Sustainability Commons^™

The Potential Of Industrial Waste And Agricultural Feedstock Towards Sustainable Biofuels Production: Techno-Economic And Environmental Impact Perspectives, Felix K. Adom

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This Ph.D. research is comprised of three major components; (i) Characterization study to analyze the composition of defatted corn syrup (DCS) from a dry corn mill facility (ii) Hydrolysis experiments to optimize the production of fermentable sugars and amino acid platform using DCS and (iii) Sustainability analyses. Analyses of DCS included total solids, ash content, total protein, amino acids, inorganic elements, starch, total carbohydrates, lignin, organic acids, glycerol, and presence of functional groups. Total solids content was 37.4% (± 0.4%) by weight, and the mass balance closure was 101%. Total carbohydrates [27% (± 5%) wt.] comprised of starch (5.6%), soluble …

Hybrid Buses In The Real World, Mary Ellen Mallia

Presentations

Presented at the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium Conference

The Kennebec River: A Historic Maine Resource, Elise Begin

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

The Kennebec River has been considered one of Maine’s most important resources for at least the past 6-8 thousand years; its basin is located in west central Maine and drains 5,893 square miles, an area that is approximately one-fifth the area of the state. The river originates at Moosehead lake and runs 170 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. The river can be divided into two basins: the upper basin, which spans from Moosehead Lake to Waterville; and the lower basin, which spans from Waterville to the ocean.

Before the arrival of Europeans in 1606, the Abenaki Indians controlled the entirety …

The Happy Valley, Cassie Raker

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

On the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts, there exists the Happy Valley. Surrounded by the humble Holyoke Range, today you will find a bustling New England settlement dominated by local colleges and universities. But it was not always so. The picturesque Mount Holyoke and its accompanying hotel, known as the Summit House, have overlooked the area for hundreds of years, watching it change from forest to farmland to industry to the modern landscape it is today.

Groundwater Quality And Its Health Impact: An Assessment Of Dental Fluorosis In Rural Inhabitants Of The Main Ethiopian Rift, Tewodros Rango, Julia Kravchenko, Behailu Atlaw, Peter G. Mccornick, Marc Jeuland, Brittany Merola, Avner Vengosh

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This study aims to assess the link between fluoride content in groundwater and its impact on dental health in rural communities of the Ethiopian Rift. A total of 148 water samples were collected from two drainage basins within the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). In the Ziway-Shala basin in particular, wells had high fluoride levels (mean: 9.4 ± 10.5 mg/L; range: 1.1 to 68 mg/L), with 48 of 50 exceeding the WHO drinking water guideline limit of 1.5 mg/L. Total average daily intake of fluoride from drinking groundwater (calculated per weight unit) was also found to be six times higher than …

Relações Entre As Doenças Respiratórias E A Poluição Atmosférica E Variáveis Climáticas Na Cidade De Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil, Paulo R.B. Guimarães, Ricardo Berger, Fernando Lucambio Perez, Paulo Dt Dl Pires

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Neste estudo, foram observados níveis de concentrações de poluentes atmosféricos da cidade de Curitiba, no período de novembro de 2003 a junho de 2008, da estação automática de monitoramento da praça Ouvidor Pardinho. O objetivo foi desenvolver uma metodologia de modelagem estatística que explique o número de notificações de doenças respiratórias registradas em idosos (acima de 60 anos) e crianças (abaixo de 5 anos). Além das concentrações de poluentes, algumas variáveis climáticas foram analisadas. Após estudo de diversas metodologias estatísticas, considerou-se mais adequado o ajuste de Modelos Aditivos Generalizados para Locação, Escala e Forma. Os modelos ajustados apresentaram resultados satisfatórios …

As Unidades De Conservação E A Floresta Ombrófila Mista No Estado Do Paraná, Paulo Dt Dl Pires, Douglas Magnus Zeni Jr, Debora Gaulke

