Sustainability Commons^™

Damming Sustainability: How Social And Environmental Networks Influence The Construction And Management Of Large Dams In The Amazon Basin, V. Miranda Chase

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

,p>Dams are powerful structures that engender a flood of controversies. These projects face great criticism from numerous groups, many of whom succeed in influencing such enterprises. This research is an in-depth study on dam-related social and environmental movements in the Amazon: how they are created and internally organized; how members share information and resources, how they identify alternatives; and how they design strategies and implement agendas. Social movements include, but are not limited to, domestic and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academic researchers, journalists, religious organizations, grassroots associations, and large private foundations. They create formal or informal coalitions and design …

Climate Change Impacts And Projections For The Greater Boston Area: Findings Of The Greater Boston Research Advisory Group Report, Ellen Douglas, Paul Kirshen

School for the Environment General Publications

During the writing of the inaugural Boston Research Advisory Group (BRAG) report both NASA and NOAA announced that 2015 was the warmest year on record, beating the previous record set in 2014, by 0.29 °F. Just five years later (during the writing of this report), NASA announced that 2020 had tied 2016 for the warmest year, breaking the previous record by a stunning 1.84 °F, and that the last seven years have been the warmest seven-year period on record.

These observations support the assertion made in the sixth and most recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , …

Circular Economy And The Potential For Extended Producer Responsibility Policies, Erin Quinn

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This thesis was developed based on an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Policy briefing I created during my internship at RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) during the summer of 2021. This project expands upon the work created during the internship. It examines the connection between circular economy and EPR policies, as well as how they can create effective strategies for waste reduction and recycling in the U.S. It demonstrates how the current linear economic system under which the U.S operates and its connection to single-stream recycling are inefficient at best. The thesis then describes how a circular economy (CE) …

Using Lidar To Estimate Carbon Sequestration Of Evergreen Trees At Eastern Washington University (Ewu) Campus, Cheney, Washington, Kristy A. Snyder

2022 Symposium

EWU contains a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees across its campus, providing several benefits. However, no comprehensive record exists of the total number, location, species, or ages of these trees. This knowledge can inform facilities of proper care for individual trees and can be used to estimate carbon sequestration on campus. Traditional on-the-ground methods for assessing trees require tree cores or clinometers, making trees susceptible to pests or disease and leading to inaccurate results. Remote sensing using lidar data is a noninvasive, more precise method to measure tree height and subsequently assess tree age. This poster explores using point …

Teaching & Learning Guide For Disability And Climate Justice, Molly M. King, Maria A. Gregg, Ana V. Martinez, Emily Y. Pachoud

Sociology

Disability is widespread: nearly one in four Americans has a disability (Taylor, 2018) and disability cuts across demographic categories. Among individuals aged 15 and over, 12.6% had some type of mobility disability; above age 65, it is nearly 40% (Brault, 2012). Mobility disabilities heighten vulnerability to climate change and climate-related disasters (UNHCHR, 2020). Reduced information resources and mobility, increased health risks, and a lack of visibility in climate change discourse put people with disabilities in a more vulnerable position in the climate crisis. However, this vulnerability can be mitigated through relevant and sufficient access to information, risk mitigation …

Sustainable Rural Development: Is It Possible To Boost Rural Economies While Protecting The Environment?, Jack M. Hempleman

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Amidst rapid depletion of our carbon budget, the need to change our practices to be more in line with Earth’s limits has become important in every sector of our economy. From advances in renewable energy generation to the growth of urban gardening, people around the world are taking action to change the way they interact with our planet. However, growing concerns have been raised that protections for the environment will disproportionately harm struggling communities. For instance, rural communities in the United States already exhibit disproportionately high poverty rates, income inequality, and unemployment, as well as lower quality healthcare and public …

Building Capacity For Socio-Ecological Change Through The Campus Farm: A Mixed-Methods Study, Francesca A. Williamson, Amber J. Rollings, Grant A. Fore, Julia L. Angstmann, Brandon H. Sorge

