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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Revolutionizing Lithium Extraction: Analysis Of Factors Affecting Commercialization Timelines With Insights From The Shale Gas Boom, Bilge Tayyar
CMC Senior Theses
This study draws parallels between Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and hydraulic fracturing to highlight the transformative potential of DLE technology in the lithium industry. The comparative analysis supports the hypothesis that DLE might expedite commercialization timelines, similar to the effect hydraulic fracturing has had on traditional shale gas extraction. The study includes a regression analysis to determine the factors affecting the commercialization of conventional lithium brine extraction methods, thereby better understanding the potential changes DLE will create. The regression model, based on data from 11 projects, examines the impact of variables such as temperature range, tax rates, royalty rates, regulatory …
Ecodrama And Sustainable Theatre: A Handbook For Creating Remarkable Change, Gigi Buddie
Ecodrama And Sustainable Theatre: A Handbook For Creating Remarkable Change, Gigi Buddie
Pomona Senior Theses
The climate crisis is not new to us, nor are the art forms that have taken shape as vital components of the many activist movements that seek to save the planet. Yet, for the first time at Pomona College, a play about environmental devastation and our hand in it finally graced the stage of this progressive institution this past year. This mini handbook is a call-to-action (of sorts), one that stems from the idea that this should not be the last ecodrama performed at Pomona College. These chapters are structured and supported by both experience and research – formulated from …
Grain-Washing: The Issue With Corn Ethanol As A Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Emily J. Rinn
Grain-Washing: The Issue With Corn Ethanol As A Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Emily J. Rinn
Scripps Senior Theses
Decarbonizing the aviation sector remains one of the most prevalent obstacles in reducing the United States’ significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Launched in 2021, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge aims to supply enough fuel to meet 100% of demand by 2050 through reducing its production costs and enhancing its sustainable practices. Corn ethanol feedstock has been proposed to make up as much as half of all SAF production in the 2030 benchmark. This thesis explores the assemblage of corn ethanol – from its true environmental impacts, role in the future SAF market, to research claiming corn …
Let's Get Sorted: The Path To Zero Waste At Pomona College, Sara Sherburne
Let's Get Sorted: The Path To Zero Waste At Pomona College, Sara Sherburne
Pomona Senior Theses
This senior thesis in environmental analysis explores the Zero Waste ideal and its practical application to a college campus. Given the growing global trash crisis and its grave environmental, social and economic consequences, the Zero Waste movement argues for a holistic shift from ‘end of pipe’ disposal practices to those that promote the cyclical use of materials, with little-to-no matter ending up in the landfill or incinerator. Cities and colleges around the world have adopted these Zero Waste goals in an effort to function as more sustainable, efficient and moral entities. With a case study of Pomona College, I assess …
An Assessment Of The Sharing Economy And Its Policy Solutions Through The Lens Of Sustainability, Chloe An
An Assessment Of The Sharing Economy And Its Policy Solutions Through The Lens Of Sustainability, Chloe An
Pomona Senior Theses
This senior thesis in environmental analysis explores the promise of sustainability of the sharing economy, its shortcomings from this positive potential, and possible policy solutions to help it reach its fullest, positive potential. At its core, the sharing economy enables shared access to goods and services that would otherwise sit in idle or underutilized capacity – popular platforms such as Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and craigslist all fall within the sharing economy. By enabling affordable and convenient access to goods that would otherwise sit idle, the sharing economy encourages maximal use of a good that already exists rather than seeking out …
Prisons, Policing, And Pollution: Toward An Abolitionist Framework Within Environmental Justice, Ki'amber Thompson
Prisons, Policing, And Pollution: Toward An Abolitionist Framework Within Environmental Justice, Ki'amber Thompson
Pomona Senior Theses
Environmental Justice defines the environment as the spaces where we live, work, and play. The Environmental Justice (EJ) Movement has traditionally used this definition to organize against toxics in communities. However, within EJ work, prisons or policing have often not been centralized or discussed. This means that the approximately 2.2 million people in prison are excluded from the conversation and movement. Additionally, communities and activists are identifying police and prisons as toxics in their communities, but an analysis of policing and prisons is largely missing in EJ scholarship. This thesis explores the intersection between prisons, policing, and pollution. It outlines …
Sustainability-Efficiency Paradox: The Efficacy Of State Energy Plans In Building A More Sustainable Energy Future, Austin Zimmerman
Sustainability-Efficiency Paradox: The Efficacy Of State Energy Plans In Building A More Sustainable Energy Future, Austin Zimmerman
Pitzer Senior Theses
State energy plans are created at the request of a sitting governor or State Legislature in order to provide guidance set goals for the state’s energy sector. These plans will be critical indicators of energy trends such as the future market share of coal, natural gas, and renewables. If the future of energy in the United States is to be remotely sustainable, low-carbon policies must headline state plans. The strength of a state’s energy plan in terms of sustainability is directly related to that state’s willingness to prioritize and commit to incorporating energy sources that produce negligible carbon emissions. Questions …
Hydropower, Oil Palm, And Sustainability, Fernando Salud '17
Hydropower, Oil Palm, And Sustainability, Fernando Salud '17
EnviroLab Asia
This reflection touches on the writer’s experiences during the EnviroLab Asia Clinic trip in early 2016 to Borneo, Malaysia and Singapore. The reflection involves two events: a visit to a blockade protesting the construction of a hydroelectric dam and a meeting with the sustainability department of Wilmar, one of the world’s leading palm oil producers. The first event comments on the tension between the need for renewable energy and the destruction of the natural environment and communities due to the particular energy generation technology chosen. This event highlighted the importance of understanding the societal constraints a technology is being installed …
What Does “Sustainable Development” Mean?, Grace Stewart '17
What Does “Sustainable Development” Mean?, Grace Stewart '17
EnviroLab Asia
A recurring theme throughout the EnviroLab Asia clinic trip to Singapore and Malaysian Borneo was the concept of "sustainable development." In this essay, I explore my own thoughts and concerns regarding this phrase, such as the tension that exists between "sustainability" (the maintenance of resources) and the conventional concept of "development" (which consumes resources and can often wreak environmental destruction). I reflect on this tension within the context of environmental issues faced by the Dayak people in Sarawak--the building of the Baram Dam, and the prevalence of oil palm plantations.
Transformation, Wallace M. Meyer Iii
Transformation, Wallace M. Meyer Iii
EnviroLab Asia
Prior to leaving for Claremont Colleges’ Envriolab Asia trip to Malaysia and Singapore, I was conflicted by the question: Do we have the moral authority to interfere with resource extraction and oil-palm development in SE Asia? At that time, the trip seemed imperialistic. Why should people from Malaysia, Indonesia or any developing SE Asia country listen to a group of liberal arts college faculty from a city where widespread habitat modifications have led to significant loss of native habitats, declines in biodiversity, and changes in how these ecosystems function? Many observations transformed my opinion and have inspired me to advocate …
Institutional Responses To Pressures For Sustainable Palm Oil, Stephen Marks, Justin Lauw '18, Shivang Mehta '19, Fernando Salud '17
Institutional Responses To Pressures For Sustainable Palm Oil, Stephen Marks, Justin Lauw '18, Shivang Mehta '19, Fernando Salud '17
EnviroLab Asia
As the two leading palm oil producing countries, Indonesia and Malaysia have come under external pressures to limit deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions related to land use conversion for oil palm cultivation. We examine various institutional frameworks that have emerged to mediate these pressures. These frameworks can be distinguished by their geographic scope—domestic, region, and global—as well as by the nature of control—private, non-profit, and governmental. The frameworks have taken the form of sustainability certification systems from non-profit organizations or governments, corporate sustainability policies, or the setting through global or bilateral negotiations of voluntary national targets for limiting deforestation or …
Sustaining Uber: Opportunities For Electric Vehicle Integration, David Wagner
Sustaining Uber: Opportunities For Electric Vehicle Integration, David Wagner
Pomona Senior Theses
