Environmental Studies Commons^™

Standing Up For Standing Rock: Environmental Racism In Modern America, Lizzy Lebleu

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In this essay, I explore the implications of environmental racism among our national and global neighbors.

Are Highly Sensitive People More Conscious Of Environmental Harm?, Samantha Sheppard

Community of Scholars Day—Posters

I will present my honors psychology capstone study on sensory processing sensitivity and its role in pro–environmental behavior. This study weaves the worlds of evolutionary psychology, personality psychology, and environmental activism to explore the role of personality type on behavior. Through this study, I hope to further the research being done on sensory processing sensitivity and provide new insight on the intersection of evolutionary psychology and ecopsychology.

Geographic Variation Of Cirques On Iceland: Factors Influencing Cirque Morphology, Heather A. Ipsen, Rachael E. Grube, Jessica F. Lee, Sarah M. Principato

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Cirques are one of the most common glacial landforms in alpine settings. They also provide important paleoclimate information (e.g. Meierding 1984; Evans 2006). The purpose of this study is to fill in gaps in the climate record of Iceland by conducting a quantitative analysis of cirques in three regions in Iceland: Tröllaskagi, the East Fjords, and Vestfirðir. Iceland, located in the center of the North Atlantic Ocean, contains many small glaciers, in addition to large ice caps. The glaciers on Iceland are particularly sensitive to variations in oceanic and atmospheric circulation (Andresen et al. 2005; Geirsdóttir et al., 2009; Ólafsdóttir …

New Constraints On The Timing And Pattern Of Deglaciation In The Húnaflói Bay Region Of Northwest Iceland Using Cosmogenic 36ca Dating And Geomorphic Mapping, Amanda N. Houts, Joseph M. Licciardi, Sarah M. Principato, Susan H. Zimmerman, Robert C. Finkel

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Understanding the evolution and timing of changes in ice sheet geometry and extent in Iceland during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent deglaciation continues to stimulate much active research. Though many previous studies have advanced our knowledge of Icelandic ice sheet history preserved in marine and terrestrial settings (e.g., Andrews et al., 2000; Norðdahl et al., 2008), the timing of ice margin retreat remains largely unknown in several key regions. Recently published 36Cl surface exposure ages of bedrock surfaces and moraines in the West Fjords (Brynjólfsson et al., 2015) contribute important progress in establishing more precise age control of …

“Internship At United Nations (Un) _ Transition From Millennium Development Goals (Mdgs) To Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs)”, Mohammad Radmehr

Discovery Day (formerly Post & Beyond)

“Internship at United Nations (UN) _ Transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) To Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” Student: Mohammad Radmehr Advisor: Professor Oscar De Rojas Environmental Sustainability Long Island University The main purpose of this internship could be described as an involvement in the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at global level during the last United Nations General Assembly session, held at summit level, in September 2015. Today the importance of Sustainability is strongly linked with equality, eradication of poverty, and balance in natural resource consumption with respect to future generations. This internship, done at the Office of …

Why Are Regulations Changed? A Parcel Analysis Of Upzoning In Los Angeles, C. J. Gabbe

Environmental Studies and Sciences

Planners, officials, and neighborhood groups often debate zoning changes, yet there is little empirical evidence explaining why zoning and other land use regulations are changed. I use logistic regression models to examine density-enabling rezoning (“upzoning”) in Los Angeles. I find that upzoning occurs where there are development opportunities combined with limited political resistance. Upzoning is most likely on well-located parcels zoned for low-intensity, nonresidential uses. Meanwhile, homeowners—and particularly homeowners with access to valuable amenities—are associated with regulatory stasis. I conclude by recommending strategies for addressing homeowners’ concerns about higher density housing.

