Digital Commons Network^™

The Economics Of Climate Adaptation On America’S Coasts: A Washington Conversation, Dr. Charles Colgan

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Report of a colloquium on the economics of coastal climate change adaptation held in Washington D.C. on April 16, 2015. The event was sponsored by The Center for Blue Economy of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the Urban Coast Institute of Monmouth University. Participants included Michael Conathan, Center for American Progress; Frank Nutter, Reinsurance Association of America; Dr. Robert Kopp, Rutgers University; Josh Sawislak, Council on Environmental Quality; Tony MacDonald, Urban Coast Institute; Jason Scorse and Charles Colgan, Center for the Blue Economy

Industrial Ecology Analysis Of The Potential For An Eastern Nebraska Industrial Symbiosis Network (Enisn): A Comparative Study, Bradley A. Behne

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The area of Eastern Nebraska north of Omaha, including the municipality of Blair is host to a collection of unique companies and industries. These industries, driven by the agricultural and urban economy of the area, as well as the geographic proximity to each other, make it an advantageous area to study the potential for a network where individual entities utilize the concept of industrial symbiosis. This potential network is referred to as the Eastern Nebraska Industrial Symbiosis Network (ENISN). Industrial symbiosis, a sub-set of industrial ecology, engages separate industries in a collaborative and collective approach, concerning itself with the flow …

Electronic Waste And Sustainability: Reflections On A Rising Global Challenge, Bipul Kumar, Kalyan Bhaskar

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Globalization, technological advancements, advent of the internet, near-universal availability of mobile phones and changing consumer preferences have led to a boom in the electrical and electronics industry. Such products are now available in almost all countries of the world. The increased availability and consumption of electronic products have also led to rapid rise in the volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) globally. Markets have traditionally not paid sufficient attention to post-consumption behavior for electronic products and hence safe disposal and management of e-waste has always remained a critical issue. There are significant sustainability issues related with e-waste at local as well …

An Assessment Of The Economic Impact Of The Proposed Stoneco Gravel Mine Operation On Richland Township, George Erickcek

Reports

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Promoting Equity In Clean Energy Deployment, Tracy Babbidge, New Haven Green Fund

Reports

No abstract provided.

Aspirational Planning: A Statistical Model Of Hawthorne Bridge And Tilikum Crossing Bicycle Ride Counts, Robert Mccullough, Ramon Cabauatan, Jacob Gellman

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Portland city planners have routinely planned for an increase in bicycle commutership and a decrease in automobile commutership. This paper discusses the latest data on Portland car and bicycle use. Portland and Multnomah County are observing an increase in single occupancy vehicle commuters, car ownership, and gasoline consumption. Bicycle use in Portland is found to have followed a logistic curve pattern since the early 1990s. The authors present an ordinary least squares model to explain bicycle ridership on the Hawthorne Bridge and the recently constructed Tilikum Crossing. When controlling for other factors such as weather and daylight, the Tilikum Crossing …

Increasing Access To Potable Water: A Question Of Economics And Governance In Bo District, Sierra Leone, Alissa M. Heiring

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper analyzes existing supply gaps that are impeding rural water access in Bo District, Sierra Leone. On a national and district level, Sierra Leone has failed to meet the target of 70% access to potable water inspired by the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. This paper focuses on Bo District due to its near total inclusion in the Sewa River basin and split urban and rural population. Given the existing political and economic constraints, this paper identifies the most feasible way to sustainably increase access to potable water in Bo. To develop the recommendations, current supply gaps in rural …

The Role Of The Nigerian Institutional Environment On Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Theresa Onaji-Benson

Bullion

Literature on the determinants of foreign direct investment has focused on the influence of macroeconomic conditions and market size, with research on the role of institutions on foreign direct investment especially in developing economies remaining inconclusive This paper seeks to study the Nigerian institutional environment how its positions may affect the inflows of foreign direct investment activity. The study employs the use of time series regression analysis of data sourced from the World Bank governance indicators and the Heritage Foundation index and finds that some institutional factors positively influence the level of foreign direct investment inflows.

