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Coastal Resilience: Environmental Hazards, Development, And Insurance In Southern Mississippi, Mia Mckey

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the intricate dynamics of environmental hazards, coastal development, and insurance in Southern Mississippi, through the lens of development professionals. It critically assesses the region's resilience in the face of escalating climate change-induced natural disasters. The findings reveal a concerning lack of preparedness and resilience in Southern Mississippi, attributed to unchecked development and inadequate sustainable practices along the coast. The research employed a qualitative research design, involving in-depth interviews lasting between 30 to 60 minutes. These interviews (n = 10) were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to unveil major themes and sub-themes related to environmental hazards, development, and insurance. …

Climate Change In Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration Of Education And Activism, Kala Nance

Honors Theses

Climate Change in Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration of Education and Activism takes an investigative, journalistic approach toward climate change in Mississippi. Specifically, how education and awareness have a direct impact on Mississippi industries, people and legislation. The project explored the level of acknowledgement of climate change across the state, and how certain individuals used advocacy to encourage education about climate change to raise awareness of the severity of the situation. This project includes interviews with university professors and researchers, non-profit organizations, educational groups and working individuals in some of Mississippi’s largest areas of employment. Additionally, this project draws on research …

An Anthropogenic Mass Extinction: Speculation About The Future Of Humanity And Other Species, Grace M. Nelson

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis will address the possibility of a sixth mass extinction at the hands of humanity and the adaptations ecosystems may undertake in recovery. Today, the world is witnessing incredibly fast changes in climate conditions that are causing severe biodiversity loss. Haiti is a region that encompasses the impacts of both environmental degradation and humanity’s social influences on the environment. Haiti will be examined throughout this thesis to provide an understanding of how climate change impacts people and the natural world today. Non-anthropogenic rapid climate change is the root of most past mass extinctions. However, after these events, ecosystems have …

Confessions Of A Contemporary Consumer: Environmental And Humanitarian Impacts Of Fast Fashion, Maria Jose Salume

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the impacts fast fashion has on the environment and people, drawing from the reality in South Asia and the Shein factory located there, while also addressing global consequences. Today’s consumer culture has incited a behavior of purchasing clothing at a rate that has never been seen before. Trends go in and out, and along with them, the clothing items that are created to fit the current styles. Fast fashion has become an environmental issue due to the amount of fabrics that are being incinerated and discarded daily that pollute the oceans and land. Additionally, it is a …

Reef Ecosystem Conservation For The Hawaiian Islands: The Impacts Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On Benthic Reef Populations, Samantha Roberts

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper explores the anthropogenic effects of rapid climate change and ocean acidification on benthic coral populations along the Hawaiian archipelago. Moreover, the reliance of Hawaiian coastal communities on coral reefs for sustenance and economic prosperity is evaluated to determine the importance of reef ecosystem conservation for the prosperity of Hawaii. Chapter 1 introduces the importance of coral and supplies quantitative data on declining coral populations traditional to Hawaii, as a result of ocean warming and acidification. Empirical data from prior, prominent studies, combined with my own, will be discussed. Chapter 2 outlines the ecology of Hawaiian reef ecosystems, the …

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Prosperity: Harnessing Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Revitalize Australia's Economy, Environment, And Human Wellbeing, Annabelle L. Baulch

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper explores the traditional knowledge of Australia’s Indigenous people and how it can improve Australia's environment, health, and economic prosperity to shape a more sustainable future. Indigenous Australians managed the land for thousands of years; however, being forced off the land following European colonization resulted in terrible cultural, social, and environmental disruption for Aboriginal Australians and made conservation efforts difficult. Wildfires, imported species, mining, and agriculture is steadily destroying the Australian ecosystem, contributing to climate change, species extinction, and gaps in our cultural and ancestral knowledge. Chapter One overviews Australia's environmental issues; it uses quantitative data to explore the …

Climate Change And Environmental Crises In Coastal Cities: Charleston Vs New York City, Nolan Rodriguez

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the increasing vulnerability that coastal communities face regarding climate crises and rising sea levels. Specifically, this paper investigates the environmental crises facing Charleston, South Carolina, and New York City. The geographical location of these cities places a more severe threat upon their environment, as opposed to urban collectives removed from the immediate effect of rising sea levels. A cross-examination of politics and economics is discussed in order to determine the causal relationship of each city’s engagement with its surrounding environment. This paper examines how each city is affected by climate change, what measures are in place to …

Assessing Equitable Distribution Of The Urban Tree Canopy At The Neighborhood Scale In Greenville, South Carolina., April Riehm

All Theses

We are living in an era that necessitates adaptation and resilience. The Earth is warming. Our climate has changed (EPA, 2016). Our planet is also rapidly urbanizing. It is predicted that 68% of people will live in cities by 2050. The City of Greenville is a rapidly growing city in South Carolina that has been losing its tree canopy to development(City of Greenville, 2023). The Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) is a community asset that provides many quality-of-life benefits including improved air quality, stormwater management, carbon sequestration, mental and physical well-being, increased mobility and access, aesthetics, a reduction in energy costs, …

