Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Responses Of Agroecosystems To Climate Change: Specifics Of Resilience In The Mid-Latitude Region, Menas Kafatos, Seung Hee Kim, Chul-Hee Lim, Jinwon Kim, Woo-Kyun Lee

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the productivity and resilience of agroecosystems in the Korean Peninsula. Having learned valuable lessons from a Chapman University project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture which concentrated on the semi-arid region of southwestern United States, our joint Korea—Chapman University team has applied similar methodologies to the Korean Peninsula, which is itself an interesting study case in the mid-latitude region. In particular, the Korean Peninsula has unique agricultural environments due to differences in political and socioeconomic systems between South Korea and North Korea. Specifically, North Korea has been suffering from food shortages due to natural disasters, …

Mountain Forests And Sustainable Development: The Potential For Achieving The United Nations' 2030 Agenda, Georg Gratzer, William S. Keeton

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

The world is facing numerous and severe environmental, social, and economic challenges. To address these, in September 2015 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the resolution Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The United Nations' 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets are ambitious, broadly encompassing, and indivisible. They are intended to guide nations and communities toward attaining healthy and peaceful livelihoods free of poverty and hunger. Collectively the goals envision sound and safe environments, where global threats like climate change are successfully combated through both mitigation and adaptation. Agenda 2030 envisages sustainable …

Loss Of Buffer Value Due To Aquifer Depletion: The Case Of High Plains Aquifer, Mani Rouhi Rad, Timothy Foster, Nicholas Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Existing literature in economics and engineering do not realistically capture the effects of aquifer depletion on loss of profits from agricultural production. While the former literature ignores the physical characteristics of aquifer and the relationship between aquifer levels and groundwater availability, the latter strand of literature does not consider farmers' decisionmaking as a result of aquifer depletion. Misspecification of these relationships and their effect on irrigation decisions can result in misunderstanding the consequences of aquifer depletion and may provide ineffective policies. This paper provides a framework to study the effects of aquifer depletion on the profit of agricultural production. We …

Nutrient Leaching From Compost: Implications For Bioretention And Other Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Stephanie Hurley, Paliza Shrestha, Amanda Cording

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license,. Compost is often used as a soil amendment in gardens, agricultural fields, and other landscaped systems to alter soil biophysical characteristics and increase availability of valuable nutrients including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C). However, leaching of soluble nutrients from compost is of concern, particularly in wet settings, such as within green stormwater infrastructure, riparian areas, and floodplains. This research highlights the importance of saturation as an influencing factor on the nutrient leaching potential of different composts and compost-amended bioretention soils. Nutrient leaching …

Ecological Network Metrics: Opportunities For Synthesis, Matthew K. Lau, Stuart R. Borrett, Benjamin Baiser, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Aaron M. Ellison

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Network ecology provides a systems basis for approaching ecological questions, such as factors that influence biological diversity, the role of particular species or particular traits in structuring ecosystems, and long-term ecological dynamics (e.g., stability). Whereas the introduction of network theory has enabled ecologists to quantify not only the degree, but also the architecture of ecological complexity, these advances have come at the cost of introducing new challenges, including new theoretical concepts and metrics, and increased data complexity and computational intensity. Synthesizing recent developments in the network ecology literature, we point to several potential solutions to these issues: integrating network metrics …

A Comparative Analysis Of Feed And Environmental Factors On Broiler Growth In The United States, Alexandra Gulli

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Broiler production in the United States has become an important industry within the last half century. As the demand for poultry continues to increase and the concern of climate change also increases, it will become an important part of the industry to become more sustainable. This study uses a feed optimization model, a broiler growth model, and a life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine how feed ingredients and the barn environment can affect the broiler’s growth and production emissions. A multi-criteria ration optimization model is used to produce feeds based on carbon footprint and cost. A growth model is used …

On The Pursuit Of Relevance In Standards-Based Curriculum Development: The Ccny Approach, Angelo Lampousis

Publications and Research

The Society for Standards Professionals (SES) has a significant history of documenting the use of standards in research and academia. For instance, during the 62nd Annual SES Conference in 2013 in Savannah, Georgia, the author participated in such a session highlighting examples of relationships between academic institutions, government, and standards developing organizations. In this article, we attempt to capture the current advances made from similar relationships specific to our home institution, the City College of New York (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY.) These advances have become possible through a grant issued under the Standards Services Curricula …