Plastic Pollution And The Global Throwaway Culture: Environmental Injustices Of Single-Use Plastic, Kristin L. Mcdermott

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

The global throwaway culture has created a cross-ecosystem plastic pollution injustice. The first to suffer this injustice will be the most vulnerable. Our oceans have become our dumpsters. The throwaway culture has created a disrespect of material goods that has turned the earth’s resources into rubbish after a single use. Eighty percent of the yearly 8 million tons of plastic that enter the ocean is single use plastic, such as plastic bottles, plastic shopping bags, or cigarette lighters.[1] Plastic has destroyed ecosystems, robbing impoverished communities of natural resources and of a healthy and safe living environment. First to suffer …

Exchange Patterns And Relations In Collaborative Governance., Charles Wharton Kaye-Essien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative governance has received considerable attention in recent years. From environmental resource management to public safety, collaborative governance continues to play a vital role in regional problem solving. In spite of this increasing popularity previous attempts to model the political, economic, and demographic determinants of collaboration have in most cases produced inconsistent results, thereby undermining the ability to generalize from such findings. Additionally, our understanding of the relational patterns that emanate from collaborative agreements remains fairly rudimentary. The main objective of this research is to address some of the gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of collaborative governance …

High Performance Bayesian Applications In Medical, Economics And Climate Sciences, Ahmed Almulihi

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

We apply high performance numerical integration to problems in Bayesian statistics. These are applied to data arising in the analysis of problems in such areas as medical statistics (birth weight data, heart transplant data, photocarcinogen data, radio therapy data), climate (global weather, tornado data), and general statistics applications (multivariate logistic distribution, multivariate normal, nonlinear regression). We compute Bayesian moment integrals using the ParInt integration software that runs efficiently on computer clusters. We compare our results to those in the literature and show excellent performance with respect to accuracy and execution time.

Trash On Taboga: A Case Study On Solid Waste Management And Feasible Methods For Sustainable Improvements, Taboga Island, Panama, Madison Marra

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On Taboga Island, a touristic island located just 20km outside of Panama City, solid waste can be found both littered and accumulated in an open-air dump that contributes to air, land, and ocean pollution. While more sustainable waste management systems are possible, as seen in other developing countries, differences in perceptions of waste management by users may result in differences in acceptance of new ideas. In this study, semi-structured interviews were used to gauge the status of waste management on Taboga and the perceptions of waste by its residents and visitors in order to ensure the participation of users in …

They Come Like The Clouds: Governing The Mountainous Periphery, Jared Sousa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper addresses the extension of governmental power into the mountainous periphery of the village of Dho Tarap in the Dolpa District of Nepal. New technologies, new markets, and new social dynamics are penetrating the Himalaya and reshaping the connections that mountain people have to the outside world. In this context of connectivity and modernity, the people of Dho Tarap are also being thrust into far closer proximity to the Nepali government. After a series of geopolitical moves in Nepal and China in the 1960s, Dho Tarap as part of an isolated border region has been a part of a …

David Vs. Goliat: Políticas Y Prácticas Exitosas De La Decoin (Defensa Y Conservación Ecológica De Intag) Durante La Lucha Contra La Minería En Intag, Ecuador, Ana Teresa Colón García

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este es un análisis cualitativo que se enfoca en la organización DECOIN(Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag) y su influencia en la resistencia, con éxito hasta el presente, contra proyectos de extracción minera que podrían acarrear un grave y muy y negativo impacto ambiental en la zona de Intag, Ecuador. En base a entrevistas con líderes y aliados de la organización y residentes de varias comunidades de la zona de Intag, discuto y analizo estrategias que ha implementado la organización tales como la compra de tierras, creación de alternativas económicas, concientización ambiental y defensa de derechos humanos para lograr desincentivar …