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Given the ongoing socio-ecological crises, higher education institutions need curricular interventions to support students in developing the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to create a sustainable future. Campus farms are increasingly becoming sites for sustainability and environmental education toward this end. This paper describes the design and outcomes of a farm-situated place-based experiential learning (PBEL) intervention in two undergraduate biology courses and one environmental studies course over two academic years. We conducted a mixed-method study using pre/post-surveys and focus groups to examine the relationship between the PBEL intervention and students’ sense of place and expressions of pro-environmentalism. The quantitative analysis …

The Sustainability Rhetoric Among The Spanish Fashion Companies Involved In The Rana Plaza Collapse Of 2013, Keegan Lyle

Honors Theses

Over the last century, fashion has evolved to become a commodity that is rapidly changing and easily available. The processes that have led to this accessibility of fashion, however, have proven to be harmful to the environment and, most recently, proven to be potentially fatal for the people making the clothing. In 2013, a garment factory in Bangladesh, housing production for major global fashion brands, like Zara and The Children’s Place, collapsed following a series of negligence. The event has sparked years of awareness-raising in the public dialogue of fast fashion. As a part of the newly-developing research in sustainable …

Feed-In Tariffs And Sustainable Energy: Why Different Oecd Governments Support Sustainable Energy At Different Rates Through Feed-In Tariffs, Joshua M. Grahame

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Why is it that different governments in the OECD support sustainable energy at different rates? In the effort to explain this difference, Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs) will be closely examined to see if it can explain the significant portion of the variation among countries. This project serves as a continuation of previous scholars' works, to better understand the variation between countries in adopting renewable energy, even though all members of the OECD have pledged that by 2030 half of their energy will come from sustainable energy. Whereas previous research considered data ending in 2012 and looked at countries outside of the OECD, …

Impact Of Community Radio On Community Development In The United States, Jillian Hermansky

Capstone Collection

Community radio is a community-led broadcasting service that serves as a tool for development for communities around the world. This research study explores the development benefits of community radio in the United States using a case study of Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-licensed FM community radio stations to evaluate the role of community radio in communication and information sharing and promoting sustainable social change and development. To fulfill the objectives of the case study, data was collected from 55 community radio stations in the United States using mixed-questionnaire digital surveys and supplementary virtual interviews. Findings indicated that community radio stations in …

The Demotechnic Index Of Nations, 1980-2018, Camden Rainwater

Geosciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Demotechnic Index (DI) is a non-dimensional metric that is the scalar multiple of energy consumption over and above that required for mere subsistence of a national population. Thus, the DI is a measure of energy efficiency that scales a country’s industrial energy consumption (called the total technological energy) and the energy required to meet the metabolic demand of the population (called the total metabolic energy). The DI was created by scientist John Vallentyne in 1982, refined in 1994, but never gained popularity or wide use as a sustainability metric. The objective of this thesis was to re-evaluate the DI …

Multi-Criteria Evaluation Model For Classifying Marginal Cropland In Nebraska Using Historical Crop Yield And Biophysical Characteristics, Andrew Laws

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Marginal cropland is suboptimal due to historically low and variable productivity and limiting biophysical characteristics. To support future agricultural management and policy decisions in Nebraska, U.S.A, it is important to understand where cropland is marginal for its two most economically important crops: corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max). As corn and soybean are frequently planted in a crop rotation, it is important to consider if there is a relationship with cropland marginality. Based on the current literature, there exists a need for a flexible yet robust methodology for identifying marginal land at different scales, which …

Justification For An Apparel-Based Sustainability Course At The University Of Arkansas, Sydney Taylor

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The University of Arkansas' Apparel Merchandising and Product Development program does not currently offer a course on sustainability in the apparel and textile sector. Due to a lack of sustainability information, students may not have a thorough understanding of their degree. If students had the opportunity to learn about current sustainability-related topics before entering the workforce, they would have a new perspective and a deeper understanding of the industry, allowing them to potentially make good change.

