Environmental Studies Commons^™

Analyzing The Recent, Rapid Tourism Development In Panama's Bocas Del Toro Archipelago: Is Socioenvironmental Justice Attainable?, Olivia R. Bourque

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Bocas del Toro archipelago of Panama has seen a rapid growth in its tourism industry since the 1990s. From a neoliberal perspective, tourism development is beneficial for all. Alternatively, I analyze the recent, rapid tourism development in Bocas from a critical development theoretical perspective, identifying its positive and negative implications, as well as who they accrue to. While there are economic benefits to tourism in Bocas, only foreign investors, the Panamanian government and English-speaking residents appear to earn them. The Bocas residents, and indigenous Ngöbe residents in particular, suffer from a range of economic, sociocultural, environmental and land access …

Shareholder Advocacy In Corporate Elections: Case Studies In Proxy Voting Websites For Retail Investors, Robin Miller

Sustainability and Social Justice

One of the key rights shareholders retain is the right to vote on issues affecting the companies in which they invest. This voting right is seen as one of the primary means of exercising diligent corporate governance (Cole 2003, Fairfax 2009). Only 28 percent of individual investors vote in corporate elections compared with 91 percent of institutional investors. Informed voting decisions at corporate elections can be very information intensive, and theories of rational apathy and the free rider problem may explain a lack of participation from individual investors.

Many shareholders cannot attend annual corporate meetings, so they …

Gis And Spatial Analysis: Summer Internship With The Center For Health And Global Environment At The Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health, Wensi Hu

Sustainability and Social Justice

The objective of the report is to introduce and discuss my internship at the Center for Health and Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston, MA. The internship lasted four months from the middle of May to the middle of September, with 15 hours each week. My tasks included geocoding, developing GIS-calculated variables, data visualization/mapping and documentation. Creation of variables was vital as it included air quality data, land use map, greenness (NDVI), roads data as well as parks data.

I am happy that I have a chance to work under a professional environmental …

Gis And Coastal Basemap Research Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Zhuoyue Zhou, Po Hu

Sustainability and Social Justice

Our summer internship with Clark Labs will last for one and half of years, from October 2014 till the end of August 2016, while we’ve worked under the director of Dr. Ronald Eastman. The main duty for this project is to create a basemap for coastal line in three counties in the Southeast Asia, while during this summer, our duties were to wrap up the remaining tasks, such as adjusting the classification images based on the accuracy assessment results, combining all the images, making a final map, and calculating the area for each categories in each province of the three …

Healthcare Facility Location: A Breast Cancer Alliance Case Study, Alexandra Knopf

Sustainability and Social Justice

Community health is impacted by the location of a health advocacy agency. This commissioned report for the Breast Cancer Alliance of Greenwich, CT, consists of a location analysis to review potential cities in which they might locate expansion efforts. Such cities include Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Greenwich, CT, Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, D.C. This report will look at five ways (4 mathematical and one spatial) of conducting a location analysis that require specialized knowledge for interpretation. For this study, a Spatial Geographic Information System methodology is preferred because of the visualization component, which can ensure that …

Assessment Of The Environmental Sector And Climate Change In Malawi: Relationships Between Environmental Policy, Scientific Literature, And Development Projects, Esther A. Baumann

Sustainability and Social Justice

As funding increases for climate change related issues in Sub-Saharan Africa there should also be an increase in research to understand how scientific literature in the environmental sector can assist in developing policy and implementing development projects. Using secondary research, this paper centers on Malawi to develop an understanding of what is occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole in regards to climate change and environmental policy, science and development projects. It sought to determine if scientific thematic areas of research and recommended courses of action were being incorporated into actual government policies and on the ground development projects. This …

