Environmental Studies Commons^™

"Drone," "Attempting To Persuade The Musk Ox You Are Not Unlike Not A Threat Not Other", Elizabeth Bradfield

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

Imaginative Acts, Environmental Futurity: Re-Envisioning The Heroic White Male Savior In Snowpiercer, Michelle Yates

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

In contrast to many Hollywood climate fiction films, Snowpiercer (2013) offers a more complex representation of the white male savior. In contrast to films like WALL-E (2008) and Interstellar (2014) that recuperate and invest in white masculine privilege, Snowpiercer highlights the more destructive aspects of a patriarchal capitalist system that privileges hegemonic white masculinity. While the ending of Snowpiercer may seem bleak, it also points to the possibility of a new system, an environmental futurity that centers indigenous knowledge and the experiences of women and people of color. Though Snowpiercer is not formally an American film, its casting of recognizable …

Diverse Voices, Sticky Maps And Wicked Patterns. Using Creative Methods To Explore Environmental Justice, Clare Saunders, Daksha Patel

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

Environmental justice is multi-faceted. It is distributional, procedural and context inter-dependent. Achieving environmental justice therefore requires transdisciplinary thinking and collaborative practice with participants holding a variety of experiences and knowledges. This paper explores the different meanings of environmental justice in theory, and through artistic practices. It introduces and evaluates a series of creative workshops designed to enhance understanding of environmental justice. The workshops consisted of 1) image-informed co-created cross-national Zoom conversations; 2) using colours and shapes to tease out meanings of environmental justice; and 3) mapping local environmental injustices while centring more-than-humans. It proposes that these creative methods are useful …

Powering Justice: Sketches For A New Ethos In Energy Policy, Erin Rizzato Devlin

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

Energy politics lie at the heart of human activity. In a time of ecological and energy crisis, it is fundamental to realise that our reality systems are always open to change and that, in order to respond to the challenges of a changing energy landscape, we must explore the full possibilities of technology in a radical way. This research aims to consider the ethical implications of energy and technology, presenting an urgent case for cosmotechnical pluralism, that is the diversification of world-views, knowledges, technologies in the pursuit of energy justice in global politics. To reconstruct the world and its politics …

Notes On Contributors

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

Editors' Note

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

Cover - Green Humanities, Vol. 4, 2024

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

Pictorial Bionomics: Santa Ana River Record And Survey, Caleb Lachelt

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Intense conflict is unfolding in Southern California, and it runs right through our cities every day. It goes unnoticed by most, but its outcome will decide the future for humans and nature alike. This conflict is between human development and the natural majesty of our waterways. The foundation of Orange and surrounding areas is historic wetlands, which have caused massive flooding that destroys human lives and buildings. In response to this destruction, we have unleashed our own damage, paving entire sections of our rivers and erecting dams and levees wherever we can. Through this process we have successfully protected those …

How Communities Respond To Industrial Pollution, Jacqueline Jergensen, Sara Velardi

Sustainable Communities

Industrial pollution is a growing environmental issue in the United States, having health, economic, and social consequences on the surrounding communities. This study explores how communities respond to industrial pollution by examining two case studies in New York: the Navy/Grumman Plume of Bethpage and the IBM Plume of Endicott. Document analysis provided information to create complete timelines of the pollution and remediation in each community. Interviews were also conducted to provide personal insight from residents, employees of polluting industries, or those involved with remediation efforts. Ultimately, the research suggests that industrial actors should take a proactive stance in addressing contamination. …

Greening The Green: Examining The Resource Use Of Golf Courses With Suggestions On How To Improve Their Sustainability, Kaelan Addison Lestock '24

Honor Scholar Theses

Golf is a journey full of challenges, requiring each player to strive for precision, rather than merely a game of getting a small, dimpled ball in a cup hundreds of yards away in the fewest strokes possible The game is both physical and mental; it tests one’s focus, decision making, and resilience. Those who play competitively rarely feel as though they are competing against another player, instead their opponent is the course. And for those who play recreationally, the game can be a time to reconnect with nature, foster both old and new friendships, or enjoy the pursuit for perfection. …

Settler Colonialism And Ecosystem Change: How Ideology Has Shaped Minnesota’S Environments, Sarah E. Hobby

