Digital Commons Network^™

Front Matter

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Real Footprint Of Electric Vehicles, And What That Could Mean For Our Future, Krista Brown

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper looks at the impact of electric vehicles on CO2 emissions specifically based on the type of electricity used in each New England state analyzed. The research looks at the question of whether or not emissions will in fact be lowered as electric cars start to take the majority of vehicles used instead of the conventional cars that take up a much larger percent of the motor vehicles used today. Taking into account the use of electricity and how many sources of electricity also release a substantial amount of emissions, we see how valid the public opinion of electric …

Analyzing Consumers’ Willingness To Pay For Eco-Labeled Seafood Products In Coastal And Inland Maine Counties, Gaby E. Carpenter

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Around the world, green labels are used for a wide range of food products, both in grocery stores and restaurants. Often, the price for these labeled products is higher due to higher production costs associated with the goods. This leads to demand for these goods in the market and consumers that are willing to pay. Here, I will examine the willingness to pay for three different eco-labeled seafood dishes at a Maine restaurant using a consumer choice experiment survey. I will use this survey to conduct a benefits transfer analysis to approximate the willingness to pay of consumers in each …

The Effectiveness Of The Colby College Electricity Competition On Promoting Electricity Conservation To Students, Jeff Vaz

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the effectiveness of the Colby College electricity reduction competition in altering students’ behavior to conserve electricity. The Colby College electricity reduction competition is an information-based policy that Colby implemented to promote the conservation of electricity, which are a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. The study analyzes if different residence halls reduce electricity consumption by different amounts during the competition period. Results indicate that only 4 of 22 residence halls reduced electricity usage during competition periods in a statistically significant manner. The study concludes that the electricity competition at Colby College is …

Media

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

How Soon We Forget: The Luxury Of Disaster Amnesia, Lauren Pongan

Colby Magazine

This is only a portion of a full essay that is about the super Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines and how disaster amnesia functions in the international community.

Full Issue

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

Atlas Of Maine: Potential Catastrophic Sea Level Rise In Acadia National Park, Henry Dodge

Atlas of Maine

According to the US Geological Survey, worldwide sea levels would rise by 14.61 meters if the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets were to melt due to global climate change. The red area demonstrates the land that would be under water near and around Acadia National Park if this catastrophic scenario were to occur.

Stargazing In Maine: Best Places For Colby Students To See The Stars, Zac R. Mondschein

Atlas of Maine

Using a GIS and information about variables that influence night sky visibility, I created a suitability model for stargazing in Maine. Additionally, using information about terrain and land cover, I created least cost paths from Waterville to three designated viewing areas. The model corroborates the overall high quality of stargazing throughout Maine.

Using Viewshed Analysis To Determine The Impact Of The Proposed Sound Transit Transportation Plan On The Cross Kirkland Corridor, Gavin C. Blake

Atlas of Maine

In this project, I used Viewshed analysis in ArcGIS to determine where Sound Transit’s proposed rapid transit would be visible assuming that rapid transit apparatus, like overhead wires, would reach a height of 20 feet. I used a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Land Cover and Roads Data to make the model more accurate. While the model could be perfected, it clearly shows that the rapid transit would affect the views of many homes in the Greater Kirkland Area, and as a result, cause the property values of those homes to fall. I concluded that this fall in property value …

Atlas Of Maine: Deer Wintering Areas In Maine, Tommaso Montagni

Atlas of Maine

This is a map of the Deer Wintering Areas in Maine that shows deerwintering areas, lakes, cities, parks and railroads. The data was projected in NAD 1983 and UTM ZONE 19N. The Maine Office of GIS provided the deer wintering areas data.

Atlas Of Maine: Quality Of Life By County, Brian Sommers

Atlas of Maine

This map represents quality of life in Maine by looking at six data points for each county: education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree), median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity. Each value is weighted and formulated together to give the county a value. Each county’s relative rank in these categories is compared to create an overall ranking among the 16 counties in Maine.

Atlas Of Maine: Wind Turbine Conflict With Conservation Land And Lynx Habitat, Wesley M. Zebrowski

Atlas of Maine

This map displays a conflict between Maine’s wind resources and its rich wildlife habitats. The map contrasts wind energy potential with conservation land and lynx critical habitat. By overlaying current and proposed wind turbines, the map shows which sites overlap with conservation land and lynx habitat. A buffer zone of 2000 meters around each turbine is used to estimate this conflict. A rough 2000 meters distance is the most widely agree upon turbine buffer by those who suggest buffers, utilized by over 18 different sources, including academic, local, and international sources.

