Digital Commons Network^™

Using Toolkit Activities To Reduce Household Food Waste, Nancy Lo

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Food waste is a significant problem with environmental, economic, social and ethical consequences. Wasting food wastes energy, water, fuel, and land that go into producing, packaging, and transporting food. Additionally, the agriculture-related release of pesticides and greenhouse gases into the air, soil and water makes wasting food an environmental hazard. As much as 40 percent of U.S. food produced for human consumption, which is more than 20 pounds per person per month valued at $165 billion annually, goes uneaten. Worldwide, onethird of food is wasted while the population continues to grow. There are many reasons why Americans throw away food …

Using Technology And Phenology To Increase Students’ Observation Skills, Sondra Tokarczyk

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was, will the use of technology and phenology increase students’ observation skills? The catalysts for this capstone were research using observation as an everyday skill fundamental to all scientific disciplines, and the importance of teaching children how to observe and document their observations. The capstone describes the process of integrating phenology, knowledge of the five senses, and iPad technology to teach students the importance of observation and its relevance to their everyday lives. The author concludes that: 1) although the collected data did not show a significant increase in observations, students’ observations became …

What Is The Environmental Impact Of Cultivating Agave As A Biofuel? (May 15, 2015), University Communications And Marketing

OHIO News Articles Archive

No abstract provided.

Environmental Education In Pre-K Child Care Settings, Kathryn Allison Galloway-Thoele

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed is, how does environmental education and nature play in child care settings benefit children? A key influence was the author’s interest in providing stimulating environmental education for her young daughter and evaluating the environmental programs of local child care providers and the perceived benefits for children. Six child care centers of differing teaching philosophies were the focus of the study with each completing a 28 question survey about the environmental activities and sustainability programs in place at their facilities and the early childhood development traits observed in the children. Results from the study showed that child …

Using Gis To Model Probability Of Shark Attacks On Florida’S Coast, Laurel Whitney, Emily Walker

Atlas of Maine

Shark attacks represent a major human wildlife conflict in Florida. Florida consistently leads the United States in shark attacks annually, yet these shark attacks are not evenly distributed along the coastline. This exploratory analysis investigated various attributes to determine if some characteristics of a particular area off the coast correlated with higher shark attack incidents. Using geographic information system analysis and statistical tests, this project found proximity to beach, shorelines, and flood areas to be significant predictors of shark attack locations. This exploratory analysis, suggests that more rigorous spatial models may be able to predict shark human conflict in the …

Identifying Suitable Canada Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) Habitat In Maine, New Hampshire, And Vermont, Emily Berry, Carla Nyquist

Atlas of Maine

This project was designed to identify suitable habitat for the Canada lynx in the Northeastern United States. We made a habitat suitability index model based on conserved areas, land cover, human population density, snowfall, snowshoe hare populations, and urban areas. Our model predicted that one third of the land was moderately suitable to Canada lynx. Our HSI is also compared to various other lynx distribution data. Our HSI has the added benefit of showing a gradient of suitability.

The Restoration Process: Lessons From A Community-Based Conservation Initiative In Tunkhel, Mongolia, John Wendt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As policy makers transition away from central planning, Mongolia’s natural resource professionals are challenged with cultivating community support for stewardship in a time of escalating ecological disturbance. Nutag Action Research Partners has partnered with community members and government officials in Tunkhel, a small village in north-central Mongolia, to develop local resource management capacity and jointly draft a Conservation Plan for a commonly grazed riparian pasture. This study is a preliminary assessment of the ecological and social factors influencing project implementation. Information was collected using a variety of qualitative methods including meeting observation, surveys, interviews, photographs, and a review of previous …

Atlas Of Maine: Vernal Pools And Conserved Areas In Maine, Carla Nyquist

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the documented vernal pools and conserved areas in Maine. For reference, it also shows all rivers and streams, lakes, and hillshade in the state.

Thinking With Water Edited By Cecilia Ming Si Chen, Janine Macleod And Astrida Neimanis, Ryan Palmer

The Goose

A review of the edited collection Thinking with Water (Chen, MacLeod, Neimanis) which addresses the place of water in our daily lives, cultural imagination, and ecological systems.

