Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Towards Food Service Sustainability In Suburban Environments By Optimally Locating Shared Anaerobic Digester Units, Rebecca Loraamm, Joni Downs, Robert Alonso Bair, Daniel Yeh

Suburban Sustainability

Anaerobic digestion is an effective method for reducing food waste at the consumer level. Drawbacks associated with this strategy include high construction costs for multiple digester units and limited public awareness of the method’s commercial potential. Given the large scale problem of food waste, an approach establishing community partnerships between local businesses and primary schools is offered to combat the problem of food waste. Optimizing the placement of shared digester units enabling utilization by multiple stakeholders is the suggested mitigation method. This research explores application of the p-median problem to determine the set of optimal sites for shared anaerobic digester …

Developing A Sustainable Water Supply In The American West: The Case Of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Hubert B. Stroud, Mary K. Kilmer

Suburban Sustainability

Suburban and urban communities in the American West are challenged by rapid population growth combined with limited natural resources. Supporting sustainable development is of great concern in this region and in similar regions throughout the world. This research examines the sustainability of the water supply within a rapidly growing suburban city in the American West. The city, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, began as an interstate land sales operation and rapidly became a “boom” town, in part because of its location near metropolitan Albuquerque.

Because of a very limited water supply and an increasing demand for water associated with population growth, …

Sustainability Planning, Environmental Justice And Climate Change: Applications Of The Long Island Markal Model, David S. Friedman, Yehuda Klein, Jose Pillich, Michael T. Sullivan

Suburban Sustainability

As pointed out by many authors, sustainability is often vague and amorphous (See, for example, Dovers, 1989; Faber, et al, 2005; Glavič, et al. 2007). There is a clear need to make analytical and data-driven analyses of established and or proposed plans. MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation model) is an analytical tool that can be used characterize the impacts of sustainability plans at multiple spatial scales: global, national, regional, and local. In this study we apply the Long Island MARKAL model to answer three interrelated issues: 1, the development and incremental improvement of local and regional sustainability plans; 2, the impact of …

Examining Potential Residential Participation In Financial Incentives To Mitigate Impervious Surface Effects In Howard County, Maryland, Kristin M. Larson, Jim Caldwell, Alexander Cloninger

Suburban Sustainability

Maryland passed legislation to reduce impervious surface effects and stormwater runoff by mandating a remediation fee for ten of its counties. Along with the fee, mandated counties may use funds generated to encourage residents to follow stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). This study uses Maryland's Howard County as a case study to examine the potential participation of its residents in financial incentives for the BMPs of rain gardens, cisterns, and permeable pavers. A survey was issued to gauge potential participation of homeowners (n=110), and results were then compared to participation numbers in three similar already implemented financial incentive programs. Results …