Environmental Studies Commons^™

Reactive Dye Wash-Off Processing Of Cotton Fabrics Using Polymer Dye Transfer Inhibitors For Sustainable Dyeing, Muhammad Nazrul Islam, Tuba Toprak-Cavdur, Safiqul Islam, Fatema Tarannum, Keisha Walters

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cotton fiber consumption is higher than any other natural fiber due to its superior mechanical and physical properties. In the conventional reactive dyeing process, the dye undergoes hydrolysis due to hydrogen bonding and weak Van der Waals forces, yielding poor washing color fastness. Additionally, the post-dyeing wash-off process consumes significant amounts of water, energy, and time in order to remove the unreacted and hydrolyzed dye. Therefore, reactive dyes are predominantly utilized to color cotton fabrics as the covalent bond formed between dye and fiber results in excellent washing fastness for a wide range of colors, and improved ease of use. …

A Midwest Perspective On Biochar Integration In Extension, Blake C. Colclasure, Elizabeth Bose, Jack Dempsey, Taylor K. Ruth

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Biochar can be considered a climate-smart, agricultural soil amendment due to its ability to provide long-term storage of carbon. Research examining the impacts of biochar-enriched soils reported improved soil characteristics often leading to agricultural benefits, especially in nutrient-poor soils. Despite the potential use of biochar in the Midwest, United States, few studies have examined biochar in Extension. This study, guided by the Theory of Reasoned Action, used survey methodology to collect information on Midwest Extension agents’ (n = 125) knowledge, attitudes, and subjective normative beliefs toward biochar. These factors, along with agents’ demographics and perceptions toward sustainable soil amendments, were …

Beyond Environmental Harm: Industry Claims, Lived Experiences, And The Impacts Of Gas Extraction, Martina Angela Caretta, Melissa Haeffner, Ryan Emanuel, Racheal Hood, Julia Seydel

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The peer-reviewed literature presents overwhelming evidence that fossil fuel based energy infrastructure projects are responsible for lower residential property values, environmental destruction and pollution that decrease residents' quality of life. These projects also challenge local people's sense of identity and even the threat of such a project can make residents question their sense of place. As evidence, we first present a bibliographic analysis of the environmental impact statements for the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and the Jordan Cove Energy Project in Oregon. We find that their approval processes relies on non-peer-reviewed, industry-funded claims that pipelines will bring economic …

Future Land, Futures Lost: Planning The Crisis On The Louisiana Coast, Sheehan Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

South Louisiana is rapidly losing coastal land to the combined forces of subsidence, sea-level rise, and worsening storms, accelerated by the effects of flood control engineering and extractive industrial development. With erosion threatening homes and industry alike, the state has marshaled a response on a massive economic and geographic scale: its Coastal Master Plan recommends $50 billion in river sediment diversions, barrier island restoration, and other projects over fifty years. This dissertation is about the emergence of Louisiana’s coast as a place from this knot of human and environmental relations, as an object for governance and a container for political …

Supporting Social Equity Through Informal Spaces On An Urban Campus, Eve B. Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on applying research to design in the setting of higher education. Specifically, it explores the informal spaces outside the classroom at a predominantly Black college in an urban setting. The existing structural challenges facing college students are many, including issues related to financial resources, mental health/wellness, family responsibilities, psychosocial identity formation, and structural racism. These challenges were compounded by the events of the spring of 2020, when a heightened awareness of anti-Black racism, combined with the hardships of COVID-19, brought college campuses to a close and masses of people to the streets to protest the unjust killings …

Barriers To And Solutions For Fuel Treatments In The Central California Coast Ranges, Sierra Dawn Lyman

Master's Theses

In recent years, the Western United States has experienced an increase in fire activity due to multiple factors, including anthropogenic climate change, historical forest management focused on suppression, and the expanding wildland urban interface (WUI). In response, California is working to accelerate the pace and scale of forest management and fire hazard reduction efforts. Although fuel treatment projects are being implemented, they often encounter various barriers. While existing literature highlights these barriers, it tends to overlook the solutions being applied in practice to overcome them. Using an ethnographic approach that includes key informant interviews and participant observation in four sites …

