Digital Commons Network^™

Deepwater Liquefied Natural Gas Ports And The Shifting U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Market, Sean T. Dixon

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

The United States has been historically at the “end of the pipeline” for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and regular imports are needed in some regions to augment seasonal shortages in supply. Because the United States has become a more significant producer of natural gas (highest in the world), regional markets here tend to no longer rely on LNG cargoes for gas supply. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), “LNG imports to the United States were generally not viewed as competitive with domestic supplies of natural gas and pipeline imports from Canada through the 1980s and 1990s.” In the early …

May Agenda, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting agenda.

A Wasteful Disposition: How A Consumerist Society Can Slowly Become Zero-Waste, Paige G. Werman

Student Theses 2015-Present

Humans have exploited planet earth’s resources to generate many different forms of useless remains: solid waste, food waste, pollution, electronic waste, wastewater, hazardous and chemical waste, and nuclear radioactive waste—so many that we have disregarded the environmental principle that waste in any form is not sustainable or natural. Developed countries have habituated a lifestyle of excess—the societal concept of waste being the most detrimental to the Homo sapiens’ future as a living, thriving species and the reason why we have succumbed to a climate crisis. Through a reframing of ethical philosophies, economic theories, and sustainable design, societies are capable of …

Silent Summer: The Epa Spill & Neglected Navajos - A Review Of Environmental Tragedies In Navajo Nation & Their Effect On Diné Life, Jillian Verzino

Student Theses 2015-Present

On August 5th 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released approximately one million gallons of mine waste into the Animas River near Durango, Colorado. The one hundred and twenty-six mile long river travels through both Colorado and New Mexico and is a source of water for many individuals and farms along its path. This thesis analyzes the effects of the EPA’s spill on nearby Indigenous communities, specifically the Navajo community. Further, this thesis explores the relationship between the Diné (Navajo) and the United States government, seeing as American Indian cultures and the government deal with pre-existing hostilities. Referring to the …

Professionals Reflect On The Under Representation Of Visitors Of Color In Wilderness Areas, Jessica Iris Ostrov

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to capture the perspectives of five wilderness area staff as they reflect on the scarcity of visitors of color to their places of employment. Qualitative interviews were conducted to learn the viewpoints of the participants. Findings suggest that the racialized history of the United States and the framework of inequity in the formation of park systems encouraged the subsequent development of urban identities that have resulted in cultural traits separating many people of color from all peoples' roots in nature. In addition, contemporary barriers due to the opportunity gap for communities of color create …

Community Design Centers (Cdcs) On The Upsurge: Investigating Perceptions Amongst Cdc Leaders And Administrators In Texas, Robert Kevin Rodriguez

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

For several decades, community design centers (CDCs) have specialized in professional design and planning assistance to non-profit groups, agencies, and individuals that lack the funding or resources to otherwise receive such services (ACD 2016). Notwithstanding the historical context under which CDCs were originally created, their persistent presence since the year 2000 has seen the number of CDCs nearly triple in North America, from just under 70, to "over 200 active organizations, covering ever-expanding geographic, disciplinary, and strategic territories" (ACSA 2014, 4). Yet, this growth aside, "CDCs remain a somewhat silent partner in the world of design" (Curry 2004, 70) with …

Micro-Housing In Seattle: A Case For Community Participation In Novel Land Use Decisions, Patrick Carter

Seattle University Law Review

Rather than relying solely on the formal interpretations of government regulators invited by the structure of local zoning ordinances, the City of Seattle should adopt a process that invites community-based mediation and problem-solving when a significant shift in housing density is contemplated in a developer’s proposal. Greater resident participation in development projects allows the City of Seattle to better support those residents in their reliance interests arising from zoning ordinances while simultaneously furthering the policies that underpin urban zoning. This is especially true when such development projects raise the possibility of substantial impacts on the character of a community or …

Selling Queer Rights: The Commodification Of Queer Rights Activism, Laurence Pedroni

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

With the recent Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the country, many have spoken in support of the decision, calling it a massive expansion of civil rights. While affording marriage rights to same-sex couples, these rights and expansions should be understood in the greater context of historical queer rights struggle and the economic factors that have motivated these civil rights expansions. This article will examine how the expansion of gay marriage rights was motivated not by concerns with civil rights, but out of economic concerns. This process has, in effect, commodified queer rights, weakening queer rights politics to …

Transportation Rating Systems And Social Sustainability: A Comprehensive Analysis, Kelsey Lineburg

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study is to explore the social sector of sustainability in transportation design and engineering. Along with establishing a definition for social sustainability in transportation from existing literature, this document also includes a comprehensive analysis of current sustainability rating systems based on their evaluation of social sustainability metrics. The goal of this thesis is to inform transportation professionals about the existing social sustainability gaps in transportation literature and sustainability rating systems.

