Environmental Studies Commons^™

Adaptation And Power, Elizabeth Weinlein '17

EnviroLab Asia

Academic knowledge of some of the inequities and injustices embedded in economic development was given greater depth and significance after the EnviroLab Asia clinic trip to Southeast Asia; the same was true result occurred after the group’s meeting with Dyack activists.

Re-Envisioning Sustainable Oil-Palm In Se Asia, Wallace M. Meyer Iii

EnviroLab Asia

In Southeast Asia, expansion of oil-palm agriculture, in combination with other industries (logging, fiber, and mega-dams), is transforming significant portions of the landscape threatening biodiversity, key ecosystem services, and human cultural diversity. While transformative answers to these multifaceted environmental issues seem daunting, the conservation biology literature provides a road map for effective techniques to mitigate environmental degradation while allowing for thoughtful, well-planned economic growth. I suggest that the lack of strict operational definitions and a holistic approach to sustainability are the two most critical factors hindering development of sustainable oil-palm agriculture. The task for environmental practitioners is to succinctly define …

The Impacts Of Logging And Palm Oil On Aquatic Ecosystems And Freshwater Sources In Southeast Asia, Isabelle Ng '17

EnviroLab Asia

The process of deforestation has large environmental implications on terrestrial as well as aquatic habitats. Palm oil plantations lead to sedimentation and agricultural runoff into streams and rivers. Such high nutrient inputs could lead to eutrophication, bioaccumulation, and toxic blooms, which could lead to changes in aquatic ecosystems as well as drinking water quality for surrounding communities. Pollutants from streams and rivers are furthermore, channeled down into estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems, thus negatively impacting those areas as well. One possible way to reduce the amount of runoff is by treating the waste produced by palm oil mills as well …

Narratives About Energy, Megaprojects, And The Ecology Of Tropical Rivers: The Baram River Dam Project, Marc Los Huertos

EnviroLab Asia

The conflict between development goals to build dams for hydroelectricity and indigenous peoples in Sarawak was set in motion in the 1970s. In spite of the potential ecological damage, hydroelectric development has been justified by developed and developing countries for decades. These impacts include changes in river geomorphology, water quality, and habitat value and access. Moreover, in the Bakun and Baram river watersheds, the Dayak people of Sarawak have poignantly demonstrated the socio-ecological disruption. For the time being, the construction of the Baram Dam has been halted.

Institutional Responses To Pressures For Sustainable Palm Oil, Stephen Marks, Justin Lauw '18, Shivang Mehta '19, Fernando Salud '17

EnviroLab Asia

As the two leading palm oil producing countries, Indonesia and Malaysia have come under external pressures to limit deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions related to land use conversion for oil palm cultivation. We examine various institutional frameworks that have emerged to mediate these pressures. These frameworks can be distinguished by their geographic scope—domestic, region, and global—as well as by the nature of control—private, non-profit, and governmental. The frameworks have taken the form of sustainability certification systems from non-profit organizations or governments, corporate sustainability policies, or the setting through global or bilateral negotiations of voluntary national targets for limiting deforestation or …

Forest Threnody, Yii Kah Hoe

EnviroLab Asia

Yii Kah Hoe’s Forest Threnody, which received its world premiere on November 1, 2015 in Garrison Theater at Scripps College, Claremont CA, was performed by the Claremont Concert Choir and Claremont Chamber Choir of CMC, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges.

To Nudge Or Not To Nudge: Promoting Environmentally Beneficial Behaviors, Emma Jean Cooper

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

In order to mitigate the effects of climate change, humans need to change how they act toward the environment. Unfortunately, as much as we may want to act in ways that would be best for us and for the environment, we often struggle to do just that due to cognitive biases. Nudge theory attempts to remedy this problem by helping us make the decision that would be in our best interests. To explore this issue, I conduct an extended review of the literature to examine how well nudge theory can be applied to the realm of environmental policy. Specifically, I …

Foreword, Deborah Lapidus

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Indigenous People, Development And Environmental Justice: Narratives Of The Dayak People Of Sarawak, Malaysia, Elizabeth Weinlein '17

EnviroLab Asia

Focusing on the indigenous people of Sarawak, this article explores the authors learned biases as well as the dispelling of myths through hands on experiences in Malaysia. Over the period of a couple days, it becomes apparent that the indigenous people in Sarawak are not victims of systems of oppression, but survivors who continue to fight for their land rights and livelihoods.

Straits Talk, Char Miller

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Just Research, Ki’Amber Thompson '18

EnviroLab Asia

The trip to Malaysia Borneo was an eye-opening experience that reinforced the need for researchers to listen to the indigenous peoples and to integrate their knowledge and understanding of place into any scientific, political, or policy analyses designed to restore the impact of deforestation and dam projects in the region.

Up Close: An Interview, Madi Vorva '17

EnviroLab Asia

A long-time US activist against the deleterious impact of oil-palm deforestation in Southeast Asia learned a great deal about the indigenous peoples’ struggles there to gain control over their lives and livelihoods.

