Reedy Creek: Values Constraining The Adaptive Capacity To Environmental Regulation In The Forest Hill Neighborhood, Christie Marsh

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2014, 1) defines vulnerability as, “The extent to which a natural or social system is susceptible to sustaining damage from climate change.” Vulnerability is a function of both the physical system’s sensitivity to changes in climate and the ability of the societal system to adapt to said changes. Recently, organizations formed to produce assessments that define regional vulnerabilities to environmental issues for the sake of informing adaptation policies. With the increasing threat of a changing climate, adaptation policies are both a necessary and urgent response for successful adapting (Adger 2009). The majority of …

Environmental Management In Richmond, Virginia: A Case Study Of Reedy Creek, Emily Onufer, Jared Goldbach Ehmer, Andrew Loesch, Christie Marsh

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

This report analyzes the Reedy Creek restoration project through four distinct lenses and aims to achieve a fuller understanding of the factors influencing the project’s success or failure. We hope this report contributes to a greater appreciation of the complex and vast amount of decisions both cities and stakeholders make when complying with environmental regulations. Moreover, we hope to provide invaluable learning opportunities for future environmental projects undertaken in the City of Richmond.

Paper prepared for the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar/Geography Capstone.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Salisbury

Reedy Creek: Formal And Informal Policies Influencing The Stream Restoration, Emily Onufer

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

Many analyses, especially in the field of sociology, have debated the influence of informal groups such as nonprofits, coalitions, and consultants on formal policy-making bodies, mainly government agencies (see West 2004, Verloo2016). The Reedy Creek restoration project involved numerous policy-makers and stakeholders, all of whom influenced the project’s direction and outcomes in some way. Policy was a driving force behind the project from its inception. This analysis examines the roles and influence of the various stakeholders involved in the Reedy Creek restoration project, and attempts to analyze the influence formal and informal policy-making bodies can have on small-scale environmental management …

Food Security At The University Of Richmond, Kayla Sherman, Donald Edmonds, Yuncheng Liu

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

The University of Richmond’s Strategic Plan states the University’s goal to be “a leader in innovative practices that sustain our environmental, human, and financial resources” (Crutcher 2017). The University has also signed multiple national and global sustainability commitments such as the Talloires Declaration (2003), the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, (2007) and the American Campuses Acton Climate Pledge (2015). These commitments set ambitious climate action goals and address the responsibility of colleges and universities not only to cultivate an environmental consciousness on campus but also to transform the conventional operation systems on which college and universities depend. While …

Reedy Creek: A Stream Science And Spatial Statistics Approach, Jared Goldbach Ehmer, Andrew Loesch

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued updated rules regarding Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) levels for three primary pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay: nitrogen, phosphorus, and total suspended sediment (TSS). The EPA required Richmond to draft Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) detailing individual pollution reduction goals and specific actions required to achieve those goals. The City of Richmond intended to complete stream restoration projects on five urban streams, including Reedy Creek. The City of Richmond commissioned Timmons Group to complete erosion analyses and recommend stream sections for restoration. The following (1) examines the relationship between spatial stream statistics …

Achieving Waste & Emissions Reduction Goals On University Of Richmond Campus: The Biodigester Approach, Joe Walderman, Alexa Williams

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

This project proposes the installation of a small-scale anaerobic digester (biodigester). This is a reactor that breaks down biodegradable organic waste producing biogas. Food waste is considered one of the most efficient for producing biogas of typical biodigester feedstocks (Poschl, 2010). The UR Dining Hall produces 614 lbs of food waste per day to be used as feedstock, with landscaping scraps available for additional feed. The University boiler plant is capable of using biogas for heat production, making the plant a suitable destination for the digester's waste output. The digester may allow for waste diversion and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions …

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. …

Environmental Education At The University Of Richmond And Proposal For A Stewardship/ Sustainability Themed First Year Experience, Janet Goldbach Ehmer, Minyao Li

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

In the University Strategic Plan 2017: in the fifth value, Stewardship in A Changing World, The University of Richmond has set the goal to be a leader in innovative practices that sustain our environmental, human and financial resources in response to emerging environmental and financial challenges globally. The University Strategic Plan 2017 proposes three key initiatives aiming to help the community to achieve the goal of sustainability. First, the University and the Office of Sustainability will complete a Sustainability Strategic Plan that guides the University to build a more sustainable and environmentally friendly campus through the development and implementation of …

Forests On The Edge: Forest Restoration And Concepts Of Nature In Northern New Mexico, Jordan W. Stone

Geography ETDs

Dozens of catastrophic forest fires have impacted New Mexican communities over the last two decades, threatening humans, property, and livelihoods. Ecologically, forest systems are stressed by historically unprecedented tree density, drought, increased temperature, and dwindling ecological diversity, further increasing fire danger. An increasingly common response to these threats is to actively manage New Mexico’s forests using mechanical tree thinning and prescribed fire, with a goal of “restoring” forests to a healthier ecological state. Restoring forests is both a scientific and cultural act. While the science is well studied, land managers often struggle to understand how human values impact forest restoration …

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.

Eco-Anxiety At University: Student Experiences And Academic Perspectives On Cultivating Healthy Emotional Responses To The Climate Crisis, Anna Kelly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research looks at the overall question of how planetary health impacts mental health and psychological welling. The central focus is eco-anxiety—mental distress caused by climate change and environmental degradation—and how it manifests in university students. In order to gather data for this research I collected 114 student survey responses, interviewed seven young adults (ages 20-25), and interviewed seven experts in the fields of psychology and environmental studies.

