Digital Commons Network^™

Casenote Update: The Supreme Court Restricts Plaintiff Options For Climate Change Litigation In American Electric Power Co. V. Connecticut, Matthew R. Weiss

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Decolonizing The Ya North: Environmental Injustice In Sherri L. Smith’S Orleans, Micah-Jade M. Coleman

Master's Theses

Young Adult (YA) dystopias, in recent years, have imagined a future world fueled by the overuse and misuse of technology, the advancement of science for human gain, as well as societies ruled by governments that govern based on their own self-interests and economic gain. Such novels have opened the door for discussion about how the present-day actions of societies can impact the future of the environment; yet many only focus their attention on societies in the North— regions considered “developed” by the western world. In her YA novel, Orleans (2014), Sherri L. Smith focuses attention on the aftermath of Hurricane …

Masters Of Science In Environmental Science And Policy Portfolio, Annalise B. Kukor

Sustainability and Social Justice

Through my work as a Master’s student in Environmental Science and Policy at Clark University I have acquired a wide variety of knowledge and skills which will be showcased in this document. The breadth of courses and sub disciplines that I have taken has expanded my awareness and understanding of the current state of Environmental Science and Policy. My undergraduate degree from Clark University in Environmental Science focusing on Earth Systems Science focused primarily on comprehension of the Earth’s physical processes with applications for Global Climate Change. This master’s work has expanded upon those quantitative skills as well as deepened …

The Role Of Community Participation For Green Stormwater Infrastructure Development, Nicole Barclay

All Dissertations

The primary objective of this research is to understand the role of community participation in green stormwater infrastructure development. Even though the literature affirms the need for community participation to facilitate its implementation, no study in the engineering literature examines this idea with an in-depth, descriptive case study. It is important to understand how technical and non-technical factors interact to promote or hinder its implementation. This work uses the qualitative case study methodology to fulfil the objective and answer the research questions. The case study is based on the Proctor Creek Watershed, Atlanta Georgia, a rapidly growing urban area located …

Neighborhood Revitalization In A Coal Region Community: Developing A Public Green Space In Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, Dominic Scicchitano

Coal Region Field Station Student Projects

Neighborhood revitalizationthough at times costly and otherwise challengingis a powerful method for preserving the integrity and beauty of large urban areas and small towns alike. The conversion of previously derelict sites into thriving urban green spacesoften in the form of public parks that contain a segment of living greenerypresents a concrete strategy for revitalizing these locations. Aside from neighborhood beautification, the development and presence of green space has been found to contribute to increased mental and physical health, create a stronger sense of social inclusion, and promote ecological sustainability among a myriad of other benefits within the populations they serve …

Integrating High-Resolution Datasets To Target Mitigation Efforts For Improving Air Quality And Public Health In Urban Neighborhoods, Vivek Shandas, Jackson Voelkel, Meenakshi Rao, Linda A. George

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reducing exposure to degraded air quality is essential for building healthy cities. Although air quality and population vary at fine spatial scales, current regulatory and public health frameworks assess human exposures using county- or city-scales. We build on a spatial analysis technique, dasymetric mapping, for allocating urban populations that, together with emerging fine-scale measurements of air pollution, addresses three objectives: (1) evaluate the role of spatial scale in estimating exposure; (2) identify urban communities that are disproportionately burdened by poor air quality; and (3) estimate reduction in mobile sources of pollutants due to local tree-planting efforts using nitrogen dioxide. Our …

Communication Network Among Campus Sustainability Influencers, Alexandra C. Freling

Honors Thesis

Systems of all types require efficient communication between its parts and units in order to be successful and e ective. It is thus important to understand a systems units in order to better advance its operations. In this study, we look at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) as a systematic organization in regards to the universitys execution of its environmental sustainability endeavors. This approach allows for the identification of the path by which important environmental sustainability information is communicated, is learned, and is acted upon at LMU. Through various network centrality measurements, I will develop a visual representation of the communication …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Justice And Community-Based Reparations, Catherine Millas Kaiman

Seattle University Law Review

This Article seeks to illuminate the lack of adequate legal remedies that are available for low-income, predominantly minority communities that have suffered historic environmental injustices. The Article not only discusses the lack of adequate legal remedies, but also proposes the use of local, state, and federal reparations programs for communities that have previously suffered environmental injustices; are still living with the effects of environmental injustices, by way of disease, air, soil, and water pollution; or are suffering current and ongoing environmental injustices. As has been recently illustrated by Michigan’s state action of providing lead-contaminated water for over a year to …

July 23, 2016 (Pages 3923-4038), Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau

Volume 46 (2016)

No abstract provided.

