Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

Water Conservation, Consuelo Bokum

Water Matters!

New Mexico always has had periods of water shortages, some far more long lasting and devastating than others. As warming temperature and changing weather patterns continue to develop, the likelihood that water shortages—like those felt throughout the state from 2010 through 2013—will occur with greater frequency. These changes can and have caused significant economic and environmental damage, and the risk of more harm will not improve unless we improve our water management significant.

Drought, Adrian Oglesby

Water Matters!

New Mexico is renowned for its high deserts, mild climate, and abundant sunshine. Incidentally, these physical attributes, which make New Mexico so unique and beautiful, are also characteristic of a naturally dry environment. The state has been subjected to severe drought conditions in the past, alternating with times of uncharacteristically high supplies of moisture upon which its population has at times over-relied.

This article will provide various definitions of drought and a short history of drought in New Mexico; discuss impacts of drought on the state’s human water user communities and environment; discuss in brief the priority call and water …

Priority Administration, Ed Merta

Water Matters!

Since the turn of the twenty first century, drought conditions have frequently stricken much of New Mexico. Such intervals of extreme dryness have been a permanent, recurring feature of the state’s climate for at least two thousand years, according to tree ring data and other scientific evidence. Some of these past droughts lasted for decades, exceeding in severity the Dust Bowl of the 1930sand the great New Mexico drought of the 1950s. Today, climate change models indicate that the Southwest will likely become even hotter, potentially making future droughts in New Mexico more extreme. Managing water shortages promises to become …

Active Water Resource Management, Paul Bossert, Gregory C. Ridgley

Water Matters!

For decades, most of the waters of the State of New Mexico have been the subject of water rights adjudications to establish all the water rights. Stream systems and sub-basins geographically define the adjudications. There are twelve active cases. However, complete adjudication of all New Mexico water rights is still many years away. Meanwhile, water use in the state has evolved.New water users increasingly look to acquire existing water rights rather than developing new rights. Decisions on administration, distribution, and redistribution of water have to be made.

It was widely held, though not unanimously, that the State Engineer needed greater …

Domestic Wells, Paul Bossert, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

The domestic well statutes direct that the State Engineer “shall” issue a permit for certain types of temporary or low volume wells, including wells for household use. For the past fifty-five years, the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) has interpreted this to mean that such permits are granted with no evaluation, public notice, or hearing.

Water For New Mexico Rivers, Beth Bardwell, Adrian Oglesby

Water Matters!

The Rio Grande, the Pecos, the Gila, the San Juan, the Canadian—New Mexico’s rivers are synonymous with the state’s culture and natural heritage. New Mexicans overwhelmingly care about the health of the state’s rivers and that includes flows to support fish and river dependent wildlife. Rivers, wetlands, and riparian areas comprise a very small part of our landscape—a mere 1 percent. This 1 percent plays an essential role in renewing the state’s water supply for its two million residents; for sustaining the state’s second largest industry—tourism; for producing food and fiber; and for sustaining New Mexico’s web of life. Eighty …

Inter-Basin Water Transfers, Anne Minard

Water Matters!

Inter-basin water transfers move water from one watershed to another. As droughts constrict the availability of water, and cities grow larger and thirstier, such transfers are increasingly being eyed as a solution. Although inter-basin transfers usually do not increase the overall availability of water in a state, they can move water to where it is needed most. Some of the main proponents of inter-basin transfers are pro-growth city and state governments as the re-allocation of water across watersheds allows for flexibility in planning for future growth.

Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, Jerold Widdison, Pat Page

Water Matters!

In March of 2009, the Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the“Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009". The Project is a major endeavor for northwestern New Mexico. In one sense,authorization of the project culminates years of work. In another sense, it means the beginning of many additional years of effort. There is much to be done to construct and carry the project forward to reality, including work for the federal government,the State of New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and the city of Gallup. In view of the Project’s magnitude, this article reviews only its major aspects

The Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, And Tesuque Pueblos Settlement, Paul Bossert, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

The “Aamodt case” is a complex, long-running adjudication of water rights in the Pojoaque River watershed northwest of Santa Fe. In 1966,it was filed in federal court as State of New Mexico, ex rel. State Engineer,et al. v. Aamodt, et al. The parties include the State, through the State Engineer, about 5,600 non-Indian claimants, the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque,San Ildefonso, and Tesuque, and governmental entities such as the county of Santa Fe, many acequias, the Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District, and several federal and state agencies.

Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement, Paul Bossert, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In November of 2010, the Congress passed the Claims Resolution Act and on December 8, President Obama signed it into law. Title V of the Claims Act, the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, settles the Pueblo portion of the Abeyta case and approves an agreement signed in 2006 by officials from Taos Pueblo, the State of New Mexico, and other interested water rights owners in the Taos area. The settlement act also helps resolve the non-Indian portion of Abeyta. The measure quantifies Taos Pueblo’s water rights and protects the interests of local acequias, the Town of Taos, and …

Salt Basin, Jerold Widdison, Stephanie Tsosie

Water Matters!

The Salt Basin of south-central New Mexico presents several problems of resource utilization. The basin is a large but little-known area—dry, inhospitable—but it has a sought-after supply of groundwater and perhaps a supply of natural gas and oil. In addition, the basin features vast stretches of grassland in an essentially intact natural environment. The“hows” and the “whethers” of using and conserving these resources have been vigorously argued for several years.

Water Trust Board, Joanne Hilton, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In 2001, the New Mexico legislature passed the Water Project Finance Act. The stated purpose of the Water Project Finance Act is to provide a financing mechanism to promote water use efficiency, water resource conservation and protection, and fair distribution and allocation of water to all users. The Water Trust Board was created in the Act. Its purpose is to: 1) oversee and administer the Water Trust Fund and Water Project Fund; 2) review and recommend funding for qualifying water projects to the legislature; and 3)pursue additional funding opportunities.

Strategic Water Reserve, Brigette Buynak, Stephanie Tsosie

Water Matters!

The Strategic Water Reserve (Reserve) established in 2005 transforms New Mexico’s policies regarding river management. The Reserve is a pool of publicly held water rights dedicated to keeping New Mexico’s rivers flowing to meet the needs of river-dependent endangered species and to fulfill our water delivery obligations to other states. It is a tool for New Mexico to achieve sensible and sustainable water policies by balancing water use between cities, industry, agriculture, and the rivers of the state.

Food Safety Knowledge And Self-Reported Practices Of Food Handlers In Jamaica, Marcia Annmarie Thelwell-Reid

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Food-borne illnesses are responsible for disease globally. One of the most important strategies for combating food-borne diseases is the training of food handlers. Using social cognition theory as a framework, the purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the mandatory training program for food handlers in a rural parish in Jamaica. A cross-sectional survey, using self-administered questionnaires, was used to assess and compare food safety knowledge and self-reported practices of food handlers trained in 2 government training programs, while using untrained food handlers as controls. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as t test, chi-square test, and ANOVA …

Classification Of The Waxy Condition Of Durum Wheat By Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Using Wavelets And A Genetic Algorithm, Barry K. Lavine, Nikhil Mirjankar, Stephen Delwiche

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy has been applied to the problem of differentiating four genotypes of durum wheat: ‘waxy’, Wx A1 null null, wx-B1 null and wild type. The test data consisted of 95 NIR reflectance spectra of wheat samples obtained from a USDA-ARSwheat breeding program. A two-step procedure for pattern recognition analysis of NIR spectral data wasemployed. First, thewavelet packet transform [14,15] was applied to the NIR reflectance data usingwavelet filters at different scales to extract and separate low-frequency signal components from high frequency noise components. By applying these filters, each reflectance spectrum was decomposed into wavelet coefficients that …

Finding Them Before They Find Us: Informatics, Parasites, And Environments In Accelerating Climate Change, Daniel R. Brooks, Eric P. Hoberg, Walter A. Boeger, Scott Lyell Gardner, Kurt E. Galbreath, David Herczeg, Hugo H. Mejía-Madrid, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Parasites are agents of disease in humans, livestock, crops, and wildlife and are powerful representations of the ecological and historical context of the diseases they cause. Recognizing a nexus of professional opportunities and global public need, we gathered at the Cedar Point Biological Station of the University of Nebraska in September 2012 to formulate a cooperative and broad platform for providing essential information about the evolution, ecology, and epidemiology of parasites across host groups, parasite groups, geographical regions, and ecosystem types. A general protocol, documentation–assessment–monitoring–action (DAMA), suggests an integrated proposal to build a proactive capacity to understand, anticipate, and respond …

Comparative Phylogeography Of Glassfrogs (Vitreorama) Endemic To The Brazilian Altantic Rainforest, Zoe Spanos

