Digital Commons Network^™

Transition Towards A Brighter Future: Energy Usage Analysis At Pilgrim Place And Recommendations For Decarbonization, Zhuoyao Wu

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis summarizes the semester-long project I and other Environmental Analysis major students collaborated on for the EA 190 Capstone Project aims to find effective methods to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency. Our group partnered with the Climate Resilience Initiative team (CRI) at Pilgrim Place, a social and environmental justice-focused retirement community in Claremont, CA. As the demand for effective methods for energy efficiency in communal spaces increases, we have conducted an energy analysis and researched potential functional technologies to replace high fossil fuel consumption sources. Our final deliverable is a written report that analyzes the data we collected …

Healing Through The Struggle: Sociopolitical Empowerment As Context For Youth Thriving, Manijeh Fe Mahmoodzadeh Azadi

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Young people from marginalized groups are impacted by structural and societal injustice yet are systematically prevented from participating in processes that disrupt oppressive systems (Camino & Zeldin, 2002). Because social justice requires the inclusion of marginalized groups in sociopolitical processes, programs and initiatives intended to reduce these barriers to civic and social changemaking have become popular (Ginwright, 2018). In order to meaningfully support youth resistance, those who are positioned to collaborate with young people must be informed about youths’ experiences of oppression and the processes and implications of their sociopolitical empowerment. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study used quantitative and qualitative …

The Korean Hanok As A Model For Sustainable Architecture In South Korea, Jordan Oh

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the traditional Korean hanok within the Western framework for sustainability across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. It then cross-references the findings of this analysis with existing theory on the cultural role of architecture to elucidate how the traditional Korean hanok can serve as a model for sustainable architecture in South Korea. Through a comprehensive analysis this thesis highlights the importance of architectural vernacular to define a sustainable building, and critiques contemporary Western ideas of sustainable architecture. Furthermore, this thesis synthesizes two current approaches to sustainable development in South Korea, the u-eco-city and the Green Standard for Energy …

Pathways For Recognition: Indigenous Land Rights In Panamá, Caruna Gillespie, William Ascher

CMC Senior Theses

Indigenous communities in Panamá face the same challenge that many Indigenous communities experience around the globe: a lack of recognition of their land rights. Over the last several decades, the Panamanian government has developed policies and ratified international agreements that recognize Indigenous rights. The comarcas that institutionalize these rights have had some success. However, despite a seemingly progressive framework for recognition, Indigenous communities across the country continuously have their rights violated by conservation projects and resource extraction efforts in the name of economic development. The Panamanian government crafts recognition policies using loopholes, exceptions, and ambiguous language that allow for them …

Reducing Short-Chain Pfas Levels In California Water Supplies, Manu Prabandham

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis proposes twelve specific policies based on precedents set by prior regulation of persistent organic pollutants (such as PCBs), the costs and benefits of short-chain PFAS, technologies available to remove and destroy short-chain PFAS, and the roles and limitations of California’s regulatory institutions. The twelve policies are chosen to be politically and financially feasible, effective at removing short-chain PFAS from water supplies, and equitable towards lower-income and minority Californians, who suffer the most from the consequences of PFAS and other environmental pollutants. The new definitions, education campaigns, studies, taxes, bans, standards, testing, and filtration systems proposed are intended to …

Costuming The Californian Apocalypse: Sartorial Speculations Of Los Angeles's Future, Isabel Kramer

Scripps Senior Theses

With this project, I use fashion design as a medium to visually speculate a range of futures that exist in relation to different temporal apocalypses and dystopian world endings under the current capitalist structure. Three questions guided my thinking and creation of this project: What will people be wearing in 100 years in Los Angeles if we continue down our current path of late capitalism-induced climate change? How will this look differently for people who exist alongside different axes of oppression and who are affected by environmental racisms that manifest in the built environment of Los Angeles? How do dystopian …

Greening The Grounds: Mitigating Compost Contamination And Expanding Onsite Composting Practices In A Small Liberal Arts College Setting, Loren Mello

Scripps Senior Theses

In response to the growing need for sustainable waste management practices, the Farm Manager at Pomona College proposed redirecting food waste from offsite industrial composting to onsite composting at the Pomona Farm, expanding beyond kitchen waste to include student plate scrapings. This research aimed to address the anticipated challenges associated with this transition, including increased compost contamination, Farm staff labor, and operational work hours. To gain insights, a pilot program was conducted at Frank Dining Hall for one week, focusing on compost contaminants, food waste weight, collection and composting time, and additional qualitative measures. Findings from the pilot indicated that …

Nitrate Contamination In Two California Groundwater Basins: What Creates Disparities?, Catherine Protiva

