Sustainability Commons^™

295— Biomimicry: Investigating The Active Site Model Of Lactate Racemase, Stephanie Podguski, Maisy Ross

GREAT Day Posters

Because of humans’ heavy impact on nature with industrialization and resource extraction, biomimetics, also known as biomimicry, is a study that has emerged. Biomimetics utilizes observations from nature to comprehend the principles of underlying mechanisms and apply concepts that may benefit science, medicine, engineering and the like. An area of biochemistry we are applying this to is the lactate racemase enzyme.This metalloenzyme is found in many prokaryotic organisms and catalyzes the interconversion between the two optical isomers of lactic acid. The structure of this enzyme consists of a square-planar nickel (II) ion coordinated by a histidine residue and a pincer …

183— Cannabis Sativa: Pretreatment And Fiber Content Analysis, Dina Bú, Arianna Soriano, Sofia Kostrinsky, Sarah Schmidlin, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Cannabis Sativa commonly known as hemp, is one of the fastest growing plants whose refined products have immense commercial value. Refined hemp is included in various products: biofuels, biodegradable plastics, textiles, dietary supplements, paper, clothing and much more. Hemp fibers are also used in construction and manufacturing applications as a way to strengthen composite products. These qualities make hemp a high yielding, sustainable, and environmentally friendly crop with the potential to yield valuable raw materials for a large number of applications. Our research evaluates the pretreatment of hemp and the comparative analysis of the fiber content thereof. Our goal is …

Energy Policy: Creating Connected Communities And A Clean Energy Future, Marisa Slaten

Sustainability Seminar Series

Marisa Slaten is the Director of Regulatory Strategy and Services for Pepco Holdings (PHI), an Exelon company. Marisa is responsible for leading the regulatory activity and stakeholder engagement for Delmarva Power & Light in Delaware and Atlantic City Electric Co. in New Jersey. In this role Marisa manages regulatory and compliance filings, testifies as a policy witness, and regularly meets with government officials and industry leaders to discuss energy policies and priority initiatives. Prior to joining PHI, Marisa was the Director of the Division of Clean Energy at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and practiced as an attorney …

Assessing Resilience Against Floods With A System Dynamics Approach: A Comparative Study Of Two Models, Maksims Feofilovs, Francesco Romagnoli, Charlotte Kendra Z. Gotangco, Jairus Carmela C. Josol, Jean Meir Jardeleza, Joseph Emauel Litam, Joaquin Ignacio Campos, Katrina Abenojar

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Purpose

This paper aims to present the concepts of two different ways of generating a dynamic structure of the urban system to further allow in understanding specific urban behavior facing against flood and further evaluate the potential effect of specific resilience strategies aiming to decrease the exposure and vulnerability of the system.

Design/methodology/approach

Two system dynamics model structures are presented in form of Casual Loop Diagrams.

Findings

The main differences among the tow approaches are the time horizon and the approach that regulates the assessment of the resilience through a dynamic composite indicator: the first model refers to baseline at …

West Chester University Fair Trade Campaign, Kathleen Tobelmann

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Siltcatcher: A Sediment-Capture System For Wetland Creation And Coastal Protection In Western Lake Pontchartrain, Andrew M. Wright

LSU Master's Theses

The West Lake Pontchartrain region faces a number of long-term environmental challenges due to anthropogenic climate disturbance and landscape modification, including sea level rise, increased storm surge risk, shoreline erosion, and wetland degradation. In response, this thesis applies recent research in the fields of landscape architecture and civil engineering to propose a dynamic, natural-systems solution for wetland creation and shoreline protection. The project envisions a series of breakwater-like structures in western Lake Pontchartrain positioned to slow water released from the nearby Bonnet Carré Spillway, causing suspended sediment to settle and create self-building and self-sustaining wetlands capable of keeping pace with …

An Ecopath With Ecosim Analysis On Offshore Petroleum Platform Influences On Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Valentin Gomez

LSU Master's Theses

Offshore oil and gas platforms have had a significant presence in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1950s. An important secondary function of these structures is that they provide artificial habitat to fisheries, most notably Red snapper. Policy changes intended to reduce the risk associated with aging infrastructure have reduced the number of standing platforms from 4044 to 1867 from 2001 to 2018. The effect this loss of habitat has on Red snapper was tested by creating three scenarios of platform changes and modeling the perturbation from 2005 to 2050. The simulation was accomplished using the ecological model Ecopath with …

Solve Climate By 2030, Jessica L. Schedlbauer, Paul Morgan

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Lake Hopatcong Foundation: Fighting To Improve New Jersey’S Largest Lake, Marty Kane

Sustainability Seminar Series

Learn about the rationale and background to establish a non-profit organization to improve the Lake Hopatcong region through programs and initiatives centered on the environment, education, community and historical preservation, recreation, arts, and culture. How does an organization such as this work with Republican legislators in a Democratic state? What is the organization doing to confront and battle an algal bloom crises that nearly closed the lake and other bodies of water in the northeast? How do you gain consensus on a recreational body of water with 2,200 lakefront homeowners that feeds one of the state’s great watersheds? Learn of …