Students Interning Across The Globe This Summer, University Communications

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Cumulative Impact: Digital Ethnography Of Environmental Activism In The Mountain View Community, Nina Cooper

Communication ETDs

While digital ethnography is a growing genre in communication, there is a salient need to fill the gaps of knowledge concerning health communication using a digital format. Digital ethnography holds the potential of reaching larger audiences, incorporating more stakeholders, and adding previously muted voices – individuals from non-academic communities as well as communities of color – to health research dialectics. With limited use of this tool in the field of health communication, there remain untapped opportunities for intra-disciplinary work within the communication field (e.g., ethnography, performance ethnography, critical ethnography) and beyond. By combining ethnography and community-based participatory research as theoretical …

Local Approaches To Regional Problems: Suburban Government Responses To Portland's Regional Housing Crisis, Emma Deppa

Dissertations and Theses

The Portland metropolitan region has seen unprecedented growth in the last three decades, resulting in both economic expansion and considerable gentrification. While lauded for its commitment to sustainability and a "smart development" ethos, many questions remain for the city with respect to the needs of displaced residents and a burgeoning population of young professionals. This study examines how various levels of government implement growth management policies to accommodate these demographic changes, and aims to assess whether and how the consequences of growth, especially gentrification and displacement, are meaningfully addressed. Qualitative interviews were conducted with staff members and elected officials from …

Gene-Environment Interactions Related To Hyperlipidemia Among African-Americans, Michelle Wright, Jacquelyn Taylor

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Session presented on Thursday, July 21, 2016: Purpose: African Americans (AA) in the United States face significant health disparities in chronic health conditions. When compared to Caucasians, AAs fare worse with the following indices: 1) highest incidence and prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, low birth weight, and infant mortality; 2) highest death rates from heart disease, stroke, and colorectal cancer; and 3) shorter life expectancy 1. Health outcomes and life expectancy are strongly influenced by the characteristics of one's environment 2 and health disparities among AAs have been associated with genomic underpinnings, social inequalities, disproportionate burdens of pollution, and unequal …

Socio Environmental Conflicts In Ecuador. The Use Of Preprocessing And Data Mining To Detect Influencing Factors On Violence And Crisis (1985 - 2016), Lina Pita Merino, Martí Rosas-Casals, Karina Gibert

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The main concern regarding the spread of Socio Environmental Conflicts (SEC) is the constant increase of extractive activities to support the economic system. Conflicts originated in the clash of interests between the extractive industries and local populations is the more visible outcome, but the complexity of this phenomenon may not be that obvious. Among South American countries, the highest murder rates of environmental activists corresponded to Brazil, Peru and Colombia, three of the four Amazonian countries along with Ecuador (Global Witness, 2015). In addition, all of them have similar characteristics such as high levels of inequality and the presence of …

Emerging Environmental Justice Issues In Nuclear Power And Radioactive Contamination, Dean Kyne, Bob Bolin

Sociology Faculty Publications

Nuclear hazards, linked to both U.S. weapons programs and civilian nuclear power, pose substantial environment justice issues. Nuclear power plant (NPP) reactors produce low-level ionizing radiation, high level nuclear waste, and are subject to catastrophic contamination events. Justice concerns include plant locations and the large potentially exposed populations, as well as issues in siting, nuclear safety, and barriers to public participation. Other justice issues relate to extensive contamination in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, and the mining and processing industries that have supported it. To approach the topic, first we discuss distributional justice issues of NPP sites in the U.S. …

Situating Migrants In Contemporary Japan: From Public Spaces To Personal Experiences, Milena Urszula Janiec Grygo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the broader literature on migration, Japan is often portrayed as straddling two categories, one of a homogenous country and another of a multicultural society. The arguments on both sides are supported through the historical evidence, analysis of media resources, as well as narratives of Japanese residents. This inquiry seeks to highlight voices of migrants within these debates. This dissertation focuses on the urban – rural residential experiences of international migrants in Kanto and Tohoku regions. This inquiry treats international migration processes in terms of moving between the contexts of different countries as well as between urban – rural locations. …

Quantitative Literacy At Michigan State University, 3: Designing General Education Mathematics Courses, Samuel L. Tunstall, Vincent Melfi, Jeffrey Craig, Richard Edwards, Andrew Krause, Bronlyn Wassink, Victor Piercey

Numeracy

In this paper, we describe the process at Michigan State University whereby we have created two courses, Math 101 and 102, designed to foster numeracy and alleviate mathematics anxiety. The courses--which are not sequential--provide a means of satisfying the University's general education requirement without taking college algebra or calculus, among other options. They are context-driven and broken into modules such as "The World and Its People" and "Health and Risk." They have been highly successful thus far, with students providing positive feedback on their interest in the material and the utility they see of it in their daily lives. We …

Shaping Climate Citizenship: The Ethics Of Inclusion In Climate Change Communication And Policy, Lauren E. Cagle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The problem of climate change is not simply scientific or technical, but also political and social. This dissertation analyzes both the role and the ethical foundations of citizenship and citizen engagement in the political and social aspects of climate change communication and policy-making. Using a critical discourse analysis of a policy recommendations drafted by the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, I demonstrate how climate change policy documentation naturalizes a particular version of citizenship I call “climate citizenship.” Based on environmental critiques of liberal and civic republican citizenship, I show how this “climate citizenship” would be more productive and ethical …

Action Items, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Overview of action items handled by the Graduate Council.

