Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Sustainability Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2019

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 541 - 570 of 778

Full-Text Articles in Sustainability

Ethical Art Waste: Examining Resource Management In The Art Studio, Amanda Peavey May 2019

Ethical Art Waste: Examining Resource Management In The Art Studio, Amanda Peavey

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper highlights the lack of education about production and disposal of art materials within the field of art therapy. Failure to educate clinicians creates ethical problems when hazardous materials are used in sessions unknowingly. This paper is grounded in environmental studies and chemical management to supplement the art therapy field’s lack of research and commentary. The literature is dedicated to educating the reader about the hazardous nature of materials, issues surrounding regulations of chemicals involved in production, and consumerism in relation to waste processing. The research data was collected from a community engagement project: an educational presentation was offered …

Go to article

Exploring How Animals Are Viewed In Society Over The Past 150 Years Within Classic Children's Literary Works, Ambrosia Keefe May 2019

Exploring How Animals Are Viewed In Society Over The Past 150 Years Within Classic Children's Literary Works, Ambrosia Keefe

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Changes In Plant Phenology In The Central United States In Response To Climate Change, Sarah Fagras May 2019

Changes In Plant Phenology In The Central United States In Response To Climate Change, Sarah Fagras

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Plant phenophases are highly sensitive to changes in temperature, precipitation, and photoperiod and have recently been identified as an indicator of climate change. Flowering time in particular appears to be sensitive to changes in temperature and plants around the world have already been observed flowering earlier than previously recorded. To determine how plants in the Midwest and Great Plains have reacted to climate change from the 1880s to present, 1,926 plant specimens made up of 10 species were examined to determine their phenophase and date of collection for each specimen was recorded. Analysis of these specimens shows that flowering time …

Go to article

Age Structures And Growth Patterns Of Aplodinotus Grunniens In The Red River Of The North, Manitoba, Canada, Kaitlyn Elder May 2019

Age Structures And Growth Patterns Of Aplodinotus Grunniens In The Red River Of The North, Manitoba, Canada, Kaitlyn Elder

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A fishery and its components are an integral part of society and contribute not only economically, but also socially and physically to the health and well-being of many countries. There are approximately 12.5 million people who are employed in fishery-related careers, and according to the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration, there were over 33.1 million people who fished recreationally. To successfully manage a fish population, one must have a well-rounded knowledge about the species and the environment it inhabits. There is very little previous research done on the growth of Aplodinotus grunniens, otherwise known as freshwater drum (FWD), making it …

Go to article

Comparisons Of Drought Institutions Between The U.S. And Korea, Sungbyung Chae May 2019

Comparisons Of Drought Institutions Between The U.S. And Korea, Sungbyung Chae

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Drought occurs in basically dry area around the area of less precipitation but it affects all around the world that can occur anywhere there is a deficit of rainfall from expected levels. This happened by the extreme climate event over land lower precipitation over a period of months to years. This could affect agricultural systems around the world, within food, ecologically atmosphere condition and also the habitation food security. From the developing in the modern technology, since the environment of nature is the basic element of living creature, human would be facing the challenging of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food …

Go to article

Student Perception Of Industrial Agriculture: Effects On Migrant Workers And The Environment, Brigitta Bogue, Emma Sorensen May 2019

Student Perception Of Industrial Agriculture: Effects On Migrant Workers And The Environment, Brigitta Bogue, Emma Sorensen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Companies such as Tyson Foods and Costco are creating problems through their use of industrial farming practices in Nebraska, such as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and monocropping, to generate profit at the cost of humans and the environment. Those most affected are migrant farmworkers from Mexico. The environment is threatened because CAFOs generate greenhouse gases, and pollute nearby waterways with nitrogen. This paper addresses the following research questions: Are students’ perceptions of industrial agricultural companies, such as Costco and Tyson, positive or negative? Are students aware of these issues? How do these perceptions affect issues of sustainability and environmental …

Go to article

Activity Patterns Of Nebraskan Wildlife On A Prairie Landscape, Dillon Hanson May 2019

