Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Engaged Scholarship, Nestor M. Davidson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Land Use And Climate Change: Lawyers Negotiating Above Regulation, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Sea level rise requires a new paradigm for controlling the development of coastal lands that are in harm’s way, calling for adjustments in the law, legal practice, and legal education. This article discusses the historical tendency of the law to adjust to changes in society and the recent emergence of new legal institutions and strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, particularly sea level rise. It illustrates how the lack of certainty about the extent and pace of sea level rise collides with the total takings doctrine of the Lucas case to frustrate the application of traditional land use …

Changes Spark Interest In Sustainable Urban Places: But How Do We Identify And Support Them?, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Changes in climatic and demographic trends are sparking renewed interest in cities generally and sustainable communities particularly. On the one hand, residents and workers in denser, mixed-use neighborhoods served by transit have half the carbon footprint of those in spread-out suburban areas. On the other hand, many of the smaller households that characterize the nation’s growing population prefer to live in precisely those compact, mixed-use neighborhoods. In New York, these changes align with several new state policies that encourage cities and towns to reduce carbon emissions, reduce vehicle travel, create sustainable buildings and neighborhoods, and preserve the landscapes that sequester …

Shifting Paradigms Transform Environmental And Land Use Law: The Emergence Of The Law Of Sustainable Development, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

We began these two decades reacting to the market’s interest in developing greenfields and coastal property and end it wondering how to prepare more urbanized places for a growing population of smaller households who seek the amenities of urban living and some protection from the storms ahead. This essay discusses this and nine other fundamental paradigm shifts in environmental and economic conditions that are reshaping the law and changing the way state and local governments control land use and order human settlements.

Hard, Soft & Uncertain: The Guarani Aquifer And The Challenges Of Transboundary Groundwater, David N. Cassuto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article begins with an overview of the ecology of the Guarani Aquifer region before turning to the legal and ecological problems it faces. Because the majority of the Guarani Aquifer underlies Brazil (with the rest residing below Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), the laws and policies of Brazil have a significant managerial impact. Consequently, the Brazilian legal regime forms the focus of the first Part of the Article. The Article then analyzes the international transboundary framework before turning to the recently enacted Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer. This Agreement, signed but not yet ratified by four countries, represents a major …

The Sweet Grass Hills And Blackfeet Indians: Sacredness, Land, And Institutional Discrimination, Cassie Sheets

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Sweet Grass Hills of north-central Montana are part of the four Tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy’s traditional territory and play a vital role in perpetuating Blackfeet culture. The Blackfeet Tribe of Montana was forced to sell the Sweet Grass Hills to the federal government in 1888 after the decimation of bison populations. In 1992, the first large-scale corporate mining proposal in the Sweet Grass Hills was proposed by Lehmann and Associates and Manhattan Mineral, Ltd. In response to public outcries, environmental impact statements were issued by the Bureau of Land Management, the agency that manages the area, and Secretary …

Forest Management Issues Of The Southern United States And Comparisons With Turkey, Pete Bettinger, Jacek Siry, Chris Cieszewski, Krista L. Merry, Hayati̇ Zengi̇n, Ahmet Yeşi̇l

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Most of the forest area in the southern United States has been cleared, regrown, purchased, and sold several times over the last 200 years, and forest management practices generally focus on wood production. Agricultural expansion, use, and the abandonment of land have been the major forces behind land use change, and now human population expansion is a major issue. The land tenure system of the United States has allowed individuals and companies to acquire, use, and sell land since the time of European colonization; thus, private ownership of land dominates the southern region. However, new private, corporate, nonindustrial entities have …

Citizens’ Perspectives Of Access To The Decision Making Process And Community Improvement As Determinants Of Brownfields Redevelopment Success, Shevon Jean Letang

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Brownfields redevelopment is acclaimed as a successful program that has revitalized struggling urban communities and returned unproductive, underutilized, and abandoned industrial and commercial properties to municipalities’ tax rolls. Despite a major brownfields' redevelopment goal being to improve the communities and their citizens' quality of life, to date, the program has not been evaluated from the mainstreams' perspective as to its impact on their neighborhoods and their quality of life. A survey of 129 citizens from urban, suburban and exsuburban municipalities in Passaic County New Jersey sought to evaluate the social outcomes of three redeveloped projects from the affected mainstreams' perspective. …

