Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bioswales For Stormwater Remediation And Infiltration: Assessing Regulatory Climate And Quantifying Filtration Capacity Of A Claremont Bioswale, Skyler Lewis, Boyu Liu, Paul Picciano, Liana Solis, Char Miller

Environmental Analysis Program Senior Projects

Watershed management is critical in ensuring a sustainable water supply. This project is designed to assess the impact of bioswales in the context of Southern California’s climate. The patterns of droughts and floods make these green infrastructure appealing as they offer potential to boost water quality and regenerate local aquifers, while reducing the area of impermeable surfaces in our urban landscape. As bioswales have not been commonly incorporated into infrastructure development, our project focuses on a relatively new bioswale, added in 2012 and located on Pomona College’s campus, to serve as our case study in determining the viability of bioswales …

Paul Faulstich’S Reflective Review Of Susan A. Phillips’ Essay, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Paul Faulstich's review of Susan A. Phillips' essay titled, "Huerta del Valle: A New Nonprofit in a Neglected Landscape".

Pitzer College Outback Preserve Restoration Project, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

A question we keep asking ourselves in environmental analysis at Pitzer College is whether it’s possible to create modern socionatural systems that are truly sustaining; that is, that avoid the features of contemporary systems in which the human factor dominates to the detriment of the environment. Any genuinely sustainable society must honor diversity— cultural and biological—and, at Pitzer, we’re committed to forging innovative directions for a healthy future. Toward this end, students, along with faculty and staff, have initiated a program of ecological restoration in the Pitzer College Outback Preserve.

Review: Robert H. Nelson, The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion Vs. Environmental Religion In Contemporary America, Andre Wakefield

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

This is a book review of Robert H. Nelson's The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America. Nelson argues that environmentalism and economics represent competing religious worldviews. Within this framework, debates over issues like global warming and acid rain become veiled theological disputes between these two “secular religions.” Nelson paints with a broad, aggressive brush. This is both the strength and weakness of his book, as he conjures a world of epic battles between the economic faithful, who worship material progress, and the environmentally pious, who bemoan the corruption visited by humans upon the natural world. …

Subaerial Freshwater Stromatolites In Deer Cave, Sarawak – A Unique Geobiological Cave Formation, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A suite of distinctive freshwater subaerial phosphatic stromatolites is developed close to the northeastern entrance of Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, in conditions of very low light but ample supply of nutrients from guano. These stromatolites are not particulate; they are composed of alternating layers of more porous and more dense amorphous hydroxylapatite. This biomineralization occurs as moulds of coccoid (the majority) and filamentous (less abundant) cyanobacteria. Mineralization occurs at a pH of ~ 7.0 in the extracellular sheaths and in micro-domains of varying carbonate content in the surrounding mucus of the biofilm. The most recent surfaces …

An Extraordinary Example Of Photokarren In A Sandstone Cave, Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela: Biogeomorphology On A Small Scale, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Charles Brewer-Carias

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A distinctive suite of small-scale erosional forms that are oriented towards the light occur close to the entrance of Cueva Charles Brewer, a large cave in a sandstone tepui, in SE Venezuela. These are the third example of photokarren ever studied in the world, the other two being from Borneo and Ireland. They are the only photokarren ever described from sandstone, and the only example from a non-carbonate environment. The host rock is a poorly-lithified unit of the Precambrian quartz arenite of the Roraima Supergroup. The forms are all oriented towards the light at 30° regardless of rock surface orientation. …

A Unique Population Of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) From The Middle Pleistocene Of Kents Cavern, England, Based On Dental Morphometrics, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Martin Sabol, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The ‘breccia’ stratum from Kents (we follow local tradition in using the form ‘Kents’, without an apostrophe) Cavern, England, has been well known for its rich yield of cave-bear material since excavations began in the mid-19th century. Recent work has established that the bears are of latest MIS 12 or earliest MIS 11 age. A life table based on a collection of 67 molariform teeth is consistent with the use of the cave as a hibernaculum. Univariate and morphological assessment of the teeth shows an unusual range of primitive and more derived characters. Multivariate morphometric analysis of cave-bear teeth from …