Activity Patterns Of Nebraskan Wildlife On A Prairie Landscape, Dillon Hanson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Avoiding a particular species temporally can be an effective way to live amongst predator and competing species when spatial avoidance is not available. If a predator and prey species overlap temporally there is potential for high predation of the prey species by the predator, while if two predators overlap temporally there is high potential for competition and a loss of opportunities and resources for each species. I assessed if native mammalian species on a natural prairie landscape showed signs of avoidance through their activity patterns. I used photographic sampling to quantify the temporal activity patterns of species at Spring Creek …

Go to article

The Impact Of Urbanization And Land-Use Change In Lincoln, Nebraska, Andrew Rose May 2019

The Impact Of Urbanization And Land-Use Change In Lincoln, Nebraska, Andrew Rose

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study will take place in Lincoln Nebraska to investigate population density and urban encroachment onto agricultural lands. With urbanization on the rise we will inevitably face land use issues in the future. This research will investigate one strategy on how to build the city of Lincoln while using agriculture as a focal point. Keeping land sparing techniques in mind as we build will be an important component to saving enough land to grow food, shelter, and clothing for a growing population. One important question that will be looked at in this research is how urban expansion has consumed agricultural …

Go to article

Climate Action Plan Framework For University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lila Peterson May 2019

Climate Action Plan Framework For University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lila Peterson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Nitrate Contamination And Nitrogen Isotope Compositions In The Bazile Groundwater Management Area: A Water Quality Study. Creighton, Ne, Sydney Corcoran May 2019

Nitrate Contamination And Nitrogen Isotope Compositions In The Bazile Groundwater Management Area: A Water Quality Study. Creighton, Ne, Sydney Corcoran

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Surface water nitrogen contamination is a pervasive issue in Nebraska, and agricultural practices are the main source of nitrogen input to streams (Spalding and Exner, 1993). Nitrate can come from inorganic fertilizers such as anhydrous ammonia, or animal waste. Studies have been conducted on nitrates dating back to 1947 (Addleman, 1985). The Bazile Groundwater Management Area (BGMA) located in northeast Nebraska has historically had high nitrate contamination. This qualitative study assesses the seasonal sources of nitrogen to stream water. It is predicted that the source of input is from commercial synthetic fertilizers. By using nitrogen- oxygen isotope methods, the source …

Go to article

Lighting And Economic Considerations For A Hydroponic S-Based Greenhouse At Tri Cycle Farms, Laura Gray May 2019

Lighting And Economic Considerations For A Hydroponic S-Based Greenhouse At Tri Cycle Farms, Laura Gray

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydroponics is an agricultural technology that involves growing plants without soil, instead using other growth media with added nutrients, typically inside a controlled facility such as a greenhouse. Hydroponics-based agriculture has a number of benefits, namely that it is more water efficient, requires less intensive labor, yields higher quality crops consistently in shorter time, and is easier to control. It also has the potential to be economically advantageous, due to its ability to grow certain crops in the off-season. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, a non-profit urban farm known as Tri Cycle Farms has been seeking a way to design, build, and …

Go to article

The Role Of Dendrology In Analyzing Past Climatic And Historical, Anna Sonnenfeld May 2019

The Role Of Dendrology In Analyzing Past Climatic And Historical, Anna Sonnenfeld

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The study of dendroclimatology uses tree growth responses to climate variables to reconstruct regional, national, and global chronologies from tree-rings (Speer, 2010). The species of focus was Q. macrocarpa (bur oak) located in Spring Creek Prairie because of its potential to hold a chronological history of environmental limitations and management practices in the area. The objective of this research is to: 1) determine the impact of available soil moisture on the annual growth of Q. macrocarpa in Wachiska Woods, 2) determine the effect of management practices on Q. macrocarpa annual growth in Wachiska Woods. Eight Q. macrocarpa specimens were identified; …

Go to article

Consumer Response To Sustainable Practices Within The Fashion Industry, Gage Mruz May 2019

Consumer Response To Sustainable Practices Within The Fashion Industry, Gage Mruz

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study was conducted online through an environmental company called Greenstain, a registered LLC who provides environmentally sustainable solutions and plants a tree for every item they sell. The purpose of the study is to analyze consumer response to the eco-friendly apparel and other sustainable solutions offered by Greenstain after educating consumers on the extent to which the fashion industry is impacting the natural environment and the practices they can utilize to reduce these negative impacts. The sample size included any person with access to Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Scientists in the world have reached an overwhelming consensus that climate …