History Honors Projects

The formation of a uniquely American land ethic—defined by European political history and Christian biblical doctrine and forged through systems of dispossession—is central to the creation of environments within the United States today. Using Minnesota as a microcosm to understand how settler colonial interactions played out all across the United States, this paper analyzes connections between violent dispossession of Indigenous people and the degradation of environments. By understanding how Ojibwe and Dakota people think about and have shaped Minnesotan lands throughout their history and comparing Indigenous land-ethics to the Euro-American-settler land ethic, this paper evaluates the role that ideology and …

Analysis Of Circular Design Principles For The Sustainable End-Of-Life Management Of Renewable Energy Assets: Investigation Of Illinois And Germany Renewable Energy Policies And Programs., Samuel N. Nimaful

2024 Student Research and Creativity Conference

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of circular design principles applied to the sustainable end-of-life management of renewable energy assets, focusing on the comparative study of renewable energy policies in Illinois, USA, and Germany. As the deployment of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and wind turbines expands globally, the question of their sustainable disposal becomes increasingly critical. This research delves into how circular economy approaches can be integrated into policy frameworks to ensure that these technologies are sustainable not only in their operation but also at the end of their lifecycle.

The study methodically reviews existing policies and programs …

Assessing Equitable Distribution Of The Urban Tree Canopy At The Neighborhood Scale In Greenville, South Carolina., April Riehm

All Theses

We are living in an era that necessitates adaptation and resilience. The Earth is warming. Our climate has changed (EPA, 2016). Our planet is also rapidly urbanizing. It is predicted that 68% of people will live in cities by 2050. The City of Greenville is a rapidly growing city in South Carolina that has been losing its tree canopy to development(City of Greenville, 2023). The Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) is a community asset that provides many quality-of-life benefits including improved air quality, stormwater management, carbon sequestration, mental and physical well-being, increased mobility and access, aesthetics, a reduction in energy costs, …

Understanding The Zonal Variability In Cmip6 Projections Of Sahelian Precipitation, Emmanuel Ogwuche Audu

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The uncertainty in model projections of future precipitation across the Sahel has persisted across many generations of Earth System Models (ESMs), with some models predicting drying and others moistening across this region. These discrepancies in future projections pose a challenge for stakeholders and decision makers. Many projections of Sahel precipitation found in the ESMs participating in the sixth phase of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) show a zonal dipole in precipitation trend, with moistening across the Central and Eastern Sahel and drying projected for the Western Sahel. Previous studies have connected precipitation variability across the Sahel to changes in various …

Proposing Urban Agroforestry Designs For Lincoln, Nebraska: A Model From Berlin, Germany, Noah Johnson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Given the threat of a worsening climate crisis, there is a strong need for community and ecosystem resilience. Diverse urban agroforestry systems have the potential to accomplish both and meet many of the objectives outlined in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska’s climate action plan. Additionally, Berlin, Germany could provide an effective model for Lincoln in this regard given the city’s extensive history of established urban agroforestry systems. The objective of this study then is to develop a design for an urban agroforestry site modeled on Berlin’s allotment gardens and tailored to Lincoln’s needs. The methods for creating this design included …

Breathing Inequity: A Mixed Method Analysis Of Rubbertown's Air Quality Problem, Mikayla Pitmon

Undergraduate Theses

Louisville Metro Government has a multitude of quantitative data on demographics, health, and air quality in Rubbertown fenceline communities. This study explores how community-level research allows us to have a more robust understanding of the impact of environmental injustice. Spatial data was utilized to map various health variables, zoning, and community spaces relative to Rubbertown chemical facilities. A semi-structured interview was then conducted with a local environmental justice activist to gain a better understanding of their experience and the barriers to environmental justice for the residents of West Louisville. This study improves our understanding of community needs and adds a …

Conflict Within Wildlife Management On Western Landscapes Home On The Range, Trisha A. Hedin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Most of the public lands within the Intermountain West are administered under a multiple-use mandate which emphasizes striking a balance in land use planning among the potentially competing values of livestock grazing, timber production, water supply, extraction of valuable fossil fuels, wildlife, and wilderness. This research sought to dive into a few of these competing values that involve large herbivores that compete for limited forage resources such as livestock and wildlife, on public lands, but also touched upon wildlife on private lands. The first component of research looked specifically at the coexistence of wildlife and livestock on both public and …

Offshore Wind In New York City: Is Brooklyn Tilting At Windmills?, Nathan Kensinger, Alex Diaz-Casos

