Environmental Studies Commons^™

Less Meat, Less Heat: Analyzing Meat Consumption Through The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Identity, Past Behavior, And Conservatism, Madeleine Powers

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Meat reduction is a largely underutilized means of combatting climate change that warrants further investigation. The current study utilized an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict intention to eat red meat. In addition to traditional TPB components of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, this study adds to the literature by including meat-eating identity, past meat-eating behavior, and conservatism as predictors of meat consumption intentions. 744 participants were recruited via Mturk and compensated $1 for completing surveys assessing the extended TPB constructs related to meat consumption. The sample was 57% men, and 81% white, …

Recommendations For Sustainable Tourism In Patagonia: An Exploratory Analysis Of Sustainable Tourism In Costa Rica, The Nordic Region, And Thailand’S Communities, Julia K. Lowery

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores different levels of governance and its role towards actualizing sustainable tourism in Patagonia. With the growing threat of climate change, international destinations such as Patagonia are looking to continue building their tourism industries in a sustainable way. Through analyzing case studies of national governance in Costa Rica, multi-national governance in the Nordic region, and community-based tourism in Thailand, we can better understand how each form of governance has the potential to create a sustainable tourism industry. With this understanding of successful governance in my case studies, as well as understanding the historical and political forces that have …

Air Quality In The Mountain West, 2018-2020, Zachary Billot, Zachary Walusek, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines the state of air quality, including ozone levels and particle pollution, throughout the Mountain West from 2018 to 2020. Data from the American Lung Association “State of the Air” report is used to determine the quality of air in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Echoing Ecopoetics: Fantasy Literature's Background Sounds, Catherine Olver

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Despite David Abram’s fear that reading disrupts people’s “attunement to environing nature,” fantasy literature can vibrantly convey how to hear our environments as it describes characters attuning their ears to particular places. Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series (1995-2021) and Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy (2008-10) develop an echoing ecopoetics of place through both world-building and style. Their fantasy worlds emphasize that characters must relearn to listen in unfamiliar environments: adjusting their expectations and interpretations of background sounds, recognising significant silences, adapting to new ways of communicating, and seeking meaning in nonhuman sounds rather than dismissing them as noise. Their stylistic …

Renewable Energy Legislation In Nevada: 2017 - 2021, Peter Grema, Zachary Walusek, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

The purpose of this fact sheet is to summarize legislative actions from the biennial 79th, 80th, and 81st Nevada Legislative Sessions (2017, 2019, and 2021) regarding solar energy production and state efforts to reach 50 percent energy production from renewable sources by 2030. By 2050, Nevada has a statutorily mandated obligation to be a net-zero carbon producer in fulfilling energy production needs from large scale utility services.

How Federal Pollution Discharge Permits Affect U.S. Water Quality: A Study On Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Cloe C. Mueller

Theses and Dissertations

This paper uses difference-in-difference regression models to examine how state-level pollution discharge permits on concentrated animal feeding operations affect U.S. water quality. I ultimately deem the permitting to be ineffective at improving water quality, calling attention to the need to re-evaluate the ``socially optimal level of pollution."

Environment And Sustainability: July 2022, Environment And Sustainability, Office Of The President

Environment and Sustainability Archives

• UC Nairobi getting EDGE Advanced certified

• The President’s blog contemplates on our sustainability responsibility

• Donated electric bikes reduce emissions and local air pollution

• Impact of Earth Day and World Environment Day activities

• Related events from across the university.

Grains Of Gold - Excavating The Perils Of Sand Mining, Oleena Chaudhuri

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

The human population and the global economy have been growing rapidly, increasing resource consumption. This paper evaluates the extent to which sand mining has an impact on the environment. Through a case study and regulatory analysis of India, this paper has attempted to underscore the consequences of excessive sand excavation while highlighting the case of the Indian “sand mafia”. This secondary research evaluation finds that mining of sand resources is a common practice that leads to the destruction of the environment which adversely affects commercial and non-commercial living resources. While studies do point out that economic activities requiring sand as …

The Voluntary Carbon Market: Managing The Private Provision Of Public Goods, Atticus Maloney

