Digital Commons Network^™

Geography Of Pestecide Exposure In The Lower Valley (El Paso County, Texas), Critina Solis Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies using GIS have been used to understand the demographics of particular areas of a city and the risks associated with living there. In the Lower Valley (Socorro, Clint, and San Elizario) area of El Paso County (TX), there has been a rapid growth in population. This increase in growth has led to this project about the types of pesticides used in farms and if they are creating possible health risks for people living in this area and which populations are most at risk. To determine population risk, I use existing GIS information, specifically a USDA aerial photograph taken …

Planetary Boundaries: Exploring The Safe Operating Space For Humanity, Johan Rockström, W. L. Steffen, Kevin Noone, Åsa Persson, F. Stuart Chapin Iii, Eric Lambin, Timothy M. Lenton, Marten Scheffer, Carl Folke, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Björn Nykvist, Cynthia A. De Wit, Terry Hughes, Sander Van Der Leeuw, Henning Rodhe, Sverker Sörlin, Peter K. Snyder, Robert Costanza, Uno Svedin, Malin Falkenmark, Louise Karlberg, Robert W. Corell, Victoria J. Fabry, James Hansen, Brian Walker, Diana Liverman, Katherine Richardson, Paul Crutzen, Jonathan Foley

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration …

Integrating Landscapes That Have Experienced Rural Depopulation And Ecological Homogenization Into Tropical Conservation Planning, Aerin L. Jacob, Ismael Vaccaro, Raja Sengupta, Joel N. Hartter, Colin A. Chapman

Geography

If current trends of declining fertility rates and increasing abandonment of rural land as a result of urbanization continue, this will signal a globally significant transformation with important consequences for policy makers interested in conservation planning. This transformation is presently evident in a number of countries and projections suggest it may occur in the future in many developing countries. We use rates of population growth and urbanization to project population trends in rural areas for 25 example countries. Our projections indicate a general decline in population density that has either occurred already (e.g., Mexico) or may occur in the future …

The Feasibility Of Incorporating Sustainable Materials In The Design Of Habitat For Humanity Homes, Meaghan Collins, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The concept of sustainable design has been one of increasing interest with regards to both personal choices and desire to reduce human impacts on the environment. This paper looks at the concept of sustainable housing design and why it is important. Particularly, it focuses on sustainable housing designs and materials that the McLean County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity can incorporate into the construction of its homes. This paper investigates three types of sustainable construction materials, flooring, cabinetry, and paints that Habitat for Humanity could incorporate into its homes.

Moab Field Office Planning Area Proposed Resource Management Plan And Final Environmental Impact Statement, United States Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Land Management

Final environmental Impact Statements (UT)

This Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) describes and analyzes the Proposed Plan and draft alternatives for the planning and management of public lands and resources administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Moab Field Office. The Moab planning area is located in southeastern Utah and includes approximately 2.5-million acres of land in Grand and San Juan Counties. Within the Moab planning area, the BLM manages approximately 1.8-million acres of BLM-administered public land surface as well as about 29,000 acres of federal mineral estate.

Slides: "Mitaku Oyasin" Means "We Are All Related", Bob Gough

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Bob Gough, NativeEnergy, Inc.

72 slides

The New Social Movement: Environmental Justice In The Bronx, Kelsey Ripper

Student Theses 2001-2013

It can be argued that the birth of the Environmental Justice movement was 1982 in Warren County, North Carolina during a battle over the implementation of a PCB waste site. Unfortunately though, environmental injustices have been occurring throughout most of human history. The exploitation of minorities manifests itself in many ways, and one of those ways is through unhealthy and unsafe environmental conditions. These conditions are often the result of unfair policies which unjustly skew the burden of pollution and waste onto minority or low-income groups. These groups in particular often lack the financial resources or political power necessary to …

Solving A Crisis: Water Quality & Storm Water Infrastructure In New York City, Kelsey Ripper

Student Theses 2001-2013

This past semester I have was given the privilege of working with an organization that is at the forefront of environmental protection and combating environmental injustices. This organization, the Bronx River Alliance, it fighting a battle against those that believe minorities and low-income groups have less of a right to live in a safe and healthy environment. The Bronx River Alliance created a set of guidelines and principles to operate under and then proceeded to support and develop projects as concrete solutions to environmental degradation in the Bronx. One of these projects, which is growing substantially, is the SWIM coalition. …

Urban Wildlife And Leopold’S Land Ethic: “The Squirrels On A College Campus Convey The Same Lesson As The Redwoods. . . .”, Natalie Robiou

Student Theses 2001-2013

The United States has quickly become one of the most industrialized countries in the world. The Industrial Revolution of the 19^th century brought Americans and immigrants alike employment opportunities in key locations throughout the country. This, in effect, translated into an influx of people living in close quarters; therefore, creating what is referred to today as urban centers. With the rapid growth of the American population and the greater demand for work, large urban areas developed throughout the U.S. landscape. This process, known as urbanization, is defined as the replacement of the rural areas with more urban ones. Urbanization …