White Privilege In Environmental Policy: An Analysis Of Hazardous Waste Management And Operations In Southeast Los Angeles, Lindsey Chen

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis takes an unconventional approach to environmental racism. Through the lens of white privilege and racial capitalism, I analyze hazardous waste procedures, work site dynamics, and governmental enforcement. Southeast Los Angeles encompasses 26 neighborhoods and the communities racial demographic is 85.8% people of color. The region is home to an abundance of hazardous waste generators, and the area is disproportionately burdened by pollution compared to the rest of LA County. I chose white privilege as a framework because more often than not, discrimination in the workplace is unintentional and covert. White privilege manifests through hazardous waste management in four …

Protocol For Surveying Bat Use Of Lava Tube Caves During Winter In Craters Of The Moon National Monument And Preserve, Version 1.0, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Kathleen Slocum, Todd Stefanic, Shawn Thomas, Meghan Lonneker, Gordon Dicus

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The mission of the National Park Service (NPS) is “to conserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment of this and future generations” (NPS 1999). To uphold this goal, the Director of the NPS approved the Natural Resource Challenge to encourage national parks to focus on the preservation of the nation’s natural heritage through science, natural resource inventories, and expanded resource monitoring (NPS 1999). Through the Challenge, 270 parks in the national park system were organized into 32 inventory and monitoring (I&M) networks.

The Upper Columbia Basin Network Inventory …

Protocol For Surveying Bat Use Of Lava Tube Caves During Winter In Craters Of The Moon National Monument And Preserve, Standard Operating Procedures, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Kathleen Slocum, Todd Stefanic, Shawn Thomas, Meghan Lonneker

United States National Park Service: Publications

Background

The Upper Columbia Basin Network I&M (Inventory and Monitoring) program and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are collaborating to monitor winter bat use in Arco Tunnel, which is a safely accessed cave in the northern portion of the monument that consistently has been found with the largest number of bats (~30/year) among the set of caves recently inventoried. The standard operating procedures documented here and the methods described in the associated protocol narrative will also be used to periodically inventory other caves within the monument and surrounding preserve as park resources and safety (winter environmental and …

Crops And Controversy: Industry’S Role In The Gmo Debate, Carina Wallack

Honors Theses

The use of genetically modified crops (also called GM crops, genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short) has become a highly contested issue. New genetic modification technologies offer a variety of advantages for improving agricultural efficiency. However, some scientists argue that the safety testing conducted thus far does not provide enough information and worry about possible health and ecological risks. Private industry sponsors a great deal of research on genetically modified crops. As the international controversy regarding the use of GMOs has unfolded, the very companies responsible for commercializing genetically modified crops have gained substantial influence in the resulting scientific …

Drowning In Rising Seas: Navigating Multiple Knowledge Systems And Responding To Climate Change In The Maldives, Rachel Hannah Spiegel

Pitzer Senior Theses

The threat of global climate change increasingly influences the actions of human society. As world leaders have negotiated adaptation strategies over the past couple of decades, a certain discourse has emerged that privileges Western conceptions of environmental degradation. I argue that this framing of climate change inhibits the successful implementation of adaptation strategies. This thesis focuses on a case study of the Maldives, an island nation deemed one of the most vulnerable locations to the impacts of rising sea levels. I apply a postcolonial theoretical framework to examine how differing knowledge systems can both complement and contradict one another. By …

Poison In Pink, Sydney V. Cook

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Humans slather, spray, mist, and cleanse their bodies with personal care products like lotion, hairspray, cologne, and shampoo every day. Our cupboards are stocked full of them, but few of us understand what is in those jars and bottles. We trust that if it’s on the shelf at the store, it’s safe. However, this is not always the case, and many personal care products contain chemicals that are harmful to human and environmental health.

My multi-disciplinary Environmental Studies thesis project combines evidenced-based research, interviews, nonfiction narrative, and science communication to create part of a book manuscript intended to educate general …

Analyzing Policy And Stakeholder Perspectives – The Case Of The Spotted Owl, Victoria Derr

Activities and Assignments Collection

• Effectively reading in our discipline – focused on Text-Based Discussions
  • Collaborative Meaning Making – reading as an inquiry into meaning and a purposeful engagement with ideas. [1]
  • Setting Reading Purposes and Adjusting Reading Processes – reading for a specific, disciplinary-relevant purpose.[2]
• Identifying and analyzing stakeholder perspectives
• Applying policy to understand stakeholder perspectives

[1] Schoenback, Ruth, Cynthia Greenleaf, and Lynn Murphy. 2012. Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms. WestEd.org.

[2] Ibid.