The Abyss Of Abundance: Consumer Overconsumption And The Road To Environmental Collapse, Emma Vega

Student Theses 2015-Present

The pattern of consumer overconsumption, fueled by relentless economic growth and the internal desire for material goods, has emerged as a prominent driver of environmental degradation, pushing our planet to collapse. This paper examines the cause-and-effect relationships between consumer behavior and its catastrophic environmental implications. By unraveling the root causes of overconsumption and its detrimental effects, this study attempts to underscore the urgency of immediate action to prevent irreversible environmental collapse. Chapter 1 will discuss the problem of consumer overconsumption, including an analysis of the detrimental environmental effects of our current consumption levels to highlight why the issue of consumer …

Creating A New Border Culture In The Midst Of The Climate Crisis: Activism And Pedagogy Strategies For Teacher Preparation, Puneet S. Gill

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper documents the efforts of an activist group that came to teach about activist efforts, climate change/climate justice/climate crisis issues, and to create leaders in one border community. The leaders of this three-day workshop are a part of an activist organization named SOMOS Sunrise, the Latine constituency of the Sunrise movement. In this paper, I will analyze the climate change workshop training days and components of the workshops. Secondly, this paper will document a climate cohort education group conducted with undergraduate students and pre-service teachers the following summer. This climate cohort helped articulate art activism and public speaking opportunities …

“I Cannot Bring A Child Into This World”: Hearing And Writing I Poems With Birthstrike Testimonials, Leola Meynell

The Qualitative Report

BirthStrike for Climate was a UK-based movement whose members “striked” against having children, to demonstrate the desperate need for political action on climate change. In this article, I engage with the Listening Guide (Gilligan & Eddy, 2017) to hear, trace and construct “I poems” with BirthStrike members’ testimonial statements, which were published online between 2019-2020. My analysis focusses on how BirthStrike stories articulate the psychosocial impacts of climate change, particularly in relation to questions about having (and not having) children in times of environmental and social crises. I provide an iteration of how the Listening Guide can be applied to …

Hydroclimatic Trends And Streamflow Response To Recent Climate Change: An Application Of Discrete Wavelet Transform And Hydrological Modeling In The Passaic River Basin, New Jersey, Usa, Felix Oteng Mensah, Clement Aga Alo, Duke Ophori

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The exigency of the current climate crisis demands a more comprehensive approach to addressing location-specific climate impacts. In the Passaic River Basin (PRB), two bodies of research—hydroclimatic trend detection and hydrological modeling—have been conducted with the aim of revealing the basin’s hydroclimate patterns as well as the hydrologic response to recent climate change. In a rather novel application of the wavelet transform tool, we sidelined the frequently used Mann–Kendal (MK) trend test, to identify the hidden monotonic trends in the inherently noisy hydroclimatic data. By this approach, the use of MK trend test directly on the raw data, whose results …

Interactive Effects Of Co2, Temperature, And Nitrate Limitation On The Growth And Physiology Of Marine Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Sp. Ccmp 1334, Alyssa K. Sharbaugh

LSU Master's Theses

The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. CCMP 1334 was grown in a continuous culture system on a 12:12 h light:dark cycle at all combinations of low and high pCO2 (400 and 1000 ppmv, respectively), nitrate availability (nitrate-limited and nutrient-replete conditions), and temperatures of 21°C, 24°C, 28°C, 32°C, and 35°C. The maximum median nutrient-replete growth rate was ~1.15 d−1 at 32 –35°C. Median growth rates at 1000 ppmv pCO2 were higher than those at 400 ppmv at all temperatures, but most of the differences were statistically insignificant. Carbon:nitrogen ratios were independent of pCO2 at a fixed relative growth rate but decreased with …

Yearly Population Data At Census Tract Level Revealed That More People Are Now Living In Highly Fire-Prone Zones In California, Usa, Slade Lazeweski, Shenyue Jia, Jessica E. Viner, Wesley Ho, Brian Hoover, Seung Hee Kim, Menas C. Kafatos

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

In California (CA), the wildland-urban interface (WUI) faces escalating challenges due to surging population and real estate development. This study evaluates communities along CA's WUI that have witnessed substantial population growth from 2010 to 2021, utilizing demographic data and the 2020 WUI boundaries by the University of Wisconsin-Madison SILVIS Lab. Employing the Mann-Kendall test, we analyze yearly population trends for each census tract along the CA WUI and assess their significance. House ownership, affordability, and wildfire risk are examined as potential drivers of this demographic shift. Our findings indicate that 12.7% of CA's total population now resides in census tracts …

Navigating Sustainable Futures, Franziska Zimmermann

Asian Management Insights

A leadership imperative.

