Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Barriers And Benefits To A Food Waste Composting Pilot Program In Oberlin, Ohio, Julia Halm

Honors Papers

Food waste represents significant amounts of money, energy, and natural resources throughout its lifecycle from production to disposal. Diverting the quantity of food waste sent to landfills is necessary to address the growing strain on resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study was a collaborative effort between the City of Oberlin and Oberlin College designed to identify challenges and benefits to establishing a pilot municipal composting program. Establishing a citywide composting program will help Oberlin achieve its goal of carbon neutrality. We used food audits, stakeholder interviews, and emissions reduction models to better understand the best approach to municipal …

The Politicization Of Water: Transboundary Water-Conflict In The Indian Subcontinent, Ananya Gupta

Honors Papers

The Himalaya-Hindu Kush mountain range and the Tibetan Plateau birth ten of Asia’s most prominent rivers providing irrigation, energy, and drinking water to over two billion people across several countries today. Therefore, transboundary water sharing is a constant source of conflict for several South Asian countries that rely on rivers to support their primarily agrarian economies.

In recent years, climate change has drastically increased global temperatures. As a result, the Indian subcontinent has been plagued with extreme riverine flood and drought events.

Climate change-related events like riverine floods and drought, exacerbate the politicization of conflict between nations that share natural …

“Don't Frack With Us!” An Analysis Of Two Anti-Pipeline Movements, Rachael Lucille Hood

Honors Papers

This study seeks to compare grassroots organizing efforts against two different fracked gas pipelines. Rooting my analysis in the theory of social movements, I focus on the role of the ideological grounding of the resistance movements, the composition of resistance coalitions formed, and the tactics and strategies employed in opposition to these pipelines. I find that a broad-based coalition with a focus on relationship-building is important to the success of the movement. Additionally, I determine that the presence and involvement of small, medium, and large nonprofits as well as the use of direct action strongly contribute to the success of …

Public Art In Outdoor Space: How Environmental Art Can Influence Notions Of Place, Elsa Mark-Ng

Honors Papers

Public art has the potential to influence people’s sense of place and inspire environmental stewardship. By visiting existing public art, conducting a literature review, and creating a piece of public environmental art in an outdoor space in Oberlin, Ohio, I aim to learn how site-specific public art influences notions of place. Making connections between artworks that I have visited, public art projects that I studied and my own installation of public art, Hanging Leaves, allows me to place my art in a greater design context. I installed a collaborative, site specific piece of artwork in a public outdoor area in …

Oberlin's Experimental Hazelnut Orchard: Exploring Woody Agriculture's Potential For Climate Change Mitigation And Food System Resilience, Naomi Fireman

Honors Papers

Mitigating and adapting to climate change and transitioning to more sustainable agricultural methods to feed a growing human population are fundamental challenges today. Woody agriculture holds potential for addressing both through food production and carbon sequestration. To help assess this potential, in 2011, Oberlin College planted an experimental orchard made up of 70 hybrid hazelnut trees treated with three levels of fertilization. I asked the questions: How does annual allocation of carbon to different tissues change over time as hybrid hazels mature? How much carbon can this system store, where is it stored, and how does this change over time? …

An Environmental And Cost Comparison Between Polypropylene Plastic Drinking Straws And A "Greener" Alternative: An Oberlin Case Study, Madeline Elyse Moran

Honors Papers

Plastic straws are one of the most abundant items found in oceans and coastal cleanups around the United States and internationally. Plastic does not decompose over time, so all the plastic we have ever made is still around, affecting every ecosystem on the planet. Drinking straws are made of 100% recyclable material, but because of their small size most recycling plants are not able to process them so they are sent to landfills. Petroleum-based plastic production is also a large source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making up 1-3% of the United States’ carbon emissions alone. By considering green alternatives …

Rethinking Redevelopment: Neoliberalism, New Urbanism And Sustainable Urban Design In Cleveland, Ohio, Julian Geltman