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

O intenso processo de ocupação territorial, uso desordenado dos recursos naturais e destruição de áreas verdes iniciadas no século XIX, são os principais motivos da intensa devastação das Florestas com Araucárias. Como meio de efetivação da proteção e desenvolvimento florestal, o Brasil adotou em sua política ambiental a criação do Sistema de Unidades de Conservação nas categorias, de proteção integral e uso sustentável. Uma alternativa viável é a regulação dos estoques de madeira no Estado por meio de Unidade de Conservação de Uso Sustentável. O que se pretende a partir deste ponto é analisar a possibilidade da criação de regulamentação …

Sense And Sustainability, Ken Hickson

Social Space

Like the proverbial chicken and egg, climate change and sustainability are inextricably linked; it is impossible to decide which comes first, but urgent solutions are needed. Ken Hickson delivers a timely lesson on the four E’s of sustainability—energy, environment, economics and ethics.

Producing Edible Landscapes In Seattle's Urban Forest, Rebecca J. Mclain, Melissa R. Poe, Patrick T. Hurley, Joyce Lecompte, Marla R. Emery

Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Over the next decades, green infrastructure initiatives such as tree planting campaigns, and ecological restoration will dramatically change the species composition, species distribution and structure of urban forests across the United States. These impending changes are accompanied by a demand for urban public spaces where people can engage in practices such as gleaning, gardening, and livestock production. This article analyzes the institutional framework that undergirds efforts in Seattle, Washington to normalize the production and use of edible landscapes. We focus attention on the role of grassroots fruit gleaning groups and highlight their bridging function between Seattle's agriculture and forestry policy …

The Use Of Life-Cycle Analysis To Reduce The Environmental Impact Of Materials In Manufacturing, Megan A. Kreiger

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This thesis is composed of three life-cycle analysis (LCA) studies of manufacturing to determine cumulative energy demand (CED) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The methods proposed could reduce the environmental impact by reducing the CED in three manufacturing processes.

First, industrial symbiosis is proposed and a LCA is performed on both conventional 1 GW-scaled hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)-based single junction and a-Si:H/microcrystalline-Si:H tandem cell solar PV manufacturing plants and such plants coupled to silane recycling plants. Using a recycling process that results in a silane loss of only 17 versus 85 percent, this results in a CED savings of 81,700 …

Urban Ecosystem Services: Tree Diversity And Stability Of Tropospheric Ozone Removal, Fausto Manes, Guido Incerti, Elisabetta Salvatori, Marcello Vitale, Carlo Ricotta, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Urban forests provide important ecosystem services, such as urban air quality improvement by removing pollutants. While robust evidence exists that plant physiology, abundance, and distribution within cities are basic parameters affecting the magnitude and efficiency of air pollution removal, little is known about effects of plant diversity on the stability of this ecosystem service. Here, by means of a spatial analysis integrating system dynamic modeling and geostatistics, we assessed the effects of tree diversity on the removal of tropospheric ozone (O3) in Rome, Italy, in two years (2003 and 2004) that were very different for climatic conditions and ozone levels. …

Ua12/13 2012 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Christian Ryan-Downing, Wku Office Of Sustainability

Sustainability Publications and Resources

The Office of Sustainability has occupied the house at 503 Regents for approximately four months. The space is used to house the Big Red Bikes mechanic shop and program, and other programs and activities. Eight students work in the Office of Sustainability in various roles including bike mechanic, student assistant, four PowerSave Interns, a student “handy-man” who works on various physical improvements, and a student that is completing his Honors Thesis on the project.

Much of the past four months have been spent setting up the bike shop, painting, installation of walkway and way finding sign, and otherwise improving the …

Feasability [Sic] Of Implementing Alternative Energy Technology On A High School Campus, Mackensey Ann Farmer

Theses Digitization Project

This study examines ways in which wind turbine and solar panel alternative energy technologies can be utilized on high school campuses. Information collected on how wind turbines and solar panels operate, the size, structure, power output, cost, advantages and disadvantages, was used to determine which specific wind and solar systems would best serve campus needs.