Gettysburg College Headquarters

While much work has examined the large-scale compliance-based carbon offset programs associated with the Kyoto Protocol and Clean Development Mechanism, there has been far less focus on the voluntary purchasing of carbon offsets. This critical literature review will look at the formation and management of the demand for voluntary carbon offsets within the United States. It will frame carbon offsets as impure public goods and review possible explanations as to why private provision has been so active in the U.S. market. The paper will then survey the efficiency gains and other benefits associated with the voluntary market. It will highlight …

Climate Without Context: Why Climate Change Journalism Is Losing Its Effect, Amanda L. Valentine

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Despite the growing frequency and severity of climate disasters, the news coverage of these events hardly shocks the public like it used to. Environmental journalism has become more “voluminous,” but less complex, ultimately sacrificing quality over quantity to cover as many climate-related events as possible. By analyzing the word choice, key frames, and contexts of climate articles featured in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times over the past five years, this study finds that the frequent decontextualization of climate events and a focus on political actions has banalized climate journalism and rendered it ineffectual.

Takes Two To Tango: The Fusion Of Slow Fashion And Agroecology To Combat The Fast Fashion Industry, Sejal Krell

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Fast fashion has been around for longer than the world can remember, after all, there has always been a need for clothes. Nonetheless, it has not been until the past 50 years that fast fashion has become a titan within the industry. Many consider it to be the golden child of fashion with its low production costs, mass retailing, and low prices reaching consumers of all socioeconomic levels. However, the realities of this industry – specifically pertaining to the environment, economy, social sphere, and public health – reveal a different story, of injustice. After discussing the history and rise of …

A Review Of Environmental Vulnerabilities Related To Nepal’S Graduation Process From Least Developed To A Developing Country Status, Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai, Basu Sharma

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal has long aspired to graduate from the Least Development Country (LDC) to Developing Country category as defined by the United Nations system. Nepal had met two of the three graduating criteria and could have technically graduated from the LDC status in 2015. However, based on the Nepal government’s request to defer the review, the new 2021 assessment by the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) recommended that the country should graduate from the LDC status by 2026. The graduation requires not only meeting pre-defined development-related thresholds, but also maintaining sustained improvements in at least two consecutive assessments in …

The Effects Of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility On Financial Returns, Kevin Acevedo

Theses and Dissertations

A major issue concerning companies is global warming and the impact that firms have on the environment. Companies are taking steps towards sustainability, but it is unclear if sustainable business practices are beneficial to companies’ financial performance. This paper examines the effect of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Fortune 250 companies on financial performance. The analysis reveals significant effects on financial performance, but they are inconsistent and hard to interpret.

County Walkability And Small Business Receipts, Talia Perluss

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores the correlation between county walkability and small business receipts, as well as other possible demographic variables that could explain the success of small businesses, by using a fixed-effect panel regression model. Using county-level data in the years 2012 and 2017, this paper finds that there is a significant correlation between an increase in walkability and an increase in receipts. When running the fixed-effect regressions, this paper found that there is a moderately high positive correlation between walkability and per capita income, suggesting that the effects of an increase in walkability may also capture the effects of an …

Painting Colonialism Green: Understanding Colonial Ecology Through The Lens Of Palestinian Art, Lily Hibbard

Scripps Senior Theses

The objective of settler colonialism is, at its core, land domination and the continued subjugation of Indigenous people. I argue that this objective is achieved through four avenues of violence: consumption, extraction, manipulation of space, and severance from identity. By analyzing Palestinian resistance art, I examine the role of landscape manipulation, via destruction or creation of space, in perpetuating these four heralds of colonialism. I specifically focus on the cultural value of trees in occupied Palestine and the Israeli settler community, and the ways in which these trees have become weapons in an ongoing war of colonial design. By understanding …

Traversing Paradigms: An Environmental Journey To Body And Mind, Martin Ceja Mejia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Traumatic life experiences altered the way I perceive the world. As a result, I embark on a journey to reshape my relationship to self, the built and natural world; to environment. In this thesis I ask: How do I want to relate to the environment? Considering I am a doubly colonized agent, I also aim to decolonize my relationship to environment along the process. Therefore, this work aims to formulate a new, personal, relationship to environment through academic literature, history, psychology, Indigenous knowledge and science, and literary studies, among other fields of knowledge. This work is interdisciplinary in nature; life …