They survey results show high levels of general stress and anxiety, high levels of stress and anxiety related to climate change and the state of the world, and a very high level …

Is Addressing Climate Change Women's Work? Political Leadership And The Climate, Isabella Soparkar

Environmental Studies Honors Projects

In an era when climate science is politically controversial, recent polling data shows that American women are more concerned about climate change than their male counterparts. This research uses both voting record analysis and qualitative interviews with legislators to examine whether the observed gender gap on climate change persists among elected political leaders. Linear and logistic regression results show no statistically significant climate change gender gap within legislative voting behavior, and interviews suggest that though women may be more willing to collaborate on climate change policy than men, subtle gender differences are often overridden by partisanship. However, findings suggest that …

Globalization, Deindustrialization And Identity: Discontents Of Unfettered Capital And Accelerated Change, Tarique Niazi

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Vaccaro, Ismael, Krista Harper & Seth Murray (Eds.). The Anthropology of Postindustrialism: Ethnographies of Disconnection. New York: Routledge, 2016.
• Hylland, Thomas Eriksen & Elisabeth Schober (Eds.) Identity Destabilised: Living in an Overheated World. London: Pluto Press. 2016.

Rojas, C. And Ralph A. Litzinger. Ghost Protocol: Development And Displacement In Global China. Durham And London: Duke University Press. 2016., Fang Xu Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Alexander Laban Hinton. Man Or Monster? The Trial Of A Khmer Rouge Torturer. Durham, Nc: Duke University Press, 2016., Matthew Galway

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Inhorn, M.C. Cosmopolitan Conceptions: Ivf Sojourns In Global Dubai. Durham And London: Duke University Press, 2015., Susie Kilshaw Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Hasso, F. S. & Z. Salime, (Eds.). Freedom Without Permission: Bodies And Space In The Arab Revolution. Durham: Duke University Press, 2016., Autumn R. Cockrell-Abdullah

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Cleron, J.P. Saudi Arabia 2000: A Strategy For Growth. Abingdon: Routledge, 1978., Mark Thompson Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Mingjiang Li & K. M. Kemburi (Eds.). China’S Power And Asian Security. London: Routledge, 2015., Olli Suorsa

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Douglas Osto. Power Wealth And Women In Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Gaņḍavyūhasutra. London And New York: Routledge, 2011., Bharati Puri

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Kingston, J. (Ed.). Critical Issues In Contemporary Japan. New York: Routledge, 2014., Elizabeth Dutridge-Corp

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Jianglin Li. Tibet In Agony. Lhasa 1959. Cambridge, Ma And London: Harvard University Press (Translated By Susan Wilf), 2016., Tom Grunfield Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Ishikawa Y. (Ed.). International Migrants In Japan: Contributions In An Era Of Population Decline. Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto University Press, 2015., Wayne E. Arnold Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Hussain, Z. Saudi Arabia In A Multi-Polar World: Changing Dynamics. New York: Routledge, 2016., Annelle R. Sheline

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Haiti: Beauty On Edge, Jarvis Thanex Louis, Lisa Willey, Nate Cronuaer

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

During our visit in Haiti in January 2017, we conducted basic water quality testing using a YSI meter and an urban water testing kit. We performed multiple tests in a pond that is used for drinking, laundry, bathing, and watering animals in the remote mountain village of Mahotiere, located in the city of Thomazeau.

Further lab analysis of the samples includes:

Atomic absorbance spectroscopy of the Copper content of the plant material found growing along the edge of the pond

X Ray Fluorescence analysis of the sediment from pond using the bench top method (Thermo Niton XL3T), after the sediment …

Weak-Kneed Media And Festering Corruption In Nigeria, Musibau Olabamiji Oyebode Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Characteristic greed, kleptomaniac behavior, and the impunity of Nigerian elites have become enemies of democratic growth in Nigeria. Corruption in Nigeria has become an issue of concern to scholarship. All domestic and international institutions, as well as legal frameworks put in place to check corruption continue to fail to yield measurable results. Festering corruption brings to the forefront the roles of the media in combating the menace. Using Down’s ‘issue-attention cycle’ as the theoretical lens, this paper undertakes an examination of critical discourse of Nigerian media handling of corruption cases. This discourse analysis is backed up with the scholarly interpretation …

On Pathways That Changed Myanmar: A Précis, Matthew Mullen Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Change in Myanmar came from above, below, within, abroad, and the fore. This précis of Pathways That Changed Myanmar explains how a multidimensional understanding of change in Myanmar can help to explain the military junta’s decision to move towards a pacted transition. Subversion and creation at the grassroots level transformed the distribution of opportunities, leverage, power, incentives, and influences, as did the global effort to name, shame, and sanction the regime. Decades of contention from the National League for Democracy and many ethnic political groups, in combination with the impact of the Third Force, a network that sought to engage …

Deconstructing Internationalization: Advocating Glocalization In International Higher Education, Fay Patel Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Internationalization has become more than a buzz word in recent years. It has become a leading investment, generating substantial revenues, and is regarded as an imperative in its kinship to branding and rankings in international higher education. The author deconstructs internationalization as a western hegemonic perspective and advocates instead glocalization in international higher education. Glocalization focuses on enhancing the quality of learning for local and global learner cohorts through mutual understanding and shared values at a deep level of academic and social engagement. Following a literature review, the romanticized notion of internationalization is deconstructed to expose the inherent development communication …

Butler, J. Gambett, Z. I & L Sabsay (Eds.) Vulnerability In Resistance. Durham And London: Duke University Press, 2016., Pramod K. Nayar Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.