Environmental Policy Commons^™

Park Access And Quality In The Mountain West, Vanessa Booth, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This Fact Sheet synthesizes data presented in The Trust for Public Land ParkScore® Index. This document presents data for urban parks in the 15 Mountain West municipalities that rank in the top 100 cities nationwide. This document also describes the park amenity rankings for the 4 Nevada municipalities that rank in the top 100 nationwide.

Wpa News 112 (2020), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2020), number 112

Published by the World Pheasant Association

West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource Harvest Strategy 2021-2025 : Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Selected Climate Action Plans In California, Christopher R. Dedo

City and Regional Planning

This project involves the research and comparison of seven cities’ climate action plans, each from its own region within California. The areas selected roughly represent major California regions, each with unique characteristics that will impact the characteristics of the climate action plan’s framework and contents. This analysis will identify similarities in framework and content among each plan, highlighting organizational differences, some generalized observations, and the consistency of topics covered and not covered within the plans. This project reviews the California Office of Planning & Research’s General Plan Guidelines Chapter 8, the California Office of Emergency Services’ California Adaptation Planning Guide, …

Rfia: An R Package For Estimation Of Forest Attributes With The Us Forest Inventory And Analysis Database, Hunter Stanke, Andrew O. Finley, Aaron S. Weed, Brian F. Walters, Grant M. Domke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) is a US Department of Agriculture Forest Service program that aims to monitor changes in forests across the US. FIA hosts one of the largest ecological datasets in the world, though its complexity limits access for many potential users. rFIA is an R package designed to simplify the estimation of forest attributes using data collected by the FIA Program. Specifically, rFIA improves access to the spatiotemporal estimation capacity of the FIA Database via space–time indexed summaries of forest variables within user-defined population boundaries (e.g., geographic, temporal, biophysical). The package implements multiple design-based estimators, and has …

The Third Wave Of Electrification: A Normative Tool Against Climate Change​, Elizabeth L. Adams

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

This article posits that the United States is now entering a third wave of electrification, one where we understand electricity not only as a universal service, but also as a mechanism for positive societal outcomes, namely the transition to a lower carbon future.

Part I evaluates the first two waves of electrification, starting with the introduction of electricity as a consumer product and transitioning to electrification as a basic right. Part II discusses the American regulatory framework which provides for government oversight of areas deemed to be “of the public interest.” Electric public utilities have participated in and been shaped …

Blue Swimmer Crab Resource Of Shark Bay Harvest Strategy : 2020-2025 : Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Saucer Scallop Resource Of The Abrolhos Islands Harvest Strategy : 2020 - 2025 : Version 1.1, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

The New Nuclear? Small Modular Reactors And The Future Of Nuclear, Bruce R. Huber

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

This article explores Small Modular Reactors, SMRs. It begins by explaining the regulatory and economic structure of the electricity sector in the United States. It then describes the current state of nuclear power before examining SMRs in particular—how they differ from conventional nuclear reactors, what regulatory issues they will confront, and what factors will most directly shape their long-term potential.

Roosting Habitat Use By Sandhill Cranes And Waterfowl On The North And South Platte Rivers In Nebraska, Dana Varner, Aaron T. Pearse, Andy Bishop, Jonas I. Davis, John C. Denton, Roger C. Grosse, Heather M. Johnson, U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, Soldotna, Ak, Kirk D. Schroeder, Robert E. Spangler, Mark Vrtiska, Angelina E. Wright

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Migration ecology and habitat use of spring migrating birds using the Central Platte River is a well-explored topic, yet less is known about use of the North and South Platte rivers (NSPR) in western Nebraska. The efficiency and effectiveness of conservation efforts in the NSPR could be greatly improved with access to information about where and when birds roost and landscape prioritization tools. We used aerial surveys to determine population distribution and migration phenology of sandhill cranes Antigone canadensis, Canada geese Branta canadensis, and ducks using the NSPR for roosting during the mid-February to mid-April spring migration. We used these …

Cal Poly Pier Master Plan, Troy A. Lawson

Master's Theses

The Cal Poly Pier (Pier) Master/Facility Plan (FP) document provides the vision of the future for the Pier, a marine science research facility. The Plan facilitates project development and management of the Pier while meeting university and department research goals. Specifically, the FP document establishes goals and strategies to direct long-term development of the Pier, streamlines agency approval and permit requirements, provides context for pier management, and assists the permitting process for future development as it relates to regulatory permits and programmatic growth on the Cal Poly Pier to help meet goals of the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences (CCMS). …

How Globalization, Sustainability, And Human Impacts Are Affecting Two Major Mexican Cities: Mexico City And Guadalajara, Cristina Sedano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mexico is one of the richest countries in the world, not in terms of economic stability but in terms of natural resources, culture, and atmosphere. When people think of Mexico, they usually think of the high-tension relationship with the United States, their neighboring country to the North. Although there are many diverse historical and present-day characteristics of Mexico, most associate the county with the high levels of crime due to narco and cartels, the high levels of poverty in regional areas, and to some just a party destination. Unbeknownst to many is the thousands year old culture that is passed …

Singapore's Climate Action: It Is Time To Be More Ambitious, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Some nations have declared net-zero carbon emission targets by 2050. Businesses and the people here know Singapore can punch above its weight. The government should lend its support.

