Digital Commons Network^™

From The Ground Up: Community-Based Participatory Research Reclaiming The Science Of Lead, Juan Manuel Rubio, Bavisha Kaylan, Anthony Diaz, Patricia Flores, Maya Cheav, David C. Bañuelas, Ashley Green, Annika Hjelmstad, Ariane Jong-Levinger, Tim Schütz, Maya Carrasquillo, Alana M. W. Lebron, Jun Wu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

For decades, the dominant approach to lead poisoning has been to focus on homes affected by lead paint and to treat children who are already suffering from lead poisoning. This individualizing approach developed in the context of the defunding and deregulation of government agencies in the 1980s. In recent years, however, community–academic partnerships have reframed lead as an environmental issue produced by the development of the lead industry in the twentieth century and connected to overlapping histories of exploitation, discrimination, and inaction. These community-based projects have contributed to shifting research agendas (by emphasizing historical analysis and the study of the …

How Can The Adoption Of Biodegradable Packaging In The Beverage Industry Specifically Contribute To Reducing Single-Use Plastic Waste, And What Regulatory Or Cost-Related Challenges Hinder Its Widespread Implementation In Developing Countries?, Rebecca Aba Gaisie

2025 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

This research investigates the potential of biodegradable packaging to reduce single-use plastic waste in the beverage industry and explores the regulatory and cost-related barriers to its adoption in developing countries. The beverage sector is a major contributor to global plastic pollution, and biodegradable alternatives offer a promising path toward sustainability. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study combines qualitative interviews with industry experts and case studies of businesses implementing biodegradable solutions, alongside quantitative survey data from 100 manufacturers and 200 consumers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Findings reveal that while biodegradable packaging significantly reduces plastic waste and appeals to environmentally …

“Lyfting” The Possibilities And Opportunities For Sustainable And Safe Transportation To Access Medical Care, Saneywongse Le Mar

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

No abstract provided.

Turning Farm Waste Into Energy: Pragmatic Approaches For Cleaner Midwestern American Communities, Rebecca Gaisie

Selected or Submitted Student Research Papers/Projects

Mismanagement of farm waste in the Midwest of the United States has resulted in significant methane emissions, water contamination, and public health concerns. The present manure management rules are still inconsistent, underfunded, and insufficient to motivate individuals to behave in a way that benefits the environment, despite increasing concerns about the environment. This policy study investigates anaerobic digestion as a potential means to convert waste into energy that could support rural and environmental development. Some of the problems with the federal and state legislation examined in this study under an EPI framework are a lack of incentives, inadequate technical support, …

Black Mothering And Environmental Justice Activism: A Black Ecofeminist Framework, Kayla N. Miller , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

Brother Nature: Pursuing Zero-Waster At Casa Maria, Isaiah Charles, Giuliana Porzio Cuenca, Tatiana Flores, Isabella Lopez, Antonio Martinez, Kelly Sawyers

Presentations - 2025

This presentation focuses on evaluating waste production and management at Casa Maria, a Marianist community on campus, with the goal of establishing baseline data and offering sustainability recommendations grounded in the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Insights from this initiative aim to inform broader sustainability efforts across the university.

Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Reburns In Western Us Forests, Jackson M. Boyle

Student Publications

In the Western United States, understanding the role of reburns, or repeat wildfires, has become a topic of increased interest as the damages caused by wildfires have risen. While some forests are adapted to frequent burns, others have fire regimes characterized by few or infrequent burns. While all fires alter ecosystems, reburns have been found to specifically lower seeding probability and accelerate or start the shift from forests to shrublands. Despite these ecological impacts, the temporal and spatial trends of reburns remain understudied. Using Google Earth Engine, I analyzed the Composite Burn Index (CBI) dataset to see if reburns are …

Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo) As Bioindicators For Atlantic Herring (Clupea Harengus) Distribution In The Gulf Of Maine, Logan R. Becker