A 2,000-Year Record Of Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) Colonization Shows Substantial Gains In Blue Carbon Storage And Nutrient Retention, Martin Dahl, Martin Gullström, Irene Bernabeu, Oscar Serrano, Carmen Leiva-Dueñas, Hans W. Linderholm, Maria E. Asplund, Mats Björk, Tinghai Ou, J. Robin Svensson, Elinor Andrén, Thomas Andrén, Sanne Bergman, Sara Braun, Anneli Eklöf, Zilvinas Ežerinskis, Andrius Garbaras, Petter Hällberg, Elin Löfgren, Malin E. Kylander, Pere Masqué, Justina Šapolaitė, Rienk Smittenberg, Miguel A. Mateo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Assessing historical environmental conditions linked to habitat colonization is important for understanding long-term resilience and improving conservation and restoration efforts. Such information is lacking for the seagrass Zostera marina, an important foundation species across cold-temperate coastal areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we reconstructed environmental conditions during the last 14,000 years from sediment cores in two eelgrass (Z. marina) meadows along the Swedish west coast, with the main aims to identify the time frame of seagrass colonization and describe subsequent biogeochemical changes following establishment. Based on vegetation proxies (lipid biomarkers), eelgrass colonization occurred about 2,000 years ago after geomorphological changes …

Is Northwest Indiana Prepared To Be A “Climate Haven”?, Luke Carl Jorgensen

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Volume 3

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

Full issue for volume 3

Beyond The Classroom: Influence Of A Sustainability Intervention On University Students’ Environmental Knowledge And Behaviors, Dawn Christina Null, Kristin Hurst, Leslie A. Duram

Publications

On college campuses, environmental science education largely takes place in classrooms, thereby limiting impact on the full student body. By implementing an educational intervention in an informal campus setting, this study tested an approach aimed at expanding the reach of environmental learning. Students at a mid-size Midwestern university were exposed to a food-focused environmental and climate education intervention consisting of sustainability trivia and marketing materials displayed in dining halls. Prior to exposure, students completed a pre-test, followed by a 5-week intervention, then a post-test. Comparing correct responses between pre-test and post-test, we found a significant increase in environmental and climate …

Reporting Of And Policy On Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Air Travel At Canadian Universities, Derek Hall

Political Science Faculty Publications

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the extent and characteristics of Canadian university reporting of and policy regarding greenhouse gas emissions from air travel. It identifies current approaches’ details and limits and recommends improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

The study developed questions and considerations for analysing reporting and policy, reviewed university documents and webpages and contacted university staff.

Findings

Roughly 20% of Canadian universities report flight emissions. Figures vary by factors of over 100 even when normalized or expressed as a percentage of institutional emissions. Inter-university differences in data collection and emissions calculation practices shape reporting. Canadian university air travel emissions cannot be …

Changing The Communication For A Changing Climate: Effects Of Climate Change Communication On Identity, Emotions, And Mobilization, Liam Schwartz

Departmental Honors Projects

What are the most constructive emotions to evoke in climate change communication for diverse groups of people in a way that encourages pro-environmental behavior? A specific communication style and subsequent emotional response may best mobilize people interested in efforts to address climate change compared to people who are less invested in the issue. In this study, 927 valid participants surveyed were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a “fear” condition, a “hope” condition, and a control condition. All participants were asked a series of questions about their demographics, identities, perceptions, values, and environmental attitudes. Following these experimental tasks, they …

The Role Of Local Knowledge In Climate Change Research, Ryan E. Mccoy

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

This dissertation addresses the growing need within climate research for improvements in regional and local climate information. I argue that knowledge gaps in regional climate information constitute a form of climate injustice in which harm largely falls on regions most vulnerable to climate change. Moreover, I show that our current methods for garnering regional climate information fail to provide information on place-specific factors, such as local culture, socio-economic systems, and ecology, which mediate climate change impacts. In order to address these knowledge gaps, as well as provide information necessary for effective mitigation and adaptation, I argue for the inclusion of …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Vector-Borne Disease Burden In The United States: Exploring The Epidemiological Evidence, Leah V. Loetman

Honors Theses

Climate change models predict shifts in vector-borne diseases (VBDs) around the world, including in the United States. However, to my knowledge there has yet to be a comprehensive descriptive epidemiological study examining prevalence, geographic distribution, and trends for all tick- and mosquito-borne diseases in the United States. I compiled data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which publishes yearly case numbers for 17 vector-borne diseases. However, these publications depend on a scattered framework of state regulations regarding disease reporting. I compiled data from the CDC to determine the current geographic distribution, prevalence, and trends of tick- and mosquito-borne …

California, An Island?, Lincoln L. Davies, Stephanie Lenhart

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

A monumental change quietly is unfolding in the American West. For decades, the region has lagged the rest of the nation in coordinating electricity operations. Multiple efforts to change this stalled or never got off the ground. Now, everything is different. In the face of climate uncertainty and deepening concern that the region is unprepared for its energy future, stakeholders—government, industry, interest groups—are posturing to create formal electricity markets that will transform the region’s infrastructure, resilience, and economy for the remainder of this century.