Creating Sustainable Supply Chains: Influencing Sustainable Practices In The Supply Chain, Saif Mir

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizations worldwide are reporting their commitment to create sustainable supply chains. Ultimately, supply chain professionals are the drivers of change within their respective organizations, so this dissertation examines the role of communication as a tool to persuade supply chain professionals to create sustainable supply chains. The three studies within this dissertation employ different methodologies to examine the role of communication in the development and implementation of sustainability initiatives. The first study, a grounded theory investigation, highlights the network, communication, and structural factors that provide a strong business case for the development of sustainability initiatives. A strong business case influences the …

Essays On Common-Pool Resources: Evaluation Of Water Management And Conservation Programs, Kuatbay K. Bektemirov

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of three essays that examine water management and conservation programs through the context of sustainable development. These essays are distinct case studies of national, state and local policies. Their common approach is that they all use common-pool resources theory to generate specific recommendations for policymaking and water management.

The first essay explores opportunities for developing policy measures to prevent the collapse of the vital irrigation infrastructure in the Aral Sea region. The paper looks at the economic efficiency of various policy options, impacts on the country’s agricultural sector, and the regulations needed to make the cost-sharing …

Knowing Nature In The City: Comparative Analysis Of Knowledge Systems Challenges Along The 'Eco-Techno' Spectrum Of Green Infrastructure In Portland & Baltimore, Annie Marissa Matsler

Dissertations and Theses

Green infrastructure development is desired in many municipalities because of its potential to address pressing environmental and social issues. However, despite technical optimism, institutional challenges create significant barriers to effective green infrastructure design, implementation, and maintenance. Institutional challenges stem from the disparate scales and facility types that make up the concept of green infrastructure, which span from large-scale natural areas to small engineered bioswales. Across these disparate facilities 1) different performance metrics are used, 2) different institutions have jurisdiction, and, 3) facility types are differentially classified as assets, producing epistemological and ontological variegation across the spectrum of green infrastructure that …

University Sustainability: Assessing College Sustainability Rating Systems, James M. Albis

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

This paper seeks to assess the three major university sustainability rating systems in the United States on their ability to drive positive sustainability outcomes. Since the mid-2000s the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the Princeton Review, and the Sierra Club have attempted to rate universities on their sustainability policies and practices. A wide range of actions are rated by these organizations, from energy usage to transportation to procurement to academic offerings in the field of sustainability. This analysis shows that each organization values sustainability in different ways – for example, academics/co-curricular activities accounted for anywhere from 16%-49% …

The Impact Weather Has On Nyc Citi Bike Share Company Activity, Mark Martinez

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper seeks to figure out the effect weather has on individuals’ behavior. A more focused approach to determining this effect is seeing how different weather conditions ranging from the temperature, the precipitation, the amount of inches of snowfall and the wind speed effect the ridership of Citi Bikes throughout all four seasons. The approach of this research paper is using data from the National Climatic Data Center that focuses in on the weather found in Manhattan, New York and correlates each of the weather conditions to the total number of trips per day that is provided by the Citi …

Electricity Demand Due To Policy Change In The U.K., Kevin W. Doherty

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines United Kingdom Electricity Demand with regards to the Climate Change Act, which was enacted in November of 2008. Through actual demand data obtained from Nationalgrid, a U.K. based gas and electric utility company, this paper seeks to find out if the Climate Change Act has started to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by looking at trends of electricity demand. Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity is a major contributor to global warming in the U.K. and policies enacted do not always live up to their ultimate goals. This paper tests how on track the Climate …

The Demographic Drivers Of California’S Environmental Voting, Lukas Yasuda

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study examines the demographics of California’s 53 congressional districts and the relationship with the voting patterns on three environmentally focused propositions in the 2008 and 2010 elections. Previous literature on the topic is mixed as some studies suggest that select attributes are found among environmental voting centers, yet other research describes the relationship as more complex than simple characteristics. Previous literature on the topic is mixed, with some studies suggesting that select attributes are found among environmental vote support hubs, whereas alternative research suggests the problem is more complex than simple characteristics. I collected data on income, education, age, …

The Long-Term Effect Of State Renewable Energy Incentive Programs, Fred Bower

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Abstract: Renewable energy is praised for its environmental benefits and long run energy savings, however, for the average consumer, the up-front cost of this infrastructure deters investment. On the Federal and state level, incentive programs have been implemented to break down these initial barriers and give easier access to renewable energy. Studies have shown that these incentive programs have been successful at the consumer level (Crago, 2014). What policy makers and government officials should maybe be more concerned with though, is the long-term effect of these programs. This paper will analyze the long-term effect of renewable energy incentive programs beyond …

