Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Exploratory Study On The Possible Effect Of Hydraulic Fracturing Activities On Air Quality In The Eagle Ford Shale Region Of Texas., Laura B. Fimibama

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eagle Ford Shale (EFS) play is one out of five major oil and gas formations in Texas, found in the South-Eastern region with approximately 30 counties. In addition to natural gas, it produces crude oil and petroleum liquids which in recent times has resulted in a surge in drilling due to a new drilling technology – hydraulic fracturing that injects massive quantities of water along with sand and chemical additives into a well to create tiny hairline cracks in rock formations. The success of this technology has made gas extraction more economically feasible. However, this technique has generated an array …

The Cosmic Web, And The Role Of Environment In Galaxy Evolution, Ryan Cybulski

Doctoral Dissertations

The Universe, on extra-galactic scales, is composed of a vast network of structures dubbed the “cosmic web”. One of the most fundamental discoveries about the evolution of galaxies is that their properties have a dependence on their location relative to this cosmic web (i.e., their environment). However, detailed studies of the environmental dependence on galaxy evolution have been extremely challenging due to the inherent complexity of the structures on the largest scales, a plethora of techniques being used to try to map the cosmic web, and other confounding factors, such as the masses of galaxies, that also affect their evolution. …

Green Energy Or Nuclear Power Plants, Besnik Skenderi, Diamanta Skenderi

UBT International Conference

World seems to go green regarding the energy, however the cost of green energy is high and as a result of security issues nuclear energy seems to be avoided, while introducing business and outsourcing concepts nuclear energy seems to be solution.

Drop By Drop

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

In October 2013 Yale University professor Sheila Levrant de Bretteville began exploring the water's edge at four Hong Kong harbours with an interdisciplinary group of students from HKDI. The issues that captured their attention formed the basis of some vivid and emotionally compelling work.

Green Chemistry: Progress And Barriers, Sarah A. Green

Michigan Tech Publications

Green chemistry can advance both the health of the environment and the primary objectives of the chemical enterprise: to understand the behavior of chemical substances and to use that knowledge to make useful substances. We expect chemical research and manufacturing to be done in a manner that preserves the health and safety of workers; green chemistry extends that expectation to encompass the health and safety of the planet. While green chemistry may currently be treated as an independent branch of research, it should, like safety, eventually become integral to all chemistry activities. While enormous progress has been made in shifting …

Impact Of Upper-Tropospheric Temperature Anomalies And Vertical Wind Shear On Tropical Cyclone Evolution Using An Idealized Version Of The Operational Gfdl Hurricane Model, Robert E. Tuleya, Morris Bender, Thomas R. Knutson, Joseph R. Sirutis, Biju Thomas, Isaac Ginis

CCPO Publications

The GFDL hurricane modeling system, initiated in the 1970s, has progressed from a research tool to an operational system over four decades. This system is still in use today in research and operations, and its evolution will be briefly described. This study used an idealized version of the 2014 GFDL model to test its sensitivity across a wide range of three environmental factors that are often identified as key factors in tropical cyclone (TC) evolution: SST, atmospheric stability (upper-air thermal anomalies), and vertical wind shear (westerly through easterly). A wide range of minimum central pressure intensities resulted (905-980 hPa). The …

Panarchy Use In Environmental Science For Risk And Resilience Planning, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Lance H. Gunderson, Igor Linkov

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Environmental sciences have an important role in informing sustainable management of built environments by providing insights about the drivers and potentially negative impacts of global environmental change. Here, we discuss panarchy theory, a multi-scale hierarchical concept that accounts for the dynamism of complex socio-ecological systems, especially for those systems with strong cross-scale feedbacks. The idea of panarchy underlies much of system resilience, focusing on how systems respond to known and unknown threats. Panarchy theory can provide a framework for qualitative and quantitative research and application in the environmental sciences, which can in turn inform the ongoing efforts in sociotechnical resilience …

Planning For Sustainability In Small Municipalities: The Influence Of Interest Groups, Growth Patterns, And Institutional Characteristics, Vanessa R. Levesque, Kathleen P. Bell, Aram J K Calhoun

Publications

How and why small municipalities promote sustainability through planning efforts is poorly understood. We analyzed ordinances in 451 Maine municipalities and tested theories of policy adoption using regression analysis.We found that smaller communities do adopt programs that contribute to sustainability relevant to their scale and context. In line with the political market theory, we found that municipalities with strong environmental interests, higher growth, and more formal governments were more likely to adopt these policies. Consideration of context and capacity in planning for sustainability will help planners better identify and benefit from collaboration, training, and outreach opportunities.

