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Junior Chelsea Johnson Awarded National Udall Scholarship, Lawrence University

Press Releases

Chelsea Johnson has been focused on “making a difference” since arriving on the Lawrence University campus in the fall of 2010. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The Lawrence University junior from Avon, Ind., has been named one of only 50 national recipients representing 43 colleges of a $5,000 Udall Scholarship. Selected from among 488 candidates. Johnson was one of only two scholars chosen from a Wisconsin college or university.

Awarded by the Arizona-based Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the scholarships are awarded to students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native …

Singing Behavior And Geographic Variation In The Songs Of The Veery (Catharus Fuscescens) Across The Appalachian Mountains, Courtney L. Brennan

ETD Archive

The Veery (Catharus fuscescens) is a common Neotropical migrant thrush whose breeding distribution spans the Northern United States and southern Canada and continues south through the high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains. Despite its wide distribution, many aspects of Veery biology are largely unknown, including a clear characterization of song and knowledge of geographic song variation. I describe the song structure, repertoire size, and patterns of song delivery in the songs of the Veery and describe geographic song variation across four regions along the Appalachian Mountains. Visual analysis of song spectrogram images of territorial males revealed that Veeries' repertoire ranges …

Extreme Value Theory: Applications To Estimation Of Stochastic Traffic Capacity And Statistical Downscaling Of Precipitation Extremes, Eric Matthew Laflamme

Doctoral Dissertations

This work explores two applications of extreme value analysis. First, we apply EV techniques to traffic stream data to develop an accurate distribution of capacity. Data were collected by the NHDOT along Interstate I93, and two adjacent locations in Salem, NH were examined. Daily flow maxima were used to estimate capacity, and data not associated with daily breakdown were deemed censored values. Under this definition, capacity values are approximated by the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution for block maxima. To address small sample sizes and the presence of censoring, a Bayesian framework using semi-informative priors was implemented. A simple cross …

The Effects Of Hemiparasitism By Castilleja Species On Community Structure In Alpine Ecosystems, Johannah Reed

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

There is a long history in ecology of examining how interactions such as competition, predation, and mutualism influence the structure and dynamics of natural communities. However, few studies to date have experimentally assessed the role of hemiparasitic plants as a structuring force. Hemiparasitic plants have the potential to shape plant communities because of their ability to photosynthesize and parasitize and because of their abundance in a variety of natural and managed ecosystems. A study was conducted which focused on the impacts of hemiparasitic species in the genus Castilleja, which are ubiquitous in montane meadows in the Colorado Rockies. This study …

Passion For Canoes Earns Will Meadows $25,000 Watson Fellowship, Lawrence University

Press Releases

Unabashed nature enthusiast Will Meadows speaks of canoes in near reverential tones. In his mind, canoes are as centric to the ecosystem as a bird’s nest or a beaver dam.

“Canoes represent the coexistence of creativity and nature,” says the Lawrence University senior. “They lie at the intersection of human ingenuity and place, vessels for exploration, artistic expression and sustenance.”

Beginning in August, Meadows will spend a year immersing himself in canoe-building communities across five distinct environmental regions of the world as a 2012 Watson Fellow.

Meadows, an environmental studies major from Cincinnati, Ohio, was one of 40 undergraduates nationally …

Agriculture In Sub-Saharan Africa, Troy M. Null

Rollins Undergraduate Research Journal

According to the World Food Programme, with the exception of Haiti, all of the world’s countries that experienced a malnourishment rate of 35% of the population or higher last year are located in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the nearly one billion hungry people in the world, one quarter of them are of them are Africans. Why is it that they are not better-able to feed themselves (or others, for that matter) with their vast amounts of undeveloped land? The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the historical and developing influences of globalization and gender on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, and …

Planning, Producing, Preparing And Tasting Produce Influences Dietary Behaviors Of Elementary Students, Lori Annis

Humanities and Creative Projects

This project proposes to have elementary school students participate in planning, producing, preparing and tasting of school garden produce. Food preferences pertaining to familiar and novel varieties were surveyed before and after the garden program and percentage changes measured. Student participants are hypothesized to gain enhanced consumption habits and food preferences pertaining to produce in their diets.

From Sweetwater To Seawater: An Environmental History Of Narragansett Bay, 1636--1849, Christopher L. Pastore

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines environmental change on and around Narragansett Bay from first European settlement in 1636 to the dissolution of the Blackstone Canal Company in 1849. It uses one of the largest estuaries on the East Coast and one situated at the heart of early English settlement in New England as a means to write estuaries into Atlantic history. Examining the ecological and epistemological complexities that arose at the nexus of land and sea, where improvable space and the push of "progress" met an eternal or "profound" ocean, this study reframes estuaries as watery borderlands that people used but never …

The Impacts Of Lead Contamination On The Community Of Herculaneum, Missouri, Jill Mcnew-Birren