La Minería En La Conciencia Urbana: Las Estrategias De Los Yasunidos De Cuenca Contra La Minería En El Azuay, Alexandra Golden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En la provincia del Azuay, Ecuador, hay dos proyectos mineros a gran escala. Los proyectos Río Blanco y Loma Larga/Quimsacocha consisten en minas subterráneas de oro y plata, y ambos se acercan a la fase de explotación. Los proyectos están ubicados en la Reserva de Biosfera Macizo del Cajas en la zona de amortiguamiento del Parque Nacional el Cajas. La zona es un páramo de alto endemismo e importancia con respecto a la regulación hídrica. Los páramos suministran agua potable a los pueblos campesinos y a los habitantes de la ciudad de Cuenca. La minería consume muchísima agua y energía …

Impacts Of Ecotourism In Costa Rica: A Sustainable Alternative To Conventional Tourism, Kimberly A. Kleszczynski

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This ethnographic project examines the economic and social influences of tourism, specifically ecotourism, on the local communities of Costa Rica. The proposed research seeks to investigate the effects of ecotourism on the environment and quality of life for residents in Costa Rica while demonstrating the importance of sustainable development in relation to the ecotourism sector. The primary purpose of this research is to view the impact of ecotourism on Costa Rican society, with a particular focus on culture, economics, the environment, and specifically from the perspectives of local Costa Rican residents. Ultimately this paper will define what ecotourism is and …

Introduction: Sustainable Livelihoods, Conflicts, And Transformation, Brandon D. Lundy, Akanmu G. Adebayo

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Introduction to the Journal of Global Initiatives Volume 10, Number 2 "Sustainable Livelihoods and Conflict."

Estimation Of Large Dimensional Factor Models With An Unknown Number Of Breaks, Shujie Ma, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper we study the estimation of a large dimensional factor model when the factor loadings exhibit an unknown number of changes over time. We propose a novel three-step procedure to detect the breaks if any and then identify their locations. In the first step, we divide the whole time span into subintervals and fit a conventional factor model on each interval. In the second step, we apply the adaptive fused group Lasso to identify intervals containing a break. In the third step, we devise a grid search method to estimate the location of the break on each identified …

State Of The U.S. Ocean And Coastal Economies: Coastal States Summaries - 2016 Update, Kildow, Charles S. Colgan

Publications

This publication contains two-page ocean and coastal economic summary reports for each of the 30 coastal states with data complementing the Center for the Blue Economy/National Ocean Economics Program latest State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies - Update 2016 report.

State Of The U.S. Ocean And Coastal Economies 2016 Update, Dr. Judith T. Kildow, Charles S. Colgan, Pat Johnston

Publications

Relative to the landmass of coastal regions, America’s coasts and oceans contribute a disproportionately high value to the United States economy. For the past fifteen years, the National Ocean Economics Program (NOEP) has compiled time-series data that track multiple indicators for economic activities, demographics, natural resource production and values, non-market values, and federal expenditures in the U.S. coastal zone on land and in the water. On our website (www.oceaneconomics.org), government agencies, academia, industry, advocacy groups and the general public representing more than 40 nations— have had interactive access to this information and used it widely for many different purposes.

This …

Calpoly 2015 Transportation Survey Report, William Riggs

City and Regional Planning Studios and Projects

In the spring of 2015, City & Regional Planning faculty conducted a campus-wide transportation survey as part of work on the campus Climate Action Plan. The survey represented spring 2014 commutes and was issued to a sample of full and part-time CalPoly faculty, staff, students and auxiliaries with assistance from Facilities Services and the Vice President for Administration and Finance.

