Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“Making The Bed”: Challenging Ideologies Of Ownership, Nonlocality, And Romanticism In The Age Of The Anthropocene, Ainsley P. Foster

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

The current Age of the Anthropocene marks a recent and rapid transition into a period in climate history that is notably defined by human impact. Modern Western sentiments of grief, frustration, and romanticism as a result of the interplay between domestic and corporate spaces seem to culminate in an overall attitude of apathy and acceptance of the Age of the Anthropocene. Various art forms collaborate to create the current conversation of the causatory and reactionary relationship that humans have with the Anthropocene, offering interpretations of how individuals and corporations view ownership of and responsibilities to the environment. There is a …

The Future Is Here, Kazi Uzayr Razin

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

This essay explores the devastating impacts that global warming currently has on women living in the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest globally, located in South Asia. Womanist ideas are employed to identify the underlying injustices within environmental policies like the Paris Agreement, which undermine the effects of climate change in the global south. Initiatives led by women in vulnerable regions are then shared to offer ideas for improvement.

Yearly Population Data At Census Tract Level Revealed That More People Are Now Living In Highly Fire-Prone Zones In California, Usa, Slade Lazeweski, Shenyue Jia, Jessica E. Viner, Wesley Ho, Brian Hoover, Seung Hee Kim, Menas C. Kafatos

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

In California (CA), the wildland-urban interface (WUI) faces escalating challenges due to surging population and real estate development. This study evaluates communities along CA's WUI that have witnessed substantial population growth from 2010 to 2021, utilizing demographic data and the 2020 WUI boundaries by the University of Wisconsin-Madison SILVIS Lab. Employing the Mann-Kendall test, we analyze yearly population trends for each census tract along the CA WUI and assess their significance. House ownership, affordability, and wildfire risk are examined as potential drivers of this demographic shift. Our findings indicate that 12.7% of CA's total population now resides in census tracts …

Design And Test The Effectiveness Of Interpretive Signs Using Eye Tracking And Biometric Data, Hadara Gordon, Wendy Miyazaki

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Recreational trails on forested lands should satisfy the needs of recreationists, safeguard important habitats, and maintain the natural environment (Kortenkamp et al., 2021). Appropriate management is critical because of the increasing number of visitors. Signs are a cost-effective method to reduce the negative impacts on visitors and enhance visitor experiences (Brown et al., 2010). This research aimed to investigate how visitors pay attention to signs, view the trail surrounded by trees and behave in a natural space.

The Transportation Sector, Cap-And-Trade And Blockchain: A Carbon Credit Trading Platform, Aditya Mankar, Forouzan Golshani

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study offers a solution that facilitates direct trading of carbon credits with no intermediaries by using blockchain technology aligned with the cap-and-trade system. With this solution, along with other major transformations in the industry, the transportation sector can take more ownership of emissions and mitigate the impact of its role as the largest contributor of greenhouse gasses. The solution sits at the confluence of the Cap-and-Trade initiative, carbon credit trading, and blockchain technology. Although the concept of blockchains has been the subject of significant curiosity, scrutiny, boosterism, investment, criticism, it most importantly is at the core of useful, rapidly …

Improve Governance System Of National Parks, Build The World‘S Largest National Park System With High Quality, Baorong Huang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Improving the governance system of national parks is an inevitable requirement for China’s high-quality construction of the world’s largest national park system. This study analyzes the main challenges and problems faced by China’s national park governance based on long-term investigation on national parks and national park system pilot areas. Under the overall logic of modernization of China’s national governance system and governance capabilities, drawing on international experiences in sound governance of regional and watershed public goods and national parks, this study proposes a theoretical framework for establishing a “four in one” national park governance system in China, including a comprehensive …

Problems And Suggestions Of Building Scientific Decision-Making And Advisory Mechanism Of National Parks—Governance-Based Perspective, Yu Wei, Duowei Cheng, Yi Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

National parks are multi-factor, multi-functional and multi-dimensional complexes, which makes them difficult to follow the traditional administration and management modes, and need to explore the construction of a modernized governance system. An important step in enhancing the effectiveness of governance is to establish a reasonable, and efficient scientific decision-making and consultation mechanism. China has made remarkable progress in scientific decision-making and consultation in national parks. However, there are still some problems with the national parks’ decision-making process and effectiveness due to vague definition of authority and responsibility, dependence on departmentalized management paths, and inadequate upward and downward transmission of information …