Social sustainability in transportation is comprised of two fundamental concepts: social equity and sustainability of community (Bramley and Power, 2009; Dempsey, 2009; McKenzie, 2004; Magis, 2010; …

Global Gains, Local Costs? Evaluating The Nexus Of Industrial Agriculture, Conservation Science, And Rural Livelihoods In The African Tropics, Rachel E. Palkovitz

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Industrial agriculture and protected areas for biodiversity conservation are two major drivers of land use policy in the African tropics, with consequences for both biodiversity and rural human populations. In Tanzania, conservation and development have led to the marginalization of pastoralists, including and especially rural Maasai. I examine how local perceptions of land use and livelihoods are influenced by recent and historical expansion of protected areas and large-scale industrial crop plantations in Longido, northern Tanzania. Using the framework of political ecology, I situate the emergence of industrial agriculture, especially that of palm oil, and protected areas in the African tropics …

Lessons From Rebuild By Design, Tara Eisenberg

May 6, 2016: Planning for Resilience in Hampton Roads

No abstract provided.

Youth Change Agents: Comparing The Sociopolitical Identities Of Youth Organizers And Youth Commissioners, Jerusha O. Conner, Katherine Cosner

Democracy & Education

Although youth have long been at the forefront of social change, the last two decades have seen an upsurge in the number of organizations, agencies, and governmental bodies dedicated to supporting the idea of youth voice in public policy. Drawing on in-depth individual interviews with 32 youth in one major urban center, this study compares how participation in differently positioned political activities influences participants’ sociopolitical identities and their views of the most effective mechanisms for social change. Specifically, this research compares youth involved in a government-sanctioned youth commission, developed to advise policymakers, with youth involved in a community-based youth organizing …

Plastic Pollution And The Global Throwaway Culture: Environmental Injustices Of Single-Use Plastic, Kristin L. Mcdermott

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

The global throwaway culture has created a cross-ecosystem plastic pollution injustice. The first to suffer this injustice will be the most vulnerable. Our oceans have become our dumpsters. The throwaway culture has created a disrespect of material goods that has turned the earth’s resources into rubbish after a single use. Eighty percent of the yearly 8 million tons of plastic that enter the ocean is single use plastic, such as plastic bottles, plastic shopping bags, or cigarette lighters.[1] Plastic has destroyed ecosystems, robbing impoverished communities of natural resources and of a healthy and safe living environment. First to suffer …

Beyond Metropolises: Hybridity In A Transnational Context, Raihan Sharif

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long overdue. This article argues that the epistemic violence embedded in such discourse has grave implications for the very impoverished nations and peoples with whom it claims solidarity and that, because this discourse is trendy in academia, its service to neoliberal capitalism is both easy to miss and important to expose. Interstices of postcolonial hybridity discourses, development discourses, and environmental justice discourses—dominant versions of which are segregated from contextual issues—as produced in Western academia and exported to third world countries for appropriation as developmental efforts—reveal epistemic violence, the manipulation of …

Landfill Communities Within The Land Of Eternal Spring, Blanca Vaneza Guzmán

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

This paper examines the placement and impact of landfills within Guatemala City, Guatemala. By examining the municipal cite and its accessibility to policy taken on towards proper waste management, the recurring theme of lack of information will be obvious. It specifically looks at the lack of information provided and describes the landfill communities by looking at the minimal scholarship and media attention offered. This paper will also interrelate the importance of all beings, living and non-living with its surroundings and highlight ideas of ecological thinking. An emphasis on environmental racism will be stressed, particularly with the enormous impact it has …