Scripps Senior Theses

Nitrate contamination is a major problem within California groundwater basins. A form of nitrogen, nitrates leach into groundwater aquifers from the surface where they remain for many decades. The most common source for the contaminant is agricultural sources like nitrogen fertilizer. Consequently, the problem is concentrated in regions of the state with a history of large-scale agricultural production. When water is pulled from contaminated basins and used as drinking water, the nitrates can cause serious negative health consequences, most commonly methemoglobinemia, also known as blue baby syndrome. In this thesis, I will examine what factors contribute to a region’s ability …

Just Mathematics: Getting Started Teaching Postsecondary Math For Social Justice, Kenan A. Ince

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Following the summer 2020 civil rights movement and increasing attention to the intersections of mathematics with politics and power, many math educators have reported a desire to implement an antiracist pedagogy and to examine the intersections of their subject with issues of equity, inclusion, and social justice. Many resources exist for K-12 math educators interested in incorporating social justice into their curricula, but resources are comparatively scarce for college and university instructors (though this is changing quickly!). We discuss why one may want to teach mathematics for social justice, how to begin to implement issues of social justice into postsecondary …

Steam And Environmental Justice In An Interdisciplinary Context, Paula Farca, Alina Handorean, Jürgen Brune

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This course proposes an interdisciplinary perspective, envisions unique synergies between environmental justice concepts and STEAM projects on mining, and aims to solidify a foundation based on justice, equity, equality, and empathy for STEM students and faculty. Our (S)TEAM made of professors in three academic departments underscores interdisciplinary and diversity connections through an interdisciplinary team-taught course, units on environmental justice related to mining, teaching of literary texts, and STEAM projects. We also involved faculty, alumni, and our campus and city community through STEAM exhibits.

Steam And The Way Forward, Shamini Dias

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The STEAM Journal editorial in which we present this issue and describe our way forward in furthering transdisciplinary thought and practice in the integration and connection of STEM and the Arts. STEAM is poised to become a critical space of thought and practice in research, education, and the arts in addressing emerging complex and global issues.

Evaluation Education In A World In Transformation: The Way Forward, Marcia Paterno Joppert

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The world has experienced rapid changes, leading to pressing issues such as environmental degradation, social inequality, and resource depletion. As a transdisciplinary field, evaluation has emerged as a crucial tool in addressing these challenges and promoting systemic change. However, concerns have been raised regarding the field's capacity to meet these expectations and the existing gaps in evaluation education. This research aims to address these gaps by exploring how formal evaluation education programs (EEPs) respond to the preparation of professionals for systems change evaluations, prompting discussions on the need to redefine the approach to teaching evaluation. The study adopts a sequential …

Entangled Mangrove Roots: The Shrimp Industry, Ancestral Afro-Descendant People, And Community Resistance In Esmeraldas, Ecuador, O'Philia Le

Pitzer Senior Theses

Mangroves are one of the most important ecosystems because of the many services they provide on a local and global scale, but in contrast, are one of the most threatened by anthropogenic activities at a global level. Being sources of food for various kinds of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, they are essential for the economy, culture, and livelihood of locals in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. This thesis takes an environmental justice approach in the discussion of the loss of mangroves in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. While toxic industries may not be apparent at first, environmental injustice prevails in adverse human health effects, environmental degradation, …

An Ancient Thread Of “Inseparable Oneness”: A Theoretical Exploration Of Community And Kinship In Grassroots Environmental Justice Movements, Izzy Dean

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis arose from a particular fascination and frustration with the prescribed nuclear family unit and the competitive isolation that capitalism breeds within normative communities, particularly in the United States. In this paper, I use the approach of theoretical exploration combined with case study research to explore the role of community and kinship within grassroots environmental justice organizations. I initially wanted to explore examples of people and groups who found strength and resistance by engaging in “non-normative” or “queer” community-building practices. I have since redefined my topic as a broad theoretical exploration in which I cite theories of non-normativity, among …

Growing Culturally Relevant Food At The Urban Farm: An Examination Of Sovereign Foodways, Place-Making Practices, And Autonomous Identity-Shaping, Dahlia Bess Zail

Pitzer Senior Theses

This paper examines channels of culturally relevant food production on the urban farm. It further investigates the connection between this production and the shaping of sovereign foodways, as well as how urban farm models provide space and resources for place-making practices and autonomous identity-shaping. This thesis shifts away from the notion of access to culturally relevant food and instead focuses on the multi-fold context that any food item takes on through its production, distribution, and consumption. This allows for a nuanced understanding of the role that culturally relevant food can play in immigrant foodways. Through case-studies at three urban farms …

Breakwater: Anti-Blackness In Geoscience Lessons From Long Beach, Ca, Christina Marsh