Regime Of National Park Group Based On Protected Area System In Tibetan Plateau, Dong Chen, Yafei Wang, Dengsheng Wu, Jie Fan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

China’s national park reform has entered a new stage of promoting reform based on the protected area system. The national park team of the second comprehensive scientific investigation and research on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) took the lead in putting forward the construction plan of the TP protected area, which is dominated by national park in area and function. The TP national park group, including “small group” which refer to national park, and “large group” which refer to different protected areas, innovates the long-term mechanism for the construction of national ecological security barriers on TP. The national park group requires …

Experience And Enlightenment Of Eu Natura 2000 Protected Area Network, Ling Tang, Baorong Huang, Tong Jin, Xuetian Hu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The EU Natura 2000 protected area network, covering nearly 19% of the land and 10% of the sea in the EU, has played an important role in protecting biodiversity and enhancing regional socio-economic well-being, and is regarded as the most successful protected area network in the world. Its successful experience is mainly reflected in five aspects. (1) The adoption of regional biodiversity conservation legislation and the promotion of compliance with the law by member countries to promote the construction of the protected area network. (2) The establishment of a decision-making and implementation mechanism that combines the EU resolution process and …

Maine Lobstermen's Association Whale Update, Amber-Jean Nickel, Maine Lobstermen's Association

Fisheries

The Maine Lobstermen's Association “has been closely following the death of Right Whale 5120 found dead on Martha’s Vineyard on January 28th. The MLA was shocked and dismayed when NOAA Fisheries announced on February 14th that the rope removed from the deceased whale 'is consistent with the rope used in Maine state water trap/pot buoy lines.’”

“Maine lobstermen have made many changes to how we fish to avoid harming a Right whale which makes this news hard to believe. As we move forward, MLA will push back on NOAA’s finding until the industry’s questions about the entanglement and how NOAA …

Clean Investment Monitor: Q4 2022 — Q3 2023, Madison Dwyer, Zachary Billot, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents investment trends in clean manufacturing, energy and industry, and retail in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet examines data from the Q3 2023 update of the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM), a joint project of Rhodium Group and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

The Spotted Lanternfly In Gettysburg And Public Mobilization Through An Awareness Campaign, Brandon R. Fey

CAFE Symposium 2024

The invasive Spotted Lanternfly poses a significant risk to the environment and fruit industry of Adams County PA. This project involves the creation of an informational poster campaign to inform the geographically diverse daily population of Gettysburg about the spotted lanternfly and mobilize them to take action against it.

Corporate Green Bond Market In Egypt: Barriers To Market Development, Aya Aly

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Green bonds have risen as a crucial financial tool for mobilizing capital for environmentally sustainable projects, aiming to address climate change and promote sustainable development. In Egypt, despite being a pioneer in issuing sovereign green bonds, the corporate bond market remains in its early stages, with relatively low issuance of corporate green bonds compared to other emerging economies. This study focuses on identifying the challenges facing the domestic corporate green bond market. Through interviews with eleven market participants, the analysis revealed general challenges that encompass the entire bond market, including lack of awareness, limited engagement of retail investors, lengthy …

Evaluating Farm Size Change As An Expression Of Preferential Alignment In The Corporate Food Regime, Rachael Carpenter

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Food system awareness is increasingly prevalent in international development and relations. In particular, the impact of food systems on climate change, and the impact of climate change on the capacity of production form a feedback loop that has the potential to have a severe impact on the future. Whether this contribution will be positive or negative hangs in the balance, but the window of opportunity for forming and implementing such policies may be closing. In many ways, this understanding of food as a fundamental force in shaping the lives of people, particularly those who will be severely impacted and face …

Climate Adaptation Plans In Ontario: Small And Medium Municipalities Preparedness For Extreme Weather, Zakary Blomme

Major Papers

Combatting climate change has largely been understood as a matter of federal and provincial jurisdiction and as a result has mostly been executed in a preventative lens. However, the effects of climate change are most significantly felt at the municipal level. As a result, I argue the onus for combatting climate change should switch to the municipalities in order to focus on climate mitigation and adaptation. In fact, many of the larger cities in Ontario such as the City of Windsor have acted on this and created Climate Adaptation Plans to aid in mitigation and adaptation efforts. The larger cities …

Impact Of Political Conflict On Foreign Direct Investments In The Mining Sector: Evidence From The Event Study And Spatial Estimation, Abdelrahman J.K. Alfar, Mohamed Elheddad, Nadia Doytch

