Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

The Effects Of Wildfires On The Mental And Physical Health Of School-Age Children In North America: A Scoping Review, Sarah Oerther, Sarah Manspeaker, Alison Wix, Daniel Oerther, Carmen Marsit

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Wildfires are occurring more often and with greater intensity, leading to longer and harsher fire seasons. As a result, children are more frequently exposed to wildfire smoke, which increases their risk of mental and physical health effects. Purpose: The purpose of our scoping review is to explore the current literature on what is known about the direct and indirect impacts of wildfires on the mental and physical health of school-age children in North America (5 to 18-year-olds). Methods: A health sciences librarian-assisted literature search, with input from the research team, was performed. Results: A total of 16 studies were …

Yellow Crazy Ant, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity factsheets

Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) are believed to be native to west Africa or Asia. They are not present in Western Australia (WA) and are prohibited.

Yellow crazy ants were first observed in Australia in the early 1900’s on the Cocos-Keeling Islands and Christmas Island, where they have now caused a massive decline in the population of iconic red crabs. More recently, they have been recorded in Queensland, the Northern Territory (NT), and New South Wales (NSW).

Improving Rice Yield Using Sensor Based Nitrogen Application And Best Management Practices (Bmps) In Rice-Soybean And Rice-Crawfish Rotational Systems, Charles Darnall

LSU Master's Theses

Sustainable rice farming requires effective nutrient management and conservation practices to maintain high yields and minimize environmental impact. Implementing best management practices (BMPs) promotes lower fertilizer application rates, increased N use efficiency, improves soil health, and water quality. Demonstration fields established in two different rotational cropping systems (rice-soybean and rice-crawfish) in Kaplan, LA in 2023. In each rotation system, the benefits of BMPs (sensor based mid-season N management and cover cropping) compared to farmer’s practice (FP) were evaluated using yield, yield components, soil and water quality as metrics. The rice-soybean fields in 2023 and 2024 were both planted with PVL03 …

Climate Smart Agriculture, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

There are several programs encouraging producers to reduce their carbon intensity, including United States Department of Agriculture climate-smart agriculture programs, the 2024 Nebraska Climate Action Plan, and the 2024 Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act. The hope is that producers with lower carbon intensity (CI) scores will receive a premium for their products. Producers would be well advised to learn more about these programs, as reducing carbon intensity in agriculture seems to be an emerging agricultural policy trend that will be with us for some time to come.

How Much Green To Keep The Garden Clean? An Analysis Of The Willingness To Pay (Wtp) Of Home Gardeners For Biowrap Technology, Gengchen Cai, Kanij Fatema, Karina A. Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

A research team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kansas State University, and South Dakota School of Mines are working on creating an alternative product that would use locally available materials to create a spray-on, biodegradable polymer that can suppress weeds and will biodegrade in a timeframe that is amenable to crop production. We broadly refer to this technology as BioWRAP (Bioplastics with Regenerative Agricultural Properties).

Our results show that the home garden market is potentially a significant one for a BioWRAP product. Continued work in the development of the BioWRAP technology is necessary to determine what the cost of a …

Coastal Sedimentary Records Of Extreme Events And Human Activity: Examples From Hurricanes And Microplastics, Nicholas T. Culligan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Coastal regions are uniquely vulnerable to a myriad of natural and anthropogenically caused stresses such as hurricane strikes and chronic microplastic pollution. Both hurricanes and microplastics have major negative effects on global coastlines and are forecast to become more damaging in the future. However, current model trends are based on limited modern data and may not provide an accurate or comprehensive view of the future. Therefore, this dissertation investigates coastal stratigraphic records to determine long-term past trends of these presses and pulses so that researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers can use them to enact strategies to mitigate damages from worsening …

Exploring Microplastic Concentrations And The Sedimentology Of San Diego's Offshore Benthic Environments, Rachel Sarner

Theses

Marine pollution studies are showing infiltration of plastic debris in remote parts of oceans including the deep sea. Microplastics (MPs) are being discovered not only in the ocean’s water column but also benthic sediments reaching thousands of meters in depth. This is the first study to analyze MP concentrations in conjunction with sedimentary characteristics from varying deep-sea environments (coastal, deep ocean, offshore terrace) in the Southern California Continental Borderland (CCB). Our goal for this study was to observe how the concentration and type (morphology, color, size) of microplastics varied with distance from shore, with water depth, and between different submarine …

