Digital Commons Network^™

Scientists And Activists Work To Save The Planet, Myriam G. Vidal Valero

Capstones

Climate change and human intervention in nature are affecting people, ecosystems and ways of living all over the world. This portfolio of environmental pieces showcases the dire consequences of not addressing these issues, how solutions can be reached and the challenges facing those who try to change things.

Resiliency Of Levee-Protected Power Networks To Flooding In A Changing Climate Integrating Environmental Justice, Seyed Saeed Miraee-Ashtiani

Theses and Dissertations

Electric power system (EPS) is an integral part of infrastructure systems. Ensuring its resiliency to extreme weather events and natural hazards is crucial to protect the safety, economy and public health. Recorded and projected data show an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and natural hazards attributed to a changing climate. It is critical to ensure the integrity of the aging infrastructure systems and to promote environmental justice by shrinking the energy-equity gap to lower power outages in disadvantaged communities.

An important aspect is the resiliency interdependency of EPS to other critical infrastructure systems, an aspect …

Nexuscapes: A Landscape Approach For A Transdisciplinary Water-Energy-Food Nexus Decision-Making Process, Fortino Acosta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study develops a reliable transdisciplinary framework for complex ecological and social systems by characterizing, mapping, typifying, assessing, and testing enhanced water-energy-food nexus scenarios under critical time constraints, specialized skills, or sensitive data accessibility. Detached management of limited essential resources like fresh water, reliable energy from renewable sources, and nutritious food can jeopardize regional economies and governance. Using a novel landscape approach, this study recommends a decision-making the framework focused on the circular economy that induces collaboration among diverse sectors and brings strategic coordination, specificity, and magnitude to the proposed solutions. The study elaborates on a decision-making tool that integrates …

Predictions Of Household Water Affordability Under Conditions Of Climate Change, Demographic Growth, And Fresh Groundwater Depletion In A Southwest Us City Indicate Increasing Burdens On The Poor, Josiah M. Heyman, Alex S. Mayer, Jessica Alger

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Reduced river flows and groundwater depletion as a result of climate change and population growth have increased the effort and difficulty accessing and processing water. In turn, residential water costs from municipal utilities are predicted to rise to unaffordable rates for poor residential water customers. Building on a regional conjunctive use model with future climate scenarios and 50-year future water supply plans, our study communicates the effects of climate change on poor people in El Paso, Texas, as water becomes more difficult and expensive to obtain in future years. Four scenarios for future water supply and future water costs were …

Injustice Within Renewable Energy Life Cycles: Can Irena Offer A Solution?, G. Webster Ross

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

This paper explores case studies of green colonialism, supply chain injustices, and poor e-waste management within renewable energy life cycles, and investigates how the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) may be the best suited organization to address and mitigate these issues on a global scale. While renewable energy technology is often heralded as the key to a sustainable future, the life cycle of these technologies is riddled with human rights violations and other injustices. To begin with, many of the minerals required for assembling the hardware are mined in unregulated environments, resulting in several injustices such as health and safety …

Engineering News, Fall 2022, School Of Engineering

Engineering News

No abstract provided.

Sustainable And Inclusive Engineering: The Use Of Mentors And Sustainable Remediation To Increase The Presence Of Underrepresented Groups In Engineering, Nathaniel L. Steadman

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in engineering, such as women, has been a priority for many decades to diversify the profession to meet the current demand for engineers. Unfortunately, barriers continue to inhibit the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in engineering, thus reducing the impact of these efforts. A potential barrier is a lack of social connection to the technical problem definition, design, and decision-making that engineers utilize, prioritizing technical knowledge over social. Previous research has theorized that the incorporation of social considerations in technical engineering design increases interest in engineering for underrepresented groups. The purpose of …

Park Equity Modeling: A Case Study Of Asheville, North Carolina, Anisa Young

All Theses

Parks and greenspaces are publicly available entities that serve the vital purpose of promoting multiple aspects of human welfare. Unfortunately, the existence of park disparities is commonplace within the park setting. Specifically, marginalized individuals encounter limited park access, insufficient amenity provision, and poor maintenance. To remedy these disparities, we propose a process in which we select candidate park facilities and utilize facility location models to determine the optimal primary parks from both existing and candidate sites.