Go to article

Hydroponics: Effect Of Ph On Different Cucumber Varieties, Mikaela Krumrei May 2019

Hydroponics: Effect Of Ph On Different Cucumber Varieties, Mikaela Krumrei

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Plants are generally grown using soil as the main medium to supply the essentials necessary for growth, but as population grows and land decreases it is important to expand the knowledge of other growth mediums such as hydroponics. The purpose of this study is to provide information on hydroponic growing systems, specifically how the pH of the water effects cucumber plant growth and if different varieties of cucumber plants may have varying reactions to the pH. The hypothesis was that the plants would grow efficiently at pH of 5.0 and worst at pH of 7.5. This experiment was conducted in …

Go to article

The Effect Of Land Development In Small Communities On A People's Sense Of Place, Alivia Michalski May 2019

The Effect Of Land Development In Small Communities On A People's Sense Of Place, Alivia Michalski

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Sense of place is an extensively researched concept that refers to the relationship (cultural, economic, societal, spiritual, and physical) between a person and their surroundings. Often a person’s sense of place, or connection to the land, can lead them to develop strong place attachment, or a human-place bond, with certain physical locations. Studies done on place attachment show that people with strong connections to natural areas where they live are more willing to demonstrate environmentally responsible behavior. This kind of behavior is important in the upcoming years, as communities begin to expand, develop more land, and use more resources. In …

Go to article

A Comparison Of Modern Power: Environmental Impacts, Seth Adams May 2019

A Comparison Of Modern Power: Environmental Impacts, Seth Adams

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

There are many aspects of environmental influences that must be considered when evaluating power production methods. Over the course of a six-month literature review this study covered the environmental impact and sustainability of four different power production methods: coal, solar, wind, and nuclear. This study then used the information gathered to create a set of criteria by which each would be evaluated. The goal of this study was to determine the power production method that would deliver the most energy with the least amount of environmental impact. Further, the scope of this study is limited to the midwestern states of …

Go to article

How Do Non-Formal Environmental Education Experiences Shape Pro-Environmental Behavior, Megan Petsch May 2019

How Do Non-Formal Environmental Education Experiences Shape Pro-Environmental Behavior, Megan Petsch

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper attempts to define what behaviors are, what motivates behavior, and how environmental education programs can shape pro-environmental behavior using three factors: social interaction, program structure, and various teaching methods. Data was gathered using a systematic literature review that looked at the purpose and objectives of the paper, methods used for collecting data such as demographics (age, race, gender, location, etc.), the papers focused areas of research, and results. A thematic analysis was also used to code collected data into the themes. The themes that emerged while analyzing the data include social interactions, program structure, and teaching methods. Results …

Go to article

Landuse And Soil Property Effects On Infiltration And Soil Aggregate Stability In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Rebecca Lynn Anderson May 2019

Landuse And Soil Property Effects On Infiltration And Soil Aggregate Stability In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Rebecca Lynn Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Following European settlement of the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), agricultural expansion and unsustainable, agriculturally related practices have caused groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and surface water contamination by eroded sediments and sediment-bound nutrients to become major environmental threats to the region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of common landuses [i.e., native prairie, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grassland, and conventional-tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) agriculture] on surface water infiltration and aggregate-stability-related properties [i.e., water-stable macroaggregate (WSA) size distribution, total water-stable macroaggregate (TWSA) concentration, and mean weight diameter (MWD)]. The overall infiltration rate …

Go to article

H2 Control For Improved Stability Of Multi-Area Electric Power System With High Levels Of Inverter-Based Generation, Muthanna Abdulkareem Al-Sarray May 2019

H2 Control For Improved Stability Of Multi-Area Electric Power System With High Levels Of Inverter-Based Generation, Muthanna Abdulkareem Al-Sarray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increased generation capacity from non-dispatchable energy resources such as wind and solar has created challenges to ensuring the reliable delivery of electric power. This research develops a systematic three-step method of assessing the reliability of electric power systems under a variety of different possible fault conditions to ensure that overall system stability is preserved in a manner the meets regulatory requirements. The first step is a risk-based reliability method (RBRM) that accounts for the probability of a line outage versus the severity of impact. This allows system planners to judiciously allocate expenses for reliability improvements based on the greatest economic …