Nudging Neighbors: Analyzing Peer Effects Of The Lakesmart Program In The Belgrade Lakes, George A. Voigt

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Peer effects are an increasingly studied field in economics, and can have large impacts at a local level. In this research we seek to identify whether there is an impact of early adopters on their neighbors to become adopters. The scope for this study is the LakeSmart program that operate in Maine. Specifically we are focusing on the Belgrade lakes, and analyzing data from 2005 to present in addition with a survey of demographic characteristics conducted in 2011. Results suggest that the impact of a neighbor on the likelihood of a household to be LakeSmart certified is statistically significant and …

Water Restrictions And Water Use: An Analysis Of Water Restriction Effects In Norfolk County, Rebecca L. Robinson, Ashley Conley

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper aims to determine what effect water restrictions in Norfolk County, Massachusetts have on residential water usage. Using data from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, this paper analyzes subsequent municipal water usage within and across towns after water restrictions, both mandatory and voluntary, are implemented. Accounting for town fixed effects, the results indicate that for some towns, water restrictions do in fact have a significant impact on decreasing water usage.

The Epa's Air Quality Index, And Public Transportation Usage In The Chicago Metro Region, Nicholas R. Rosenberg

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper assesses whether air quality influences public transportation ridership in the city of Chicago. Urban air pollution is a serious health risk, and a priority of urban municipalities. Public transportation is an attractive option for governments attempting to curb urban air emissions. I use data from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) to explore the relationship between a day’s air quality and CTA ridership. I employ three different model specifications, rail, bus and total ridership, to test whether high AQI values (poor air quality) result in increased public transportation ridership in the city …

The Effects From Public Transportation On Property Values: A Closer Look At Scituate, Hanover, And Norwell, Massachusetts, Alexandra Taylor Perticone, Christine S. Coveney

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Prior studies have expressed the value of location in real estate, but more recent studies have explored the influence that public transportation has had on housing prices. Access to public transportation is understood to increase the value of homes. Easier access to public transportation allows for shorter and more convenient commutes into or within cities. However, other studies have found that proximity to public transportation can also have adverse effects on property values. This paper investigates whether the implementation of the Greenbush Commuter line in Massachusetts in October 2007 increased the housing prices in Scituate, Ma--the furthest town from the …

When Trash Costs Money: Analyzing The Impact Of Pay-As-You-Throw Programs In Massachusetts, Thomas W. Barry Iv

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper evaluates whether municipalities with Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs dispose of less trash per household than municipalities without them. Given how much trash U.S. residents produce, the negative environmental effects associated with trash disposal, as well as how much the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advocates for PAYT, it is important to closely analyze whether these programs actually do their job. This paper formally analyzes the effects of PAYT programs using the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s trash disposal data from 2011-2015. After controlling for municipality and time heterogeneity, my analysis shows that PAYT programs reduce trash per household by a …

Invited Introduction To Jerec, Matthew Kahn

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Welcome By The Editor, Nathan W. Chan

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Estimation Of The Virtual Water Content Of Main Crops On The Korean Peninsula Using Multiple Regional Climate Models And Evapotranspiration Methods, Chul-Hee Lim, Seung Hee Kim, Yuyoung Choi, Menas Kafatos, Woo-Kyun Lee

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Sustainable agriculture in the era of climate change needs to find solutions for the retention and proper utilization of water. This study proposes an ensemble approach for identifying the virtual water content (VWC) of main crops on the Korean Peninsula in past and future climates. Ensemble results with low uncertainty were obtained using three regional climate models, five potential evapotranspiration methods, and the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) crop model. The productivity results of major crops (rice and maize) under climate change are likely to increase more than in the past based on the ensemble results. The ensemble VWC is …

Psu Green Building Summer Internship Final Report, 2017: Interior Environmental And Indoor Air Quality Assessments Of Workspaces For Future Maintenance Of Parkmill’S Constant Air Volume (Cav) Hvac System, Bassam Alduhaim, Sofia Chavez Cruz

Campus Sustainability Office Publications, Reports and Presentations

Parkmill’s Design, Construction, and Mechanical Systems

The Parkmill building is located on the lower south section of Portland State University’s (PSU) urban campus between SW Park Avenue and SW Mill Street.The lot space, originally selected for the design proposal in 1956, was located between two buildings including the acquired Parkway Manor (currently designated as PSU housing) and former frame house-type buildings. The proposed building would supplement the evening and summer curriculum courses offered by the General Education Division (GED) in partnership with Portland State College and would become a vital resource for students in the Portland metropolitan area.