Pomona Senior Theses

Breakwaters are more than just physical structures that protect against storm surges and in the context of Long Beach, CA, my hometown, they are actualizations of economic, social, environmental, geologic, and policy challenges. Inspired by Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy, and Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks, I use an extended metaphor and autoethnographic approach to connect a chronology of my educational life to the physical structure of a breakwater. Where the breakwater also acts as a signifier of my personal experiences of seeing it, questioning its purpose, and not always finding an answer. …

Accelerating California's Transition Toward An Electric Transportation Sector, Stella Streufert

CMC Senior Theses

As the need to reduce carbon emissions becomes more urgent, electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly popular solution. Last year, California, a leader in climate policy, mandated that 100 percent of new vehicle sales must be zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. ZEVs will rule the freeways of California eventually, but uncertainty remains in terms of when and how this shift will occur. This thesis delves into the barriers still at hand in order to accelerate and promote an equitable and effective transition to ZEVs, primarily looking at total cost of ownership (TCO), lack of adequate charging infrastructure, and slow …

The Stateless Agent: A Multidisciplinary Analysis Of Transboundary Air Pollution In The El Paso-Ciudad Juárez Region Of The U.S.-Mexico Border, Elizabeth Hernandez

CMC Senior Theses

The El Paso-Ciudad Juárez (EPJ) region has a history of nonattainment for ozone and particulate matter. Given transboundary air pollution in the EPJ region is not confined to the U.S.-Mexico border, it is important to implement a transnational response that accounts for the health and safety of everyone, including marginalized communities in EPJ. This thesis assesses the state of air quality and transboundary air pollution in the EPJ region through a multidisciplinary perspective that focuses on issues of data monitoring, environmental governance, and transnational environmental justice. Analysis of the quantity and placement of ambient monitoring stations reveals EPJ residents near …

Warehouses In The Inland Empire: Displacing Land And Life, Katherine Gelsey

Pomona Senior Theses

The Inland Empire in Southern California embodies unique spatial and social configurations as a consequence of how settler colonialism has manifested locally in the region since the Spanish Mission Period. This work uses GIS software to estimate patterns of land conversion for residential, agricultural, and warehouse land from 2012 to 2022. Preliminary analysis suggests that thousands of people have been displaced by warehouse expansion over the ten-year period. In the twenty-first century, the Southern California logistics industry continues processes of land dispossession and racialized labor exploitation through displacing agricultural and residential land, exposing disproportionately low-income Black and Latine communities living …

Ecodrama And Sustainable Theatre: A Handbook For Creating Remarkable Change, Gigi Buddie

Pomona Senior Theses

The climate crisis is not new to us, nor are the art forms that have taken shape as vital components of the many activist movements that seek to save the planet. Yet, for the first time at Pomona College, a play about environmental devastation and our hand in it finally graced the stage of this progressive institution this past year. This mini handbook is a call-to-action (of sorts), one that stems from the idea that this should not be the last ecodrama performed at Pomona College. These chapters are structured and supported by both experience and research – formulated from …

Weaving Testimonio And Territory In La Comuna Ancestral Las Tunas, María J Durán González

Pomona Senior Theses

“Nosotras las mujeres ibamos al río a lavar la ropa pero sin con tanto químico y nada de esas cosas. Ahora, pues, cómo ve…” (Tomala, 2023).

The woman’s vignette of La Comuna Ancestral Las Tunas, or the Ancestral Commune of Las Tunas is a testimonio of the territory, yet women’s testimonios are registered separately from the dominant tales of territorial resistance of la Comuna. The analysis of testimonios arises from Chicanx/Latinx feminist studies that center the voices of Chicana/Latina women to form a collective narrative emerging from silences. I aim to interlace Latinx and Latin American geography principles with …

Radioactive, Internal Colonialism: The Uranium Industry’S Historic And Current Impact On The Navajo Nation, Sophie Arens

Pitzer Senior Theses

The United States withheld information pertaining to the health problems associated with nuclear power, allowing uranium to be extracted, processed, and stored in the Southwest of the United States and more specifically the Navajo Nation. With this, many Diné people who had previously worked in the mines or lived within close vicinity to facilities developed various types of illnesses. This thesis argues that the development of nuclear energy in the United States is a form of radioactive, internal colonialism and that the current waste facility located in Carlsbad, New Mexico is furthering this history into the present day. This thesis …

Let Us Be The Fish Who Grow Legs: A Curriculum Guide For Linking Prison Industrial Complex Abolition, Environmental Justice, And State Power, Tess Gibbs

