Climate Change And Environmental Crises In Coastal Cities: Charleston Vs New York City, Nolan Rodriguez

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the increasing vulnerability that coastal communities face regarding climate crises and rising sea levels. Specifically, this paper investigates the environmental crises facing Charleston, South Carolina, and New York City. The geographical location of these cities places a more severe threat upon their environment, as opposed to urban collectives removed from the immediate effect of rising sea levels. A cross-examination of politics and economics is discussed in order to determine the causal relationship of each city’s engagement with its surrounding environment. This paper examines how each city is affected by climate change, what measures are in place to …

Assessing Sustainable Tourism: Insights From Four Regions In Quebec, Yasmine Benbelaid

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference Sweden April 23, 2024

This communication proposes to share the outcomes of a comprehensive sustainable tourism diagnosis conducted in four distinct regions of Quebec, namely Monteregie, Mauricie, Lanaudiere, and the Magdalen Islands. The study encompasses a diverse range of 45 tourism enterprises operating across various sectors within the industry. This project represents the results of my postdoctoral internship.

21st Century Political Agronomy: Between Collapse And Apocalypse In The Capitalist World System, Harrison Raskin

Honors Scholar Theses

Examinations of the causal chain between ecological impacts and food shortages reveal significant impending global disturbances. This paper draws a causal link between ecological impacts and low food productivity which will lead to food insecurity and economic crises in the near term. Further, this paper argues that food insecurity may lead to the collapse of the capitalist world system. This threat is contrasted with “business as usual” climate models which, rather than depicting the collapse of the capitalist world system, depict its persistence throughout the collapse of the world ecology.

Economic Impact Assessment Of Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Solutions In Charleston. Estimating Local Economic Effects With Algorithm-Based Supporting Tool., Oksana Veselkova

All Theses

Coastal cities are at the forefront of the risks induced by climate change. Local communities are adversely affected, but the essential cultural assets and economies are also at risk of damage or destruction. In the efforts to limit hazard risk exposure, local governments are increasingly planning for long-term flood protection. One prospective flood risk mitigation measure is living shorelines or nature-based adaptation. The coastal ecosystems, such as beaches, wetlands, barrier islands, oyster reefs, and salt marshes, deliver multiple benefits to communities, including recreation, natural resources, freshwater, and carbon sequestration. Moreover, when combined with structural solutions, they can effectively reduce water …

Community Science’S Contributions To Fostering Relational Values To Overcome Coastal Ecosystems Challenges, Kanae Tokunaga, Pauline Angione, Bill Zoellick, Gayle Bowness, Sheba Brown, Claire Enterline, Sarah L. Kirn, Abigail Long, Stephanie Sun, Aaron Whitman

Maine Policy Review

This paper applies the emerging concept of ‘relational values’ – values people hold toward their relationships with nature and with each other – and brings attention to the role of community science in enhancing relational ecosystem values. We feature Gouldsboro Shore, Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s (GMRI) coastal flood monitoring, and river herring monitoring and restoration efforts as focal examples. Gouldsboro Shore activates community volunteers and high school students to support the management and resilience of their clam fishery in Gouldsboro, ME. GMRI’s flood monitoring provides a platform for coastal residents to report, monitor, and map coastal flooding in participating …

Caribbean Reef-Building Coral-Symbiodiniaceae Network: Identifying Symbioses Critical For System Stability In A Changing Climate, Shaman Patel

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Increasing global ocean temperatures and frequency of marine heatwaves pose dire consequences for coral reefs. High temperatures often lead to disruptions in coral symbiosis resulting in coral bleaching, increasing the mortality of corals. However, corals can potentially avoid bleaching peril by associating with thermally tolerant symbionts. Here we provide a tool for understanding symbiosis network stability of Caribbean reef-building corals. We created a network of Caribbean hermatypic corals and their associated Symbiodiniaceae phylotypes. A bleaching model was applied to this network to test for resilience and robustness (R50) to thermal stress. It was also layered with trait data for coral …

How Federal Pollution Discharge Permits Affect U.S. Water Quality: A Study On Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Cloe C. Mueller

Theses and Dissertations

This paper uses difference-in-difference regression models to examine how state-level pollution discharge permits on concentrated animal feeding operations affect U.S. water quality. I ultimately deem the permitting to be ineffective at improving water quality, calling attention to the need to re-evaluate the ``socially optimal level of pollution."