Student Publications

Effective fisheries management is increasingly challenged by climate-driven shifts in species distribution and by a lack of data on early life stages of key forage fish species. In the Gulf of Maine, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), a once economically dominant fishery species and a key prey species for many dependent predators, has declined due to poor early-stage recruitment and warming waters. Despite this decline, current trawl surveys do not inform early-stage Atlantic herring distribution due to mesh size limitations, leaving critical gaps in our knowledge. To address this knowledge gap, I used common terns (Sterna hirundo) …

Decarbonising Digital Infrastructure And Urban Sustainability In The Case Of Data Centres, Felicia H. M. Liu, Karen P. Y. Lai, Bertrand Seah, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper critically assesses the complex interplay between urban transitions of digitisation and sustainability. Building on a mixed-method research design, we unpack the challenges of decarbonising digital infrastructure while attending to urban sustainability goals in a land- and water-scarce country facing significant physical climate risks. We identify transferrable lessons on the economic, technological, and environmental synergies and trade-offs behind data centre development and argue that stewarding the global data centre sector towards sustainability requires an ecosystem-wide approach. We identify implementation gaps across five key dimensions: technological innovation, policy and regulation, finance, infrastructure, and people. We find that the progress and …

Inferences Of Source Lithologies For Chicxulub Microtektites Using A Bayesian Approach, Jack Carter, Paolo Sanchez, Anthony J. Fuentes, Paul R. Renne, Dale H. Burns, Hermann D. Bermúdez

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Chicxulub impact on the Yucatán Peninsula at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (KPB) was a likely contributor to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Glassy objects produced by quenched melt from the impact were distributed over a large region centered on the Caribbean basin and have long been known to preserve compositional information that could allow for more robust constraints on the pre-impact target lithologies. The Chicxulub-derived glasses are generally altered in most localities, but a recently discovered deposit at Gorgonilla Island, Colombia, yields a large percentage of unaltered glassy microtektites up to ∼2 mm (There is inconsistent usage of these terms in …

Impact Of Extreme Rainfall Days On The Welfare Of Households In The Formal And Informal Sectors, Majah-Leah V. Ravago, Gerald Gracius Y. Pascua, Loubill Dayne Aceron, Emilio Gozo, Faye Cruz, Gemma T. Narisma

Economics Department Faculty Publications

We differentiate the impact of extreme weather shocks on the welfare of the formal and informal sectors by utilizing nationally representative household survey data from the Philippines. We deviated from the typical measure of extreme tails of normalized rainfall values using normal distribution and instead used a novel measure of extreme rainfall from satellite-derived data. We estimate the vulnerability of households using an endogenous switching regression model to account for the heterogeneity in the decision to be in either sector. We find evidence that households’ welfare is adversely affected by extreme rainfall days, but the negative impact is bigger on …

Meeting Carbon Dioxide Removal Demand In 2030: The Potential Of Macroalgae Cultivation And Harvest, Lotta Siebert, Jiajun Wu, Lena-Katharina Bednarz, David Keller, Felix Meier, Christine Merk, Sonja Peterson, Wilfried Rickels

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

A growing number of countries have announced net-zero and net-negative emissions targets, but only a few countries provide incentives for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). We derive estimates of countries' hypothetical demand for CDR in 2030 based on their emissions reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. The aggregated average global demand for CDR in the compliance year 2030 is 1064 MtCO₂, 353 MtCO₂, and 124 MtCO₂ for the low, medium, and high-cost CDR scenarios, respectively. This demand comes exclusively from countries and regions with relatively high GDP per capita, relatively high abatement costs and a limited …

Magnetic And Optical Properties Of Airborne Dust Particles Nearby Coal-Fired Power Plants In Upper Silesia, Poland: A Mineralogical, Petrographical And Chemical Approach, Chrysoula Chrysakopoulou, Konstantinos Perleros, Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, Lambrini Papadopoulou, Nikolaos Kantiranis, Stavros Kalaitzidis