Go to article

From Controversy To Conservation: How The Environmental Movement Shaped The Creation Of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Rainey Mckenna Apr 2019

From Controversy To Conservation: How The Environmental Movement Shaped The Creation Of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Rainey Mckenna

Sustainability Seminar Series

Over the last 145 years, presidents and congress have established over 400 National Park Service sites to preserve and tell the story of our country. Collectively, these places preserve our ecological and cultural heritage and reflect our national values. Writer and historian Wallace Stegner called our national parks "the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst." Yet many of our national parks are forged in controversy. In this presentation, Rainey McKenna will examine how public protest and the emerging environmental movement shaped the creation of Delaware Water Gap …

Go to article

Watershed Environmental Analysis: Waterflow Function And Vulnerabilities, Olivia Hubert Apr 2019

Watershed Environmental Analysis: Waterflow Function And Vulnerabilities, Olivia Hubert

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

The environmental impacts on the proposed area for the sPower solar panels has been a primary concern from the citizens of Spotsylvania County during the special use permit process. This project will discuss the function of watersheds, specifically within the sPower Spotsylvania County solar panel farm sites, to effectively present the findings from sPower’s permitting process and the concerned citizens of Spotsylvania to answer the following questions: How do the sPower solar farm watersheds function, what are their vulnerabilities, and how is sPower addressing them? The information presented is a collection and analysis of data using ArcGIS software and written …

Go to article

Is Wind Energy A Better Option For The University Of Richmond?, Steven Yu Apr 2019

Is Wind Energy A Better Option For The University Of Richmond?, Steven Yu

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

The purpose of this assignment is to answer the question of: Is Wind Energy the Better Option for the University of Richmond? This question is more than simply if wind power will supply the campus the greatest amount of energy, but also looks at the educational, social, environmental and political benefits that would also be associated with it. In order to understand the feasibility of wind power on the University of Richmond campus, I looked at factors such as: energy production from wind turbines, past wind patterns in Richmond, VA, impacts to the environment. This is only one part of …

Go to article

Hydropower As A Feasible Option Of The University Of Richmond, Gershom Ejoni Apr 2019

Hydropower As A Feasible Option Of The University Of Richmond, Gershom Ejoni

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

As the University of Richmond moves forward in achieving its sustainability goals, it made a decision to invest into a solar array in Spotsylvania, VA in order to offset their energy consumption with renewable energy. However, this solar array has been controversial for many of the residents in Spotsylvania. My senior seminar class has tasked itself with investigating all aspects of the University’s decision to partner with sPower. This paper will analyze the potential alternative energy sources that the University can possible consider, in particular, hydropower; thereby, determining if hydropower is a potential viable option the University of Richmond can …

Go to article

The Most Environmentally Beneficial Option: An Analysis On Spower’S Solar Project In Relation To The Endangered Species Act, Victoria Williams Apr 2019

The Most Environmentally Beneficial Option: An Analysis On Spower’S Solar Project In Relation To The Endangered Species Act, Victoria Williams

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Today, the current impacts of high greenhouse gas emissions due to energy production have been widely discussed in scholarly literature. In 2018, the University of Richmond (UR) announced a goal to match 100% of the campus' electricity demand with solar energy to decrease its carbon footprint. UR partnered with sPower to construct a 500-megawatt solar array in which UR will receive the 20-megawatts worth of energy from the site in Spotsylvania, Virginia. sPower’s solar project engendered various environmental concerns surrounding Fawn Lake and the endangered species found in the proximity of the project. Acknowledging the environmental concerns, the objective of …

Go to article

Spotsylvania Solar Farm: Watershed Environmental Analysis: Material And Chemical Impacts, Colby Prokop Apr 2019

Spotsylvania Solar Farm: Watershed Environmental Analysis: Material And Chemical Impacts, Colby Prokop