Ridazz, Wrenches, And Wonks: A Revolution On Two Wheels Rolls Into Los Angeles, Donald Parker Strauss

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

How can we make cities more livable? Los Angeles, in particular, is a notably challenging place to live. For many, it is hard to see Los Angeles—city or county—as anything other than a huge, sprawling, and some would say placeless place. Los Angeles is known by many as the place that tore up more than 1,000 miles of streetcar lines to make way for millions of cars and hundreds of miles of freeways. Because of this, Los Angeles is also known for its poor air quality and jammed freeways. Those who live in Los Angeles know that it can be …

Atmospheric Effects On Radar/Ladar Detection Of Seismic Activity, Michelle Frances Via

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates how well ground vibrations can be detected at ladar or radar wavelengths and how the atmosphere may impact the observation of such activity. First understanding atmospheric hindrances at each of these wavelengths is helpful to prioritize by those yielding best transmission results. A prerequisite to the outdoor field experiment performed for this study involves analyzing atmospheric effects characterization at six probable wavelengths using the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference tool (LEEDR) developed by the Air Force Institute of Technology's (AFIT) Center for Directed Energy (CDE). These wavelengths, selected from the shortwave infrared and microwave portions of …

Stability Of Monomethylmercury In Water, Sarah Elyse Harvey

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Monomethylmercury (MMHg) bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs, leading to concentrations in fish that increase health risks for humans who consume fish. As a result of processes that produce and decompose it, MMHg concentrations are notoriously unstable in many natural waters. I examined the stability of MMHg in both filter-sterilized (< 0.1 µm) reagent-grade water and 0.22-µm filtered sediment pore water from Grand Lake St. Marys, Auglaize and Mercer Counties, Ohio, each at three MMHg treatment concentrations (1, 5, and 50 ng/L). Reagent-grade water samples were incubated under both light and dark conditions at either 5 or 26 °C for 112 days. Pore water samples were incubated in the dark at 26 °C, mimicking environmental conditions, for a period of 98 days. Decay constants (± 95% CI) for solutions containing either 1 or 5 ng/L MMHg in reagent-grade water ranged from 0.0009 ± 0.0013 to 0.1225 ± 0.0150 d-1, with greater decay constants at higher temperature and no significant effect of light exposure. In contrast, decay constants for 50 ng/L MMHg in reagent-grade water were much less than those in more dilute solutions, ranging from 0.0018 ± 0.0015 to 0.0055 ± 0.0023 d-1, with both light and temperature influencing MMHg decomposition. Decay constants of MMHg in pore water were found to be independent of initial concentration of MMHg; however, decay constants in pore water samples were 3-fold higher than those in reagent-grade water amended with the same initial concentration (p = 0.007). These results suggest that natural constituents in pore water accelerate MMHg decay reactions.

Using The Past To Restore The Future: Quantifying Historical Vegetation To Assist In Tidal Freshwater Wetland Restoration, Christopher D. Gatens

Undergraduate Research Posters

Wetlands have been providing humans with critical natural ecosystem services throughout our time on Earth. Nevertheless, these invaluable ecosystems have been habitually altered as a cost of human progression. Two of the most common alterations to wetlands are damming and filling. Both occurred along Kimages Creek in Charles City County, VA during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. In 2010 the Lake Charles dam was partially removed, restoring the creek’s tidal communication with the James River. Upon the recession of the body of water, numerous woody stumps were revealed. We studied these stump remnants in an attempt to assess …

Environmental Education In Amman, Sara Lyrnn Green

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research addresses environmental education in public and private schools in Amman, Jordan and what is being done to expand environmental awareness by both schools and the government. This study’s methodology is comprised of interviews with teachers and government employees as well as analysis of material culture. The research finds that environmental education is priority for schools and the government, but that more can be done in expanding environmental awareness. This study points out barriers to environmental education in schools with the hope that these will be addressed and improved.

Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Light pollution (LP) can disrupt and/or degrade the health of all living things, as well as, their environments. The goal of my research at the NOAO was to check the accuracy of the citizen science LP reporting systems entitled: Globe at Night (GaN), Dark Sky Meter (DSM), and Loss of the Night (LoN). On the GaN webpage, the darkness of the night sky (DotNS) is reported by selecting a magnitude chart. Each magnitude chart has a different density/number of stars around a specific constellation. The greater number of stars implies a darker night sky. Within the DSM iPhone application, a …

Assessing The Effects Of Soil Moisture On Germination Of Winter Wheat, Ellie Smith-Eskridge

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Drought is a major issue in wheat production globally and in Nebraska particularly during germination. Rapid germination is important for satisfactory stands whereas late germination may lead to a lower yield. Laboratory experiments were conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to compare germination of five Nebraska-grown wheat varieties, or cultivars, under water stress conditions.