We note that platforms currently exist to identify the geographical areas where residents lack sufficient access to parks. However, these platforms do not yet …

Chemical Toxicants In Water: A Geohealth Perspective In The Context Of Climate Change, Naveen Joseph, Tate Libunao, Elizabeth Herrmann, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Catherine R. Propper, Jesse E. Bell, Alan S. Kolok

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The editorial focuses on four major themes contextualized in a virtual GeoHealth workshop that occurred from June 14 to 16, 2021. Topics in that workshop included drinking water and chronic chemical exposure, environmental injustice, public health and drinking water policy, and the fate, transport, and human impact of aqueous contaminants in the context of climate change. The intent of the workshop was to further define the field of GeoHealth. This workshop emphasized on chemical toxicants that drive human health. The major calls for action emerged from the workshop include enhancing community engagement, advocating for equity and justice, and training …

Developing A Feasible Business Model For Expanding The Ev Market To Lower Income Californians, Samer Sarofim, Aly Tawfik

Mineta Transportation Institute

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a valuable tool in addressing the climate and energy challenges placed on our transportation systems. However, while national and international market shares of EVs have been rising with exponential rates, access to EVs of low-income populations has been significantly slower. This research developed a business model for expanding the EV market to low-income Californians. The team developed the model from qualitative data from various stakeholders, including Electric and Solar Companies, Professional and Community-Based Organizations, State Agencies, research institutions, and more, which enabled insights regarding various barriers that hinder the adoption of EVs. The team also used …

Risk-Based Project Development, Steve Waddle, Ying Li, Christopher Van Dyke

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Risk management is integral to highway project development. Managing risk entails identifying uncertainties which could influence project activities, understanding how they can be mitigated or eliminated, and monitoring risk during project development. Many state transportation agencies have introduced methods for identifying risks, determining whether risks are high impact or low impact, and generating response strategies. These methods are often qualitative or semi-quantitative in nature due to the challenge of quantifying the likelihood of a risk and its effects. These approaches are nonetheless valuable for helping designers and project development teams remain mindful of negative risks which could pose significant hurdles. …

Environmental Justice Initiatives, Risk Assessment, And Coal Ash Management: Example Assessments And Applications, Ari S. Lewis, Julie C. Lemay

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Ccr Rule And Environmental Justice Impacts, Christine M. Harris

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Environmental Justice Initiatives, Risk Assessment, And Coal Ash Management: An Overview, Julie Lemay, Ari Lewis

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Bridge Newsletter Spring 2022, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-CArEE faculty awarded Kummer Ignition Grants
-Geldert-Murphey poised to become ASCE’s 2023 president-elect
-Nine new members inducted during Academy of Civil Engineers 50^th anniversary celebration
-Steel Bridge Team wins fourth consecutive regional competition, will compete at nationals

Equity Driven Data Analysis For Public Transportation Planning, Gerardo Ivan Valenzuela Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Existing public transportation planning methods use a trip-based approach rather than a user-based approach; a user-based approach is sensitive to a broader range of planning strategies and policies, especially those that affect or take into consideration how users spend their time and resources. Even though transportation planning agencies such as Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are required to strive for environmental and social justice, there is still a gap that needs to be filled. Urban population growth and urbanization with its impact on public planning require continuous research to address the constantly evolving challenges when it comes to transportation. As cities …

Data-Driven Framework For Understanding & Modeling Ride-Sourcing Transportation Systems, Bishoy Kelleny

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Ride-sourcing transportation services offered by transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft are disrupting the transportation landscape. The growing demand on these services, along with their potential short and long-term impacts on the environment, society, and infrastructure emphasize the need to further understand the ride-sourcing system. There were no sufficient data to fully understand the system and integrate it within regional multimodal transportation frameworks. This can be attributed to commercial and competition reasons, given the technology-enabled and innovative nature of the system. Recently, in 2019, the City of Chicago the released an extensive and complete ride-sourcing trip-level data for …

