Digital Commons Network^™

Climate Security Insights From The Covid-19 Response, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

The climate change crisis and COVID-19 crisis are both complex collective action problems. Neither the coronavirus nor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions respect political borders. Both impose an opportunity cost that penalizes inaction. They are also increasingly understood as nontraditional, novel security threats. Indeed, COVID-19’s human cost is staggering, with American lives lost vastly exceeding those lost in recent armed conflicts. And climate change is both a threat accelerant and a catalyst for conflict—a characterization reinforced in several climate-security reports. To counter COVID-19, the President embraced martial language, stating that he will employ a “wartime footing” to “defeat the virus.” Perhaps …

The Market-Essential Role Of Corporate Climate Disclosure, George S. Georgiev

Faculty Articles

This Article focuses on capital market efficiency as an often-downplayed legal rationale for mandating corporate climate disclosure, and explores it alongside the notion of investor demand, which has assumed a prominent and, increasingly, contested role in debates on climate disclosure. Because market efficiency (encompassing both securities price accuracy and overall capital market allocative efficiency) is generally unobservable, many commentators have instead emphasized the highly visible investor demand for climate-related disclosure as evidenced by shareholder proposals, voting behavior, stewardship policies, and public statements. Unfortunately, investor demand can be disputed, fairly or unfairly, because investor preferences are heterogeneous, dynamic, and difficult to …

การพัฒนาตัวชี้วัดเพื่อประเมินคุณภาพพื้นที่สีเขียวในประเทศไทย, ธนโชค วานิชผดุงธรรม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษาในครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อพัฒนาตัวชี้วัดสำหรับประเมินคุณภาพพื้นที่สีเขียวและทดสอบประสิทธิภาพการใช้งาน การศึกษาทำโดย 1) กำหนดวัตถุประสงค์การใช้งานตัวชี้วัดและผู้ที่มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้อง, 2) รวบรวมตัวชี้วัดที่เกี่ยวข้อง, 3) วิเคราะห์และเลือกตัวชี้วัดที่เหมาะสม, 4) จัดทำเป็นแบบประเมิน และ 5) ทดสอบกับพื้นที่สีเขียวตัวอย่างจำนวน 15 แห่ง ได้แก่ ป่าธรรมชาติ/ป่าชุมชน 3 แห่ง สวนสาธารณะ 4 แห่ง พื้นที่ส่วนบุคคล 5 แห่ง และหลังคาเขียว 3 แห่ง ผลการศึกษาได้ตัวชี้วัดคุณภาพพื้นที่สีเขียวแบ่งเป็น 4 ด้าน ได้แก่ สภาพแวดล้อม ความหลากหลายทางชีวภาพ บริการของระบบนิเวศ และการจัดการในพื้นที่ รวม 124 ตัวชี้วัด 370 คะแนน ผลการใช้ตัวชี้วัดพบว่าคะแนนคุณภาพพื้นที่สีเขียวอยู่ในช่วงระหว่าง 296-152 คะแนน ซึ่งเป็นผลจากวัตถุประสงค์การใช้งานและลักษณะพื้นที่ที่มีความหลากหลาย คะแนนแต่ละด้านของพื้นที่สีเขียวแต่ละประเภทส่วนใหญ่มีความสัมพันธ์กับลักษณะพื้นที่ การดูแลและการใช้งานของมนุษย์ ในส่วนของการใช้งานพบว่าผู้ใช้งานมีความพึงพอใจแบบประเมินที่สร้างขึ้นโดยภาพรวมในระดับปานกลางถึงดี (3.73 ± 1.08 คะแนน) โดยเป็นผลจากการออกแบบการประเมินในรูปแบบรวดเร็ว มีการอำนวยความสะดวกในการบันทึกข้อมูลในโปรแกรม Microsoft Excel ใช้เวลาและกำลังคนในการประเมินต่ำ แต่แบบประเมินยังต้องพัฒนาคำอธิบายรายละเอียดและขั้นตอนใช้งานรวมถึงเกณฑ์การให้คะแนนเพิ่มเติม นอกจากนี้ ควรเพิ่มจำนวนพื้นที่สีเขียวที่ประเมินให้มากขึ้นเพื่อทดสอบและปรับปรุงประสิทธิภาพตัวชี้วัด ตลอดจนส่งเสริมให้ผู้มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องกลุ่มต่าง ๆ นำไปใช้ประโยชน์เพื่อพัฒนาคุณภาพพื้นที่สีเขียวของประเทศต่อไป