Uber and Lyft, the “unregulated taxis” that are putting traditional taxi companies out of business, are expanding quickly and changing the landscape of urban transportation as they go. This thesis analyzes the environmental impacts of Transportation Network Companies, particularly in California, with respect to travel behavior, congestion, and fuel efficiency. The analysis suggests that fuel efficient taxis are being replaced by less fuel efficient Uber and Lyft vehicles. Linear regressions were run on data from the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project’s Electric Vehicle Consumer Survey of electric vehicle owners in California. The findings indicate that Uber drivers are more reliant upon …
From Yosemite To A Global Market: How Patagonia, Inc. Has Created An Environmentally Sustainable And Socially Equitable Model Of Supply-Chain Management, Mary-Clare Bosco
From Yosemite To A Global Market: How Patagonia, Inc. Has Created An Environmentally Sustainable And Socially Equitable Model Of Supply-Chain Management, Mary-Clare Bosco
Pomona Senior Theses
There is an urgent pressure of the time (2016) to re-evaluate our patterns of consumption to adapt to changing climates and reduce waste and pollution. Because an immediate restructuring of global production strategies is not likely any time soon, industrial innovators are finding new ways of redesigning supply-chain management in efforts to move towards environmentally sustainable business in which all manufacturing practices are transparent. Patagonia, Inc. is a testament to the often-debated question of economic value in green business practices, and this thesis acts as an outline as to how they arrived at such an impressive presence in the business …
All Roads Lead To The Fair: How A 2022 Los Angeles World's Fair Would Accelerate The Implementation Of Sustainable And Innovative Forms Of Transportation, Isabella Levin
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis explores the potential impact of a World’s Fair on urban mobility in Los Angeles County by 2022. A brief historical account of World’s Fairs, and their impact on technological innovations in transportation will be given in conjunction with the development of transportation in Los Angeles. These accounts will help to contextualize an analysis of current plans to provide Los Angeles with transportation solutions, in light of the oversaturated automobile landscape in place today. Specifically, my research has revealed that the further development of light-speed rail systems paired alongside a mass adoption of autonomous vehicles would both alleviate contemporary …
Bioswales For Stormwater Remediation And Infiltration: Assessing Regulatory Climate And Quantifying Filtration Capacity Of A Claremont Bioswale, Skyler Lewis, Boyu Liu, Paul Picciano, Liana Solis, Char Miller
Bioswales For Stormwater Remediation And Infiltration: Assessing Regulatory Climate And Quantifying Filtration Capacity Of A Claremont Bioswale, Skyler Lewis, Boyu Liu, Paul Picciano, Liana Solis, Char Miller
Environmental Analysis Program Senior Projects
Watershed management is critical in ensuring a sustainable water supply. This project is designed to assess the impact of bioswales in the context of Southern California’s climate. The patterns of droughts and floods make these green infrastructure appealing as they offer potential to boost water quality and regenerate local aquifers, while reducing the area of impermeable surfaces in our urban landscape. As bioswales have not been commonly incorporated into infrastructure development, our project focuses on a relatively new bioswale, added in 2012 and located on Pomona College’s campus, to serve as our case study in determining the viability of bioswales …
Pitzer College Outback Preserve Restoration Project, Paul Faulstich
Pitzer College Outback Preserve Restoration Project, Paul Faulstich
Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research
A question we keep asking ourselves in environmental analysis at Pitzer College is whether it’s possible to create modern socionatural systems that are truly sustaining; that is, that avoid the features of contemporary systems in which the human factor dominates to the detriment of the environment. Any genuinely sustainable society must honor diversity— cultural and biological—and, at Pitzer, we’re committed to forging innovative directions for a healthy future. Toward this end, students, along with faculty and staff, have initiated a program of ecological restoration in the Pitzer College Outback Preserve.
Teaching For Change: The Leadership In Environmental Education Partnership, Paul Faulstich
Teaching For Change: The Leadership In Environmental Education Partnership, Paul Faulstich
Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research
Humans are transforming earth's landscape from a natural matrix with pockets of civilization to just the opposite. Most of us realize that this pattern is not sustainable. I live and work in Claremont, California, a charming college town in the midst of suburban sprawl. The town has a central village of terminally tasteful, overpriced bungalows nestled in the shade of tall, largely exotic trees. Indeed, most of the landscape of this "city of trees and Ph.D.s" has been imported; only a remnant parcel of coastal sage scrub that the Claremont Colleges have reluctantly preserved remains.