Digital Commons Network^™

Superfund And Society Benumbed: An In-Depth Look At Environmental Justice In South Carolina, Sydney A. Hampton

Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between superfund sites in minority communities and their public health through the lens of social vulnerability. Various demographic parameters were used to assess the risk associated with minority communities and exposure to hazardous waste. After investigating the history of the Environmental Justice movement, three superfund sites of interest in South Carolina, and demographic and public health data; each community was analyzed to determine association between exposure to hazardous waste and minority status. Each examined community exhibited characteristics contributing to heightened social vulnerability, potentially causing increased susceptibility to negative health outcomes from exposure to hazardous waste.

Héroes Anónimos: La Relación Entre La Gente Y Las Plantas Nativas En Río Grande, Argentina, Rachel Elliott

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio fue realizado para la Fundación Estepa Viva, Naturaleza y Ciudadanía con el fin de entender mejor cómo lxs residentes se relacionan con las plantas nativas y dónde ellas están ubicadas dentro de la ciudad de Río Grande, Argentina. Un total de 52 manzanas en 10 zonas de la ciudad fueron muestreadas en busca de 5 especies nativas clave: la lenga (Nothofagus pumilio), el ñire (Nothofagus antarctica), el guindo (Nothofagus betuloides), la mata negra (Chiliotrichum rosmarinifolium), and el calafate (Berberis microphylla). Además, se realizaron 50 entrevistas y se creó un mapa interactivo. Se observó que las plantas eran poco …

Socio-Economic Factors Of Environmental Problems, Manzura Kamalova, D. Shakenov

Karakalpak Scientific Journal

People consciously and intensively rebuild their nature according to their own needs, creating rural and urban areas in which they live. People care about the quality of life in the context of the unity of nature and culture. Social is a relatively new discipline that deals with urban space and environmental issues. One way to imagine what is beneficial to people is to find out what is economically best for the person. The article examines the economic factors that form the attitude towards social ecology in Kazakhstan. The article concludes that society should cooperate to achieve common things, both for …

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals And Breast Cancer: Disparities In Exposure And Importance Of Research Inclusivity, Ashlie Santaliz Casiano, Annah Lee, Dede Teteh, Zeynep Madak Erdogan, Lindsey Trevino

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are known contributors to breast cancer development. EDC exposures commonly occur through food packaging, cookware, fabrics, and personal care products as well as through the environment. Increasing evidence highlights disparities in EDC exposure across racial/ethnic groups, yet breast cancer research continues to lack the inclusion necessary to positively impact treatment response and overall survival in these socially disadvantaged populations. Additionally, the inequity in environmental exposures has yet to be remedied. Exposure to EDCs due to structural racism poses an unequivocal risk to marginalized communities. In this review, we summarize recent epidemiological and molecular studies on two lesser-studied …

A Call For The Library Community To Deploy Best Practices Toward A Database For Biocultural Knowledge Relating To Climate Change, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented.

Design/methodology/approach – Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive— rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate.

Findings – COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. …

Impact Of Edds Dosage On Lead Phytoextraction In Contaminated Urban Residential Soils, Zhiming Zhang, Dibyendu Sarkar, Virinder Sidhu, Manas Warke, Rupali Datta

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Lead (Pb) contamination in soils of residential properties due to peeling and chipping of Pb-based paint can cause human health problems. Phytoextraction is a green technology that has the potential to remediate soil Pb. The efficiency of phytoextraction is dependent on the geochemical forms of Pb in soil. A biodegradable chelating agent, ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS), was previously shown to enhance Pb removal by facilitating phytoextraction. In this study, EDDS was tested at various concentrations for its potential in mobilizing Pb in urban residential soils in Jersey City, New Jersey, and San Antonio, Texas. Results show that the concentrations of plant-available …

Plaster Creek Stewards – Urban Habitat Restoration With Green Team, Jia Luchs, Clare Doss, Rachel Warners, David Warners, Deanna Geelhoed

Summer Research

We worked alongside the high school students of the Green Team with our mentor Rachel Warners on various Plaster Creek Projects. We joined PCS in restoring our watershed through native landscaping, meeting community leaders, learning about environmental injustice, hearing about careers in the environmental field, and learning in the classroom about watershed ecology and reconciliation. A key focus of our work is to develop personal relationships with the students and to be an open and relatable resource of what college life is like and our vocational journeys to get there. During our days together we learned about each other’s diverse …

Mcnair Scholars Research Journal 2022, Haleigh R. Hicks, Naponi Jada, Justine Phan, Promise Robinson, Rocio E. Vegamartinez, Paula Currie, David Antonio Diaz, Alexia J. Hartzell, Ariana Hernandez, Kayla Meyers, David O.T. Ogidan, Jose David Perez Vela, Riley Wiland

McNair Scholars Research Journal-Archive

No abstract provided.