Slides: Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, Tony Mcleod

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Tony McLeod, MDBA, Murray-Darling Basin Authority

17 slides

Fact Sheet: Water Licences, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

4 pages

Contains references

Slides: Synthesis Session: Indigenous Water Symposium, Jason Anthony Robison

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Jason Robison, University of Wyoming

15 slides

Slides: Crystalised Not Frozen: Addressing Historical Exclusion Of Traditional Owners From Water, Poh-Ling Tan

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Poh-Ling Tan, Griffith University

13 slides

Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Pollution Of The Hudson River: Social Policy And Health Considerations, Laura Schad

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to examine pollution in the Hudson River and the role General Electric has had in creating this problem. The focus will be on social issues and problems that have emerged as a result of the environmental damage from pollution. Until recently, there was little research done on the health and environmental justice issues that impact the New York communities where GE’s factories were located. This paper examines the material collected and studies that were done which document Hudson River pollution and the contributions as well as cleanup efforts of General Electric. The overall problems …

Environmental Fullerene Chemistry: Elucidating Critical Reaction Pathways And Resulting Products In The Aqueous Phase, Jiewei Wu

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

As the production of fullerenes and fullerene-based materials approaches industrial scale, there are increasing interests/concerns regarding their (potential) environmental impact(s) upon release. To date, a number of critical, aqueous-based fullerene transformation pathways under environmentally relevant conditions remain poorly understood. Comprehensive, fundamental, and quantitative understanding of the potential (major) reaction pathways and resulting products of fullerene materials, particularly in aquatic systems, is now crucial for their accurate fate, transport, life cycle, risk assessment(s), and thus ultimate material sustainability.

Herein, this dissertation is focused on identifying and elucidating aqueous transformation pathways of fullerene materials, focused on C60 as a model fullerene, under …

Chapman University 2016 Environmental Audit: Residence Life Dining Services Equipment, Alexandra Fw Sidun, Devon T. Bloss

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Chapman University accommodates over 1700 student meal plans per day through the on-campus dining services provided by Sodexo Restaurant Services. The commercial-grade kitchens found in the Randall Dining Commons (RDC) of Sandhu Conference Center are frequently used to prepare food for students for every meal, seven days a week. The RDC kitchen facility has staff working around the clock and high consumption electrical, water, and gas appliances constantly running to parallel the high demand. The frequent use of commercial kitchen appliances results in an enormous consumption of energy and water resources leading to comparably high utility bills. Measuring the energy …

Impacts Of Environmental Quality On The Demographics Of Three Nations, Emily Hummel

Honors Projects

This study will examine how the correlation between air and water quality and the population demographics of India, South Africa, and the United States. India is a country with a growing population, increasing income inequality, and gender roles that reflect its status as a developing nation. South Africa is much smaller in area and the population is beginning to level off, but South Africa’s income inequality is growing much faster than India’s and gender inequality is less of an issue in South Africa. The population of the United States is decreasing and gender roles are fairly equal, despite income inequality …

Sustainability & The Environment, Marissa Parker

George Modlin Book Award

Marissa Parker, Environmental Studies and Geography, Class of 2016 at the University of Richmond, describes her process of building a book collection focusing on Sustainability and the Environment.

Thawing Out: The Role Of The Arctic Council Service In A Melting Arctic, Taylor J. Enos

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

With the changing natural and political climate of the Arctic, conflicts over resource extraction and navigation will become inevitable. Empowering an intergovernmental institution like the Arctic Council Service may be the only solution. This paper analyzes the importance and history of the Arctic as a political environment, which is prone to abuse in the very near future at the hands of Russia and the United States.