Dissertations and Theses

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest harbors one of the most diverse faunas of the world, including 2-3% of all known vertebrate species. Understanding the role of both climate and landscape in shaping current biodiversity patterns has been the focus of many recent phylogeographic studies. Here I explore multiple factors thought to have impacted the generation of local diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF) using two montane, stream-associated species of glassfrogs – V. eurygnatha and V. uranoscopa. I integrate species distribution modeling, path analysis, and molecular data to test the role of climatic stability, rivers, mountain chains, and geographic distance in …

Addressing Public Health Risks Of Persistent Pollutants Through Nutritional Modulation And Biomimetic Nanocomposite Remediation Platforms, Bradley J. Newsome

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Due to their relative chemical stability and ubiquity in the environment, chlorinated organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pose significant health risks and enduring remediation challenges. Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) provide a novel platform for sensing/remediation of these toxicants, in addition to the growing use of NPs in many industrial and biomedical applications, but there remains concern for their potential long-term health effects. Research highlighted herein also represents a transdisciplinary approach to address human health challenges associated with exposure to PCBs and NPs. The objectives of this dissertation research are two-fold, 1) to develop effective methods for capture/sensing and remediation …

Effects Of Crop Residue Burning On Aerosol Properties, Plume Characteristics, And Long-Range Transport Over Northern India, D. G. Kaskaoutis, S. Kumar, D. Sharma, Ramesh P. Singh, S. K. Kharol, M. Sharma, A. K. Singh, Atinderpal Singh, D. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Aerosol emissions from biomass burning are of specific interest over the globe due to their strong radiative impacts and climate implications. The present study examines the impact of paddy crop residue burning over northern India during the postmonsoon (October-November) season of 2012 on modification of aerosol properties, as well as the long-range transport of smoke plumes, altitude characteristics, and affected areas via the synergy of ground-based measurements and satellite observations. During this period, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images show a thick smoke/hazy aerosol layer below 2-2.5 km in the atmosphere covering nearly the whole Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). The air …

Wetlands And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: Causes And Effects Of Climate Change – A Meta-Analysis, Robert E. Ventura

Pomona Senior Theses

Climate change is one of the largest problems facing this generation. Anthropogenically caused increases of greenhouse gas emissions is a significant culprit to this problem. Although the obvious problems such as cars, industry, and urbanism garnish a significant amount of the criticism, natural sources such as wetlands are also beginning to contribute to this issue. This is becoming increasingly significant as wetlands shift from being sinks of greenhouse gases to becoming sources as various anthropogenic impacts, including global warming itself, begin to affect the health of the wetlands. The aim of this project is to look at four common types …

Regulation Of Artisanal Small Scale Gold Mining (Asgm) In Ghana And Indonesia As Currently Implemented Fails To Adequately Protect Aquatic Ecosystems, Karunia F. Macdonald, Mark A. Lund, Melanie L. Blanchette, Clinton D. Mccullough

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Artisanal small scale gold mining (ASGM) operations are largely unregulated, informal and transient. Rudimentary mining and processing techniques used in ASGM often result in degraded environmental, safety, health and social conditions. ASGM requires permanent sources of water, placing most operations close to natural water bodies. Until recently, the impact on these environments has been largely overlooked, with most studies focussing primarily on mercury contamination and health concerns. Based on Ghanaian and Indonesian experiences, regulation of ASGM is a good step toward improvement, but here we argue that regulation alone is insufficient to improve environmental performance, particularly when the impacts of …

Mass Bays Resource Inventory: Summary And Findings From The Review Of Plans And Assessments, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP) contracted with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) of the University of Massachusetts Boston to conduct a review of papers, presentations, reports, and other relevant material produced from 1996 (the last CCMP) to present, that might inform the MBP’s update of their Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). The review focused on five topics identified as priority topics by the MBP: water quality, invasive species, climate change/vulnerability, continuity of estuarine habitat, and estuarine habitat protection in the geographic region of the Mass Bays Program, particularly the 47 nearshore estuaries and embayments identified in the 2012 MBP …

X-Ray Fluorescence (Xrf) Analyzer - Theory, Utility, And Qa/Qc For Environmental And Commercial Product Samples In Cambodia, Sereyrath Lim

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

Laboratory facilities in developed countries provide a variety of options for analysis of environmental samples and commercial commodities that could impact human health. The same is not true in developing countries and there is a great need to identify technologies that could be used to provide robust, accurate, cost-effective analysis that minimizes the need for extensive technical training. An X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer seems to be an analytical technique that could be such a tool for developing countries. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to assess the performance and utility of a handheld, portable XRF unit in analyzing different …