Redefining The Impact Of Public-Access Media In Worcester, Ma, Anthony Ortiz

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research presents findings from a study of how Worcester’s current public-access media center can serve as an anchor institution for two-way communication between the producers and the audience. More generally, it addresses two questions: 1) How to ensure maximum participation and 2) How can active communication be preserved (or maintained) between the producers and the audience. Drawing on case studies done around the U.S. this paper offers a model of community based media that can be essential for empowering people to serve as active receivers of information. The concept for community based media should allow as a grassroots oriented …

Gis And Coastal Basemap Research Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Po Hu, Zhuoyue Zhou

Sustainability and Social Justice

Our summer internship with Clark Labs will last for one and half of years, from October 2014 till the end of August 2016, while we’ve worked under the director of Dr. Ronald Eastman. The main duty for this project is to create a basemap for coastal line in three counties in the Southeast Asia, while during this summer, our duties were to wrap up the remaining tasks, such as adjusting the classification images based on the accuracy assessment results, combining all the images, making a final map, and calculating the area for each categories in each province of the three …

Evaluation Of Alternative Strategies To Prevent Leopard Predation On Livestock Around Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, Sanjiv Fernando

Sustainability and Social Justice

In recent years, many livestock herders living near Yala National Park, Sri Lanka have reported livestock losses due to predation by leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya). Despite herders’ attempts to safeguard their cattle, livestock depredation remains an issue, sometimes causing herders to kill leopards in retaliation. In an effort to mitigate the human-leopard conflict, protective cattle enclosures made from steel pipes and mesh wire were introduced to prevent leopard attacks on cattle. This study aims to assess the severity of leopard predation on livestock, understand the methods used in retaliatory killings, examine the effectiveness of existing livestock protection methods, …

The Gendered Politics Of Natural Resource Management: Gender Mainstreaming In Un-Redd+ Programs In Latin America, Hannah Yore

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper uses a feminist political ecology framework to critically examine rural women’s relationship with UN-REDD programs throughout Latin America. It looks at the ways in which UN-REDD has attempted to integrate women into the larger REDD+ development paradigms vis-à-vis gender- mainstreaming. I pay particular attention to how gender dynamics operate in the context of REDD+ with respect to cultural sovereignty, access to land, and benefit sharing and draw on Ecuador’s National REDD+ Socio Bosque program to illuminate how National REDD+ programs can adversely affect rural women’s livelihoods despite UN-REDD’s discourse of “gender equality”. In light of these considerations, I …

Environmental Conservation As An Instrument Of National Political Economy: Culture, Livelihoods, And Territorial Rights Of The Emberá Of Panama, Sara M. Taylor

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper argues that areas of environmental conservation in the Panama Canal Watershed Zone were originally designed to fit an economic utility rather than to protect habitat. As a result there was an exclusion of forest-based communities in policy design and implementation, creating lasting impacts on indigenous Emberá territorial rights, livelihood opportunities, and traditional cultural practices. Based on recent fieldwork and a review of relevant secondary literature, this paper discusses how Emberá communities in in Chagres National Park have adapted their culture and livelihoods to accommodate environmental regulation and explores what prospects the Emberá see for future generations if they …

Summer 2015 Gis Analyst Internship At The Connecticut Department Of Energy & Environmental Protection, Old Lyme, Connecticut, Stuart R. Deland

Sustainability and Social Justice

I worked as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Internee for the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) from May 18, 2015 through August 14th of the same year. I was stationed at the Old Lyme Field office and worked under the direct supervision of Deb Pacileo, my boss and GIS analyst for CT DEEP. My function in the agency was similar to my supervisor's as I had no single project that dominated my time, but was given a multitude of projects to create, edit, oversee, and produce. Some of these project included editing python scripts of former …

2015 Summer Gis Internship In Archipelagos, Institute Of Marine Conservation, Mengyi Chen

Sustainability and Social Justice

My summer internship is in Archipelagos, Institute of Marine Conservation, starting from June to July of 2015. My work includes manipulating geospatial data, conducting analysis, and creating maps for the conservation work in Archipelagos. This report introduces the organization of the internship, the detailed content of work I have done for this internship, and the assessment of the internship.

