Digital Commons Network^™

Has The Time (Finally!) Arrived To Talk About Sustainable Lifestyles?, Maurie J. Cohen

Chemistry Sustainability and the Circular Economy

Presentation at the Princeton American Chemical Society (PACS) event in recognition of the 52nd International Earth Day

Practicing Sustainability In Consumer Choices, Cynthia Pugh

Sustainability Conference

Practicing Sustainability in Consumer Choices

The issue of sustainability is a global one impacted daily by individual choices. The foundational principles of sustainability and the unified efforts of the global sustainability goals are presented to define the world we want. Sustainability is an intentional core of any product akin to safety by design. This presentation will describe the concept of sustainability by design, designing at all levels, with good intentions and with the goal of abundance.

Due to the availability of corporate sustainability information such as the Global Reporting Initiative or Corporate Social Responsibility, one can comparatively research the …

Justice-Oriented Learning: Reconfiguring Experiential Education With A California Farmworker Community, Judith Hope Munter Dr., Nathan Harkleroad, Manuel Cervantes, Andrea Tinajero

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This community-based research project examines a land-based education program which creates opportunities for contextualized learning, acknowledging the value of immigrant farmworkers’ lived experiences. The study highlights how this culture of learning can be a means for promoting social and environmental justice. Participatory research methods involved collective inquiry in which co-researchers and community stakeholders engaged in all steps of the process with the goals of improving practice and bringing about transformative change.

Understanding Campus Environmental Sustainability: A Thematic Analysis Of Interviews With Facilities Management Staff And Administrators At The University Of Denver, Alejandro Cerón, Dinko Hanaan Dinko, Izzy Beltran, Madeline Bonner, Mia Glover, Linh Nguyen, Madeline Ohaus, Maren Parchen, Quisi Rodriguez-Oregel, Delanee Taylor, Dani Thompson, Kansas Wood

Anthropology: Undergraduate Student Scholarship

This project sought to understand what influences sustainability choices on the University of Denver campus. Universities and colleges play a pivotal and influential role in shaping sustainable future discourse in society. As centers for innovation and research, universities continue to generate new knowledge and skills necessary to create awareness of the negative impact of human activities on the environment and pathways to mitigate these impacts. Over the past decades, there has been a growing transformation of universities from places of knowledge creation to places where created knowledge is implemented. Thus, in the field of environmental change, there is a growing …

Energy Literacy In Portugal: A System Map And Framework To Increase Energy Literacy Through The Renewable Energy Transition, Molly S. Fox

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Western society lives with a great dependence and an almost simultaneous ignorance of energy consumption (van den Broek, 2019). The systemic landscape of energy knowledge and dissemination is more critical than ever as Portugal races to meet decarbonization goals. This paper fills a knowledge gap by updating the current social landscape of energy literacy in Portugal through a comprehensive system map and framework to increase energy literacy levels through the renewable energy transition. By conducting a semi-systematic literature review, meta-narratives and themes were identified and used to create theoretical concepts, a framework, and a system map. This research found that …

About Page, Sustainable Development Law And Policy Brief

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.

Because our publication focuses on reconciling the tensions found within our ecosystem, it spans a broad range of environmental issues such as sustainable development; trade; renewable energy; environmental justice; air, water, and …

Underserved Communities Trashed By Plastic: Slowing The Proliferation Of Petroleum Based Products Through Stewardship Laws And Enhanced Back-End Regulatory Solutions, Joan F. Chu

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Introduction

Plastic pollution has attracted a tremendous amount of attention and press coverage in early 2021 as evidenced in news stories; an episode of John Oliver’s show, “Last Week Tonight”; and a viral tweet from Greta Thunberg highlighting a study linking plastic pollution to human penises shrinking. These eye-catching pieces stemmed from Dr. Shanna H. Swan’s work that culminated in her book, Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race. Other articles have highlighted plastic pollution’s impact on polar bears, which causes their penis …

Beyond Fueling Our Bodies To Feeding Our Minds, Alicia Orea-Giner Dr., Francesc Fusté-Forné

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

Food consumption in tourism is linked with creating sustainable experiences and promoting a new way of being fed and eating. This research note analyzes the relationship between new trends in food consumption and food tourism. From a descriptive approach, it reveals the meaningful connection between producers and consumers. Food tourism stakeholders should consider applying segmentation techniques to personalize its offer and create unique food experiences. Further research is required, especially concerning the Gen Z lifestyles and its impact on the future of food tourism.