The Future Of Agriculture And Society In Iowa: Four Scenarios, Meghann E. Jarchow, G. L. Drake Larsen, Robert Costanza, Gretchen Zdorkowski, Stefans R. Gailans, Nicholaus Ohde, Ranae Dietzel, Sara Kaplan, Jeri Neal, Mae Rose Petrehn, Theodore Gunther, Stephanie N. D’Adamo, Nicholas Mccann, Andrew Larson, Phillip Damery, Lee Gross, Marc Merriman, Ida Kubiszewski, Julian Post, Meghan Sheradin, Matt Liebman

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Iowa is a leader in crop and livestock production, but its high productivity has had concomitant negative environmental and societal impacts and large requirements for fossil-fuel-derived inputs. Maintaining agricultural productivity, economic prosperity and environmental integrity will become ever more challenging as the global demand for agricultural products increases and the resources needed become increasingly limited. Here we present four scenarios for Iowa in 2100, based on combinations of differing goals for the economy and differing energy availability. In scenarios focused on high material throughput, environmental degradation and social unrest will increase. In scenarios with a focus on human and environmental …

Interannual And Spatial Impacts Of Phenological Transitions, Growing Season Length, And Spring And Autumn Temperatures On Carbon Sequestration: A North America Flux Data Synthesis, Chaoyang Wu, Alemu Gonsamo, Jing Ming Chen, Werner A. Kurz, David T. Price, Peter M. Lafleur, Rachhpal S. Jassal, Danilo Dragoni, Gil Bohrer, Christopher M. Gough, Shashi B. Verma, Andrew E. Suyker, J. William Munger

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding feedbacks of ecosystem carbon sequestration to climate change is an urgent step in developing future ecosystem models. Using 187 site-years of flux data observed at 24 sites covering three plant functional types (i.e. evergreen forests (EF), deciduous forests (DF) and non-forest ecosystems (NF) (e.g., crop, grassland, wetland)) in North America, we present an analysis of both interannual and spatial relationships between annual net ecosystem production (NEP) and phenological indicators, including the flux-based carbon uptake period (CUP) and its transitions, degree-day-derived growing season length (GSL), and spring and autumn temperatures. Diverse responses were acquired between annul NEP and these indicators …

‘Looking After Country Two-Ways’: Insights Into Indigenous Community-Based Conservation From The Southern Tanami, Karissa Preuss, Madeline Dixon

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This paper offers insights and practical lessons for a ‘two-way’ approach to combining Indigenous and non-Indigenous ecological knowledge in environmental planning and management. It is based on the experience of developing an Indigenous Protected Area to conserve 10 million hectares of biologically and culturally significant land in the Southern Tanami region of Central Australia

Ua12/2/2 Talisman, Vol. 83, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

2012 Talisman:

• Couch, Drew. Life Inside the Suit – Big Red
• Waggoner, Tabitha. Mike Nichols
• Plunkett, Amber. Rememberng 9/11
• Cherry, Lauren. Understanding Each Other
• Brown, Bianca. East Meets Western – Confucius Institute
• Heyne, Richard. Cage the Elephant Comes Home
• Clements, Kristin. Never Solo – Track & Field
• Spees, Monica. Out on the Water - Hilltopper Bass Club
• Simmons, Natasha. Kentucky’s Miss America – Ann-Blair Thornton
• Alleyne, Zirconia. The Hungriest Fans – Football
• Wood, Shane. The Making of a Game – Football
• Duke, Alex. Building Confidence – Football
• Henye, Richard. Clearing the Air – Cheerleading
• Florence, Sara. Two-Wheeled Freedom – Bicycling …

Ualbany Goes Local, Mary Ellen Mallia

Presentations

Presented at the State of NY Sustainability Conference.

