Digital Commons Network^™

University Of Richmond Climate Action Plan, University Of Richmond

Plans

The Climate Action Plan for the University of Richmond establishes the framework for achieving the University’s climate action goals under the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The University of Richmond’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 and 100% by 2050. In addition to emissions reduction, the Climate Action Plan articulates goals for embedding sustainability into the curricular and co-curricular aspects of a Richmond education. The plan has been developed under the leadership of the Sustainability Working Group and the University’s Sustainability Coordinator. Climate Action Plan subgroups, with representation of staff, faculty, and students, drafted …

How Does The Stock Market React To Corporate Environmental News?, Charles H. Anderson-Weir

Undergraduate Economic Review

The environmental decisions of corporations can have a huge impact on both the environment and a company’s value. This paper finds that the stock market reacts negatively to news about the environmental behavior of firms. A 2009 Newsweek study on the “greenness” of companies is used in the study. The event study methodology is used with stock prices to measure the stock market reaction by creating Cumulative Abnormal Returns. The average abnormal returns of all the companies are significantly negative suggesting that investors react adversely to “green” news.

Household Compost In Rock Island, Scott J. Fick

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

No abstract provided.

Not Empty, Lauren Orme

Scripps Senior Theses

Not Empty is a two- part exploration of the relationship between humans and nature. In this essay I intend to discuss the relationship Australian Aboriginal peoples have with their environment. Their many cultures are among the oldest surviving civilizations on the planet, and their natural history is rich and complex. I plan to compare the relationship Australian Aboriginal cultures have to their environment to that of a Western civilization, specifically the United States. Neither relationship is perfect, nor is one of them 'better.' Both have histories riddled with extinction, evolution, and the conquest of new lands. The struggle Aboriginal Australians …

Distribution Of Dioecious Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) Along An Environmental Gradient In Ogallala, Ne, Taylor Sloey

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the sex distribution and energy allocation of dioecious Eastern Red Cedars (Juniperus virginiana) along an environmental resource gradient. The trees surveyed were growing in a canyon located at the University of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological Research Station in Ogallala, Nebraska. Due to the geography of this canyon, environmental factors necessary for plant growth should vary depending on the tree’s location within the canyon. These factors include water availability, sun exposure, ground slope, and soil nitrogen content, all of which are necessary for carbon acquisition.

Juniperus virginiana is a dioecious conifer. Dioecious …

Assessing The Effect Of Simulation Models On Systems Learning In An Introductory Environmental Science Course, Heather J. Skaza

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence within the systems dynamics community supporting the use of systems simulations in the classroom to improve student understanding, there is little published, controlled, experimental research. This paper describes the results of a paired experiment testing the effect of using system dynamics simulations to increase systems understanding in an introductory environmental science course. We believed that the students using the systems simulations would demonstrate a greater systemic understanding of environmental issues than those who did not.

We conducted an experiment during the fall semester of 2009, with 304 students enrolled in four sections of …

The Impact Of Individual Decision Making On Campus Sustainability Initiatives, Aurali Ella Dade

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) have increasingly committed to become more sustainable in recent years. Despite this commitment, academic publications in the sustainability field assert that progress has been slower at IHEs than expected and that most IHEs have found sustainability initiatives difficult to implement. Comprehensive sustainability initiatives require cooperation from a broad set of constituents with diverse and sometimes conflicting goals. Creating a sustainable IHE also requires changes in both physical infrastructure and individual behavior. Any number of institutional factors can advance or limit progress towards these objectives.

Previous investigations have assessed individual case studies, compared IHEs in a …

More Green, Less Grief? Post-Katrina Reconstruction In New Orleans, Jessica Anne Plante

Theses & ETDs

This thesis will explore, specifically in regards to the Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, how construction of risk and pre-existing social/ environmental vulnerability leads to disaster, how cultural and social attachment necessitates the rebuilding of vulnerable cities, and how reconstruction can address vulnerability while preserving cultural-social importance. To achieve this, I use archival research on the subject, along with fieldwork and interviews with non-profit employees in New Orleans. How this reconstruction progresses will determine the future city. On the one hand, people are attached to the city because of its social and cultural history, …

Cairn Stones: A Mosaic Memoir And Manual, Bethany Mason Taylor

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

These twenty essays are scraps and fractals of larger stories, windows on coming to understand the world and my place in it. Taken as a whole, the collection tells the story of a formation of open-eyed hope. Roughly, they run from 2001 to 2010, covering the same years as the terrorist attacks of 2001, the War on Terror’s beginnings and toll, Hurricane Katrina, and growing awareness of globalization and climate change. These are big topics, and the only way I can make sense of them, and my coming of age within and around them, is to tell the stories of …

Geographilia In Children's Urban Spaces: Investigating How Children Explore Outdoor Places And Connect With Natural Objects., Jeanine Sandra Garella

