Sustainability Commons^™

A Praxis Towards Social Change Based On Foucault's Conceptualization Of Experience As Relational, Lila Maureen Wakeman

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

This project develops a praxis towards social change based on the works of Michel Foucault. It first establishes Foucault’s philosophical assumptions, methods, and political goal of countering “objectivizing” modern Western social forces. It then draws on sources from the three major phases of Foucault’s career to trace his development of a general conceptualization of experience as relational, or as non-exhaustively co-constituted by and through three indispensable kinds of social forces: knowledge, power, and ethics. It then evaluates implications of Foucauldian experience for efforts towards social change to conceptualize a general Foucauldian praxis towards social change. The praxis aims to affect …

Advancing Environmental Engineering: The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Sustainable Solutions - A Short Review, Amirreza Talaie, Hesam Kamyab, Ashkan Razmfarsa

Management Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in environmental engineering, offering innovative solutions to complex environmental challenges. From air pollution monitoring and water resource management to waste management, climate change mitigation, and ecological preservation, AI is revolutionizing the way we address environmental issues. Machine learning, neural networks, and other AI technologies are enabling more accurate predictions, optimizing resource use, and improving conservation efforts. However, despite its many advantages, AI also faces challenges such as data availability, energy consumption, ethical concerns, and the need for transparency. This review explores the diverse applications of AI in environmental engineering, highlighting the …

A Comparison Of Sediment Accumulation Effectiveness Behind Beaver Dam Analogues, One Rock Dams, And Post-Assisted Log Structures On East Foster Creek, Douglas County, Wa, Griffin Hansen

All Master's Theses

Waterways are valuable resources for communities and habitats, but are subject to degradation in the form of incision. This is a type of streambed erosion where streams narrow and deepen. Sediment control dams were placed on East Foster Creek in Douglas County, WA to control incision following the 2020 Pearl Hill fire. This study examined sediment capture in the ponds behind these dams, which included beaver dam analogues (BDAs), one rock dams (ORDs), and post-assisted log structures (PALS). Sediment capture may be influenced by several factors, including dam type, height, width, distance between dams, vegetation, land use, topography, soil type, …

Does Innovation Facilitate Meeting The Co2 Emission Reduction Targets Of China: A Non-Linear Approach, Yifan Wang, Nadia Doytch, Mohammed Elheddad, Wei Li, Mengna Chi

Ateneo School of Government Publications

China has been implementing energy efficiency and CO2 emission reduction schemes at the provincial level that have been embedded in the National Five Year Plans of the country. We set out to investigate the relationship between R&D expenditures and CO2 emissions in China at the province level in the context of the planned emissions reduction targets. We explore the possibility of the existence of a non-linear relationship between R&D expenditures and CO2 emissions with a non-parametric methodology, a fixed effect panel data quantile (FEQR) regression estimator applied to a panel of 30 provinces. We stratify the sample according to the …

Agricultural Groundcover Update December 2023, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• About 96% of the grainbelt had adequate vegetative groundcover (more than 50%) to prevent wind erosion in December 2023.
• In the northern half of the grainbelt, a larger-than-average area has 51–60% groundcover, which is expected to decrease to below 50% over the summer.
• Just under 4% of the grainbelt (553,000 ha) had less than 50% groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion. West Midlands Ag Soil Zone had the highest risk of wind erosion and 11.4% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover.
• Less than 0.5% of the grainbelt had a high to very high risk of wind erosion …

Crossing The “Valley Of Death”: How Climate Technology Entrepreneurs Navigate Relationships With Venture Capital Investors, Allison Lucas

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the world faces the ongoing and intensifying impacts of climate change, a group of innovative changemakers known as climate tech entrepreneurs (CTEs) are working on climate adaptation, mitigation, and/or resilience efforts by brining innovative technologies to the global market (UNFCC, 2018; Endeavor 2022). To realize the full potential of these technologies—tools, techniques, specialized knowledge or skillsets—they must be developed, deployed, and implemented at scale (IPCC, 2000). To do this, CTEs require external funding support, especially during a crucial period of the start-up lifecycle known as the “valley of death”. In this period between development and commercialization, production costs and …

