Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Use Of Satellite Sar Observations Integrated In Arctic Maritime Situational Awareness, Hans Eilif Larsen

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

Satakunta University Of Applied Sciences As A Basis For Ensuring Safe & Sustainable Shipping In Changing Arctic Environment, Heikki Koivisto,

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

Knowledge Discovery Of Human Activities At Sea In The Arctic Using Remote Sensing And Vessel Tracking Systems, Michele Vespe, Harm Greidanus, Carlos Santamaria, Thomas Barbas

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

From A Public Health Perspective: Fracking And Other Unconventional Oil And Gas Extraction Techniques In California, Hilda J. Cerros

Master's Projects and Capstones

California strives to be a leader in clean energy, yet it the third largest producer of oil and gas. To tackle the need for a cleaner environment, free of toxic chemicals, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) establish a Healthy Energy Choice campaign. CEH and the Healthy Energy Choice Program collaborate with other organizations and communities to shine light on the public health impacts associated with fracking and other oil and gas extraction methods. The following paper is a summary of a 300- hour field work experience completed at the CEH’s Healthy Energy Choice Program specifically with an analyzes of …

A Modeling Approach To Determine The Impacts Of Land Use And Climate Change Scenarios On The Water Flux Of The Upper Mara River, L. M. Mango, Assefa Melesse, M. E. Mcclain, Daniel Gann, S. G. Setegn

Daniel Gann

With the flow of the Mara River becoming increasingly erratic especially in the upper reaches, attention has been directed to land use change as the major cause of this problem. The semi-distributed hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool 5 (SWAT) and Landsat imagery were utilized in the upper Mara River Basin in order to 1) map existing field scale land use practices in order to determine their impact 2) determine the impacts of land use change on water flux; and 3) determine the impacts of rainfall (0%, ±10% and ±20%) and air temperature variations (0% and +5%) based on …

State-Of-Knowledge On Changing Arctic Environmental Conditions, David Carlson

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 25, 2015, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 25, 2015 (8/25/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Effect Of Yangtze River On Population Genetic Structure Of The Relict Plant Parrotia Subaequalis In Eastern Chin, Qifang Geng, Zhingang Yao, Jie Yang, Jia He, Danbi Wong, Zhongsheng Wang, H. Liu

Department of Earth and Environment

Parrotia subaequalis (Hamamelidaceae) is a Tertiary relic species endemic in eastern China. We used inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to access genetic diversity and population genetic structure in natural five populations of P. subaequalis. The levels of genetic diversity were higher at species level (H = 0.2031) but lower at population level (H = 0.1096). The higher genetic diversity at species levels might be attributed to the accumulation of distinctive genotypes which adapted to the different habitats after Quaternary glaciations. Meanwhile, founder effects on the early stage, and subsequent bottleneck of population regeneration due to its biological characteristics, environmental features, …

Is Soil Quality Linked To Psnp Graduation In East And West Hararghe, Ethiopia?, Elizabeth Gladding

Capstone Collection

Many households in Ethiopia have struggled to remain food secure and meet their nutritional needs. In response to chronic food insecurity the Ethiopian government developed the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) to provide support to households in the form of food or cash transfers in exchange for public service work. The idea of the program is that households will develop their livelihoods through the public work and eventually become self-sufficient, food secure and graduate from the PSNP.

Some households graduate from PSNP in a shorter time than others, attributing to many different factors. This study looks at soil quality as …

Rapid Label-Free Detection Of E. Coli Using Antimicrobial Peptide Assisted Impedance Spectroscopy, Keren Jieng, Hashem Etayash, Sarfuddin Azmi, Selvaraj Naicker, Mahtab Hassanpourfard, Parmiss Mojir Shaibani, Garima Thakur, Kamaljit Kaur, Thomas Thundat

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

There is an increasing demand for rapid detection of waterborne pathogens to monitor drinking water safety. We demonstrate a compact, label-free sensor array for rapid detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in contaminated water samples using antimicrobial peptide assisted impedimetric sensor platform. Interdigitated electrode arrays immobilized with the antimicrobial peptide Colicin V (ColV) were used to screen the affinity towards different bacterial strains by monitoring impedance variations in real-time. This ColV assisted impedance biosensor exhibited high selectivity towards Gram-negative strains particularly towards E. coli strains. This selective detection of E. coli from other strains was observed at 10 …

Using Choice Experiment Valuation Methods To Measure Public Preference For A New National Park In Maine, Alexander G. Wilsterman

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

With global population increasing faster than ever, the need to protect land from development is at an all-time high. This paper seeks the measure the public preference for a new national park located in northern Maine. A national park will both protect the land and inject a much-needed economic stimulus to the surrounding communities. The study uses the choice experiment valuation method to quantify its results. Through this revealed preference we can quantify which characteristics are most important to the public so that these characteristics may be considered if the project is ever approved.