Potential Repercussions Of Offshore Wind Energy Development In The Northeast United States For The Atlantic Surfclam Survey And Population Assessment, Sarah Borsetti, Daphne M. Munroe, Andrew M. Scheld, Eric N. Powell, John M. Klinck, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

The Atlantic surfclam Spisula solidissima fishery, which spans the U.S. Northeast continental shelf, is among the most exposed to offshore wind energy development impacts because of the overlap of fishing grounds with wind energy lease areas, the hydraulic dredges used by the fishing vessels, and the location of vessel home ports relative to the fishing grounds. The Atlantic surfclam federal assessment survey is conducted using a commercial fishing vessel in locations that overlap with the offshore wind energy development. Once wind energy turbines, cables, and scour protection are installed, survey operations within wind energy lease areas may be curtailed or …

Carbon Capture, Utilization, And Storage, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and the Energy & Environmental Research Center’s CCUS capabilities. Includes information on the Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership initiative, Brine Extraction and Storage Test (BEST), Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE), Red Trail Energy Carbon Capture and Storage, a feed study at Coal Creek Station, Bell Creek and Cedar Creek anticline projects, and Partnership for CO₂ Capture (PCO₂C).

Timber Island: A Screenplay, Lucas Cunningham

Pomona Senior Theses

A screenplay about the legacy of land use in the Pacific Northwest:

A family from old timber money looking to sell their expansive Pacific Northwest island estate. Two Parks Service surveyors, a Native American scientist, and a developer competing for the bid. A forest with its own agenda.

Against a backdrop of cedar trees and saltwater, tensions boil, ideologies clash, and buried secrets bubble to the surface.

Who will walk away with the deed to Timber Island? And what will it cost?

Evaluating The Use Of Environmental Tracers To Reduce Conceptual Model Uncertainty Of Hydrogeologic Models, Andrew Nordberg, Jon Graham, W. Payton Gardner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Environmental tracer concentrations for CFC12, SF6, and tritium are used in groundwater simulations to assess the ability of these tracers to reduce conceptual model uncertainty due to uncertainty of a site’s geologic and recharge characterization. The resulting groundwater simulations are characterized by site-specific hydrologic and geologic data, and with coordination from a field team with years of knowledge about the site. First-order (conceptual) uncertainty is directly addressed by using a stochastic modeling approach for spatial variability of the proposed subsurface configurations. Simulations of environmental tracer concentrations and water levels are used to assess six alternate conceptual models that are based …

Estimating Potential Exposure From Abandoned Uranium Mine Sites Through Machine Learning Classification Of Animal Behavior: A Case Study In The Navajo Nation, Christopher Girlamo

Geography ETDs

Waste from Abandoned Uranium Mines (AUMs) has negatively impacted Indigenous communities for generations. To answer these concerns, this research collaborated with Navajo Nation community members in Cove, AZ and Red Valley, AZ in order to better predict the potential AUM waste exposure their flocks face. A GIS-Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (GIS-MCDA) model quantified potential exposure to AUM waste. Animal behavior was classified based on GPS and accelerometer data utilizing a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The results of both the GIS-MCDA and animal behavior classification modeling was combined into a cumulative exposure potential value for each animal. This study found that livestock …

An Integrative Salt Marsh Conceptual Framework For Global Comparisons, Erik S. Yando, Scott F. Jones, W. Ryan James, Denise D. Colombano, Diana I. Montemayor, Stefanie Nolte, Jacqueline L. Raw, Shelby L. Ziegler, Luzhen Chen, Daniele Daffonchio, Marco Fusi, Kerrylee Rogers, Liudmila Sergienko

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Salt marshes occur globally across climatic and coastal settings, providing key linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, salt marsh science lacks a unifying conceptual framework; consequently, historically well-studied locations have been used as normative benchmarks. To allow for more effective comparisons across the diversity of salt marshes, we developed an integrative salt marsh conceptual framework. We review ecosystem-relevant drivers from global to local spatial scales, integrate these multi-scale settings into a framework, and provide guidance on applying the framework using specific variables on 11 global examples. Overall, this framework allows for appropriate comparison of study sites by accounting for …

