Environmental Studies Commons^™

Advancing Supply Chain Sustainability Through Circular Economy Principles, Adeyinka Adimula

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Explore how circular economy principles can significantly enhance supply chain sustainability by reducing waste, optimizing resource use, and improving both environmental and economic outcomes. By shifting from traditional linear models to circular systems, businesses across industries can redesign processes to extend product life cycles, foster resource efficiency, and create closed-loop supply chains.

Proceedings Of The 12th Research Symposium At Mammoth Cave National Park, Pat Kambesis Editor, Lee Anne Bledsoe Editor, Ana K. Celis Editor

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Proceedings of the 12th Research Symposium at Mammoth Cave National Park: Celebrating 100 Years of Scientific Research & Resource Management in the Mammoh Cave Region.

Environmental And Labor Exploitation In Dominican And Haitian Sugar Cane Plantations: A Failure To Achieve Sustainable Development Goals, Norah S. Mosquea

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper explores the dual issues of labor and environmental exploitation in sugar cane plantations in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, focusing on these countries' actions in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Chapter 1 outlines the relevant SDGs, particularly those addressing labor conditions and pollution reduction. It discusses several types of pollution and its impact on laborers and surrounding communities, framing these impacts within the concept of environmental justice. Additionally, it explains how plantation-related pollution degrades all four types of ecosystem services, emphasizing cultural ecosystem services that affect people's overall well-being. Chapter 2 inspects the historical context, …

Climate Change Behind Prison Walls: Environmental Justice, Prison Abolition, And Social Welfare, Mia Moody

Student Theses 2015-Present

Unbeknownst to many, human rights violations occur on a large scale behind prison walls. This paper examines some of these violations, especially those exacerbated by climate change, through an environmental lense in order to emphasize the need for social welfare-based solutions in the abolition of the prison industrial complex. It also seeks to illustrate the connection between the environmental justice movement and the prison abolition movement so that marginalized peoples may be free from shouldering disproportionate effects of environmental hazards and imprisonment. This paper is introduced with a brief overview of the human rights violations occurring in prisons. Using quantitative …

Exploring The Landscape Of Animal Advocacy In Egypt: Insights Into Stray, Wildlife, And Farmed Animal Rights, Yara Moussa, Wasseem Emam

General - Animal Protection

This article examines the landscape of animal advocacy in Egypt, a nascent and growing field in one of Africa’s largest economies and most densely populated countries. It focuses on three types of animal advocacy: 1) stray animal welfare, 2) wildlife conservation, and 3) farmed animal welfare. The paper critically analyses current practices and trends in each of these areas, highlighting the main challenges and opportunities facing the growth of the movement. Our research draws on insights from interviews with active animal welfare organizations, situating their practical experiences, daily operational struggles, as well as instances of success, within Egypt’s wider socio-economic …

Extracting Renewables: A Capabilities Approach To A Just Transition Crisis, Mateos Lozano

Honors Theses

Extraction of cobalt and lithium is often regarded as necessary to facilitate a successful transition to renewable energy so that global warming can be limited to 2°C. At the same time, many current cobalt and lithium extraction practices contribute to environmental destruction, expose workers to toxic contaminants, and sometimes involve child labor. This thesis argues that cobalt and lithium extraction, if permissible, must be conducted in a manner compatible with the normative obligations of justice and fairness. I first explain notable differences between prominent types of cobalt and lithium extraction and note how each impacts people and the environment. Then, …

The Dark Side Of Global Supply Chains, Megan Soong

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

This article highlights the unfair supply chain practices many companies succumb to in order to increase their profits. Touching on the clothing industry, electronics, and food corporations, many big name brands hide their lack of pay, e-waste, and deforestation related operations in order to protect their name and image.

A Bronx Tale Of Environmental Justice: The Intersection Between Urban Planning And Transportation, Elodie S. Weinman

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis explores the intersection of urban planning and transportation, focusing on creating sustainable, efficient, and livable cities without overburdening communities. The borough of Bronx, characterized by its diverse socio-economic landscape and intricate transportation network, offers a compelling case study for examining the impact of urban planning strategies on transportation infrastructure. Through a combination of expert interviews, my fellowship with Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) in 2024, and policy review, this research identifies key areas where transportation planning and urban development intersect and influence each other. The research evaluates current planning practices, assesses the effectiveness of recent transportation initiatives, and proposes …

Recent U.S. Government Policy Literature On Critical And Strategic Minerals, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Critical and strategic minerals have become increasingly important in U.S. government civilian and military policymaking in recent years. This is demonstrated by the heavy use of such minerals in many critical civilian and military infrastructures. This work will discuss how this subject has been addressed in laws, presidential documents, and works by government agencies along with congressional oversight committees and support agencies. It will stress how the United States is heavily dependent on strategic minerals from adversarial foreign countries such as China and will examine U.S. efforts to increase its ability to produce such materials in the United States by …

Additive Manufacturing And Sustainability, Eric J. Venzor-Villarreal

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

This chapter explores the transformative role of Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, within modern supply chains, with a particular focus on its adoption in the aerospace and defense industries. It begins by introducing the core technologies behind AM and tracing its historical development. The chapter then examines the advantages of AM—such as reduced material waste, faster prototyping, and decentralized production. A detailed case study on Lockheed Martin showcases real-world applications. Comparative insights from other defense manufacturers and global leaders provide a broader context, reinforcing AM’s potential as a key driver of supply chain innovation and resilience.