Ateneo School of Government Publications

This study aims to investigate the impact of conflict on greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) in the mining sector covering the period of the 1st quarter of 2003 until the 3rd quarter of 2017, across 151 countries. Unlike previous works, this paper focuses on testing two impacts. First, we test for a dynamic impact to uncover the effect of conflict on FDI over the contemporary and subsequent annual quarters. Second, we test for a spatial spillover impact. To achieve these goals, we apply both a panel spatial approach and an event study analysis, using a unique proprietary database FDIMarkets. The …

Police Flight Oversight: Lapd Drone As First Responder Implementation, Nathaniel Worley

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the feasibility of implementing a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), analyzing the operational, social, and financial implications compared to traditional police helicopter usage. The thesis investigates helicopter flight patterns, demographic correlations, and the potential for drones to provide a less invasive and more cost-effective aerial support system. Key findings include the use of incorrect identifying hex codes by LAPD helicopters, suggesting potential transparency issues in aerial operations. The thesis recommends DFR due to substantial cost savings and enhanced surveillance transparency and asserts that a DFR program can mitigate negative …

An Analysis Of The Public Participation Processes Employed For An Urban Greenway Project, Maeve O'Connell

Articles

The purpose of this study is to examine the public participation mechanisms employed for a proposed new infrastructure project. Public participation is a core characteristic of a contemporary democratic society as policy makers are increasingly encouraged to engage with citizens for learning and legitimacy. Participation is a loose concept with many forms and interpretations. This study explores the key characteristics of public participation formats, challenges to and the criteria for success. This analysis is then applied to the proposed local infrastructure consultation process. An additional survey is designed and its role in the public participation process is assessed. The processes …

Examining The Impact Of Electric Vehicle Adoption On Health, Socioeconomic Disparities, And Policy, Arham Limoochi

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Transportation is a crucial source of air pollution in the United States, accounting for nearly 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions. This considerable contribution to environmental degradation has led many scholars to advocate for a shift towards Electric Vehicles (EVs) as an effective strategy to combat climate change and its adverse effects. EVs, known for their innovative design and reliance on alternative energy sources, differ significantly from traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines. This transition is more than a technological advancement; it symbolizes a significant move towards sustainable transportation, impacting environmental sustainability, public health, and socio-economic equity. My dissertation explores …

Emerging From Behind The Curtain: A Comparative Analysis Of Polish And Czech Reforms Based On Quality Of Life Improvements, Summer Ellis

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the economic reforms undertaken by Poland and the Czech Republic during the 1990s transition period. It seeks to ultimately differentiate reform quality between the Czech Republic and Poland in terms of well-being. The basis of reform success is determined using a quality of life scale that spans economic, health, and environmental indicators. Reform quality is then assessed based on improvements in well-being, instead of high-level economic metrics that often evaluate in a manner that fails to capture individual citizen sentiment. From this point, it is possible to determine which transitioning country underwent the most optimal reform process …

Determinants And Effects Of Offset Usage Within The California Cap-And-Trade System – A Firm-Level Analysis, Adarsh Srinivasan

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the determinants of the usage of carbon offsets within the California cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions. It also investigates the relationship between a firm’s investment in offsets and its financials for publicly traded companies. Entity-level data from 2013 to 2020 was used, which was sourced from the California Air Resources Board. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate factors that correlated with offset usage and whether offset usage correlated with EBITDA. Dummy variables indicating geographic location and economic sector of each entity were used as controls. The analysis found that total covered emissions and privately owned …

How Climate Change Is Altering Energy Finance And Governance In China And The United Arab Emirates, Hans Gebauer

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Climate change is an environmental problem with catastrophic ecological, economic, social, and political impacts. The dramatic scale of the problem has appropriately earned it the name of “climate crisis.” As a protracted crisis, climate change will dominate national and international agendas while transforming institutional politics. Conflicts within policy communities, new interest alignments, social pressure on governments, and ecological collapse could conceivably transform the norms and institutions through which economics, policy, and politics are conducted. Nowhere is this clearer than the energy sector, which is responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions and wherein massive institutional shifts are just beginning to occur. …

Bridging Biological Systems With Social Behavior, Conservation, Decision Making, And Well-Being Through Hybrid Mathematical Modeling, Maggie Renee Sullens

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Mathematics

This dissertation defense presentation highlights the power of hybrid mathematical modeling and addresses crucial issues such as:

1️. The Impact of Industry Collapse on Community Mental Health: A Complex Contagion ODE Model.

