Natural Resource Economics Commons^™

Connecting Land Ethics And Entrepreneurship Through Experiential Learning In Bobwhite Centric Outdoor Education Program, Greta M. Bowling, Ashleigh P. Tynes, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The majority of today’s youth have the ability to utilize consumer technology on a regular basis. This access has exacerbated the disconnect between adolescents and the natural environment by reducing the amount of time spent outdoors. To compound this disconnect, the continued use of traditional classroom settings along with the ‘‘sit-and-get’’ style of facilitation, widens the gap between inert knowledge and applied knowledge. The transformation from theory to practice witnessed in outdoor science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education has been shown to foster the assimilation and retention of STEM concepts. Therefore, educational institutions have begun to cultivate the implementation …

Econometric Estimation Of Groundwater Depth Change For The High Plains Aquifer, Jonathan R. Sims

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This article presents a new method for estimating changes in depth to groundwater at a yearly, county level and incorporates these estimates as the dependent variable of econometric models for the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer underlies eight states in the central United States and is the primary source of irrigation water for this large food producing region. The stock of groundwater is a finite, non-renewable resource with minimal recharge in most areas. Many fields of study, including hydrology and agricultural economics, are interested in depth to groundwater changes because they serve as a proxy for estimating …

Ethical Business Practice, Accountability, And Quality Assurance: Primary Drivers For Sustainable Tourism Development In Iceland, Abigail Harrison

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The tourism industry in Iceland has grown exponentially in the last decade, causing changes to the natural landscape and drastically shifting revenue streams in the economy. This rapid growth coupled with the recent development of Iceland’s tourism industry makes it the perfect case study for how to effectively mitigate tourism influxes. This unprecedented rate of growth impels the creation of sustainability measures within this industry in order to ensure a lasting vision of Icelandic tourism in the future. Both the government and private sector have already begun to institute sustainability measures in society and in business. The primary aim of …

Russia's Northern Rook: Nord Stream 2 On The European Energy Chessboard, David E. Wilson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline proposes to connect Germany to the world’s largest natural gas reserves in Russia, allowing the state-owned Russian energy behemoth Gazprom to double its export capacity through the ‘Northern Corridor’ transit route to Europe. This project has been the subject of sharp disapproval from Central and Eastern European countries, as well as the United States, which fear the prospect of increasing dependence on gas imports from a Russia perceived as politically aggressive and unreliable. This paper will identify the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 by adopting a geostrategic worldview …

The Impact Weather Has On Nyc Citi Bike Share Company Activity, Mark Martinez

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper seeks to figure out the effect weather has on individuals’ behavior. A more focused approach to determining this effect is seeing how different weather conditions ranging from the temperature, the precipitation, the amount of inches of snowfall and the wind speed effect the ridership of Citi Bikes throughout all four seasons. The approach of this research paper is using data from the National Climatic Data Center that focuses in on the weather found in Manhattan, New York and correlates each of the weather conditions to the total number of trips per day that is provided by the Citi …

Electricity Demand Due To Policy Change In The U.K., Kevin W. Doherty

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines United Kingdom Electricity Demand with regards to the Climate Change Act, which was enacted in November of 2008. Through actual demand data obtained from Nationalgrid, a U.K. based gas and electric utility company, this paper seeks to find out if the Climate Change Act has started to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by looking at trends of electricity demand. Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity is a major contributor to global warming in the U.K. and policies enacted do not always live up to their ultimate goals. This paper tests how on track the Climate …

The Demographic Drivers Of California’S Environmental Voting, Lukas Yasuda

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study examines the demographics of California’s 53 congressional districts and the relationship with the voting patterns on three environmentally focused propositions in the 2008 and 2010 elections. Previous literature on the topic is mixed as some studies suggest that select attributes are found among environmental voting centers, yet other research describes the relationship as more complex than simple characteristics. Previous literature on the topic is mixed, with some studies suggesting that select attributes are found among environmental vote support hubs, whereas alternative research suggests the problem is more complex than simple characteristics. I collected data on income, education, age, …