Honors Papers

This article explores unintended consequences of recent urban design initiatives in Cleveland, Ohio. Historically rife with environmental injustice issues, Cleveland’s built environment continues to exhibit issues of distributive justice across racialized spaces. In this research project, I first investigate whether and how New Urbanist aesthetics are geared towards a white spatial imaginary and subsequently deconstructing its whiteness. I seek to answer: is New Urbanism inherently racist? I then explore how New Urbanism in the U.S. has spread into circles of sustainable urban design, pushing space and place towards a homogenized normativity. Third, I examine the history of racial prejudice in …

Interrogating The "And": A Study Of Environmentalism And Disability, Melissa Cabat

Honors Papers

Mainstream environmental activists often draw the correlation between environment and disability as being a matter of public health inequities, including air quality, pollution, and now the aftereffects of fracking. These are important, but they only scratch the surface of the link between these movements. I will discuss the movement of ecodisablism and how climate justice activists with disabilities, including the Crips for Climate Justice movement, have been influenced by climate and disability activism. This research is relevant as the massive baby boomer population ages and risks losing their connection to nature due to inaccessible green spaces. Moreover, discussing disability rights …

Seeking Redemption In A World Of Waste: A Comparative Analysis Of Bottle Deposit Systems And Campaigns And A Consideration Of Their Comprehensive Sustainability, Zoe Bluffstone

Honors Papers

This research is a case-based comparative analysis between bottle bill campaigns and policies in four different U.S. states in order to analyze the determining and preventative variables in the passage of bottle bills. Additionally, this study compares what ways these types of legislation are ultimately effective or ineffective in meeting economic, environmental, and social goals under the framework of Triple Bottom Line Sustainability. These four case study states (OR, ME, MA, and WA) have been selected to exemplify several public, private, and mixed systems that display varying outcomes in participation in the program and impacts on litter and local economies. …

Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Of Nutrient Reduction Technologies Employed In Municipal Wastewater Treatment, Colin Barrett Brown

Honors Papers

Eutrophication presents a serious threat to America's aquatic ecosystems, negatively impacting both the aquatic life and the communities dependent on these bodies of water. Reducing nutrient inflow of nitrogen and phosphorus into waterways from point and non-point sources is critical in reversing the environmental degradation caused by eutrophication. Municipal wastewater treatment plants are one of the primary point sources of nutrient-rich effluent, and as such, implementing nutrient reduction strategies within the treatment process is an impactful step towards mitigating eutrophication. Grey infrastructure technologies that use mechanical or chemical treatment have historically been used for wastewater nutrient reduction. However, constructed wetlands …

Performance And Resilience: Performance, Storytelling, And Resilience Building In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Sophia Colette Becker

Honors Papers

"Performance and Resilience: Performance, Storytelling, and Resilience Building in Post-Katrina New Orleans" uses a mixed method approach to investigate the role of digital storytelling and contemporary performing arts in building community and environmental resilience. Through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and scholarship from the fields of performance studies and environmental studies, this piece focuses on post-disaster landscapes, particularly post-Katrina New Orleans, to investigate the impact of storytelling platforms and performance spaces in retaining social and cultural memory.

Celebrating Extinction? The Disconnect Between Reality And Media Representation Of Bluefin Tuna In Japan, Gene Fukui

Honors Papers

The Japanese media has perpetually glorified Bluefin tuna as the symbol of Japanese culture, cuisine, and national identity. Meanwhile, Bluefin tuna stocks are plummeting due to overfishing, and some species are international recognized as endangered. Blame is primarily placed on Japan, as the nation consumes 80% of Bluefin in the world and the government has admitted to overfishing several times. This has led to international environmental organizations and Western governments continually criticizing Japan for its unsustainable fishing practices.