Passive Air Samplers For Community Monitoring Of Air Toxics Following Hurricane Ida In Terrebonne Parish, Sarah Besson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Improving Document Retention Through Data Management Dashboards, Beau M. Gentry, Brett Lackey, Karen Hadley

Purdue Road School

Transportation projects continue to get more complex, requiring multi-layer collaboration, documentation, compliance, and more. Through specific use cases, we will demonstrate how project teams can use innovative platforms to build data management dashboards for project management and document retention for mid-West and Indiana mobility projects. This specialized visual tool brings important documents and data together, incorporates customized information, and evolves it to meet client needs in modern and easy to understand metrics.

Designing And Implementing A Novel Graduate Program To Develop Transdisciplinary Leaders In Urban Sustainability, Megan M. Wallen, Ingrid Guerra-Lopez, Louay Meroueh, Rayman Mohamed, Andrea Sankar, Pradeep Sopory, Ryan Watkins, Donna R. Kashian

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Urban settings, where >50% of the world's population resides, are increasingly faced with environmental challenges that threaten their sustainability. Aging infrastructure, water and air pollution, and increasing recognition of environmental injustices highlight the need for professionals to employ complex scientific reasoning across disciplines where they can effectively address the multifaceted issues of urban sustainability. Here we present an innovative model for preparing the next generation of public, private, and academic leaders to address complex problems in urban sustainability. Specifically, we outline the design and implementation of an integrated, adaptable graduate training program, with the goals of science leadership, curriculum relevancy, …

Indoor Air Quality Through The Lens Of Outdoor Atmospheric Chemistry, Jonathan P.D. Abbatt, Douglas B. Collins

Faculty Contributions to Books

Outdoor atmospheric chemistry and air quality have been the topic of research that intensified in earnest around the mid-20^th century, while indoor air quality research has only been a key focus of chemical researchers over the last 30 years. Examining practices and approaches employed in the outdoor atmospheric chemistry research enterprise provides an additional viewpoint from which we can chart new paths to increase scientific understanding of indoor chemistry. This chapter explores our understanding of primary chemical sources, homogeneous and multiphase reactivity, gas-surface partitioning, and the coupling between the chemistry and dynamics of indoor air through the lens of …

North 14th Street Corridor Improvements Project, Ashley Nguyen, Samantha Corey, Maricela Paramo Reyes, Pooja Rajeev

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The following project report was a study of the North 14^th Street corridor ranging from Adams Street to Virginia Street conducted by University of Nebraska-Lincoln students for a senior design capstone project. Main focuses of the project were the intersection of Adams and 14^th Street and the 14^th Street bridges over Cornhusker Highway and Oak Creek. Study of this area included work in transportation, traffic, structural, geotechnical, water resources, and environmental engineering. However, this report done by students should not take the place of work done by licensed professional engineers.

This project was done in collaboration with …

Combining Green Metrics And Digital Twins For Sustainability Planning And Governance Of Smart Buildings And Cities, Casey R. Corrado, Suzanne M. Delong, Emily G. Holt, Edward Y. Hua, Andreas Tolk

VMASC Publications

Creating a more sustainable world will require a coordinated effort to address the rise of social, economic, and environmental concerns resulting from the continuous growth of cities. Supporting planners with tools to address them is pivotal, and sustainability is one of the main objectives. Modeling and simulation augmenting digital twins can play an important role to implement these tools. Although various green best practices have been utilized over time and there are related attempts at measuring green success, works in the published literature tend to focus on addressing a single problem (e.g., energy efficiency), and a comprehensive approach that takes …

The Role Of Inclusion In Climate Vulnerability Assessment And Equitable Adaptation Goals In Small American Municipalities, Elena Lioubimtseva

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Equity and inclusion considerations are important prerequisites of effective climate adaptation planning, especially at a local scale. This study examines how climate adaptation plans of small American cities and counties consider equity in their climate vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning goals and how consideration of equity in existing adaptation plans relates to the inclusion of diverse categories of stakeholders. Data analysis is based on the content of 23 local climate adaptation plans of small urban and rural municipalities across the United States with populations of less than 300 thousand people. Correlations between conceptualization of vulnerability dimensions, inclusion of 9 categories …