An Undescribed Gecko (Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) From Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, With Comments On The Distribution Of Bornean Cave Geckos, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Keith Christenson

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus are a speciose group in Southeast Asia, with at least nine species known from the island of Borneo (Das & Ismail, 2001; Das, 2006). Of these species, Cyrtodactylus cavernicolus has the smallest known range and is therefore the most vulnerable, a status that is reflected in the species having been designated a Totally Protected Species in Sarawak. Confirmed records of C. cavernicolus are known only from Niah Cave, located in an isolated limestone block known as the Gunung Subis massif, approximately 13 km² in extent. The Niah Cave Gecko is presumed to be dependent on …

Bats And Bell Holes: The Microclimatic Impact Of Bat Roosting, Using A Case Study From Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The microclimatic effect of bats roosting in bell holes (blind vertical cylindrical cavities in cave roofs) in Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica, was measured and the potential impact of their metabolism on dissolution modelled. Rock temperature measurements showed that bell holes with bats get significantly hotter than those without bats during bat roosting periods (by an average of 1.1 °C). The relationship is clearest for bell holes with more than about 300 g aggregate bat body mass and for bell holes that are moderately wide and deep, of W:D ratio between 0.8 and 1.6. Measurement of temperature decay after abandonment showed …

The 19th Century Excavation Of Kent's Cavern, England, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Between 1858 and 1880, William Pengelly developed revolutionary new techniques for the archeological and paleontological excavation of cave deposits. His work at Brixham Cave and Kent’s Cavern, England, yielded tens of thousands of specimens from the mid-Pleistocene to the Holocene, settled the intellectual debate over the co-existence of humans and extinct mammals, and accumulated an unparalleled resource for continued study. Although the Brixham Cave work was thoroughly summarized in print, Pengelly never published the plans of his much more thorough and extensive excavations at Kent’s Cavern. Here we present a reconstructed plan of the Pengelly excavations that we hope will …

Teaching For Change: The Leadership In Environmental Education Partnership, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Humans are transforming earth's landscape from a natural matrix with pockets of civilization to just the opposite. Most of us realize that this pattern is not sustainable. I live and work in Claremont, California, a charming college town in the midst of suburban sprawl. The town has a central village of terminally tasteful, overpriced bungalows nestled in the shade of tall, largely exotic trees. Indeed, most of the landscape of this "city of trees and Ph.D.s" has been imported; only a remnant parcel of coastal sage scrub that the Claremont Colleges have reluctantly preserved remains.

An Unusual Lava Cave From Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Frederick Belton

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

A new type of lava cave is described from the summit crater of Ol Doinyo Lengai, a unique active carbonatite volcano in Tanzania. This and other similar caves on Ol Doinyo Lengai are formed by thermal erosion and aqueous dissolution of otherwise solid spatter cones. Meteoritic water and endogenous condensates act to form speleothems of complex mineralogy up to 3 m in length. We propose the new classification of “polygenetic spatter cone cave”.

A Late Quaternary Paleoecological Record From Caves Of Southern Jamaica, West Indies, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, A.G. Fincham

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Studies of an unusual and diverse system of caves in coastal southern Jamaica have yielded a paleoclimatic record associated with a fossil vertebrate record that provides useful insights into the poorly documented paleoecology of latest Wisconsinan and Holocene Jamaica. Episodes of significantly increased precipitation during the Holocene have left characteristic deposits of speleothems, and have supported both faunal and archaeological communities that were dependent on these mesic conditions. Deposits of fossil bat guano preserved in the caves provide a δ¹³C record of alternating mesic and xeric climatic episodes that supports the interpretation of the faunal and archaeological record.

Field Station Under Threat, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

As reported in the last issue of The Other Side, The Bernard Biological Field Station of the Colleges is slated to be the site of the Keck Graduate Institute, the newest (but yet unbuilt) addition to the Claremont Consortium. With Pitzer casting the sole dissenting vote, the Claremont Colleges approved construction of the Keck Institute on eleven acres of the 85 acre Field Station.