Corporate Social Responsibility And The Gold Mining Industry : The Ghana Experience, Aimann Sadik

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In 2012, the price of gold is sky rocketing due to strong demand and tight supply. Investors have revived their interest in gold investments at the expense of financial assets such as bonds and equities because of the current financial market turbulence. In addition, the trend in price has been fuelled by the strategic reserve holdings decisions by the central banks of advanced western economies to halt the sale of their gold reserves while that of emerging markets are acquiring gold holdings to protect their wealth during a period of global financial crisis. The supply of gold has not responded …

Reconciling The Migratory Bird Treaty Act With Expanding Wind Energy To Keep Big Wheels Turning And Endangered Birds Flying, Robert J. Martin, Rob Ballard

Animal Law Review

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) has proven invaluable in minimizing the destruction of the 240 avian species listed by its enforcement agency, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), as “endangered or threatened” or “birds of conservation concern.”Recently, however, the Act is faced with a new challenge: How can it continue to achieve its objective when a highly desirable domestic source of sustainable energy—wind power—is experiencing unprecedented growth? Ever-larger wind projects propelled by giant turbines have become a serious danger to the existence of migratory birds and their natural habitats. Yet most policy makers strongly welcome and support …

Opening Up The Box: Exploring The Scaling Out Of The Good Food Box Across Canada, Stephanie Lentz Laporte Potts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Good Food Box (GFB) program holds a great deal of promise to expand our understanding of Community Food Security (CFS). CFS represents a vision for solving hunger and other problems with the food system through an integrated approach that improves access to good and appropriate food for all while at the same time building community, strengthening local agricultural economies, and maximizing social justice. The GFB, one type of CFS program, is a community-based initiative found across Canada that provides a box of healthy food to customers at near wholesale prices; it has the potential to increase access to healthy …

Spatial Distribution And Quantification Of Forest Treatment Residues For Bioenergy Production, Lucas A. Wells

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The availability and spatial distribution of forest treatment residues are prerequisites to supply chain development for bioenergy production. To accurately estimate potential residue quantities, data must be provided to simulate stand-level silviculture across the landscape of interest. However, biomass utilization assessments often consider broad regions where adequate data are not supplied. At present, these measures are addressed using strategic level assessments and broad-based management that may not be applicable to all areas of the landscape. This thesis introduces a new methodology for spatially describing stand-level treatment residue quantities based on detailed silvicultural prescriptions and site specific management. Using National Agricultural …

"Double Sustainability" In Botswana And South Africa: The Case Of The San In The Central Kalahari Game Reserve And Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Lindsay Nelson

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The question of land access rights for indigenous peoples is now a prominent theme in the management of large parks and game reserves in Africa. This comparative study addresses different government responses to this question regarding land dispossession of the San in Southern Africa. Ancestral lands of this unique and marginalized indigenous population had been rendered off limits by the creation of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) in South Africa and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana. In more recent years, the government of Botswana and the post-apartheid government of South Africa have pursued quite divergent approaches to addressing …

Ethical Considerations In The Use Of Pharmaceutical Promotions: The Impact On Egyptian Physicians Prescribing Behavior, Madiha Metawie, Rasha Hussien Mostafa

Business Administration

Purpose - The aim of this research paper is to examine some of the ethical issues which may arise when physicians accept promotional items from pharmaceutical companies and the influence on the prescribing behaviour.

Design/ methodology/ approach – Testable hypotheses were developed with respect to physicians prescribing behavior regarding ethical considerations while accepting pharmaceutical promotional items. A survey questionnaire was designed to capture the data from 134 Egyptian physicians located in greater Cairo. The hypotheses were tested using SPSS package.

