Natural Resource Economics Commons^™

Tourism, Mapping, Retail And Recreational Trails: A Case Study Of Connectivity Between Trails And Adjacent Downtowns In Anniston, Alabama, Usa, Jennifer Green

Theses

This study examines the estimated increase in economic impact on a geography’s local economy by creating cross-marketing efforts between expanding an established outdoor recreation trail to a closely located city downtown commerce district. This research will analyze the resulting potential rise in sales/lodging tax revenues for that city by mapping the trail and downtown district, and cross-marketing the other to users of both or either venue. Potential increase in economic impact will be estimated utilizing IMPLAN methodology by assessing the economic impact on the local economy that a percentage range of increased spending resulting from this cross-marketing effort could generate.

Propaganda Of Car Ecotourism In Glacier National Park, Hanna Y. Mohammed

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper discusses the promotion of car ecotourism and its impact on Glacier National Park. Coinciding with the creation of the park's flagship Going-to-the-Sun Road from 1921 to 1932, both the state and the private sector presented the image of the newly commodified automobile as a vehicle to explore nature with. Historically, national parks have served the interests of the middle and upper classes, by suppressing marginalized communities, primarily through forced relocation in order to clear the lands for creation of the parks. The public's conception of the “wilderness” drastically changed during the time the car was commodified, as nature …

Residential Curbside Recycle Context Analysis, Ntchanang Mpafe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Curbside recycling as a preferred mode of residential and municipal sustainability goals seems to have an overwhelming acceptance and adoption in the US. About 69.8 million out of 97.3 million (72%) single-family households in the United States have access to curbside recycling services (State of Curbside Recycling Report, 2020). Collectively, the programs divert about nine million tons of recyclables from landfill disposal each year (Cottom, 2019).

For a design that started in the 1980s in the US, its rapid universal adoption seems to have precluded a concerted effort in examining the coproduced nature (Households: service receptors and Municipalities: service providers) …

Producer Preferences For Alternative Irrigation Practices In The Arkansas Delta, Robert Edward Rosene

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We use a bivariate sample selection model to address peer network effects on participation in and/or intensity of use of land being irrigated by alternative irrigation practices in the state of Arkansas. As groundwater in the state becomes more limited, the use of scientific scheduling, flowmeters, and more efficient row crop water application systems will allow producers to better manage water resources. We find relatively large, positive relationships between belonging to a peer network of the same irrigation practice and participation in that practice. Intensity of use of alternative irrigation techniques is mostly influenced by which crop type the practice …

Island Invasion: The Silent Crisis In Hawaii, Sophia Janssen

Pomona Senior Theses

Keeping out invasive species may, upon first review, seem like a trivial environmental cry from ecologists and deep environmentalists; a belated wish to return to an undeveloped world where nature was pristine. However invasive species create problems that impact all of us and can have far more severe consequences than changing a stunning landscape. These problems are heightened in islands like Hawaii, where the fragile ecosystems have developed over centuries of evolution and adaptation. The introduction of a disease-carrying mosquito can put the people of Hawaii at risk to many vector-born illnesses and create an epidemic, taking human life. The …

Farm To Label: A Critique Of Consumer Activism In The Sustainable Food Movement, Olivia Whitener

Pomona Senior Theses

“Local,” “organic,” “natural,” and “Fairtrade” are just several of the many claims adorning the food products that line grocery store shelves. These promises of environmental sustainability and social responsibility are pillars of the “good food revolution” sweeping the nation as consumers demand alternatives to the products of the industrial food system. Green consumerism, the premise that consumer demand for environmentally sustainable goods will bring about ecologically beneficial outcomes, is at the heart of the sustainable food movement. This thesis takes a critical look at the operation of green consumerism in the food system. It explores the ideology and shortcomings of …

Triple Bottom Line As A Method To Increase Business Value And Foster Positive Social And Environmental Change, Jayleene West

Master's Theses

The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) business model has transformed the business world by changing the way businesses operate. By focusing on the people and the environment, businesses have grown to see substantial profit and avoid risks along the way. Companies are using the TBL to build their brand and customer loyalty by enhancing the environment and society. This paper analyzes four companies that are leaders in their industry and are founded on the TBL; Seventh Generation, New Belgium Brewing, Patagonia, and Ben & Jerry’s. Recommendations have been made by performing a literature review on the advantages and disadvantages of the …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Lithium And The Foreseeable Future, Paolo Vargas

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper aims to clarify the uncertainties regarding worldwide lithium resource availability in the years to come. Previous studies made on the subject are presented with some ambiguity and this work intends to fill the gaps. The information and data presented throughout this script with respect to global lithium resources and reserves are mostly based on data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Lithium resource availability in the future is a point of paramount significance primarily for the automotive, portable electronics, and the power generation industry. Since, a change of supply would ultimately affect the price of lithium, …

U.S. Corporate Energy Productivity, Greenhouse Gas Productivity, And Return On Equity, Terry Geonnie Tate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate leaders are expected to engage in corporate social responsibility by some stakeholders, but there is no consistent evidence that corporate social performance relates to financial performance. Grounded in instrumental stakeholder theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship among energy productivity, greenhouse gas productivity, and return on equity. The 2016 Newsweek Green Ranking U.S. 500 was the population for this study, which consisted of the largest companies in the United States with the highest corporate social performance scores. The secondary data were collected from Newsweek.com and Morningstar.com for this study. The multiple linear regression was …