By elaborating on the need for an apparel-based sustainability course to be offered at the University of Arkansas in the Apparel Merchandising and Product …

Determining The Value Of Ecosystem Services Provided By Green Stormwater Infrastructure In Coastal South Carolina, Joan U. Ureta

All Dissertations

Rapid urbanization changes the natural hydrology of a landscape, making stormwater management a crucial aspect of land development. As the fastest growing ecosystem globally, an innovative way of managing stormwater is needed to address the increase in urban run-off. In coastal South Carolina, stormwater practices have been widely adopted at the neighborhood level, yet threat of flooding is becoming more evident as the urban population and development continue to rise.

To determine the importance of stormwater practices to coastal residents, we assessed perception on stormwater practices and programs at different decision levels— 1) household, 2) neighborhood, and 3) city/county. Results …

Sustainability In Web Development Through Energy Efficiency, Hannah Bebinger

Honors Projects

As global internet usage expands, websites are growing in both size and complexity. Contrary to the common belief that the internet is immaterial and “environmentally friendly”, web pages have significant negative environmental impacts (Frick, 2015). Websites contribute to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and electricity consumption. Considering the current climate crisis, it is crucial that web developers be aware of the impact that their work has on the environment and actively work to improve site energy efficiency. With a lack of regulation and awareness, the environmental impact of websites has remained unchecked despite growing concerns for sustainability. Further research and …

Ens 300: Principles Of Sustainability Oer Curation, Chealsye Bowley

Curated OER Collections

This OER curation is an annotated bibliography of prospective OER for the GVSU course ENS 300: Principles of Sustainability, assembled by request from the instructor.

An Exploration Of A Year At The Ursinus Food Forest, Victoria Bearden

Environment and Sustainability Presentations

The Ursinus Food Forest began a commitment to a new form of sustainable land management at Whittaker Environmental Research Station. This management integrates lessons from urban agriculture, urban forestry, and agroforestry (see Clark & Nichols 2013) with principles of permaculture (Jacke et al 2005). Begun in 2017, and this past fall marked 2 years since the planting of phase one in 2019. In the fall of 2021 students, faculty, facilities, and volunteers planted the second phase of the food forest site, which added 7 new food producing species. Including this, many projects were created to enhance the site throughout the …

Give Full Play To National Strategic S&T Force To Provide Vigorous Support For Carbon Peak And Carbon Neutrality Goals, Jingdong He, Daquan Cao, Xiaonan Duan, Tao Zhao, Qifeng Li, Yu Xiao, Zhongmin Liu, Haisheng Chen, Chibiao Ding

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Scientific and technological innovation plays key supporting and leading roles to achieve "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals (referred to as "dual carbon"). It is necessary to make sustained efforts in the three aspects, namely energy structure adjustment, energy consumption, and carbon sequestration, and build a novel multi-energy-integrated energy production and utilization system based on hydrogen energy, energy storage, and methanol, in which the main lines are clean and efficient utilization of fossil energy, large-scale utilization and complementation of clean energy, low-carbon reconstruction of industrial processes, and intelligent multi-energy integration of building and transportation. In 2022, the Chinese Academy of …

Policy Framework And Technology Innovation Policy Of Carbon Peak And Carbon Neutrality, Xianchun Tan, Wen Guo, Jie Fan, Jianxin Guo, Mingyue Wang, An Zen, Liyang Su, Yi Sun

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Building a policy system conducive to peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality is critical to achieving the dual carbon goals on schedule. This study sorts out and analyzes the 168 low-carbon policy texts since the 11th Five-Year Plan. It finds out the overall situation of China's low-carbon policies, as well as the characteristics of the number, effectiveness, measures of policies, and clarifies the gap in the current low-carbon policies. On this basis, around the phased characteristics of the realization of the dual carbon goals, the future policy framework of peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality is drawn, including the timetable …