This paper provides an explanation as to why there is no domestic movement within Japan to put an end to overfishing: the …

Relating Plant Spatial Pattern, Plant Biodiversity, And Ecosystem Function To Management Practices In Experimental Restored Wetlands, Erika C. Brandt

Honors Papers

Understanding the effects of management practices on shifting relationships between structure and function over the course of ecosystem development should be a central goal of ecosystem restoration. Yet many of these relationships, such as those between plant biodiversity, spatial pattern of vegetation and community metabolism, remain poorly understood. In a decade-long experiment, we investigated the impact of different initial planting treatments and of nutrient enrichment on relationships among plant biodiversity, plant spatial pattern, and ecosystem function in restored wetland ecosystems. In 2003, six identical and hydrologically-isolated 0.18 ha experimental wetland "cells" were constructed in marginal farmland in northeast Ohio. Cells …

Activating Community To Enable Residential Energy Efficiency, David Roswell

Honors Papers

This paper looks into the challenges to and opportunities in enabling residential energy efficiency, with a focus on Oberlin, OH. After laying out a basic framework, the paper has three main sections. First, it reviews and discusses financial barriers to residential energy. Next, it discusses social and psychological barriers, and discusses the Energy Advocate program that has successfully addressed these barriers. Finally, it discusses the physical barriers of old housing stock. It recommends developing a home repair cooperative to address the physical barriers to energy efficiency.

A Study Of Renewable Portfolio Standards And Renewable Energy Certificate Prices In Five Northeastern States, Yazhou Li

Honors Papers

A number of US states have passed renewable portfolio standard, a mandate that ensures a certain amount of energy to be generated by renewable sources, to offset carbon emission or create local jobs. While states' renewable portfolio standards have similar features, their designs vary substantially. In this paper, I investigate the design features and renewable energy certificate prices in five northeastern states that are trading in two trading systems to see how renewable portfolio standards are working in those states. The regression on bidding and asking price differences reveals considerable differences among states in Class I renewable energy certificate prices …

Rustbelt Theater: Children's Environmental Justice Narratives From South Elyria, Oh, Lissette Lorenz

Honors Papers

Children's knowledge of their eco-social environment is rarely privileged in environmental literature. Their voices help to broaden conceptions of environmental justice, to the benefit of both the environmental justice movement and the emerging discipline of environmental studies. In this community-based research project conducted in partnership with Save Our Children, an afterschool/summer enrichment center, in South Elyria, Ohio, third and fourth grade children utilized Theater of the Oppressed techniques to create an environmental justice narrative in the form of an original play. The goal of Theater of the Oppressed is for participants to dramatically analyze real-life oppressions/obstacles/challenges they face and act …

An Analysis Of Ohio's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, Joshua A. Laufer

Honors Papers

I performed quantitative analyses and qualitative interpretation of energy policy data, energy production and consumption data, and political data. I collected data on state Renewable Portfolio Standards from the Database for State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE), energy production and consumption data for the 50 states and Washington D.C. from the Energy Information Agency (EIA), and 1992 presidential election data from the internet. I identify relationships that exist between these different types of variables, and where Ohio fits in the national context of existing energy patterns and policies. There are several conclusions found in the literature that are independently tested …

Community Perceptions Of The Barriers And Benefits To Local Food Access In Northeast Ohio, Gabriela Rosalie Baker

Honors Papers

This research sought to examine the perceptions around the barriers and benefits to purchasing local produce in northeast Ohio. The research questions explored include: how do (low-income) communities in Northeast Ohio perceive the barriers and benefits to accessing local produce? What opportunities are there for organizations such as City Fresh to increase participation in their Fresh Stop program, and hence, to increase access to fresh produce in these communities? The study was designed using the principles of community-based social marketing. Interviewees included participants in City Fresh’s Fresh Stop program along with non-Fresh Stop participants from similar geographic areas. Participants completed …

Community Engagement In Sustainable Design: A Case Study Of The Oberlin Project, Amanda L. Goldstein

Honors Papers

The Oberlin Project is an unprecedented opportunity for the city of Oberlin, Oberlin College, and other participating institutions to work together to achieve sustainable development and carbon neutrality. How might these institutions engage Oberlin citizens in some of the planning decisions that will shape Oberlin's future? Collaborating with citizens is important because in theory, encouraging participatory, collaborative planning contributes to just, equitable, and diverse cities. Study of sustainability initiatives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for instance, reveal that it is possible for cities to make great leaps at sustainable urbanism while simultaneously building up a strong base of social capital aimed at …