How Individuals React To Smog Alerts In Beijing --Evidence From Beijing Subway Volume, Hanjing Shi

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper is going to find out the impact of smog alerts on individuals’ outdoor activities in Beijing. I use the subway volume to represent the outdoor activities. There are four levels of smog alerts in Beijing – blue, yellow, orange, and, red. The blue one is the lowest, and the red one is the highest. People in Beijing in all do not react to smog alerts in all statistically significant both on working days and weekends. But when combine orange alerts and red alerts together, the results show that people react to severe alerts differently during non-weekend days and …

Nudging Neighbors: Analyzing Peer Effects Of The Lakesmart Program In The Belgrade Lakes, George A. Voigt

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Peer effects are an increasingly studied field in economics, and can have large impacts at a local level. In this research we seek to identify whether there is an impact of early adopters on their neighbors to become adopters. The scope for this study is the LakeSmart program that operate in Maine. Specifically we are focusing on the Belgrade lakes, and analyzing data from 2005 to present in addition with a survey of demographic characteristics conducted in 2011. Results suggest that the impact of a neighbor on the likelihood of a household to be LakeSmart certified is statistically significant and …

The Effects From Public Transportation On Property Values: A Closer Look At Scituate, Hanover, And Norwell, Massachusetts, Alexandra Taylor Perticone, Christine S. Coveney

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Prior studies have expressed the value of location in real estate, but more recent studies have explored the influence that public transportation has had on housing prices. Access to public transportation is understood to increase the value of homes. Easier access to public transportation allows for shorter and more convenient commutes into or within cities. However, other studies have found that proximity to public transportation can also have adverse effects on property values. This paper investigates whether the implementation of the Greenbush Commuter line in Massachusetts in October 2007 increased the housing prices in Scituate, Ma--the furthest town from the …

When Trash Costs Money: Analyzing The Impact Of Pay-As-You-Throw Programs In Massachusetts, Thomas W. Barry Iv

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper evaluates whether municipalities with Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs dispose of less trash per household than municipalities without them. Given how much trash U.S. residents produce, the negative environmental effects associated with trash disposal, as well as how much the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advocates for PAYT, it is important to closely analyze whether these programs actually do their job. This paper formally analyzes the effects of PAYT programs using the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s trash disposal data from 2011-2015. After controlling for municipality and time heterogeneity, my analysis shows that PAYT programs reduce trash per household by a …

Invited Introduction To Jerec, Matthew Kahn

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Welcome By The Editor, Nathan W. Chan

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Bat Community Composition And Monitoring For White-Nose Syndrome At First State National Historical Park, Delaware And Pennsylvania, Juliet Nagel, J. Edward Gates

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

In recent years, bats have faced increasingly deadly threats on multiple fronts. Cave-dwelling bats have been decimated by the emergence of a disease, white-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by a fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans; and tree bats are dying in large numbers at wind power facilities. First State National Historical Park (FRST) is a new national park unit located in northern Delaware and Pennsylvania. Prior to this study, little information was available on bat species and their activity and distribution within FRST. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted an inventory of bat species present at FRST. We used …

Advancing Rationality With Sustainability: An Analysis Of Agent-Based Simulation, Osman Goktug Tanrikulu

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Today, falling trends of species and ecosystem in the world due to overconsumption and destruction of natural resources are at critical levels. It is vital for humanity to operate with sustainable and resilient modes of production and consumption. In this regard, this paper examines the basic premise of rationality and introduces sustainability as an advancement to the theoretical concept of rationality. Thus, a rational mindset and a sustainable mindset are compared under depletion of environmental resources. The understanding of rationality in the analysis is based on Garett Hardin’s (1968) ‘the tragedy of the commons’ model, in which actors are self-interested …

Economic Evaluation Of Coastal Land Loss In Louisiana, Stephen R. Barnes, Craig Bond, Nicholas Burger, Kate Anania, Aaron Strong, Sarah Weilant, Stephanie Virgets