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Effectiveness Of Digital Communication In Tackling Environmental Degradation In Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, Bjc Anyanwu, Cynthia N. Jumbo, Oba Sunday Aikuirawo Anyi, Emeka Williams Etumnu, Alexander Chima Onyebuchi, Ezekiel S. Asemah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Environmental deterioration as a whole is dangerous because it is currently causing widespread health concerns. The technological determinism theory served as the basis for this study. A descriptive survey was used in the investigation. The Australian sample size calculator was used to select 385 participants from the 983,000 total population. The multistage sampling was applied. Data was collected via a questionnaire, and analysis was done using percentages. Results revealed that 53.6% of the respondents confirmed that digital communication is used to circulate information on the dangers of environmental degradation in Owerri, Imo State, but to a low extent. The results …

Climate Science, The Military-Industrial Complex, And The Political Economy Of Knowledge-Making: Beyond The Capitalist Ontology Of Nature?, Daniel Cunha

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

Climate science is one of the main political drivers of today’s world, informing critical scholars and social movements alike. Yet, many scholars associate it with projects of domination (the Cold War, capitalism, imperialism) while relying on it to elaborate a critique of capital. This article proposes a new historical account of climate science. Drawing from archival findings, interpreted with historical sociology combined with the critique of political economy, the article shows that a conflict developed at the National Academy of Sciences during the Vietnam War, between scientists who wanted atmospheric research to be under the auspices of NATO, as proposed …

Understanding Associations Between Disasters And Sustainability, Resilience, And Poverty: An Empirical Study Of The Last Two Decades, Dean Kyne, Dominic Kyei

Sociology Faculty Publications

This study investigates the impact of disasters on sustainability, resilience, and poverty, using data from the “Sustainable Development Report” and the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) from 2000 to 2023. Regression models assessed the effects of disasters, deaths, injuries, affected individuals, and economic damage on normalized values of the dependent variables with lag periods of one, two, and three years of independent variables. The results reveal that disasters consistently negatively impact sustainability and resilience, highlighting the need for robust disaster risk reduction strategies and resilient infrastructure. Higher mortality rates significantly hindered development, emphasizing the importance of improving early warning systems, emergency …

Application Of Participatory Process Mapping To Evaluate Environmental Decision-Making And Implementation, Karissa Courtney, Emily Rabung, Jennifer Brousseau, Antony S. Cheng, A. Paige Fischer, Harrison Fried, Matthew Hamilton, Federico Holm, Jordan Inskeep, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Multiple Additional Authors

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Environmental governance outcomes hinge on the design and implementation of management decisions. Yet, available research methodologies can be limited in their ability to capture the complexity of decision-making and implementation processes and in turn predict and explain environmental governance outcomes. We present participatory process mapping as a method for examining the pathways that emerge and evolve over time that result in natural resource management decisions and on-the-ground outcomes, as perceived by participants in collaborative processes. The approach leverages a large-N comparative design, participatory diagraming within semi-structured interviews, and mental modeling toward a method that can fit into both quantitative and …

Key Largo Mangrove Population Monitoring: A Remote Sensing Analysis And Classification Methodology Review, David Lackajs

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Mangrove forests are some of the world's most bio-diverse habitats, providing essential services to the surrounding coasts. Removal of these habitats has a devastating impact on the ecosystems within them. The Florida Keys are some of the last areas in the United States with extensive mangrove populations. One specific area, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, has been under state protection since 1959. For that reason, mangrove forest habitats there are less fragmented. This study uses remotely sensed imagery to quantify and analyze mangrove populations in this area using two methods: sub-pixel analysis and supervised classification. The …

Insurance Coverage And Flood Exposure In The Gulf Of Mexico Region: Risk, Social Vulnerability, Urban Form, And Scale, Anissa J. Hyde

LSU Master's Theses

Increasing flood losses in the Gulf of Mexico pose serious threats to resilience and insurability. The purpose of this study is to understand how scale, social vulnerability, risk and urban form relate to NFIP insurance coverage and flood exposure. Our multilevel models identify that flooding is significantly clustered by region and counties, especially shoreline counties. Our measures of risk suggest that the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas underestimates risk and exposure when compared with Flood Factor, and that there is some compensation in terms of insurance coverage, suggesting a pattern of adverse selection. Older housing stock appears both less insured …

Barriers And Supports To Academic Success Among Autistic College Students: A Qualitative Study, Isabella M. Ortiz, Steven M. Gerardi, Mary Zadnik

Summer 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects many college students, impacting their everyday life activities and making transitions challenging. Occupational therapists serve a role in treating students with autism, but there is little evidence in the literature about their perceived barriers and strengths during the high school to college transition. This study utilized a semi-structured interview & thematic analysis to uncover the unique challenges & successes these students with autism face in an academic setting & identify effective support mechanisms/barriers.