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

The purpose of this compiled review is to answer the research question: What are the implications of the materials being used in the Spotsylvania sPower solar farm and the impacts of any contributing chemicals? I will approach this question using a theoretical framework to investigate the public participation (PP) process (Munch-Petersen, 2017) in the preliminary environmental analysis research done by sPower (in accordance with their special use permit [SUP]). This will be a context-specific framework, in which I will navigate the discrepancies between the environmental SUP information and citizen concerns about the chemicals and materials used in the sPower solar …

Go to article

Spotsylvania Solar: A Stakeholder Analysis Of Corporate Involvement, Merissa Shebell Apr 2019

Spotsylvania Solar: A Stakeholder Analysis Of Corporate Involvement, Merissa Shebell

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

This report investigates the major corporations that hold a stake in sPower’s 500-Megawatt Spotsylvania Solar Project through the framework of corporate social responsibility. The major corporations include the investors in the project, Microsoft, Apple in collaboration with Akamai, Etsy, and Swiss Re, and the University of Richmond, as well as the energy provides and distributors, Dominion Energy and PJM Interconnection. Through an evaluation of the investors’ sustainability and environmental reports, the motivations behind their agreements with sPower can be attributed to a desire to meet their renewable energy goals. By purchasing a portion of the electricity generated by the solar …

Go to article

Maintaining Productive Efficiency Of Solar Arrays, Grant Woods Apr 2019

Maintaining Productive Efficiency Of Solar Arrays, Grant Woods

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

With the onset of climate change people are demanding better business behavior. As a result, many companies seek to diversify their public presence by acquiring technologies and behaviors that ultimately strive toward a goal of reducing environmental impacts. One particular focus of this transition has been the acquisition of clean energy technology. Solar photovoltaic arrays are one such technology that companies and homeowners continue to adopt to meet their environmental goals whether those goals are specific, measureable, impactful or whether they are more for self satisfaction and peace of mind. Administration and the Office for Sustainability at University of Richmond …

Go to article

Natural Gas: Analyzing The Relationship Between The University Of Richmond's Corporate Social Responsibility And Natural Gas As An Alternative Energy Source, Sophia M. Tailor Apr 2019

Natural Gas: Analyzing The Relationship Between The University Of Richmond's Corporate Social Responsibility And Natural Gas As An Alternative Energy Source, Sophia M. Tailor

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

On April 9, 2019, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved a permit to begin construction on a 500 megawatt solar array managed by Sustainable Power Group (sPower) in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. A roughly $615 million project, sPower’s solar array will cover almost 6,300 acres of Spotsylvania County and is set to be the largest such project east of the Rocky Mountains (Shenk, 2019). Alongside big players such as Microsoft and Etsy, the University of Richmond also has a stake in the project. 20 MW of the Spotsylvania solar array will be designated for the University of Richmond and is …

Go to article

Urban Underground Infrastructure Monitoring Iot: The Path Loss Analysis, Abdul Salam, Syed Shah Apr 2019

Urban Underground Infrastructure Monitoring Iot: The Path Loss Analysis, Abdul Salam, Syed Shah

Faculty Publications

The extra quantities of wastewater entering the pipes can cause backups that result in sanitary sewer overflows. Urban underground infrastructure monitoring is important for controlling the flow of extraneous water into the pipelines. By combining the wireless underground communications and sensor solutions, the urban underground IoT applications such as real time wastewater and storm water overflow monitoring can be developed. In this paper, the path loss analysis of wireless underground communications in urban underground IoT for wastewater monitoring has been presented. It has been shown that the communication range of up to 4 kilometers can be achieved from an underground …

Go to article

Life Cycle Assessment Of Pelletized Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda) Residues For Coal Co-Firing In Virginia, Michael Fowler Apr 2019

Life Cycle Assessment Of Pelletized Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda) Residues For Coal Co-Firing In Virginia, Michael Fowler

Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium (2019)

The goal of this study is to develop a real-world scenario life cycle with efficient, realistic, geologistics and minimum input demands. Woody biomass is projected to become a growing percentage of domestic electricity generation as a renewable fuel source. However, concerns persist regarding energy content, waste, emissions, ability to provide adequate biomass supply, and policies. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is a short rotation woody crop grown in a substantial portion of the Southeastern United States for lumber and paper pulpwood. Once harvested, the fast-growing softwood can be delimbed and debarked leaving 20% of the biomass as underutilized residues. …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last