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Coal mining and exploitation pose certain challenges in terms of environmental management. The objective of this research is the study of airborne dust from Knurow region, Southern Poland, aiming to identify the level and the features of anthropogenic particles, mostly in the form of fly ash. Two samples collected from a domestic gutter system were analysed regarding their mineralogical, chemical and petrographical features, emphasizing the magnetic fraction and the carbonized organic particles. The airborne dust contains 22 wt.% of fossil and fresh organic matter, whereas the major mineralogical phase is magnetite. The magnetic fraction (up to 3 wt.%) appears in …

Assessment Of Water Pollution Levels In Lake Batur, Indonesia And Their Effect On Water Weed Presence, Syarif Prasetyo, Tri Retnaningsih Soeprobowati, Tirtaduna Tirtaduna, Agus Purnomo, Sri Hartati, Umi Chodrijah, Prihatiningsih Prihatiningsih, Ari Wahyono, Jumari Jumari, Rossi Prabowo

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Lake Batur in Bangli Regency, Bali Province is a priority area for ecological quality restoration in Indonesia due to its vulnerability to environmental changes caused by diverse and intensive utilization. Agricultural activities, fisheries, and tourism affect the lake’s water quality, leading to the uncontrolled growth of water weeds such as water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes). To determine the relationship between water quality, community activities, and water weed presence, water samples were collected from 9 locations consisting of residential, tourist, aquaculture, and agricultural areas. In situ analysis was then conducted to measure turbidity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved …

Plural Water Narratives: An Environmental Justice Lens On A Systematic Review Of Q-Methodology Water Research, Melissa Haeffner, Alida Cantor, Janet Cowal, Andrea Bryant, Darius Mani Yaw, Kinna Je Palacios, Daniela Serna, Bryce Sprauer, Abigail Tran-Gruver

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Environmental justice research has shown that people's experiences and perceptions of water differ because systematic inequalities shape the extent to which people access clean water and are exposed to water hazards. Q‐methodology is one technique that has been used to aggregate multifaceted subjective narratives and understand different perspectives on a topic. In this paper, we systematically review 77 case study articles applying Q‐methodology to water‐related topics, to inventory how people perceive their relationships with water. We create a classification system based on environmental justice theory to examine (1) distributive justice issues around alternative water sources and agricultural and urban water …

Environmental Justice And Ecology In Social Work Education: Emerging Trends Among Faculty., Keri Otte

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

March 31, 2025

This paper presents a study of how social work educators in the U.S. are integrating environmental justice and ecological content into social work coursework and /or curriculum. Current literature in this area suggests that educators should be incorporating deep ecology philosophy, using experiential learning techniques, and moving away from anthropocentrism towards ecocentrism. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data on pedagogical approaches, educator knowledge and previous training, and barriers to content integration. The interviews took place virtually with social work educators from five geographical areas in the United States. The findings illustrate the importance of transformative …

Perceived And Recorded Temperature In Aircraft Cabins During 143 Flights, Matthew Nicholls, Peter Vink

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

This essay reports on the perceived and recorded temperature in aircraft cabins during 143 flights. In each flight, passengers reported their experience. They recorded temperature and humidity after boarding and one hour later. The reports show that fewer than half of the passengers perceived the temperature as “good.” Most passengers (39%) perceived it as hot, and some (17%) perceived it as cold. Comparing the temperatures with guidelines shows that 18% of the recorded temperatures in the cabin were empirically too hot and 2% empirically too cold. The differences between passengers in what they perceive as a good temperature are large, …

The Sedimentological Signature Of Impact Spherules And Its Relation To Ejecta Transport Mechanisms During The Chicxulub Asteroid Impact (Cretaceous/Paleogene Boundary), Hermann D. Bermúdez, Liliana Bolívar, José A. Arz, Ignacio Arenillas, Vicente Gilabert, Robert Depalma, George Phillips, Daniela Bermúdez, Maurizia De Palma, Clemencia Gómez, Ying Cui