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT Garella, Jeanine Sandra, M.A., Autumn 2010 Geography Geographilia in Children’s Urban Spaces: Investigating How Children Explore Outdoor Places and Connect With Natural Objects Chairperson: Jeffrey A. Gritzner The benefits children receive from outdoor play time are well documented by scholars across many disciplines. Interacting within an unstructured natural setting can foster physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth. The lessons learned in such an environment not only help children reach developmental milestones; they also play an important role in the formation of beliefs and attitudes used in decision-making processes later in life. This is a significant point to make when …

Under Review: Stadium Construction And State Environmental Policy Acts, Alex Porteshawver

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pages News, Volume 17, No. 2, June 2009, Mark Siddall, William G. Thompson, Claire Waelbroeck

PAGES

Contents: Inside PAGES -- PAGES calendar -- Tales from the field -- New on the PAGES Bookshelf -- Special Section: Understanding sea level: Ways forward from the past -- Editorial: Past ice sheet dynamics and sea level—placing the future in context -- Science Highlights -- Recent Antarctic and Greenland ice-mass fluxes from satellite observations -- U-series dating of fossil coral reefs: Consensus and controversy -- Using models to inform the field community: Far-field sea level data applications -- PLIOMAX: Pliocene maximum sea level project -- The dimensions of the Greenland Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum -- Extending the …

Transcending The Industrial Mind: Ecological Development, Governance, And Identity, Timothy Den Herder-Thomas

Macalester Civic Forum

No abstract provided.

Global Transitions: A Visual Portrayal Of Anthropogenic Impacts On The Environment, Deanna Erickson

Theses & ETDs

The Earth has been considerably altered by human influence with serious environmental consequences. Increasing population and consumption rates are depleting forests, oil, and freshwater resources. Land converted for agriculture and urbanization degrades essential natural ecosystems. Water and air pollution are destroying habitats and endangering the plant and animal species that depend on them. Humans are intentionally altering sensitive cycles, ignoring the important services provided by maintaining balance in atmospheric, hydrologic, and terrestrial cycles. These alterations are increasing the severity and impacts of climate change for the future. A combination of changing policy and enhancing personal responsibility could benefit the world …

Crisis Of Confidence: Cinematic Environmentalism Of The Seventies, Jacob Scott Starks

Theses & ETDs

In the 1970's, film played a reflective and contributory role in American environmental culture. Many films of the decade reflected a cultural environmentalism driven by a crisis of confidence in government and industry's ability to ensure a viable and natural environment. This project examines six films' content, cultural context of production, and reception, which indicate a notion of American uncertainty concerning government and industry's protection or conservation of the environment. The opening chapter provides a context for the economic and political conditions of the 1970's, explaining the American “crisis of confidence.” The second chapter examines the public‟s lack of faith …

Care Local Partnerships Healthy Communities: Promising Practices (Draft), Environmental Protection Agency

Mickey Leland Center Information Portal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program is a competitive grant program that offers communities an innovative way to address the risks from multiple sources of pollution in their environment. The CARE program awarded its first series of grants in 2005; to date there are 68 CARE communities.

Toward A More Wholly Communion: Cultivating Ecological Enlightenment And Sustainable Action In Christians, Cary Hauptman Gaunt

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Increasingly, environmental, scientific, and religious organizations and leaders are calling for people of faith to wake up to the global climate and other environmental crises and step up their ecological responsibility by leading more sustainable lives. Yet only a few seem to hear the calls and even fewer are responding in substantive ways. Many have commented on the gap between the religious theory for environmental care and the actual practice of living ecologically sustainable lives. Exploring how to bridge this gap is increasingly important as environmental regulatory, policy, and technology efforts fall short of goals and environmental professionals, including regulators, …

Aging In Place In Suburbia: A Qualitative Study Of Older Women, Marian L.G. Knapp

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research explored "aging in place" among women age 65 and older living in Newton, Massachusetts. Study goals were to understand: the "places" that comprise the environment of "aging in place"; the factors that enable "aging in place"; "aging in place" in a suburb; and to refine definitions of "aging in place" Interviews with women used open-ended questions about women‘s early years in Newton and the changes they experienced in personal status, and places over time. Themes emerged using modified grounded theory with inductive and deductive approaches, and which acknowledged "sensitizing concepts". Six places comprised the "aging in place" environment: …

What Is Education For?: A Review Essay, Delmar Vander Zee

Pro Rege

Reviewed Titles: Orr, David W. Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect (Island Press, 1994; 2004); Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World (SUNY, 1992); and The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention (Oxford University Press, 2002).

Global Farm Animal Production And Global Warming: Impacting And Mitigating Climate Change, Gowri Koneswaran, Danielle Nierenberg

Agribusiness Collection

BACKGROUND: The farm animal sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to many environmental problems, including global warming and climate change.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to synthesize and expand upon existing data on the contribution of farm animal production to climate change.

METHODS: We analyzed the scientific literature on farm animal production and documented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as various mitigation strategies.

DISCUSSIONS: An analysis of meat, egg, and milk production encompasses not only the direct rearing and slaughtering of animals, but also grain and fertilizer production for animal feed, waste storage …

An Hsus Report: The Impact Of Industrialized Animal Agriculture On The Environment, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

The continuous confinement of chickens, pigs, turkeys, cattle, and other animals raised in industrialized agricultural systems jeopardizes the animals’ welfare and degrades the environment. Factory farms produce immense quantities of animal waste and byproducts, which threaten water and air quality and contribute to climate change.