Barriers To Energy Efficiency In Hospitals: Building A Better Business Case For Sub-Metering, Chris Davies

Sustainability and Social Justice

The natural world finds itself placed in an ever more precarious position as climate change is continually exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels. Achieving greater energy efficiency in resource intensive industries has emerged as part of the immediate solution to this problem, a solution which can be financially, environmentally, and socially beneficial. Healthcare is one such industry where energy efficiency has high relevance. With hospitals operating 24/7 and energy intensive equipment running all day long, the healthcare industry offers high potential for successful building energy efficient retrofits. Yet it also faces many unique barriers. This paper identifies some of …

Land Change Modeler Application:Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Siqi Cheng, Nan Ding

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper is a description of our internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2015. We worked as research assistants in the Land Change Modeler Application (App) project. This project aimed to display the land cover changes in the United States from 2001 to 2010, show the vulnerability in 48 states and predict changes from the yaer 2050. Our responsibility was to extract eight variables (slope, elevation, surface water, roads, high intensity land, protected areas, county subdivisions, and cultivated crops) in TerrSet, and use them in several models to test the accuracy of prediction.

The internship is a great …

The Effect Of Athletic Stadiums On Communities, With A Focus On Housing, Dominique Wilkins

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to examine the role of athletic stadiums in the gentrification of minority neighborhoods. New athletic stadiums have increasingly been constructed in low- and moderate- income areas with high minority populations, and results in the displacement of that community’s longstanding residents. This paper uses Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data as part of a case study of the Washington Nationals Stadium in Washington DC; the data shows that within a few years of construction, the community that previously boasted an affordable housing stock and a high low-income minority population is replaced with high-income, …

Innovations In City-Level Climate Policy: Building Energy Efficiency And Retrofitting Programs In C40 Cities, Benjamin Tweed

Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract

Innovations in City Level Climate Policy: Building Energy Efficiency and Retrofitting Programs in C40 cities

Benjamin Tweed

Worldwide buildings account for approximately a third of global energy use and a quarter of GHG emissions. In large cities these proportions can double or even triple. Combined with a slow rate of building turnover, this creates a need for policy instruments designed to address the energy efficiency of existing buildings. With a lack of national attention, cities are stepping forward to offer a solution. This paper examines policy approaches taken by six cities, all members of the C40 Climate Leadership Group. …

Global Population Distributions And The Environment : Discerning Observed Global And Regional Patterns., Jeremiah J. Nieves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between 1990 to 2015, numerous groups used ancillary data about the environment surrounding populations to more accurately map global populations from standard census data. No comprehensive study has been undertaken to characterize the observed relationships between population density and ancillary data. Better understanding these relationships may produce more accurate population maps, focus resources on new datasets with a high probability of modelling importance, and lead to expanded end-user applications. This study examined these relationships by extracting variable importances from 36 independently run, country-specific population models from the WorldPop project’s population data. Covariate data describing urban/suburban extents were found to be …

Exchange Patterns And Relations In Collaborative Governance., Charles Wharton Kaye-Essien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative governance has received considerable attention in recent years. From environmental resource management to public safety, collaborative governance continues to play a vital role in regional problem solving. In spite of this increasing popularity previous attempts to model the political, economic, and demographic determinants of collaboration have in most cases produced inconsistent results, thereby undermining the ability to generalize from such findings. Additionally, our understanding of the relational patterns that emanate from collaborative agreements remains fairly rudimentary. The main objective of this research is to address some of the gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of collaborative governance …

Environmental And Health Impact Of Cement Factory Production In Ibese, Ogun State, Nigeria, Olayinka O. Olasumbo, Adedeji O. Hakeem, Oresanya O. Juwon, Alabi-Thompson O. Francisca

