Digital Commons Network^™

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, August 2019, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- A Letter from the Interim Director
--- September's Green Brewery FeatureSustainable Brewing Society Consortium
--- EPA's New Pharmaceutical Rule - Assistance and Fact Sheet
--- Industry News

Libraries As Sustainability Leaders: Ala's Special Task Force, René Tanner, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Monika Antonelli, Adrian K. Ho

Library Services Publications

This article discusses the work of the American Library Association (ALA) Special Task Force on Sustainability, which identified 52 recommendations, including the adoption of sustainability as a core value of librarianship. The group aims to promote libraries as catalysts, connectors, and conveners to promote sustainability, resilience, and regeneration. The Task Force is guided by the concept of the triple bottom line, which states that an organization's practices must be not only economically feasible but also socially equitable and environmentally sound. The article also provides examples of how libraries engage in sustainable practices to support the cities and towns they serve.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, July 2019, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Get to Know the Iowa Waste Reduction Interns: Niko Muniz, Abby Palmer, Corey Behrens, and Grant Helle
--- Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the Nicotine Listing - Final Rule
--- Recent Leadership Changes
--- Green Brewery Update
--- Industry News

Engaged Communication Scholarship For Environmental Justice: A Research Agenda, Chad Raphael

Communication

As a discipline of crisis and care, environmental communication needs to address questions of environmental justice. This article argues that the most appropriate approach to studying environmental justice communication is engaged scholarship, in which academics collaborate with community partners, advocates, and others to conduct research. The article reviews prior engaged communication scholarship on environmental justice, and proposes four streams of future research, focused on news and information, deliberation and participation, campaigns and movements, and education and literacy.

Facilitating Greenhouse Gas Reduction And Climate Change Adaptation Within The Coastal Zone: A Policy Analysis For The California Coastal Commission, Nicole Young

Master's Theses

California is already experiencing impacts to its coastline due to climate change, and more severe impacts are anticipated if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. These climate change impacts are especially strong within the California coastal zone, which falls under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission. The Commission has a history of rigorous environmental protection and is committed to protecting California’s coast through proactive planning and regulation, however they will need to initiate coastal policies with ambitious targets to facilitate effective climate change adaptation and mitigation. This study analyzed existing California climate policies and Coastal Commission policies to identify …

Elevating Outdoor Recreation Together: Opportunities For Collaboration Between State Offices Of Outdoor Recreation And Federal Land Management Agencies, Brooke A. Sausser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Outdoor recreation is a robust pillar of local, state, and national economies as well as a critical component of residents’ quality of life. Recognition of the economic power of the outdoor industry, fused with the growing desire for greater outdoor recreation opportunities, has inspired more than 11 states to establish state offices of outdoor recreation. The organizational structure and mission of each office is tailored to each state, varying from temporary task forces, councils, and commissions to more permanent offices or advisory positions. These offices, though embedded within various sectors of state government, often coordinate across or blend the functions …

Containing The Jeremiad: Understanding Paradigms Of Anxiety In Global Climate Change Experience, Brian Glaser

English Faculty Articles and Research

This essay uses Bion’s concept of “containing” to read the psychological dynamics of jeremiads about global climate change, arguing that their structure reveals a strategy of communication that may be useful for more broadly raising awareness about this challenging state of the planet. More specifically, I argue that contemporary global climate change jeremiads have a structure that first elicits alarm and then moves to discuss solutions, and that this structure may be beneficial to those who are awakening to the reality of global climate change by rendering anxiety bearable and therefore open to purposive and creative response.

Sustainability Education And Organizational Change: A Critical Case Study Of Barriers And Change Drivers At A Higher Education Institution, Edwin E. Akins Ii, Elizabeth Giddens, David Glassmeyer, Amy Gruss

Faculty Articles

Integrating sustainability within institutions of higher education can have a tremendous impact on students, faculty, and the larger community. Sustainability efforts also experience many barriers to implementation within higher education contexts. A change management perspective can help characterize these barriers and ways to overcome them. In this critical case study, we use a process model to examine the kinds of barriers Kennesaw State University (KSU) has faced regarding implementation of academic sustainability and to evaluate change drivers that can advance sustainability during a time of leadership change. The process model evaluates barriers and change drivers according to published frameworks, and …

An Assessment Of Farmer Participation In The United States Department Of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services’ Conservation Technical Assistance Program In West Virginia, Matt D. Oliver