Stop Factory Farming For The Sake Of Humanity!, Alexander V. Dimauro

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

Abstract: The world is being destroyed. We do not care about the mistreatment of animals in factory farms because of our consumeristic taste buds, but this gluttony is even more problematic than we think. It is blinding us from an even larger factor at stake. Our factory farming methods are a leading contributor in the causes of global warming. What this means for us is that our consumption has a direct impact on our destruction. We need to think big, and act. The only way to combat this issue is through taking courses of action that will force people to …

Unearthed: Advocating Against Fracking And Breaking The Bond Of The Imagined World Order, Colleen E. Cloonan

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

While discussing the imagined world order, it is evident that the world is not perfect. Over the course of the centuries, the earth has been maimed by humans, whether it be during the agricultural age or throughout the process of industrialization into the modern era. Humans must realize that sooner, rather than later, we must address the environmental destruction we are causing. A specific case, with that such as hydraulic fracturing of shale, otherwise known as fracking, provides as an example of one of the environmental justice issues that is plaguing the earth. However, there are complications. In the consumer …

Hydroelectric Dams: The Lao Government's Luxury Trap, M.K. Laurel

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

The research of the Lao government, its hydroelectric dams, and its responses to its project was done through an environmental justice lens. It is an interdisciplinary research that explores the political corruption, the role of media, and the environment in order to frame the Lao government and the reasoning behind their unjust activities.

A Case Of Environmental Justice In Los Angeles, California, Cleora Ohar

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

Abstract: Environmental Racism has been around for a long time. Looking at its history of key movements like the Civil Rights Movement can help provide a framework for why it has become what it is today and could potentially look like in the future. The way in which people have presented it has changed as culture has changed. Not only does environmental racism involve issues of the environment, but it also includes issues of race. Hence, the name of this subcategory of environmental justice. In fact, studies have been conducted showing that those who live in underdeveloped or poor …

The Upholding Of Heteropatriarchy: An Ecofeminist Critique Of Peta Advertisements, Marrissa S. Ballard

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

Humans are continually connected and divided by labels, systems, and hierarchies that determine how much power and status is available to each individual person. These hierarchies often aid in upholding the heteropatriarchal structure of society, which holds male dominated heterosexuality as the default and most powerful position. Because our society is structured to pander to heterosexual men, the exploitation of woman is often used to advertise and sell products. The exploitation of women also mirrors the exploitation of the environment, and this parallel serves as the basis of Ecofeminism. This paper aims to utilize ecofeminism to critique the use and …

Learning With Street Trees, Sigrun Wolff Saphire

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Learning With Street Trees is an original curriculum for fourth and fifth grade students written by Sigrun Wolff Saphire. The curriculum's eight lessons span the school year from fall to early summer. In each season, fall, winter, spring, and early summer, students work with a number of street trees near their school. They engage in nature observation and drawing, data collection, and interpretation. They practice critical thinking, problem-solving, cooperation, and communication. Throughout the curriculum, the development of science-inquiry skills combines with art making and hands-on tree stewardship. The curriculum culminates in student-initiated community projects.

Land Change Modeler Application: Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Nan Ding, Siqi Cheng

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper is a description of our internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2015. We worked as research assistants in the Land Change Modeler Application (App) project. This project aimed to display the land cover changes in the United States from 2001 to 2010, show the vulnerability in 48 states and predict changes from the yaer 2050. Our responsibility was to extract eight variables (slope, elevation, surface water, roads, high intensity land, protected areas, county subdivisions, and cultivated crops) in TerrSet, and use them in several models to test the accuracy of prediction.

The internship is a great …

An Integrated Strategy For Strengthening Worcester's Regional Food System: Key Roles For Education And Information, Joel Simonson

Sustainability and Social Justice

Food security and access to healthy food are public health issues that continue to persist in the United States and are ones that are strongly influenced by social and environmental factors. In Worcester, Massachusetts there are many organizations that contribute to alleviating the resulting effects, but do not always have the capacity to reach full potential and expand upon current initiatives. Students can provide existing human resources and knowledge that would benefit all parties. This would allow for organizational capacity development, ultimately impacting local residents, and for students to gain deeper connections to the greater Worcester community while learning vital …

Somewhere “I Can Live”: Youths’ Conceptualizations Of Nature And The Outdoors In Worcester, Ma, Sarah Bertrand

