Digital Commons Network^™

Urban Horticulture, From Local Initiatives To Global Success Stories, Roland Ebel, Esmaeil Fallahi, John L. Griffis Jr., Dilip Nandwani, Donielle Nolan, Ross H. Penhallegon, Mary Rogers

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Urban horticulture describes economically viable horticultural production activities conducted in a city or suburb. It is a growing segment of horticulture in the United States as well as in developing countries, where the enormous growth of megalopolis is not backed by a simultaneous increase of farmland or agricultural productivity. Today, urban horticulture includes food sovereignty in underprivileged neighborhoods, increased availability of vegetables and fruits in big cities, healthy and diverse diets, improved food safety, low transportation costs, efficient resource use, and the mitigation of environmental impacts of horticultural production such as the emission of greenhouse gases. The workshop “Urban horticulture: …

Full Issue, Vol. 11

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Coal Mining Sector Contribution To Environmental Conditions And Human Development Index In East Kalimantan Province, Kunny Izza Indah Afkarina, Sindhung Wardana, Poerborini Damayanti

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Coal mining has been one of the issues that led to pros and cons in Indonesia. Research shows that mining activities are one of the factors that affect people’s incomes and local and national economic development. However, mining is a lucrative activity that leads to construction booms that attract population growth and lead to deforestation, thus affecting the environmental conditions of a region. The coal mining industry of Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, provides most of the economic base needed to build the infrastructure and provide energy of the country. Kalimantan Province accounts for approximately …

Front Matter, Vol. 11

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Penguasaan Konsep Fluida Statis Siswa Sma, Zaitul Harizah, Sentot Kusairi, Eny Latifah

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study aims to analyze the mastery of students’ concepts in static fluid material. The subjects in this study were students of class XII IPA 1 MAN 1 Pamekasan which consist of 40 students. The study was conducted using a survey method and used a multiple choice test with open reasons consisting of 9 items. The results showed the mastery of students' concepts was low. The average acquisition score of students' concept mastery was 33,06. The most students’ difficult are found in Archimedes’ Law. Students haven’t mastered the concept of buoyancy so well, so students’ couldn’t answers correctly the questions.

Summer Habitat Used By American Kestrels In Santa Clara County, California, Nicole Tomes

Master's Theses

Urbanization can be a primary source of the loss of native species populations by causing habitat loss, fragmentation and land conversion (Tilman et al., 2001; Krauss et al., 2010; Marzluff, 2001). Birds of prey, which are mid or top carnivores, are especially at risk from the loss of habitat that can occur on both the breeding and wintering grounds. Raptors can be considered environmental indicators of habitat degradation because of their small populations, low population densities, and high position in local food webs. This research investigated the habitat preference of the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) (kestrel), a widely distributed raptor, …

Comparing Levels Of Environmental Literacy Between Stars- And Non-Stars-Rated Universities, Analisa Kathleen Campos

Master's Theses

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) is a program that measures university sustainability levels. STARS ranks university campuses based on the number of points received from individual specifications such as green buildings, access to mass transit, number of environmental courses, and more. Therefore, the rank a school receives translates directly to its level of sustainability as an institution. Currently, it is unknown if there is a relationship between a campus’s STARS-rating and individual students’ environmental literacy (EL). The purpose of this project was to analyze the impacts of university’s sustainable features on student EL. Surveys were administered to …

Climate-Driven Insect Herbivory In Mixed Coast Live Oak Woodlands Within The Mt. Hamilton Range, Santa Clara County, Michelle Domocol

Master's Theses

Climate change is expected to dramatically alter and destabilize critical functions of oak woodlands (Quercus spp.) in California. Oak woodlands support hundreds of vertebrate species and thousands of native insect species. Climate-driven changes in annual temperature, annual rainfall, and spatial climatic variability may increase insect herbivore pressures on mixed coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) woodlands. The Mt. Hamilton Range of Santa Clara County, California offers a unique matrix to study oak-insect herbivore relationship using elevation as a proxy for climate change. This thesis research assessed the relationship between lepidopteran herbivory and coast live oak with insect surveys and the laboratory …

