s Helpers Youth Engaging the Community through Social Media project was designed to develop civic and environmental stewardship skills as students receive training in administering social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, twitter, Youtube). The project is an extension of the Hector’s Helpers program developed through a cooperative agreement and run under the branding of Don’t Trash Nevada. Participants in the project are known as the Social Media Squad (SMS). The following activities were completed:

• Supervision of youth completing the pilot program initiated in an earlier cooperative agreement
• Recruitment of youth to apply for the Social Media Squad
• Training of Social …

Socio-Environmental Considerations At The Usuma Reservoir In Abuja, Nigeria, Fanan Ujoh Mr, James Ikyernum Mr, Olarewaju O. Ifatimehin Dr

Dr. Fanan Ujoh

Reservoirs are Man’s attempt towards water re-distribution from regions/seasons of abundance/surplus to regions/seasons of scarcity. This study focuses on socio-environmental impacts of the Lower Usuma dam in Abuja, on its four surrounding communities. Stratified random sampling technique was employed in the administration of a questionnaire to 200 respondents. Using descriptive statistics and the student t-test for the analysis, the study discovered that: (i) there has been no significant improvement in infrastructure provision by Government; (ii) cases of water-borne diseases are high; (iii) the communities have lost land for cultivation; and, (iv) the communities believe that the resettlement scheme is not …

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Andy Ruben And The Design Of Organizational Structures And Systems (B), David G. Hyatt, Andrew Spicer

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

The case “Andy Ruben and the Design of Strategic Goals and Processes” flows from the previous discussion, by moving from the development of an ambitious vision to the challenges of adopting strategic policies and processes to reach those aspirations in practice. This case puts students into the role of Andy Ruben, Walmart’s first Vice-President for Sustainability , asking them to make concrete decisions about what should be done, in what order, and by what process if they were to implement an ambitious corporate sustainability strategy. In the case, Ruben confronts specific choices about how to define the responsibilities of the …

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Lee Scott's Founding Vision, Andrew Spicer, Laura Lambdin

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

The first case—“Lee Scott’s Founding Vision”—takes the perspective from the apex of the organization as Walmart’s CEO, Lee Scott, develops and articulates his vision of what Walmart hopes to achieve by pursuing an aggressive sustainability strategy. This case explores the pressures that led Scott to announce the company’s ambitious sustainability goals: achieving zero waste, 100% renewable energy, and selling sustainable products. It also explores the choices made when defining and communicating the scope of the strategy, particularly through an in-depth analysis of his announcement of Walmart’s new goals in his October 2005, “Twenty-First Century Leadership” speech.

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Andy Ruben And The Design Of Organizaional Structures And Systems (A), Andrew Spicer, Laura Lambdin

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

The case “Andy Ruben and the Design of Strategic Goals and Processes” flows from the previous discussion, by moving from the development of an ambitious vision to the challenges of adopting strategic policies and processes to reach those aspirations in practice. This case puts students into the role of Andy Ruben, Walmart’s first Vice-President for Sustainability , asking them to make concrete decisions about what should be done, in what order, and by what process if they were to implement an ambitious corporate sustainability strategy. In the case, Ruben confronts specific choices about how to define the responsibilities of the …

Consumers And Sustainability At Walmart: A Student's Perspective, Kealy Carter, Satish Jayachandran

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

To further encourage students to analyze initial goals in comparison with outcomes over time, we have developed a consumer-oriented case—“Consumers and Sustainability at Walmart: A Student’s Perspective”—that moves beyond the perspective of internal Walmart participants to explores issues of sustainability from the point of view of a typical Walmart shopper. In this case, we examine the experience of a fictional student shopper who goes to Walmart and wants to buy sustainable products, which helps raise questions for students about what Walmart’s actions mean to them as consumers, citizens as well as business professionals. The case also asks students to evaluate …

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Defining Sustainable Products (B), David G. Hyatt, Andrew Spicer