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Louisiana has lost approximately 1,880 square miles of land over the past eighty years. Projections suggest that in a future without action, the next fifty years could result in the loss of 1,750 additional square miles of land area. As land loss continues, a large portion of the natural and man-made capital stocks of coastal Louisiana will be at greater risk of damage, either from land loss or from the associated increase in storm damage. We estimate the replacement cost of capital stock directly at risk from land loss ranges from approximately $2.1 billion to $3.5 billion with economic activity …

Considerations Of Socio-Economic Input, Related Challenges And Recommendations For Ecosystem-Based Maritime Spatial Planning: A Review, Mavra Stithou

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Socio-economics in an ecosystem-based Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process cover a wide range from specifying socio-economic objectives, respective indicators, organising stakeholder engagement, to data, methods and tools (e.g., environmental valuation and cost-benefit analysis) for example to identify issues, assess ecosystem services, provide an insight on human behaviour and compare alternative marine plans with potentially competing goals. In addition, social principles such as that of social equity have an important role to play in achieving sustainability in marine management. However, the use of socio-economics in making the ecosystem-based MSP framework operational, poses certain challenges to researchers, regulators and policy-makers. The purpose …

New York State's Zero Emission Credits: Exploring The Drivers And Significance Of Nuclear Energy Subsidization In The Empire State, Michael R. Sciascia

Honors Theses

This thesis reviews New York State's recently announced subsidization of nuclear energy, which has been a subject of dissent due to its cost, propagation of nuclear activity, and potential unlawfulness in its influence on competition within wholesale energy markets. Examining the structure and recent trends within New York's energy market and their effect on the state's nuclear energy industry will provide insight into the necessity of such subsidization in preserving in-state nuclear generation. Through an analysis of the expected costs, economic impact, and influence on statewide carbon emissions, the true significance of this legislation and New York's motivations behind its …

The Off Season: Masculinities, Rurality, And Family Ties In Alaska Commercial Fishing, Cruz Morey

Senior Theses

This study explores the intersections of masculinity, rurality, the family, and ecology through the experiences of commercial fishermen in Alaska. By understanding the plurality of masculinities and how men operate within a rural space, this study investigates the relationship between the masculine rural and the rural masculine and how that relationship pertains to commercial fishermen. This study examines existing discourse about Alaska and the masculinity of commercial fishermen in light of the concepts of cultural and economic capital, as well as local ecological knowledge (LEK). It further examines how fishermen describe their experiences in the industry as ones that are …

Utilizing Natural And Man-Made Resources For Economic Development: What Are The Mechanisms And Why?, Linh Pham

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies the roles of natural resources in determining economic outcomes such as innovation, investment, profitability and economic growth.

The first chapter studies the ease of substitution between energy and other production inputs over time and across countries. Improvements in energy efficiency over the past decades have substantially decreased the amount of energy used per unit of capital. Yet, previous literature often assumes a constant elasticity of substitution between capital and energy. In this chapter, we develop a Solow growth model with a variable elasticity of substitution (VES) between production inputs and show that the long-run growth rate directly …

Vulnerability And Resilience: The Farmers Of Sagara Village, Nick Olkovsky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agriculture is a large part of the economy and society of Tanzania, equating to 28% of the country’s GDP. Up to 80% of these farms are owned and worked by 19 million smallholder agriculturalists (FAO, 2015). Smallholder farmers are an inherently vulnerable demographic, due to their high reliance on agriculture for food and income in addition to their limited financial, technological, and labor resources (Morton, 2007). Simultaneously, these farmers are often uniquely adapted for the challenges they face, having developed strategies of addressing and mitigating risks over many generations. This study investigates the adaptative capacity of smallholder farmers in Sagara …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Bat Acoustic Monitoring, September 2016, Daniel S. Licht

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Homestead National Monument of America is a 211-acre park located in an agrarian landscape in southeastern Nebraska. From September 16 to October 1, 2016, park staff deployed acoustic monitors at three sites in the park for purposes of monitoring night-time bat activity. The three sites averaged 179, 48, and 33 bat detections per night. Night-time bat activity was generally highest in the 1-2 hours following sunset.