Carsey Perspectives: New Hampshire's Electricity Future; Cost, Reliability, And Risk, Cameron P. Wake, Matt Magnusson, Christine Foreman, Fiona Wilson

Carsey Publications

May 2017 update

PointLogic Energy, a source for natural gas pipeline flow and capacity in the original report, has recently updated its models for calculating natural gas flow in the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in New England. This model update has resulted in significant changes to their previous estimates. Most importantly, data obtained from PointLogic Energy in December 2016 supported the finding that overall net gas flow in the “Tennessee Gas Pipeline: NY to MA” was from Massachusetts to New York from 2013–2016; their revised models indicate a net flow during the same period from New York to Massachusetts. To be …

Scape Goats, Silver Bullets, And Other Pitfalls In The Path To Sustainability, D. G. Webster

Dartmouth Scholarship

This paper draws from The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin to highlight some of the most likely pitfalls on the political road to a sustainable planet. Through the literary device of dreams that can change the world, Le Guin explores how the individual’s egoistic desire to save humanity can be twisted by the limitations of our psyche and our society, turning an already uncomfortable future Earth into a devastated planet. It is a stinging critique of answers handed down from above, and a call to action for those of us who just get by here below. Her story …

Eco-News March 2017, Office Of Sustainability, University Of Southern Maine

Eco-News

In this issue:

• Trash Talk
• Upcoming Events
• Green Cleaning
• Sustainability Tip

Gis Mapping And Analysis For The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission’S West Brookfield Master Plan Project, Laurel Oolie

Sustainability and Social Justice

As a part of West Brookfield’s 2018 Master Plan, The Route 9 and Route 67 Corridor GIS Analysis project was developed for Planners at The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) to analyze the major corridors running through West Brookfield, Massachusetts. A series of maps were created using numerous data sources and queries to visualize the area’s land use, development, and environmental features. The resulting maps highlighted existing land uses, constraints, and potential development and conservation opportunities across the town. The Route 9 and Route 67 Corridor Analysis project helped CMRPC to formulate policy recommendations including zoning bylaw amendments and …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Bat Acoustic Monitoring, September 2016, Daniel S. Licht

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Homestead National Monument of America is a 211-acre park located in an agrarian landscape in southeastern Nebraska. From September 16 to October 1, 2016, park staff deployed acoustic monitors at three sites in the park for purposes of monitoring night-time bat activity. The three sites averaged 179, 48, and 33 bat detections per night. Night-time bat activity was generally highest in the 1-2 hours following sunset.

Based on the acoustic surveys the big brown (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red (Lasiurus borealis), northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) were present at the …

Danger Below: Socal’S Dams Face Same Risks As Oroville, Char Miller, Frank Connor Lyles '17

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Public Support For Environmental Protection, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Carsey Publications

In this fact sheet, author Lawrence Hamilton discusses the results of a New Hampshire poll conducted January 31 to February 8, 2017, that asked residents whether they think environmental protection rules should be reduced, strengthened, or left as they are. He reports that, although President Trump and some Congressional supporters have proposed broad reductions in environmental protection, the New Hampshire survey--which has a record of mirroring national surveys on environmental issues--finds little support for such steps. Almost three-quarters think instead that environmental protection rules should be left as they are or strengthened. Large majorities in every category of age, education, …

Crow Never Dies By Larry Frolick, Kelly Shepherd

The Goose

Review of Larry Frolick's Crow Never Dies.

On Renewable Energy And Climate, Trump Voters Stand Apart, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Larry Hamilton discusses the results of pre- and post-election Polar, Environment, and Science surveys carried out by Carsey School researchers in August and November–December 2016, asking people about their general views on climate change and renewable energy. Almost three-fourths of Americans surveyed said that renewable energy should be a higher national priority than more drilling for oil. About two-thirds agree with the scientific consensus that humans are changing Earth’s climate. Priority for renewable energy development and recognition of human-caused climate change are majority opinions within every voter group except Trump supporters. On renewable energy, the reality …

Housing The Homeless: A Framework For Sustainable, Affordable Housing, Brianna Providence

Student Theses 2015-Present

New York City’s building stock is comprised of nearly one million structures. Buildings are responsible for unconscionable amounts of global energy, water, resources, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thousands of buildings are annually constructed when the truth is that there is a significant stock of buildings that could stand to be rehabilitated. New green developments present an opportunity to increase efficiency while reducing energy use, resource consumption, and waste. If virgin new green developments provide the aforementioned opportunities, then it logically follows that sustainably retrofitting preexisting buildings represents an even greater opportunity to promote environmental sustainability and reduce inefficiencies. As …