From Bloom To Bouquet: Unearthing The Toxic Cut Flower Industry, Addie Wasikonis

Pitzer Senior Theses

The commercial cut flower industry is an expansive network of growers, laborers, airlines, government workers, wholesalers, retailers, supermarkets, and florists, which deliver a crafted bouquet to the consumer for those special occasions. We often buy flowers during our weekly trip to the supermarket, call our local florist for an arrangement, or make a last-minute order online to be shipped within hours. For this demand to be supplied, the cut flower industry has spread to equator-localized countries where the labor is cheap, the land is plentiful, and the sun shines all year round in order to grow any type of flower …

Bench- And Pilot-Scale Corrosion Control Inhibitor Effectiveness Studies For A Community's Blended Surficial And Brackish Groundwater Supply, Paula Campesino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates the lead and copper content of a public water system's finished water at the consumer's tap, through the Safe Drinking Water Act's Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), promulgated in 1991. This rule was recently changed through the LCR Revisions (LCRR), that took effect in 2021. The more stringent requirements of the LCRR motivated the City of Sarasota, Florida (City), to work with the University of Central Florida (UCF) on a study of the municipality's finished water corrosivity. Initially, this evaluation investigated the City's existing finished water corrosivity using linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements …

Effective Strategies To Sustain Small African American Food Service Businesses Beyond 5 Years, Alvin West

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfrican American small food service business owners contribute to national and local economies; however, only 45% of them sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. African American small food service business owners are concerned with the lack of effective business strategy implementation, as it is the number one predictor of actual business failure. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies African American small food service business owners used to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. The participants were seven African American small food service business owners in the southeastern United …

Nutrient Pollution And Chlorophyll-A As A Precursor To Harmful Algal Blooms And Cyanotoxins In Rehabilitated Machado Lake, California, Michael E. Shiang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Algal blooms result in the formation of cyanotoxic conditions in a freshwater lake causing severe detrimental impacts to community and public health. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and ammonia stimulate the growth of phytoplankton biomass and algae, as measured by chlorophyll. This retrospective quantitative research study, grounded in the socioecological model, examined the relationship between nutrient pollutants and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) that forecast harmful algal blooms, a precursor to cyanotoxins. A former impaired lake, Machado Lake in California, provided an ideal setting to assess relationships among nutrient indicators and Chl-a post-lake rehabilitation. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine if a relationship …

Strategies To Improve Nonprofit Governance To Increase Donations, Charmaine Nicola Williams Tate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe leaders of nonprofit organizations rely on donors to achieve the organization’s mission, and governance practices are a key contributor to donor confidence and positive donor behavior. Some nonprofit leaders lack effective strategies to improve governance processes and encourage donor confidence to increase donations. Grounded in resource dependence theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that nonprofit leaders use to improve governance processes and encourage donor confidence to increase levels of donations. The participants comprised four senior executive members of a donor-amalgamation nonprofit organization in the Midwestern United States. Data were collected from semistructured …

Field Tests Of A Uav-Compatible Spectrometer To Evaluate Its Suitability For Detailed Soil Radon Potential Mapping, Alexandria Briahnne Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

As part of ongoing research on radionuclide mapping and radon hazard characterization, field tests were performed to evaluate the suitability and limitations of a UAV-compatible gamma spectrometer. To date, this data set includes completed stationary data collection, mobile ground collection, multi-level UAV flights over a known material transition, as well as redundant ground and multi-level UAV data collection over a relatively uniform area. Total counts were used as a measure of soil radionuclide levels for our data collected above background. Although our test sites were in regions underlain by bedrock with high indoor radon levels, uranium counts were barely above …

Economics Of Maple Syrup Production In Kentucky, Bobby Thapa

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Maple syrup production is traditionally associated with New England regions in the United States, but there is growing interest in expanding it to other regions with suitable environmental conditions, including Kentucky. This study presents an in-depth analysis of the potential production and economic impacts of maple syrup in Kentucky using a multi-method approach. First, the study applies a stochastic production model to assess the effects of climatic and tree variables on maple syrup yield. The results reveal that several variables, including the number of maple trees, taps, temperatures, tapping season length, and time, significantly affect maple syrup yield. Second, input-output …

The Effect Of Land-Cover/Land-Use And Habitat Fragmentation On Spatial Patterns Of Lyme Disease In The Eastern United States, Maria Elizabeth Topmiller

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Lyme disease has been of national concern for the past few decades. As our understanding of the role of landscape structure in epidemiology expands, it is essential to apply the principles of landscape ecology to the research of vector-borne and zoonotic disease. This study examined the strength of the relationship between land-cover class, degree of habitat fragmentation and county-level Lyme disease cases. Forest, agricultural, and urban land cover types were the categories of interest, while percent cover, edge density, and patch density were the landscape metric used to measure habitat amount and fragmentation. The general linear trends were modelled with …

Unmanned Aircraft Systems For Precision Meteorology: An Analysis Of Gnss Position Measurement Error And Embedded Sensor Development, Karla S. Ladino

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The overarching objective of this research was to enhance our comprehension of the three-dimensional precision of meteorological measurements obtained using small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Two complimentary experiments were conducted to achieve this objective.

The first experiment entailed the development and implementation of a system to determine the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) position accuracy on a UAS platform. This system was utilized to assess the static and dynamic accuracy of L1 and L1/L2 GNSS receivers in real-time kinematic (RTK) and non-RTK fix modes. Adjusted two-sample t-tests revealed significant differences in horizontal and vertical error between RTK and non-RTK receivers …

Iere Annual Report 2023, Erin Largo-Wight, James Taylor, Kelly Rhoden, Ruby Cox, Nicole Lowe

Annual Reports

2023 Annual Report of the Institute for Environmental Research and Education

24/7 Clean Energy, Todd Aagaard

University of Colorado Law Review

In the face of the rapidly escalating climate crisis, the electricity sector is moving toward renewable energy. To date, policies and strategies have focused on increasing overall renewable energy generation, with little regard for timing and location. The result has been a misalignment of supply and demand in renewable energy markets. Renewable power projects produce energy when and where it is least expensive, leaving supply scarce at other times and places. Consumers, meanwhile, continue to use power when and where they need it. This mismatch increases the electricity grid’s dependence on fossil fuel–fired electricity to meet electricity demand at times …

Trademark's Grip Over Sustainability, Daniel R. Cahoy

University of Colorado Law Review

Entrepreneurs and larger firms are waking up to the fact that there is a viable market for recycled, repaired, and even upcycled goods. There is also an increasing desire on the consumer end for more sustainable products as well as measures to reduce landfill and other product disposal harms to the environment. Although some legal barriers to this new market are being actively debated, other barriers have taken a back seat and seem primed to surge only when increased business activity exposes the liability. This is the case with trademark law, which has the potential to substantially deter the small-firm …

New Species Of Birds Reported In Arkansas Since 2009, R. Tumlison, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We update our state of knowledge regarding the 20 new species of birds (and 1 new species name based on a change in taxonomy) discovered in Arkansas since the last update in 2009. These are based on records of the Arkansas Audubon Society and those posted on eBird. New species include 3 from Order Anseriformes, 1 Pelicaniformes, 1 Falconiformes, 1 Gruiformes, 4 Charadriiformes, 1 Apodiformes, and 10 Passeriformes. Historic distributions of the new species include Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts, as well as interior origins. The current count of extant species of birds observed in Arkansas now stands at 425.

Rare Birds In Arkansas: Historical Observations And New Records, R. Tumlison, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Diligent members of birding communities are quick to report rare sightings of birds, which often lead to multiple observations and photographic documentation. Verified reports and images of birds in Arkansas are curated by the Arkansas Audubon Society (AAS), which has led to an appreciation of which species are common versus rare. We gathered historic (literature) and more recent unpublished records of rare birds (those with fewer than 10 reports, per AAS) to document the historic and current state of knowledge of those species. Currently, there are a total of 425 species of birds reported in Arkansas, of which 54 are …

Least Flycatchers Under-Reported In Fall Migration In Arkansas —A Citizen Science Conundrum, L. Barnes, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus is a small passerine migrant bird that passes through Arkansas in fall and spring migration. The birds are vocal during spring passage but relatively quiet and unobtrusive during fall migration, leading to many fewer reports by birdwatchers in fall than spring. We use eBird maps and data to present evidence to support this discrepancy between fall and spring observations. We also show that the species is under-reported in Arkansas during the fall compared to neighboring regions. This may be in part due to the reluctance of some birders to provide the minimal evidence required to …

