Environmental Policy Commons^™

Unilateral Emissions Mitigation, Spillovers, And Global Learning, Shurojit Chatterji, Sayantan Ghosal, Sean Walsh, John Whalley

Research Collection School Of Economics

What's the role of unilateral measures in global climate change mitigation in a post-Durban, post 2012 global policy regime? We argue that under conditions of preference heterogeneity, unilateral emissions mitigation at a subnational level may exist even when a nation is unwilling to commit to emission cuts. We establish that under certain assumptions, in a global strongly connected network of countries, learning the costs of switching to a low emissions activity can result in a universal adoption of such activities. We analyze the features of a policy proposal that could accelerate convergence to a low carbon world in the presence …

Social Tipping Points And Earth Systems Dynamics, R.A. Bentley, E. Maddison, P. Ranner, J. Bissell, C. Caiado, P. Bhatanacharoen, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Botha M., Akinbami F., Hollow M., Michie R., Huntley B., Curtis S., Garnett P.

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Recently, Early Warning Signals (EWS) have been developed to predict tipping points in Earth Systems. This discussion highlights the potential to apply EWS to human social and economic systems, which may also undergo similar critical transitions. Social tipping points are particularly difficult to predict, however, and the current formulation of EWS, based on a physical system analogy, may be insufficient. As an alternative set of EWS for social systems, we join with other authors encouraging a focus on heterogeneity, connectivity through social networks and individual thresholds to change.

Wpa News 94 (2014), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2014), number 94

Published by the World Pheasant Association

A Win-Win On Agricultural Lands: Creating Wildlife Habitat Through Agroforestry, Gary Bentrup

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

With increasing demands from society for limited resources, agroforestry will likely be one source of solutions as people find it increasingly necessary to achieve multiple social, economic, and ecological objectives on the same plot of land. Indications are that this is a growing field, so wildlife biologists of the future may want to consider incorporating agroforestry into their career development.

Stop Lion Hunting, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

According to my informal tally, at least seven mountain lions have so far been killed in Nebraska during 2014, as follows: 1 & 2: Two were killed on January 1 and 2, at the start of Nebraska's first hunting season. Both were killed by treeing the animals with dogs, then shooting them execution style. One was killed by a man who bought the permit ($13,500) at auction; the other by a teenager who won a Game & Park's fund -raising lottery. 3: An adult male was accidentally killed by a vehicle on February 1, in Sioux County. 4: An adult …

Underrepresented: Descriptive Representation And Political Interest Of African Americans And Women In The 2008 Election, Kristine K. Coulter, Jennifer R. Garcia, Christopher Stout

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

- 83 - Representing the Underrepresented: Descriptive Representation and Political Interest of African Americans and Women in the 2008 Election Kristine Coulter University of California, Irvine Jennifer R. Garcia University of California, Irvine Christopher T. Stout Southern Illinois University, Carbondale In this article, we examine the effect of the presidential candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and the vice presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin on change in political interest among African Americans and women over the course of the 2008 election. We also examine the effects of these candidacies on intra-group characteristics in these marginalized groups. Consistent with the …

What We Should Have Known About The Black Vote: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Voter Turnout In Presidential Elections, Zulema T. Blair Phd

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

A historic increase in African American voter turnout in the 2008 presidential elections has also contributed to the overall increase in voter turnout in presidential elections, which steadily declined from 1960 through 2000. Using a logistic regression analysis for presidential years 1980 through 2000, this article re-examines why voter turnout in presidential election years take place. The traditional and well-established explanations of socioeconomic status (SES), demographics, group consciousness, mobilization, psychological orientations, and economic displacement, were regressed onto voter turnout where race is deemed insignificant. However, in a closer analysis where income was used to separate the voting age population by …

About Face: A Perspective On Civilian Military Relations Through The Lens Of The Principal-Agent Theory, Randall Swain