Climate Change In Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration Of Education And Activism, Kala Nance

Honors Theses

Climate Change in Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration of Education and Activism takes an investigative, journalistic approach toward climate change in Mississippi. Specifically, how education and awareness have a direct impact on Mississippi industries, people and legislation. The project explored the level of acknowledgement of climate change across the state, and how certain individuals used advocacy to encourage education about climate change to raise awareness of the severity of the situation. This project includes interviews with university professors and researchers, non-profit organizations, educational groups and working individuals in some of Mississippi’s largest areas of employment. Additionally, this project draws on research …

Fireflies At Rpa Natural Area Final Report, Olivia H. Bush, Sydney M. Shea, Sofia J. Gordon, Nick S. Wiebke

Final Reports in ENST 411: Environmental Community Projects

Our group worked alongside community partners Shaunna Barnhart and Jim Dunn during the Spring 2024 semester to assist with their annual event Fireflies at RPA Natural Area. RPA Natural Area is a local park in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania that was recently acquired by Southside Recreational Authority. Since taking over the park, the organization has begun hosting an event each July to educate the general public about firefly biology and conservation by showing a film and guiding attendees through a firefly tour through the park. Our goals for this project included creating physical educational materials to be used at the park …

Identifying Phytoremediation Performing Plant Species That Can Be Utilized In The Improvement Of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soils, Ashley Clark*, Samuel Mutiti

Graduate Research Showcase

Heavy metal pollution is a problem associated with industrialization and development. Two major metals that are commonly mined and can enter the environment, which can jeopardize communities’ health, are copper (Cu) and lead (Pb). There are different options for reducing heavy metal pollution in the environment via remediation efforts, including physical, chemical, and biological methods. However, physical and chemical remediation can be costly and labor-intensive, making them unsuitable for regions that do not have the funds to utilize these practices. Biological remediation is a more cost-conservative practice that has been shown in many studies to be effective in the gradual …

The Port Of San Diego's Maritime Clean Air Strategy: Enhancing Public Health With Innovative Clean Air Strategies, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, Gabriela Yamhure, Alexis Padilla

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The Port of San Diego (The Port), established in 1962 under the Port act, is the Maritime agency that manages and stewards the thirty-four miles of coastal working waterfront along the San Diego Bay. The Port develops and promotes commerce, navigation, recreation, a healthy environment and fisheries around the San Diego Bay, contributes billions to San Diego’s economy, and is home to international cargo and trade operations. In a concerted effort to lessen greenhouse gas emissions impact of operations on local, often underserved communities, the Port developed and is implementing a Maritime Clean Air Strategy (MCAS), an update to the …

Sustainable Service Trends In Restaurants, Suruchi Bhatt

School of Business

Being Sustainable is an essential milestone in the food industry. Companies form and fall because of consumers' reactions to the industry. The food industry and restaurants account for some of the highest Food Waste and Pollution, approximately 34% of the Global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, including food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. (Crippa et al., 2021) In a sector like this, ensuring a complete understanding of sustainability in the industry is of utmost importance. However, the sheer relationship between the sustainable image, the prospect of sustainability, and the reality of implementing it may be far from reality. (Yuying-Huang, 2022)

Opportunities For Urban Resilience To Climate Change: Understanding Local Climate Perceptions, Motivations, And Barriers To Green Infrastructure Use, Emmilene Berski

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Global climate change poses a substantial threat to cities in the United States, particularly through increases in flooding and extreme heat. Cities must adapt to these threats to preserve their residents’ livelihoods and prevent economic loss. One adaptation strategy is the implementation of green infrastructure (GI). The opportunity for GI to foster urban resilience to climate change necessitates a deeper understanding of the extent to which cities utilize GI as a strategy for local climate change adaptation as well as perceptions and motivations surrounding the use of GI at a local level. I sought to address this need through a …

Using Empathy To Shift Climate Change Attitudes., Carson Haller

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

It has shifted from a hunch to an existential threat, it is a harbinger of disaster and bankruptcy, backed by science, and yet a considerable portion of Americans still believe that climate change is a hoax. It is becoming increasingly imperative to convince this portion to join the fight. It has been found that empathy is an effective method of persuasion, prompting the question of whether empathy could be used shift climate change attitudes. The hypothesis of this study was that if a person feels empathy for somebody harmed by the effects of climate change, they will be more willing …