The Potential And Limits Of Extended Producer Responsibility: A Comparative Analysis Study, Jessica Bass

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis draws on the concept of product stewardship and its focus on incorporating all of the actors in a product’s lifecycle into steps to take responsibility for waste management. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recognizes the producer’s distinct potential to consider and drive change in waste management. Producers often serve like mediators between the design and use phases of a product’s lifecycle. Through EPR policies, the producer takes on the costs of ensuring safe end-of-life waste disposal. In this way, EPR can be expected to help relieve the public of some of the costs of waste disposal, and to support …

Sustainable Mining For Long Term Poverty Alleviation In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Ellen Perfect

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the poverty alleviation and peace-spoiling power of the mineral extraction sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to arrive at a set of strategic goals for the country moving forward. Although subterranean minerals are often a source or perpetuator of violence, the potential to lift the country’s rural communities out of extreme poverty makes the mining industry an essential part of the nation’s development strategies. Lessons from Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Sierra Leone to arrive at best practices for increasing the multiplier effect of large-scale mining, formalization, beneficiation, capital …

The Socio-Political And Economic Causes Of Natural Disasters, Nicole Southard

CMC Senior Theses

To effectively prevent and mitigate the outbreak of natural disasters is a more pressing issue in the twenty-first century than ever before. The frequency and cost of natural disasters is rising globally, most especially in developing countries where the most severe effects of climate change are felt. However, while climate change is indeed a strong force impacting the severity of contemporary catastrophes, it is not directly responsible for the exorbitant cost of the damage and suffering incurred from natural disasters -- both financially and in terms of human life. Rather, the true root causes of natural disasters lie within the …

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 …

Oceans Of Space, Stephanie Steinbrecher '16

EnviroLab Asia

"Oceans of Space" relates my observations of the 2016 EnviroLab Asia Clinic Trip to Singapore and Sarawak, Malaysia. In this meditation, the concept of space serves as a lens to examine assumptions of geopolitical, historical, and philosophical positioning—regionally and globally. At the center of my inquiry is EnviroLab's connection to the Dayak communities in Baram, Sarawak. This region is experiencing dramatic social and ecological change as a result of industrial development. By triangulating my subjective impressions of this space, various knowledge systems, and the qualitative data EnviroLab gathered in Southeast Asia, I aim to untangle some paradoxes that complicate the …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2016 Data Report, Molly B. Davis, Daniel J. Swanson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2016 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire).

During the sixth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots on May 23-25, 2016 to collect data on the plant communities at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort to better understand the condition of the vegetation at SCBL. NGPN staff captured data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundance of individual native and non-native …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2016 Data Report, Aaron T. Rasor, Daniel J. Swanson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2016 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN).

During the sixth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited six long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects Crew (NGPFire) visited nine fire plant community monitoring (FPCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at AGFO. This effort is part of a long-term monitoring program established to better understand the condition of the mixed-grass prairie, riparian, and upland regions in AGFO. …

Applying The Holistic Conceptual Conservation Framework For Sustainable Tourism, George Alexakis, Larry Rice

Journal of Tourism Insights

The tourism and hospitality industry has not always followed sound environmental stewardship. Increased awareness among tourists worldwide has prompted sustainabilit­y discourse encouraging long-term systemic approaches to planning and development. The research article proposes a holistic conceptual conservation framework that shows how a united tourism and hospitality industry can curtail the processes of environmental destruction and collectively offer authentic touristic experiences. Visitors can fully experience tourist destinations through integrated ecotourism, ethnotourism, and other related tangential offerings alongside those of larger tourism and hospitality providers. The conservation framework hypothetically strengthens the customer loyalty of tourists towards all industry operators and related practitioners, …

Secretarial Order 3336 Science Priorities: The Role Of Science Past, Present, And Future, Stephen W. Barrett

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Within sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems, which are home to more than 350 species of plants and animals, potentially more frequent and severe fires are causing an increased threat to human safety, property, rural economies, and wildlife habitat. In particular, the habitat of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), an iconic sagebrush-dependent species, is at risk. In response to this reality, on January 15, 2015, Secretary Sally Jewell signed Secretarial Order 3336 (S.O. 3336), titled “Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management, and Restoration.” The main purpose of the order is to implement enhanced policies and strategies for managing rangeland fire and …

Using An Equilibrium Displacement Model To Simulate The Impact Of An Environmental Meat Tax On Grain And Livestock Markets, Regan Gilmore

UCARE: Research Products

Research Question

What are the potential effects of imposing a hypothetical environmental tax on meat consumption, including beef, pork, and poultry, on the livestock and grain markets in the United States from farm to fork?

Faculty advisor: Azzeddine Azzam

This was the first half of my research project; the second half (with the results) is shown on the following poster: "Simulating the Impact of a CO2-equivalent Meat Tax on Grain and Livestock Markets" @ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ucareresearch/151/

Bioswales For Stormwater Remediation And Infiltration: Assessing Regulatory Climate And Quantifying Filtration Capacity Of A Claremont Bioswale, Skyler Lewis, Boyu Liu, Paul Picciano, Liana Solis, Char Miller

Environmental Analysis Program Senior Projects

Watershed management is critical in ensuring a sustainable water supply. This project is designed to assess the impact of bioswales in the context of Southern California’s climate. The patterns of droughts and floods make these green infrastructure appealing as they offer potential to boost water quality and regenerate local aquifers, while reducing the area of impermeable surfaces in our urban landscape. As bioswales have not been commonly incorporated into infrastructure development, our project focuses on a relatively new bioswale, added in 2012 and located on Pomona College’s campus, to serve as our case study in determining the viability of bioswales …