Alignment Of Online Health & Human Ecology Course, Scott Rose

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

Project: To Design, Develop and align my Online Course, to meet CSUSB General Learning Outcomes (GLOs), Program (Department) Learning Outcomes (PLOs), Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs), and Module Learning Outcomes (MLOs) for meeting our Student learning Outcomes (SLOs). Resources used, Academic Technologies & Innovations’ (ATI’s) Course Alignment and Development Worksheet, and Cal State University’s’ (CSU’s), Quality Learning &Teaching (QLT) and Quality Matters (QM) Objectives (Instrument/table). Product: My NSCI 351, Health & Human Ecology, was designed for both the Quarter and Semester Systems; using Modules (MLOs), aligned with the Course (CLO), and Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for each of my ten (10) …

Post-Overlay Flexible Pavement Performance Modeling And Its Application In Sustainable Asphalt Overlay Policy Making, Chunfu Xin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Highway pavement is a critical component of the highway transportation infrastructure. After the construction of a pavement system, pavement condition will deteriorate over time due to a combination effect of material aging, traffic loading, and environmental impact. To restore the pavement performance and to reduce its adverse effects on public users and environment, asphalt overlay activities are conducted frequently during the service life of a pavement. As a key component that bridges the overlay policies with future pavement performance, economic cost and environmental impact, the forecast accuracy of post-overlay pavement performance model is extremely important. However, most of previous studies …

Unpacking The Process And Outcomes Of Ethical Markets: A Focus On Certified B Corporations, Renée Bogin Curtis

Dissertations and Theses

The growth in conscious consumption presents an opportunity to 1) better understand the potential outcomes of ethical market practices as a community-advocacy tool and 2) to consider potential policy considerations. The marketplace has increasingly become an arena for social action. This leads to the question of how can markets facilitate ethical business practices and community benefits? The recent rise of social benefit corporations warrants an evaluation of the outcomes of ethically-driven markets. Using a comparative research design and qualitative interview methods, this study examines certified Benefit Corporations (B Corps) in two selected cities: Philadelphia and Portland. Through interviews with B …

Water Scarcity And Fish Imperilment Driven By Beef Production, Brian D. Richter, Dominique Bartak, Peter Caldwell, Kyle Fankel Davis, Peter Debaere, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Tianshu Li, Landon Marston, Ryan Mcmanamay, Mesfin Mekonnen, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Richard R. Rushforth, Tara J. Troy

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Human consumption of freshwater is now approaching or surpassing the rate at which water sources are being naturally replenished in many regions, creating water shortage risks for people and ecosystems. Here we assess the impact of human water uses and their connection to water scarcity and ecological damage across the United States, identify primary causes of river dewatering and explore ways to ameliorate them. We find irrigation of cattle-feed crops to be the greatest consumer of river water in the western United States, implicating beef and dairy consumption as the leading driver of water shortages and fish imperilment in the …

Sdstate Sustainability Newsletter Vol. 4 Issue 2, Jennifer Mclaughlin

SD State Sustainability Newsletter

Content

• American Indian Student Center Generates Energy
• STARS Results Are In
• Harding Hall Earns LEED Gold Certification
• Energy Conservation Tips at Home
• Sustainability Tidbits

Droughtscape, Spring 2020, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Spring 2020

The Belknap Campus And Metro Louisville Urban Heat Island Effect: Air And Ground Surface Temperature Analysis, Kenyetta Johnson

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Numerous studies show that urban morphologies and land covers generate excess heat emissions and retain heat relative to surrounding rural areas, known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Urban fabrics paved by concretes and asphalts absorbs solar radiation during solar peak then radiates heat after sundown. This study investigates temperature distribution data related to the UHI effect on the Belknap campus at the University of Louisville, which represents a small aerial sample of the Louisville metropolitan UHI effect. The objective of this study is to measure the reflectivity of ground surfaces and air temperatures on the Belknap campus during …

Prescribing Public-Private Partnerships To Global Health Initiatives, Elizabeth Rhoads

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For six weeks I served as a finance intern with the Toilet Board Coalition (TBC) and created a Portfolio Presentation to deliver to TBC’s corporate board members in May. With my background in Public Health and interest in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, I was interested in learning how cross-sector partnerships can help accelerate global health development. My internship with TBC provided me with valuable firsthand experience in my topic of research, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), which I was able to compare alongside a formal literature review. In this research paper I combine my research with my internship experience to …

Presence Of Glyphosate In First Order Streams Associated With Rainfall Events, Julie Platz

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Glyphosate is widely used in the United States and has recently been described as both mobile and persistent in soils and bodies of water. There is little research however, on the variability of glyphosate concentration in runoff based on different land use types. For this study an evaluation of samples from different land uses are used to assess glyphosate concentrations in first order streams during a runoff event. The intent was to compare three sites with a. known commercial applications, b. known lack of applications (organic), and c. assumed limited application of glyphosate. There was no significant difference in glyphosate …

Pack It Up, Pass It On: Ditch The Dumpster Wcu, Amy L. Maxcy

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Feasibility, Costs, And Benefits Of Transitioning Part Of The University Of South Carolina Shuttle Fleet To An Alternative Fuel Source And Promoting Anti-Idling Strategies, Eva L. James

Senior Theses

The current University of South Carolina shuttle fleet is made up of eleven (11) light duty shuttles and thirteen (13) heavy duty school buses, all of which rely on gasoline and diesel fuel sources. This study intends to assess the environmental, health, and economic tradeoffs of switching part of the existing University shuttle fleet to an alternative fuel source: compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane (LPG). This study also includes detailed, fleet specific idling-cost calculations to encourage the adoption of recommended anti-idling strategies. Following an exhaustive analysis of the available literature that addresses the feasibility of a partial CNG or …