Land Development Risk Around Southern Sebago Lake, Maine: Identifying At-Risk Parcels, Jeremy P. Ravenelle

Atlas of Maine

The Sebago Lake watershed supplies drinking water to more than 200,000 people in the Greater Portland area. The Portland Water District (PWD) is currently able to supply water from their intake at the south end of the lake with only minimal treatment to remove bacteria due to the very high water quality of the lake. The district has a strong interest in preserving water quality, which is dependent on the filtering effect of forest and other vegetation surrounding the lake and its watershed. However, the district owns only about 1% of the watershed land, and most of the rest is …

Gis Campus Transportation Survey: Colby Campus Map, Wesley M. Zebrowski, Fen Bowen, Ian R. Liphart, Jiaqi Wu, Tommaso Montagni

Atlas of Maine

Our project sought to create the first geographically accurate map of campus. The intent of our project was to build a foundation of GIS data to both benefit the Physical Plant Department and enable future research opportunities for GIS students. PPD requested an updated map of campus, as well as analyses of bike infrastructure, light infrastructure, handicap accessibility and optimal walking path placement. We produced a series of recommendations to PPD, detailed in our other posters. This poster primarily details the campus basemap itself, and how we created it.

A 3d Gis Model Of Colby College Campus, Henry Dodge

Atlas of Maine

Using ArcScene and Google Sketchup I was able to create a semi-realistic, three-dimensional map of the Colby College campus. A 3D GIS map of the campus had never been made before and the project could be used in the future for: planning new building projects, running interesting visual analysis, and as a new way to view campus.

Atlas Of Maine: Flood Hazard Areas Along The Maine Coast, Gavin C. Blake

Atlas of Maine

This map illustrates the location of FEMA flood zones along the coast of Maine, with special emphasis on Acadia and the Greater Portland Area. The map also includes the proximity of these flood zones to Red Cross and County Emergency Management Agency Stations as well as larger cities, rivers, and lakes. The map was projected in NAD83 UTM Zone 19N.

Atlas Of Maine: Bird Habitat And Nesting On Mount Desert Island, Hannah Kwasman

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the critical habitat and nesting sites of important bird species in Maine. Although Acadia National Park is a protected zone, many of the key locations are not located within the park itself. Even for the few areas within the park, these sites see human traffic via hiking trails. The Human Development Intensity is based on a Maine Office of GIS dataset that indexes these values. The map is projected using the NAD83, Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19N coordinate system.

The Colby Oracle 2016, Colby College

The Colby Oracle

Colby College’s yearbook for the Class of 2016.

Electric Current: Siting A Wind Farm Off The Coast Of Maine, Ryan S. Clemens

Atlas of Maine

Using ArcMap, I analyzed several operational factors that would lead to a successful wind farm off the coast of Maine. Through calculating Euclidean distances and reclassifying the distances to fit within a 10-point scoring system, much of the coastline is viable for a potential wind farm. However, the most suitable area is a 115 square mile location 8 miles off the coast of Lincoln and Cumberland counties.

Entering Into Dialogue With Pope Francis' Laudato Si: On Care For Our Common Home, Sarah Jeanne Shimer

Honors Theses

Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home brings together the spheres of science and religion. In this document, Francis puts forth a call for action towards religious and non-religious communities alike to address climate change. The strength of the document lies in the way Francis expresses his call. By drawing on scientific and religious tradition, he situates the encyclical in a broader conversation about the moral obligation for humans to care for the environment. This thesis explores the reception of Laudato Si by religious and environmental communities through political cartoons, written critiques, and personal interviews. …

Pharmaceutical And Personal Care Products Concentrations In The Belgrade Lakes: A Possible Threat To Aquatic Ecosystems And Human Health, Serena Haver

Honors Theses

Pharmaceuticals and active ingredients from personal care products (PPCPs) include prescription and over-the-counter drugs, sunscreen, fragrances, and soaps. Recently researchers have detected PPCPs in surface waters, posing a threat to aquatic biota and human health. These compounds can enter the environment through dumping, direct excretion, or sewage effluent streams. We tested 14 water samples from East Pond, Great Pond, and Long Pond in Maine for the presence of 23 different PPCPs. Of those, we only detected significant levels of caffeine, 1,7-dimethylxanthine, and amphetamine all below 1µg/L. There were no significant differences between any of the three lakes for any of …