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Chicxulub impact is the most likely cause of the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary (KPB) mass extinction and the only impact event in Earth's history with a globally traceable ejecta bed. Although the impact spherules are thought to represent molten or vaporized material, precise genesis and transport mechanisms remain underconstrained. Here, we show that the morphology, size, internal structure, and distribution of the spherules within the KPB deposits are related to origin and transport processes. The study of thousands of spherules from KPB deposits in Colombia, the USA, and Spain has revealed the presence of three fractions related to three different distribution …

Comparison Of Climate Change Awareness Among Coastal Communities In Northern And Southern East Java, Indonesia, Sukma Perdana Prasetya, Ketut Prasetyo, Warsono Warsono, Sarmini Sarmini, Muhammad Turhan Yani, Agus Suprijono, Sugeng Hariyanto, Nasution Nasution, Mohd Hairy Ibrahim

Jurnal Pendidikan Geografi: Kajian, Teori, dan Praktek dalam Bidang Pendidikan dan Ilmu Geografi

One of the important issues in the world today is climate change. Human activities and natural factors mainly cause these changes. The main factor that triggers this phenomenon is the need for more public knowledge in dealing with and anticipating the impacts of climate change. Therefore, this research analyzed the comparative knowledge and perceptions of coastal communities regarding climate change in East Java. Purposive sampling and snowball methods were used to select 110 respondents to complete the survey form. 50 respondents were taken from residents on the Sendang Biru coast, South Malang Regency, and 60 were taken from residents on …

Native Organizations Fill Gaps In Federal Support For Tribal Renewable Energy, Healing Native Communities, Corrie Grosse, Dawn D. Davis, Robert Blake, Chéri Smith

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of The Un Watercourses Convention On The Development Of A Policy Design In The Nile River Basin, Zienab Ali Abdelhady

Theses and Dissertations

The adoption in 1997 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN Watercourses Convention or UNWC) marked a milestone in the codification and progressive development of international water law. Similarly, the signature in 2010 by the majority of the Nile Basin states of the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) was a major step towards a permanent legal and institutional framework as well as a significant shift from the currently applicable legal regime in the basin. The research concludes that the principles enshrined in the UNWC can assist future regional treaty …

Ferrate(Vi) Transformation Of Nitrogen In Secondary Wastewater Effluent: Implications For Water And Nutrient Management, Qiufeng Lin, Zepei Tang, Hussein I. Abdel Shafy, Yang Deng

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Ferrate(VI) is a promising chemical agent for wastewater treatment. While targeting various contaminants, it can inevitably react with different water matrix constituents such as nitrogen (N) species. However, the reactions of ferrate(VI) with wastewater N compounds remain poorly understood. This study explores ferrate(VI)-mediated transformations of different N species in a secondary wastewater effluent. Ferrate(VI) oxidation minimally abated total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), while oxidizing dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) into dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), primarily nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N), without noticeably altering ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) levels. Consequently, ferrate(VI) treatment increased the fraction of bioavailable, soil-leachable NO3--N while lowering the portion of less bioaccessible …

Restoring The AhupuaʻA: Community-Based Resource Management And Resilience In KauaʻI, Jeffrey W. Walbridge Jr.