Tomato Worker Ergonomics: Reba Panel Evaluation Of Job Tasks Using Video., Leaann Nichole Manz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project tested the hypothesis that non-experts' rankings of ergonomic stressors differ from those of health professionals. Tennessee ranks fifth in the production of tomatoes, an industry in which stoop labor, hand harvesting, and packing predominate. Specific parts of tomato workers' bodies are at risk of ergonomic injury such as, shoulders (loads), backs (stoop labor), lower extremities (posture), and upper extremities (repetitive motion). Of equal importance is our expectation that the scores assigned by non-experts will correlate with those of experts, leading to a community consensus for action and practical intervention research. Video footage of harvesting and sorting was analyzed …

Long-Term Recovery Of South Indian Creek Following Interstate Construction, Clara Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The expansion of Interstate 26 from Erwin, TN to the North Carolina border was a project that potentially adversely impacted South Indian Creek because of the steep landscapes and potential for erosion. Several studies have shown the short-term, negative effects of road construction on the water quality of nearby water bodies. Non-point source pollution is the major source of water pollution in the United States. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the long-term effects of the construction of Interstate 26 on South Indian Creek to see if there has been any ecological recovery. The Environmental Health Sciences …

An Experimental And Computational Evaluation Of The Importance Of Molecular Diffusion In Gas Gravity Currents, Jeremy Jac Herman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accidental release of hazardous, denser-than-air gases during their transport or manufacture is a vital area of study for process safety researchers. This project examines the importance of molecular diffusion on the developing concentration field of a gas gravity current released into a calm environment. Questions which arose from the unexpectedly severe explosion in 2005 at Buncefield, England were of particular interest. The accidental overfilling of a large tank with gasoline on a completely calm morning led to a massive open air explosion. Forensic evidence showed that at the time of ignition, a vapor cloud, most of which now appears …

The Cost Of Green Infrastructure: Worth The Investment?, Martha Sheils

Green Infrastructure

Is GI worth the investment?

• LID techniques often lead to cost savings when we look at WHOLE PROJECT COSTS

• Natural Infrastructure investments for flood control, drinking water protection and wildlife habitat can yield SIGNIFICANT AVOIDED COSTS and additional co-benefits to communitites

Sources Of Nutrient And Fecal Microbe Pollution In Otter Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Kandice L. Smith, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measured nutrient (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate) and fecal microbe concentrations in surface waters of the Otter Creek watershed, Madison County, Kentucky to access sources of these contaminants. The watershed is approximately 12.5 miles long covering ~169 km² (41,832 acres). The watershed includes East Fork, West Fork, and Dreaming Creek, all tributaries to the main trunk of Otter Creek. The upper portion of the main trunk and Dreaming Creek drain urban areas of Richmond, but 85% of total watershed area is agricultural land, used mainly for grazing cattle. Rural residential areas and woodlands also occur.

The principle contaminants are nutrients …

Global Fossil Energy Markets And Climate Change Mitigation: An Analysis With Remind, Nico Bauer, Ioanna Mouratiadou, Gunnar Luderer, Lavinia Baumstark, Robert J. Brecha, Ottmar Edenhofer, Elmar Kriegler

Physics Faculty Publications

We analyze the dynamics of global fossil resource markets under different assumptions for the supply of fossil fuel resources, development pathways for energy demand, and climate policy settings. Resource markets, in particular the oil market, are characterized by a large discrepancy between costs of resource extraction and commodity prices on international markets. We explain this observation in terms of (a) the intertemporal scarcity rent, (b) regional price differentials arising from trade and transport costs, (c) heterogeneity and inertia in the extraction sector. These effects are captured by the REMIND model. We use the model to explore economic effects of changes …

Water Access And Security For Mongolian Peri-Urban Communities In The Face Of Climate Change And Development, Heather Cook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper attempts to assess how water access and security in Mongolian ger districts is impacted by the competing forces of climate change and development. The development of Mongolia is, understandably, a priority of the government and much of the populace, as are the impacts of climate change, which are well documented and acknowledged. Furthermore, these processes both have potentially adverse impacts on the overall well being of communities. In the context of water access and security, the need to strike this balance becomes even more acute. These factors can all be seen playing out in the city of Sainshand, …