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

- 55 - About Face: A Perspective of Civil-Military Relations through the Lens of Principal-Agent Theory Randall D. Swain Eastern Kentucky University This essay uses the principal-agent theory to offer a framework for explaining shirking tendencies by the U.S. military in civil-military relations. Through the lens of the framework presented here, the principal-agent theory explains why shirking tendencies by the U.S. military is more likely to occur when a Republican occupies the White House, than when it is occupied by a Democrat. Besides providing a framework for conceptualizing civil-military relations, the importance of this work lies in the manner in …

What Happened To The 9/11 Commission? What A Century Of Riot Commissions Teaches Us About America’S Dependence On Independent Commissions, Lindsey Lupo

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

In August of 2004, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission released its report to much media buzz. However, when all ten commissioners reconvened in late 2005 to issue a report card on progress made on the recommendations of the Commission, they issued five Fs, twelve Ds, nine Cs, and one A minus. This article looks at independent commissions in the United States and the role they play as flak-catchers—stopgaps that assuage public fears while giving the appearance of decisive government action. It uses historical and comparative case-study analysis to portray how the 9/11 Commission operated in a manner similar to U.S. race …

The Impact Of Politicized Churches And Party Contact On African American Voter Turnout, Randolph Burnside, Stephanie A. Pink-Harper

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

- 3 - The Impact of Politicized Churches and Party Contact on African American Voter Turnout Randolph Burnside Southern Illinois University Carbondale Stephanie A. Pink-Harper Southern Illinois University Carbondale The African American community has faced a myriad of challenges regarding their quest for social equity and social justice in America. Among the challenges is the fight for their right to vote. Researchers document numerous factors that have impacted the voting behavior of African Americans. Underexplored, however, is the historical role and impact that the African American church has had on this process. This article examines the impact of politicized churches …

Issues On Voter Participation Among African Americans And Bureaucratic Behavior, Andrew I. E. Ewoh, Maruice Mangum

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

West Coast Rock Lobster Harvest Strategy And Control Rules : 2014 – 2019, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Tourism And Protected Areas: A Growing Nexus Of Challenge And Opportunity, Stephen F. Mccool, Anna Spenceley

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

Three significant trends are converging with the result of increasing the importance of understanding and managing the nexus of tourism and protected areas. Firstly, international travel and tourism continues to grow significantly, resulting in more people wanting to visit, learn and appreciate their natural and cultural heritage. Secondly, international conservation efforts are increasingly dependent on protected areas serving as the cornerstone of slowing (ideally stopping) the loss of biological diversity. Thirdly, demands from society on protected areas are not only increasing, they are diversifying as well. Increased demand is, in part, the result of a growing human population that competes …

In Harm's Way: How Philadelphia's Urban Renewal Practices Steered Marginal People To Marginal Land, Katera Ya'shea Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dumping of locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) on marginal communities has been well documented, however environmental justice scholars have rarely written about how marginal groups have come to occupy their landscapes, particularly when natural hazards lie beneath.

This dissertation research focuses on a broad definition of the environment that includes the built, social, and physical. I am interested in extending Logan and Molotch's Growth Machine theory to consider how the political and economic elite guided the urban renewal process to place particular communities on particular landscapes, despite the presence of a flooding hazard. To understand this issue, I examined …

Climate Planning In Politically Conservative Cities: A Case Study Of Seven Climate Action Plans, Coleman Moore Frick

Master's Theses

Current research indicates that the potential risks associated with human-induced climate change are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. Although there have been several attempts, no effective international treaty or policy has been enacted by the United States with the purpose of combating this global issue. In the past decade, local climate action plans (CAPs) have emerged as a planning solution designed to reduce greenhouse emissions (GHGs). Previous studies have examined CAP attributes, but no research has focused solely on climate planning in politically conservative jurisdictions. This research finds that of 245 CAPs completed to date nationally, approximately 90 …

