Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

Slides: Master Development Plans (Mdps) / Geographic Area Plans (Gaps): Comprehensive Planning Tools For Oil And Gas Projects, Allen B. Crockett

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

Presenter: Mary Bloomstran, Edge Environmental

20 slides

Slides: Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program, Rich Haut

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

Presenter: Rich Haut, Houston Advanced Research Center

6 slides

Slides: Collaborative Planning And Lessons Learned, Matt Sura

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

Presenter: Matt Sura, University of Colorado Law School

48 slides

Understanding Bioprospecting: Can Indigenous Populations Benefit From The Search For Pharmaceuticals In Areas Of High Biodiversity, Emily Schwindt

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Bioprospecting is a controversial issue, and anthropologists and other scientists are quick to take sides. The idea of large corporations pumping money into conservation and development programs, while developing what could be the latest life-saving drug simply sounds too good to be true, and often times is. However, if all parties work together and proceed with caution, these benefits could become more than a fantasy. Looking at case studies from Costa Rica, India, South Africa and Panama this paper attempts to find patterns among successful bioprospecting agreements and note shortcomings and identify risks. This information will be used to suggest …

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering January 5, 2011- April 4, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• The Hector’s Helpers program with the Clark County School District continued curriculum development.

• The team continued to develop the GIS database.

• An information sharing portal between stakeholders began development.

• The team worked with Keep Las Vegas Beautiful to develop an adopt a block recognition plan, as well as developed a survey and database for the survey.

• A total of 10 clean-up events were conducted this quarter.

Keynote 2: The Alberta Oil Sands — Wrestling Bitumen Out Of The Wild North, David Rudolph

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Athabasca Oil Sand Reserve:

- Oil sands are contained within the Cretaceous McMurray Formation. (149,000 km2)

- 2.5 trillion barrels of extractable oil (~ 25 % of Canada Crude Oil Production)

- Surface mineable deposits cover 2,800 km2

- 450 billion L of process water used annually

- Currently over 130 km2 of tailings ponds (largest man-made structures in the world)

Seawalls In Samoa: A Look At Their Environmental, Social And Economic Implications, Sawyer Lawson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study concerns the environmental, economic and social implications of seawalls in Samoa. Information for this study was gathered using a combination of secondary sources and primary sources including interviews, surveys and participant observation. Given the cultural and economic importance of Samoa’s coastline and the fact that seawalls, which already occupy much of Samoa’s coast, are becoming more abundant, it is important to understand the implications of building them. The researcher found that partially due to climate change and sand mining, Samoa’s coastline has become increasingly threatened by erosion and coastal retreat. Seawalls are in many cases the fastest and …

The Solid Waste Management System Of Jaipur: An Overview And Analysis, Laura Olivier

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jaipur’s rapid development has resulted in its infrastructure lagging behind population and industrial growth, which is especially evident in the unsightly and unsanitary piles of solid waste (garbage) on the roads. This project took a broad system approach to understand Jaipur’s solid waste management system. It investigated how the system is carried out, some obstacles to its success, and the role of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The findings indicate that there is a multiple-tiered hierarchical system. The system involves a formal sector comprised of female and male sweepers, permanent and impermanent workers, and an informal sector of ragpickers and door-todoor …

Riesgo De Exposición A Los Plaguicidas En Familias Con Niños Menores De 6 Años De Azapa Y Lluta, Andrew Wilbur

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study aims to characterize the risk of pesticide exposure for children under the age of 6 who live in the rural, agricultural communities of the Azapa and Lluta valleys in Region Arica and Parinacota in northern Chile. To achieve this objective, it seeks to understand current perceptions held by parents or guardians with respect to risk of pesticide exposure within their families and identify practices and living circumstances that contribute to this risk. In environmental health, children are an especially vulnerable population as a result of their distinct characteristics. Their exploratory behavior and naivety contribute to their risk of …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering January 1, 2011 To March 31, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased by 15.35% over the last quarter. The database now contains 7,537 records.
• The number of site visits increased 38.5% over the last quarter. Results show an average of 1,356 visits per month.
• The number of page views increased 29.15% over last month. Results show an average of 2,081 pages viewed per month.
• Get Outdoors Nevada supported 22 volunteer events in a variety of ways. These events utilized 692 volunteers whom contributed 2,930 combined hours of service.
• Four volunteer trainings have been completed; 72 volunteers attended the trainings.
• Volunteer Orientation Training Automation …

Youth Initiative Hector’S Helpers: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering November 11, 2010 – February 10, 2011, Hector's Helpers