Towards Sustainable Development: Civic Architecture As Material Banks, Kathleen O'Gara

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis posed the question, “How can buildings be designed to be disassembled and reused to reduce construction and demolition waste and reduce our unsustainable reliance on raw materials?” Designing for disassembly and reuse has the potential to dramatically increase the life of building materials, thus decreasing construction and demolition waste relating to architecture. When designing with deconstruction and reuse in mind, designers must consider the next life of these materials. The thesis was further narrowed to push the adaptability of these materials by designing a structural kit of parts. The structure system is often seen as a stable and …

The Effect Of Agrivoltaics On Irrigation Water Consumption In Central California, London Camba

Undergraduate Theses

An agricultural system where solar energy generation and agricultural systems are used together for mutual benefit, agrivoltaics reduces loss of water due to evaporation, particularly in drylands. Central California has faced extreme droughts, and water has become a scarce resource. However, the wide-scale use of agrivoltaics has been limited due to lack of knowledge about agrivoltaics and also the lack of funding for start-up agrivoltaics projects. Therefore, this research investigated the potential for agrivoltaics in Central California to reduce irrigation water consumption using a review of multiple crop studies using agrivoltaics to determine an optimal crop for agrivoltaics and a …

Assessing Sustainability Within The Brewing Industry: A Literature Review And Benchmarking Analysis., Elijah Thomas Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goals of this study were twofold: to further examine sustainability within the brewing industry through a literature analysis across four academic journals, and a benchmarking analysis of a Louisville, Kentucky brewery’s resource consumption and emissions production. Publications related to the brewing industry were examined for the presence of sustainability keywords: “efficiency, sustainability, carbon footprint, climate change and greenhouse gas”. Benchmarking examined the local brewery’s primary production facility to determine their performance compared to other surveyed breweries pursuing sustainability across the country. Literature examination found noticeable discrepancies between the appearance of sustainability topics within article abstracts and their discussion within …

Rollins Oral History Interview With Bruce Stephenson, Bruce Stephenson, Wenxian Zhang

Oral Histories

Bruce Stephenson earned a BA in history from Florida Southern College and a Master in city planning from Ohio State University.  He worked as land use planner for Pinellas County, Florida before receiving a PhD from Emory University.  His dissertation unveiled John Nolen’s 1923 plan for St. Petersburg, Florida’s first comprehensive city plan, and centered Stephenson's first book, Visions of Eden.

Dr. Stephenson started his teaching career at Rollins in 1988 and served as a professor in Environmental Studies for more than 35 years. His second book, John Nolen, Landscape Architect and City Planner, earned the JB Jackson …

Navigating Murky Waters: State-Level Strategies For Wetland Preservation And Tile Drainage Regulation After Sackett V. Epa, Caleb M. Swanson

Honors Thesis

Wetlands are some of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, serving as provisioners of species habitat, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, water quality purification, and other ecosystem services. Human development has resulted in substantial wetland loss the world over. In the 1970s, the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act, giving the EPA broad authority over wetland protection. However, in the summer of 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided Sackett v. EPA, limiting the EPA’s jurisdiction over wetlands to those indistinguishably connected to generally recognized “Waters of the United States” and removing federal protection for millions of acres of wetlands, …

Avian Diversity And Abundance Among Agricultural Land, Forested Land, And Their Ecotone In Guadalupe, Cerro Punta, Chiriquí Province, Republic Of Panamá., Stella Rae Kinard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the human population increases, finding the balance between modifying land use for resources and protecting areas to preserve species that are threatened by anthropogenic disturbance is an ever growing problem. Guadalupe is a town in the Western Highlands of Panamá that struggles in this balance as its primary income source is agriculture, but it is located on the border of two protected areas, Parque Nacional La Amistad and Parque Nacional Volcán Barú. By understanding the unique ways in which avifauna utilize distinct vegetative landscapes, recommendations can be made for management styles of farms in Guadalupe to implement practices that …

Community Opinions On Environmental Action On Isla Porvenir And Whichub Walla In The Guna Yala Comarca, Sofia Houts

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Guna Yala Comarca is the autonomous, self-governed territory of the Guna people, one of seven Indigenous groups in Panama. The Comarca is located on Panama’s eastern Caribbean coast and includes 365 coral islands. Forty nine Guna communities and roughly 32,000 individuals live in the territory. The Guna General Congress is the highest authority, and each community has a local congress. As a low-lying coastal region, Guna Yala is especially vulnerable to climate change and is already impacted by sea level rise, biodiversity loss, and changing precipitation patterns. Sub-national, national, and international forms of governance and environmental action are crucial …

Fauna, Flora, And Land Cover Changes Over The Last Two Decades In The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, Gabriel De Oliveria, Steven R. Schultze, Guilherme Mataveli

Technical Reports

A technical report documenting ecosystem changes to the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta region due to urban expansion over approximately two decades (2001-2019).

