Law Commons^™

Environmental Racism In Baltimore: A Geographical Study Into The Connections Between Environmental Toxins And Public Health, Genevieve Block

Honors Theses

An investigation into the relationship between environmental toxins and environmental racism in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Election Administration Within The Sphere Of Politics: How Bureaucracy Can Facilitate Democracy With Policy Decisions, Nicholas S. Martinez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public bureaucracy finds itself in a strange place at the intersection of political science and public administration. Political science finds that, within representative democracy, discretion granted to bureaucrats threatens the nature of democracy by subverting politicians who represent the will of the people – bureaucracy vs democracy. At the same time, public administration holds that, in the interest of promoting democracy, bureaucracy should be objective in its implementation of policy in a way that eliminates the influence of politics from decision-making – politics vs bureaucracy. Those positions are seemingly contradictory in nature. From one perspective, bureaucracy is undemocratic because it …

Longitudinal Awareness: A Study Of Vulnerability To Flooding In Polk County, Iowa, Kerri A. Dickey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Flooding has become a problem of national proportion and many scholars have started to take note of the human impacts in this area. This study will focus on the social vulnerability framework in tandem with the environmental justice theoretical frameworks being applied to Polk County Iowa so that information can be added to the body of works within a Midwestern U.S. context. This research will contribute to the current geographical knowledge in natural hazards, environmental justice, and vulnerability to flood hazards. Taking into consideration the scarcity of county or sub-county studies in the Midwest U.S. measuring spatial tendencies in hazards …

The Former Asarco Demolition Fallout, A Post Study On Lead Soil Concentrations And Environmental Agents Of Redistribution In El Paso, Texas, Stephanie A. Robinson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The former El Paso ASARCO Smelting and Refining Co. operated between 1877 and 1999, the pyrometallurgic activity was estimated to have discharged excess of a 1,000 tons of lead (Pb) into the atmosphere from 1969-71. It was estimated 96 tons of (Pb) were emitted on an annual basis from the standing ore and fluid beds. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that lead (Pb) is the heavy metal of the highest concentration within the vicinity of the smelter. After the smelter production ceased, flash flooding common to the southwest, such as the 2006 historic flood, increased transportation of superficial contaminants …

Flood Risk Assessment Under Historical And Predicted Land Use Change Using Continuous Hydrologic Modeling, Jonathan T. Nelson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Current procedures for flood risk estimation assume flood distributions are stationary over time, meaning annual maximum flood (AMF) series are not affected by climatic variation, land use/land cover (LULC) change, or management practices. Thus, changes in LULC and climate are generally not accounted for in policy and design related to flood risk/control, and historical flood events are deemed representative of future flood risk. These assumptions need to be re-evaluated, however, as climate change and anthropogenic activities have been observed to have large impacts on flood risk in many areas. In particular, understanding the effects of LULC change is essential to …

Green Building Geography Across The United States: Does Governmental Incentives Or Economic Growth Stimulate Construction?, Darren Prum, Tetsuo Kobayashi

Darren A. Prum

As green building activity continues to rise across the country, some state governments decided to create incentives that would motivate developers to voluntarily pursue third party certification for their real estate projects in order to assist in meeting sustainability and environmental goals. Despite the growing number of studies in green buildings, the geography of green buildings and sustainable construction only includes a few studies, which emphasize the lack of green building research from the spatial perspective and their relevance to public policies the lack of green building research from the spatial perspective and their relevance to public policies. This study …

Ecological Diversity In Hillsborough County, Florida: Correlations Between Landscape Metrics And Socio-Demographic Variables, David Godfrey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Landscape metrics, a means of quantifying landscape attributes, are frequently used in landscape ecology to describe the spatial characteristics of a landscape, but they have been less often used in anthropology. Using geographic information system (GIS) software, this study tests a method that investigates statistical correlations between groundcover landscape metrics and socio-demographic variables in Hillsborough County, Florida. Statistically significant correlations were found, illustrating the potential utility of this exploratory method. Wealthier areas with fewer ethnic minorities tend to be more fragmented and diverse in terms of groundcover; these areas also tend to have a lower percentage of impervious surfaces. The …

Using Remote Sensing Data To Improve Rice Production In Kutigi, Niger State, Nigeria, Jibril Musa Phd, M B. Yunusa

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This research work looked in the used of Remote Sensing to improve Agricultural production in Kutigi, Niger State. The aim of the study is to use remote sensing to improve rice farming activities in Kutigi, Niger State. It is very important to identify such methods to improve Agricultural production because experts are always interested in new researches and findings to better the standard of living in any environment. In view of this, Remotely-sensed data could be used or employed to elevate most of these agricultural problems in Kutigi through the following objectives: Using Landsat imagery to assess the present landuse …

Satellites And Municipalities: One Town’S Use Of Google Earth For Residential Surveillance, Edward Knoedler

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Bricks And Mortar To Mega-Bytes And Mega-Pixels: The Changing Landscape Of The Impact Of Technology And Innovation On Urban Development, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

This article reflects upon the impact that technology and innovation has had on urban development. From NASA's Landstat program, to Google maps and GPS, technology has had a significant impact on urban planning and land use law. The article begins with a discussion of the impact of the elevator and steel technologies on urban architecture and density, and then moves to changes in transportation such as the automobile and the development of public transportation systems. Green buildings, GIS, satellite data, online mapping, personal computers, the Internet and cell phones are all examined.

Slides: Introduction To Large-Scale Planning And The Intermountain Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law

18 slides

Park Access And Distributional Inequities In Pinellas County, Florida, Kyle Ray Hirvela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although environmental justice research has traditionally focused on environmental disamenities and health hazards, recent studies have begun to examine social inequities in the distribution of urban amenities such as street trees and parks that provide several direct and indirect health benefits to local residents. This thesis adds to this knowledge by evaluating distributional inequities in both distribution and access to parks in Pinellas County, the most densely populated and one of the most racially segregated counties in Florida. An important objective was to determine if neighborhoods with lower levels of park access are more likely to contain a significantly higher …

From Bricks And Mortar To Mega-Bytes And Mega-Pixels: The Changing Landscape Of The Impact Of Technology And Innovation On Urban Development, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

This article reflects upon the impact that technology and innovation has had on urban development. From NASA's Landstat program, to Google maps and GPS, technology has had a significant impact on urban planning and land use law. The article begins with a discussion of the impact of the elevator and steel technologies on urban architecture and density, and then moves to changes in transportation such as the automobile and the development of public transportation systems. Green buildings, GIS, satellite data, online mapping, personal computers, the Internet and cell phones are all examined.

Slides: Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado at Boulder

21 slides

Soundscape Conservation In U.S. National Parks: Implications For Adjacent Land Use Planning, Sarah L. Dumyahn, Bryan C. Pijanowski

GIS Day

Humans have altered the Earth’s ecosystems and biodiversity significantly. With the conversion of land and the loss of biodiversity, the world loses its natural sounds. The loss of natural sounds is compounded by the growing intrusions of motorized noise. Noise pollution is a ubiquitous problem in cities around the world, but the issue is spreading to more remote areas due to expanding transportation networks, motorized recreation and urban sprawl. The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) recognizes park soundscapes, or entire acoustic environment of a given area, as resources just as air and water are resources. However, national park resources are …

Slides: Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center

19 slides

Protecting Non-Indians From Harm? The Property Consequences Of Indians, Ezra Rosser

Ezra Rosser

This article is an exploration of the assumption, last made by the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, that non-Indian property owners are harmed by Indian acquisition and control of land. Accepting for the moment the Court's prioritization of a non-Indian perspective, the article explores (a) what lies behind non-Indian resistance to Indian land ownership, and (b) whether in fact non-Indians are harmed by proximity to Indian land. The article combines in its analysis core property law concepts with an empirical examination of the changes over time in assessed land value of …

