Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The National Environmental Policy Act In The Urban Environment: Oxymoron Or A Useful Tool To Combat The Destruction Of Neighborhoods And Urban Sprawl?, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

To some, applying the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to decisions affecting land use in an urban or built environment is an oxymoron. Cities have historically not been seen “as natural entities but as foreign impositions upon the native landscape,” places where the physical environment is already largely destroyed or reduced to insignificant remnants. Moreover, detecting the required federal presence to trigger NEPA may initially seem difficult when decisions affecting urban resources appear to be principally made by local or state agencies.

At the Institute for Public Representation (IPR) at the Georgetown University Law Center, the author has learned that …

Best Practices: Innovative Funding Mechanisms For Financing A Lead Remediation Program, Claudette Robey, Daila Shimek, Michael Mcgoun, Kara Chernet, Christopher Gollan

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The elimination of childhood lead poisoning is a national health policy objective to be attained by the year 2010. A full understanding of the poisoning risks that lead poses for young children and infants evolved as more research focused upon its effects. Some of the first warnings of the potential dangers associated with lead began with studies conducted as early as the 1940s and 1950s. Over time, the link between exposure to lead and reduced cognitive function and impulse control in young children was firmly established. Numerous studies since have linked high blood lead levels to serious learning disabilities, lower …

The Ecology Of Paradox: Disturbance And Restoration In Land And Soul, Rowland S. Russell

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This heuristic study explores environmental disturbance and ecological restoration in several North American settings in order to uncover epistemological, philosophical, aesthetic and ethical considerations revolving around those place-based processes. With fire as one of the central metaphors of this work, the initial place-based chapter examines Northern New Mexico's Pajarito Plateau to explore the region's fire ecology. The study then moves to the Pacific Northwest to draw restoration practice that attempt to restore wild salmon to urban Seattle habitat. The third place-based chapter focuses on the Midwest grass and farmlands in order to investigate the seeming contradictions between commodity and diversity …

Fostering Sustainability In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Transformative Leadership And Change Strategies, Kim H. Mcnamara

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

As evidence of the earth’s limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions: What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher …

From The States Up: Building A National Renewable Energy Policy, Shelley Welton

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2006, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report concluded that “[r]educing the nation’s dependence on oil and carbon dioxide emissions in the next 25 years is not unlike the 1960s challenge to put a man on the moon.” In fact, this analogy may be understated. While the scope of the two challenges is similarly daunting, the consequences of failure are potentially much more serious in the case of the energy challenge. One key component of addressing this challenge will be changing the ways in which the U.S. meets its seemingly insatiable electricity demand. The environmental, foreign policy, health, and …

A Scan Of Attributes In County Government Structure, Kevin O'Brien, Holly Cooper Whisman, Ryan Foster, Melissa Rowe

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report discusses the outcome of a national scan of models of effective county leadership and operations that might translate into alternative structures for consideration by the Commission on Cuyahoga County Government Reform. The scan produced a number of alternate county organizational structures that utilized several formats for executive, legislative, and administrative roles.

An Analysis Of The Feasibility Of A Joint Economic Development District Between The City Of Brunswick And Hinckley Township, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, Daila Shimek, Michael Mcgoun, Ryan Foster

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.