Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Recovering The Moca River: An Exploration Through Sustainable Strategies For Developing Countries, Marleny Santana Diaz

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Natural watercourses are being negatively affected by growing urbanization in different cities of the world. Within these circumstances the concept of river restoration has gained relevance, becoming a worldwide priority in water management. In developing countries, river restoration plans, conditioned by social and economic limitations, are mainly focused on a single approach, typically relying on short-term, low technology strategies.

In the long term, these strategies tend to fail because they usually avoid integral solutions that address the interconnected factors contributing to river degradation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a framework of river restoration planning for developing …

Economic, Energy And Ghg Emissions Performance Evaluation Of A Whispergen Mk Iv Stirling Engine Μ-Chp Unit In A Domestic Dwelling, Gerry Conroy, Aidan Duffy, Lacour Ayompe

Articles

This paper presents an assessment of the energy, economic and greenhouse gas emissions performances of a WhisperGen Mk IV Stirling engine μ-CHP unit for use in a conventional house in the Republic of Ireland. The energy performance data used in this study was obtained from a field trial carried out in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the period June 2004 - July 2005 by Northern Ireland Electricity and Phoenix Gas working in collaboration with Whispertech UK. A comparative performance analysis between the µ-CHP unit and a condensing gas boiler revealed that the µ-CHP unit resulted in an annual cost saving of …

Three Essays On The Role Of It In Environmental Sustainability: Motivating Individuals To Use Green It, Enhancing Their User Experience, And Promoting Electricity Conservation, Abdullah Al Bizri

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the role of IT in environmental sustainability and electricity conservation through three research essays. The first essay makes a case for behavior research, with the focus on individuals' use of Green IT. Moreover, environmental studies lack a coherent theory that could identify the motivators of Green-IT beliefs. We develop the hedonic motivation theory, which synthesizes theoretical and philosophical thoughts on hedonism with concepts from environmental research. Using this theory, we develop a conceptual model that identifies the motivators of context-specific beliefs, attitudes, and uses of Green IT. We theorize that there are significant generational differences in …

Soil Health After Intense Ponderosa Pine Forest Fire In North Central Nebraska, Amanda Hefner

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

In late July 2012, the Region 24 Complex fire consumed over 76, 000 acres of north central Nebraska. This area consists of ponderosa pine forest with high densities of eastern redcedar, deciduous hardwood forest, and Sandhills prairie. This incredible event provided an occasion to examine the effect of the fire on soil nitrification and soil erosion at The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. Eighteen 900m² plots were established in regions chosen for their topographic location (footslope, midslope, and ridgetop), forest density, and directional slope (north vs. south facing slope). Each plot was split into nine subplots with 25 erosion …

A Multidimensional Analysis Of The Great Green Wall: The Environmental And Social Effects Of Reafforestation In Senegal, Anna Eugenia Alsobrook

Masters Theses

The north-central region of Senegal is home to the Great Green Wall (GGW)—a reafforestation project aimed at restoring decades–old, degraded land conditions by establishing tree belts and community gardens. Its presence on the ground has changed the local landscape and altered the social institutions governing the daily lives of the people it aims to protect.

My study is an in-progress assessment of the GGW towards its two major goals: 1) improving the lives of the people of the Sahel and increasing their capacity to adapt to climate change and drought, and 2) improving the state of the ecosystem and increasing …

The Impact Of World Bank’S Conditionality-Ownership Hybrid On Forest Management In Cameroon: Policy Hybridity In International Dependence Development, Asongayi Venard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many developing countries depend on the World Bank for development assistance, which the Bank often provides with policy reform conditions. Resistance to World Bank’s conditionality caused the Bank to posit “ownership” as a country’s real assent to its development policies. The combination of ownership and conditionality invalidates the neocolonial, false-paradigm and dualism theses in explaining the international dependence development model. This study explains this model by investigating how the relationship between conditionality and ownership in the context of this model impacts forest management in Cameroon.