International Environmental Law And The Global South Edited By Shawket Alam, Sumudu Atapattu, Carmen G. Gonzalez, And Jona Razzaque, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ecotourism Social Enterprise: Learning From The Global South, Jessica Bailey

Capstone Collection

Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) in developing countries has become a popular solution to environmental, social, and economic issues. This study seeks to address how CBET models from the Global South could be implemented in the U.S. ecotourism context, using social entrepreneurship models. Research was completed through a variety of sources including academic journals and government databases, exploring the importance of ecotourism, and a comparison of ecotourism in the Global South to ecotourism in the Global North. The method for analysis was conducted through qualitative interviews with social entrepreneurs working in ecotourism in Uganda, Indonesia, Nepal, India, Costa Rica, Chile, and Brazil. …

Citizens Of Sinking Islands: Early Victims Of Climate Change, Erin Halstead

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This Note discusses the effects of climate change that threaten Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Specifically, with increasing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting in rising sea levels and higher frequency of extreme weather events, many citizens of SIDS are forced abandon their homelands, which are no longer livable. Although SIDS are some of the smallest contributors to GHG emissions, and therefore contribute the least to climate change, SIDS are some of the countries most heavily affected by the negative effects of climate change. The global community has an obligation to accommodate these displaced people, partially due to the significant …

Decolonizing The Body: Breast Cancer And The Environment In Toxic Times, Cynthia L. Martin

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation explores cultural narratives regarding the relationship between environmental toxins and breast cancer causation. It is not an analysis of current scientific research; grounded in Foucault’s theory of genealogy and archaeology, it evaluates cultural narratives on breast cancer causation that may be subsumed by the mainstream focus upon a cure for breast cancer, overlooking how people with breast cancer perceive illness causation, particularly as it relates to toxic exposure. Theories of place, space, and the neoliberal politics behind biotechnology support understanding the toxification of the human body as neocolonialism, and invite decolonizing methodologies as a means of understanding and …

Research View, Summer 2016

Research View

Contents of this issue include:

The Brain Team: New UM Neural Injury Center Changes Lives

Quick Looks: Evolutionary Biologist Elected to Elite Academy -- University Students Create Astronomy Teaching Tool -- Trio of UM Researchers Lands Prestigious CAREER Grants -- Parks' Poem Tops National Competition -- University Climate Change Studies Coordinator Wins National Award -- Research Reveals Island Trend in Bird Evolution -- Glimpse

Big, Cold and Creepy: Researchers Study Gigantism Among Antarctic Sea Spiders

Pollution Prejudice: UM researcher studies how waste facilities target low-income, minority areas

Mexican Energy Reform, Climate Change, And Energy Justice In Indigenous Communities, Shalanda H. Baker

Natural Resources Journal

Mexico’s recent energy reform portends a new era of private engagement in the oil and gas sectors. According to government officials and industry leaders, the opening of energy reserves for private development will spur economic growth and establish the country as a leader in the energy arena. This article examines whether the reforms could also lead to community-led growth in the renewable energy sector, specifically in Oaxaca, Mexico, which has been identified as one of the windiest places in the world and is currently already the site of extensive wind energy development. Building on my prior work exploring the impact …

Justice, Community And Leadership, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Politics, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Women’S And Gender Studies, Saint Mary's College Of California

Undergraduate Academic Catalog

No abstract provided.

Bakken Bombs: A Criminological Inquiry Into The Lynchburg Train Derailment, Travis W. Milburn

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, several significant train derailments involving the transportation of crude oil have dotted the North American landscape. Each resulted in environmental and social harm to some degree which was extensive in many instances. Oil train derailments have occurred in places such as Lac-Mégantic, Canada (July 2013), Casselton, North Dakota (December 2013 and November 2014), and Mount Carbon, West Virginia (February 2015). Following derailments, communities have faced substantial environmental damage, human death and injury, and overall disruption from the explosions and subsequent oil spills that characterize these events. This project specifically examined the April 30, 2014 derailment in Lynchburg, …