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Food and fiber production on America’s farmlands have a major influence on the environment, therefore, soil and water conservation practices are critical. NRCS has provided no-fee technical assistance for nearly 100 years through the Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program. The CTA program is essential because it provides technical knowledge directly to farmers for planning and implementing conservation practices that are proven to benefit environmental health and on-farm production. CTA program funds support NRCS staff and training and are thereby the local service delivery vehicle for all NRCS programs. However, in recent years, funding for CTA has remained relatively constant while …

Creating Spaces For Conversations On Conservation: A Case Study Of Joint Forest Management In East Sikkim, India., Paulami Banerjee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Successful community-based natural resource management should include both resource professionals and local communities. Recognizing this fact, my research seeks to encourage more locally adaptive and collaborative forest governance that facilitates sustainable development by enabling grassroots participation. Specifically, I explore opportunities for developing a more sustainable relationship between India's Joint Forest Management (JFM) program and rural forest-dependent communities in Sikkim-a remote, northeastern state of India bordering Nepal to the west, the Tibet Autonomous region of China to the north and northeast, and Bhutan to the southeast. As an instrument for sustainable forestry management, JFM seeks to develop partnerships between forest user …

Ecopsychology Revisited, Jorge Conesa-Sevilla

Trade & Scholarly Monographs

Ecopsychology Revisited is a critique of and deconstructive approach to several trends termed “ecopsychology.” This work attempts to bring light to some of the misconceptions that have hardened as “ecopsychology,” as these ideas have been reinterpreted and sometimes oversimplified by the general public and some professionals outside mainstream psychology. Part of the confusion arose when “ecopsychology” became inadequately amalgamated with other ideas. Nevertheless, within the social and behavioral sciences, at least, there is great value in devising and applying evidence-based strategies that track the normative ramifications dealing with cognition, emotion and behavior, exploring how or why humans relate to natural …

University At Albany Stars Report, University At Albany, State University Of New York

STARS reports

Gold Rating: STARS Version 2.1

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS®) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to gauge relative progress toward sustainability. STARS was developed by AASHE with broad participation from the higher education community.

STARS is designed to:

• Provide a framework for understanding sustainability in all sectors of higher education.

• Enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

• Create incentives for continual improvement toward sustainability.

• Facilitate information sharing about higher education sustainability practices and …

An Examination Of What Motivates Utah Residents To Adopt The Practice Of Rainwater Harvesting, D. Wayne Honaker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although most of the earth is covered in water, a very limited amount of that water is fresh water, which is essential to our survival. Therefore, it is imperative that we do all that is possible to conserve and protect our extremely limited water resources, especially in arid regions such as the American West. While there are many ways and means to protecting and preserving our water resources, this thesis focuses on the strategy of rainwater harvesting (RWH) as it is done throughout the state of Utah. RWH is defined as taking the precipitation that falls on our built structures …

Community Forestry Frameworks In Sub-Saharan Africa And The Impact On Sustainable Development, Lalisa A. Duguma, Joanes Atela, Alemayehu N. Ayana, Dieudonne Alemagi, Mathew Mpanda, Moses Nyago, Peter A. Minang, Judith M. Nzyoka, Divine Foundjem-Tita, Cécile Ngo Ntamag-Ndjebet

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Community based forest management (CBFM) has been implemented in Africa since the 1980s. Three main objectives, which are currently part of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), underlie the formation of CBFM. They are (1) enhancing community engagement in forest management, (2) reducing rural poverty, and (3) promoting forest resources conservation. We examine CBFM frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and CBFM schemes’ contribution to selected sustainable development goals relevant to the forestry sector. Five SSA countries, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda, and Tanzania were chosen for the study because of their long-term engagement in CBFM. The analysis was based on desk review …

Pursuing Resilience Of Coastal Communities Through Sustainable And Integrated Urban Water Management, Pacia Díaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliability of water supply in the urban setting has become essential for communities to function and thrive. It is needed for more than mere human consumption and well-being. Although modern cities have water treatment and distribution systems, pressures from urbanization, population growth and the anticipated pressures of climate change are affecting the quality of water supply and the reliability of treatment and distribution systems. There is therefore an urgent need to take appropriate measures to improve the resilience of water supply systems before the impacts are irreversible.