Discussion On Action Strategies Of China’S Carbon Peak And Carbon Neutrality, Guirui Yu, Tianxiang Hao, Jianxing Zhu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality action is a huge system engineering with national coverage, country-led and universal participation, long-term sustainable implementation, requiring definite, tenacious, and adaptable action strategies. Here, based on summarizing the current situations of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality", the action strategies, technological approaches, and scientific and technological supports are discussed to achieve the "dual carbon" targets in China. It is suggested that China's "dual carbon" action should insist on "one basic concept", achieve "two macroscopic targets", implement the "three-pronged comprehensive", and "four-way simultaneous" technological paths, and practice the macro layout of "five coordination" in the national …

Analysis Of International Carbon Neutralization Strategic Actions And Technology Layout And Enlightenment Suggestions To China, Jiansheng Qu, Wei Chen, Jingjing Zeng, Yuling Sun, Qin Liao, Kaimo Guo, Aning Qin, Huijuan Pei, Fei Teng, Yanfei Liu, Fang Yue, Li'na Liu, Yun Tang, Lanchun Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals is a major strategic decision made by the Chinese government, which will bring extensive and profound systemic changes for the economy and society. S&T is the core driving force that supports the goal of carbon neutrality. On the basis of the related concepts of carbon neutrality, this study analyzes the strategic actions and the characteristics of technological layout of carbon neutrality in developed countries/regions and international organizations. Major countries have promoted carbon neutrality through legislative regulation, energy strategies, technology roadmaps, carbon markets and other policy actions. They focus on deploying transformative green low-carbon …

Policy Approaches To Increase Carbon Sequestration Capacity By Optimizing Layouts Of Ecological Construction, Jie Fan, Hongbing Wang, Daojing Zhou, Ning Ma, Baoyin Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Improving carbon sequestration capacity through ecological construction is one of the important ways to achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality" in China. Based on the analysis of the current situation and trend of ecological carbon sequestration in China, this study summarizes the main challenges in the increment of ecosystem carbon sink in China. The current situation and trend, the significant carbon sequestration capacity of forests, the recovery phase of carbon sequestration capacity of grassland, and the carbon sequestration benefits of major ecological projects are also surveyed. Then, the new challenges of China are analyzed, including the backlog of over-mature forests …

Market Mechanism And Focus Of International Cooperation To Achieve Carbon Neutrality, Lele Zou, Pu Wang, Yi Sun

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The market mechanism is the basis for achieving carbon neutrality. Through the market mechanism, the global cost can be the lowest to achieve carbon neutrality. Therefore, in the process of carbon neutralization, it is necessary to give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation. China has explored and accumulated experience in various market mechanisms for more than 10 years, and has established the carbon market, green certificate market, white certificate market, energy market, etc. At the same time, the power system is also strengthening market-oriented reform. Nevertheless, there are still imperfect systems and conflicts among …

Carbon Neutrality Policy Measures In Global Major Economies, Jianfang Wang, Liyang Su, Xianchun Tan, Xiaoyi Chen, Chunlei Ge

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

This study focuses on the strategies, targets and policy measures for carbon neutrality in global major economies. The research shows that due to the different socio-economic and political foundations, the transition strategy towards carbon neutrality in major economies is also varied, which can be divided into four categories:leading strategy, growth strategy, following strategy, and swing strategy. Most of them build carbon neutrality target system with the framework of "target roadmap+targets in key areas", but leading countries usually integrate targets into legislation and thus the objective is legally binding, while others tend to weaken emission reduction targets and focus on the …

Technological Approaches To Enhance Ecosystem Carbon Sink In China: Nature-Based Solutions, Guirui Yu, Jianxing Zhu, Li Xu, Nianpeng He