2008: Physical Resources Stewardship Report: Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Deanna Greco, Ellen Porter, David Vana-Miller

KIP Data Sets and Technical Reports

Natural Resource Technical Report provided by Louise Hose in support of ICS Field Trip 051 - "Scientific Rambles in Southeastern New Mexico." Open Access See Extended description for more information.

Development Of An Environmental Law Curriculum For Kosovo Universities, Nebojsa Vlajic

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper aims to improve environmental problem solving in Kosovo by introducing an environmental law course to the Kosovo university system. No school in Kosovo currently teaches environmental law and lawyers practicing environmental litigation are nonexistent. There are not many experts who can be consulted or who can help draft the environmental laws Kosovo must enact in order to harmonize its laws with those of the European Union. Lawyers having proper and formal training for doing the Environmental Impact Assessment are also extremely limited in number. The first part explains the rationale for proposing an environmental law course at law …

Examining Unused Pharmaceuticals In The Environment, Ilene Sue Ruhoy

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Unused pharmaceuticals take an unhealthy toll on both the environment and human health. In the US alone, an estimated {dollar}1 billion of prescription drugs are thrown away each year. Increasing availability, marketing, and purchasing of both prescription and over-the-counter medications, coupled with the tendency of patients to discontinue use of and to stockpile drugs at home, is a unique problem that has garnered increasing attention among scientists, policymakers, and the media in the last ten years; These accumulated household drugs become unused pharmaceutical waste. This waste must be discarded and disposed of by the consumer. Historically, consumers have been instructed …

Heavy Metal Content In Soils Under Different Wastewater Irrigation Patterns In Chihuahua, Mexico, V. M. Maldonado, H. Q. Rubio-Arias, R. Quintana, R. A. Saucedo, Melida Gutierrez, J. A. Ortega, G. V. Nevarez

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

An area near the city of Chihuahua has been traditionally irrigated with wastewater to grow forage crops. It has been hypothesized that metal levels could be found in these soils high enough to cause potential health problems to the population. The objective of this study was to determine heavy metal concentrations in different soils due to irrigation practices. Four soil types were evaluated; a soil with a past and present history of wastewater irrigation (S1), a soil with a history of wastewater irrigation until 2003 (S2), a soil with no irrigation history (S3), and a soil similar to S1 and …

Bringing In The Green: Pharma Stands To Win Hearts, Minds, And Tax Credits By Launching An Eco Bandwagon, Porcher L. Taylor Iii, David E. Kitchen

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

A green mind-set can lead to a black bottom line. Becoming nvironmentally friendly can help boost brand image and ROi -- and pharma can get there with a few easy steps.

First, with about 90,000 sales representatives on the road, the industry could lead a revolution in transportation if it bought hybrid cars. By replacing the current fleet, the benefits would be substantial. Each hybrid is cheaper to maintain, more fuel-efficient, and leaves a far smaller greenhouse-gas footprint on the environment. Imagine extrapolating these benefits to thousands of ca rs: That's an environmentally friendly signature that shows leadership in the …

Pages News, Volume 15, No. 1, April 2007, John Dearing, Louise Cromer, Thorsten Kiefer

PAGES

Contents: Editorial: Past human-climate-ecosystem interactions -- PAGES calendar -- Inside PAGES -- PAGES session at INQUA -- Broecker awarded the 2006 Crafoord Prize -- New on the PAGES bookshelf -- National Page -- United Kingdom -- Program News -- IMAGES - The hydrological cycle and ocean temperature - A paleo-perspective -- RESOLuTION - Rapid climatic and environmental shifts during Oxygen Isotope Stage 2 and 3 -- Special Section: Past Human Climate Ecosystem Interactions -- Program News -- PHAROS - Past Human- Climate Ecosystem Interactions -- IHOPE - Integrated History and future Of People on Earth -- Science Highlights -- The …

Assessing The State Of Tennessee’S Environment, Mary F. Evans

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

This 2007 volume of An Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee is the thirty-first in a series of annual reports compiled in response to requests by state government officials for assistance in achieving greater interdepartmental consistency in planning and budgeting efforts sensitive to the overall economic environment. Both short-term, or business cycle-sensitive forecasts, and longer-term, or trend forecasts, are provided in this report.

Report Of The Santa Susana Field Laboratory Advisory Panel, Santa Susana Field Laboratory

Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL)

In 1989, press reports revealed an internal U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) study that found widespread radioactive and chemical contamination at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Legislators, responding to community calls for independent health studies in the wake of revelations about the site, arranged for the establishment of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory Advisory Panel, to consist of independent experts from around the country (and one from Britain) as well as community representatives. The legislators directed that the initial studies should be of the workers, as they were likely to have higher exposures.

The legislators who established the Panel had …

Who Participates In Today's Environmental Movement? Not The Rich Or The Educated, Jessica Schaum

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.