Outpatient Fall Prevention In Ambulatory Adults 65 Years Old And Over, Dorothy L. Osborne-White

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: In the United States (U.S.), falls are the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and over, resulting in 36 million falls yearly (Moreland et al., 2020). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023), one in four older adults experiences a fall each year. Falls are the world's second most prominent cause of accidental deaths (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults (Moreland et al., 2020).

Methods: A quality improvement project that included a fall bundle was implemented in a primary clinic. A …

Mapping With The Land: Co-Developing A Cumulative Impact Monitoring And Land Stewardship Framework With Sambaa K’E First Nation, Northwest Territories, Canada, Michael S. Mcphee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Across the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, Indigenous populations are striving to achieve effective environmental protection, whilst navigating complex methods, policies, and research relationships within co-management contexts. This thesis seeks to identify how differing cultural systems, environmental change, and fractured partnerships may be unified to align with the needs of the Sambaa K’e First Nation (SKFN), a remote Dehcho Dene community. Indigenous methodologies guided co-development of research questions with SKFN leadership which yielded objectives a) develop a GIS-based method to manage, organize and mobilize cultural and environmental data; b) develop a new stewardship monitoring procedure so that users can apply the …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Solar-Powered Microgrids In Northern California: An Opportunity For Resilience, Marina Riddle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Planned and unplanned power outages have been increasing in frequency and duration, negatively impacting all public sectors, and threatening public safety. These outages are deadly to those who rely on medical devices. As climate change-fueled extreme weather events (wildfires, earthquakes, storms, etc.) also increase in frequency, our electrical grid must be prepared to bounce back. Microgrids provide necessary redundancy and reliability. Through a novel GIS suitability analysis, based on solar radiation, land use type, local energy demand, distance to transmission lines, distance to roads, and slope, optimal locations for solar-powered microgrids throughout Northern California were determined. The counties of Fresno, …

Co2 Storage Capacity And Injectivity Of Stacked Carbonates Of The Pennsylvanian And Permian In Western Nebraska, Lateef Lawal

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Geological carbon storage (GCS) is a critical aspect of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in which captured CO₂ from power plants and industrial processes is injected and stored securely underground. Potential subsurface rock formations include saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams and volcanic rocks. GCS technology has been proven in the United States and many other parts of the world as a net-zero carbon emission strategy to mitigate the current climate crisis of our planet. Unlike other states such as Wyoming, GCS projects are still in the early phases in Nebraska. The goal of this …

Beyond Corporate Greenwashing: Discourse Of A 'Just' Electric Energy Transition Materialized At The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, Laekyn Kelley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Thacker Pass in Northern Nevada is a rich desert ecosystem with spiritual significance to local Indigenous peoples, and it is also the site for what will be, for now, the United States’ largest open-pit lithium mine. Lithium is one mineral constituent of electric batteries which are essential to current U.S. electric energy transition policy, a transition which policymakers and other public groups have called on to be done in a way which is just. However, what exactly a just electric energy transition looks like in places like Thacker Pass is under continued negotiation in theoretical and practical senses. Existing research …

The Evaluation Of Feed Additives On Reducing Enteric Methane Production From Cattle, Reba L. Colin

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Environmental sustainability can be positively impacted by the inclusion of feed additives to reduce enteric methane production from cattle. Methane production can be affected by feed additives that either alter the rumen environment or act as methanogenesis inhibitors. A reduction in methane from cattle can contribute to meeting carbon neutrality.

A metabolism study was conducted to evaluate Alga 1.0, a product containing bromoform, fed to cattle to evaluate the effects on gas emissions. Treatments were (0, 69, or 103 g/d Alga 1.0) fed in a corn-based diet. Headbox-style indirect calorimeters were used to measure gas emissions. Feeding Alga 1.0 linearly …

Experiential Humanitiesx

DePaul Magazine

DePaul University's HumanitiesX program promotes project-based learning through innovative community collaborations.