Integrating theoretical and methodological insights mainly from political science, economics, geosciences, and sociology, the study …

Dirty Recycling: Auto Salvage And Its Potential Impacts On Marginalized Populations, Ethan B. Dively, Nicholas C. Ferreri, Cole D. Rossiter

Student Publications

The salvage yard represents the final waypoint in the cradle-to-grave cycle of the automobile. Residual amounts of petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and acids used in automobiles can be extremely harmful to human health and the environment if not managed correctly. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which minority populations were exposed to the hazards of the auto salvage industry. Census data for population, income, race/ethnicity, sex, and age were organized using ArcGIS software. Population demographics were analyzed in the areas surrounding 98 auto salvage yards found in Philadelphia and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia County, …

Sustainability's Inconvenient Discourse, Christine Gilbert

Honors College

“Sustainability” has been used to indicate certain values, market a way of life, and possesses a prominent role in a number of different disciplines, yet a commonly accepted definition doesn’t seem to exist. This thesis does not aim in any sense to define this elusive term, rather it examines the themes that inform discussions of sustainability. A number of particular thematic elements are used consistently across almost all of the discourses of sustainability: generational time frames, renewable resources, as well as the relationship between sustainability and economic development. Each unique discourse handles these themes in a specific way. What’s valuable …

Gis-Based Suitability Modeling And Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis For Utility Scale Solar Plants In Four States In The Southeast Us, Kata Tisza

All Theses

Photovoltaic (PV) development shows significantly smaller growth in the Southeast U.S., than in the Southwest; which is mainly due to the low cost of fossil-fuel based energy production in the region and the lack of solar incentives. However, the Southeast has appropriate insolation conditions (4.0-6.0 KWh/m2/day) for photovoltaic deployment and in the past decade the region has experienced the highest population growth for the entire country. These factors, combined with new renewable energy portfolio policies, could create an opportunity for PV to provide some of the energy that will be required to sustain this growth. The goal of the study …

Design Of A High Temperature Subsurface Thermal Energy Storage System, Qi Zheng

All Theses

Solar thermal energy is taking up increasing proportions of future power generation worldwide. Thermal energy storage technology is a key method for compensating for the inherent intermittency of solar resources and solving the time mismatch between solar energy supply and electricity demand. However, there is currently no cost-effective high-capacity compact storage technology available (Bakker et al., 2008). The goal of this work is to propose a high temperature subsurface thermal energy storage (HSTES) technology and demonstrate its potential energy storage capability by developing a solar-HSTES-electricity generation system. In this work, main elements of the proposed system and their related state-of-art …

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.

Land-Based Wind Energy And The Environment: Potential Impacts For Wildlife And The West Michigan Landscape, Betty Gajewski, Claire Schoolmaster, Jon Vandermolen, Erik Edward Nordman

Erik Edward Nordman

No abstract provided.

Renewable Energy Activities: Choices For Tomorrow, Ap Environmental Science, Terry A. Ferguson, Kendra Whitney, Logan Ress

Arthur Vining Davis High Impact Fellows Projects

This AVD High Impact Fellows Program Team Project developed high school level learning modules on renewable energy. The learning modules focus on the collection, analysis and graphing of real-world data and the making of assessments and projections of the use of renewable energy at the school location. The project focuses primarily on solar energy but all other major alternative energy sources are also briefly addressed. The modules focus on solar energy because it is the only feasible alternative energy source for the region. The ultimate goal of the project is to produce a presentation for the school principal making recommendations …

Tapping The Apocalypse & Healing With Intention, Julianne E. Henderson Ms.

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

When crisis strikes, practical skills and strategies are critical to one's survival. However, one's positive mentality, relationship with and knowledge of his or her environment, and capacity for compassion when faced with an apocalyptic landscape are just as likely to boost their morale. Maintaining an optimistic consciousness assists human beings with survival, regardless of what level of adversity we face. This research project combines an important skill, which is knowing how to heal oneself naturally with what Nature provides, with the power of our consciousness to determine our success, strength, and overall capacity for withstanding the hurricanes of change.

Elce - Sustainable Serving, Kevin Curwick, Allison Fischbach

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Describes the Sustainability Student Worker Network (SSWN) and the connections between ELCE (Experiential Learning & Community Engagement) and sustainability at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

1st Annual Sustainability Report, Saint Mary's College Of California

Sustainability Report

No abstract provided.