Impact Of Urbanization On Temperature Variation In Big Cities: Measuring Health Risk While Targeting Vulnerable Population, Maryam E. Karimi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Densely populated cities are experiencing Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects and localized hotspots. Cities, such as New York can form heat islands all year round. This is primarily due to land surface modifications, radiative trapping in urban canyons and lack of cooling through evapotranspiration caused by displaced trees and vegetation. UHI refers to an increase in air and surface temperature in cities compared to surrounding suburban and rural areas. Large scale environmental forcing can cause subdivisions of UHI throughout a city. The combined of environmental forcing effects lead to the formation of hot pockets within the cities at micro-scale. The …

Overpopulation And The Impact On The Environment, Doris Baus

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this research paper, the main focus is on the issue of overpopulation and its impact on the environment. The growing size of the global population is not an issue that appeared within the past couple of decades, but its origins come from the prehistoric time and extend to the very present day. Throughout the history, acknowledged scientists introduced the concept of “overpopulation” and predicted the future consequences if the world follows the same behavioral pattern. According to predictions, scientists invented the birth control pill and set population control through eugenics. Despite that, population continued to increase and fight with …

Production Of Energy And Environmental Protection As A Prerequisite For Sustainable Development, Diana Baus

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper explains why renewable energy is a prerequisite for sustainable development. The development of renewable energy sources is important because renewable energy sources have a very important role in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere, eradicate poverty and increase the employment rate. In the first section the paper introduces renewable energy sources. The focus is on the function of solar energy, wind power, biomass, geothermal energy, and hydroelectric energy and their implementation globally. The second part of the paper elaborates on the economic, political, and social aspects for the development of renewable energy sources. …

Bioethics In The Work Of Ernest Everett Just: + Missing - Some 400 Pages, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Biology + ethics = bioethics. Here we see that Howard University biologist Ernest Everett Just (born 1883, died 1941) connected biology to ethics.

According to Just, various forms of specific biology (including especially cell biology) plus “general biology” are necessary for explaining adequately the origin of ethical behaviors. Social ethical behaviors, especially mutual aid and cooperative interactions with others and the environment, are essential to evolutionary advances among living creatures, ranging from humans to cells. Accordingly, theory of ethics (moral theory) should have roots in biology.

Also, Just wrote an unpublished book-length manuscript—“some 400 typed pages” (Just 1940)—on seeking the …

Nitrogen Sustainability: Impediments To Action And Communication, Eric E. Jorgensen

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

“Sustainability” is widely used to imply the presence of explicit consideration of environmentally friendly needs and that high societal-value is placed on those needs. However, it is abundantly clear after 30 years that talking about sustainability and achieving it are two entirely different things. The core concept underlying sustainability is that current human practices and activities be conducted so as to not degrade prospects for future generations. With nitrogen, conflicts about sustainability in-theory and sustainability in-practice are close to the surface because of nitrogen’s central role in food production and economic activity. Measures of nitrogen inputs commonly range as high …

Urban Environmental Performance Index: The Quito Pilot Case, Diego C. Manya, Ryan Thomas, Matthew Moroney

Yale Day of Data

In the context of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and its indicators, especially Goal 11, the importance of indicators is paramount to the implementation, monitoring and eventual success of the SDG. However, a review of global sustainability indicators reveals major gaps in coverage, including scientific gaps. Indicators are often siloed, meaning at the urban scale where issues often overlap and intersect, existing indicators do not take into consideration cross-sectoral linkages. Finally, many indicators fail to adequately address social equity or inclusion, a high-priority issue identified as central to new definitions of green economy and sustainable development at …

Carsey Perspectives: To Dig, Or Not To Dig?, Tom W. Haines

Carsey Publications

In this Carsey Perspectives brief, author Tom Haines details the ongoing review of federal coal leasing and reflects on its implications for the country’s effort to meet carbon emissions targets in the face of climate change. Haines walked 50 miles across Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the site of most federal coal production, and uses that on-the-ground research, as well as additional reporting, to form an analysis of the scope of the program and the role of federal coal going forward.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 10, Spring 2017