Of Accessibility And Applicability: How Heat-Related Primes Affect Belief In “Global Warming” And “Climate Change”, Jonathon P. Schuldt, Sungjong Roh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Research shows that exposure to heat-related cues (e.g., warm temperatures, “fry” and “boil”) influences the belief that global warming exists and poses a serious threat to humans. Drawing on social-cognitive principles of concept accessibility and applicability, we hypothesized that these effects may depend on how the issue is framed, given that heat-related concepts are more compatible with “global warming” than “climate change.” Exploring this possibility, we asked campus passersby about their belief in global warming or climate change shortly after a real-life unseasonably cold weather event (i.e., snowfall during Spring; Study 1). A controlled Web experiment …

Radical Housewife Activism: Subverting The Toxic Public/Private Binary, Emma Foehringer Merchant

Pomona Senior Theses

Since the 1960s, the modern environmental movement, though generally liberal in nature, has historically excluded a variety of serious and influential groups. This thesis concentrates on the movement of working-class housewives who emerged into popular American consciousness in the seventies and eighties with their increasingly radical campaigns against toxic contamination in their respective communities. These women represent a group who exhibited the convergence of cultural influences where domesticity and environmentalism met in the middle of American society, and the increasing focus on public health in the environmental movement framed the fight undertaken by women who identified as “housewives.” These women, …

Connecting Urban Residents To Their Watershed With Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A Case Study Of Thornton Creek In Seattle, Washington, Lisa A. Beem

Scripps Senior Theses

Connecting Urban Residents to Their Watersheds with Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A case study of Thornton Creek in Seattle, Washington.

Building A Better Office Of Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Change And Educational Outreach At Wku, Andrew Salman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research documented the transformation of the house at 503 Regents Ave. in Bowling Green KY into a model home of sustainability by the WKU Office of Sustainability as a case study. Using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core Concepts, the benefits of weatherization (window upgrades, insulation, sealants) to the building, the addition of a solar energy array and utility grid intertie, and the transformation of the back yard into an edible landscape and community garden to mitigate stormwater flooding issues were assessed. Collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, students, university entities, and community members were encouraged …

The State Of The Upper Bay Of Panama Wetlands: Ecological Significance, Environmental Policy, Urbanization, And Social Justice, Madeline A. Price

Celebration

I conducted this research while studying abroad with SIT Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation. This is a multidisciplinary investigation of the Upper Bay of Panama wetlands, a 49,000 hectare region east of Panama City that features mangrove, intertidal mudflat, and grassland habitat internationally recognized as a stopover site for two million shorebirds every migration season. However, with economic pressure to increase urban development in the area, this land’s protected status under the Ramsar convention was suspended for a year in April 2012. By compiling scientific studies, news articles, photographs, and interviews with local conservationists and community members, …

Climate Change Vulnerabilities: Case Studies Of The Maldives And Kenya, Katherine A. Peinhardt

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper examines the political and social vulnerabilities of climate change, with the use of two salient case studies, the Republic of the Maldives and Kenya as exemplars of effects observed and projected. The susceptibilities for each nation are examined, with unique sensitivities highlighted and common themes synthesized between the two states. Examples of existing conflict, and implications of projected territorial conflict will be discussed. Policy outcomes will also be discussed for the situation of each nation, each with its own set of contextual sensitivities in the face of climatic shifts. Generalized policy options will be proposed for the common …

Ban The Bag: Narragansett, Emma E. Meyer

Senior Honors Projects

Rhode Island, the smallest state in the country at 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, rightfully earns its nickname “The Ocean State” when considering the 400 miles of shoreline constituting Narragansett Bay. Despite the obvious necessities of sustaining a healthy bay within a state known for its beaches, at present day one would be challenged to walk along the Narragansett Sea Wall without spotting a plastic bag floating in or around the neighboring coastline. Not only are these bags an eye soar and a nuisance to Narragansett – a community whose financial prosperity is highly reliant upon its summer …

Adapting To A Changing Climate: Local Drivers For Policy Response, Andrew J. Bilich

Honors Scholar Theses

Responding to the present and looming effects of global climate change presents a challenging task for policymakers at all levels of governance. The outcomes of climate change do present serious adaptation problems for global policy makers, but the implications of climate change are more immediately experienced by local communities and policy makers. Historical policymaking models suggest that economic well-being is an influential driver in local policy adoption. This particular analysis explores the relationship between economic variables and the development of climate adaptation policies by Connecticut municipalities. To test the degree of interaction present, adaptation policy data in the form of …