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Carbon peak in 2030 and carbon neutralization in 2060 has been established as one of the important strategic goals of China's economic and social development. During 2010-2020, the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems in China to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) varied from 1.0 to 1.3 Gt/a, with high uncertainty. To enhance the carbon sink capacity of Chinese terrestrial ecosystems, the combination with land space planning and ecological protection is essential. It is necessary to first stabilize the existing carbon storage in these ecosystems, such as forest, grassland, wetland, coast, and others, and then implement some important ecological protection and ecological restoration …

Development Path Of Energy Science And Technology Under “Dual Carbon” Goals: Perspective Of Multi-Energy System Integration, Rui Cai, Hanxiong Zhu, Wangjun Li, Yu Xiao, Zhongmin Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

This study first analyzes the driving factors of China's realization of the "dual carbon" goals from the two aspects of necessity and urgency, and proposes that to achieve the "dual carbon" goals, China shall reshape the energy structure and related industrial systems in a scientific and orderly manner, in which technology innovation plays a crucial leading role. Then, based on the long-term research and deveopment in the energy field of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the scientific and technological development path to lead the realization of the "dual carbon" goals with the concept of "multi-energy system integration" is proposed, and …

Carbon Neutral Transformative Technologies For Industrial Process, Suojiang Zhang, Xiangping Zhang, Wei Ge, Chunyan Shi

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Focusing on the four major high carbon emission industries of steel, non-ferrous, chemical industry and building materials, through research and analysis, four low carbon strategies, i.e., green hydrogen/green electricity substitution, raw material/product structure adjustment, process flow re-construction and digital intelligence, are proposed. Combining the current status and the trends of technology development in different industries, a number of advanced low-carbon technologies are suggested, key scientific and technological challenges to be solved are condensed, and suggestions and initiatives to accelerate the application of new technologies and industrial transformation and upgrading are proposed, with a view to providing support for low-carbon and …

Build New Power System To Promote Carbon Neutrality, Li Kong, Wei Pei, Jianye Rao, Yingxin Xu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Under the 'carbon peak and carbon neutrality' goal, the supply and demand of China's power system will continue to grow in the next 40 years. Firstly, this study comprehensively analyzes China's power grid system under the goal of carbon neutralization. In the future, wind power and solar power will gradually become the main power supply, which brings new tasks and challenges to the power grid to absorb the renewable energy. On this basis, the general idea and construction principles of building a new generation of power system are expounded. Then, the basic structure and form of the new generation of …

Research Progress And Development Suggestions Of Energy Storage Technology Under Background Of Carbon Peak And Carbon Neutrality, Qiong Zheng, Lixia Jiang, Yujie Xu, Song Gao, Tao Liu, Chao Qu, Haisheng Chen, Xianfeng Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Energy storage is one of the important supporting technologies to achieve the "dual carbon" goals, and it is an important means to stabilize renewable energy fluctuations and reduce the impact of large-scale new energy access on the power grid. At present, the competition of global energy resources is becoming increasingly fierce, and China is also facing significant changes in the adjustment of energy structure. To implement the energy strategy of "four revolutions and one cooperation" in the new era, and to realize the "14th Five-Year Plan" as well as the "Long-range Objectives Through the Year 2035", China needs to build …

Highly Efficient And Clean Utilization Of Fossil Energy Under Carbon Peak And Neutrality Targets, Qinggang Lyu, Zhen Chai

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Fossil energy utilization faces new challenges under carbon peak and carbon neutrality ("dual carbon" for short) targets. In this study, the present status of fossil energy utilization in China is summarized. Based on the situation of energy resources in China, the idea of highly efficient and clean utilization of fossil energy under dual carbon constraint is proposed. The technical development suggestions are put forward from three aspects including high efficient combustion and conversion of coal, high efficient utilization of oil and gas, and waste treatment of the chemical processing of coal. It aims to provide scientific and technological support for …