Land Development And Biotechnology At The Claremont Colleges, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Founded on the Oxford model of a cluster of institutions, the Claremont Colleges has periodically established a new school. In the Spring of 1997, the Board of Fellows of the Claremont University Center charged with policy-making for the consortium-voted to establish a seventh college; the Keck Graduate Institute of applied life sciences. or bioengineering. Despite other landholdings, including a golf course and a non-operational gravel quarry, the Board of Fellows voted to site the New Venture on a portion-approximately eleven acres--of the Bernard Biological Field Station. (Pitzer's vote was cast against building on the Field Station.)

Predicting The Past, Recounting The Future: Human Ecology And A Prehistory Of Consciousness, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

This paper is concerned with the organic derivation and primary meaning of Pleistocene finger flutings; I propose that in order to gain insight into the significance of the flutings, we must attempt an understanding of the physical and mental contexts in which they emerged. I suggest that finger flutings provided a cultural record in the Pleistocene which documented thought and action, and made it ready for reflection. Through the process of finger fluting, the human 'self' was objected and reality was modified in the experience of self-consciuosness. I argue that finger flutings, like language, were employed to discover and convey …

Malaysian Deforestation Proceeds Apace, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

A hunger fast, dubbed Fast Action, was staged in front of the Japanese Consulate General in Honolulu on July 20 to protest the destruction of the most ancient and biologically diverse ecosystem on Earth. Organized by Hawai'i Earth First! and the O'ahu Rainforest Action Group, Fast Action was designed to alert people to the destruction of tropical rainforests in Sarawak, Malaysia. Protesters demanded on immediate moratorium on the cutting of rainforests in,which the Penan and other-native peoples live.

Hawaii's Hottest Issue: Update On Geothermal Development, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Walking through Hawai'i's Wao Kele O Puna rainforest, you can hear the coarse volcanic soil crunch underfoot. A surrealistic calm lingers in the thick air while songbirds call out from the understory. Yet this is a forest under siege.

Geothermal developers want to tap the volcanic heat beneath the Wao Kele O Puna forest and use it to make electricity and profits.

Hawaiians Fight For The Rainforest, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

On March 25, 141 were arrested as part of the largest demonstration yet against the drilling of geothermal wells in the Wao Kele O Puna Rainforest on the Big Island of Hawaii. The geothermal project, undertaken by True Geothermal Company and endorsed by Hawaii's governor and other high-powered, short-sighted people, has already invaded the largest intact tropical lowland rainforest in the United States. The demonstration drew over 1500 protesters,

Hawaii's Rainforest Crunch: Land, People, And Geothermal Development, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

One hundred and forty-one people, led by Native Hawaiians, were arrested on 25 March 1990 as part of the largest demonstration yet against geothermal development in Hawaii. The gathering was intended to focus attention on Native Hawaiian rights and the ecological consequences of drilling geothermal wells in the near-pristine Wao Kele O Puna rain forest. The energy project, undertaken by True Geothermal Company and endorsed by Hawaii's governor and other imposing figures, has already invaded the largest intact tropical lowland rain forest in the United States.

Olmos Park And The Creation Of A Suburban Bastion, Char Miller, Heywood T. Sanders

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

An examination of this small Texas community will also cast light on the larger world of which it was a part. The development of Olmos Park, then, was inextricably bound up with and reflective of the political machinations and social problems that dominated San Antonio in the first decades of this century. As Mauerman understood, the suburb was a fragment of the urban whole, an observation that needs to be pushed one step farther. The forces that shaped Olmos Park and determined its relations with San Antonio were also part of a national pattern, of tensions generated by the explosive …

The Rise Of Urban Texas, Char Miller, David R. Johnson

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Texas contains three of the nation's ten largest cities, but their existence has not yet affected the hold that the state's rural heritage has on Texas' imagination--or so Texans' attachment to two nineteenth-century cultural landmarks, the Alamo and the Chisholm Trail, would suggest. As the shrine of Texas liberty, the Alamo continually generates elegies to the manly courage and bravery of the fallen heroes of 1836.

The Taman Negara Batek: A People In Transition, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Batek Negritos from the vicinity of Taman Negara National Park in West Malaysia are a hunting and gathering people presently experiencing rapid encroachment by the modern world. Under the authority of the Malaysian government, they are being encouraged to settle and to emulate Malay subsistence farming communities. Unfortunately, this strategy has had a number of adverse effects on the Batek.