Crowdsourced Delphis: Designing Solutions To Complex Environmental Problems With Broad Stakeholder Participation, Sarah Coleman, Stephanie Hurley, Christopher Koliba, Asim Zia

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

There is a well-established need for increased stakeholder participation in the generation of adaptive management approaches and specific solutions to complex environmental problems. However, integrating participant feedback into current science, research, and decision-making processes is challenging. This paper presents a novel approach that marries a rigorous Delphi method, borrowed from policy and organizational sciences, with contemporary “crowdsourcing” to address the complex problems of water pollution exacerbated by climate change in the Lake Champlain Basin. In an online Delphi forum that occurred over a six-week period during the Spring of 2014, fifty-three participants proposed and commented on adaptive solutions to address …

Green Leasing Program Design For Psu, Emily Quinton

Campus Sustainability Office Publications, Reports and Presentations

Portland State University (PSU) serves as a Landlord to over 60 third-party tenants, including retail, food service, office, food cart, and other tenant types. To encourage and standardize the adoption and practice of sustainability behaviors among these tenants, PSU hired a Green Leasing Intern during the summer of 2017. The intern, graduate student Emily Quinton, managed by members of the PSU Planning, Construction & Real Estate (PCRE) team, was tasked with researching best practices, drafting green leasing language, and developing tenant engagement and incentive-based approaches to implementation. This report serves as the culminating deliverable for that internship. Additional internship documentation …

Crowdsourced Delphis: Designing Solutions To Complex Environmental Problems With Broad Stakeholder Participation, Sarah Coleman, Stephanie Hurley, Christopher Koliba, Asim Zia

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

There is a well-established need for increased stakeholder participation in the generation of adaptive management approaches and specific solutions to complex environmental problems. However, integrating participant feedback into current science, research, and decision-making processes is challenging. This paper presents a novel approach that marries a rigorous Delphi method, borrowed from policy and organizational sciences, with contemporary “crowdsourcing” to address the complex problems of water pollution exacerbated by climate change in the Lake Champlain Basin. In an online Delphi forum that occurred over a six-week period during the Spring of 2014, fifty-three participants proposed and commented on adaptive solutions to address …

Droughtscape- Summer 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Drought policy write shops conclude in Caribbean...............2

Drought encroaches on Northern Plains in second quarter...........3

Impact tool racks up submissions in second quarter............. 4

Maps on new website highlight drought effects on ag industry.......... 6

Centers release new flash drought tool: QuickDRI........... 6

NDMC contributes to EU report on disaster risk management........... 8

Groups earn Climate Adaptation award for work with tribes............. 9

NDMC, ICPAC director talk collaboration on drought in Greater Horn of Africa......... 11

Up next in MENA: Drought vulnerability assessments........... 12

Adults And Children In Low-Income Households That Participate In Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture Have High Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Karla L. Hanson, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Emily H. Morgan, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Marilyn Sitaker, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This paper examines fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) in low-income households that participated in a cost-offset (CO), or 50% subsidized, community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. CSA customers paid farms upfront for a share of the harvest, and received produce weekly throughout the growing season. A cohort of adults and children 2-12 y in a summer CO-CSA were surveyed online twice: August 2015 (n = 41) and February 2016 (n = 23). FVI was measured by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Fruit and Vegetable Screener (FVS) and an inventory of locally grown fruits and vegetables. FVI relative to …

Addressing Climate Change Impacts On Agriculture And Natural Resources: Barriers And Priorities For Land-Grant Universities In The Northeastern United States, Daniel Tobin, Rama Radhakrishna, Allison Chatrchyan, Shorna B. Allred

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change has serious implications for agricultural production, natural resource management, and food security. In the United States, land-grant universities and the U.S. Cooperative Extension System have a critical role to play in conducting basic and applied research related to climate change and translating findings into meaningful programming. However, land-grant universities and Extension have had difficulty maintaining their roles as the preeminent source of trusted information on complex topics like climate change. To help guide research and programming agendas of land-grant universities, the authors explored the barriers and priorities that researchers and Extension personnel at 16 northeastern land-grant universities perceive …