Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Experimental And Computational Evaluation Of The Importance Of Molecular Diffusion In Gas Gravity Currents, Jeremy Jac Herman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accidental release of hazardous, denser-than-air gases during their transport or manufacture is a vital area of study for process safety researchers. This project examines the importance of molecular diffusion on the developing concentration field of a gas gravity current released into a calm environment. Questions which arose from the unexpectedly severe explosion in 2005 at Buncefield, England were of particular interest. The accidental overfilling of a large tank with gasoline on a completely calm morning led to a massive open air explosion. Forensic evidence showed that at the time of ignition, a vapor cloud, most of which now appears …

Risk Assessment Of Navigation Environment In Bridge Waters, Haoqiang Rui

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Broiler Litter Heat Production During Windrowing & Nitrogen Based Gas Emission Mitigation Using Biofilter, Min Lei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ammonia emission from animal feeding operations (AFOs) has negative effects on environment and animals' health. Thus measuring and mitigating ammonia emission from AFOs is important for environmental protection. In chapter I, different ammonia measurements were discussed and a mitigation technology- biofilter was represented.

In-house windrowing of built-up litter has been used by broiler producers to reduce pathogen loads and rejuvenate litter for the next flock. When litter is piled up for an extended period during downtime, heat generated by the litter pile can become a substantial heat source due to the metabolism of microorganisms. In chapter II, heat production rates …

The View From The Table: An Analysis Of Participant Reactions To Community-Based Dialogues On Food And Justice, Jennifer Turner

Dissertations and Theses

While Portland, Oregon's sustainable food movement wins accolades for explicitly situating itself in opposition to the industrialized global food system, it often fails to address systems of oppression that are reproduced within the alternative agri-food movement itself. This demonstrated aversion towards the messy, complex, contingent nature of the social world reflects larger processes of "de-politicization" of the overall sustainability agenda, which leads to the favoring of technological and/or spatial solutions that may undermine the social equity and justice dimensions of the "triple bottom line." This thesis focuses on an action research project involving a series of community dialogues that provided …

Student-Initiated Campus Sustainability: Strategies For Success, Michaela Stuver Harper

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Campus sustainability is growing in popularity throughout the United States, and also internationally. The purpose of this study was to determine whether student-run environmental sustainability initiatives are capable of succeeding, and if so, what factors and characteristics exist in successful and unsuccessful projects. Environmental sustainability initiatives are those that address at least one of the following five ares: 1) Air quality and climate change, 2) local food and sustainable agriculture, 3) land conservation and recycling, reducing and reusing, 4) renewable energy, and 5) water conservation. Success was defined as the ability of a program to continue when the initiator leaves …

Student Motivation For Pursuing A Minor In Environmental Sustainability, Luanne Woods Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental sustainability dominates the global conversation seeking to increase awareness and change the culture of thinking concerning the relationship between humans and the Earth. Because many universities offer programs relative to environmental sustainability, a need exists to understand why students pursue these programs. This study examined student motivation for pursuing an environmental sustainability minor in one institution of higher education. Career, learning, monetary, and Social responsibility were the motivational factors considered in this study. The results of this study indicated significant differences among the motivational factors for pursuing a minor in sustainability among those students surveyed. Significant differences existed for …

Squalicum Creek Re-Route, Lisa Sulenes, Dylan Peterson, Katherine Hales, Cecily Kowitz, Skylar Sumner

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

Squalicum Creek is one of the largest independent drainages in Whatcom County, draining most of Northern Bellingham. The creek originates in the Cascade foothills and empties into Bellingham Bay. Squalicum Creek has the highest potential for high water quality and productive fish habitat within the Bellingham city limits. The location of the creek is shown in Figure 1 with the reach addressed in this document highlighted as the Project Area. Current conditions within the project area impede fish passage and provide few spawning areas. In addition, Bug Lake and Sunset Pond currently create the highest thermal loading in Squalicum Creek. …

Holiday Inn At The Bellingham International Airport: Environmental Impact Assessment, Sara Scott, Tara Newman, Kelsey England, Ilsa Barrett, Matt Fuget

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The Bellingham International Airport located in Bellingham, Washington in Whatcom County, has a history dating back to 1941 and is currently owned by the Port of Bellingham. The Port of Bellingham is currently looking to expand its property and is opening up to commercial users in order to create jobs and economic growth within the community. They have a current project underway with the Hotel Services Group, LLC to implement the construction of a hotel. The main objective is to construct a Holiday Inn Brand hotel next to the Bellingham International Airport in order to provide convenient lodging for travelers. …

Squalicum Creek Park - Phase Iii, Seth Norell Bader, Pamela Griswold, Nora Jagielo, Sabrina Romano, Alexander Yanez Sherman

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The principle objective of the Squalicum Creek Park project is to increase recreational opportunities in Bellingham. Specifically, more baseball fields are needed to meet the needs of the growing population.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Whatcom County Ordinance Ab2012-300b: Exhibit B, Kali Levy, Hunter Hassig, Kevin Radach, Galen Van Horn, Bergen Vocke

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The purpose of the proposed action is to make it easier for cattle and hog farmers to bring their animals to slaughter on-site, and in greater Whatcom County. The action also seeks to ease the processing of cattle and hog carcasses into cured, smoked, canned or other value added prepared meat products. Further, the action strives to preserve the agricultural character and viability of rural Whatcom County.

