Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Queer Ecology Of Clouds In Nineteenth-Century British Poetics, Lucien Darjeun Meadows

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the nineteenth century, British writers were interested in the emergent science of meteorology, and their lyrical writing (their “poetics”), from poetry to creative and scientific prose, often turns to clouds as both meteorological formations and as material metaphors for human-environment interactions. These writers frequently invoke clouds to disrupt or “queer” depictions of human-environment relationships built on human domination of environmental beings. Clouds, in poetic writing, help writers (and readers) instead experience subject-subject relationships of reciprocity—a collaborative, non-hierarchical way of existing with and learning from our ecological relatives.

Dwelling in the confluence of literary studies, queer studies, and ecology, The …

Takes Two To Tango: The Fusion Of Slow Fashion And Agroecology To Combat The Fast Fashion Industry, Sejal Krell

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Fast fashion has been around for longer than the world can remember, after all, there has always been a need for clothes. Nonetheless, it has not been until the past 50 years that fast fashion has become a titan within the industry. Many consider it to be the golden child of fashion with its low production costs, mass retailing, and low prices reaching consumers of all socioeconomic levels. However, the realities of this industry – specifically pertaining to the environment, economy, social sphere, and public health – reveal a different story, of injustice. After discussing the history and rise of …

The Eu Ets: A Critical Analysis, Marceline Grey Swan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon markets, established via cap & trade programs, are the dominant means by which climate stabilization is currently being pursued worldwide, with many centered around the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. As such, a critical analysis of the EU ETS & its effectiveness is crucial to assess whether the EU carbon market is an effective mechanism to achieve climate stabilization. The effectiveness of the overall program was evaluated via a determination of whether the EU ETS, & to a greater extent the EU carbon market, has allowed for emissions reductions in line with the goal for climate stabilization set by …

The Interplay Between Economic Growth And The Environment: The Case Of China, Christian D. Carpio-Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, economic development has come at the cost of environmental degradation. Since the 1980s, neoliberalism rooted in neoclassical theory has dominated mainstream economic thought. The result has been a dramatic increase in environmental degradation in favor of economic growth. The neoliberal recommendations toward development are encapsulated in the Washington and post-Washington Consensuses which promote the liberalization of trade and foreign investment as well as a reliance on market mechanisms. Ultimately, the goal of neoliberalism is to generate growth regardless of the impact that it places on the environment. The case of China presents an example of an economy which pursued …

"Discursion And Excursion:" Poetry Of Bodies, Place, And Landscape In The Ecocritical Movement, Haley N. Littleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis project focuses on the current literary field of Ecocriticism, its historical transmutations, and the correlation of the pastoral genre, as one begins to understand current human understandings of "nature." By applying a deeper understanding of the Deep Ecology movement, along with shifting understandings of the human and the non-human, specifically in our usage and attention to landscape and wilderness, I hope to explore the role that the aesthetic, and the function of the poem, can play a crucial role in the environmental movement. By building a foundational understanding of our cultural context and critical theories of Environmental criticism, …

Sustainable Farming Versus Ethanol: A Comparison Of Energy Use, Brandon John Weiland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subsidization of corn-ethanol has proven to not live up to the original promises made when it was promoted as gasoline additive. With research pointing to ethanol as a source of increased greenhouse gases emissions and other pollution while merely changing energy consumption, not decreasing it, an alternative that achieves the original goals of is sought. I propose that sustainable farming practices have the ability to decrease the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels while decreasing emissions and pollution related to farming. By looking at the adoption of 3 year rotations, fertilizer banding, and zero tillage farming in Iowa, Illinois, …