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

In “Defining Sustainable Products (A),” we examine Walmart’s search for a systemic solution to define a sustainable product precisely. In this case, Matt Kistler, who succeeded Andy Ruben as the company sustainability leader in 2007, knows that the company is lagging behind on its espoused goal of selling sustainable products. The case asks students step into Kistler’s shoes as he leads Walmart’s sustainability office through a systematic review of the different models and frameworks available for measuring the sustainability of products presently in use. Eventually, the students face a decision about what Walmart should do to make systemic progress with …

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Defining Sustainable Products (A), David G. Hyatt, Andrew Spicer

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

In “Defining Sustainable Products (A),” we examine Walmart’s search for a systemic solution to define a sustainable product precisely. In this case, Matt Kistler, who succeeded Andy Ruben as the company sustainability leader in 2007, knows that the company is lagging behind on its espoused goal of selling sustainable products. The case asks students step into Kistler’s shoes as he leads Walmart’s sustainability office through a systematic review of the different models and frameworks available for measuring the sustainability of products presently in use. Eventually, the students face a decision about what Walmart should do to make systemic progress with …

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Peter Redmond And The Search For Sustainable Seafood, David G. Hyatt

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

In “Peter Redmond and the Search for Sustainable Seafood,” students examine the responses of Peter Redmond, Vice President and Divisional Merchandise Manager of Deli and Seafood, to organizational pressures to make seafood more sustainable at Walmart.

Water Consumption In Southern Nevada, Paul Conyers

COLA 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

With its massive hotels, casinos, restaurants, and dramatic architecture it can be easy to forget that Las Vegas resides in the middle of a desert receiving just 4.5 inches of rain per year. Its population has grown immensely to nearly 2 million as of 2012 and that is without including the more than 30 million tourists visiting every year. With this growth more and more water is needed to keep yards and golf courses green, to keep the fountains of Bellagio flowing, to support the habitats of Mandalay Bay and the Flamingo, and to allow Las Vegas to maintain its …

Moving Forward: Preventing Water Shortage For Nevada, Sandra Blandon, Brianna Lyon

COLA 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

Southern Nevada is located in the arid Mojave Desert, which averages about 4 inches of rain each year. Southern Nevada gets about 90% of its water supply from the Colorado River. Seven western states and Mexico share the river. This means that The Colorado River provides water to 25 million people.

Feast And Famine In A Global World Food: Compare And Contrast: Palms Bistro Buffet Vs. Bally's Steakhouse, Selina Abai

COLA 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

The strip is known for its flashing lights, water show, Hotels & Casinos, and the restaurants and buffets. Within the city of Las Vegas there are 2,187 restaurants and over 300 buffets. The food chain in Las Vegas is rapidly growing with more industries and companies opening.

Life Cafe: Food Conservation And Health, Michelle Panko

COLA 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

Challenges of Health and Conservation in Las Vegas

• Las Vegas is a very large and busy city, with locals operating on a very hectic agenda often times resulting with a need for instant gratification.
• Because of this, many food industries in Las Vegas tend to distribute unhealthy foods in large Quantities.
• According to the Springs preserve NV blog, Las wastes produces 9,000 tons of trash a day.

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Based on review of climate projections for the …

Sustainable Municipal Operations: Albany, Oregon, Portland State University. Hatfield School Of Government. Center For Public Service, Ed Gallagher, Dave Rouse, Dennis Kurtz, Tanya Johnston

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Portland State University, Hatfield School of Government (PSU), and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), has formed a partnership to develop Sustainable Municipal Operations Plans that documents sustainability and energy management best practices. The goal of this partnership is to determine how a City/municipality can actively manage energy as a controllable expense by following a predetermined operation protocol. The PSU team developed a framework of best practices for sustainable municipal operations in different categories including facilities, fleet, purchasing, operations and the work environment. After identifying pilot jurisdictions, the team applied these best practices to the current operations of local governments in …

Sustainable County Operations: Yamhill County, Oregon, Portland State University. Hatfield School Of Government. Center For Public Service, Ed Gallagher, Dave Rouse, Dennis Kurtz, Tanya Johnston

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Portland State University, Hatfield School of Government (PSU), and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), has formed a partnership to develop Sustainable Municipal Operations Plans that documents sustainability and energy management best practices. The goal of this partnership is to determine how a county/municipality can actively manage energy as a controllable expense by following a predetermined operation protocol. The PSU team developed a framework of best practices for sustainable municipal operations in different categories including facilities, fleet, purchasing, operations and the work environment. After identifying pilot jurisdictions, the team applied these best practices to the current operations of local governments in …