Improving the resilience of water supply systems can be a challenge. In the …

Brownfields To Greenfields: Environmental Justice Versus Environmental Gentrification, Juliana A. Maantay

Publications and Research

Gentrification is a growing concern in many urban areas, due to the potential for displacement of lower-income and other vulnerable populations. This process can be accelerated when neighborhood “greening” projects are undertaken via governmental or private investor efforts, resulting in a phenomenon termed environmental or “green” gentrification. Vacant land in lower-income areas is often improved by the existing community through the creation of community gardens, but this contributes to these greening efforts and paradoxically may spur gentrification and subsequent displacement of the gardens’ stewards and neighbors. “Is proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods associated with an increased likelihood …

Brownsfields To Greenfields: Environmental Justice Versus Environmental Gentrification, Juliana A. Maantay, Andrew Maroko

Publications and Research

Gentrification is a growing concern in many urban areas, due to the potential for displacement of lower-income and other vulnerable populations. This process can be accelerated when neighborhood “greening” projects are undertaken via governmental or private investor efforts, resulting in a phenomenon termed environmental or “green” gentrification. Vacant land in lower-income areas is often improved by the existing community through the creation of community gardens, but this contributes to these greening efforts and paradoxically may spur gentrification and subsequent displacement of the gardens’ stewards and neighbors. “Is proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods associated with an increased likelihood …

Searching For A Brighter Tomorrow: An Internship Working Toward The Alleviation Of Energy Poverty Through Solar Power And Search-Engine Crowdfunding, Meaghan Mcelroy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Auroville Consulting is an environmental consulting firm, founded in 2010, that works to create an environmentally-friendly and socially responsible world. One of Auroville Consulting’s projects, the Solar Village Initiative, works to address the effects of energy poverty by installing on-grid solar panels and solar generation systems in rural villages throughout rural Tamil Nadu., with the Solar Village Search Engine as a crowdfunding tool for the project. By performing dayto- day tasks pertaining to communications, journalism, social media, and promotions for the Solar Village Search Engine at Auroville Consulting; participating in in-office discussion; and living and working in Auroville, I was …

Removing Dams, Constructing Science: Watershed Restoration Through A Socio-Eco-Technical Systems Lens, Zbigniew Jakub Grabowski

Dissertations and Theses

Ecological conservation and restoration in the anthropocene must struggle with overlapping drivers of biodiversity and cultural loss; ruptures of the ecological environment mirror ruptures of human relationships with nature. And yet technology cannot remove humans from nature; technological and infrastructural reconfigurations of nature create new vulnerabilities and risks for humans and ecosystems alike. How can conservation and restoration science productively grapple with complex infrastructure systems and decision-making processes as biophysical and social drivers of ecosystem change?

Using dam removals in the USA and in the Mid Columbia River region of the Pacific Northwest, this dissertation develops a conceptual framework for …

Residential Zoning And Near-Roadway Air Pollution: An Analysis Of Los Angeles, C. J. Gabbe

Environmental Studies and Sciences

Air pollution from motor vehicles harms the health of those who live near freeways and other high-traffic roads. Land use regulations may permit, prohibit, or impose special conditions on housing near major roadways. This paper answers two questions: First, how is residential development near major roadways regulated? Second, how common are zoning changes near major roadways, and what factors explain these changes? This paper compares the zoning designations of near-roadway parcels with others in the city, and uses two sets of logistic regression models to analyze near-roadway zoning. The results show that residential development is permitted on most near-roadway parcels, …

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, July/August 2018, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Midwest Food Recovery Summit Kicks Off in Two Weeks
--- Food Waste Posters Now Available
--- Four More Iowa Craft Breweries Became Certified This Summer
--- Industry News

Reorganizing School Lunch For A More Just And Sustainable Food System In The Us, Jennifer Gaddis, Amy K. Coplen

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Public school lunch programs in the United States are contested political terrains shaped by government agencies, civil society activists, and agri-food companies. The particular organization of these programs has consequences for public health, social justice, and ecological sustainability. This contribution draws on political economy, critical food studies, and feminist economics to analyze the US National School Lunch Program, one of the world's oldest and largest government-sponsored school lunch programs. It makes visible the social and environmental costs of the "heat-and-serve" economy, where widely used metrics consider only the speed and volume of service as productive work. This study demonstrates that …

Guide To Usda Agroforestry Research Funding Opportunities

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This guide is intended for researchers and academics pursuing funding opportunities for research in agroforestry - the intentonal integration of trees and agriculture. The guide provides an overview of external agroforestry research funding opportunities offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies.