Citizen Science: Role Of Inaturalist In Biodiversity Documentation And Education In Arkansas, K. Baker, L. Barnes, S. Rana, J. Jackson, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

iNaturalist is a global online digital platform for documenting and fostering interest in biodiversity, with Research Grade (RG) entries being vetted and scientifically valid observations. Here we present a review of the role of approximately 16,000 Arkansans using the iNaturalist tool for recording 445,000 verifiable observations comprising 10,800 species, with 40 percent RG, and one third of observations still pending confirmation. Overall, plants lead in RG observations followed by invertebrates and birds. Within these groups, reptiles lead in proportion of RG observations, followed by birds and amphibians. Less charismatic or infrequently encountered organisms are less represented. Arkansas ranks about average …

Energy Content Of Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) In The Diet Of Scaled Quail (Callipepla Squamata) In Southeastern New Mexico, J.L. Hunt, M.E. Grilliot, T.L. Best, C.M. Wilkerson, A.F. Huitt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) are common insects that are important food items for many kinds of wildlife, including many species of upland game birds such as scaled quail (Callipepla squamata). We analyzed the energy content of grasshoppers obtained from the crops of scaled quail collected from plainsmesa sand-scrub in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico. Grasshoppers were removed from crops and dried for 48 hours at 60°C to remove moisture and standardize masses. Grasshoppers were then pulverized and analyzed for gross caloric value (i.e., energy content) in an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Energy content of grasshoppers from New Mexico averaged 19.2 J/kg …

Prevalence Of Hesperevax Sparsiflora Var. Brevifolia (Short-Leaved Evax) At Ocean Ranch, Humboldt County, California: Exploring The Effects Of Disturbance, Shelby Diquirco, Matthew Estrada, Alana T. Fraley, Alexander D. Smith

Environmental Science & Management Senior Capstones

The prevalence of special-status plants within a landscape can be an indicator of the ecological health of that site, and therefore inform restoration efforts and post-restoration monitoring. Hesperevax sparsiflora var. brevifolia (short-leaved evax) is a special status species found within the Ocean Ranch unit of Humboldt, California. A primary threat to native plant communities are invasive plant species. Coastal dune ecosystems are largely dominated by invasive species, including Ammophila arenaria (European beachgrass). To work towards the eradication of A. arenaria, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife utilized treatment combinations of herbicide and prescribed fire at Ocean Ranch in …

Small Mammal Community Structure And Bait Preference In Missouri Prairie Patches, Sofia L. Orlando

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Ecological community studies provide insights on how species interact with biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Community assembly is dynamic and often mediated by stochastic processes or deterministic properties. Establishing patterns in community composition could help to predict the suitability of a patch, which is crucial in endangered ecosystems. Small mammals are a model indicator for community change as their populations experience perplexing fluctuations. Many mechanisms have been proposed to drive small mammal species composition, but inconsistencies in past studies warrant further investigation. A previous study on prairie patches in Missouri revealed that there was an unknown catalyst for …

New Records Of Distribution And Natural History Of Vertebrates In Arkansas: 2020-2023, R. Tumlison, H.W. Robison, M.B. Connior, D.B. Sasse, T.S. Risch, K. Edmonds, J.D. Wilhide, C.R. Allen

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Small details of natural history often go undocumented to science if those details are not parts of larger studies. However, knowledge of small details can provide insights that lead to interesting questions about ecological relationships or environmental change. We have compiled recent important observations of natural history of vertebrates, including several distributional and size records of fishes, atypical carapace shape in a common snapping turtle, an unusual support structure for a bird nest, healed damage to a broken jaw of a young deer, and numerous distributional records of bats.

Smith College Campus Ada Accessibility Report, Lily Gould, Olivia Kraft, Allison Pasbjerg, Mia Schildbach

Other Student Projects

With Smith College being a residential campus for a diverse population of students, accessibility around campus is extremely important for the wellbeing of these students. All students should have access to physically accessible paths to move around campus.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. The act addresses a wide range of topics related to accessibility, including but not limited to: physical accessibility and accessible design, equal employment opportunity, discrimination prevention, and benefits. This project focuses specifically on physical accessibility across Smith College campus. The standards referenced for the rest of this report are based on the …