Assessing Lakesmart: The Development And Effectiveness Of A Lake Protection Program, Alexa A. E. Junker

Honors Theses

Maine’s nearly 6,000 lakes are a vital resource for the state, generating $6 billion in annual economic activity and sustaining 52,000 jobs. Over the course of the last several decades, this resource has increasingly been threatened by development and related problems, especially nutrient runoff. LakeSmart is a lake protection program designed to stem the flow of nutrient runoff by promoting and rewarding the use lake-friendly landscaping practices.

For this project, I traced the history of LakeSmart from its roots in the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and, through stakeholder interviews and surveys, chronicled its development into the flagship program of …

The Historical Ecology Of Queensland’S Australian Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus), Emily M. Walker

Honors Theses

Human wildlife conflict is a critical aspect of many societies, as it often plays a large role in government decisions. The iconic saltwater Australian crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is one example of a species that has become the subject of human-wildlife conflict in Queensland, Australia. Decades of intensive hunting in Queensland, beginning at the time of the Second World War, drastically depleted crocodile populations, leading to a federal embargo on crocodile exports in 1972 and their protection in Queensland in 1974. Since protection, populations appear to be recovering with increasing densities in the north and increased sightings along the …

The Effect Of Temperature On The Supply And Demand For The American Lobster (Homarus Americanus) In The State Of Maine, Gaby E. Carpenter

Honors Theses

The Gulf of Maine (GOM) American lobster (Homarus americanus) stock accounts for 90% of the U.S. American lobster landings. This makes it an extremely valuable and important fishery on a national scale, but also to the state of Maine. In the past decade, the fishery has experienced rapid fluctuation in landings and price due to anthropogenic influences of the water temperature in the GOM. Given the economic importance of the fishery, it is important to understand the future impacts of climate change on the availability of lobster and economic consequences of these shifts. A bio-economic model is used in the …

The Effect Of Cyanobacterium Gloeotrichia Echinulata In The Belgrade Lakes, Maine, Harriet T. Rothschild

Honors Theses

Gloeotrichia echinulata is a cyanobacteria species that has been increasingly forming blooms in oligotrophic lakes in the Northeastern United States. The Belgrade Lakes in central Maine have experienced increasing blooms over the past decades. Long Pond and Great Pond in the Belgrade Lakes region are popular locations for summer tourism and year-round residents. Research into G. echinulata is important to the Belgrade community because of potential effects to water quality, public health, and recreation. Studying G. echinulata bloom density throughout the summer and how it may affect the phosphorous cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the plankton community will help scientists …

Analyzing Tuberculosis Diagnosis And Treatment In Kasungu, Malawi, Andrew Currier

Honors Theses

Despite Tuberculosis (TB) being a highly curable disease, it continues to result in over 5% of deaths in the Sub-Saharan African country of Malawi. Coupled with HIV, the disease remains one of the leading causes of death in Malawi. In the summer of 2015, I joined a research team from Partners in Hope to conduct a survey evaluating the health centers that provide TB care in the Kasungu region of Malawi. After visiting 23 health centers, the results of the 47-question survey were compiled and analyzed to provide information on the capabilities and practices at each health center. The results …

The Impact Of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals On Wildlife Conservation, Eda Reed

Honors Theses

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as those from plastics and pesticides, have been hypothesized to affect wildlife populations. According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, EDCs ‘are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.’ A growing number of studies suggest wildlife are being exposed to EDCs, but how EDCs affect wildlife health and wildlife conservation is less well-understood. Through scientific literature analysis and a survey of wildlife conservationists and practitioners, this study aims to determine the current state of knowledge and data …

Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia, Jacob A. Wall, Travis W. Reynolds

Honors Theses

Scattered trees are prominent features in the agricultural landscape of the Ethiopian highlands. The dry Afromontane forests of the Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia have faced centuries of deforestation - the FAO estimates only 3% of the region is forested today. The remaining landscape has been largely converted into agricultural and grazing lands, with the exception of some limited government-protected lands, as well as thousands of small forest fragments left around Orthodox Churches (“church forests”). But while a growing body of scholarship has highlighted the ecological and cultural importance of church forests and other natural forest fragments, the roles of …