This publication was created for serveral reasons. Agroforestry is not always clearly identified in announcements about research funding opportunities. In addition, research on agroforestry can require a longer time horizon than research on annual systems, so awareness of multiple funding sources or multi-year funding opportunities can be useful. Last, though USDA offers grants that can support …

Functions Of Ecosystems: Stream Metabolism As An Efficient And Effective Means To Gage The Health And Understand The Interworking Of Urban Streams In A Watershed Of Rock Island, Il, Ryan Johnson, Dr. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

Stream metabolism is a critical functional measure of stream health that integrates physical parameters like slope and discharge, with ecosystem functions like photosynthesis and respiration. Stream metabolism is widely studied; however, urban stream metabolism remains poorly understood. Stream metabolism was measured for five streams ranging from 1^st to 5^th orders from October 11^th to October 18^th 2017 and four streams ranging from 1^st to 4^th order from October 22^nd to 25^th 2017 located within an approximately 9.3 square kilometer watershed of Rock Island, IL that has an urban to suburban type of …

Virtuous Discourse In The Specialty Coffee Sector: How Social Responsibility Practices Fragment Pursuits For A Supply Chain, Jane H. Motsinger

Geography ETDs

A diversity of public and private initiatives strive to address the human-environment challenges confronting the global coffee industry, including certifications like Fairtrade, direct trade sourcing models, and efforts led by NGOs. Research examines the outcomes of major certification programs and the private initiatives of corporations like Starbucks. Much less is known about the business practices of the small specialty coffee businesses that increasingly advertise sustainable business practices. Yet, their collective business practices likely influence the industry-wide efforts to achieve a sustainable supply chain. This research examines how small specialty coffee roasting and importing companies represent their socially responsible business practices …

Policy Communication And The Influence Of Agricultural Communities On Karst Landscapes: A Case Study In Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Vietnam, Elizabeth Willenbrink

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst landscapes are vulnerable to human influence, especially agricultural practices. The interconnectedness between surface activities and subsurface environments make karst landscapes particularly susceptible to soil erosion and water contamination. The likelihood of these two phenomena happening increases when agricultural intensification, irrigation, or fertilizer application occurs. This situation arises frequently in Vietnam, where 18% of the country is karst terrain and 60% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods (Farming First 2009). In order to mitigate the negative consequences of agriculture on karst landscapes, effective implementation of policy to regulate human activities and increased communication of these policies to …

Winter Activities, Erik Sermo, Aubryanna Kusper, Elliot Lee, Samantha Riley

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

Tired of being stuck inside during the winter? Need a break from all the homework and studying? Do you love ice skating or wish you had more opportunities to go? Well come on down to the Sustainable Agriculture Project or SAP! Our all new ice skating rink is fun, close, and best of all cheap. This rink is great for experienced skaters or anyone who has never skated a day in their life. Made out of sustainable materials, the rink features a quick check-in kiosk where you can rent skates for only $2 or bring your own to skate for …

Resilience In Context: How Cultural Factors Influence Migration Decisions Of Individuals In Flood-Prone Areas Of Coastal Louisiana, Brandon Champagne

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Ecological Drought: Accounting For The Non-Human Impacts Of Water Shortage In The Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin, Montana, Usa, Jamie Mcevoy, Deborah J. Bathke, Nina Burkardt, Amanda E. Cravens, Tonya Haigh, Kimberly R. Hall, Michael J. Hayes, Theresa Jedd, Marketa Podebradska, Elliot Wickham

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Water laws and drought plans are used to prioritize and allocate scarce water resources. Both have historically been human-centric, failing to account for non-human water needs. In this paper, we examine the development of instream flow legislation and the evolution of drought planning to highlight the growing concern for the non-human impacts of water scarcity. Utilizing a new framework for ecological drought, we analyzed five watershed-scale drought plans in southwestern Montana, USA to understand if, and how, the ecological impacts of drought are currently being assessed. We found that while these plans do account for some ecological impacts, it is …

Preparing For A Northwest Passage: A Workshop On The Role Of New England In Navigating The New Arctic, Katharine A. Duderstadt, Catherine M. Ashcraft, Jennifer F. Brewer, Elizabeth Burakowski, Jaed M. Coffin, Jack E. Dibb, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Nancy E. Kinner, Larry A. Mayer, Jennifer L. Miksis-Olds, Joseph Salisbury, Kerri D. Seger, Ruth K. Varner, Cameron P. Wake

All Materials

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF's 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt …