Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Anthropaean Storytelling, Community, And The Ripples Of The Climate Crisis, Jonathan Summers

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

The climate crisis has grown into a dangerous global threat, pushing our planet to the point of ecological no return. We face the certainty of increasingly destructive climate disasters and social upheaval, threatening our societal and biological survival. The next few years will prove critical to the future welfare of our species and our planet. However, we are not without our defenses. Through the lens of fictional short stories, this capstone concentrates on community and storytelling, two deeply human behaviors that could be two of our greatest tools in the struggle against climate change. Human beings are social creatures at …

Depaul Digest

DePaul Magazine

College of Education Professor Jason Goulah fosters hope, happiness and global citizenship through DePaul’s Institute for Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education. Associate Journalism Professor Jill Hopke shares how to talk about climate change. News briefs from DePaul’s 10 colleges and schools: Occupational Therapy Standardized Patient Program, Financial Planning Certificate program, Business Education in Technology and Analytics Hub, Racial Justice Initiative, Teacher Quality Partnership grant, Intimate Partner Violence and Brain Injury collaboration, School of Music Career Closet, Sports Photojournalism course, DePaul Migration Collaborative’s Solutions Lab, Inclusive Screenwriting courses. New appointments: School of Music Dean John Milbauer, College of Education Dean Jennifer …

“Without Water, Nothing”: Examining The Water Saving Practices Of Women In Amman Under Periodic Water Supply, Rory Dixon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jordan is among the most water-scarce countries in the world. Consequently, water is only pumped to households once a week and households store water in tanks to last them until the next water day. Women conducting housework do so under conditions of environmental stress that this research calls resource-scarce domestic labor. In this study, I apply an eco-feminist lens to examine the water-saving practices women employ to manage and conserve domestic water supplies. I explore the larger causes of these behaviors including climate change, government management, and regional politics. Resource-scarce domestic labor is not a practice unique to Jordan and …

Elephant In The Room, Sabrina Sixta

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This poem tries to express the difficulty of staying focused on one's research when there is so much turmoil in the world.

Mapping Maple Memory, Grace Derksen

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Rhetorics Of Species Revivalism And Biotechnology – A Roundtable Dialogue, Eva Kasprzycka, Charlotte Wrigley, Adam Searle, Richard Twine

Animal Studies Journal

This informal dialogue contextualises and explores contemporary practices of nonhuman animal gene-modification in de-extinction projects. Looking at recent developments in biotechnology’s role in de-extinction sciences and industries, these interdisciplinary scholars scrutinise the neoliberal impetus driving ‘species revivalism’ in the wake of the Capitalocene. Critical examinations of species integrity, cryo-preservation, techno-optimism, rewilding initiatives and projects aimed at restoring extinct animals such as the woolly mammoth and bucardo are used to map some of the necessary restructuring of conservation policies and enterprises that could secure viably sustainable – and just – futures for nonhuman animals at risk of extinction. The authors question …

Reimagining Community Engagement To Increase Resilience To Climate Change In El Punto Neighborhood, Salem, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Sweet, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Daniela Bravo, Leandra Jara

Gastón Institute Publications

In November 2021, the Mauricio Gastón Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston partnered with the Woods Hole Group (WHG) to develop a community outreach strategy for the Climate Change Deep Dive Model, Alternative Analysis, and Targeted Outreach & Engagement project in the Point/Palmer Cove neighborhood (El Punto), in the city of Salem, MA. El Punto, including its residents, workers, infrastructure, and development areas, is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts (such as sea level rise, storm surge, precipitation, and heat waves). Researchers from the Gaston institute engaged El Punto residents to:

• Increase the community’s knowledge of current and future …

Dossier: The Hunger Plan: The Holocaust, Resource Scarcity, And Preventing Genocide In A Changing Climate, Emily Sample

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Nazi leadership sought to exploit the biological fear of starvation and scapegoat the Jewish population and other “useless eaters” for taking more than their fair share. The Nazis utilized and hyperbolized well-known prejudices against Jewish people, and entrenched narratives of Jewish parasitism as a threat to current and future German lives. In this analysis, food scarcity was one of several reasons for the Holocaust, and the first step to seeking Lebensraum for pure Germans to live to the highest international standard. This article will focus on different aspects of the complex antisemitic rhetoric surrounding issues of resource scarcity, including Hitler’s …

Destruction Is A Must-See: Coastal Heritage Site Erosion And Public Perception Of Climate Change, Haley Borowy

Senior Theses

Archaeological sites in South Carolina are vanishing. As sea level rise, and therefore coastal erosion, worsen, more sites will disappear. The questions of how erosion at these sites is measured and how the public perceives the effects of climate change have been studied separately, but not together. Here, the intersection of these is discussed, alongside how sites are portrayed affects how the public perceives them, and therefore their importance. Studies on measuring coastal erosion, local news reports, government documents, and public perception of coastal management and sea level rise illuminate how people eventually decide what is worth saving.

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

A Call For The Library Community To Deploy Best Practices Toward A Database For Biocultural Knowledge Relating To Climate Change, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented.

Design/methodology/approach – Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive— rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate.

Findings – COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. …

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

Vignette 23: Indigenous Management Systems Can Promote More Sustainable Salmon Fisheries In The Salish Sea, William I. Atlas, Natalie C. Ban, Jonathan W. Moore, Adrian M. Tuohy, Spencer Greening, Andrea J. Reid, Nicole Morven, Elroy White, William G. Housty, Jess A. Housty, Christina N. Service, Larry Greba, Sam Harrison, Katherine Ir Butts, Elissa Sweeney-Bergen, Donna Macintyre, Matthew R. Sloat, Katrina Connors

Institute Publications

Indigenous peoples of the Northern Pacific Rim have harvested salmon for more than 10,000 years, and Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) form the foundation of social-ecological systems encompassing communities from California to Kamchatka and Northern Japan. Through continuous placed-based interdependence with salmon, Indigenous societies formed deliberate and well-honed systems of salmon management. These systems promoted the sustained productivity of salmon fisheries. In Canada and the United States, Indigenous sovereignty and resource stewardship were forcibly disrupted by colonial government authority. Despite the destructive impacts of colonization, Indigenous culture and knowledge are resurgent in Canada and the United States. Indigenous fishing technologies and …

Solutions Human Centered Approach To Conservation, Illustration Department, History, Philosophy, + The Social Sciences Department

Illustration Course Work & Materials

"These essays were were written and illustrated by students at the Rhode Island school of Design in February, 2021. Their perspectives are entirely personal and reflect their efforts within a 5.5-week fused studio/seminar course that was centered on the Sixth Mass Extinction and how biodiversity is changing because of humans. Discovering that science communication is more than delivering just the facts, students were invited to research a topic of personal interest that is relevant to human impacts on biodiversity. Through analysis of data and other scientific information, each sought to synthesize their research and opinions on their topic through a …

The Origins Of Manufactured Dissent And The Efficacy Of Climate Change Narratives, Emma Elisabeth Giering

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The year of 2020 revealed many things about the fragility of socially constructed institutions and the public trust which grants such entities legitimacy, which is perhaps what reinvigorated social discourse surrounding the existential threat posed by climate change. Amid a pandemic, Americans watched wildfires engulf much of the west coast, environmental regulations unravel in the hands of the Trump administration, and Wall Street begin trading futures contracts on the U.S.’s water supply. Given the ever-expanding record of environmental travesties, how are citizens to respond, and from where should they derive their inspiration for response?

This thesis answers the above question …

A Glitch In The Garden, Shelby Forma, Daisy Sheps, Elisar Haydar, Samuel Phippen, Robyn Miller, Téa Smith

Creative Humanities

Kai, a kid searching for a place to call home, stumbles upon a desert city with a secret— An amazing community garden! With the help of gardeners Cameron and Riley, Kai learns that strongest roots are grown with help from the old and the new.

Climate Change Games As Boundary Objects: Fostering Dialogic Communication Within Stakeholder Engagement, Megan L. Mckittrick

English Theses & Dissertations

Rising waters and the increasing devastation of flood events make coastal resilience a significant issue in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, particularly in the city of Norfolk. Enhancing resilience requires ongoing stakeholder engagement designed to invite dialogue while encouraging cross-jurisdictional collaboration and comprehensive problem-solving. Climate change games have been employed to support these endeavors. This dissertation provides a response to the following research questions: 1) What is the origin of the climate change game genre? 2) Why are key stakeholders in coastal resilience using climate change games? And 3) how do these games operate for these key stakeholders? To …

Non-Conventional Vehicles As A Way Towards Carbon Neutrality In Iceland, Julia Sokolowska

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Paris Agreement’s chief objective is to protect the Earth and its inhabitants from a point of no return, when the effects of climate change will be so intense that they will shift the equilibrium of ecosystems. The distinctiveness of this international environmental treaty is that it does not impose climate change mitigation measures, but rather allows nation states to create their own set of measures, the NDCs, to reach the global warming of ‘well below 2oC’ by the end of the century. Thus, Iceland has submitted its own NDC, the Climate Action Plan 2018-2030, which has an ambitious goal of …

Examining The Impact Of Climate Change Film As An Educational Tool, Brittany Bondi, Salma Monani, Sarah M. Principato, Christopher P. Barlett

Student Publications

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of film in communicating issues related to climate change. While previous studies demonstrate an immediate effect of a film post-screening, this study also considered if a film can inspire long-term effects, and if supplemental educational information plays a role on participant understanding.

Design/methodology/approach: Using surveys, we assessed undergraduate students’ climate change responses pre-, immediately-post, and 9-weeks post watching the climate change documentary The Human Element (Prod. Earth Vision Institute, 2018). In the 9-week interim before the final survey, half of the participants received weekly information on climate change via …

Covid-19_Umaine News_Carbon Emission Drop Amid Covid-19, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of Maine News release regarding Maine Public interview with Paul Mayewski, director of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, and Andrew Pershing, chief scientific officer and climate change ecologist for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, for the Maine Calling piece "Climate Change & COVID-1 9: How Pandemic-Driven Changes in Behavior Might Affect Our Environment."

Gulf Coast Marine Laboratories Past, Present And Future, Donald F. Boesch

Gulf and Caribbean Research

I spent my nearly 50—year career in marine science working at marine laboratories, most of that as a chief executive officer. So, it is appropriate that my reflections are about marine laboratories, rather than my own science. After relating my career course, I turn my attention to the history and development of marine laboratories along the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Surprisingly, the region’s first laboratory was actually constructed in 1903 at Cameron, LA, but operated less than a decade before closing. It was not until after World War II that the university—affiliated marine laboratories of today …

Earth: "Un-Human Me", Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

Peace and Justice Studies Faculty Publications

He took a rib from your side and made others.

So you considered Others your children, forever.

He told you to go forth and produce and multiply so you made capitalism.

He told you to go forth and conquer and pillage and mark your name and plant your flag where-ever you wanted.

So now the moon is yours. Jupiter, beware! [excerpt]

Microgrid Technology And The Arctic: Green Renewable Technology Does Relate To The Land, Gerry Dell

2019 Cohort

Microgrids can take power from other energy sources and share their loads meaning there is a less reliance on diesel power generation. Wind mill power generators, solar power (for the summer) and battery storage are fantastic elements for providing consistent power in the Arctic. These power systems have been tried and proven, in all conditions, over many years. Geothermal is another green efficient way to heat homes and businesses in the Arctic. When I worked for Dome Petroleum in McKinley Bay NWT, I was fortunate to work in the most extreme winter weather the Arctic can produce. With global warming …

Microgrid Technology And The Arctic: Green Renewable Technology Does Relate To The Land, Gerry Dell

Head and Heart Posters 2019

Microgrids can take power from other energy sources and share their loads meaning there is a less reliance on diesel power generation. Wind mill power generators, solar power (for the summer) and battery storage are fantastic elements for providing consistent power in the Arctic. These power systems have been tried and proven, in all conditions, over many years. Geothermal is another green efficient way to heat homes and businesses in the Arctic. When I worked for Dome Petroleum in McKinley Bay NWT, I was fortunate to work in the most extreme winter weather the Arctic can produce. With global warming …

Microgrid Technology And The Arctic: Green Renewable Technology Does Relate To The Land, Gerry Dell

Learning with your Head & Heart

Microgrids can take power from other energy sources and share their loads meaning there is a less reliance on diesel power generation. Wind mill power generators, solar power (for the summer) and battery storage are fantastic elements for providing consistent power in the Arctic. These power systems have been tried and proven, in all conditions, over many years. Geothermal is another green efficient way to heat homes and businesses in the Arctic. When I worked for Dome Petroleum in McKinley Bay NWT, I was fortunate to work in the most extreme winter weather the Arctic can produce. With global warming …

Ethical Implications Of Population Growth And Reduction, Tiana Sepahpour

Student Theses 2015-Present

No abstract provided.

Iceland's Migratory Birds In Changing Environmental Conditions: An Interactive Synthesis, Frances J. Duncan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Human-driven changes to environmental conditions alter the habitats, behaviors, and migration patterns of migratory species. Changes in temperature, vegetation, and precipitation are just some of the factors contributing to shifts in phenology, demography, and distribution of migratory birds. These changes are driven by anthropogenic climate change and amplified by human land-use change, and are especially intense at high latitudes. This project creatively communicates the effects of environmental changes on three species of migratory birds in Iceland—the northern wheatear, the Greenland white-fronted goose, and the black-tailed godwit—using principles of storytelling and game design. The resulting interactive product is a game that …

“In Principle” Versus “In Reality”: Assessing The Potential Of Adaptive Urban Governance Toward Urban Flooding In Ho Chi Minh City’S District 7, Cindy Pham Nguyen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Flooding has become the new normal in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). During the rainy season, many areas of the city experience severe inundation that seriously impacts infrastructure, traffic, and economic transactions. As the effects of climate change unpredictably and rapidly manifest in Southern Vietnam, the frequency and impact of urban floods are projected to increase. In addition, within the last few decades, HCMC has rapidly developed and urbanized, transforming itself into the economic center of Southern Vietnam. However, previous studies and international experts have determined that rapid, poor development may be exacerbating urban flood issues.

In recent years, city …

Kanjirowa Blues: An Exploration Of Environmental And Climate Consciousness In Lower Dolpa, Nepal, Casey Greenleaf

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

It has been scientifically demonstrated that high altitude, mountainous regions such as the Himalayas are extremely susceptible to and at accelerated risk of the effects of climate change. The regions of Lower Dolpa discussed in this work, Juphal, Dunai, Chun, and Dapu, lie in a glacial watershed, and are at present risk of landslides, floods, wildfires, and rely on agricultural and transhumant livelihoods that are uniquely susceptible to the impacts of changing temperature and weather patterns. People in this region are being forced to incrementally adapt and reframe their understanding of their surroundings due to both aforementioned severe events as …

2008 - Managing An Uncertain Future - Climate Change Adaptation Strategies For California's Water

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

This report recommends a number of adaptation strategies for California and local water managers to improve their capacity to handle change. Many of the strategies will also help adapt California's water resources to accommodate non-climate demands including a growing population, ecosystem restoration and greater flood protection. Several of the recommendations in this report are ready for immediate adoption, while others need additional public deliberation and development. Some can be implemented using existing resources and authority, while the majority will require new resources, sustained financial investment and significant collaborative effort.