Settler Colonialism And White Environmentalism In The 'Uba, Aleena Church

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Settler colonialism continues to shape present injustices of Indigenous Peoples. The settlers of Nevada County do not recognize the historical past of colonialism and how it has changed the Nisenan Tribes relationship to these lands/waters. Or how colonization still thrives in Nevada County through settler relationships with these lands/waters. Settler colonialism is ongoing, it is not an event that happened during the gold rush. I use the South 'Uba River (South Yuba River) as an example for how settler colonialism continues to perpetuate violence and genocide amongst the Nisenan Peoples. As we, settlers, occupy these lands and waters we must …

A Thinking Person's Guide To Immigration And Environmental Racism At The Us - Mexico Border, Emma H. Kiefer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border thanks in part to the strict immigration restrictions from the Trump administration, such as the family separation policy. Immigration remains a widely misunderstood issue and arguments against increased immigration are often laced with racist stereotypes and perceptions that find their roots in centuries of US policy, court cases, and administrative rules. Similarly, the concept of environmental racism can be difficult for the American public to understand when modern-day racism alone has become more insidious. Intersectionality, a concept coined by sociologist Kimberlé Crenshaw, asks us …

Responses To Environmental Change, Lisa Reyes Mason, Susan P. Kemp, Lawrence A. Palinkas, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Communities worldwide are facing environmental crises such as air pollution, water shortages, climate change, and other forms of environmental change and degradation. While technical solutions for environmental change are essential, so too are solutions that consider social acceptability, value cultural relevance, and prioritize equity and social justice. Social work has a critical and urgent role in creating and implementing macrolevel social responses to environmental change. The key concepts of environmental change, environmental and ecological justice, social vulnerability, and social responses are discussed. A description of the roles and skills unique to macro social workers for this effort is given, followed …

Young People More Optimistic About Climate Crisis, Syed U. Haq

Capstones

This is story on how the youth today is feeling more ambitious about rectifying the mistakes the previous generation has made regarding climate. It takes the reader through a poll done by Generation Lab, about the optimism in the younger generation to tackle the climate crisis and what factors are in play in making them feel that way. It also provides three brief audio pieces from student activists, Anna Kathawala, from the local Fridays for Future, Mars Vazquez-Plyshevsky, who comes from a family of climate deniers, and Aderinsola Babawale, a local activist with Brownsville Green Justice. And of course, their …

Population-Based Approaches For Monitoring The Nurturing Care Environment For Early Childhood Development: A Scoping Review, Jéssica Pedroso, Stefanie Eugênia Dos Anjos Coelho Kubo, Priscila Olin Silva, Gabriel Ferreira De Castro, Juliana Lopes Pimentel, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Muriel Bauermann Gubert, Gabriela Buccini

Social and Behavioral Health Faculty Research

Selecting indicators to monitor nurturing care (NC) environments that support decision-making and guide the implementation of integrated early childhood development (ECD) programmes has become a priority globally. Several population-based approaches have been attempted to create a set of indicators or a composite index methodology to measure the NC environment using existing secondary data. However, they have not been systematized. Our scoping review aimed to analyse the population-based approaches for monitoring the domains of the NC (e.g. good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and opportunities for early learning). ECD experts, peer-reviewed, and grey literature were systematically searched with …

International Migration From The Latin American-Caribbean Region: Taking Environmental Indicators Into Consideration, Chelsea Wepy

Student Theses and Dissertations

International migration, the act of leaving one’s country to permanently settle in another country, is driven by many socio economic/political factors, such as lack of economic opportunity, access to education, governmental corruption, and violence. These factors have proven to be the reason that many citizens within the Latin American-Caribbean region either choose or are forced to relocate internationally. While these factors are important to consider independently; these issues are often exacerbated by changes in the natural environment. The objective of my paper is to highlight the importance of considering changes in the natural environment. In doing so, I hope to …