Relationship Between Habitat Variables And Leopard Shark (Triakis Semifasciata) Population Trends In The South San Francisco Estuary, Patrice Frazier

Master's Theses

The San Francisco Estuary (the Estuary) supports a diversity of native marine species, including the leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata). As the human population has increased in the Bay Area, elasmobranchs have simultaneously been subjected to habitat loss and changes in hydrology. On a large scale, global climate change is also affecting the Estuary's water quality. There is little research on the long-term population size of leopard sharks in the Estuary. Leopard shark catch data collected by the Marine Science Institute (MSI) and water quality data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1998 to 2017 were analyzed to assess …

اثر قياس كفاءة راس المال الفكري على الأداء المالي للوحدات الاقتصادية دراسة في عينة من الشركات الصناعية المدرجة في سوق العراق للأوراق المالية, علي عبد الرزاق العبودي, سعود جايد مشكور, جعفر فالح ناصر

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

No abstract provided.

Johnson, Joshua Dolezal

Oakwood

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Deforestation And Economic Growth In The Brazilian Amazon, Victoria Oceguera

Student Theses 2015-Present

Abstract

As a result of capital gain, deforestation of the Amazon in Brazil continues. Brazilian government's insufficient efforts to mitigate and enforce the preservation of these precious forests has ledto the commodification of the Amazon. Chapter 1 uses historical and quantitative data to examine the negative impacts of deforestation on indigenous communities and climate change. Chapter2 employs economics to analyze the role of business as a crucial component of deforestation in Brazil. Chapter 3 engages politics in Brazil to discuss interactions between key actors involved in the perpetuation of deforestation. Chapter 3 examines the interactions between politics and corruption involved …

Storm On The Horizon: Climate Change, Hurricanes, And The Future Of The Eastern Caribbean, Joseph P. Odegaard

Student Theses 2015-Present

Hurricanes are a fact of life in the Caribbean. This meteorological reality has shaped the islands’ development throughout its history. However, in recent years, the Atlantic’s most fearsome storms have been unprecedented, both in strength and number. This paper explores the relationship between climate change and hurricanes and the effect this relationship has on the Eastern Caribbean. Chapter 1 uses quantitative data from a variety of sources, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of the United Nations, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the National Climate Assessment of the United …

Agronomic Or Contentious Land Change? A Longitudinal Analysis From The Eastern Brazilian Amazon, Stephen Aldrich, Cynthia S. Simmons, Eugenio Arima, Robert T. Walker, Fernando Michelotti, Edna Castro

Department of Earth and Environmental Systems

Since 1984, nearly 1,000 people have been killed in the Brazilian Amazon due to land conflicts stemming from unequal distribution of land, land tenure insecurity, and lawlessness. During this same period, the region experienced almost complete deforestation (< 8% forest cover by 2010). Land conflict exacts a human toll, but it also affects agents’ decisions about land use, the subject of this article. Using a property-level panel dataset covering the period of redemocratization in Brazil (1984) until the privatization of long-term leases in the eastern Amazon (2010), we show that deforestation is affected by land conflict, particularly in cases of expropriation of property for agrarian reform settlement formation. Deforestation on these settlements is much greater when soils are poor for agriculture and when the land has been the object of past conflict. Deforestation and conflict are episodic, and both agronomic drivers and contentious drivers of land change are active in the region. Ultimately, the outcome of these processes of contentious and agronomic land change is substantial deforestation, regardless of who was in possession and control of the land.

Food Choice Reform: Shifting American Culture Toward Sustainable Diets, Colleen Mccarthy

Student Theses 2015-Present

Excessive meat consumption is associated with a wide range of environmental problems. Reducing meat consumption has been recognized as one of the most efficient ways to decrease one’s ecological footprint, yet meat consumption is still on the rise and many are not willing to make changes to their diets to include less meat. This paper discusses the problem of America’s continued and rising overconsumption of meat, with the end goal of developing and concluding which strategies are most effective at shifting American culture toward sustainable diets. Chapter 1 gives an overview of why a reduction in meat consumption is necessary …

Holy Cross Magazine, Vol. 54, No. 1, Winter 2020, College Of The Holy Cross

Holy Cross Magazine

Mable Millner Looks Back Over a Career Spent Looking Ahead
As she prepares to retire, Millner talks about bridging gaps, breaking ground and why her work is so much more than a profession.
By Meredith Fidrocki

Syllabus: Economics of Inequality
with Kolleen Rask, professor of economics
By Jane Carlton

Sanctae Crucis 2019
Meet the latest recipients of the College’s highest non-degree alumni honor.