Opinion: Why Protect Nature? Rethinking Values And The Environment, Kai M. A. Chan, Patricia Balvanera, Karina Benessaiah, Mollie Chapman, Sandra Díaz, Erik Gómez-Baggethun, Rachelle Gould, Neil Hannahs, Kurt Jax, Sarah Klain, Gary W. Luck, Berta Martin-Lopez, Barbara Muraca, Bryan Norton, Konrad Ott, Et Al.

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

A cornerstone of environmental policy is the debate over protecting nature for humans’ sake (instrumental values) or for nature’s (intrinsic values) (1). We propose that focusing only on instrumental or intrinsic values may fail to resonate with views on personal and collective well-being, or “what is right,” with regard to nature and the environment. Without complementary attention to other ways that value is expressed and realized by people, such a focus may inadvertently promote worldviews at odds with fair and desirable futures. It is time to engage seriously with a third class of values, one with diverse roots and current …

The Real Footprint Of Electric Vehicles, And What That Could Mean For Our Future, Krista Brown

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper looks at the impact of electric vehicles on CO2 emissions specifically based on the type of electricity used in each New England state analyzed. The research looks at the question of whether or not emissions will in fact be lowered as electric cars start to take the majority of vehicles used instead of the conventional cars that take up a much larger percent of the motor vehicles used today. Taking into account the use of electricity and how many sources of electricity also release a substantial amount of emissions, we see how valid the public opinion of electric …

Renewable Energy Consumption: Initiatives In Colorado And Washington, Robin K. Doroff

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the use of policy mechanisms to increase renewable energy consumption within the United States. In order to effectively measure the change of renewable energy consumption, I analyze two initiatives that promote energy consumption from renewable sources and overall increases in energy conservation. Colorado and Washington had approved initiatives in the years 2004 and 2006, respectively. Although the results are not entirely statistically significant, I find that the initiatives lead to increases in total renewable energy consumption and decreases in total energy use.

2015 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative is a network for public agencies that serves the San Diego region to share expertise, leverage resources and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change planning. By partnering with academia, nonprofits, and businesses, the SDRCC also works to leverage the profile of regional leadership. This is the 2015 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report.

Relationship Between Sustainable Environmental Practices And Sustainable Value Creation: A Conceptual Study On Readymade Garments Industry Of Bangladesh, Mohammed S. Chowdhury, Zahurul Alam, Mizanur Rahaman Chowdhury

Graduate School of Business Publications and Research

Because of the increasing level of industrial contamination the demand for sustainable products and raw materials aligned with the ecological pollution has been on the rise in this horizon. This study theoretically explores the impact of sustainable environmental practices on financial performance of Ready-made Garment (RMG) companies of Bangladesh following the growing literature linking corporate sustainable environmental performance with revenue development and profitability. Various sustainable environmental practices have diverse effects on firm’s performance, as the literature review suggests. From literature review this paper reports four key areas (community, employee, environment and governance) of sustainable practices for sustainable financial performance that …

Paleoenvironmental Analysis Of Cretaceous Mudstones At Slope Mountain, Alaska Using Carbon Stable Isotopes, Ashley Ratigan

Honors Papers

This project uses field samples, microfacies analysis, and carbon stable isotopes of mudstones to determine past environmental conditions of North Slope, Alaska during the Albian-Cenomanian (Cretaceous). Samples were taken at Slope Mountain, Alaska located north of the Brooks Range. Slope Mountain includes the Torok Formation and the upper and lower Nanushuk Formations that consist of alluvial, deltaic, and shallow marine facies that were deposited into the North Slope foreland basin on the Arctic Alaska micro plate. An exhaustive search for identifiable microfossils, such as pollen, diatoms, and foraminifera in the samples yielded nothing but charcoal and carbon residue. No other …

Moocs And The Online Delivery Of Business Education: What's New? What's Not? What Now?, Jonathan W. Whitaker, J. Randolph New, R. Duane Ireland

Management Faculty Publications

Although the past 2 decades have produced much promise (and accompanying research) on the use of information technology (IT) in business school courses, it is not entirely clear whether IT has truly "transformed" management education. There are compelling arguments on both sides. On one hand, advocates for the transformative role of IT can point to several success stories. On the other hand, skeptics of the role of IT in management education can also point to support for their view. This lack of consensus has led researchers in Academy of Management Learning & Education to call for scholars to confront the …