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper describes the methodology, findings, and implications of research project attempting to understand youths’ conceptualizations of nature and the outdoors. Drawing on and responding to literature that calls for the prioritization of youths’ voices and describes nature as a constructed concept, I interviewed five youth residents of Worcester, Massachusetts, a mid-size city in New England. Using discourse analysis, I also attempt to understand what influences these youths’ conceptualizations of nature and the outdoors. The youth expressed nuanced and complex ideas about nature and the outdoors, situating these ideas within broader conceptualizations of the environment. They also suggested that these …

Analyzing The Recent, Rapid Tourism Development In Panama's Bocas Del Toro Archipelago: Is Socioenvironmental Justice Attainable?, Olivia R. Bourque

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Bocas del Toro archipelago of Panama has seen a rapid growth in its tourism industry since the 1990s. From a neoliberal perspective, tourism development is beneficial for all. Alternatively, I analyze the recent, rapid tourism development in Bocas from a critical development theoretical perspective, identifying its positive and negative implications, as well as who they accrue to. While there are economic benefits to tourism in Bocas, only foreign investors, the Panamanian government and English-speaking residents appear to earn them. The Bocas residents, and indigenous Ngöbe residents in particular, suffer from a range of economic, sociocultural, environmental and land access …

Perceived Adaptive Capacity And Natural Disasters: A Fisheries Case Study, Tarsila Seara, Patricia M. Clay, Lisa L. Colburn

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Fishermen may be increasingly impacted by natural disasters, given sea level rise and the likely increased frequency and severity of storms associated with climate change. Planning for resiliency in the face of these disasters requires understanding the factors that influence fishermen’s capacity to adapt. The paper examines perceptions of adaptive capacity of New York and New Jersey commercial and for-hire fishermen one year after Hurricane Sandy. Subjective adaptive capacity to changes in the fishery in general and those caused by natural disasters was assessed. A comparison between commercial and for-hire fishermen revealed important differences and similarities with regard to attributes …

The Sustainable Development Goals: Promoting Education For Utility Or Transformation?, Radhika Mitter

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper uses the analytical approach of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine the dominant discourse(s) surrounding sustainable development and education that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) espouse. Focusing on SDG 4, which aims to “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and promote lifelong learning,” I analyze the extent to which SDG 4 promotes a utilitarian and/or transformative approach to education, and what the implications of such approaches are on achieving sustainable development. I use the official United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development policy document as the basis for my analysis, as well as …

Land Change Modeler Application:Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Siqi Cheng, Nan Ding

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper is a description of our internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2015. We worked as research assistants in the Land Change Modeler Application (App) project. This project aimed to display the land cover changes in the United States from 2001 to 2010, show the vulnerability in 48 states and predict changes from the yaer 2050. Our responsibility was to extract eight variables (slope, elevation, surface water, roads, high intensity land, protected areas, county subdivisions, and cultivated crops) in TerrSet, and use them in several models to test the accuracy of prediction.

The internship is a great …

Rethinking Resistance: Race, Gender, And Place In The Fictive And Real Geographies Of The American West, Tracey Daniels Lerberg

English Dissertations - Archive

This project traces the history of the American West and its inhabitants through its literary, cinematic and cultural landscape, exploring the importance of public and private narratives of resistance, in their many iterations, to the perceived singular trajectory of white masculine progress in the American west. The project takes up the calls by feminist and minority scholars to broaden the literary history of the American West and to unsettle the narrative of conquest that has been taken up to enact a particular kind of imaginary perversely sustained across time and place. That the western heroic vision resonates today is perhaps …

La Minga As A Model Of Food Justice? : A Thesis On The Motivations And Practices Of Immigrant And Native-Citizen Growers At La Minga Cooperative Farm In Prospect, Ky., Tyler Austin Short

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Progressive and radical stakeholders in the local food system call for forms of agricultural production and distribution that dialectically oppose the dominant paradigm of corporate-controlled agribusiness. This ethnographic research engages with the question of whether La Minga is a model of food justice. I collected ethnographic data from May 2015 to March 2016 via informal conversations and semi-structured interviews with members of the farm as well as secondary data gleaned from literature on anarchism, political economy, and food and agriculture. La Minga serves as a small-scale example of immigrants and native-citizens exercising their human right to produce healthy, culturally-appropriate food …