Urban Foraging And The Relational Ecologies Of Belonging, Melissa R. Poe, Joyce Lecompte, Rebecca J. Mclain, Patrick T. Hurley

Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Through a discussion of urban foraging in Seattle, Washington, USA, we examine how people's plant and mushroom harvesting practices in cities are linked to relationships with species, spaces, and ecologies. Bringing a relational approach to political ecology, we discuss the ways that these particular nature–society relationships are formed, legitimated, and mobilized in discursive and material ways in urban ecosystems. Engaging closely with and as foragers, we develop an ethnographically grounded ‘relational ecologies of belonging’ framework to conceptualize and examine three constituent themes: cultural belonging and identity, belonging and place, and belonging and more-than-human agency. Through this case study, we show …

Extending Sustainable Irrigation Opportunities To Socially And Historically Disadvantaged Farmers In The Alabama Black Belt To Support Commercial-Level Production, Raymon Shange, Richard Martin, Victor Khan, Kwesi Daniels, George X. Hunter, Gwendolyn J. Johnson, Steve Musser, William Puckett, Walter A. Hill

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This paper focuses on providing sustainable irrigation opportunities to socially and historically disadvantaged farmers (SHDFs). The ability to provide steady production capacity through the use of renewable energy sources and microirrigation is innovative, in that it demonstrated how to develop and utilize a sustainable irrigation system in both energy and water conservation. This venture is also innovative in that it sought to provide SHDFs with irrigation in a state in which irrigation in agriculture is minimal, while at the same time, offsetting the energy costs that normally accompany irrigation. Several farmers are profiled in their participation in the irrigation program. …

Increasing Sustainability By Going Paperless: A Wmu Case Study, James Amos, James Kison

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

This is a study analyzing the use of digital signatures to reduce paper consumption at WMU. The poster demonstrates ways in which technology promotes sustainability by saving time, fuel and paper.

The Green Manufacturing Industrial Consortium’S (Gmic) Approach To Zero-Waste-To-Landfill (Zwtl), Nathan J. Christensen, Marylin Glass-Angeles

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Introduction: As organizations continually seek to reduce various forms of waste, some may seek to reduce their landfill impact and improve recycling and material disposal practices. Many organizations interested in reducing their landfill waste have embarked on a zero-waste-to-landfill (ZWTL) journey. This journey involves thoroughly exploring the landfill waste of an organization, reverse tracking the waste to its source, and establishing new practices and procedures for eliminating the source of waste from the landfill stream. The purpose of this poster is to describe the methodology used by the Green Manufacturing Initiative to assist companies on their ZWTL journey.

New Perspectives In Ecosystem Services Science As Instruments To Understand Environmental Securities, Ferdinando Villa, Brian Voigt, Jon D. Erickson

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

As societal demand for food, water and other life-sustaining resources grows, the science of ecosystem services (ES) is seen as a promising tool to improve our understanding, and ultimately the management, of increasingly uncertain supplies of critical goods provided or supported by natural ecosystems. This promise, however, is tempered by a relatively primitive understanding of the complex systems supporting ES, which as a result are often quantified as static resources rather than as the dynamic expression of human-natural systems. This article attempts to pinpoint the minimum level of detail that ES science needs to achieve in order to usefully inform …

Urban Harbors Institute: Engaging Communities, Applying Research, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Stakeholder engagement is a major component of nearly all of the Institute’s work. Community members, those working in ocean and coastal-based industries, and advocates for environmental quality, bring knowledge and perspectives to complement the Institute’s science, policy, and technical analyses. Broad stakeholder participation enriches the process, improves the outcomes, and strengthens the likelihood that management recommendations will be implemented.

Climate Change In Northern New Hampshire: Past, Present And Future, Cameron P. Wake, C. Keeley, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Peter Wilkinson, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne Stoner, Julie Labrance

The Sustainability Institute Publications

EARTH’S CLIMATE CHANGES. It always has and always will. However, an extensive and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities—including the burning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, clearing of forested lands for agriculture, and raising livestock—are now the primary force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of northern New Hampshire has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by a warmer planet due to human activities.