Cruser Place Green Streets Plan, Neal Friedman

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Combining green and complete street design techniques leads to multiple environmental, social and economic benefits that often enhance each other's effectiveness. In urban areas confronting increased pressures of sea level rise, green streets, which incorporate landscaped features or vegetative areas to manage stormwater within the right of way, can be crucial pieces of pedestrian oriented urban design and multimodal planning frameworks that consider and plan for diverse, complementary transportation options. This plan works with the Colonial Place and Riverview Civic League as well as the Norfolk Preservation Collective to come up with green street design recommendations in order to strengthen …

Inclusiveness In Teaching : Aligning Culturally Relevant Journal Articles With Course Content, Jacimaria Batista

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The practice focuses on Inclusiveness in Water/wastewater Engineering Teaching. Upon reviewing the ethnic (Fig. below) and gender diversity (24% women) of her 57- student course on water/wastewater treatment, the Instructor replaced previously assigned articles with the reading of articles focusing on water issues affecting minoritized communities in the U.S (see references).The goal was to make students aware of water/wastewater issues facing minority communities in the US. Often, the media portrays Africa or South America as places where safe water is not available, ignoring the needs of minoritized communities in the US. A second goal was to evaluate the interest of …

Assessment Of Organophosphorus Pesticide Residues In Water And Sediment Collected From The Southern Caspian Sea, Reza Golshani, Ghasem Ghorbanzadeh Zafarani, Maksim Rebezov, Samaneh Karbalaei, Tony R. Walker

Applied Environmental Research

Pollution of water resources by uncontrolled pesticide use is a serious health and environmental issue. In this study, concentrations of three organophosphorus pesticides (diazinon, malathion, and azinphos-methyl) in water and sediment samples from five estuaries (Sefidrud, Chalus, Babolrud, Tajan, and Gorganrud) along the Caspian Sea were investigated. Samples were collected from surface water and sediment during summer to autumn, and pesticides were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results indicated that salinity and turbidity in Gorganrud were higher (salinity: range 2–8%; turbidity: range 1–9%) compared to other stations. Higher diazinon (water: 0.08±0.06, sediment: 0.04±0.01), malathion (water: 0.09±0.06, sediment: 0.05±0.01) and …

Assessing The Potential And Pathways For Renewable Energy Transformations In Orleans, California, Malcolm Prescott Moncheur De Rieudotte

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In what is now known as the state of California in the United States, the Karuk Tribe is interested in deploying a renewable-powered microgrid in the rural community of Orleans to improve electricity system reliability and resilience to address a wide range of challenges, including extreme events such as wildfires. This study assesses the potential of local distributed renewable energy and battery storage to meet Orleans' energy needs today and in the increasingly electrified future using an energy model. It also identifies existing cultural and social priorities for energy technology along with structural barriers to renewable energy adoption and the …

Developing Implementable Policies Targeting Sustainable Building Construction Through International Policy Diffusion, Melisa Ciara Hancock

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The buildings and construction sector is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to vast list of negative impacts humans have on the environment through material production, natural resource usage, and waste. While many organizations like the United Nations (UN), OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), and Architecture 2030 have been advocating for a shift to sustainability within the sector for decades, there is still a major disconnect between countries that have and haven’t implemented sustainability into all practices. This research focuses on analyzing the content of national building codes for their level of sustainability …

Environmental Justice Issues And Sea Level Rise In Frontline Communties Along The Gulf Coast, Karla Michel Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Sea level rise poses a great threat to coastal areas and our way of life. As flooding increases in frequency and intensity across the country, vulnerable populations become a target to its impacts. The U.S. dedicates much research to risk communication and climate change adaptation strategies; however, these coastal areas are home to a large percentage of underserved and underrepresented communities that can be challenging to meaningfully engage. The impacts of short-term sea level rise combined with long-term sea level rise will not only cause flooding, erosion, and intrusion of saltwater into freshwater resources but also increased financial consequences, such …