The total number of responses was 3,961, roughly 17% of the entire campus population of roughly 23,000. Unsurprisingly, the majority of respondents were students, totaling 68.6%, while the rest were made up of faculty, staff, and visitors. Results are significant …

The Real Footprint Of Electric Vehicles, And What That Could Mean For Our Future, Krista Brown

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper looks at the impact of electric vehicles on CO2 emissions specifically based on the type of electricity used in each New England state analyzed. The research looks at the question of whether or not emissions will in fact be lowered as electric cars start to take the majority of vehicles used instead of the conventional cars that take up a much larger percent of the motor vehicles used today. Taking into account the use of electricity and how many sources of electricity also release a substantial amount of emissions, we see how valid the public opinion of electric …

Analyzing Consumers’ Willingness To Pay For Eco-Labeled Seafood Products In Coastal And Inland Maine Counties, Gaby E. Carpenter

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Around the world, green labels are used for a wide range of food products, both in grocery stores and restaurants. Often, the price for these labeled products is higher due to higher production costs associated with the goods. This leads to demand for these goods in the market and consumers that are willing to pay. Here, I will examine the willingness to pay for three different eco-labeled seafood dishes at a Maine restaurant using a consumer choice experiment survey. I will use this survey to conduct a benefits transfer analysis to approximate the willingness to pay of consumers in each …

The Effectiveness Of The Colby College Electricity Competition On Promoting Electricity Conservation To Students, Jeff Vaz

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the effectiveness of the Colby College electricity reduction competition in altering students’ behavior to conserve electricity. The Colby College electricity reduction competition is an information-based policy that Colby implemented to promote the conservation of electricity, which are a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. The study analyzes if different residence halls reduce electricity consumption by different amounts during the competition period. Results indicate that only 4 of 22 residence halls reduced electricity usage during competition periods in a statistically significant manner. The study concludes that the electricity competition at Colby College is …

Heterogeneity In The Preferences And Pro-Environmental Behavior Of College Students: The Effects Of Years On Campus, Demographics, And External Factors, Andrew G. Meyer

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Models from several social science fields have identified factors that lead to pro-environmental behavior. This research builds on those models by analyzing a survey completed by over 500 undergraduates at a US liberal arts university to examine the characteristics of students that are associated with more environmentally friendly behavior and quantify the desirability of different environmental initiatives. There is evidence that the probability of pro-environmental behavior substantially increases with each additional year that a student spends on campus. The magnitude of the effect is between 4 and 10 percentage points per year, depending on the specific behavior and empirical model. …

Agricultural Policy Reform: An Argument For A Soil Erosion Tax, Alex M. Ingulsrud

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

The purpose of this research is to examine the history of soil erosion and US agricultural policy in order to show why a soil erosion tax would be a good policy. Part A of this essay focuses on the dust bowl as an archetype for modern agriculture and ecological limits. Historical lessons are drawn from the dust bowl that illustrate why a soil erosion tax would be more practical than past policies for agricultural policy to coerce farmers into implement soil conversation practices. Part B of this essay examines the current dilemma of soil erosion and agricultural policy, why a …

"Extra-Activism", Dorothy Kidd

Media Studies

No abstract provided.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 9, Spring 2016

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Developmental Effect Of State Alcohol Prohibitions At The Turn Of The 20th Century, Mary F. Evans, Eric Helland, Jonathan Klick, Ashwin Patel

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

We examine the quasi-randomization of alcohol consumption created by state-level alcohol prohibition laws passed in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. Using a large dataset of World War II enlistees, we exploit the differential timing of these laws to examine their effects on adult educational attainment, obesity, and height. We find statistically significant effects for education and obesity that do not appear to be the result of pre-existing trends. Our findings add to the growing body of economic studies that examine the long-run impacts of in utero and childhood environmental conditions.

Illiquid Capital: Are Conservation Easement Payments Reinvested In Farms?, Joshua M. Duke, Brian J. Schilling, Kevin P. Sullivan, J. Dixon Esseks, Paul D. Gottlieb, Lori Lynch

Center for Great Plains Studies: Staff and Fellows Publications

Agricultural conservation easements have positive externalities but few studies examine the supply-side. This paper explores whether easements may also overcome a credit-market failure, as banks may not be lending based on the full developed value of land. Original survey data test our research hypotheses and show profitable owners and nonoperators to be using easement payments to extract capital from their land by using the preservation programs as a bank. The results also show that the unprofitable owners and operators are reinvesting in their agricultural enterprises. Both results are consistent with an underlying credit-market failure, and the latter suggests that easements …