Takes Two To Tango: The Fusion Of Slow Fashion And Agroecology To Combat The Fast Fashion Industry, Sejal Krell

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Fast fashion has been around for longer than the world can remember, after all, there has always been a need for clothes. Nonetheless, it has not been until the past 50 years that fast fashion has become a titan within the industry. Many consider it to be the golden child of fashion with its low production costs, mass retailing, and low prices reaching consumers of all socioeconomic levels. However, the realities of this industry – specifically pertaining to the environment, economy, social sphere, and public health – reveal a different story, of injustice. After discussing the history and rise of …

Riders On The Storm: Hurricane Risk And Coastal Insurance And Mitigation Decisions, Harrison Laird, Craig E. Landry, Scott Shonkwiler, Dan Petrolia

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This paper utilizes cross-sectional, household-level, survey data combined with data on subjective risk perceptions and experimentally derived risk preferences to analyze the decision to insure against hurricane losses. Our sample encompasses 670 individuals in five states of the United States Gulf Coast Region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). This study represents one of the few papers to examine wind insurance empirically and the only study to examine flood insurance, wind insurance, and mitigation behavior contemporaneously. Because these decisions are closely related, we employ a mixed-process regression, which allows for correlated error terms across a random-effects bivariate probit model (flood/wind …

The Effects Of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility On Financial Returns, Kevin Acevedo

Theses and Dissertations

A major issue concerning companies is global warming and the impact that firms have on the environment. Companies are taking steps towards sustainability, but it is unclear if sustainable business practices are beneficial to companies’ financial performance. This paper examines the effect of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Fortune 250 companies on financial performance. The analysis reveals significant effects on financial performance, but they are inconsistent and hard to interpret.

Inconsistent Definitions Of Gdp: Implications For Estimates Of Decoupling, Gregor Semieniuk

Economics Department Working Paper Series

Efforts to assess the possibilities for decoupling economic growth from negative environmental impacts have examined their historical relationship, with varying and inconclusive results. Part of the problem is ambiguity about definitions of environmental impacts, e.g. whether to use territorial or consumption-based measures of environmental impact. This paper shows that ambiguities arising from definitional changes to GDP are sufficiently large to affect the outcomes. I review the history of structural revisions to GDP using the example of the United States, and on international comparisons of purchasing power parity, compare decoupling results using various historical definitions of GDP on the same environmental …

Identification Of Poverty Areas By Using Machine Learning Classification Methods From Satellite Imagery In Buraydah City, In The Qassim Region Of Saudi Arabia, Amal Alfawzan

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country with its many resources, but it has seen an increase in poverty recently because of a high rate of population growth with a high rate of unemployment. Some estimate that the number of Saudi Arabians living in poverty is between two and four million. This research aims to develop a way to detect poverty through remote sensing. The study area is Buraydah City, the largest city of the Qassim region, an important agricultural center that plays a significant role in the economy of Saudi Arabia. The research hypothesized that there are poor areas within …

Sustainability In The New England Ski Industry, Sydney E. Gendreau

Honors Theses and Capstones

The goal of this study is to explore the extent to which sustainable investments are worthwhile for the New England ski industry. Research has shown that the New England ski industry will be greatly impacted by the effects of climate change within the near future. Anthropogenic climate change over the next several decades will cause frequent low snow winters, increases in night time winter temperatures, and overall shorter winters. Detailed economic analysis has shown that low snow and warm winters result in roughly $54 million in lost revenue for the New Hampshire ski industry in the past (Burakowski, Magnusson, 2012). …

Marx, Critical Theory, And The Treadmill Of Production Of Value: Why Environmental Sociology Needs A Critique Of Capital, Alex Stoner

Journal Articles

This chapter explores the domestication of Marx’s critique of political economy within Marxist-oriented environmental sociology, and treadmill of production (ToP) theory, in particular. The aim is to explicate the theoretical resources for a rigorous critique of capital-induced planetary degradation. Shortcomings of ToP theory pertaining to the conceptualization of capital and value are identified. The reasons for these shortcomings, including how they might be addressed, are elaborated by reconsidering key aspects of Marx’s critical theory of modern capitalist society. The chapter contributes to current discussions in both critical theory and environmental sociology by demonstrating the continued relevance of Marx’s critical theory …

“The Real Cost Of Mining: How Digging For Rare Earth Metals Could Pose A Greater Cost Than Evs Can Save”, Brahim Khalil Yatim

Honors Theses and Capstones

The Paris Climate Agreement proposes to have 20% of all road transport vehicles be electric by the year 2030. Implementation of this policy is critical to help obtain a 2 degrees Celsius reduction in the increase of global temperatures by 2030. This paper dives into the true costs of taking on a project that large scale. This study finds that though the benefits of this project would result in a 351,785,600 tons of GHG saved by the electric conversion there are significant environmental and human costs associated with the mining necessary to complete the agreement's goal. With current technologies and …