Potter Road Bridge Replacement, Jamie Halpin, Randal Bernhardt, Tyler Pedersen, Derek Vilar, Jessica Straight

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The purpose of this Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is to analyze and determine what effect the replacement of Potter Road Bridge will have on the environment. Potter Road Bridge is located in Whatcom County, Washington, and it crosses over the South Fork Nooksack River near the town of Van Zandt (Figures 1,2). Building on the Environmental Checklist that was prepared by Whatcom County, this EIA identifies significant impacts on both the natural and built environment. It also looks at a no-action alternative, as well as an alternative in which the bridge would be eliminated and Smith Road would be extended …

The Way To Wanakena: A Photodocumentary Study On The Concept Of Community In An Adirondack Hamlet, Kristin V. Rehder

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Maritime Oil Pollution In The Marine Environment: Case Study Of Maritime Oil Pollution In The Navigational Channel Of Shatt Al-Arab, Farhan M. Al Fartoosi

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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.

Conservation Easement Policies Across New England, Virginia A. Keesler

Honors Theses

This thesis examines conservation easement policies across the New England states. Conservation easements are legal agreements through which landowners donate or sell some or all of their properties' development rights to conservation entities, typically government entities or land trusts. I specifically ask: How do conservation easement policies compare across the New England states? How can conservation easement policies be reformed to enhance the use of easements as a conservation tool? Although easements allow conservation entities to conserve more land for less money, the ecological and social implications of the increased use of easements have been debated.

I evaluate data availability, …

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 …

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Geothermal Power Plant Environmental Impact Assessment, Evan Derickson, Ethan Holzer, Brandon Johansen, Audra Mccafferty, Eric Messerschmidt, Kyle Olsen

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

Geothermal reserves represent a source of energy production with a remarkably low impact on the environment. Geothermal power plants do not rely on fossil fuels, so they avoid the associated emissions associated with combustion reactions and fuel transport. Because water can be pumped through the system continuously, geothermal power is more reliable than other forms of clean energy such as wind and solar power. The relatively low temperature of the geothermal resources at Mt. Baker makes the lease site suited for the construction of a binary geothermal power plant, which is the newest and most technologically-advanced system for geothermal power …

Bp Rail Logistics Project Environmental Impact Assessment, Bellingham, Wa, Spencer Andrich, Robert Bryson, Bill Sampson, Andrew Inocencio, Suzan Nasona

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The purpose of this environmental impact assessment (EIA) is to identify any environmental elements potentially impacted by the BP Cherry Point Refinery Rail Logistics Project, Both on the project site and the land (developed and undeveloped) and water bodies adjacent to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway within the western portion of Whatcom County extending from Larrabee State Park to the BP refinery at Cherry Point. The elements of the environment that will be examined will be divided into two categories: environmental and built. The environmental elements include earth, water, air, plants, animals, and energy and natural resources. The …

Cherry Point Exporting Of Coal On Large Ships, Environmental Impact Assessment, Bellingham, Wa, Judith Debay, Brennan Nowak, Chelsea Robinson, Genevieve Shank, Sabina Sherrill

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is based on the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements for any action that has a significant, adverse impact on the environment. These requirements are set forth in Chapter 197-11 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). The proposed action is to move up to 54 million metric tons per year of dry bulk commodities including coal requiring approximately 487 vessels (Panamax and Capesize class) per year, each at a length of 800 to 900 feet (GPT FAQ, 2011). At half-capacity one more vessel every other day would follow this shipping route and at full operational …

Lake Whatcom Land Reconveyance: Environmental Impact Assessment, Chantal Wikstrom, Courtney Gilgore, Dominika Kwiatkowski, Lindsey Juen, Noah Crozier

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

Project turning over management of over 8,800 acres of land in or around the Lake Whatcom watershed to Whatcom County under a reconveyance process outlined in RCW 79.22.300. This land has been managed by the state WDNR and has been leased to private companies for commercial forestry practices with financial benefit to trusts in this area, under the new plan the proposed action the land would be turned into a county run park with an emphasis on forest conservation with low impact recreation opportunities.