A Synoptic Perspective Of The Record 1-2 May 2010 Mid-South Heavy Precipitation Event, Joshua D. Durkee, Lee Campbell, Kyle Berry, Dustin Jordan, Gregory Goodrich, Rezaul Mahmood, Stuart Foster

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

During 1–2 May 2010, a series of strong thunderstorms led to 41, 57, and 43 tornado, severe wind, and severe hail reports, respectively, across portions of the southern United States. In addition to severe weather, these storms also distributed recordsetting rainfall amounts across the mid-South region, which contributed to historic flooding across portions of central and western Kentucky and Tennessee (Fig. 1). This heavy precipitation event was sampled by multiple surface observational networks, including (but not limited to) 48 research-grade automated stations from the Kentucky Mesonet (www.kymesonet .org), first-order automated stations from the National Weather Service (NWS; www.ncdc.noaa.gov /oa/ncdc.html), and …

Contents And Sustainability Of ‘Environmentally Friendly’ Cutleries, Paper Plates, And Plastic Cups, Caroline Jacobsen, Lauren Poscillico

Other Student Research in Physics, Astronomy, and Geophysics

To determine the sustainability, and the level of environmental-friendliness of each of these brands of cutlery, plates and cups, we first used the PIXE technology to determine the inorganic contents of the main cutlery pieces and compare this content to that which is found in potatoes or corn, depending on what the brand claimed to use for manufacturing. We also used corn and potato starch to make our own homemade plastics, which we used for further comparison. As an additional side study, we left samples of some of the plastics outside, to determine how much each would degrade under sustained …

Sustainable Design Of Complex Industrial And Energy Systems Under Uncertainty, Zheng Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Depletion of natural resources, environmental pressure, economic globalization, etc., demand seriously industrial organizations to ensure that their manufacturing be sustainable. On the other hand, the efforts of pursing sustainability also give raise to potential opportunities for improvements and collaborations among various types of industries.

Owing to inherent complexity and uncertainty, however, sustainability problems of industrial and energy systems are always very difficult to deal with, which has made industrial practice mostly experience based. For existing research efforts on the study of industrial sustainability, although systems approaches have been applied in dealing with the challenge of system complexity, most of them …

Fire And The Invasive Annual Grass Microstegium Vimineum In Eastern Deciduous Forests, S. Luke Flory, Keith Clay, Sarah Emery, Joseph Robb

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Non-native plant invasions have the potential to change natural and prescribed fire regimes by increasing fuel loads, continuity of fuels, and fuel composition, which may alter fire intensity, damage native species, and promote further invasions. In this project we sought to evaluate the interaction between fire and the invasive annual grass Microstegium vimineum in eastern deciduous forests. Our goal was to determine if invasions enhance fire intensity, including fire temperatures, flame heights, and fire duration, and negatively affect tree regeneration, and stimulate further invasions. We also sought to determine how prescribed fires and the timing of fires affect the density …

Wildfire Regime Shifts In Temperate Forest Ecosystems: International Symposium In New Zealand, Tomas Veblen, Alan Tepley, Andres Holz

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project consisted of organizing and executing a one-day symposium on “Wildfire Regime Shifts in Temperate Forest Ecosystems” in conjunction with the triennial meeting of the Southern Connection Congress. The VIIth Southern Connection Congress drew together more than 350 environmental scientists and resource managers for its triennial meeting in Dunedin, New Zealand from January 25 to 30, 2013. The Southern Connection Congress (SCC) is a meeting of interdisciplinary researchers and natural resource managers who are interested in the biota and ecosystems of the temperate latitudes of the southern hemisphere. Attendees are from a wide range of research and professional disciplines …

Wildland Fire Suppression And Land Development In The Wildland/Urban Interface, Sheila Olmstead, Carolyn Kousky, Roger Sedjo

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project has explored the hypothesis that public fire suppression in fire‐prone areas acts as a subsidy to landowners, incentivizing conversion of land to residential and commercial development. Landowners do not bear the full cost of their choice to build on land in fire‐prone areas, since they do not pay for suppression, though they reap all of the benefits, potentially resulting in economically inefficient levels of development. To test this hypothesis, we performed an econometric analysis of U.S. land use change between 1970 and 2000. Statistically, we identified the impacts of changes in fire suppression policy by exploiting a natural …

To Burn Or Not To Burn Oriental Bittersweet: A Fire Manager’S Conundrum, Noel B. Pavlovic, Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Ralph Grundel, Scott A. Weyenberg, Neal Mulconrey