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Lead contamination in Herculaneum, Missouri presents a complex context where the long history of a large lead processing plant has created an environmental health hazard. Local residents have been forced to balance their interest in promoting a clean and healthy local environment against their desire to preserve community identity and honor the history of their city and its most prominent industry. Additionally, contamination and related controversy has substantively impacted this community and its citizens on multiple levels--e. g., education, health, and financial well-being. The study presented in this dissertation explores not only the impact of contamination upon the community, but …

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 2010-09-17, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 2001-2011

This edition of the College of Wooster's student ran newspaper was published on September 17 of 2010, and it is eight pages long. The first Faculty at Large lecture series of the semester was presented by the Hales Fund Faculty Travel Experience on their trip to Havana, Cuba this summer. Communication Week will occur next week and will include an alumni panel. At 9:11pm on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, students lit nine candles to represent each year since the occurrence. The Environmental Studies program has been given a $254,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation …

Riparian Brush Rabbit Habitat Requirements In Caswell Memorial State Park, Clinton Robert Elsholz

Master's Theses

With the rapid growth of agricultural and urban development in California's Central Valley in the 20th and 21st centuries, many habitats, including riparian forests, have been drastically altered. Along with these habitats, species that are dependent on them have also been fragmented and their long-term survival threatened. The riparian brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) is one such species that has experienced profound population contraction over the past century. This research was conducted at Caswell Memorial State Park ("the Park"), located in Ripon, California, which is the largest remaining habitat fragment within the rabbit's historical range. One objective of this research …

Environmental Studies B.A. Program And Curriculum Approval 04/29/2009, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Plant Size, Density, Herbivory, And Disease On Native Platte Thistle (Cirsium Canescens), Deidra Jacobsen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract. Based on prior field observations, we hypothesized that individual and interacting effects of plant size, density, insect herbivory, and especially fungal disease, influenced seedling and juvenile plant growth in native Platte thistle populations (Cirsium canescens Nutt.). We worked at Arapaho Prairie in the Nebraska Sandhills (May - August 2007), monitoring plant growth, insect damage, and fungal infection within different density thistle patches. In the main experiment, we sprayed half of test plants in different density patches with fungicide (Fungonil© Bonide, containing chlorothalonil) and half with a water control. Fungal infection rates were very low, so we found no difference …

Using Gis To Locate Areas For Growing Quality Coffee In Honduras, Ellen Mickle

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Small-scale coffee producers worldwide remain vulnerable to price fluctuations after the 1999-2003 coffee crisis. One way to increase small-scale farmer economic resilience is to produce a more expensive product, such as quality coffee. There is growing demand in coffee-producing and coffee-importing countries for user-friendly tools that facilitate the marketing of quality coffee. The purpose of this study is to develop a prototypical quality coffee marketing tool in the form of a GIS model that identifies regions for producing quality coffee in a country not usually associated with quality coffee, Honduras. Maps of areas for growing quality coffee were produced …

Thermal Exchange Processes Within Shallow Fractured Bedrock: Applications For Standing Column Wells, Sarah B. Mckone

Master's Theses and Capstones

This research investigates thermal properties of fractured bedrock for the purpose of better understanding the sustainability of standing column well (SCW) geothermal heating systems. The three objectives are to quantify effective thermal conductivity and heat capacity of the fracture network; measure heat exchange between the fluid and the fractured surfaces; and estimate time of thermal breakthrough into a pumping well. Single and dipole well tests are performed to meet these objectives. Single well data is compared with an analytical heat flow model to estimate thermal conductivity and heat capacity. Dipole well data is compared to a model of the Kolditz …

Comparison Of The Fuel Needed To Transport Plastic Recyclables Verses Aluminum Recyclables From Yellowstone National Park, Melissa Dejonge

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Research has provided no definitive answers on whether PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans are a more environmentally sustainable choice as soda containers. This paper researches the fuel used in recycling each of these materials from Yellowstone National Park to processing locations. The data is used to determine which of these alternatives use less fuel in this process. It was found that plastics use more fuel when transported from Yellowstone National Park to the processing center. Aluminum uses less fuel per ton to transport from Yellowstone to the processing center. The conclusions from this research may have implications on which …

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 2008-10-24, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 2001-2011

This edition of the College of Wooster's student run newspaper was published on October 24 of 2008 and it is eight pages long. Plans are in the work to update the College of Wooster's website. Two possible site designs are featured on the first page. Early voting positively can influence the election polls. The history of Freedlanders is remembered on page four. An Environmental Studies program is one of the newest additions to the curriculum. The current exhibition in the College of Wooster Art Museum features the work of two professors from Ohio colleges. The athletic updates for the past …

Variations In Stomatal Traits Of 14 Bornean Tree Species Growing On Soils With Different Moisture Contents In Lambir Hills National Park, Whitney Logan Cannon

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The goal of this study was to look at variations in stomatal traits of tree species on soils with different moisture contents and fertility at Lambir Hills National Park. Stomates are important structures on the surface of leaves that mediate conduction of moisture and gassesin and out of the leaf. If stomatalt raits are important for regulation, then there should be variation in stomatal traits in regards to their soil specialization. The 14 Borneant ree speciess ampledi ncluded6 sandyl oam specialists6, clay specialistsa nd 2 generalistsfo und growing with equald istributionso n both sandyl oam and clay. Confocal microscopy was …