Research Questions:

1. What are the perceived barriers to participation and performance in academic activities among …

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An Assessment Of Drinking Water Equity In South Carolina: Access, Affordability, Quality, And Private Well Resources, Catherine Lippert Min

Theses and Dissertations

Universal access to good quality, affordable drinking water is a goal that has not yet been reached in the United States. Recently, national studies have investigated drinking water burdens including lack of access to complete plumbing, unaffordability, and poor quality individually. However, no study has examined all of these drinking water burdens together to identify communities facing multiple burdens. This study addresses this gap by analyzing disparities in access to complete plumbing, affordability of public water sources, and drinking water quality of community water systems in South Carolina and identifying communities that face multiple burdens. This study also provides the …

Housing Buyouts At The Intersection Of Flooding And Toxins: A Case Study Of Cheraw, South Carolina, Victoria Ponds

Theses and Dissertations

As climate change increases extreme weather events, efforts of managed retreat will also increase, particularly through housing buyout programs. The largest scale housing buyout programs are run through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These buyout programs focus primarily on flood hazards and exclude anthropogenic hazards. This policy is problematic in the modern technological age where compound hazards, including those involving toxin releases, are occurring more frequently. In this thesis, I investigate how disaster policies account for the intersection of these hazards in Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation buyouts in Cheraw, South …

Impact Of Shale Oil And Gas Exploration In The Permian Basin: Public Finances, House Prices, Migration, And Household Income, Bamadou Ouattara

Economics ETDs

This dissertation examines the impacts of shale oil and gas exploration in the Permian Basin, focusing on housing, socio-demographics, petroleum exploration, and environmental effects. It addresses three key research areas: New Mexico's public finances, inter-county migration and household income, and the influence on house prices.

The introductory chapter reviews the boomtown impact model and advocates for its adaptation to current social, economic, and financial landscapes. The second chapter analyzes New Mexico's public finances from 2010-2021, emphasizing oil and gas tax revenues and the need for financial prudence due to industry volatility.

The third chapter uses causal effect techniques to assess …

Driving Green Investments To Address Climate Change, Baptiste Gibrat

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The climate crisis is no longer news, and society needs to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions. Otherwise, the consequences of climate change will become increasingly catastrophic.

This thesis develops a framework to drive green investments, which reduce society’s dependance on fossil fuels. Initially, the research provides a comprehensive examination of these investments, followed by an exploration of three strategies to enhance their adoption: leveraging financial instruments and capital markets, implementing regulatory frameworks, and harnessing the power of technologies. To integrate these elements within a comprehensive framework, the study employs market research, reviews relevant literature, and includes interviews with …

Groundwater Modeling Of The Ogallala Aquifer: Use Of Machine Learning For Model Parameterization And Sustainability Assessment, Tewodros Aboret Tilahun

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Addressing groundwater depletion problems in heterogeneous aquifer systems is a challenge. The heterogeneous Ogallala Aquifer, a critical source of groundwater in the central United States, has undergone decades of decline in water levels due to pumping. This project aims to build a robust groundwater model to evaluate optimal scenarios for sustainable use of the groundwater resource within a section of the Ogallala aquifer located in the Middle Republican Natural Resources District (MRNRD). This study follows a comprehensive approach involving parameterization, construction, and optimization. The model is parametrized using hydraulic conductivity and recharge values obtained from a random forest-based machine learning …

Maine School Of Wonder: Developing A School For Earth Skills And Sustainability In Maine, Leigha Hart

Capstone Collection

This research project explores the feasibility of establishing an earth skills and spirituality school in Maine, examining pertinent literature on adult environmental education, contemporary notions of work and leisure, earth-centered spirituality, and sustainable development. The study draws insights from interviews conducted with four distinct organizations across Maine engaged in similar initiatives. These include two farms hosting community events and workshops, alongside two retreat centers dedicated to fostering personal growth and skills development. These interviews provide diverse perspectives on the operational dynamics, required resources, and necessary skills for launching a new school aimed at creating inclusive, engaging, and sustainable learning environments …