Anti-littering Programs

The Hector’s Helpers program provides an opportunity to bring environmental education and foster a sense of stewardship to students. We supply a once a week hands-on curriculum which includes a litter clean-up fieldtrip. Students learn general environmental concepts such as community, conservation, recycling, and litter prevention. They will also have access to Geographic Information Systems and Podcast technology. Through the use of GIS and Podcasts we hope to get community members to collect data and prevent litter and desert dumping. The students also participated in a marketing campaign for the Adopt-A-Block initiative. By participating in the Hector’s Helpers program, the …

Evaluation Of The Sensitivity Of Inventory And Monitoring National Parks To Nutrient Enrichment Effects From Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition Northern Great Plains Network (Ngpn), T. J. Sullivan, T. C. Mcdonnell, G. T. Mcpherson, S. D. Mackey, D. Moore

United States National Park Service: Publications

Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN)

National maps of atmospheric N emissions and deposition are provided in Maps A and B as context for subsequent network data presentations. Map A shows county level emissions of total N for the year 2002. Map B shows total N deposition, again for the year 2002.

There are three parks in the Northern Great Plains Network that are larger than 100 square miles: Badlands (BADL), Missouri (MNRR), and Theodore Roosevelt (THRO). In addition, there are 10 other smaller parks.

Total annual N emissions, by county, are shown in Map C for lands in and surrounding …

The New Way Of The Future: Small, Local, Open And Connected, Ezio Manzini

Social Space

Beset with a global financial crisis and deepening ecological woes, it’s clear that we need alternative models of development. But as Ezio Manzinipoints out, these models are already with us.

Smoke Signals: An Investigation Of The Effects Of Eco-Stoves On Community And The Environment, Claire Hennigan, Amy Rogers

VA Engage Journal

The use of solid biomass fuels and the implementation of eco-stoves to mitigate its harmful effects has become a popular topic in discussions on global development. An article published on use of traditional fuels in The New Yorker reports, “A map of the world's poor is easy to make…just follow the smoke.” Eco-stoves are now being constructed in impoverished communities around the world as an alternative to traditional stove models as a means to improve health and overall quality of life. Global Brigades, a sustainable development NGO, has been working in communities in rural Honduras to construct an eco-stove model …

Assessment, Referral, And Self Perception In Binge Eating And Obesity Among Adults, Mary Solberg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the past 30 years, binge eating and obesity has increased among all age groups due to lifestyle, environment, social, and biological reasons. To change eating habits, individuals may have to collaborate with others beyond the medical professional. Societal impacts of binge eating and obesity include increases in insurance rates, medical costs, and increased early-age mortality. The purposes of this study were to assess how individuals are referred to other professionals if they self-identify as binge eaters or obese and to understand personal awareness individuals had of binge eating and obesity. Cognitive behavioral theory was used as the theoretical foundation. …

Human Sanitary Wastes And Waste Treatment In New York City, David J. Tonjes, Christine O'Connell, Omkar Aphale, R. Lawrence Swanson

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Henry Hudson first sailed toNew Yorkharbor 400 years ago. Since then,New York Cityhas both affected and been affected by water quality in greaterNew YorkHarbor. In this paper, we focus on sewers, sewerage, and sewage treatment inManhattanand their effects on theHudson River. It is clear that feedbacks among drinking water quality and quantity, population, public perceptions, regulations, and estuarine water quality exist, although their strength and character have varied over time. Early land uses damaged local water supplies found on ManhattanIsland. New Yorkthen began to exploit the large fresh water resources available to its north, which helped the City to expand …

Cellulosic Biofuels: Expert Views On Prospects For Advancement, Erin D. Baker, Jeffrey M. Keisler

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

In this paper we structure, obtain and analyze results of an expert elicitation on the relationship between U. S. government Research & Development funding and the likelihood of achieving advances in cellulosic biofuel technologies. While there was disagreement among the experts on each of the technologies, the patterns of disagreement suggest several distinct strategies. Selective Thermal Processing appears to be the most promising path, with the main question being how much funding is required to achieve success. Thus, a staged investment in this path looks promising. With respect to gasification, there remains fundamental disagreement over whether success is possible even …

A Synergetic Use Of Satellite Imagery From Sar And Optical Sensors To Improve Coastal Flood Mapping In The Gulf Of Mexico, Naira Chaouch, Marouane Temimi, Scott Hagen, John Weishampel, Stephen Medeiros, Reza Khanbilvardi