Protecting Non-Indians From Harm? The Property Consequences Of Indians, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article is an exploration of the assumption, last made by the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, that non-Indian property owners are harmed by Indian acquisition and control of land. Accepting for the moment the Court's prioritization of a non-Indian perspective, the article explores (a) what lies behind non-Indian resistance to Indian land ownership, and (b) whether in fact non-Indians are harmed by proximity to Indian land. The article combines in its analysis core property law concepts with an empirical examination of the changes over time in assessed land value of …

Amended And Restated Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Agreement Oct. 21, 2005, Amendment No. 2, 2007, Gila River Indian Community, Et Al

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Amended and Restated Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Agreement Oct. 21, 2005, Amendment No. 2, 2007. Amendment 2 replaces 3 exhibits with documents filed in or by the courts: 1) Attachment 1 - replacing Exhibit 25.18.A1 - “Stipulation of the Parties to the Amended and Restated Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Agreement Setting forth the Terms of the Settlement (as filed with the Gila Adjudication Court on May 23, 2006”; 2) Attachement 2 - replacing Exhibit 25.18.A2 – “Judgment and Decree”; and 3) Attachement 3 - Exhibit 25.18.B “Order Pursuant to Stipulation issued by the Globe …

International Trade In The San Bernardino Region: Transportation, Trends, And Employment, Mirya R. Holman, Travis Coan

Mirya R Holman

International trade presents significant employment, growth, and revenue opportunities for the San Bernardino region, which encompasses San Bernardino County and several cities in Riverside County and is located to the immediate east of Los Angeles County. Proximity to the San Pedro Bay Port complex (which includes the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach) and access to a transportation and logistics network expanding out across the U.S., makes the San Bernardino region a prime location for companies participating in international trade activity. The purpose of this report is to quantify trade activity in the region, while also estimating the employment …

Modeling For Management In A Compliance World, Christopher D. Dore, Luann Wandsnider

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In practice, compliance-driven cultural resource “management” and its requirements for resource location, evaluation, impact assessment, and mitigation manifests a fundamentally different use of geospatial predictive modeling than do research-oriented investigations. This difference primarily results from the lack of an iterative research design. In research-oriented modeling, iterations of model building and model testing gradually build a more robust model and lead to an increased understanding of the variables that condition human spatial behavior in the past. In a compliance environment, spatial models are rarely built and evaluated; rather, once built, they are applied in a single iteration. An assumption is made …

The Application Of Gis In Maritime Boundary Delimitation: A Case Study On The Indonesia-East Timor Maritime Boundary Delimitation, I Made Andi Arsana, C. Rizos, Clive H. Schofield

Faculty of Law - Papers (Archive)

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) attained independence on 20 May 2002, marking its separation from Indonesia. As a newly independent country, East Timor is faced with a number of significant international opportunities, together with some obligations that it must fulfil, including the delimitation of its international boundaries. Similarly, for Indonesia, with 10 maritime neighbours, the delimitation of maritime boundaries is a significant challenge. This paper describes a preliminary study on the delimitation of the Indonesia - East Timor maritime boundary, with a focus on technical aspects. Geospatial data has been obtained from the Indonesian government and processed with …

Gis In An Age Of Homeland Security: Accessing Public Information To Ensure A Sustainable Environment, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

Critical to the goal of achieving sustainable development is governments' ability to maintain public information, including maps, charts, statistics, and narrative text, about a wide variety of environmental factors, indicators, resources, and threats in easily understandable formats that are readily accessible to the public. While federal and state freedom of information laws help to ensure a relatively high rate of public access to traditional information, such as environmental impact statements, studies and reports,significant environmental events and resources, and census data, the growing use and reliance on geographic information systems ("GIS") has the potential to move the public discourse to a …

Information Liability: The Possible Chilling Effect Of Tort Claims Against Producers Of Geographic Information Systems Data, Jennifer L. Phillips

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forest Planning On The National Forests Under Ecosystem Management, John Sessions, K. Norman Johnson

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

17 pages.

Contains 2 pages of references.

Watershed Based Efforts: The Applegate Partnership Of Southwest Oregon, Jack Shipley

Challenging Federal Ownership and Management: Public Lands and Public Benefits (October 11-13)

15 pages.