Two paths are on the table. In one, much if not all the West will join …

An Endangered Sport: Examining Sentiments Of Climate Anxiety Through The Perspectives Of Cross Country Skiers, Isabel J. Seay

Honors Theses

Since its emergence in the late nineteenth century, cross country skiing in the United States has grown in popularity and is a recreational and competitive outlet for millions of participants today. Given its dependence on snow, however, the sport is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which have already taken place in the form of shortened seasons, canceled races, and an increased reliance on artificial snow making facilities. Recent research has begun to look at the psychological impacts of climate change, and this research assesses levels of climate anxiety among a nationwide sample of cross country skiers. 129 …

Performance And Policy Indexes In Carbon Pricing Efficacy: A Cross-Country Analysis Of Policy Impact (2012-2020), Ke (Zoky) Zhou

Honors Theses

Climate change poses a significant threat to global ecosystems and human societies, driven largely by CO2 emissions from various economic activities. This macroeconomic cross-country study empirically assesses the effectiveness of carbon pricing in reducing CO2 emissions across three periods: 2012-2017, 2015-2019, and 2015-2020. Building on the foundational research by Best et al. (2020), the analysis extends to more recent data, capturing the evolving impacts of carbon pricing amid changing global economic and policy landscapes. A key advancement in this research is the creation and integration of two comprehensive indexes—a performance index and a policy index—constructed from 14 environmental performance or …

Tracing Socio-Ecological Resilience In The Milpa, The Monte, And The Kitchen: Milpero And Campesino Perspectives From Tiholop, Yucatan And La Union Libertad, Oaxaca, Mexico, Marisela Chavez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agrobiodiversity, the diversity of crops that been co-produced through humanenvironment interactions over millennia, constitutes an important part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Agrobiodiversity is as much about the local ecosystem and biotic resources, such as soil, water, pollinators, and microbes, as it is about human processes like sociocultural and linguistic practices, including farming methods, knowledge, skills, and natural resource management. At the center of these dynamics are the smallholder farmers who engage in a range of stewardship practices that contribute to the diversification and evolution of the native crops that in turn support their food security. This research focuses on understanding …

An Institutional And Policy Analysis Of Adaptive Capacity To Climate Change Of The Agricultural Sector Of Bangladesh, Calvin Wood Martin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis evaluates the adaptive capacity of Bangladesh’s agricultural sector in the context of climate change, focusing on policy and institutional capacities. An analytic framework is applied to assess policy coherence, resources, and implementation effectiveness of key national and international policies. The study also examines aspects of institutional capacity, such as administration, technological innovation, protective infrastructure, and access to benefits and resources. Through expert interviews and a comprehensive literature review, the research identifies both strengths and challenges in current efforts to enhance climate resilience. The findings highlight areas for improvement, particularly in strengthening policy coherence, resource needs, and institutional support …

Climate Risk, Insurance Retreat, And State Response, Mark P. Nevitt, Michael Pappas

Faculty Articles

Climate change is fundamentally destabilizing the private insurance industry, with many high-profile insurance companies exiting states in the face of catastrophic, climate-­induced risk. This rapid "insurance retreat" represents a major market signal in response to climate-exacerbated risks. Private businesses are making actuarial decisions, assessing that some locations are just too vulnerable to insure. At the same time, this insurance retreat also poses a policy challenge for states as they react to the mounting insurance gaps left by exiting private insurers.

This Article analyzes insurance retreat, its attendant policy challenges, and the lessons that can be drawn from state responses. It …

Urban Nature Indexes Tool Offers Comprehensive And Flexible Approach To Monitoring Urban Ecological Performance, Jennifer Rae Pierce, Laura Costadone, Lelani Mannetti, Joeri Morpurgo, Charlyn Elaine Green, Michael D. Halder, Pablo Arturo Lopez Guijosa, Abner L. Bogan, Russell Galt, Jonathan Hughes

ODU Articles

We present the Urban Nature Indexes (UNI), a comprehensive tool that measures urban ecological performance under one standard framework linked to global commitments. The UNI was developed by interdisciplinary experts and evaluated by practitioners from diverse cities to capture each city’s ecological footprint from local to global scale. The UNI comprises six themes (consumption drivers, human pressures, habitat status, species status, nature’s contributions to people, and governance responses) that encompass measurable impacts on climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem services, pollution, consumption, water management, and equity within one comprehensive system. Cities then adapt the UNI to their context and capacity by …