Sustainability Commons^™

Pteropus Voeltzkowi And The Understory: A Study Of The Behavioral Impacts Of The Pemba Flying Fox On The Vegetation And Soil Quality Of Pemba Island, Lea Davidson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the impact of Pteropus voeltzkowi , colloquially known as the Pemba Flying Fox, on biodiversity and health of the forest ground layer. Known to serve as reforesters, high concentrations of both fruit seeds and nutrient dense guano are introduced into specific environmental locations due to the bat's behavioral patterns. Working around two roost locations, one in Ngezi Forest and the other at the Kidike conservation site near Mjini Ole, diversity of juvenile vegetation was measured and quantified. In a laboratory setting, soil samples from both sites were analyzed for impacts of guano concentration on soil chemical properties. …

Sinatra Living: Letter Of Intent, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

Sinatra Living: Competition Materials

This document is a letter of intent to enter the Solar Decathlon 2017 contact. Letter contains information about Team Las Vegas and the project abstract.

Las Vegas: Innovation Jury Feedback, Solar Decathlon Jury

Sinatra Living: Competition Materials

A document containing the evaluation and feedback of the Team Las Vegas project house (Sinatra Living) by the Innovation Jury. The Innovation Jury is responsible for determining the winners of the Innovation category for the 2017 Solar Decathlon.

Las Vegas: Architecture Jury Feedback, Solar Decathlon Jury

Sinatra Living: Competition Materials

A document containing the evaluation and feedback of the Team Las Vegas project house (Sinatra Living) by the Architecture Jury. The Architecture Jury is responsible for determining the winners of the Architecture category for the 2017 Solar Decathlon.

Sinatra Living: Option 1 Floor Plan, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

Sinatra Living: Planning and Design

An architectural drawing showing Option 1, which is one of three available floor plans. This document contains drawings for the interior of the Sinatra Living house only.

Sinatra Living: Project Structure, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

Sinatra Living: Planning and Design

This document contains the project structure organizational chart for the Team Las Vegas leadership.

Sinatra Living: Ada Compliant Garage Diagram, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

Sinatra Living: Planning and Design

This document is a diagram showing the ADA compliant garage for the Sinatra Living project house.

Team Las Vegas, Solar Decathlon 2017 Unlv Foundations Presentation, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

Sinatra Living: Marketing and Promotion

This document is a slide presentation, as presented on May 11, 2016 to UNLV Foundations, to gain support for Team Las Vegas's project. Uses project name "Synapse".

Join The Team: Solar Decathlon 2017 Kickoff, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas. Solar Decathlon Team.

Sinatra Living: Marketing and Promotion

This document is a promotional flyer for the Solar Decathlon 2017 Kick Off event.

What Green Design Activities And Mindsets Drive Innovation And Sustainability In Student Teams?, Jeremy Faludi, Alice Agogino, Sara Beckman, Alastair Isles

Dartmouth Scholarship

What sustainable design practices can also drive innovation, and what practices do people value? Previous analysis of sustainable design methods, and the opportunism of designers generally, has suggested that design methods should actually be examined at the level of their component activities and mindsets, as each of these provides different advantages that designers could mix and match. This study performed workshops of three sustainable design methods for a total of 327 students, then surveyed students about which activities or mindsets within each design method drove innovation value, sustainability value, and any other value. The design methods tested were The Natural …

Green Building Business Is Booming, Richard Snow, Mary Snow

Publications

Shelter is one of life’s basic necessities. However, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, residential and commercial buildings account for nearly 40% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) released in the United States annually [1]. The percentage is even higher in China, which leads the world in CO2 emissions from buildings. Most of this CO2 comes from burning fossil fuels to provide the energy necessary to cool, heat, and light homes, office buildings, and retail space. CO2 emissions from residential and commercials buildings are forecast to increase more than emissions from any other sector over the next 25 years. …

Eco-Cosplay: Upcycling As A Sustainable Method Of Costume Construction, Sarah West, Kathleen Smith

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

This research addresses sustainability in the apparel industry from the specific perspective of repurposing materials for use in costume development. Repurposing discarded materials, also referred to as upcycling, is examined as a viable approach to waste management and evaluated for its impact on sustainability in apparel and textile production, especially in relation to costume development. Current issues in sustainability in the apparel industry that are a focus for this research include waste from production as well as post-consumer waste. The project includes the design and construction of two costume pieces based on a style of costume known as cosplay. Cosplay …

Heterogeneous Base Metal Catalyzed Oxidative Depolymerization Of Lignin And Lignin Model Compounds, John Adam Jennings

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

With the dwindling availability of petroleum, focus has shifted to renewable energy sources such as lignocellulosic biomass. Lignocellulosic biomass is composed of three main constituents, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Due to the low value of cellulosic ethanol, utilization of the lignin component is necessary for the realization of an economically sustainable biorefinery model. Once depolymerized, lignin has the potential to replace petroleum-derived molecules used as bulk and specialty aromatic chemicals. Numerous lignin depolymerization strategies focus on cleavage of β-aryl ether linkages, usually at high temperatures and under reductive conditions.

