Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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 …

Lost Opportunities: Ecuador's Yasuní Itt Initiative, Julianna Hitchins

Pomona Senior Theses

In 2007, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador proposed the Yasuní ITT Initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in an effort to contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and the local preservation of biodiversity. The initiative proposed enacting an indefinite ban on oil exploration and extraction within the Ecuadorian Yasuní National Park so long as the developed world was willing to contribute to half the forgone costs of drilling. However, despite initial support, the Yasuní Initiative was unsuccessful, and due to a lack of financial support, Correa terminated the proposal in August 2013.

With the increasing threat of …

A Comparison Of Indigenous And Western Land Management; Case Studies Of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei And The East Bay Regional Park District, Kyle Jensen

Pomona Senior Theses

Western value systems and ways of knowing the world are in need of serious critique, especially in terms of colonialism and capitalism. These systems, many argue are fundamentally unjust and unsustainable while also working toinvalidate and erase alternative, indigenous ways of knowing. We need to work towards decolonization by both challenging these dominant Western systems, and exploring and supporting alternatives. That the primary intent of this thesis, which aims to engage and compare indigenous and Western worldviews using two specific case studies of land management. The first, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, represents an indigenous Māori approach in a New Zealand context, …

Climate Change Adaptation For Southern California Groundwater Managers: A Case Study Of The Six Basins Aquifer, Frank Lyles

Pomona Senior Theses

Groundwater has been very important to the economic development of Southern California, and will continue to be a crucial resource in the 21st century. However, Climate Change threatens to disrupt many of the physical and economic processes that control the flow of water in and out of aquifers. One groundwater manager, the Six Basins Watermaster in eastern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino Counties, has developed a long-term planning document called the Strategic Plan that mostly fails to address the implications of Climate Change, especially for local water supplies. This thesis presents an in-depth analysis of the Six Basin Watermaster’s …

Roots Of A Movement: Community Action And The Impact Of Urban Agriculture In Chicago, Maia Welbel

Pomona Senior Theses

Efforts to maintain a relationship to food pathways have been consistent throughout U.S. history despite the general evolution towards an increasingly industrialized food system. Urban agriculture serves as a means of reclaiming and furthering knowledge of where food comes from while also addressing larger social, economic, and environmental goals. This has been demonstrated in Chicago where urban farmers have worked to improve food access, increase employment, and revitalize communities all across the city. For many years, federal policies have promoted maximum production of commodity crops and kept supermarket prices low, allowing the government to ignore the impacts these policies are …

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 …

Using Geospatial Analysis For High School Environmental Science Education: A Case Study Of The Jane Goodall Institute's Community-Centered Conservation Approach, Madison G. Vorva

Pomona Senior Theses

Given my experiences as a young conservation advocate, I saw a need to teach students the importance of interconnectedness, cultural awareness and systems-thinking skills through a spatial lens. I believe these skills are required for holistic, equitable and sustainable conservation decision-making in local and international contexts. This thesis uses geospatial tools to teach conservation ecology vocabulary and concepts from high school environmental science curriculum in two online resources. The purpose of my lesson plan is to show students how conservationists address complex conservation and land-use challenges using the Jane Goodall Institute’s community-centered conservation approach as a case-study. My hope is …

Environmental Racism And The Movement For Black Lives: Grassroots Power In The 21st Century, Rickie Cleere

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which the environmental justice movement, which is in opposition to environmental racism, and the Black Lives Matter movement, which is in opposition to police brutality and other forms of racism, are part of the same struggle: a struggle against the neoliberal violence of the state. This struggle against neoliberal violence is at the same time a struggle for communities of color to achieve self-determination on a global scale, a monumental task which might be informed through a revolutionary intercommunalist framework of global grassroots solidarity. State oppression embodies violence in more forms that one, including …

Environmental Justice In Remediation: Tools For Community Empowerment, Chihiro Tamefusa

Pomona Senior Theses

Exide Technologies finally closed its secondary lead-battery recycling plant on March 12, 2015. The community of primarily Hispanics around the facility had to fight many years to have the polluting facility shut down. Because government agencies, whose job is to protect citizens from polluters, were not regulating the facility properly, residents are not sure if they can trust the agencies to carry out remediation effectively and efficiently either. In this paper I explore the environmental justice issues associated with environmental remediation and what community members can do to make sure that their neighborhood is cleaned up properly. Through interviews with …

Whoever Controls Access To The Tap Collects Rent On It: How Nigeria’S Function As A Gatekeeper State Fostered Environmental Degradation By Transnational Corporations, Mayowa Ige

Pomona Senior Theses

Every year, for the past 50 years, Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta has suffered the same magnitude of oil spill in its rivers and swamps than was spilled in the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. The damage has devastated the way of life of the Ogoni people who live in the area. They have consistently suffered environmental injustice as a result of Shell’s oil exploration, and the Nigerian government has ignored their cries for help and restitution. In fact, movements to garner support for environmental justice and fare share of oil profits and ownership from Shell and the state have been brutally …

Vehicle To Grid: An Economic And Technological Key To California's Renewable Future, Jackson C. Rafter

Pomona Senior Theses

This paper explores how the concept of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) could bring benefits to California's electric grid, transportation sector, and environmental goals.