Golf Courses In Maine: Land Type Valuation Versus A Hedonic Pricing Analysis, Gregory Ladd, Jason Buco

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Many studies have been conducted analyzing the economic impact of golf courses on the local communities. These studies examine economic impacts of tournaments, endorsements, and vacation expenses of the major golf courses in the United States. However, there is little research conducted on the environmental impact of Golf courses, specifically in Maine. This paper performs a hedonic pricing analysis using housing prices in proximity to golf courses and compares it to the valuation of various land types in Maine. Housing prices were collected in the towns of Auburn, and North Yarmouth both near and distant from the local golf course. …

Converting Croplands To Grassland: A Spatial Analysis Of The Economic Feasibility Of Soil Greenhouse Gas Mitigation In Midwest, United States, Paco C. Defrancis

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

The global agriculture sector is responsible for close 20% of the aggregate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted since the start of the industrial age. Much of these emissions are attributed to the degradation of soils due to land use change when native ecosystems were converted to agricultural fields. Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been found to decrease in temperate soils when the native (such as a forest or grassland) ecosystem is replace by croplands. The aggregate amount of organic carbon stored in soils globally is estimated be 3.3x the size of the atmospheric carbon pool. Further soil degradation and …

Cost Benefit Analysis Of Café Standards Compared To The Alternative Fuel/Carbon Tax, Brian Levinson

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

The Cafe Standards were introduced in 1975 following the Oil Embargo. The goals of this program were simple. To reduce co2 emissions in vehicles by increasing a mandatory average mpg level for car manufacturers in the United States. Recently, in 2012, the Obama Administration set new Cafe Standard requirements for car manufacturers. By 2025, all new cars on the road in the United States must average 54.5 miles per gallon, which would double the current 27 mpg average in place right now. While the intentions of this policy are to reduce co2 emissions while at the same time increasing savings …

The Economics Of The Audubon Society's Sanctuary Program For Golf Courses, Dan Hyszczak

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Millions of people play golf every year, and in 2011 Golf Courses gained $22 billion dollars in revenue. This statistic combined with golf’s inherent place in the natural environment lead to questions of value and development for golf course owners. In 1991, The Audubon Society created their Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP) to promote environmentally sustainable practices for golf courses and to recognize the courses that are the most environmentally in both the United States and around the world.

This paper builds off of prior research that connects golf course beauty with revenue by examining the effects of …

Preferences For Coral Reef And Fishery Management In Okinawa, Japan, Nils Carlson

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study is an example of how a nonmarket valuation method – a choice experiment – can be used to influence and guide ecosystem conservation efforts. Using a choice experiment survey, this study estimates the willingness to pay (WTP) for certain hypothetical attributes of a restored and conserved coral reef in Okinawa, Japan. I find that an increase in the amount of fish available to catch in ten years as well as an increase in the extent and health of the coral reefs and the number of marine biodiversity found in the Okinawan waters after ten-years, both positively affect respondent’s …

An Exploratory Statistical Analysis Of The External And Internal Effects Of Art Museums In The United States, John Eder

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

An Exploratory Statistical Analysis of the External and Internal Effects of Art Museums in the United States

How Does The Stock Market Value The Renewable Energy Sector: A Public Announcement Analysis And Test Of The Efficient Market Hypothesis, Jack Crampton

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study analyzes the market reaction to public announcements in the stock market. The efficient market hypothesis is put to test and similar studies are reexamined in the context of the renewable energy sector. Through fixed effects models, we can assess the validity to the efficient market hypothesis and assess how the market values the clean energy sector.

The Effects Of Land Conservation On Productivity, Robert Mccormick, Carolyn Fuwa

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

In this research the relationship between productivity of land conservation is analyzed using panel data of the GDP and acres conserved of all 50 U.S. states from 1998-2005. Two main theories of the conservation productivity relationship exist. The first maintains that conservation impedes productivity because it does not allow land cultivation. Conversely, the second theory maintains that land conservation has a positive effect on GDP due to the recreation and tourism it creates. Through the use of fixed effects and random effects regressions, the amount of land conserved per state is not a significant predictor of state GDP The GDP …

A Survey On Climate Change: How Beliefs Shape Responsibility, Connor P. Clancy, Sarah Beth Solomon

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the lack of awareness and feelings of personal responsibility for climate change. Previous literature suggests that while part of the United States population may be aware of climate change, they do not feel personally responsible for causing it despite feeling climate change’s effects just like everyone else. Furthermore, studies suggest that individuals also do not believe climate change will affect them now, but rather it is an issue for future generations. Using a survey, we examine which demographics and personal factors are most important in eliciting awareness for climate change, and furthermore, personal responsibility for its effects. …