Modeling Spatially Varying Effects Of Chemical Mixtures, Jenna Czarnota

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer incidence is associated with exposures to multiple environmental chemicals, and geographic variation in cancer rates suggests the importance of accommodating spatially varying effects in the analysis of environmental chemical mixtures and disease risk. Traditional regression methods are challenged by the complex correlation patterns inherent among co-occurring chemicals, and the applicability of geographically weighted regression models is limited in the setting of environmental chemical risk analysis. In comparison to traditional methods, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression performs well in the identification of important environmental exposures, but is limited by the assumption that effects are fixed over space. We present an …

Development Of Single And Array Electro-Chemical Sensors For Real-Time Trace Metal Analysis In Aqueous Environmental Media, Yuanyuan Yang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Detection of trace metals has great importance in environmental and biological applications. While traditional electrochemical techniques have played critical roles in this field, their usefulness is limited by temporal resolution, Hg toxicity and stability concerns. Recently, we developed a method using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) at carbon-fiber microelectrodes (CFMs) to achieve rapid measurement of metal ions with high sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. Through optimizations this method showed strengths in real-time trace metal analysis. ‬‬‬‬‬‬

‪Analytical selectivity was improved via covalent functionalization on CFMs. We employed diazonium electrochemical reduction followed by click chemistry to create robust covalent attachments. We showcased its …

A Decision Making Approach For Selection Of Sustainable Pavements In Texas By Integrating Life Cycle Cost Analysis (Lcca), Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Of Environmental And Social Impacts, Sundeep Inti

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A sustainable pavement can be defined as the one that minimally impacts future economic opportunities, social conditions, human health, and the environment and still fulfills the engineering objectives. Although a pavement as outlined above is not yet entirely feasible, continual effort from every stakeholder with a vision of achieving sustainable development is essential for the future of society. In this study, one such effort was initiated by proposing a framework for selection of pavement design based on sustainable development.

The concept of sustainability is widely believed to be founded on three criteria: economic, environmental, and social standards. Since the purpose …

Siderophore-Based Microbial Adaptations To Iron Scarcity Across The Eastern Pacific Ocean, Rene M. Boiteau, Daniel R. Mende, Nicholas J. Hawco, Matthew R. Mcilvin, Jessica N. Fitzsimmons, Peter N. Sedwick

OES Faculty Publications

Nearly all iron dissolved in the ocean is complexed by strong organic ligands of unknown composition. The effect of ligand composition on microbial iron acquisition is poorly understood, but amendment experiments using model ligands show they can facilitate or impede iron uptake depending on their identity. Here we show that siderophores, organic compounds synthesized by microbes to facilitate iron uptake, are a dynamic component of the marine ligand pool in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Siderophore concentrations in iron-deficient waters averaged 9 pM, up to fivefold higher than in iron-rich coastal and nutrient-depleted oligotrophic waters, and were dominated by amphibactins, …

Manipulating Coupling State And Magnetism Of Mn-Doped Zno Nanocrystals By Changing The Coordination Environment Of Mn Via Hydrogen Annealing, Yan Cheng, W Li, Weichang Hao, Huaizhe Xu, Zhongfei Xu, Li Rong Zheng, Jing Zhang, S X. Dou, Tianmin Wang

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Mn-doped ZnO nanocrystals are synthesized by a wet chemical route and treated in H2/Ar atmosphere with different H2/Ar ratios. It is found that hydrogen annealing could change the coordination environment of Mn in ZnO lattice and manipulate the magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnO. Mn ions initially enter into interstitial sites and a Mn3+O6 octahedral coordination is produced in the prepared Mn-doped ZnO sample, in which the nearest neighbor Mn3+ and O2 ions could form a Mn3+-O2--Mn3+ complex. After H2 annealing, interstitial Mn ions can substitute for Zn to generate the Mn2+O4 tetrahedral coordination in the nanocrystals, in which neighboring Mn2+ …