Environmental Justice And Street Science: A Fusion Of Community Knowledge And Environmental Health Justice To Address The Asthma Epidemic In Urban Communities, Natalie Robiou

Student Theses 2001-2013

Of all the proposed moral environmental theories, none has addressed the problems that plague the urban environment and its habitants quite like the environmental justice theory. Based on the idea that environmental issues are also Civil Rights issues, environmental justice seeks to establish just and equal distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across a whole spectrum of racial and socio-economic groups. The Environmental Protection (EPA) has defined the theory as the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and …

Native American Forum On Nuclear Issues Agenda

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Conference agenda

Sponsored by: UNLV Department of Environmental Studies, UNLV Libraries, UNLV Department of History, UNLV Department of Sociology and the Native Community Action Council

Environmental Justice: An Analysis, Dennis Bechtel

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Abstract: -Importance of the Environmental Justice -EJ examples -Regulatory backdrop -Stigma effects -Recommendations

Fighting Nuclear Waste At Skull Valley, Margene Bullcreek

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Abstract:

-Reasons We Oppose Nuclear Waste

-Sovereignty

-Traditional values must be protected

-Protect sacredness of our culture, plants,

animals, air, and water

-Affects on community health

-Protect reservation and homeland

-To protect the air and water

-To protect future generations

-Environmental Justice

Native American Forum On Nuclear Issues Agenda

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Conference agenda

Sponsored by: UNLV Department of Environmental Studies, UNLV Libraries, UNLV Department of History, UNLV Department of Sociology and the Native Community Action Council

Alcoa In Juruti, Brazil: A Case Of Environmental Injustice And Colonialism?, Caitlin Schroering

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the visions of development of Alcoa, an American bauxite mining company, and the traditional ribeirinho communities in the area of Juruti Velho, Brazil. These two objectives are pursued in order to determine if Alcoa’s actions in the area constitute environmental injustice and colonialism. An explication of environmental injustice and colonialism is undertaken, and is followed later by a discussion of social invisibility and how circumstances are created that allow for the exploitation of traditional communities. The work and demands of ACORJUVE, a community association that is in opposition to Alcoa, are also discussed. A review of the …

Environmental Assessment Experimental Releases From Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, 2008 Through 2012, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region, Salt Lake City, Utah

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Stormwater Runoff, Combined Sewer Overflow, And Environmental Justice In The Bronx, Natalie Collao

Student Theses 2001-2013

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An Environmental Justice Analysis: Superfund Sites And Surrounding Communities In Illinois, Angela Maranville, Tih-Fen Ting, Yang Zhang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Is there an association between Superfund sites and the socioeconomic makeup of the surrounding communities? This research analyzes the current economic and racial demographics of Illinois counties that contain Superfund sites. Specifically, variables that are indicators of environmental injustice are analyzed; e.g. race, median household income, and home ownership. Since the inception of the environmental justice movement in the late 1980s, studies have been conducted nationally and at state levels in Michigan, California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, and South Carolina (i.e. Cutter 2006; Mohai & Saha 2006; Pastor et al. 2004; Anderton et al. 1997; Bevc et al. 2007; Bowen et …

Review Of Half-Lives & Half-Truths: Confronting The Radioactive Legacies Of The Cold War By Barbara Rose Johnson, Amber Huff

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

Conventional wisdom holds that the twentieth century nuclear arms race effectively avoided global nuclear war and its consequences through the doctrine of mutual assured destruction. In reality, the cold war was not “cold” at all, but characterized by a series conflicts and crises with political, economic and sociocultural legacies that continue to structure world politics into the 21st century. Possibly the most profound but often overlooked consequences of this period are the long-term effects of nuclear militarism on human and environmental health. In Half-Lives & Half-Truths: Confronting the Radioactive Legacies of the Cold War, edited by Barbara Rose Johnson, …

Toward A New Consciousness: Values To Sustain Human And Natural Communities, Anthony A. Leiserowitz, Lisa O. Fernandez

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

A Synthesis of Insights and Recommendations from the 2007 Yale F&ES Conference

Toward A New Social Contract: A Tripartite Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Social Sustainability At Three Land-Grant Universities, Lyndsay Josephine Agans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly, colleges and universities in the United States are adapting toward a model of behavior that incorporates issues of sustainability. This adaptation in universities and in society has implications on the organizational and nation-state level, the very core of which may serve to reshape the social contract between the two. In addition to supplying a strong counter-hegemonic argument that alters the competitive economic agenda-setting paradigm, this study serves as a tripartite comparative case study analysis of university adaptation toward social sustainability. By employing a social capital lens to understanding social sustainability in higher education, this study seeks to examine the …

The National Environmental Policy Act In The Urban Environment: Oxymoron Or A Useful Tool To Combat The Destruction Of Neighborhoods And Urban Sprawl?, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

To some, applying the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to decisions affecting land use in an urban or built environment is an oxymoron. Cities have historically not been seen “as natural entities but as foreign impositions upon the native landscape,” places where the physical environment is already largely destroyed or reduced to insignificant remnants. Moreover, detecting the required federal presence to trigger NEPA may initially seem difficult when decisions affecting urban resources appear to be principally made by local or state agencies.