Publications and Research

This paper explores how the strategic expansion of offshore wind energy in the United States will reshape the waterfront of New York City, with a specific focus on the borough of Brooklyn. The U.S. Federal government has committed to developing a robust offshore wind industry along the East Coast, and several State governments in this region have made their own commitments to receive significant amounts of energy from offshore wind facilities. This emerging industry will potentially invest billions of dollars into new infrastructure and could lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs. However, the offshore wind industry in …

Bad Water: A Critical Analysis Of Three Municipal Water Crises Through The Lens Of Political Ecology, Noelle Evelyn Schacht

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In this paper, I analyze the municipal water crises of Flint, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; and Jackson, Mississippi through the lens of political ecology to determine how history, power, and society have shaped the troubled water system we see in the United States today. In cities around the US, citizens cannot access clean water, violating a basic human right. Policies have been implemented to protect citizens from consuming contaminated water but are poorly enforced. Additionally, despite knowledge of the ongoing problems including insufficient treatment, outdated infrastructure, and overly contaminated source water, little has been done to remedy the situation. The theoretical …

The Role Of Transit Countries In Global Wildlife Trafficking, Joseph Gangi

Student Theses

This thesis explores the role of transit countries in the global trade of illegal wildlife. While much research has been conducted on source and destination countries, transit countries remain an under-researched link in this chain, even though they play an integral role in facilitating this trade. This study utilizes the Rational Choice and Institutional Theory theoretical frameworks to examine the factors associated with transit countries' roles in wildlife trafficking. The findings indicate that transit countries play an active role in wildlife trafficking, and there is a need for policy to address this issue. Considering the findings of this study, this …

(De)Composition: Earthen Storytelling For Collective Liberation, Priya Subberwal

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This interdisciplinary portfolio is an investigation into ecological communication through pedagogical design, online collaborative learning spaces, digital and print media, and creative writing. Braiding lenses of queer ecology, decolonial studies, anarchism, and collaborative and creative practice, this work hopes to explore the field of environmental communication through avenues that are reciprocal, community-driven, and oriented towards environmental justice and collective, intersectional liberation. Through the three distinct components of 1) the creation and facilitation of an online learning community, the Spiritual Ecology Study Club at Advaya, 2) the editing and production of two issues of Camas Magazine, an environmental literary magazine based …

Bay Water Level Influences On Inundation And Morphological Changes Of A Semi-Connected Barrier Island During A Hurricane, Sydney D. Goodman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This research aims to identify flooding and erosion changes along a semi-connected barrier island system due to varying bay water levels during storm conditions. The numerical model XBeach is used to simulate Hurricane Michael conditions and the resulting inundation and morphological change near Tyndall Air Force Base (Tyndall AFB). The installation is located 12 miles southeast of Panama City Beach along the panhandle of Florida and is vulnerable to flooding due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), Saint Andrew Sound and Saint Andrew Bay. A land bridge connects the barrier island to the mainland of Tyndall AFB …

Inland Water’S Challenges In Ungauged International Basins: Identifying The Desiccation Drivers Of Endorheic Hamun Lakes, Arash Modaresi Rad

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Inland waters face unprecedented pressures from climatic and anthropogenic stresses, causing their recession and desiccation globally. Climate change is increasingly blamed for such environmental degradation, but in many regions, direct anthropogenic pressures compound, and sometimes supersede, climatic factors. This study examined a human-environmental system – the terminal Hamun Lakes on the Iran-Afghanistan border – that embodies amplified challenges of inland waters. Satellite and climatic data from 1984-2019 were fused, which documented that the Hamun Lakes lost 89% of their surface area between 1999 and 2001 (3,809 km² versus 410 km²), coincident with a basin-wide, multi-year meteorological drought. …

Agricultural Producer And Non-Producer Perceptions Of Crop Residue Burning: A Focus On Arkansas, Jillian Hyink, Ryan Bresnahan, Brandon R. Mcfadden, Aaron M. Shew, James Mitchell

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agricultural producers adopt management practices that positively and negatively affect the lives of non-producers in their communities. CRB has important environmental and human health implications, and local non-producers might have different perceptions and attitudes from agricultural producers about crop residue burning. In this paper, we use a multi-stakeholder approach to study the issue of crop residue burning (CRB). Survey data were collected from a sample of producers in Arkansas who burn crop residue and a sample of non-producers who resided in the same counties as the producers. Non-producers may not be willing to compensate producers at an amount that would …