Policy Designs To Address Water Allocations During Societal Transitions: The Southern Nevada Water Authority's Groundwater Development Project, Lisa W. Welsh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although water is considered a renewable resource, there is only a fixed amount of water available. No additional water can be made, and we cannot easily control how fast water is recycled or in what form it will appear and where. With expected growth in the world’s population and economy, the same amount of water must supply more needs. Taking into account climate change projections and water-related environmental stresses, even less water might be available for human uses. People will need to decide how to serve a multitude of water needs. This dissertation uses the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s (SNWA) …

The Price Of A Healthy Diet: For Whom Is It Affordable?, Katheryn L. Harkleroad

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

This exploratory study addressed the gaps that current research has ignored. What have been missing are studies that focus on tangible costs of realistic, practical, and healthy meal plans. This study was not intended to measure a national average cost of eating a healthy diet. Rather, its focus was to examine the cost of healthy diet in a specific location.

The Impact Of World Bank’S Conditionality-Ownership Hybrid On Forest Management In Cameroon: Policy Hybridity In International Dependence Development, Asongayi Venard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many developing countries depend on the World Bank for development assistance, which the Bank often provides with policy reform conditions. Resistance to World Bank’s conditionality caused the Bank to posit “ownership” as a country’s real assent to its development policies. The combination of ownership and conditionality invalidates the neocolonial, false-paradigm and dualism theses in explaining the international dependence development model. This study explains this model by investigating how the relationship between conditionality and ownership in the context of this model impacts forest management in Cameroon.

Integrating theoretical and methodological insights mainly from political science, economics, geosciences, and sociology, the study …

Adapting An American Non-Profit Model To An International For-Profit Model: A Case Study Of Clean The World Business Model In Hong Kong, Yun Guan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The non-profit sector in the United States had grown at a fast pace in the recent decades, partially as a result of the economic development and the influence of social and political factors. By pursuing mission rather other bottom line, nonprofit organizations faced fierce competition for government grants and private donations. Limited financial resources constrained their efforts to create social and environmental value. The emerging hybrid nonprofit business model offered a new approach for nonprofits to pursuing self-sustainable development both domestically and internationally. However, adapting a unique American nonprofit model into an international for-profit model could be challenging because of …

Media Frames And Cognitive Accessibility: What Do "Global Warming" And "Climate Change" Evoke Partisan Minds?, Jonathon P. Schuldt, Sungjong Roh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Decades of research demonstrate that how the public thinks about a given issue is affected by how it is framed by the media. Typically, studies of framing vary how an issue is portrayed (often, by altering the text of written communication) and compare subsequent beliefs, attitudes, or preferences—taking a framing effect as evidence that a media frame (or frame in communication) instantiated a particular audience frame (or frame in thought). Less work, however, has attempted to measure frames in thought directly, which may illuminate cognitive mechanisms that underlie framing effects. In this vein, we describe a Web experiment (n = …

Rare Trophy Varmint Bagged, Paul A, Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

This beast was shot during a special hunting season on hummingbirds opened by the Game and Parks Commission after reports of possible threats to people and livestock.

It was taken in one shot at 15 yards with a high-powered Canon and special high-velocity electronic ammunition. The state is now safer for everyone.

P. (Dead-eye) Johnsgard

Explaining County Government Budget Transparency In An Age Of E-Government, Jonathan M. Birds, Leander D. Kellogg, E. Lee Bernick

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This research seeks to explain budgetary transparency practices of individual US counties by examining the extent of information sharing with constituents via their websites. There are 3,138 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. This study evaluates a random sample of 400 US counties where 19% of the represented counties having populations of 100,000 or more residents, matching the same ratio of counties with populations of 100,000 or more residents nationally. We create a four-level categorical dependent variable measuring budget transparency. Using an ordered probit analysis with six independent variables we are able to explain the probability of counties having …