Economical And Environmental Evaluation Of Non-Residential Demand Response In The European Transition To Zero-Carbon Energy, Markus Fleshutz

Theses

To meet climate objectives, major energy consumers with local multi-energy systems (L- MESs) must transition to renewable energy sources soon. The variability of renewable energies requires increased operational flexibility for integration. In this context, demand response (DR), a strategy in which electricity consumers adjust their load profiles in response to incentives, has become crucial, offering cost-effective flexibility. It supports L-MESs in integrating renewable energy, reducing decarbonization costs, and enhancing resilience. However, quantifying the economic DR potentials for L-MESs under carbon emission constraints is complex, especially when considering investment options in distributed energy resources. This complexity hinders the rapid adoption of …

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Maize No-Till Agroecosystems In Southern Brazil Based On A Long-Term Experiment, Guilherme Rosa Da Silva, Adam J. Liska, Cimelio Bayer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Brazilian agriculture is constantly questioned concerning its environmental impacts, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research study used data from a 34-year field experiment to estimate the life cycle GHG emissions intensity of maize production for grain in farming systems under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) combined with Gramineae (oat) and legume (vetch) cover crops in southern Brazil. We applied the Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator for modeling the “field-to-farm gate” emissions with measured annual soil N₂O and CH₄ emissions data. For net CO₂ emissions, increases in soil organic C (SOC) were applied as a proxy, …

Growing Up Sustainable? Politics Of Race And Youth In Urbanplan, Copenhagen, Max Ritts, Rebecca Rutt

Geography

This paper considers how racialized youth in Denmark negotiate sustainability amid contexts marked by intersecting forms of economic restructuring, progressive neoliberalism, white ethno-nationalism, and green urban planning. Urbanplan is a low-income, notoriously “troubled” Copenhagen neighborhood where we conducted fieldwork for 7 months (2019-2020) with fifteen male youth, aged 17-21. Using ethnography, policy reviews, and interviews with city social workers, we explore how intimate experiences of nature, group-identity, and place attachment here relate to and depart from the structural forces actively reshaping the neighborhood. Our analysis combines Cindi Katz's intersectional political economy approach with recent work on green gentrification, Critical Utopian …

Optimization Of A Low-Cost Corona Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Plasma Wastewater Treatment System Through Central Composite Design/Response Surface Methodology With Mechanistic And Efficiency Analysis, Yiting Xiao, Yang Tian, Yuanhang Zhan, Jun Zhu

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water pollution, which is intensified by the release of hard-to-degrade pollutants, poses severe threats to ecosystems, human health, and economic development. The existing advanced oxidation processes often involve high operational costs and can potentially result in secondary pollution, highlighting the necessity for innovative and more sustainable solutions. To address these challenges, our study introduces a cost-effective and eco-friendly corona dielectric-barrier discharge for wastewater treatment. Using the central composite design/response surface methodology, a high decolorization rate of 98% of methylene blue (MB) was achieved within 10 min by optimizing parameters such as pH and voltage. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the generation …

Rule-In-Use For Community-Based Springs Management Faces Land Use Pressures: Lesson Learned From Manggarai District, Bernadinus Steni, Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Soeryo Adiwibowo, Ruchyat Deni Djakapermana

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The struggle for water is one of the greatest immediate risks of the climate crisis. Therefore, the institutional challenge of water management is increasingly urgent and requires a number of consensuses to succeed, including community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). A key challenge to the traditional consensus for water conservation is the increasing need for land conversion due to population growth, which in turn deflects decision-making power away from traditional institutions towards external decision-makers such as regional governments. Using Ostrom's conceptual framework of rules of use, this research examines shifting spring water management in the context of Kabupaten Manggarai. The paper …