At the Institute for Public Representation (IPR) at the Georgetown University Law Center, the author has learned that …

Dwelling, Walking, Serving: Organic Preservation Along The Camino De Santiago Pilgrimage Landscape, Mercedes Chamberlain Quesada-Embid

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study is an exploration of the people and the landscape of the well-known Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. Although there are many routes that make up the entirety of the pilgrimage, this research is specifically focused on the landscape of the Camino Francés, or French Route, in northern Spain. The path has been written about in many ways and for a myriad of reasons since it became affiliated with the Christian tradition in the early ninth century. This research, however, is different. By way of an environmental history and hermeneutic approach, an investigation of the interrelated and overlapping human …

An Analysis Of Demographic Disparities Associated With The Proposed U.S.-Mexico Border Fence In Cameron County, Texas, J. Gaines Wilson, Jude A. Benavides, E. Anthony Reisinger, Joseph Lemen, Zachary Hurwitz, Jessica Spangler, Karen Engle

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction: The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to install a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border by late December 2008. While much attention has been drawn to the environmental, social and political issues surrounding the fence, analysis of demographic data on the populations that will be directly affected has been limited. This paper utilizes geographic information systems (GIS) and U.S. Census Bureau data with the objective of understanding the underlying demographics in areas along the proposed Rio Grande Valley section of the border fence located in Cameron County, Texas.

Data and Methods: Demographic measures of income, education, …

Beyond The Debate: Exploring The Underlying Values And Assumptions Of Biodiversity Conservation In Protected Areas, Leon-Charl Malan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the current disagreement among scientists and scholars about best practices for biodiversity conservation in protected areas. There is no clear consensus among the scientific community about the most effective approach to conserve biodiversity and several conflicting positions form part of an ongoing debate in the field. Most disagreements and conflicts are based on differences in the underlying values and assumptions of the parties involved in the conflict. The more we know and understand those underlying values, the more constructive the dialog, and the more likely acceptable policy decisions will be developed. This study, presented in three parts, …

Integration Of Analysis And Deliberation To Evaluate Biodiesel Occupational And Environmental Exposures, Nora M. Traviss

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Many U.S. organizations interested in a renewable and domestic source of energy are considering switching from petroleum diesel to biodiesel blends for transportation and heavy-duty equipment use. Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils or waste grease. While there is a considerable body of evidence on the negative health effects of petroleum diesel exhaust exposures in occupational and urban settings, there has been little research examining the impact of biodiesel fuel on occupational and environmental exposures. This dissertation combined a collaborative exposure assessment of B20 (20% soy-based biodiesel/80% diesel) at a rural recycling center with a policy intervention to …

Reclamation: Managing Water In The West, A.V. Watkins Dam Safety Of Dams Modification Draft Environmental Assessment Pro-Ea-07-002, W. Russ Findlay, U.S. Department Of The Interior Bureau Of Reclamation

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This document is an environmental assessment (EA) of the proposal to modify A.V. Watkins Dam under the Safety of Dams (SOD) Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-578, as amended). The proposed SOD modifications would correct safety deficiencies of the dam without affecting the purpose or benefits of the dam. Specifically, the embankment and foundation of the dam need to be repaired. The repairs are needed to restore the reservoir to full function and to incorporate state-of-the-art defensive measures of controlling seepage within the foundation and embankment. On November 13, 2006, emergency remedial actions were taken at A.V. Watkins Dam when …

Global Perspectives On Large Dams: Evaluating The State Of Large Dam Construction And Decommissioning Across The World, Kara Difrancesco, Kathryn Woodruff

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

Report on a Conference held November 3-5, 2006 at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

Strategies For The Future Of Conservation, Bradford Gentry, Rebecca Sanborn, Gordon Clark

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

2006 Berkley Workshop Summary and Background Materials

Potantico Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York, June 8-10, 2006 Hosted by The Land Trust Alliance and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

Reclamation: Managing Water In The West, Steinaker Reservoir Normal Water Surface Elevation Increase Final Environmental Assessment And Finding Of No Significant Impact, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation, W. Russ Findlay

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This document is an environmental assessment (EA) of the proposal to raise the normal water surface elevation from 5517.8 feet above mean sea level (msl) to 5520.5 msl for Steinaker Reservoir in Uintah County, Utah. The Uintah Water Conservancy District (UWCD) has requested Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) authorization for this action. The Steinaker State Park, managed by the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, maintains several campgrounds, an entrance station and other associated buildings and associated infrastructure. Modifications or relocations of some of these facilities would be needed in conjunction with an increase in the reservoir’s normal water surface elevation.