Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Self-Reported Consumption Of Bottled Water V. Tap Water In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Kentucky, Jason W. Marion

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Quantitative studies on drinking water perceptions in Appalachia are limited. High-profile water infrastructure failures in the U.S. and Eastern Kentucky, coupled with human-made and natural disasters in the Appalachian Region, have likely impacted opinions regarding tap water.

Purpose: To use existing unexplored data to describe baseline tap water v. bottled water consumption in Kentucky.

Methods: Telephone-based cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) directed by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Among many items in KHIP, self-reported consumption of bottled water over tap water, reasons for bottled water use, and demographic data were obtained. …

Evaluating The Impact Of Fine Particulate Matter Pollution Standards On Mortality Rates In The Southeastern United States, Lauren Wice

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continuously monitors six criteria pollutants that are known to have impacts on public health and welfare. One of these pollutants, fine particulate matter, or PM_2.5 (which includes particles that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter), is easily inhalable and can enter the lining of the lungs and the bloodstream, posing a great risk to human health. Standards for allowable concentrations of PM_2.5 were amended in 1997, 2006, and again in 2012, becoming increasingly stringent each time. According to the EPA, health organizations, and other research studies, these particles can specifically contribute to …

Does The Emission Trading System Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Coal Consumption And Lead To An Increase In Renewable Energy? – Evidence From Oecd Member Countries, Pilmu Ryu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Emission Trading System (ETS) on greenhouse gas (GHG) is a climate change policy well-known as a market-based mitigation mechanism. However, policymakers have faced strong opposition of many stakeholders and failed to persuade them in the process to introduce the ETS. Objective evidence on ETS impact not only provides information to policymakers but also may help alleviate controversy between stakeholders and policymakers. Also, empirical results on ETS will be able to contribute to the theoretical economic study of cap-and-trade. In this context, this research aims at empirical analyses of ETS impact with regard to GHG emissions, coal consumption, and renewable …

The Effect Of The Total Maximum Daily Loads(Tmdl) Management Implementation Plan On Total Phosphorus(Tp), Jaejeong Ma April

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea has been making efforts to improve water quality and the health of the aquatic ecosystems of the inland waters. Establishing water quality standards for point sources and permissible wastewater emission standards to achieve the target environmental standard were part of the efforts. Nevertheless, water quality indexes such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD) has not improved significantly. Also, harmful cyanobacteria blooms have frequently been occurred, which, in particular, has brought people to lose faith in the environmental policy and has created anxiety about drinking water. As the solution, the …

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …

Environmental Justice In Kentucky: A County-Level Study Of Enforcement Of The Clean Air Act, Katherine Meade

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Not available.

Characteristics Of Kentucky Agricultural Operations Participating In Nrcs Conservation Programs, Carmen T. Agouridis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) designs and promotes a wide variety of conservation practices and programs that enhance the environment by reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, and enhancing and creating wildlife habitat. The impact of these practices and programs is largely dependent on the voluntary participation of landowners. Thus, central to the success of the NRCS conservation programs is an understanding of the characteristics of landowners and operations participating in these programs.

Using operator and operation characteristics from the 1997, 2002, and 2007 Censuses of Agriculture and controlling for county fixed effects, this study 1) identifies significant characteristics …

The Red River Gorge: The Existence Of "Recreational Niches" And Their Management Implications, Sara E. Alexander, Billie R. Dewalt, Eugenie Scott

KWRRI Research Reports

Until the late 1960's, the Red River Gorge was just one of the more beautiful parts of the Daniel Boone National Forest. At this time, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed to dam the river for flood control, water supply, and recreation purposes. Intense opposition to the project generated considerable publicity and the Gorge area experienced substantial increases in visitation. The result has been not only severe environmental degradation but extensive overcrowding as well. These trends are presently overtaxing management capabilities of the United States Forest Service. The most pressing issue has come to be how to effectively manage this …

The Generation Of Flood Damage Time Sequences, John P. Breaden

KWRRI Research Reports

There is a need in water resources planning to develop a procedure for determining the time pattern in which flood damages occur as a function of the rise and fall of the flood hydrograph. The widely-used approach for estimation of flood damages does not take into account the fact that the frequency of the annual flood peak may not be the same as the frequency of the total annual flood damages. As examples, several small storms during the year may do more damage than a single larger storm, or flood damages may be reduced by a reduction in flood duration …

Factors Affecting Relocation In Response To Reservoir Development, Rabel J. Burdge, Richard L. Ludtke

KWRRI Research Reports

The focus of this paper is on the question of how rural people anticipate forced moves as a result of flood control projects and how they change their life in accepting separation from familiar surroundings.

A model of faced migration is presented which sees the variables of socioeconomic status, knowledge of reservoir projects, vested interests and the degree of identification with place of affected persons as producing differential apprehension over moving. Differential apprehension is then seen as producing different attitudes toward the project which will influence the type of migration plans.