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes Kauaʻi’s evolving resource management practices, examining the intersections of historical governance frameworks, modern legal systems, and indigenous knowledge. Utilizing the traditional ahupuaʻa system, Kauaʻi’s approach once promoted holistic stewardship across water, land, and energy resources. However, colonial policies, corporate influence, and economic pressures have gradually shifted this framework toward a market-driven model, often prioritizing tourism and development over ecological resilience. Key policy shifts as they fight to return to an ahupua'a based model – from the Great Mahele’s introduction of private land ownership to water diversions for plantation agriculture – help examine how these changes continue to …

Annual Variation In Attribute Importance To Upland Game Hunter Satisfaction In Nebraska, M. P. Gruntarod, J. J. Lusk, C. J. Chizinski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Caves, Calculus, And Climate Change: Measuring And Modeling The Discharge Of Biz Falls In Mammoth Cave National Park, Ava Lich

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Climate change poses a significant global challenge, with increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide as a primary driver of rising temperatures and environmental disruptions. Karst systems, such as those in South-Central Kentucky, play a role in sequestering atmospheric CO₂ through the dissolution of limestone, a process that forms unique landscapes while mitigating climate impacts. This study investigates the discharge dynamics of Cascade River in Great Onyx Cave to enhance understanding of the relationship between hydrology and carbon sequestration in karst environments. A barrel weir equipped with pressure transducers was employed to collect and measure water flow, and Torricelli’s law was …

Modeling Wild Rice Bed Health: A Dual Metric Approach For Bed Strength And Invasive Impact, Seth Sisneros-Martinez

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Wild rice (mannoomin; Zizania palustris) is an aquatic grain that grows in slow-moving rivers and shallow bays throughout northern Minnesota. In Headquarters Bay on Leech Lake, wild rice has served as a cultural staple for Indigenous communities for centuries. However, its population has declined in recent years due to multiple environmental issues. One potential contributor is Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum; EWM), an invasive species that forms dense mats capable of outcompeting native aquatic vegetation, including wild rice. EWM was first recorded on the southern shoreline of Leech Lake in 2005 and has since become widespread. This study …

The Effect Of Zebra Mussels On Minnesota Fish Communities, Benjamin D. Strei

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha are an aquatic invasive species that has been spreading quickly throughout Minnesota water bodies since 1989. Zebra mussels are known to change certain morphological conditions in lakes such as turbidity, phytoplankton abundance, and aquatic invertebrate populations. However, studies showing impacts of the infestation of zebra mussels on the health of a fish community have been hard to prove due to a lack of repeated surveys and a suite of other confounding variables such as natural and seasonal variability, plant community, and lake morphometry. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine whether zebra mussels have …

Geological And Environmental Sciences - 2025, Dept. Of Geological And Environmental Sciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

• Greetings from the Department Chair
• Faculty Updates
• 2025 Geological and Environmental Sciences Department Alumni Achievement Awardee Mr. Thomas Hanna
• 60 Years - Telling Our Story
• Empowering the next generation of geoscientists

Assessing Understory Along The Elk River (Hikshari') In Headwaters Forest Reserve, Humboldt County, California, Julie R. Meyers, Aliyah M. Ingram, Caleb N. Larkin, Joshua L. Carpenter

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

Northern California’s extensive logging history and lack of forest management has altered old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests, leaving dense, homogenous second and third-growth forest stands. This has led to the use of modern restoration techniques such as variable density thinning (VDT) which aims to rehabilitate old-growth forest conditions by improving stand heterogeneity and light availability for understory species. Our study was done in Headwaters Forest Reserve (HFR) along the Elk River (Hikshari’) Trail in Humboldt County, California. Initially, the project was supervised by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arcata Field Office. However, the 2025 U.S. government …

Quantifying Biodiversity In The Absence Of Taxonomic Data: A Study Of Thailand’S Economic Development Zones, Nikorn Mahawan, Wanpen Charoentrakulpeeti

Applied Environmental Research

The biodiversity status measures the ecological capacity of a given area. However, biodiversity assessments in developing countries are limited by the absence of taxonomic data on plants and animals. By developing methods to evaluate biodiversity via alternative data, it is now possible to quantify the ecological carrying capacity in areas where taxonomic data are lacking. The relationship between forest ecosystem health and biodiversity values can be used to estimate biodiversity values by considering the proportions of different land use types that are associated with forest ecosystem abundance. The biodiversity value of the area can be assessed by adding the abundance …