Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Bikeurious: A Transportation Reorientation, Aerienne Russell

Pomona Senior Theses

Since a young age, I have been interested in bicycling as a form of fun and fanciful recreation, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2011 that a serious shift occurred in my understanding of the bike as more than a mere machine. A spontaneous 700-mile journey redefined my relationship with travel, transcended my notions of transportation, and enabled me to better mediate myself within my environment. In writing about these experiences, I hope to offer some insight into how American culture currently frames transportation and how I hope the construction of a bike positive culture can instill social, environmental, …

The Full Cost Of Renewables: Managing Wind Integration Costs In California, William Savage

Pomona Senior Theses

Wind power will be an important component of California's aggressive strategies to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by the year 2020. However, the costs of integrating wind power's variable and uncertain output are often ignored. I argue that California must take prudent action to understand, minimize, and allocate wind integration costs. A review of numerous studies suggests that for wind penetration levels below 20%, integration costs should remain modest. However, costs are heavily dependent on market structure, and I suggest numerous ways that California can optimize its market design to manage wind integration costs.

Agricultural Efficiency And The End Of The Oil Age; Building A Future Of Longevity, Keith Mchugh

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis uses an efficiency analysis of agricultural systems to assert that, in lieu of rising prices of fossil fuel, people need to come into more direct contact with their food systems. With a switch to smaller, more efficient farms that rely less on fossil fuel and are connected with the communities they supply for, we can avoid an energy crisis turning into a famine. These smaller-scale systems can help create self-contained, carbon-neutral communities.

San Antonio High School Food Justice Program: A Handbook And Evaluation Of Edible Education, Katherine B. Tenneson

Pitzer Senior Theses

This senior environmental studies thesis explains and analyzes edible education through a food and gardening program at a continuation high school in Claremont, California. The first chapter situates the program-specific analysis by providing background information of the edible education movement, a history of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, and an explanation of why food is a powerful teaching tool. The second chapter delineates the program by describing all of its components and compiling essential resources and teaching documents. The third chapter is based on interviews with 9 of 12 involved students and 7 teachers, and thoroughly explains the outcomes …

Aquculture And Deforestation In The Peruvian Amazon, Gator Halpern

Pomona Senior Theses

This study examines whether aquaculture has the potential to reduce deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. The natural resources of the Peruvian Amazon are subject to extreme pressures due to increases in subsistence farming, cattle ranching, and logging in the region. The resulting loss of biodiversity has affected the delicate soil balance that is characteristic of the Amazon, and has contributed to water pollution as well as erosion (Guerra et al. 2001). One of the highest rates of deforestation in the Amazon basin can be found at the foothills of the eastern Andes (Lepers et al. 2005), which includes the area …

Day To Day Change Making: The Transformative Potential Of Dumpster Diving, Elizabeth Emery Donovan

Pomona Senior Theses

This paper investigates the potential of dumpster diving as a tactic of the freegan movement. The goal of the freegan movement is the realization of a postcapitalist world. I first investigate the scope, legality and demographic of dumpster diving in the U.S. I then contextualize dumpster diving within the history of waste, consumerism and excess in the U.S. since the beginning of the 20th century. I conclude by assessing the viabaility of freegan dumpster diving as a transformative tactic in light of its inaccessibility to various individuals as a result of their race and class. I ultimately argue that freeganism …

Environmental Critiques Of Nuclear Energy, William Hummel

Pomona Senior Theses

This essay identifies and evaluates the most common environmental critiques made against nuclear energy development. Environmentalists articulate four major concerns: the destructive effects and health risks of uranium mining; the dangers posed by radiation releases and meltdowns; the difficult of nuclear waste disposal; and national security concerns, including nuclear weapons proliferation and the possibility of attack or sabotage. By characterizing and describing these concerns, we are better able to decide which problems are most compelling, and suggest possible policy-driven solutions.

Arsenic Contamination In Groundwater In Vietnam: An Overview And Analysis Of The Historical, Cultural, Economic, And Political Parameters In The Success Of Various Mitigation Options, Thuy M. Ly

Pomona Senior Theses

Although arsenic is naturally present in the environment, 99% of human exposure to arsenic is through ingestion. Throughout history, arsenic is known as “the king of poisons”; it is mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic. Even in smaller concentrations, it accumulates in the body and takes decades before any physical symptoms of arsenic poisoning shows. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the safe concentration of arsenic in drinking water is 10 µg/L. However, this limit is often times ignored until it is decades too late and people begin showing symptoms of having been poisoned.

This is the current situation for Vietnam, …

Public Housing In The United States: Using Sustainable Urbanism To Combat Social Exclusion, Jasmine L. Edo

Scripps Senior Theses

The United States government has taken steps to assure underprivileged citizens housing in the form of public housing through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as various humanitarian programs in the form of homeless shelters. Yet, all housing is not equal. Our freedom to choose where we live and what type of house we live in is one revered aspect of life as a United States citizen. We can express our individuality, creativity, and personality through the architectural style of our homes. In this sense it is hard to ask for equal housing. I am suggesting that …

Sediment Removal From The San Gabriel Mountains, Mary C. Ferguson

Pitzer Senior Theses

The issue of sediment removal from the San Gabriel Mountains has been a complex issue that has created problems with beach replenishment, habitat destruction and the need to spend millions of dollars at regular intervals to avoid safety hazards. Most recently 11 acres of riparian habitat, including 179 oaks and 70 sycamores, were removed for sediment placement. Other sites including Hahamongna Watershed Park and La Tuna Canyon also face a similar fate. This thesis questions: How did we get to this point of destroying habitat to dump sediment which is viewed as waste product? What are the barriers for creating …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

The Eu, Russia, And Energy Security, Jonathan Jones

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.