Applied Environmental Research

This study investigated the effect of cement dust emitted from Dangote cement factory, Ibese, Ogun State, Nigeria on the environment and human health. Soil and plant samples were collected from six sampling points at different distances i.e. inside the factory kiln (IFK), the factory gate (TFG ? 50 m); Abule Oke (AOK ? 100 m), Maria (MAR ? 200 m), and Ibese (IBE ? 300m), based on the prevailing wind direction. Control samples were taken opposite the wind direction at ILA (Ilaro) about 1,000 m. Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, Ni and Cd were analyzed in the samples using atomic absorption …

Examining Co-Management Of National Parks Through The Lens Of Common-Pool Resource Design Principles: A Comparative Case Study Of Liwonde And Majete In Malawi, Timothy M. Chana, Panate Manomaivibool

Applied Environmental Research

Co-management which was founded on common-pool resource design principles has been popularized in solving sustainability challenges of nat ional parks. Co-management was im-posed on all national parks in Malawi under the 2000 Wildlife Policy. However, such a top-down approach might neglect the local contexts that influenced policy implementation. The objective of this study was to examine the implementation of co-management and determine the extent of conformity to Ostrom's eight design principles. The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework was engaged through a qualitative case study of Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve. Based on co-management documentations and key informant …

Community Viability And Marine Conservation: Hybrid Resource Management And The Role Of The Coral Triangle Center On Pulau Ay, Indonesia, Jerica Rossi

Capstone Collection

This qualitative research explores the traditional marine resource management system of sasi on Pulau Ay, Maluku, Indonesia and how it has been adapted under modern circumstances to promote conservation. The study was based on interviews with staff of the marine conservation NGO Coral Triangle Center (CTC) and the local Conservation Team, narratives of traditional leader elders, and focus groups with local fisherman. The first section of the findings articulates their perspectives on the historic and current situation regarding sasi and conservation on Pulau Ay. The study then utilizes The Interdependence of Ecosystem and Community Viability: A Theoretical Framework to Guide …

Benefits, Barriers, And Opportunities For Renewable Energy Outreach In Extension: A Mixed-Methods Needs Assessment, Blake H. Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Renewable energy is energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel, and hydroelectric power. Renewable energy sources are a powerful combatant to climate change because they emit little to no carbon dioxide emissions in the electrical generation process. This mixed-methods needs assessment explored the benefits, barriers, and opportunities for renewable energy outreach in Extension on a nationwide and Utah-based scale. Two online surveys and focus group interviews revealed the relative dearth of renewable energy programming currently underway in Extension nationwide. In Utah, more than fifty-five percent of Utah State University (USU) Extension …

Proper Dissemination Of Information To Improve People Awareness On Flood Disaster: A Case Study Of 2011 Flood In Thailand, Neelima A. Molla, Jatuwat Sangsanont, Parinda Thayanukul, Hiroaki Furumai

Applied Environmental Research

The study aims are to investigate the people perception on flood response, flood awareness and information dissemination during 2011 flood, to discuss the proper information needed for flood preparedness, and to understand drinking water preferences during emergency periods. A question-naire survey was conducted to collect information on flood awareness and preparedness from the people residing in a suburb of Bangkok that was one of the most severely affected areas. Re-sults showed that more than 90% of public realized the necessity of flood awareness. Flood risk per- ception level was positively correlated with age. There were gender differrences in priorit y …

Measuring The Impacts Of A Save Food Campaign To Reduce Food Waste On Campus In Thailand, Panate Manomaivibool, Chidsanuphong Chart-Asa, Pattayaporn Unroj

Applied Environmental Research

This study measured the impact of an awareness campaign to reduce food waste on campus. Information cues were installed at strategic locations in a canteen to engage university students in food waste prevention. Stickers with food ordering tips were placed in front of the food vendors. Information cards about resource use in food production were placed on dining tables to remind students to finish what they had ordered. Other materials of the save food campaign such as pos-ters and banners carried messages and images to elicit a pro-environmental norm. Students were also encouraged to share their support through social media …