To test this model of forced migration, data were …

Evaluation Of The Social Impact Of Reservoir Construction On The Residential Plans Of Displaced Persons In Kentucky And Ohio, Richard L. Ludtke, Rabel J. Burdge

KWRRI Research Reports

The states of Kentucky and Ohio have numerous reservoir projects at various stages of planning and construction. Each of the projects produces substantial social impact for the residents of the area and particularly for those persons affected by a loss of property and homes. This impact is not uniform in that people respond differently to displacement and the methods of adjusting relocation are known to differ among people.

This research was initiated to develop and test a model for explaining migration under such conditions. The model includes a consideration of people's potential for transferring existing statuses to new residences, the …

The Economic Value Of Natural Areas For Recreational Hunting, Kenneth Gene Holbrook

KWRRI Research Reports

The pressures of population growth, urbanization, and improved transportation are diminishing the availability of quality naturalistic sites for recreation while at the same time producing greater demands for their use. One cause contributing to the reduction in acreage in naturalistic areas is the construction of reservoirs. The recreational hunting value of the naturalistic area to be inundated should be considered as a negative consequence in the economic evaluation of a proposed reservoir site.

This study utilized hunting data collected by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, from the 120 Kentucky counties to estimate the economic, value of the average …

Economic Analysis Of Alternative Flood Control Measures, L. Douglas James, Thomas M. Rachford, James Ray Villines, Clyde R. Dempsey, James Norris Cline, Carlos Fix Miller

KWRRI Research Reports

Within the last few years, the growing realization that an effective flood control program must include non-structural measures (land use management and flood proofing) has resulted in Presidential Executive Order 11296 requiring Federal agencies to seek the optimum combination of structural and non-structural measures for flood control. The requirement has created a dilemma. No methodology is available for systematic evaluation of alternative combinations of structural and non-structural measures. Prospective procedures are too time consuming to be feasible under current financial and manpower limitations.

The only way out is to perform much of the planning process by digital computer. With this …

Planning Flood Control Measures By Digital Computer, James Norris Cline, L. Douglas James

KWRRI Research Reports

The purpose of this study was to develop adequate guidelines whereby those interested in flood control planning would be able to apply a pair of digital computer programs known as the University of Kentucky Flood Control Planning Programs to ease the computational burden of evaluating specific flood control situations. Program II determines the economically optimum combination of channel improvement, land use restriction, and flood proofing for flood damage abatement. Program III also incorporates reservoir storage into the planning process. The Programs are not intended to provide a finished design but rather to select the optimum combination of flood control measures …

Esthetic And Recreational Potential Of Small Naturalistic Streams Near Urban Areas, John A. Dearinger, Kenneth R. Harper, L. Douglas James

KWRRI Research Reports

The purpose of this study was to find a way to evaluate the esthetic and recreational potential of small streams and their watersheds. Research was limited to naturalistic streams with drainage areas under 100 square miles and located within 25 miles of a city. A methodology, based on some previous work of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and the principles or concepts of terrain analysis, land use planning, value Judgment philosophy and the economics of outdoor recreation, was developed and applied in detail to two streams (Boone and Jessamine Creeks) near Lexington, Kentucky.

Evaluations were made of the streams' potential …

The Effects Of Geographical And Climatic Setting On The Economic Advantages Of Alternative Flood Control Measures, Clyde R. Dempsey, L. Douglas James

KWRRI Research Reports

It has long been realized that tributary urban development and channel improvement greatly affect the flow regime in a given watershed. A previous study used the Stanford Watershed Model to derive relationships expressing how the flood peaks in Sacramento, California, might be expected to vary with changing conditions of urbanization, channelization, and tributary drainage area. In order to observe the effects of climatic setting and geographical location on these relationships, the same type of analysis was applied to a drainage area near Louisville, Kentucky.

If reservoir storage is to be considered in a flood control program, it is necessary to …

Economic Analysis Of Flood Detention Storage By Digital Computer, James Ray Villines, L. Douglas James

KWRRI Research Reports

The objective of this study was to develop a digital computer procedure for preliminary analysis of the economic justification of reservoir detention storage for flood control and to present a sample study illustrating its application. A computer program called the University of Kentucky Flood Control Planning Program III was developed and tested on the flood plain of the South Fork of the Licking River in northeastern Kentucky.

Given a specified reservoir site and a downstream flood plain divided into planning units, Program III selects the economically efficient combination of reservoir detention storage and the associated combination of channel improvement, flood …

Economic Analysis Of Alternative Flood Control Measures By Digital Computer, Thomas M. Rachford

KWRRI Research Reports

The purpose of this project was to develop a digital computer program for selecting the optimum combination of flood proofing, flood-plain land use, channel improvement, and residual flood damage for a given floodplain. Based on economic efficiency, the optimum policy is selected for each planning unit of the total flood-plain for each period of time called a planning stage. The program was written in Fortran IV for the IBM 7040 and the University of Kentucky Computing Center compiler. The program requires about 23,000 words of core storage and about 30 seconds of execution time per planning-unit-stage for typical conditions. The …