Melissa DeChellis Decided to Amputate Her Right Leg. Here's What Happened Next
A lifetime of chronic pain and injury led her here, even though it meant giving up her dream of being a doctor. But what she …

There Must Be Something In The Water: Understanding Pfas Contamination Of Groundwater As A National Security Issue, Kylie N. Ford

Student Theses 2015-Present

This report addresses the widespread pollution of domestic groundwater resources with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) caused by firefighting activities performed at military installations across the United States. Two former military bases in Southeastern Pennsylvania are used as a single case study: the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) in Horsham. Chapter 1 gives a history of domestic military bases from the perspective of the infrastructure buildup and downsizing that occurred over the 20th Century, along with the environmental degradation revealed during brownfield redevelopment. The chapter then gives specifics about …

Breaking Ground On New Agricultural Models: Industrial Agriculture And The Local Food Movement, Elizabeth Nealon

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper discusses and examines the longstanding issues surrounding industrial food production as it currently exists and the various ways that purpose-driven enterprises and environmentally-conscious consumers in the United States have been able to steer food production in a more sustainable direction. Over the course of the technological revolution, people living in metropolitan areas have become so distanced from farms and the processes of food production that many are ignorant of the realities of the food industry. Chapter 1 addresses these issues by presenting quantitative data that lays out a timeline of the evolution of the food and agriculture industry …

Senior Day December 2019, University Of Michigan Law School

Commencement and Honors Materials

Program for the December 20, 2019 Senior Day ceremonies.

Raising An Indoor Generation: Outdoor Environmental Education Impact On Adolescent Development, Daisy Elizabeth Bewley

Student Theses 2015-Present

In an increasingly digital world, children are growing up with less involvement and interaction with the environment. Hands-on and experiential learning is less popular in schools and a more test-oriented and numerical evaluation is increasingly popular. This thesis explores the decrease in outdoor environmental education and the impact that has on adolescent development and developmental milestones in children. This impact extends past just mental development and impacts the physical health development of children. Obesity, attention deficit disorders, and other behavioral issues are just a few of the signs of the problems that have arisen due to a decrease in environmental …

Current Situation And Future Of Biological Collections Of Chinese Academy Of Sciences, He Peng, Chen Jun, Qiao Gexia

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With the increasing impact of global environmental change and human activities on biodiversity, human beings will face significant needs in the areas of biodiversity awareness, conservation and sustainable use, and national biosafety. The Biological Collections of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) include the Biological Collections/Museums belonging to 18 scientific research institutes of CAS. It is the main place for preservation, research, and scientific education of animal, plant, fungus, and fossil specimens in China. Among them, there are two institutes who are leading the National Animal Collection and the National Herbarium, respectively, which are listed into the National Science and …

Documentaries Making A Difference: Communication Effects Of Environmental Film And Television, Lindsey A. Register

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the motives of environmental documentaries and their influences on public opinion and action regarding environmental issues and ethics. It suggests that through the communication platform of the environmental documentary, environmental education can further one's understanding of the environment and the human relationship with nature. Chapter 1 uses quantitative data on contemporary documentary filmmaking, as well as on coverage of environmental issues in all communications media. This chapter also includes the data from a survey conducted at Fordham University, showing the influence of environmental documentaries on students’ mindsets and behaviors at this school/institution. Chapter 2 explores the history …

The Path To Building Resilience In Sri Lankan Rice Farms, Tarea Karunaratne

Student Theses 2015-Present

Rice cultivation in Sri Lanka roots back to its very first Kingdom in 161 B.C, and is still an incredibly populous industry to this day with an estimated 708,000 hectares of land being used for paddy cultivation. However, due to a changing global climate and an increase in natural disasters worldwide, Sri Lanka’s rice industry and the millions of people dependent on it have been greatly affected. This paper seeks to explore resilience building in a Sri Lankan context, taking into account the cultural and socio-economic factors that may influence how rice is farmed and who farms it, and to …