All’S Whale That Ends Whale: How Correctly Identifying Antarctic-Feeding Grounds Of Oceania Humpbacks Could Save An Endangered Population, Davey Holmes

Pomona Senior Theses

Although major whaling practices have ceased, increasing human involvement and influence in the world’s marine ecosystems continue to adversely effect global whale populations. It is a major concern throughout Antarctic waters, where endangered Oceania Humpback Whales (Megaptera novarangliae) annually feed. This study analyzes the extent to which a proposed marine protected area within the Ross Sea may indirectly harm the last remaining endangered population of Humpbacks. Using current satellite tracks of southern Humpback migrations, this model maps the effects of displaced Toothfish fisheries, and suggests further conservations efforts, based on New Zealand’s Precautionary Approach, to protect these vulnerable whales.

Food Rebellion: Contemporary Food Movements As A Reflection Of Our Agrarian Past, James Gordon

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis considers the influence of agrarian thought on contemporary food movements.

The Power Of The Tower: Contesting History At Bear Lodge/Devils Tower National Monument, Anna Marie Kramer

Pomona Senior Theses

Bear Lodge/Devils Tower National Monument, a spectacular rock formation in northeastern Wyoming, has a multiplicity of meanings, not all of which were fully acknowledged until the 1990s. It is widely known as a geologic wonder, the first national monument, a marker of local and pioneer heritage, and a premier rock climbing area. In the 1980s and ‘90s, however, the National Park Service began to acknowledge that the Tower also holds cultural and historical meaning for the Northern Plains tribes, dating back long before the colonization of the American West. Some of the tribes expressed to the Park Service that they …

How Can We Have A Better Public Transportation System? –An Exploratory Agent Based Model, Boyu Liu

Pomona Senior Theses

Public transportation plays an integral part in a city's development, but transportation professionals disagree about whether it is feasible to increase the capacity of public transportation systems at a reasonable cost; and if it is, how. This study develops an agent based model that aims to answer this question and provide a framework to compare the effects of improvements in different aspects of the public transportation service. The results of this study show that it is possible to increase ridership enough to compensate for the increased operational cost, but only in certain circumstances. Interesting phenomenon that might have showed up …

Ballot-Box Environmentalism Across The Golden State: How Geography Influences California Voters’ Demand For Environmental Public Goods, William Skyler Lewis

Pomona Senior Theses

In California, voters frequently face ballot propositions dealing directly or indirectly with environmental protection. Records of these votes provide powerful evidence of the character of voters’ demand and willingness-to-pay for environmental public goods (e.g., air quality, watershed ecosystem services, parks and recreation), and have been used in past environmental econometrics research to produce aggregated income and price effect estimates. Using neighborhood-level voting records on seven environmental-related ballot propositions in California between 2002 and 2010, this econometric study investigates the nature of voters’ demand for environmental public goods, focusing on the effect of household income on pro-environment voting. Unlike previous studies, …

Turning Waste Into Compost In Napa, California, Liana D. Solis

Pomona Senior Theses

Two significant pieces of legislation in California have mandated that cities and counties must reduce their waste streams. Assembly Bill 341 establishes that California must divert 75% of its waste from landfills by the year 2020. The first bill that included composting, Assembly Bill 1826, was passed in 2014 and requires that commercial users enact composting beginning in 2016. These initiatives have led cities and counties to seek ways of implementing composting programs. Using the City of Napa as a case study, this thesis argues that a composting program can be integrated into any existing waste hauling service. Although there …

Christianity And The Development Of Eco-Justice, Emily C. Hill

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the role Christian communities in the United States play in eco-justice work. Eco-justice is the recognition that human rights and environmental rights are indivisible. Christianity had a deep impact on Western culture in Europe during the Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment periods. Evangelizing and carrying out God’s will were used repeatedly as justification for the colonial escapades of European powers. The notion of a Covenant with God permeated American culture and influenced the identity of the nation and of American environmentalism. However, Christian communities were also active in resisting the exploitation of people and the Earth. Today, Christian …

Implementing (Environmental) Justice: Equity And Performance In California's S.B. 535, Meagan Tokunaga

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis evaluates the equity performance of a recent state environmental justice policy, California’s Senate Bill 535 (S.B. 535). “Environmental justice” refers to the disproportionate environmental harm imposed on low-income and minority communities. S.B. 535 uses competitive grants to provide funding to these communities. The research is centered around two questions: (1) to what extent has S.B. 535 experienced successful implementation in its first year of operation, and (2) how can policy actors improve implementation while balancing performance and equity goals? In regards to the first question, I utilize a case study of the policy’s implementation within 17 local governments …