Scripps Senior Theses

This curriculum guide is designed to connect students’ understandings of environmental problems and injustices to their understandings of prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition, with the ultimate intention of cultivating the knowledge and imaginative practices to develop abolitionist-aligned solutions to environmental justice (EJ) problems outside of frameworks that rely upon state sanction. Students will connect the mutual causal forces of environmental injustices and the carceral state; explore intersections of environmental and carceral politics; and finish the course with broadened understandings of humans’ real and unrealized relationships with each other and the more-than-human world. The guide is intended to be worked through …

Topographies And Counter-Topographies Of Social Reproduction At People’S Park, Sarah Weaver

Scripps Senior Theses

Created at a key moment in New Left political rebellion and organizing in 1969, the mythic People’s Park still stands today between Dwight and Haste St. in Berkeley as open multi-use green space made of and for community development on lawful University of California Regent property. Despite repeated attempts by UC to take back the land, the insurgent space continues to pull defense from various parts of the local community, students and not, have accessed forms of self-determined social reproduction and created material critiques of UC as a vehicle for capital. For 54 years, the park was maintained significance as …

Concrete Everywhere: A Project-Based Analysis Of The Unequal Distribution Of Warehouses In Fontana, Chanah Haigh

Scripps Senior Theses

Unjust legislation and zoning practices drive the excess of warehouses in Fontana, California whose impacts fall disproportionately on low income communities of color. This paper addresses the environmental and health impacts of warehouses, as well as the legislation and the use of zoning which bring them to Fontana. Original maps show the spread of warehouses over census tract level data depicting race, income, and environmental factors such as diesel particulate matter. State and local legislation is analyzed to determine its intended effect and how well it has been enforced. Research was conducted through a project based thesis done in conjunction …

Grieving Climate Change: A Psychological And Personal Exploration Of Emotionally Processing The Climate Crisis, Hava Chishti

Pitzer Senior Theses

The psychological concept of grief, although not typically associated with climate change, has strong applications to the emotional processing of climate change for human beings. Grief can be related to climate change in many ways, including the grief that individuals may feel over the anticipated loss of their future, losses that may be experienced due to climate-related disasters, and grief for the overall implications of anthropogenic climate change. A mixture of traditional literature analysis and creative nonfiction essays, which focus on personal narratives from interviews and the author’s experience, are used to outline the ways in which the psychology of …

Treasure Island: Gold Dust Or Radioactive Soil?, Ari Daniels

Scripps Senior Theses

Former Naval Station Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay is undergoing an expensive redevelopment process to be turned into a sustainable living community. However, the area has a long history of mishandled radioactive material, irresponsible behavior on behalf of authorities, environmental instability, lawsuits, and administrative complaints. This research project focuses on Treasure Island’s history and redevelopment plan, utilizing San Francisco government documents, local newspapers, literature on environmental justice and racism, and state legislation to draw conclusions on the efficacy of the project from a sustainability standpoint and the responsibilities of the planners and developers. After providing a historical overview …

Fossil Fuels In Disguise: Environmental Issues With Carbon Capture Storage In The Central Valley, Medha Gelli

Scripps Senior Theses

The California Air Resources Board’s 2022 Scoping Plan supports the development of Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) facilities in order to meet California’s climate goals. Most of the proposed fourteen sites will be located in the Central Valley. CCS may help achieve negative emissions but poses several environmental problems. Key among these issues are water depletion and contamination, excessive energy usage, air pollution, and the potential for CCS-induced seismic risk. Due to the Central Valley’s disadvantaged and less-resourced background, this area is more at risk for environmental injustices with CCS implementation. By creating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps of factors related …

The Prison Industrial Complex: A Microcosm Of Environmental Justice As A Human Rights Issue, Isabella Brusco

Scripps Senior Theses

Many scholars have established a connection between Environmental Justice (EJ) and the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), EJ and human rights, and the PIC and human rights.. The aim of this thesis is to encourage a conversation that connects these three concepts: EJ, the PIC, and human rights. This will be accomplished by scrutinizing a legal case called Rutherford v. Luna, in which American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers contend that individuals incarcerated in the inmate reception center of Los Angeles County are enduring inhumane conditions. I employ this case as an example of the PIC, illustrating that the PIC represents …

Bicycling For Sustainable Urban Mobility: Comparing Urban Transformations In Paris And Bogotá, Luba Masliy

Pomona Senior Theses

Promoting cycling is one of the low-hanging fruits to decarbonizing transportation, with further extensive benefits to quality of life. The main deterrent to the adoption of cycling for transportation is the lack of safe and connected infrastructure. This thesis explores and compares the case studies of Paris and Bogotá, where cycling modal shares grew significantly within the last decade. Plans outlining ambitious goals around sustainable transportation were put in place, and total bicycle network lengths increased rapidly in both cities. My work focuses on examining policy and infrastructure developments that lead to increased adoption of cycling over time in Paris …