The Synapse 31

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Nowhere To Come Up For Air: Air Pollution And Environmental Racism In The U.S., Rebecca Fenselau

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Environmental Implications Of The Microbiome Of Canals In Bangkok, Thailand, Emma Tao

Scripps Senior Theses

The canals of Bangkok, Thailand hold significant economic and social value, yet the increasing urbanization of the city has resulted in increased water pollution. Agricultural runoff and urban waste contribute to the degradation of the water quality, which has impaired its safe usage by the people of the city. This study focused on analyzing the microbiome of the water in the canals in correlation with the surrounding environment, both in and out of the water. Ten sites along the Bangkok canals were analyzed. DNA was isolated for the sequencing of the 16s rRNA gene to determine the microbial diversity of …

Re-Storying Grant Creek: A Case Study Of Relational Dynamics On A Degraded Montana Stream, Seamus Rucci Land

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration began in 2021, and after a history of contentious ethical debates, ecological restoration is increasingly portrayed as a viable framework for combating environmental degradation and supporting more healthy and stable social-ecological systems. The proposed ecological restoration of Grant Creek, a degraded stream near Missoula, Montana, offers an opportunity to connect a restoration site to the broader, rapidly growing field of restoration practice. It also allows the opportunity to forward the ‘relational turn’ proposed by many in the sustainability sciences as an ontological and methodological means to move beyond positivist portrayals of social-ecological systems, which …

Plaster Creek Stewards - Urban Habitat Restoration With Green Team, Jia Luchs, Clare Doss, Rachel Warners, Dave Warners, Deanna Geelhoed

Student Papers and Reports

Plaster Creek, though its watershed is home to many potential stewards in Grand Rapids, is the most polluted creek in West Michigan. The Green Team, a branch of Plaster Creek Stewards, is a group of students that work during the summer with a focus on research, education, and working directly to restore the Plaster Creek Watershed. The Green Team works toward this goal through urban green infrastructure, utilizing native plants to manage stormwater. Two Calvin students, Jia Luchs and Clare Doss, and twenty high school students living in the Plaster Creek watershed were hired by Plaster Creek Stewards this summer …

It Permeated Everything: A Lived Experience Of Slow Violence And Toxicological Disaster, Tara Jo Holmberg

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Impacts of disasters on individuals are dependent on numerous factors: local to international political dynamics, socioeconomics, geography, educational background, and outside support among others. Currently, much of disaster research focuses on those of natural origin, acute and large-scale environmental events, emergency management, and the ability of individuals, communities, and societies to prepare for, and recover from, likely known disasters in their region. However, there is a lack of data about individual experiences through ‘invisible’ anthropogenic disasters, especially those that fall under the umbrella of slow environmental violence (Davies, 2019; Rice, 2016). Through critical phenomenological autoethnography, I examine an individual experience …

Organizational Networking, Leadership, And Community Engagement: A Case Study Of The Revitalization Of An Impaired Watershed In Richmond, Virginia, Julia L. Roller

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

Green infrastructure is a necessary component of urban environments designed to mitigate climate instability and provide healthier living environments for urban residents. Discrimination and socio-economic status are some of the determining factors in the provision of green infrastructure, availability of green spaces, and outdoor programming available in urban communities. This paper describes an exploratory case study of the partnerships between municipal and nonprofit organizations involved in the revitalization of an impaired watershed in Richmond, Virginia. Preliminary findings suggest networking between agencies and nonprofits with strong mission alignment can increase organizational capacity by sharing specialized training and resources. Success may also …

Examining An Intersection Of Environmental Justice And Covid-19 Risk Assessment: A Review, Ashley Ellis

Honors Theses

This study views the risks associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as an environmental injustice issue due to the connection between existing environmental disparities and the disproportional negative impacts brought upon by the virus. The social and health determinants attributed to those environmental disparities have traditionally been evaluated as individual risk factors, an approach that fails to gauge the complexity of an environmental injustice issue. This study employs the emerging theory of intersectionality, a belief that phenomena cannot be linked to one principal cause but instead an interconnected web of influences, in order to synthesize the multitude of factors believed …