An Evaluation Of Surface Water Sources Using Spatial And Temporal Variations In Stream Chemistry In A Headwater Catchment, Margaret Ann Zimmer

Honors Papers

Headwaters are the most ubiquitous stream type worldwide, provide invaluable ecosystem services, and regulate downstream chemistry. These systems have high sensitivity to disturbance, however, and thus are susceptible to change at low thresholds of environmental, climatic or human impact. In this study, we use fine scale sampling to describe spatial and temporal stream chemistry variations in a first order 0.41 km2 headwater catchment at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, USA to pinpoint the landscape position and extent of dominant processes and controls on surface water. We discovered a range of stream water chemistry that is as variable as stream chemistry …

A Baseline Greenhouse Gas Inventory For Oberlin: Stepping Up To The Challenge Of Climate Neutrality, Nathaniel Flaschner Meyer

Honors Papers

The City of Oberlin joined the International Council for Leadership in Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in 2007, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through ICLEI's five-milestone process. As the first official step in this process, I conducted greenhouse gas inventories for the years 2001 and 2007 for community-wide and municipal operations emissions. I found that the community emitted 174,400 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2007, more than half of which was associated with the consumption of coal-intensive electricity. This amounts to 20.9 tons CO2e per resident annually. Of the community's overall emissions, the commercial sector, including all Oberlin College properties, …

Connectedness To Nature And Electricity Consumption: An Interdisciplinary Study Of Behavior And Emotional Response To Nature In The Union Street Housing Complex, Jenna Trostle

Honors Papers

Much research has been done surrounding conservation behaviors in the household and electricity consumption. Most research has tended to focus on attitudes about the environment and how those attitudes influence pro-environmental behavior, but the research has not usually found a strong link between the two. The Connectedness to Nature Scale was used in this study to measure emotional responses to nature, and to determine whether people who felt more connected to nature used less electricity in the household. The residents of the Union Street Housing complex at Oberlin College were chosen as the group monitored for this project, as the …

Learning To Eat Appreciatively And Thoughtfully (Eat): Connecting With Food Through School Gardens, Lina A. Yamashita

Honors Papers

Many young people today do not learn to cook, or eat nutritious, regular meals together with their families, or go shopping for produce. Because of this, they do not have the opportunity to develop any real appreciation for food. To make matters worse, many public schools fail to teach students anything at all about the complex environmental and cultural history of food – how it is produced, preserved, prepared, and distributed. At the same time, schools serve lunches that often lack nutritional value. In this thesis, I argue the importance of giving students the opportunity to connect to food through …

Gardening The Desert, Deserting The Garden: Culture, Agriculture And Ecology On The Northern Plains, 1830-1930, Ben Larson

Honors Papers

Between 1830 and 1930, the northern Plains underwent sweeping changes. Cataclysmic conflict between Indians and whites, imposition of the American settlement system, and integration into the national economy all altered the region and how people lived there. Revisions in agriculture were part of these changes but also played their own role. As the dominant form of land use, and the direct or indirect occupation of most residents, agriculture has an important part in shaping landscapes and lifeways in the, northern plains. Of course, changes in agriculture between 1830 and 1930 dramatically affected the people and the land; to suggest the …

Energy Sustainability: The Case Of Photovoltaics, Abram Walden Kaplan

Honors Papers

In this thesis I will address three large issues related to the development of this solar electric technology: First, I wish to demonstrate that photovoltaics offer significant advantages over traditional, nonrenewable energy sources- that they are superior to the technologies now used. Part I thus consists of a comparative analysis of coal-fired power plants, nuclear fission plants, and photovoltaics. These are widely seen as the most likely options in American electricity generation. Each of these energy systems will be discussed along the following four dimensions: geology and natural limits (i.e., resource availability and waste management); technology (plant efficiencies and the …