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is an introduced liana (woody vine) that has invaded much of the Eastern United States and is expanding west into the Great Plains. In forests, it can girdle and damage canopy trees. At Indiana Dunes, we have discovered that it is invading non-forested dune habitats as well. Anecdotal evidence suggests that fire might facilitate its spread, but the relationship between fire and this aggressive invader is poorly understood. We investigated four areas important to fire management of oriental bittersweet, each of which we will briefly summarize here. 1) What fire temperatures cause seed mortality? For seeds, …

Using Escaped Prescribed Fire Reviews To Improve Organizational Learning, Anne E. Black Dr., James Saveland Dr., Dave Thomas, Jennifer Ziegler Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The US wildland fire community has been interested in cultivating organizational learning to improve safety and overall performance for a number of years. A key focus has been on understanding the difference between culpability (to be guilty) and accountability (to explain) and on re-orienting review processes towards building a collective account of (as opposed to finding individual blame for) unwanted outcomes. A variety of innovative methodologies have been developed, yet until this project, there has been no systematic reflection to determine whether or how any of the existing review processes might be assisting organizational learning. Through a series of five …

A Decision-Support System For Assessing The Impact Of Fire Management On Threatened And Endangered Species, Gordon Reeves, Rebecca Flitcroft, Lee E. Benda, Pete Bisson, Steve Wondzell, Jeff Falke, Kris Mcnyset, Ken Vance-Borland, Dan Miller

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Historically, wildfire was an important agent of change in landscapes across the western United States. Fires of varying magnitudes and extents contributed to a mosaic of dynamic landscape conditions. For the past century, fire management that focuses on fire suppression has effectively altered the composition of many vegetation communities across the landscape. Fire management and other landuse practices associated with natural resource use, agriculture, and residential development have changed the complexity of terrestrial landscapes. Aquatic systems have not been exempt from these changes: alterations in disturbance processes on the landscape have changed inputs into the stream environment, and practices such …

A Fire Prevention Effectiveness Assessment For Multiple Ownerships, Jeffrey P. Prestemon Dr., Karen L. Abt, David T. Butry, Douglas S. Thomas, Sam Scranton, Scott L. Goodrick, Parker T. Mothershead, Terry K. Haimes, Susan Marzec, John Owens, Suzanne Romero, Reid Shelley, Loren Walker, Angela Yearwood

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This study first summarized findings of fire prevention education statistical modeling from the State of Florida from a study originally led by the Principal Investigator and two major collaborators (Karen Abt, USDA Forest Service, and David T. Butry, National Institute of Standards and Technology). The study next measured the statistical effects of wildfire prevention programs occurring on tribal lands administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with primary involvement of major collaborator Sam Scranton (Bureau of Indian Affairs). Using first a binary variable indicating the presence or absence of a wildfire prevention program on lands managed by the tribe or …

Affecting Risk: Improving Hazard Communication In The Wildland-Urban Interface, Melissa Wright Dr., Destiny Aman

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Wildfire hazard is a growing problem in many areas of the United States, especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where homes and other structures border or intermingle with forests, shrubs and grasslands. Despite years of educational outreach by fire management officials promoting effective and affordable mitigation strategies, research shows that residents, especially seasonal residents and those new to an area, still tend to under-invest in mitigation, even when they perceive their risk to be high. Meanwhile, the social and economic costs of wildfire have increased with fire size and intensity and far exceed the costs of mitigation. This problem has …

Age-Class Mosaics And Wind-Driven Fire: Further Fuel For The Debate, Jan L. Beyers, Philip J. Riggan, David Weise, Timothy Paysen, Marcia Narog

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

In 2006 the Santa Ana wind-driven Esperanza fire burned through the North Mountain Experimental Area (NMEA) and vicinity, including the scars of 10 previous fires. Multiple images of the fire’s progression were taken using PSW Research Station’s airborne FireMapper thermal-imaging system. Existing fuels data and historic NMEA maps plus new fire images were used to investigate relationships between vegetation history, fire behavior and severity, and fuel consumption. Soil samples were collected at a subset of fire severity sample points to assess seed bank survival. Coordinated documentation of vegetation recovery addressed the effects of age class and fire severity on chaparral …