Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Climate Action Plan For Liu Post, Andrew Kay, Samantha Goldwasser, Tyler Huffman

Post & Beyond

To continue to advance LIU’s sustainability leadership, LIU needs clear policies

to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Using national planning tools,

we are constructing a greenhouse gas profile for LIU Post and developing a

range of actions that LIU can follow in future years to reduce emissions. A

Climate Action Plan is the best management platform for achieving tangible

results. Our plan calls for a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035. The

plan tracks emissions related to campus vehicles and heating systems,

electric consumption, commuting patterns, and solid waste. To derive our

carbon reduction plan, we will analyze similar …

Acoustic Signatures Of Habitat Types In The Miombo Woodlands Of Western Tanzania, Sheryl Vanessa Amorocho, Dante Francomano, Kristen M. Bellisario, Ben Gottesman, Bryan C. Pijanowski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Miombo Woodlands of Tanzania comprise several habitat types that are home to a great number of flora and fauna. Understanding their responses to increasing human disturbance is important for conservation, especially in places where people depend so directly on their local ecosystem services to survive. Soundscapes are a powerful approach to study complex biomes undergoing change. The sounds emitted by soniferous fauna characterize the acoustic profile of the landscapes they inhabit such that habitats with the highest acoustic abundance are considered as the most diverse and possibly more ecologically resilient. However, acoustic variability within similar habitat types may pose …

Climate Implications On The Vulnerability Of Populated Areas Along The Chesapeake Bay, Stirling Scott

Scholars Week

According to the latest federal report, released in the final days of Barack Obama’s administration, the global average sea level rise was predicted to reach 8.2 feet by 2100 in the “extreme” scenario—a much faster rate than previously thought. 8.2 feet of sea level rise would put much of America’s east coast underwater. NOAA released the report days before the inauguration of Donald Trump—an event which no doubt did not bode well for Earth’s climate. Since his inauguration, President Trump has thoroughly proven his disbelief in climate change by making his best attempt to undo all of Obama’s climate policies, …

Producing A ‘Walkability’ Index For Bellingham Neighborhoods Using Municipal Spatial Data, Anders Dowell

Scholars Week

Pedestrians have been somewhat overlooked in the United States’ automobile dominant transportation paradigm. The ability to be able to walk anywhere in an urban setting is very important for accessibility, agency, and community health. One goal of Bellingham planning is to create a more bike friendly and walkable place. Producing an index, which rates one’s ability to navigate an area by foot, allows for smarter planning and directing of city planning resources to improve pedestrian agency in different parts of the city. In this study, I applied geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical methods to calculate a ‘walkability’ index using …

Gis Suitability Analysis To Identify Critical Habitat For The Cascades Frog (Rana Cascadae), Victoria Niewohner

Scholars Week

The Cascades Frog (Rana cascadae) is listed as a near threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is under review to be listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Species listed as endangered or threatened sometimes have critical habitat designated for them, which are areas that contain features essential to the conservation of the species. Typically, critical habitats are not designated until a species is listed under the ESA. However, it would be beneficial to know possible critical habitats beforehand in order to expedite the process should the Cascades Frog be listed. …

Animating The Temporal Progression Of Cordilleran Deglaciation And Vegetation Succession In The Pacific Northwest During The Late Quaternary Period, Henry Haro

Scholars Week

The topography of the Pacific Northwest, its fjords, inland waterways and islands, are a result of an extended period of glaciation and glacial retreat. This retreat influenced the physical features and the resulting succession of vegetation that led to the landscape we see today. Despite this importance of the Cordilleran ice sheet and the large volume of research on the topic, there lacks a good detailed animation of the movement of the entire ice sheet from the last glacial maximum to the present day. In this study, I used spatial data of the glacial extent at different periods of time …

Planning For Resilient Communities In The Pacific Northwest, Christopher Johnson

Scholars Week

The Pacific Northwest region of North America is a diverse and beautiful landscape created by the active geological processes of this area. Earthquakes, tsunamis, glaciers, and volcanoes have shaped this environment and these forces continue to do so. Oregon and Washington combined are projected to grow by roughly 2.5 million residents by the year 2030, making those two states one of the fastest growing regions in the nation. Both states have been attracting significant foreign and domestic investment and economic activity over the past decade. The high level of geologic activity coupled with rapid growth of this area seems as …

The Importance Of Urban Habitat Connectivity And Influence On Native Avian Species And Community Science, Kristen S. Gulick

Student Research Symposium

In what ways do small-scale urban backyards contribute to local bird abundance and biodiversity? In what ways might these yards serve as an ‘extension’ of neighboring native forest areas? This project investigates the contribution that a group of backyards, certified through the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, have in the suburb of Hillsdale, Oregon, which is adjacent to the natural area of Keller Woodland. Backyard owners functioning as citizen or community scientists assisted with conducting residential bird point-counts once a week in each backyard and the natural area. Counts were done for a total of 8 weeks during nesting season to …