Review Of Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Working Landscapes, Sage C. Sutcliffe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Fundamentals Of Sustainability, Eva Maleviti

Publications

Fundamentals of Sustainable Aviation is the frst textbook to survey the critical feld of sustainability within the aviation industry. Taking a systems thinking approach, it presents the foundational principles of sustainability and methodically applies them to diferent aviation sectors. Opening with the basics of sustainability, emphasising the Sustainable Development Goals, the book then considers the environmental, economic and social dimensions of aviation. The following chapters apply these insights to aviation design, supply chains, operations, maintenance and facilities. The fnal chapter examines the concept of resilience in sustainable aviation. Overall, the textbook shows how future sustainability can be achieved by making …

Identifying Accessibility Improvement Opportunities For Global Environmental Communication Websites, Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, Sakshi Bhati

Faculty Submissions

Digital environmental information presented with low web accessibility reduces parti-cipation in environmental advocacy and information seeking behaviors for many people with disabilities, creating a consequential digital divide. We use WEB AIM computer automated analysis of web accessibility to assess the general accessibility of online environmental communication messages. Results show 95.3% of the popular websites in our sample had indicators of potentially critical accessibility errors. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing digital environmental information accessibility shortcomings so that educational, informational and persuasive environ-mental messages can increase environmental literacy of vulnerable populations and help to bridge the digital divide.

Wmu Roundtable On Port Energy Transition And Stakeholders Engagement, Aykut Ölçer, Fabio Ballini, Alessandro Schönborn, Monica Canepa, Anas Alamoush, Peyman Ghaforian, Natalia Calderón

Marener Reports

Shipping is the backbone of international trade. With a contribution of more than 80 per cent of cargo by volume and 70 per cent by value, it is the most efficient mode of transportation. The vital cargo it transports includes medical supplies and equipment, as well as food, energy, raw materials, and manufactured goods. At the same time, shipping contributes to approximately 3 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, a figure that is expected to rise if no action is taken to reduce emissions. The 2023 International Maritime Organization Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions sets out …

Life Cycle Assessment Of The Construction Process In A Mass Timber Structure, Mahboobeh Hemmati, Tahar Messadi, Hongmei Gu

Architecture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Today, the application of green materials in the building industry is the norm rather than the exception and reflects an attempt to mitigate the sector’s environmental impacts. Mass timber is growing rapidly in the construction field because of its long span, speed of installation, lightness and toughness, carbon sequestration capabilities, renewability, fire rating, acoustic isolation, and thermal resistance. Mass timber is close to overtaking steel and concrete as the preferred material. The endeavor of this research is to quantitatively assess the ability of this green material to leverage the abatement of carbon emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a leading …

Three Essays On Energy Related To State Policies And Low Carbon Transitions, Pinky Thomas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation consists of three essays on energy-related state policies and energy transition. Each paragraph below refers to the three abstracts for the three chapters in this dissertation, respectively.

The first essay is entitled: “Impacts of State Tax and Resource Ownership Policies on Extraction: Evidence from U.S. Natural Gas Production”. The innovation of combined use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies during the 2000s has allowed natural gas producers in the United States to extract natural gas and liquids from deep shale formations in a cost-efficient manner. This essay evaluates whether unconventional gas production responds to tax changes, and …

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

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

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

Enhancing A Computer Model To Evaluate Rainwater Harvesting And Reuse Strategies For Landscape Irrigation Under Current And Future Climate Conditions, Siyu Li

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Urbanization and climate change have detrimental impacts on water quantity and quality. Rainwater harvesting/reuse for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns, which can assist urban hydrological/water quality restoration and provide a beneficial resource for irrigating landscape, holds significant potentials in urban areas under current and future climates. However, the impacts of rainwater harvesting/reuse strategies for landscape irrigation under a changing climate need to be comprehensively evaluated to assist decision-making. In addition, a comprehensive tool is needed to help stakeholders develop efficient strategies to harvest rainwater for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns.

To address the needs, the simulation of the sub-daily hydrological …