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

Arizona's Vulnerable Populations, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Warren Prostollo, Jay Kittle, Arlan Colton, Kim Demarchi, Darryl Dobras, Susan Goldsmith, Billie Fidlin, Jim Holoway, Tara Jackson, Rita Maguire, Elizabeth Mcnamee, Patrick Mcwhortor, Ray Newton, Pat Norris, Steve Pedigo, Scott Rhodes, Fred Rosenfed, Chad Sampson, David Snider, Bob Strain, Marissa Theisen, Devan Wastchak, Terri Wogan, Larry Woods, Antonia Adams-Clement, Nina Babich, Andrea Banks, Eric Bjorklund, Luke Black, Luis De La Cruz-Parra, Richard Fabes, Felicia Ganther, Joseph Garcia, Maria Harper-Marinick, Kevin Hengehold, Lane Kenworthy, Julie Knapp, Kelly Mcgowan, Ray Ostos, Kathleen Perales, Suzanne Pfister, Michael S. Shafer, Julia Grace Smith, Ed Strong, Cynthia Zwick

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Arizona’s vulnerable populations are struggling on a daily basis but usually do so in silence, undetected by traditional radar and rankings, often unaware themselves of their high risk for being pushed or pulled into a full crisis. Ineligible for financial assistance under strict eligibility guidelines, they don’t qualify as poor because vulnerable populations are not yet in full crisis. To be clear, this report is not about the “poor,” at least not in the limited sense of the word. It is about our underemployed wage earners, our single-parent households, our deployed or returning military members, our under-educated and unskilled workforce, …

Climate Change In Southern New Hampshire: Past, Present And Future, Cameron P. Wake, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Peter Wilkinson, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne Stoner, C. Keeley, Julie Labranche

The Sustainability Institute Publications

EARTH’S CLIMATE CHANGES. It always has and always will. However, an extensive and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities—including the burning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, clearing of forested lands for agriculture, and raising livestock—are now the primary force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of southern New Hampshire has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by a warmer planet due to human activities.

Determining The Dynamics Of Agricultural Water Use: Cases From Asia And Africa, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Robyn Johnston, Poolad Karimi, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Across Africa and Asia, water resources are being affected by a complex mixture of social, economic, and environmental factors. These include climate change and population growth, food prices, oil prices, financial disruptions, and political fluctuations. The need to produce more food will have one of the largest impacts on water and will continue to reshape the patterns of agricultural water use in major food-growing regions. With this increasing demand on water for agriculture, from large-scale irrigation to intensification of rainfed systems, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that water resources decision-making has access to information that captures the spectrum …

Understanding Secrets Of Sustainability Through Triz Philosophy, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

After creating the weapons that can destroy the world, the next challenge of man is not to win an enemy but to survive the disasters. The modern man realizes that the worst challenges to face are the manmade disasters. While the nature has given us a well-disposed atmosphere to grow we are spoiling the natural resources through various anti-environmental activities. Our partial knowledge on development has taken us through a so-called development, which is neither eco-friendly nor sustainable. It is therefore important to control our own activities and behavior to minimize their negative effects on other adjacent systems and environment. …

Oxides And Heavy Metals Concentration Around A Cement Plant At Yandev, Central Nigeria, Fanan Ujoh Ph.D, Muhammad Mamman Alhassan Ph.D

Dr. Fanan Ujoh

Aims: To determine the level of concentration of oxides (chemicals) and heavy metals in 6 soil samples. To further compare the results with acceptable soil quality standards to ascertain the status of soil quality within the study area. Study Design: Collection and analyses of soil samples from the vicinity of Dangote Cement factory, Yandev. Place and Duration of Study: A total of 6 soil samples were collected: using a 2-kilometer interval, five samples were collected within the study area starting from the center of the Cement factory while the sixth soil sample was collected from a Control Community (Tarhembe) located …

Examining Sustainability Attitudes And Practices Among Overthe-Road Logistics Companies Operating In Indiana, Robert Louis Crull Iii

Open Access Theses

This research study takes a look at the sustainable attitude/awareness level and practices of over-the-road logistics companies operating in Indiana. It has a descriptive study design, providing information in an area that has not been previously analyzed. As the world adopts a "greener" mindset with the purpose of reducing the carbon footprint, this study helps lead the way towards this goal. It allows for the performance of further research into the reasons certain companies focus on sustainable practices more than others. Eventually, the hope is to increase the amount of companies operating sustainably.

The research study included an in-depth literature …