Global Forces Of Change: Implications For Forest-Poverty Dynamics, Priya Shyamsundar, Laura Aileen Sauls, Jennifer Zavaleta Cheek, Kira Sullivan-Wiley, J.T. Erbaugh, P. P. Krishnapriya

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

This article examines global trends likely to influence forests and tree-based systems and considers the poverty implications of these interactions. The trends, identified through a series of expert discussions and review of the literature, include: (i) climatic impacts mediated through changes in forests, (ii) growth in commodity markets, (iii) shifts in private and public forest sector financing, (iv) technological advances and rising interconnectivity, (v) global socio-political movements, and (vi) emerging infectious diseases. These trends bring opportunities and risks to the forest-reliant poor. A review of available evidence suggests that in a business-as-usual scenario, the cumulative risks posed by these global …

Wrack Lines Volume 21, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2021-22, Nancy C. Balcom, Judy Benson, Syma A. Ebbin, Kira Goldenberg, Judy Preston, Howard "Mickey" Weiss

Wrack Lines

"Discovery, Rediscovery and Rebirth: new eyes, new understanding of familiar places" is the theme for the Fall-Winter 2021-22 issue. The main article package consists of five stories about the lands and waters that will comprise the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve (CT NERR). These are: overview and introduction; Great Island; lower Thames River; Bluff Point State Park; and Haley Farm State Park. Other articles include one on research into the cause of invasive Cladophora seaweed dominating Little Narragansett Bay; and another on the transformation of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

The Intersectionality Of Racism, Globalization, Climate Change, And Forced Migration, Monyai Chavers, Sarra Tekola, Winston Carroo, Mikhiela Sherrod, Raymon Shange, Jerry Pennick, Leo Woodberry

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The purpose of this paper was to contextualize the intersectionality of racism, globalization, climate change, and forced immigration. The paper focuses on conversations from numerous organizations and individuals working to deal with the aforementioned challenges. In addition to highlighting the challenges faced by many immigrants, or would-be immigrants, the paper pinpoints approaches being adopted by community organizations and social movements to end persecution and forced migration. The recommendations put forth by the stakeholders who are engaged in addressing these issues relate to the need for building a policy-relevant agenda and strategy for solving the relevant challenges. Thus, leading to a …

Risk Assessment Of Devil's Swamp Lake, Jocelyn Price

Fall Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

The risk assessment process involves identifying and characterizing hazards, determining dose-response relationships, and assessing possible exposures to toxins in order to inform risk management. The goal of this project was to complete the steps of a risk assessment and develop a perspective on risk management. Data collected from publicly available databases, scholarly articles, and targeted sources were used to perform a risk assessment for Devil's Swamp Lake. Social, economic, political, and/or legal perspectives were considered when determining the best risk management approaches.

Soil Not Oil: An Assessment Of The Role Of Earth Jurisprudence In Restoring Biodiversity Conservation In The Indigenous Bagungu Community, In Uganda, Joslyn Primicias

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

An Earth-centered way of living is essential in Western Uganda, along with many more repressed regions affected by giant corporate evils. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of Earth Jurisprudence in the restoration of conservation in the Indigenous Bagungu community. More specifically, this study examines the customary laws and rituals used by the Bagungu, the strategies used to decolonize their culture, and their perspectives on foreign influence and globalization. Key-informant interviews were conducted with seven custodians and questionnaire-led interviews were administered to thirty-one clan members from the districts of Buliisa and Hoima. The study sample size …

Public Perception Of Forest And Fire Management Policy In Portugal, Jensen Rocha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The impacts of forest fires are growing as climate change creates more frequent ideal temperature conditions for extreme wildfires. With the devastating fires it experienced in 2017, Portugal stands as an example of the impacts of dangerous wildfires and is working on developing a plan to protect its country from this rising threat. Important in the plan development is the opinion of the many stakeholders involved and the public whom the fires impact. Using an interview and survey approach, this study gathers public and stakeholder opinion on the forest and fire management policy in Portugal to understand what issues in …

2021 Summer/Fall Newsletter, Plaster Creek Stewards

Newsletters

Highlights:

Summer Supercrew

Plaster Creek Hike + Discovery

Green Team

Diversity Training

Visit with Chariman Ron Yob

Fall Event: Environmental Justice in Our Watershed

Planting Partners

Curb Cut Rain Garden Highlight

Tragic Trade-Offs Accompany Carnivore Coexistence In The Modern World, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, John A. Vucetich, Sophie L. Gilbert, Neil H. Carter, Kelly A. George