Alternative Energy: An Examination Of Costs, Safety, And Potential, Evan Searles

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Sustainability At Sit: A Look At The Past, A Plan For The Future, Taliesin Haugh

Capstone Collection

Climate change threatens our world and way of life. Intelligent development and investment could mitigate the worst threats of climate change, while simultaneously providing continuous growth for the global economy. The New Climate Economy proposes efforts to combat this ecological collapse that would result in $30 trillion in new annual economic growth by 2030. Stockholm Resilience Center agrees, giving a framework based on global ecological systems that calls for five critical tasks that can bring growth and stability: Renewable energy

Sustainable local food production

New development models, based on what has worked globally

Reduction of wealth inequity

Education, health, and …

Financial Statement Disclosure Of Carbon Footprint Costs In The Airline Industry, Carol Anne Tuck-Riggs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unaccountable corporate polluters profit short term at the expense of global economic sustainability. The purpose of the study was to determine if carbon dioxide (CO2) penalties on the airline emissions would result in financial statement disclosure and emission mitigation. Contributing to environmental accounting, the study was based in corporate social responsibility with a conceptual framework based on economically-centered CO2 studies. A random sample of 69 global airlines, taken from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) memberships, was stratified between EU bound and non-EU bound airlines. The research questions explored (a) the frequency mean …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.

Environmental Degradation: Key Challenge To Sustainable Economic Development In The Niger Delta, Christian Udogadi Duru

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bold

Natural Gas Service Expansion Criteria In Maine, Kevin Mahaffey

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the framework used by Maine’s natural gas utilities in making decisions to expand natural gas infrastructure and service to new customers,and then to apply this knowledge in an attempt to identify municipalities that are potentially attractive candidates for service expansion within Maine.

This study is not a precise model for gas utilities, but is meant rather to be a reconnaissance study for finding viable and attractive candidates for service.This study was limited both by resources and the inaccessibility of proprietary information.

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Purenovation, Inc, Alex Nelson

Honors Theses

Welcome to PUREnovation, where "converting today and conserving tomorrow" is our lifestyle. Our mission embodies the idea of providing customers the opportunity to maximize cost savings while simultaneously helping to reduce the carbon footprint in their hometown. With a management team that encompasses a wide variety of backgrounds, we possess the necessary skills and abilities to drive our mission and visions forward. Based on our values and convictions, we believe that it is of the utmost importance to serve the individuals who live in small towns and to preserve the nature of the earth that God has graciously provided for …

Experiments To Measure The Effects Of Timber Harvesting Equipment On Surface Lithic Scatters, Douglas J. Baughman

All Master's Theses

The importance of cultural resource preservation cannot be overstated; however local economies are at least as important. Due to conservative archaeological site protection practices in Region 5 of the United States Forest Service, the economy of Northeastern California is being adversely affected. In an attempt to help the Forest Service make more informed management decisions and improve the Northeastern California economy, I undertook experiments on the effects of timber harvesting on lithic scatters on Modoc National Forest. The experiments involved placement of 225 glass tiles (proxy lithics) in each of three plots subject to vehicle traffic and log dragging by …

An Economic Analysis Of Wine Grape Production In The State Of Connecticut, Jeremy L. Jelliffe

Master's Theses

The Connecticut Wine and Vineyard industry has grown at a steady 3.9% per year over the past decade (ATTTB, 2009). Economic models estimate that the wineries sub-sector contributes $38 million dollars to the state economy and direct employment of 106 residents (Lopez et al., 2010). Programs to support and foster further growth of the industry and CT farm vineyard culture include the Department of Agriculture’s CT Wine Trail and the annual CT Wine festival (DOAG, 2010). Farmland preservation groups also support vineyard development since grape growing tends to secure tracts of farmland for long periods of time.

Investment analysis for …

Development Of A Sustainable Water Resource Financing Mathematical Model For Donors And End-Users, Sahar Zavareh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rural villages and underdeveloped communities represent the largest group challenged by poor water supply and sanitation with inequalities in resources to adequately implement potential solutions and even more with their high risk level of financing, funding is particularly challenging for water projects. Innovative financing alone will not eliminate the burdens of rural villages and underdeveloped communities. The purpose of this thesis is to address the lack of sustainable water financing of water projects in rural areas using a novel framework of a mathematical model based on "system dynamics" using optimal feedback control theory to maximize the performance of a water …

Lng Shipping Market Analysis, Guangchuan Xia

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Researchs On Coal Logistics Center Site Selection In Guizhou Province, Yiye Xiang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Consumptive Water Use At The Mirage Hotel And The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Johann A. Feller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas Valley is one of the driest regions in the southwest United States. Due to limited water supplies from the Colorado River, rainfall, and groundwater sources, the water requirements of the valley’s growing population is slated to surpass the current available water supply. The purpose of this comparative study is to quantify the amount of consumptive water used at a major Las Vegas resort/casino in one year. This, being of importance, because of the resort/casino industry’s role as one of the largest, most visible, and most resource intensive industries in the Las Vegas valley. The goal of this …