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Farm In The City In The Recent Past: Thoughts On A More Inclusive Urban Historiography, Ruth Glasser

Urban and Community Studies Faculty Writing

The scholarly and journalistic literature usually treats urban agriculture as a new phenomenon, but it is a neglected dimension of urban history. Some U.S. cities, at least in the Northeast, had food-raising and processing practices not just in colonial times but right up until the relatively recent past. Three areas of history are explored that have mostly omitted discussion of city food production but nonetheless provide important frameworks to explore such production: urban development, agricultural, and immigrant history. Woven throughout this piece is evidence from a study of Waterbury, Connecticut. Local food production did not die when the Industrial Revolution …

Exploring Alternative Funding Methods For The Lead Remediation Program In Scott County, Iowa, Brittany A. Poynor, Layne Porembski, Arielle Bloemer, Brandon Schattner, Sarah Hanson

2016-2017: Scott County, Iowa and the Scott County Health Department

For this project, five students worked to put together five alternative funding solutions for the Scott County Health Department's lead remediation program. With limited government grants available, the health department is now considering local funding in order to address the issue of lead poisoning in Davenport, Iowa. These reports, along with other SWLI research, provide valuable information and are the foundation of the up-and-coming remediation program for the county.

Archaeological Survey At I.B. Magee Park, Port Aransas, Nueces County, Texas, Jennifer Hatchett Kimbell

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In April 2017, archaeologists from Coastal Environments, Inc. (CEI) conducted intensive archaeological survey with shovel testing in accordance with Council of Texas Archeologists (CTA) and Texas Historical Commission (THC) guidelines on approximately 131 acres of land at I.B. Magee Park for the Nueces County Coastal Parks System in advance of proposed improvements to the park. The park is located along the shoreline in Port Aransas, Texas at the northern end of Mustang Island, immediately south of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute and the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, also known as Aransas Pass.

Because the proposed improvements may result …

Intensive Archaeological Survey Of Portions Of The Proposed Sand Hills Loop Phase I Pipeline, Reagan And Crockett Counties, Texas, Susan E. Butler, Todd L. Butler

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

On behalf of DCP Sand Hills Pipeline, LLC (DCP), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive archaeological survey of portions of the proposed Sand Hills Loop Phase I Pipeline in Reagan and Crockett counties, Texas. Approximately 26 miles of the pipeline (“project”) crosses through land owned by the University of Texas (UT). The majority of the proposed alignment has been previously investigated by Turpin and Sons, Inc. in 2011. As such, only portions of the alignment that deviate outside the 2011 survey corridor were investigated, as well as portions which cross or are adjacent to (within 300 feet) sites that …

Intensive Cultural Resources Survey For The Shell Connection Project Loving County, Texas, Ben Fullerton

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

EnLink Midstream contracted with HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR) to conduct an intensive cultural resources survey for the Shell Connection Project. The proposed project consists of the construction of approximately nine miles (14.5 kilometers [km]) of pipeline within a 150-foot (ft) (45.7-meter [m]) wide right-of-way (ROW), extending from the Shell University Compressor Station to the Lobo II Plant, in Loving County, Texas. The southern approximate 4.3 miles (6.9 km) of the proposed pipeline falls within Texas public university lands (University Lands) owned by the State of Texas. Therefore, the proposed developments on University Lands are required to be in compliance with …

Intensive Archeological Survey Of Fm 1488 From Existing Fm 1488 West Of Magnolia To Proposed Sh 249 Montgomery County, Texas, Brett Lang

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Houston District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) proposes to construct a new roadway on primarily undeveloped land around the north side of the City of Magnolia in Montgomery County, Texas. The proposed roadway will be the Farm-to-Market (FM) 1488 Magnolia Relief Route extending from the existing FM 1488 west of Magnolia to the proposed State Highway (SH) 249 east of Magnolia. The proposed project would be approximately 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometers) in length. The proposed roadway will consist of four lanes, two in each direction, separated by a median. This project will also include grade-separated overpasses at …