Application Of Rice Stubble Synthesized Zeolite For Greenhouse Gas Reduction, Patthanant Natpinit, Rewadee Anuwattana, Thitirat Ditkaew, Tawee Suppinunt

Applied Environmental Research

his investigation aims to study the value of synthesized zeolite in reducing greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emitted by rice stubble. The experiment was divided into 2 parts. Part I com-prised a study of the efficiency of GHGs reduction by synthesized zeolite and part II involved application of synthesized zeolite to reduce the cumulative GHGs emissions over 110 days from paddy rice cultivation in Khlong 4, Pathum Thani Province. The experiments comprised 2 treatments: untreated control (I), and rice stubble with addition of synthesized zeolite (II). The study measured changes in the emissions of CH4 and CO2, conducted 3 d per week …

Determination Of Spatial And Temporal Variations Of Volumetric Soil Water Content Using Ground Penetrating Radar: A Case Study In Thailand, Thanop Thitimakorn, Suppanut Kummode, Sasikan Kupongsak

Applied Environmental Research

In this research, ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to determine the volumetric soil water content (VSWC) of a loamy soil. The GPR was set up in the ground wave fixed offset me-thod using both 400 and 900 MHz frequency antennae. By estimating the relative dielectric per-mittivity of the soils, these values were converted to the VSWC by Topp's equation. The gra-vimetrically calculated VSWC values from the soil samples at different depths were used as thereferences. In addition, the ability of the GPR method to detect variation in the VSWC over time was evaluated in three periods spanning the dry …

Synthesis And Scaling Up Of Fe3+ By Sol-Gel Method Doped On Ceramic Foam For Decolorization Of Reactive Red Dyeing Wastewater, Pongsak Khaowin, Prukraya Pongyeela, Pichayapan Kongpanna, Juntima Chungsiriporn

Applied Environmental Research

Wastewater from the Batiktextile industry contains large amounts of dyestuff together with significant amounts of suspended solids (SS), dispersing agents, salts and trace amounts of me-tals. Since this can lead to severe environmental problems, proper wastewater treatment pro-cesses are essential. The synthesis of Fe3+by sol-gel method doped on a ceramic foam for reac-tive red and disperse dyes removal from synthetic dye wastewater. Inthis research, the effect of color concentration, amount of catalyst and volumetric flow rates for industrial scale were studied.The Fe3+catalyst was prepared by sol-gel method in which 3M of FeCl3was used as a pre-cursor. The synthesized catalyst was …

The Analysis Of Garbage Management Tools Based On The Levels Of Transactional Collaboration Between Shipping Company And Seaport, Chalermpong Senarak, Kamonchanok Suthiwartnarueput, Pongsa Pornchaiwiseskul

Applied Environmental Research

Marine garbage reception facilities can effectively prevent marine pollution when adequately implemented together with other management tools. This paper analyzes the garbage manage-mentpolicy based on transactions between shipping companies and the seaport. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to scrutinize the influence of transactional colla-boration (independent variable) on the different reasons for using GRF of the shipping firms (dependent variable). The study indicates that the motivations of ship operators (identified as laws and regulations, navigation limitations, partnerships, competitiveness and environmentalconsciousness), varies depending on frequency of transaction during the year. Management po-licies varied by ship operator. In addition, an over-optimistic …

Climate Change Instability And Gender Vulnerability In Nepal: A Case Study On The Himalayan Region, Akriti Sharma

Sustainability and Social Justice

For the past decade, low-income developing countries have and will continue to remain on the frontline for the consequences of human induced climate change. While climate change is expected to have universal negative impacts on the health, well-being and the livelihoods of people, it is expected to specifically affect women from low-income developing countries where poverty and gender inequality are both still very prevalent. A closer look at previous research reveals that women, specifically in the Himalayan region of Nepal are more vulnerable due to the already challenging terrain in which they live in. This paper analyzes the vulnerability of …