Based on the acoustic surveys the big brown (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red (Lasiurus borealis), northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) were present at the …

Current & Future Economic Value- Kankakee River In Illinois, Timothy O. Nugent

Kankakee River Watershed Conference

Major topics covered in work: economic impact of Kankakee River on industrial/commercial, residential, recreational/tourism in Kankakee county.

Wildfire In Utah: The Physical And Economic Consequences Of Wildfire, Paul Mark Jakus, Man-Keun Kim, Randy S. Martin, Ian Hammond, Edd Hammill, Nancy O. Mesner, Jacob Stout

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

PRELUDE

On June 26, 2012 a lightning strike ignited a wildfire in the Manti-La Sal National Forest of central Utah’s Carbon and Emery counties (Figure P.1). By the time the Seeley wildfire was contained three weeks later, some 48,000 acres of federal, state, and private land had been burned and $8.7 million in suppression costs expended (Styler 2012). According to the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS.gov) project, nearly one-third of the acreage was severely burned, damaging vegetation and soils for years to come. Severe burns vastly increase the erosion potential of burnt landscapes, and the steep lands of Huntington …

Murray Energy Corporation V. Mccarthy, Sarah M. Danno

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Holding that the widespread effects of environmental regulation on the coal industry constituted sufficient importance, the Northern District of West Virginia ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct analysis on employment loss and plant reduction resulting from regulatory effects. In admonishing the EPA’s inaction, the court ruled that the Agency had a non-discretionary duty to evaluate employment and plant reduction. Furthermore, the court held that the EPA’s attempt to put forth general reports in place of required evaluations was an invalid attempt to circumvent its statutory duty.

Protocol For Surveying Bat Use Of Lava Tube Caves During Winter In Craters Of The Moon National Monument And Preserve, Standard Operating Procedures, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Kathleen Slocum, Todd Stefanic, Shawn Thomas, Meghan Lonneker

United States National Park Service: Publications

Background

The Upper Columbia Basin Network I&M (Inventory and Monitoring) program and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are collaborating to monitor winter bat use in Arco Tunnel, which is a safely accessed cave in the northern portion of the monument that consistently has been found with the largest number of bats (~30/year) among the set of caves recently inventoried. The standard operating procedures documented here and the methods described in the associated protocol narrative will also be used to periodically inventory other caves within the monument and surrounding preserve as park resources and safety (winter environmental and …

C.V. - Wojciech Budzianowski, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

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Renewable Energy And Sustainable Development (Resd) Group, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.

Protocol For Surveying Bat Use Of Lava Tube Caves During Winter In Craters Of The Moon National Monument And Preserve, Version 1.0, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Kathleen Slocum, Todd Stefanic, Shawn Thomas, Meghan Lonneker, Gordon Dicus

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The mission of the National Park Service (NPS) is “to conserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment of this and future generations” (NPS 1999). To uphold this goal, the Director of the NPS approved the Natural Resource Challenge to encourage national parks to focus on the preservation of the nation’s natural heritage through science, natural resource inventories, and expanded resource monitoring (NPS 1999). Through the Challenge, 270 parks in the national park system were organized into 32 inventory and monitoring (I&M) networks.

The Upper Columbia Basin Network Inventory …

From Planning To Passing: The Amherst, Massachusetts Plastic Bag Ban, Kevin J. Hollerbach

Student Showcase

This case study will detail the background and influences for a plastic bag ban in the town of Amherst, outline the steps taken from planning to passage, and address roadblocks and missteps that may be avoided with the implementation of future bans. It is my hope that this document will not only serve as a guide, but also an inspiration for additional local action in Massachusetts and across the country. No matter what the national political climate or attitude towards environmental issues, local action is always possible, and change is usually easier than you think. Think globally, act locally!