Sustainable Municipal Operations: Independence, Oregon, Portland State University. Hatfield School Of Government. Center For Public Service, Ed Gallagher, Dave Rouse, Dennis Kurtz, Tanya Johnston

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Portland State University, Hatfield School of Government (PSU), and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), has formed a partnership to develop Sustainable Municipal Operations Plans that documents sustainability and energy management best practices. The goal of this partnership is to determine how a City/municipality can actively manage energy as a controllable expense by following a predetermined operation protocol. The PSU team developed a framework of best practices for sustainable municipal operations in different categories including facilities, fleet, purchasing, operations and the work environment. After identifying pilot jurisdictions, the team applied these best practices to the current operations of local governments in …

Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert J. Brecha

Physics Faculty Publications

Debates about the possibility of a near-term maximum in world oil production have become increasingly prominent over the past decade, with the focus often being on the quantification of geologically available and technologically recoverable amounts of oil in the ground. Economically, the important parameter is not a physical limit to resources in the ground, but whether market price signals and costs of extraction will indicate the efficiency of extracting conventional or nonconventional resources as opposed to making substitutions over time for other fuels and technologies. We present a hybrid approach to the peak-oil question with two models in which the …

Technical Feasibility Of Small-Scale Oilseed And On-Farm Biodiesel Production: A Vermont Case Study, Emily J. Stebbins-Wheelock, Robert Parsons, Qingbin Wang, Heather Darby, Vernon Grubinger

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This article investigates the technical feasibility of small-scale oilseed production and on-farm processing of biodiesel and livestock feed using primary data from two Vermont farms. Results indicate that small-scale production of sunflowers, canola, and soybeans, and on-farm processing of livestock feed and biodiesel are technically feasible, but yields depend on many factors. Increased local expertise, information-sharing among the farm and Extension communities, and improved access to harvesting and processing equipment can improve productivity and efficiency. Additional experience in seed drying and expeller pressing techniques should reduce fat content in the seed meal, improve meal value, and improve oil production efficiency. …

Co2 Injection Into A Deep Saline Aquifer: Porosity Measurements, Numerical Modeling, And Costs Associated With Uncertainty Of Petrophysical Parameters, Michael John Gragg

Masters Theses

Anthropogenic levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂) have increased rapidly over the last several decades and coincide with rising temperatures globally. One possible solution is to capture CO₂ before it is released into the atmosphere by large point sources, such as fossil fuel power plants. Once captured, the CO₂ can be condensed and transported to a storage facility. Of the available options for storage of condensed CO₂, geologic sequestration in deep saline aquifers is considered the most viable option.

Porosity measurements were obtained for nearly 100 core samples of the Knox …

The Effects Of Replacing Dispersed Trash And Recycling Bins With Integrated Waste Receptacles On The Accuracy Of Waste Sorting In An Academic Building, Katherine J. Binder

Masters Theses

Numerous researchers and theorists have attempted to explain the existence of the gap between the possession of environmental knowledge and awareness and the display of pro-environmental behavior (Glasser, 2007; Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). Behavior analysis is uniquely aligned to contribute to this discussion through its emphasis on the role of controlling variables in behavior change. A growing number of behavioral research studies address the challenges of group-contingencies in an effort to solve real-world gaps (Lehman & Geller, 2004). This study was designed as a continuation of the line of behavioral research designed to increase recycling rates and also as an …

Communication Of Recycling Through Labeling And Packaging, Serena Mistry

Graphic Communication

Recycling has become a more prevalent practice in the last few decades. However, the labeling system on today’s packaging is not always clear in indicating whether something is recyclable. Recently, there has been a great deal of attention directed at a new system, known as the How2Recycle label, an innovative labeling system expected to launch in the next few years. As the population continues to grow at unprecedented levels and more strain is placed on the global environment, recycling becomes more crucial. In the United States, the lack of a standard system for recycling on labeling and packaging deters people …