2️. Budget Allocation and Illegal Fishing: A Game Theoretic Model.

3️. Reactive Scope Model with an Energy Budget and Multiple Mediators: An ODE Model

The overarching theme of Hybrid Mathematical Modeling beautifully captures the essence of this work, demonstrating its potential to unravel ecological issues while addressing the intricate interactions between humans and the environment.

Pricing, Decarbonization, And Green New Deals, David M. Driesen, Michael A. Mehling

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article evaluates an emerging literature claiming that carbon pricing (emissions trading or carbon taxes) has not performed very well and therefore cannot be the basis for the sort of transformative change now required to address the climate crisis. This is an important claim, as carbon pricing has been viewed as being at the heart of global efforts to address one of our most important contemporary problems.

We provide theoretical and empirical support for these critics’ claim that carbon pricing by itself cannot catalyze the technological transformation now required, and that other approaches have done and will likely do better. …

Boiling Behind Bars: Exploring The Hidden Toll Of Extreme Heat On Mental Health In Texas Prisons, Sandra K. Miller

Social Work Theses

The State of Texas supports the largest prison system in the US and held 132,859 people in 100 units scattered across the state as of December 2023. Approximately 70% of Texas prison beds are not air conditioned, despite the state’s reputation for dangerously hot, humid summers. The State has officially recorded temperatures inside Texas prison facilities as high as 120 degrees with heat index values of over 150. Although there is a growing body of research on the negative physiological and psychological consequences of extreme heat among the general public, little is known about the physical and emotional toll of …

A Cross-Cultural Analysis On The Practice Of Sustainable University Initiatives, David Efendi, Alim Bubu Swarga, Moh. Mudzakkir, Mohammad Reevany Bustami, Ellisha Nasruddin

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Climate change and other environmental problems have become a global concern. Intrinsically, this creates higher education institutions such as Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) taking part in various green campus measurements to address this problem. This study analyzes the factors of how higher education institutions such as UMY and USM initiate green campuses and sustainable universities. It assumes these two universities align with the implementation of green campus initiation despite their different university status. This research is qualitative research using a comparative study between UMY and USM. This research data uses interviews from the university website, …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Scenario Simulation Of “35 Goals” And “50 Vision” For Beautiful China Initiative, Huiyi Zhu, Linsheng Yang, Wei Qi, Erqi Xu, Jiewei Chen, Quansheng Ge

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Realizing the Beautiful China Initiative is the general goal of China’s ecological civilization construction in the next 30 years. The overall goal includes two phased goals: “35 goals” and “50 vision”. This study first expounds the understanding of the goal from the aspects of ecosystem elements, structure, process, and function, and then constructs an index system to describe the goal and simulates the “35 goals” and “50 vision” under the trend of climate change, population decline and economic growth. The results show that, by 2035, China will have a population of 1.44 billion (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) and …

Progress And Prospects On Institutional System Construction Of Ecological Civilization In China, Linsheng Yang, Yanan Guo, Huiyi Zhu, Gaodi Xie, Xiaoyong Liao, Quansheng Ge

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the construction of Ecological Civilization (EC) in China has undergone historic, transitional, and comprehensive changes from theory to practice. The construction of system is the core content and the basic guarantee for the success of EC construction. Based on the government documents of EC construction and related research literatures, this study analyzes the formation and evolution characteristics of China’s EC construction system, parses the development process of representative innovation policies, and then predicts the trend of the further deepening reform of EC system. The results show that the relevant …

Ten Problems And Solutions For Restoration Of Karst Ecosystem In Southwest China, Xiaoyong Bai, Sirui Zhang, Chen Ran, Luhua Wu, Chaochao Du, Lei Dai, Xingyi Yang, Zilin Li, Yingying Xue, Mingkang Long, Minghui Li, Shu Yang, Qing Luo, Xiaoyun Zhang, Xiaoqian Shen, Fei Chen, Qin Li, Yuanhong Deng, Zeyin Hu, Chaojun Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The karst areas in southwest China are one of the key but difficult areas targeted in the “Beautiful China” construction initiative, which focuses on soil erosion, proportion of farmland, water pollution, karst drought, ecological restoration, carbon sink, ecological effects of urbanization, rocky desertification management indicators, and biodiversity and sustainability assessment. The study synthesizes the knowledge accumulated during ecological restoration practice in karst areas into 10 problems and solutions that are strong, universal and empirically supported. These problems and solutions help to explain the challenges of achieving sustainability in karst ecology restoration and thus point to solutions. They constitute a core …