Alternatively, selective benzylic oxidation strategies have recently been explored for …

Climate Change Adaptation For Southern California Groundwater Managers: A Case Study Of The Six Basins Aquifer, Frank Lyles

Pomona Senior Theses

Groundwater has been very important to the economic development of Southern California, and will continue to be a crucial resource in the 21st century. However, Climate Change threatens to disrupt many of the physical and economic processes that control the flow of water in and out of aquifers. One groundwater manager, the Six Basins Watermaster in eastern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino Counties, has developed a long-term planning document called the Strategic Plan that mostly fails to address the implications of Climate Change, especially for local water supplies. This thesis presents an in-depth analysis of the Six Basin Watermaster’s …

Soil Erosion Risk Factors And The Impacts Of Diversification On Organic Strawberry Farms Along California’S Central Coast, Kay Sterner

Pomona Senior Theses

Soil erosion is a major issue that threatens to undermine our current system of agriculture. Due to the fact that this system is in turn the number one cause of erosion, agricultural practices in the United States need to be rethought. This study explores how traditional ideas of erosion risks are related to observed erosion on organic strawberry farms along California’s Central Coast. In addition, diversified farming systems are addressed as a possible solution for the current unsustainability of our farming practices. The data from this research suggest that diversity of crops on farms could be linked to less soil …

A Poetics Of Food In The Bahamas: Intentional Journeys Through Food, Consciousness, And The Aesthetic Of Everyday Life, Hilary B. Booker

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research explores intentional food practices and journeys of consciousness in a network of people in The Bahamas. Intentional food practices are defined as interactions with food chosen for particular purposes, while journeys of consciousness are cumulative successions of events that people associate with healing, restoration, and decolonization personally and collectively. This research examines (1) experiences and moments that influenced people’s intentional food practices; (2) food practices that people enact daily; and (3) how people’s intentional food practices connect to broader spiritual, philosophical, and ideological perspectives guiding their lives. The theoretical framework emerges from a specific lineage of theories and …

Development Of A Dynamic Cfd Model For Offshore Oscillating Water Columns With Non-Linear Interactions, Ken O'Connell

Theses

This thesis focuses on the development of a state of the art modelling technique for offshore Oscillating Water Column (OWC) type Wave Energy Converters (WEC) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Current literature indicates a limited amount of work has been completed on studying these devices containing non-linear time dependent flow phenomenon. Initially, a 2D Numerical Wave Tank (NWT) is studied to reduce discretisation error in order to reproduce accurately propagating waves. Further development into a 3D domain permits the geometrical requirements of an OWC type spar buoy to be included.

In parallel, a single Degree of Freedom (DOF) model is …

Forward Osmosis For Wastewater Treatment And Energy Recovery: A Techno-Economic Analysis, Patrick William Buckwalter

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

A novel wastewater treatment system was investigated using forward osmosis membranes to treat municipal wastewater. Treatment by forward osmosis was determined to cost $10 million per million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater capacity over a 20-year lifetime, with an energy consumption of 870 kWh per million gallons. A case study at the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Plant was conducted to investigate a treatment system that combines energy recovery from algae biomass with forward osmosis membrane treatment using local seawater as a draw solution. Total system cost was calculated to be $29.7 million over a 20-year lifetime with a 2.3 MGD …

Assessing The Efficiency Of Different Sustainable Farming Practices In Reducing The Environmental Impacts Caused By Aquaculture, Rajee Olaganathan, Alicia Tang Kar Mun

Publications

Sustainability of aquaculture is achieved when aquaculture farming systems are capable of preserving the natural resource base and involves an institutional change to the environment by the attainment and continued satisfaction for present and future generations. Sustainable farming practices produce sufficient aquaculture output to satisfy the seafood demand while not burdening the environment more. The potentiality and efficiency of different sustainable aqua farming practices in reducing anthropogenic impacts to the environment by aquaculture are assessed in this paper. Polyculture is mostly adopted by small-scale rural farmers as it requires low entry barrier and help in income diversification. The input of …

Technological Modernization And Its Impact On Agriculture, Fisheries And Fossil Fuel Utilization In The Asia Pacific Countries With Emphasis On Sustainability Perspective, Rajee Olaganathan, Kathleen Quigley

Publications

Modernization is a process that moves towards efficiency. This affects most of the fields such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, urban planning, policy, fossil fuel usage, manufacturing, technology, economic growth etc. This process plays a major role in moving forward making things faster, better and basically more efficient. The effects of modernization on all these fields bring about the major changes to aspects such as social, economic and the environment. The level of operation has increased from a domestic level; small family scale business to large commercial levels. As the level of operation increased, the utilization of natural resources increased gradually …