The Fall 2008 Unl Bike Survey: Examining The Status Of Bicycle Transportation At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Brent Schmoker

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study evaluates the state of bicycle use by University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) students during the fall semester of 2008. An online survey was administered to a random sample of graduate and undergraduate students to determine the factors that encourage and inhibit students from using bikes for transportation to campus. The results suggest that a significant portion of the student population uses bikes for transportation to campus but several factors combine to keep the overall number of bicycle commuters low. The paper concludes with suggestions for increasing bike commuting to UNL and predictions about the future of transportation in the …

An Affordable, Practical Eco-House, Dave Fitzpatrick

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

An eco-house or zero-energy house is not a new concept- houses with extremely low impact on their surroundings and good use of local resources have been around for centuries. This particular eco-house is designed to offer full modern services and comforts while consuming very low energy and few expensive building materials. Ideally, someone would be able to use this thesis as a blueprint for actual construction.

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 2008-02-29, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 2001-2011

This edition of the College of Wooster's student run newspaper--The Wooster Voice--was published on February 29 of 2008. Students are campaigning for the Democratic candidates of the upcoming presidential election. An Environmental Studies minor will be offered next year. There is a review of the play that the theatre department put on this past weekend, "Good Woman of Setzuan." An anti-abortion group has been formed on campus called Students for Life. Students filled the arch on Tuesday; classes were not cancelled. An overview/review of Wicked is done by Missie Bender on page six. Athletic updates for the past week are …

The Grizzly, September 5, 2000, Lauren Cyrsky, Dan Reimold, Cara Nageli, Tammy Scherer, Bradford Joyce, Lauren Springer, John Grebe, Megan Restine, Geoffrey S. Brace, Chris Cocca, Brian Berg, Jeff Church, Diane Johnson, Padraic Maroney, Adrienne Moore, Meghan Beck, Emily Baltz, Chuck Pulsfort

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Freshman Clustering: Ideal Living or Mission Impossible? • 2 Major Additions Make Debut this Fall • UC Online Generates Digital Excitement • Fitness House Hopes to Spark Student Interest in Athletics • Fountain Near Pfahler in the Works for Next Summer • Summer in Cambridge, Paris Unforgettable • New Professor Added in Computer Science Department • Opinion: Is Cheerleading a Sport??; Campaign 2000: Eye on Education; The Lesson is in the Language: The Republican Educational Plan • Summer Concert Review: Dave Matthews Band Spectacular at the Vet • International Film Festival Set to Begin at UC • Women's Soccer Invincible …

Book Noted: Recent Pacific Islands Publications: Selected Acquisitions, March–August 2000, Riley Mofatt

Pacific Studies

This list of significant publications relating to the Pacific Islands was selected from new acquisitions lists received from Brigham Young University–Hawai‘i, University of Hawai‘i at Mânoa, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, University of Auckland, East-West Center, University of the South Pacific, National Library of Australia, Melanesian Studies Resource Center of the University of California–San Diego, and Secretariat of the Pacific Community Library. Other libraries are invited to send contributions to the Books Noted Editor for future issues. Listings reflect the extent of information provided by each institution.

An Evaluation Of Screening Models For Assessing Toxic Air Pollution Downwind Of Hazardous Waste Landfills, Lynton Worth Baker

Master's Theses

The ambient air concentration of vinyl chloride downwind of the BKK Landfill in West Covina, CA is estimated using four air pollution screening models. BKK has accepted hazardous and municipal wastes since 1963. Disposal of waste solutions containing vinyl chloride was stopped in June, 1981 after exceedances of the California ambient air vinyl chloride standard were measured. Since then, however, vinyl chloride has continued to volatilize and diffuse to the landfill surface. The emission rate of vinyl chloride is estimated using pertinent landfill data including the concentration of vinyl chloride in landfill gas, the depth of the soil landfill cover, …

Introduction To Petroleum Refining And Petrochemicals With Special Attention To Processing Of Hydrocarbons From Alaska's Prudhoe Bay Field, Arlon Tussing, Lois Kramer

CAEPR Reports

No abstract provided.

A Drift Towards Nostalgia: The River Trip As Journal Of A Changing View Of American Wilderness, Richard D. Davis

Master's Theses

As early as the 1820s and 1830s, observers of the American scene, such as George Catlin, John James Audubon, and Alexis de Tocqueville, were expressing misgivings over the rapid settlement of the American West. In their concern over the passing of pristine landscapes and native cultures was a note of nostalgia for an earlier time, the era of exploration, whose journals echoed the freshness of discovery and spoke of the beauty and inexhaustible promise of the New World. The elegiac tone has become more explicit in our own time. In the works of twentieth century writers is seen a haunting …

The Development Of Hypoxylon Canker Of Populus Tremuloides: Role Of Ascospores, Conidia, And Toxins, D.K. Bagga, E.B. Smalley

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.