A Four Year Study Of The Effects Of Substrate Depth On The Survival Of Different Plant Species In Portland, Or, Arjun Viray

Student Research Symposium

The changes in green roof plant species composition was observed after a four year time period. Twelve plots were planted in either native or non-native species at two different substrate depths according to a 2 by 2 factorial design. The list of original species from installation was used to identify which species survived over time in their respective plots. After four years, 9 out of 12 native species and 13 out of 14 species survived. The high survival of 26 original species must be compared to the colonization of 68 new species. With minimal maintenance, new species colonized plots. Extensive …

Effect Of Spatial Influence On Endophyte Diversity Within Alnus Rubra, Sebastian L. Singleton

Student Research Symposium

Red alders (Alnus rubra) of the Pacific Northwest are characterized as actinorhizal dicotyledons; plants that possess that ability to form symbiotic relationships with endophytic organisms, which result in nitrogen-fixing nodules. In Alders of the order Fagales, such a symbiotic relationship with Frankia bacteria allows these plants to play crucial environmental roles as pioneer species able to colonize and enrich nutrient-deficient soils. This ability has a major impact on ecological succession by enabling other species to establish. Although inoculation with frankia bacteria is known to increase symbiotic nitrogen fixation capabilities of actinorhizal plants, whether they could confer the same benefit to …

Perceptions Of Fin-Fish Aquaculture: A Multi-Scalar Policy Perspective, Jordan Wrigley

Graduate Student Symposium

Fin-fish aquaculture presents a problem for planners and policy-makers. While there are negative environmental impacts and questions regarding aquaculture's sustainability, there are also benefits such as increased local food production. Solutions balancing these detriments and benefits are often obscured by ingrained perceptions of aquaculture leading to exclusionary or suppressive outcomes and a lack of exploration into aquaculture's value within various contexts. To examine these perceptions, I developed a multi-scalar series of studies at the national, regional, and individual levels.

The collected results of the three studies suggest aquaculture awareness and perceptions are context-dependant. Nuances in national data also suggest there …

Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Examination of humans as dancers interaction with our surrounding environment. Performance and experimental movement improvisation clips shown.

Mapping Community Space And Place In Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania Through Surveys And Gis, Jessica Craigg

Georgia College Student Research Events

Cities throughout the African continent have been developing at an unprecedented pace, many of them due to the influence of the tourism industry. This is particularly true in Tanzania, a country famous for its national parks and their draw to tourists who help provide money for development. However, the only way to get the whole story on how to spend this money is through the experiences and needs of the people themselves. This study focuses on a small town in northeastern Tanzania, Mto wa Mbu, situated near Lake Manyara National Park, and its people’s perceptions of the park and community. …

Climate Change: International Policies And Their Effectiveness, Elyse Mccormick, Jake Morris, Maria Wipfler, Abigail Jahiel, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Scrape Your Plate: Understanding And Promoting Composting Habits On A College Campus, Lisa Cheng, Savannah Feher, Dominic Gambaiani, Tori Tiberi, Rachel Tomazin, Linda Kunce, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Standing Up For Standing Rock: Environmental Racism In Modern America, Lizzy Lebleu

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In this essay, I explore the implications of environmental racism among our national and global neighbors.

“Internship At United Nations (Un) _ Transition From Millennium Development Goals (Mdgs) To Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs)”, Mohammad Radmehr

Post & Beyond

“Internship at United Nations (UN) _ Transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) To Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” Student: Mohammad Radmehr Advisor: Professor Oscar De Rojas Environmental Sustainability Long Island University The main purpose of this internship could be described as an involvement in the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at global level during the last United Nations General Assembly session, held at summit level, in September 2015. Today the importance of Sustainability is strongly linked with equality, eradication of poverty, and balance in natural resource consumption with respect to future generations. This internship, done at the Office of …

Illinois & Indiana Eco-Sites & Dnr Programs In The Watershed, Bob Caveny

Kankakee River Watershed Conference

Author Keywords:

Invasives control, IDNR, Private lands, Watersheds

Nutrient Load Data From Kankakee & Iroquois Rivers In Indiana, Timothy R. Lathrop, Daniel Perkins

Kankakee River Watershed Conference

No abstract provided.

Urban Environmental Performance Index: The Quito Pilot Case, Diego C. Manya, Ryan Thomas, Matthew Moroney

Yale Day of Data

In the context of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and its indicators, especially Goal 11, the importance of indicators is paramount to the implementation, monitoring and eventual success of the SDG. However, a review of global sustainability indicators reveals major gaps in coverage, including scientific gaps. Indicators are often siloed, meaning at the urban scale where issues often overlap and intersect, existing indicators do not take into consideration cross-sectoral linkages. Finally, many indicators fail to adequately address social equity or inclusion, a high-priority issue identified as central to new definitions of green economy and sustainable development at …