The Influence Of Market Proximity On National Forest Hazardous Fuels Treatments, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Susan Charnley, Cassandra Moseley

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The US Department of Agriculture Forest Service's focus on hazardous fuels reduction has increased since the adoption of the National Fire Plan in 2001. However, appropriations for hazardous fuels reduction still lag behind wildfire suppression spending. Offsetting fuels treatment costs through biomass utilization or by using innovative administrative mechanisms such as stewardship contracting are two approaches to stretching appropriated dollars further across the landscape. We use fuels treatment data (n = 8,451 locations) to ask how wood- processing infrastructure influences where and how much hazardous fuels treatments, biomass utilization, and stewardship contracting occur on national forests in Oregon and Washington. …

Long-Term Integrated Studies Show Complex And Surprising Effects Of Climate Change In The Northern Hardwood Forest, Peter M. Groffman, Lindsay E. Rustad, Pamela H. Templer, John L. Campbell, Lynn M. Christenson, Nina K. Lany, Anne M. Socci, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Paul G. Schaberg, Geoffrey W. Wilson, Charles T. Driscoll, Timothy J. Fahey, Melany C. Fisk, Christine L. Goodale, Mark B. Green, Steven P. Hamburg, Chris E. Johnson, Mryon J. Mitchell, Jennifer L. Morse, Linda H. Pardo, Nicholas L. Rodenhouse

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Evaluations of the local effects of global change are often confounded by the interactions of natural and anthropogenic factors that overshadow the effects of climate changes on ecosystems. Long-term watershed and natural elevation gradient studies at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and in the surrounding region show surprising results demonstrating the effects of climate change on hydrologic variables (e.g., evapotranspiration, streamflow, soil moisture); the importance of changes in phenology on water, carbon, and nitrogen fluxes during critical seasonal transition periods; winter climate change effects on plant and animal community composition and ecosystem services; and the effects of anthropogenic disturbances and …

Investigating The Impacts Of Conventional And Advanced Treatment Technologies On Energy Consumption At Satellite Water Reuse Plants, Jonathan Roy Bailey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the ever increasing world population and the resulting increase in industrialization and agricultural practices, depletion of two of the world's most important natural resources, water and fossil fuels, is inevitable. Water reclamation and reuse is the key to protecting these natural resources. Water reclamation using smaller decentralized wastewater treatment plants, known as satellite water reuse plants (WRP), have become popular in the last decade. With stricter standards and regulations on effluent quality and requirements for a smaller land footprint (i.e. real estate area), additional treatment processes and advanced technologies are needed. This greatly increases the energy consumption of an …

The Impact Of Advanced Wastewater Treatment Technologies And Wastewater Strength On The Energy Consumption Of Large Wastewater Treatment Plants, Timothy Stephen Newell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Wastewater treatment is an energy intensive process often requiring the use of advanced treatment technologies. Stricter effluent standards have resulted in an increase in the number of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with advanced treatment over time. Accordingly, associated energy consumption has also increased. Concerns about lowering operating costs for WWTPs and reducing associated greenhouse gas generation present an incentive to investigate energy use in WWTPs. This research investigated the impact of wastewater strength and the introduction of advanced treatment technologies, to replace traditional technologies on energy use to treat wastewater in WWTPs. Major unit processes were designed for a 100 …

Towards A Resilient Sydney: Research Into The Role Of Emergency Management In Climate Change Adaptation (Research Summary), Neil Dufty, Tim Morrison

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

Community Flood Education And Awareness In Fairfield City (Report), Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

Civic Ecology: Living Community Systems For Sustainability, Tim Smith

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Civic Ecology is a stakeholder-driven, whole systems framework for creating sustainable communities. The framework focuses on empowering citizens of all ages, cultures, and abilities to envision, create, and manage their community’s unique “software” -- the integrated energy, nutrient, water, waste, material, and food systems, as well as economic flows and cultural interactions that animate their place. Exploring and supporting these flows allows communities to enhance their local wealth (environmental, economic, and social), resilience, and competitiveness, and help them take control of designing and managing their future through collaboration and innovation. The Civic Ecology framework can be the foundation upon which …

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides