Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Analysis Of Recycling Programs: A Case Study Of Three Universities, Jenny Jones

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract

The goal of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of three university recycling programs. This study looked at several aspects of the programs that included the diversion rates, per capita ratios of materials recycled and disposed, and the average net costs of waste disposal and waste diversion. The universities included in this study were the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Oregon.

To gather the information necessary for this analysis, I contacted each of the university’s recycling coordinators. To determine the average net costs of waste disposal and waste diversion …

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 …

Green Roots 2010 Annual Report, Lawrence University

Green Roots

With guiding principles established last year, the committee continued its review of university operations in the eight following areas; Water, Food, Buildings, Curriculum, Energy, Waste and Recycling, and Transportation. Within each of these areas the committee worked to identify and prioritize opportunities. What follows is a summary of our findings and future recommendations. We found, in the first year of GR, different elements and organizations of campus we moving towards sutainability, but that there was very little communication and coordination of these efforts. We worked to addressed that over the two years of the initiative. Now sustainability has a clear …

An Environmental Sustainability Assessment Of Taylor University, Kevin P. Crosby

Master of Environmental Science (MES) Theses

This is a master’s thesis project for the Department of Environmental Science at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. It is focused on sustainability which requires considering the social, economic, and environmental impact of actions on future generations. The three main questions being addressed are: 1.) In what ways is Taylor University practicing environmental sustainability? 2.) What is the best way to judge the sustainability of Taylor? 3.) What should Taylor do to become more sustainable? This paper consists of a literature review, a description of the problem being addressed, a review of similar studies, and assessment methods, the actual campus …

To Reframe A Constitution: Public Service In A Consumptive State, Steven T. Salmi

ETD Archive

This normative analysis builds upon Ulrich Beck's world risk society theory to argue that the United States is making a shift of revolutionary proportions from an administrative state to a consumptive state. Public administration theory is assessed for its ability to address a consumptive state's unprecedented dynamics, e.g., accelerating technoscientific development and mega-hazards such as global warming. Qualitative evidence suggests that the field's adaptability has been limited by a continued, if generally unacknowledged, embrace of obsolete normative commitments such as to a politics-technoscience dichotomy, contempocentrism, and overconsumption. The sustainability movement, a discourse coalition with roots largely outside public administration, is …

Social Science And Social Capital In The Lamprey River Watershed: A Resident Survey For Community And Environmental Planning And Predicting Support For Innovative Land Use, Mary Adamo Robertson

Doctoral Dissertations

The Lamprey River Watershed is an important part of the Great Bay Estuary in southeastern New Hampshire. The region has experienced population growth, sprawl development, increased vehicle miles traveled, increased levels of air and water pollution, loss of critical habitat, and loss of sense of community. The Lamprey River Watershed Resident Survey was designed to bring attention to environmental and community issues in order to engage residents in long range, innovative, and regional planning. The survey was distributed to approximately 3,000 households in one mailing during National Community Planning Month, October, 2007. The data from the 768 respondents provide baseline …

From Biosphere To Noosphere: Vladimir Vernadsky's Theoretical System As A Conceptual Framework For Universal Sustainability Education, Irina L. Trubetskova

Doctoral Dissertations

In light of accelerating global warming and climate change, the importance of sustainability education is unquestionable. It is a requirement of our time that sustainability education must become a part of any professional curriculum in higher education because today's college students are tomorrow's decision makers and the key players at local, national, and international levels.

Although the importance of education for a sustainable future has been recognized by the global community and we are now living through the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a common conceptual approach to teaching sustainability does not exist. We face a …

An Initial Evaluation Of Market-Based Land Reform In Brazil: Can It Create Sustainable Communities?, Arthur Powers

Doctoral Dissertations

Land reform is a burning issue in Brazil. Redistribution of land through government expropriation has proven to be difficult and expensive as unwilling landowners can hold up the process for years, or defeat it, in the courts. In 1997, the World Bank, at the request of the Brazilian Government, approved Land Reform and Poverty Alleviation Pilot Project 4147-BR -- known in Brazil as the Cedula da Terra. This program instituted a market based approach to land reform through which eligible agricultural workers could form associations and obtain subsidized financing to purchase land from willing sellers. As there was no previous …

Weather And Climate Information For Tourism, Christopher J. Lemieux, D.J. Scott

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

The tourism sector is one of the largest and fastest growing global industries and is a significant contributor to national and local economies around the world. The interface between climate and tourism is multifaceted and complex, as climate represents both a vital resource to be exploited and an important limiting factor that poses risks to be managed by the tourism industry and tourists alike. All tourism destinations and operators are climate-sensitive to a degree and climate is a key influence on travel planning and the travel experience. This chapter provides a synopsis of the capacities and needs for climate services …

A Vision For Sustainability, University Of Minnesota, Morris

Miscellaneous Campus Publications

No abstract provided.

Sustainability Education As A Catalyst For University And Community Partnerships, Shane Lishawa, Adam Schubel, Alison Varty, Nancy Tuchman

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Universities are uniquely positioned to lead society toward sustainability and their collaborations with community organizations are essential to this transition. The Biodiesel Program at Loyola University Chicago Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy provides a case study of course-based service-learning projects facilitating synergies between the university and the community while concomitantly fostering urban sustainability. This article discusses the program’s design andstructure, and describes specific examples of community partnerships that havebenefited the university, the community, and the environment

Profile: Renewable And Sustainable, University Relations

Profile (1996-)

Most of you are aware of the Morris campus’s new tag line—a renewable, sustainable education. The phrase was one result of an intensive marketing and branding effort that has engaged members of our community—including some of you—for the past two years. In order to be effective, a tag line has to be authentic; it has to be more than just a gimmick. It has to capture the “essence” of what we are all about. And I believe that this phrase does just that.

--From Chancellor Johnson's Message

Macalester College Sustainability Plan September 2009, Macalester College Sustainability Office

Sustainability Documents

No abstract provided.

Ursinus Magazine, Summer 2009, Wendy Greenberg, Kathryn Campbell, Cynthia A. Fisher, David Driver, Ellen Labrecque

Ursinus Magazine, 1995–Present

Alumni forum • Upcoming exhibitions • By the numbers: Student achievement • 2009 Commencement • Faculty expertise: Film studies • Growing greener: Ursinus invests in a sustainable planet • Class of 2009: A balance of studies and athletics • Class notes • 1959 & 1960: Carol Lecato & Jeanne (Lecato) Myers • A message from the Office of Career Services • Spotlight: Jay Defruscio 1982 • Spotlight: Jessica Lamina & Neal Cooper 2008 • Ann Paterson 1994: From bees to the captivating behaviors of the brown anole lizard • Marriages • Births • Deaths • In memoriam • Alumni academy

A Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Of Bucknell University, Dina El-Mogazi

Technical Reports

This report is the result of research conducted by dozens of students, faculty and staff over the period from September 2007 to September 2008. At the project’s opening summit in September 2007, ten assessment teams were formed, and each was provided with a detailed list of questions to answer. Collectively, these questions addressed nearly every conceivable aspect of the University’s environmental sustainability. This document is intended to take an honest and objective look at the sustainability of Bucknell’s policies and practices in a way that will encourage creative solutions.

The Transition Movement In Australia: An Analysis Of The Progress, Challenges, And Future Of Transition Initiatives, Mia Goldwasser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The threats of climate change and peak oil have roots in our society’s dependence on the availability of cheap fossil fuels for its function and design. In order to both decrease greenhouse gas emissions and significantly lower the demand on fossil fuels, our settlements –built when oil was cheap and abundant- must ‘relocalize’, or develop the systems which will enable the local production of food, energy, materials, employment, and goods. The Transition Movement has developed as a grassroots, community-based response to these challenges, grounded in the belief that a higher quality of life has the opportunity to emerge from a …

Perspectives On Reclaimed Water Among Urban Residents In Tampa, Florida, Jonathan Max Bloch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing urbanization coupled with increased domestic and industrial uses of water has made water conservation an important aspect of environmental management. Reclamation of wastewater is one way in which such conservation can proceed, and the aim of this thesis is to provide a case study about the perspectives of residents and officials involved in the use of reclaimed water in an urban development in Tampa, Florida. Using semi-structured interviews, it seeks to understand the range of opinions on the safety of reclaimed water, its potential prospects as an alternative drinking water supply, and its contribution to the sustainable use of …

Green Roots 2009 Annual Report, Lawrence University

Green Roots

With guiding principles in place, the committee conducted a comprehensive review of university operations in the eight major areas; Water, Food, Buildings, Curriculum, Energy, Waste and Recycling, and Transportation. Within each of these areas the committee worked to identify and prioritize opportunities. What follows is a summary of our findings and future recommendations. Note that the committee does not intend to take credit for all of what follows. Rather, in our efforts to coordinate sustainability efforts and to publicize those, we present all activities of which we are aware in each of the focus areas. In many instances Green Roots …

America's Agricultural Industry: Chemical Consequences And Sustainable Alternatives, Jillian Walker

Theses & ETDs

Due to a number of historical factors such as a constant influx of immigrants, new technology, and sociopolitical and environmental circumstances, America faced a number of agricultural challenges from the 18th to the 20th century. These problems were met with innovative technological and scientific solutions, which, while producing initial bountiful yields, ultimately resulted in the simplification of land management. This simplification was largely centered on chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The environmental and anthropogenic consequences resulting from widespread use of these substances has resulted in an economically and ecologically unsustainable method of food production in the United States. This thesis …

An Interview With Julian Agyeman: Just Sustainability And Ecopedagogy, Salma Monani

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

This interview with Julian Agyeman, a key originator of the concept of just sustainability, engages Agyeman in discussion of how just sustainability evolved, and how its theoretical and practical dimensions relate to the principles of ecopedagogy.

Conserving Marine Wildlife Through World Trade Law, Eric A. Bilsky

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this Essay marshals the evidence that fisheries around the world are in peril from destructive fishing practices. Part II argues that most fisheries management regimes are ineffective at counteracting the political pressures and economic incentives that lead to unsustainable fishing. Part III makes the case that government subsidies are major enablers of overfishing. The fourth and final Part discusses the continuing efforts to use international trade regulation to eliminate overfishing subsidies and halt the collapse of the world's marine fish populations.

A Baseline Greenhouse Gas Inventory For Oberlin: Stepping Up To The Challenge Of Climate Neutrality, Nathaniel Flaschner Meyer

Honors Papers

The City of Oberlin joined the International Council for Leadership in Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in 2007, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through ICLEI's five-milestone process. As the first official step in this process, I conducted greenhouse gas inventories for the years 2001 and 2007 for community-wide and municipal operations emissions. I found that the community emitted 174,400 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2007, more than half of which was associated with the consumption of coal-intensive electricity. This amounts to 20.9 tons CO2e per resident annually. Of the community's overall emissions, the commercial sector, including all Oberlin College properties, …

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, …

Learning Through Nature: Mount Holyoke Environmental Research And Education Center, Sari M. Lipnick

Architecture Theses and Projects

I plan on doing this by creating an area located along a river or body of water that people will be able to interact and learn from its ecosystem and wildlife. I would like this to be a space that allows for the public to come and learn either indoors or outdoors with a variety of tools. By creating two defined areas functioning as elementary learning and university learning it would allow the variety of participants to come into the space and even interact with each other. One goal of mine would be to explore this interaction and control it, …

Umm Receives "Exemplary" Sustainability Report Card, Says Nwf, University Relations

Campus News Archive

The University of Minnesota, Morris is among only 11 Minnesota colleges and universities named as “exemplary” by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in its recent “report card” on sustainability in higher education.

Reclaiming Garbage: Interaction Design For Participation, Marijke Rijsberman

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Since the introduction of organized sanitation practices in the West, local governments and waste management business in the private sector have essentially adhered to an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach to residential garbage, by which, for a modest fee, individuals are relieved from responsibility for their own waste and from awareness of its impact on the planet. Together with the systematic deferral of the environmental costs of current activities, this out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach has fostered individual behaviors that exert a great deal of pressure on the environment. Current environmental challenges and rising environmental concern now dictate a greater awareness of the impacts …

Agenda: Shifting Baselines And New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, And The Transformation Of The American West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

The Center’s 29th annual conference will focus on the changes in the West resulting from rapid population growth, development, disrupted historical weather patterns and the effects of those changes on land, water, and energy resources. Speakers and panelists will address the adaptability of the legal and political institutions and how the transformation of the West may foreshadow fundamental changes to these institutions.

The agenda includes panel discussions that will address:

• Water for the 21^st Century —the big questions in Western water and rethinking Western water law.
• The Future of Energy —practical and sophisticated solutions to overcome the energy …

Unlv Sustainability Task Force Report, David M. Hassenzahl

Reports (USI)

The UNLV Sustainability Task Force has completed its mission to provide you with recommendations as to how UNLV can best pursue sustainability ideals. The attached report contains our conclusions and recommendations, along with appendices containing supporting materials and details.

Environmental Studies Major Is Option For Umm Students Next Fall, University Relations

Campus News Archive

A new interdisciplinary major will be available next fall for students who choose to attend the University of Minnesota, Morris. The new major in environmental studies will complement the renewable energy and sustainability initiatives that are already in place or in progress at UMM.

Students And Their Contributions Towards A Greener Campus, Windy Gonzalez Roberts

Spanish Publications

For the last several years, UMM has been positioning itself as a national leader in use of renewable energy. The students will discuss their awareness about the efforts of their university campus to be energy self-sufficient by the year 2010. They will reflect about their responsibility to implement changes that will create a more sustainable campus, community and world around them. The students will be able to convey to others in the campus and in the community the need to increase involvement in the process. They will also compare green efforts of their university with similar efforts in the Hispanic …