In My Backyard: Bioregional Communities As A Climate Mitigation Strategy, Zoe Johnston

Capstone Showcase

The urgency of the climate crisis requires an immediate revisioning of our society in order to mitigate the worst environmental consequences. This paper explores one possible climate mitigation strategy, bioregionalism, a theoretical vision of re-localizing economies and defining their reach by natural boundaries (Curtis 2003; Cato 2011). This idea of relocalization emerges from an understanding that globalized capitalism has exacerbated, if not engendered, the climate crisis. Local communities represent an alternative method of organizing in which people are more directly connected to the land that they live on. One major critique of bioregionalism, made by Albo (2007) and Hahnel (2007), …

The Analysis Of Japanese Consumers’ Purchasing Behaviour Towards Single-Use Plastic Packaging, Yui Setojima

Business ETD Collections

In recent years, the concept of sustainability has been put into the spotlight due to greater concern of environmental issues. Plastic pollution is one of serious sustainability issues which governments are rushing into making new regulations to deal with. The Japanese government is struggling to manage Japan’s heavy use of plastics and Japanese organizations are being asked to take positive actions towards reducing the use of plastic through media coverage and public pressure. However, plastic pollution requires huge efforts not only from governments but also organizations, whether large or small, and all individuals on Earth. This research aims to investigate …

Ecología Y Economía: Políticas Extractivistas Y El Desarrollo Sostenible Desde La Nueva Ruralidad, Daniel Ricardo Avila Suarez, Edgar Santiago Barreto Garzón

Economía

En Colombia, las políticas extractivistas se han consolidado como un modelo de desarrollo que se expresa en las políticas de extracción de materias primas evidenciadas en los planes de desarrollo del año 2002 al 2018. Estas políticas consideran fundamental el crecimiento para el desarrollo económico, donde el concepto de desarrollo sostenible es el eje sobre el que giran los hacedores de política. Lo anterior puede analizarse desde otra perspectiva en un escenario caracterizado por la nueva ruralidad como un modo alternativo al paradigma dominante de desarrollo, que permite interpretar las relaciones de estas políticas con el concepto de biodesarrollo, manifestado …

Perkembangan Teknologi Informasi, Tfp, Dan Emisi Gas Co2 Di Indonesia, Ganiko Moddilani, Irwandi Irwandi

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

This paper examines the development of information technology, total factor productivity (TFP), and urbanization of CO2 gas emissions in Indonesia from 1975–2014. To discuss empirically, this study uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. There are several results in this study. Firstly, the TFP coefficient value in the short term is lower than the long term, so that the Enviromental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is not proven. This is one of the causes of rising CO2 gas emissions. Secondly, information technology has a significant impact on the increase of CO2 gas emissions. Thirdly, Indonesia’s urbanization has reduced CO2 gas emissions.

Three Essays In Applied Econometrics: Agricultural And Energy Economics, Kuan-Ming Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines three empirical issues in energy and agricultural economics using econometrics models whose titles are: 1) Do Natural Hazards in the Gulf Coast Still Matter for State-Level Natural Gas Prices in the US? Evidence After the Shale Gas Boom; 2) Do Exploitations of Marcellus and Utica Shale Formations Improve Regional Economy in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia? A Synthetic Control Analysis; and 3) How Did Covid-19 Impact US Household Food Spending? An Analysis Six Months In.

The first essay assesses the impact of natural hazards on state-level natural gas prices and evaluates the effects of the shale gas …

Quantifying The Impact Of Remapping Floodplains On Residential Property Values In Snohomish County, Washington: A Hedonic Approach, Carson Joseph Risner

All Master's Theses

Flood events are the most common and costly natural disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) quantifies flood risks in the form of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS). These FIRMS delineate flood risks and are used to set flood insurance premiums. Changes in land use, the augmentation of the natural environment, is threatening the validity of the Nation’s FIRMS. Therefore, Congress has approved remapping programs to update these FIRMs ensuring that current flood risks are known. This remapping presents another issue, specifically for properties that are remapped into a flood zone. Current literature suggests that properties within flood zones are …

The Costs Of Critical Habitat Or Owl’S Well That Ends Well, Jonathan Klick, J.B. Ruhl

All Faculty Scholarship

When the Fish and Wildlife Service designated land in four counties of Arizona as “critical habitat” necessary for the protection of the endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy‐owl, property values dropped considerably. When the owl was later delisted, property values jumped back up. We use difference-in-difference and synthetic control designs to identify this effect with Zillow property value data. The results provide an estimate of the costs of this critical habitat designation, and they are considerable, contrary to the regulators’ position that critical habitat protection imposes no incremental costs beyond the original endangered species listing.

