Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Assessment Of Risks And Benefits For Pennsylvania Water Sources When Utilizing Acid Mine Drainage For Hydraulic Fracturing, Frederick R. Davis

Master's Projects and Capstones

The use of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the hydraulic fracturing process increases the complexity of a polarizing topic. Many stakeholders see a potential to provide relief to multiple environmental problems while others see it as another threat to the Pennsylvania water supply so many parties depend on. This research will evaluate data from Pennsylvania state agencies and additional academic research regarding AMD and fracking to assess potential benefits, risks, and complications for Pennsylvania watersheds when using AMD in the fracking process.

Chapter 1 presents background information on energy demand and hydraulic fracturing, as well as energy sources and industrial …

A Fishery, A Sanctuary, A Sink, And A Disaster: The Often Hapless Management Of California's Salton Sea, William M. Mclaren

Will McLaren

Over a century ago, a series of questionable management decisions and water-diversion engineering mistakes in Southern California produced an “unnatural” waterbody called the Salton Sea. Since then, the Sea has served as a recreational destination with fluctuating popularity, a sanctuary for migratory birds, a sink for agricultural runoff and urban wastewater, and one of the most productive tilapia and corvina fisheries in the United States. However, the Sea’s resources and associated uses have steadily deteriorated since its formation.

The contrast between the ethics that drove resource management decisions at the time of the Salton Sea’s formation to those employed in …

Ensuring Our Future Or Sowing The Seeds Of Our Own Destruction? Crop Insurance And Water Use In Texas, Michael Shapiro

Pomona Senior Theses

Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in the United States. Policies that affect agriculture therefore have the potential to have a large effect on the overall use of water. Crop insurance is one such policy, which was found to significantly increase water use in the state of Texas. Much, but not all of this effect can be explained by an increase in planting density, and results vary widely by crop and by region.

San Diego’S Options For Alternate Sources Of Water: A Comparative Analysis Of Water Recycling And Desalination As Alternative Methods To Importing Water, Alana O. Pokorny

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper describes the processes, methods, backgrounds, and economic challenges, of Desalination and Water Recycling and provide current examples of both. To create a baseline with which to compare the two methods, I will also delve into the history of California water policy. This complicated past is the reason water importation into Southern California remains the main method of obtaining water. Yet, as the current drought continues and technology advances, the need for imported water will become obsolete as the methods for recycling and desalinating water become less expensive, more convenient and more equitable. In the conclusion, all the methods …

My Water, My Rights: Ethics And Implications Of Water Privatization, Rachel Vandermyde

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.