The Apparel Industry And The Lasting Impact Of Fast Fashion, Katelyn Collison

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Personal style is how everyone expresses their individuality and personality; there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to buy clothes to do that. The issue arrives when big corporations take advantage of this and sell products to consumers that end up hurting rather than healing. It is often forgotten how much of an impact big business has on our everyday lives; they can affect our economy, our atmosphere, or even our daily interactions. Customers are beginning to realize that there are positive and negative consequences to their purchases. On one hand, shopping is a great way to boost the economy, …

Aspects Of Climate Change, Anthony Defusco

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Climate change continues to become a global issue, and with that, more people being affected by the harmful factors that come with it. Climate change not only effects the environment, but also has aspects of cultural and health issues. Different cultures view this problem differently than other as it affects different aspects of that culture. Health risk is on the rise as air pollution is more prominent and diseases spread. The climate is being warmed, causing extreme weather and drought. These different perspectives on global warming allow for new and unknowing people to be exposed to this issue and allow …

The Solution To Plastic Pollution: A Dissection Of The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, Nadine M. Snyder

Student Publications

Ever since the development of plastic in the 1900s, it has become one of the most commonly used materials in the world. Its flexibility and durability allow it to be used in a wide variety of materials from clothing to packaging to toothbrushes. However, plastic’s durability has caused environmental damage as well, as plastic particles have been found in everything from waterways to human bodies. This paper explains the history and science of plastic production and examines studies on the environmental and public health impacts of plastics. It then examines various policies that have been enacted to control plastic pollution …

Cultivating Historic Farms: A Study Of Late-Nineteenth Century Maryland Farms, Sarah N. Janesko

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This study examines late-19th century farmsteads in Anne Arundel County, Maryland to measure and explain changes in agriculture and the effect of farming strategies on the local landscape. Agricultural census data from 1850–1880 in the county’s First Election District are used to measure significant changes in crop production after the Civil War. From this local level analysis, one farmstead is analyzed to understand those agricultural changes at the household level. Results from exploratory statistics, two-sided independent t tests, and one-way analysis of variances demonstrate that mean production of tobacco, wheat, and corn decreased significantly in the decades after the Civil …

Is Uber Bad For The Environment?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Research finds Uber’s carbon footprint depended on the characteristics of individual cities

Mapping The Vcu Campus Food Environment, Heather N. King, John C. Jones, Dan J. Albrecht-Mallinger

Graduate Research Posters

Preliminary research from a related VCU faculty team indicated that roughly ⅓ of all VCU students experience some level of food insecurity. Inventions to remedy this dire situation will require a more complete picture of the campus food environment. This project documented aspects of that environment. Our research team surveyed vending machines within Monroe Park buildings and facilities, along with nearby corner stores that were easily accessible to the university. Our team employed two instruments from the nationally recognized Nutritional Environment Measure Survey (NEMS), a toolkit created by Penn State University, to determine the nutritional quality of the campus food …

Answers In The East: An Examination Of China's Renewable Energy And Its Application To Central Appalachia, Lillian Hamm

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

While much of China’s electrification has depended on coal, recent decades illustrate the country is heavily investing in and implementing renewable energy as a power source. Even China’s coal-rich provinces, like the northeastern province of Shanxi, have been making the transition to renewable energy. The central Appalachian states comprised of eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, western Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee share many characteristics with China’s Shanxi province including economic resources, climate, and geography. Yet, central Appalachia has not been able to easily transition to renewable energy. However, there are various cultural, political, and technological differences between the two regions to explain …

"It's About More Than Just Animals": Environmental Politics Of Zoo-Adjacent Conservation(Ists) In The U.S., Dayton D. Starnes Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This research explores the influences of diverse environmental politics in shaping zoo-adjacent conservation activities in the United States. Based upon 13 months of multi-sited ethnographic research, conducted with conservation actors across six states, the researcher investigates and documents how conservation professionals—operating in contexts adjacent to zoological institutions—experience and respond to the socio-environmental implications associated with the cascading effects of global environmental change. In the face of current challenges and uncertain environmental futures—shaped by habitat alterations, ecological transitions, and species declines/extinctions—conservationists are undergoing their own processes of reassessment and reconfiguration of their underpinning philosophies and body of practices that inform their …