The Quest For Greener Pastures: Evaluating The Livelihoods Impacts Of Providing Vegetation Condition Maps To Pastoralists In Eastern Africa, Elia Machado, Helene Purcell, Andrew M. Simons, Stephanie Swinehart

Publications and Research

The survival of millions of pastoral households in Eastern Africa has become increasingly at risk. Due to mounting socioeconomic and climatic stressors, pastoral households are faced with making migration decisions under increasing uncertainty about resource availability and limited coping strategies. We assess the potential of providing vegetation condition maps to support the migration decision of pastoralists in Ethiopia and Tanzania and the effect of map usage on their herd condition and size. The maps were generated from remotely sensed data using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a proxy for vegetation condition and overlain with pastoralists’ preferred grazing areas. …

The Role Of Cost, Scale, And Property Attributes In Landowner Choice Of Stormwater Management Option., W. Bowman Cutter, Alexander Pusch

Pomona Economics

Cities throughout the world are experimenting with Low Impact Development (LID) strategies to replace ecosystem services degraded by urbanization. Stormwater management may need both centralized/publicly-managed infrastructure and decentralized provision by landowners. For landowners to participate in these programs they will need some latitude in the choice of techniques and siting. However, these landowner choices will affect the bundle of ecosystem services provided (such as infiltration, aesthetics, pollution filtering, and others) as well as their spatial distribution. We studied the Santa Monica (CA) stormwater regulations that require stormwater management on a large portion of development and redevelopment but allow a significant …

Bio-Economic Outcomes Under Alternative Management Strategies With Human Choice And Behavior: Modeling Tautog And Anglers' Preferences, Eric T. Schultz, Zhenshan Chen, Pengfei Liu, Stephen Swallow, Jacob M. Kasper

EEB Articles

Key findings

• There was relatively strong support for slot limits, and roughly comparable support for status quo management, among anglers fishing for Tautog in Long Island Sound.
• Respondents were not in favor of a total moratorium on fishing for Tautog.
• Providing survey respondents information on how different management scenarios will affect fishing in the future had little detectable impact on fishing preferences.
• Respondents expected to fish less in the future if a wide slot limit is imposed or if status quo management is maintained, but expected no change in effort if a narrow slot limit is imposed.
• Changes in regulations …

The Eu Ets: A Critical Analysis, Marceline Grey Swan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon markets, established via cap & trade programs, are the dominant means by which climate stabilization is currently being pursued worldwide, with many centered around the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. As such, a critical analysis of the EU ETS & its effectiveness is crucial to assess whether the EU carbon market is an effective mechanism to achieve climate stabilization. The effectiveness of the overall program was evaluated via a determination of whether the EU ETS, & to a greater extent the EU carbon market, has allowed for emissions reductions in line with the goal for climate stabilization set by …

Genetically Modified Organisms In The United States Crop Market, Toluwani V. Ogunbayode

Quest

Economic Analysis

Research in progress for ECON 2302: Principles of Microeconomics

Faculty Mentors: Millie D. Black, Ph.D., and Michael Latham, Ph.D.

The following paper represents research begun by students in Honors Principles of Microeconomics. The honors course introduced students to numerous economic models and methods of analysis. Students were asked to identify an economic issue or controversy related to topics studied in class and to provide a literature review relevant to their topic. Students were also asked to provide an economic analysis, discuss opposing viewpoints, present an economic evaluation of various policy options, and make a recommendation regarding the preferred …

Introduction To The Special Issue On The Blue Economy Of Bangladesh, Pawan G. Patil, Pierre Failler, Khurshed Alam

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Introduction to the Special Edition on the Blue Economy of Bangladesh by the Editors of the Special Edition.

Establishing An “Injury-In-Fact” Through Valuations Of Ecosystem Services: Putting It In Terms Federal Courts Understand, Allie Jo Mitchell

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Connecticut Waterfront Property Premium In Areas With Flood Risk, Conor O'Donnell

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper investigates the premium paid for waterfront property along the Connecticut shoreline and how that premium is affected by its vulnerability to coastal flooding as measured by its location relative to the FEMA 100-year and 500-year flood zones. The primary analysis is a comparison of the rate of appreciation of properties within each flood zone relative to coastal properties outside the flood-zone. An analysis of the impact of Super Storm Sandy in 2012 on the appreciation rate is also presented. It is hypothesized that the rate of appreciation of properties within the 100-year flood zone is lower following Hurricane …