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Two vital policy aims—biodiversity conservation and food production—are increasingly in conflict. Efforts to evaluate trade-offs between agriculture and conservation have shaped scholarly discourse around two broad strategies to agricultural production that seek to either “share” land with biodiversity or “spare” land from agriculture. However, efforts to negotiate these trade-offs are challenged by rising concern for the welfare of individual animals, both wild and domestic. We use recent efforts to “coexist” with large carnivores to illustrate how sharing and sparing strategies both create tragic, and often unacknowledged trade-offs between livestock production and carnivore conservation. We conclude the best means of conserving …

Representation Justice As A Research Agenda For Socio-Hydrology And Water Governance, Melissa Haeffner, Dana E. Hellman, Alida Cantor, Idowu Ajibade, Vinka Oyanedel-Craver, Maura Kelly, Laura Schifman, Lisa Weasel

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose representation justice as a theoretical lens for socio-hydrology and water governance studies. An exploratory survey of 496 water sector employees in the United States revealed that self-identifying females felt more strongly discriminated against due to their gender and other social factors, compared to self-identifying males. Responses unveiled how macro- and microaggressions impede career pathways to leadership positions and, therefore, representation. We identify ways in which socio-hydrology can benefit from a representation justice lens by considering the following: (1) how power and politics shape the composition of the water sector and decision-making processes; (2) how available quantitative data do …

Insignificant Impacts Of Covid-19 Stay-At-Home Orders On Chicago Air Quality, Adam W.T. Steffeck

DePaul Discoveries

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of air quality improvements around the world resulting from the stay-at-home orders were widespread. However, for Chicago, no significant air quality improvements occurred despite large reductions in private vehicle transportation due to the lack of commuters. The city of Chicago is a nexus for long-haul transportation by trucks and trains, which did not decrease during the pandemic. These transportation sources use mostly diesel fuel engines and emit NO_X, a precursor to tropospheric ozone, and PM_2.5, both of which are harmful air pollutants. Using open access EPA air quality …

Environmental Justice Analysis Of Drinking Water Policies In Michigan Cities, Annika Paldan

Honors Theses

This thesis examined environmental justice aspects of drinking water policies in four cities across Michigan: Flint, Birmingham, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor. An overview of the history of the environmental justice movement, environmental racism, and drinking water policies provided the basis for a four-part evaluative criterion to assess environmental justice components at the municipal level. These criteria include (1) housing tenure, (2) age, size, and service line composition of the infrastructure, (3) public participation in the policy process, and (4) emergency management of the city. Findings indicate that environmental justice has come a long way, with cities now incorporating components …

Adopting Principles Of Food Justice For Equitable Oyster Aquaculture Industry Development, Cristina Sandolo

All Theses And Dissertations

The mid-Atlantic region is experiencing a resurgence of oyster production, through both wild harvest and, more recently, aquaculture. While a historic, wild catch oyster fishery drove economic development of the region, the modern-day oyster industry is less intensive, more heavily managed, and is growing due to a growing aquaculture industry. While many Black watermen played critical roles in developing the historic wild-caught industry, barriers to advancement within the industry and to wealth accumulation in general prevented many from experiencing the full array of compensation, benefits, and legacy that the booming industry could have provided. Now, the modern-day oyster aquaculture industries …

Allergy And Anaphylaxis From The Prehospital Perspective, Anthony E. Conrardy

Dissertations and Theses

Anaphylaxis is considered a severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction that occurs suddenly after contact with an allergy causing substance. It is estimated that up to 5% of the population has experienced anaphylaxis, with 1% of hospitalizations and 0.1% of emergency department patients having fatal outcomes. We characterized the population of patients encountered by the EMS agency (786 patients) that had a provider impression of “allergic reaction” and then utilized logistic regression models to estimate associations with the administration of epinephrine in the prehospital setting. Additionally, we used incident location data for all patient encounters of the EMS agency …

Wrack Lines Volume 21, Number 1, Born Out Of Crises: Responses, Research And Reflections On A Better Future, Lynn Bonner, Robert J. Klee, Robert Pomeroy, Judy A. Benson

Wrack Lines

Articles in this issue explore various actions taken in response to different crises: lessons about the environment from the COVID-19 pandemic; how seafood sellers in the CT and Southeast Asia responded to the challenges of the pandemic; how the challenges of rising seas and developed coasts are being dealt with through managed retreat, buyouts and other actions in NC and CT; and research on the long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on dolphins led by CTSG Director Sylvain De Guise.