Green Strategic Planning Approach For International Shipping Activities, Xiaofang Wu, Luoping Zhang, Huan Feng

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Sustainability is a long-term and ultimate goal for international shipping, although it is slowly making progress. The shipping perspective that moves away from “port-to-port” operations to “door-to-door” services also requires international shipping to take a long-term and holistic view instead of fragmented efforts. How to achieve the long-term sustainability goal becomes a key issue for door-to-door international shipping. Hence, green strategic planning for door-to-door international shipping was proposed with green development that puts forward the eco-centric point of view as its basic theory for sustainability. This study used a strategic decision-making approach, a so-called multi-dimensional decision-making (MDDM), coupled with the …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Temperature And Prey Abundance On Bald Eagle Reproductive Dynamics, Joshua H. Schmidt, Judy Putera, Tammy L. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Understanding the mechanisms by which populations are regulated is critical for predicting the effects of large-scale perturbations. While discrete mortality events provide clear evidence of direct impacts, indirect pathways are more difficult to assess but may play important roles in population and ecosystem dynamics. Here, we use multi-state occupancy models to analyze a long-term dataset on nesting bald eagles in south-central Alaska with the goal of identifying both direct and indirect mechanisms influencing reproductive output in this apex predator. We found that the probabilities of both nest occupancy and success were higher in the portion of the study area where …

An Analysis Of Energy Consumption And The Use Of Renewables For A Small Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Saria Bukhary, Jacimara Batista, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

One of the pressing issues currently faced by the water industry is incorporating sustainability considerations into design practice and reducing the carbon emissions of energy-intensive processes. Water treatment, an indispensable step for safeguarding public health, is an energy-intensive process. The purpose of this study was to analyze the energy consumption of an existing drinking water treatment plant (DWTP), then conduct a modeling study for using photovoltaics (PVs) to offset that energy consumption, and thus reduce emissions. The selected plant, located in southwestern United States, treats 0.425 m3 of groundwater per second by utilizing the processes of coagulation, filtration, and disinfection. …

The University Greening Movement: Is Carbon Neutrality Enough To Avert A Climate Crisis?, Sean R. Finlay

Student Theses 2015-Present

Because of the impact that educational institutions have on the intellect of the American youth, universities play a crucial role in our nation’s path towards sustainability because of their ability to guide educational focus toward the well-being of the environment. Through a unified movement among these institutions called the “University Greening Movement”, or UGM, campuses are utilizing current technological breakthroughs to their advantage by implementing them into the structures and foundations of their campuses to reduce and even eliminate carbon emissions. However, as monumental as these technological advancements and this movement has been, the question arises of whether or not …

After The Storm: How Environmental Racism Impacted The United States' Response To Hurricane Maria, Hadley Ankrum

Student Theses 2015-Present

In September of 2017, disaster struck the territory of Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island. Although the storm itself caused tremendous damage to both the residents and the environment of Puerto Rico, the inadequate responses of both the United States federal government and local Puerto Rican politicians greatly exacerbated this devastation. This paper examines the efforts of the American government to ameliorate the issues created by the storm through the lens of environmental racism. The introduction will explore the events of the hurricane in order to give the reader context. Chapter 1 draws from the Millennium …

Nature Relatedness: Investigating Differences Among Rural, Suburban, And Urban Populations In Connection To Nature Scores, Elizabeth K. Skinner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the Nature Relatedness scores of people from rural, suburban, and urban populations to investigate differences among these populations. Survey participants also reported on whether or not they were currently raising children under the age of 18 in their home, how many outdoor activities they participated in as children and currently as adults, and their hours of screen time per day. These variables were examined to measure their impact on Nature Relatedness scores. Results showed significant differences in the Nature Relatedness scores of people from rural and urban, and urban and suburban populations. This study found that people …

“If It Hadn’T Been For Writing, I Think I Would Have Lost My Mind:” Resilient Dwelling And Rhetorical Agency In Prison Writing, Maggie Shelledy

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.