The cultivars, Anton, Nuplains, Pronghorn, Trego, and Wesley were selected because of their presumed differing water use efficiency (WUE). Tests were conducted on a Nebraska soil to create a soil water release curve and to select soil moisture level or water treatments. The experimental design …

Combined Manipulation Of Leaf Litter And Microbial Larvicide Enhances Local Control Of Culex Mosquitoes, Katie Bellile

Undergraduate Research Posters

Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) is a naturally occurring insect pathogen widely used as a microbial larvicide for mosquito control. The toxicity of Bti is specific to mosquitoes and a few other dipterans. It is applied to aquatic habitats colonized by mosquitoes and produces proteins that paralyze the digestive system of larvae that consume it. While Bti is an effective larvicide, it can also deter oviposition by female mosquitoes. Thus, reduced production of adult mosquitoes at the local (i.e., pond) scale may reflect both reduced colonization and reduced larval survival. It is important to distinguish between these mechanisms. While deterring oviposition …

Factors Influencing Personality In Prothonotary Warbler Nestlings?, Jenna Dodson

Undergraduate Research Posters

Animal personality is defined as consistent expressions of an individual’s behavior when exposed to stressful conditions. Avian nestling personality traits can be determined through simple stress handling tests that measure breath rate and docility. Individuals with lower measures tend to be more bold and aggressive adults, traits that are correlated with increased fitness. Other developmental factors that correlate with increased fitness include egg size, parental provisioning rates, and body condition. The objective of this project was to determine if there is a relationship between handling stress and: egg size and parental provisioning in the migratory songbird, Prothonotary warbler (PROW). This …

Feather Reflectance Predicts Reproductive Success In Female Prothonotary Warblers, Miranda Foster

Undergraduate Research Posters

In many avian species, both females and males display colorful feather ornaments that in males are known to often signal individual quality and serve as the basis for mate choice. We do not know however, if the same applies for female birds. In this study, we investigated whether carotenoid content in female Prothonotary Warblers (Prothonotaria Citrea) feathers, a measure of feather quality, was correlated with annual reproductive success. Feathers from 130 female individuals over a period of four breeding seasons were collected and their reflectance was measured, along with data on annual reproductive success. We found a significant positive relationship …

Resisting For The River: Local Struggle Against The Proposed Saptakoshi River Dam, Janika Oza

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On the Saptakoshi River in Nepal, the proposed construction of a hydropower dam may represent progress for parts of the country but loss for local communities. This paper draws on the experiences of people living in villages by the river who will be affected if the proposed high dam is built. By using qualitative information generated from interviews with villagers, the paper is an ethnographic account of the experiences and perspectives of the local populations that will be most directly affected by the dam. It was found that most subjects interviewed believe that the high dam would cause extreme environmental, …

The Power Of China: An Analysis Of China’S Energy Sources And The Case For Clean Energy, Lauren Vunderink

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

China’s energy demands have been growing exponentially since the early 1980s, impacting the global environment and economy. China is already the world’s largest producer and consumer of energy, and as it continues to urbanize and develop its electricity demand is projected to more than double by 2040. China’s energy consumption will not continue its rapid growth forever; its population growth and energy demand are expected to level off by 2040. While mostly relying on the increasing amounts of coal, oil, and natural gas, the Chinese government aims for renewable resources to satisfy 15% of total energy consumption by 2020. That …

From Holy To Holistic: Working Towards Integrated Management Of The Bagmati River Corridor, Lauren Platman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Bagmati and its tributaries have been an integral part of the Kathmandu Valley civilization. The river not only became a source of sustenance for the Valley's population but also gained religious-cultural significance. However, rapid urbanization and increasing industrial activities have transformed this once pristine river into an open sewer. Governmental organizations, NGOs, and community members are working towards improving the conditions of the Bagmati River through restoration projects and public awareness campaigns. Because of the large number of actors, collaboration on projects is vital in order to avoid duplication or conflict. After nearly thirty years of failed restoration projects …

Review: The Rediscovery Of The Wild, Jillian M. Slater

Marian Library Faculty Publications

Copyright (c) 2014, Jillian Slater. This review is available for non-commercial, educational use, provided that the user identify the author and the publication listed as the place of first publication, along with the volume and the year of the work's publication.