Charting The History Of Social And Economic Analyses In The North-East Atlantic, Ospar, Region: Lessons Learned And Future Opportunities, Rob Van Der Veeren, Philip A.S. James, Maria G. Alarcon Blazquez, Xander Keijser

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Over the past decade, the North-East Atlantic region has witnessed a substantial increase in social and economic analyses related to ocean and coastal management. This article offers a comprehensive overview of this progress, focusing on the work of the International Cooperation Group - Economics and Social Analysis (ICG-ESA) within the OSPAR Commission. While highlighting ICG-ESA's contributions to the OSPAR Quality Status Report 2023, the paper underscores the necessity of integrating social analyses into OSPAR's decision-making processes. It calls for sustained efforts to prevent regression in the achieved progress, stressing the importance of accountability and collaboration among OSPAR and its contracting …

Exploring The Intersection Between West Virginia Farmland Protection Boards, Landowners, And The West Virginia Agrarian Commons, Samuel W. Bayne, Joshua Lohnes

Undergraduate Scholarship

New Roots Community Farm (NRCF) came to life through the purchase of a piece of land by the Fayette County Farmland Protection Board in a buy-protect-sell model. NRCF then partnered with The Agrarian Land Trust, a New England based organization experimenting with land commons models across the United States, to purchase the property and create the West Virginia Agrarian Commons (WVAC), an entity that could advance land access for the next generation farmers in WV. The experience of NRCF and the WVAC and the vision for its operation and extension of the buy-protect-sell model in partnership with county farmland protection …

The Abyss Of Abundance: Consumer Overconsumption And The Road To Environmental Collapse, Emma Vega

Student Theses 2015-Present

The pattern of consumer overconsumption, fueled by relentless economic growth and the internal desire for material goods, has emerged as a prominent driver of environmental degradation, pushing our planet to collapse. This paper examines the cause-and-effect relationships between consumer behavior and its catastrophic environmental implications. By unraveling the root causes of overconsumption and its detrimental effects, this study attempts to underscore the urgency of immediate action to prevent irreversible environmental collapse. Chapter 1 will discuss the problem of consumer overconsumption, including an analysis of the detrimental environmental effects of our current consumption levels to highlight why the issue of consumer …

Water Equity And Planning: Acid Mine Drainage In Deckers Creek Watershed, Brooke O. Waters, Lennon Jewell Auvil, Grace Dever

Undergraduate Scholarship

When mines close, they simply do not disappear. They cannot be buried or forgotten about. The implications of mining leave a lasting history and impact not only on our lands but on the people as well. Abandoned mine lands are areas of our community and environment that have been destroyed due to the extraction of coal and other minerals. Mining results in the destruction of landscapes, contamination of waterways, and the emission of harmful chemicals to our communities.
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is a resultant water pollutant that is derived from mining practices, active or abandoned. This pollutant forms from …

Developing More Useful Equity Measurements For Flood-Risk Management, Adam Pollack, Casey Helgeson, Carolyn Kousky, Klaus Keller

Dartmouth Scholarship

Decision-makers increasingly invoke equity to motivate, design, implement and evaluate strategies for managing flood risks. Unfortunately, there is little guidance on how analysts can develop measurements that support these tasks. Here we analyse how equity can be defined and measured by surveying 167 peer-reviewed publications that explicitly state an interest in equity in the context of flood-risk management. Our main result is a taxonomy that systematizes how equity has been, and can be, defined and measured in flood-risk research. The taxonomy embodies how equity is a pluralistic and unavoidably ethical concept. Despite this, we find that most quantitative studies fail …

Creating A New Border Culture In The Midst Of The Climate Crisis: Activism And Pedagogy Strategies For Teacher Preparation, Puneet S. Gill

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper documents the efforts of an activist group that came to teach about activist efforts, climate change/climate justice/climate crisis issues, and to create leaders in one border community. The leaders of this three-day workshop are a part of an activist organization named SOMOS Sunrise, the Latine constituency of the Sunrise movement. In this paper, I will analyze the climate change workshop training days and components of the workshops. Secondly, this paper will document a climate cohort education group conducted with undergraduate students and pre-service teachers the following summer. This climate cohort helped articulate art activism and public speaking opportunities …