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

This work proposes a method for detecting inundation between semi-diurnal low and high water conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico using high-resolution satellite imagery. Radarsat 1, Landsat imagery and aerial photography from the Apalachicola region in Florida were used to demonstrate and validate the algorithm. A change detection approach was implemented through the analysis of red, green and blue (RGB) false colour composites image to emphasise differences in high and low tide inundation patterns. To alleviate the effect of inherent speckle in the SAR images, we also applied ancillary optical data. The flood-prone area for the site was delineated …

Summary Report: Workshop On International Environmental Governance: Grounding Policy Reform In Rigorous Analysis, Center For Governance And Sustainability At Umass Boston

Center for Governance and Sustainability Publications

From June 27 to 28, 2011, the Federal Office for the Environment of Switzerland, the Global Environmental Governance Project of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern hosted a workshop on International Environmental Governance: Grounding Policy Reform in Rigorous Analysis. The workshop started a dialogue between academics and researchers on one hand and policymakers on the other in order to provide analytical input to the political negotiations on institutional reform in the run-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012.

The workshop focused …

Hector's Helpers Program: Project Compendium, Hector's Helpers

Anti-littering Programs

The Final Project Report reflects activities and accomplishments that occurred during the course of the Task Agreement within BLM Youth Initiative Hector’s Helpers: Youth Combating Litter and Desert Dumping. The project was funded by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Nevada State office, on behalf of the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). The agencies have jointly worked together for several years under the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (GBCESU) master agreement FAA060058 in order to develop a strategic plan to combat litter and desert dumping.

The Hector’s Helpers program provides an opportunity to bring environmental …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 1, 2010 To December 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database decreased by 1.17% over the last quarter. The database now contains 6,534 records.
• Results show an average of 836 visits per month, with an average of 2,081 pages viewed per month.
• Get Outdoors Nevada supported nineteen volunteer events in a variety of ways. These events utilized 1,225 volunteers whom contributed 6,921 hours of service.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed with 61 volunteers attending 3 trainings.
• Fall training has been completed.
• Spring training scheduling is underway.
• Volunteer Orientation Training Automation is scheduled to be completed in February.
• One hundred and thirty-four people …

When Curiosity Kills More Than The Cat: The Perils Of Unchecked Scientific Inquiry, Jamie Shannon

Pomona Senior Theses

This work analyzes the ecological, physical, emotional and health impacts of the US nuclear testing done in the Marshall Islands in the mid-20th century.

Design Standards Within Constructed Wetlands For The Reduction Of Mosquito Populations In Clark County, Nevada, Phillip C. Bondurant

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Wetlands are considered one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and provide many benefits to the environment. However, the slow moving and sometimes stagnant water created by the vegetation in the wetland creates an ideal environment for the proliferation of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are the most important insect disease vector worldwide. The presence of mosquitoes within wetlands increases the risk of disease transmission among workers and visitors creating a public health concern. Effective design standards aimed at reducing mosquito breeding habitat should be implemented during the construction and planning phase of wetland development to effectively reduce the mosquito populations. …

Pooling For Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach An Old Dog New Tricks?, Bruce M. Kramer

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

74 pages.

This paper was originally published as:

Bruce M. Kramer, “Pooling for Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?,” 55 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst. 8-1, § 8.05 (2009).

Slides: Shale Drilling And Completions, William Fleckenstein

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: William Fleckenstein, BP Adjunct Professor in the Petroleum Department and Director of PERFORM Research, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, and Managing Partner of Fleckenstein, Eustes & Associates

20 slides

Slides: Transforming And Disrupting: Shale Gas And Oil In U.S. Energy Supply, Richard Nehring

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: Richard Nehring, Nehring Associates, Colorado Springs, CO

15 slides

Agenda: Shale Plays In The Intermountain West: Legal And Policy Issues, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

This one-day symposium to be held at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Denver will address the technology, economics, environmental impacts, and regulatory issues associated with shale gas development in the Rocky Mountain region. The purpose of this event is to facilitate productive dialogue among a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties to guide policy decisions.

Slides: Development Of Shale: Water Resource Concerns And Policy Considerations, Katy Dunlap

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: Katy Dunlap, Eastern Water Project Director, Trout Unlimited, Inc., Burdett, NY

24 slides

Slides: The Here And Now Of U.S. Nat Gas, Michelle Michot Foss

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: Michelle Michot Foss, Chief Energy Economist, Center for Energy Economics, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas, Austin, TX

12 slides

Slides: Water And Development Of Unconventional Oil And Gas Resources, Judy Jordan

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: Judy Jordan, Oil & Gas Liaison, Garfield County, Rifle, CO

21 slides