Collaboration And Evaluation In Urban Sustainability And Resilience Transformations: The Keys To A Just Transition?, Liliana Elizabeth Caughman

Dissertations and Theses

Climate has changed and will continue changing; city populations are swelling as urbanization continues to accelerate; extreme environmental events like heat waves and floods are becoming more severe and more common; and the climate justice movement is rapidly gaining momentum. It in this context that municipal governments find themselves urgently seeking solutions to transition cities from extractive, vulnerable, and unjust to sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The task is complex and will require systemic transformations across interconnected social, environmental, and economic infrastructures. Emerging theories regarding how to govern such massive changes suggest Transition Management strategies and the values of a just …

The Value Of Iaq: A Review Of The Scientific Evidence Supporting The Benefits Of Investing In Better Indoor Air Quality, Vickie R. Hawkins,, Cheryl L. Marcham, John P. Springston, J. David Miller, Geoffrey Braybrooke, Craig Maunder, Lydia Feng, Ben Kollmeyer

Publications

Other studies have examined how ventilation rates, combined with the presence of pollutant sources, can affect productivity. These studies provide evidence that increased ventilation, including increases above common guidance levels such as ASHRAE’s ventilation standards, improve occupant productivity. Increased occupant control over ventilation has also been shown to improve productivity. Higher indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have been directly associated with impaired work performance and increased health symptoms. Historically, it was believed that these associations exist only because higher indoor CO2 concentrations, resulting from lower outdoor air ventilation rates, are also correlated with higher levels of other indoor-generated pollutants that …

Running On Fumes: The Long And Short-Run Effects Of British Columbia's Carbon Tax On Gasoline Consumption, Martin A. Long

Honors Thesis

British Columbia (BC) implemented a carbon tax in 2008 at the rate of ten Canadian dollars (CAD) per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e). In April of 2019, the tax was set at a rate of CAD 40 per metric ton of CO2e with a dual mandate to reduce fuel consumption while not contracting economic output. This paper attempts to estimate the effect of British Columbia’s carbon tax on per capita gasoline consumption using panel data regression. To assess the empirical evidence, provincial-level monthly data from ten Canadian provinces was collected and analyzed over the period 1991 to 2018. …

Understanding The Conditions For Protected Area Success In The Asia Pacific And Neotropical Regions, Noel Nina Langan

Senior Theses

Tropical rainforests support a significant portion of the world’s total biodiversity. In addition, they provide a number of invaluable ecosystem services including climate regulation and mitigation, carbon sequestration, food, medicinal, and genetic resource provisioning, and cultural services. Today, an array of human land use decisions are the greatest driver of rainforest loss and degradation and are largely responsible for dramatic biodiversity losses globally, but especially in the Asia-Pacific and Neotropical regions where forest fragmentation has come to dominate landscapes. Protected area policies are among the oldest and most commonly employed tools for biological conservation and will be integral to the …

A Colonial Climate: Climate Change Governance In Puerto Rico, Usa, Justin Grant Pearson

Master's Projects and Capstones

This capstone project examines the relationship between the colonial structures of governance that persist in Puerto Rico and how they affect the island’s resilience to the onslaught of climate change. Within the frameworks of climate change, governance and colonialism, I set out to analyze the means by which Puerto Rico’s status as a colony of the United States has led to its history and present circumstances that have left a gap in terms of effective governance at the federal and other upper levels of government. The conclusion made is that there needs to be a greater level of focus placed …

Development Of A Modified Floristic Quality Index As A Rapid Habitat Assessment Method In The Northern Everglades, Rebakah E. Gibble, Donatto D. Surratt

United States National Park Service: Publications

Floristic quality assessments (FQA) using floristic quality indices (FQIs) are useful tools for assessing and comparing vegetation communities and related habitat condition. However, intensive vegetation surveys requiring significant time and technical expertise are necessary, which limits the use of FQIs in environmental monitoring programs. This study modified standard FQI methods to develop a rapid assessment method for characterizing and modeling change in wetland habitat condition in the northern Everglades. Method modifications include limiting vegetation surveys to a subset of taxa selected as indicators of impact and eliminating richness and/or abundance factors from the equation. These modifications reduce the amount of …

Racial Justice Is Climate Justice: Racial Capitalism And The Fossil Economy, Julius Mcgee, Patrick Trent Greiner

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The narrative of oppression moves through dialectical pressures. Capitalism evolved from the feudal order that preceded it, creating new forms of racial oppression that benefited an emerging ruling class [1]. Racial tensions evolve alongside economic oppression that subjugates labor to capital. The preceding racial order molds to emerging mechanisms of expropriation and exploitation by way of force and resistance. Beneath the surface of these tensions lies the interconnected threads of ecological and human expropriation. At the heart of all oppression, lies the manipulation of reproduction. The social processes necessary to reproduce black and brown communities, the ecological processes necessary to …