Counting Carbon: The Politics Of Carbon Footprints And Climate Governance From The Individual To The Global, James Morton Turner

Faculty Research and Scholarship

This article considers carbon footprints as a form of climate governance. Drawing on science studies to consider the contingent nature of calculative devices and governmentality studies to examine the intrinsic relationship between how problems are framed and remedied, this article advances two arguments. First, it argues that efforts to define and deploy carbon footprints contributed to a conceptual shift in emissions accounting, from a narrower metric focused on emissions from fossil fuel and electricity use—Carbon Footprint 1.0—to a more expansive metric that includes emissions embodied in consumption and trade—Carbon Footprint 2.0. Second, this article argues that these approaches to carbon …

Big Building: The Political Economy Of Place And Displacement In Coconut Grove Florida, Daniel Ducassi

Theses & ETDs

The physical construction of urban space has a concrete impact on the lives of those who inhabit it. However, the development and redevelopment of some neighborhoods has differed from that of others, and the disparity in the qualities and environment of constructed urban space is closely intertwined with the social relations of a particular community. This thesis explores the processes of redevelopment in the historically segregated neighborhood of Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida. It reviews the development history of the neighborhood, as well as recent development issues that serve as focal points of interaction between residents, developers and municipal government. …

A Rooftop Revolution? A Multidisciplinary Analysis Of State-Level Residential Solar Programs In New Jersey And Massachusetts, Alden Griffith, Monica Higgins, James Morton Turner

Faculty Research and Scholarship

The success of alternative energy policies is usually measured in terms of energy capacity. By this metric, state-level policies to promote solar installations in New Jersey and Massachusetts have been a success. To fully evaluate these policies, however, it is necessary to consider how these policy programs are structured and funded, who participates in these programs, and the complete life-cycle consequences of 'clean' energy technologies. This paper focuses specifically on residential solar installations, which represent more than half of the total U.S. rooftop solar capacity potential. It takes a multidisciplinary approach that draws on policy analysis, spatial and demographic analyses, …

Mangrove Forest Age As A Predictor Of Overwintering Habitat Quality For Migratory Songbirds, Ryan Weaver

Undergraduate Research Posters

Wetland ecosystems are critical habitats for a host of organisms including resident and migratory birds. Forested wetlands (i.e., mangroves) surrounding Panama City, Panama are currently being drained and cleared to allow for commercial development. Restoration or replacement of mangroves (i.e. younger stands) may not be a sufficient surrogate for existing mature stands. Our main objective was to determine if mature mangrove forests provided higher quality habitat to (wintering) birds compared with younger mangroves. To assess this, we compared the following in mature and young mangroves in Panama (1) Prothonotary warbler and Northern waterthrush body condition, our most abundant species, and …

Mongolian National Parks: Competing Interests And Institutional Viability In A Still Emerging Protected Areas System, Kieryn Wurts

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Mongolia, 17% of the total landmass is designated as one of four kinds of “protected areas”—Strictly protected areas, national parks, nature reserves, and natural historical monuments. This study focuses primarily on national parks as a civil institution, through on the ground interviewing of ten individuals employed in the protected areas system, field-notes and observations, and community surveying totaling 38 respondents at two research locations, Hustai-Nuruu National Park and Lake Khovsgol National Park. Protected areas are constructed civil spaces, and as a result are sites of competing societal interests--the interests of scientists and conservationists, of tourism and business interests, and …

Water Access And Security For Mongolian Peri-Urban Communities In The Face Of Climate Change And Development, Heather Cook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper attempts to assess how water access and security in Mongolian ger districts is impacted by the competing forces of climate change and development. The development of Mongolia is, understandably, a priority of the government and much of the populace, as are the impacts of climate change, which are well documented and acknowledged. Furthermore, these processes both have potentially adverse impacts on the overall well being of communities. In the context of water access and security, the need to strike this balance becomes even more acute. These factors can all be seen playing out in the city of Sainshand, …

Research Team Focuses On Invertebrate Species Diversity In The Fox River, St. Norbert College

St. Norbert College Magazine 2013-2018

The Fox River Valley has long been a locus for manufacturing, in large part because of its proximity to water, but as a team of St. Norbert researchers has shown, the relationship between industry and the river that runs through it can also make for an intriguing area of focus when it comes to environmental studies.