Cordata Urban Village Environmental Impact Assessment, Donald Cleary, Dylan Foggitt, Gabriel Kincaid, Rea Pineda, Nicholas Roberts

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

Phased development of a 34.8-acre parcel (Sections 1 & 12, Township 38 N, Range 02E, W.M.) as a mixed-use urban village in the Cordata Neighborhood, Area 17D. The proposal calls for a mixture of single and multi-family residential dwellings, convenience retail, office, parks, trails, and community services. Up to 368 single and multi-family dwellings and 24,000 square feet of industrial space would be provided east of Cordata Parkway between Horton and Stuart Roads. To compensate for 7.64 acres of wetland fill and 2.79 acres of City of Bellingham buffer infringements, off-site mitigation would be completed on a 75-acre site (Section …

South Skagit Highway Realignment: Envs 493 Winter 2013, Justin Eastman, Jamie Hamilton, Thomas Peal, Amy Tibbetts, Matt Warren, Witney Wynn

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The existing placement of the South Skagit Highway disconnects the Skagit River from approximately 62 acres of floodplain in the project area alone and has direct impacts on habitat conditions. Approximately, 5.2 acres of wetlands are completely inaccessible to fish due to the current highway alignment. An additional 21.7 acres of slough and wetland habitat have only partial fish access due to restricted hydrologic connectivity with the river. Routine dredging and maintenance is required for the 900 feet of Savage Creek which currently runs in the highway ditch. Savage Slough runs under the highway through an undersized culvert that is …

Genetically Modified Food In The Us And The Uk: Proponents, Dissenters And Media Coverage, Tess Ann Doezema

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is a qualitative study examining the communication surrounding the issue of genetically modified food in the UK and the UK from October, 2011 through September, 2012. Material from biotechnology industry organizations, industry-funded non-profits, groups campaigning against the continued use of the technology, and mainstream media coverage of the issue in both countries during this time was examined using thematic analysis. The issue is analyzed through the lenses of Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model, agenda building and framing theory. The research finds support for agenda building as well as a modernized understanding of the propaganda model, which the researcher …

Parks In The Sky: How Urban Rejuvenation Is Re-Writing Wilderness, Sarah Anne Mercurio

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis will examine the implications of urban wilderness, what representations of urban wilderness will look like, and whether we have, or can, move away from the archaic notion of wilderness that has prevailed since being defined in the Wilderness Act. While ecocritical theorists have not yet fully engaged in urban ecocritical analysis, the emerging trend to consider the city as a wild place is a direct result of a shift in cultural perspective, as is evidence through the development of natural and artificial place-making, such as the High Line Park in New York City.

Media And Corporate Blame: Gate Keeping And Framing Of The British Petroleum Oil Spill Of 2010, Kudratdeep Kaur Dhaliwal

Theses Digitization Project

This study will focus on the coverage of the 2010 BP oil spill at Macondo Bay in the Gulf of Mexico, when 4.9 billion barrels of oil were sent gushing into the ocean. This study provides insight into how media frame an environmental disaster and construct blame under influence of certain political economic indicators such as circulation, competition, advertising, and ownership. Studying the relationship between journalists' framing of blame for the BP oil spill in the Gulf in American and circulation and ownership type of the newspapers which published those articles helps to validate past research and provide new insights …

The Paradigm Of Sustainable Development In Maritime Education And Training, Alina Prylipko

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Bird Use Of Heterogeneous Native Prairie Biofuel Production Plots, Jarrett D. Pfrimmer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Changing land use practices and agricultural intensification have driven the loss of >90% of native grassland habitats in the Midwestern U.S.A. Consequently, grassland birds have declined more drastically than any other North American guild. Current biofuel production systems in the Midwest rely on high input monoculture crops that provide little habitat value to most grassland birds. The Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa is exploring the feasibility of growing and harvesting diverse mixes of native prairie vegetation for use as a sustainable biofuel in a manner that also provides high quality bird habitat. In 2009, 48 research …

The Elwha River Restoration: Landscape Change, Salmon, And Sense Of Place, Kelseyanne Johnson

All Master's Theses

Removal of the Elwha River dams to restore the ecosystem and salmon fisheries is the largest project of its kind in the history of the United States. Spanning decades and affecting generations, this project has changed and will continue to change the landscape. This research examined the influence of the anticipated return of salmon on 18 key stakeholders' sense of place of the Elwha River. For almost all stakeholders, changes to the Elwha landscape are welcomed as they expect that salmon will restore the ecosystem to its natural state. Narrative data revealed dominant themes in participants' sense of place expressed …

Monetary And Ecological Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Onshore Power Supply : A Case Study Of The Port Of Mombasa, Mulwa Denis Musyoka

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.