Findings – The major finding is that there is a significant positive association between the type of promotional item offered …

Automated Sinkhole Extraction And Morphological Analysis In Northeast Iowa Using High-Resolution Lidar Data, Jonathon Launspach

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Accurate and detailed mapping of sinkholes is necessary to ensure sinkhole monitoring and management. Historically, sinkholes were found and digitized manually by a visual examination of aerial photos or through field surveying. This paper develops a new, multicriteria LiDAR-based sinkhole extraction method and automated processes to detect sinkholes and their boundaries. This technique of extraction is unique as it identifies sinkhole boundaries automatically using remotely sensed data, compared to traditional methods of manually tracing the perimeter. A sinkhole detection module was developed within a GIS environment to determine location and boundaries of the sinkholes. Several small study areas were selected …

Bird Use Of Heterogeneous Native Prairie Biofuel Production Plots, Jarrett D. Pfrimmer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Changing land use practices and agricultural intensification have driven the loss of >90% of native grassland habitats in the Midwestern U.S.A. Consequently, grassland birds have declined more drastically than any other North American guild. Current biofuel production systems in the Midwest rely on high input monoculture crops that provide little habitat value to most grassland birds. The Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa is exploring the feasibility of growing and harvesting diverse mixes of native prairie vegetation for use as a sustainable biofuel in a manner that also provides high quality bird habitat. In 2009, 48 research …

Effect Of Ecological Factors On Vegetation And Carbon Stock On Samaesan Island, Chonburi Province, Thailand, Nathsuda Pumijumnong, Paramate Payomrat

Applied Environmental Research

This study aims to classify this littoral evergreen forest and to analyze the environmental factors that determine its composition and structure and evaluate the potential of carbon stock of each vegetation community. Seventy-five plots were sampled, the plant cover was measured, and the importance value index was calculated. Thirty-seven soil samples were analyzed, and cluster analysis was employed to classify the vegetation communities. Floristic and environmental data were evaluated and ordered using the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). THEOS was applied to classify the vegetation boundary. Allometric equations were used to calculate the aboveground biomass. The results revealed that the vegetation …

Urban Heat Island Phenomenon In Relation To Land Use/Land Cover In Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Area, Parinya Chayapong, Songkot Dasananda

Applied Environmental Research

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon can be found in the megacities around the world where near-surface temperatures over the city core area were notably higher than those over the surrounding rural area. Intensity of the UHI phenomenon (\inline \DeltaT) was usually measured by the temperature differences between urban locations and some refereed rural sites. This situation was resulted mainly from the presence of dense builtup elements, e.g. commercial buildings or houses, as well as human activities that tended to release considerable heat into atmosphere. At present, the UHI monitoring can be done efficiently by using satellite-based thermal infrared (TIR) …

Heavy Metal Accumulation In The Skeleton Of Porites Lutea From Ngam Island, Trat Province, Thailand, Mueanfan Boonkanta, Nathsuda Pumijumnong

Applied Environmental Research

For investigating variation of heavy metal concentration in growth bands of coral skeletons, Poriteslutea samples were collected from Ngam Island, Trat province, Thailand. The skeleton samples were cleaned using oxidative and reductive treatments to effectively eliminate detritus and organic materials and were acid-digested. Five heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn), in the growth bands of Porites lutea were analyzed using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS) and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GFAAS). As a result, the range of heavy metals found in coral skeletons (µg g-1 as dry weight) was: Cd (0.01-0.19), Cr …

Metal Concentrations In The Water And Bedrock Of Ogun River, Nigeria, Anslem Diayi, Michael Gbadebo

Applied Environmental Research

Parts of the Ogun River basin namely Mokoloki, Brewery, Akomoje, Akin Olugbade, Lafenwa, Oyan, Arakanga, and Kara were surveyed to determine the effects of bedrock metals on the water quality of the river. Physicochemical analyses were done on the bedrock and water samples obtained while bedrock trace metal analyses were determined using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. Water trace metal analyses were carried out by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). Data obtained were subjected to the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Results obtained showed that Cadmium (Cd) (0.425-1.990 ppm for bedrock samples and 0.005-0.011 mg L-1 for water samples) …

References From Landslide Ecology, Lawrence R. Walker, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Lichens As A Biomonitoring Tool For Detecting Heavy Metal Air Pollution Associated With Industrial Activities In Collie, South-Western Australia, Meenu Chathurika Vitarana

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

During the last few decades, various techniques for using lichens as biomonitors have been developed for monitoring air pollution and forest ecosystem health. Lichens have been used effectively to determine the dispersion of heavy metals emitted by industrial point-sources; however the approach has not been commonly used in Australia. This thesis aimed to determine the effectiveness of using a lichen biomonitoring approach to measure the heavy metal pollutants emitted from coal-fired power stations and related industries in Collie, south-western Australia, an area with concern over poor air quality. Three different approaches to lichen biomonitoring were investigated. The first explored lichen …