Cbe Waves Newsletter: January 2022, Various

Newsletters

The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary; The Evolution of Thinking on the Ocean Economy, Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, Volume 8, Issue 2; The Middlebury Climate Change Semester: Inaugural Program Begins; The Ocean Needs Our Help-Now

Understanding The Intersections Of The Lgbtq+ Community & Climate Change, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, A-Bel Gong, Darbi Berry

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

In this blog, we will explore these LGBTQ+ community relationships as they relate to environmental justice, relationships and access to the outdoors, and community representation in the environmental science field.

Esg Trends: Results Of The 2022 Hr@Moore Survey Of Chros, Adam Steinbach, Donald J. Schepker, Anthony J. Nyberg, Patrick M. Wright

Reports

There has been incredible momentum in recent years for the expectation that major companies should be attentive to and deliver results on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues. For their part, companies and their executive leadership teams (ELTs) seem responsive to these expectations, developing ESG strategies and devoting resources to making progress in these areas. Perhaps the most notable commitment along these lines came in 2019, when the Business Roundtable (BRT) issued a statement to “redefine the purpose of a corporation” to focus on all stakeholders rather than be predominantly centered on shareholders. Much of the conversation around corporations in …

Role Of Courts In Ensuring Water Justice In India: Brasilia Declaration On Water Justice And Beyond, Gayathri D. Naik

Articles

Water being a scarce resource, questions of its allocation and distribution, coupled with concerns of its depletion have troubled policy makers, legislators, and judges alike. While, over the years there has been significant development on the discussion surrounding the rights-duty paradigm of water resources, by establishing the obligation of states, discussion surrounding a certain value-based approach to guide the minds of important stakeholders in creating and enforcing policy has gained far less traction comparatively. It is in this context that this paper explores an alternative justice-based approach to water, drawing from the works of Amartya Sen on capabilities and more …

Social Equity Is Key To Sustainable Ocean Governance, Katherine M. Crosman, Edward H. Allison, Yoshitaka Ota, Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Gerald G. Singh, Wilf Swartz, Megan Bailey, Kate M. Barclay, Grant Blume, Mathieu Colléter, Michael Fabinyi, Elaine M. Faustman, Russell Fielding, P. Joshua Griffin, Quentin Hanich, Harriet Harden-Davies, Ryan P. Kelly, Tiff-Annie Kenny, Terrie Klinger, John N. Kittinger, Katrina Nakamura, Annet P. Pauwelussen, Sherry Pictou, Chris Rothschild, Katherine L. Seto, Ana K. Spalding

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Calls to address social equity in ocean governance are expanding. Yet ‘equity’ is seldom clearly defined. Here we present a framework to support contextually-informed assessment of equity in ocean governance. Guiding questions include: (1) Where and (2) Why is equity being examined? (3) Equity for or amongst Whom? (4) What is being distributed? (5) When is equity considered? And (6) How do governance structures impact equity? The framework supports consistent operationalization of equity, challenges oversimplification, and allows evaluation of progress. It is a step toward securing the equitable ocean governance already reflected in national and international commitments.

Combining Green Metrics And Digital Twins For Sustainability Planning And Governance Of Smart Buildings And Cities, Casey R. Corrado, Suzanne M. Delong, Emily G. Holt, Edward Y. Hua, Andreas Tolk

VMASC Publications

Creating a more sustainable world will require a coordinated effort to address the rise of social, economic, and environmental concerns resulting from the continuous growth of cities. Supporting planners with tools to address them is pivotal, and sustainability is one of the main objectives. Modeling and simulation augmenting digital twins can play an important role to implement these tools. Although various green best practices have been utilized over time and there are related attempts at measuring green success, works in the published literature tend to focus on addressing a single problem (e.g., energy efficiency), and a comprehensive approach that takes …

Ten Facts About Land Systems For Sustainability, Patrick Meyfroidt, Ariane De Bremond, Casey M. Ryan, Emma Archer, Richard Aspinall, Abha Chhabra, Gilberto Camara, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Esteve Corbera, Ruth Defries, Sandra Díaz, Jinwei Dong, Erle C. Ellis, Karl Heinz Erb, Janet A. Fisher, Rachael D. Garrett, Nancy E. Golubiewski, H. Ricardo Grau, J. Morgan Grove, Helmut Haberl, Andreas Heinimann, Patrick Hostert, Esteban G. Jobbágy, Suzi Kerr, Tobias Kuemmerle, Eric F. Lambin, Sandra Lavorel, Sharachandra Lele, Ole Mertz, Peter Messerli, Graciela Metternicht, Darla K. Munroe, Harini Nagendra

Geography

Land use is central to addressing sustainability issues, including biodiversity conservation, climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable energy. In this paper, we synthesize knowledge accumulated in land system science, the integrated study of terrestrial social-ecological systems, into 10 hard truths that have strong, general, empirical support. These facts help to explain the challenges of achieving sustainability in land use and thus also point toward solutions. The 10 facts are as follows: 1) Meanings and values of land are socially constructed and contested; 2) land systems exhibit complex behaviors with abrupt, hard-to-predict changes; 3) irreversible changes and path dependence …

Sustainability Education At The University Of Montana, Zoe M. Transtrum

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Sustainability education has become increasingly important to prepare the next generation of professionals to address immense challenges such as climate change. Institutions of higher education play a critical role in developing student understanding and perceptions of sustainability through their curricula, specifically in the three pillars of sustainability: ecology, economy, and society. This research paper explores sustainability education at the University of Montana to answer the following questions: (1) To what extent do sustainability-focused and sustainability-inclusive courses at the University of Montana include themes or concepts from all three pillars of sustainability; (2) Do courses at UM impact student understanding, beliefs, …

Cruser Place Green Streets Plan, Neal Friedman

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Combining green and complete street design techniques leads to multiple environmental, social and economic benefits that often enhance each other's effectiveness. In urban areas confronting increased pressures of sea level rise, green streets, which incorporate landscaped features or vegetative areas to manage stormwater within the right of way, can be crucial pieces of pedestrian oriented urban design and multimodal planning frameworks that consider and plan for diverse, complementary transportation options. This plan works with the Colonial Place and Riverview Civic League as well as the Norfolk Preservation Collective to come up with green street design recommendations in order to strengthen …

Electric Vehicle Integration In San Francisco, Lisa Farmos

Master's Projects and Capstones

California’s Executive Order N-79-20 requires all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California to be zero-emissions by 2035. Electric vehicles (EVs) are the primary alternative fuel solution. However, there are widespread barriers to ownership, particularly for those in lower socioeconomic classes. A literature review of barriers to EV ownership shows the primary barrier is insufficient overnight charging infrastructure. Geospatial data of EV charging infrastructure and 2020 census tract data were used to map average income versus EV charging infrastructure in San Francisco. Data maps confirm the literature review findings: there is a positive correlation between income and EV charging …

Farmers Markets And Single-Use Plastic: Why Environmentally Conscious Consumers Don’T Bring Reusable Bags, Scott Hardy, Jill Bartolotta

Journal of Extension

This study looks at the role of Extension in helping local officials reduce plastic bag use at farmers markets in three Lake County, OH communities. We distributed free reusable bags to shoppers and conducted an education and outreach program. We then took observations to determine if the free reusable bags were being used. We also invited shoppers to take a voluntary survey about their environmental attitudes, why or why not they use the reusable bags, and how best to reduce plastic bag use moving forward. Results from the study suggest that supplying free reusable bags at farmer markets is not …

Spatial Analysis Of Landscape Characteristics, Anthropogenic Factors, And Seasonality Effects On Water Quality In Portland, Oregon, Katherine Gelsey, Daniel Ramirez

REU Final Reports

Urban areas often struggle with deteriorated water quality as a result of complex interactions between landscape factors such as land cover, use, and management as well as climatic variables such as weather, precipitation, and atmospheric conditions. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has been introduced as a strategy to reintroduce pre-development hydrological conditions in cities, but questions remain as to how GSI interacts with other landscape factors to affect water quality. We conducted a statistical analysis of six relevant water quality indicators in 131 water quality stations in four watersheds around Portland, Oregon using data from 2015 to 2021. Indiscriminate of station …

Smith Neilson Library: The Sustainability Story, Smith College

The New Neilson Library

The complete "Sustainability Story" of the New Neilson Library project.

Decolonization And Transformation Of Higher Education For Sustainability: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Into Policy, Teaching, Research, And Practice

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Decision Support System To Select The Most Effective Strategies For Mitigating The Urban Heat Island Effect Using Sustainability And Resilience Performance Measures, Bahareh Bathaei

Theses and Dissertations

As climate change continues to alter the temperature of the cities, various urban heat island mitigation strategies (UHIMSs) are now needed to be employed to mitigate the effects of increasing temperatures. However, to ensure their resilience and sustainability, the effectiveness of such strategies should be evaluated using a set of criteria. According to a review of the literature, there is a need for a comprehensive model and performance assessment tool that considers the various characteristics and features that are significant in assessing whether the chosen strategies are viable candidates for minimizing the effects of urban heat island (UHI). As a …

Green Criminology And Environmental Justice: An Exploratory Analysis Of Oil Spills In North America., Edidiong Mendie

Dissertations (2016-Present)

The underlying principle of green criminology is understanding environmental harms from a criminological lens, a variation from mainstream criminology's focus on street crimes. Environmental harms and contamination, such as oil spills, remain a growing concern for nations especially disadvantaged communities (low-income and communities of color). This dissertation analyzed the environmental pollution of 3 oil spills in North America to ascertain their impact on disadvantaged communities. This was achieved through secondary research inquiry using a case study analysis. This dissertation also highlighted the impact of forensic science and environmental forensics in oil spill cases. Using an independent sample t-test, this dissertation …

Embodying Equity: Change Management Strategies For Addressing Racial Equity In Environmental Nonprofits, Brittany Jezouit

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

Recent social movements and the urgency of the climate crisis have heightened awareness of the exclusion of people of color within the environmental movement. While many environmental nonprofits are working to address racial equity within their organizations, they are often not well-equipped with the tools, tactics, and change management strategies to successfully execute their goals. Using data from case studies via qualitative interviews with local Richmond, VA environmental nonprofit leaders, this study aims to combine insights from nonprofit leaders doing racial equity work with key theories of change from the ProSci ADKAR model, John Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change, …

The Potential Of Ecofeminism To Develop ‘Deep’ Sustainability Competencies For Education For Sustainable Development, Susan V. Iverson

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Education for sustainable development (ESD) has gained much currency in the literature; yet, less attention has been given to understanding or defining learning outcomes, or rather, what competencies for sustainability should students develop and be able to demonstrate. In this position paper, I ask (and answer) the question, “What might be gained by bringing a feminist lens, and specifically an ecofeminist perspective, to ESD?” I argue that infusing ecofeminism into ESD can develop students’ sustainability competence beyond individual level change to thinking and acting systemically; it can develop the critical consciousness, activist skills, and deeper sustainability knowledge needed to foster …

21st Century Ecopoetics And Ecotheory, Robert Balun

Open Educational Resources

Ecopoetics is the study of literature that is concerned with ecology and nature. However, beyond just literature about nature, this course will examine how ecology and nature have become complicated in the 21st century, the age of the Anthropocene, the age of the climate crisis and the 6th mass extinction (don’t worry, we will define these and other key terms).

In the 21st century, humans are now confronted with a growing awareness of their destructive impact on the earth, its environments, and its human and non-human inhabitants. In this class we will examine how ecology and nature have become complicated …

From Glass Ceiling To Green Canopy: An Intersectional Model Of Feminist Sustainability In Fondes Amandes, Trinidad, Rachel Mulroy

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project is a sustainable model of agro-forestry that emerged contemporaneously with the more globally familiar Permaculture Design. Although the FACRP model has been recognized for their contributions to the Caribbean region and worldwide sustainability and environmental movements, they are not well known in the global North and West. Akilah and Kemba Jaramogi stress the importance of grassroots involvement as critical to adaptation and mitigation in combating climate impacts. However, there is a lack of acknowledgement and reciprocity within the movement that is linked to broader discourses on race, gender, and geography. The influence of these …

The True Cost Of Clothes: Sustainability Issues In The Fashion Industry, Grace Costa

Student Theses 2015-Present

Fashion is one of the most environmentally harmful industries on the planet. From greenhouse gas emissions to toxic chemicals in water supplies, the price that the planet, and vulnerable populations, must pay in the production of the clothing we wear each day is not cheap. This paper discusses the role that the fashion industry plays in environmental degradation today, as well as strategies that can be employed within the industry to make it more sustainable. Chapter 1 provides an overview of and through quantitative data on why and how the manufacturing and sale of clothing is environmentally harmful. Chapter 2 …

The 2020 Impact: Rethinking Brand Approach To Sustainability Through A Postcolonial And Environmental Justice Framework, Simone Hassan-Bey

Business/Business Administration

Social unrest as a result of a pandemic and the movement for Black lives created a greater demand for big brands to increase their involvement in social responsibility. In this work, I examine the relationship between big brands to their colonial and environmental legacies to analyze how they have historically responded to social justice issues and how it has helped or hindered their journey towards sustainability. My research suggests that these brands may be failing to live up to their social responsibility claims because they struggle to see how the two actors are interconnected, as a result, I offer a …