Understanding University-Level Food Recovery Programs’ Approaches To Minimizing Food Waste While Combating Food Insecurity In The United States, Ella F. Flesher

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Food is wasted every day at each level of the food system from production to consumption. This surplus has significant negative impacts on the environment after food is sent to the landfill and allowed to rot. However, some surplus food can be repurposed and diverted from the landfill. This study served as an initial investigation to explore multiple food waste diversion programs and analyze their structure, best practices, and methods to divert leftover food. This study specifically aimed to compare and contrast food recovery programs by interviewing participants from three food recovery programs from different university institutions. With the key …

Repurposing Old Railways To Enhance Recreation And Ecological Services, Carter Versaevel

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

We are currently facing what can only be described as a biodiversity crisis. Species are disappearing faster than ever before, largely due to habitat fragmentation caused by humans. How can old railroads be repurposed into recreational trails that can also help improve biodiversity and ecological function? By turning old derelict tracks into “green trails,” these tracks can be given new life and help reverse the effects of fragmentation, while providing recreational services to nearby communities.

From Farm Town To National Acclaim: Carmel, In As A Showcase Of New Urbanist Design And The “Holistic” Growth Machine, Owen James Beute

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Carmel, Indiana has been an anomaly in terms of entire transformation of a city's design and identity over the span of the last thirty years. This research aims to situate Carmel's development process into the urban planning theories of New Urbanism and the "growth machine" thesis, as well as telling Carmel's development story as a narrative of key events. Research focuses on the dynamic between the key aspects of New Urbanism - sustainability, livability, and human-scale growth - and the "growth machine" thesis which frames urban growth as a detrimental process focused on generating wealth solely for the decision makers, …

Looking Green: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Greenwashing In Fossil Fuel Advertisements, Elizabeth Schohn Hein

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The world’s leading oil and gas companies knew the impact of fossil fuels on climate change as early as the late 1970s. Despite this knowledge, the fossil fuel industry proceeded to invest money in publicly denying the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change. There is increasing hindrance by American consumers towards fossil fuels as the consequences of their extraction and production become more glaring and evident in the environmental destruction and consequences of climate change across the globe. Growing environmental concerns about the impacts of fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas, from the general public resulted in …

Book Review: Hiking Intown Atlanta's Hidden Forests: Inside And On The Perimeter, Sarah Grace Glover

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

How The Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe Sustained Their Culture Through Ford's Environmental Exploitation, Tori Sutera

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe is an Indigenous community composed of individuals residing mainly in Ringwood, New Jersey and a few surrounding boroughs. This land holds irreplaceable significance among the community, who, after facing colonial diaspora, have ultimately resided in Ringwood. However, due to the vast effects of the Ringwood Superfund site, this community has dealt with the loss of their people and their culture. Beginning in 1967, Ford Motor Company – partial owners of the site at that time – initiated the dumping of heavily toxic materials into Cannon and Peters Mines. This dumping continued until 1971, and the …

The Impact Of Green Credit Ratio On Return On Assets, Liao Wang

All Theses

How does the green credit ratio affect a bank return on assets? This study uses panel data from 2012 to 2019, covering 18 large banks in China, including 6 state-owned banks and major 12 important joint-stock and city commercial banks. I use regression models to measure the effect of the green credit ratio (GCR) on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), and we focus on how bank ownership and fixed effects matters.

The results show that the effect of green credit ratio (GCR) on ROA depends on the model design. When bank fixed effects are included, green …

Querying The Ecological Sublime: Colonial Aesthetics, Anticolonial Thought, And The ‘Double Fracture’, Tacuma Peters

Publications and Research

This article examines the ecological sublime in its relationship to the history of colonial aesthetics, anticolonial thought, and contemporary colonialism. It argues that, while Edmund Burke utilized the sublime in support of colonialism (including settler colonialism) in North America and colonial slavery, Samson Occom and Ottobah Cugoano developed versions of the sublime to contest British colonialism in the Americas. The history of this aesthetic contestation has not been represented in scholarship on the ecological sublime, which, this article shows, has a vexed relationship with historical and contemporary colonialism. The article argues that the ecological sublime exhibits the “double fracture” of …

Sustainable Fashion Identified: An Exploration And Education Of Sustainable Apparel, Michaela M. Lentsch

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Consumers today are searching for and are loyal to companies who support their views and concerns about sustainability. The fashion industry is one of the biggest industries in the world, but one that has many environmental and sustainability concerns. Fortunately, there are many ways the fashion industry and consumers can take steps to make sustainable change and better the planet. Small fashion businesses and boutiques can make positive changes to operate and provide sustainable options and services for customers which can help the planet become more sustainable.

Through this manuscript, an assortment of sustainable methods and practices will be shared …

Changing Climate, Changing Minds: Social Media's Role In Shifting Climate Change Beliefs, Rachel M. Clarke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study explores how social media messages influence individual beliefs, attitudes and behaviors related to climate change. Despite widespread exposure to social media, there is concern about its effectiveness in shaping beliefs and actions regarding climate adaptation and mitigation. Research indicates that many people in the United States show limited concern for climate change, underscoring the need for targeted communication strategies. By designing and implementing a survey experiment with random participants within the United States, this study examines how sharing first- person experiences of climate-related hazards on social media affects opinions about climate change, in comparison to traditional third-person news …

"Once Our Land Is Gone, It's Gone": Farmer Perspectives On Growth, Embeddedness, And The Future Of Food In The Great Salt Lake Basin, Bryn Noelle Watkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Great Salt Lake Basin hosts a knot of intensifying pressures on agriculturalists—including economic constraints, as even arable land is increasingly valuable for development, and ecological constraints, as aridification and climate change affect the conditions in which food can grow. Given the unique relationship farmers have with the land as its modern-day stewards, their perspectives on the nature and consequences of these pressures offer profound insights into how the region might responsibly navigate its resource management and food systems moving through the future. In the first paper, I draw upon 15 interviews with commodity farmers to understand their experiences with …

Critically Assessing Normative Methods And Their Limitations In Managing Crowding Within Parks And Protected Areas, Glendon R. Vansandt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Visitor experiences in parks and protected areas are shaped by a variety of environmental, managerial, and social factors. To ensure that visitors enjoy their time in these spaces, management agencies often adopt guidelines to establish acceptable levels for different aspects of these experiences. One of the most selected factors is perceived crowding, which reflects how crowded visitors feel in a given area. When perceived crowding exceeds desired levels, it can significantly diminish visitor satisfaction.

This thesis presents two studies aimed at identifying the shortcomings of the management of perceived crowding. The first study conducts a comprehensive literature review that identifies …

The Desert Shall Rejoice: Lds Relational Values And Multispecies Justice In The Intermountain West, Sarah A. Woodbury

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In the American West, climate change is shifting weather and climate patterns in ways that may dramatically change lands, livelihoods, and communities. In the face of these threats, conservationists and local communities must work collaboratively to ensure that environmental and human communities are healthy enough to weather approaching shifts. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (LDS) values, practices, and histories strongly influence the Intermountain West, yet there is little research on LDS environmental values and perceptions. This study seeks to answer questions that work in this gap. It documents the knowledge and values of communities in the Intermountain West …

Railroads And Recreation In Minnesota, Carter Versaevel

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This map shows outdoor recreation areas along with the most populated cities and all railroads in Minnesota. I wanted to find out what areas were most in need of outdoor recreation opportunities and how to provide those opportunities. I found that railroads and high population cities were concentrated together. These areas had little access to outdoor recreation. These railroads can be turned into trails to provide much-needed recreation to a large number of people. I created this map using data I acquired through a formal request to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. I used the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ …

Local Systems Change: Applied Research Methods For Sustainable Communities, Taylor Barrett Hill

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Exploring Variability Factors In Bur Oak Morphology, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This project, completed for Dr. Kate Cary in the Biology department, investigates how bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) leaf morphology varies geographically. Using digitized herbarium specimens and provided data which included latitude, longitude, collection moth and year, leaf dissection, petiole length, temperature, and precipitation, the project visualizes patterns in morphology with a focus on leaf dissection (cm). Maps were generated both at the state level (Minnesota) and national level, depicting bur oak locations and morphology trends across different seasons (January-May and June-December) over the past century.  The importance of this data lies in its ability to reveal how environmental factors like …

Fish Need Shelter Too! The Importance Of Mangroves In An Aquatic Ecosystem, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Mangrove trees exhibit many adaptations to living in salt water and tend to be found along marine shores. Some of these features include the ability to have their roots constantly submerged in water and stilt roots. Stilt roots are not true roots, instead they grow from the stem to the ground and provide both height and mechanical support in a somewhat fluid soil that the plants grow in. These stilt roots are thought to provide sanctuary for many juvenile fish. During our time on San Salvador Island, Bahamas (March 2025), we hypothesized that there was a relationship between distribution of …

Evaluating Free Merchandise Use At Coastal Carolina University, Ally Murphy, Ciara Cassady, Joseph Dumars

Goal 13: Climate Action

No abstract provided.

Zero Waste Initiatives Across Three Institutions: Local Government, An Academic Institution, And A Retail Business, Soren G. Gray

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Human Legacy: Agriculture, Civilizations, Strife, And Pandemics Changing Our Climate, Jacalyn M. Wittmer Malinowski

Climate Change and the Individual, 2025-26

For most of human history, climate has shaped our lives, while our influence on it remained minimal. However, the notion that early humans had no measurable impact on the climate before industrialization is inaccurate. Early in human history, activities – such as the rise of agriculture, the growth of civilizations, periods of conflict, and pandemics – altered greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. These changes contributed to significant periods of climate change long before the burning of fossil fuels set us on the path to today’s global climate crisis.